HOUSTON — Cal Dive International, Inc. (NYSE:DVR) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by a large oil and gas company in China for pipe lay work in Bohai Bay. The day rate contract will generate total revenue of approximately $32 million and involve 130 total utilization days, utilizing the derrick/lay barge Sea Horizon. The offshore construction is expected to commence in May 2009.
'Catastrophic failure' caused North Sea copter crash
LONDON — The transport helicopter that crashed into the North Sea this month suffered a “catastrophic failure” of its main rotor gearbox that caused the blades to separate from the aircraft and slice off the tail, accident investigators said.
The rotor blades detached from the helicopter and then struck the tail, causing the tail boom and pylon — which holds the tail rotor — to become severed from the fuselage, the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) said.
Pipelay vessel DP2 prepared
Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company Ltd. (NPCC) has awarded Dutch design office Ulstein Sea of Solutions the Basic Design contract for their new large derrick pipelay vessel DLS-4200. The new vessel will be one of the biggest vessels of its kind, combining S-lay double joints pipelay operations with 4,200 sT lifting capacity and DP2 prepared.
Oil Companies Loath to Follow Obama’s Green Lead
The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in the most ambitious transformation of energy policy in a generation.
But the world’s oil giants are not convinced that it will work. Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made.
Port Fourchon thrives despite the economy
Buoyed by deepwater activity that shows no sign of drying up anytime soon, Port Fourchon is sidestepping the economic malaise gripping most of the nation and is not just coping, but flourishing.
While cash-strapped independents operating on the continental shelf have pulled back appreciably, the bread and butter for Port Fourchon is the deepwater, where it functions as the primary support base for more than 90% of existing projects. According to a recent Minerals Management Service (MMS) study, that bread and butter is in no danger of going off the shelves in the foreseeable future. In early 2009, the federal agency listed 59 “pending” deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico, which is in addition to the 33 wells currently being drilled in deep and ultra deepwater. Factoring in the 135 deepwater fields already developed, there are nearly 230 deepwater projects in need of products and services flowing from the port.
Two sides debate drilling off U.S. shores
Calling for a “comprehensive energy plan,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday that the Gulf of Mexico and other federal waters will have an important role to play both in the expansion of renewable energy like wind power and in production of traditional oil and natural gas resources.
But he didn’t say if the Obama administration’s preference for a “balanced approach” includes opening more of the U.S. coastline to offshore drilling.
Oil worth billions outside Norway's Arctic coast
Seven billion barrels of oil equivalents are probably hidden under the continental shelf of northern Norway. The oil industry and the political opposition parties now step up pressure on government to extract the resources.
The Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF) continues its fight for the opening of promising areas outside the northern Norway coast for oil and gas exploration. Together with the political opposition parties the Progress Party and the Conservative Party, the association now demand that government speeds up mapping of the unexplored oil and gas resources in this area.
J. Ray Wins PEMEX Deal
Houston-based J. Ray McDermott won a contract by PEMEX Exploración y Producción for transportation and installation of the Ixtal-B and Maloob-C drilling platforms. These projects are located in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, in 216 and 272 feet of water, respectively. Contracts of this nature are typically valued at more than $40 million.
Virginia Lieutenant Governor pushes for offshore drilling
By Peter Bacque
RICHMOND, VA — Offshore drilling for oil and gas could bring billions of dollars and thousands of jobs to Virginia, and help secure the nation’s energy future, speakers at an industry-sponsored forum said Tuesday.
“More energy equals more jobs for Virginia,” Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said. “That should be priority No. 1 for everybody across the commonwealth of Virginia.”
Dear Mr. Offshore: prepaying for a work visa and other scams
Dear Mr. Offshore,
I got a job offer in Malaysia the Sarawak project but the embesy doing my visa has a yahoo address and i must pay 850 US for the work permit and visa plus it must be paid in a private account. Compony Haliburton oil & gas. Everything looks right the letter of agreement has a ref. Num and al those. It would be apreciated if you can be of some assistance seeing that this is new to me!
– Diver, via FaceBook Mobile
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Never — ever — prepay for a work visa. The company should pay for all that.
Also, do not send money to someone with a non-company email account, such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. Even a company with a slick web site does not mean it is legit. Confirm web sites by looking them up on the ADCI and IMCA web sites. Call the phone number listed on the web site and ask for someone in Human Resources. Tell them that you are in discussions with someone claiming to represent the company and that you want to verify that the particular individual is a current employee of the company who is either in operations or in human resources and has authority to hire you.
The biggest clue that this is a problematic situation is that they are asking you to send money to a private account. Never give out your credit card or personal banking information to a prospective employer over the phone. (Why would an employer want your credit card information, anyway?!?!)
If you do sign on with a dive company, the clearest sign that a job offer is legit will be when you show up to the airport to fly to work and your ticket has already been paid for.
I have asked Adam and Nathan of cdiver if they could start a list of the known scammers in the industry. This may help you keep your money in your pocket. I assume they will put it in the forum section.
Good luck and stay safe.
Mr. O