Read the original:
Why It's So Hard to Build Offshore Wind Power in the U.S. - Bloomberg
10/1/2019
HOUSTON - Oceaneering has been awarded a contract to support a decommissioning project off the east coast of Canada. This is the first decommissioning contract for Oceaneering in Canada. The contracts work scope includes internal cutting, external cutting, and local soil displacement. Work is expected to start in Q2 2020.
The decommissioning project comprises seven offshore gas platforms located approximately 135 nautical miles east of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the edge of the Scotian Shelf.
The platforms were installed between 1999 and 2006 and consist of integrated topsides modules on jacket structures that are in water depths of 25-75 m.
This opportunity truly highlights our continued ability to leverage the depth and breadth of Oceaneerings service offerings to the Canadian market, said Terry Humber, service line manager. The scope of work takes advantage of Oceaneerings global experience in internal and external offshore structural cutting as well as soil displacement for access to the structure.
See original here:
Oceaneering tapped to decommission seven gas platforms offshore Canada - WorldOil
Fenwick Island State Park Eyes Partnership With Offshore Wind Farm Developer; Open House Planned For Wednesday
FENWICK ISLAND A potential partnership between Fenwick Island State Park and an offshore wind energy developer could bring new amenities to the beach.On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Parks & Recreation will host a public open house from 5-7 p.m. to share and review Read more
OCEAN CITY Everything is on the table after another intolerable unsanctioned motorized event had the resort community under siege for much of the weekend.For the record, the official H2O International (H2Oi) car show was held in Atlantic City for the second straight year last weekend, but, as expected, a huge contingent of car enthusiasts Read more
ASSATEAGUE A wild horse on Assateague was struck and killed by a park vehicle early Sunday morning, serving as a grim reminder to motorists to obey speed limits and use caution around the islands famed residents.In the predawn hours before first light on Sunday, the chestnut mare N2BHS-ALQ, or Connies Girl, was standing in Read more
OCEAN CITY Representatives from nearly a dozen agencies were recognized this week for their efforts in establishing Worcester Countys first Safe Station.At the beginning of August, the Worcester County Health Department, in partnership with the Ocean City Fire Department, quietly launched its Safe Station program, allowing those with addictions to seek immediate help at Read more
See the article here:
Swiss private equity group Prorsum has completed a significant capital injection in Eolos, a Spanish company that provides measurements services to the offshore wind industry.
The participation is Eolos second funding since its inception in 2014, when the Barcelona-based company received start-up funding from EIT InnoEnergy, a Dutch investor focused on sustainable energy start-ups.
Over the past five years, Eolos has grown its team to a size of 17 full-time employees, on the back of a track record that includes delivering wind measurements for offshore developers such as Nyserda, EDPR and Iberdrola. In the past year, the Spanish company has secured new projects in Ireland, South Korea and the United States.
Performing wind assessments is a key step of wind energy investment and planning. More accurate data blows more wind into the business case the wind energy potential of the site of an offshore site, providing investors better information prior to making their final investment decision. Such data also supports planning activities, including spacing of the wind turbines and the setup of maintenance and repair plans.Eolos captures wind measurements through its LiDAR buoy*, a buoy that has an autonomous wind, wave and current measuring system and oceanographic instrumentation, which allows it to perform measurements at heights of more than 200 meters above the sea level at much lower costs than conventional bottom-fixed offshore met masts.
According to Rajai Aghabi, the chief executive officer and founder of Eolos, growing demand for offshore wind in particular in Europe, North America and Asia is providing with a great growth opportunity. This capital raising will allow us to better serve our clients and expand our global footprint.
A report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) shows that the global offshore wind market has grown by an average of 21% each year since 2013, reaching total installations of 23 GW. Based on current policies and expected auctions and tenders, as well as a broader drive for renewable energy, double-digit growth is expected in the coming years, with 165 GW of new power expected to be installed up to 2030.
Aghabi believes Eolos is well positioned to tap into this growth due to the growing number of floating offshore wind sites in deep water sites, making an even stronger case for Eolos site-specific floating LiDAR buoys.
Jeroen van der Veer, formerly the chief executive officer of energy giant Shell, shares Aghabi remarks. Eolos provides reliable and cost-effective wind measurements by using floating LiDAR instead of a traditional wind mast that requires lengthy permitting phases. With this differentiating technology, Eolos significantly contributes to reducing the development time of an offshore wind farm without compromising the quality of the data provided.
Offshore wind farms play a central role in the large-scale adoption of renewable energy. Eolos significantly contributes to reducing the development time of an offshore wind farm. Jeroen van der Veer
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, however Prorsum is now the largest shareholder of the Spanish energy player. Eolos has over the past years become one of the market leaders in the turn-key floating LiDAR segment, and works for some of the biggest utilities active in the offshore wind industry. We are excited to be on board, commented Otto von Troschke, the founder of the Swiss company.
During the transaction, Eolos was advised by JBR Corporate Finance, a Dutch financial advisory boutique. JBRs dealmakers Ronald van Rijn and Harold Brummelhuis assisted with deal structuring, financial modelling, the setup of the information memorandum, marketing to (potential) investors and negotiations. Buy-side dealmakers have at the time of writing not been revealed.
* There are two types of remote sensing systems on the market to measure wind. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) instruments use light to measure the wind characteristics, while SoDAR (Sonic Detection and Ranging) instruments measure the wind conditions by means of sound.
