Category Archives: Offshore

Offshore construction work has officially started for the UKs Dogger Bank, which will be the worlds largest offshore wind farm, with the installation of the first length of HVDC export cable off the Yorkshire coast. Dogger Bank will also be the first HVDC-connected wind farm in the UK.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a joint venture between Norwegian energy giant Equinor (40%), British utility SSE Renewables (40%), and Italian energy company Eni Plenitude (20%), will be developed in three phases: A, B, and C. It will become thelargest offshore wind farm in the worldupon completion, with an installed capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW). Each phase will be 1.2 GW.

Denmark-headquartered cable supplier NKT will supply and install the onshore and offshore HVDC cable for all three phases of the project. The company will use its cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria to install the 320kV DC subsea cable system in the North Sea.

The campaign will continue during 2022, with work starting on the export cables for Dogger Bank B in East Riding and Dogger Bank C on Teesside in the consecutive years.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm project director Steve Wilson, said:

This is an exciting time for everyone involved in this project as we celebrate installing the first nearshore HVDC export cable safely and on time.

With the first foundations due to be installed later this year and the first turbines scheduled for installation in 2023, were now well on our way to achieving first power from this unrivaled global renewable energy asset.

The wind farm will be capable of powering up to 6 million UK homes once its completed in 2026 and there are approximately 28.1 million households in the country.

At the beginning of December 2021, SSEand Equinorannounced that they had secured financing to proceed with the construction of the $3.98 billion Dogger Bank C.

GE Renewable Energy will provide 87 units of the enormous Haliade-X 14 MW wind turbines for Dogger Bank C. AsElectrekpreviously reported, According to GE, one turbine can generate up to 74 GWh of gross annual energy production, saving up to 52,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide the equivalent of the emissions from 11,000 vehicles in one year.

Photo: GE

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Construction of the worlds largest offshore wind farm has begun - Electrek

As the Colombian Government launched the countrys Offshore Wind Roadmap on 3 May, BlueFloat Energy revealed it has seven offshore wind projects under development in the country. This is just half of what the company plans in South America since there are also seven projects the Spanish developer is planning offshore Brazil.

In Colombia, BlueFloat Energy plans to build seven offshore wind farms totalling 5.2 GW in capacity, of which a project called Vientos Alisios is the most advanced with pre-feasibility status already granted and grid connection secured.

The company is developing Vientos Alisios, planned to be built in the waters between the Atlantic and Bolvar departments, together with Enerxia Renovables, its strategic partner in the country.

According to BlueFloat, Vientos Alisios is the most advanced offshore wind project in Colombia to date as it was the first project that was granted the pre-feasibility status from the Colombian Maritime Authority (DIMAR). The project achieved this in January 2021 and alsosecured an offer for the 200 MW grid connection from Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME), for which the guarantee was presented on the 28 April of this year, the developer said.

The first offshore wind farm to be built in the country, according to information from the Colombian Government, will be the 350 MW project in Barranquilla, developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Public Lighting of Barranquilla (APBAQ).

For BlueFloat, the seven projects on the northwestern coast of the South America are not the only ones planned in the continents waters, since the company also has plans in Brazil totalling almost 15 GW.

As reported in the Premium section on our sister site Offshore Energy last month, BlueFloat has applied with the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) for approval to undertake environmental impact assessment to support the development of seven projects in four states: Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, and Esprito Santo.

According to IBAMAs data, two of the BlueFloats projects have a capacity of more than 3 GW and the companyplans to use wind turbines of up to 20 MW for its offshore wind farms in Brazil.

The projects are among the 55 IBAMA is currently reviewing as part of its process to grant permits for environmental investigations.

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BlueFloat Energy Has 14 Offshore Wind Projects in South America - Offshore WIND

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I have covered Transocean (NYSE:RIG) previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company.

On Tuesday, leading offshore driller Transocean reported first-quarter results largely in line with expectations and guided Q2 revenues above consensus estimates.

While negative free cash flow of $121 million was disappointing, management expects to return to positive cash flow from operations for the remainder of the year.

To partially offset negative free cash flow and $165 million in debt repayments, the company sold another 20.2 million shares into the open market for net proceeds of $103 million.

Remember, liquidity is going to take a major hit this year as the company faces $1.2 billion in capital expenditures for the newbuild 8th generation ultra-deepwater drillships Deepwater Atlas and Deepwater Titan which are scheduled for delivery over the next couple of quarters.

As a result, total liquidity is expected to decrease from $2.6 billion at the end of Q1 to a range of $1.4 to $1.6 billion at the end of Q2/2023 but this already includes the company's currently undrawn $1.3 billion credit facility, $350 million in secured debt anticipated to be issued next year and $315 million in restricted cash.

