The company's Gulf of Mexico assets.

(Courtesy Murphy Oil Corp.)

Offshore staff

EL DORADO, Arkansas Murphy Oil Corp. has revised its 2020 budget to a midpoint of $740 million, the company revealed in its latest results statement.

The company has reduced its capital allocation to about $335 million for its offshore assets, with 94% planned for the Gulf of Mexico and the remaining 6% for offshore Canada.

Revisions from the original plan include adjusting the three-well rig program at Front Runner to two wells with the third well deferred to a later date, no longer drilling or completing certain operated wells and non-operated projects, and shifting timing of other plans. Expenditures for the St. Malo waterflood and the Khaleesi / Mormont and Samurai projects are still planned for 2020. Canada offshore spending remains budgeted for development drilling.

It has adjusted its 2020 exploration plans to a one-well non-operated program, deferring the two exploration wells offshore Mexico to 2021.

In 1Q, the A4 well in Green Canyon block 338 in the Gulf of Mexico came online. The company is evaluating near-field exploitation opportunities, as it encountered more than 250 ft (76 m) of net pay in the well. The well, the first in the Front Runner rig program, has outperformed expectations with a gross peak rate of about 7,000 boe/d.

The company also completed the subsea equipment repair at the Neidermeyer field in Mississippi Canyon block 209.

Construction of the Kings Quay FPS continues to progress, the company said. Transaction documentation with ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC and other parties is moving forward, and it expects to close the transaction in 2Q 2020.

In 2Q, EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC is expected to spud the Mt. Ouray well in Green Canyon block 767. Murphy holds 20%.

The company is also closing its corporate headquarters in El Dorado, Arkansas and office in Calgary, Alberta. It is relocating its corporate headquarters to Houston.

05/08/2020

See more here:

Murphy Oil defers two exploration wells offshore Mexico to 2021 - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

Late to the party France is set to leapfrog other European offshore wind nations as it hits 7.4GW in operation by 2030, said analysts at Rystad Energy.

That would make France whose plans include a major push into floating wind Europes number-four offshore wind market, Rystad said.

The Norwegian analyst group said French offshore wind is now moving ahead at full steam despite any potential cost and supply chain issues resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 7.4GW estimate would surpass the 2030 targets for other well-established European offshore wind countries such as Belgium and Denmark, which have 4GW and 5.3GW goals respectively.

It would place France behind only the UK, which is aiming to have 40GW of offshore wind capacity, Germany (15GW-20GW), and the Netherlands (11.5GW).

Rystad said France is expected to retain its position well into the 2030s with an additional 5GW of capacity lined up for planned tender rounds between 2024 to 2028.

Regulatory delays mean Frances first 1GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind farms are only now gearing up for construction, despite being awarded in tenders held as long ago as 2012.

Although France has been quite late to the party compared to several of its western European counterparties, recent developments suggest the country is now picking up the pace. Frances target for operational capacity is 2.4GW in 2023, a target expected to be reached through the completion of already awarded projects, said Alexander Fltre, Rystads vice president and product manager of offshore wind.

The first part of the plan will be kicked off this year with a tender for 1GW of bottom-fixed capacity in the French parts of the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, covering a development area called Manche Est Mer du Nord.

In 2021 to 2022 another 0.5GW to 1GW of bottom-fixed capacity will be put up for tender off southwest France, in an area named Sud-Atlantique. A part of this southern Atlantic tender may cover the already proposed 0.5GW to 1GW offshore wind project outside le dOlron, an island in the Poitou-Charentes region.

The French government also plans to organise three separate floating wind tenders in 2021-2022, each with a capacity of 250 MW. The first, in 2021, will be in the southern waters off Brittany (Bretagne Sud), while the other two in 2022 are planned for areas in the Mediterranean.

Another 1GW of bottom-fixed offshore wind will be tendered in 2023, at a location which has yet-to-be-determined.

From 2024 to 2028 the French government plans to award 1GW of capacity per year, which can be bottom-fixed, floating, or a mix of both. The amount of floating capacity to be awarded will depend on its cost competitiveness compared to the more established bottom-fixed alternative.

The French wind association FEE said last month that while the overall offshore wind target doesnt live up to Frances massive potential, that the governments plan puts the country in a global leadership position when it comes to the development of floating wind.

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'Late to the party' France finally set to join offshore wind big-league: Rystad - Recharge

Form Energy, a company developing ultra-low-cost, long-duration energy storage for the grid, signed a contract with Minnesota-based utility Great River Energy to jointly deploy a 1MW / 150MWh pilot project to be located in Cambridge, Minnesota. Great River Energy is Minnesota's second-largest electric utility and the fifth largest generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S.

This system will be the first commercial deployment of Form Energy's proprietary long-duration energy storage system. Form Energy's aqueous air battery system leverages some of the safest, cheapest, most abundant materials on the planet and offers a clear path to low-cost, long-duration energy storage.

The project with Great River Energy will be a 1-MW, grid-connected storage system capable of delivering its rated power continuously for 150 hours, longer than the two to four hour usage period common among lithium-ion batteries being deployed at utility-scale today. This duration allows for a fundamentally new reliability function to be provided to the grid from storage, one historically only available from thermal generation resources.

Leading up to the decision to deploy the pilot project, Form Energy conducted a portfolio optimization study of Great River Energy's system characteristics with Formware, a proprietary software analytics platform design to help energy planners model future grids. Formware was purpose-built to model high penetration renewables at the system level and determine how all types of storage enable cost-effective renewable energy integration. The tool helps planners reduce exposure to extreme weather events and minimize uncertainty around commodity prices under a variety of future grid scenarios. "To understand how best to make the energy transition, new analytical tools are needed, and Formware allowed us to work with GRE to systematically and thoroughly understand the value that our assets can bring to their system," said Marco Ferrara, SVP Analytics and Business Development for Form Energy.

