To paraphrase Charles Dickens: these are the best of times,these are the worst of times. The fate of the offshore rig marketis inexorably linked to oil prices. And since Russia made itsincursion into Ukraine in February 2022, Brent has consistentlypushed well above USD 100 a barrel, giving hope to a rig industrythat has been languishing since the offshore downturn in 2014, thata meaningful turnaround lies ahead.

But these are also different times. The last two years has seenthe world turned upside down by the pandemic and the climatecrisis, and this turbulent period has made it increasingly clearthat the Energy Transition is, as planet-busting movie villainThanos calls himself, inevitable. In response to these globalupheavals, pivotal shifts in the social, policy and market arenasare driving fundamental change towards a low-carbon world. The wartoo, has clarified to some countries like Germany that it might bebetter to be weaned off oil and gas.

As it affects the rig market, however, these two forces - EnergySecurity versus Energy Transition - pull in opposite directions. Onone hand, the high oil price and improved economics for oil and gasexploration beckons oil operators to go forth and drill. At thesame time, these C-suite decision makers are facing pressures fromstakeholders, activist investors and the public alike for moreclimate accountability. It is a balancing act for oil companies, tomaintain or increase profitability while decreasing emissions andre-structuring towards a more sustainable portfolio.

In the near term, the choice is clear as energy security is theimmediate concern. With Russian energy supplies uncertain and theneed to alleviate pain at the pumps urgent, governments like theUnited States' have been imploring oil and gas producers toincrease their output. Offshore projects are expected to pick up,but they will take time to put together and cost inflation - forcrew, equipment and other services - is already setting in.

The chart above shows how closely offshore rig demand tracks oilprice over the last decade. The rig market - comprising drillships,semisubmersibles and jackups - fell hard from its last height in2014, but has remained relatively resilient over the last two yearsdespite the logistical chaos caused by the pandemic and the 2020oil price crash. That year alone, there were 79 rig contractcancellations. The lone region that saw demand grow during thistrying period, while the rest shrank, was Latin America, which isrecording strong demand from Brazil, Guyana and Suriname.

The Middle East, too, is forecast to see incrementalrequirements from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emiratespush rig numbers from 126 jackups to about 140 units over the nextyear. On aggregate, for the unfolding 12 months ahead, IHS MarkitPetrodata anticipates worldwide jackup demand to improve fromaround 332 units now, to 361 units; semis from 39 units currentlyto 56 units; and drillships from 63 units to around 72.

Even when the going was tough, many rig contractors took measureof the times and worked to get their rigs 'greener'. Since 2020,they have been exploring different ways to optimise drilling, aswell as utilise alternative energy systems and innovate with newcleantech to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. An example isthe Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, an emissionscontrol technology that injects ammonia to convert noxious oxidesinto harmless water and nitrogen, now installed on 16 rigs. So far,the progress is mostly limited to rigs working in Northwest Europewhere more governments offer support for such green initiatives. Todate, just 36 out of the over 700 rigs worldwide have greennotations by classification societies.

The momentum for the Energy Transition has already resulted inreduced investments in upstream oil and gas projects, prompting anumber of traditional oil and gas operators like Chevron todiversify into greener ventures like offshore wind. Even yards likethe newly merged Keppel-SembMarine are jumping on the bandwagon.Keppel is spinning off its remaining unsold drilling assets, whilethe new combined entity has pledged to focus on buildingsustainable offerings like floating carbon capture storages andhydrogen-driven vessels.

In the long run, there will no doubt only be more cutbacks ondrilling projects. But in the meantime, the road to a net-zeroworld is a long one. Green tech is still relatively nascent andwill take time to become commercially viable at scale. And withglobal oil inventories at an all-time low, the world still needs tofuel its energy requirements while the world figures out the pathto meet optimistic temperature targets.

For now, the robust oil price will definitely help invigoratethe rig market, even though any up-cycle potential for increaseddrilling will likely be tempered by the opposing push to reduce ourcarbon footprint through efficiencies and power generation.Ultimately, how things pan out will also depend on the geopoliticallandscape after the dust settles when the war in Ukraine is over.Hopefully, it is not one where partisan blocs dominate and lessco-operation takes place, for while such an unstable outcome mayprop up the oil price that supports offshore drilling, it couldwell accelerate the world towards a truly unimaginable worst oftimes.

For more data and insight on the global offshore drillingmarket, usePetrodataRigs by IHS Markit.

Posted 11 May 2022 by Yun Yun Teo, Principal Analyst, Offshore Rigs, IHS Markit

This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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Energy Security and Energy Transition: Highs and Lows in the Offshore Rig Market - IHS Markit

The large earthquakes felt earlier this year were an unnecessary reminder of the need for alternative energy sources in Japan. Coupled with the Governments move to shift away from Russian oil, renewable fuels such as offshore wind energy (OSW) have never looked more attractive. However, the developing Japanese OSW market, which has recently seen the entry of several big-name players, presents its own unique challenges.

OSW building momentum in Japan

OSW development in Japan has made serious strides in recent years. In 2018, the precisely named Act on Promoting the Utilization of Sea Areas for the Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities established the legal framework for occupying outside port areas that have potential for OSW. The Act sets out the stages for the selection, designation and auction of areas for OSW projects (summarised below):

Significantly, 2021 saw the first winners of OSW auctions (Stage 5 above the first stage when an OSW project can be said to have intrinsic value for a developer) announced: in June 2021, a consortium led by Toda Corporation won the first floating OSW auction (for Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture); and in December 2021, consortia led by Mitsubishi Corporation stunning their rivals and the wider market by offering unexpectedly low tariff rates won all three of the first bottom-fixed OSW auctions (two in Akita Prefecture, one in Chiba Prefecture).

With a number of other areas already designated a promotion zones (Stage 4 above), and an ambitious 30-45 GW target of OSW output capacity by 2040 set by the Japanese Government, the OSW space will be an exciting one to watch in the years ahead.

Unique features of Japans OSW market

In our experience advising international clients on OSW deals, we have noticed the following somewhat distinctive features in the Japan market:

The future is bright for Japan OSW, but new entrants to the market should be aware of the unique challenges to navigate, as well as the opportunities. Both regulation and market practice of the OSW selection process continues to change year-by-year, and we expect the market to continue to evolve in what will be a defining decade for renewable energy in Japan.

