Category Archives: Offshore

Rare-earth-free permanent magnet generators (PMG) for offshore wind turbines with nameplates of 20MW are expected to be a reality within three years, following trials of a new-generation concept at the UK Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult facility.

A 250kW version of the axial-flux design being developed by GreenSpur Wind, which uses ferrites an iron-rich ceramic for its magnets, would be part of a four-module 1MW unit that is foreseen to be scaleable to a power rating roughly twice that of the biggest PMGs in service today.

It was our intention from the outset to design a generator that could be scaled for the next generation of offshore wind turbines, said Hugh-Peter Kelly, GreenSpurs head of technology and the inventors of the design.

The feedback that weve received is that current designs have known limitations and new concepts will be needed to deliver next generation 20MW offshore wind turbines.

ORE Catapults test and validation director Tony Quinn added: Our facilities [in Blyth, in northern England] have provided the perfect testbed for GreenSpur to further develop their innovative generator technology.

It is a great example of how [we are] supporting UK SMEs [small- and medium-size enterprises] to develop technologies that have the potential to be an integral part of the next-generation of offshore wind farms.

GreenSpur is now moving forward with modelling for significantly bigger, multi-megawatt generators, with the target of designing a 12MW-plus concept for offshore turbine created by stacking three 4MW units in parallel.

Replacing high-price rare-earth materials with ferrites a waste material produced in steel-making would cut the cost of PMG magnets from 40/kg ($50/kg) to around 1/kg, according to GreenSpur calculations, meaning the design could carve around 33% out of the capital cost of direct-drive generator, and so almost 5% off the price of a turbine.

Andrew Hine, GreenSpurs commercial director, noted: We have proven our technology at a credible scale and developed a network of expert partners. Our plan is to work with a co-development partner with the expertise and capability to deliver a rare-earth free solution to the global wind turbine market.

Discussions to use the PMG are underway with a number of OEMs, Hine confirmed to Recharge recently, but Greenspur was unable to disclose names at the moment.

More:

Offshore wind turbine 20MW generator ready 'within three years' - Recharge

Under a scenario consistent with the Paris climate targets, offshore wind will dominate by 2050, while gas will be the key to secure short-term emission cuts, according to the International Energy Agencys World Energy Outlook.

A huge growth in the deployment of offshore wind power could easily get the European Union to net-zero emissions by 2050 and achieve its Paris Agreement climate goals, according to a scenario presented by the International Energy Agency in Brussels on Monday (18 November).

A carbon neutral Europe has to put offshore wind in front, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said at an event presenting the report in Brussels.

Under a sustainable development scenario that meets the Paris Agreements target of keeping global temperature rise well below 2C, nuclear, solar PV hydro and onshore wind all remain relatively stable after 2025.

But offshore wind would see rapid growth. Coal is almost completely phased out, while gas use grows in the short term and declines after 2025.

The first turbine from the WindFloat Atlantic project was successfully towed from Ferrol, Spain, towards its destination 20 km off the coast of Viana do Castelo in Portugal on Saturday (19 October), in what constitutes a world second for floating wind.

The reason for the bullish prediction for offshore wind, Birol said, is that recent cost reductions and experience gained in Europes North Sea are scaling down costs and increasing efficiency. And Europes success with the technology has sparked interest in China, the United States and elsewhere.

Increasingly cost-competitive offshore wind projects are on course to attract a trillion dollars of investment worldwide by 2040. It is more attractive than onshore wind because turbines are larger, tapping into more reliable winds farther away from shore.

Offshore doesnt face the public opposition that onshore sometimes does, said Birol. We see that technology can provide a big leap forward in terms of cost reduction. Many oil and gas companies today with experience in offshore oil and gas drilling are also looking at offshore wind.

Birol said the surge in Europes offshore wind power is going to resemble the surge seen over the past decade in US shale gas.

Ten years ago the IEA said, before anyone else, we are going to see a silent revolution in the US. Now Im going to tell you one more thing. The cost reduction we have seen in shale and solar PV, we will be seeing a similar trend in offshore wind cost reduction in the future, Birol said.

