Category Archives: Offshore

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Sens. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, recently introduced the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, which would provide critical financial incentives to encourage investment in offshore wind energy.

This bipartisan bill would create an investment tax credit that is redeemable for the first 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind facilities placed into service, amounting to about 600 wind turbines.

In the past, Congress has offered a temporary credit for investments in wind power, but the last extension of this credit will expire before Dec. 31, 2019. This credit has been a lifeline to the nascent offshore wind industry. The Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act would give the industry the certainty needed to plan investments and maximize deployment of this clean power technology.

Offshore wind energy has the potential to power every home, school and business from Florida to Maine with clean, renewable energy, Carper said. Investing in new offshore wind projects spurs economic growth and has the potential to create millions of good-paying American jobs. It also helps enhance our national security by encouraging domestic energy production and protects our environment and public health by deploying a cleaner source of energy. Im proud to partner with Collins to provide this growing industry the certainty it needs to draw private sector investments in new offshore wind facilities across the country. Making smart investments to move us closer to energy independence is a win-win-win for our economy, our security, our health and our planet.

The legislation defines offshore facilities as any facility located in the inland navigable waters of the U.S., including the Great Lakes, or in the coastal waters of the U.S., including the territorial seas of the U.S., the exclusive economic zone of U.S. and the outer Continental Shelf of the U.S.

The University of Delaware Special Initiative on Offshore Wind estimated that the Atlantic coast holds 330 gigawatts of offshore wind power enough to meet the electricity needs of the East Coast. The expansion of Americas offshore wind industry would provide an opportunity to protect the environment, grow the nations economy and create jobs for people living in areas near the coast.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available at bit.ly/2tWK1Xe.

Originally posted here:

Carper, Collins introduce bipartisan legislation to spur emerging offshore wind industry - Dover Post

*This content is brought to you by Brenthurst Wealth

By Brian Butchart*

Time is running out for those who have not as yet considered the implications of what is required for disclosure or the possible implications of non-disclosure of offshore assets.

In the 2016 Budget, the now ex-finance minister Pravin Gordhan, announced the Special Voluntary disclosure programme (SVDP) for those individuals that did not previously utilise the opportunity to disclose undeclared offshore assets in the 2003/2004 amnesty.

It was estimated that approximately R65 billion was disclosed in the 2003/2004 amnesty with an estimated R200 billion or more still undeclared.

Treasury has made it clear that the SVDP is the last opportunity for those who have not declared any historical offshore assets to the local tax authorities and the Reserve Bank if these assets were in contravention of any exchange controls or the Tax administration act.

As from October 1 2016 to August 31 2017 taxpayers have been given an opportunity to disclose these assets and pay certain penalties in order to legitimise these assets and bring them into the tax net of Sars for any future tax liabilities.

Taxpayers who do not utilise this opportunity to come clean risk being taxed on the full amount that has not been taxed before, with no limitation on how far back Sars can raise assessments. So while properly disclosed applications under the SVDP will provide full immunity, those who do not come clean will be at the mercy of the revenue service with regards to the taxable period.

In addition, Sars could impose understatement penalties of 150% or 200% of the tax payable, together with interest. From an exchange control perspective the authorities are mandated to, where appropriate, recover the full amount of the contravention. A contravention of the exchange control regulations can lead to criminal prosecution.

As from September 2017 this year the first set of countries which include the G20, including South Africa and several others have agreed on the terms of the common reporting standards (CRS) to disclose information of tax payers who hold financial instruments in their country to the tax authorities in which they are tax resident.

This includes all financial instruments held by individuals and entities including trusts and foundations.

The SVDP is intended to encourage taxpayers to come forward on a voluntary basis to regularise their tax affairs with Sars and the Reserve Bank to avoid the imposition of under-statement or administrative penalties.

Sars has confirmed that any person may apply for SVDP. However, a person that is aware of a pending audit or investigation or is the subject of a not yet concluded audit investigation, may not use the scheme.

Individuals and companies may apply. Trusts may not. However, beneficiaries of trusts may apply provided they deem the assets and income of the trust as their own.

The SVDP consists of an application to the Reserve Bank for exchange control transgressions and an application to Sars for any tax transgressions.

The exchange control levy is 10% of the value of the assets as at 28 February 2016 if you opt to keep these funds offshore or 5% of you opt to bring them back to SA. If you pay for the penalty form SA sources rather than the offshore source an additional 2% is levied.