"Great River Energy is excited to partner with Form Energy on this important project. The electrical grid is increasingly supplied by renewable sources of energy. Commercially viable long-duration storage could increase reliability by ensuring that the power generated by renewable energy is available at all hours to serve our membership. Such storage could be particularly important during extreme weather conditions that last several days. Long-duration storage also provides an excellent hedge against volatile energy prices," said Great River Energy Vice President and Chief Power Supply Officer Jon Brekke.

"Our vision at Form Energy is to unlock the power of renewable energy to transform the grid with our proprietary long-duration storage. This project represents a bold step toward proving that vision of an affordable, renewable future is possible without sacrificing reliability," noted Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy.

"We are thrilled to have Great River Energy as the first strategic utility partner to deploy Form's first bi-directional power plant. Their forward-leaning and innovative approach to their grid transition makes them a perfect partner," said Ted Wiley, President of Form Energy.

Great River Energy announced plans to transition its portfolio of power supply resources in the coming years. The electric cooperative plans to phase out its remaining coal resources, add significant renewable energy, and partner with Form Energy on its grid-scale battery technology.

"Long duration energy storage solutions will play an entirely different role in a clean electricity system than the conventional battery storage systems being deployed at scale today. Lithium-ion batteries are well suited to fast bursts of energy production, but they run out of energy after just a few hours. A true low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that can sustain output for days, would fill gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil-fueled power plant. A technology like that could make a reliable, affordable 100% renewable electricity system a real possibility," said Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University who studies low-carbon energy systems engineering.

Founded in 2017, Form Energy has raised over $50 million in funding. The company is backed by investors Eni Next LLC, MIT's The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group and Macquarie Capital.

Originally posted here:

Dominion Energy remains on schedule to build largest offshore wind project in United States - Transmission & Distribution World

Withassets installed far from shore in harsh conditions, offshore wind turbine manufacturers and project operators areturning to new digital tools to optimize performance, boost power productionand minimize downtime. One such tool is the use of digital copies, or twins, of physical turbines to assist with real-time monitoring of offshore wind projects.

The California Energy Commissions Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC), a ratepayer-funded energy innovation research and development program, recently awarded a $2 million grant toNorwegian engineering company Aker Solutions and Cognite, an Oslo-based industrial software company, to develop a digital twin model of the physical floating offshore wind turbines that could be deployed along Californias coastline by the mid-2020s.

Aker Solutions hasworked on digital twinsfor many industries power, utilities, shipping, oil and gas, and manufacturing but the new research project is its first for floating offshore wind turbines, Hans Petter vrevik, head of offshore wind projects and business development for the U.S., said in an interview.

The $2 million grant was awarded under an EPIC program intended to advance next-generation wind energy technologies and accelerate the maturation of the Golden States promising but embryonicoffshore wind market.

Aker Solutions and Cognites NextWind Real Time Condition Monitoring platform will take representational data from typical equipment that would be used in a floating offshore wind farm to develop a blueprint for a real-world project. The aim is to generate data and insights that enableimprovements in power production, operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, and environmental performance throughout the operational life of a project.

The real-world project cited as a potential case study by vrevik is the 100- to 150-megawatt floating offshore wind farm proposed by the Redwood Coast Energy Authority and a consortium of private companies, including Aker Solutions, for waters located more than 20 miles off the coast of the city of Eureka in Northern California.

Shashi Barla, principal analyst for the global wind supply chain and technology at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, noted that one of the consortium partnersfor the Redwood Coast Offshore Wind project is EDP Renewables one of the world's largest wind asset owners/developers. That "implies some serious interest in the technology," Barla said.

GE Renewable Energy claims to have developed the first digital wind farm in 2015 and is adding digital twin functionality to the companys Predix software platform. GE is building an app using digital twin technology that will allow engineers to make better decisions about when to run its offshore turbines at full power out at sea.

Prior to construction, digital twins allowplanners to do modeling to analyze and predict O&M costs for a project. But, according to vrevik, the real value outtake of this, in terms of reduced O&M costs, will come when you actually put your projects in the water, and you basically start to collect the data and process it.

At that point, operators will be able to use the digital twin to compare the idealized, engineered condition of the equipment to the actual condition of the real-world project. Real-time monitoring through sensors embedded in the equipment should help wind farm owners avoid costlyunplanned maintenance or repairs.

"You can constantly adjust and optimize how you operate and how you maintain the asset,"vrevik told GTM.

Work on the EPIC-backed digital twin research project is expected to begin in May or June this year, with completion set for early 2023.

vrevik saidAker Solutions and its partners see the Redwood Coast Offshore Wind Project as an ideal first offshore wind project for California, both in terms of size and the fact that it's in an area where there [are few]conflicts and there's a strong wish to see it happen from the local community.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management may hold an auction for offshore wind lease areas in California by the end of 2020.

While not a new concept, digital twins are playing a growing role in the wind industry,WoodMac's Barla said.

Leading turbine [manufacturers]already have digital twins of their installed fleet that will help optimize the turbine performance and lower the O&M costs over the life of the asset, predominantly on the predictive maintenance of the components, he wrote in an email.

The digital models help in determining the impact on the physical turbines. The virtual sensors enable monitoring of the health of the turbines like temperature check, vibrationsand any aberration in parameters compared to normal performance."

Go here to see the original:

Using Digital Twins to Boost Production, Cut Costs at Floating Offshore Wind Farms - Greentech Media News

]]> Rigs are quieter than ever in an effort to prevent transmission. Credit: Equinor.

