Coastguards in Shetland are monitoring the hull of the decommissioned Hutton tension-leg platform, which broke free from one of its tugs on a journey from Russia to Spain.
The 23,000-tonne hull was en route from Murmansk to Cadiz when a cable from one of two tugs broke free close to Taqa’s North and South Cormorant and Eider platforms on Monday morning. The incident happened about 170 kilometres north-east of Lerwick. A spokesman for Shetland Coastguard said there is massive amount of subsea infrastructure in the area, including pipelines and manifolds, and the situation was being watched closely. However, he said the platform is attached to the remaining tug and there is no cause for alarm while the platform is not moving. He added another tug is moving to the scene and it is hoped North West Hutton will be reconnected this afternoon. The plan is then to move it to Shetland and then onto Invergordon in northern Scotland. It is not known when the journey to Cadiz will continue. The spokesman said the 200-metre tow line could cause damage to equipment on the seabed, which is at a depth of about 130 metres. He said: “There was bad weather and we were warned North West Hutton was approaching the platforms in the area on Sunday evening. “It was decided to hold it in position, then one of the lines broke free (on Monday morning).” A combination of bad weather and the unit's distance from shore prevented a replacement tug reaching the scene until today. The spokesman added that weather conditions in the area was now "relatively calm". Wind speeds are 20 to 25 knots with a 3.5 metre swell. United Arab Emirates-based Taqa became operator of the Cormorant and Ida fields, along with Kestrel, Tern and Pelican, on 1 December after buying them from Shell and ExxonMobil. The Hutton TLP topsides will be used on Gazprom's Prirazlomnoye field, in the Barents Sea.
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Thursday, December 25, 2008
Vale said to have put $240m down payment to keep Rongsheng VLOC orders
Shanghai: Brazil’s Vale, the biggest iron-ore supplier, paid an initial $240m to China’s Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industry Group for 12 bulk carriers, allaying concern the orders would be canned, Bloomberg writes, quoting two executives.
Vale will pay another $240m to Rugao, Jiangsu province-based Rongsheng by the middle of next year as part of a $1.6bn contract, said one of the executives, who declined to be identified because the agreement is private. The purchase signals that Rio de Janeiro-based Vale has enough cash to meet investment plans even as rivals Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc slashed spending to conserve capital in the deepening financial crisis. As many as 50 percent of Chinese shipyards may be shuttered in the next year as cargo demand drops and orders get canceled or delayed, according to the Shanghai Securities News.“There had been speculation in recent months that the order could be canceled because of the decline in iron ore demand and difficulties in getting loans secured,” said Cho In Karp, an analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities Co. in Seoul. “It still makes business sense for Vale to keep the order because China will continue to be a major buyer of raw material.
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Vale will pay another $240m to Rugao, Jiangsu province-based Rongsheng by the middle of next year as part of a $1.6bn contract, said one of the executives, who declined to be identified because the agreement is private. The purchase signals that Rio de Janeiro-based Vale has enough cash to meet investment plans even as rivals Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc slashed spending to conserve capital in the deepening financial crisis. As many as 50 percent of Chinese shipyards may be shuttered in the next year as cargo demand drops and orders get canceled or delayed, according to the Shanghai Securities News.“There had been speculation in recent months that the order could be canceled because of the decline in iron ore demand and difficulties in getting loans secured,” said Cho In Karp, an analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities Co. in Seoul. “It still makes business sense for Vale to keep the order because China will continue to be a major buyer of raw material.
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Tighter trade finance hits shipping lines
AP Moeller-Maersk, the world's largest shipper of containers, and Neptune Orient Lines Ltd, South-east Asia's biggest, said demand is weakening because banks don't want to finance trade during a recession.
Seaborne transportation of goods such as washing machines and other household appliances fell the most in at least 51/2 years in November, according to data published recently on the website of Neptune Orient Lines. Shipments dropped 12 per cent to 169,700 boxes in the four weeks to Nov 14, compared with a year earlier, it said. 'We have in some trades received feedback from customers and the market that they are having issues with letters of credit,' Michel Deleuran, head of network and product at Copenhagen-based Maersk Line, said. The issue is exacerbating 'a lack of demand in individual countries' as the global recession takes hold, he said. World trade in commodities, from oil and coal to timber and grains, has already been hurt by a reduction in the sums banks are willing to advance to customers to ensure payments. Maersk spokesman Michael Storgaard said on Oct 15 that container shipments of consumer goods weren't affected at the time. Reduced supply of trade finance has 'been a factor' in Neptune Orient Lines reporting its largest year-on-year decline in shipments since May 2003, David Goodwin, vice- president of NOL Group corporate affairs, said in a statement on Dec 12. 'The key driver behind lower demand for container shipping is the sharp reduction in consumer confidence and consumer spending globally,' he said. The cost of shipping containers has declined 'very dramatically' and at 'unprecedented' speed, Mr Deleuran said. He declined to be more specific because shipping lines can breach competition rules by discussing what they earn.
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Seaborne transportation of goods such as washing machines and other household appliances fell the most in at least 51/2 years in November, according to data published recently on the website of Neptune Orient Lines. Shipments dropped 12 per cent to 169,700 boxes in the four weeks to Nov 14, compared with a year earlier, it said. 'We have in some trades received feedback from customers and the market that they are having issues with letters of credit,' Michel Deleuran, head of network and product at Copenhagen-based Maersk Line, said. The issue is exacerbating 'a lack of demand in individual countries' as the global recession takes hold, he said. World trade in commodities, from oil and coal to timber and grains, has already been hurt by a reduction in the sums banks are willing to advance to customers to ensure payments. Maersk spokesman Michael Storgaard said on Oct 15 that container shipments of consumer goods weren't affected at the time. Reduced supply of trade finance has 'been a factor' in Neptune Orient Lines reporting its largest year-on-year decline in shipments since May 2003, David Goodwin, vice- president of NOL Group corporate affairs, said in a statement on Dec 12. 'The key driver behind lower demand for container shipping is the sharp reduction in consumer confidence and consumer spending globally,' he said. The cost of shipping containers has declined 'very dramatically' and at 'unprecedented' speed, Mr Deleuran said. He declined to be more specific because shipping lines can breach competition rules by discussing what they earn.
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Gamesa receives major turbine order from Longyuan
TIANJIN, CHINA: Spanish wind power company Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica has received orders for 294,95 MW of wind turbines from Longyuan Electric Power Group, a subsidiary of Chinese electric utility group Guodian Corp.
In 2009, Gamesa will supply 347 units of G5x-850 kW platform, manufactured at Gamesa's production facilities in Tianjin, China. The turbines will be installed at wind farms across several Chinese provinces.The scope of the order includes the supply of wind turbine generators without towers, supervision of assembly and start-up and two years of operations and maintenance. The projects are part of framework agreements entered into by the two companies for different wind energy projects. Gamesa was recently granted a EUR 200 million (US$279.5 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to fund the company's Research, Development and Innovation plan between 2008 and 2011. The loan will fund research into wind turbine components aimed at improving performance and cutting down energy costs. The research will be carried out at Gamesa's research centers in Navarre, Vixcaya and Madrid, Spain.
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In 2009, Gamesa will supply 347 units of G5x-850 kW platform, manufactured at Gamesa's production facilities in Tianjin, China. The turbines will be installed at wind farms across several Chinese provinces.The scope of the order includes the supply of wind turbine generators without towers, supervision of assembly and start-up and two years of operations and maintenance. The projects are part of framework agreements entered into by the two companies for different wind energy projects. Gamesa was recently granted a EUR 200 million (US$279.5 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to fund the company's Research, Development and Innovation plan between 2008 and 2011. The loan will fund research into wind turbine components aimed at improving performance and cutting down energy costs. The research will be carried out at Gamesa's research centers in Navarre, Vixcaya and Madrid, Spain.
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StatoilHydro and Ecopetrol eye Gulf push
Norwegian giant StatoilHydro has joined forces with Colombian state-run outfit Ecopetrol to explore jointly in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Under the terms of the deal, the pair will drill three or more wells in the coming years. StatoilHydro said the companies will also further mature prospects to potential drilling. StatoilHydro will remain the operator for all prospects. Ecopetrol will farm in to the wells covered by the agreement, taking stakes of around 20% to 30%.
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Under the terms of the deal, the pair will drill three or more wells in the coming years. StatoilHydro said the companies will also further mature prospects to potential drilling. StatoilHydro will remain the operator for all prospects. Ecopetrol will farm in to the wells covered by the agreement, taking stakes of around 20% to 30%.
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