After last week's disclosure of Equinor's (EQNR) intention to early terminate the contract of the CAT-D rig Transocean Equinox just ahead of crucial negotiations to extend the much-needed credit facility, investors likely breathed a sigh of relief after CFO Mark Mey addressed the issue in the question-and-answer session of the conference call:

I dont foresee an issue with us getting that done. This will not be a new facility. We are looking at extending it. So, you are looking at an extension somewhere in that 2-year, maybe 2.5 year range. I think thats good for us. Its good for the banks because we do believe we are coming into a multiyear up cycle, which gives us a little more leverage down the road to be able to redo this and maybe at a larger amount or better terms.

Even better, after last week's rather disappointing fleet status report, the company announced approximately $200 million in new backlog additions:

On the conference call, management highlighted increasing offshore contract drilling demand in basically all of the world's regions with the exception of Norway which hasn't shown any signs of increasing activity as a result of the Ukraine war so far. In addition, the region is experiencing program delays due to shortages of critical subsea equipment.

That said, management expects the Norway market to improve in the second half of next year and to be sold out in 2024 which would be welcome news for the remaining three CAT-D rigs scheduled to roll off contract with Equinor over the next few quarters.

As for the Transocean Equinox, based on statements made on the conference call, the rig is likely to leave the Norway market for the UK next year which might result in some idle time for the unit.

With demand picking up across key markets, conference call participants were eager to learn about potential rig reactivations.

Unfortunately, management's commentary regarding the company's cold-stacked fleet has been somewhat inconsistent in recent quarters.

On the Q4 conference call, CEO Jeremy Thigpen expected to start reactivating cold-stacked rigs "soon" but on Tuesday walked back these comments somewhat by pointing to escalating reactivation costs and lead times of "at least twelve months" to return a cold-stacked unit to service.

In addition, the company still does not seem to have a real handle on potential reactivation costs. Remember, the company had increased its original expectations from $25 million at the time of the acquisition of Ocean Rig to a range of $60 to $100 million stated on the Q2/2021 conference call:

Based on Transoceans fleet of cold stacked assets, we estimate that the total cash cost of reactivating a cold stacked asset starts at $60 million, and could go upwards of $100 million depending on contract and location specific items.

But on Tuesday's call CFO Mark Mey surprisingly stated a lower range of $50-$75 million based on the company's engineering team 2021 assessment:

So, we have been estimating this based upon an in-depth study by our engineering team. And our estimates for our rigs are in at $50 million to $75 million. We do believe that, that number could grow higher because this is based upon a 2021 estimate. Clearly, we see that there has been inflation of somewhere around 8% to 9%. So, you can probably add that inflation impact to it as well

Quite frankly, it seems difficult to believe that Transocean would be able to reactivate an ultra-deepwater drillship that has been stacked for about six years below $100 million in the current inflationary environment.

While competitor Valaris (VAL) recently managed to reactivate a number of floaters at below $50 million per unit, these rigs had been stacked for considerably shorter periods.

Given the company's liquidity constraints, reactivating a cold-stacked drillship would likely require a long-term contract with the customer reimbursing Transocean for a meaningful part of the upfront reactivation costs.

While Transocean is still facing some challenges, the company should benefit from vastly increased demand similar to the rest of industry. New, large-scale tenders like the one issued by Petrobras (PBR) last week should further reduce available floater supply and provide another lift to dayrates next year.

That said, investors should not bet on some of the company's cold-stacked assets re-joining the active fleet anytime soon given escalating reactivation costs and long lead times.

With management being optimistic on extending the company's much-needed credit facility and some prospects for the CAT-D rigs even in case Equinor decides to release the entire quartet, I am upgrading shares back to "buy".

That said, restructured competitors like Valaris, Noble Corporation (NE) and Diamond Offshore (DO) are trading at substantially lower valuations despite not facing near-term liquidity issues and carrying no or very little net debt.

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Transocean: Offshore Drilling Recovery Is Gaining Some Real Traction - Buy - Seeking Alpha

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) Two areas off the Oregon Coast are being targeted to host offshore wind farms as the Biden administration seeks to ramp up renewable energy production.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that the locations being identified to potentially host wind farms are about 12 nautical miles offshore Coos Bay and Brookings.

The areas comprise about 1.16 million acres (468,787 hectares) in total.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland described the upcoming steps taken toward possible leasing off the coast of Oregon as another opportunity to strengthen the clean energy industry while creating good-paying union jobs.