Across the world, offshore operators have cut workforces partly to reduce costs but also to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

In the confined spaces of offshore operations, contagious diseases can spread quickly. Most, if not all, operators have reduced offshore occupancy, staggered shifts, and started screening workers for coronavirus before they fly out. Despite this, infections do happen, and in March, several rigs in the North Sea had to perform emergency medical evacuations of workers with coronavirus symptoms.

On Thursday, 11 workers were flown from the Rowan Gorilla VI mobile drilling unit after a suspected outbreak on board.

In the UK, the rollout of widespread testing is making slow progress. Initially, some operators including BP paid for coronavirus testing to be done privately before workers went offshore. However, workers criticised the company for sending them offshore before test results came back.

Testing is starting to become available through the government, and offshore workers are among those prioritised for being offered tests.

The UKs oil and gas trade body OGUK has seen a fall in the number of workers returning from offshore with symptoms. In the week beginning 3 March, the number of possible infected returning stood at 19. In the week starting 4 May, this was down to eight.

The Gulf of Mexico has also seen multiple infections. On 8 April, the US Coast Guard said more than 26 workers had tested positive for Covid-19 across seven platforms. However, the countrys National Ocean Industries Association has said being offshore could be safer than being among the public.

In the Middle East, Saudi Aramco has launched an awareness campaign for all staff. Through its healthcare joint venture, it has provided workers with access to information on how to prevent transmission and how to seek help in the relevant countries. It has also created a mental health toolkit for workers in isolation.

However, the company faced criticism during the early stages of the global spread for tasking an employee to dress up as a human hand-sanitiser dispenser. A photo of this was widely shared and condemned, and the company condemned the practice as abusive and immediately stopped it.

Aramco is screening all employees and contractors at every facility to detect the fever associated with Covid-19. At its plant in Riyadh, it has implemented safe distancing guidelines for all 4,000 truck drivers coming through the facility.

In South America, ExxonMobil recently confirmed it is making workers undergo a 14-day coronavirus observation period before travelling offshore. The company has set up a health facility in Stabroek, Guyana to monitor workers.

In Africa, some governments have tightly controlled offshore travel, requiring workers to obtain a permit before travelling.

Offshore New Zealand, OMV has asked workers to remain offshore for a month at a time. On the Maui A platform, 10 workers continue operations where 65 previously worked. The Maui B platform remains unmanned.

However, safety measures rely on enforcement and resources.

Online, rig workers share stories of the realities of working through the coronavirus pandemic. In posts to a Facebook group, rig workers have posted pictures of work flights with no distancing and shared stories of inadequate testing. One said their rotation was not fully tested, and they were sent offshore before results came back. When results showed one of the crew was infected, the infected individual was returned onshore. However, the rest of the crew were told to keep working.

Earlier, another said: Im grateful to be working in these mad times, but it is scary and astounding how these rigs in dock are still acting like nothing is happening. Feels inevitable that someone here will catch Covid-19.

Others have shared their distress with the new normal. One said they were not happy as they were no longer allowed to serve their own portions in the canteen: They dont give half of what I normally get. I hope I dont lose any weight on this trip.

See the original post:

How offshore workflows have changed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 - Offshore Technology

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As part of our recent trust companies survey, we asked the participating trust companies what risk and compliance issues pose the greatest challenges to their business.

Reputational risk as a business challenge

As we reported in our previous publication on the results of the survey, the respondents identified beneficiary disputes as the least pressing issue. Reputational risk for clients being associated with structures or offshore jurisdictions was identified as the second least challenging issue (out of a list of seven), behind other matters such as (listed in alphabetical order, so as to continue not to give anything away) Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Cybersecurity, Data protection, Regulatory compliance and Tax compliance.

Although it is impossible to identify a single explanation for this result, the following observations may go some way in explaining why trust companies identified the reputational risk for client being associated with offshore structures as a relatively low priority issue:

The English High Court commented in a decision in April 2020: The use of complex offshore corporate structures or trusts is not, without more, a ground for believing that they have been set up, or are being used, for wrongful purposes, such as money laundering. There are lawful reasons privacy, security, tax mitigation why very wealthy people invest their capital in complex offshore corporate structures or trusts.

Future changes

In recent years, the OECD and a number of jurisdictions have become particularly focused on increasing transparency of offshore investing, and are in the process of introducing more laws that may significantly increase regulatory scrutiny. These often include new reporting regimes and registers that record the names of ultimate beneficial owners, which may have a significant effect on potential reputational risks if anonymity is a major concern.

Enhanced transparency regimes and increasing disclosures of offshore holdings might have the effect of pushing reputational risk further up the risk scale for trust companies in future years, in jurisdictions where offshore investments are perceived negatively.

However, it is perhaps more likely that increasing transparency will demystify the offshore world, thereby having quite the opposite effect. Trustees report that the majority of their clients (and particularly the next generation) are accepting of transparency and information exchange as features of the modern world and, increasingly, clients wish to align themselves with jurisdictions that have internationally recognised regulatory frameworks, sophisticated court systems and advisory networks as well as reputable fiduciary and corporate service providers.

This is the flight to quality that Lydia Essa reports to be more noticeable now than ever. Clients are, in her experience, generally attracted to those offshore jurisdictions which have a global reputation for quality, security, and meet international standards on transparency, and information exchange, even if that comes at a slightly higher cost. Whether these enhanced regimes will assist in reshaping public opinion in time and reducing (or perhaps even eliminating) the reputational risk of an association with the offshore world is yet to be seen but early signs are that certain jurisdictions may be well placed to thrive in these conditions, whilst others may well find the going a lot tougher. Only time will tell.

View original post here:

Trust Survey - reputational risk for clients being associated with structures in offshore jurisdictions - Lexology

Star of the SouthWind Farm has partnered with Curtin University and Deakin University to assist with offshore site investigations for Australias first offshore wind project.

