Daily Archives: April 25, 2017

Denmark To Build Offshore Wind Turbine Higher Than Eiffel Tower … – GCaptain

Posted: April 25, 2017 at 5:23 am


RTO Insider
Denmark To Build Offshore Wind Turbine Higher Than Eiffel Tower ...
GCaptain
by Jess Shankleman (Bloomberg) Offshore wind turbines are about to become higher than the Eiffel Tower, allowing the industry to supply subsidy-free clean ...
Offshore Wind Industry Looks for Next Gust of Support - RTO InsiderRTO Insider

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Denmark To Build Offshore Wind Turbine Higher Than Eiffel Tower ... - GCaptain

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Falling offshore wind costs may lead to increased capacity targets for North Sea countries – ICIS

Posted: at 5:23 am


ICIS
Falling offshore wind costs may lead to increased capacity targets for North Sea countries
ICIS
The success of the recent German offshore wind tender, in which three sites totalling 1.38GW of new capacity were awarded contracts by bidding in at zero, could encourage countries to re-evaluate their offshore wind capacity goals, industry experts ...

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Paragon Offshore Creditors May Pursue Claims Against Noble Corporation – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 5:23 am

Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE) has just filed an 8-K, where it shared important news on the ongoing reorganization of Paragon Offshore (OTCPK:PGNPQ) and its potential impact on the company. As a reminder, Noble Corp. span off Paragon Offshore back in 2014. Paragon Offshore started with a fleet of mostly older jack-ups, whose contracts ended in 2014 - 2016. Oil collapse followed, and Paragon Offshore was not able to recontract its rigs. As a result, Paragon Offshore had to enter restructuring negotiations with its creditors.

As a part of the previous reorganization plan of Paragon Offshore, Noble Corp. entered into a settlement agreement with Paragon, which released Noble Corp. of any claims in connection with the spin-off in exchange of providing certain bonding required in connection with Paragon's Mexican tax obligations. Under the new reorganization plan, Paragon does not need Mexican tax bonding. Therefore, the previous settlement agreement was terminated on April 21.

This is what Noble Corp. had to say about the situation:

Noble continues to discuss its continuing relationship with Paragon, including the possibility of entering into a new settlement agreement. There can be no assurance that the Company will reach any settlement agreement with Paragon. If we do not enter into a settlement agreement with Paragon, we expect Paragon or its creditors would pursue claims against Noble in litigation relating to the spin-off, including any alleged fraudulent conveyance claims.

The Company continues to believe that Paragon, at the time of the spin-off, was properly funded, solvent, and with appropriate liquidity and that any fraudulent conveyance claim or other claim related to the spin-off that may be brought by Paragon or its creditors would be without merit and would be contested vigorously by the Company.

Put simply, Noble Corp. tells investors that Paragon or its creditors may try to prove in court that Paragon was underfunded at the time of the spin-off. In case creditors or Paragon are able to prove this claim, Noble will face significant obligations.

The timing of the spin-off was truly unfortunate. If we travel back in time and look at the 2014 annual report, we will see significant problems. At the end of December 2014, Paragon had $56 million in cash and was facing $272 million of maturities in 2015. The long-term debt stood at $1.9 billion. If we look at the fleet status report of January 2015, we will see a backlog cliff.

As we know now, Paragon Offshore had absolutely no chance to survive the downturn with the asset mix, the backlog and the debt that it had at that time. However, creditors will have to prove that Paragon Offshore was doomed right from the start.

I am not a lawyer and I cannot predict the outcome of such a lawsuit with any degree of certainty. However, I definitely expect that Paragon creditors will give it a try unless Noble is able to reach a new settlement agreement with Paragon.

Please note that Paragon spin-off happened in-sync with the beginning of the oil price slump, so creditors will have to prove that Paragon was not a viable enterprise at $100+ oil as nobody could foresee oil dropping below $50 so fast at that time. I would argue that Paragon was not tailored to any significant negative change in the offshore drilling market, but the lack of downside protection does not necessarily mean that Noble Corp. crossed the red line with the spin-off of Paragon Offshore.

