Category Archives: Offshore

3/22/2017

MILAN -- Eni today announced that it has obtained majority stakes in two new exploration blocks off the shore of the Ivory Coast. The two blocks are located approximately 50 km from the countrys coastline.

The two deep offshore blocks, denominated CI-101 and CI-205, are in the eastern part of the prolific Tano basin, where Eni already operates, and cover a total area of about 2,850 km2. Block CI-101 is at water depths of between 200 m and 2,500 m and located 50 km south of the capital Abidjan, while block CI-205 is at water depths of between 2,000 m and 2,700 m, and located 80 km south-west from the capital. Eni will operate and hold a 90% stake in both blocks, while the state-owned company Petroci continues to hold the remaining 10%.

This acquisition is consistent with Enis dual exporation strategy, which aims to acquire wide majority stakes in exploration blocks with a high hydrocarbon potential, and allowing for the early monetization of resources through the sale of minority stakes.

Eni will operate the two blocks by applying its proprietary technologies and by leveraging the important synergies with other activities in the region, reducing the time-to-market, as well as costs.

Eni operates in the Ivory Coast through its subsidiary Eni Cte dIvoire Limited, which in 2015 acquired a 30% stake in the offshore exploration block CI-100. These recent exploration activities mark the companys return to the country; Eni had been previously active in the Ivory Coasts upstream and downstream sectors in the 1960s and 1980s.

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Eni awarded two new blocks offshore Ivory Coast - World Oil - WorldOil (subscription)

A group of European countries is looking to build a giant island in the North Sea in order to support up to 100 gigawatts of offshore wind projects.

If built, the island would be sited on theDogger Bank, a large North Sea sandbank where the water depth ranges from 15 to 36 meters.

It is intended to act as a staging post for turbine operations and maintenance crews, as well as to provide a central connection for planned far-shore wind farms and host direct current lines acting as interconnectors between Denmark, Germany, Holland, Norway and the U.K.

The cooperation will spend the coming years investigating feasibility and develop a model before deciding whether to go forward, said Jesper Nrskov Rasmussen, press officer at Energinet.dk, the Danish transmission system operator (TSO).

The island might feature power-to-gas as a storage technique to utilize high volumes of wind generation, said Rasmussen. The North Sea is home to a sophisticated network of gas pipelines, which could help bring wind-generated gas to countries around Europe.

A part of this work will be to include power-to-gas technology and other storage technologies, he said. What, when [and] how much is what we will look into further. It is too early to go into details.

Energinet.dk was due this month to become the first commercial partner in a venture -- unveiled in June 2016 by Dutch TSO TenneT -- to build an island serving between 70 and 100 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, along with island-based solar generation.

Also involved in the agreement is TenneTs German subsidiary, which manages transmission infrastructure from the north coast down to the southeast border of Germany.

The proposed North Sea Wind Power Hub is seen as an important next step towards accomplishingthe 2050 climate goals formulated in the Paris Agreement (COP21), wroteTenneTin a press release this month.

Discussions with other potential partners are ongoing, which not only include other North Sea TSOs but also other [infrastructure] companies. The goal is to achieve a multi-party consortium which will realize the North Sea Wind Power Hub project.

Rasmussen said the total cost of the island, including electrical installations, had not been calculated. Just building the base, from sand and rocks, would cost an estimated 1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), he said.

TenneT and Energinet.dk claim the project will help deliver economies of scale for far-shore wind farms, and yield efficiencies by allowing direct current lines to double as interconnectors.

Staff, components and assembly workshops could all be stationed on the island to simplify offshore logistics. The North Sea Wind Power Hub would also boast an airport.

Given the vicinity of large wind turbines, security regarding landing [and] takeoff is...one of the things that has to be looked carefully into, Rasmussen said.

Figures from the European industry body WindEurope show 96.4 percent of all offshore wind capacity installed in 2016 took place in the North Sea.

The total capacity installed in the region topped 1.5 gigawatts, according to WindEuropes latest statisticalreport. Cumulatively, the North Sea accounts for 72 percent of all offshore wind installed in Europe.