Continued here:
Prorsum invests in Spanish offshore wind specialist Eolos - Consultancy.eu
WIND: Three development groups file proposals for wind farms off the Connecticut coast ranging from 400 MW to 1,200 MW in size. (CT Post)
ALSO: Wind farm developers reach an agreement with fishermen to build and lease an operations facility near a dock the fishermen own. (Newsday) Long Island lawmakers question the scheduling of a New York offshore wind hearing next week in Albany, about 250 miles from the proposed site of a land connection for a transmission line for a wind farm. (Albany Times Union) Wind energy advocates fear that President Trumps hatred of wind turbines will break the momentum the industry has gained in recent years in land-based and offshore projects. (Associated Press) Carnegie Mellon University reaches an agreement with an Illinois wind farm to supply electricity and renewable energy credits to the Pittsburgh campus through 2024. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
***SPONSORED LINK: Attend Infocasts NY ENERGY, October 16-18 in Albany, New York. It is the first summit to explore Cuomos Green New Deal just signed into legislation! Network with the Climate Action Council, policymakers, regulators, operators, utilities, and developers from the energy supply chain driving NY forward. Register today!***
NUCLEAR: In a challenge to New Jerseys nuclear subsidies, the states Rate Counsel argues regulators bowed to company pressure and ignored staff and independent experts who said the plants are profitable. (NJ Spotlight) Federal regulators will rule in January on a management plan for the Seabrook stations cracking concrete. (NHPR)
NATURAL GAS: A gas leak that forced evacuation in Massachusetts last week was caused when road workers inadvertently closed a valve that should have been disabled. (CNN)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A transportation startup, a utility and two Massachusetts towns test a car-sharing service for electric vehicles to promote wider adoption. (Energy News Network) Pennsylvania lags behind in electric vehicle adoption largely due to little public education about them and inadequate charging infrastructure. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
EFFICIENCY: Massachusetts ranks as the top state for energy efficiency in an annual report for the ninth consecutive year. (E&E News)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: A new report says New England must build from 4 GW to 7 GW of clean energy per year to meet its climate commitments by 2050. (Solar Power World)
PIPELINES: Legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court could hear four pipeline cases this term, including one from New Jersey in which an appeals court rejected the taking of state land via eminent domain. (E&E News)
UTILITIES: Green Mountain Power CEO Mary Powell says she is stepping down at the end of the year after more than 20 years at the company, just a week after state regulators approved changes in the ownership structure of its corporate parent. (VT Digger)
SOLAR: A University of Massachusetts campus will install a 1 MW array with battery storage by the first half of 2020. (SmartCitiesWorld)
REGULATION: Federal regulators say they would have upheld the results of a controversial electricity capacity auction that became effective anyway due to a lack of a quorum. (Platts)
Read the original here:
Three bidders propose massive Connecticut offshore wind farms - Energy News Network
Drive around middle America and you'll see wind farms of various sizes scattered across the country. One of the most common wind turbines you'll see is a model fromGeneral Electric (NYSE:GE)that's 1.5 megawatts (MW) with a 212-foot tower and 116-foot blades. In total, the wind turbine stands 328 feet, or nearly the length of a football field. But that's now being dwarfed by what GE is installing offshore.
Now, GE is testing a 12 MW wind turbine that dwarfs the most common turbines we see today. And if it works as planned, the Haliade-X 12 MW will power millions of homes from miles off the coast of populated areas.
Image source: GE.
Standing 853 feet tall, with blades that each extend 351 feet, the Haliade-X 12 MW promises to be not only the biggest but also one of the most efficient wind turbines in the world. GE says a single turbine can power 16,000 homes and can operate at a 63% capacity factor, or produce its rated output 63% of the time. That would make it one of the most efficient wind turbines in the world -- well above the approximately 50% capacity factor for most wind turbines and around 20% for solar farms.
One of the advantages the turbine has is that it's designed for offshore markets, where the wind blows more consistently. That allows for higher energy production and lowers the effective cost of electricity from each wind turbine.
The exact cost of turbines isn't being released, but GE says it can generate electricity that's competitive with other power generation sources. And given the traction the product has with developers, they expect it to be cost effective.
The wind power business has been up and down globally depending on subsidies and the will of governments looking to expand energy projection. But wind energy has now reached a tipping point where it's less expensive than fossil fuels and should see consistent demand, especially if wind farms can be located near load centers like coastal cities.
Dominion Energy (NYSE:D), for example, recently announced a plan for 2,600 MW of wind farms off the coast of Virginia by 2026. The company expects 220 wind turbines to be installed, so a 12 MW model is likely what they're expecting to use.
Orsted's 120 MW Skipjack and 1,100 MW Ocean Wind projects off the coast of Maryland and New Jersey will use the Haliade-X. That's a big win in a market niche that GE has only dabbled in up to now.
To date, Siemens Gamesa and MHI Vestas have dominated the offshore wind market, with GE relegated primarily to onshore status. The Haliade-X may change that and give the company a puncher's chance of gaining significant share in offshore wind, where there's still a lot of market potential.
Most of the easy onshore locations near load centers have been developed, so wind's next step is going offshore. The opportunity will be worth tens of billions to the winners, and GE is finally in the game.
Read more here:
GE Is Betting on the Biggest Offshore Wind Turbine Ever - The Motley Fool
Hartford Multiple renewable energy ventures recently entered the competitionto provide Connecticut electricity from offshore wind farms.
So far, Connecticut's first selected offshore wind suppliers, rsted and Eversource, will compete with Mayflower Wind, a joint venture between Shell New Energies and EDPR Renewables North America, and Vineyard Wind, a pairing of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables.
The auction, following the state's request for proposals in August, stemmed from lawmakers' and Gov. Ned Lamont's push for an injection of up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2030. The competition comes as states along the East Coast are ramping up commitments to offshore wind and renewable energy while targeting significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
rsted and Eversource, already slated to provide Connecticut and Rhode Island a combined 700 megawatts from the Revolution Wind farm south of Martha's Vineyard, announced in a news release Tuesday that they had submitted to state regulators several proposals as part of the Constitution Wind project.
rsted and Eversource said the project would be located 65 miles off the coast of New London and will have the capacity to power up to half a million homes. The project will benefit from more than two years of surveys, studies of wind speed data and ongoing work with stakeholders such as mariners and commercial fishermen, the companies said. The state of New York earlier this year tapped rsted and Eversource to deliver power to Long Island from a wind farm 30 miles east of Montauk Point.
