It’s Good News Monday!
This Monday we talk about:
Tanker Shipping & Trade conference 2020: learning from Covid-19
Offshore Israel Campaign Goes to Stena Drilling
First gas from Ghazeer
Hoglund Marine Takes Majority Stake in Wind-Assisted Car Carrier Project
Op-Ed: The Popular Mechanics Of Maritime Innovation
UPDATED: Load-orienting technology will make offshore installation safer
Orskov Yard gives new lives to older ships
Image Credit: Riviera
With COVID concerns at the beginning of the year, Riviera Maritime Media made changes to hold webinars online rather than in-person events. This year’s Taker Shipping & Trade Conference will be extended to three days to make it easier to attend with more breaks.
Day one will be a general overview of the industry and political issues, such as the upcoming election, which by then, will have been decided. Day two is “a focus on decarbonisation and the implication of EU moves to introduce an emission trading system that encompasses shipping, which seems at odds with IMO’s approach. This will be followed by a presentation on alternative fuels and other approaches to decarbonisation.” Day three covers COVID-19 and how crews are dealing with the pandemic.
There will be live links to sessions as well as recordings. “Swapcard’s AI will match the information in the attendee’s profile to the events most likely to be of interest.” The audience will be able to take part in live sessions and sponsor sessions as well.
Image Credit: RigZone
Stena Drilling has signed a contract with Noble Energy Mediterranian Ltd. for a decommissioning campaign in offshore Israel. Four wells are set for decommission and the job is expected to take approximately 80 days. “Noble’s Eastern Mediterranean operations include the Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields and the Ashdod Onshore Terminal in Israel, along with a stake in the Aphrodite discovery offshore Cyprus, according to Noble’s website.” Stena Drilling has four drillships - the Stean Forth “dynamically positioned drillship can operate in 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of water and drill to 35,000 feet (10,668 meters).”
Image Credit: bp
The Ghazeer field in the Omani desert is producing ahead of schedule. Advanced efficiency and working practices have brought the next wave of production online sooner than expected. From CEO Bernard Looney: “When we introduced our plans to reinvent bp, we were clear that to deliver them, we have to perform as we transform. There are few better examples of how we are doing just that than Ghazeer. This project has been delivered with capital discipline four months early, wells are being drilled in record times and, importantly, safety performance has been excellent.”
The gas in the Ghazeer field is in dense rock 5 kilometers underground. There have been significant geological challenges since 2017 when the Khazzan field first started. “Both fields are part of Block 61, in which bp has a 60% stake, along with partners Makarim Gas Development Limited (OQ), which has 30%, and Petronas, with 10%.” Production is now expected to be 1.5 billion cubic feet per day, with an estimated total of 10.5 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. It could supply about 35% of Oman’s gas demand. ‘Green completions’ concept was used to send hydrocarbons for testing instead of flaring.
“A core part of bp’s new strategy is resilient and focused hydrocarbons – one part of bp’s business that will provide the cashflow needed to help fund the transition to an integrated energy company.”
Image Credit: gCaptain
“Norway-based Hoglund Marine Solutions has taken a majority equity stake in Vindskip AS, a company that is developing an LNG-powered vehicle carrier with a unique hull shape meant to act as a sail.” Vindskip translates to “wind ship”, which is part of the focus of this new carrier that uses LNG and wind for propulsion, an award-winning design. Vindskip will give a two-thirds stake to Hoglund in exchange for their technology. The hull design acts as a sail itself, along with computer models that give the optimum course to take advantage of wind power and make the best time. An electric LNG hybrid system will provide additional power. “The Vindskip design is advertised to emit 63% less CO2 and 96% less NOx than similar capacity car-carrying vessels currently in service.”
Image Credit: gCaptain
This is a very interesting article on bringing technology and real-world experience together for maritime innovation. Since gCaptain was launched in Silicon Valley alongside Facebook and Google, the founder has seen many innovations come and go, and has some advice. Having business people and VCs decide what you will focus on may not be the best path. Build, iterate, but find out how people will use what you’re developing and how it will help them. Be flexible in your approach and create something useful instead of what you initially imagine. There isn’t a linear path from startup to problem solved, very frequently it’s a winding road and you end up with a product you never thought you’d have. The technologies behind the problems being solved can be used in many different ways, and releasing that energy is powerful. Curiosity and willingness to build are the most important factors that spur new innovation and solutions no one had thought of before.
His final recommendation: write checks to open doors, not solve a specific problem. There are some great takeaways from the article and it is quite detailed and a great read with some interesting examples of companies that developed technology that was used in a completely different way from the first concept. We highly recommend checking out the original!
Image Credit: Riviera
An Australian company has developed a load-orienting technology to make offshore installations safer. They’ve developed remote control load handling systems for mining and construction, and have now turned their attention to the MHI Vestas for tower installations. The technology is useful for offshore or onshore wind, and has applications in the broader oil and gas industry.
“The technology developed by Verton uses gyroscopes – sophisticated attitude control devices – linked to smart software, to enable suspended loads to be handled and rotated with a user-friendly remote control system.
Angular momentum stored in the gyroscopic modules is used to precisely rotate loads, eliminating the need for taglines and for personnel controlling them. The system can be used in manual mode, or in automated mode in which a load can be automatically held in a desired position.”
The lifting technology keeps people out of the danger zone. A custom lifting yoke will control orientation, even in harsh conditions. This will speed up installs and make them much safer. They have already seen 30-40% reduction in task times for some tasks.
Image Credit: Riviera
Next year, Orskov Yard will have a new 180-m long floating dock operational. It will allow them to work on bigger vessels and increase capacity about 25-30%. They maintain, upgrade, and service vessels 365 days a year, round the clock.
“‘About 100 vessels a year visit our yard for short or long stays, with a large variety of job scopes. [We do] everything from emergency dockings, class surveys, installation of new equipment and major conversions,’ Mr Fischer explains. ‘Typical vessels are offshore support ships, ferries, fishing vessels, tankers and navy vessels.’” They even have the Danish Navy as a customer.
Around the new millennium, they stopped building new ships, which turned out to be a great decision, as there are plenty of vessels that need ongoing repairs and upgrades. They even have a water blaster that can blast over 200 square meters per hour. It strips away old coatings and crystallized salt, which can be followed up by primers and paints that work with water blasted surfaces.
“Orskov’s current three docks range from 115-m long to 215-m long. So why a new one? With a length of 180 m, a width of 30 m, a draft of 8.5 m above keel blocks, and a lifting capacity of 10,000 tonnes, it will make the yard even more versatile.”
Smile, it’s Good News Monday! :-)