Continued here:

Unique features of the offshore wind market in Japan - Lexology

Equinor has, on behalf of the 50-50 partnership between Equinor and bp, selected Heerema Marine Contractors as a strategic supplier for the development of offshore wind projects on the US East Coast.

Equinor and Heerema intend to enter into a Strategic Supplier Agreement for the transportation and installation services of wind farm foundations and offshore substations for the projects.

This agreement will include the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind wind farms and will cover a firm period of seven years.

Throughout this period, Equinor, bp as 50 per cent joint venture partner, and Heerema will collaborate as exclusive partners in the preparation and Jones Act compliant execution of the projects.

Together, Heerema and Equinor will focus on optimizing the economic benefits the projects can generate for the New York State communities, the Dutch company said.

The award of this unique agreement is yet another chapter in a long history of working together globally with both Equinor and bp on often challenging offshore installation projects, Heeremas CEO Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven said.

We are proud to be selected to join Equinor and bp once again in a frontier market and region. The future of offshore wind relies on strong forward-looking partnerships that recognize the need to secure transport and installation capacity.

The 2.1 GW Empire Wind 1 and 2, and the 1.2 GW Beacon Wind are being developed by a 50-50 partnership between Equinor and bp. Equinor will be the operator through the development, construction, and operations phases of the projects.

Empire Wind, for which Equinor acquired the lease in 2017 and is developing it in two phases, is located 15-30 miles (24-48 kilometres) southeast of Long Island, in water depths of 65-131 feet (20-40 metres).

Beacon Wind is located 60 miles (almost 97 kilometres) east of Montauk Point and 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of Nantucket. The lease was acquired in 2019 and has the potential to be developed with a total capacity of more than 2.4 GW.

We are very pleased to have developed a contractual framework together with Equinor that enables true partnership. Together we have established a basis of mutual trust and transparency as core values, and I am excited to see the benefits of this innovative agreement materialize for both our client and Heerema, Heeremas Director Wind, Jeroen van Oosten, said.

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Heerema Joins Equinor and BP on US Offshore Wind Projects - Offshore WIND

Scott McCallum, a Partner and renewable energy expert with law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, examines the challenges facing offshore wind in the latest episode of the Sustainable Scotland podcast.

The UK Government has set an ambition to have 50 Gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power installed by 2030 - a tough target with only 11GW currently installed and 10GW under construction (or close to it).

McCallum said: "Projects which are in their infancy are going to have to contribute towards those 2030 targets. It can only happen if we manage to deploy offshore wind consistently over a longer period of time.

"We can't afford to have the peaks and troughs we've had to date because we will lose the supply chain, we will lose the developers. And well lose the potential benefits to clean energy that can be achieved within the next few years if we get it right."

The speed at which large offshore wind projects were consented (approved) had to improve, McCallum said.

Some projects are taking a decade or more to be consented - and McCallum said challenging issues, like the impact of wind farms on birds, had to be addressed earlier, at the so-called 'pre-application' stage.

"There are a few big issues, where the Government can give more of a steer," he said. "The big one is the impact on birds and in particular, impacts on European protected sites. That's been a reason for a lot of delays because people argue over the science. They argue over the cumulative impacts and whether all the different projects together are having an adverse effect on some protected sites.

"There is an opportunity to take a more holistic approach to protecting the environment, and protecting birds, and put in place measures to create a better environment for birds in the round."

McCallum also said a more strategic approach was needed to get the power generated by offshore wind into the electricity grid.

"There's a real desire to take a more coordinated approach to the grid - to ensure that every new generating station, every new offshore wind farm that comes along, isn't getting its own grid connection," he said.

"The difficulty just now is that its stalling projects getting started because applicants don't know where they're going to be connecting."

McCallum said both consenting issues and grid connections had to be resolved quickly - but if they were, the future was bright.

He concluded: "The UK has a fantastic wind resource. All the world's main offshore wind developers are very focused in trying to develop projects in the UK. We have a very supportive UK Government, and a very supportive Scottish Government.

"All the parts are there to make this work. There are loads of hurdles we're going to have to overcome but if everyone is aligned in trying to find solutions, I think we can achieve something big where offshore wind can genuinely contribute massive amounts to the energy mix in the UK - in terms of clean energy, affordable energy, and security of supply."

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Sustainable Scotland: UK on verge of "something big" in offshore wind - The Scotsman

Australian operator Santos (ASX:STO) is preparing to decommission the floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility, as well as platforms, at Bayu Undan offshore East Timor, as soon as possible, as it accelerates plans for a giant carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub at the mature field.

The FSO, which is due to be disconnected by December latest, could be decontaminated offshore or it might be moved to East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, for treatment. After decontamination the vessel will most likely be shipped to Turkey for decommissioning, industry sources told Energy Voice.

Santos is keen to pull forward decommissioning activities as there is a lot of money at stake to get the production equipment removed as soon as possible with plans to transform Bayu Undan into a giant CCS facility, an industry source close to the project told Energy Voice.

The whole infrastructure needs to be dismantled, including the subsea pipelines, added the source. The Bayu-Undan offshore facilities consist of a floating storage and offloading facility (FSO) and three fixed platforms, a remote wellhead platform (WPI), a compression, utilities, and quarters platform (CUQ) and a drilling, production, and processing platform (DPP).

Gas-liquids production from the Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea will likely cease towards the end of this year, operator Santos reported in its latest operational review in April. The continued decline is in line with expectations, said Santos.

Santos is looking at methods of cleaning the Bayu Undan facilities offshore as a base case with an option to bring the FSO into Tibar port in East Timor for further clean up in preparation of going to Europe for final decommissioning, said a Dili-based source.

Santos has always identified that handling of any waste in Timor Leste would have to be done in accordance with Australian / international standards. Currently, there are no facilities to handle all the waste types in Timor Leste, however this is being looked at as part of the decommissioning work scope, added the source.

Local content in East Timor will also be a focus, added a separate industry source.

Bayu-Undan is located 500km offshore Darwin, Australia, in the Timor Sea, and is 250km south of East Timor in waters 80 metres deep.

