Category Archives: Offshore

Despite how the South African market has opened up over the last 20 years, many South Africans still see investing as a purely local exercise. The bulk of their assets are held in South African unit trusts, local real estate and deposits with local banks.

To a large extent this has to do with how this countrys economy was historically isolated from the rest of the world. Exchange controls made it very difficult to take money offshore, and so investing in international assets was just not seen as an option.

Most of us dont think globally, says Helena Conradie, the CEO of Satrix. Thats because the products havent been available, and there were a number of hurdles to investing offshore.

That has however changed significantly with the relaxing of exchange controls and a wider range of international products becoming available on the local market. At the same time, perceptions around investing offshore have also changed.

As much as in the past there was a perception that buying stocks on the JSE was only for the wealthy, there was also a belief that to invest offshore you had to be super wealthy, says Conradie.

But that mental hurdle is being overcome as more product providers offer much easier access.

Increasingly, investors are also coming to understand the benefits of not having all of their wealth concentrated in South Africa. They are appreciating the need for diversification.

All South Africans need some offshore exposure in their portfolios, Conradie argues. While South Africa has world class companies, there are many industries, economic regimes and currencies you are simply not able to access by keeping all your capital in domestic assets.

At the same time, investors are looking to reduce risk of being exposed to just one country, particularly with the levels of political uncertainty that are prevalent not just here but in many parts of the world.

The importance of diversification is being reinforced every day by just looking at the reality across the globe, says Conradie. The political environment across the world, not just in emerging markets, shows how you cant afford to have all of your money in a single country.

Widening the net

International investment opportunities can broadly be divided into developed and emerging markets. Conradie believes that its important for investors to consider both.

Developed markets offer more stability in terms of their established economic systems, although not necessarily their politics, she says. But they also have less potential for growth, which is why investors should consider some exposure to emerging markets. These are the worlds up-and-coming economies, and investing there gives you the opportunity to grow with them.

Emerging markets may also offer exposure to new growth industries that are not found in developed economies.

If you take an overall view of the world, each country has a major industry, a major product, and a culture that drives it in a certain way, Conradie notes. No place is the same, and that diversity is what you want to get exposure to.

Getting access

The growing appreciation of international investments amongst South African investors has been happening at the same time that index-tracking products have become more widely available. This has given investors an attractive way to gain offshore exposure.

Index trackers are great options because they are broad based, cost effective and there are choices available to suit all needs. says Conradie. You get exposure to world class companies, but you dont have to choose them yourself. You are also diversified in terms of country exposure, but you dont have to pick those countries. The index does it for you.

Satrix is currently finalising the listing process with the JSE and will soon be launching three international exchange-traded funds. These will give investors a way to access these markets as simply as buying a local share, and without having to deal with any exchange control regulations.

The three funds are the Satrix MSCI World ETF, which offers a broad exposure to developed markets; the Satrix S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the iconic large-cap index in the US; and the Satrix MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, which includes companies in markets such as China, South Korea and India.

These give investors a very simple way to broaden their investment universe.

To access these ETFs is very simple, says Conradie. You could buy your offshore exposure online via a platform like SatrixNOW while enjoying a cup of coffee. And in keeping with our purpose of democratising investing, there is no minimum investment amount and no annual platform fee when you invest via SatrixNOW.

This article was brought to you by Satrix.

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Simple offshore exposure - Moneyweb.co.za

A woman has lost a 50 million divorce court battle after failing to prove her millionaire husbands offshore trust was a sham.

The former teachers estranged husband said the couple had set up the trust for the benefit of their two adult children, though the woman denied the claims.

A judge ruled against her during a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court, concluding that the trust was "not a sham".

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling produced by judge Mrs Justice Robert, who urged the couple to negotiate.

The pair, who have not been named, had already racked up lawyers' bills of more than 2.2 million.

The judge indicated that the woman would have been able to make a claim for a half share of a kitty of around 60 million, but was now looking at a half share of a kitty of about 10 million.

Mrs Justice Roberts said the dispute about the legitimacy of the trust was one of a number of preliminary issues she had ruled on during the pair's money battle.

She said both were in their 50s and had built up a property investment portfolio after marrying in the early 1980s.

At one stage, they owned a house abroad which had a swimming pool and a private chapel.

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Woman loses 50m divorce fight after claiming husband 'set up sham offshore trust' - Evening Standard

June 22nd, 2017 Jason Jiang Europe, Offshore 0 comments

SBM Offshore has secured a contract from ExxonMobil to construct, install, lease and operate an FPSO for theLiza project in Guyana, following the completion of front-end engineering studies and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil.