Curtin Universitys Centre for Marine Science and Technology is helping understand marine mammals in the project area, while Deakin University is supporting the seabird, seabed biodiversity and fish surveys.

Both universities are working with RPS Australia Asia Pacific to collect data to inform the environmental assessments and the projects design.

DHI has also joined the project by providing a 40-year hindcast of waves and currents that serves as input for moving further with the design phase.

Star of the South, a joint development by AustraliasOffshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP),could comprise up to 250 turbines with a combined capacity of up to 2 GW.

Seabed investigations, marine wildlife and birdsurveysbegan in March at the project site off the south coast of Victoria.

Excerpt from:

Australia's First Offshore Wind Project Expands Survey Team - Offshore WIND

The US is emerging from the immediate Covid-19 crisis of the past two months, yet it is still unclear what the new normal will be given the patchwork of local and state responses. One thing is clear, however: states will drive the reopening of the American economy just as they drive energy policy.

During the current stabilisation phase all businesses, not least the offshore wind sector, are figuring out how to operate. There are still a lot of unknowns. We must answer questions such as: H ow do you keep workers safe? Do you shift most of the workforce to telework? How do you work across multiple states with different requirements? States regional alliances are helpful, but it wont be seamless.

In the midst of so much uncertainty, it is especially heartening to see much of the offshore wind site assessment, planning and permitting work progressing via remote working.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project monopiles, towers, nacelles and blades are on vessels and on-schedule for installation. Dominion Energy says survey work is underway on the 2.6GW megaproject ensuring their federal construction operations plan (COP) submission remains on track.

Connecticut reports New Londons offshore wind port construction is moving forward. States are reaffirming their clean energy policy goals, providing offshore wind with reassurance and stability. During the crisis, Virginia increased their commitment to offshore wind and New Yorks Public Utility Commission authorised the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to issue the states second solicitation, though this faces hurdles to proceed.

Yet the industry has not escaped Covid-19 unscathed. Orsted announced delays to project delivery times to almost 3GW of new developments off the Northeast US, and Equinor has said the virus has delayed key data collection activities using survey vessels working on its 816MW Empire State wind farm.

Despite these setbacks, the industry is still on track to deliver 4.5GW by 2025 and end to the decade with at least 10GW of offshore wind power installed. And we must maintain momentum.

As an industry, we must accept the new normal and adjust 2020-2021 expectations. We also need to recognise the opportunity emerging from the crisis. As EnBW North America CEO Bill White said in his presentation at the recent Virtual IPF 2020 recently, offshore wind is poised to be a big part of the economic recovery solution.

For this to happen, we need to ensure the Bureau Ocean Energy Management has resources to review and approve the seven COPs that have been submitted and several more that are anticipated.

We need to focus on port construction, which are the first sectors to re-open in the US, and a direct stimulus for Americans getting them back to work quickly.

We must recognise states and localities are under tremendous cost-cutting pressure. We need to make it easier for them to maintain their support of clean energy commitments by driving down costs. Delivering on commitments solidifies bipartisan support.

We should continue to connect with one another. There are ways to do this, we just must be open to embracing technologies. You know, learn what the young kids are doing. We need to embrace online learning to help companies figure out where they can enter the supply chain and help the oil & gas industry diversify.

Finally, industry must think big and use our voice to offer bold stimulus programs to policymakers: port construction programs, job training, US vessel and manufacturing initiatives, floating wind and hydrogen demonstrations, robust R&D initiatives, and upgrading and developing comprehensive solutions to grid infrastructure bottlenecks.

In a recent report, the International Energy Agency stated plainly : Governments should include clean energy at the heart of economic stimulus packages to ensure a green recovery. We could not agree more. Now is the not the time to turn our back to the wind but instead turn into the opportunity for lift-off.

Liz Burdock is the CEO of the US Business Network for Offshore Wind

The rest is here:

'It is heartening to see such progress in US offshore wind but we must maintain momentum' | Recharge - Recharge

Adding offshore wind to Hong Kongs energy mix is currently hindered by technical and financial issues, according to the latest information from official sources in Hong Kong.

Namely, a representative in the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Kenneth Leung, filed a question regarding the governments offshore wind plans on 6 May.

Leung asked whether the government would re-assess the feasibility and economic case for developing offshore wind projects, given the falling costs for this renewable energy technology. Some research findings indicate that the costs for electricity generated by offshore wind farms have fallen by 60 per cent over the last decade, Leung said.

The Secretary for the Environment, Wong Kam-sing, stated that technical and financial issues needed to be resolved, and the government needed to consider the tariff impact, before exploiting the potential of offshore wind power in Hong Kong.

According to Kam-sing, two power companies have carried out assessment and pinpointed two sites offshore Hong Kong that are suitable for developing wind farms on a commercial scale. The sites are located in the sea near Ninepin Group and the waters near Lamma Island.

In 2013, the Hong Kong government proposed to allow the Hongkong Electric Company to carry out offshore ground investigation works about 3.5 kilometres southwest of Lamma Island, as part of an offshore wind feasibility study at the site.

The power companies have also been conducting wind measurements at these locations, according to the the latest information.

The combined cost of the two projects would be over HK$ 10 billion and their total capacity is about 300 MW, Hong Kongs secretary for the environment said.

The amount of electricity provided is estimated to be less than 1.5 per cent of Hong Kongs total electricity consumption. The cost is relatively higher than using natural gas for electricity generation, Kim-sing stated.

The development of offshore wind farms within Hong Kong faces uncertainties in various aspects.Nonetheless, we will continue to keep in view the development in this area, and actively explore its feasibility and cost effectiveness, Wong Kim-sing said.

