Category Archives: Offshore

Eastern Shipbuilding Grouphas christened and launchedUSCGC ARGUS (WMSM-915), the U.S. Coast Guards first Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC).

The ceremony was held at Easterns Nelson St. Shipyard on October 27. Ship Sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, had the honor of christening the vessel.

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In her distinguished military career, Captain (Ret.) Kelley was the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel as the Commanding Officer of the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC CAPE NEWAGEN and was the first woman to command both a medium endurance cutter and a high endurance cutter in USCGC NORTHLAND and USCGC BOUTWELL respectively.

The Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is one of the Services highest acquisition priorities and is absolutely vital to recapitalizing the capability provided by our legacy fleet of 210-foot and 270- foot Medium Endurance Cutters (MEC), said Adm. Linda Fagan.

Its truly a monumental occasion in enhancing our national security as Eastern Shipbuilding Groups Nelson Shipyard officially christens and launches the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS (WMSM-915). Over the past few decades the need for our Coast Guard as grown globally with operations spanning the Artic, Antarctic, Middle East and Indo-Pacific, all while it continues to protect our valuable United States shoreline. This first-in-its-class vessel is a testament to the great coordination between Eastern Shipbuilding and the Coast Guard that now gives the service a much needed upgrade, Senator Rick Scott said.

The OPC is designed to conduct an array of missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, disaster relief, and other homeland security and defense operations in support of the nations maritime security and border protection.

The OPC design includes the capability of carrying an MH-60R or MH-65 helicopter and three operational over-the-horizon small boats. The vessel is also equipped with a Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) suite that will greatly enhance the U.S. Coast Guards mission capabilities.

The first OPC is named for the Revenue Cutter Argus, which was one of the first 10 ships assigned to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service.

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VIDEO: EPS splashes USCG's first Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter - Naval Today

What questions do you have about the 2023 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

This years election in New Jersey does not include any state races, but every state senator and assembly representative is up for re-election.

Ashley Koning, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, said while affordability and property taxes are always hot topics in the Garden State, the candidates are also talking about other issues that voters seem passionate about.

For the Republican side weve seen a really big focus on parental rights, and on the Democratic side weve seen a big focus especially in these last weeks and months on the issue of abortion, she said.

Koning noted that even though New Jersey has some of the best provisions in the country when it comes to reproduction rights, The United States Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year removed the constitutional right to abortion. Since then, a growing number of states across the country are limiting access to abortion.

Dan Bowen, an associate professor of political science at the College of New Jersey, said another issue in this years campaign is offshore wind farms.

There have been groups that have pushed back against offshore wind farms that have been pushed by the Murphy administration for several years, but this summer there have been a spate of beached whales and dolphins along the Jersey shore and now opponents to the wind farms have linked these two issues, he said.

According to Ben Dworkin, the director of the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University, because the legislature is at the top of the ticket, there will be a low turnout at the polls.

Were looking at 27% to 28% of registered voters casting ballots this year,he said. When you have a low turnout election, each side, both the Democrats and Republicans focus on ginning up support, agitating and getting their base voters to the polls.

For the past 20 years the Democrats have controlled the New Jersey Legislature , which means they have the power to control what bills are considered in committee and voted on by lawmakers. Bowen noted this years election is a bit unpredictable because it is the first election with the newly drawn legislative districts since the 2020 census.

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N.J.s election focusing on abortion and offshore wind - WHYY

The Business Network for Offshore Wind announced recently that is has changed its name to Oceantic Network.

The Baltimore-basedorganization whose goal is to accelerate offshore wind energy development and build a dedicated domestic supply chain, said the rebranding reinforces the groups strategic commitment to convene stakeholders in all ocean-based sources of renewable power, leveraging members expertise and investments in developing offshore wind capabilities.

Changing our name is an opportunity to refresh our messages,introduce our organization to new potential members, and inspire more stakeholders to look to the oceans for efficient, reliablerenewable energy, Liz Burdock, president and CEO of Oceantic said in a statement.Ournew name Oceantic Networksymbolizes the broadening of the networks scope and strategy, extending our members leadership in offshore wind to encompass multiple sources of sustainable ocean power that build off of offshore wind.

