Monthly Archives: March 2021

Carver Companies (P&M Brick), the owner of the Port of Coeymans deep water inland marine terminal, has filed an application with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for an environmental permit for the upgrade of the port infrastructure to support offshore wind projects.

The Port of Coeymans Offshore Wind Infrastructure (POWI) Project proposes upgrades that consist of establishing a new dock, site grading to provide manufacturing space and lay down area, and other buildings to service the unique needs associated with manufacturing, assembly, and shipping of heavy offshore wind components.

According to the project developer, achieving the offshore wind target that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set in 2019 will require thoughtful planning, design, and construction of highly capable, modern, and dedicated port facilities.

Developing the Port of Coeymans would provide an enormous benefit to the offshore wind industry by delivering a dedicated port facility, which will be critical for the supply chain while creating new and local jobs in the Upstate New York area, a project description document states.

The Port of Coeymans is one of the eleven ports marked as eligible to pair up with offshore wind developers to deliver New Yorks offshore wind targets.

New Yorks latest solicitation, which resulted in Equinor and BP winning the 2.5 GW tender to build offshore wind farms, also included a multi-port strategy and requirement for offshore wind generators to partner with any of the eleven prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities.

The proposals for the two offshore wind farms by Equinor and BP, the 1,260 megawatt Empire Wind 2 Project and 1,230 megawatt Beacon Wind, comprised plans for manufacturing offshore wind components upstate at the Port of Albany and the Port of Coeymans. The proposals also included making South Brooklyn Marine Terminal the hub for construction activities and an operations and maintenance (O&M) base.

The state had already executed a contract with Equinor for the 816 MW Empire Wind 1, awarded at New Yorks first offshore wind solicitation, for which the developer plans to use gravity-based foundations produced at the Port of Coeymans.

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Port of Coeymans Upgrade Project Moving Through the System - Offshore WIND

Fishermen in nearly 100 boats from the midcoast gathered in waters near Monhegan Island on Sundayto protest the development of offshore wind energy infrastructure, including an array of wind turbinesproposed by the state.

Boats came from towns including South Bristol, Boothbay, Port Clyde, Tenants Harbor, Vinalhaven, Friendship, Spruce Head, Monhegan and Owls Head, Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermens Association, told Mainebiz in a subsequent email.

The Brunswick association is an industry-based nonprofit that supports and advocates for Maines community-based fishermen.The protest was organized by the fishermen themselves, not by an industry association, he noted.

We fully support their efforts, he added.

Martenscontinued, Fishermen and waterfront communities throughout Maine are increasingly concerned at the speed at which offshore wind development is taking place in Maine. Maine has funding to create a full roadmap to better ensure that our fisheries and fishing communities are respected and protected, yet we seem to be full steam ahead on putting 700-foot industrial structures out on the ocean.

"We need clean energy, but just because wind is renewable, doesn't mean it's green and it doesn't mean it is the right choice for Maine.

The protest was held in response to plans by the Governors Energy Office to install an array of up to 12 wind-energy turbines, to be used for research demonstrationand to cover up to 16 square miles off Maines southern coast.

In January, a coalition of fishing communities sent a letter to Gov. Janet Mills expressing concern about the project.The coalition included the Maine Lobstermens Association, Maine Coast Fishermens Association, Maine Lobster Dealers Association, Maine Lobstering Union, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries and Downeast Lobstermens Association. The coalition was joined by a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance.

In a March 17 blog post to the Maine Coast Fishermens Association website, Friendship fisherman Dustin Delano, Maine Lobstermen's Association's second vice president, wrote, In recent weeks, many fishermen along the Maine coast have discovered a new fear to add to their lengthy list of stressors that they will be replaced by 700-plus-foot wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.

Although the Department of Marine Resources and the Governors Energy Office have engaged in communication with the industry, he wrote, fishermen still believe their concerns are not being heard, particularly due to the virtual nature of the meetings as a result of the pandemic.

As a result, many fishermen who live in rural areas without access to good broadband, and fishermen lacking the knowledge to use online platforms, are being excluded from both conversations and access to information, Delano wrote. They are completely in the dark about something that has the potential to destroy their future.

He added, Fishermen and their communities do not want to be replaced by giant floating turbines.

In January, stateRep. Billy BobFaulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, introducedLD 101, an Act to Prohibit Offshore Wind Development in the Gulf of Maine. The proposed legislation targets community-based offshore wind energy projects, deep-water offshore wind energy pilot projects, offshore wind energy demonstration projects and offshore wind power projects.

The state has identified an "area of interest" for its research project southeast of Casco Bay.