"Since 2015, our team has been focused on bringing affordable, renewable energy to Connecticut, a major opportunity for the state's clean energy future and economy," Thomas Brostrmm, rsted President and CEO, said in a statement. "Following up on the selection of our Revolution Wind project by the state and our investment to turn New London State Pier into a world-class offshore wind center, our proposed Constitution Wind project will be delivered by the industry's leading experts to ensure the project is achievable, sustainable and successful for Connecticut."
rsted and Eversource remain in negotiations with the Connecticut Port Authority and the state to overhaul New London State Pier into a hub for upcoming wind projects along the East Coast. They have pledged to invest almost $60 million into pier upgrades, but some concerns have risen about transparency of the plans, port authority management and potentially displaced businesses.
rsted, a Danish-based offshore wind giant that has divested most of its previous oil and gas business, bought Block Island Wind Farm developer Deepwater Wind for $500 million last year. rsted also bought onshore wind and solar developer Lincoln Clean Energy for almost $600 million last year.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also received bids from Mayflower Wind, a joint venture of U.K.-based Shell New Energies and EDPR Renewables North America, a Texas subsidiary of Spain-based wind and solar firm EDP Renewables. The bids included800- and 400-megawatt proposals. The companies proposed 400- and 800-megwatt projects to the state of Massachusetts last month.
"Governor Lamont has outlined a vision for moving Connecticut toward a clean energy future, and we believe our proposal can play a role in advancing that vision in an affordable manner," said John Hartnett, president of Mayflower Wind. "The state's comprehensive energy strategy calls for deployment of cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy resources and that is exactly what we are offering."
According to a news release Tuesday, Shell already has interests in four onshore wind power projects in North America and one offshore wind farm in Europe. EDP Renewables is the world's fourth-largest wind developer.
Vineyard Wind, meanwhile, announced a range of bids starting at 400 megawatts with options to develop wind farms generating 800, 1,000 and 1,200 megawatts. The project, dubbed Park City Wind, would be located south of Martha's Vineyard and rely on the city of Bridgeport for development.
Vineyard Wind is already developing an 800-megawatt wind farm for the state of Massachusetts.
"Vineyard Wind is pleased to submit a dynamic set of project proposals to deliver a reliable source of fixed, low-cost, zero-emission energy to Connecticut ratepayers, while supporting the state's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Lars Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind, said in a statement. "Our Park City Wind proposal is much more than an energy project. It's an opportunity for Connecticut to develop a world-class offshore wind industry in Bridgeport and solidify its role as a high value industry hub in the U.S. for years to come."
Proposed electricity rates were not yet made available to the public.
Offshore wind prices have dropped significantly since Deepwater Wind built the Block Island Wind Farm, which delivered power at 24 cents per kilowatt hour in its first year of operation with a 3.5 percent annual escalator built into the contract.
Vineyard Wind's 800-megawatt offshore project recently hit with delays after the federal government called for further environmental review will sell power to three Massachusetts utilities at a fixed rate of 8.4 cents per kilowatt hour, according to EcoRI News.
In Rhode Island, which will receive 400 megawatts from Revolution Wind, National Grid will pay 9.84 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years.
State-regulated utilities Eversource and United Illuminating will buy electricity produced at Revolution Wind and deliver it to Connecticut consumers, but the proposed price per kilowatt hour which is fixed, unlike the Block Island Wind Farm has not yet been released.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protectioncould not bereached to comment about the proposals.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the number of megawatts proposed for the Revolution Wind farm.
Link:
Connecticut offshore wind competition kicks off - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com
The U.S. is late to the offshore wind party compared to Europe and China. And the injection of new regulatory uncertainty in the shape of permitting delays at Vineyard Wind's 800-megawatt project won't help firm up supply-chain investment.
Many of the largest U.S. offshore wind projects are backed by European developers, and most of the largest pieces of equipment will be imported from Europe for the foreseeable future.
But there is one area of offshore wind that's new enough that even a latecomer could make its mark: floating.
Floating offshore wind remains a largely precommercial endeavor because it hasn't yet been needed in the shallow waters off China and Western Europe. In the U.S., however, floating technology is pretty much the only option for the whole of the Pacific.
North American developers such as Castle Wind and Northland Power are vying with Europes offshore wind giants for a piece of the action. Market intelligence group Quest Floating Wind Energy believes almost 2.4 gigawatts of floating wind could be installed off U.S. shores over the next decade.
The floating market is in its very earliest days. But here are seven projects to keep an eye on, all of which would help give the U.S. a seat at the floating offshore wind table as the market matures.
Likely the first U.S. floating wind plant to go live if it stays on track for a 2022 completion, Maine Aqua Ventus is a 12-megawatt demonstration project developed by the University of Maine and construction firm Cianbro.
As the only approved floating project in the U.S., and located in state waters, it will feature two 6-megawatt turbines on concrete semi-submersible hulls designed by the university.
This summer, the development group told GTMit expects to bring a bigger investor onto the project sometime this fall, ahead of a possible expansion of the project into new phases.
Leading the charge to install floating wind platforms off the West Coast is Magellan Wind, a U.S. developer led by former Deepwater Wind managing director Jim Lanard.
Lanard's company is planning to have 30 megawatts of capacity on Californian waters by 2023, using a Tetraspar floating platform developed by Stiesdal Offshore Technologies of Denmark. But like all Californian projects, it would first need to win a lease for a development zone in what's expected to be an intensely competitive auction scheduled for 2020.
Racing Magellan to the Pacific Ocean is the public-private Redwood Coast offshore wind consortium made up of Redwood Coast Energy Authority, EDPR North America, Principle Power, Aker Solutions, H. T. Harvey & Associates and Herrera Environmental Consultants.
The consortium is planning to install at least 150 megawatts of wind on Principle Powers WindFloat semisubmersible platforms. Quest Floating Wind Energy believes it could get steel in the Humboldt Bay by around 2024.
Of all the U.S. plans for floating offshore wind, Castle Winds proposal for a gigawatt of capacity in Morro Bay in central California is by far the most ambitious. The developer is a joint venture between Trident Winds and German utility group EnBW.
Castle Wind last month took the first step toward an offtake agreement with a memorandum of understanding with local utility Monterey Bay Community Power. Pending next years planned California lease auction, the project could start delivering by around 2025.
As with California, developers couldnt wait for a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease auction to express an interest in floating offshore wind projects off Hawaii. Progression Hawaii Offshore Wind submitted its first unsolicited application in 2015.
The company hopes to install between 40 and 50 turbines on WindFloat platforms, for a total capacity of around 400 megawatts, potentially by 2025.
Alpha Wind Energy subsidiary AW Hawaii Wind got its unsolicited application for Hawaiian offshore wind in even before Progression, although Quest Floating Wind Energy expects its 400-megawatt Oahu North project to go live a little later than Progressions, in 2026.
