Russia is considering limiting metals exports to the West
In response to Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested this week that Moscow limit exports of metals or other commodities in which Russia has a large share on global markets. Putin mentioned uranium and nickel as well as titanium, but suggested that other commodities could be restricted, pointing out that Russia is a major producer for natural gas, diamonds, and gold. Putin said that any restrictions do not have to be immediately implemented and they should not harm Russia.
Jiaao, a biofuel company in China, has brought BP on board as an investor for its SAF unit
Zhejiang Jiaao Enprotech, a Chinese biofuel company, announced on Friday that its sustainable aviation (SAF), unit had entered into an investment agreement with BP. This is the first time a global oil giant has invested in China's green aviation fuel. BP will invest 354 million yuan (49.56 millions) in Lianyungang Jiaao Enproenergy Co., which is building a 500,000 tons per year SAF facility in the eastern coast city of Lianyungang.
Palantir, Trafigura to Track Carbon Emissions for Oil, Metals industry
Palantir Technologies Inc and global commodities trader Trafigura have set sights on a new market, their chief executives told Reuters on Monday: tracking carbon emissions for the oil, gas, refined metals, and concentrates sector.The companies are building a platform for oil majors and other commodities firms to vet the environmental impact of their supply chains, applying Trafigura's data to Palantir's operating system…
The Case for 3D Printing Downhole Tools
Advanced design software supports growth of additive manufacturing applications in the oil and gas industryAdditive manufacturing (AM, aka 3D printing) is beginning to impact product-development strategies in the oil and gas industry just as it already has in many other industries—by shifting the production paradigm in unexpected ways.Particularly in the case of downhole tools, overall tool size is compatible with the range of part dimensions that today’s AM systems are capable of manufacturing.
BV Joins the Int'l Windship Association
The decarbonization drive is gearing up to be the defining issue faced by the shipping sector in the coming decades and the industry is searching for low carbon and zero emissions technologies that will deliver on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial strategy of reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050. One family of technologies that is seeing an upsurge of interest in the industry is wind-assist and primary wind propulsion solutions.
LDA Ventures into Wind-Powered Shipping
French family-owned maritime transportation group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is venturing into wind-powered shipping as the group sees the benefits of operational savings and a need for decarbonisation.LDA Group has become the latest member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to help further the development of these primary renewable solutions.LDA President, Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, stated…
Oil Spill Detection: Remote Sensing Equipment Tested
The latest in satellite, airborne and in-water surveillance and communications equipment were recently put to work off the coast of England for an exercise aiming to determine how remote sensing technologies can help identify and monitor oil spills at sea more effectively. The exercise took place on June 13, 2017 in open sea off the southern coast of England, showcased through Oil Spill Response Ltd.’s (OSRL) Southampton-based Visualization Center…
Statoil Grounds Sikorsky Helos for Inspection
Norway's Statoil said oil production was not impacted after the firm grounded all its Sikorsky S-92 helicopters used to transport offshore workers after an alert note from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp, was issued on Tuesday. "All 13 S-92 helicopters were grounded after a note from the manufacturer today. We are prepared for inspections to take a couple of days," a Statoil spokesman said.
Investigators Blame Norway Helicopter Crash on Gearbox Failure
The fatal crash of an Airbus helicopter in Norway in April was probably the result of metal fatigue in the aircraft's gearbox, the country's Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) said in a preliminary report on Tuesday, backing earlier findings. All 13 people on board were killed when the Super Puma's main rotor blades separated from the aircraft as it was ferrying passengers from a Norwegian offshore oil platform operated by Statoil.
China Three Gorges to buy German Wind Park
China Three Gorges, which operates the world's largest hydropower plant on China's Yangtze river, will buy German offshore wind park Meerwind from U.S. buyout firm Blackstone, the companies said on Monday. The terms of the sale were not disclosed but people familiar with the process have told Reuters that they expected it to be valued at around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 bln). The deal, signed during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to China…
Statoil to Probe Norway Helicopter Casualty
Oil firm Statoil will conduct an in-house investigation of a helicopter crash that killed 13 people to looks at ways to improve safety, the company said on Wednesday. An Airbus H225 Super Puma was flying back to land from a North Sea platform operated by Statoil when it crashed off the Norwegian coast on April 29, killing all people on board. The report is due to be ready by Sept. 30 and will be published after this date, the firm in a statement.