Santos has proposed to use the Bayu Undan reservoir for capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from a new field it is developing off northwestern Australia, the $3.6 billion Barossa project, where the gas has a very high CO2 content compared to other projects in the region. Gas from Barossa will be processed at the Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northern Australia for export to countries, such as Japan and South Korea, which are demanding cleaner gas to meet their net-zero aspirations.

Barossa is due to start pumping gas in 2025, and Santos has said it expects Bayu Undan CCS to be ready when the field starts up. It sees the Bayu Undan reservoir eventually being able to store 10 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

Santos South Korean partner in Barossa, energy company SK E&S, is under increasing pressure from Korean financiers to ensure the project has CCS locked in.

Santos aims to take a final investment decision (FID) in 2023 on the CCS project, which it claims has the potential to be the largest in the world. In March, Santos announced it had started front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the proposed CCS project.

More information on the Bayu Undan decommissioning and contracting scope of work is available here.

Santos has a 43.4% operated interest in Bayu-Undan and Darwin LNG. The remaining interest is held by SK E&S (25%), INPEX (11.4%), ENI (11%), JERA (6.1%) and Tokyo Gas (3.1%).

Originally posted here:

Bayu Undan decommissioning this year as Santos accelerates giant CCS plan offshore East Timor - News for the Energy Sector - Energy Voice

Thank you for your question and for providing clarity as to why you wish to invest offshore. It is important that the decision to invest offshore is not taken as a knee-jerk response to local bad news, so knowing your long-term intention to remain in South Africa is certainly helpful.

Offshore investing is a great way of diversifying your investments across international markets and economies so as to create a distribution of risk and volatility in your portfolio that is less concentrated than a purely South African allocation.

Where an investor is likely to incur expenses in foreign currency, it would make sense for them to build an offshore portfolio in the jurisdiction in which they plan to live and spend. However, you have noted your intention to remain in this country and to use the funds locally. An option therefore may be for you to consider externalising your funds offshore through rand-denominated funds often referred to as indirect offshore investing.

Indirect offshore investing means that no rands are physically transferred by the investor, and their investments remain domiciled in South Africa. There are several global feeder funds offered by various local asset managers who will then invest your funds abroad on an asset swap basis according to the funds investment mandate. These indirect investments can be implemented and allocated relatively quickly and efficiently as you will be making use of the asset managers capacity to externalise funds.

These feeder funds allow you to build offshore exposure into your portfolio while also providing an exchange hedge against currency fluctuations. Any withdrawals and/or disinvestments from such accounts will need to be paid into a South African bank account.

As there is no direct transfer of funds abroad, you will not need to use your Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) or Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA).

On the other hand, if you intend to use the funds in a foreign jurisdiction such as if you intend to work or study abroad, you may want to consider investing directly offshore using foreign-domiciled investments. This involves the physical transfer of ones rands out of the South African jurisdiction, exchanged into foreign currency, such as the US dollar, and onto an investment platform listed abroad. Once on the foreign platform, your investment may be allocated to the global funds listed and available on such a platform.

To do this, you would need to use either or a combination of your SDA and your FIA, depending on how much you intend to invest. Your SDA is limited to R1 million per calendar year and may be used at your discretion without the need for a tax clearance certificate or other supporting documents. Your FIA allows you to transfer a further R10 million offshore over and above your SDA, although to do this you will need to obtain a tax clearance certificate which, once issued, is valid for a period of 12 months.

Once you have invested directly offshore, withdrawals can generally be paid into an international account in your name provided the account can accept transfers in the domiciled currency of your investment. The funds do not need to move back into or through a South African account unless you so choose.

Depending on the amount you wish to invest keep in mind that offshore platforms have minimum contributions required to establish an account. If these minimums are more than your available funds then the option to use the locally based feeder funds may serve your objective to specifically have offshore exposure. It is, however, important to do your research in respect of investment fees and to select a strategy that is appropriate for your timeline.

It is also important to understand the tax implications of investing through such a structure, together with the consequences that withdrawing or disinvesting will have on your overall financial plan.

Ideally, such an investment should be viewed holistically as part of your overall financial plan to ensure that it is fully aligned with your goals and objectives.

Continue reading here:

Can I invest in an offshore account, then after some years withdraw all the capital? - Moneyweb

The United States Department of Energy has awarded Duke University a $7.5 million grant to research the impact that offshore wind development can have on wildlife and marine life.

The grant announced Oct. 13 is part of a larger sustainable energy development award package of $13.5 million by the Energy Department. The department distributed the funds among four different projects, all focused on wildlife and offshore wind.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a goal of creating tens of thousands of jobs while deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by the year 2030. Meeting this goal can put the U.S. on a path to achieve 110 gigawatts by 2050. The ultimate intention is to create jobs while also creating opportunities for renewable energy, without endangering ecosystems as they currently exist.

To put these plans in motion, more offshore wind construction off the Atlantic coast will be beginning in the next several years. But there is uncertainty as to how offshore wind may affect fish, whales, birds and other marine life. Duke Universitys project, Wildlife and Offshore Wind, or WOW, aims to answer some of these questions.

Theres a fair few number of moving parts, and were going to try to figure out how to get those moving parts to move in harmony, said Dr. Douglas Nowacek, a Repass-Rodgers University Distinguished Professor of Conservation Technology at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort. Nowacek will be leading WOW along with other researchers at Duke University. However, the consortium of researchers involved in the project will span 15 different institutions.

One of the first steps, said Nowacek, is to aggregate all the data that already exists in one place. This data comes from academic researchers, government agencies, as well as some of Europes experience with offshore wind. They also have letters of commitment from several wind energy developers, stating that they will share wildlife data with WOW.

The next step then is going to be to create some tools, some models, (and) some frameworks to utilize those data, Nowacek said.

The first year of this project will be focused on data aggregation, as well as creating frameworks, synthesis tools and data standards. After assessing whats already out there, the team can identify gaps in knowledge and potential lines of inquiry. The following years will be spent deploying research efforts to address the questions identified in the first year.

Nowacek said that even though coordination across so many contributors is difficult, the collective expertise across institutions is likely the reason that they were selected for the grant in the first place. Formally, WOW has been in the works since January, when Nowacek and others started compiling their grant proposal. However, Nowacek said that the relationship building that goes into an expansive project like this has been in the works for years.