Like the Progression project, Oahu North is set to use WindFloat foundations for its 42 turbines.
AW Hawaii Wind is hoping to follow its Oahu North project with a similar-sized plant to the south of the island in 2028, although in its application the company noted that the area could be subject to military restrictions.
Truth be told, the likelihood of all of these projects remains speculative, and the timeframes even more so given BOEMs decision to review the entire permitting process.
For all the West Coasts potential, not a single project has been awarded as yet in the U.S. Pacific, noted Erik Rijkers, market development and strategy director at Quest Floating Wind Energy.
***
Wood Mackenzie is hosting an invite-only analyst briefing on the U.S. offshore wind sector in Boston the morning of Wednesday, October 23. Email power@woodmac.com to express interest in attending.
See original here:
7 Projects That Could Put the US Ahead in Floating Offshore Wind - Greentech Media News
Updated: May 25, 2018:
JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
This Privacy Policy describes how JD Supra, LLC ("JD Supra" or "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses and shares personal data collected from visitors to our website (located at http://www.jdsupra.com) (our "Website") who view only publicly-available content as well as subscribers to our services (such as our email digests or author tools)(our "Services"). By using our Website and registering for one of our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
Please note that if you subscribe to one of our Services, you can make choices about how we collect, use and share your information through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard (available if you are logged into your JD Supra account).
Registration Information. When you register with JD Supra for our Website and Services, either as an author or as a subscriber, you will be asked to provide identifying information to create your JD Supra account ("Registration Data"), such as your:
Other Information: We also collect other information you may voluntarily provide. This may include content you provide for publication. We may also receive your communications with others through our Website and Services (such as contacting an author through our Website) or communications directly with us (such as through email, feedback or other forms or social media). If you are a subscribed user, we will also collect your user preferences, such as the types of articles you would like to read.
Information from third parties (such as, from your employer or LinkedIn): We may also receive information about you from third party sources. For example, your employer may provide your information to us, such as in connection with an article submitted by your employer for publication. If you choose to use LinkedIn to subscribe to our Website and Services, we also collect information related to your LinkedIn account and profile.
Your interactions with our Website and Services: As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically. This information includes IP addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp and clickstream data. We use this information to analyze trends, to administer the Website and our Services, to improve the content and performance of our Website and Services, and to track users' movements around the site. We may also link this automatically-collected data to personal information, for example, to inform authors about who has read their articles. Some of this data is collected through information sent by your web browser. We also use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect this information. To learn more about cookies and other tracking technologies that JD Supra may use on our Website and Services please see our "Cookies Guide" page.
We use the information and data we collect principally in order to provide our Website and Services. More specifically, we may use your personal information to:
JD Supra takes reasonable and appropriate precautions to insure that user information is protected from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. We restrict access to user information to those individuals who reasonably need access to perform their job functions, such as our third party email service, customer service personnel and technical staff. You should keep in mind that no Internet transmission is ever 100% secure or error-free. Where you use log-in credentials (usernames, passwords) on our Website, please remember that it is your responsibility to safeguard them. If you believe that your log-in credentials have been compromised, please contact us at privacy@jdsupra.com.
Our Website and Services are not directed at children under the age of 16 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 through our Website and/or Services. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 16 has provided personal information to us, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases.
Our Website and Services may contain links to other websites. The operators of such other websites may collect information about you, including through cookies or other technologies. If you are using our Website or Services and click a link to another site, you will leave our Website and this Policy will not apply to your use of and activity on those other sites. We encourage you to read the legal notices posted on those sites, including their privacy policies. We are not responsible for the data collection and use practices of such other sites. This Policy applies solely to the information collected in connection with your use of our Website and Services and does not apply to any practices conducted offline or in connection with any other websites.
JD Supra's principal place of business is in the United States. By subscribing to our website, you expressly consent to your information being processed in the United States.
You can make a request to exercise any of these rights by emailing us at privacy@jdsupra.com or by writing to us at:
You can also manage your profile and subscriptions through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard.
We will make all practical efforts to respect your wishes. There may be times, however, where we are not able to fulfill your request, for example, if applicable law prohibits our compliance. Please note that JD Supra does not use "automatic decision making" or "profiling" as those terms are defined in the GDPR.
Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, our customers who are California residents have the right to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
You can make a request for this information by emailing us at privacy@jdsupra.com or by writing to us at:
Some browsers have incorporated a Do Not Track (DNT) feature. These features, when turned on, send a signal that you prefer that the website you are visiting not collect and use data regarding your online searching and browsing activities. As there is not yet a common understanding on how to interpret the DNT signal, we currently do not respond to DNT signals on our site.
For non-EU/Swiss residents, if you would like to know what personal information we have about you, you can send an e-mail to privacy@jdsupra.com. We will be in contact with you (by mail or otherwise) to verify your identity and provide you the information you request. We will respond within 30 days to your request for access to your personal information. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why. If you would like to correct or update your personal information, you can manage your profile and subscriptions through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard. If you would like to delete your account or remove your information from our Website and Services, send an e-mail to privacy@jdsupra.com.
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Please refer to the date at the top of this page to determine when this Policy was last revised. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon posting of the revised policy on the Website. By continuing to use our Website and Services following such changes, you will be deemed to have agreed to such changes.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, your dealings with our Website or Services, or if you would like to change any of the information you have provided to us, please contact us at: privacy@jdsupra.com.
As with many websites, JD Supra's website (located at http://www.jdsupra.com) (our "Website") and our services (such as our email article digests)(our "Services") use a standard technology called a "cookie" and other similar technologies (such as, pixels and web beacons), which are small data files that are transferred to your computer when you use our Website and Services. These technologies automatically identify your browser whenever you interact with our Website and Services.
We use cookies and other tracking technologies to:
There are different types of cookies and other technologies used our Website, notably:
JD Supra Cookies. We place our own cookies on your computer to track certain information about you while you are using our Website and Services. For example, we place a session cookie on your computer each time you visit our Website. We use these cookies to allow you to log-in to your subscriber account. In addition, through these cookies we are able to collect information about how you use the Website, including what browser you may be using, your IP address, and the URL address you came from upon visiting our Website and the URL you next visit (even if those URLs are not on our Website). We also utilize email web beacons to monitor whether our emails are being delivered and read. We also use these tools to help deliver reader analytics to our authors to give them insight into their readership and help them to improve their content, so that it is most useful for our users.
