Offshore ‘could be cheapest clean power in UK

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January 28, 2019

Offshore wind could surpass the onshore sector as the cheapest source of renewable energy in the UK by 2028 without changes to planning regulations, according to new research from consultancy Cornwall Insight.

The consultancy bases its analysis on projections for capital costs by technology, fixed and variable operational cots, expected hurdle rates and locational factors, such as transmission losses and connection fees.

It also uses the current load factors for offshore wind of 58.4% and 38% for onshore wind.

Cornwall Insight said innovations in the offshore sector – such as higher turbines with longer blades – are allowing projects to capture more wind, while planning restrictions on onshore turbine size mean projects cannot take advantage of such improvements.

Cornwall Insight senior modeller Tom Edwards said: “The renewable energy market is under a process of transition with onshore wind facing the real prospect of being usurped by its offshore cousin to be the cheapest source of clean power in the not so distance future."

Improvements in offshore technology are occurring all the time and for offshore wind increasing the size of turbines is making a significant impact.

With 8MW models currently being deployed, and larger 10MW and 12MW models under development as the technology advances. With these larger economies of scale, it is inevitable that costs will fall.

However, the playing field is not level in Great Britain when it comes to these comparisons.

Analysis by the Onshore Wind Cost Reduction Taskforce found that LCOE savings of between £4/MWh and £7/MWh were possible with tip height and rotor diameter optimisation for onshore wind. The latest turbine specifications claim to improve load factors by as much as 26%.

While restrictions on onshore wind turbine height are maintained, projects will be unable to take advantage of these improvements to reduce costs.

For onshore wind to keep pace with its offshore counterpart, planning decisions will need to be relaxed.

This will not only to benefit consumers with cheaper cleaner energy but help the government towards its decarbonisation targets, not only in terms of facilitating the best conditions for new build onshore wind but also allowing existing sites to be repowered optimally.

Source:renews

24 vessels escorted by icebreakers in eastern part of Gulf of Finland

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January 28, 2019

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24 vessels were escorted by icebreakers in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland during 24 hours on January 27-28, says Ice Operations Headquarters of the Baltic Sea Ports Administration.

From the beginning of winter navigation season, icebreakers escorted 415 vessels including 316 vessels in Big Port St. Petersburg, 8 vessels in Primorsk, 3 vessels in Ust-Luga and 88 vessels in Vyborg and Vysotsk.

According to Ice Operations Headquarters, 8 icebreakers are in operation with one more ship ready for operation and 5 icebreakers in reserve.

25-35 cm thick fast ice is observed in the Neva Bay. 20-30 cm thick brash ice with high concentration is observed along the Seaway Canal of Saint-Petersburg. 15-30 cm thick brash ice is observed at Big Kronshtadt Anchorage. 20-35 cm thick floating ice is observed between the Dock-Gate Building and buoy No 10 with new ice observed from the entrance buoy. 15-25 cm thick ice is observed up to the buoy No 5 with 10-15 cm thick ice seen further westwards up to the Hogland iceland. In the port waters – consolidated ice with thickness of up to 15-30 cm.

Between the port of Vyborg and the turning buoy of Vysotsk port: fast ice of 20-35 cm thick. The canal is free with 20-30 cm thick brash ice. Between the turning buoy of Vysotsk port and Vysotsk Gate (including water area of Vysotsk port) – solid ice with thickness of up to 30 cm. Between Vysotsk buoy and buoy No 4 – solid ice with thickness of 10-30 cm.

Source:portnews

CNOOC plans to double proven oil and gas reserves by 2025

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January 28, 2019

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State-owned China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) revealed plans to double its exploration activities and proven oil and gas reserves in China over the next seven years, a target that will see the oil firm expedite capital spending.

This announcement comes after President Xi Jinping’s call in August to improve national security by boosting domestic production and reserves, Reuters reported.

According to energy consultant Wood Mackenzie, CNOOC will be able to double its natural gas reserves over the period as its current reserve base is small, but it will be a challenge to deliver on oil due to lack of sizeable discoveries in the pipeline and relatively higher reserve base on oil.

Namely, several large oil discoveries to the size of Lingshui will be required to achieve higher investment commitments, Angus Rodger, Woodmac’s research director for Asia-Pacific upstream business, explained to Reuters.

As its shallow-water basins mature, CNOOC will increasingly shift focus to deepwater exploration.

Last month, CNOOC Ltd Chairman Yang Hua was quoted as saying that the firm would make a record investment in the next few years to boost exploration projects and reach its target.

The offshore oil and gas explorer reported 2.613 billion barrels of oil equivalent in net total reserves by 2017-end, the best seen since 2008.

