Noble to swap rig in Brazil, citing "reliability"

Noble Corp, the world's second-largest offshore drilling contractor by fleet size, plans to swap out an underperforming rig for key client Petrobras and take a $40 million charge for an abandoned upgrade. The Noble Phoenix, now working in Brunei for Royal Dutch...

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Oklahoma landowners challenge TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline

TransCanada is facing new battles in its $12-billion project to build an oil sands pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast, as landowners in Oklahoma challenge its right to expropriate land for its right of way. Oklahoma resident Sue Kelso and her siblings have filed...

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Saipem wins Gladstone LNG pipeline work in Australia

Saipem has been awarded new onshore contracts worth approximately US$1 billion.  In Australia, Gladstone LNG Operations Pty Ltd awarded Saipem the EPC contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of a gas pipeline, 42 inches in diameter and 435 kilometers long, which will connect...

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China: Second Zitong deep gas find tested

The Zitong-1 well on the Zitong exploration block in China’s Sichuan basin tested at a restricted 750 Mcfd of gas on a 3-mm choke from 33 m of pay in the Xu-4 tight sand formation, said Ivanhoe Energy Inc. unit Sunwing Energy Ltd. The company plans to test the...

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Trans Energy Begins Drilling Its Seventh Horizontal Marcellus Well in Marshall County, WV; Completes Frac on Stout #2H in Marshall County, WV

Trans Energy, Inc. announced today that it has begun drilling the Lucey #1H well in Marshall County, West Virginia. The Lucey #1H will be drilled and completed horizontally in the Marcellus shale. John G. Corp, President of Trans Energy, said, "We have completed...

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Icebreakers near trapped Russian ships

FESCO is today still working to free ships trapped by ice since last year in Sakhalin Bay. Far Eastern Shipping said today in Moscow that two icebreakers – Admiral Makarov and Krasin – have cut a 25-n mile passage over the past three days and are finally near...

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Crew Energy ramps up drilling at Princess oil site near Brooks

Crew Energy Inc. has increased its capital budget for 2011 to $210 million as it aims to add 30 per cent to its average fourth-quarter production of 14,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Calgary-based intermediate said it would drill 112 net wells with all but five of them at its Princess oil...

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Hundreds rescued, 20 sought in sinking

MORE THAN 200 migrants have returned to land after they were rescued from their sinking vessel by a Dutch multipurpose cargo ship off Corfu, Fairplay was told today. The wooden vessel Hasan Rei was travelling to Italy when it started taking on water late on 15...

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Anderson Energy not to spend on natural gas properties

Canada's Anderson Energy Ltd said is not planning to spend any capital on its natural gas properties in 2011 and direct almost its entire capital program to horizontal oil drilling, mainly at its Cardium acreage in Alberta. [Read more] Source: Reut...

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Port of Brisbane reopens after flood

Queensland's trade and freight network is slowly getting back to normal, with the Port of Brisbane today reopening for business. [Read More] Source: ABC N...

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Drydocks, DNV work on LNG fuelled vessels

Drydocks World and DNV have entered into a cooperation agreement focusing on innovation and operational efficiency. DNV will provide technical assistance to Drydocks World’s innovative projects, and support the yard with technical expertise in conversion projects, specifically related to enhanced environmental...

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Craig Group predicting a return to profit growth this year

Craig Group, the global shipping and energy services firm, will report a profit pick-up this year after a restructuring and "challenging" trading impacted its 2010 results. The Aberdeen-based business, which is in its third generation of family ownership, booked a pre-tax profit of £10.7 million in...

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Hull condition assessment software reduces maintenance

Flagship, the Pan-European maritime transport project part funded by the EU, has developed software that can forecast the condition of a ship’s hull to help improve the efficacy of surveys and reduce the amount of time a ship is out of service. [Read More] Source:...

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Ukraine and Belarus sign agreement on oil transit via Odessa-Brody pipeline

Ukrtransnafta JSC and the Belarusian Oil Company signed an agreement on the Ukrainian side's transit of the four million tons of oil annually via the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline to the Mozyr refinery in Belarus, the press service of Energy Ministry of Ukraine reported.  [Read...