On that basis, the North Sea Wind Power Hub makes a lot of sense. But many other energy islands have been proposed -- and then canceled.

In 2013, for example, the Belgian government proposed building a donut-shaped island in the North Sea to act as an offshore pumped hydro store for excess wind power. This idea appears to have been passed over by the North Sea Wind Power Hub designers at TenneT.

And in 2008, inventor Dominic Michaelis proposed using floating islands to develop ocean thermal energy conversion generation, as well as harnessing power from wind, solar, waves and sea currents.

Similar concepts have also been proposed for China, but to date the Asian giant has not even been able to successfully build outonshore eco-city plans.

Furthermore, it is not clear whether the U.K., a potentially major partner in the scheme, will support the North Sea Wind Power Hub, in light of its recent confirmation that it will start the process of leaving theEuropean Union this month.

Nevertheless, said Rasmussen: We hope that other North Sea transmission system operators will find the project interesting and join. Other partners can also be a part. There is no target or limit on partners.

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Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands Want to Build an Island Hub to Support 100GW of Offshore Wind - Greentech Media

Oil States International (NYSE:OIS) is a conundrum of sorts. Its mix of onshore and offshore products provides diversification. However, it appears that when one segment does well, the other segment under-performs.

Push/Pull Between Onshore And Offshore Continues

Oil States has been punished by the rout in oil prices. In order to stem cash burn, shale oil plays have squeezed suppliers. The company's Wellsite Services segment represented as much 48% of revenue in 2014; it fell to as low as 23% last quarter. The rig count rose by 14% in Q3, and growth in the company's Wellsite Services segment has been white hot.

The segment generated $54.9 million in revenue, up 18% sequentially. The company has a major presence with shale oil plays in the Permian Basin in West Texas and in the Rocky Mountains. That has served the company well as the Permian is where the lion's share of growth in the rig count has occurred. Its revenue growth was much higher than larger players like Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI).

The company experienced a 3% sequential increase in completion services jobs performed, and a 16% increase in average sales price ("asp") per job. These improvements, along with increased activity in the Permian basin and increased usage of land rigs are expected to drive Q1 2017 revenue growth at a minimum of 5% sequentially.

While land drilling is showing signs of life, the Offshore segment is in decline. Offshore revenue fell 13% sequentially due to falling demand for products used in drilling applications. Oil prices might have remain above $60 for a sustainable period before drilling demand improves. The company expects revenue in the first half of 2017 to be down substantially. It could overshadow any improvement in land drilling revenue.

Liquidity Remains Strong

The bottom line is as long as Oil States maintains strong liquidity and cash flow the company is not going anywhere. The company has working capital of $383 million, which is solid for a company of its size. For full-year 2016 the company generated free cash flow of $119 million. Management cut costs to match its declining revenue base. Capex for the year was only $30 million, versus $115 million in 2015. Its long-term debt of $46 million less than 1x EBITDA, which is paltry compared with larger competitors like Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) and Halliburton whose balance sheets are more challenged.

Through cost-containment efforts OIS has been able to maintain EBITDA margins in the 7% - 8% range. Along with solid free cash flow, the company should be able to weather another downturn in oil prices. The OPEC supply cut has help spur prices off their Q1 2016 lows. However, I expect the increase in supply from shale oil plays could keep prices in check. The break-even costs for shale plays continue to fall, so drilling activity could remain robust even if oil falls to the mid-$40s. That does not bode well for long-term oil prices.

Takeaway

Oil States has an enterprise value of 34x trailing EBITDA. The stock is up about 3% Y/Y and will likely trade with oil prices. I rate the stock a hold as oil prices could stay in a trading range for the rest of 2017.

Disclosure: I am/we are short HAL, WFT.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Offshore Stymies Oil States - Oil States International Inc. (NYSE:OIS ... - Seeking Alpha

(Source: deepwater.com)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) primarily offers deepwater and harsh environment oil and gas drilling services worldwide. The company owns or has partial ownership interests in 61 mobile offshore drilling units, including 28 ultra-deepwater floaters, 7 harsh environment floaters, 5 deepwater floaters, 11 midwater floaters, and 10 high-specification jackups. As of February, the company has stacked 27 rigs and idled 4 rigs. The cold stacked rigs serve as a company liability as they cost money and are unlikely to reenter the fleet.