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100 fishing boats gather off Monhegan in protest of offshore wind development - Mainebiz

A burst natural gas pipeline in Venezuela has forced PDVSA to cut light crude oil production by 30,000 bpd, Reuters has reported, noting that the explosion could also affect the production of the countrys most popular heavy grade, Merey 16.

The state oil company uses the light crude to dilute its extra heavy to make it more easily transportable.

A section of the pipeline, which transports associated gas from oil fields to a reinjection plant, exploded last Saturday, with the government blaming the explosion on a terrorist attack.

At the time, Reuters reported that PDVSA was forced to suspend operations at the reinjection plant to stop the fire and assess the damage.

Venezuela produced some 521,000 bpd of crude oil last month, according to the latest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report. This was down from an average of 796,000 bpd for 2019 but higher than the average for 2020, which was 500,000 bpd.

The government in Caracas has pledged to boost production to as much as 1.5 million bpd this year. To that end, the Maduro regime is even ready to invite back foreign companies and end PDVSAs monopoly of the Venezuelan oil industry.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, managers of foreign oil companies are already discussing their return to the country with the biggest oil reserves in the world.

Venezuelas crude oil and refined product exports plummeted in 2020 to theirlowest level in 77 years, as the U.S. continued to step up sanctions against Maduros regime and anyone found dealing with it. Last year, Venezuelas oil exports plunged by 37.5 percent, reaching just 626,534 barrels per day (bpd)the lowest level since the early 1940s.

Much of Maduros turnaround plan depends on the lifting of U.S. sanctions, but the Biden administration has signaled that this would only happen if the government in Caracas takes some major steps towards reconciling its differences with the opposition.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Offshore Oil & Gas Spending Set To Jump To $44 Billion In 2021 - OilPrice.com

New York, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "High Net Worth (HNW) Offshore Investment - Drivers and Motivations 2020" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06039262/?utm_source=GNW

This report draws on our 2019 and 2020 Global Wealth Managers Surveys to analyze the drivers behind offshore investments in the HNW space, along with our wide-ranging 2020 Banking & Payments Survey, which offers insight into retail investors with offshore investments.It examines and contrasts offshore HNW investment preferences across multiple jurisdictions and wealth tiers, providing readers with an in-depth understanding of what is motivating HNW investors to look to offshore booking centers.

The report outlines key challenges facing the wealth management industry in 2021, taking into account the impact of the pandemic and increasing digitization.

Scope - Non-resident investment assets reached an all-time high in Q3 2020, with further growth expected in 2021. - Roughly 10% of investors have offshore investments, although this figure approaches a third in the Middle East and Africa. - While not an overt driver, expats are a core demographic of the offshore investment market. - As the recovery takes hold, international trade and business supply chains are expected to increasingly drive more HNW wealth to be booked offshore. - COVID-19 and its effects on local markets are expected to drive more investors to offshore wealth in North America, while the pandemic has little impact on Asia Pacifics investment intentions.

Reasons to Buy - Understand the growth of the non-resident investor segment in recent years. - Identify which offshore booking centers are gaining market share amid the pandemic. - Gain insight into the drivers behind retail and HNW investor offshoring. - Forecast HNW demand for offshore wealth management in all key markets. - Size key market segments within the offshore investment market. - Map offshore product and service provision across the world. - Examine the effects of COVID-19 on the HNW offshore investment portfolio.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06039262/?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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High Net Worth (HNW) Offshore Investment - Drivers and Motivations 2020 - GlobeNewswire

Helicopter services provider NHV Group reported Wednesday that it has signed a new contract with PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd. to support decommissioning operations in the Celtic Sea.

Under the agreement, NHVs Danish branch NHV AS Denmark will provide a dedicated Leonardo AW139 twin-engine helicopter to provide transfer flights toward the Stena Spey drilling rig, NHV noted in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. The rig sits approximately 31 miles (50 kilometers) off the south coast of Cork, Ireland, and flights will likely begin next month, the contract recipient added.

We are delighted to be partnering with Kinsale Energy on this project and feel confident that its offshore workforce will appreciate our passion for safe and reliable operations, remarked Lars Skov, NHV AS managing director and group commercial manager. I am also proud that within a months team, our team has established a fully operational base in Cork. A solid proof of the agility, flexibility, and adaptability that have always been present in NHVs DNA.

NHV anticipates a contract duration ranging from six to eight months.

The award of this contract demonstrates the importance of our strategy of operating a diverse and modern fleet in our offshore operations, commented NHV Group CEO Steffen Bay. We are looking forward to proving our new partners that NHV was the right choice for this unique project.

