Kiewit: Equipment shortages increase costs of LNG plants
Tom Shelby, Kiewit Energy's President, said that the boom in U.S. LNG plant construction has caused shortages of electric motors, transformers and generators. This has contributed to increased costs and construction delays. Shelby noted that equipment shortages, rising costs of wages, cement and other materials have increased the cost to build new LNG plants between 25 and 30 percent over the past five years. Wages have also increased by 20 percent in line with inflationary costs. Kiewit is one of the largest U.S. contractors and has built LNG plants, including Venture Global's 12-million-ton-per-annum (MTPA), Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana.
COBRA Cable Readies for Action
The 700MW COBRAcable interconnector linking the Dutch and the Danish grid will be available for the electricity market as of delivery day, 7 September, Dutch high-voltage grid operator TenneT said."After three years of construction, including the laying of the submarine cables as well as the construction of two onshore converter stations, and a successful test phase earlier this year, COBRAcable will be available for the electricity market as of the delivery day of 7 September, which is exactly on schedule," it said.The first direct connection…
Kvaerner Wins Sverdrup Jacket Number Four
Norway's Equinor has awarded a NOK 900 million ($107 million) contract to local contractor Kvaerner for delivery of the steel substructure for the Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 process platform.The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) award will see Kvaerner deliver the fourth substructure for the Johan Sverdrup Field in the Norwegian North Sea, one of the world's largest ongoing offshore projects.The steel jacket substructure for the Phase 2 process platform will be delivered from Kvaerner's specialized facility in Verdal, Norway during spring 2021.
Semco Maritime Extends Maersk Innovator Cantilever
Maersk Drilling’s ultra-harsh environment jack-up Maersk Innovator is now heading for operation at the Buzzard field in the Central North Sea following a six-week yard stay at Invergordon, during which main contractor Semco Maritime has extended the cantilever alongside various other maintenance and updating projects.Semco Maritime’s main work scope was to extend the cantilever 5 meters in order to allow the rig a larger drilling envelope. The highly complex job involved fabricating and installing beams with flanges up to 100 mm and very high tensile 690 Z grade material requiring special weld procedures…
NorSea Opens New MGO Facility in Peterhead
NorSea Group UK (Ltd) has completed Phase I of its multi-million dollar investment at its Shore Base within Peterhead Port with the opening of a new custom-built Marine Gas Oil (MGO) facility on Smith Quay. Two MGO tanks, which hold a combined total of 3000 cu. m. of fuel, are now operational. This represents an expansion in the range of services currently provided directly to clients by NorSea Group at Peterhead as project support and supply vessels can now be fuelled directly at the quay. Walter Robertson, Managing Director of NorSea Group, said: “This investment delivers a much needed fuelling option for vessels supporting offshore activities.
Kenya: Major Wind Power Line to Be Ready in 3 Months
A power line linking a 310 megawatt (MW) wind power plant to Kenya's national grid, delayed by landowners' compensation demands among other issues, is expected to be ready in the next three months, the energy minister said on Thursday. Kenya relies heavily on geothermal and hydro power for its electricity, providing the bulk of the country's total 2,341 MW output. Wind power provides about 25 MW. The construction of the 266-mile (428-km), 400-kilovolt power line from the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, running from Loiyangalani in the north to Suswa in the centre, started in November 2015 and had been due to be completed by December.
Two Maersk Jack-up Rigs in for Reapir
Semco Maritime has welcomed the recent arrival of two Maersk Drilling high specification jack-up rigs to its Invergordon shipyard facility. Maersk Reacher will be berthed in the Queens Dock facility for an undisclosed duration, carrying out necessary upgrades and modifications, whilst the recently constructed Maersk Highlander, following arrival by heavy lift from Singapore, will be at quayside for a short time, carrying out various commissioning tasks prior to naming ceremony and thereafter, mobilization out to the CULZEAN development in the U.K. sector North Sea, on long term contract.
Fracture Stimulation of Tamarama-1 Well in Cooper Basin Begins
Sydney, 23 May 2016, Cooper Basin focused oil & gas company, Real Energy Corporation Limited commenced the five-stage fracture stimulation program of Tamarama - 1 well located in the Windorah Gas Project in ATP 927P, Cooper Basin, Queensland. During the weekend all necessary pressure tests of high pressure well-head and fracture stimulation equipment were successfully completed. The first stage of the five stage fracture stimulation program is expected to commence today. As previously reported, the main contractor Halliburton Australia will undertake operations to test the Toolachee and Patchawarra formations of Tamarama-1 below 2,300m.
Real Energy Update on Tamarama Well
Sydney, 11 March 2016, Cooper Basin focused oil & gas exploration company, Real Energy Corporation Limited stated that the Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test (DFIT) program in the Tamarama – 1 well, located in the Windorah Gas Project in ATP 927P, Cooper Basin, Queensland, has been completed. Interpretation of the DFIT data indicates the closure pressures and reservoir data for frac model are in line with expectations. The Company now expects to commence fracture stimulation program at Tamarama – 1 well, in mid April 2016 following advice from the main contractor Halliburton Australia that its Australian crew are yet to complete an existing job.