Dr. Patrick Halpin, director of Dukes Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, will take the lead on the data synthesis component of the project. Halpin said the timing of the grant is especially important. As offshore wind is in the early stages of development in the region, beginning WOW work now means that they can do critical initial assessments before construction of turbines begins. This will be key later on, in that the researchers will have pre-construction data to refer to. Having pre- and post construction data will make it easier to evaluate how offshore wind interacts with marine wildlife. This project could set the stage for long-term, conscientious management of sustainable energy with regard to marine species.

A big portion of this project is really to come up with a common framework for assessment, which will allow us to help develop monitoring protocols (and) help us be able to look at the interactions for many different taxa, Halpin said, referring to biological groupings of species. And then doing that at a regional scale so that the lessons learned can be applied across this rapidly developing field right now.

Different wildlife may be affected at different stages of the process, said Halpin. Marine mammals, like the endangered North Atlantic right whale, may be most impacted during the noisy construction stage. Whereas avian interactions or displacement could occur after the turbines are built.

I think people think about it as interactions are going to be one thing a monolithic kind of issue, Halpin said. But really, interactions for different species are going to be very, very different in space and time.

In addition to Duke University, the other partners on WOW include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Rutgers University, the University of St. Andrews, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Syracuse University, the Pacific Northwest National Lab, TetraTech, Scientific Innovations, the New England Aquarium, Florida State University, the Biodiversity Research Institute, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Southall Environmental Associates, and Cornell University.

Read more here:

Duke to study offshore wind energy's effects on marine life | Coastal Review - Coastal Review Online

Risk management companyABS Consulting Partners has allied via its subsidiary, American GlobalMaritime Inc., with marine offshore and engineering consultancy GlobalMaritime to support offshore wind in the United States.

Combining expertise,the two companies aim to offer a comprehensive service to support the offshorewind life-cycle from concept design through to decommissioning."We are thrilled to be working in collaboration with Global Maritimeand employing their extensive track record of delivering successful marineand offshore projects worldwide with our leading risk management and technicalservices," commented Brian Weaver, Vice President of Risk andReliability for ABS Consulting, which has been serving the marine and offshoremarkets for over half a decade.

"Combiningour expertise will enable us to strategically provide clients with a singleinterface for complex scopes such as Certified Verification Agent (CVA),Marine Warranty and Owners Engineering."Global Maritime isalso a seasoned player, with over 40 years experience in the maritimesectors and expertise in the oil and gas, aquaculture, shipping, and renewableenergy markets."The offshore wind sector is a key market that both ABS Consultingand Global Maritime have guided through operational and safety challenges,"said Jonny Logan, CEO of Global Maritime. "This partnership willsupport our planned expansion in the US, enabling us to service our clientsneeds in the market seamlessly."

For more information on offshore windfarms worldwide,clickhere.

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ABS, Global Maritime team up for US offshore wind - 4C Offshore

Orsted comisisioned the Borssele 1 and 2 farms in the Netherlands in 2020 (Orsted file photo)

PublishedNov 12, 2021 5:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Dutch government released an ambitious new plan that calls for nearly doubling the countrys plans for installed offshore wind power generation by 2030. The new plans look to expand the areas available for development in the North Sea to support the Netherlandsnear-term goal for reducing emissions and will be further supplemented with longer-term efforts beyond 2030.

The total installed capacity of offshore wind power in the Netherlands in 2021 is around 2.5 gigawatts and should increase to at least 4.5 GW by 2023, according to the governments official website. This is part of an overall wind plan that projected 11 GW of installed capacity by 2030. This would account for 8.5 percent of all the energy in the Netherlands and 40 percent of the current electricity consumption.

The revision to the North Sea Program expands on the eight areas currently designated for the development of offshore wind farms. Some of the current search areas are being added to the plan with the government expecting that there will be development in both the previously identified zones as well as the new ones that it adding to the plan.

The near-term development is focused on the Borssele Wind Farm Zone, which was the first zone developed approximately 14 miles off the northern coast. A total of five projects are planned with two due by 2023 each adding 0.7 GW in capacity. Three additional wind farms are planned approximately 11 miles off the southern coast and this will be followed between 2024 and 2030 by the development of wind farms further out to sea in the west and north of the Netherlands.

The revision to the master plan calls for an additional 8 GW of capacity to be built in the eastern zones. A further 2 GW would be developed in the northern zone while 0.7 GW would be added in the southern zone.

The total plan calls for an additional 10.7 GW of wind power generation added to the overall plan by 2030. If all the projects proceed, the country would now have a total generating capacity of over 22 GW in place by 2030.

The government has opened a public comment period running till the end of 2021 on the plan to expand the zones. The current timeline calls for the adoption of the revised plan by March 2022.

In announcing its new efforts, the Netherlands says that anticipated the country will require at least 38 GW of installed offshore wind power generating capacity by 2050.

The rest is here:

Netherlands Plans to Double Offshore Wind Capacity by 2030 to 22 GW - The Maritime Executive

A bulk carrier carrying a chemical cargo has been given the boot from South Africas Port of Durban after it began spewing toxic fumes during cargo operations.

The NS Qingdao was discharging at the port earlier this week when its chemical cargo was apparently soaked by rain, causing the cargo to become unstable and release the toxic fumes into the atmosphere. The vessel was evacuated from the port and towed out to sea in order to ventilate its hatches offshore.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reports that the fumes coming off the vessel do not pose an immediate threat to human health or the marine environment.

The South African Maritime Authority are (s.i.c) aware of a vessel releasing toxic fumes in St. Helena Bay, SAMSA said in a statement. The geared bulk carrier NS Qingdao suffered a chemical reaction after its cargo came into contact with rain water while discharging the cargo in the port of Durban. Concentrated toxic fumes were released into the atmosphere and as a result, the Transnet National Port Authority in consultation with SAMSA, DFFE and other stakeholders decided to evacuate the vessel from the port so that the hatches can be ventilated offshore.

SAMSA has directed the vessel to sail to a protected anchorage under the escort of the tug. A team of salvors, chemical experts, hazmat teams and other emergency personnel have since boarded the ship to manage the situation.

