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LNG Exports Support America’s Allies

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The Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, is looking forward to the addition of LNG to is growing portfolio of energy exports. In the next several months, Corpus Christi will see the startup of a new LNG export terminal built by Cheniere Energy, which will provide the first ever shipments of American natural gas to Poland. 

"Now, more than ever, it is crucial that the United States use its abundant energy resources to supports its friends and allies abroad. Ensuring Eastern Europe, particularly places like Poland, has access to reliable and affordable fuel will go a long way in protecting geopolitical stability and facilitating further energy security," said port CEO Sean Strawbridge in a statement Thursday. 

Strawbridge's comments came at the end of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' hearing on “The Role of U.S. LNG in Meeting European Energy Demand,” which examined the role of American natural gas in supporting the energy security of Eastern European allies. 

"The United States is the largest NATO power, and as the security guarantor for a number of European states of the alliance, is directly implicated in the security repercussions of Europe's energy dependence on Russia," explained Dr. Agnia Grigas, an expert on energy and political risk in Russia and Eastern Europe, in testimony before the committee. "We well know that Russia and its energy company Gazprom uses gas exports as a means of political influence [and] coercion." 

As an example, she noted the 2008-2009 Russian shutdown of its gas shipments through Ukraine and to the European states beyond, which occurred during a severe winter. This powerful means of influence could be offset by American LNG, she suggested, which has "significant positive national security, economic, political and geopolitical implications for the United States and its allies."

Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi LNG facility will add up to 22.5 million tonnes per annum of capacity to America's exports with five liquefaction trains. Trains 1 and 2 are fully contracted, and Train 3 is partially contracted. Its main customers are Indonesian oil and gas firm Pertamina, Spanish utilities Endesa, Naturgy and Iberdrola, trader Woodside Energy, UK utility EDF and Portuguese utility EDP. 

Source:seawanderer

Electrification in a New Era for the O&G

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With the recovery in oil prices, deepwater and ultradeep water oil and gas (O&G) projects are the focus of renewed interest. Project viability will come down to a continued focus on cost, but also productivity through high-performing assets. And electrification is set to drive a dramatic impact of these high-tech production facilities for more efficient operations.

Following a prolonged downturn in prices, a flicker of life has returned to offshore production projects with oil recovering to around $70/barrel. The rising price of crude has, in turn, impacted on investment in production – up 4 percent in 2017 with a further rise of 5 percent anticipated by the end of 2018. As a result, we’re seeing a recovery in offshore activities and O&G production.

This activity includes an upturn in demand for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) and floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessels and the opportunity for new vessels to adopt the latest technologies.

For the O&G industry, technology innovation can have huge benefits, but it can be perceived to add risk to projects and therefore constrain adoption of new technologies. But innovation doesn’t have to mean high-risk – it just needs to be cleverly and judiciously applied. The cumulative effect of proven technologies, adapted for offshore, making incremental improvements can have a transformative impact.

Electrification is already gathering pace across the energy infrastructure as well as the transport sector. Proven to withstand the harsh offshore environments, it has the potential to change the dynamics of offshore FPSOs – allowing them to work ever more efficiently.

To better demonstrate the value of electrification, let’s first look into some of the biggest challenges the industry is facing today:

  • Weight & Footprint: These sea giants are loaded with production and process equipment, together with the infrastructure to support the crew’s daily life. In fact, in the offshore environment, for every ton of equipment significantly more material is required to support it stably and securely. Each of these sea giants is like a mini island, and space and weight are at a premium. Any reduction in weight can deliver important savings in associated installation costs, and potentially allows more room for other critical operations.
     
  • Maintenance: The offshore environment is difficult and expensive to reach – unplanned downtime immediately translates into huge expense as well as lost opportunity cost – up to $38 million per year on average, according to an internal GE research. And so, minimizing maintenance and maximizing asset availability is essential to keep control of operating costs.
     
  • Operating efficiency: the prize of increased production efficiencies could be vast, improving productivity and project viability. These smart new production systems and technologies depend on electrical power to operate efficiently. A stable and smart power microgrid onboard each vessel unlocks the potential that electrification brings.

It’s within these contexts that the benefits of electrification become clear.

Electrifying FPSO
An electric motor driver solution, such as an induction motor, has fewer parts than a mechanical driver ensuring that costs associated with repairs and maintenance are minimized. Where variable speed is required for process, a motor coupled with a frequency converter can provide the required speed range, allowing the system to operate at any desired speed with top efficiency and higher availability.