There are two disclosure options for tax transgressions. Voluntary disclosure programme (VDP) and SVDP.

The voluntary disclosure programme has been in existence for several years already, allowing all tax payers an opportunity to voluntarily disclose any tax contraventions to Sars on which the tax liability would be calculated and interest applied to that liability. The one disadvantage is that if this route is selected Sars has the right to go back to the inception of the investment in order to calculate the exact tax liability since inception with interest applied to each respective tax period.

The SVDP is for a limited period until 31 August 2017 and is calculated using the capital value of all assets in contravention of the of the tax administration act at the end of every tax year from 28 February 2011 to 28 February 2015. 40% of the Highest value of the aggregate of all assets over these 5 years will be included in the taxable income of the individual in the 2015 tax period and tax payable thereon.

In addition Sars also charges interest on the outstanding tax due to them.

This ensures that all donations tax, dividends tax, capital gains tax and any income tax or estate duty liabilities will be exempt from the past.

However you need to clearly understand the implications of both the SVDP as well as the VDP in order to determine which route will be more beneficial.

I would suggest seeking professional advice and assistance in order to make an informed decision, but wouldnt wait too much longer as August 31 2017 is fast approaching.

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Deadline looms for undeclared offshore assets - BizNews

The offshore rig business has been in a state of decline for more than two years. Even before oil prices started to crash, there was a concern that there were too many rigs fighting to find work. The crash came in the middle of 2014, and the industry has been falling ever since. This past quarter, though, Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO) posted the first increase in revenue in a long time.

Here's a look at what happened this past quarter that led to the uptick in revenue, and how that may make investors think differently about this stock.

Image soruce: Getty Images.

Data source: Diamond Offshore earnings release.

The most surprising element of Diamond's most recent earnings report was the increase in revenue. That isn't something we have seen from offshore rig companies lately. The gains came from the company's ability tofind work for two of its ultra-deepwater floating rigs, which started on contract in mid-February, according to Diamond's most recent fleet status report.

Another encouraging sign is that those contracted assets ran at a high utilization rate. Operational efficiency improved to 96.6%. Less downtime means that more days on those term contracts are revenue-generating days, which translates to better profits. Managementhas attributed this to its Pressure Control by the Hour agreementwith General Electric(NYSE:GE)to own and lease blowout preventersto Diamond, rather than Diamond owning the equipment itself.

The reason those higher revenue figures didn't flow to the bottom line was that the companytook a $71 million asset impairment charge related to some of its older vessels that have gone off-contract. Adjusting for these noncash impairments, net income for the quarter would have been $0.45 per share.

Data source: Diamond Offshore earnings releases. Chart by author.

The modest income result and minimal capital spending allowed Diamond to generate $105 million in free cash flow, most of which went to paying down the company's short-term borrowings. With its debt-to-capital ratio of 34% and most of its current rigs contracted to work for at least a year, Diamond is in as good a shape as any other rig company today.

It appears that Diamond's partnership with General Electric on the Pressure Control by the Hour program is reaping notable rewards. CEO Marc Edwards went out of his way to single out the success of the program thus far:

The year-over-year increase is driven primarily by new contracts that ramped up earlier this year, a substantial improvement in our operating performance and our continued focus on cost management. The improvement in operational performance was seen across the fleet. However, I would like to highlight the four Black ships operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

Recall that these rigs are under our unique-to-the-industry Pressure Control by the Hour construct initiated just over a year ago, the benefits of which are now beginning to kick in. For example, the revenue efficiency on the Black ships has increased by over 300 basis points quarter-over-quarter, with BOP [blowout preventer] performance being a significant contributor.

During the past quarter, we drilled a well in the Gulf of Mexico to 31,000 feet, 30% faster than the planned drilling schedule. Part of this efficiency increase is a result of the ongoing reliability improvement we are witnessing because of Pressure Control by the Hour. The relationship with our partner, GE, continues to mature, and we are beginning to realize the benefits of the design for reliability ethos with critical component and system upgrades.

New contracts, high rates of operational efficiency, and the scrapping of a couple of older rigs have allowed Diamond to keep its earnings in positive territory when so many other rig companies' results are in the loss column. To improve its results from here, the company will need to find work for its cold-stacked rigs, which will be harder when having to bid against rigs that are still "hot" -- those that have just gotten off a contract and are ready to work immediately.

