Category Archives: Offshore

The leader of RMTs offshore branch believes it will continue to operate for at least another 30 years but must accept change is coming.

Oilc the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee is marking its first three decades this year and it too expects to play a role in the energy transition going forward.

The oil and gas industry has been under the spotlight as protest events take place globally to prevent climate change, with pressure on the sector to show its work moving to cleaner forms of energy.

Jake Molloy, regional officer for RMTs offshore branch, said the union will also endeavour to move with the times.

He said: Weve got to acknowledge that change is coming and weve got to change.

Thats why we called ourselves 30 years ago the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, we didnt call ourselves the oil industry liaison committee.

We always envisaged a finite product depleting. That is to say oil and gas would end but there was a clean-up job to be done in terms of decommissioning and now, of course, weve got the technology, the potential to move into renewables, carbon capture and other areas.

The UK sector has a growing focus on decommissioning and renewables, while the Aberdeen region specifically could be key in deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale a process of storing harmful emissions in depleted underground oil and gas fields.

However as spending remains focussed on oil and gas, protests continue with figures like Greta Thunberg leading the charge.

Last month saw the largest climate strikes in history, with demonstrations around the world.

Meanwhile investors face pressure to prove their green credentials as institutions break ties with oil giants, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company ending its partnership with BP and the National Theatre with Shell earlier this month.

RMTs offshore branch expects to go on as the wider industries around the North Sea evolve.

Mr Molloy added: The offshore energy section of RMT will continue, I would say, for 30 years and more because we want to exploit all of our natural resources, whether that be what remains in terms of oil and gas or the exploitation of renewables.

Continued here:

'We must accept change is coming' RMT offshore boss on energy transition - News for the Oil and Gas Sector - Energy Voice

FORT MYERS BEACH

After 15 years since the last powerboat spectacle in Southwest Florida, Roar Offshore hit the water off Fort Myers Beach Saturday to complete the three-day event.

Fort Myers Beach was still packed with attendees, as the races wrapped up for the day. Nothing but excitement filled the island, as spectators watched powerboats reach speeds of 180 mph. Many said they hope this wont be the last time they get to witness these feats along our coast.

Guests told us they were only having fun at Roar Offshore.Yet its been almost two decades since the last powerboat championship was held in Southwest Florida. Tim Hill, the president of Roar Offshore, told us he was extremely impressed with the turnout and positive reaction to the event.

Powerboat racing goes back almost 45, 50 years, Hill said. Its been absent around 15 years, so were extremely happy, as residents of Fort Myers, to bring Roar Offshore back to Fort Myers Beach.

Racer Steve Curtis told us excitement and fun were equally felt by all the participating powerboat racers.

I think all the competitors are really thrilled to be back here, Curtis said.

Racers, businesses and visitors alike were all happy the races made a comeback.

Were just looking forward to the business, event attendee Carol Steier said. Its important to us.

Many businesses on Fort Myers Beach were packed well into the night and after Roar Offshore powerboat races had finished. And the event itself is expected to bring in millions of dollars, but some local businesses near the event say it was not the same for them.

The boat races have been a fantastic event for Fort Myers Beach, said Bob Ferreria, a bar own on the island. Its brought a lot of revenue, brought the community together. Its been great.

Ferrias restaurant and bar was busy after the main events ended for Roar Offshore, as customers stuck around.

Its fun to see your town and your community succeed, Ferreria said. And everybody making money and coming together.

Roar Offshore organizers are hopeful busy businesses like Ferrerias will make 2019 a banner year for Fort Myers Beach.

The race couldnt have come at a better time after last years red tide and very slow business, Ferreria said. So were extremely excited to see what those economic impacts are.

But just across the way from businesses like Ferrerias, not all businesses enjoyed the same good fortune.

Because were off the beach, because theres only a certain amount of time in between the races, so a lot of people stayed on the beach to eat, said. The parade was all down that way, so we didnt see too many people down the stretch because they were all looking at the boats.

Still, Roar Offshore is looking forward to a significant overall impact.

And businesses remained focused on their customers, as festivities continued for the weekend.

Were just trying to stay on top of things and take care of everybody, Ferreria said.

Seventy boats were entered in the competition, and tens of thousands of spectators watched what they hope will be the beginning of a new tradition in Southwest Florida.

We hope that Fort Myers Beach keeps this going because we love it, Steier said. Its been a blast.