The owner is co-operating with the Authorities and has been very proactive to help contain the situation, SAMSA said.

The agency added that the cargo will be discharged into skips, chemically neutralized and brough ashore at an approved dumping site in a safe and controlled manner.

The vessel poses no immediate threat to the marine environment and humans, said SAMSA.

NS Qingdao is registered in the Marshall Islands and, as of Friday, it remained at anchor in St. Helena Bay.

Details about what kind of cargo the ship was carrying have not been disclosed.

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Bulk Carrier Spewing Toxic Fumes Moved Offshore in South Africa - gcaptain.com

Offshore advisors could find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they fail to identify where their clients are truly based, our legal columnist Rebecca Leon of Baker McKenzie writes.

In the classic childrens book by P.D. Eastman, Are You My Mother?, a baby bird tries to determine which animal is its mother. After questioning many different species, the hatchling finally identifies the mama bird as its mother. Firms must engage in the same inquiry to identify their clients.

Those in the securities industry throw around the words client and customer, and yes, they have technical definitions and exceptions under various US laws, as well as under foreign laws. These terms are also frequently used more colloquially. However, using such terms loosely and failing to properly identify your client creates significant risks (beyond licensing and AML) that can lead financial services firms to unintended violations of foreign law.

Unlike the childrens book, which ends with the baby bird finding its mother and the two birds resting safely back in their nest, recognizing your client is just the first step to uncovering hidden risks.

For example, Individual A in Argentina is the sole owner of a personal investment company (PIC) organized in Bermuda. Aside from a director appointed in Bermuda, the PIC has no other connections to Bermuda. Individual A will decide which financial advisor to hire, and in which products to invest the PICs account assets. The financial advisor communicates with Individual A and the PICs mailing address is in Argentina. Financial advisors frequently refer to Individual A as their client. This makes perfect sense because their relationship is with individual A, the decision-maker.

However, on the firms books, the client is the PIC, and the PIC is organized in Bermuda. The firm and the advisor have identified a different party as their client. Which one is the client for purposes of determining the applicability of foreign law? Must the firm consider the laws of Argentina and Bermuda regardless of who the client is?

Consider a more complicated structure where a PIC organized in Bermuda is owned by a trust legally established and administered in New Zealand, where the grantor of the trust resides in Argentina (Individual A).

Communications are with the trustee in New Zealand, but the account was opened by the PIC. The financial advisor may consider Individual A who set up the structure for his own benefit to be her client. Once again, on the firms books, the client is the PIC. Must the firm consider the laws of Argentina, Bermuda, or New Zealand?

You probably guessed the answer: the laws of all jurisdictions that have a connection to the account should be considered. Whether a particular countrys laws are applicable to the relationship will depend upon the facts of each client and the specific areas of law.

For example, if the client is a PIC and its only relationship to a particular jurisdiction is that its organized there and one director resides there, the securities laws of such country may not apply. The rationale is that any offers of securities products and services are being made to a person outside the country (e.g. to Individual A).

On the other hand, Individual A may be considered to be acting as an agent of the PIC. Under this interpretation, the laws where the PIC is organized apply since the PIC is the client to whom the products and services are offered through its agent. The firms identification of the client and the financial advisors identification of the client may both be correct when it comes to determining whether the laws of each country apply to the client.

In the examples above, assume hypothetically that Bermudas securities authorities take the position that local securities laws do not apply to the offer of products and services to the Bermuda PIC since all communications are with Individual A in Argentina.

However, if the director in Bermuda must send over a copy of her drivers license for the firms KYC records, the firm will be processing the personal data of the Bermuda resident. The firm may also be sharing that data with its clearing firm and other third parties. The firm must explore whether Bermudas privacy laws apply and whether they impose any requirements on the firm.

Of course, the firm must also analyze whether soliciting and advising Individual A in Argentina would trigger the application of any Argentine laws. Will this be viewed as offering services and products in Argentina? Will Argentine privacy laws apply to the personal data of Individual A received by the firm even though the client on the firms books is a Bermuda PIC? Will margin interest received by the firm be subject to withholding tax under the laws of Argentina? Will any consumer protection laws apply? These questions should be asked because the risks go well beyond potential violations of US anti-money laundering laws and foreign licensing requirements.

The first step to mitigating risks is identifying the risks, which starts by asking: Are you my client? Then the firm should consider the laws of all jurisdictions that relate to the client. Firms should document this review and take appropriate steps to mitigate the identified risks. Such measures can help minimize regulatory and enforcement risks, as well as private litigation.

And so... the firm and its advisors can rest safely (well, as much as possible in this business) in their nest (or home office).

Rebecca Leon is a partner at law firm Baker McKenzie, focusing on legal and compliance matters for US wealth management firms, broker-dealers, and banks.

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Are you really my client? The dangers facing offshore advisors with confusing books - Citywire Americas

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The October oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach re-energized efforts to end offshore drilling near California.

However, experts say federal law gives oil companies strong protection to maintain existing drilling leases. And the cost of decommissioning all the oil platforms near California could exceed $2 billion.

There are 27 oil and gas platforms near California. Twenty-three of the 27 are in federal waters, just beyond the authority of state lawmakers.

The state doesnt really have control over what goes on outside of that three-mile limit out in federal waters, said UC Santa Barbara marine science professor David Valentine.

Collectively, their output has been shrinking dramatically over the last several years. Californias offshore infrastructure produced 4.5 million barrels in 2019, down from 18.5 million barrels in 2014.

For context, thats 0.6 percent of what companies extracted from the Gulf of Mexico.

Its an insignificant amount in the national picture, Valentine said.

The cost to remove a platform is immense. A report contracted by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimated removing the three platforms connected to the pipeline that ruptured in October would cost $141.8 million.

Removing all 23 platforms in federal waters would cost $1.6 billion, the report said.

Decommissioning Platform Holly, one of the four platforms in state waters, is projected to cost $350 million. Work on that project is underway.

The companies that own the platforms are supposed to cover decommissioning costs, but in reality, Valentine says that hasnt always happened.

The [major oil companies] who, in many cases, were the ones that originally built these platforms, they have passed them on to much smaller operators, he said. The concern there is that you dont have the deep pockets to clean it all up when things go bad.

