Offshore NEWS

Brazilian state-owned Petrobras has awarded the FPSO contract for the Mero field to SBM Offshore. The contract will require the Dutch FPSO specialist to design and operate the 180,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) FPSO Mero 2. Scheduled for delivery in 2022, the FPSO Mero 2 vessel will leverage SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward programme. The programme integrates the firm’s novel built, multi-purpose hull with numerous standardized topsides modules.

Total's Culzean field in the North Sea has started production. The firm is proud to deliver ahead of schedule and under budget. Total holds 49.99% stake in Culzean and the rest is held by BP (32%) and JX Nippon (18%). E&P President of Total said, "The Culzean project is delivered ahead of schedule and more than 10% below the initial budget, which represents capex savings of more than $500 million".

The Norwegian firm Prosafe has signed a deal to acquire Bermuda-based Floatel International. Amid the need for consolidation in the market facing overcapacity, Prosafe will create the “world’s largest” offshore accommodation company at Floatel. The value of the deal is undisclosed yet and the new company will be named as Prosafe SE. Following the deal’s completion by Q3, Prosafe shareholders will own 55% shares, with Floatel shareholders owning 45%.

Vroon Offshore, the operator of ERRVs in the North Sea has been awarded a multi-year contract by BP. It will provide three specialist vessels, VOS Gorgeous, VOS Fabulous and VOS Grace to support BP's operations in the Caribbean. MD of Vroon commented, "The award of this major contract, which further strengthens our relationship with BP, underlines their appreciation of the benefits of implementing the proven North Sea ERRV model".

In order to cut the sector's emission, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided to make stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships. IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee will conduct a meeting in London this week. The agenda of the meeting will be to discuss tougher rules on sulphur emissions and other long-term measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.

Italian oil major, Eni has informed about discovering oil offshore Angola. Eni discovered hydrocarbons while drilling on the Ndungu-1 new field wildcat (NFW) well. The discovery is estimated to contain up to 250 million barrels of light oil. Eni operates Block 15/06 with an interest of 36.8421%, with partners Sonangol (36.8421%) and SSI Fifteen (26.3158%).

Aqualis ASA has inked an agreement for the acquisition of offshore, adjusting and marine business lines from Braemar Shipping Services Plc. The merged entity, to be branded as AqualisBraemar ASA, will serve as a leading offshore, adjusting, marine and renewables consultancy, delivering broadened services. AqualisBraemar will operate through four divisions, catering to markets of Offshore, Marine, Adjusting and Renewables.

UK-based Rovco is a subsea service specialist. Only after two and a half year of its incorporation, the company has been awarded the full suite of health, safety and environmental management system standards by DNV. It secured the ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 accreditations. Founder of Rovco said, “Achieving these certifications so early demonstrates that we have robust, safe systems of work in place".

Offshore marine logistics giant, Topaz has entered into a long-term agreement with Baker Hughes for its proprietary lubricant condition monitoring system, VitalyX. The two firms will collaborate on boosting the maintenance and upkeep of Topaz’s fleet of vessels and increase the field time for each vessel. VitalyX exploits the Internet of Things (IoT) by integrating cutting-edge sensor hardware with condition monitoring software.

Maersk Drilling has revealed plans of converting the Intrepid platform into the first hybrid, low-emission offshore rig. The 2014-built Intrepid, an ultra-harsh environment rig, is currently hired for operational support at Equinor’s Martin Linge field. The Danish rig operator is looking to lower the NOx and CO2 emissions on the Maersk Intrepid through a number of upgrades. The full implementation of upgrades is slated to conclude by year-end.

Expro is an international oilfield services company which has recently added two new well access solutions in its portfolio. Apart from this, the company has also established subsea landing string system technologies. These advancements have led to the expansion of its subsea intervention capabilities. The Intervention Riser System (IRS) and Riserless Well Intervention (RWI) system are the two new solutions introduced by Expro.

Malaysian state-owned Petronas has entered into a $1.29 billion deal to buy 50% of Petrobas’ exploration and production rights in Tartaruga Verde field and the Espadarte field. In a statement, the Brazilian state-run firm said that the deal amount will be paid in two installments. The deal is in line with Petrobras’ divestment strategy, under which it has already sold off $11.3 billion worth of assets.

Energy giant Shell has informed about its ongoing talk with BP to procure its Shearwater oil and gas field stakes in the British North Sea. The cost of acquisition will be $250 million. In Shearwater, Shell holds 28% stake, BP has 27.5% and the remaining 44.5% stakes are held by ExxonMobil. The gas export capacity of Shearwater at the time of peak production is expected to be 70,000 boped.

TechnipFMC has been awarded a contract whose worth is expected to be between $75m and $250m. It has been awarded this contract for the TOR II development in the North Sea where it is incharge of integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (iEPCI). The scope of work includes delivery and installation of a subsea production system including deployment of umbilical, rigid flowlines and ancillary subsea equipment.

In Argentina’s first offshore licensing round, Norwegian energy major, Equinor won big with the award of seven exploration blocks in the bidding. While on four blocks Equinor secured 100% operatorship, it will partner with YPF and Total on the remaining three blocks. The bidding round which had 38 offshore blocks on offer was the first open bid round for Argentinian offshore acreage in almost three decades.

A gas leak occurred on February 3 on the Alba Northern installation in the North Sea, operated by Chevron. More than 80 kg of gas was released during that incident and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating the matter. Chevron informed that no casualty occurred during that incident and that the company is cooperating with HSE's investigation.

DOF Subsea has awarded a contract to Forum Subsea Technologies according to which it will supply three of its Ultra Compact Perry XLX-C work-class ROV. The contract is for the recently awarded contract to DOF in Brazil. Perry is powered by 150HP main and auxiliary hydraulic system giving it incomparable thrust. Forum's VP said, “In total, DOF Subsea has more than 60 of Forum’s ROVs in their global fleet."

Ireland’s exploration lobbyist, the Irish Offshore Operators' Association (IOOA) has advised against the proposed bill targeting a ban on offshore drilling in Ireland. The association stated that any disruption to the Russian gas supply into Europe could buoy gas prices by 22.9%, and electricity prices by 15.5% in Ireland. The bill which has now advanced to select committee stage could progress through the Dáil, owing to the potential TD support.