The president of the event told us they are still waiting to learn the economic impact generated from the event. The goal was between $10 million and $15 million

Pretty good turnout, event attendee Matthew Mendez said. So I think itd be a real fun time to keep seeing them out here.

Originally posted here:

Roar Offshore powerboat races take to the water off Fort Myers Beach - Wink News

Dominion Energy has received two key determinations from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding the design, fabrication and installation of theCoastal Virginia Offshore Wind(CVOW) project.

This is a significant milestone as we move forward on building the first-ever fully permitted offshore wind project in federal waters, said Mark D. Mitchell, Dominion Energys vice president of generation construction. This process will provide key learnings we can apply to our commercial-scale offshore wind project.

Dominion submitted its Facility Design Report (FDR) and Fabrication and Installation Report (FIR) in partnership with rsted, a global leader in offshore wind development contracted for CVOW, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the company manufacturing the two 6-MW wind turbines to be installed next year 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. BOEM has reviewed and responded to the two filings with a no objection determination, a significant milestone for the project.

The FDR/FIR no objection determination is the latest milestone in a list of firsts for the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the U.S. to come through the CVOW project, said Thomas Brostrm, CEO of rsted US Offshore Wind. As the only fully permitted project in the U.S. federal waters, CVOW continues to provide all involved parties valuable experience that will drive regulatory efficiencies and increased certainty that will reduce costs for future projects in the U.S.

The FDR details the design of all the major components of the offshore wind project, while the FIR describes the fabrication and installation plans of the equipment. The decision from BOEM is a necessary approval to move forward with offshore construction, which is on track for the summer of 2020.

This formal approval is a significant milestone for the Coastal Virginia project, said Steve Dayney, U.S. Head of Offshore, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE). We are very proud of this accomplishment which will enable us to maintain momentum in the project and may serve as a blueprint of success for others.

L.E. Myers Company began onshore construction in June to facilitate interconnection of the two wind turbines at a company substation near Camp Pendleton. At peak production, CVOW will power 3,000 homes. The turbines will not be visible from shore.

CVOW was first announced two years ago and received approval last November from the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The construction process is on a strict timetable, in order to minimize environmental impacts to the sea bottom and aquatic life. Observers will be present during the offshore construction activities to look for protected species in the area. If those species are located within an exclusion zone, work will be stopped.

News item from Dominion Energy

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Dominion Energy gets approval to erect two offshore wind turbines in Virginia - Windpower Engineering

ABS will collaborate with Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, to provide cyber security for ship information technology (IT) and operation technology (OT) in response to increasing digital technology within marine and offshore energy sectors.

Cyber security will be implemented at the earliest stages of asset design and development to ensure cyber risk management is an integral part of operations from the beginning.

Cyber security is the new frontier in marine and offshore safety, says ABS global head of cyber security Ian Bramson. As these assets become more digital, the industry must be ready to deal with a broader range of threats. Working together, we are able to deliver a converged IT/OT solution for safer, more secure assets and operations.

Owners and operators are becoming more exposed to cyber threats that could have serious consequences to operations and the safety of people and the environment as they implement methods to benefit from increased automation and digitalisation.

This drives the need for better control, visibility and management of cyber risks in maritime operations and computer systems, said Atos senior vice president and head of big data and cyber security Jerome Sandrini.

Historically, OT and IT acted as stand-alone systems in the maritime industry, he said. Uniting Atos cyber security expertise with ABS marine and offshore operational experience provides a new industry solution in securing both IT and OT assets, devices and networks.

Converging cyber security management covers physical OT systems with ITs real-time digital operations to protect personnel, company, cargo and the environment from the evolving threat landscape and prevent unwanted incidents from occurring said Mr Sandrini.

Atos provides end-to-end orchestrated hybrid cloud, big data and business applications and digital workplace solutions.

ABS portfolio of cyber security solutions provides risk-based capabilities at every stage of cyber defence and includes the proprietary cyber risk reduction and risk rating (CybeR2) programs, which use ABS FCI Cyber Risk method developed with the Maritime Security Center, a US Department of Homeland Security centre of excellence.

Upcoming conferences discussing energy interfaces and ship digitalisation from Riviera Maritime Media include LNG Ship/Shore Interface Conference Europe in London on 28-29 November and Optimised Ship Forum also in London on 11 December.