As Oceantic Network, the nonprofit organization will continue to host theInternational Partnering Forum (IPF) an annual conference of offshore wind stakeholders. Under the Oceantic Network banner, IPF will continue to convenefederal and state agencies, manufacturers, workforce advocates, scientists, engineers and maritime operators that develop, harness and connect ocean clean energy.

With its expanded focus, the Oceantic Network also launched a new website,oceantic.org,where individuals can read throughFAQsand learn about the Networks updated mission.

In amessage published today,Burdockstated,Our members recognize that the oceans whose winds theyhave devoted a decade to harnessing hold a far greater store of energy than previous generations ever imagined. In addition to the stronger, more sustained winds over the oceans, the oceans waves, tides, billions of surface acreage for gathering solar power, and the awesome innovations of green hydrogen allcreate new possibilities for economic activity, jobs, and abundant clean energy.

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Business Network for Offshore Wind changes name to Oceantic ... - WorkBoat

A geotechnical survey campaign has been completed at the Ossian floating offshore wind farm site in Scotland.

Set to be located across 858 square kilometres of seabed off the east coast of Scotland, the project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Marubeni, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

The sites seabed is around 72 metres below sea level and is located 84 kilometres off the east coast of Scotland.

The geotechnical surveys, which have been ongoing since the spring, were carried out by Fugro and Ocean Infinity.

The surveys delivered information essential to Ossians installation design and understanding of the seabed environment, the project company said.

The Fugro Scout, a purpose-built geotechnical vessel, the Stril Explorer, and the Normand Superior were all deployed to carry out the geotechnical operations.

Fugro focused on downhole geotechnical sampling and in situ cone penetration testing, while Ocean Infinity concentrated on the seabed scope, including shallow vibro-cores and deep push seabed cone penetration tests, some of which were carried out remotely in an industry first, Ossian said.

According to the press release, Ossian has become the first ScotWind floating offshore wind farm to complete essential geotechnical surveys.

The scale of Ossian is globally significant and the information gathered from these surveys brings us another step closer to making it a reality.We are the first large scale floating offshore wind farm to reach this milestone and are pleased with the progress thats been made, said David Willson, Senior Project Manager.

Along with other ScotWind developers, Ossian also recently completed a two-year digital aerial survey of 75,000 birds across the North Sea. The pace at which the project has begun will ensure Ossian is able to advance as quickly as possible and contribute to the journey to net zero.

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The consortiumwon the development rightsfor the Scottish site last year.The installed capacity of the floating wind farm was initially said to be 2.6 GW. At the end of 2022, the developers announced that they had identified an increase in the potential overall project capacity of 1 GW.

If the project is built up to a capacity of 3.6 GW, it would be capable of powering almost 6 million Scottish homes and offsetting around 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, according to information about the project SSE shared earlier.

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Geotechnical Surveys Completed at Scottish 3.6 GW Floating ... - Offshore WIND

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the outlook for Eversource Energy, and its NSTAR Electric utility subsidiary, to negative from stable, partly because of uncertainty around the parent companys offshore wind plans.

The negative outlook reflects greater uncertainty around the sale of the three offshore projects under development, including the likelihood of a lower sale price, after New York regulators declined a request for a price increase for one of the projects, the credit ratings agency said Monday.

Eversources planned sale of its 50% stake in the three wind projects under development with rsted is highly complex given the sectors headwinds, its status as a new asset class in North America and the joint venture structure, Fitch said. Moodys Investors Service downgraded rsted last month.

The transaction will take longer than previously expected, possibly involving a re-bid process, and will probably fetch a lower price given that the power prices were not adjusted upwards, Fitch said.

Eversource's credit profile has been weak over the last three years, and proceeds from the offshore wind sales are expected to be used to cut the companys debt, Fitch said.

Failure to complete the sale in a timely manner would pressure Eversource's already weak financial profile, resulting in a ratings downgrade, Fitch said.

Also, to right-size its balance sheet, Eversourceneeds to issue a significant amount of equity in 2024 and 2025, according to Fitch.