Analytics/Performance Cookies. JD Supra also uses the following analytic tools to help us analyze the performance of our Website and Services as well as how visitors use our Website and Services:
Facebook, Twitter and other Social Network Cookies. Our content pages allow you to share content appearing on our Website and Services to your social media accounts through the "Like," "Tweet," or similar buttons displayed on such pages. To accomplish this Service, we embed code that such third party social networks provide and that we do not control. These buttons know that you are logged in to your social network account and therefore such social networks could also know that you are viewing the JD Supra Website.
If you would like to change how a browser uses cookies, including blocking or deleting cookies from the JD Supra Website and Services you can do so by changing the settings in your web browser. To control cookies, most browsers allow you to either accept or reject all cookies, only accept certain types of cookies, or prompt you every time a site wishes to save a cookie. It's also easy to delete cookies that are already saved on your device by a browser.
The processes for controlling and deleting cookies vary depending on which browser you use. To find out how to do so with a particular browser, you can use your browser's "Help" function or alternatively, you can visit http://www.aboutcookies.org which explains, step-by-step, how to control and delete cookies in most browsers.
We may update this cookie policy and our Privacy Policy from time-to-time, particularly as technology changes. You can always check this page for the latest version. We may also notify you of changes to our privacy policy by email.
If you have any questions about how we use cookies and other tracking technologies, please contact us at: privacy@jdsupra.com.
Original post:
Old and Cold Offshore Asset Protection Trust Assets Not Reachable by U.S. Creditors - JD Supra
CHICAGO (CBS) One person was in critical condition Sunday night after being pulled from Lake Michigan offshore from Rogers Park.
Police said they received a report that someone had jumped from the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach Park at Pratt Boulevard into the water, and the police Marine Unit was called to the scene along with the Fire Department.
Fire Department divers pulled someone from the water, police said. The incident happened at 9:17 p.m., according to the CFD.
The Fire Department said one person was taken to AMITA Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition, while a second person refused medical treatment.
On Friday around the same place, a man was also rescued from Lake Michigan amid severe weather. The man was about 400 feet out, also near Pratt Boulevard, the Fire Department said.
The Fire Department helicopter could not fly due to the weather and the CFD boat was not nearby, so four firefighters went in themselves and tethered flotation devices together to keep themselves and the man afloat. That man was hospitalized with possible hypothermia.
And back in June, Block Club Chicago reported that longtime Rogers Park resident Croslene Kettle was pulled from the water at Pratt Boulevard after going for a swim in the lake near Pratt Pier, and later died.
View original post here:
1 Person In Critical Condition After Being Pulled From Lake Offshore From Rogers Park - CBS Chicago
Central Bank of India one of the lender of offshore drilling contractor Aban Offshore, has withdrawn their insolvency application against the company. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has dismissed the application, giving liberty for the lender to approach it later.
The application for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process against the company was filed by Central Bank of India, alleging that the company has defaulted around Rs 155 crore. The principal amount is around Rs 127 crore, while the rest is interest and others, said sources.
The company informed the exchange, "An application filed against the Company by one of the financial creditors under Section 7 of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code stands withdrawn."
When the matter came up for hearing today at the NCLT, Chennai Bench, both parties said that they are settling the dispute. The company is expected to repay the debts in 5-6 months. Some of the other lender banks were also present for hearing.
Sources said that the company is working on various options to reduce the debt and has appointed a consultant to look at the options.
The company in its Annual Report for 2018-19 said that the company will be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due, as on-going discussions with lenders for re-negotiation, obtain replacement financing or through any fund raising exercise or any such proposal can be concluded.
See original here:
Central Bank withdraws insolvency application against Aban Offshore - Business Standard
At the Asian Offshore Support Journal Conference, held in Singapore from 17-18 September, Solstad Offshores Inger Louise Molver presented a macro-level overview of the drivers impacting the walk-to-work (W2W) market.
Ms Molver drew a broad split between two vessel types with W2W capabilities: service operation vessels, that tend to be designed primarily with offshore wind support in mind; and subsea vessels, many of which found work in supporting offshore wind projects during the downturn ,when opportunities to perform their traditional duties in the offshore oil and gas industry were limited.
Subsea vessel owners who have been able to weather the downturn could be rewarded with an increase in both utilisation and rates. During the downturn, vessel owners desperate to find work for their vessels were forced to accept the typically lower rates found in the offshore renewables space, said Ms Molver, but with increased subsea project commissioning, these charterers will have no choice but to match the comparatively higher rates found in the offshore oil and gas sector.
However, offshore wind remains a potentially lucrative area for OSV owners, Ms Molver said: I think the offshore wind market in general has been underestimated for a long time. Installation of fields is going to provide a lot of opportunities for subsea vessels; its definitely a market on the up.
One trend that weve seen in offshore wind is that these fields are being planned further and further from shore and for the W2W market, this is particularly attractive, observed Ms Molver. She added that The further a field is located from shore, the bigger the argument to use a W2W vessel as opposed to a crew transfer vessel.
April saw what could be the start of an interesting trend when Norwegian major Equinor, which has positioned itself as an energy company, rather than an oil company, chartered a PSV to provide W2W services for both offshore wind and oil and gas projects. Ms Molver described Equinors cross-sector charter as a natural progression, noting that in the North Sea the Norwegian state-owned company is proposing to install a dedicated floating wind field that will be used to generate electricity to service oil and gas platforms.
W2W brings value-add to Woodside
Australian OSV operator MMA Offshores executive general manager for operations Richard Furlong followed Ms Molvers macro-level presentation with a micro-level case study of the kind of efficiencies W2W generated in a maintenance campaign for Woodside.
Use of a W2W gangway meant the turnaround campaign this year for offshore gas platform Pluto Alpha, with a work scope of more than 40 days, was achieved in just 27 days, Mr Furlong said.
