Author: Rigs & Barge World
US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in four weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely-followed report on Thursday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by three to 779 in the week to Dec. 22. Baker Hughes released the report a day early due to the upcoming Christmas holiday weekend. Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count up 193 rigs, or 33 per cent, over this time last year. US oil rigs rose by two to 622 this week, while gas rigs rose one to 155.…
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that green hydrogen produced from offshore wind using the demonstration yacht Winz Maru was supplied onshore in the central breakwater area of Tokyo, as part of the Wind Hunter Project. This marks the first time in the world that a ship has supplied green hydrogen, produced on its own while underway, for use on shore, according to MOL. Between FY 2021 and FY2 023, MOL conducted a demonstration test in Omura Bay in Sasebo City with the Winz Maru, successfully completing all phases of hydrogen production, storage and usage of stored hydrogen onboard. Since,…
2024 has been another strong year for the offshore drilling rig market with high utilization and dayrates. However, the winds of change have started to blow, and the market is already showing some signs of weakening demand and declining dayrates across the three main rig types – jackups, semisubs and drillships. Inflationary pressures across the sector are the driving force of the market correction we expect to see in 2025. Westwood expects full-year 2024 marketed committed utilization, which considers actively marketed rigs with charters underway or already booked with future start dates, to come in around 92%. This is down…
THE recent announcement by the Indian government to provide increased development funding to boost local shipbuilding capability shows India has not given up on becoming a leading shipbuilding nation. Previous attempts by India to become a shipbuilding powerhouse failed, but the Indian government has reportedly been talking to the big shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers of South Korea and Japan to convince them that expanding their production to India would be worth their attention. The government is attempting to kick-start India as a leading shipbuilder with a multi-billion-dollar cash injection, as it seeks to become a developed economy by 2047. Its…
The waters off of South Africa’s Mossel Bay are unforgiving. With blistering winds, waves reaching up to 30 metres high, and currents racing at six knots, it is considered the most difficult place in the world to set up an oil rig. “They’ve got everything bad down there except for icebergs,” says Simen Lieungh, CEO of Odfjell Drilling. “Thank God they don’t have icebergs.” Odfjell is relatively small, yet when Total needed a rig operator to drill wells in the area, they chose the Norwegian company despite stiff competition. The reason, Simen says, is that Odfjell is a world leader when…
HII was awarded a contract to deliver the new Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) pilot program over the next two years to accelerate the identification and qualification of Australian suppliers and products into the US submarine…
The situation surrounding yesterday’s North Sea incident continues to rapidly evolve with reports from the police in the UK that one seafarer has now been detained and arrested. The police said the unidentified individual was in custody while they continued the investigation. “Following enquiries undertaken by my team, we have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision, this follows the conclusion of search operations by HM Coastguard for the missing crew member of the Solong,” said Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson. They did not announce the position of the…
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry responded to a question from Reuters calling the proposed fees on Chinese-built ships “wrongdoings.” It comes as the war of words continues, and the trade war heats up after Donald Trump began imposing new tariffs. The White House is yet to officially comment on its response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s finding that China unfairly subsidized and supported its shipbuilding industry. The report issued in January recommended actions after finding China was dominating shipbuilding through the state-owned industry and a broad system of support. Reuters asked for comments from the Foreign Office after…
British police have arrested a man in connection with Monday’s collision of two ships off England’s northeast coast, the authorities said on Tuesday.Humberside Police said in a statement they have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross…
A senior executive of Nigeria’s national oil company NNPC told reporters on Tuesday that Nigeria would be able meet OPEC production targets. Udobong Nitia is the executive vice president for upstream at NNPC. He said that after years of not meeting OPEC quotas Nigeria finally met them in January.