Daily Archives: July 4, 2017

Poland, a country seeking to decrease its dependence on Russian gas, yesterday (3 July) said the start of production of gas and crude oil from an offshore field near Norway, in which the Polish company PGNiG has a stake, was very good news.

At 17.02 CET on 30 June, Norways Statoil announced the start of production on the Gina Krog oil and gas field in the North Sea.

Norwegian energy company Statoil and its partners have invested a total of some NOK 31 billion (3.2bn) in the development of the Gina Krog field. More than 600 people have been working on the site since last August, preparing the platform for production.

Discovered in 1974, Gina Krog was initially considered a small gas accumulation. It was only in 2007 that it also turned out to be rich in large quantities of crude oil. PGNiG Upstream Norway acquired an 8% share in the field in 2014. The licence operator is Statoil Petroleum AS, with a 58.7% interest. The other consortium members are: Total E&P Norge AS (15%), KUFPEC Norway AS (15%) and Aker BP ASA (3.3%).

We are proud to have delivered Gina Krog with a good HSE record and in line with the cost estimate in the plan for development and operation, says Margareth vrum, Statoils executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling, thanking suppliers and partners for their good collaboration in the project.

PGNiG hailed the launch of production from Gina Krog as very good news not only for the company, but for the entire Polish gas industry.

Piotr Woniak, President of the Management Board of PGNiG S.A., said that the company assumes that starting from 2022 it will be able to supply approximately 2.5bn cubic metres (bcm) gas produced to Poland, through a new gas link.

The annual consumption of natural gas in Poland, according to the CIA World Factbook, reached 14 bcm in 2011.

By 2022 the Norwegian, Danish and Polish transmission system operators will construct a gas pipeline system to secure direct gas imports from Norway to Poland.

PGNiG said that the groups strategy for 20172022 is to expand its upstream business outside of Poland. Currently, PGNiG is involved in 18 licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Group holds interests in five crude oil and gas fields (Skarv, Vilje, Morvin, Vale and Gina Krog.

The Groups exploration work is being carried out under nine licences; on two of the licences PGNiG acts as the operator. The Company is planning to take part in upcoming licensing rounds.

To diversify from Russian gas exports, Poland had, in the recent past, placed its hopes in the development of shale gas. This attracted global energy majors, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total, but one by one they pulled back after disappointing results and a slump in oil prices.

See the original post:

Poland banks on Norwegian offshore gas and oil field - EURACTIV

Mel Evans / AP Photo File

In this Jan. 31, 2016 file photo, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez addresses a large rally in Asbury Park, N.J. The Obama administration banned offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic. But President Trump will review the policy with the goal of achieving "American energy dominance." Environmentalists and coastal businesses oppose it.

Trump administration plans to review Obama-era policy on offshore oil and gas drilling, including areas off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware, opened up to public comment Monday. And its likely the Department of Interior will get lots of pushback from beach communities along the Atlantic coast, including Maryland and Virginia.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says leasing more coastlines to oil and gas exploration is part of President Trumps goal for American energy dominance.

Offering more areas for energy exploration and responsible development was a cornerstone of the Presidents campaign and this action is the first step in making good on that promise for offshore oil and gas, said Zinke.

He said the new plan wouldrespect environmental and economic sensitivities.

Trump signed an executive order in April to review the5-year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program on the Outer Continental Shelf, which had been approved by the Obama administration last fall. Obama had banned drilling along the Atlantic Coast.

Under the last administration, 94% of the OCS was off-limits to responsible development, despite interest from state and local governments and industry leaders, said Acting Assistant Secretary Kate MacGregor in a statement.The Trump Administration is dedicated to energy dominance, growing the economy and giving the public a say in how our natural resources are used.

But environmental groups, chambers of commerce and elected officials of both parties have come out against offshore leasing.

In June, the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce and South Jersey Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo held a press conference in Avalon denouncing offshore drilling along the New Jersey coast and the seismic testing that would have to precede it.

I have long warned against drilling in the Mid-Atlantic region, which would put at risk some of the nations most sensitive coastal and marine resources, said LoBiondo.There is no ambiguity of our opposition and those in Washington and within New Jersey who continue to push for these misguided and dangerous proposals should recognize the strong opposition and cease immediately.

