Independent merchant bank Quayle Munro Holdings PLC said one of its investee companies, Submersible Technology Services Limited (STS), has been acquired by Australian oil and gas service group Neptune Marine Services Ltd for £16 million with a further performance-linked paymenmt due in the future.

Perth headquartered Neptune Marine Services is one of Australia’s largest marine engineering services. The company supports a range of marine based projects primarily for the oil and gas and renewable energy industry. Its service divisions include subsea and pipeline engineering, commercial diving, specialist fabrication, inspection, repair & maintenance, ROV, and vessel supply services.Neptune will pay an initial £16 million for STS, with a further conditional consideration due in the future, which will be based on STS’s 2009 earnings. Quayle Munro held a 49.9% shareholding in STS and received cash of £6.7 million with the future payment due on a pro-rata basis. Quayle Monroe said that the proceeds will be applied principally to increasing its liquid resources.

STS is a specialist contracting company to the offshore oil and gas industry, STS owns and operates a fleet of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The company provides specialist subsea services to substantial oilfield engineering services businesses and oil majors. 

The Aberdeen, Scotland, headquartered STS supports international clients in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. In its last reported financial period from 16 April 2008 to 31 December 2008, STS generated pre-tax profits of £2.6 million.

www.proactiveinvestors.com.au

One hundred special guests were invited to a special ceremony at Nutall Drive in the King Bay Industrial Estate, Dampier, last Friday the 6th of November.

Local company Oceanic Offshore were celebrating the grand opening of their fabulous new office and base. The impressive new offices  are an exciting step forward for the locally owned company and the result of their many years of hard work, planning, determination and success.

The event also included  an official naming ceremony of Nutall Drive.

Oceanic Offshore is a commercial diving company established by the CEO, Kevin Nuttall in 1997 with the aim of being Australia’s most diversified air diving company, owned by Australian’s, operating out of Western Australia.  Kevin has 28 years of commercial diving experience in both air diving and saturation diving.

Since 1978 Kevin has been self-employed in underwater contracting and has gained the respect of many senior personnel for whom he has completed work.  Kevin has been joined by his two sons Troy and Glen who have taken on senior management roles within the company.  Oceanic Offshore, as a team, have completed a diverse range projects for all major companies based in the North West of Australia.  The team are committed to the highest level of health and safety, and pride themselves on their professional approach and extensive knowledge of both the diving industry in the Pilbara.

A congratulations and thanks goes to everyone who attended to mark their achievements and success.  A fantastic night was enjoyed by everyone who attended.

www.pilbaraecho.com.au

PARIS  – French oil engineering group Technip expects a “sustained” activity in 2010 and believes it could see a “strong pick-up” beginning at the end of next year, its chief executive told Les Echos on Monday.

“In terms of volumes of awarded projects, we forecast a rather sustained activity in 2010. There could even be a strong pick-up at the end of 2010 or at the start of 2011″, Thierry Pilenko said.

The expected rebound should however be uneven, with a slower pace exected in Africa and Canada and a faster pace in the North Sea and Australia, he added.

“Activity tends to shift toward the South and the East. Our clients are in the Middle East, in Brazil, in Africa and Asia. Downstream in OECD countries, there are almost no more large infrastructure projects”, Pilenko said.

According to the executive, Technip, which posted improved profits during the second quarter despite weak demand in the oil services sector, is not sufficiently present in Russia and in the Caspian sea region and sees China as a future growth market.

Reporting by Matthias Blamont, Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Mike Nesbit

Reuters

London, England – October 2, 2009 – Acergy S.A. (NASDAQ-GS: ACGY; Oslo Stock Exchange: ACY) announced the award of a contract valued at approximately $170 million to SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd by Apache Energy Limited for the Devil reek Development Project (DCDP) offshore Australia.

The DCDP has been initiated to recover and process the gas reserves from the Reindeer Gas Field located 80km northwest of the port of Dampier in 60m water depth. SapuraAcergy’s scope under the contract involves the transportation and installation of approximately 91km of 16” rigid pipeline including a shallow water beach approach, subsea tie-in and stabilisation works together with a wellhead platform of a 1,700T four leg jacket and a 450T topside processing module.

Engineering and project preparations will commence immediately in Kuala Lumpur and Perth. Offshore installation is scheduled to commence in late 2010 using the Sapura 3000, SapuraAcergy’s state of the art dynamic positioning heavy lift and pipelay vessel and project specific third party support vessels. This project will be accounted for in the share of results of associates and joint ventures line in the Acergy accounts. For this reason, the value of this award will not appear in Acergy’s reported backlog and revenue.

Jean Cahuzac, Chief Executive Officer, Acergy said “This award represents an important development for our Joint Venture and signifies Sapura 3000’s entry into the promising Australian market. It demonstrates our capability and versatility by offering competitive solutions for both shallow and deepwater projects. Building upon recent successes we are confident that our Joint Venture and the highly specialised Sapura 3000 will perform strongly for our Client.

LONDON -– Acergy S.A.  announced the award of a contract valued at approximately $170 million to SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd by Apache Energy Limited for the Devil Reek Development Project (DCDP) offshore Australia.

The DCDP has been initiated to recover and process the gas reserves from the Reindeer Gas Field located 80km northwest of the port of Dampier in 60m water depth.

SapuraAcergy’s scope under the contract involves the transportation and installation of approximately 91km of 16” rigid pipeline including a shallow water beach approach, subsea tie-in and stabilisation works together with a wellhead platform of a 1,700T four leg jacket and a 450T topside processing module.

Engineering and project preparations will commence immediately in Kuala Lumpur and Perth. Offshore installation is scheduled to commence in late 2010 using the Sapura 3000, SapuraAcergy’s state of the art dynamic positioning heavy lift and pipelay vessel and project specific third party support vessels.

This project will be accounted for in the share of results of associates and joint ventures line in the Acergy accounts. For this reason, the value of this award will not appear in Acergy’s reported backlog and revenue.

Jean Cahuzac, Chief Executive Officer, Acergy said “This award represents an important development for our Joint Venture and signifies Sapura 3000’s entry into the promising Australian market. It demonstrates our capability and versatility by offering competitive solutions for both shallow and deepwater projects. Building upon recent successes we are confident that our Joint Venture and the highly specialised Sapura 3000 will perform strongly for our Client.”

MELBOURNE – The Santos-led joint venture has awarded engineering and construction company Subsea 7 an $80 million contract to install a subsea pipeline for the Casino-Henry gas field development in the Otway basin off western Victoria. 

The work includes installation of a 22-km pipeline that will connect the subsea production tress at the Henry-2 and nearby Netherby fields. Subsea 7 also will install four rigid spool pieces and a 22-km electrohydraulic umbilical cable from Casino-4 to the Pecten East field.
The project management and engineering work will begin immediately in Subsea 7’s Singapore office. Offshore onsite operations will begin at yearend when the Seven Navica pipelay and construction vessel arrives. 

The Rockwater 2 diving support vessel, which recently worked on BHP Billiton’s Stybarrow oil field development off Western Australia, also will be in attendance for the Santos contract. 

The Casino-Henry field complex lies in 56-72 m of water about 30 km south of Port Campbell on the Victorian coast. 

Casino has been on stream for a number of years via pipeline to an onshore gas processing plant near Port Campbell. 

Henry, discovered in 2005, is about 18 km off Victoria in 65 m of water. Reserves are estimated to be 150 PJ of dry gas. 

Netherby-1 lies 4 km north of Henry and was found in July 2008. 

Santos has a 50% interest and operatorship. Australian Worldwide Exploration and Mitsui E&P Australia have 25% each.

www.ogj.com

SYDNEY  – Deep-sea commercial diver Michael Ganas spent four years writing a novel that combined his love of engineering and the sea, but ended up publishing it himself because he found it hard to get anyone else interested.

Ganas’ debut novel, “The Girl Who Rode Dolphins” and which has won four awards, is set in Haiti where a former Navy Seal teams up with a marine biologist to find a ship that sank 21 years ago but ends up discovering a girl living with dolphins.

American Ganas, a professional engineer who served as a helicopter crew chief in the Vietnam War, said he began writing nearly 20 years ago with technical articles in trade magazines but had always dabbled with fiction.

His wife’s battle with chronic myeloid leukemia inspired him to write a novel and dedicate it to her, while the leading female in his science-fiction adventure is based on his daughter.

Ganas spoke to Reuters about getting started in a tough industry:

Q: What got you writing?

A: “I have written a lot of articles over the years and been published in magazines but they mostly were technical. Writing was just a sideline. I wrote a little fiction that was printed in a magazine but I have always been an engineer and a diver.”

Q: Why now for a novel?

A: “Writing the novel was done over a period of four years concurrent with my job. One of the primary reasons I wrote it was to honor my wife who has been battling leukemia for the past nine years. As I wrote the novel I would write a little bit and show it to her and she could not wait to read the next segment.”

Q: Will you continue writing now you have started?

A: “There will be a sequel to it and other novels down the road. When I finally retire maybe I will write full-time.”

Q: Did you set out to write such a long novel, 724 pages?

A: “No. The story was ad libbed from beginning to end. As I wrote this novel I kept envisaging what I would like to see on the big screen in a blockbuster movie. There are 22 action scenes in the book but it has layers as well, with philosophical view points. It is deep and not just an action adventure but the action is intense and it runs to 323,000 words. Most book publishers like a new author to stick to 100,000 words but I went way over that.”

Q: Was that why you decided to self-publish?

A: “With most publishers, when you are an unknown, it is hard to get their attention so I self-published. Literary agents seem to be all clones of one another and don’t see the forest for the trees. As the novel was advancing I was trying to get the attention of publishers and mainstream publishing houses … but my impression is that if you are unpublished, you are unworthy in their eyes.”

Q: Have the awards won you more attention?

A: “I’m not able to gauge if they have changed me in publishing eyes but it is gratifying as people are seeing something in my writing that the literary agents are not, probably because they are not reading the material.”

Q: Any progress on the sequel and lessons from your debut?

A: “The next book will probably be called “Dolphin Riders.” It is going to be a lot shorter than the first one, maybe 120,000 or 130,000 words. I will try to write the next one in maybe a year and a half. But when I go back and read my first book, I am very happy with how it came out. I am always going to look at the first novel as a masterpiece.”

Q: When do you find time to write with a fulltime job?

A: “In the late evenings, maybe watching the news, I would have a pad in front of me for notes and when I had the time I would transfer it into a manuscript. At weekends I would write a lot. It was a goal and you could easily let that goal slip away but you have to stay focused. As I was nearing the end I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

www.reuters.com

Hallin Marine has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Phillip Chamberlain to head up its marine division.

As the division’s Marine Manager, he will be responsible for Hallin’s growing fleet of subsea operations vessels and be actively involved in developing the company’s marine strategy.

With 25 years of operations and project management experience in the marine industry, including a period as the Royal New Zealand Navy’s director of marine engineering, Mr Chamberlain is well qualified to drive Hallin’s fleet ambitions.

Recently he has been responsible for business development for the commercial specialist ship provision business of P&O Maritime Services, which owns and operates vessels in the offshore, cargo, defence and port services areas.

Previously he was involved in ship construction and design for Australasian ship builder Tenix Marine (now BAE Systems Australia), working closely with Lloyds Register to ensure compliance for three classes of vessels.

Mr Chamberlain obtained his Masters degree in business administration from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, and the former water polo player is a qualified surf life-saver.

John Giddens, Hallin’s CEO, said “Phillip’s experience in the marine industry is both extensive and varied, encompassing both inward and outward facing roles. He will bring to Hallin’s recently created marine division excellent leadership and experience and the appointment of a person of his calibre and expertise reflects the increasingly importance of the division within the Group.”

“As well as ensuring we maximize our existing fleet, Phillip will oversee the design and construction of our new build vessels and will play an integral part in developing our future marine strategy.”

www.oilpubs.com

Neptune Marine Services Ltd announced that it has successfully secured a range of new projects both in Australia and international markets valued at approximately $25 million. All scheduled for completion in the first half of FY2010, the projects include:

- A NEPSYS® repair project for a new customer operating in the North Sea.
- Fabrication works out of the company’s Aberdeen workshops for an offshore project in Brazil.
- A range of diving and repair projects for several oil and gas projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
- A one year extension of a Master Service Agreement for diving and repair works for an existing customer.
- Freespan rectification and grouting services in Iran and Australia.

Neptune’s Managing Director and CEO, Christian Lange, said the current scope of new work was particularly encouraging and further demonstrated Neptune’s high levels of organic growth that continued to be experienced both domestically and internationally. “The NEPSYS® repair project in the North Sea is strategically important and further emphasises the increasing recognition that the technology’s cost effectiveness and success as a permanent repair solution is gaining among the energy companies and EPIC contractors that are operating in large international markets,” he said. “Similarly, the fabrication works for the project in Brazil provides us with the opportunity to establish ourselves with a new customer in a new market. Brazil’s burgeoning oil and gas industry holds a lot of potential for the ongoing international expansion of the Neptune group.”

Mr Lange said the group’s strong pipeline of tendering opportunities in all markets was expected to deliver considerable upside.

www.subseaworld.com

By Richard Sanchez

The offshore support vessel (OSV) markets are feeling the effects of declining activity and increasing numbers of new vessels.

U.S. Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Gulf OSV market, which takes its cues from the offshore rig market, is severely depressed. Vessels of all types are going unused and some owners are cold stacking equipment for lack of work. ODS-Petrodata’s July survey of vessel owners found 32 OSVs available for work in the area, although anecdotal evidence suggests the number may actually be higher.

Even with many vessels cold stacked or in shipyards for maintenance, there are simply too many boats and too few jobs. “Doesn’t look like its going to change anytime soon,” suggested one hard-pressed vessel manager. Vessel owners in general expect the downturn to last into the second quarter of 2010. Many owners are worried about what will happen when their boats finish current jobs, with several saying they see no work beyond their current jobs for some vessels.

The scarcity of work is driving rates down, causing a number of owners to sacrifice day rates to keep utilization up. “Haven’t seen it like this since the ’80s,” one vessel owner said. Another commented, “All our boats are working, but they’re making half what they were a year ago.”

The deepwater OSV market is experiencing some softness as operators adjust project schedules in light of the uncertain economic environment. Day rates for deepwater vessels have been edging down since January, but utilization is still strong. One vessel owner suggested deepwater platform supply vessel (PSV) rates would not see the same precipitous slide as smaller PSVs because there is more market discipline on the deepwater and ultra deepwater side of the market. However, other owners in the deepwater market are less optimistic. A vessel manager who only has medium to large spec PSVs expects the market will get progressively worse as more rigs leave U.S. waters for work elsewhere.

U.S. Gulf OSV day rates have declined in every market segment, according to the latest monthly survey of vessel owners conducted by ODS-Petrodata’s The Offshore International Newsletter. Many vessel owners are in survival mode, believing that if they can weather this market cycle, the turn around will be sharp and fast when it finally arrives.

AHTS market in flux

The traditionally tight U.S. anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) market has at least seven vessels without commitments this month. Industry sources have reported that two more of Seacor’s 244-foot, 8,400 bhp AHTSs have been cold stacked, bringing the total to four. Three AHTSs are reported by owners as being available for work. In spite of significant slack in the AHTS market, day rates as reported by vessel owners remain relatively high.

Tidewater AHTS Carl F. Thorne has moved to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago, and the 225-foot vessel is available for charter.

Newbuilds

Bee Mar LLC is expecting the its third 2,700 dwt PSV to be delivered in early August. The new boat, Honey Bee, is being marketed domestically and internationally along with her two sister ships.

North Sea

“Too many boats” has echoed across the Atlantic as the North Sea PSV market sees operators with plenty of PSVs to choose from. Around 10 PSVs are waiting for jobs in Aberdeen, and the influx of new vessels continues to boost the surplus. Rates remain soft, according to ODS-Petrodata’s Offshore Marine Monthly report.

The number of AHTSs in the spot fleet is low and rates this month are fairly strong, although that could change quickly. A number of rig moves over the last week or so created conditions where vessel owners were making good money in the AHTS spot market.

India, Asia and Australia

According to ODS-Petrodata’s MarineBase online market intelligence tool, about 10 percent of the Asian OSV fleet is idle at present, a slight improvement over last month. However, shipyards continue to churn out new vessels ordered in a more optimistic time, and the rising tide of supply has put rates under pressure. This in turn has created some concern among lenders exposed to the debt taken on by companies building new vessels.

www.energycurrent.com

CAIRNS, Australia — The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) is calling for strict government regulation of the recreational dive industry after another fatal scuba diving accident.

Authorities have not yet identified the latest victim but told CDNN a 58-year-old male tourist from American died while diving off the Osprey V dive charter boat.

After the fatal accident, local tourism promoter, Col McKenzie, of Dive Queensland, blamed the victim’s death on a “pre-existing medical problem”.

Although the police, coroner and Workplace Health and Safety officers have just started their investigation of the fatal diving accident and medical examiners have not yet determined the cause of death, McKenzie based his instant armchair analysis on “statistics (that) show the most likely cause of a divers death at that age is heart failure”.

While McKenzie pitched his “boomers die because they’re old” rationale to local newspaper reporters, the MUA blasted the self-regulated diving industry for failing to provide adequate safety standards.

MUA spokesman Mick Doleman said people have contacted the union with concerns about diving safety standards and it is time for the diving industry, the Government and unions to develop professional training and safety standards.

Dive Queensland says the industry’s regulations are adequate, despite union claims.

www.abc.net.au