Category Archives: Offshore

JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with McDermott International for the integrated engineering procurement construction and installation (EPCI) of offshore platforms for McDermotts growing Middle East and other regional oil and gas development markets at the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services, according to a Saudi Aramco statement issued here on Wednesday. This project is part of Saudi Aramcos plan to expand its local supply chain, which will improve the companys agility while driving additional economic and human capital development, as well new employment opportunities to help the Kingdom achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The selection of McDermott was the result of a rigorous evaluation process, which followed extensive negotiations with several world-class players in the offshore EPCI services field. The project aims to create a world-class provider of offshore EPCI services throughout the Middle East and regional markets. It will build on the existing relationship between Saudi Aramco and McDermott to localize this part of the supply chain, which would improve efficiency while increasing local content, export of energy goods and services, and further development of the Kingdoms economy.

JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with McDermott International for the integrated engineering procurement construction and installation (EPCI) of offshore platforms for McDermotts growing Middle East and other regional oil and gas development markets at the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services, according to a Saudi Aramco statement issued here on Wednesday. This project is part of Saudi Aramcos plan to expand its local supply chain, which will improve the companys agility while driving additional economic and human capital development, as well new employment opportunities to help the Kingdom achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The selection of McDermott was the result of a rigorous evaluation process, which followed extensive negotiations with several world-class players in the offshore EPCI services field. The project aims to create a world-class provider of offshore EPCI services throughout the Middle East and regional markets. It will build on the existing relationship between Saudi Aramco and McDermott to localize this part of the supply chain, which would improve efficiency while increasing local content, export of energy goods and services, and further development of the Kingdoms economy.

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Saudi Aramco, McDermott sign MoU for construction of offshore platforms - Arab News

It might not look like it based on Transocean's (NYSE:RIG) most recent earnings reports, but the company is making some very large strides to improve its position in the rig market. While once seen as a company with an extremely old, ineffective fleet, Transocean now looks younger, leaner, and ready to position itself for the upturn in the offshore market.

In fact, Transocean is so confident in its current position that it thinks it can do something that has been almost completely unheard of in recent years: According to executives in its fourth-quarter earnings call, it's ready to make an acquisition. Here are some notable quotes from the call that illustrate what management is thinking.

Image source: Getty Images.

There hasn't been a lot of new work for rigs out there. So even the shortest, cheapest contract can be helpful in putting some cash in the coffers. According to Transocean CEO Jeremy Thigpen, the company has actually been doing a rather remarkable job of capturing what little work that is available:

I'd also like to thank our marketing contracts team, which in 2016 despite intense competition, won roughly one-third of the contracted global floater fixtures. The combination of our long-standing and deep customer relationships, our global footprint, our excellent operational performance and our internal confidence to offer innovative commercial models helped us to capture market share in this challenging market without bidding below cash breakeven dayrates. Of note, we were also able to secure contracts for two cold-stacked rigs when our competitors had hot rigs that were available.

It may not be showing up much in the bottom line of Transocean's results, but keeping rigs working at even the most modest profits will go a long way for any rig company, especially since we have yet to hit the bottom of the market.

As the offshore rig industry goes through this deep downturn, one of the silver linings is that it is forcing companies to think of better ways to operate. One thing that Transocean is looking to do is coordinate more with its suppliers and equipment manufacturers to lower operational downtime and maintenance costs. According to Thigpen, the company is trying a novel approach:

[W]e are more closely collaborating with our supply partners, and leveraging our respective strength to further enhance our riser inspection maintenance program and proven optimized [blowout preventer] performance, further improve reliability and reduce the total cost of ownership over the lives of the assets. We will accomplish these joint objectives by migrating our service model to reflect actual use in lieu of a more traditional calendar-based approach to service and maintenance. This reliability-centered approach has been approved by [Det Norske Veritas], and being embraced by the respective [original equipment manufacturers]. Ultimately, through closer collaboration, coordination and the aligning of incentives, we are confident that we can further improve rig uptime while reducing our operating costs.

Transocean isn't the only company taking this kind of approach to equipment performance. In 2016, Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) signed an agreement with General Electric (NYSE:GE) where it sold its blowout preventers back to GE and, in exchange, will lease them from GE. The idea here is that the OEM will have a better understanding of the equipment itself and will be more in tune with the maintenance needs. It also puts skin in the game for the OEM, as it is only paid for when the equipment is in use.