Any offers to lease waters off the Oregon Coast would require environmental review and consultations with local, state and tribal governments.

The agency is seeking public comments on how wind development would impact marine life and other ocean uses, such as commercial fishing in the areas, until June 29, 2022.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports this is the first big regulatory step toward bringing an offshore wind project to the Pacific Northwest state.

Late last year, Interior said that the Oregon Coast was being targeted by the agency for offshore wind energy production as it has some of the best wind resources in the country.

On Wednesday, the agency also announced that it had also identified six areas for possible development off the Atlantic Coast.

The potential wind farm locations are part of President Joe Bidens plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.

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Oregon Coast targeted for offshore wind development - knkx.org

Orsted, the Danish wind power developer, signed an agreement Thursday with New Jersey officials to use a state-financed manufacturing port to build the components of the state's first offshore wind farm.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced the agreement during an international wind energy conference in Atlantic City, from whose coast the project's turbines should be visible on the distant horizon.

Orsted, which is partnering with Newark-based PSEG to build the project, will lease the New Jersey Wind Port in Salem County for two years starting in April 2024. Murphy did not reveal how much the developers will pay for the lease. The parties signed the letter of intent Thursday, but binding agreements are to be submitted to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority by June.

The pact marks the first return on the state's investment of up to $500 million in the wind port, designed to help the state attract companies interested in building wind power projects here as it seeks to become the East Coast hub of the offshore wind industry.

This is a huge moment: Today is a vision turning into reality, Murphy said at the conference, sponsored by the Business Network for Offshore Wind. This is truly New Jersey's If you build it, they will come moment.

Ocean Wind is to be built off the state's southern coastline, and will provide 1,100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 500,000 homes. It is one of three wind farms approved thus far by New Jersey regulators, with many more to come.

In February, six companies bid a combined $4.37 billion for the right to build wind energy projects on the ocean floor off New Jersey and New York in the U.S. governments largest such auction in history. New Jersey plans another round of project solicitations later this year.

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Officials broke ground on the wind port, in Lower Alloways Creek Township, last September. The facility is designed to provide a place to manufacture giant blades and other components for offshore wind energy projects.

The turbines to be built there are nearly as large as the Eiffel Tower and weigh thousands of tons. Because of that, they need to be built and prepared for transport in a place free from bridges or other obstacles that they must pass under on their way out to sea.

The port was designed with this and other technical considerations in mind.

The state also is planning a second related facility in Paulsboro on the Delaware River in southern New Jersey to build the huge poles supporting wind turbines.

When Ocean Wind 1 project was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in June 2019, the approval was based on the project utilizing an existing out-of-state port to marshal the project. The developers have since decided to use the state wind port instead, officials said Thursday.

Murphy said the lease is expected to create at least 200 pre-assembly, stevedoring and other jobs in a region badly in need of them.

New Jersey is on the forefront of wind energy technology, and through our partnership, the Ocean Wind 1 project will deliver hundreds of jobs, clean energy, and transformative infrastructure to the region," said David Hardy, CEO of Orsted Offshore North America.

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Orsted Will Use NJ Wind Port to Build Offshore Wind Farm - NBC 10 Philadelphia

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NEW ORLEANS From Greater New Orleans Inc.:

German RWE Renewables, a global offshore wind company, will collaborate with GNO Inc. and the GNOwind Alliance to build a program that will help existing Louisiana companies, especially in oil and gas, participate in the growing national supply chain for offshore wind. This potential has already been proven with the Block Island Wind Farm, which was largely engineered, built, and serviced by longtime Louisiana energy companies.

Over the next six months, GNO Inc. will host a series of informational workshops and company-specific interviews with the aim of identifying existing Louisiana companies with transferable capabilities for offshore wind. For example, companies that build oil rig jackets (underwater towers) can do the same for offshore windmills. The goal is to provide leading energy companies, like RWE, with viable supply chain contacts to fulfill their need to deploy several gigawatts of offshore wind power. Louisiana companies interested in participating in this innovative public-private initiative can register to receive more information at locate.gnoinc.org/wind.

There is a natural translation from Louisianas historical strength in offshore oil and gas development and services, to the future needs of offshore wind, said Michael Hecht, GNO Inc. president and CEO. We are thrilled to partner with RWE to help Louisianas companies train their workforce and translate their capabilities to help capture as many of the projected 65,000 jobs in offshore wind as possible.

According to a recent report by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), the demand for offshore wind projects will drive a domestic supply chain with the potential of supporting 65,000 well-paying U.S. jobs. From turbines to foundations manufacturing, reaching the national target of 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 will require a fully-integrated value chain of suppliers and services companies. The Gulf of Mexico, and Louisiana in particular, has the potential to play a disproportionate role in the responding to the needs of the burgeoining U.S. offshore wind industry.

