February 14, 2020 In partnership with BP and Equinor, company prepares first production sharing well in the basin In March, Petrobras plans to start drilling the first exploratory well in Dois Irmãos, in the Campos Basin pre-salt. The location of the well, in the area purchased in the 4th Round of Sharing, has already been... Continue Reading →
Valaris picks up bag of new contracts for rig fleet
Offshore drilling contractor Valaris, formerly known as EnscoRowan, has been awarded a new batch of contracts and extensions with Murphy Oil, BP, Premier Oil, Kosmos, Walter Oil & Gas, and an undisclosed operator in Australia. In its fleet status report published on Friday, Valaris said that the 2014-built drillship Valaris DS-15 (Renaissance) was awarded a contract extension... Continue Reading →
UUV Manipulators: Get a Grip
While much focus on resident subsea vehicles has been about the vehicles, there’s also been a lot of focus behind the scenes on creating electric tooling. The industry has relied on hydraulic tooling since tooling has been used, with the benefits and drawbacks that come with it. Leading the field has been Schilling Robotics, now... Continue Reading →
SBM Offshore 2019 Full Year Earnings
February 13, 2020 Guidance delivered, doubling dividend, share repurchase and backlog up 40% Highlights 2019 guidance delivered: Directional[1] revenue US$2,171 million; reported Directional EBITDA US$921 million Underlying[2] Directional EBITDA US$832 million US$6 billion net increase of pro-forma backlog[3] to US$21 billion 100% increase in dividend to US$150 million Launch of EUR150 million (c. US$165 million) share repurchase Market... Continue Reading →
Kvaerner Says 2019 Result at ‘Planned Levels.’ Expects Revenue Drop in 2020
Norwegian offshore engineering and construction company Kvaerner expects 2020 revenue and EBITDA to be lower compared to 2019, citing an effect of the market cycle with few new orders in 2018 and 2019. Kvaerner on Wednesday released results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019, saying the results ended at “planned levels.” Continue... Continue Reading →
Good Undersea Vehicles Come in Small Packages
The holiday season has just passed, and many may have heard the phrase, “good things come in small packages.” Does this hold true for today’s undersea vehicles? Indeed it does. One of the most striking recent trends in the field is the proliferation of compact and affordable, yet highly effective, undersea vehicles. The past decade... Continue Reading →
Prosafe and Floatel give up on merger plans amid financial uncertainty
Offshore accommodation specialists Prosafe and Floatel have decided to abandon their merger plans amid financial uncertainty and regulatory objections. The merger would have created the world’s largest offshore accommodation company. Prosafe and Floatel International said on Thursday they had mutually decided to discontinue the merger process due to financial uncertainty and process risk. “The regrettable... Continue Reading →
Noble seals new deal with ExxonMobil for Guyana-Suriname rigs
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation and oil major ExxonMobil have announced the execution of a unique commercial enabling agreement for drilling services in the Guyana-Suriname Basin. The agreement defines contract terms for the continuation of drilling services using certain drilling units in Noble’s fleet. The ultra-deepwater drillships Noble Bob Douglas, Noble Tom Madden, and Noble... Continue Reading →
VIDEO: Aker BP explores use of robots in offshore oil & gas industry
Norwegian oil and gas operator Aker BP and software company Cognite have entered into a strategic initiative to explore how robotic systems can be used to make offshore operations safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. Cognite and Aker BP will do several tests using robots and drones on the Aker BP-operated Skarv installation in the... Continue Reading →
Floating Production Rebound Continues
Activity in the deepwater sector took a huge hit in the second half of last decade as a result of a global oil demand/supply imbalance, downturn in oil prices, hiatus in Petrobras production floater orders and large industry cutbacks in upstream spending. The downturn was the worst to ever hit the offshore sector. Orders for... Continue Reading →