OP/ED: Offshore Wind
Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role. Companies in the Gulf of Mexico, which traditionally support the offshore oil and gas sector…
Bachmann, Stjernfeldt Join EVPE Board
EV Private Equity (EVPE) has appointed two new Advisory Board members, Bettina Bachmann and Carl Stjernfeldt, who bring decades of experience and venture capital knowledge to the firm.Bachmann spent 35 years at Shell, latterly as Vice President of Subsurface & Wells Software and now sits on several boards in nonexecutive roles, while Stjernfeldt leads the Corporate Development Group in Americas for Shell New Energies. Bachmann has held a variety of business, technical and leadership roles in exploration and development…
LNG Trailblazer Eisbrenner Dies at 58
Kathleen M. Eisbrenner, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry pioneer and Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at US based LNG development company NextDecade Corporation, has passed away at the age of 58.Eisbrenner enjoyed a remarkable career, and was widely viewed as one of the foremost female executives in the global LNG industry. She founded NextDecade in 2010 and led the company to its listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market in July 2017. She served jointly as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until February 2018…
MAN ES Invests in Hydrogen
MAN Energy Solutions is acquiring 40 percent of the shares of the electrolysis technology company H-TEC SYSTEMS. A contract confirming the partial acquisition was signed in Augsburg by Dr. Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, and Ove Petersen and Heinrich Gärtner, executive managers of the GP JOULE Group. The contract also makes provisions for a majority or complete takeover of H-TEC SYSTEMS at a later date. The company will continue to be independently represented on the market with no change in the level of commitment to its customers.
Woodside Invests in Cyber Security
Australia's largest independent oil and gas company said it has invested in a Western Australian company specializing in the protection and security of critical infrastructure.Woodside will take a 10% shareholding in Sapien Cyber, subject to satisfaction of conditions precedent, the company said on Monday.Sapien Cyber is a 100% Australian-owned technology platform that provides clients unprecedented network visibility, dynamic real-time monitoring and actionable intelligence to dramatically reduce the vulnerability of digital systems to cyber attack.
EnBW Launched Green Bond
German utility EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has launched its first green bond on the capital market, with an issue size of €500m ($570.8m), which was oversubscribed within hours, the energy company said in a press release.The bond issue, with a 15-year term to maturity, was oversubscribed within hours. The coupon is 1.875 percent.In contrast to conventional corporate bonds, the proceeds from a green bond must be used exclusively to fund climate-friendly projects. EnBW is among the first German companies to have launched a green bond of this size.
New Recommended Practice for Wellhead Fatigue Analysis
DNV GL releases new recommended practice for wellhead fatigue analysis to improve analysis consistency in the industry.The recommended practice(RP) DNVGL-RP-E104 Wellhead fatigue analysis has now been published. This publication is the result of a phase 2 Joint Industry Project (JIP) involving 16 oil companies and supersedes the April 2015 edition of DNVGL-RP-0142.The content of the updated RP provides specific recommendations on how to perform wellhead fatigue analysis in a consistent manner…
Young Taken on PESA Advisory Board
Hoover Container Solutions’ chairman and CEO, Donald Young, has been nominated and elected to the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) Advisory Board for a three-year term. PESA’s leadership is comprised of experienced industry executives dedicated to advancing priorities of the service and supply sector. The role of the PESA Advisory Board is to offer insight to the PESA Board of Directors and staff, promote PESA participation within their own companies and strengthen PESA’s member ranks via personal industry connections.
Hoover's Young Named to PESA Board
Hoover Container Solutions’ chairman and CEO, Donald Young, has been nominated and elected to the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) Advisory Board for a three-year term. PESA’s leadership is comprised of experienced industry executives dedicated to advancing priorities of the service and supply sector. The role of the PESA Advisory Board is to offer insight to the PESA Board of Directors and staff, promote PESA participation within their own companies and strengthen PESA’s member ranks via personal industry connections.
FPSOs Sit Unprecedentedly Idle
The 20 year four-fold growth pattern in the world’s FPSO fleet stalls out in 2016 with a record number of FPSOs idle and available for redeployment – or perhaps to be forced into other uses, lay up or scrap. FPSO redeployments typically are far more complex, costly and risky than for (say) drillships and yet the need for redeploying idle FPSOs is now in the forefront of the industry like never before as FPSO owners also have to face the worst ever down market for their equipment and services.