This seems to be a trend taking hold across the industry, so don't be surprised if we see more offshore rig owners move toward these equipment leasing options in the future.

Probably the thing that investors care about more than anything else is when we can expect the market to turn for offshore operators. Based on Thigpen's statements, 2017 isn't going to be the year. Integrated oil and gas companies (thinkExxonMobiland Chevron) represent the bulk of offshore development money, and those players don't have much of their budget dedicated to offshore work and reserve replacement. But Thigpen's more optimistic about 2018:

As we looked toward 2018, we're increasingly encouraged. The [integrated oil companies], which represent the majority of the offshore and specifically, the Deepwater market, recognize that their future is ultimately dependent on reserve replacement and production growth, yet 2017 will represent the third consecutive year of reduced capital spending and underinvestment in core high-return assets. As such, we expect the natural course of accelerating depletion to narrow the gap between the supply and demand of oil, and place upward pressure on its price, ultimately encourage incremental activity. Additionally, by 2018, we as an industry, will have further streamlined our organization and our processes, realizing additional performance improvement in cost savings that will result in even lower breakeven for our customers.

Transocean has been the most aggressive company in terms of scrapping older rigs that probably won't have much use in the future. The demands from operators today mean only the highest-specification rigs get work. As much work Transocean has done in right-sizing its fleet, Thigpen admits there is still lots of progress left to be made by the industry as a whole:

Still, with approximately 315 floaters in the current market, which includes those under construction, we as an industry remain oversupplied, even when considering the more optimistic estimates of recovery. Although we cannot accurately predict what others will do as the market unfolds, we will continue to be very pragmatic in evaluating both our rigs rolling off contract and our assets that are currently stacked. As we identify rig that no longer fulfills our fleet strategy and/or does not best address what we believed to be our customers' specific demand, we will continue to quickly make the decision to recycle it.

Transocean's most recent rig report showed it had nine older rigs that are only deepwater and midwater capable.These are the most likely candidates to be recycled. Some are still under contract, though, so don't expect them to be sent to the scrap yard before their contracts are up.

This was probably the most interesting quote from the whole earnings call. Thanks to Transocean's efforts to right size the fleet, delay delivery of some rigs under construction, and maintain a strong balance sheet, Thigpen actually sees a ripe opportunity to make some acquisitions:

In addition to retiring less-marketable assets, there is a significant number of high specification rigs, either in the possession of the stressed market participants or shipyards that could enhance our overall fleet and competitive position. We will continue to evaluate these assets, and remain ready to act under the right circumstances.

Thigpen went on to say that there two ways Transocean can deal with this. Either it can use cash to take over a shipyard delivery that was supposed to go to another player, or it could use its equity to absorb a competitor. Using equity today isn't ideal -- shares are trading for the absurdly cheap valuation of 0.31 times tangible book value -- but even that low share price is better than some of its peers.

RIG Price to Tangible Book Value data by YCharts.

If the company is going to make those kinds of deals, though, CFO Mark Mey thinks the company will need to act fast to get the best deal possible.

[Y]ou cannot wait too long because the opportunity may not be there for you. So you have to make a pre-emptive strike. I think Transocean, given our marketing presence and market intelligence, we probably have the best information out there, and probably get a look before most people do. So I think when we do decide to go out and strike, you can read that as a sign that we think the market is certainly troughed and improving from there.

Transocean has pretty much been the only company as of late to discuss the possibility of making an acquisition right now, which shows what kind of strength it has in the market in general. If this isn't a sign that the company is one of the best-positioned to bounce back in the offshore drilling industry, I'm not sure what is.

Tyler Crowe owns shares of General Electric and Seadrill. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Atwood Oceanics. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Is Transocean About to Make a Big Splash in the Offshore Rig Industry? - Motley Fool

LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md. - Offshore wind developers discussed plans to bring wind farming to Maryland Tuesday.

The Business Network for Offshore Wind (the Network) sponsored a breakfast to introduce Deepwater Wind and US Wind to industry leaders.

The developers submitted proposals to the Maryland Public Service Commission to build the first offshore wind farm off Maryland's coast.

Offshore wind power is inevitable. If we want to meet our clean energy goals, if we want to hedge our bets against fossil fuel volatility, if we also want to have the lights come on around the most congested areas where the load centers are (which are our coast) then we have to have offshore wind, said Liz Burdock, the executive director at Business Network for Offshore Wind.

In Maryland, offshore wind is much more powerful than onshore wind, and in 2013, the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act was passed creating subsidies for offshore wind facilities.