Norway Helicopter Crash Investigation Focuses on Rotor Blade Mounting
An investigation into the cause of a fatal North Sea helicopter crash is focusing on the parts of the aircraft that connected the rotor blades to the main body of the helicopter, investigators said on Friday. An Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform operated by Statoil crashed on April 29, killing all 13 people on board. Since then the helicopter model, a workhorse of the oil industry, has been grounded for commercial flights in Norway and Britain.
ABB Transformers for the Most Powerful Wind Turbines
ABB will deploy 40 special transformers to equip wind turbines for an offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea. The MHI Vestas Offshore Wind turbines are 195 m (640 ft) tall - around two-thirds the height of the Eiffel Tower - and weigh 1000 metric tons, approximately double a fully-loaded Airbus A380 plane. Its 80 m (262 ft) rotor blades sweep through an area equivalent of three soccer fields and can produce up to eight megawatts of power, making it the most powerful wind turbine in the world.
'Technical' Errors Caused Fatal Norway Helicopter Crash
The helicopter crash that killed 11 oil workers and two crew on Friday was due to a technical error, the country's Accident Investigation Board said on Tuesday. "We are as certain as we can be that a technical error caused the accident. We don't think it was due to human misinterpretations," the director of the board's aviation department, Kaare Halvorsen, told reporters. An Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform crashed in the North Sea on Friday…
Oil Rig Helicopter Crashes off Norway, 13 Presumed Dead
A helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform crashed in the North Sea on Friday, killing at least 11 of the 13 people on board, rescue officials said. The 11 passengers and two crew on the flight from the Gullfaks B oil platform, operated by Statoil, were all Norwegian except for one British and one Italian national, according to the Rescue Coordination Centre for Southern Norway. "The helicopter is completely destroyed," it said.
11 People Found Dead in Norway Helicopter Crash
Emergency services have found 11 bodies after a helicopter crashed off the west coast off Norway on Friday, a rescue official told broadcaster NRK. A search for the remaining two passengers was ongoing, a spokesman from the Rescue Coordination Centre for Southern Norway told NRK, adding that among the 13 passengers were one British and one Italian national. The others were Norwegian. The crashed helicopter is a Eurocopter model according to the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.
Iran's Rouhani in Paris to Revive Business Ties
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives in France on Wednesday with the bosses of oil major Total and aircraft maker Airbus among top executives he is due to meet as the two countries look to revive business ties despite diplomatic differences. On his first trip abroad since a sanctions-ending nuclear accord took effect, Italy this week already rolled out the red carpet for the pragmatist Shi'ite president and his 120-member delegation of business leaders and cabinet ministers…
Oil Firms After Touching 2003 Lows
OPEC sees bigger pain for non-member producers from low prices. Oil prices rose on Monday, recovering from a 2003 low as the market braced for additional Iranian exports after the lifting of sanctions against the country over the weekend. The United States and European Union on Saturday revoked sanctions that had cut Iran's oil exports by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) since their pre-sanctions 2011 peak to little more than 1 million bpd.
Nuclear Sanctions on Iran lifted
Iran emerged from years of economic isolation on Saturday when world powers lifted crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. In a dramatic move scheduled to coincide with the scrapping of the sanctions, Tehran also announced the release of five Americans including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian as part of a prisoner swap with the United States.
Statoil to Decide on Scottish Floating Wind Farm in September
Norway's oil and gas firm Statoil plans to take the final investment decision in September on building a floating wind farm off the coast of Scotland, set to be the first of its kind in the world, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday. Statoil, which has run a single floating offshore turbine for several years in Norway, is now planning to build five floating turbines, each with 6 megawatt capacity, off Aberdeen in an area where the water depth is around 100 metres.