Europe is the cradle of the wind energy industry and is still rightly perceived as a global leader in the sector. But fresh projects have slowed in recent years, pointing to new challenges for the EUs wind energy sector in

Role of gas

The US shale gas boom was also a major focus of the outlook report, with the United States expected to account for 30% of the increase in gas production up to 2030. By 2025, total US shale output oil and gas will overtake the total production from Russia.

OPECand Russia will together for the first time fall to less than half of total oil production by 2030, under the IEA scenarios.

The report envisions gas grids as being a crucial mechanism to bring energy consumers under the Paris Agreement scenario, typically delivering more energy than electricity networks and providing a valuable source of flexibility.

From an energy transitions perspective, natural gas can provide near-term benefits when replacing more polluting fuels, the report says.

A key longer-term question is whether gas grids can deliver truly low- or zero-carbon energy sources, such as low-carbon hydrogen and biomethane. It notes that while hydrogen is enjoying a wave of interest at the moment, it is still expensive to produce.

Boyana Achovski, Secretary General of Gas Infrastructure Europe, said at the event that this is one of the sectors main focuses at the moment. Were always advocating for increasing and upscaling renewable gases, she said. We welcome the recommendations in the outlook to introduce low carbon gas standards. For the moment there are 43 renewable hydrogen projects and 15 power to methane projects. We think its extremely important and necessary that these projects are supported.

The IEAs new assessment of the sustainable potential for biomethane supply suggests it could cover 20% of todays gas demand.

Awaiting European Green Deal

One of the main focuses of the new Commission, starting on 1 December, will be sector integration so that all of these energy sources can be used most efficiently, said Ditte Juul-Jorgensen, the new director general of the European Commissions energy department.

We see very interesting plans among industry to lower emissions from production process by changing energy carriers, she said.

The European Commission is expected to unveil the European Green Deal of new president Ursula Von Der Leyen on 11 December. It will contain a strategy for meeting the Paris Agreement and net-zero 2050 goals, and will be closely linked to an upcoming package reforming EU gas rules. That legislation is expected to focus heavily on incentivising development of renewable gas.

[Edited by Frdric Simon]

See the article here:

Offshore wind carry EU to meeting Paris goals, says IEA - EURACTIV

SBM Offshore and Constellation complete transaction regarding minority ownership in SBM Offshore operated FPSO companies

November 22, 2019

SBM Offshore and Constellation Oil Services Holding S.A. (Constellation) jointly confirm that they have successfully completed the transaction regarding the sale to SBM Offshore of Constellations equity ownership in the lease and operating companies related to five Brazilian FPSOs. This follows the announcement by SBM Offshore dated October 18, 2019, confirming SBM Offshore as the successful bidder in the public auction for the equity ownership. SBM Offshore was already the majority shareholder of the related entities and operator of these FPSOs before the transaction was completed.

Upon completion of the transaction SBM Offshore paid the total cash consideration of US$149 million. The completion concludes a successful long-term partnership between the companies which was established in 2004.

About Constellation

Constellation is a market leading provider of offshore and onshore oil and gas contract drilling in Brazil through its subsidiary Servios de Petrleo Constellation S.A. (Servios de Petrleo Constellation).

With continuous operations since 1981, Servios de Petrleo Constellation has built an unmatched reputation for excellence in offshore and onshore drilling services, obtaining ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and API Spec Q2 certifications for its quality management, environmental and safety records and systems.

SBM Offshore Corporate Profile

SBM Offshore N.V. is a listed holding company that is headquartered in Amsterdam. It holds direct and indirect interests in other companies that collectively with SBM Offshore N.V. form the SBM Offshore Group (the Company).

SBM Offshore provides floating production solutions to the offshore energy industry, over the full product lifecycle. The Company is market leading in leased floating production systems delivered to date, with multiple units currently in operation and has unrivalled operational experience in this field. The Companys main activities are the design, supply, installation, operation and the life extension of floating production solutions for the offshore energy industry.