The FPSO is designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of circa 170m cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of circa 200,000 barrels per day.

We are proud that ExxonMobil awarded SBM Offshore the contracts for the Liza FPSO. The Liza Field offshore Guyana is one of the industrys largest oil discoveries of the past decade. We look forward to cooperating closely with our client and partners to make this project a success. This award underlines SBM Offshores continued focus on building on our experience, our long term relationships and FPSO-led strategic vision, said Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore.

Jason Jiang

Jason worked for a number of logistics firms following his English degree, then switched this hands-on experience to writing and has since become one the most prolific writers on the diverse China logistics industry writing for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week. Jasons access to the biggest shippers with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives.

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SBM Offshore wins FPSO contract from ExxonMobil - Splash 247

Published on June 21st, 2017 | by Joshua S Hill

June 21st, 2017 by Joshua S Hill

The northeast of Scotland is poised to become the global center for offshore wind scientific research, following the announcement this week from Swedish power company Vattenfall, which announced the successful projects that will take part in a3m research program at its European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre.

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay, Scotland, is a 92.4 megawatt (MW), 11 turbine offshore wind test and demonstration facility. The EOWDC was even constructed in a way which served as a demonstration, built with VestasV164-8.4MW turbines on top ofsuction bucket foundations, an industry first.

Though the EOWDC will play a big role in the offshore wind industry, it also briefly found itself headline news around the world, by virtue of a lawsuit that Donald Trump, now US President, took out against the developers for building an offshore wind farm where it could be seen from hisTrump International Golf Club. Thankfully for all, the case was thrown out by the UK Supreme Court back in December of 2015.

In November of last year, Vattenfall the owner of the EOWDC announced that it had shortlisted offshore wind projects for a 3 million scientific research program to investigate the environmental impacts of offshore wind, to be conducted at the EOWDC. This week, Vattenfall announced the winners of the process, part of what is believed to be the worlds largest-scale offshore wind research program, and one which will likely make Scotland a global center for such research in the future.

The announcement of these successful projects, including three in Scotland, is an exciting one with each having the potential to unlock fascinating new insights into the offshore wind environment and determine influencing environmental factors, saidAdam Ezzamel, EOWDC project director at Vattenfall. The 92.4MW EOWDC test and demonstration facility offers an unmissable opportunity to conduct this pioneering research and monitoring programme. We are pleased to be facilitating such innovative research in the North-east which will bring considerable benefits to the region as well as the industry and policy-making.

From almost a hundred applications across the UK and around the world, Vattenfall narrowed it down to a shortlist of 16, and then down to the successful final four. They are:

The panel were delighted with the response to programme call, and received many proposals supported by strong research teams involving some of the most prominent experts in their respective fields, saidProfessor Stuart Gibb, chair of the Scientific Panel Professor and Director of the Environmental Research Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

We believe those projects that have been successful will effectively inform development of the EOWDC facility and deliver real, tangible data that increases our understanding of the relationship between offshore renewable energy developments and the environment. Such knowledge will be highly effective in informing future planning and consenting activities.

Check out our new 93-page EV report.

Join us for an upcoming Cleantech Revolution Tour conference!

Tags: Aberdeen Bay, Aberdeenshire, EOWDC, European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, Marine Scotland Science, Oxford Brookes University, River Dee Trust, Scotland, SMRU Consulting, University of St Andrews, Vattenfall

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

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Scotland Set To Become Heart Of Offshore Wind Scientific Research - CleanTechnica

Phase 1 will produce 450 MMBO

ExxonMobil (ticker: XOM), Hess (ticker: HES) and CNOOC today announced FID for Phase 1 development of the Liza field in offshore Guyana.

Initially discovered in May 2015, the Liza field is located about 120 miles offshore from Guyana, in about 5,700 feet of water. Liza is in the Stabroek Area, a large offshore lease block owned by the three partner companies. Hess reports that Stabroek is 6.6 million acres in size, or 1,150 times the size of a standard GOM block.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Hess

120 MBOPD peak production planned

Phase 1 of development of the Liza field will involve a total of 17 wells, drilled from four drill centers. Eight wells will produce oil, while six will inject water into the reservoir and three will inject gas. A floating production, storage and offloading vessel will process production. ExxonMobil estimates Phase 1 will have peak production around 120 MBOPD. In total, the operation will recover about 450 MMBO. ExxonMobil reports that Phase 1 will cost just over $4.4 billion, including $1.2 billion for the FPSO.