One thing is certain: Noble Corp. shares will see more short-term pressure because of the news. While it is too early to say that Noble Corp. may incur any material damage as a result of the lawsuit that does not even exist at this time, any additional uncertainty is bad for its shares. The offshore drilling market does not get better, and oil prices are picking downside momentum once again. I continue to expect that a test of November 2016 lows may be on cards for Noble Corp. stock.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: I may trade NE.

Editor's Note: This article covers one or more stocks trading at less than $1 per share and/or with less than a $100 million market cap. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

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Tug and offshore vessel operations enhanced through software – OSJ Magazine

Posted: at 5:23 am

Hadi Hammad Al Hammam Group operates a fleet of utility vessels and tugs in the Middle East

Hadi Hammad Al Hammam Group has deployed ABS Nautical Systems NS Enterprise software across its fleet to enhance compliance and Usda Seroja Jaya is installing BASSnet to improve maritime operations

Workboat and offshore vessel operators are deploying specialised fleet management software to improve their maintenance planning and compliance. The software suites are also used for managing crewing, health and safety and quality on vessels.

Saudi Arabia-based Hadi Hammad Al Hammam Group (HHG) is the latest vessel operator to deploy ABS Nautical Systems fleet management software. HHG provides services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the Middle East using its fleet of offshore support vessels. The installation of the NS Enterprise software suite is being carried out in phases.

The first phase involved deploying and integrating the NS Enterprise maintenance, purchasing, payroll and crewing modules and the health, safety, quality and environmental module. This will enable HHG to unify compliance data across its fleet of various offshore vessels.

According to chairman Hadi Hamad Al Hammam, this should improve the management of the fleet. He added: My goal is to deliver the most advanced technology to my offshore support vessel fleet to ensure success for our clients. Implementing ABS Nautical Systems solution will position us well for the future.

HHG operates a fleet of 37 utility vessels, anchor handlers, and supply and maintenance support vessels. Its latest addition to the fleet is DP2 multipurpose offshore supply vessel Hadi-47. The majority of the fleet operates for state oil and gas company Saudi Aramco

An ABS team worked alongside HHGs executive team to install the NS Enterprise modules to meet critical deadlines. Together they formed a dedicated group that ensured the project ran on schedule, said ABS Nautical Systems director of professional services Saqib Kasim. From the beginning, we were committed to working as a team to make sure the HHG business processes were effectively mapped into NS Enterprise, he said.

ABS Nautical Systems chief operating officer Stephen Schwarz said that the comprehensive fleet management software should improve data accuracy to inform better decisions in the office. He added: We are seeing an increasing demand for our software in the offshore support vessel sector, particularly in the Middle East, where clients like HHG are focused on improving efficiency and transparency of what happens on board their vessels.

Indonesian ship and tug operator and shipyard group Usda Seroja Jaya is deploying Bass Softwares BASSnet to improve maritime operations. Usda Seroja Jaya expects to use the software suite to support its fleet of 70 tugs and barges and shipyard operations.

The operator has chosen to implement the BASSnet maintenance, procurement, operations and financial modules. Its director Joseph Endi said the suite was chosen for its selection of services and modular structure. He added: Modules covering different areas of operations can be added at any time. They are centrally integrated, ensuring process visibility and efficiency in supporting our operations across the organisation.

The maintenance module will assist Usda Seroja Jaya in improving maintenance practices across the fleet and managing its stock of spares. The procurement module should help shipmanagers respond to individual vessel needs.

The operations segment will enable the company to plan and track voyage and port operations, maintain navigation and engine logs electronically and ensure its vessels have updated certificates for operations. Usda Seroja Jaya will also be able to track the financial performance of the fleet using BASSnet.

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Tug and offshore vessel operations enhanced through software - OSJ Magazine

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Trump to sign executive orders on offshore drilling, Veterans Affairs this week – WLS-TV

Posted: at 5:23 am

In the week of his 100th day in office, Donald Trump will sign four executive orders, including ones calling for reviews of offshore drilling regulations and national monument designations on federal lands.