RIG's stock price has outperformed the GICS Oil and Gas Drilling subindustry the last few months, including its offshore competitors such as Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE:DO), Ensco PLC (NYSE:ESV), and Rowan Companies plc (NYSE:RDC).

(Source:Portfolio123)

In a world of offshore drilling musical chairs, where companies are scrambling to unload rigs before the music stops, RIG seems to have found a chair to sit on. A recently published report indicates that RIG is considering selling its fleet of 15 shallow-water rigs for $1.2 billion. This would help out their balance sheet tremendously.

It should be noted that RIG filed a patent infringement complaint against Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) in January, an action that could lead to unexpected legal costs.

Also in January, GE Oil & Gas (NYSE:GE) announced they had entered into an agreement with RIG for $180 million to provide condition-based monitoring and maintenance services for pressure control equipment on seven of Transocean's rigs over the next 10 to 12 years.

Company Fundamentals

RIG has managed to maintain positive earnings despite rapidly falling revenues in 2016, accomplished by controlling costs, reduced capital spending, and deferring delivery of seven new builds until 2020.

(Source:Portfolio123)

The table below highlights how RIG compares to the GICS Energy Equipment & Services industry aggregate. RIG has better figures for just about every fundamental factor, whether it be valuation, returns, or margin.

Note that the industry includes companies that supply oil and gas equipment and services other than drilling.

(Source:Portfolio123)

But be aware, as Balance Sheet Explorer observes:

RIG has written down $6 billion since 2014. While the impairments have showed up on the cash flow statement and the income statement, they have been absent on the balance. In other words, the NPPE has remained roughly the same. This is because, according to accounting rules, the assets will be written down on the balance sheet only if the company keeps using the assets. Companies like RIG have simply elected to warm or cold-stack their rigs, effectively allowing them to keep the value of the balance sheet.

The fundamentals should be taken with a grain of salt, or should I say a drop of salt water. They are statistics in a rapidly changing market segment that don't necessarily apply to the future. Analysts expect that RIG will be operating in the red in 2017 as contracts wind down.

Even so, RIG's future appears to be relatively stable given the $11.3 billion backlog and $6.1 billion of liquidity, important factors in a market segment where survival mode will be the norm for offshore oil drillers, at least for the next couple of years.

Analyst Estimates

Sales and EPS have generally beaten analysts' estimates, sometimes by a wide margin. This generally means that the company provides conservative forward guidance. The message here is that investors should not fear large negative surprises come reporting time.

(Source:Portfolio123)

The average recommendation for RIG is 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being a 'Buy' and 5 being a 'Sell'. The average recommendation has decreased from ~3.9 back in July 2016. The average recommendation of 3.5 is worse than for the company's peers. Both NE and RDC have a recommendation of 2.9.

(Source:Portfolio123)

The stock short interest is a huge 18.1% of float. Short interest is a good gauge of future price direction. However, a short squeeze could occur if the stock price spikes up for any reason.

Technicals

The stock price has been in a downward trend since the start of 2017. The stock price is currently $12.47 and if the downward trend continues the price could reach the initial support level of $12 followed by the support level at $10.75.

(Source: stockcharts.com)

Investing in Transocean

Investors should avoid RIG until the stock price drops below $12 while keeping an eye on the rumored deal for sale of the shallow-water rigs. If this deal goes through, the stock price will go much higher plus there is the possibility of a short squeeze. Speculators could enter a long position now, but I have to caution readers that the supposed $1.2 billion deal has not been confirmed and may not occur.

Investment Risk

One risk for a long position in RIG is an extended oil bear market, which is a quite distinct possibility. If the price of oil continues lower then some offshore drilling services companies will ultimately go belly-up, and the rest will fall in price either due to fundamentals or in sympathy.