In 2018, CNOOC Ltd made several domestic discoveries such as Bozhong 19-6 and Bozhong 29-6, both in the Bohai Bay area off north China.

Source:safety4sea

Samsung Heavy 2018 net loss widens on fewer orders

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January 28, 2019

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South Korea’s major shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said that its net losses for 2018 grew 13.9 percent from a year earlier mainly due to fewer orders.

Its net loss came to 388.2 billion won (US$346 million) last year, compared to a loss of 340.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales also plunged 33.4 percent on-year to 5.26 trillion won in 2018, and it suffered an operating loss of 409.3 billion won, the company said.

The company blamed the drop in sales on decreased orders in 2016 brought on by a global slump in the shipbuilding industry. It usually takes two years for an order to be actually reflected in shipbuilding in the field.

For the fourth quarter of last year, the company posted a net loss of 105.7 billion won, with an operating loss of 133.7 billion won.

Sales for the last three months of 2018 came to 1.36 trillion won, up 3.8 percent from a quarter earlier.

Source:hellenicshippingnews

Yang Ming takes options on four 11,000 teu boxships, eyes an additional four

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January 28, 2019

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Taiwanese line Yang Ming Marine Transport has excised an option with Japanese owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha for the charter of additional four 11,000 teu newbuilding containerships.

The move follows Yang Ming entering into time charter agreements for five 12,000 teu boxships and five 11,000 teu boxships with Costamare and Shoei Kisen Kaisha respectively in July last year. The vessels are currently under construction at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Imabari Shipbuilding.

The charter period for the latest four vessels is 10 years and the total charter fee amounts to between $400 and $500m.

Additionally, the company approved a plan to charter in another four containerships ranging from 9,000 teu to 11,000 teu in size. It is currently in the middle of negotiations for the charters and no official agreements have been signed yet.

Source:splash247

ExxonMobil Signs LNG Tie-up Pact with Uniper

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January 28, 2019

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German utility Uniper SE signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited in respect of a long-term booking of a substantial share of regasification capacity in Uniper’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project Wilhelmshaven for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG).

According to a press release, the parties will continue their discussions in the coming months with the goal to enter into binding agreements soon.

Keith Martin, Chief Commercial Officer of Uniper SE, says: “The Heads of Agreement is an important step towards the realization of the Wilhelmshaven FSRU project. The FSRU will provide LNG companies from the US, but also other countries from around the world with the opportunity to deliver LNG into the German and European market. This will increase security of supply for customers at competitive price levels. The FSRU technology allows us to realize the project fast and in the most economical way.”

Uniper plans to enable the FSRU at their site in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The FSRU has a planned send-out capacity of 10 bcm/a and an LNG storage capacity of around 263,000 m³. The facility could be in operation as early as the second half of 2022. The project benefits from the existing site in Wilhelmshaven where required infrastructure is already in place.

Wilhelmshaven is the only German deep-water port and can be reached without any tidal constraints. In addition, the favorable location of Wilhelmshaven with regard to the existing pipeline and gas storage infrastructure supports the realization of the project.

Uniper aims to develop the FSRU as a multi user facility and entertain discussions with additional counterparties that expressed serious interest in regasification capacity in the project. Uniper, as project facilitator, will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to receive the permits for the operation of the facility and to gather interest for regasification capacity from additional market participants.

In December 2018 Uniper entered into an agreement with Japanese shipowner Mitsui O.S.K Line (MOL). MOL will own, finance and operate the FSRU.

The FSRU technology is commonly used in the LNG industry. Compared to an on-shore facility an FSRU can be built cheaper and faster. Risks arising during the construction period are reduced. The FSRU will be designed to allow for the use of LNG as marine fuel and onward transportation of LNG on trucks.

In addition, Uniper recently concluded an agreement with Dutch Titan LNG on the development of the technical and commercial interface for small scale LNG. The FSRU Wilhelmshaven will allow for the loading of bunker barges. Further, the construction of truck loading bays is planned to allow for the onward transportation of LNG by road.

Uniper is also expanding its LNG business activities in other areas: The company will be supplying up to 1 million tons of LNG from the US to southwestern Europe over the coming three years. The relevant agreements were concluded recently.

Uniper is drawing on LNG export volumes from Freeport in the US. An agreement from 2015 grants Uniper the right to export approx. 0.9 million tons of LNG (on a “free-on-board” basis) from the US for a period of twenty years. Since Freeport LNG aims to start initial LNG deliveries in the second half of this year, Uniper has already begun worldwide marketing of the LNG of this agreement.