He says there are plenty of examples of small companies declaring bankruptcy and leaving taxpayers with the bill.

In Washington, the Build Back Better Act, still being debated by Democrats in Congress, includes a ban on new oil leasing off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as well as a portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

So why doesnt the government force these companies out?

A 1953 federal law gives essentially says that once an oil company secures a lease to drill, they can keep it as long as they continue drilling operations.

As long as they continue to operate on their existing lease, theres not much that can be done to take that away from them, Valentine said. Even if operating is not really truly operating.

In some cases, companies keep platforms technically active on paper, even if they are not producing anything just to avoid the massive costs of decommissioning.

Five of Californias offshore platforms are in an early stage of decommissioning. Another six are inactive and in a state of limbo as former operators dispute responsibility for the costs.

The problem, Valentine says, is that the older these platforms and pipelines get, the more likely they are to leak. Some of Californias platforms are more than 50 years old.

Read more here:

In-Depth: What would it take to decommission offshore oil platforms near California? - 10News

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas Wind. It may bother you on a good hair day, but the Biden administration believes the country should be doing more to harness its energy.

While wind farms have been popping up in more rural areas for years, President Joe Biden would like to see more of them off America's coasts.

BIDEN'S OFFSHORE PLAN

In January, President Biden signed executive orders calling for the doubling of offshore wind turbine production by 2030.

Last month, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced plans to hold seven lease sales by 2025, so companies can buy access to waters off Americas coasts.

Here is a map of all the places more wind turbines are expected in the coming years. The plans stretch from New England to the Gulf of Mexico.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

However, when you actually visit some of the windiest beaches in our country, you realize offshore wind can get complicated.

James Klein with the Sierra Club of South Texas loves the idea of more wind turbines, especially in windy areas like Corpus Christi, but he says you can't just build them anywhere.

"I dont know if you heard this or not, but Corpus Christi calls itself 'the birdiest city in the country,'" Klein said.

Klein worries about birds that travel through the corridor each year. He doesnt like the idea of a turbines blade getting in their way.

"We want to make sure that wherever these wind turbines are placed on the gulf, they are not going to interfere with migratory patterns of birds," Klein said.

For the non-environmentalists on the stretch of sand, a changing view doesnt bother them.

Rodney Starr has other concerns.

"I dont think that'd be too smart 'cause there are a lot of hurricanes. Theyd wipe these things out, I believe, Starr said.

Starr and Klein's viewpoints are part of the challenges that the Biden administration is only beginning to encounter as their wind ambitions grow.

Congress continues to debate a spending plan that would encourage more companies to take on wind projects in the ocean. Its still unclear how much of an interest exists, especially having to navigate birds, storms, and not to mention ships.

Original post:

The challenges of President Biden's offshore wind plan - The Denver Channel

The UK Department for Transport and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult have unveiled the Departments Operation Zero, which aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) vessels working in the North Seas offshore wind farms.

At an event as part of COP26 in Glasgow, the UK Maritime Minister Robert Courts announced the initiative, which will convene a coalition of 28 founding signatories from across the offshore wind supply chain from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium, including industry majors Siemens Gamesa, rsted, RWE, Vattenfall, ScottishPower Renewables, Equinor, ABP, Lloyds Register, Bibby Marine, North Star Renewables, and the ORE Catapult.

The vision of Operation Zero is for zero-emission vessels to be deployed at North Sea offshore wind farms by 2025, while also taking into consideration the land-side infrastructure solutions needed to upscale and maintain the operation of the vessels.

Paulina Hobbs, CEO Service for Siemens Gamesa, said: SGRE are delighted to be signing up to the Operation Zero pledge where we will work with companies right across the O&M vessel value chain to make cleaner wind farm marine logistics a reality. With SGRE currently chartering in excess of 20% of all O&M vessels across the North Sea wind farm operations, we have a responsible role to drive innovation, collaboration and support the industry take the ambitious steps that are required.

The initiative was informed by previous research undertaken by ORE Catapult and the Workboat Association, who developed a technology roadmap outlining a route to the decarbonisation of North Sea offshore wind O&M.

It suggested that the industry will build as many as 1,400 new vessels between now and 2050 just for O&M, including more than 300 SOVs, as the European offshore wind grows from the 25 GW operational capacity today to 400 GW by 2050, with 100 GW based in the UK, which equates to a sixteen-fold growth in less than 30 years.

Achieving an accelerated decarbonisation scenario for North Sea O&M would result in reducing carbon emissions by 1.2 MtCO2e per year compared with a business as usual approach, the equivalent of taking 240,000 cars off the road, ORE Catapult said.

And UK and North Sea shipyards could also steal a competitive advantage by leading the development, design, build and operation of these high-value vessels. According to ORE Catapult, if the UK captures 25 per cent of the European O&M vessel-building market, this could generate revenue between GBP 2.2 to GBP 4.2 billion out to 2050, supporting 1,400 direct and 2,500 indirect jobs.

The offshore wind industry is committed to a rapid transition to net-zero operations and provides a fantastic springboard for broader maritime decarbonisation, Andrew Jamieson, CEO of ORE Catapult, said.

Right through the supply chain, well see growth and job creation opportunities that will aid the transition from the maritime diesel fuels of today to the zero-emission, high-value technologies and skills of tomorrow, with much of this growth taking place in coastal communities where it is most needed. Innovation is essential if we are to achieve this vision. Operation Zero provides a solid foundation for the future of collaborative innovation between industry partners, and with the support of government. ORE Catapult is fully committed to Operation Zero and we look forward to working to support the industry to innovate and accelerate the transition to net-zero whilst creating economic opportunity for the UK.

Read more here:

Operation Zero Gathers Offshore Wind Majors - Offshore WIND

UK seabed landlord the Crown Estate has confirmed it wants to unlock up to 4GW of floating offshore wind capacity in the Celtic Sea off the south-western coasts of England and Wales.

It will focus on two project categories: early-commercial scale projects of 300-350MW, and full-commercial scale projects of up to 1GW.

The regulator expects to award leasing rights by the end of 2023 ahead of projects being commissioned from 2030.