Work on Green Port Hull Alexandra Dock Underway
Construction work on the Green Port Hull Alexandra Dock site is progressing well and is on schedule for an early 2017 completion, Associated British Ports (ABP) has announced. The 54-acre site, which ABP and its main contractor GRAHAM Lagan Construction Group Joint Venture (JV) are preparing for Siemens’ offshore wind turbine manufacturing facility, is being transformed in Hull’s biggest engineering project since the port was built. The enabling works undertaken by ABP and their contractors are worth £150 million. The dock infill has now been completed, with one million cubic metres of sand pumped into the dock to fill one third of the water area.
Statoil Awards NCS Maintenance, Modifications Contracts
Statoil has awarded maintenance and modification agreements worth NOK 24 billion for the company’s installations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and for the onshore plants at Sture, Kollsnes, Kårstø and Melkøya. Competition agreements for more complex modification services have also been awarded. Maintenance and modifications are essential for safe and efficient operation of Statoil’s offshore and onshore installations. New compensation formats have been prepared to encourage continuous improvement and higher productivity. “These awards will strengthen the NCS competitiveness and stimulate long-term activity and value creation.
FLNG Birth of a Market
FLNG deal-making has been sporadic since Woodside Petroleum at the end of 2013 delayed a final investment decision for the giant Browse FLNG project off Northwest Australia. The previous year had seen go-aheads for most of the floating liquefied natural gas projects (FLNG) underway today, including Shell’s Prelude FLNG — Woodside’s choice, it seems, of a liquefaction solution for fields 200 kilometers offshore. Yet Prelude, “the first project out”, might not be first to produce. The speed to market and scalability of “rival” FLNG ideas offers options for the revenue-hungry and a new market for marine and offshore early movers.
Further Nyhamna Gas Plant Order for Kvaerner
AS Norske Shell has awarded Kvaerner a project to harmonize the power supply interaction between the Nyhamna gas plant and the national grid, under the current EPCm frame agreement. Planning and execution of the project will commence immediately. Kvaerner was the main contractor for the initial development of the Nyhamna onshore gas treatment facility, and was in April 2012 awarded an EPCm frame agreement for Nyhamna, which include the Nyhamna Expansion. In addition to the already ongoing work, Kvaerner will now also handle the installation of a reactive power mitigation and circuit breaker (SVS)…
Kværner: Edvard Grieg Topside Ready
The 22 000 tonnes topside for the new offshore platform for the Edvard Grieg field is ready for delivery, in line with the contract awarded three years ago. Hence, the project is in an exceptional case with respect to avoiding costly delays or quality challenges. Lundin Norway is the operator of the field and ordered the topside as a complete EPC delivery from Kvaerner in 2012. In addition to delivering the topside as agreed, the project also had a high share of work performed in Norway. The Norwegian value creation from both Kvaerner and subcontractors totals around 70 percent of the delivery.
Quay Contract Awarded at Lerwick Port
Plans for significant further expansion of Lerwick Harbour’s extensive deep-water facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry have advanced with the award of a major contract to extend the quay at Dales Voe South to support subsea developments and decommissioning. Lerwick Port Authority has commissioned the Scottish business unit of civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall as main contractor for an £11.95 million investment to lengthen the quay to 130 metres. Part of the Dutch construction group Royal BAM, BAM Nuttall specialises in complex marine construction, with a strong track record working around Scotland and on the Western and Northern Isles.
SUGAR’ EU Project - New Environmental Monitoring Solution
Kongsberg Maritime Embient, with Kongsberg partner company Contros Systems and Solutions, has been selected to develop and deliver technologies and strategies for environmental monitoring during Gas Hydrate exploration and production as part of the EU ‘SUGAR’ (Submarine Gas Hydrate Reservoirs) project. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology started the third phase of the more than $12.59 million joint project SUGAR at the beginning of October 2014. The initiative's third phase will last three years and will lead into a European venture with world-wide impact for Gas Hydrates as a new energy source.
Skangass Builds LNG Terminal in Pori, Finland
With investment support from the Finnish Government of 185 million NOK Skangass has decided to build a new import terminal for LNG. The terminal will be completed in 2016. Skangass plans to create an efficient LNG logistics chain in the Pori area. When the terminal is ready in Autumn 2016 it will have a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters. Skangass has already selected the main contractor and suppliers for the project. ”The investment decision will result in speedy progress in the construction project. It is highly important that the Pori terminal is completed on schedule and that we can launch deliveries to our existing and new customers.
Imtech Equips HelWin bèta with HVAC System
On June 14, the HelWin bèta platform left on a barge from the Heerema Fabrication Group's (HFG) yard in Zwijndrecht for Schiedam to complete outstanding work. Last week, HelWin bèta reached its final destination in the German North Sea, where the platform will supply more than half a million households with sustainable energy. That requires high-tech systems. Imtech Marine is responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of the HVAC system, being the heating, ventilation and especially the cooling of all high-quality equipment on the platform.
Subsea Pipeline Pressure Intervention Averts Major Disruprtion
Pipeline Re-routed Without Interrupting Production Offshore Jakarta. T.D. Williamson, Inc. (TDW) announced that as a result of a complex subsea pipeline pressure intervention carried out in record time offshore Indonesia, it helped to prevent a major gas supply interruption for millions of residents and businesses in Jakarta. The operation made company history as the largest subsea pipeline pressure intervention that TDW has ever executed. The challenging hot tap and STOPPLE plugging operation was carried out for main contractor Timas Suplindo in cooperation with Offshore Construction Specialists on behalf of Pertamina EP…
