Monday 19 October 2015

Environment Ministers from over 50 Muslim countries agree

Environment Ministers from over 50 Muslim countries agree on “Declaration for Environmental Protection”

The 6th Islamic conference of Envronment Ministers held in Rabat, Morocco on 8 - 9 October 2015 (the largest convening of Muslim-world Environment Ministers), facilitates agreement amongst Environment Ministers on a number of steps to tackle climate change and challenges facing sustainable development.

The conference was organised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in conjunction with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) under the patronage of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The two day event ended with a joint declaration on environmental protection and sustainable development, calling on renewed political commitment from member states to actively pursue sustainable development goals, energy efficiency, and poverty eradication.

The declaration called on all 57 OIC member states to:
  • Pursue 'green economies' - where renewables and energy efficiency creates a new green wave of employment and income for societies.
  • Work together to build synergy on water sustainability, food security and energy efficiency.
  • Adopt a set of standards for sustainable governance good practices adapted to the socio-economic and cultural context of the OIC Member States
  • Raise awareness about the importance of eradicating poverty using education, training, and capacity building amongst nations to achieve this.
  • Work with industry and embrace technological innovations, renewables and energy efficiency mechanisms to create a 'new energry operating system'.
  • OIC secretary general Iyaad Ameen Madani, said: "climate change is a serious threat, especially to the developing world. It is only through collective action that we will overcome one of the pressing challenges of our generation."
Madani also emphasised that forums which bring together developing countries such as the OIC need to take a more holistic approach to environmental challenges: "sustainable development, having a diverse green economy, and eradicating poverty are at the heart of environmental well-being, and so it was very important that we achieved broad consensus on a wide array of issues ranging from water and food security to climate change".

The conference also adopted a series of documents including the Islamic agenda for sustainable development, water resources management, environmental sustainability, and the establishment of an Islamic environmental academy.

The conference recommendations also included the establishment of a joint OIC Commission for Sustainable Development (OIC-CSD), on the lines of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development, with mandate to steer cooperation for promoting sustainable development among the Member States and promote the vision of the Islamic world within the UN and other regional and international forums and conferences.
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Friday 16 October 2015

Lundin Petroleum spuds exploration well on the Rolvsnes prospect

Lundin Petroleum reported that its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway AS (Lundin Norway) has commenced drilling of exploration well 16/1-25 S on the Rolvsnes prospect in PL338C. The well is located approximately 6 km south of the Edvard Grieg field in the North Sea sector of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Well 16/1-25 S will explore the Rolvsnes area, located between the Edvard Grieg field and the Luno II discovery.  

The main objective of well 16/1-25 S is to test the hydrocarbon potential in thin Jurassic/Cretaceous sandstone reservoir overlying porous fractured basement. Lundin Petroleum estimates the Rolvsnes prospect to contain gross unrisked prospective resources of 107 million barrels of oil equivalents (MMboe).

The planned total depth is approximately 2,275 metres below mean sea level and the well will be drilled with the semi-submersible drilling unit Bredford Dolphin. The drilling operation is expected to take approximately 45 days.

Lundin Norway is the operator of PL338C with 50 percent working interest. The partners are Lime Petroleum Norway AS with 30 percent and OMV (Norge) AS with 20 percent working interest.
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Monday 1 June 2015

Chevron to move deepwater platform following damage

Chevron Corporation reported that the Big Foot tension-leg platform (TLP) will be moved to sheltered waters from its location in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico following damage to subsea installation tendons.

The tendons were pre-installed in preparation for connection to the Big Foot TLP. Between Friday, May 29 and Sunday, May 31, 2015, several tendons lost buoyancy.

The Big Foot TLP was not connected to any subsea wells or tendons at the time of the incident and was not damaged. There are no producing wells at Big Foot at this time. There were no injuries and there has been no release of any fluids to the environment.

Damage to the tendons, which are not connected to subsea wells and are used to attach the TLP to the seafloor, is being assessed.

First production will not commence in late 2015 as planned.
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Friday 22 May 2015

Protea launches new cranes

Protea, a global manufacturer of offshore handling equipment, will be launching not one, but two types of game changing heavy lift cranes at Nor-Shipping 2015 in Oslo on 2-5 June.

Both cranes, by a combination of efficient, innovative design and the use of ultra-high grade steel in their construction, set new standards in lifting performance and structural efficiency.

“The target of any marine crane design is to provide high lifting performance whilst minimising overall weight. Over the past three years we have been developing the technology and construction methodology to allow a step change in the structural efficiency of heavy lift cranes,” explains Tomasz Paszkiewicz, Protea’s CEO.

“We are now able to deliver high performance heavy lift cranes that comply with the relevant Class requirements but with a weight saving in the order of 40 % in comparison to existing cranes of a similar capacity.”

The two new crane types are:

HEAVY LIFT FLOATING CRANE
The first is a 1600mT SWL floating crane targeted at the offshore wind market for the installation of offshore wind turbines. It provides a high capacity lifting capability at both short and long outreaches over a large radius, a key feature for offshore wind farm operations.

HEAVY LIFT CARGO CRANE
The second is a 450mT SWL versatile cargo lift crane that can be used for handling both shipping containers and bulky items of hardware. Typically supplied as a working pair and designed to allow safe tandem lifts, the saving in crane weight translates directly to an increase in cargo capacity for the cargo vessel.

In another innovation, both cranes can be supplied with a fully electric drive system with locally mounted permanent magnet synchronous motors to provide efficient and precise operation of all crane functions.

The cranes will be manufactured at Protea’s industry leading production facility in Kluczbork allowing the high quality equipment to be supplied on a cost effective basis.

In addition to the new cranes, visitors to Nor-Shipping will be able to learn about the full Protea range including offshore winches, launch and recovery systems, and heave compensation systems.
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Thursday 21 May 2015

BG Group assumes operational control of QCLNG

BG Group reported that operational control of Train 1 at its Queensland Curtis LNG plant has been formally transferred to QGC, BG Group's Australian subsidiary, from Bechtel Australia, which constructed the facility.

"We are pleased to be taking operational control of QCLNG following its successful start-up and commissioning over the past six months," said Helge Lund, BG Group’s Chief Executive

"I would like to thank our partners Bechtel for building this world-first facility and helping to establish the LNG industry on the east coast of Australia. The cargoes from Train 1, along with those from Train 2 when it starts up later this year, will add flexibility to BG Group’s LNG portfolio. The transfer of operational control, and CNOOC’s approval, have also progressed our pipeline disposal, which we expect to complete in the coming weeks."

In addition, the Company announces that approval for the sale of its QCLNG gas pipeline has been received from BG Group's Train 1 equity partner, the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).  As a result, the preconditions for sale of the QCLNG pipeline to APA Group have been satisfied in full. The sale of the pipeline remains on track for completion in the second quarter of 2015.

The transfer of operational control of Train 1 marks the start of commercial operations at QCLNG.  First production from Train 1 occurred in December 2014, with 16 cargoes shipped to date. QCLNG’s Train 2 is currently under construction, and is expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2015.
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Wednesday 7 January 2015

ASCO Secures Statoil Contract in Norway


ASCO has secured a new contract for the provision of supply base services in Sandnessjøen, Norway by Statoil, commencing in July 2015.

The ten-year contract, with a value of between US$22 million and US$25 million (NOK 100 - 130 million), is for supply base services in support of Statoil's drilling and operational activities in the Northern part of the Norwegian Sea from Sandnessjøen, including the Norne, Urd and Aasta Hansteen fields.

The contract scope of supply includes the provision of warehouse management, terminal handling, oil country tubular goods (OCTG) handling, as well as management of Statoil and BP's joint subsea base in Sandnessjøen. In addition, the six-year contract has two further two-year options.

Runar Hatletvedt, Managing Director for ASCO Norge said: "This is a significant win for ASCO Norge that highlights the strength of our expertise as well as our proven track record in oilfield support services in the region. We look forward to working with Statoil in Sandnessjøen."

ASCO also manages a supply base in Mtwara, Tanzania, on behalf of Statoil, BG, Petrobras and Ophir.
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Shell pays oil spill compensation



Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), announced a A$100 million (STG55 million) settlement agreement with the Bodo community in respect of the two highly regrettable operational spills in 2008.

The settlement provides for an individual payment to each claimant who accepts the settlement agreement in compensation for losses arising from the spills as well as a payment for the benefit of the Bodo community generally.
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