Source:marinelink

Driftwood LNG export terminal gets environmental ‘green light’

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January 28, 2019

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The Driftwood LNG export terminal project proposed for near Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been given the environmental ‘green light,’ after the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its final environmental impact statement (EIS).

The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of constructing and operating the Driftwood LNG Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. In the final EIS, FERC staff concluded that the project “would result in adverse impacts on the environment; however, impacts on the environment would be reduced to less than significant levels with the implementation of Driftwood’s proposed impact avoidance, minimisation and mitigation measures and the additional measures recommended by staff in the final EIS.”

Texas-based, publicly traded Tellurian Inc must now make its FID for Driftwood LNG, a 27.6M tonne per annum LNG export facility and an associated 154-km pipeline on the US Gulf Coast.

Tellurian president and chief executive Meg Gentle thanked FERC for its review. “We look forward to receiving the agency’s order granting authorisation to site, construct and operate our Driftwood project. Tellurian will then stand ready to make a final investment decision and begin construction in the first half of 2019, with the first LNG expected in 2023.”

There are two major components of the Driftwood LNG Project. One is constructing and operating the LNG facility, which will include five LNG liquefaction plants, three 235,000-m³ capacity LNG storage tanks, LNG carrier loading/berthing facilities, and other associated facilities at a site near Carlyss, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. The other is constructing and operating about 154 km of pipeline, three new compressor stations and 15 new meter stations.

When it begins operations, Driftwood LNG expects to welcome approximately 365 marine vessels annually. The marine facility will accommodate 216,000-m³ capacity LNG carriers.

Source:lngworldshipping

Danish hybrid ferry project appoints German drive specialist

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January 28, 2019

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German drive and automation specialist Baumüller has been commissioned by Danish shipyard Hvide Sand to develop hybrid propulsion for a new Danish car ferry.

The ferry, owned by ÆrøXpressen, will connect the ports of Ærø and Rudkøbing from late 2019, carrying up to 32 cars and 196 passengers. Diesel engines will drive electric motor thrusters as well as charging onboard batteries, while the vessel will run only on electricity in port.

"Scandinavia is the largest shipping market in Europe with many ferry connections and is currently experiencing a strong trend towards ecological solutions. We will contribute to environmentally friendly traffic on the water with our hybrid ferry,” said Hvide Sande senior project manager Martin Larsen.

Baumüller will supply generators for the diesel engines, drives for propellers and bow thrusters, a power distribution system and the voltage generation wiring system.

The hybrid vessel is expected to cut fuel consumption and emissions, while reducing the crossing time to 45 minutes thanks to a high speed of 11 knots. The electric thrusters will ensure good manoeuvrability and low noise and vibrations.

The ferry is already under construction in Riga Shipyard in Latvia. It will be transferred to Hvide Sande, where it will be equipped and finished, in May.

Source:passengership

Hapag-Lloyd declares general average on burnt Yantian Express

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January 28, 2019

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Hapag-Lloyd has declared general average on its burnt-out 7,500 teu boxship, Yantian Express.

In an update to clients on Friday, the German carrier also revealed that the ship is now being towed to the Bahamas rather than the earlier stated destination of Halifax on Canada’s eastern seaboard.

“After evaluation of the salvors with regards to safety and operational items, it has been decided that Freeport Harbor, Bahamas will be the next port of call for the Yantian Express,” the company stated.

The boxship is likely to arrive at Freeport on February 1.

The Yantian Express suffered a fire in one of its containers on January 3 that quickly spread, forcing crew to evacuate.

Source:splash247

DOF Subsea to support FPSO work in Malaysia

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January 28, 2019

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Malaysia-based Yinson Energy has awarded DOF Subsea a contract to provide transportation and installation services to position and moor the FPSO Helang on the Layang field, Sarawak, Malaysia.

The award covers project management, engineering, towing and mooring services and is due to be completed by Q3 2019.

DOF Subsea, owned by DOF ASA (64.9%) and First Reserve Corporation (35.1%) will employ the construction support vessel Skandi Hercules.

Built in 2010, Skandi Hercules is a 109.5-m multi-purpose vessel with construction support vessel features based on an STX AH04 CD anchor handling tug supply vessel design. Well suited for field installation operations in a wide range of water depths, Skandi Hercules is classed by DNV GL.

DOF Subsea chief executive Mons S Aase said, “We look forward to working with Yinson to deliver a safe and efficient project.”

FPSO Helang underwent upgrades last year in China at Huarun Dadong Dockyard Co. The extension upgrade included removing the existing turret and installing a new one supplied by London Marine Consultants, moonpool reinforcement, flare tower fabrication and installation, tank ladder fabrication and installation, helideck platform fabrication and installation, cabin upgrades, life extension of steel renewal and tank coating.

Source:osjonline