Louisiana plans are still in preparation, but our team has had very positive experiences developing supply chain pathfinder programs in which we engage with a range of local companies to share information about the specific needs of the offshore wind industry, learn more about their capabilities, and identify new possibilities to bring value to the nascent offshore wind market in the Gulf of Mexico, said Sam Eaton, Executive Vice President Offshore Wind Development, RWE Renewables Americas.

Offshore wind energy is an important component to achieving Louisianas climate emission reduction plans. In its recently adopted Climate Action Plan, the state proposed a goal of 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035. In addition, a legislative measure (HB 165) to expand the size of wind leases in state waters cleared the Louisiana House of Representatives and is expected to pass the Senate in the upcoming weeks further accelerating the deployment of commercial offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on RWE Renewables significant experience working in onshore and offshore wind markets, the biggest challenge is often helping companies throughout all tiers of the supply chain understand how they can fit into the new offshore wind market.

Rapidly evolving innovations in alternative forms of energy, like offshore wind, have created opportunities for new jobs and commerce here in Louisiana, said Representative Jerome Zee Zeringue, of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In this case, it isnt a matter of choosing between oil and gas or new energy, its all of the above. This is the time to take advantage of decades of experience our companies have in the field, a world-class infrastructure for energy processing and distribution, and a highly-trained workforce and create an environment where success will not just be a goal, but a sure thing.

I am excited to see the investment and partnership that RWE and GNO, Inc. are making to accelerate the development of the offshore wind supply chain here in Louisiana, said Gov. John Bel Edwards. This effort represents another tangible step in the implementation of the states Climate Action Plan and will help Louisiana businesses capitalize on opportunities in the burgeoning offshore wind industry.

Louisiana has a distinguished history of providing energy to the region and the nation as a whole, and wind energy will no doubt play a key part in supporting our leadership role in that field as we move forward to a more carbon-aware clean energy future, said Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Tom Harris.

The announcement of the collaboration was made at the Floating Wind Solutions conference in Houston, March 1, where RWE Renewables was a lead sponsor.

RWE Renewables is engaging with economic development agencies across the country to learn how we can support their supply chain development initiatives.

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GNO Inc. Partners with German Offshore Wind Company - Biz New Orleans

After a record year in 2021, projections suggest that global offshore wind may reach 712 farms, 29,000 turbines and 235 GW by 2030, including 96 farms, 1,300 turbines and 14.5 GW in floating facilities.

Stephen Gordon

Offshore wind continues to play a vital role in the global Energy Transition. It was another record breaking year in 2021 for the offshore wind industry, with record start-ups (84 farms, 18.5 GW, 3,400 turbines) increasing global active capacity 58% to an all- time high of 50.5 GW, Fig. 1. This takes offshore wind to approximately 0.3% of total global energy supply: our energy transition modeling suggests this could reach 6% to 9% by 2050 and generate 4,870 TWh to 5,990 TWh of power.

Fig. 1. Exemplified by this wind farm complex offshore northern Germany, active offshore wind capacity shot up 58% during 2021. Image: RWE.

China led the way for new capacity additions and overtook the UK as the largest offshore wind market. The country has 16 GW coming online, mostly in the final two months of 2022, ahead of the expiration of a government subsidy deadline at the end of the year. New capacity additions were more modest in Europe, as 1.8 GW were fully commissioned, with 17 GW currently under development in the region.

Fig. 2. Under construction offshore Massachusetts, Vineyard Wind is the first utility-scale offshore wind project in U.S. federal waters of the Atlantic. Map: Vineyard Wind JV.

Offshore wind project CAPEX commitments reached $44.6 billion in 2021 (the second-highest total on record), with a number of significant projects reaching FID. These include the first utility-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. (Vineyard Wind, 806 MW, Fig. 2). In Europe alone, $18.7 billion of project CAPEX were committed to offshore wind projects (compared to the $10.3 billion committed to offshore oil and gas projects).

The crown jewel in European projects is Dogger Bank Wind Farm. It is an offshore wind farm being developed in three phasesDogger Bank A, B and Clocated between 130 km and 190 km from the North East coast of England at their nearest points, Fig. 3. Collectively, these phases will become the worlds largest offshore wind farm. Each phase will have an installed generation capacity of 1.2 GW and represents a multi-billion pound investment. Combined, they will have an installed capacity of 3.6 GW and will be capable of powering up to 6 million homes.

