Monthly Archives: June 2017

As the US Gulf Coast oil and gas industry prepares for the arrival of Tropical Storm Cindy late Wednesday, about 17.24% of current Gulf of Mexico oil production has been shut, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's Hurricane Response Team. That amounts to about 301,618 b/d of lost production.

For natural gas, about 0.32% of production has been shut, representing lost volume of 10.089 MMcf/d, BSEE said.

The shut-ins can usually be accomplished remotely, with personnel able to close subsurface safety valves from off-site. Once the storm has subsided, inspections will take place and undamaged facilities will be brought back online, the BSEE said.

The loss of offshore domestic crude production had little effect on the assessed value of US Gulf Coast crude differentials Wednesday.

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Only Southern Green Canyon, a medium sour produced off the coast of Texas, showed any major movement, rising 35 cents/b. The grade received price support from its ability to be delivered into Texas -- relatively out of the path of the storm -- versus Louisiana, where other Gulf of Mexico grades are delivered. Should Louisiana refineries come offline due to damage from the storm, Texas refineries could pick up the slack in the market.

In contrast, all 17 dynamically positioned rigs in the US Gulf of Mexico have remained on location, with personnel remaining on board. However, the BSEE noted these rigs can move relatively quickly should the need arise.

Anadarko, which operates the Lucius and Heidelberg spar facilities, has evacuated nonessential personnel and said facilities remain operational.

"We are continuing to monitor the weather system as it moves through the Gulf and are prepared to shut in our operated facilities if necessary to ensure the safety of our personnel and to protect the environment," the company said in a statement.

Shell, which operates the Mars B/Olympus, Cardamom and Stones developments, said personnel will remain offshore. The company has, however, suspended all offshore flights from heliports located in central Louisiana and some well operations also have been suspended.

"Production is currently unaffected," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in a statement. He noted that all of the company's deepwater production hubs are designed to withstand hurricane-force conditions.

Operator BP, which produces from the Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, evacuated nonessential personnel earlier in the week and has also taken steps to secure its offshore production facilities.

"At this time, there have been no impacts to production," BP spokesperson Jason Ryan said in a statement. "BP's severe weather assessment team is in constant communication with our offshore teams."

BHP Billiton, which operates the offshore Shenzi and Neptune fields, said it does not expect regional storm conditions to warrant an evacuation of personnel based the company's operational response protocol for weather events.

"As far as the Invictus deepwater drillship, nonessential operations have been suspended, and nonessential personnel demobilized as a precautionary measure," the company said in a statement.

Hess, which operates the Stampede and Tubular Bells developments, is monitoring the storm closely with employees remaining in place for the moment.

"We stand ready to activate our response plans for severe weather conditions as needed," Hess spokeswoman Hillary Harmon said. "There has been no impact on production at this point."

Operations at Chevron's Jack/St. Malo development as well as the operator's other Gulf of Mexico production interests has not been affected by the approaching weather system.

"We will continue to closely monitor the system," Chevron spokeswoman Brenda Cosola said.

The most recent National Hurricane Center forecast calls for Cindy to approach the southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas coasts late Wednesday before moving inland into southeast Texas on Thursday.

--Mary Hogan, mary.hogan@spglobal.com

--Edited by Jason Lindquist, jason.lindquist@spglobal.com

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USGC offshore producers brace for Tropical Storm Cindy - Platts

Despite how the South African market has opened up over the last 20 years, many South Africans still see investing as a purely local exercise. The bulk of their assets are held in South African unit trusts, local real estate and deposits with local banks.

To a large extent this has to do with how this countrys economy was historically isolated from the rest of the world. Exchange controls made it very difficult to take money offshore, and so investing in international assets was just not seen as an option.

Most of us dont think globally, says Helena Conradie, the CEO of Satrix. Thats because the products havent been available, and there were a number of hurdles to investing offshore.

That has however changed significantly with the relaxing of exchange controls and a wider range of international products becoming available on the local market. At the same time, perceptions around investing offshore have also changed.

As much as in the past there was a perception that buying stocks on the JSE was only for the wealthy, there was also a belief that to invest offshore you had to be super wealthy, says Conradie.

But that mental hurdle is being overcome as more product providers offer much easier access.

Increasingly, investors are also coming to understand the benefits of not having all of their wealth concentrated in South Africa. They are appreciating the need for diversification.

All South Africans need some offshore exposure in their portfolios, Conradie argues. While South Africa has world class companies, there are many industries, economic regimes and currencies you are simply not able to access by keeping all your capital in domestic assets.

At the same time, investors are looking to reduce risk of being exposed to just one country, particularly with the levels of political uncertainty that are prevalent not just here but in many parts of the world.

The importance of diversification is being reinforced every day by just looking at the reality across the globe, says Conradie. The political environment across the world, not just in emerging markets, shows how you cant afford to have all of your money in a single country.

Widening the net

International investment opportunities can broadly be divided into developed and emerging markets. Conradie believes that its important for investors to consider both.

Developed markets offer more stability in terms of their established economic systems, although not necessarily their politics, she says. But they also have less potential for growth, which is why investors should consider some exposure to emerging markets. These are the worlds up-and-coming economies, and investing there gives you the opportunity to grow with them.

Emerging markets may also offer exposure to new growth industries that are not found in developed economies.

If you take an overall view of the world, each country has a major industry, a major product, and a culture that drives it in a certain way, Conradie notes. No place is the same, and that diversity is what you want to get exposure to.

Getting access

The growing appreciation of international investments amongst South African investors has been happening at the same time that index-tracking products have become more widely available. This has given investors an attractive way to gain offshore exposure.

Index trackers are great options because they are broad based, cost effective and there are choices available to suit all needs. says Conradie. You get exposure to world class companies, but you dont have to choose them yourself. You are also diversified in terms of country exposure, but you dont have to pick those countries. The index does it for you.

Satrix is currently finalising the listing process with the JSE and will soon be launching three international exchange-traded funds. These will give investors a way to access these markets as simply as buying a local share, and without having to deal with any exchange control regulations.

The three funds are the Satrix MSCI World ETF, which offers a broad exposure to developed markets; the Satrix S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the iconic large-cap index in the US; and the Satrix MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, which includes companies in markets such as China, South Korea and India.

These give investors a very simple way to broaden their investment universe.

To access these ETFs is very simple, says Conradie. You could buy your offshore exposure online via a platform like SatrixNOW while enjoying a cup of coffee. And in keeping with our purpose of democratising investing, there is no minimum investment amount and no annual platform fee when you invest via SatrixNOW.

This article was brought to you by Satrix.

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Simple offshore exposure - Moneyweb.co.za

Two of British Petroleums major projects have had the storm pass over them, with equipment successfully weathering rain and minor ocean swells. The oil major had evacuated non-essential workers from the Mad Dog and Atlantis platforms, but those who manage production remained onsite due to the storms waning severity.

Our top priority is the safety of all personnel and protecting the environment, BP said, according to the Houston Chronicle. We remain prepared to respond as conditions warrant.

Chevron and Anadarko Petroleum both have projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and they also evacuated non-essential personnel.

Reuters Tuesdayon Tuesday that the storms slow speed meant it would produce rain for a long time.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest private crude storage facility in the U.S., stopped offloading procedures in anticipation of the storm. The ports management expected no disruptions in deliveries from a hub in Clovelly, Louisiana.

On shore, Cindy is expected to bring a foot of rain to the states bordering the gulf on Thursday, potentially causing life-threatening flash floods, according to the National Hurricane Center. Winds could speed up to 50 mph.

Hurricane season began in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico officially on June 1st, but this year, the first tropical storm, named Arlene, hit in April.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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Offshore Gulf Of Mexico Operations Continue As Cindy Rages On - OilPrice.com

June 22nd, 2017 Jason Jiang Europe, Offshore 0 comments

SBM Offshore has secured a contract from ExxonMobil to construct, install, lease and operate an FPSO for theLiza project in Guyana, following the completion of front-end engineering studies and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil.

The FPSO is designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of circa 170m cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of circa 200,000 barrels per day.

We are proud that ExxonMobil awarded SBM Offshore the contracts for the Liza FPSO. The Liza Field offshore Guyana is one of the industrys largest oil discoveries of the past decade. We look forward to cooperating closely with our client and partners to make this project a success. This award underlines SBM Offshores continued focus on building on our experience, our long term relationships and FPSO-led strategic vision, said Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore.

Jason Jiang

Jason worked for a number of logistics firms following his English degree, then switched this hands-on experience to writing and has since become one the most prolific writers on the diverse China logistics industry writing for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week. Jasons access to the biggest shippers with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives.

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SBM Offshore wins FPSO contract from ExxonMobil - Splash 247

A woman has lost a 50 million divorce court battle after failing to prove her millionaire husbands offshore trust was a sham.

The former teachers estranged husband said the couple had set up the trust for the benefit of their two adult children, though the woman denied the claims.

A judge ruled against her during a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court, concluding that the trust was "not a sham".

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling produced by judge Mrs Justice Robert, who urged the couple to negotiate.

The pair, who have not been named, had already racked up lawyers' bills of more than 2.2 million.

The judge indicated that the woman would have been able to make a claim for a half share of a kitty of around 60 million, but was now looking at a half share of a kitty of about 10 million.

Mrs Justice Roberts said the dispute about the legitimacy of the trust was one of a number of preliminary issues she had ruled on during the pair's money battle.

She said both were in their 50s and had built up a property investment portfolio after marrying in the early 1980s.

At one stage, they owned a house abroad which had a swimming pool and a private chapel.

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Woman loses 50m divorce fight after claiming husband 'set up sham offshore trust' - Evening Standard

Published on June 21st, 2017 | by Joshua S Hill

June 21st, 2017 by Joshua S Hill

The northeast of Scotland is poised to become the global center for offshore wind scientific research, following the announcement this week from Swedish power company Vattenfall, which announced the successful projects that will take part in a3m research program at its European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre.

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay, Scotland, is a 92.4 megawatt (MW), 11 turbine offshore wind test and demonstration facility. The EOWDC was even constructed in a way which served as a demonstration, built with VestasV164-8.4MW turbines on top ofsuction bucket foundations, an industry first.

Though the EOWDC will play a big role in the offshore wind industry, it also briefly found itself headline news around the world, by virtue of a lawsuit that Donald Trump, now US President, took out against the developers for building an offshore wind farm where it could be seen from hisTrump International Golf Club. Thankfully for all, the case was thrown out by the UK Supreme Court back in December of 2015.

In November of last year, Vattenfall the owner of the EOWDC announced that it had shortlisted offshore wind projects for a 3 million scientific research program to investigate the environmental impacts of offshore wind, to be conducted at the EOWDC. This week, Vattenfall announced the winners of the process, part of what is believed to be the worlds largest-scale offshore wind research program, and one which will likely make Scotland a global center for such research in the future.

The announcement of these successful projects, including three in Scotland, is an exciting one with each having the potential to unlock fascinating new insights into the offshore wind environment and determine influencing environmental factors, saidAdam Ezzamel, EOWDC project director at Vattenfall. The 92.4MW EOWDC test and demonstration facility offers an unmissable opportunity to conduct this pioneering research and monitoring programme. We are pleased to be facilitating such innovative research in the North-east which will bring considerable benefits to the region as well as the industry and policy-making.

From almost a hundred applications across the UK and around the world, Vattenfall narrowed it down to a shortlist of 16, and then down to the successful final four. They are:

The panel were delighted with the response to programme call, and received many proposals supported by strong research teams involving some of the most prominent experts in their respective fields, saidProfessor Stuart Gibb, chair of the Scientific Panel Professor and Director of the Environmental Research Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

We believe those projects that have been successful will effectively inform development of the EOWDC facility and deliver real, tangible data that increases our understanding of the relationship between offshore renewable energy developments and the environment. Such knowledge will be highly effective in informing future planning and consenting activities.

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Tags: Aberdeen Bay, Aberdeenshire, EOWDC, European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, Marine Scotland Science, Oxford Brookes University, River Dee Trust, Scotland, SMRU Consulting, University of St Andrews, Vattenfall

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

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Scotland Set To Become Heart Of Offshore Wind Scientific Research - CleanTechnica