MMA Offshores vessel MMA Pinnacle was used as an accommodation vessel and fitted with a Safeway motion-compensated gangway system capable of reaching the platforms 29 m height.
Physical limitations on the platform meant it could only accommodate 16 workers per shift. However, by using an on-site vessel with a W2W arrangement, rather than helicopter or crew boat, the number of effective working hours per day was increased from roughly 160 to 432, shortening the amount of time the plant was required to be offline by 15 days. More than 1,200 safe personnel transfers and 40 gangway operations were completed during the work.
Mr Furlong noted that the 15-day saving achieved by MMA Offshore equates to three full tanker-loads of gas, resulting in a significant value-add for Woodside as the contractor.
Continued here:
Offshore wind and subsea provide a boost for W2W operators - Riviera Maritime Media
Energy service firm Subsea 7 has clinched two contracts with BP for the Azeri Central East (ACE) project in the Caspian Sea.
The contract values were not disclosed, but are understood to be worth between $50-150 million combined.
The project requires a new 48-slot production, drilling and living quarters platform located between the existing Central Azeri and East Azeri platforms.
Subsea 7 will build subsea structures, install spools, launch a 16,200 tonne jacket and float over an 18,500 tonne topside.
It will fulfil the contracts alongside BOS Shelf, which will be responsible for the fabrication, logistics and facilities support.
Engineering work will start immediately at Subsea 7s office in France. The offshore phase will take place in 2021 and 2022.
Gilles Lafaye, Subsea 7s Vice President Africa Region, said: This project reflects our long-term relationship and early engagement with BP Exploration and builds on our Life of Field activities in Azerbaijan.
We look forward to increasing our presence in the Azerbaijani market with safe and reliable solutions for its offshore energy developments.
Read more:
Eni and Mainstream Renewable Power combine efforts to fund and develop a portfolio of renewable energy
Eni, a major gas and oil company based in Italy, has joined with Mainstream Renewable Power to develop a portfolio of renewable energy production and storage.
The partnership will initially focus on the UK, with the fourth round of the UKs offshore wind auctions attracting attention. Eni is set to expand out to Southeast Asia and South Africa after it settles its UK holdings. During the third round of auctions, held last week, competition was fierce and prices were a record low, according to KMPG reports.
Andy Kinsella, group chief executive at Mainstream, said: Our joint participation in the UKs Offshore Round 4 will combine our leadership position, expertise and unrivalled track record in the global offshore wind sector, with Enis pre-eminence and experience in offshore energy infrastructure, its commitment to decarbonize the energy system, as well as its robust balance sheet, in what is a capital-intensive business.
SEE ALSO
Advanced Microgrid Solutions use AI to increase energy value
Apple commits US$300mn to renewable energy projects in China
Read the latest issue of CSO Magazine
With regulations around joint bidding seeing recent alterations, market heads predict that the renewable energy sector will see interest from new investors. Shimeng Yang, offshore wind senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, told Green Tech Media that the new announcement of the latest seabed leasing in the UK will encourage oil and gas companies that have been very interested in offshore wind and trying to secure project pipelines."
Eni has showed interest in developing a portfolio of renewable energy of 5GW by 2025, in line with Paris climate agreement targets.
Mainstream brings a wealth of experience of offshore wind farms with it. It was the initial progenitor of the 3GW Hornsea project, since sold to Orstead, it also worked on developments in Vietnam for a 800-megawatt facility and the 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe project, acquired by EDF.
Read more:
The Woodlands-based liquefied natural gas company Excelerate Energy has landed a contract to develop an offshore LNG import terminal in The Philippines.
In a Thursday morning statement, the Philippine Department of Energy announced that it had given Excelerate a notice to proceed to build the offshore LNG import terminal in the Bay of Batangas.
Known as Luzon LNG, the offhshore project will use an underwater pipeline to feed natural gas to existing and new gas-fired power plants that will generate electricity for customers in the city of Luzon and the metropolitan area of the nation's capital Manila.
"We look forward to working with the government and private sector for the successful completion of the project that will enable Excelerate to invest in critical infrastructure allowing the country to continue on its current path of tremendous economic growth," Excelerate Energy Chief Commercial Office Daniel Bustos said in a statement.
Boston to Bangladesh: Houston company emerges as global leader in offshore LNG
The offshore LNG project will supplement domestic natural gas production from the Malampaya fields, which have begun to deplete.
Excelerate plans to develop the import terminal offshore from the city of Batangas in order to minimize the impact to the existing shipping traffic in the area and coastline.
Fuel Fix: Get daily energy news headlines in your inbox
Founded in 2003 and backed by Oklahoma billionaire George B. Kaiser, privately held Excelerate now employs about 100 and controls more than $3 billion in assets around the world.
Excelerate owns one-third of the world's current fleet of floating storage and regasification ships, which can be used as LNG import terminals.
Although they cannot import as much natural gas by volume, FSRUs are viewed as a more flexible and cost-effective option than building onshore facilities.
Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com
Follow this link:
Excelerate Energy lands offshore LNG deal in the Philippines - Houston Chronicle
Offshore wind energy developers are moving to set up their first U.S. manufacturing and support bases, sensing momentum in the market with New York and New Jersey seeking a combined 12 gigawatts of new energy by 2030.
A daylong conference at the State University of New York Maritime College on Thursday brought together wind companies, state officials and the maritime industry to talk about the industrys coming workforce needs and potential for job growth.
The worlds biggest wind company, Denmark-based rsted, has an agreement with a German steelmaker to set up a manufacturing hub in southern New Jersey to finish turbine foundations for its Ocean Wind project off Atlantic City, said Fred Zalcman, who heads market development for its U.S. division.
Another winner could be upstate New York, where rsted and Equinor are looking to the Hudson River ports of Coeymans and Albany as bases for manufacturing, floating massive turbine components downriver for eventual transport to assembly at sea on the companies federal energy leases.
The Ocean Wind project could be the worlds largest at 1,100 megawatts, powered by 853 high Halide 12 MW turbines, in a deal recently signed between rsted and manufacturer GE.
When we look globally, the U.S. market really bubbled to the top, with its attractions of high power demand, a shallow continental shelf for building turbines, and a favorable political climate in Northeast states, Zalcman said.
So were right in the crux of this market, he added.