Fig. 3. The jack-up vessel that will enter service for the first time to install the turbines on Dogger Bank Wind Farm was officially launched in January 2022. Image: Dogger Bank Wind Farm.

The wind vessel market continued to evolve, reaching nearly 1,100 vessels by years end. Global wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) utilization averaged 83% during 2021 (up 6 percentage points y-o-y), while exceptional demand for vessels off China consistently kept utilization over 90% in the second half of the year. Rates responded, with the average dayrate assessment for third-generation WTIVs in Europe up 18% across the year, in addition to increases in the commissioning/service operation vessel (C/SOV) market. Dayrates reportedly quadrupled off Guangdong in China during the middle of the year.

Record newbuild investment developed during 2021, with over $4 billion of orders placed and increasing focus on alternative fuels and Energy Saving Technologies (ESTs). This included over 17 (plus 9 options) WTIV newbuild contracts placed (totaling ~$2.5 billion), the highest yearly total on record, while 15 C/SOVs were ordered (totaling ~$800 million), also the highest number on record, plus 39 CTV contracts placed.

Both OEMs and wind farm developers came under pressure from rising material costs in 2021. Chinese steel prices averaged $827/tonne during the year (up 47% y-o-y), while annual average copper prices increased 51% to $9,317/tonne. Lower-than-average wind speeds in much of Europe also limited power output from offshore wind farms, reducing the volumes that operators could sell into the market. Offshore wind farms in Germany generated 23.5 TWh of power in 2021, compared to 26.9 TWh in 2020.

Power prices in Europe surged in 2021, due to a tightness of gas supplies and lower average wind speeds. Day-ahead electricity prices averaged 97.75/MWh in Germany in 2021 (more than triple their level in 2020) and 103.55/MWh in the Netherlands (up 236%, y-o-y).

During 2022, we are projecting a healthy 9.5 GW of offshore wind capacity will come online (involving 1,400 turbines), bringing the fully commissioned global total to 60.0 GW. Offshore wind CAPEX commitments are expected to total some $55 billion, just below the record of $56 billion in 2020.

Our longer-term projections suggest that the global offshore wind sector may reach 712 farms involving over 29,000 turbines and 235 GW by 2030 (current capacity: 250 farms, 10,800 turbines, 50.5 GW).

FLOATING OFFSHORE WIND

Within the overall offshore wind market are floating offshore wind installations and projects. While floating wind is only a small part of the offshore wind industry today (only 10 projects of 124 MW are active, with a further 8 projects of 165 MW under construction), strong growth is expected from the middle of the 2020s as the sector reaches commercialization. Our projections suggest that 96 farms, 14.5 GW and 1,300 turbines could be active by 2030.

Floating wind is likely to open up new regional markets, where development has, so far, been unfeasible. Countries with significant numbers of floating wind projects already proposed include the UK (31.1 GW), Australia (13.8 GW) and the U.S. (10.7 GW). Over 150 floating offshore wind projects (totaling over 100 GW) have been mooted by developers in 21 countries/regions, with 37 having nameplate capacities >1 GW.

As the floating sector moves toward commercialization, the industry has proposed a variety of foundation designs (at least 12). Semi-sub foundations are the most common design in projects proposed (over 1,200 mooted, compared to the combined ~350 across spar, barge and TLP turbine solutions).

Fig. 4. Equinors Snorre and Gullfaks platforms offshore Norway will be powered by the firms Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm.

Floating wind poses new installation challenges for developers, and our analysis has examined which contractors and yards have already been active in the sector. Weve also looked at the demands on the installation and support fleet, port infrastructure and the unique maintenance requirements of floating wind farms.

Leading developers of floating wind to date include Equinor (2 farms, 32 MW active, with 1 farm / 88 MW under development); Cobra (2 farms, 50 MW active); Ocean Winds (1 farm, 30 MW active); and Windplus (1 farm, 25 MW active). In terms of potential capacity, leading developers include BlueFloat (8.5 GW); Hexicon (7.7 GW); Oceanex (7.4 GW); Aqua Ventus (5.1 GW); and Scottish Power (5.0 GW). Contractors involved in turbine installation to date have included DOF Subsea (11 turbines under development); Saipem (5 turbines installed); Bourbon (5) and Boskalis (5).

Equinor is developing the first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Tampen, to supply renewable power to oil and gas installations in Norway, Fig. 4. The Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas platforms will be the first ever powered by a floating offshore wind farm.

The broader offshore wind industry continues its exciting growth phase. Our long-term scenarios suggest offshore wind will play a vital role in energy transition and may provide between 6% and 9% of global energy supply by 2050. Data as of February 2022: for updates contact Clarksons.

Stephen Gordon has been global head of Clarksons Research since 2012 and leads a team of 150 experts providing widely respected data and intelligence around shipping, trade, offshore and energy. Clarksons processes and analyzes millions of data points each day, supporting thousands of organizations across the maritime.

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Global offshore wind capacity achieves record growth - WorldOil

What happened to higher educations offshore boom? For over a decade, the sustained growth of international branch campuses seemed a sure thing. New York Universitys campus in Abu Dhabi welcomed its first class of undergraduates in 2010, setting the stage for major-league expansions by Yale University (in Singapore) and Duke University (in China). As of late 2020, researchers counted more than 300 branch campuses, close to half of which were run by universities in the United States or Britain. But a series of closures and high-profile withdrawals, most recently the National University of Singapores decision to pull the plug on its joint venture with Yale, suggest that the bloom is off the rose.

Was the romance of offshore education driven by improbable hype about untapped sources of abundant revenue? Did it run aground on the shoals of speech restrictions in illiberal societies? Or is cross-border education morphing into a new phase of existence, sparked by the pandemic experience of remote teaching? Theres some truth to each of those conjectures. The first two problems were easy enough to predict, and should have come as no surprise. The third is still unfolding, as universities feel their way out of the trauma inflicted by the coronavirus.

The rush to plant varsity flags in foreign soil dates to the early 2000s, when post-9/11 strictures on immigration prompted American and other Anglosphere colleges to open branches in locations more accessible to their international students. Generous subsidies from Persian Gulf states looking to burnish their nation-building efforts helped to grease the wheel, while the demand for overseas instruction and credentials in an emerging Chinese middle class drove a wave of joint ventures that saw China hosting more branch campuses than any other nation.

Industry boosters dangled rosy growth estimates, and college finance officers, hungry for revenue in the recessionary years following the 2007-8 financial crash, took the bait. Some institutions, especially those with frank aspirations to operate on a global scale, went all out on international branch campuses, or IBCs. But most held back, wary perhaps of diluting their brands or of risking reputational exposure from the likelihood of academic-freedom violations in the two hot IBC zones of East Asia and the Persian Gulf.

We might have expected another round of branch-campus expansionism under the Trump administration, when new immigration restrictions prevented many would-be students from traveling to the United States. But those constraints were accompanied by his administrations sharp withdrawal from international policy and diplomacy, if not trade itself. The version of neoliberal globalization engendered by the corporation-friendly World Trade Organization was already in decline, but Trumps America First zeal accelerated the shift toward a new nationalist mind-set, propelled in many countries by the forces of authoritarian populism. Cross-border collaboration was no longer so certain, and with the Washington Consensus of worldwide economic liberalization receding in the rear-view mirror, college administrators were less sanguine about committing resources to offshore sites.

At the same time, faculty members began to find their voices. At most institutions, the IBC gold rush was wholly a result of executive decisions, with minimal consultation of professors. When it became clear that universities could not safeguard branch-campus academic freedoms, faculty members at some institutions pushed back against their administrations plans to set up shop in locations with zero record of respecting basic speech rights.

My own employers nervy decision to establish full-fledged NYU campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai has yielded spotty results. The host governments generously bankrolled each site, allowing for a tenure-line faculty and well-supported student body on both campuses. But easily foreseeable problems quickly arose.

According to a 2021 Freedom House report, at least 10 faculty members have been denied entry to teach or conduct research at NYU Abu Dhabi, as have numerous students, staff members, and support personnel. In a milieu where any criticism of the royal familys governance structure can be construed as a crime, self-censorship among standing faculty members is a given. The exposure of abusive conditions for the migrant workers building NYUs Abu Dhabi campus further tarnished the brand. Despite earnest declarations by several Gulf countries that the kafala system of labor recruitment and monitoring has been reformed, if not dismantled, investigators who have been able to interview workers have found little evidence of improved conditions on the ground.

Frustration with the absence of effective reforms is mounting, especially in Qatar, where the approaching World Cup has rendered worker deaths an international scandal. In the meantime, the long reach of Abu Dhabi money has had a corrupting impact on NYUs home campus, with some departments amassing million-dollar treasuries of compensation for participating in instruction on the branch campus, while others end up cash-poor by comparison as a result of their reluctance to send faculty members to the Gulf.

