PGS ready for weaker second half 2009

Norway Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) has said the lower market activity in a number of areas has led to the 13 percent decrease of its adjusted EBITDA to US$201.9 million for the first quarter of 2009.

This was despite the company’s strong operational performance in reaching new marine contract revenue highs of US$319.3 million. The group’s overall revenues for the quarter decreased by seven percent compared with the first quarter of 2008, from US$456.6 million to US$424.9 million. “The strong quarterly results are primarily driven by excellent operational performance,” said Jon Erik Reinhardsen, CEO and President of PGS. “The competitive advantages of our…fleet put us in a good position to generate healthy cash flows even as the market turns weaker towards the second half of the year.

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Yantian Port Holdings launches investment promotion in Hong Kong

China: Yantian Port Holdings has launched an investment promotion seminar in Hong Kong for its two new logistics facilities.

Delegates to the seminar included suppliers, buyers and freight forwarders such as Sony, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL, Maersk, NYK and Yang Ming. According to Logistics Week, Yantian Port Holdings invested US$263.8 million in the two facilities, which are the Yantian Port Modern Logistics Centre and the Prologis Yantian Port Logistics Park. The Yantian Port Modern Logistics Centre is situated at the north of the Yantian Port Bonded Logistics Park, covering a floor of 500,000 square metres, comprising three four- to five-storey drive-in warehouses. The facility is expected to be finished by 2010, bringing nearly 150,000 square metres' warehousing capacity to the port. Meanwhile, the first phase Prologis Yantian Port Logistics Park is expected to start operation in June, covering a floor area of 91,000 square metres.

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EMGS restructures company makes layoffs

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY: Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) is taking measures to restructure the company and reduce its workforce.

EMGS said the measures are designed to reduce costs, focus resources in key areas and improve the company's financial performance.The vessel fleet will be temporarily reduced from three to two vessels, and the company will be scaled accordingly. The actions will result in 29 temporary layoffs, 28 redundancies and four consultancy contracts being terminated. Roar Bekker, EMGS acting chief executive officer, said, "Although we have been successful in our efforts to reduce operating costs in late 2008 and early 2009, we must now further reduce our operating expenses to match the current demand environment. Today's reduction in workforce is a difficult decision as we realize the hardship this will impose on affected employees. However, we believe that the plan announced today is necessary and the right course of action to streamline our operations into a more efficient and commercially oriented business.

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Oil stored at sea provides cushion for the tanker market

The tanker market is showing signs similar to those observed during the crash of the dry bulk market a few months ago. While the dry bulk is rallying during the past week, tanker owners are witnessing rates free falling, as one more crucial OPEC meeting is nearing

Scheduled for the following Sunday (28th of May), OPEC members will decide on their future supply, with voices being raised once again for a new cut of daily oil production. Although, these voices seem to be the minority within the “cartel's” members, needless to say that another cut could be translated in below-cost rates for tankers, just six months after the market witnessed its best rates since 2004. Over the past few months, from the beginning of the year the tonnage committed to crude oil storage amid the contango in oil pricing, was the key factor of support to the VLCC sector and to some extent the Suezmax spot markets. According to London broker Gibson, currently at least 55 tankers, 49 of which are VLCCs are storing 102 million barrels of crude oil. In addition, a further 33 vessels, mainly LR2 tankers, are storing 19 million barrels of middle distillates. Crude oil is predominantly stored in the Atlantic basin.

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GE Oil & Gas Awarded Statoilhydro Contract

GE Oil & Gas announced that it has been awarded a five-year contract to deliver Subsea Operations Services (SOS) to StatoilHydro, the Norwegian based oil and Gas Company.

The contract has an estimated value of between $25- $30m per year and will be managed by GE Oil & Gas in Dusavik, Stavanger, Norway. The scope of services to be provided under the agreement relate mainly to the installation and operations phases of StatoilHydro’s subsea fields, including: engineering, procurement, the production of equipment and tools, and electro and mechanical workshop services for corrective and planned maintenance in subsea drilling. Servicing and maintenance of tools and equipment will involve a team of between 100-120 people and will be performed from both the GE Oil & Gas Stavanger facility and across multiple customer sites onshore and on the Norwegian continental shelf.

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Cosco leads the Chinese pack to invest in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung: Three major Chinese shipping companies plan to invest in the biggest Taiwanese port in Kaohsiung (pictured), a top port official said on Tuesday, as China and Taiwan forge closer trade ties.

China COSCO, China Shipping Container Lines Co Ltd and China Merchants Group plan to invest in Kaohsiung port in the south of the island. Osco’s plans are currently in the workings right now. They will have a more specific investment plan by the end of next year," Shieh Ming-hui, director-general of the Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau, told Reuters in an interview. None of the three have said how much money it would invest or how big a project it sees in Kaohsiung, which is Taiwan's biggest port with annual capacity of up to 10 million teu.

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IMO convention on ship recycling meets opposition

Hong Kong: Following an IMO meeting to adopt a new convention on ship recycling, various human rights, labour and environmental organisations yesterday warned that the convention was a step backwards from existing international environmental law.

In a statement signed by over 100 organisations in 30 countries, civil leaders called the draft a “legal shipwreck” and called upon IMO delegates to ban the beaching method of ship breaking. The IMO draft Convention as it stands now is a legal shipwreck waiting to happen,” said Ingvild Jenssen, Director of the NGO Platform of Ship breaking. It will not prevent a single toxic ship from being exported and dumped on the beaches of India, Bangladesh or Pakistan or any other developing country. According to the NGO Platform of Ship breaking, 80 percent of the global end-of-life ships are broken in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India on tidal beaches whose soft sands cannot support safety measures such as heavy lifting or emergency response equipment and which allow pollution to seep directly into the delicate coastal zone environment.
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