Daily Archives: March 27, 2017

Bibby Wavemaster is due to enter service in August 2017

Bibby Marine Services service operation vessel (SOV) Bibby WaveMaster 1 was launched at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania on 24 March. Primarily intended for the offshore wind industry it can also work in the oil and gas market.

When completed, Bibby Marine Services Limited, part of Bibby Line Group, will deploy the vessel to support forthcoming offshore wind construction and O&M projects in the North Sea.

Stephen Blaikie, CEO at Bibby Marine Services Ltd, said: This is an important key milestone in the delivery of the vessel. Sea trials will start soon and we will take delivery in August. We are very impressed with the quality of the build and the whole process has gone smoothly.

Peter Robert, director business development and market intelligence at Damen said: Carrying out the integrated hardware in the loop simulator analyses of the vessel plus dynamic positioning (DP) system plus gangway in a time domain simulation with the actual controllers connected to it, proves, in real life conditions, safe operations in the 2.5m Hs, as required by the tenders. Based on this the shipowner can guarantee site specific vessel performance and safe operations.

Bibby WaveMaster 1 was designed and built specifically for the transfer and accommodation of offshore personnel and aims to maximise working time, technician comfort and safety. With a DYNPOS (AUTR) DP2 system, the 90m vessel has a motion compensated access system for walk-to-work transfers.

Although primarily designed with offshore wind in mind, the vessel is capable of a much wider scope of work in a variety of offshore industries. A range of options are available including an additional deck crane with up to a 24 tonne capacity, tanks arrangements suited to liquids such as glycols and low flashpoint liquids with separate delivery intakes, and facilities for dive support and ROV operations.

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Bibby SOV can also service offshore oil and gas sector - OSJ Magazine

Italian oil company Eni drilled the first well by an international oil company in Mexican waters, and on March 23 they said the well indicated a meaningful volume of oil.

The discovery was not entirely a surprise, given that state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex had already explored the area in the past. For more than seven decades, Pemex was the sole owner and operator of Mexicos energy assets, but that all changed in 2013 with a monumental liberalization by the Mexican government. The energy reform package ended Pemexs monopoly and the privatization effort was intended to attract international companies that could bring in capital and drilling expertise.

Enis latest announcement will provide a boost to supporters of the liberalization. Eni says that the results from the Amoca-2 well indicate that there is more oil than Pemex originally estimated.

The result will also surely spark more interest in Mexicos oil reserves, perhaps attracting more companies to bid in the upcoming June auction for offshore acreage. Eni drilled in the Campeche Bay, where some of Mexicos most prolific oil fields are located. In particular, two offshore fields Ku-Maloob-Zaap (KMZ) and Cantarell produce nearly half of Mexicos oil. Cantarell used to be one of the largest oil fields in the world, peaking at 2.1 million barrels per day in 2004. But falling reservoir pressure forced the field into rapid decline, with output from the field now standing at roughly 200,000 bpd. Related:Saudis Bet Big On Houston As Drilling Activity Picks Up

(Click to enlarge)

But that does not mean that Mexicos offshore is played out. Enis discovery, Mexicos government hopes, is the first of many more. Enis well was drilled in just 25 meters of water, but the upward revision on the reserve estimates will grab the attention of the industry. [The discovery] is 7-8km from the shore and 20-30km from Pemex [infrastructure] facilities so if we need to accelerate [development], I think it can be done very quickly, Enis CEO Claudio Descalzi told the FT. We want to go fast...its reasonable to think that in a couple of years, three years, we could start production. There is a lot more acreage in deeper waters that have not been explored yet, which will put a lot of attention on the June auction.

However, just as Mexicos energy reform appears to be bearing fruit, there are some clouds of uncertainty starting to form around the investment climate. President Trump might imperil energy investments in Mexicos offshore sector ironic for the unabashedly pro-oil president. That is because Trumps anti-Mexico rhetoric calls for a crackdown on immigration and the construction of a border wall is sparking anti-Trump sentiment south of the border. Trumps call for Mexico to pay for the wall is a humiliating demand that could never be agreed to by any leader, and it has Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto plunging in the polls, posting a shocking 12 percent approval rating. Related:PetroChina Mulls $85 Billion Spinoff

Consequently, a rival politician, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a brash leftist who closely lost the 2006 presidential election, is surging in the polls on his anti-Trump rhetoric. He is the leading candidate right now for the 2018 election.

Crucial for the oil and gas industry is Obradors pledge to hold a public referendum on the 2013 energy reform laws, which is what has allowed companies like Eni and other oil majors to gain access to Mexicos reserves in the first place. Obrador says he would not nationalize the assets, but would allow the people to vote on the issue in a national referendum. If the public votes against the energy reform, he would turn to international courts and other legal means to roll back the privatization effort. If the people support the energy reform, on the other hand, Obrador pledged to accept the result and work to attract international investment.

Obradors election, then, wouldnt present a mortal threat to oil and gas investments. With falling production down to 2.5 million barrels per day currently from a peak of 3.85 mb/d in 2004 Obrador seems to recognize that international companies will be needed to reverse the decline. You cant move Mexico forward only with public investment, he told Bloomberg in mid-March. You need to crank up the three motors of the economy: public sector, private sector, social sector. He did not specify what that arrangement might look like.

But a shift from the current government to one more confrontational with the U.S. and towards Mexicos own energy reforms would certainly complicate the calculation for companies considering spending hundreds of millions of dollars.

For now, however, Enis latest discovery will likely lead to more interest in Mexicos June auction.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

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Mexico Sees Its First International Offshore Drilling Success ... - OilPrice.com

Rendering of the view from the Ocean City pier should US Wind construct their wind farm.(Photo: Staff Photo by Gino Fanelli)Buy Photo

The first public hearing on the proposed wind farms off the coast of Ocean City and Delaware brought both praise and criticism from residents and business leaders.

The two companies, Deepwater Wind, responsible for the first American offshore wind project at Block Island, Rhode Island, and Baltimore's US Wind, are both in the running to build farms approximately 17 miles off the coastline. US Wind's 248 megawatt proposal off the coast of Ocean City, with a potential growth to 750 megawatts, would be the second, and largest, offshore wind farm in America. Deepwater's "Skipjack," project would clock in at 120 megawatts. Both have planned construction dates beginning in 2020, and with the projects moving forward, a Saturday March 25 hearing at Stephen Decatur Middle Schoolgave locals, laborers and experts alike the chance to express their thoughts to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Much of the comments saw the projects ashugely beneficial, both economically and ecologically.

The opportunity to establish Maryland as an offshore wind hub is an opportunity that only comes once, and something that needs to be seized, Salisbury's Matt Drew of AWB Engineers said.

"We need this for the entire state," Drew said. "We're poised right now to become a leader in the industry. By having this, we have the ability to attract very large companies that could for all other projects across the country."

Seth Bush of the Maryland Climate Coalition highlighted the ecological benefits of establishing the offshore wind farms.

"We have the chance to move away from fossil fuels which pollute the air, poison the water and make people sick," Bush said.

While Bush noted that the establishment of these wind farms will not reverse the effects of climate change or fossil fuel pollution, it is a step in a direction which, if demonstrating a solid economic benefit, will inspire other states. Likewise, echoing Drew, should Maryland not go forward with the projects, the state could be missing a golden opportunity to corner the industry.

READ MORE:Offshore wind farms near reality for Delmarva

"When other states see the economic benefits, they will seize them," Bush said,

Crowd at a public hearing for offshore wind on Saturday, March 25.(Photo: Staff photo by Gino Fanelli)

However, not all in attendance were keen on the project. While Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan had supported the progress of project, US Wind's renderingsof what the Ocean City coastline will look like after construction has inspired him to rethink.

"There is a much larger visual impact than I had anticipated," Meehan said. "We only have one chance to get this right, and if it stays the same visual I see today, we may need to reconsider."

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan at a public hearing for offshore wind on Saturday, March 25.(Photo: Staff Photo by Gino Fanelli)

Though expressing disappointment in the appearance of the project, which US Wind Director of Project Development would have the turbines able to be covered with your thumbfrom the beach, others were not so mild-mannered.

Don Murphy, a regular summer visitor to Ocean City who plans on retiring at the beach town, said the renderings were horrifying.

"I have no words looking at these pictures," Murphy said. "I am outraged and I am horrified. We need to understand the impact this project will have on Maryland's greatest economic asset; Ocean City."

For others, the views of the wind farms were something that inspired hope, and the potential for a cleaner, sustainable future.

"I'll tell you one thing, as soon as those wind farms are built, I'm taking a vacation to Ocean City, and specifically requesting a room where i have a nice, clear view of the turbines," said Salisbury resident Elizabeth Dale.

The visual aspect of the project, however, was not the only issue contested by the public. Rather, a hike in electricity rates was a hot topic of debate. Rich noted that the expected rate increase for residents will clock in at approximately 99 cents per month and a .98 percent annual hike for non-residencies.

Ocean Pines resident Chuck Lacy agreed on preserving the view of Ocean City, and scrutinized the economic benefits of the project.

"I can only see this project being more expensive," Lacy said. "Let alone the rate increases, there's saltwater corrosion and constant maintenance. This does not look good for the ratepayer."

While some in attendance argued for and against various issues, one point of discussion had a near-unanimous agreement; it will bring jobs.

David Roncinski, representing the wharf and dock builders union Pile Drivers Local 2311, said that the projectswon't just bring low-income jobs, but actual careers to the Eastern Shore.

"My biggest hope is to work with a neighborhood which has historically not had access to good jobs," Roncinski said.

Dale, meanwhile, looked to her children, and the future they'll have on the Eastern Shore should new industry not open up.

"Right now, they have two options; healthcare or chicken," Dale said. "And I want them to have more choices for good work, and not have to leave the Shore just to find a job."

As the hearing drew to a close, Deepwater Vice President of Development Clint Plummer said the hearing has shown just how interested people are in the future of these projects.

"When we see a turn out like this, it means that people are listening, that they care and that they're ready to talk about wind," Plummer.

The next public hearing on the Skipjack and US Wind projects will take place in Annapolis on Thursday, March 30.

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OC offshore wind cause blustery debate at hearing - Delmarva Daily Times