So too is the U.S. commercial fishing industry, where concerns about the impact of building turbines off Massachusetts this summer prompted the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold off issuing an environmental impact statement for the Vineyard Wind project.
Zalcman and other wind company representatives said they see BOEM is still working on individual wind project applications, even as the agency takes a broader assessment of the potential cumulative impacts of turbines strung off the Eastern seaboard.
The wind companies are working with one fishing industry coalition, the Responsible Offshore Development Association, to resolve questions of user conflicts and the science of environmental and fisheries impacts, said Doug Copeland, development manager for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture of EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies to build a wind turbine array in Mid-Atlantic waters.
At this point talking to fishermen is his foremost issue, said Copeland, whos been involved in talks specifically with surf clam operators.
They say, Were more than stakeholders, weve been here for hundreds of years. We really have to take that to heart, said Copeland. Theyre the users of this resource.
Wind power advocates tout the potential of the new industry to revitalize the industrial waterfront of New York City, where city officials and Red Hook Marine Terminals in Brooklyn are marketing acreage for turbine assembly and staging for construction.
New York state entered into power agreements with offshore wind developers Equinor and rsted for a combined 1.7 gigawatts of power by 2024. NYSERDA image
But theres acute awareness of how all that would co-exist with others in the bustling port of New York Bight shipping lanes and fishing grounds.
Were right in between two of the busiest shipping lanes in the country, said Julia Bovey, director of external affairs for Equinor Wind USA and its Empire Wind project off New York Harbor.
She contends its not a terrible idea because it makes sense to locate turbines near the urban load center of New York, and can be done safely: Its more difficult to build in deeper waters, with longer cable runs.
Maritime labor unions and institutions are looking to new training programs for an offshore wind energy workforce. Unlike Europe, there are yet no U.S. standards and certifications for working in the industry, said professor Shmuel Yahalom, director of the Offshore Renewable Energy Center at SUNY Maritime.
The college is assembling curricula to train future mariners to work in wind energy, and may have these first elements in place next year. Meanwhile theres a need for studies into a host of pressing issues, such as safe operating clearances for vessels transiting past the towers in turbine arrays, Yahalom said.
Is it 2 miles? Three miles? Does anyone know? he said.
The Coast Guard is working on those questions, with its own coast wide study of potential vessel traffic impacts and needs for safe transit lanes. Coast Guard officials have said some findings may come later this year.
So its absolutely critical we have well functioning shipping lanes in and out, said Capt. Jason Tama, commander of Coast Guard Sector New York. Other concerns are security issues raised by a new offshore energy industry, and how to safely conduct search and rescue missions near massive turbines, he said.
So theres a thousand issues we have to work through, Tama said.
Read the original post:
Offshore wind developers building Northeast supply chain - WorkBoat
GRIMSBY, United Kingdom - The world's largest offshore wind farm is taking shape off the east coast of Britain, a landmark project that demonstrates one way to combat climate change at scale.
Located 120 kilometers (75 miles) off England's Yorkshire coast, Hornsea One will produce enough energy to supply 1 million UK homes with clean electricity when it is completed in 2020.
The project spans an area that's bigger than the Maldives or Malta, and is located farther out to see than any other wind farm. It consists of 174 seven-megawatt wind turbines that are each 100 meters tall. The blades have a circumference of 75 meters, and cover an area bigger than the London Eye observation wheel as they turn.
Just a single rotation of one of the turbines can power the average home for an entire day, according to Stefan Hoonings, senior project manager at Orsted, the Danish energy company that built the farm.
The project will take the United Kingdom closer to hitting its target of deriving a third of the country's electricity from offshore wind by 2030.
It's the kind of project that can help governments achieve environmental targets set out at this week's United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York. Some 77 countries committed at the summit to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, but climate activists including Greta Thunberg say that major emitters must do more to mitigate rising temperatures.
Renewable energy will be critical to achieving those climate goals.
Despite the commitments made as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, global emissions continued to rise in 2018, and global energy demand grew at its fastest pace in a decade, according to the International Energy Agency. Coal use in power generation accounted for a third of total CO2 emissions, the IEA said.
The trends demonstrate the need for additional clean energy solutions. In Britain, three more phases of the Hornsea project are planned.
The share of renewables in the global energy mix is small but growing. Eventually a tipping point may be reached. After 2035, renewables are projected to make up more than 50% of generation, according to McKinsey.
Wind power is a big part of the solution. According to the IEA, electricity generation from wind grew by an estimated 12% in 2018, keeping its position as the largest renewable technology that doesn't involve water.
Orsted has built 25 offshore wind farms across Europe, the United States and Asia.
It changed its name from Danish Oil and Natural Gas in 2017 to reflect its transformation to a green energy company. The company has cut its use of coal by 73% since 2006 and plans to be coal free by 2023.
The United Kingdom is its biggest market for offshore wind and Orsted will have invested 12 billion ($15 billion) in the sector by 2020.
With a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts, Hornsea One will generate nearly twice the power of Orsted's Walney Extension the current largest offshore wind farm in the world, located in the Irish Sea.
Hornsea Two is under construction and has potential to meet the electricity needs of up to 1.6 million homes a year, according to Orsted. Hornsea Three could provide electricity to more than 2 million homes.
There are now 37 offshore wind farms operating in the United Kingdom, said Orsted. That makes Britain the biggest offshore wind market in the world.
The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Go here to read the rest:
World's largest offshore wind farm nearly complete - WSLS 10
SWFL
Its been two years since the beginning of the red tide epidemic along our coast that brought hardships to Southwest Florida, and there are now pockets of the bloom popping up along our shores.
There are background low concentrations of red tide offshore off Fort Myers Beach and Naples Friday night.
Chris Davison, Island Inn vice president and general manager, has called the view offshore his office for a decade. He says the red tide of 2017 and 2018 was some of the worst hes seen. And Island Inn was established in 1895, so its seen its fair share of hardship.
Hurricane after hurricane, depressions, recessions, Davison said. And through all of that, this was the closest, you know, that we could say weve seen to it having, you know, real problems moving on forward.
That red tide was troubling for several reasons, including the health of our ecosystem, human health and the economy.
We lost a half a million dollars in cash flow, Davison said.