Another risk is that the large backlog is almost entirely dependent on / contracted with Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), which is big-time concentration risk. If true, RIG's long-term survival appears to be heavily dependent on its relationship with Shell.

Wrap-Up

RIG owns 61 mobile offshore drilling units, with 27 stacked rigs and idled 4 rigs.

RIG fundamentals are superior to the industry aggregate, with better valuation, returns, and margins. As with the rest of the industry, RIG is expected to lose money in 2017.

Sales and EPS have generally beaten analysts' estimates, sometimes by a wide margin. This generally means that the company provides conservative forward guidance.

There is a high level of short interest meaning that speculators are pessimistic about RIG's prospects. Short interest is a good gauge of future price direction.

Given the $11.3 billion backlog and $6.1 billion of liquidity, traders could buy RIG on speculation that sale of shallow-water rigs will go through. Conservative investors should avoid this stock.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Transocean: Speculating On Offshore Drilling - Seeking Alpha

LONDON British green energy supplier Good Energy (GOODG.L), one of the small players snapping up market share from big providers, said it had signed a one-year deal to buy electricity from a Dong Energy (DENERG.CO) wind farm off the Yorkshire coast.

Good Energy, which also announced a near 40 percent jump in core profit for last year, said it will buy 12 percent of the electricity produced by Dong Energy's 210-megawatt (MW) Westermost Rough wind farm, with a view to expanding the deal in terms of length and volume.

Denmark's Dong Energy, the largest offshore wind operator in Britain, said the deal marked the first time a British supplier will buy electricity directly from one of its offshore wind farms.

"We have an ambition to ... become one of the UK's leading energy suppliers to industrial and commercial customers and independent retailers," said Dong Energy's head of trading, Soeren Scherfig.

Announcing its full-year results, Good Energy said its electricity customer base grew by 5 percent last year to 71,486 and its gas customer base by 14 percent to 44,107, helping core profit jump to 10.1 million pounds ($13 mln).

Smaller energy suppliers now account for around 18 percent of the dual-fuel British energy market, up from just one percent in 2012, as customers leave big suppliers which the competition watchdog found to have overcharged consumers billions of pounds.

(This version of the story was refiled to include missing word 'power' in headline)

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Susan Fenton)

SHANGHAI China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has fully acquired online ticketing platform Damai.cn, the e-commerce giant said on Tuesday, marking a further push into entertainment by the firm as it expands beyond its core online retail business.

TOKYO Japan's Panasonic Corp on Tuesday said it has agreed to become majority owner of Spanish auto parts maker Ficosa International SA [FICOS.UL] as it bolsters its push into the automotive field.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Privately owned Rocket Lab, a Los Angeles- and New Zealand-based startup poised to begin small satellite launch services this year, has closed a Series D financing round of $75 million, company officials said on Tuesday.

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Britain's Good Energy to buy offshore wind power from Dong - Reuters

3/20/2017

BERGEN, Norway -- Vryhof and its business unit Deep Sea Mooring (DSM) have launched a new engineering unit to support the companys offshore oil & gas, renewables and aquaculture operations across the globe.

The new unit, which is just one element of Vryhof that also includes anchoring technology specialists Vryhof Anchors and Moorlink,a provider of mobile and permanent mooring solutions, will be home to some of the industrys leading engineers with previous experience as oil & gas operators, rig owners and vessel designers.

The unit will provide expertise in hydrodynamic and vessel motion analysis; advanced mooring analysis (including for offshore wind turbines and offshore fish farms); dynamic positioning (DP) analysis; flexible and rigid riser analysis; complex marine operations (including offshore crane operations and subsea operations); andprobabilistic and deterministic stability analysis for all ship types and floating structures.

A main element of the new units activities and a key differentiator in the marketplace will be one of the industrys largest servers with parallel processing capabilities. This will enable Vryhof and DSM to carry out 120 simultaneous engineering simulations, thereby shortening computational times, reducing assumptions and simplifications, and delivering highly accurate and less conservative engineering analysis for customers.

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Vryhof launches offshore engineering unit - World Oil - WorldOil (subscription)

March 21 (Renewables Now) - The 450-MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in Scotland has won the fight against the termination of its Contract for Difference (CfD) and it is now targeting financial close in 2018 and construction start in 2019.

Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power today announced that the arbitral tribunal has decided in favour of Neart na Gaoithe in the dispute related to Low Carbon Contracts Co Ltds (LCCC) move to terminate the CfD for the project in March 2016.

The details on the dispute are confidential.

Mainstream further said it is continuing discussions with the European Investment Bank (EIB), international equity investors, commercial banks and other interested parties to help the offshore wind project reach financial close and start construction.

Planned for the Outer Forth Estuary in the North Sea, Neart na Gaoithe secured a 15-year CfD at a strike price of GBP 114.38 (USD 141.7/EUR 131.6) per MWh in March 2015. It got planning consent in October 2014, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland in early 2015 challenged in court the Scottish governments approval of four offshore wind projects, including this one.

Neart na Gaoithe continues to work with the relevant bodies to ensure that the project has a viable unencumbered consent to allow for financial close in 2018, Mainstream said.

The company had said previously it would use Siemens (FRA:SIE) 7-MW turbines for the project.

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Scottish offshore wind park of 450 MW gets CfD back - Renewables Now (subscription)

Its been 15 years since Cape Wind -- the project meant to be Americas first offshore wind farm -- was first proposed. For years, the 130-turbine, 450-megawatt project was held up as the start of an entirely new industry in the U.S. But fierce legal opposition and project financing problems eventually brought it down.

The offshore wind industry is now virtually all in Europe. In 2001, Europe had a few hundred megawatts of offshore wind projects. Today, it has nearly 13,000 megawatts of capacity -- and developers are on track to make offshore wind the cheapest form of new electricity. In fact, new projects are now beating 2020 price estimates.

When will America finally capture a piece of this budding industry?

This week's guest is well equipped to answer that question. Alicia Barton is the former director of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the former chief of operations at SunEdisons global utility group, and is now the co-chair of the cleantech practice at the global law firm Foley Hoag. She joins us to talk about the regulatory and business activity underway on America's East Coast.

Paste the following URL into your preferred podcast app or click the Open Podcast Feed button to subscribe to The Interchange: Open Podcast Feed

Excerpt from:

Steel in the Water: Offshore Wind Is Finally Coming to America - Greentech Media

Wally Cross with Ullman Sails Detroit shares how offshore sailing offers vital therapy for our fast-moving lives.

Life is busy more today than ever before. In addition to family and work obligations, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram all demand our attention. Because of all this, our minds are constantly inundated with information, and many of us are looking for ways to escape the hectic pace of the modern era.

Americans spend millions on yoga, meditation, mindfulness and other forms of relaxation to break from the fast-paced life. For me, a long-distance race is truly the best way to unplug, literally and figuratively, from everyday life.

My favorite long-distance sailing memory is the 2013 Transpac Race on Bob Pethicks Rogers 46, Bretwalda. With a distance of 2,600 miles from LA to Hawaii, this was the longest race in both distance and days of my career.

Among our crew of eight, I was fortunate to have good relationships with everyone, and, as an added bonus, had my closest friend on my watch. While we had a satellite phone/Internet connection, we all agreed not to contact anyone during our voyage.

Just prior to the start, our owner turned off his cell phone for the duration of the race. At that moment, I felt a sense of relief. We were on our own for the next nine to 11 days.

I decided not to think about the length of the race, but to take each day, each hour at a time. I chose to think only about the two Ss Sailing and Surviving. Sailing is such a part of who I am, I can do it without thinking, which could be described as mindful.

Our watch system was four hours on, four hours off. One watch quickly turned into four watches, and the days evaporated one after another. During that 10-day window, I didnt have time to focus on lifes usual distractions. Life was now about the very basics of survival sleeping in small pipe berths, desalinating water for drinking, and hydrating food to eat.

By the middle portion of the race, days and nights blended together creating a strange yet incredible reality. The three other crew members on my watch became my family. We all shared a box of wine at the 1,300-mile mark, the halfway point. Being that far from civilization, and knowing that no one could help if anyone was sick or hurt, was enlightening. We had no time to worry about things beyond our control. That feeling was worth the price of living in these extreme conditions.