Plans for the leasing round were first announced in March.

The goal is to power homes with clean energy while creating opportunities for significant new investment in jobs, skills and infrastructure, the Crown Estate explained.

Floating wind technology offers a powerful opportunity to open up the renewable energy resources of the Celtic Sea, helping to tackle the climate crisis with additional clean power and ignite a new industrial sector, said Huub den Rooijen, managing director of marine at the Crown Estate.

It aims to roll out the process at a pace and scale that will enable supply chain and infrastructure development while benefiting the local area and the wider country, it stated.

The Crown Estate will conduct an integrated spatial design and habitats regulations assessment (HRA) ahead of the market tender. Identifying key environmental issues at the earliest opportunity will help to de-risk investment, minimise environmental risk, and streamline the overall programme, it explained.

A trio of projects approved earlier this year will form part of the HRA assessment.

Early involvement with stakeholders such as the electricity system operator to support a coordinated grid solution for floating wind projects will help accelerate grid development and mitigate impacts on communities onshore.

This announcement further reinforces the critical role floating wind will play in achieving the scale of installed capacity which will be required to deliver a cost-effective net zero, said Dan McGrail, chief executive of industry body RenewableUK.

It is a huge economic opportunity as well as an industrial challenge, requiring short and longer-term enabling actions ahead of the arrival of the first large-scale projects to ensure the UK capitalises fully on first mover advantage, he added.

Crown Estate engagement with market and stakeholders on the floating wind programme will take place in two phases over the winter of 2021/22.

Phase one of this engagement will focus on the spatial design, gathering data and evidence to help inform the location of project sites.

Phase two will invite views on the design of the market tender and the wider considerations of the programme, including on supply chain, ports and grid, as well as community benefits, such as skills and employment.

Read the original post:

UK plans leasing process for up to 4GW of floating offshore wind in Celtic Sea - Windpower Monthly

Going into this last weekend the forecast was tricky. The models were handling the area of low pressure that would sit offshore differently. While the rain forecast was a curve ball at times, the wind and tide forecasts went about as expected.

Some of the coastal winds did gust to over 40 mph, but most were between 25-35 mph.

The area of low pressure has finally started moving to the east. The rain and clouds have moved offshore as well. Now high pressure is building in from the west.

As high pressure builds into the region it will still create a pressure gradient between the low offshore. So our winds will be out the north again today, but they wont be as strong as the weekend. They will run out of the north at 10-20 mph with gusts to 25mph. There will be some gusts to 30 mph near the shore. However, the winds should all decrease this afternoon as the low gets farther away.

The north breeze will keep high temperatures down a bit, but the strong sunshine will put us in the mid 60s this afternoon.

The wind will create some more tidal flooding today. It will be minor for many areas along the Chesapeake Bay. This will be during the mid-late morning

There will be a couple of spots like Kiptopeke and near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that will have some brief moderate tidal flooding. However, it will be major again for the Outer Banks.

Yesterday morning the water level at Duck, North Carolina, made it up to 6.87 feet. There was a lot of ocean overwash, and this ended flooding out part of Highway 12.

The tide forecast down there today will be close to that level. The forecast was aiming for around 7 feet, but looking at the latest levels I think it will be just a bit under that. The winds were just a little overforecast for this morning by the models. So lets hope Im right. Either way there will be more ocean overwash today and more beach erosion down there. The record tide at Duck was from Hurricane Isabel in 2003. That level was 7.8 feet.

Tomorrow the winds will decrease, and the sun will be out. So it will be a very nice day. High temps will be in the low 70s. Well have similar weather Wednesday and Thursday. Then well have some rain move in on Friday.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler

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Blog: Storm Rolls Offshore, But Wind and Tides Remain. - WAVY.com

Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type (Anchor-handling tug supply vessels, Chase vessels, and Crew vessels), by Applications (Deepwater and Shallow water), by End-Use, by Region (Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type, by Applications, by End-Use, by Region - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06183415/?utm_source=GNW

The Global Offshore Support Vessel Market size was estimated at USD 21.02 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 22.27 billion in 2021, at a CAGR 6.31% to reach USD 30.36 billion by 2026.

Market Statistics:The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2018 and 2019 are considered historical years, 2020 as the base year, 2021 as the estimated year, and years from 2022 to 2026 are considered the forecast period.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the Offshore Support Vessel to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Type, the market was studied across Anchor-handling tug supply vessels, Chase vessels, Crew vessels, Emergency response/standby and rescue vessels, Multipurpose support vessels, Others, Platform support vessels, and Seismic vessels.

Based on Applications, the market was studied across Deepwater and Shallow water.

Based on End-Use, the market was studied across Offshore wind and Oil & gas.

Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Offshore Support Vessel Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Market Share Analysis:The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.

Competitive Scenario:The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.

Company Usability Profiles:The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market, including BOURBON, DOF Group, Edison Chouest Offshore, GC Rieber, Grupo CBO, Harvey Gulf International Marine, Havila Shipping ASA, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Maersk, MMA Offshore Limited, Nam Cheong Limited, Ostenjso Rederi, PACC Offshore Services Holdings, Royal IHC, SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., Siem Offshore, Solstad Offshore ASA, Swire Pacific Limited, Tidewater Inc., and Vroon Group.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06183415/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type, by Applications, by End-Use, by Region - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of...

The conversion of Boskalis Bokalift 2 crane vessel is expected to be completed in the coming months, after which its new crane will be installed, allowing the vessel to enter service on Taiwans Changfang & Xidao offshore wind project in early 2022, according to an update in the companys half-year report.

In October 2019, the vessel was announced to be deployed for the first time on the 589 MWChangfang and Xidao to transport and install the projects 62jacket foundations and the accompanying 186 pin piles. However, as offshore construction at the project site started in early July of this year, the Bokalift 1 vessel came into play.

During the first foundation installation campaign, Bokalift 1 installed 48 pin piles and will also install the corresponding 16 three-legged jacket foundations, after which the vessel will wrap up the 2021 installation campaign.

Since Boskalis said in August that the remaining 138 pin piles and 46 jackets were scheduled to be installed in 2022, it is now expected that Bokalift 2 would take over once the construction work resumes next year.