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Cruise lines optimistic despite economy

For cruise lines, passenger bookings during the "wave season"—the first quarter of the year—are generally a good indicator on how well or how poor the year is going to be. A recent survey conducted by the Cruise Line International Association of its members and...

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Range Resources Amends PSAs With Puntland Govt To Extend Exploration Agreement

Range Resources has amended its agreements with the government of Puntland (Somalia) over its production sharing agreements (PSAs) for the Dharoor Valley and the Nugaal Valley exploration areas. Under the amended PSAs, the first exploration agreement has been...

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MV Eagle Pirated in Somali Basin

In the early hours of Monday 17 January, the bulk carrier MV Eagle was attacked and pirated by a single skiff, with pirates firing small arms and a Rocket Propelled Grenade before boarding the vessel. [Read More] Source: Marine L...

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Shell starts public consultation process for shale gas exploration

Energy giant Shell has appointed an independent consultancy to compile an environmental-management programme (EMP) for its shale gas exploration activities in South Africa’s Karoo basin. Shell submitted an application to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa)...

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Shipbuilding slows; innovations remain

The greatest cruise-ship building boom in history -- fueled by innovation and new technology -- is not over, but it is winding down. While some ships still are on order or under construction, the future soon will be nothing like the recent past, when fleets of...

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Weighing containers - full or empty - on the way

WEIGHING containers - full or empty - will be become a necessary part of shipping life, according to delegates attending a London conference sponsored by the insurance group, UK P&I Club. [Read More] Source: Sea N...

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Canadian Natural unsure when Horizon production will restart

Canadian Natural Resources does not know when production at its Horizon facility will resume as it has still not been able to assess the damage from a fire eleven days ago, vice-chairman John Langille said. "We haven't been allowed complete access yet we're still...

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Farstad: Charter Agreements

Farstad Shipping ASA has, on behalf of wholly owned subsidiaries, been awarded the following charter contracts: PSV Far Symphony (2003, P105, 4.929 DWT) has been awarded a six (6) years firm contract by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS for support of their operation in the North Sea.Commencement of the...

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DNV Petroleum Services charts 30 years of progress in the bunker testing business

DNVPS managing director  Tore Morten Wetterhus. When DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) launched its marine residual fuel testing service on Jan 1, 1981, ship operators for the first time were able to scientifically analyse the quality of fuel supplied to their...

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Middle East Supertanker Glut to Prevent Rate Gains, Imarex Says

Imarex Asia Pte, a unit of Oslo- based freight derivatives broker Imarex ASA, comments in an e- mailed report today on supply and demand for supertankers to load 2 million-barrel cargoes of Middle East crude oil. [Read More] Source: Bloomb...

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IEA chief warns of tighter oil market in 2011

International Energy Agency chief Nobuo Tanaka warned on Monday of tighter oil supply over the next year, thanks to a more robust global economic recovery and declining oil inventories in the industrialized world. "The economic recovery is becoming robust," Tanaka...

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'Adventure and money' lure sailors to dangerous waters

Second mate Anupam Bhattacharji heard the shots before he saw the pirates hook their ladder onto his ship and climb aboard. The deck of the MT Sea Princess II - loaded down with oil and travelling off the coast of Yemen - floated just a metre above sea level. The...

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Analysis: Refiners threaten anti-pollution efforts in shipping

Global efforts to drastically reduce toxic sulfur emissions in the shipping industry will likely be delayed for years due to the reluctance of refiners to invest billions of dollars to produce cleaner burning fuel. The U.N. shipping agency, International Maritime...

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North P&I Club warns of stability risk when complying with ballast water rules

The ‘A’ rated 125 million GT North P&I club has warned shipowners to take great care when attempting to comply with ballast-water rules by exchanging ballast water at sea. The club says in the latest issue of its loss-prevention newsletter ‘Signals’ that without a meticulously prepared and implemented...