While I certainly thought about my family, job and all that life on land demands, 99-percent of the day, I thought about sailing and safety. During this experience, its almost as if my brain was filtering out any unnecessary information, and living simply became such a joy.

I would look forward to brushing my teeth once a day or taking a solar shower once in the race. Even the freeze-dried food became an obsession debating on ways to prepare it with olive oil and hot sauce. Often, we would sit on the floor, eating, sharing stories and reflecting on the last four hours. Your watch team became your brothers the bond between us was tangible.

There is nothing simple about the Transpac Race, but it felt that way to me. It was windy, wild, wet and, yes, sometimes scary. However, it was everything we hoped it could be. As we approached the islands, we became focused on the finish. Even though the end of our race was still about a day away, it was an incredible feeling to see land after only seeing water for nine days. We entered the Molokai Channel, greeted with 30mph winds that allowed us to finish early on the tenth evening of our journey.

Reaching land also meant my entry back into the normal world. I was ready. My 10 days across the Pacific put life into perspective. I found a new appreciation for ordinary day-to-day activities such as a sitting down to a real dinner, speaking to my family, taking a shower, and, yes, even watching the news. The race was a sort of cleansing, a refresh period, leaving me more focused on my everyday life more than ever.

Of course, we sail to win, but just like climbing Mt. Everest or running a marathon, sailing the Transpac was an award in and of itself. Doing something that few would or could do makes you feel proud of your accomplishment. I ultimately felt this race was more of a test than a challenge. The test was to see how I would react to the extreme lifestyle change. I am so grateful for the experience and look forward to doing it again.

Offshore racing is a unique experience that I recommend to all seasoned sailors. You can enjoy the benefits of unplugging by participating in the Mackinac Race, sailing to Bermuda or Jamaica, or traveling any distance longer than your typical race. Next time you race offshore for a day or more, turn off your cell phone and your brain. Experience the beauty of the water and focus on building lasting friendships with the crew. You will be rewarded for the rest of your life.

Requirements of a Great Offshore Experience A true offshore race needs to be long enough for you to break from your phone, computer and all of society for at least two days at a minimum yet preferably six or more. Offshore races are very different than buoy sailing. The boat must function well on deck, as it has to support a crew for many days below.

Heres a list of requirements to maximize the experience: A safe, fast boat to race (based on the race, choose a boat that performs well in those conditions) Enjoyable team on and off the water (less is more when it comes to the total experience) Current Sailing Gear Sails designed VMC (Velocity Made to Course) strong with low stretch Instruments that provide true values, polars speeds, true wind speed, boat speed and true wind direction. Also, a computer with routing software and capable of downloading weather. Communication system for reports and safety. Running rigging that is strong and durable. One or more halyard locks are helpful for long races. A good spare halyard that could double as a sheet works well. Flexible, dry foul weather gear. Combine this with a reliable safety harness with inflatable life jacket. Make the race an enjoyable experience before, during and especially after, by sailing to an exciting destination. Looking forward to the finish based on location is the ultimate carrot. Great preparation for the race Research weather, routing Sail crossover chart for wind speed and angle Dry boat inside Comfortable sleeping berths with pillow and blanket Water maker, salt to fresh Great freeze dry food (olive oil and hot sauce are my favorite extras) Practical toiletries and cleaning wipes Watch system that allows you to sail and rest with the same team Fans below to circulate air (smell and temperature) Individual thermos cups for all liquid with personal spork for eating

A crossover chart and freeze dried meals are two of the essentials needed for successful offshore sailing.

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How Offshore Racing Improves the Soul - Scuttlebutt Sailing News

Refresh for latest: Disneys Beauty And The Beast charmed its way into the international box office this weekend with a wild $180M start. Combined with the equally monstrous domestic opening, that puts the global tally for the live-action update of 1991s animated classic at a magnifique $350M worldwide. The Bill Condon-directed film is now the No. 2 March debut of all time both globally and internationally, behind Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

We had a sense yesterday that BATB was headed across $300M global and indeed it sprang past pre-weekend estimates on all fronts.

