Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002
News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
SHIPBUILDING NEWS China to build three world-class shipbuilding bases By 2011, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the CircumBohai Bay region will be built into three world-class shipbuilding bases in China, according to a recent development program for the country’s shipbuilding industry. In addition, the program strongly supports the merger of China’s two leading shipbuilding companies: China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). Source: Motorship
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
Hyundai Q1 results satisfactory Hyundai Heavy Industries’ business results for the first quarter are expected to continue the growth momentum. Jo In-gab, Seoul-based Goodmorning Shinhan Securities analyst said in a report released on April 8th, “Hyundai Heavy’s non-shipbuilding divisions such as electro electric systems and industrial plant are showing satisfactory performances.” The company’s revenue for Q1 is forecast to reach KRW 5.368trn ($3.963bn), up 23.3% year-on-year thanks to the growth in all its business divisions except construction equipment. Operating profit and profit margin are expected to be KRW 624bn and 11.6% respectively. Pre-tax profit is forecast to amount to KRW 766bn, up 17.7% YoY and up 22.7% QoQ. During the past six months or so, Hyundai Heavy received no orders in the shipbuilding division but the company’s electro electric systems division’s order receipts by February this year increased by 19.3% YoY and industrial plant & engineering division’s order intakes are maintaining last year’s level. In the second half, offshore & engineering division is expected to receive new orders, complementing shipbuilding division’s slump this year. Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy has recently issued corporate bonds worth KRW 300bn, which is lower than expected, because its cash position is bolstered by non-shipbuilding divisions’ good performance. The shipbuilder is not likely to suffer containership order cancellations as the shipowners have paid large amount of deposits and it would be able to endure worsening liquidity position for the present, looking forward to performance recovering in shipbuilding and other divisions in the second half. Source: Asiasis
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
Prepare a party for Survivors New orders near at hand South Korean shipbuilding industry, leading the world Shipbuilding market, has received virtually no orders during the past half year or so and atmosphere of crisis has been mounting. Nevertheless, order-intakes are expected to take place in April and offshore contracts are forecast to be inked since the latter half.
Shipowners which have been delaying newbuilding projects could place orders in the near future as global financial market gradually stabilizes and new orders are expected to be placed ‘more than expected’ in the second half in both ship and offshore sectors. The owners who are looking for opportunities amid crisis and global energy majors which are focusing on the offshore sector are expected to order newbuildings in April. Those newbuilding projects that draw near are as follows: ▲ Three to four LNG carrier newbuilding orders are expected to be placed from Australia’s Gorgon LNG project in the second half. ▲ Royal Dutch Shell plans to order LNG-FPSO worth around $5bn in the latter half or in early 2010. ▲ Newbuilding orders worth $25bn to $30bn would come from ExxonMobile’s five-year-long offshore development project in the second half of this year or in the first half of 2010. ▲ Petrobras is also expected to order 28 drillships starting from the latter half Page 3
Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
for its five-year-long offshore development project. ▲ Particularly, Russia is forecast to place orders for tankers and offshore plants in the first half (in April if early). Meanwhile, commercial shipbuilding sector is expected to maintain the slow activity in order-receipts as shipping industry is not expected to recover considerably in 2009. But if new orders start to be placed in the offshore sector from the second half, major shipyards and shipbuilders which have survived the crisis could be enjoying the fresh orders.
WORLD SECOND LARGEST OFFSHORE HAVY CARRIER
Offshore Heavy Transport AS (OHT) Tel. 82 51 463 8250 Email: info@ohtkr.com www.oht.no
OFFSHORE NEWS Moscow nod for Sakhalin 1 spending plan Russia today cleared US supermajor ExxonMobil's investment plan for Sakhalin 1 project for 2008-2009 after repeated delays. ExxonMobil has now said it will push ahead with new phases of the development after putting them on hold because of the cash wrangle.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
ExxonMobil has fought tough battles with the Russian government over its spending plans in the past years as Moscow opposes its project to export gas to China and insists it should be sold to state gas export monopoly Gazprom SOURCE: Upstream News
Mizzen probe hits pay Norwegian giant StatoilHydro has hit hydrocarbon pay with a well drilled on the Mizzen prospect in the Flemish Pass basin, off Newfoundland. In a statement, StatoilHydro said the well, drilled in EL 1049, about 500 kilometres east-northeast of St John’s, needs further analysis to determine its potential. However, an application for a Significant Discovery Licence (SDL) will be filed over the coming months. “The drilling operation, conducted at a water depth of 1100 metres and during the heart of the North Atlantic winter storm season, was very challenging,” Erik Abrahamsen, StatoilHydro Canada’s vice president of East Coast Operations, said. “We are very pleased with the way that the rig, its crew and the local supply community successfully met the challenges.” StatoilHydro operates Mizzen with a 65% working interest. Husky Energy has a 35% stake. The semi-submersible rig Henry Goodrich drilled the well. SOURCE: Upstream News