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Golar LNG Energy - New Time Charter Contracts

Golar LNG Energy Limited is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements to time charter its 4 modern LNG carriers (Golar Grand, Golar Viking, Golar Arctic and Golar Maria) for periods of between 12 and 18 months to various charterers. Total charter...

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Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to restart operations using bypass

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is scheduled to restart operations following the installation of the pipeline bypass to circumvent the damaged Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay. On January 8, the 800-mile-long TAPS line was shut down following the discovery...

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Dry bulk market has bottomed out, as weather in Australia dials down

The dry bulk market has finally halted its plunge, after a devastating week of yet more losses. The industry’s benchmark, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has stayed lull at 1,439 points the lowest it’s been since April of 2009 and October of 2008. Still, yesterday,...

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Caza Oil & Gas commences drilling operations on Arran prospect

Caza Oil & Gas Inc today announced commencement of drilling on its Arran Prospect in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The company said that the Marian Baker No 1 well commenced drilling on 16 January and is the initial test well on Arran. Arran is a significant,...

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Kawasaki eyes LNG-FPSOs

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (HKI) is planning a move into the LNG-FPSO market. Japan's local newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported on 14th January that Kawasaki Heavy Industries is soon launching a LNG-FPSO building project to produce LNG in its Chinese joint venture. [Read More] Source:...

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Hyundai close to 100m GT

Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries seems to be the first shipyard worldwide to exceed 100m GT in terms of combined newbuilding output of commercial ships. Hyundai is expecting to surpass 100m GT in combined newbuilding output in April and planning to hold a ceremony...

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Sembcorp Marine's sembawang shipyard secures newbuilding and upgrading contracts worth S$215 million

Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Sembawang Shipyard has secured a newbuilding and three major upgrading contracts totalling S$215 million, reinforcing its reputation as a world leading shipyard for ship repairs, ship conversions and specialized offshore newbuildings. The...

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China to Finance $293.5m of ESL’s Nine Vessels

The Export-Import Bank of China has agreed to finance 80pc of the cost, projected to be 293.5 million dollars, for the building of nine vessels that Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL) is to acquire, the largest order the national flagship has made in its 46 years. [Read...

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Huge source of oil, gas found in South China Sea

Chinese geologists have detected 'super-thick' oil and gas-rich strata in the South China Sea and also identified 38 offshore oil and gas basins, a media report said Monday. The outskirts of Songliao basin in northeast China, Yin'e basin in the north and Qiangtang basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau...

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Sembawang Shipyard secures contracts worth S$215m

SINGAPORE : Sembawang Shipyard, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, has secured one building and three upgrading contracts totalling S$215 million. [Read More] Source: channelnewsa...

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Eastern Shipbuilding launches ferry for New Brunswick

Eastern Shipbuilding this month launched Grand Manan Adventure, an 82-vehicle ferry that it is building at its Panama City, Fla. shipyard under a $65 million contract from the Government of New Brunswick, Canada, awarded in March 2009. [Read More] Source: Marine ...

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Oil And Logistics Giants Order New Bulk Carriers

CHINA – Four new liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels are to be built by the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong), a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation on behalf of the Exxon Mobil Corporation and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd....

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Taking shape‎

Two vessels, under construction, stand in a dry dock of Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding Industry Co in north China's Hebei Province yesterday. China's shipyards finished building 65.6 million deadweight tons of ships last year, an increase of 54.6 percent on an annual...

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ConocoPhillips set to sell Timor Sea interests

ConocoPhillips has put its controlling stake in the big Barossa and Caldita gas fields in the Timor Sea up for sale, throwing into doubt the US giant's interest in expanding its Darwin LNG processing plant. It is understood ConocoPhillips was close to securing...

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BP awarded four Australian Deepwater Exploration blocks

BP today announced that it has been awarded four deepwater offshore blocks in the Ceduna Sub Basin within the Great Australian Bight, off the coast of South Australia. BP said that it will explore Exploration Permit for Petroleum (EPP) areas EPP 37, EPP 38, EPP...