Looking at the same suite of offshore markets, and at todays rates, the opening BATB frame is running 35% ahead of The Jungle Book, 96% ahead of Alice In Wonderland, 100% ahead of Maleficent and 148% ahead of Cinderella.

The Emma Watson/Dan Stevens-starrer was No. 1 in virtually all debuts its playing in 44 material markets this weekend. A dazzling $22.8M in the UK gave BATB the highest grossing 3-day opening weekend ever for a PG title; and China opened to $44.8M for the biggest-ever Disney Live Action launch weekend (note that Disney Live Action refers to non-Lucasfilm/Marvel releases).

In other highlights, this is the top March opening ever in several territories, including the UK, Germany and Mexico. BATB also had the No. 1 bow of 2017 in those markets as well as Italy, Sweden and Brazil, among others. The film further surpassed the lifetimes of Maleficent and Alice In Wonderland in China, Korea and India.

In IMAX plays, BATB waltzed to a record-setting $21M on 1,026 screens worldwide. In 55 international markets, the gross was $8.5M on 649. The movie, which features an expanded aspect ratio that is exclusive to IMAX, is the 300th DMR (digital media remastering) title in the formats history and pushes IMAX past the $6B total global box office mark.

BATB is the No. 1 global bow ever for a PG-rated film in IMAX, topping Disneys own Jungle Book ($20M) from last year. It is the No. 2 overseas launch for a PG movie after TJBs $9.7M and the No. 3 international opening weekend in March after BVS and Logan.

Overall, the UK is a big part of this fairy tale. Along with the PG record noted above, the $22.8M score is the 5th highest grossing 3-day launch of all time. The Saturday was the 2nd biggest ever only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film is doing Jungle Book-style business overseas and indeed outpacing it with a launch in the UK that is +83% on that film. This is further the biggest Disney Live Action opening in the market and the top March debut frame ever. It also tops the start for all musicals in the market.

The Top 5 hubs this session are China ($44.8M), the UK ($22.8M), Korea ($11.9M), Mexico ($11.6M) and Germany ($10.7M). Market breakdowns are coming below.

Other notable numbers this frame include Foxs Logan passing $100M in China; Warner Bros Kong: Skull Island getting thisclose to $150M international after two sessions; Universals Split crossing $250M worldwide; Unis A Dogs Purpose sitting up to over $100M international; and Illumination/Universals Sing nearing $600M global. New was the opening of Jordan Peeles Get Out from Universal and Blumhouse.

Breakdowns on those and others are being updated below.

NEW BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Disney

The tale as old as time was expected to resonate around the world and just continued to run all weekend. Thats despite any controversy that reared up over Josh Gads gay moment in the film. Any distraction over Russia giving the film a 16+ rating (on par with Dis Pirates films, btw and equivalent to a PG-13 in the U.S) did not damage the start there (see more below).

With all this cash in the castle, there are still openings to come in such majors as France, Australia and Japan. BATB has lots of runway ahead of it and with ongoing play, plus the addition of those markets which are poised to belly right up to the beast, $1B global looks all but assured.

Currently offshore, China is in the lead with $44.8M to become the biggest ever Disney Live Action opening weekend of all time. BATB repped 67% of the market share there and has already bested the entire run of both Maleficent and Alice In Wonderland. In 2015 dollars, Cindy opened to $25M across her first 3-day with BABT almost doubling that start this weekend. In IMAX, the film grossed $3.4M on 386 screens.

The UK, as noted above, had a fairy tale launch with $22.8M and several benchmarks set including the highest grossing 3-day opening weekend ever for a PG title; the 5th highest grossing 3-day bow of all time; and the 2nd biggest Saturday ever only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Korea, which is the No. 3 play on BATB this weekend, came in at $11.9M for the top Disney Live Action opening frame ever. With 67% market share the opening already exceeds the entire run of both Maleficent and Cinderella. Belle and her Beast are 80% ahead of Jungle Book currently.

