Fugro to study east African waters

WALLINGFORD, UK: Fugro was awarded two metocean contracts for work off the east coast of Africa.

The combined contracts are the largest award to Fugro Global Environmental & Ocean Sciences Ltd. in the region and will provide environmental data for the planning and design of oil and gas companies.The first contract involves a one-year current measurement project with moorings in up to 5,577 feet (1,700 m) water off the Tanzania coast for Ophir Energy, an Africa-focused oil and gas exploration and production company.

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StatoilHydro Kicks Off Drilling at Gjoa, Plans to Tie-In Vega Satellites

The Transocean Searcher drilling rig has started drilling the first of a total of 13 production wells on the Gjoa field in the North Sea. The rig will drill nine oil wells and four gas wells.

"The first well to be drilled on Gjoa is an appraisal well in the northern segment," said vice president Kjetel Digre. "The information gathered here will be important when we are going to look at the overall plan for wells and drainage strategy for Gjoa."

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Dry bulk market shows signs of recovery

THE dry bulk market slump is expected to continue into this quarter due to the uncertainties in demand of iron ore transportation although it has shown slight signs of revival in mid-December.

Last year, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the barometer of shipping cost for commodities, fell 93.4% from its peak of 11,793 points on May 20 to 774 points on Dec 24. From its lowest point of 663 points on Dec 5, the BDI had shown marginal increase of 26.1% to 836 points on Dec 17. This was then supported by the sentiment of iron ore demand. China, the world’s biggest steelmaker, imported 32.5 million tonnes of iron ore in November, up 6.2% from October Some experts predicted that the dry bulk rates were likely to recover this year when China replenished its dwindling iron-ore inventory and demand for thermal coal started to pick up.

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Mermaid Marine cans deal on global woe

Offshore Services Outfit Mermaid Marine Australia has binned a deal to buy a new anchor handling tug support vessel slated for delivery this month citing the current poor global economic environment and movement in the Australian Dollar exchange rate.

The company was going to pay $18.2 million for the ship that would form part of its core spot market fleet, however Mermaid feels it is more appropriate to charter vessels to supplement its fleet at this time. Mermaid said that it expects to be able to attract more vessels to the Australian market at reasonable charter rates due to the global situation.

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Tanker industry avoiding crisis: For how long?

It seems as if shipping is divided in two separate camps these days.

On one side there is dry bulk with its massive ups and downs, now resting near all-time lows, without any “desire” to pick up. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) began 2009 almost without any turbulences, staying put at 772 points, dropping by one point in the last couple of sessions. On the other side, there is the tanker market, which resurged from its ashes during 2008, managing to post average rates of near records. According to a report compiled by Allied & Shipbroking ship owners of Suezmaxes managed to earn an average daily rate of $67,200, while those with Aframaxes earned a daily average of $49,800, higher than ever before Similarly, VLCCs ended the year with an average daily charter rate of $88,400, which is almost at the record levels of 2004, when each of these sea “giants” topped daily averages of $88,700, according to R.S. Platou Economic Research.

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