That said, Diamond is in pretty good shape right now, and should have the ability to reinvest in the business through either newbuilds or acquisitions. Considering that the stock still trades at a considerable discount to its tangible book value, Diamond is one of the best ways to invest in the return of offshore drilling.

Tyler Crowe owns shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Diamond Offshore Posts a Rare Revenue Increase in Q2 - Motley Fool

Submitted News

Sens. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, recently introduced the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, which would provide critical financial incentives to encourage investment in offshore wind energy.

This bipartisan bill would create an investment tax credit that is redeemable for the first 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind facilities placed into service, amounting to about 600 wind turbines.

In the past, Congress has offered a temporary credit for investments in wind power, but the last extension of this credit will expire before Dec. 31, 2019. This credit has been a lifeline to the nascent offshore wind industry. The Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act would give the industry the certainty needed to plan investments and maximize deployment of this clean power technology.

Offshore wind energy has the potential to power every home, school and business from Florida to Maine with clean, renewable energy, Carper said. Investing in new offshore wind projects spurs economic growth and has the potential to create millions of good-paying American jobs. It also helps enhance our national security by encouraging domestic energy production and protects our environment and public health by deploying a cleaner source of energy. Im proud to partner with Collins to provide this growing industry the certainty it needs to draw private sector investments in new offshore wind facilities across the country. Making smart investments to move us closer to energy independence is a win-win-win for our economy, our security, our health and our planet.

The legislation defines offshore facilities as any facility located in the inland navigable waters of the U.S., including the Great Lakes, or in the coastal waters of the U.S., including the territorial seas of the U.S., the exclusive economic zone of U.S. and the outer Continental Shelf of the U.S.

The University of Delaware Special Initiative on Offshore Wind estimated that the Atlantic coast holds 330 gigawatts of offshore wind power enough to meet the electricity needs of the East Coast. The expansion of Americas offshore wind industry would provide an opportunity to protect the environment, grow the nations economy and create jobs for people living in areas near the coast.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available at bit.ly/2tWK1Xe.

Read the rest here:

Carper, Collins introduce bipartisan legislation to spur emerging offshore wind industry - Hockessin Community news

by: Irene Sans Updated: Aug 1, 2017 - 6:22 AM

Emily formed early Monday morning, made landfall near Anna Maria Island (close to the Tampa area) in Florida and continued crossing Central Florida during the afternoon and Monday evening.

APP: Download theWFTVWeather App to track the rain

Emily's highest rainfall across Central Florida 2017 Cox Media Group.

"Heavy rain and localized flooding will be the main impacts from Tropical Storm Emily," said Channel 9 Chief Meteorologist Tom Terry.

With only 8 hours from formation to landfall, #Emily is one of the quickest hitting US landfalls in past 30+ years. Only 4 (of 121) quicker. pic.twitter.com/mxgogeVeZl

Stationary line of storms producing minor flooding from N.Brevard- Seminole- https://t.co/pt4LNm9RMO- C.Lake. Avoid flooded streets pic.twitter.com/vraR5DA95R

Here's what it's like driving through #TSEmily, rain is heavy, gusty winds jostling us around on State Road 64 in Hardy County. #wftv pic.twitter.com/FlrDb9RJJh

Emily weakened Monday, becoming a tropical depression at the 5 p.m. bulletin from the National Hurricane Center. The storm will exit Tuesday early morning through southern Brevard county and could gian some strength once it moves over the Atlantic ocean.

TROPICAL STORM EMILY: CURRENT WATCHES AND WARNINGS

Hour-by-hour: Check the forecast in your area

Track the rain: Doppler 9 Radar

Storm Alert 9: Send us your photos and videos (safely) using #StormAlert9

Gov. Scott held a press conference Monday afternoon asking Florida residents to follow the local authorities instructions.

As we know in Florida, storms can quickly develop, bringing severe weather to our state in a moments notice, he said in a press release. We are working closely with the National Hurricane Center and continuing to monitor the storms development and its potential impacts to Florida. We know that heavy rainfall is expected across Central Florida for the next few days. Our focus is on keeping Florida families safe and we will continue to release updates on this storm as it develops.