Mexico comes in as the No. 4 offshore hub with $11.6M, again the biggest ever DLA bow; the No. 1 March opening of all time; and the top industry start of 2017. It is also the 6th industry opening weekend ever. It dominated the market with 74% and is running 91% swingier than Jungle Book.

In Germany, the table was set with $10.7M for the top March opening weekend on record and 2017s best so far. There, its 118% ahead of Jungle Book.

Brazil is next with $10.4M: top DLA ever, top 2017 start and 7th industry opening of all time. The score more than tripled The Jungle Books launch.

Italys first dance was worth $7.6M for 2017s biggest start and 124% over The Jungle Book.

At $6M, Russia defied the local controversy which saw it slapped with a 16+ rating. Disneys Dave Hollis tells me, The result is as impressive in Russia as it is anywhere else in the world. Its also more than double Cinderellas first sweep.

The Philippines and Spain round out the Top 10 with $5.9M and $5.8M, respectively. In the former, this is the top DLA opening and the No. 4 industry bow ever. Shattered are the entire scores of Jungle Book, Cinderella and Alice In Wonderland. In Spain, this is the biggest non-local March opening ever and is running 36% ahead of Jungle Book.

In other notables not cited above, BATB is the biggest March opening ever in Albania, Austria, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark (non-local), Finland, Macedonia, Norway (3-day only), Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine. It is also the biggest opening of the year in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Serbia, Switzerland, U.A.E. and Ukraine.

Further openings across South East Asia that are DLAs best include Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

The only markets where Mrs Potts didnt top the box office were Vietnam (Kong: Skull Island was still No. 1 there), Turkey (with two local movies and Logan ahead) and India (where Foxs Badrinath Ki Dulhania retained No. 1).

Tuning up for next weekend are France, Australia, Belgium, Hungary, Israel, Trinidad and Argentina. Japan, a huge Disney market, bows April 21. This Beauty will also open on 22 more IMAX screens in nine markets next frame.

GET OUT

Universal

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Warner Bros

Particularly notable is the performance in Vietnam which figures in the film. Kong beat the new Beauty in the market with a No. 1 and $5.3M total to become the 2nd highest-grossing movie there ever behind Furious 7.

Overall, the UK was the best play this frame with $3.3M on 931 screens, ranking No. 2 with a $13.5M cume. Korea followed at $2.5M on 644 for the No. 2 spot and an $11.1M total so far. Up next was France where the film maintained No. 1 (Belle arrives next weekend there) with $2.4M on 540 for a 31% drop and a total $7.3M to date. Australia (which also has BATB as a new guest next frame stomped on $2.4M/388 to bring the running total to $7.2M. Mexico similarly added $2.4M (on 1,597) for $10.1M running. There is a long-holiday weekend in Mexico and WB is looking at strong numbers in an expanded market.

Other top cumes include Russias $9.3M; Brazil with $6.9M; Germanys $6.2M; Taiwans $6M; Malaysias $4.8M; and Spains $3.2M.

Next weekend, Kong travels to China and Japan.

LOGAN

20th Century Fox

Elsewhere, Logan is now 10% bigger than the lifetime of X-Men: Apocalypse at current exchanges in the UK with a cume of $25.3M. Brazil held this frame at No. 2 for $23.4M so far after a 43% drop. The next biggest market is Russia with $15.7M so far and 19% higher than X-Men: Days Of Future Past at todays f/x rates. Korea has grossed $15.3M to date and held No. 3 this session. In most plays, holds were better than -50%. Japan releases Logan on June 1.

A DOGS PURPOSE

Universal

We talked about the success of this film in China last week and its marketing prowess with local partner Alibaba has continued to pay off. The movie was No. 2 behind new opener Beauty And The Beast after playing well throughout the week. It normally has about two weeks left to wag there. Universal will next release in Russia on March 30 and Japan on September 23.

SING

Universal

SPLIT

Universal

MOANA

Disney

MISC UPDATED CUMES

Lionsgate

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'Beauty And The Beast' Enchants With $350M Global Bow; $180M Offshore International Box Office - Deadline