Exploration would require the use of air guns, which could disturb fisheries in the Outer Continental Shelf, the area under control of the federal government three miles offshore. Opponents also point to BPs Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010 off the coast of Louisiana, which killed 11 people, damaged coastlines and impacted tourism, a strong economic driver along the Jersey coast.

The Sierra Clubs Jeff Tittle says New Jerseys bipartisan congressional delegation opposes offshore drilling.

It just shows that the Trump Administration is on the side of big oil and the drill baby drill, spill baby spill crowd, than they are about the people along the Eastern Seaboard.

Cindy Zipf with Clean Ocean Action agrees.

Trump is using Big Oil to wage war on the ocean, she said.

Although New Jersey Governor Chris Christie actively opposed offshore drilling under the Obama Administration, hes been silent on the issue since Trumps executive order.

Delaware Governor John Carney, a Democrat, opposes the move.

To risk our coastal economy and natural resources on offshore drilling for oil and gas would also imperil our states environmental and economic health, Carney said.

With oil prices so low, drillers would not be rushing out to sea immediately, but would likely secure leases for future production. The public has 45 days to comment and public hearings will follow. The process of coming up with a new 5-year plan is expected to take two to three years.

Read more here:

Does offshore drilling have a future off the Jersey Coast? - StateImpact Pennsylvania

Saipem will construct jackets for platforms in the Middle East Gulf

Saipem has been awarded offshore service contracts in the Middle East and West Africa with a total value of US$500 million.

The biggest portion of this combined value is for construction and installation of jackets and pipelines in Saudi Arabia. The scope of this Epic contract is for the engineering, procurement, installation and construction of 19 jackets for platforms in the Middle East Gulf.

The facilities will be installed for Saudi Aramcos redevelopment of giant offshore oil and gas fields Marjan, Zuluf, Berri, Hasbah and the worlds biggest, Safaniya. Another aspect of this massive contract is the installation of pipelines between production facilities within these fields.

In reaction to the contract, Saipem chief executive Stefano Cao commented: We are further reinforcing our presence in a highly strategic area such as the Middle East.

The contract renewal in West Africa will involve Saipem providing management and maintenance services on the Gimboa floating production storage and offloading vessel offshore Angola. For another three years, Saipem will also provide personnel, materials and consumables on the oil production ship.

Read this article:

Saipem wins US$500 million offshore contracts - OSJ Magazine

Korean yard emerges from receivership early due to improved finances as new orders come in.

Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding has emerged from court receivership early due to its better financial health.

Aju News reported that the yard will resume normal operations after it was placed into a rehabilitation scheme last year.

The bankruptcy court cited its improved financial status.

It added that the company had made partial early repayments of reorganisation claims due within the next year, according to the Asiasis website.

It would be better to provide a chance to compete as a

Did you know that 46% of our readers consider TradeWinds theirsinglemost important source for shipping news?

_ Worlds biggest shipping news service _ Shipping news as it happens _ Unrivalled insight and content

_ Market leading news _ Clear, unbiased reporting from around the globe _ Exclusive, unique content

Enjoy unrivalled, round the clock coverage on news and information that influences your daily business decisions.

_ In-depth reporting from shipping's most trusted journalists _ Breaking news, features, market and financial information, and full archive _ Access whenever and wherever you want

More here:

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding exits court restructuring - TradeWinds (subscription)

German policymakers have outlawed negative bids in next years 1.6GW offshore wind tender after the bulk of capacity in the countrys first auction in April was won by zero subsidy bids.

The amendment to the Wind Energy at Sea Acthas been made to prevent a downward spiral into negative prices.

The support mechanism would not have allowed negative subsidies, but it was thought that developers could have tried to offer a negative bid to win the auctions.

The Bundestag, Germanys lower house of parliament, also lowered the price cap for offshore bids to 100 per megawatt hour (MWh) from 120 per MWh.

It also ruled that bidders in the first two onshore auctions next year will need to have a licence under Germanys noise emissions legislation.

Wind energy industry federation BWE welcomed the moveafter 65 out of the 70 successful projectsin the first onshore auction earlier this year were community-driven or co-operative wind projects that did not need a licence.