Boskalis is converting the existing drillship YAN into Bokalift 2at the Dubai-based Drydocks World, where work on this projectstarted in May 2020. The conversion scope includes the fabrication and installation of 9,000 tonnes of steel blocks on both sides of the vessel to increase its stability, as well as the installation of a new work deck.

Upon completion, the vessel will have7,500 square metresof free deck space and a new 4,000-tonne revolving crane capable of lifting structures more than 100 metres high.

The DP2 vessel, capable of accommodating 150 persons, will be used forthe installation of current and future generation offshore wind turbine foundations, as well as oil and gas structures, Boskalis said when it announced that the new vessel would debut at the Changfang & Xidao project.

The Dutch company was contracted to carry out the work in the Taiwanese offshore wind farm in a joint venture with Taiwans Hwa Chi Construction Co., established in July 2019.

The 589 MWChangfang and Xidao, owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and two Taiwanese life insurance companies, is being built at a site 15 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County.

Excerpt from:

Boskalis' Taiwan Debutant to Go Into Service in Early 2022 - Offshore WIND

Shell New Energies and RWE Generation will explore the possibilities of establishing integrated projects for the production of green hydrogen using offshore wind power on a gigawatt scale in the industrial regions in the north-east of England such as Teesside and/or Humberside.

The plan is one of the steps set out in a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies to jointly advance projects for the production, use, and distribution of green hydrogen, as well as further options to decarbonise RWE gas and biomass-fired power plants in northwest Europe. The aim of the MoU is to identify concrete project options which could then be developed toward investment decisions, the two companies said.

Effective climate action needs cross-sector and cross-national cooperation. In our cooperation with Shell, we want to develop solutions that combine new approaches with proven technologies and, above all, can be applied quickly and on a large scale. We will also contribute our special expertise in the development of offshore wind projects as well as the provision of energy in the form of electricity, heat and, in the future, green hydrogen for our customers, said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE.

RWE and Shell already have a background of cooperation through the NortH2 project in the Netherlands, and AquaVentus in Germany.

The two companies intend to jointly assess the future development of electrolysis plants to produce green hydrogen and consider locations which have potential pipeline capacity for hydrogen yet are currently difficult to connect to the electric grid. RWE and Shell want to investigate whether, and how, green energy can be transported from such locations to customers via hydrogen pipelines.

RWE and Shell also want to develop new green hydrogen solutions for industrial customers, focused on the Shell Energy & Chemicals Park Rheinland in Germany, Shell sites in Rotterdam and Moerdijk in the Netherlands, and on customers in their immediate vicinity.

In addition, RWE and Shell intend to evaluate the possible application of green hydrogen in the mobility sector in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

We are delighted about this agreement with RWE. Both companies are of the opinion that progress towards net-zero emissions needs government policy to support the energy transition and our customers needs for low-carbon energy solutions, said Wael Sawan, Director of Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions at Royal Dutch Shell plc.

It makes sense for us to evaluate the potential of joint decarbonisation projects and make the best of the global energy experience both companies bring to the table.

More:

Shell and RWE Pinpoint North-East of England for Gigawatt-Scale Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Projects - Offshore WIND

Larger wind turbines and larger offshore wind projects alone can reduce a wind farms Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE) by more than 23 per cent relative to the average fixed-bottom offshore wind farm installed in 2019, according to the research carried out by the US Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Researchers from NREL conducted one of the most comprehensive analyses currently available of the average cost per megawatt-hour to develop and maintain offshore wind farms and how those costs could change if current trends toward larger wind farms and turbines continue.

To do that, the team combined three models to compare the cost of a representative 2019 fixed-bottom offshore wind farm, which used one hundred 6 MW wind turbines for a total capacity of 600 MW, with various wind turbine and wind farm sizes up to a maximum of 20 MW wind turbines with a plant capacity of 2,500 MW.

The models showed that scaling up both wind turbine and wind farm size can reduce balance-of-system and maintenance costs through economies of scale (e.g., spreading export cable costs over larger projects) while reducing losses from wakes. Wakes, turbine-made turbulence that can decrease power production of downstream turbines, decline as turbines are spaced further apart in larger and larger wind plants. Combined, these savings can add up to more than 23 per cent, according to NREL.

We expected to see the costs decrease, said Matt Shields, an NREL researcher who leads the labs work on techno-economic analysis of offshore wind energy and headed the study.

But I was a little surprised about the magnitude. Thats really a game changer.

The teams data provide a valuable touchstone, the US DOE said. Now, the growing US offshore wind industry can more confidently invest in the supply chain needed to build bigger turbines and larger projectsa chain that is not yet sufficient to achieve the Biden administrations goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, the US DOE said.

The study was funded by WETO and coauthored by NREL researchers Philipp Beiter, Jake Nunemaker, Aubryn Cooperman, and Patrick Duffy.

Still, more research is needed to achieve these savings, determine whether and how this reduction applies to floating offshore wind farms, and learn whether the bigger is better tenet has a limit. Cost savings could plateau at a maximum wind turbine or power plant size, according to NREL.

Right now, the wind industry cant achieve that 23 per cent. No manufacturer can build a 20-MW wind turbine yet.

And even when they can, the rest of the supply chain will need to catch up, too. For example, todays vessels and ports are designed to install wind turbines of 12 MW or less, NREL said.

However several companies have already ordered, or are about to order, vessels capable of transporting and installing 20 MW wind turbines such as Van Oord, Eneti, and Havfram.

Shields and his team plan to take a closer look at how innovations in technology and the supply chain might help further reduce costs in the future. In the meantime, they are working on creating a supply chain road map to find missing links.

We need to jump-start the domestic supply chain as quickly as possible to minimize project risks, make projects even cheaper, create local jobs, and grow a more sustainable industry, said Shields.

We want to build offshore wind power plants to reduce our carbon footprint, and we can do it in such a way that we are positively impacting local economies.

The supply chain must grow quickly to meet the United States 30-GW-by-2030 goal. And this study can help each link plan for a bigger future, NREL said.

Thats going to be a huge challenge for us over the next decade, said Shields. But its one thats worth investing in.

See the original post here:

Super-Sized Turbines and Offshore Wind Farms Bring 'Game-Changing' Cost Cuts - NREL | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND