Maersk Drilling Loses Two Offshore Rig Deals
Danish offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling has said it has received early contract termination notices for two of its drilling rigs.Maersk Drilling said Friday that Shell had the contract for the semi-submersible Mærsk Developer "with immediate effect." The original end of the contract for the Maersk Developer was expected to be in August 2020.Further, Aker BP has terminated the contract for the jack-up rig Maersk Reacher. The jack-up rig was hired for accommodation services on the Valhall field, offshore Norway, with effect from end-April 2020.
GC Rieber Bags 4-month Charter for Polar Queen
Norwegian shipping company GC Rieber Shipping has entered into a time charter agreement with a European offshore client for the CSV Polar Queen for a fixed period of four months with options to extend by up to one month.A press note from the offshore shipping firm said that the project is the same as Polar Queen was engaged on during the summer of 2018. The vessel will be used in British sector to perform accommodation services and walk-to-work duties…
Equinor Extends Prosafe Deal
Semi-submersible firm Prosafe said that it has been offered a month extension for the Safe Boreas charter contract at the Mariner project by operator Equinor."Equinor UK Limited (formerly Statoil (UK) Limited) has exercised the first of six one-month options to extend the charter of the Safe Boreas. The total value of the option is USD 6 million," said a press statement.In early August 2017, the Safe Boreas commenced a 13 month firm operational period at Mariner in the UK sector of the North Sea.
Gondan Launches first Dual Fuel Tug Built in Europe
Gondan Shipyard in Figueras launched the first Dual Fuel tug ever built in Europe – and the first of a series of three currently under construction for the Norwegian shipowner Østensjø Rederi. Designed by Robert Allan, the new escort tug measures 40.2 x 16m, beam, and will provide tug services to Norwegian state-owned energy company Statoil, at the far-north terminal located at Melkøya. Built to withstand freezing cold, the vessel is shaped specifically…
MPI Adventure Wins Sandbank OSS Commissioning Work
Vroon subsidiary MPI Adventure has been contracted to assist with the commissioning works on the offshore substation of the Sandbank Offshore Wind Farm. MPI Adventure will provide accommodation services, lifting operations and provision of supplies. The Sandbank Offshore Wind Farm is located approximately 90 kilometers west of the island of Sylt in the German Bight. It will consist of 72 4-megawatt turbines which will also be installed by MPI Adventure as of summer 2016.
Energy Firms Partner to Cut Costs in the North Sea
Petrofac, Faroe Petroleum and Eni Hewett have established a cost-saving partnership to drive efficiencies and commercial synergies across U.K. operations in the Southern North Sea. The tripartite agreement sees collaboration between Petrofac (Duty Holder) and the respective equity owners and operators of the Hewett, Schooner and Ketch gas fields to share logistics and accommodation services across the facilities. Faroe Petroleum is operator and 60 percent equity holder in the Schooner and Ketch fields…
Accommodation Rig Contract for Johan Sverdrup
Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup licence, awarded a contract to Jacktel AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Master Marine AS, for providing accommodation services on the Johan Sverdrup field. Jacktel AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Master Marine A, located in Oslo/Norway, has been awarded a contract for the Haven jack-up accommodation rig for the installation and commissioning period for the Johan Sverdrup project phase 1. Included in the accommodation services is bed capacity and catering services for project personnel.
Prosafe Beats Street as Activity and Prices Rise
Offshore accommodation rig provider Prosafe posted first-quarter operating earnings above expectations on Wednesday and said activity has picked up in the second quarter as oil prices rebounded from their early year lows. Its first-quarter operating profit rose to $55.4 million from $22.9 million in same quarter a year ago and beat forecasts for $45.0 million. It is however down from $77.4 million in previous quarter. Prosafe's net profit rose to $27 million from $18.3 million a year earlier, below expectations for $33.2 million in a Reuters poll.
Mixed News for the Oil and Gas Industry
On the whole, this year’s Budget was good news for the O&G sector, with the UK Government accepting the recommendations of Sir Ian Wood’s report. However, the Bareboat Chartering changes announced in the Autumn Statement will, despite industry objections, take effect from April 2014, with a slight relaxation of the cap. • A new body will be created to encourage exploration and reduce decommissioning costs. • From 1 April, the scope of substantial shareholding exemption (SSE) is being extended.