The application process opened last year and this year, the Maryland Public Service Commission will review and potentially approve one of the two projects.

We've proposed the Skipjack Wind Farm, which is a 120 megawatt project that's located 17 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. It'll consist of 15 wind turbines and it'll produce enough power for about 35,000 Maryland homes, said Clint Plummer, the vice-president of development for Deepwater Wind.

Deepwater Wind is the developer of Americas first offshore wind farm launched off Block Island in Rhode Island last December. Also competing for approval is U.S. Wind.

This is a huge economic development project, which will employ 5,000 or more people over the course of a generation as we not only build our project but build out the Port of Baltimore and Ocean City to support projects up and down the east coast, said Paul Rich, the project development director for U.S. Wind.

Part of the financing for the projects will come from Marylanders who pay for public utilities. The act made available up to $1.9 billion in financing, but it also put a cap on the monthly charge to consumers.

The Maryland law establishes a cap of no more than $1.50 per customer per month, said Plummer.

However, rate payers won't see an increase in their bills until the turbines start spinning and that's not anticipated til around 2022. Proponents of the projects also call it a nominal fee for something that will potentially change the way Americans generate power.

The opportunity to bring a Silicon Valley of offshore wind is very real and we need to seize this opportunity as Marylanders, Rich said.

Packed house for @DeepwaterWind @uswindinc breakfast meeting #moveosw pic.twitter.com/1Vqbv1n8fM

According to officials, The Northeast regional pipeline of offshore wind would create about 75,000 jobs.

The meeting was held at the Maritime Conference Center Maritime Institute.

There will be two public hearings on the proposed projects. The first will be on Saturday, March 25, beginning at noon in the cafeteria of Stephen Decatur Middle School located at 9815SeahawkRoad, Berlin, Maryland 21811. The second hearing will be held on Thursday, March 30, at 6 p.m. in the Joint Committee Hearing Room in the Legislative Services Building located at 90 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.

The Public Service Commission is expected to make a decision on May 17, 2017.

The first offshore wind project was installed in Denmark in 1991.

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WMAR Staff contributed to this report.

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Offshore wind developers talk plans to bring first wind farm - WMAR - ABC2 News

by Zacks Equity Research Published on March 08, 2017

HOS

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (HOS - Free Report) could be a stock to avoid from a technical perspective, as the firm is seeing unfavorable trends on the moving average crossover front. Recently, the 50 Day Moving Average for HOS broke out below the 200 Day Simple Moving Average, suggesting short-term bearishness.

This has already started to take place, as the stock has moved lower by 43.7% in the past four weeks. And with the recent moving average crossover, investors have to think that more unfavorable trading is ahead for HOS stock.

If that wasnt enough, Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. isnt looking too great from an earnings estimate revision perspective either. It appears as though many analysts have been reducing their earnings expectations for the stock lately, which is usually not a good sign of things to come.

Consider that in the last 30 days, 4 estimates have been reduced, while none has moved higher. Add this in to a similar move lower in the consensus estimate, and there is plenty of reason to be bearish here.

That is why we currently have a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) on this stock and are looking for it to underperform in the weeks ahead. So either avoid this stock or consider jumping ship until the estimates and technical factors turn around for HOS. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Moving Average Crossover Alert: Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) March 08, 2017 - Zacks.com

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Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK), and Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE: TOO) today announced the following changes to their respective Boards of Directors:

"I am very pleased that Bill Utt will be taking over the Chairmanship of both the Teekay and Teekay Offshore Boards of Directors," commented Mr. Day. "After 18 years chairing the Teekay Corporation Board, and 11 years chairing the Teekay Offshore Board, I believe now is the right time for me to pass on the Board leadership to Bill, who has extensive experience in the energy industry and an appreciation of Teekay's culture." Mr. Day continued, "Since joining the Teekay Board in 2015, Bill has brought his deep project management knowledge to bear on Board deliberations and I have no doubt he will lead with enthusiasm and skill in his new role. I remain committed to both Teekay and Teekay Offshore and am pleased to continue serving as a Board member of each entity and offer my support to Bill, Teekay CEO Kenneth Hvid, and the rest of the Teekay team."

Mr. Utt responded "I am honored to succeed Sean as Chair of both the Teekay Corporation Board and the Teekay Offshore Board. Sean has done an excellent job of leading the Board and I am delighted that he will continue to serve on the Board as I take on this important leadership role."

Mr. Axel Karlshoej, Chairman Emeritus of the Teekay Corporation Board and brother of the founder, Torben Karlshoej, said, "I want to thank Sean for his extraordinary leadership over the past 18 years. During his tenure, he has overseen enormous growth in the Teekay Group, including the establishment Teekay LNG Partners L.P., Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. and Teekay Tankers Ltd. In each case, he has been instrumental in establishing strong, cohesive boards with a focus on corporate governance best practices. I am pleased that Bill Utt has agreed to take on the Chairmanship of both the Teekay Corporation and Teekay Offshore Boards. Bill has been a strong contributor to the Teekay Board since he joined in December 2015 and I am confident that his expertise and strong leadership skills make him an excellent successor to Sean Day."

Mr. Utt has been a Teekay Board member since December 2015, and has over 30 years of engineering and energy industry experience. Until his retirement in 2014, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KBR Inc., a global engineering, construction and services company. Before that, Mr. Utt served as the President and CEO of SUEZ Energy North America and President and CEO of Tractebel's North American energy businesses. Mr. Utt also currently serves as Chairman on the Board of Directors at Cobalt International Energy, a position he has held since June 2016, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC portfolio company.

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Teekay Corporation (TK) and Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO) Announce Changes to Boards of Directors - StreetInsider.com

A significant number of projects in the North Sea are approaching the end of their life cycle, as the basin has matured and the oil price crash has made production uneconomical in many cases, and large-scale decommissioning is beginning to take place.

Decommissioning is the fastest-growing activity in the North Sea oil and gas sector, with more than 100 platforms due to shut down before 2025. This will include more than 1,800 wells and 7,500km of pipeline being decommissioned at great expense to both the companies involved and the UK Government.

The basin has matured and the oil crash has made production uneconomical in many cases. However, decommissioning on this scale will be challenging and problems are already arising. Not only is it extremely expensive, with estimates for the decommissioning of the North Sea ranging from 50bn to 100bn, but the lengthy process also poses environmental challenges.

Due to regulations introduced in 1998 in the OSPAR convention, oil companies can no longer abandon their platforms but instead must fully remove them. But can an installation ever be removed without a trace, and if so, is this actually the best option?

One of the first major decommissioning projects in the North Sea will be the removal of the Brent platforms owned by Royal Dutch Shell. But instead of removing the entire platforms, Shell has sought an exemption from OSPAR that would allow it to abandon the platform legs, 64 storage tanks and oil-contaminated drill cuttings.

The legs on three platforms are constructed on concrete and steel, and weigh 300,000 tonnes each, presenting logistical difficulties for their removal. This raises the question whether it would be better for the environment to leave the legs behind. Shell argues it is, claiming that the platforms were built quickly and without considering decommissioning, unlike many platforms which were always designed to be removed. The company therefore proposes that instead of disrupting the surrounding environment, the legs should be left jutting out of the water as navigational tools for fishermen.

Not everyone agrees with Shells assessment, however. WWF Scotland has criticised the companys approach, arguing it is grounded in economics instead of environmental concern. "Oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea have a legal, as well as moral, obligation to clean up their mess, WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said. Having once pushed the boundaries of science and engineering to secure the oil and gas beneath the seabed, the industry should show the same innovation when it comes to decommissioning.

"Oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea have a legal, as well as moral, obligation to clean up their mess."

While Shells Brent field is by no means the first decommissioning project in the North Sea, it is one of the largest, and therefore has highlighted many of the challenges. Decommissioning technology has vastly improved in recent years, and ships have been designed to carry entire topsides of platforms to shore for dismantling. Shell will use one such vessel to remove the 24,000-tonne topsides of the Brent platforms. But despite these advances, decommissioning is not an easy process, and environmental dangers are ever-present.

Complete decommissioning comes with potential environmental hazards. Over the years oil platforms become part of the environment around them, often providing breeding grounds for fisheries. "In some locations, platforms may provide much orall of the adult fishes of some heavily-fished species and this contributes disproportionately to those species' larval production,"says a study on underwater ecosystems conducted by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

An important aspect of complete decommissioning to consider is the removal of rocks dumped on the seafloor for the purpose of levelling the ground or protecting and insulating subsea pipes. Rock dump can be a significant input into protected sediment habitats (including sandbanks) and at present proposed decommissioning works are resulting in larger post-decommissioning footprints than the infrastructure footprints during operation, a Joint Nature Conservation Committee report noted in September 2016.

"At present proposed decommissioning works are resulting in larger post-decommissioning footprints than the infrastructure footprints during operation."

Not only can decommissioning damage ecosystems; it also has broader environmental effects. Decommissioning requires tugs and barges which create a vast amount of CO2 to transport the rig to shore. Once onshore, due to the wear the platform and legs have sustained, a lot of the metal is unsuitable for recycling, and therefore is simply broken down and taken to a landfill along with the concrete and other elements of the rig.

It seems clear that an overzealous removal of all aspects of a rig can itself cause damage, but abandoning the platform entirely can be just as bad. Predominantly the dangers of lax platform abandonment revolve around the possibility of an oil leak, as although the wells are always plugged during decommissioning, these plugs can erode or be pushed out by changes in pressure. There are fewer dangers associated with the platforms themselves; although they will erode over time, their remote location ensures this is of little consequence.

In other parts of the world, where fields have already matured, alternatives to complete decommissioning have been used. Arguably the most successful alternative has been the Rigs-to-Reefs technique, which leaves some of the rig to become an artificial reef, providing a habitat for wildlife. Rigs-to-Reefs Exploration, a company which specialises in the technique, describes the approach: Through this decommissioning process, the oil well is capped and the upper 85 feet of the platform is either towed, toppled in place, or removed.

Rigs-to-Reefs has already been used off the coast of California, where the large remaining structures were shown to provide viable habitats for marine animals. Not all platforms are suitable, and a full ecological survey is required before a rig can be considered. However, in cases where the approach is suitable, these abandoned rigs can become part of the ecosystems and save the company and the tax payer money, as Rigs-to-Reefs Exploration claims it costs less than a fifth of full removal.

Elsewhere, abandoned rigs have been put to use as hotels and resorts. Off the coast of Malaysia the SeaAdventures centre is an old oil rig converted into a 25-room hotel and diving school. This is one of the most successful examples of reuse, but other suggestions have also been made, ranging from luxury hotels to high-security prisons.

While it seems clear that complete removal is not always the most environmentally efficient option for an oil rig, there is often no alternative. Reuse of rigs, either as reefs or otherwise, depends on location and suitability. Furthermore the sheer number of rigs facing decommissioning means not all of them can find an alternative purpose in the future.

Ultimately there is no hard-and-fast rule about which level of decommissioning is best for a rig, as it depends largely on the location and environment. But it seems sensible to consider the alternatives before the complete removal process of a platform is set in motion.

Excerpt from:

Can decommissioning cause more harm than good? - Offshore Technology

Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Above: This map shows the Newport Inglewood Rose Canyon Fault, and underwater topography off the coast of Southern California, and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Site, or SONGS, site, February 2017.

The offshore Newport-Inglewood and Rose Canyon faults are part of the same fault system and could produce earthquakes of a magnitude 7.3 or greater, according to a study released by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Wednesday.

The faults, which run from San Diego to Los Angeles, had previously been considered separate.

RELATED: Seismic Research Explores San Onofres Earthquake, Tsunami Risks

Instead, they are actually one continuous system running from San Diego Bay to Seal Beach in Orange County, then on land through the Los Angeles basin, according to the study, published in the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research.

"This system is mostly offshore but never more than four miles from the San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles County coast," said lead author Valerie Sahakian, who performed the work during her doctorate at Scripps.

"Even if you have a high 5- or low 6-magnitude earthquake, it can still have a major impact on those regions which are some of the most densely populated in California," said Sahakian, now a postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Geological Survey.

An offshore quake could register as much as 7.3, however, while one on land could hit 7.4, she said.

Researchers processed data from previous seismic surveys, and supplemented it with high-resolution underwater topography data gathered offshore by Scripps researchers between 2006 and 2009 along with seismic surveys conducted aboard Scripps research vessels in 2013.

The disparate data have different resolution scales and depth of penetration, which allowed the scientists to define the fault architecture at an unprecedented scale and create magnitude estimates with more certainty, according to Scripps.

The fault system most famously produced a 6.4-magnitude quake in Long Beach that killed 115 people in 1933.

Researchers have found evidence of earlier earthquakes of indeterminate size on onshore portions of the fault, finding that at the northern end of the fault system, there have been between three and five ruptures in the last 11,000 years. At the southern end, there is evidence of a quake that took place roughly 400 years ago and little significant activity for 5,000 years before that.

The Rose Canyon Fault runs alongside the northern San Diego County coast, comes inland around La Jolla, extends under downtown San Diego and winds up offshore again off Imperial Beach.

The authors conclude that further study is needed to improve the understanding of the threat posed to urban areas between Tijuana and Los Angeles.

Researchers at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory assisted with the study, which was funded by Southern California Edison.

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Study: Offshore Fault System Could Produce 7.3 Earthquake - KPBS

A poster for Nazanin Sahamizadehs play Manus, which follows the lives of seven Iranian men who flee Iran only to wind up in the offshore detention centre run by Australia on Papua New Guineas Manus Island. Photograph: Nazanin Sahamizadeh

A Tehran playwright wants to bring her production, Manus, to Australia to help the outside world hear the voices of refugees held on the remote island.

Nazanin Sahamizadehs play follows the lives of seven Iranian men who flee by various means from Iran, seeking protection and freedom, only to wind up in the offshore detention centre run by Australia on Papua New Guineas Manus Island. The play centres around their time on the island and their struggle to cope with the violence, indignities and privation of their indefinite detention, and the uncertainty over their futures.

The seven-man production is in the middle of a two-month run at the Qashqai Hall of Tehrans City Theatre complex and Sahamizadeh hopes to soon take it further afield.

I wish, firstly, to perform it in Australia and then in other places in the world, to allow people to hear the voices of refugees, she told the Guardian. And I hope to create a movement towards closing Manus and Nauru camps as soon as possible and helping to free the refugees held there.

Sahamizadeh said few people in Iran were aware of Australias offshore detention regime, despite Iranians being the largest cohort of detainees on both of Australias offshore islands.

There is no information about these camps at all in Iran and no news about the events and disasters that have been happened there, she said. Maybe just a few people have heard a brief headline of news.

I thought only Reza Barati had been killed by camp authorities but others have also died in the camps.

She said she had been stunned to learn of the detention centre on Manus ruled illegal and unconstitutional by the supreme court more than 10 months ago and that men had been held there for more than three years.

It is so tragic and shocking, she said. Because Australia is first-world country and a pretender [to uphold] human rights. But this behaviour with refugees and asylum seekers is completely against humanity.

The play deals with violence in the island camps and the deterioration of the protagonists mental and physical health. But the show does not aim to preach, Sahamizadeh insisted.

Ive mostly tried to give audiences awareness and make them think, instead of giving them just message.

She said people brought, and left with, different attitudes towards the issue of irregular migration and of those who seek asylum.

Some believe that refugees should not use illegal ways and government has right to deal with them but the majority are saying that these camps should be closed and government should not act like this.

She said the play, despite its controversial subject matter Irans theocratic regime is sensitive to the issue of its citizens fleeing to claim protection and refuses to accept failed asylum seekers forcibly returned to its territory has not attracted the attention, nor opprobrium, of authorities.

My play is a social show and not political and is for ordinary people and not authorities.

Hossein Babaahmadi, a former asylum seeker held on Manus who has since returned to Iran, spoke at a performance of the play, telling the audience he was still suffering from his time seeking asylum and in detention.

Only those who been through this can imagine this journey every single moment of it was like death.

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Australia's 'shocking' offshore immigration regime inspires play staged in Iran - The Guardian

LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md. - Offshore wind developers discussed plans to bring wind farming to Maryland Tuesday.

The Business Network for Offshore Wind (the Network) sponsored a breakfast to introduce Deepwater Wind and US Wind to industry leaders.

The developers submitted proposals to the Maryland Public Service Commission to build the first offshore wind farm off Maryland's coast.

Offshore wind power is inevitable. If we want to meet our clean energy goals, if we want to hedge our bets against fossil fuel volatility, if we also want to have the lights come on around the most congested areas where the load centers are (which are our coast) then we have to have offshore wind, said Liz Burdock, the executive director at Business Network for Offshore Wind.

In Maryland, offshore wind is much more powerful than onshore wind, and in 2013, the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act was passed creating subsidies for offshore wind facilities.

The application process opened last year and this year, the Maryland Public Service Commission will review and potentially approve one of the two projects.

We've proposed the Skipjack Wind Farm, which is a 120 megawatt project that's located 17 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. It'll consist of 15 wind turbines and it'll produce enough power for about 35,000 Maryland homes, said Clint Plummer, the vice-president of development for Deepwater Wind.

Deepwater Wind is the developer of Americas first offshore wind farm launched off Block Island in Rhode Island last December. Also competing for approval is U.S. Wind.

This is a huge economic development project, which will employ 5,000 or more people over the course of a generation as we not only build our project but build out the Port of Baltimore and Ocean City to support projects up and down the east coast, said Paul Rich, the project development director for U.S. Wind.

Part of the financing for the projects will come from Marylanders who pay for public utilities. The act made available up to $1.9 billion in financing, but it also put a cap on the monthly charge to consumers.

The Maryland law establishes a cap of no more than $1.50 per customer per month, said Plummer.

However, rate payers won't see an increase in their bills until the turbines start spinning and that's not anticipated til around 2022. Proponents of the projects also call it a nominal fee for something that will potentially change the way Americans generate power.

The opportunity to bring a Silicon Valley of offshore wind is very real and we need to seize this opportunity as Marylanders, Rich said.

Packed house for @DeepwaterWind @uswindinc breakfast meeting #moveosw pic.twitter.com/1Vqbv1n8fM

According to officials, The Northeast regional pipeline of offshore wind would create about 75,000 jobs.

The meeting was held at the Maritime Conference Center Maritime Institute.

There will be two public hearings on the proposed projects. The first will be on Saturday, March 25, beginning at noon in the cafeteria of Stephen Decatur Middle School located at 9815SeahawkRoad, Berlin, Maryland 21811. The second hearing will be held on Thursday, March 30, at 6 p.m. in the Joint Committee Hearing Room in the Legislative Services Building located at 90 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.

The Public Service Commission is expected to make a decision on May 17, 2017.

The first offshore wind project was installed in Denmark in 1991.

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WMAR Staff contributed to this report.

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Offshore wind developers talk plans to bring first wind farm to Maryland's coast - ABC2 News

Image: SemiSubmersible Sevan Driller

Investment Thesis

The offshore drilling industry is suffering through the worst bear cycle in history. The oil crash that began late in 2014 had a terrible effect on the offshore drilling players such as Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) or Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) and another dozen or more companies struggling to avoid a financial meltdown, due to a basic lack of work, dismal day rates and rig oversupply, which is the unavoidable trichotomy of an offshore drilling bear market that continues unabated as I speak today.

Oil majors have reduced exploration CapEx to a bare minimum just barely higher in 2017 but still painfully insufficient.

I have followed this sector closely for years and tried to report the slow degradation of the business environment until now and I am still waiting to see some meaningful signs of a potential recovery. However, of late, we may have experienced an important change in the oil market that may lead to a bottom for offshore drilling and a possible recovery late in 2018 or early 2019?

OPEC and non-OPEC producers have agreed to cut production by a little less than 1.8 MBOPD, and quickly in December 2016 the price of oil began to trend up, at least until January 2017. Unfortunately, oil prices have stalled abruptly after reaching a range of $53-$56 per barrel, due to a booming US shale new activity -- especially in the Permian sector and doubt about the effectiveness of this supply reduction long-term.

Yet, some analysts are still forecasting slightly over $60 a barrel in 2018, which is enough to change the dynamic in the offshore exploration, notably in the deepwater segment which needs about $63 per barrel to be economical. Nonetheless, the situation is not an easy one and a potential to return to the $40's a barrel is also a present and real danger.

While waiting for concrete signs of tendering activity, it is important to know what exploration sectors will provide for the deepwater and ultra-deepwater business in the near future?

One important area that could help the offshore industry to survive this downturn is India offshore, which is the main topic of my article today. ONGC is active and is about to award three rigs on a three-year contract for its KG-DWN-98/2 block.

Description of the Krishna Godavari basin:

Total oil initially in place in the KG-DWN-98/2 block is estimated at 106 million cubic meters, production of only 26.71 million cubic meters is envisaged during 2019-2031.

Similarly, the gas initially in place is estimated at 69.57 billion cubic meters "BCM," of which only 51.33 BCM can be produced during 2018-34.

On December 23, 2016, we learned from Upstream that ONGC submitted offers for two units able to drill in 1500 meters of water, and one rig to drill in 600 meters.

[Translated from Norwegian] Seadrill is one of several bidders in a tender for three deepwater rigs from India's state oil company ONGC, reports Upstream, according to TDN Finans. The rigs will be used on flagship block KG-DWN-98/2 outside India's east coast. The first part of the tender process consists according to news agency two dynamically positioned drillship or semi rigs to drill in 1,500 meters. It is in this category Upstream sources mention Seadrill that one of the bidders, with the drillship "Sevan Driller". In addition participates among others Transocean , Vantage Drilling (OTCPK:VTGDF), Universal Energy Resources, Noble Drilling ((NYSE:NE)) and Ocean Rig (NASDAQ:ORIG).

On March 3, 2017, We learn again from Upstream that ONGC is now close to award the three 3-year contracts.

Three leading international drilling contractors are poised to win three-year, deep-water rig contracts from India's Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for its flagship Block KG-DWN-98/2 development off the country's east coast.

ONGC requires two 1500-metre, dynamically positioned drillships or semi-submersibles in one category and a single anchor-moored rig capable of drilling in 600 meters of water in the second.

London-headquartered giant Seadrill and Singapore's Vantage Drilling are expected to win three-year rig charter contracts in the 1500-metre category, while Brazil's Queiroz Galvao Oil & Gas (QGOG) is likely to win a three-year rig contract in the 600-metre category, sources said.

On February 27, 2017, commercial bids were opened by ONGC and the results are indicated in a small table below:

Seadrill with its Subsidiarie Sevan Drilling.

Sevan Drilling ASA (SEVDR.OL) (OTCPK:SDRNF), listed on the Oslo stock exchange: SDRL owns 50.11% (14.897 million shares) of the company.

Semisubmersible Sevan Driller (2009)

Actually Ready stacked in Singapore

Drillship Platinum Explorer

(2010)

Actually Ready stacked in India

Midwater Semisub Olinda Star

(1983)

Actually Ready stacked in Brazil

Transocean (RIG) is said to be the biggest loser in this fight for survival. The company offered no less than three drillships in the first category and one semisubmersible in the second category:

More than a dozen rigs were offered by nine contractors in the 1500-metre category.

Transocean is believed to have offered the highest bid with $166,750/d for the three drillships offered. For the second category, Transocean was the second bidder with $146,050/day (only three bidders in this category with the Semisubmersible Hakuryu-5 from Japan drilling but seems to have been disqualified?

Conclusion:

Let's all be honest here. Who in its right business mind and most importantly, why, a company is willing to commit to a 3-year drilling contract at a certain operating loss? The basic reasoning is evading my understanding. It doesn't make any sense. To paraphrase Galileo Galilei "and yet it moves", I would say, and yet offshore drillers do it.

First topic: What is the actual average day rates for Semisubmersibles and Drillships. According to IHS Markit.

Day rates are quite constant since October 2016 which is a sign that we are now at breakeven level.

As an example, let's calculate a breakeven cost using Transocean, which is the leader in this sector. I took this table from my article about Transocean 4Q'16 results. If you want to read it please click here.

Day rate for RIG fleet.

Dayrate

2016 Estimated

$K/d

4Q'16

$k/d

3Q'16

$k/d

2Q'16

$k/d

1Q'16

$k/d

4Q'15

$k/d

3Q'15

$K/d

2Q'15

$K/d

4Q'14

$k/d

Operating and Maintenance expenses were $314 million in 4Q'16 and total revenues were $974 million for the same period. Operating and maintenance expenses are 32.2% of the total revenues. I do not even talk about the debt here...

I we apply to the average day rate 4Q'16 for UDW we have a breakeven price per day of, $490,600/d x 32.2% = $158,000/d

Thus, I consider that $158k/d is a good estimate of what could be considered as "breakeven operating price" for a drillship in 2017, in general. This simple calculation justifies the day rate offered by Transocean for the three drillships at $167k/d including tax.

Transocean offers its service at breakeven operating costs for 3-years. Now, how can Vantage drilling Inc., or Sevan Drilling can justify such day rate?

I am sure, many will find a way to justify this move, but, the fact of the matter is that the companies working for ONGC will consistently lose money, and for the next three years, period.

The Industry is not thinking straight, in my judgment. The price war has gone too far, and should not be even tolerated.

Risks of labor abuse and all kinds of neglect of basic maintenance costs may result to catastrophic hiccup down the road. The Industry should meet and create a minimum guideline with a minimum viable day rate under which it is not allowed to go.

Important note: Do not forget to follow me on SDRL and other offshore drillers. Thank you.

Disclosure: I am/we are long RIG AND OTHERS.

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.

Editor's Note: This article covers one or more stocks trading at less than $1 per share and/or with less than a $100 million market cap. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Read the rest here:

Seadrill - 3 Offshore Drillers Poised To Win The 3 ONGC 3-Year Tenders - Is It Really Worth It? - Seeking Alpha