Alex Williamson for The Chronicle

At NYU Shanghai, there is a pattern of selecting and rejecting faculty applications to teach based on who is likely to rock the boat, or inflame sensitivity around mainland politics, in ways that are unofficially, and euphemistically, rationalized as East-West cultural differences. One prominent colleague, the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, was denied a visa to speak on campus in 2015. Clouds gathered over the Shanghai campus when, beginning in 2013, Beijing issued a number of repressive decrees that have resulted in a general, long-term chill, exacerbated by the U.S. governments own ill-fated China Initiative. Branch-campus administrators who claim they are not affected by the Chinese Communist Partys speech directives are in the position, ironically, of boasting extraterritorial privileges, redolent of the colonial era, when Western powers operated by their own rules.

Another NYU site, in Tel Aviv, has been under pressure for different reasons. In 2011, Israel launched a well-funded campaign to entice American universities to start study-abroad programs there. The goal was to cement ties and improve Israels image while diverting attention from its repression of Palestinian universities and second-class treatment of Palestinian students. Yet in 2017 the Knesset amended Israeli law to prohibit entry to individuals on the basis of their political opinions. That condition is a clear violation of nondiscrimination policies on most American campuses.

Recognizing that NYU could not guarantee equal access to the Tel Aviv campus for all students and faculty members, my department passed a resolution of noncooperation with NYU Tel Aviv in 2019. It was followed, in 2021, by a similar universitywide pledge by the Faculty of Color for an Anti-Racist NYU and their allies.

Last month Israel passed a law depriving Palestinian universities of control over which international scholars, researchers, and students they can invite to their campuses. In a sweeping abrogation of academic freedom and autonomy, the Israeli military will now make those decisions. That new repressive regulation looks certain to further compromise the ethics of operating overseas programs in Israel.

For obvious reasons, the sharp limitations on travel and access during the pandemic have disrupted the overseas operations of universities. Budgets took a big hit, with no stimulus funds to mitigate the operating losses. Most institutions focused on survival at home, not growth overseas. Yet higher educations forced experiment with online instruction has altered many of our pedagogical norms, and some of those changes may be permanent. Although most educators are mourning the loss of in-the-flesh classroom contact, the ability to attend meetings and perform university business remotely has many advantages.

Our experience with remote instruction has also revived the dream of consumer distance education that captivated many university presidents during the dot-com era. At that time, administrators pumped sizable sums of money into the construction of cyber programs, signing delivery deals with corporations itching to move into the higher-ed sector. David F. Noble, the historian of technology, exposed many of those initiatives as efforts to cut instructional-labor costs and wrest control over curricula and intellectual property from faculty members, memorably labeling them digital diploma mills. The results delivered by that venture into internet education were almost as underwhelming as those of the correspondence-course movement of the early 20th century, and the investments were written off.

In the two decades since Nobles scathing assessment, online degrees have gained ground in some subject areas, whereas, in others, what we now call in person instruction has survived mostly intact. In the meantime, the bureaucratic life of universities has become almost wholly digitized. Now that the pandemic has brought a second lease of life to remote learning, ed-tech investors are newly aroused, their animal spirits, in John Maynard Keyness phrase, running high. The race to capture a more profitable version of Zoom University is on. For higher eds fiscal officers, one possible future may reside in the form of the discounted fee structure demanded by students during the pandemic. Faced with rising fees and crushing student debt, many households are likely to welcome the option of a cut-price Zoom education at a quality college.

As for the offshore sites, some colleges may decide they can forsake the steep cost of building and maintaining IBC facilities if overseas students are willing to pay to attend remote classes taught by faculty members at the more prestigious home campuses. The appeal of this financial arrangement should not be underestimated. Dot-com evangelists derided the Old Economy world of brick and mortar, but universities have been on a construction binge for the last 20 years, loading up on institutional debt to build ever more facilities. Meanwhile, outrage over student debt has bypassed the institutional side of the debt financing of higher education. As state funding decreased and as many colleges embarked on a growth mission, they turned to the financial markets, accepting the neofeudal authority of the credit-rating agencies, and racking up long-term debt obligations that have enriched Wall Street bond underwriters and further curtailed the autonomy of institutions.

The managers of fast-developing countries may decide that subsidizing a branch of a well-known American or British university is still a worthwhile investment for the national brand. In the absence of those contributions, however, debt-financing a campus in an illiberal country at a time of unraveling globalism is less and less attractive. More alluring by far is the prospect of ginning up revenue from overseas students willing to Zoom into class at inhospitable hours in hopes of earning a degree at the home campus. The economic logic behind that scenario is sound. But what about the educational consequences? And how should faculty members respond to the proposition?

While there are few obstacles to overseas students enrolling in online degree programs, the credential does not always carry the weight of a traditional degree. The Association of Indian Universities, for example, does not formally recognize foreign online degrees as equivalent to those earned in person at the same institution. Graduates may have trouble securing government jobs as a result. Many employers also take a skeptical view of the diminished educational experience offered by the programs.

For teachers convinced of the superiority of face-to-face instruction from the charismatic performance of the lecture hall to the hands-on tutelage of the lab practicum or the Socratic method of the small seminar the evidence for such negative judgments is unassailable. But the second-string quality of learning is not the only drawback of remote education. The potential for losing control over content, syllabi, and other course material is more alarming than it was 20 years ago, when Noble first aired concerns about universities asserting the full suite of employers intellectual-property rights.

So, too, is the opportunity for stepped-up surveillance by administrators and censorship by third-party providers. In 2020, for example, Zoom ignited a firestorm of criticism for shutting down a San Francisco State University webinar featuring the militant Palestinian activist Leila Khaled, and then canceling several other university-run webinars that did not include Khaled but criticized the companys action. International students have good reason to worry that certain classroom comments, uncontroversial by Western norms, might land them in trouble in their home countries.

At most institutions, the genteel fabric of academic custom is all that stands in the way of those property grabs and speech retrenchments. Most faculty members sat out the debate over the first IBC wave, but we have all been through the wringer of Zoom-induced alienation. We should have more to say this time around especially if offshore goes online.

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Is the Offshore-Campus Boom Over? - The Chronicle of Higher Education

North Carolina officials led by Gov. Roy Cooper are at an offshore wind conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, this week promoting the state as a base for offshore wind development.

Cooper said Thursday that officials from his office, along with the state commerce department and ports authority, have met with potential partners at the Offshore Wind Partnering Forum.

In a keynote address, Cooper said a study last year suggested North Carolina can win a major share of the estimated $140 billion in spending and 85,000 jobs expected to come with offshore wind development on the East Coast.

"Offshore wind is here, and it's coming hard in the U.S., and North Carolina will play a leadership role in clean energy development and for manufacturing for decades to come that I guarantee you," Cooper said.

State officials believe ports at Wilmington and Morehead City can play major roles. And Cooper said North Carolina has "the predictability and supportive environment" that wind industry suppliers are looking for.

One wind project is in the planning stages off Kitty Hawk. Federal officials will hold an auction for additional wind farm leases off Wilmington on May 11.

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Could North Carolina be a hub for offshore wind development? Gov. Roy Cooper thinks so - WFAE

The three discoveries are southeast of the Liza and Payara developments and bring to five the discoveries made by ExxonMobil in Guyana in 2022.

The Barreleye-1 well encountered approximately 230 feet (70 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 3,840 feet (1,170 meters) of water. Drilling at Patwa-1 encountered 108 feet (33 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was conducted in 6,315 feet (1,925 meters) of water. The Lukanani-1 well encountered 115 feet (35 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in a water depth of 4,068 feet (1,240 meters). Operations are ongoing at Barreleye-1 and Lukanani-1.

These discoveries and the updated resource estimate increase the confidence we have in our ambitious exploration strategy for the Stabroek Block and will help to inform our future development plans for the southeast part of the block, said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company. ExxonMobil remains committed to delivering value at an accelerated pace to the people of Guyana, our partners and shareholders and reliably supplying affordable energy to meet increasing demand around the world.

ExxonMobil currently has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Liza Phase 1 is producing approximately 130,000 barrels per day using the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Liza Phase 2, which started production in February, is steadily ramping up to its capacity of 220,000 barrels per day using the Liza Unity FPSO. The third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day; construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is running approximately five months ahead of schedule with start-up likely before year-end 2023.The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025.

Guyanas Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.

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Cautionary Statement

Statements of future events or conditions in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including project plans, schedules, capacities, production rates, and resource recoveries could differ materially due to: changes in market conditions affecting the oil and gas industry or long-term oil and gas price levels; political or regulatory developments including obtaining necessary regulatory permits; reservoir performance; the outcome of future exploration efforts; timely completion of development and construction projects; technical or operating factors; the outcome of commercial negotiations; unexpected technological breakthroughs or challenges; and other factors cited under the caption Factors Affecting Future Results on the Investors page of our website at exxonmobil.com and under Item 1A. Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K. References to recoverable resources, oil-equivalent barrels, and other quantifies of oil and gas include estimated quantities that are not yet classified as proved reserves under SEC definitions but are expected to be ultimately recoverable. The term project can refer to a variety of different activities and does not necessarily have the same meaning as in any government payment transparency reports.

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ExxonMobil makes three new discoveries offshore Guyana, increases Stabroek resource estimate to nearly 11 billion barrels - ExxonMobil