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Cyber security is the new frontier in marine and offshore safety - Riviera Maritime Media

FLOATING TURBINES Matthew Marshall, executive director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, describes why the North Coast is an ideal area for offshore wind energy at public meeting in Eureka. Daniel Mintz | Union

Daniel MintzMad River Union

HUMBOLDT A public-private partnership is aiming to gain site control for an offshore wind energy project that will deploy 10 to 15 turbines and produce up to 150 megawatts of electricity.

At a Sept. 25 public meeting held in Eureka, representatives of the partnership said winning site control through a federal lease auction in 2020 will be a first step. The process will then proceed with project design and studies of environmental and socio-economic impacts.

Matthew Marshall, the executive director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), told an audience of about 50 people at Eurekas Wharfinger Building that the project will be sited 25 to 30 miles offshore of the Eureka area.

The ocean environment will shape the projects design. The offshore turbines are very big unlike on land, you dont have the constraint of moving things around by truck, he said. So the scale of these is much larger and with fewer turbines, there is more efficiency and reduced costs.

Marshall added that the tip of the turbine blades will reach about the height of the Golden Gate Bridge. Youre getting into the 600-foot tall range, he said.

Subscribe to the Mad River Union and get online access to the full print edition

For context, Marshall said the former Samoa pulp mills smokestack is 300 feet tall and the turbines height may even be more than twice as tall as that.

So they will be very big but there will be fewer of them and theyll be more spaced out, he continued.

RCEA is partnering with three companies on the project, the globally-active EDP Renewables, Norways Aker Solutions and Principle Power, an Emeryville, California company that specializes in floating turbine platforms.

The turbines will be mounted on the floating platforms, which will be anchored to the sea bed by synthetic lines.

A federal agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is helming the process and leasing the project area. The leasing is competitive and awarded through bidding.

Mark Severy of Humboldt State Universitys Schatz Energy Research Center, described the centers independent offshore wind feasibility studies. Funded through a variety of sources, the studies assess all aspects of offshore wind development, including a range of potential impacts.

But the partnerships specific impact and feasibility assessments wont be launched until site control is gained. Tyler Studds, an employee of EDP Renewables, acknowledged that there are concerns about that.

One concern is, Youre committing to a particular site and then youre doing the research? What if you find something out that tells you the site doesnt work? he said.

He added that to mitigate that risk, weve done a lot of research upfront, talking to stakeholders and doing work to identify upfront a site that mitigates potential impacts.

The outreach includes tapping the concerns of environmental groups to identify key research questions on potential impacts, including those affecting whales and seabirds.

On the socio-economic scale, the local fishing industry is facing significant impacts. Ken Bates of the Humboldt Fishermens Marketing Association emphasized that his groups members have been acutely affected by ocean trends related to climate change and generally support projects that reduce carbon emissions.

But the project will inevitably impact fishermen. When someone from the fishing fleet looks at a project like this, the first thing we look at, instantly, is how much ground we are going to lose, said Bates.

In addition to the initial footprint of the project itself, undersea power transmission cables will demand surface area travel lanes for installation and maintenance vessels, he continued. The vessel travel lanes will also have to be clear of fishing gear and Bates said there will also be impacts to fishermen in the harbor area.

He added that the projects partnership has taken a positive step in doing early outreach, which has been lacking in other areas of California and the United States.

After the project sites lease auction is held in 2020, project design and impact/feasibility assessments will follow. If those elements are favorable and financing is secured, construction will start by 2025.

See more here:

Offshore wind partnership seeks first step of site control - Mad River Union

Engineering news The autonomous drone could repair offshore wind turbines (Credit: Orca Hub)

An autonomous drone can inspect and place sensors on offshore turbines and could even repair damage, keeping people out of the dangerous environment.

The flying robot was demonstrated by the Orca Hub, a multi-million pound consortium of five universities and 35 industrial and innovation partners.

Led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburghs Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, the Hub showcased 16 autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic technologies at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth, near Newcastle.

Designed to boost safety, improve efficiency and support the environmental objectives of offshore energy infrastructure, the technology included the autonomous drone from Dr Mirko Kovac at Imperial College London.

As well as visually inspecting a turbine for integrity concerns, ours make contact, placing sensors on the infrastructure, or acting as a sensor itself, to assess the health of each asset. Our technology could even deposit repair material for certain types of damage, said Dr Kovac.

This has far-reaching applications including removing the need for humans to abseil down the side of turbines which can be both dangerous and expensive. Our drones could also reduce the number of vessels travelling to and from windfarms, providing the industry with both cost and environmental benefits.

The device is not the only drone aimed at offshore wind-turbine maintenance and repair. One system from the 4m Mimree (Multi-Platform Inspection, Maintenance and Repair in Extreme Environments) project, for example, combines drone inspection with the six-legged BladeBug robot, which is designed to crawl across turbine blades and use an electronic skin to identify faults.

Other Orca Hub demonstrations included Limpet, a cost-effective, integrated multi-sensing device designed for deployment in large collectives. Each one includes nine sensing devices and four methods of communication, and can be placed either underwater or higher up on wind turbines.

The demonstrated research is of huge interest to EDF, said the companys senior research engineer.

Read the original here:

This drone could patch up offshore wind turbines without human control - Professional Engineering

Clean Power

Published on October 14th, 2019 | by Joshua S Hill

October 14th, 2019 by Joshua S Hill

Norwegian energy company Equinor has confirmed Final Investment Decision on the 88 megawatt (MW) Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm development which, when completed, will supply power to oil and gas platforms in the Norwegian Sea.

Illustration of the Hywind Tampen project. Dimensions and distances are not realistic.Photo courtesy of Equinor

Equinor and its partners in the Snorre and Gullfaks fields in the North Sea announced their final investment decision (FID) last week and submitted two updated plans for development and operation of their planned floating offshore wind farm to the Norwegian authorities. The Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas platforms will be the first ever to be powered by a floating offshore wind farm which will be located between the Snorre and Gulfaks platforms, approximately 140 kilometers from shore in waters 260 to 300 meters deep.

We have been systematically maturing technologies for floating offshore wind for almost 20 years, said Eldar Stre, chief executive officer of Equinor. The decision by the Snorre and Gullfaks partners helps bring this technology an important step forward. About 80 % of the global resource potential for offshore wind is in deep waters, and floating offshore wind may play an important part in the energy transition towards more sustainable global energy supply. This brings substantial opportunities for Norwegian industry.

Chief executive Eldar Stre (left) and Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development & Production Norway.Photo courtesy of Ole Jrgen Bratland, via Equinor

Investments for the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm will amount to almost NOK 5 billion (US$0.55 billion) and will be supported by an investment of NOK 2.3 billion from the Norwegian authorities through Enova, aNorwegian government enterprise responsible for the promotion of environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy.

The Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm will consist of 11 wind turbines with capacity of 8 MW each, totaling 88 MW for the project upon completion, enough to meet 35% of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B, and C platforms.

The pioneering Hywind Tampen project will help cut emissions from Gullfaks and Snorre, said Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinors executive vice president for Development & Production Norway. We are driving a transition aimed to sustain and add value on the Norwegian continental shelf, while reducing the carbon footprint from our operations.

Scheduled to come online in late 2022, Hywind Tampen will help reduce the use of gas turbines on the fields which will cut CO2 emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking 100,000 passenger vehicles off the roads.

Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.

Tags: Equinor, floating offshore wind, floating wind, Gullfaks, Snorre

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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Equinor To Proceed With 88 Megawatt Hywind Tampen Offshore Wind Farm - CleanTechnica

The Trump administration is considering a rule change that would make it easier for American companies to stash money offshore to avoid U.S. taxes, despite the presidents repeated campaign promises to bring offshore cash back home.

The Treasury Department is looking to weaken or eliminate Obama-era regulations aimed at preventing companies from moving their income to their overseas branches to lower their U.S. tax bill, Bloomberg reports. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, instead wants to replace the existing rules with something more business friendly.

The move would be a boon to large corporations, who already saw their taxes permanently slashed by the Republicans 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefited companies at the expense of individual taxpayers.

Prior to the 2016 rule, companies were able to move money to their offshore branches that they could then lend to their American branches, while deducting the interest from the tax bill. The Obama-era rule allowed the IRS to consider these inter-company loans as equity, which eliminated a key incentive for companies to move profits overseas.

Democrats slammed the administration for trying to weaken rules that allow tax avoidance when it should be creating tougher ones.

One of the Trump administrations top priorities has been making it as easy as possible for the wealthiest Americans and corporations to cheat and avoid taxes, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement. Rules preventing the offshoring of corporate profits should be strengthened not weakened.

Critics of the rule say it is no longer necessary because the tax cuts made these inter-company loans less attractive, according to Bloomberg.

Mark Mazur, Obamas former assistant secretary for tax policy at Treasury when the rule was created, disputed that claim.

On the face, they do slightly different things and so its hard to believe that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took care of every one of those dimensions, he told Bloomberg.

On its face, Republican criticism of the rule simply doesnt align with reality. Trump had earlier claimed that the 2017 tax cuts would bring back $4 trillion in offshore profits that had been stashed overseas. Through the end of 2018, his claim fell about $3.3 trillion short, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

The tax law slashed the rate on repatriated profits from 35 percent to a onetime 15.5 percent tax rate on cash and an 8 percent tax on non-cash assets. Trump claimed that the change would bring back $4 trillion in offshore profits, even though banks estimated that only about $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion was held offshore by U.S. companies. Corporations brought back less than $670 billion from the time the tax law was enacted until the end of 2018.

Researchers also rejected Trumps claim that the repatriated profits would boost investment in the U.S.

Policy changes have a relatively small impact on hiring and investment decisions if firms have relatively easy access to credit markets, said a 2018 report from researchers at the University of Richmond and Claremont McKenna College.

Instead, companies have been using their tax savings for stock buybacks, in which companies buy back their own stock to return more money to shareholders.

A report from Citigroup found that companies in the S&P 500 spent more than $800 billion on stock buybacks in 2018, far more than the total amount spent on investing in new equipment or the total amount of repatriated cash.

Last year, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas,introduced a bill that would close loopholes in the tax law to equalize tax rates on domestic and foreign profits.

"President Trump promised the American people he'd end the march of jobs and profits overseas," Whitehouse said in a statement at the time. "Instead, he's doled out massive new tax breaks that reward offshoring."

Democrats again called out Trump for trying to help major corporations rather than workers.

Another betrayal by President Trump choosing corporations over American workers, wrote Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Shameful.

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Trump promised to bring offshore profits back home. Now he's doing the opposite - Salon

FORT MYERS BEACH

The Roar Offshore is back in Southwest Florida with boats that will reach incredible speeds.

The Race Village opened on Thursday, kicking off the start of the Roar Offshore powerboat races this weekend.

On Thursday morning tons of spectators were seen at the Race Village and many are excited to catch a glimpse of the boats before they hit the water on Saturday.

Organizers are expecting more than 60,000 people to attend the festivities which will bring a big economic boost to the town. Many of the hotels on the island are booked and organizers expect to bring in millions of dollars this weekend alone.

WINK News spoke to one owner of a boat competing this weekend who says he has a fond memory about his past experiences here.

What I remember the most about Fort Myers is a very enthusiastic fan basegreat crowds, an educated fan base and a town that opened its arms to the racers, said Scott Behovich, driver of Miss Geico.

The Matanzas Pass Bridge will be closed from 5:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Thursday for a boat parade, and the Race Village will be open until 4 p.m. on Friday.

For more information about the schedule of events and everything else that will be offered, visit the Roar Offshore website here.

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Roar Offshore begins Thursday, kicks off with parade on Fort Myers Beach - Wink News

Save to read list Published by Nicholas Woodroof, Assistant Editor Oilfield Technology, Wednesday, 16 October 2019 09:30

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ExxonMobil. The MoU will enable the two petroleum companies to undertake joint technical studies and cooperate in frontier areas like deepwater and other Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) blocks of ONGC in the east and west coasts and open acreages for joint bidding.

The work under the MoU will be carried out in three phases. This will lead to a joint technical study for potential collaboration areas.

Vice President Asia Pacific ExxonMobil, Michael Deal, said: We welcome the opportunity to work with ONGC and apply our collective expertise to be an even bigger part of Indias bright energy future.

ONGC CMD, Shashi Shanker, said: This meaningful partnership with EXXONMobil will be a step towards unlocking value in ONGC PEL offshore blocks, study open acreage areas and enable us to get closer to meeting Countrys energy aspirations.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/offshore-and-subsea/16102019/ongc-and-exxonmobil-sign-mou-for-development-of-offshore-resources/

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ONGC's overseas explorer has recorded a gas discovery in Brazil's Sergipe Alagoas Basin and an oil discovery in Colombia's Llanos Basin.

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ONGC and ExxonMobil sign MoU for development of offshore resources - Oilfield Technology