Since then, the inn has adapted.
If we do have an experience like we did last year, what will that do to us financially? Davison said. Lets project that out and then that affects, you know, the cash that we have to spend on capital projects and making improvements on the property and whatnot.
We asked Dr. Mike Parson, FGCU professor and member of the governors Blue-Green Algae Task Force, about what makes this summer different from the past two years.
One of the big differences is we havent had huge rainfall events, Parsons said. We havent had a Hurricane Irma. We havent had tropical disturbances like we saw in the Fall of 2017.
With traces of red tide appearing along the Southwest Florida coast, efforts like the governors Red Tide Task Force and the Red Tide Mitigation and Innovative Technology Development initiative will go into effect. The goal is to be more prepared than ever.
We also spoke to a sea turtle technician at Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Laboratory (SCCF), who said scientists hope to learn more about chronic effects of red tide, not just the effects observed during a bloom.
Because of different conditions, it makes it harder to study red tide, leaving some researchers with questions.
How much are our nutrient-loading effects affecting the red tide? Said Dr. Richard Bartleson, a research scientist with SCCF.
Go here to read the rest:
Low red tide concentrations offshore of SWFL on two year anniversary of epidemic - Wink News
Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway Total remaining recoverable resources across the Norwegian continental shelf are around 8.3 bcmoe, according to the latest estimate by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).
Roughly half the total is thought to lie in proven fields and discoveries.
At the end of last year, there were 85 discoveries with no submitted plan for development and operation. These hold total reserves of 660 MMcmoe. The NPD estimates that NOK400 billion ($44 billion) would be needed for all these fields to be developed. By end-August 2019, 85 fields were in production on the NCS.
In 2018, wells accounted for half the investment on active fields, and in recent years, efficiency measures have cut average production well costs by more than 40%, the NPDs report said.
At the same time, operating costs on most fields have been falling, and increased take-up of automation and remote operation, improved use of data and more efficient operation, could further reduce costs and help raise production further, the report claimed.
The NPD has also mapped volumes in place for tight reservoirs in 42 discoveries and fields. Analysis suggests total volumes of 2,000 MMcmoe. Achieving profitable production from tight reservoirs means developing cost-effective solutions that increase reservoir exposure in the wells so that the oil and gas can flow more easily.
However, production from tight reservoirs may only be profitable via a tieback to existing infrastructure, and due to the long production horizon, companies need to work on development before the infrastructure reaches its tail-end phase.
The NPD has updated its study of the potential offered by using advanced methods for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), to cover more fields and discoveries. It now estimates a total recovery potential of about 350 MMcmoe.
However, there is a need for licensees to test EOR methods through field pilots, it adds. The biggest increase in total reserves has come at the Equinor-operated Troll field in the North Sea.
Oil improvements are down to implementation of new drilling and well technology which have led to higher recovery per well. Another factor has been the drilling strategy, with several rigs deployed or many years on the field.
Gas reserves too have risen following the go-ahead for the Troll Phase 3 project for increased gas offtake.
09/30/2019
Read the original here:
What Is Offshore?
The term offshore refers to a location outside of one's national boundaries, whether or not that location is land- or water-based. The term may be used to describe foreign banks, corporations, investments, and deposits.
A company may legitimately move offshore for the purpose of tax avoidance or to enjoy relaxed regulations. Offshore financial institutions can also be used for illicit purposes such as money laundering and tax evasion.
Offshoring isn't usually illegalhiding it is.
Offshore can refer to a variety of foreign-based entities or accounts. In order to qualify as offshore, the accounts or entity must be based in any country other than the customers or investors home nation. Many countries, territories, and jurisdictions have offshore financial centers (OFCs). These include well-known centers such as Switzerland, Bermuda, or the Cayman Islands, and lesser-known centers such as Mauritius, Dublin, and Belize. The level of regulatory standards and transparency differs widely among OFCs.
Supporters of OFCs argue that they improve the flow of capital and facilitate international business transactions. Critics argue that offshoring is a way to hide tax liabilities or ill-gotten gains from the authorities.
In the terms of business activities, offshoring is often referred to as outsourcingthe act of establishing certain business functions, such as manufacturing or call centers, in a nation other than the one in which the business most often does business. This is often to take advantage of more favorable conditions in a foreign country, such as lower wage requirements or looser regulations, and can result in significant cost savings for the business.
Businesses with significant sales overseas, such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., may take the opportunity to keep related profits in offshore accounts in countries with lower tax burdens. In 2018, it was estimated that more than $3 trillion in profits were held overseas, across more than 300 U.S. corporations.
Offshore investing can involve any situation in which the investors reside outside of the nation in which they are investing. This practice is mostly used by high net worth investors, as the cost to operate offshore accounts can be notable. Offshore investing may require the creation of accounts in the nation in which the investor wishes to invest. Advantages include tax benefits, asset protection, and privacy.
The primary downsides to offshore investing are the high costs involved and the increased regulatory scrutiny worldwide that offshore jurisdictions and accounts face, therefore offshore investing is beyond the means of most investors. Investors may also be scrutinized by regulators and tax authorities to make sure taxes are paid.
Offshore jurisdictions, such as the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man, are popular and known to offer fairly secure investment opportunities.
Offshore banking involves the securing of assets in financial institutions in foreign countries, which may be limited by the laws of the customers home nation, can be used to avoid certain unfavorable circumstances should the funds be kept in a financial institution in the home nation. This can include the avoidance of tax obligations as well as making it more difficult for these assets to be seized by a person or entity in the home nation. Youve probably heard of the famed Swiss bank account, that James Bond-like account that puts rich peoples money out of reach of their own countrys governmentlike the IRS, for example.
Its true that the Swiss have strict privacy laws, and in the past Swiss banks didnt even have names attached to the accounts. But Switzerland has agreed to turn over information to foreign governments on their account holders, effectively ending anytax evasionthat could have come with having an account when an account holder didn't report it.
For those who work internationally, the ability to save and use funds in a foreign currency for international dealings can be a benefit, which can provide a simpler way to access funds in the needed currency without the need to account for rapidly changing exchange rates. Because banking regulations vary from nation to nation, it is possible the country in which offshore banking is conducted does not offer the same protections as other nations.
Read the original here: