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HOUSTON — Oceaneering International, Inc. today reported record first quarter earnings for the period ended March 31, 2009. On revenue of $435 million, Oceaneering generated net income of $44.3 million, or $0.80 per share. During the corresponding period in 2008, Oceaneering reported revenue of $436 million and net income of $41.3 million, or $0.73 per share as restated. Read the rest of this entry »

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded company, posted a 58 percent drop in quarterly profit, missing Wall Street estimates, as the global recession sliced into demand for crude oil and depressed prices.

Exxon and other energy companies have seen oil and gas prices fall sharply from peaks last summer as consumption wanes and supplies swell. Read the rest of this entry »

VENICE, FL — State lawmakers are considering a bill that would lift the ban on drilling off the Florida coast.  The House has already passed the bill, but the Senate has yet to vote.  It could allow drilling as close as three miles from Florida’s beaches. Read the rest of this entry »

By Tyler Whitley
Published: April 27, 2009

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling unveiled twin energy plans today that call for drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of Virginia.

McDonnell, at a stop in Norfolk, and Bolling, across the state in Roanoke, said Virginia must take advantage of traditional sources of energy, coal and nuclear power as well as oil and gas, while promoting alternative energy sources.

They said they want to make Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast.

Bolling, a Republican, is seeking re-election as lieutenant governor. He is running in tandem with McDonnell.

Because Virginia is the second largest importer of electricity, after California, it must develop the energy sources it has in abundance, such as oil and coal, McDonnell said. McDonnell said offshore drilling can be done safely.

A portion of the royalties derived from the drilling can be used to create alternative and renewable energy research and development and a portion can be used to fund transportation projects, he said.

McDonnell pledged to leverage Tobacco Commission funding to make Southside and Southwest Virginia a hub of energy research and development.

McDonnell and Bolling said they would make Virginia a “Green Jobs Zone,” which would offer tax incentives to companies that locate here and create green jobs.

The three Democrats seeking the gubernatorial nomination are opposed to off-shore drilling for oil. Terry McAuliffe and State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds would explore for natural gas, while former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria is against such exploration.

Moran also has come out against a proposed coal-fired electricity plant in Surry County.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/GOPSGATER27_20090427-165604/264239/

Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. (Phoenix) announced the award of two deepwater underwater maintenance projects in the Green Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico.

Contract work includes the removal and replacement of six non-wet mateable tension monitoring system cables on the tendons of a Tension Leg Platform (TLP), removal of fairings associated with the installation of the TLP, recovery of storm debris from the top of the hull, and replacement of rigging associated with in-situ oceanographic sensors. Proof of concept testing will be completed on the cable systems prior to project execution using in-water project mock-ups and the freshwater test tank located at the Phoenix Bayou Vista, Louisiana operations facility. Modifications to the concept will be made as necessary to assure actual operations hours are kept to a minimum. The offshore work will be conducted in water depths of 80-175 fsw, and use a combination of surface-supplied diving and Phoenix’s HARDSUIT™ Atmospheric Diving System.

Both projects will be supported by the M/V Anne Candies, a 240 ft. DP II vessel on long term charter to Phoenix from Otto Candies, LLC of Des Allemands, Louisiana.

Phoenix provides manned and unmanned underwater operations, design engineering, and project management services to clients in the offshore oil & gas, defense, and other ocean-interest industries worldwide. Expertise is available from six regional offices in the areas of wet and dry hyperbaric welding, conventional and atmospheric diving, robotic systems, and tooling. Our capabilities support subsea tieback; infield development; inspection, maintenance and repair; construction; deep ocean search & recovery; and submarine rescue.

HOUSTON: Saipem America has been awarded the Don Larsen/Drysdale No. 2 offshore installation project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The project, on which work has already begun, includes the offshore installation of the jumpers, subsea distribution unit, flying leads and relocation of the Drysdale step-out umbilical for the Don Larsen well and Drysdale No. 2 well for Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

The Don Larsen well is on East Breaks Block 598 in around 3,555 feet (1,083 m) of water. The Drysdale No. 2 well is on East Breaks Block 599 in around 3,230 feet (985 m) of water.

Saipem America has also been awarded pre-commissioning, commissioning and jumper metrology work for an undisclosed contractor in the Gulf of Mexico. This project is estimated to start in early May and take around 45 days to complete.

For both projects, Saipem America will use the Hornbeck Offshore offshore/ROV support vessel HOS Mystique. The vessel has 4,354 square feet (405 sq m)of usable deck area, a permanently installed active heave compensated knuckle-boom crane and two heavy work class ROVS. The ROVs are a 250-horsepower Innovator Leviathan and a 150-horsepower Innovator.

www.energycurrent.com

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Shell plans to drill its first test well in the Chukchi Sea in the summer of 2010 or 2011, using the Frontier Discoverer drill ship. The company also plans to drill a second well in the Beaufort Sea with the same vessel later in the summer, according to Pete Slaiby, general manager for Shell Exploration and Production’s Alaska operations. Read the rest of this entry »

Former Vice President Al Gore  and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were facing off Friday before lawmakers, each on opposite sides of a major climate and energy bill.

Both were testifying on the fourth and final day of a hearing before the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee. Read the rest of this entry »

Petrobras’ average oil and gas production in Brazil, in March, topped out at 2,315,276 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), 9.5% more than a year ago and 3% above last month’s mark. Read the rest of this entry »

Nuiqsut, Alaska — The year the oil companies seriously began exploring the icy waters off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — where Nuiqsut whalers have hunted for as long as men have wandered on dark waters — the villagers lost two bowhead. Read the rest of this entry »