The German parliament also rubber-stamped reform of the grid fee structure.

Grid fees will gradually be standardised across Germany from 2019 until 2023 in order to avoid bigger payments in regions with a high share of renewables.

A payment to generators for so-called avoided grid fees will be frozen for existing controllable plants and abolished for new varible generation, such as solar and wind.

Power generators that supply electricity at a local or regional level have received the avoided grid fees payment to help cover costs for the transportation of power over larger distances.

If you want the energy transition, you need a speedy grid expansion. Having a fair distribution of cost on all shoulders is decisive for the acceptance of this project, said German economics and energy minister Brigitte Zypries.

Therefore we diminish regional differences in grid fees in the future and gradually standardise grid fees for transmission grids, she said.

German states in the north-east with a much higher density of wind farms than regions in the south have in the past complained that local consumers had to pay disproportionately higher grid fees.

Image: EWE

See the article here:

Berlin amends offshore rules - reNews

It's always a bit strange when a holiday falls in the middle of the week, and with the Fourth of July coming tomorrow, many expected Monday's trading session to be lacking in excitement. However, market participants once again noted the disparities between different segments of the market, as the Dow Jones Industrials soared about 130 points even as the Nasdaq gave up almost half a percent.

Positive momentum from past sessions in some stocks continued to help push them higher, and Bankrate (NYSE: RATE), Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO), and Teekay (NYSE: TK) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.

Shares of Bankrate climbed more than 8% after the financial website company agreed to a takeover bid. Digital consumer choice platform Red Ventures made an offer for Bankrate, giving shareholders $14 per share in cash in a deal that values the overall company at $1.4 billion. The two companies believe that the combination will bring together the strengths of both businesses. Red Ventures uses data analytics and integrated technology to bring together consumers and brands in the financial, housing services, and healthcare fields. Given that Bankrate already has a vast knowledge base in the financial arena, its connections will be quite valuable for Red Ventures. The buyout brings to an end investors' hopes to share in faster growth ahead, but it also gives shareholders who've suffered the ups and downs in the stock a quick potential exit.

Image source: Diamond Offshore.

Diamond Offshore Drilling stock gained 6% in the wake of a solid day in the energy markets. Crude oil prices moved higher as market participants hope that a recent downturn for the oil market will finally give way to a sustained and permanent move above the $50-per-barrel mark. Diamond wasn't the only winner in the space, as most of its competitors also gained ground. Bullish investors hope that the supply-and-demand picture in crude will finally start balancing out more favorably for producers, allowing prices to increase and making more offshore projects economically feasible. Yet so far, market fundamentals haven't worked out the way many expected, and it's taken a lot of effort just to prevent more dramatic declines than what investors have seen. It's entirely possible that another move downward for crude will reverse Diamond Offshore's recent gains.

Finally, shares of Teekay rose 17%, adding to recent gains. The move brought Teekay's rise in just the past couple of weeks to more than 50%, with positive sentiment stemming from an analyst's view of the shipping stock as being particularly promising. Teekay has a wide array of out-of-favor businesses that range from liquefied natural gas and tanker ships to offshore drilling equipment, and with the energy markets having been uncooperative, the stock has taken big hits since January. Less optimistic investors fear that Teekay might be financially vulnerable, especially in the offshore equipment arena when existing contracts expire and are subject either to renewal or to trying to find new takers. Until oil prices bounce back, Teekay could have trouble maximizing its potential.

Offer from The Motley Fool: The 10 best stocks to buy now

Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. In fact, the newsletter they run, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the S&P 500!*

Tom and David just revealed their ten top stock picks for investors to buy right now.

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 5, 2017.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

See original here:

Why Bankrate, Diamond Offshore Drilling, and Teekay Jumped Today - Madison.com

Barron's

Transocean: Killer Competition? - Barron's Barron's Transocean and other offshore drillers are rallying today, but one analyst sees competition and range-bound oil prices keeping a lid on shares. Offshore drillers weighed by competition, range-bound oil prices ...Seeking Alpha all 2 news articles »

Read the original here:

Transocean: Killer Competition? - Barron's - Barron's