Eversource expects to spend $21.5 billion in capital expenditures from 2023 through 2027 in a relatively low-risk plan, according to Fitch. The planned spending includes $8.9 billion on electric distribution, $5.3 billion on natural gas distribution and $5.3 billion on transmission regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the ratings agency said.

Most of Eversource's planned utility capex will be recovered with limited lag, reflecting FERC construction work in progress, electric distribution trackers and natural gas distribution infrastructure expansion cost-recovery mechanisms, Fitch said.

Fitch said it considers FERC to be among the most constructive regulators due to timely cost recovery and formulaic rates of return.

Connecticut, where Eversources Connecticut Light and Power subsidiary operates, is a challenging regulatory environment, according to Fitch. Recent actions by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to implement performance-based regulation, enactment of Senate Bill 7, and authorized [returns on equity] that are lower than national average result in a meaningfully less-constructive regulatory environment for electric utilities, Fitch said.

Eversource,based in Springfield, Massachusetts, didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.

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Fitch downgrades Eversource outlook to 'negative' on uncertainty ... - Utility Dive

[By: Kongsberg Maritime]

Kongsberg Maritime and Solstad Offshore have entered into a collaboration agreement to identify and trial decarbonisation technologies across Solstads fleet.

The companies will work together to identify and utilise Kongsberg Maritime products and services to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Solstad vessels. The agreement will also investigate the use of other new, digital technologies to drive operational efficiency.

The Solstad fleet comprises about 40 modern ships operating worldwide, and all ships have equipment from Kongsberg Maritime onboard. The company is one of the largest offshore shipping companies in the World.

Kongsberg Maritime are excited to continue our historic collaboration with Solstad Offshore, said James Poulton, SVP Aftermarket Sale Kongsberg Maritime. Close partnerships are key to developing the next generation of integrated technologies so that we together can support the goal of decarbonisation within the maritime industry.

Sustainability Director Tor Inge Dale of Solstad emphasized, "Collaboration is the cornerstone of the ongoing energy transformation process. Kongsberg and Solstad share a rich history of partnering to advance and enhance technology, and this partnership will now extend to our collective efforts in decarbonization."

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

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Kongsberg & Solstad Offshore to Collaborate on Decarbonisation ... - The Maritime Executive

Two days after hundreds of local residents, public officials and business representatives came to Ocean City Elementary to weigh in on a U.S. Wind project proposed off the coasts of Maryland and Delaware, another similar meeting was held over the state line.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, held a community open house last Thursday at Indian River High School in Dagsboro, with ocean scientists providing visual impact imagery and mapping of the Maryland Offshore Wind project.

The Ocean City meeting was similar and one of four total the federal organization hosted following the release of a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project. The other two were virtual meetings held Oct. 19 and 30, and public comment is open until Nov. 20.

Many of the attendees of the Ocean City meeting expressed frustration over the fact that the meeting did not include open public comment. At the Delaware meeting, the feedback focused more on the project details.

The forum at Indian River consisted of poster displays throughout the gym and BOEM officials heard from concerned citizens and pro-wind environmental leaders directly, using an online portal for comment, providing an address for letters and an email address for completing the listening tour.

Social media was blowing up with thousands of community comments that the new photos released of the offshore windfarm seem to bring the viewshed of the 800-foot turbines and 900-foot structures closer to the beach and the local coastal towns than originally anticipated.

Anne Sakalay, who resides in the Towers Shore community in North Bethany Beach, expressed her fears about the view from her home and the onshore cabling, which is expected to land at 3Rs beach less than a mile away.

It has always been so pretty here, she said. These Maryland windfarms and proposed Delaware onshore cables are closer than we expected. There is a complete lack of transparency about this project. What is going on, how big will the turbines be? They have changed the ocean horizon forever. We cannot see the sunrise. People come to the ocean and beach to heal, to be at one with nature; not to stare at industrial wind turbines.

She added that the US Wind MarWin project turbines should not be constructed so close to the shore.

They keep growing the number of turbines and the height, she said. This does not just impact us, but generations to come.

Sakalay pointed out that the wind farms have been pushed further offshore to more well-heeled and wealthy communities, where money talks.

We are totally against bringing the lines ashore at 3Rs beach, our whole Towers Shore community has stated so in writing. It goes through the Inland Bays which is going to impact the ecosystem of the bays no matter what the companies say.

She added that there are other land-based alternatives for transmission lines.

The Caesar Rodney Institute issued a white paper at the open house claiming the federal government should not approve the wind project based on assumptions in the Environmental Impact Statement.

I looked at the construction and operations plan when it came out and those [early] assumptions about the view are not accurate, said Caesar Rodney Institute Executive Director David Stephenson. They make it look further away than it is. The [Construction Operations Plan] was not realistic.

He added, through his role at the center for energy and environmental policy, that BOEMs draft statement is now showing that the US Wind Skipjack project will be as close as 10 miles to the coasts of Delaware and Maryland.

There will be an unavoidable view and dominate presence of a developed and industrial view of turbines from the coastline both day and night, Stevenson said. And we are looking at 1,050 turbines which have been adjusted for height.

Lissa Eng, the renewable energy national communications lead for BOEM, said the group is a small federal agency of about 600 people. She said the four meetings held on the project to give people chances to submit comments formally, on the record, in response to the Environmental Impact Statement.

So, its part of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] process, Eng explained.

The act requires all federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.

We are doing the review process today; so, the open-comment period is through Nov. 20, and we wanted to be present, in-person, as well as virtual, so people who cannot travel here can still voice their opinion on certain aspects of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, Eng said during last weeks meeting at Indian River.

She said the open house format allows people to speak one-on-one with the agencys scientists. They can see our subject matter experts and get into the weeds or take a deep dive, she said It is set-up so that people can get their questions answered.

Eng added that the meeting is public and the goal is to collect public comments.

We have a court reporter here, we have computers set-up for responses, we have tables set-up for written comments and people can send notes directly to us, she said.

BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in a statement that officials welcome the feedback.

We value the knowledge we receive from local communities, ocean users, and others, she said. Working together, we can reduce conflicts and establish a strong foundation for offshore wind energy projects moving forward.

US Wind, Inc. is seeking approval for the construction and operation of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which includes three planned phases. Two of the phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.

US Winds proposal for all three phases includes installation of up to 121 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four offshore export cable corridors with landfall within Delaware Seashore State Park.

The lease area is about 8.7 nautical miles offshore in federal waters off the coast of Maryland and roughly 9 nautical miles from Sussex County, Delaware.

This is the most significant step forward in the history of Maryland offshore wind, said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. BOEMs draft environmental impact statement sets us on a path toward starting construction on our offshore wind projects in 2025.

Jodi Rose, the executive director of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and an environmental advocacy champion believes in wind.

In order to address the existential crisis we all face with climate change, we need to expand renewable energy sources and quickly, she said. Offshore wind will generate energy for hundreds of thousands of homes, reduce our dependence on damaging fossil fuels, and help put us on a positive trajectory for a more sustainable future. We owe this to the next generation to innovate the way we get our energy.

BOEMs website for comment the Maryland Offshore Wind project can be found online.

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Second BOEM in-person hearing on offshore wind generates ... - Ocean City Today

NOV NOV delivered solid third-quarter results, almost entirely driven by its offshore operations, which represent a bit under half of the firms overall business. This offsets adverse impacts from comparatively sluggish North American land markets, which we expect will remain subdued into early 2024. Revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin each expanded sequentially by 4% and 50 basis points, respectively. We maintain our no-moat rating and $23 fair value estimate following the results.

Offshore activity continues to gain momentum globally, and a robust pipeline of projects slated for final investment decisions over the next two years implies conditions will remain favorable for the next several years. Sales from NOVs offshore drilling and completions businesses followed up last quarters strong top-line growth (up 18% versus the first quarter) with another 10% sequential expansion.

The rig technologies segment has by far the largest offshore exposure which, in addition to delivering the highest top-line growth, also drove the largest profitability expansion of NOVs three segments. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 14.5%, up nearly 300 basis points versus last quarter and more than 400 basis points year over year. Management guidance indicates further margin accretion is likely, and the segment will exit the year with a 15% margin, by our estimate. We foresee similar offshore-related tailwinds for the completion and production solutions segment in the future. This business has decent offshore exposure, about 35% to 40% of sales on average, which we expect will yield solid margin accretion in the future. Management indicated the segment is on track to deliver a double-digit EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter, a level not seen since 2020.

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstars editorial policies.

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NOV Earnings: Offshore Remains Central Performance Driver as ... - Morningstar

Houston-based oil and gas company Murphy Oilhassanctioned an oilfield development project in the Cuu Long Basin offshore Vietnam, Southeast Asia.

Murphy received a stamp of approval from the Vietnamese government to advance a field development plan at the Lac Da Vang oilfield several weeks before sanctioning the project in 3Q 2023. Located in Block 15-1/05 of theCuu Long Basin, this project is expected to achieve first oil in 2026, with development phased through 2029.

Murphy is the operator of the block and has a 40% working interest while its partners, PetroVietnam Exploration Production and SK Earthon, hold the remaining 35% and 25%, respectively. Overall, the Lac Da Vang field has an estimated ultimate recovery of 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) gross resources, with peak gross production of 30 to 40 mboepd and 10 15 mboepd net peak production.

Within Block 15-1/05 in the Cuu Long Basin, Murphy is advancing plans for the Lac Da Hong exploration well in 2024 with a mean to upward gross resource potential of 65 135 mmboe. In addition, the company is progressing plans in Block 15-2/17 within the same basin for the Hai Su Vang exploration well also in 2024 with a mean to upward gross resource potential of 170 430 mmboe.

The U.S. player maintains its 2023 accrued CAPEX range of $950 million to $1.025 billion, which excludes $49 million in acquisition-related CAPEX for Cte dIvoire and Vietnam. However, Murphy is raising its full-year 2023 production range to 185 to 187 mboepd, consisting of approximately 53% oil and 59% liquids volumes. This represents a 3 mboepd increase in the midpoint from the previous range.

The companys production for the fourth quarter of 2023 is estimated to be in the range of 181.5 to 189.5 mboepd with 95 mbopd, or 51%, oil volumes. This range includes planned downtime of 500 boepd in the Gulf of Mexico and 1.5 mboepd onshore. Additionally, the production is impacted by mechanical issues in two operated Gulf of Mexico wells, with plans in place for workovers in 2024.

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Murphy eyes first oil in 2026 from offshore project in Southeast Asia - Offshore Energy

Swedish company CorPower Ocean has successfully verified the survival mode of its C4 wave energy device, weathering through two major storms along the Portuguese coast which unleashed waves of up to 13 meters.

The storms marked the most energetic period at the Aguadoura site in northern Portugal since CorPower Ocean deployed its first commercial-scale device in August.

With major depressions building up over the Atlantic, Storm Babet and Aline unleashed waves up to 13 meters, providing an ideal opportunity to test the C4s design principle for robust operation in extreme weather.

The storms were widely reported, leaving a trail of destruction across Portugal resulting in strong winds, torrential rain, flooding and building collapses.

Patrik Mller, CorPower Oceans CEO, said: This was our most robust test so far in terms of storm survivability. We are happy to report that the device operated as intended with minimum motion and loads, despite being battered by waves up to 13 meters. The C4 was fully submersed under wave peaks on a regular basis. Last weeks operation has provided solid verification of the C4s ability to endure extreme ocean conditions.

The C4s unique survival mode feature is enabled by a frequency detuning principle. In big storm waves, the C4 exhibits almost no response to the incoming wave power. This limits the loading on the structure to a similar level to regular operation in moderate ocean conditions. The survival mode is the natural state of the machine, making it a passive fault tolerant protection feature.

With the wave energy device operating as intended in survival mode, the loads recorded were slightly lower than predicted by advanced simulation models.

The models have been calibrated in several steps since 2012, by prototype testing in wave tanks and by the previous CorPower C3 scale 1:2 device that was operated at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in the Orkney islands in 2018.

Offshore Energy Marine Energy LinkedIn

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CorPower Ocean's wave energy device weathers through two major ... - Offshore Energy