View original post here:

Hong Kong: Costs and Technical Issues Weigh Against Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND

Eurogrid GmbH, the parent company of 50Hertz, has issued its debut green bond in the amount of EUR 750 million, which will finance the Ostwind 1 and 2 grid connections in Germany.

The corporate bond with a term of 12 years and an interest rate of 1.113% was issued on the regulated market with the support of BNP Paribas, Rabobank and UniCredit Bank.

The subscribers come from European countries, including Germany, Great Britain, France, the Benelux countries and Scandinavia.

With the first Green Bond in our companys history, we are securing part of the necessary investments in the grid infrastructure over the next few years, said Marco Nix, Chief Financial Officer of 50Hertz.

In view of the difficult economic environment caused by the Corona pandemic, the financial markets with their great interest in our company show that they have a high level of confidence in our sustainability strategy and investment plans. The transaction is an important cornerstone in driving forward the expansion of our grid and thus the energy transition.

The operational Ostwind 1 connects the Wikinger and Arkona offshore wind farms via two offshore platforms with the Lubmin substation in the Bay of Greifswald.

Ostwind 2 is set to connect the Arcadis Ost 1 and Baltic Eagle offshore wind farms to the German high voltage grid.

50Hertz plans to jointly build two further offshore platforms together with the wind farm operators and three 220 kV AC submarine cable systems.

Read the original post:

Eurogrid's Debut Green Bond to Finance German Offshore Wind Connections - Offshore WIND

The government has said that travel to the offshore islands for visitors wont resume until August 10, when the country enters the final phase of coming out of lockdown.

No tourist travel has been allowed to the Aran Islands since the end of March, when Island Ferries said they would only be taking essential and emergency services to the islands from the mainland.

Earlier that month residents of Inis Mr had appealed to tourists to stay away, with 94% voting in favour of limiting travel when asked by Comharchumann Forbartha rann Teo.

Ireland will enter the first phase of lifting lockdown restrictions imposed for the Covid-19 crisis on May 18.

But island travel is not expected to resume until Phase 5, which will get underway on August 10.

The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said today that, save for permanent residents and people carrying out essential services, there should be no travel to them from the mainland until that point.

The Department is keenly aware of the concerns among the island communities regarding visitors to islands, particularly in these summer months.

In accordance with phase 5 of the recently published roadmap issued by the Government for the reopening of Irelands economy and society, it is not envisaged that Irelands offshore islands will be opened for visitors until 10 August.

It is recognised that we are all in an unprecedented period, which creates challenges for us all.

That said, these challenges will be best overcome if we work in partnership for the benefit of the communities we serve.

Read the original post:

No visiting the offshore islands until mid August - Galway Daily

Research report on Offshore Containers Market size | Industry Segment by Applications, by Type, Regional Outlook, Market Demand, Latest Trends, Offshore Containers Industry Share & Revenue by Manufacturers, Company Profiles, Growth Forecasts 2025. Analyzes current market size and upcoming 5 years growth of this industry.

Report Covers Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, CAGR, Trends, Forecast And Business Opportunity.

Download Premium Sample Copy Of This Report: https://brandessenceresearch.biz/Request/Sample?ResearchPostId=66&RequestType=Sample

Global Offshore Containers Market to reach USD XX million by 2025.

Global Offshore Containers Market valued approximately USD 255 million in 2017 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 5.53% over the forecast period 2018-2025. The Offshore Containers Market is continuously growing across the world over the coming years. The major driving factor of global Offshore Containers market are growth in transportation of goods via seaways and rise in adoption by oil and gas industries. The major restraining factor of global offshore containers market are slower economic growth in countries such as china and other European countries and variations in prices of steel. Offshore containers are made for repeated use in the offshore industry to transport equipment and supplies and be handle in open seas to and from fixed and floating installation and ships. The major benefit of offshore container such as it is safe and secure to deliver goods, it must protect goods from disasters and it encourage services related to installation of ships & facilitate automated deployment and many more.The regional analysis of Global Offshore Containers Market is considered for the key regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the World. Asia-Pacific is the leading/significant region across the world in terms of market share owing to high demand for Offshore Containers. Europe also contributes a satisfactory growth in the global offshore container market. North America is also anticipated to exhibit higher growth rate / CAGR over the forecast period 2018-2025. The major market player included in this report are:TLS Offshore ContainerHoover FergusonSuretankOEG OffshoreCARU ContainersCIMCModexSINGAMASBSL Containers AlmarThe objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players. The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:

By Type:

oClosed ContainersoHalf Height ContainersoOpen Top ContainersoBasketoWaste Skip

By Application:

oEquipment TransportoGood TransportoPipelineoWaste

By Regions:oNorth AmericaoU.S.oCanadaoEuropeoUKoGermanyoAsia PacificoChinaoIndiaoJapanoLatin AmericaoBraziloMexicooRest of the World

Furthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year 2015, 2016Base year 2017Forecast period 2018 to 2025

Target Audience of the Global Offshore Containers Market in Market Study:

oKey Consulting Companies & AdvisorsoLarge, medium-sized, and small enterprisesoVenture capitalistsoValue-Added Resellers (VARs)oThird-party knowledge providersoInvestment bankersoInvestors

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Table of Content:

Market Overview:The report begins with this section where product overview and highlights of product and application segments of the Global Offshore Containers Market are provided. Highlights of the segmentation study include price, revenue, sales, sales growth rate, and market share by product.

Competition by Company:Here, the competition in the Worldwide Global Offshore Containers Market is analyzed, By price, revenue, sales, and market share by company, market rate, competitive situations Landscape, and latest trends, merger, expansion, acquisition, and market shares of top companies.

Company Profiles and Sales Data:As the name suggests, this section gives the sales data of key players of the Global Offshore Containers Market as well as some useful information on their business. It talks about the gross margin, price, revenue, products, and their specifications, type, applications, competitors, manufacturing base, and the main business of key players operating in the Global Offshore Containers Market.

Market Status and Outlook by Region:In this section, the report discusses about gross margin, sales, revenue, production, market share, CAGR, and market size by region. Here, the Global Offshore Containers Market is deeply analyzed on the basis of regions and countries such as North America, Europe, China, India, Japan, and the MEA.

Application or End User:This section of the research study shows how different end-user/application segments contribute to the Global Offshore Containers Market.

Market Forecast:Here, the report offers a complete forecast of the Global Offshore Containers Market by product, application, and region. It also offers global sales and revenue forecast for all years of the forecast period.

Research Findings and Conclusion:This is one of the last sections of the report where the findings of the analysts and the conclusion of the research study are provided.

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COVID-19 pandemic Offshore Containers Market to Witness Astonishing Growth by 2026 - Cole of Duty

ExxonMobil won the prize. The greatest offshore oil discovery in recent decades was secured by the worlds largest exploration and production company in May 2015. The windfall for the oil giant is also a fortune for the people of Guyana, a former Dutch and British colony at the north-eastern tip of South America. The tiny countrys neighbor is Venezuela, itself rich in oil reserves, so there is no surprise Guyana shares the same luxury.

Disputed Waters

In December 2016, the Venezuelan Navy intercepted an exploration vessel conducting seismic survey work on behalf of ExxonMobil. The Venezuelan government insisted that the ship was within its territory and had every right to approach the vessel during a routine patrol. The Norwegian-owned vessel with 70 crew members from various nations stopped the exploration and headed back to safety. Guyana officials insisted that the vessel was operating in its economic zone and Venezuela was violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its country.

The offshore spat goes back to a longstanding land dispute. In 1899, Venezuela agreed to relinquish control of the Essequibo region, a dense jungle area that is sparsely populated. The dispute increased over the years when ExxonMobil announced the oil discovery, which was a windfall for Guyana with no significant history of oil production. Suriname also claimed a section of Guyanas territorial sea that was settled in 2007.

Significant Discovery

Guyana always had the potential to strike oil; however, for decades, explorers drilled dry holes. The financial risks involved in offshore exploration are tremendous. Royal Dutch Shell pulled out of the partnership during the 2014 oil price crash. It has been a long road for ExxonMobil, first signing a production sharing agreement with Guyana in 1999. With previous unsuccessful exploration attempts by competing oil producers, territorial disputes, and the oil price crash, ExxonMobil persevered, discovering an estimated four billion barrels of oil in the Stabroek block, 125 miles off the Guyana shore. Shell, Total, and other major oil producers have completed oil discoveries off the coast and drilled a number of wells, but nothing even close to this magnitude.

In a partnership with Hess, with 30 percent interest, CNOOC, also 30 percent interest, and ExxonMobil, with 45 percent interest, the oil giant drilled its first well, Liza, followed by several more wells. The subsequent well discoveries increased reserves to eight billion barrels of oil equivalent in the 6.6-million-acre block. The Liza 1 development is expected to start this year and produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day using a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO). Liza Phase 2 has been approved for development by the Guyanese government and is expected to start in mid-2022, also using an FPSO to produce 220,000 barrels per day of oil. There are numerous drill ships in the block studying the basin with a possible third development, Payara, coming online in 2023.

Guyana exported its first crude cargo earlier this year headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast for refining in the ExxonMobil network. The Yannis P vessel loaded light sweet crude from the offshore FPSO, marking the countrys long-awaited debut as an oil exporter. Shell is also back in the partnership. Guyana awarded the company the right to cargo three vessels of crude and the government plans to open bidding for a marketing agent to trade and export its share of production.

Prosperity

Will Guyana be ready to manage the historic windfall it now has in its lap? Many still ponder at the thought. Some think they will end up mired in corruption like oil producing nations in Africa, such as Angola, and even Guyanas neighbor Venezuela. Guyana really is a country at risk, said David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies.

Yet others think Guyana has the opportunity to prove that, as a developing nation, it will be able to manage and prosper with its newfound national treasure. Guyana is going to need a small, tight team of people making decisions in a timely way; theyre not there yet, Goldwyn said. The Guyanese government has slowly implemented measures, such as forming the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) to stamp out corruption and watch over the countrys prized offshore leases.

There are now several companies from around the world with wide-eyed interest in exploring for oil in offshore Guyana with hopes of the next big discovery. Guyana has approved several offshore leases and now that interest is high, officials in government have signaled Guyana did not get the best tax and royalty rates in the lease deal with ExxonMobil and subsequent oil companies.

Guyana will take 60 percent of the oil profit and is estimated to receive $5 billion in oil revenue per year by 2025. The government in the small developing nation of 778,000 citizens set up a sovereign wealth fund to manage the incoming revenue, but has not identified plans on how to spend it. Goldwyn mentioned, Today, they have the per capita income of Tonga, but by 2024, theyll have the per capita income of Brazil, a country whose population dwarfs Guyanas by over 200 million people. Goldwyn notes, if the right team is in place, Guyana will be successful and emphasized, If not, and I hope this is not the case, in ten years well be talking about how hard it is for countries with resource wealth to turn that into real prosperity.

Guyana potentially becoming the regions richest petrostate has a lot at stake. The countrys department of energy has an annual budget of $2 million, very modest compared to its neighbor. Goldwyn states that job number one is a fiscal rule that must be in play where a certain amount of money will go into the budget and the rest into a fund. Guyana will receive $300 million the first year and $100 million will go to the budget and $200 million into the sovereign wealth fund. Accountability is job two and anti-corruption is job three, Goldwyn says. If managed correctly, the oil bonanza could transform Guyana into a new global player in fossil fuel production for decades to come.

Excerpt from:

The Great Offshore Oil and Gas Discovery in Guyana - OILMAN Magazine

Victorias energy minister has called on the federal Coalition government to put aside any ideological opposition to wind energy and get on with creating a legislative framework to support the development of offshore wind farms in Australia.

In comments during the online Situmulus Summit on Wednesday, co-hosted by the Smart Energy Council and RenewEconomy, Lily DAmbrosio said offshore wind had the potential to supply an almost constant source of renewable energy to Australias grids, and was a particularly promising resource for Victoria.

DAmbrosio said that the state currently had a number of proponents that were very keen on investing in offshore wind energy projects, but faced uncertainty in dealing with the federal government, which has regulatory control over any projects more than 3 kilometres from shore.

The minister pointed to the massive Star of the South project, which proposes to build a 4,000MW offshore wind farm Australias first off the Victorias Gippsland coast, and last month began the process of seeking environmental approvals from the federal government.

Thats had very big difficulties in getting the necessary exploration licences because its in Commonwealth waters, and big projects like this will probably typically be in Commonwealth waters, DAmbrosio told the Summit.

Australia lags well behind the rest of the world on offshore wind energy development, despite having an abundant resource. The federal government in January this year launched a consultation process on potential new regulatory powers for offshore wind farms in Australia.

Part of the proposed process would see the federal energy minister, currently Angus Taylor, granted decision making powers to approve, or place conditions on, a proposed offshore wind farm. It would effectively provide the federal energy minister a vocal oppoenent of onshore wind energy with veto powers over a proposed offshore wind farm in Commonwealth waters.

Victoria has probably the best offshore wind resource in the country. We need them to just put aside any ideological views about wind and just get on with actually providing a proper legislative framework for committing exploration and then actually building these types of facilities.

That will benefit many states, and certainly Victoria. Offshore wind presents particular advantages in terms of availability of wind as a resource. Its almost a constant source of resource, potentially, and wed be derelict not to allow for investors to come in and actually plan for those projects and get them built because we need them.

The Star of the South project, an investment of around $10 billion, promises to create around 2,000 jobs over the time of its development. It is being progressed in partnership with Denmarks Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, which is also looking to invest in offshore projects across Europe, Asia and North America.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth seconded the ministers call for the federal government to get a move on, by bringing national offshore wind laws to parliament.

The Star of the South is a game changing project that was first publicly proposed back in 2017, and now its time for Angus Taylor to get a move on and bring national offshore wind laws to parliament as a matter of urgency, said Pat Simons, Friends of the Earths renewable energy spokesperson.

Its baffling that Energy Minister Angus Taylor is trying to prop up the ailing gas industry under the cover of Covid, when the priority should be how to build the cleantech industries of the future like offshore wind.

RenewEconomy and its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and The Driven will continue to publish throughout the Covid-19 crisis, posting good news about technology and project development, and holding government, regulators and business to account. But as the conference market evaporates, and some advertisers pull in their budgets, readers can help by making a voluntary donation here to help ensure we can continue to offer the service free of charge and to as wide an audience as possible. Thank you for your support.

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Victoria calls on feds to put aside ideology and pave way for offshore wind - RenewEconomy

]]> Tankers have become offshore storage facilities as oil demand stays low.

Despite current market conditions, the demand for oil will bounce back, according to a poll of Offshore Technology readers.

The poll asked: Demand for oil has dropped by over 20%. Will it bounce back? Of more than 750 votes cast, the overwhelming majority showed a strong belief that prices would eventually recover.

Given the options Yes, No and Im not sure, 67.6% of votes were cast for Yes, 19.2% for No and 13.2% for Im not sure, strongly indicating readers expect oil demand to recover to the same levels it was at before the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Rystad Energy vice-president of cost analysis Matthew Fitzsimmons recently told Offshore Technology he did not expect the Covid-19 downturn would affect the expected date of peak oil. Analysts at the firm currently expect this to fall in the late 2020s.

However, recovery will be slow. The International Energy Agencys monthly oil report for April predicted global oil demand throughout 2020 would fall by 9.3 million barrels per day compared with 2019. This would be the largest fall ever recorded.

Across the second quarter, demand is expected to be 23.1 million barrels per day less than the same period in 2019. In the second half of the year, the report said it expects recovery to be gradual.

On Wednesday, Rystad published a report showing April as the low point for demand. This predicts Mays demand will be better, but still below demand in March. Currently, it says oil demand is down by 10.8%, road fuel demand is down 11.2%, and jet fuel demand is down 33.6%.

Ultimately, demand will be decided by when large economies ease restrictions. While the restart of some industries will stimulate demand, fractions such as kerosene and bunker fuel will need international travel restrictions lifted to begin recovery.

GlobalData pharmaceutical analysts expect the worlds largest economies to emerge from lockdown before the end of June. However, recovery after this will rely on countries maintaining restrictions until the virus is contained. Any second wave of infections would likely mean restrictions would be re-imposed.

Even after consumers are permitted to travel, demand will not recover instantly. To put this in perspective, the IEA predicted demand in December would still be 2.7 million barrels per day behind December 2019.

Demand was first hit in China with the initial outbreak of Covid-19 there. Chinas economy is one of the worlds largest, and it is still rapidly growing. This growth drives demand for oil, and the countrys slowdown started the global oil price slide.

It is now recovering and returning to normal life. Schools are reopening, and more movement is leading to more demand, a pattern that is likely to follow elsewhere.

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Oil demand will bounce back post-pandemic - Offshore Technology

The nascent U.S. offshore wind industry is off to a rocky start, and stay-at-home orders are making it worse.