Lightning: What you need to know

Watch: Why you should never drive with your hazards on

Pronstico en espaol por nuestra meteorloga Irene Sans

Follow our team of meteorologists on Facebook: TomTerry BrianShields GeorgeWaldenberger EboniDeon RustyMcCranie Irene Sans

2017 Cox Media Group.

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Emily moves offshore; could intensify over Atlantic - WFTV Orlando

(Reuters) - European companies, including some oil majors, have made inroads into the emerging U.S. offshore wind market, as shown by the following list of companies awarded seabed leases so far.

European companies are in italics.

Massachusetts- Vineyard Wind: Avangrid (owned by Spanish utility company Iberdrola (IBE.MC))- Bay State Wind: Danish former oil major DONG Energy (DENERG.CO), New England ultility Eversource (ES.N)- Cape Wind: Boston-based Energy Management Inc.- Deepwater Wind Energy Center: Deepwater Wind (owned by U.S. based investment company D.E. Shaw Group)

New Jersey- Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Windfarm 1 & 2- DONG Energy project (lease previously owned by RES America)- New Jersey Wind Energy Area: US Wind (owned by Italian renewable energy specialist Renexia SpA)

Maryland- Skipjack: Deepwater Wind (owned by D.E. Shaw Group)- Maryland Project: US Wind (owned by Renexia SpA)New York- New York Wind Energy Area: Statoil (STL.OL)Delaware- Bluewater Wind: Deepwater Wind (owned by D.E. Shaw Group)

Maine- New England Aqua Ventus: Canadian energy and services company Emera Inc. (EMA.TO), U.S. construction company Cianbro Corp., University of Maine, French marine renewables company DCNS

Virginia- Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project: Dominion

North Carolina- Kitty Hawk: Avangrid (owned by Iberdrola (IBE.MC))

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Company websites

Reporting by Susana Twidale and Karolin Schaps

See the original post:

Factbox: European participation in US offshore wind leases - Reuters

Theres a new fixture in St. Johns Harbour these days.

The Skandi Vinland has secured a multi-year charter with Husky Energy to support offshore oil operations.

The multi function vessels primary scope is subsea maintenance and inspection but it is also capable of standby or installation support and iceberg management.

The all-Canadian crew of 38 (36 Newfoundland and Labradorians) started operations here during the first week in July and will call St. Johns home port for the duration of a ten year charter with Husky Energy.

The ship houses a one hundred ton subsea crane, and two ten million dollar Remotely Operated Vehicles designed to carry out a number of tasks in relation to offshore oil and gas extraction.

Captain Keith Leonard says the brand new ship, which heads back out to sea tomorrow, has been built to the highest industry standard.

Leonard says the ship designers had crew member comfort in mind when the vessel was conceived. He says safety and technology are both state of the art on board making the Vessel second to none.

Read more from the original source:

Skandi Vinland Begins Service in the Offshore - VOCM

Barron's

Morning Movers: Regeneron Slumps, Diamond Offshore Jumps, Charter Climbs Barron's All the market-moving news you need to know this morning including earnings from Intercept Pharmaceuticals and Diamond Offshore Drilling, an upgrade for American Airlines, and Discovery's acquisition of Scipps Networks Interactive. By. Ben Levisohn. Diamond Offshore Announces Second Quarter 2017 ResultsPR Newswire (press release) Drilling Down Into the Books for Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO)StockNewsGazette Diamond Offshore Drilling posts 2Q profitYahoo News UK ExpertGazette -First News 24 -The Cerbat Gem all 97 news articles »

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Morning Movers: Regeneron Slumps, Diamond Offshore Jumps, Charter Climbs - Barron's

Invasion of the sea jellies

Jeff Wildermuth/NGS/Getty

By Kate Ravilious

Jellymageddon is upon us and we might be partly responsible. Vast blooms of moon jellyfish and other related species are being reported with increasing frequency in the media. Evidence now suggests that our offshore constructions, including oil and gas platforms and wind farms, may be aiding these gelatinous invasions.

Jellyfish form an important part of the oceans ecosystem, but create problems when they appear in large numbers. Such groups shut down beaches for swimmers, clog fishing nets, cause the closure of power plants and desalination facilities by blocking their water intakes, and alter the marine food chain by gobbling fish larvae and food for plankton feeders.

Many jellyfish, including the harmless purple moon jellyfish, start life as polyps that need to attach themselves to a surface often preferring overhanging ones. Such surfaces are fairly rare in nature, but some researchers think the increase in number of marine constructions may have inadvertently helped jellyfish to thrive by providing polyps with the ideal home (see Jellyfish takeover).