He also plans to to sign an order establishing an "office of accountability and whistleblower protection" at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump is expected on Tuesday to sign an executive order creating a task force "to examine the concerns of rural America and suggest legislative and regulatory changes to address them," the White House said.

The order on national monuments will direct the Interior Department to review prior monument designations under a more than 100-year-old law that authorizes the president to establish federal lands as national monuments.

And as part of the administration's push to expand offshore drilling, Trump on Friday is expected to sign a directive called the America First Energy Executive Order, calling for a review of offshore oil and gas locations and rules.

Before his election, he criticized his predecessor's use of executive actions as a way of going around Congress.

"I don't think he even tries anymore. I think he just signs executive actions," Trump said of then-President Obama in December 2015. Trump pointed to the U.S. government's system of checks and balances. "That's the way the system is supposed to work. And then all of a sudden, I hear, 'He tried. He can't do it,' and then, boom, and then another one, boom."

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Made in China: First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Set for High Seas – Sputnik International

Posted: at 5:23 am

Once sea conditions reach a point thats comfortable foradmirals, the Chinese-made ship will be onits way totest the waters forthe first time, according tothe South China Morning Post. The enigmatic ship still has yet tobe named. So far, she is only referred toby her technical classification, Type 001A.

She will displace 70,000 tons ofwater, measuring 315 meters inlength and 75 meters inwidth. Although the launch has been heralded bysome asa sign that China is mastering naval technology, other military observers have noted China still only has aboutfour percent ofthe United States naval capability, according toa Monday report published inthe SCMP.

The ship is being constructed atthe Dalian Shipyard, a port innorthern Chinas Liaoning province that happens toshare a border the Democratic Peoples Republic ofKorea (North Korea). The launch ofthe aircraft carrier is imminent, sincethe ships hull appears complete and the construction scaffolding draping the ship has been taken down, according toan IHS Janes report.

Chinas other aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, conducted live-fire drills forthe first time inNovember oflast year. The Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been aggressive inpursuing a larger and more assertive fleet.

The two aircraft carriers could be a small sign ofthings tocome forthe ambitious Chinese navy. Some analysts suspect PLAN is pursuing a fleet ofmore than500 vessels, including subs, carriers, destroyers, amphibious vehicles, frigates and other naval hardware, Sputnik reported inJanuary.

Some observers suggest sailing aircraft carriers thousands ofmiles forlong periods oftime most US carriers only need tostop forone refueling duringthe entire course ofthe ships shelf-life is a way forChina todisplay and reinforce its ascendency toits status asa major global power.

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Life of style on the high seas – Glasgow Evening Times

Posted: at 5:23 am

THEY were the pride of the Clyde, fabulous, floating palaces which welcomed the rich and famous and played a vital role in the war.

The Cunard liners, of which 16 were built by John Brown and Company in Clydebank between 1899 and 1967, were some of the most luxurious cruise ships of the 20th century and they are being celebrated in a summer exhibition at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.

Style at Sea, which runs until September 25, tells how the magnificent Clyde-built Cunard ships evolved from immigrant passenger boats to magnets for Hollywood glamour and royalty.

The exhibition in the Museums vast Linthouse building on the Harbourside includes the story of the Lusitania, which was considered the pride of the British liner fleet when she launched in 1906; the Queen Mary, one of the most iconic Clyde-built ships; and her sister ship the Queen Elizabeth, which symbolised the height of the liner age.

Winston Churchill was convinced that the great liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Aquitania, which were pressed into service as troop carriers, shortened the Second World War by at least a year. Their speed allowed them to outrun both German submarines and their torpedoes.

As well as a football pitch sized area for deck games, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and theatres, the Queen Mary was the first ship with a shopping centre. The centre included 24 shops from jewellers and tobacconists to high-end clothing shops.

When the QE2 launched on September 20, 1967, she marked the end of an era as it brought the relationship between the ocean liner and the dockyards of the Clyde to an end.

The advertising ran simply: The only thing QE2 has in common with other ships is that she floats. The only thing she has in common with other great Cunarders is a legend called service.

No expense was spared in creating the opulent lifestyle onboard. By the 1980s, Cunard claimed that it would take a passenger four months to experience all the QE2 had to offer.

In a single year, the QE2 left dock laden with 20 tonnes of strawberries, 11 tonnes of smoked salmon, a tonne of caviar, and 73,000 bottles of champagne.....

The Style at Sea exhibition also offers visitors a rare opportunity to view fascinating menus and invitations from the early days plus the famous QE2 Ward Room Book, which was signed by those dining with the Captain. The whos who, which is part of the Museums nationally important maritime heritage collection, includes the signatures of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, Gracie Fields, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Nelson Mandela amongst others.

On show too are fabulous outfits reminiscent of those worn onboard, courtesy of The Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume at Dalgarven Mill.

Chris Walker, Events and Exhibitions Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum adds: Its hard to believe that when Cunard launched in 1840, passengers like Charles Dickens washed their own plates and took their fresh milk from a live cow hung above the deck by a system of ropes!

Then, of course, the company was known as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company and their focus was on the reliable delivery of post.

Style at Sea charts the fascinating journey of the Cunard Line which, working with John Brown and Company, overcame the challenges of two world wars and the Great Depression to launch luxury cruising which is so popular today.

To enjoy a taste of life on board a Cunard liner, join in with the Festival of Museums events on May 20. There will be a family fun day from 11am until 3pm and from 7.30pm until 10.30pm, A Night of Cocktails, Dancing and Glamour. Dance the night away to the tunes of Eliot Murray and his band, enjoy stylish cocktails, jive with Fly Right Dance, get glamorous with Pin Up Vintage Hair and Make Up and capture the evening in the Bygone Photobooth.

Tickets for the evening event cost 15. Call 01294 278283 for more information.

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Life of style on the high seas - Glasgow Evening Times

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Susan Stamper Brown: After an 8-year vacuum of leadership, Obama lives the life of a rajah – Tulsa World

Posted: at 5:22 am

Every time a picture of America's Coolest Prez Ever gets posted on social media, the internet lights up like a Christmas tree. Of late, His Excellency, Barack Obama, was caught on camera photographing Michelle while they cruised the South Pacific on a carbon footprint-hogging 450-foot super yacht.

One Instagram click later and, who cares about global warming, or ISIS, or Russia? The picture goes viral ... followers gasp ... tears flow ... and leftists the world over fawn over their American idol.

One guy on social media went so far as to describe Obama as "our stepdad who broke up with our mom, America, who still loves us." Seriously? No wonder people think they need safe spaces these days.

Conveniently, leftists neglect the fact that their idol who trashed the rich for eight years now lives a lifestyle of the rich and famous.

If he isn't tucked away on a private island in the South Pacific once owned by Marlon Brando or kite surfing in the Virgin Islands with billionaire bud Richard Branson, he's hanging out with fellow Hollywood BFFs Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Springsteen.

Not too bad for a community organizer from Chicago.

His followers don't care how it happened, nor do they care that this adulated man they worship like royalty left in his wake a royal mess, spending more money and creating more debt than all his predecessors combined. Making income redistribution over economic growth his top priority, the economy sputtered his entire presidency. Americans suffered while he played golf.

Add to that, the world is on fire, thanks to poor choices, feeble leadership, and awkward appeasements. The worst of which were stashed away like time bombs, set to go off after his exit and upon the next president's arrival.

Last year, the man whose decisions in Syria helped to create ISIS told us "the world has never been less violent" and "we are living in the most peaceful, prosperous, and progressive era in human history."

On his watch, the Afghanistan war dragged on and Iraq was in shambles as ISIS expanded. But "the world has never been less violent" said he whose red line helped to stain the ground in Syria with the blood of a half million people while ISIS burned Christians in cages. Meanwhile, a million young Muslim men who should be defending their own countries deluged the West as "refugees" wherein terror attacks now abound.

That he believes "this is the most peaceful, prosperous, and progressive era in human history" is the reason why Democrats lost over 1,000 seats under his watch. It's also why America painted the electoral college map red last November.

But he still has his devoted followers.

Those who live to watch the world burn are forever grateful for the Obama era ... that eight-year vacuum of leadership when the inmates began to run the asylum and bad people were emboldened to act out evil.

Fast forward to today. News breaks that Russian bombers have been spotted off the Alaska coast twice this week, and it likely isn't to see if our snow is melting. Russia just unveiled another new Arctic military base. The first one, Northern Clover, was completed in 2015, probably while Obama was playing golf on Martha's Vineyard, yucking it up with his rich pals while reminiscing about his 2012 debate zinger to Romney about the non-threat Russia posed.

Now North Korea is threatening to launch a "super-mighty pre-emptive strike" that will reduce the United States "to ashes." China just put its bombers on alert and moved troops and equipment to the North Korean border along with Russia in anticipation that President Trump will keep his promise to keep America safe.

Spineless leadership, fake red lines, and pompous arrogance all have one thing in common: Barack Obama. If only Obama had pursued a career in Hollywood rather than Washington, he'd still have his feckless followers, but the world would be safer.

2017 Susan Stamper Brown Susan lives in Alaska and writes about culture, politics and current events. She is a regular contributor to Townhall, The Christian Post, Right Wing News and GOPUSA. Susan's nationally syndicated column is published in scores of newspapers and publications across the U.S.She writes about politics, culture and media and was selected as one of America's 50 Best Conservative writers for 2015 and 2016. Contact her by Facebook or at writestamper@gmail.com.

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Susan Stamper Brown: After an 8-year vacuum of leadership, Obama lives the life of a rajah - Tulsa World

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COMMENTARY: A renewed commitment to community – Easton Courier

Posted: at 5:21 am

Tony Hwang

Name-calling. Vitriol. Personal attacks.

You see it every day these days in state capitols and in Washington, D.C.

Compassion might seem to be in short supply. Division? Division seems to be everywhere.

For anyone out there who has lost hope, let me tell you about the Connecticut residents that I interact with every day:

The Connecticut residents that I meet at the State Capitol and across the state believe it is firmly within our control as individuals, as neighbors and as citizens to make our community a better place to work and to live. Now more than ever, they are seeking and finding ways to join together with common purpose and put people before politics.

And thats tremendously encouraging. Times like these reaffirm my belief that when we commit ourselves to our communities, we can make a meaningful impact and improve peoples lives. By actively engaging in our local communities, we can find ways to assist those who need help and remember that by working together we can achieve favorable results for everyone.

As a state senator, I am working to put Connecticut back on a predictable, sustainable long-term path by controlling government spending without passing the burden on to taxpayers. Predictability, sustainability and pro-job growth policies will allow us to more reliably provide critical services to the most vulnerable people in our communities. When we all do our small part to care for and be kind to one another, that positive impact multiplies.

In a world full of uncertainty, we can and will find strength in unity, in personal connection, and in the will to understand and listen to each other. So let us inspire and motivate one another. Realize the lasting value of a simple act of intentional kindness. Renew our commitments to our communities and to one another.

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COMMENTARY: A renewed commitment to community - Easton Courier

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Reaching for the stars: the top ideas in space travel – Cosmos

Posted: at 5:21 am

A starship drive, a vacuum airship, solar surfing. NASA has awarded funding to 22 new projects as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. This is where the organisation awards the most innovative, and sometimes wacky, ideas for new technologies aiding humanitys future exploration of space

The newly published description of far-out projects reads like the contents of a sci-fi anthology.

The grants program has two tiers: Phase I for initial concepts; and Phase II for graduating the most promising ideas from previous Phase I grants. All of the final candidates were outstanding, says Jason Derleth, NIAC program executive. We look forward to seeing how each new study will expand how we explore the universe.

Here is a round-up of some of the most exciting projects.

First the Phase I projects. These each receive about $125,000, for nine months, to help define and analyse their concepts.

Top: Artists conception of the final spacecraft. Lower left: Illustration of the concept device. Lower right: Prototype device.

Mark Rademaker / Nolan van Rossum / Heidi Fern

This project proposes to develop a futuristic thruster, based on the so-called Mach effect, that could be capable of sending a spacecraft to an exoplanet 5 light years away in as little as 20 years.

The thruster is based on the ideas of James Woodward, who hypothesised the new kind of propulsion system in 1990.

The core of the device is a huge capacitor moving up and down on a piston, being continually charged and discharged as it moves. Woodward hypothesised the simultaneous change in energy and acceleration, would cause the capacitors mass to briefly change raising the possibility it could push and pull a craft through space.

It would be a bit like standing on an ice rink with a bowling ball in your hands, and pushing the ball back and forth to shuffle yourself along.

Like the electromagnetic (EM) drive is claimed to do, the Mach Effect Thruster (MET) is predicted to produce thrust without ejecting any propellant. In fact, some physicists are trying to explain the EM drive by applying the physics of the Mach effect.

The project is led by Heidi Fearn at the Space Studies Institute, a non-profit based in California. Using the grant, she plans to improve lab prototypes of the device, and figure out what it would take to send a 1.2 tonne spacecraft a distance of 8 light years.

The physics community has always been highly sceptical of Woodwards idea, since it seems to violate Newtons third law of motion, but if it works wed enter a new era of space exploration. So NASA obviously reckon its worth a shot.

A schematic of the laser-powered spacecraft.

John Brophy

Another breakthrough propulsion project is based on the relatively conventional idea of using a laser to remotely power a spacecraft. Rather than using the lights momentum to push the craft, as with solar sail technology and Breakthrough Starshot, the idea here is to remotely send electrical energy that can then power a thruster.

John Brophy at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory plans to use laser beams generated by a 10-km diameter array of satellites to power a spacecraft equipped with giant solar panels. The panels would convert the laser beam energy to electricity, which would in turn be used to accelerate lithium ions through a thruster. Brophy estimates the project could deliver a drive system 20 times as powerful as the current state-of-the-art ion drive on the Dawn space probe orbiting Ceres.

A balloon or airship works by filling a huge bag with very light air (helium, hot air, or, in the case of the ill-fated Hindenburg, hydrogen). An airship filled with nothing (i.e. a vacuum) would theoretically provide even greater lift. On Earth such a design could never work with currently known materials, as atmospheric pressure would crush the ship. But Mars is a different story. Its lower gravity and sparser atmosphere mean a vacuum airship just might work. This project, by John Paul Clarke at Georgia Institute of Technology, aims to nut out the details.

Robert Youngquist at NASAs Kennedy Space Center plans to develop a coating that could reflect 99.9% of sunlight, making it 80 times more reflective than current materials. A bit like in the 2007 movie Sunshine, such a reflector would allow probes to get much closer to the Sun than currently possible as close as one solar radius to the Sun, Youngquist thinks. Thats less than 1 million kilometres. (For comparison, on its closest approach Mercury is still 57 times further away from the Sun.)

Other Phase I projects include a mission to use the Suns gravity as a lens to directly image an exoplanet with megapixel resolution, a turbolift artificial gravity device for deep space missions, and a project to render Martian soil useful for agriculture with synthetic biology.

The Phase II program awards up to $500,000 for the most promising projects from the Phase I program.

Gary Hughes and California Polytechnic State University plan to reveal what asteroids are made of by blasting them with a laser (from Earth orbit) and detecting the light given off by the atoms discharged. Since each element has a unique spectral fingerprint, this light can be used to identify the atomic makeup of the asteroid and perhaps figure out which ones could be worth mining.

The optical mining plan.

TransAstra

This advanced asteroid mining project is based on using focused sunlight as a mining drill. Joel Sercel at TransAstra Corp is leading this project, which envisions a huge solar reflector to direct sunlight onto an asteroid. The oxygen, water vapour and other materials given off would then be captured and stored to fuel other missions exploring the solar system.

Other Phase II projects include developing a new way to identify exoplanets by detecting starlight reflected from distant worlds, and a fusion-powered probe for visiting Pluto.

NASA cautions that all projects are still in the early stages of development, most requiring more than a decade of before theyll ever see use on a NASA mission. Still, Derleth is upbeat:

Hopefully, they will all go on to do what NIAC does best change the possible.

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Reaching for the stars: the top ideas in space travel - Cosmos

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