As of December 31, 2018, Group companies employ approximately 4,350 people worldwide, including circa 650 contractors, which are spread over offices in key markets, operational shore bases and the offshore fleet of vessels. Group Companies employ a further 400 people, working for the joint ventures with two construction yards. For further information, please visit our website at http://www.sbmoffshore.com.

The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this communication SBM Offshore is sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general, or where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

The Management BoardAmsterdam, the Netherlands, November 22, 2019

For further information, please contact:

Investor RelationsBert-Jaap DijkstraDirector Corporate Finance and IR

Media RelationsVincent KempkesGroup Communications Director

Disclaimer

This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on managements current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of the Companys business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Certain such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as believes, may, will, should, would be, expects or anticipates or similar expressions, or the negative thereof, or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, or intentions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this release as anticipated, believed, or expected. SBM Offshore NV does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Nothing in this press release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.

Excerpt from:

SBM Offshore and Constellation complete transaction regarding minority ownership in SBM Offshore operated FPSO companies - EnerCom Inc.

On Sunday, Motherboard reported that the hacker or hackers known as Phineas Fisher targeted a bank, stole money and documents, and is offering other hackers $100,000 to carry out politically motivated hacks. Now, the bank Phineas Fisher targeted, Cayman National Bank from the Isle of Man, confirmed it has suffered a data breach.

"It is known that Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited was amongst a number of banks targeted and subject to the same hacking activity," Cayman National told Motherboard in a statement issued Monday.

"A criminal investigation is ongoing and Cayman National is co-operating with the relevant law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of the data theft. Cayman National takes any breach of data security very seriously and a specialist IT forensic investigation is underway, with appropriate actions being taken to ensure that the clients of Cayman Nationals Isle of Man bank and trust companies are protected," the statement added. The statement doesn't name Phineas Fisher explicitly, but instead says the bank was the victim of a "criminal hacking group."

"I robbed a bank and gave the money away," Phineas Fisher wrote in their most recent manifesto, adding that they breached the bank in 2016. "Computer hacking is a powerful tool to fight economic inequality." In its statement, Cayman National claimed it had found no evidence of financial loss either to its customers or Cayman National itself.

Do you know about another data breach? Wed love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, OTR chat on jfcox@jabber.ccc.de, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.

Phineas Fisher provided stolen documents and emails from the bank to leaking website Distributed Denial of Secrets, run by activist Emma Best.

"The global financial elite are oppressors, not victims [...] Hacking that elite and returning the tiniest fraction of the wealth that they've stolen doesn't make them victims," Phineas Fisher previously told Motherboard. "It is cybercrime. It's also activism. It's motivated by a desire for social change, I'm not personally profiting or benefiting from it."

Phineas Fisher most notoriously breached Italian surveillance vendor Hacking Team, before releasing a trove of internal company documents and files online.

Subscribe to our new cybersecurity podcast, CYBER.

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Offshore Bank Targeted By Phineas Fisher Confirms it Was Hacked - Motherboard

One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, well look at ROE to gain a better understanding of BW Offshore Limited (OB:BWO).

Over the last twelve months BW Offshore has recorded a ROE of 6.7%. That means that for every NOK1 worth of shareholders equity, it generated NOK0.07 in profit.

View our latest analysis for BW Offshore

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit Shareholders Equity

Or for BW Offshore:

6.7% = US$78m US$1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

Most readers would understand what net profit is, but its worth explaining the concept of shareholders equity. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. You can calculate shareholders equity by subtracting the companys total liabilities from its total assets.

ROE measures a companys profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The return is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. The higher the ROE, the more profit the company is making. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.

By comparing a companys ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. The image below shows that BW Offshore has an ROE that is roughly in line with the Energy Services industry average (7.4%).

Thats not overly surprising. ROE tells us about the quality of the business, but it does not give us much of an idea if the share price is cheap. If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

BW Offshore has a debt to equity ratio of 0.95, which is far from excessive. Im not impressed with its ROE, but the debt levels are not too high, indicating the business has decent prospects. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, youll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company one with potentially superior financials then do not miss thisfree list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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How Good Is BW Offshore Limited (OB:BWO), When It Comes To ROE? - Simply Wall St

November 22, 2019 --Honeywell announced it will design and deliver the Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) that will help BP remotely manage its offshore compression platform off Trinidad and Tobagos southeast coast.

As the projects main automation contractor (MAC), Honeywell will deliver all systems, detailed engineering and lead procurement for the integrated control and safety system. The solution will be based on Honeywells flagship control system, theExperion Process Knowledge System (PKS). This is the third offshore platform for the Cassia Complex off the southeast coast of Trinidad and Tobago, with Honeywell serving as MAC for all three projects.

Honeywell has a long track record as a vendor for control and safety technology with BP in Trinidad and Tobago, providing solutions and services across the companys downstream and upstream portfolio. This new project follows the 2018 award of the MAC contract to Honeywell for BP Trinidad and Tobagos Angelin offshore gas project. An earlier contract was awarded for the Juniper platform. Both projects are currently operational.

About Honeywell

Honeywellis a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit http://www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

Check out our free e-newslettersto read more great articles.

Original post:

Honeywell to build Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) for BP offshore platform off Trinidad and Tobago - Automation.com

Maersk Training has established a partnership with the UKs East Coast College to provide training courses for offshore renewable energy.

The training courses will be held at East Coast Colleges Energy Skills Centre in Lowestoft and Offshore Wind Skills Centre in Great Yarmouth.

The GBP 11.4 million Energy Skills Centre, home to the East Coast Energy Training Academy, will now be able to offer new offshore and renewable courses to around 1,000 students every year.

Safety and technical training will also be made available, which will include Global Wind Organisation courses.

East Coast College said it has also identified further opportunities to expand its portfolio with Maersk Training to include courses on blade repair in its 2020 curriculum.

As offshore wind continues to thrive down the east coast, the message from our clients has been clear they want a high standard of training that is dynamic, challenging and delivered locally, said James Costello, Maersk Trainings Business Development Executive.

To help our clients to reduce the total cost of training and provide a solution to this challenge Maersk Training UK have entered into a partnership with East Coast College that allows us to bring our globally recognised training standard to the East Anglia region.

Read the original post:

Maersk and East Coast College to Provide Offshore Wind Training - Offshore WIND

The developer of Australias first offshore wind farm has named Casper Frost Thorhauge an Orsted veteran and pioneer of Taiwans sector as its new CEO.

Thorhauge will lead the 2.2GW plan to deploy turbines off the state of Victoria, in what would be the Southern Hemispheres largest offshore wind development.

Star of the South said its new CEO has extensive experience in developing and delivering offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia.

Thorhauge joins Star of the South after leading Orsteds 900MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a project off Taiwan, one of the early clutch of large-scale projects in that market and currently preparing to start construction in 2021.

He has a 10-year career at Orsted since joining Dong Energy, as it was then known, in 2008, according to Linkedin.

In Taiwan, Orsted and other developers faced having to build relationships with local and national governments and other stakeholders in areas such as local content, which rapidly emerged as a sensitive issue for the island's offshore wind ambitions.

Australian labour unions earlier this week gave their blessing to offshore wind as an antidote to job losses in oil & gas, but called for strict local content rules to be attached to Star of the South and any future projects.

Thorhauge takes the helm as site investigations begin in earnest at Star of the Souths site in the Bass Strait, with two floating Lidar devices and a wave buoy deployed. He said: This project has the potential to power hundreds of thousands of Victorian homes, providing a reliable and consistent source of energy, while creating jobs and investment for Gippsland.

If the project is feasible it could be delivering full power by 2027, said the developer, which is backed by global offshore wind investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

Thorhauge succeeds Andy Evans, who lead Star of the South from its earliest days and is now pursuing other ventures in clean energy and leading Offshore Wind Australia, a new business network for the nations fledgling sector.

See the article here:

Orsted Taiwan veteran to lead first Australian offshore wind - Recharge

I write in response to Economic, environmental benefits power offshore wind (My View, Nov. 5). Offshore wind is an exciting, viable and potentially productive source of electricity. But building these wind farms may significantly affect the existing blue economy, and the job numbers the authors cite are misleadingly high.

Fishing is an integral part of the blue economy, but the planned offshore wind development will affect over 100,000 acres of ocean currently used by fishermen to sustain the very industry the authors applaud. Once the Rhode Island/Massachusetts wind energy area is fully built out, an area of roughly 1,418 square miles vastly larger than Cape Cod will be covered in turbines roughly a mile apart. How this will affect fisheries is unknown. Many commercial fishermen in Europe will not, or cannot, fish within the farms because of safety hazards and the potential damage to or loss of gear.

Additionally, the full baseline studies that are desperately needed to examine the impacts on the ocean environment and the fishing industry are neither being presented by the developers nor required by the federal government. Placing hundreds of turbines in the ocean floor will no doubt change the ecology of the area and could either chase away commercially important species or make it so fishermen can no longer catch the species theyve relied on for generations.

Whats really upsetting is the authors are misrepresenting the number of jobs coming to Massachusetts. The authors state nearly 10,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of Vineyard Wind and the next three wind farms to be built. This sounds like nearly 10,000 permanent jobs are coming to Cape Cod and the South Coast. This is not the case. While the authors dont identify the recent report they cite, the 2018 Massachusetts Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment estimated a range of 6,878 and 9,852 job-years (not jobs) would be created during the construction phase (which includes the design and permitting, not just construction). Lets break this down.

Job-years are not the same as jobs. The term job-year is an economic term that equals one year of full-time employment. So, 20 job-years can be one job that exists for 20 years, 40 temporary half-time jobs, 20 one-year construction jobs, etc.

Not all job-years are permanent or pay well. Out of the nearly 10,000 job-years projected, only about one third (2,279-3,171) will be job-years directly related to building the wind farm. The rest of the job-years are indirect (hinging on the hope that supply chain companies will open factories for turbine construction within driving distance from Cape Cod) or induced (extra personnel hired at hotels, convenience stores, etc). Job-years at these factories and hotels will be not be high-paying and may not be permanent.

Construction phase includes design and permitting, not just construction. Those 2,279-3,171 direct job-years include not only construction jobs, but also designers, engineers, permitters, lawyers, and scientists, many of whom already work for the offshore wind companies. This is not job creation; it is job certainty for their workforce.

Finally, we have no guarantee any of these jobs are or will be located in New England, let alone between New Bedford and Cape Cod as the writers imply. None of the offshore wind development companies are U.S. companies (although most or all have offices here), meaning some of these job-year jobs could go overseas.

Fishing is an important and sustainable part of the existing Cape Cod blue economy. Offshore wind is a necessary and sustainable renewable energy source that we support. We need to find solutions that allow both of these important industries to flourish.

Mary Newton Lima is the offshore wind lead at Coonamessett Farm Foundation, a Cape Cod-based nonprofit sustainable research organization.

See more here:

Impact of offshore wind on fisheries unknown - Opinion - Cape Cod Times

Clemson University researchers based in North Charleston received a $1.24 million grant to study technology related to offshore wind turbines.

The U.S. Department of Energy provided the funding to helptest how key pieces of equipment on offshore wind turbines hold up under varying conditions.

The effort could make offshore wind turbines, a technology that has not been widely adopted to this point in the United States, more reliable and a more attractive investment for energy companies.

The new research will be performed by ateam at theDominion Energy Innovation Center, a Clemson facility that opened six years ago at the former naval base in North Charleston.

J. Curtiss Fox, who runs the innovation center for Clemson, said the hope is to stop vital equipment on the turbines from wearing out as quickly.

The researchers will do that by simulating how the turbines are affected by wind, waves and other factors, and learning how to adjust the turbine speed or the pitch of the blades to extend the life of the equipment.

That's extremely important because offshore turbines can be difficult and expensive for technicians to access.

To go out there and change a $5 part becomes a very expensive endeavor, said Fox, who will also lead the new research. Theres very little margin for error, or your operating costs go up dramatically.

Reach Andrew Brown at 843-708-1830 or follow him on Twitter @andy_ed_brown.

See more here:

Clemson researchers receive $1.24M grant to study offshore wind technology - Charleston Post Courier