According to Kinsales website, the Stena Spey will be used to plug 10 subsea wells.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.

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Offshore Ireland Contract Goes to NHV - Rigzone News

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Tucked between the Gulf of Oman and a craggy mountain range, the dusty port Fujairah isnt an obvious base from which to try and revolutionize the Middle Easts oil markets.But on Monday, when Abu Dhabi begins selling futures contracts for its oil and then shipping the barrels from Fujairah, it will mark an aggressive shift by the emirate. It hopes to change the way nearly one-fifth of the worlds crude is priced.Persian Gulf states pump nearly 20 million barrels of oil a day and Abu Dhabi wants the futures for its flagship Murban grade to become the regions main benchmark.The Gulfs biggest producers -- including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital -- have traditionally priced their barrels based on benchmarks from other regions. Theyve mostly sold their crude directly to refiners or international companies with stakes in their fields. Crucially, theyve prevented those customers from re-selling the oil and benefiting from arbitrage opportunities that exist in energy markets.Now, Abu Dhabis removing those curbs with the aim of opening up its oil to financial as well as physical traders. Investors globally are clamoring for commodities because of their high yields relative to other assets and to protect themselves against any rise in inflation.Once sold on an exchange, Murban will be sent by pipeline to Fujairah, where Abu Dhabis desert fields physically connect with global markets.If successful -- and I think the chances are good -- Murban futures could be a pivotal moment for Middle East crude pricing, said Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based Vanda Insights, which provides oil analysis. If a sizable chunk of Middle Eastern crude trades freely in the spot market, that could push other regional producers to follow Abu Dhabis lead, she said.Storage CavernsTo help its cause, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the state energy firm, is spending around $900 million to build 40 million barrels of storage space in caverns beneath Fujairahs mountains. That, and tanks Adnoc already has at the port, will ensure theres plenty of Murban on hand to manage any future supply disruptions, Khaled Salmeen, the companys head of marketing and trading, told reporters this month.Adnoc can pump about 2 million barrels a day of Murban and has pledged to provide the exchange with half that amount over the next year -- in line with or greater than the supply of todays major oil benchmarks such as Brent and West Texas Intermediate.Liquiditys critical to the whole equation, said Chris Bake, a director at Vitol Group, the largest independent oil trader, which is backing the exchange.Creating a new benchmark will hardly be easy. Oil traders dislike change, especially when they believe markets already do a good job matching supply and demand. S&P Global Platts caused uproar this year after announcing it would overhaul Dated Brent, the worlds main crude price. It was forced to shelve the plan indefinitely.Murban will also face competition regionally. Platts publishes price assessments for Dubai oil and the Dubai Mercantile Exchange trades futures for Omani crude. Both act as benchmarks for Middle Eastern shipments to Asia.Enter GoldmanThe benefits from trading Murban, a crude first exported in 1963, are worth the effort, according to Sultan Al Jaber, Adnocs chief executive officer. Price transparency will allow our customers to better hedge and manage their market risks, he wrote Sunday in The National, a local newspaper.Abu Dhabi says the combination of high supply, easy access to oil-consuming markets from Fujairah and the absence of trading restrictions will attract plenty of buyers to its exchange. Philippe Khoury, a former HSBC Holdings Plc energy banker who Adnoc hired in 2018 to build its trading operations, said Murban may even compete with Brent and WTI.The futures platform will be run by Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and called ICE Futures Abu Dhabi. Last week, ICE approved Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and 22 other banks and brokers as exchange members.Wider AmbitionAdnocs plan underscores the UAEs wider ambition to monetize its hydrocarbon resources faster in case oil demand starts shrinking with the global shift to greener energy. The country aims to increase output capacity from about 4 million barrels a day now to 5 million by 2030, which would make it OPECs biggest producer after Saudi Arabia.The Murban exchange and the capacity boost could raise tension within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Hari of Vanda Insights. The Gulf states dominate the cartel and tend to prize unity. They also began unprecedented production cuts last year to bolster prices as the coronavirus pandemic spread.Still, the UAE says Murban futures wont affect OPEC or its ability to stabilize oil prices.We definitely hope other regional producers adopt Murban as a benchmark for their own crude, Adnocs Khoury said this month at the Fujairah Bunkering & Fuel Oil Forum.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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W&T Offshore Announces Issuance of Inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance Report - Yahoo Finance

Survey work began last week for the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC project off New Jersey, a 50/50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America.

The developers submitted a proposal in December to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to supply up to 2,300 megawatts of wind energy. Its the second solicitation by state officials, following rsteds winning bid for 1,100 MW from its planned Ocean Wind project. Atlantic Shores holds a 180,000 federal lease north of the rsted tract, off Long Beach Island and Atlantic City.