Based on Hess reports of its share of development costs (not including the FPSO cost), the companies will spend about $370 million this year, $830 million in 2018 and $1.1 billion in 2019. The remaining $900 million will be spent in 2020 and 2021, but the timing is less certain. First oil is expected in 2020, less than five years after initial discovery.

Further discoveries support more development

Additional exploratory work is in progress, as the Stabroek block is large enough to hold many different plays. ExxonMobil reports that the recently-drilled Liza-4 well encountered nearly 200 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs." While the area explored by Liza-4 will not be developed in Phase 1, the successful result will be a major factor in considering Phase 2. With the success of Liza-4, Hess estimates gross discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek block is between 2 and 2.5 billion barrels.

ExxonMobil is the operator of the Stabroek block, and holds a 45 percent interest. Hess owns a 30 percent stake, while CNOOC owns 25 percent.

By Oil and Gas 360

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Exxon Moves Forward With Offshore Guyana Project | OilPrice.com - OilPrice.com

In two recent blogs, I have looked toward the impending inflection point in the offshore drilling cycle, first exploring an uptick in the number of offshore vessel support company bankruptcy filings as the industry enters the last stage of the downturn.

Last week, Hornbeck Offshore announced a new financing arrangement to improve the companys liquidity, removing at least temporarily the impending doom it faced from the upcoming maturity of its long-term debt. The news was positive for the companys shareholders, but it doesnt erase the problem of too many vessels chasingtoo few jobs, which confronts all offshore service vessel operators.

More recently, we highlighted the news that offshore drillers are starting to receive more inquiries and tenders for work, although the market remains as competitive as it has been for the last two years. The prospect of more offshore work on the horizon is good news, especially with oil companies figuring out how to reduce their well breakeven costs below $50 a barrel.

These trends and improvements were all underway before the recent retreat of global oil prices as OPECs production cut deal does not appear to be producing the desired results. Global inventories are falling much too slowly to encourage traders to bid up oil prices. Instead, prices have dropped.

The reality is that global oil inventories are falling, but itsbeen too slow for those investors seeking instant corrections.

Traders are now concerned that oil demand growth will slow and/or OPEC members will opt to cheat on their lower production quotas, thus preventing the oil market from improving to the point that it would support sharply higher prices.

The slow decline in inventories in the first half of this year has been caused somewhat by increased output from OPEC members Nigeria and Libya, who were exempt from the organizations production cuts. North American oil output is also growing in response to higher drilling activity in the U.S. and Canada.

Predicting cycle tops and bottoms is virtually impossible to do. They are only seen in hindsight. The current offshore fundamentals are consistent with a cycle bottom and an inflection point that will bring an improvement in business. The current weakness in global oil prices is influenced by extremely pessimistic near-term sentiment about industry fundamentals. That sentiment can just as quickly shift to the positive without an obvious event.

Waiting for that shift to occur is frustrating because its timing cannot be influenced. There are no signs that industry fundamentals are suddenly deteriorating. Rather, they continue to improve, albeit slowly. A year from now, the industry will look back and reflect on how the cycles inflection point was reached this summer, even though it is not currently evident. Hopefully, the offshore sectors recovery will be similar to that of the onshore sector where the U.S. rig count has risen for 22 consecutive weeks.

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The agony of waiting for an offshore rebound - WorkBoat (blog)

Virginia Republican Dave Brat is pushing to open up Virginias coast to offshore oil and gas drilling. Democrats, though, say that would be terrible for the commonwealths economy and they're trying to combat the effort.

Matt Laslo has more from Washington.

Congressman Dave Brat was one of about a dozen lawmakers standing behind President Trump when he recently signed an executive order intended to open the door for oil and gas drilling off the east coast.

Renewed offshore energy production will reduce the cost of energy, create countless good jobs, and make America more secure and far more energy independent," said the President at the signing."This action is another historic step toward future development... And I have to say thats a real future with greater prosperity and security for all Americans, which is what we want.

While the presidents order calls on the Interior Secretary to review a five year ban on offshore drillingput in placeby President Obama, Congressman Brat wants to go further. Hes introduced a bill to reverse Obamas executive order which protected millions of acres in the Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas drilling.

Brat's proposal would also bar future presidents from trying to block offshore drilling. He says it just makes sense.

Its just part of energy independence, number one," Brat says. "And then the job creation is in the tens of thousands and the economic impact is in the billions. So why would you say no to that?

While environmentalists worry a spill off the coast could devastate the commonwealths robust tourism economy, Brat says he also wants to ensure oil and gas companies cant mess up the shore.

Its still got to live up to the highest environmental standards it always has. But theres been a lot of good reporting Ive seen in the last couple days on the pipes underground pipes offshore, I mean no one can even tell anymore.

Trump recently lifted the Obama-era ban on seismic testing off the east coast. Northern Virginia Democrat Don Beyer has a bill to block that, because he says its terrible for marine life.

You find whole populations fleeing the sound," Beyer says. "Its the underwater equivalent of the airport noise we have in Northern Virginia. And especially if you open it up for offshore drilling its not just one seismic company, there could be five or six or seven at the same time, so a lot of this is just trying to preserve our marine biology.

But Beyer isnt trying to hide the true intent of his bill: he says its meant to keep drilling rigs off Virginias coast.

In the larger context too, if you dont do the seismic testing its an obstacle to the offshore drilling. And I think we have plenty of offshore right now in the Gulf Coast and the North Sea, lets focus on what we already have," he says. "Were doing fine with natural gas. Were very close to total energy independence in the United States. We dont need to be upsetting the Atlantic coast.

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says he was open to coastal drilling until the Pentagon warned lawmakers drilling rigs could hurt naval operations off the coast.

I was very open to this in 2007 at the start of the Obama administration, but when the Department of Defense weighed in with concerns in Hampton Roads, defense, I mean, its the biggest piece of the economy, says Kaine.

The senator points out that it's unclear how much money would come into Virginia if offshore drilling started, but he does know the states defense industry makes its economy churn.

I dont think you chase after a speculative industry and hurt the industry that is the biggest chunk of your economy, so I would have some concerns about it.

Still Republican Congressman Brat, the one sponsoring the bill on offshore drilling, says his effort is all about jobs.

Go talk to the 40-percent of college kids who are under employed right now and cant find meaningful high paying work," Brat says. "We need to get this economy growing again and this is just a no brainer.

As the Trump administration moves ahead with its efforts to open up the east coast to drilling, Democrats say theyre ready for the fight and plan to use every tool they have to block the move.

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Virginia Congressman Dave Brat Pushes for Offshore Drilling - WVTF

t was an 8-0 vote by the Virginia Beach city council to strike down offshore drilling off the coast and gas exploration, including seismic testing.

Chenue Her, WVEC 11:22 PM. EDT June 20, 2017

Oil drilling rig (Photo: Associated Press)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- It was an 8-0 vote by the Virginia Beach city council to strike down offshore drilling off the coast and gas exploration, including seismic testing.

Councilwomen Shannon Kane and Jessica Abbott weren't at the meeting, so neither voted. Councilman John Moss abstained from voting, citing a possible conflict of interest because he's employed by the Department of Defense.

This vote is crucial for those who oppose it, after they said the Trump administration has considered reversing a previous decision that makes Atlantic waters off limits to drilling.

"We're very proud of the city council for taking this stand. We've worked really hard in Virginia Beach to clean up our water ways, protect our beaches, and there's just too much at risk," said Karen Forget, Executive Director of Lynnhaven River NOW.

Forget says this decision is huge not just for the waters, but many other aspects of the city.

"We feel all around this isn't good for tourism, it's not good for the importance of the military in the area, our economy," she said.

"The seismic testing part of that, we know that kind of testing environment provides a great impact to marine mammals and a lot of other species as well," said Mark Swingle, the Director of Research and Conservation at the Virginia Aquarium and Science Center.

The city said the tourism industry brings about $1.4 billion in every year and opponents of drilling think any sort of disaster could cripple that.

Retired Navy Captain Joe Bouchard said potential mistakes could hurt the military as well.

"The training out there would be impacted. The test and evaluation of new weapons and tactics could be impacted. Huge safety concerns," he told 13News Now.

Any position the council makes will be a recommendation to President Trump.

He'll make the final decision.

In 2010, council adopted a resolution supporting offshore oil and gas exploration.

Five years later, oceanfront businesses urged council to change its position on drilling, so city council repealed the ordinance.

In 2016, the "Resort Advisory Commission" asked city council to go against seismic testing.