Highest RSB Certification for GoodFuels Marine
GoodFuels Marine, the first marine biofuel company focused on the global commercial fleet, has received the highest standard of certification from the Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), enabling the company to actively sell and promote RSB-certified biofuels to the shipping industry. The certification, which assesses the sustainable viability of the biomaterials used by GoodFuels to generate marine bunker fuel, has been awarded for two years. RSB has defined 12 principles to which biomaterials have to comply to be seen as sustainable and thereby eligible for the RSB stamp of approval…
ABB on Power Drive in Germany
ABB increases stake in STRIEBEL & JOHN GmbH & Co. KG to 100 percent from 51 percent. ABB will combine the STRIEBEL & JOHN product range with its own range in the field of low-voltage products to offer complete systems from a single source in Germany. Further integrating the supply chain to electrical wholesale and direct industrial customers will improve efficiency. The parties agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. The STRIEBEL & JOHN brand will continue. STRIEBEL & JOHN…
Boskalis’ Fleet May Switch to Marine Biofuels
Boskalis today announced their collaboration with GoodFuels and Wärtsilä in a two-year pilot program to accelerate the development of truly sustainable, scalable and affordable marine bio-fuels. Bio-fuels today are not part of the marine fuel mix that operators and owners can choose from. This means that shipping is missing an opportunity to utilize what should be a price competitive, environmentally friendly fuel option. The consortium believes that these bio-fuels will play a viable role in reducing emissions that no other fuel can currently achieve, without a capital-intensive fleet renewal or retrofitting.
New IEA Boss Faces Fluid Energy Landscape
Career economist replaces politician; insiders complain of low morale. The new head of the International Energy Agency faces dilemmas that challenge the purpose of the body set up to protect the interests of the West against the power of OPEC in the 1970s. Fatih Birol of Turkey -- the IEA's respected chief economist -- takes over on Tuesday, replacing Dutch politician Maria van der Hoeven, a former economy minister whose four-year term has expired. "There is a lot of expectation on Birol -- not just external performance…
QinetiQ Names CEO for OptaSense
QinetiQ has appointed Jamie Pollard as CEO of its Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) subsidiary, OptaSense. Pollard brings over 20 years’ of experience from oilfield services company Schlumberger, where he ran and grew large global businesses and joint ventures, working across the U.K., U.S., Continental Europe and Africa. Pollard graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University of Technology. Steve Wadey, CEO of QinetiQ said, “I am delighted to be making a positive…
EPA: Fracking Not a 'Widespread Risk' to Drinking Water
Fracking for shale oil and gas has not led to widespread pollution of drinking water, a U.S. potentially cause health risks. The study, requested by Congress and five years in the making, said fracking could contaminate drinking water under certain conditions, such as when fluids used in the process leaked into the water table. The EPA said it found isolated cases of water contamination, but "the number of identified cases ... was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.
Clean Energy Investment Hits Two-Year Low
Global clean energy investment at $50.5 bln in Q1. Global clean energy investment in the first quarter of this year fell to its lowest quarterly level for two years, as large deals slowed in China, Europe and Brazil, research showed on Friday. Investment in renewable energy such as wind and solar power and biomass fell to $50.5 billion in January to March compared with $59.3 billion in same quarter last year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said in a report. The last quarter to show weaker investment was the first quarter of 2013 at $43.1 billion.
InterAct Appoints Lerma as Engineering Manager
InterAct, an Acteon company, has appointed Val Lerma, P.E., as engineering manager. Lerma will be based in InterAct’s Ventura, California, office and has more than 30 years of experience working with major and independent oil and gas operators, both on and offshore. She has experience in drilling, reservoir and production engineering as well as management roles and will enhance InterAct’s engineering capabilities. Lerma served as the engineering manager, business development manager and president of Orchard Petroleum Inc., and Orchard E&P, LLC.
Santander Ends Ex-IMF Chief Rato's Contract
Spain's Santander is disbanding its 12-strong international advisory board, a spokesman said on Friday, in a move that ends ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato's tenure at the bank and is the highest-profile decision yet from new boss Ana Botin. Rato, who served as head of the International Monetary Fund, as Spain's economy minister and who ran lender Bankia until its state rescue in 2012, was hired by Santander as an adviser in September 2013. He was recently accused of improper management by magistrates…
Charity Selected for 2015 OTC Dinner
The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) announces the 2015 beneficiary of the Annual OTC Dinner—the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) Energy Education Center for the benefit of the Energy Institute High School. OTC will host the fifth Annual OTC Dinner on Sunday, May 3, 2015 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The event recognizes industry achievements, raises funds for a worthy cause, and provides an excellent opportunity for industry leaders to network with colleagues from around the world.