If Atlantic Shores wins its state bid and the necessary state and federal permits, the company says it could have a complete project as early as 2027. The survey work, coming on top of the Biden administrations determination to advance the wind industry, is fanning fresh debate in the Garden State.

Homeowners in beachfront resorts like Long Beach Island and Ocean City, who worry about the visual effect of turbines on the horizon, are connecting with fishermen who say the potential environmental effects need much more research.

The momentum is exciting for businesses, labor unions and their political allies who see opportunity to build New Jersey into a critical base for the offshore wind supply chain. With shipyards and Delaware River port facilities including some downriver, past the vertical clearance constraints of Philadelphia-area bridges the region has potential to accommodate the next generation of bigger turbine structures and their attendant installation vessels.

The 170-foot survey vessel Fugro Enterprise started work Friday, March 19 within the lease area and along potential export cable routes that would carry power to landfall sites near Atlantic City and Manasquan, N.J. Continuing survey work in support of the bid process will run 24/7 until August but may run longer depending on weather and operational conditions, according to a Notice of Mariners put out by Atlantic Shores.

The developers contract fleet includes the Tidewater Regulus 270 multiservice offshore support vessel, conducting geotechnical borings and seabed piezocone penetration tests (PCPTs) in the Atlantic Shores lease area for soil characterization starting April 15.

The Alpine Shearwater starts May 15, when the 110 vessel will conduct geotechnical vibrocores along potential export cable routes for soil characterization.

Northstar Marine, based in Cape May County, N.J., is mobilizing its Northstar Commander June 1, when the 240 vessel will conduct seabed PCPTs along potential export cable routes and in the lease area for soil characterization.

Northstar is making investments to offer more services to wind developers on the East Coast, and recently entered an alliance with Laredo Offshore Services, Belle Chase, La., to serve that market. The Laredo Brazos, the companys three-legged 230 liftboat, will get to work off New Jersey June 14, to perform geotechnical boreholes for the potential export cable route landfall areas.

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Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind begins New Jersey survey - WorkBoat

Australian marine services provider MMA Offshore has secured three new contracts in the offshore wind market in Taiwan.

These three contracts, with firm periods totalling 270 days, increase MMA Offshores contracted revenue by an aggregate total of approximately AUD 7 million (EUR 4.5 million). The contracts also provide for additional option periods totalling 118 days.

Three of MMAs vessels will mobilise to Taiwan to provide a range of offshore wind farm support services.

The multi-purpose support vessel MMA Pride will provide accommodation and walk-to-work services supporting turbine works at the Changhua wind farm.

The anchor handling tug supply vessel MMA Crystal will support a pre-installation noise mitigation survey for the Formosa 2 wind farm.

And the platform support vessel MMA Responder will support a bubble curtain noise mitigation scope for turbine installation works on the Changfang and Xidao wind farm project.

The MMA Pride and MMA Crystal are scheduled to commence operations in early April 2021 and the MMA Responder in late June 2021.

Last year, MMA Offshore entered the Taiwanese offshore wind market with the contract to support foundation installation at an undisclosed project.

We are extremely pleased to secure these contracts which further establish MMAs presence in servicing our offshore wind market clients in Taiwan. This is a key strategic focus area for the business as we diversify our service offering into supporting the growing offshore renewables market, MMAs Managing Director David Ross said.

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Australian Firm Clinches Offshore Wind Contracts in Taiwan - Offshore WIND

TetraSpar foundation assembly quayside in the port of Grenaa, Denmark.

(Courtesy TetraSpar Demonstrator ApS)

Offshore staff

MARSEILLE, France Bourbon Subsea Services will manage the transportation and installation of a 3.6-MW floating wind turbine prototype, under a partnership with TetraSpar Demonstrator.

The scope covers project management, engineering, installation, and offshore execution from the assembly port in Denmark through hookup and the inter-array cable installation this summer on the Metcenter test site in Norway.

This is Bourbon Subsea Services fifth floating wind project.

The TetraSpar foundation concept is a modular, building block arrangement: each foundation is assembled from tubular steel modules, most of which are said to be common to all configurations.

Manufacturing is performed in factories using industrialized methods, with assembly near the site, and towing, taking days or weeks, instead of months.

Stability is provided by a keel deployed 50 m (164 ft) below the floater. Bourbon Subsea Services will use a special method to connect the keel to the floater in port and, once offshore, to lower it safely into position.

03/23/2021

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Bourbon Subsea Services to install prototype floating wind turbine offshore Norway - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine