'Yavus Sultan Selim 1' and 'Kanuni Sultan Suleyman' were the largest aluminium vessels ever built by the Damen Group. Both vessels were built at Afai Southern Shipyard in close cooperation with Damen Shipyards Gorinchem, The Netherlands for IDO, the maritime transport authority of Istanbul, Turkey. The Damen Fast Ropax (DFR) 8521 is an aluminum double ended fast car / passenger ferry. It is designed to transport 500 passengers inside and 102 passengers outside the accommodation on balconies. Furthermore a maximum of 112 cars (or 64 cars and 12 trucks) can be accommodated. The two DFR 8521 were built under YN 539301 and YN 539302. Engineering started in July 2006 at the head office of Damen in Holland in cooperation with Damen’s engineering partners MDEM in Ukraine. The aluminium construction of the hull and superstructure started in November 2006 at Damen’s partner shipyard Afai in China. The DFR 8521 is classed by Bureau Veritas and has an overall length of 85 metres on a beam of 21 metres and a three-metre draught.
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Thursday, January 8, 2009
Damen Group builds largest ever aluminium vessels
In 2008, the Damen Group completed two Damen Fast Ropax 8521 which arrived in Turkey after they were transported over from Guangzhou, China.
US Navy awards General Dynamics US$14 billion contract for eight Virginia-class submarines
The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a contract valued at US$14 billion for the construction of eight Virginia-class submarines.
The multi-year contract allows Electric Boat and its teammate, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, to proceed with the construction of one ship per year in 2009 and 2010, and two ships per year from 2011 through 2013. The eighth ship to be procured under this contract is scheduled for delivery in 2019. The Virginia-class submarine is the first US Navy warship designed from the keel up for the full range of mission requirements in the post-Cold War era, including anti-submarine and surface ship warfare; delivering special operation forces; strike; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare. The contract immediately provides US$2.4 billion to fund construction of SSN-784, which has been named the ‘North Dakota’; advanced procurement for SSN-785; funding to purchase materials, parts and components for multiple ships at one time (SSN-785 through SSN-791, as yet unnamed), achieving significant economies of scale; and funding for additional cost-reduction design changes (known as Design For Affordability).
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Marathon Hits Gas at Brickyard Prospect in Oklahoma's Woodford Shale
Marathon Oil has participated in a successful step-out discovery well on the Brickyard prospect, located in the northeast area of the Anadarko Basin, targeting the Woodford Shale resource play in Canadian County, Oklahoma.
This is as part of the Company's targeted expansion into key resource plays of North America. The Cana No. 1-15H discovery well was drilled to a true vertical depth of 13,177 feet and horizontally for 4,090 feet, for a total measured well depth of 17,267 feet. The well flowed at an initial rate of 5.2 million cubic feet of gas per day. Marathon is the well operator and holds approximately 57 percent interest in the Cana No. 1-15H well. Other interest owners include Questar Corporation and Cimarex Energy. Marathon holds approximately 30,000 net acres in the expanding Woodford Shale resource play with approximately 10,000 of those net acres in the immediate Brickyard prospect area. The Company is currently drilling two additional company-operated wells and is participating in two non-operated wells in the Brickyard prospect. Marathon also plans to participate in 15 to 25 gross wells in this area through 2010 with an anticipated 50 percent overall working interest. This limited program is designed to enhance the company's technical understanding of the play and reflects the company's focus on capital discipline.
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This is as part of the Company's targeted expansion into key resource plays of North America. The Cana No. 1-15H discovery well was drilled to a true vertical depth of 13,177 feet and horizontally for 4,090 feet, for a total measured well depth of 17,267 feet. The well flowed at an initial rate of 5.2 million cubic feet of gas per day. Marathon is the well operator and holds approximately 57 percent interest in the Cana No. 1-15H well. Other interest owners include Questar Corporation and Cimarex Energy. Marathon holds approximately 30,000 net acres in the expanding Woodford Shale resource play with approximately 10,000 of those net acres in the immediate Brickyard prospect area. The Company is currently drilling two additional company-operated wells and is participating in two non-operated wells in the Brickyard prospect. Marathon also plans to participate in 15 to 25 gross wells in this area through 2010 with an anticipated 50 percent overall working interest. This limited program is designed to enhance the company's technical understanding of the play and reflects the company's focus on capital discipline.
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New deep water port planned for Western Australia
Sydney: Plans for a new deep water port and heavy industry estate at Oakajee, 20km north of the Western Australian town of Geraldton are designed to unlock the mid west region’s mineral production, processing and export potential.
The A$1.5bn project proposal is for a port capable of handling more than 40 mtpa, targeted to begin operations in 2013 and serviced by an appropriately buffered 6500ha industrial estate. It will embrace common-user infrastructure including a breakwater, channel, turning basin and road and utility access to the port and industrial estate. Individual exporters and industries will construct and operate, or lease wharf, loading and rail facilities. This project will generate a peak construction workforce of 2000, an estimated 300 jobs in port and transport operations and more than 8000 jobs servicing expanded mining and processing activity. As well as iron ore, with deposits estimated to be capable of producing more than 800mt, the region produces mineral sands, base metals and a range of other mineral and petroleum products.
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The A$1.5bn project proposal is for a port capable of handling more than 40 mtpa, targeted to begin operations in 2013 and serviced by an appropriately buffered 6500ha industrial estate. It will embrace common-user infrastructure including a breakwater, channel, turning basin and road and utility access to the port and industrial estate. Individual exporters and industries will construct and operate, or lease wharf, loading and rail facilities. This project will generate a peak construction workforce of 2000, an estimated 300 jobs in port and transport operations and more than 8000 jobs servicing expanded mining and processing activity. As well as iron ore, with deposits estimated to be capable of producing more than 800mt, the region produces mineral sands, base metals and a range of other mineral and petroleum products.
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RWE expands Spanish wind farm interest
German energy company RWE Innogy, via Spanish subsidiary Agrupacio Energias Renovables S.A.U. (AERSA), has acquired a 23.75 percent interest in Spanish wind farm operator Exploraciones Eolicas de Aldehuelas, increasing its share in the company to 45 percent.
RWE Innogy is taking over the shares of Madrid-based wind farm developer Preneal. Explotactiones Eolicas de Aldehuelas operates the Las Aldehuelas wind farm with an installed capacity of 47.2 MW in the Spanish province of Castile-Leon near the city of Soria. The Las Aldehuelas wind farm comprises 59 wind turbines in the 800 kW class from Spanish manufacturer Gamesa. The wind farm came on line in 2005.Last year, RWE Innogy already bought six onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 150 MW from the Spanish wind power operator, Urvasco Energía S.A., bringing its total installed wind power capacity in Spain to more than 320 MW. Good wind conditions and a variable tariff rate for renewable energies have made Spain an attractive region for RWE to develop wind power. Spain aims to have wind power plants with a capacity of 20,000 MW in operation by 2010.
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RWE Innogy is taking over the shares of Madrid-based wind farm developer Preneal. Explotactiones Eolicas de Aldehuelas operates the Las Aldehuelas wind farm with an installed capacity of 47.2 MW in the Spanish province of Castile-Leon near the city of Soria. The Las Aldehuelas wind farm comprises 59 wind turbines in the 800 kW class from Spanish manufacturer Gamesa. The wind farm came on line in 2005.Last year, RWE Innogy already bought six onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 150 MW from the Spanish wind power operator, Urvasco Energía S.A., bringing its total installed wind power capacity in Spain to more than 320 MW. Good wind conditions and a variable tariff rate for renewable energies have made Spain an attractive region for RWE to develop wind power. Spain aims to have wind power plants with a capacity of 20,000 MW in operation by 2010.
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Santos to sidetrack Fletcher-3
WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA: At the conclusion of logging operations in well Fletcher-3, Santos Ltd. will plug the well and sidetrack it around 1,640 feet (500 m) to the northwest to test the Legendre Formation in a separate fault compartment of the greater Fletcher High.
The Fletcher field is in license WA-191-P offshore Western Australia in 499 feet (152 m) of water. The sidetracked well will be designated as Fletcher-4 since it will, in effect, be testing a new geological objective. It will enable the WA-191-P joint venture to make an earlier decision on the potential commerciality of the Fletcher field. The sidetracking operations are expected to take about a week, after which the Fletcher-3 and Fletcher-4 well bores will be plugged and abandoned, and the rig, semisubmersible Songa Mercur, will be released. Fletcher-3 was designed to appraise the Fletcher-1 and Fletcher-2 oil discovery, initially drilled in July/August 2007. It intersected an approximately 66-foot (20-m) thick gross interval of oil-bearing Legendre Formation sands. Following a temporary evacuation due to Cyclone Billy entering the area, the rig was re-manned on Dec. 27 and wireline logging recommenced. The discovery lies at the northern end of the Dampier Sub-Basin, around 11 miles (17 km) east of Santos' producing facilities at the Mutineer and Exeter fields. Santos operates WA-191-P with 33.4 percent interest. Partners are Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd. with 33.4 percent interest, Nippon Oil Exploration (Dampier) Pty Ltd. with 25 percent and Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd. with 8.2 percent. Nippon Oil opted not to participate in the Fletcher-3 well, but its interest in the well was picked up by the other partners.
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The Fletcher field is in license WA-191-P offshore Western Australia in 499 feet (152 m) of water. The sidetracked well will be designated as Fletcher-4 since it will, in effect, be testing a new geological objective. It will enable the WA-191-P joint venture to make an earlier decision on the potential commerciality of the Fletcher field. The sidetracking operations are expected to take about a week, after which the Fletcher-3 and Fletcher-4 well bores will be plugged and abandoned, and the rig, semisubmersible Songa Mercur, will be released. Fletcher-3 was designed to appraise the Fletcher-1 and Fletcher-2 oil discovery, initially drilled in July/August 2007. It intersected an approximately 66-foot (20-m) thick gross interval of oil-bearing Legendre Formation sands. Following a temporary evacuation due to Cyclone Billy entering the area, the rig was re-manned on Dec. 27 and wireline logging recommenced. The discovery lies at the northern end of the Dampier Sub-Basin, around 11 miles (17 km) east of Santos' producing facilities at the Mutineer and Exeter fields. Santos operates WA-191-P with 33.4 percent interest. Partners are Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd. with 33.4 percent interest, Nippon Oil Exploration (Dampier) Pty Ltd. with 25 percent and Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd. with 8.2 percent. Nippon Oil opted not to participate in the Fletcher-3 well, but its interest in the well was picked up by the other partners.
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TSA lines seek to manage container capacity
Seoul: The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement has requested the Federal Maritime Commission to permit the discussion agreement's members to discuss and agree on management of carrier capacity in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade, writes The Journal of Commerce Online.
The TSA on Dec. 18 filed an amendment to its agreement on file with the FMC. The amendment would give members the authority to discuss and agree on "cost savings and more efficient use of vessel and equipment assets and networks." Under the amendment, this would be done through "coordination of the members' capacity plans, layup, drydocking, or other off-hiring of vessels, rationalization of vessels and/or vessel capacity operated, or planned to be operated...or of feeder vessels." The proposed cooperation also would cover space charters among TSA members. The TSA's 14 members carry about 85% of containerised cargo in the Asia-to-U.S. trade. The group's members are APL, China Shipping Container Lines, CMA CGM, Cosco, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, "K" Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., NYK Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, Yang Ming Line and Zim Integrated Shipping Services. The expanded cooperation is a sign of TSA members' difficulties. Carriers have been hit by slowing volumes and an increase in capacity resulting from deliveries of scores of large, new ships. Last October, the TSA issued a forecast saying that cargo demand for 2008 could fall by as much as 8%, and that a turnaround wasn't likely until the second half of this year. More recent forecasts by industry leaders have been even more pessimistic. The TSA's capacity management amendment, scheduled to take effect February 1, could be controversial. In the mid-Nineties, cargo interests objected vehemently to capacity management by rate-setting conferences, especially in the trans-Atlantic trade.
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The TSA on Dec. 18 filed an amendment to its agreement on file with the FMC. The amendment would give members the authority to discuss and agree on "cost savings and more efficient use of vessel and equipment assets and networks." Under the amendment, this would be done through "coordination of the members' capacity plans, layup, drydocking, or other off-hiring of vessels, rationalization of vessels and/or vessel capacity operated, or planned to be operated...or of feeder vessels." The proposed cooperation also would cover space charters among TSA members. The TSA's 14 members carry about 85% of containerised cargo in the Asia-to-U.S. trade. The group's members are APL, China Shipping Container Lines, CMA CGM, Cosco, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, "K" Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., NYK Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, Yang Ming Line and Zim Integrated Shipping Services. The expanded cooperation is a sign of TSA members' difficulties. Carriers have been hit by slowing volumes and an increase in capacity resulting from deliveries of scores of large, new ships. Last October, the TSA issued a forecast saying that cargo demand for 2008 could fall by as much as 8%, and that a turnaround wasn't likely until the second half of this year. More recent forecasts by industry leaders have been even more pessimistic. The TSA's capacity management amendment, scheduled to take effect February 1, could be controversial. In the mid-Nineties, cargo interests objected vehemently to capacity management by rate-setting conferences, especially in the trans-Atlantic trade.
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