Moon jellyfish have become increasingly common in the Adriatic Sea in recent decades. They were first observed there in 1834, but tended to be a rare occurrence. Between the 1950s and 70s they appeared once or twice per decade, and by the 80s and 90s were present around eight years in every 10. In the last two decades, they have been present every year. This surge in numbers has coincided with a rise in gas platforms in the Adriatic, from its first in 1968 to around 140 now.

Martin Vodopivec from the National Institute of Biology in Piran, Slovenia, and his colleagues investigated the influence of these platforms on moon jellyfish, using a computer model to simulate their life cycle and dispersal patterns over the course of five years. The model included accurate representations of the ocean currents and positions of gas platforms in the area.

The model results suggest there is a link between the platforms and the rise of the jellies. The platforms have increased connectivity between gatherings of moon jellyfish in the Adriatic, helping to sustain populations that might otherwise be wiped out during times of hardship when one area of the sea becomes heavily polluted, for instance.

More specifically, the results indicate that platforms close to prominent ocean currents have had the greatest influence on jellyfish numbers. Our simulation shows that jellyfish can travel up to 1000 kilometres in a strong current like the western Adriatic current, says Vodopivec.

Lisa-ann Gershwin, a jellyfish researcher for CSIRO in Hobart, Australia, thinks Vodopivecs findings present a strong argument, but are not the only explanation for the increase. Right now, we are seeing multiple factors creating the ideal conditions for jellyfish, including overfishing [reducing jellyfish predators], increased nutrient run-off and more offshore constructions, she says.

Offshore construction is booming worldwide. For example, the power capacity of European offshore wind installations has more than doubled in the past three years, and right now there are over 500 offshore turbines under construction in UK waters. Vodopivec is concerned that this boom could result in a rising tendency for jellyfish plagues to occur in some areas, though he thinks that careful positioning of platforms may help to minimise the effect.

But Gershwin is sceptical that adjusting the location of platforms will make that much difference. I suspect that platform position wont make that much difference because jellyfish larvae can drift over long distances and jellyfish live a long time.

The Chinese construction boom may be partially responsible for the massive increase in Nemopilema nomurai, one of the world's largest jellyfish. This 2-metre-wide, 200-kilogram beast, which lives and breeds in the South and East China seas, used to bloom very rarely (only three times during the 20th century). But since 2000 it has bloomed almost every year, resulting in plagues in which half a billion or more of these monsters drift into the Sea of Japan each day.

We think that the polyps have benefited from the coastal construction around China, plus the nutrients entering from Chinese cities and the overfishing of jellyfish predators, says Lisa-ann Gershwin, a jellyfish researcher for CSIRO in Hobart, Australia. They are now such a problem that the Japanese government has been looking for ways to use the jellyfish, she says even seeking good recipes involving N. nomurai.

Journal reference: Environmental Research Letters, DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aa75d9

More on these topics:

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Jellyfish blooms linked to offshore gas platforms and wind farms - New Scientist

Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalistFrederik Obermaier on Monday claimed thatPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has avoided taxes in the United Kingdom by establishing an offshore company.

The journalist also named the offshore company as Niazi Services Limited.

Obermaier's tweeted the claim in reply to a tweet by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Earlier, Imran Khan submitted the reply and affidavit on the offshore companies in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He stated that whatever money he made between 1971 and 1992 was earned by playing cricket.

In 1983, the deponent (Imran) did not know whether he would be a resident in the UK at the time of its sale. The document added that this is why Imran was advised that the flat be placed under an offshore company which would not have to pay any CGT. The deponent was the sole owner of the flat and no other asset was placed under Niazi Services Limited.

It further stated the London flat had been rented out to a person called Van Der Loo who occupied the flat but did not pay the rent. The person also damaged the property and it had to be repaired before it could be sold.

However, the document added, no rent was received after October 2001. Keeping Niazi Services alive was a fruitless exercise after the sale of the flat.

Moreover, Imran has informed the court that after retiring from cricket in 1992, his income was from cricket commentary, lectures and royalty from books.

The deponent as chairman PTI has certified that account of PTI to be correct, true and accurate based on the certificate received from abroad.

Originally posted here:

Imran avoided taxes in UK via offshore company: Panama Papers journalist - Geo News, Pakistan