Restrictions in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere that have closed businesses and stalled construction projects are hampering undersea surveys and other steps necessary to start building wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean, developer Orsted A/S said in a filing Thursday. It comes as the Trump administration has already delayed permitting for projects.

While it has thrived in Europe, offshore wind has long struggled to take off in the U.S. But projects have gained momentum in recent years as states push to meet climate goals and bring renewable power to regions too crowded for big installations on land. Analysts forecast it could grow into a $70 billion industry that revitalizes ports from South Carolina to Maine.

Orsted now expects a project its building off Maryland to be commissioned in 2023, one year later than scheduled. A project the Danish company is planning off Long Island, will also be delayed beyond 2022. Projects off New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts also face potential setbacks, the company said.

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Virus throws wrench into US offshore wind - Finance and Commerce

Painimaut multi-client 3D GeoStreamer survey.

(Courtesy PGS)

Offshore staff

OSLO, Norway PGS has completed its Painimaut 3D multi-client program, which involved acquiring more than 6,100 sq km (2,355 sq mi) of seismic data offshore Papua New Guinea.

Fasttrack 3D GeoStreamer data is now available, the company added.

The Painimaut program focused on various play types in the little-explored Papuan basin in both held and open acreage. It targeted Tertiary carbonate build-ups and Mesozoic rift basins adjacent to the Papuan and Eastern plateaus, and pinch-out plays and drapes over deeper structural highs.

PGS Ramform Hyperion towed a 12 x 8 km x 150-m (7.5 x 4.97 mi x 492-ft) streamer configuration with a triple-source to acquire the high-resolution broadband data.

Imaging teams are now processing the results using techniques that include a full pre-stack time and depth workflow.

Full integrity, high-resolution GeoStreamer data should be released early next year, and gravity/magnetic data will also be available.

05/01/2020

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First 3D results issued from offshore Papua New Guinea survey - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

The CDWE joint venture between Belgian contractor DEME and Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC has agreed t start early works and the ordering of critical packages for the first Taiwan-built offshore wind installation vessel.

CDWE is slated to deliver the ship to be named Green Jade in 2022 for the installation works at the Hai Long offshore wind project, for which the JV in October 2019 had singed a large-scale balance of plant (BOP) preferred supplier agreement.

The vessel is also planned to be deployed at the 300MW Zhong Neng project, for which CDWE had signed two contracts with Zhong Neng Wind Power Corp. that comprise the transportation and installation of foundations, as well as a preferred bidder agreement for the installation of wind turbines.

We are very excited to initiate the early works of the first floating offshore installation vessel in Taiwan, said DEME Offshore managing director Hugo Bouvy.

The Hai Long and Zhong Neng Projects have played an integral part in our decision to invest in an installation vessel.

The Green Jade will feature a high-tech, 4,000-tonne capacity crane and DP3 capability. The vessels deck space has been maximised, enabling it to transport monopiles, jackets, wind turbine components and structures in a single shipment.

DEME said the vessel can transport and install the next generation of foundations and multi-megawatt wind turbines. The Green Jade will be able to accommodate a crew of up to 160 people.

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DEME- JV to start works on first Taiwan-built offshore wind installation ship - Recharge

By Pat Johnson | on April 30, 2020

SPINNING WHEELS: Atlantic Shores Offshore wind farm lease area plus potential energy export cable routes to Mansquan and Atlantic City. (Supplied Image)

A second offshore windfarm, Atlantic Shores, is starting to conduct marine surveys of its Outer Continental Shelf lease, 180,000 acres that stretches 9 to 20 miles off Atlantic City and Barnegat Light, Long Beach Island.

The Atlantic Shores lease is owned by Shell New Energies US and EDF Renewables North America. The surveys will begin in May and continue through August in waters from 60 feet to 100 feet deep.

Maneuverability of all survey vessels will be restricted, and mariners should retain a nautical mile distance from each vessel. Mariners can listen to VHF channel 16 for locations.

The first vessel to do surveys starting May 1 is FugroBrasillis, 67 meters long, which will be looking for possible export cable routes between Atlantic City and Manasquan. On or about June 24, the Zephyr Westerly, 50 meters long, which will be doing nearshore surveys in the same area as above in depths of 12 meters or less. Starting on July 1, the Tidewater Royal, 71 meters, will conduct vibracore (low impact sonar) activities every kilometer along proposed cable routes. On July 10, the Geoquip Saentis 80 meters, will mobilize to drill 15 boreholes within the lease area.

The surveys are to support Atlantic Shores site application plan to the Interior Departments Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Atlantic Shores is the second offshore wind farm to attempt wind turbines off the New Jersey coast. Orsted, a Danish energy company with intentions to erect 92 to 99 wind turbines 15 miles off the Atlantic Coast. rsted has completed its SAP and is working on getting approval for its construction and operations plan. rsteds plan is to power half a million homes from renewable wind power. Atlantic Shores says it has the potential to power a million homes but has not yet released how many turbines it is expected to erect. P.J.

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Second Offshore Wind Farm Starts Surveys - The SandPaper

Nearing completion, the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm has finished installation of all 102 turbines.

The 2.5 billion project is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquaries Green Investment Group (GIG) and the first of four offshore wind farms being developed in the region.

On completion, the project is expected to generate more than 714MW of renewable energy annually enough to power 630,000 UK homes.

The turbines have been developed by Siemens Gamesa at a specially built factory in Hull, UK.

The project forms part of the UKs pledge to go net zero by 2050, in addition to generating more than 800 jobs.

Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, said: East Anglia ONE has illustrated the role offshore wind projects can play in supporting businesses across the UK, supporting hundreds of skilled jobs in the process.

Were committed to driving the UKs energy transition, establishing offshore wind as the backbone of the UKs new low-carbon energy system.

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East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm installs last turbine - Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy