Statoil to Resume Sikorsky S-92 Helicopter Flights Gradually
Norway's Statoil said on Tuesday it expected to gradually resume flights of Sikorsky S-92 helicopters it uses to transport offshore workers, after all flights were stopped earlier in the day for safety checks. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, which manufactures the helicopters, issued a service notice on Tuesday, saying the tail rotor and bearing assemblies of the S-92 should be checked following an incident in Scotland last December. Sikorsky is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp. "We are starting to resume flights gradually this afternoon as helicopters are checked and put back in flight," Statoil's spokesman said.
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. "This means some delays in replacing people on the oil platforms, but production hasn't been affected," he added. The Norwegian state-controlled oil company stopped using Airbus' H225 Super Puma helicopters after a fatal crash off Norway last April…
Lockheed CEO: "No regrets" About Sikorsky Buy
Lockheed Martin Corp has "no regrets" about buying Sikorsky for $9 billion despite a drop in oil prices that has led to a bigger-than-expected decline Sikorsky's commercial helicopter sales, Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson said Tuesday. Hewson said buying the company was "absolutely a great opportunity" and Lockheed remained confident about its long-term prospects, despite the oil-related drop in commercial sales. She said she expected oil prices to recover over the longer term. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal)
Saudi Arabia Satisfied with Obama's Assurances on Iran Deal
Saudi Arabia is satisfied with assurances from U.S. President Barack Obama about the Iran nuclear deal and believes the agreement will contribute to security and stability in the Middle East, a senior Saudi official said on Friday. Saudi King Salman met with Obama at the White House on Friday to seek more support in countering Iran, as the Obama administration aimed to use the visit to shore up relations after a period of tensions. The visit is the king's first to the United States since ascending to the throne in January 2015, and comes after the United States agreed to a nuclear deal with Iran in July.
Lockheed Testing Nanotech Filters for U.S. Oil Industry Wastewater
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp is developing filters using nanotechnology to help solve a problem facing the booming U.S. oil and gas industry: 18 billion gallons of wastewater each year. Lockheed's patented Perforene is a one-atom thick membrane of graphene, made of pure carbon. The sheets can be produced with precisely sized holes as small as 1 nanometer, or a billionth of a meter, and the company's goal is to eventually use it for desalination. In the meantime, Lockheed is looking at other commercial applications, including the oil and gas industry and medical care…
U.S. to Cut Nuclear Launchers under Russia Treaty
The United States will scale back its nuclear bombers, submarine launchers and ballistic missiles in the first cuts to its leftover cold war nuclear arsenal since ratifying a landmark treaty with Russia in 2011, officials said on Tuesday. Under the treaty, known as New Start, the U.S. military will disable four missile launch tubes on each of the 14 U.S. nuclear submarines, convert 30 B-52 nuclear bombers to conventional use and empty 50 intercontinental ballistic missile silos, senior administration officials said. The Pentagon, however, will not retire a missile squadron as some lawmakers had expected.