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Gas Agreements: Gazprom, Japan may build LNG plant near Vladivostok

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom's Management Committee and Tetsuhiro Hosono, Director General of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed an Agreement of Cooperation.  The Agreement...

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PROSAFE : Options exercised by BP Norge

BP Norge AS has exercised two three-month options for the continued use of the MSV Regalia and thereafter Safe Scandinavia at the Valhall offshore facility in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The first three months commencing in July 2011 using the MSV Regalia...

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NWest Energy extends exploration licenses offshore western newfoundland

NWest Energy Corp. announces that the Company has elected to extend Period I of each of offshore Exploration Licenses 1097 and 1098 to January 15, 2012 by posting a drilling deposit in the amount of $250,000 for each license with the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador...

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Farstad Shipping signs PSV charters with ConocoPhillips

Norwegian company Farstad Shipping ASA said today that two of its platform supply vessels (PSVs) will operate in the North Sea for ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, part of US oil firm ConocoPhillips. The contracts were signed on market terms for similar vessels...

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Pazflor FPSO to sail to Total operated Angola block

The newbuild Pazflor floating production, storage offloading vessel is expected to sail away this month for Total-operated Block 17 in Angola from South Korea this week.The FPSO has processing capacity for 200,000 barrels per day of oil and 150 million cubic feet...

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Statoil announces Natural gas is fit to serve Europe’s energy future

“Natural gas is key to solving Europe’s energy challenges going forward, delivering on cost competiveness, security of supply and the climate challenge,” says Rune Bjørnson, Statoil’ senior vice president for Natural gas. Today, Monday 17 January, Statoil kicks...

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UNX Energy Signs 3D Seismic Contract With Petroleum Geo-Services

UNX Energy Corp., an emerging oil and gas company with offshore interests in the Republic of Namibia, has signed a 3D seismic contract with Petroleum Geo-Services. UNX plans to acquire approximately 1,125 km(2) of 3D seismic on the 90%-owned Exploration Licence 2815, consisting of Blocks 2815, 2816...

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P&O Maritime Services Announces JV with Bangor University Prince Madog Research Vessel

P&O Maritime Services has acquired a 50% shareholding in a UK incorporated joint venture with the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University. Through this venture, known as P&O Maritime Ocean Sciences (POMOS), P&O Maritime Services has joint ownership...

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SOCAR president receives delegates of Statoil and Total E & P

President of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev  received a delegation of Norwegian Statoil headed by Executive Vice President of Statoil on natural gas Rune Bjornnson, the company reported. Abdullayev noted the important...

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Recovery in global oil demand spurs Essar Q3 profits

Riding on back of high refining margins, Essar Oil Ltd on Monday reported a net profit of Rs 273 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2010 as against a loss of Rs 266 crore in a year ago period.  The Mumbai-based firm earned USD 7.21 on refining of every...

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SHIP EQUIP SIGNS WITH VARADA MARINE FOR WHOLE FLEET

Ship Equip and Varada Marine has signed a contract to install SEVSAT on their whole fleet off Offshore Supply Vessels.  Varada Marine who has its head office in Kristiansand, Norway has announced plans to become “one of the largest offshore support vessel...

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Statoil sees Snoehvit at full capacity in days

Norway's Statoil said on Monday the Snoehvit gas field in the Barents Sea and its onshore LNG processing facility were back in operation after almost a month of downtime for repairs. "Snoehvit is back in production and it's ramping up," said Statioil spokeaman...

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Maridive downgraded on delay of pipe barge

Shares in Maridive and Oil Services took a dip as delays in the delivery of its new pipe-laying barge are expected to cut into the company's profits. EFG-Hermes cut its recommendation for the Egyptian oil services company to "neutral" from "buy". Maridive shares,...

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Prosafe rig utilisation rate drops to 61% in Q4 2010

Oslo-listed rig operator Prosafe SE said today that its rig utilisation rate dropped to 61% in the fourth quarter of 2010 from 84% in the corresponding period of 2009. The rig MSV Regalia operated for British oil major BP plc on the Valhall offshore facility in...

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