$25bn price tag for Australian LNG project US energy giant ConocoPhillips and its Australian partner Origin Energy expect to invest about A$35 billion (US$24.6 billion) over 10 years developing a coalbed methane gas to liquefied natural gas project in Australia. The partners detailed the expected expenditure when the project, to be built in Gladstone in the north-eastern Queensland state, was declared "significant" by the state government, meaning it can be fast-tracked through regulatory approval processes. The project, called Australia Pacific LNG, is one of four LNG projects proposed for Gladstone that will exploit Queensland's vast CBM gas reserves. Demand for LNG is forecast to more than double by 2020, driven by an increase in energy consumption and demand for cleaner burning fuels. Page 5
Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
An Origin spokeswoman said the A$35 billion to be spent over the next decade was the estimated cost of developing the CBM gas fields, gas pipelines and four LNG processing trains that would produce 14 million to 16 million tonnes of LNG a year. The partners are seeking long-term customers, mostly likely in countries such as China and Japan. The spokeswoman said the project would be a staged development, with a final investment decision on the construction of the first processing train expected by the end of 2010 and first production expected by the end of 2014. A decision on the development of a second train was likely by the end of 2010 or in 2011 with first supply at the end of 2015. Final investment decisions on the remaining two trains will be made after 2015, reported Reuters. SOURCE: Upstream News
Roc opens Zhao Dong taps Australia’s Roc Oil has kicked off production from the first wells in its 2009 drilling programme at the Zhao Dong Block in Bohai Bay off China. Total gross production from the Zhao Dong Block is currently about 21,500 barrels of oil per day. The C-51 well in the Extended Reach Area (ERA) of the C and D oilfields started production on 20 March and is currently producing at a rate of about 1000 barrels of oil per day. A second production well, C-52, started production on 29 March and is currently producing at just over 2000 barrels of oil per day. The third production well, D-43, was turned over to operations on 3 April. Following completion of D-43, one further production well will be drilled and two well workovers are planned before the 2009 drilling operations are completed at the ERA and C4 oilfields. A 12 well drilling programme is then planned to commence in mid-April at the C and D oilfields. The number of wells planned to be drilled at Zhao Dong is lower than 2008, and is focused on drilling higher yielding reservoir targets within the existing fields. The drilling programme aims to maintain the average production rate for the year at close to that achieved in 2008 (gross rate of 18,050 barrels of oil per day). Commissioning of ODB, the second drilling platform installed at Zhao Dong during 2008, is progressing on schedule. The construction and fabrication of OPB, the second processing platform to be located at Zhao Dong, continues with installation and commissioning scheduled to be completed during the second half of this year.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
Roc operates the Zhao Dong C and D oilfields, plus the ERA, with a 24.5% interest on behalf of PetroChina (51%) and New XCL-China (24.5%) SOURCE: Upstream News
Shell and Gazprom sign Sakhalin 2 deal Shell and Russian gas monopoly Gazprom signed a series of gas supply agreements today calling for both parties to buy LNG from the Sakhalin 2 project in eastern Russia over 20 years. Starting this year, Gazprom Global LNG and Shell Eastern Trading will buy 1 million tonnes per year of LNG each from Sakhalin Energy Investment Company until 2028, the companies said in a joint statement. Gazprom is a 50%-plus-one-share shareholder in Sakhalin Energy and Shell holds 27.5%. The companies also agreed a new pipeline supply agreement under which Shell will receive 1 mtpa of gas from Russia to Europe, according to a Reuters report. As part of the transaction, Gazprom affiliates, under long-term assignment from Shell, will take capacity in Sempra's Energia Costa Azul LNG import terminal in Baja California, Mexico, and pipeline capacity to transport gas to Southern California. "This deal will enable Gazprom to begin shipment of LNG supplies from Sakhalin 2 to the United States, the world's largest gas market, and other markets of the Pacific Basin, starting from this year," Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller said. Miller and Shell boss Jeroen Van der Veer also discussed further collaboration in LNG projects in Russia when they met today to sign the agreements, the statement said.
Petrobras to tender 28 drill rigs Brazilian state-run Petrobras plans to launch a bidding for 28 drilling units, most of them to operate in subsalt oil reserves, in May. The company could also launch a new tender for the construction of the P-61 platform, said Petrobras President Jose Sergio Gabrielli after a meeting with shareholders, said a Reuters report.
BG Group hits pay in Santos basin UK oil and gas company BG Group discovered hydrocarbons in a well drilled in the subsalt region of Brazil's Santos basin. In a statement, BG said drilling at the 6BG6PSPS exploration well in the BM-S-52 Block, known as Corcovado-1, found hydrocarbon reserves in the subsalt region. The company reported the find to Brazil's National Petroleum Agency late today, a BG spokeswoman said. BG Group is lead operator of the block, with a 40% stake. Brazilian state-run energy giant Petrobras holds the remaining 60%, said a Dow Jones Newswire report.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites No volume estimates were made for the discovery, which was made at a water depth of 800 metres, the spokeswoman said. The discovery was made about 130 kilometres off the coast of Sao Paulo state. "BG Group and Petrobras plan to continue drilling activities at the Corcovado-1 well, with additional evaluations of the discovery expected when this work is completed," BG said in a statement. "An additional exploration well is planned at the block in 2009, in order to comply with requirements made by the ANP." Drilling data showed that the GSF Celtic Sea rig was operating at the site in 818.3 metres of water with a target depth of 5715 metres.
Electrical fire forces Sable production shut in ExxonMobil has shut in production of natural gas at the Sable Offshore Energy Project off Nova Scotia, Canada, due to a small electrical fire that broke out at the Thebaud compression platform. The electrical fire, involving fuses within an electrical cabinet, was quickly extinguished. A second incident occurred at around 4:00 a.m. ADT on April 7 when smoke was detected from an overheated fire water pump. ExxonMobil followed its safety response procedures for both situations. ExxonMobil spokesperson Merle MacIsaac told EnergyCurrent on April 7 that the company was investigating and work was underway to restore expected levels of production, but would not speculate when production would begin again. ExxonMobil has now told the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) that it is evaluating the situation to determine the required repairs to safely resume production. According to the CNSOPB, there are no immediate, health, safety, environmental or resource conservation concerns associated with the current shut-in. The CNSOPB will continue to monitor the situation, but production will not resume until ExxonMobil can demonstrate to the CNSOPB that its operations can be restored safely. Some maintenance work had been going on at the project recently. Sable normally produces between 400 to 500 MMcf/d of natural gas and 10,000 b/d of natural gas liquids. The project consists of several offshore facilities including the Thebaud, Venture, North Triumph, Alma and South Venture platforms and the onshore Goldboro Gas Plant and Point Tupper Fractionation Plant. The offshore facilities are in between 20 and 70 meters (65 to 229 feet) of water. The Sable project is owned by ExxonMobil Canada, Shell Canada, Imperial Oil Resources, Pengrowth Energy Trust and Mosbacher Operating. SOURCE: Energy Current
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Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
SHIPPING NEWS Ship Industry May Mothball Most Vessels Since 1970s, GAC Says Shipowners may mothball the largest number of vessels since the 1970s as global trade slumps, according to GAC Solutions Ltd., the world's biggest provider of services to the industry. About 1,000 container and commodity carriers are sitting at anchor with no cargoes, GAC Group Vice President Christer Sjodoff said today. "Hundreds" of them may be taken into harbors for several months or years, he said. There are about 10,650 container ships and bulk and ore carriers in service, according to Lloyd's Register Fairplay data on Bloomberg. "Everybody hopes the world economy will take a turn for the better and they don't sit there for years, but this doesn't look very positive at the moment," Sjodoff said by phone from Dubai. It's "very likely" many of the ships sitting at anchor will be suspended from service while trade recovers, he said. Commodities demand is declining, with global growth likely to shrink for the first time since World War II, and trade may decline the most in 80 years, the World Bank said last month. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, plunged a record 92 percent last year. The last time so many ships were mothballed, a process known as lay up, was during the oil crisis in the early 1970s, Sjodoff said. Some vessels still had no cargoes as much as a decade later, he said. The number of crew left on board will vary depending on where they are stationed and how long they are laid-up for, Sjodoff said. Official Service Anticipating queries from shipowners, GAC is preparing a manual on the most effective way to mothball ships and will start offering an official service as of next month. It also plans to supply equipment including dehumidifiers to stop damage to the electronics carried by ships. Inchcape Shipping Services, a competitor, is now offering a similar service globally, according to a release posted on the company's Web site. Inchcape officials declined to comment. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., Southeast Asia's biggest container carrier, said March 30 that average revenue per 40- foot box fell 16 percent to $2,382 in the four weeks ended March 6. Cargo volumes fell 21 percent. Source: Alaric Nightingale, Bloomberg Page 9
Wednesday, April 09, 2009
Maritime Press Collection 2009-002 News reports received from Internet News articles taken from various news sites
Pirates seize U.S.-flag ship Maersk Group has issued the following statement: This morning, at around 05.00 UTC, Maersk Alabama, a 1,100 TEU container vessel, was attacked by pirates and presumed hijacked. The U.S. flagged vessel has a crew of 20 U.S. nationals and is owned and operated by Maersk Line, Limited in the U.S. The vessel is deployed in Maersk Line's East Africa service network and was enroute to Mombasa, when it was attacked approximately 500 kilometers off the Somalia coast. Our initial concern is to ensure proper support of the crew and assistance to their families. At this point in time we do not have any further information. Maersk Line, Limited is an American company, based in Norfolk, Va., is a business within the Copenhagen, Denmark, headquartered A.P. Moller--Maersk Group. Its crews are members of the SIU (Seafarers International Union). This is not the first A.P. Moller--Maersk Group vessel to be hijacked. In March last year the Svitzer-owned ice class tug Svitzer Korsakov was released by Somali pirates after being held for more than one month. The ransom paid in that incident was reported as being $700,000.
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