2017 WVEC-TV

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Va. Beach city council votes to oppose offshore drilling - WVEC-TV - 13newsnow.com

Members of the Saudi armed forces walk past F-15 fighter jets at King Salman airbase. The countrys navy intercepted three boats last week. Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

The Saudi navy said it had captured three members of Irans Revolutionary Guards from a boat seized last week as the vessel approached Saudi Arabias offshore Marjan oilfield, Riyadh has said.

Irans interior ministry denied the Saudi claim, however, saying that the Saudi navy had opened fire on two Iranian fishing boats.

Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years, as they support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and each accuses the other of destabilising regional security.

In a statement on Monday, the Saudi information ministry said: This was one of three vessels which were intercepted by Saudi forces. It was captured with the three men on board, the other two escaped.

The three captured members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are now being questioned by Saudi authorities, the statement said, citing a Saudi official.

The vessel, which was seized last Friday, was carrying explosives and the those captured intended to conduct a terrorist act in Saudi territorial waters, the statement claimed.

An earlier report from the Saudi Press Agency said the Saudi navy had fired warning shots at the two boats that managed to escape.

But Majid Babaei, the director of Irans border agency, told the semi-official Youth Journalists Club (YJC) news agency that the Saudi claim was untrue.

The issue is about two fishing boats and Saudis have fired at the boats, which resulted in the death of one fisherman. The people targeted were fishermen and the boats they were sailing on were fishing boats, he said.

Irans Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that Saudi border guards had opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf on Friday, killing a fisherman. It said the boat was one of two Iranian boats fishing in the Gulf that had been pushed off course by waves.

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have steadily deteriorated. On 5 June, Riyadh and other Arab governments severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.

Days later suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed at least 17 people. Shia Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.

Read more here:

Iran and Saudi Arabia offer clashing accounts of offshore confrontation - The Guardian

Offshore wind equipment is reaching record heights and unforeseen low costs that are allowing it to be deployed with fewer and fewer subsidies.

MAKEConsulting (which recently joined the GTM and Wood Mackenzie family) has a newanalyst note that further illustrates the increasing competitiveness of offshore wind.

Here are a few recent and relevant data points.

The cost declines in wind come from continued improvements in technology and installation techniques. As Sonal Patel of Power Magazine reports,"Costs for offshore wind in Europe have fallen 50 percent in two years."

Costs began tumbling in 2015, when the industry boasted of a then-record-low cost of $111 per megawatt-hour at Denmark's Horns Rev 3 wind farm. Just 18 months later, Borssele 3 and 4 in the Netherlands was priced at $61.23 per megawatt-hour.

MAKE sketches out where the industry stands in this chart -- and shows that it's ahead of schedule on price.

As GTM's Jeff St. John reported, McKinsey has reached similar conclusions about offshore wind -- fast growth, increased investment, bigger wind farms, falling costs and new technologies are driving new project bids to record lows in Europe. McKinsey cites a recent bid in the Netherlands at $61.10 per megawatt-hour and a winning Danish bid of $55.94 per megawatt-hour.

St. John adds: "In a German auction in April, the average winning bid for the projects was far below expectations, with some bids coming in at the wholesale electricity price -- meaning no subsidy is required."

The technological advances are happening within the turbine itself, as well as with innovative foundation designs.

GTM's Stephen Lacey reports that Vestas just released a 9.5-megawatt offshore turbine that is "two to three times bigger than the standard turbines from only a few years ago."McKinsey predicts that 13- to 15-megawatt models could hit the market by 2024. Germany's Senvion has plans for a 10-megawatt offshore wind turbine, according to WindPower Monthly, which notes that researchers are toying with the idea of 50-megawatt capacity turbines.

McKinsey notes: "This reduces the cost per megawatt. Even as turbines have become larger, they have also become better. In the 1990s, the expected lifetime of offshore wind parks was only 15 years; now it is closer to 25 years, and new sites project an operational lifetime of 30 years."

There are innovations in foundation design with new construction methods including building the turbine onshore and floating it out to sea.

Offshore wind still costs about 40 percent more than onshore wind. But the cost of financing offshore has gone down as investors gain more confidence in the technology. Europe leads in offshore wind by a long shot, followed distantly by China, Japan and the U.S.

McKinsey notes that because offshore wind is at an earlier stage of development, its prices can be expected to fall further, faster, thus improving its competitive position.

Will cheap offshore wind ever make a dent in America? Listen to our conversation with Foley Hoag's Alicia Barton on The Interchange podcast about new activity on the East Coast.

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Offshore Wind Costs: Toward a Zero-Subsidy Era? | Greentech Media - Greentech Media