Traditionally a transformer has to be added to step down the voltage to align the voltage level of the vessel power network and the drive requirements, and to avoid generating harmonics and power losses. Conversely, electrification technology has advanced to the point where the electric drive system can run as high as 13.8kV, enabling it to connect directly to the vessel network. At the same time, the Active Front End of the converter can cancel any electrical disturbance eliminating the need for step-down transformers – saving space and weight on the vessel.

Another innovation that is gaining momentum is the high-speed application.

For an electric motor typically running at synchronous speed, it requires a gearbox (multiplier) to allow the compressor or pump to rotate at its optimum speed, i.e. greater than synchronous speed (circa 10,000 rpm). But a gearbox brings a whole set of issues of its own. It is positioned close to the compressor and this enlarges the hazard area on the platform. Gearboxes degrade efficiency and require lubricant oil and a cooling system – all of which increases the complexity and weight of the entire system.

A high-speed electric motor, on the other hand, is capable of rotating at the driven unit speed and can therefore drive the compressor directly without a gearbox. That makes it more efficient and reduces footprint – GE’s high-speed motor technology (MGV) and advanced frequency converters MV7 with multi-level technology can eliminate the need for a gearbox and reduces the overall footprint of the drive-train by more than 25 percent.

There is also one further benefit brought by electrification that is uniquely essential to FPSO.

Generally, an FPSO is chartered to operate on a field for more than 15 years. Over the time, the environment – gas pressure, oil, water presence in the oil – will change significantly. The well pressure will decrease also. Using a variable frequency – electric – drive for the FPSO pumps and compressors enables greater control, accuracy and operational flexibility in the production process, as it helps the process unit to continue operating at the desired rated power, and therefore the desired efficiency level.

The offshore oil and gas production sector has a bright future and is expected to recover to beyond the production levels before the oil price crisis. And companies who evaluate a wide spectrum of technology possibilities and embrace the right technology rather than accepting tradition will have a competitive edge during the time of industry recovery. Electrification, with its many and varied benefits, is primed to enable the oil and gas industry to take advantage in this new era.

Source:seawanderer

Aker Solutions partners take next steps in US

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Northern California energy authority RCEA and a consortium of private companies, including Aker Solutions and Principle Power, have submitted a lease application to advance the first commercial scale project for floating offshore wind in the United States.

The application for the offshore wind energy development off the coast of Humboldt county in Northern California has been submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

In April of this year, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) selected a consortium which includes Aker Solutions, Principle Power and EDPR Offshore to enter into a public-private partnership to pursue the development of the proposed project. 

The 100-150 megawatt (MW) floating offshore wind farm is planned to be located more than 30 km off the coast of Eureka and expected online in 2024. The objective is to help unlock the value of offshore wind energy for California. 

Aker Solutions says that its experience with regard to floating systems, subsea umbilicals and power cables and offshore power systems allows for an offshore wind energy capability that covers the entire lifecycle of a floating offshore wind farm. Together, the project partners bring the expertise needed to develop, finance and operate the project as well as build an offshore wind energy supply chain.  

Source:seawanderer

Lancaster FPSO close to sailaway from Dubai

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Installation has finished of the subsea umbilical, risers, and flowlines for Hurricane Energy’s Lancaster early production system west of Shetland.

This completes the offshore installation program. Final activity at the field will be protective rock dumping, likely to take place in October.

The production system is now ready for the arrival of the FPSO Aoka Mizu.

Drydocks World in Dubai expects to complete remaining works on the vessel soon, allowing sea trials to begin by the end of the month, followed shortly afterwards by sailaway.

Hurricane anticipates first oil some time during the first half of 2019.

Source:seawanderer

MOL investing chemical tank

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MOL Chemical Tankers and SEA-Invest are pumping EUR300 – 400m into building a chemical tank storage at the Port of Antwerp.

The tank storage terminal located in the Delwaide dock will be owned by joint venture Sea – Mol. The joint venture is one of six candidates that submitted proposals for the 45 hectare site in the Port of Antwerp, negotiations are ongoing with the other five for use of the remainder of the site. MOL Chemical Tankers is a subsidiary of Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).

“This investment is further confirmation of our port’s ability to attract major investors. It will also boost our position as one of the largest chemical clusters in the world. This is very good news for the port, and for our economy,” said Jacques Vandermeiren, ceo of Antwerp Port Authority.

Source:seawanderer

Russia’s Zvezda yard to form jv with Samsung

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Russia’s LC Shipbuilding Complex Zvezda and Samsung Heavy Industries have signed an agreement to form a joint venture (jv) by the end of the year.

The jv will create a more efficient project management system for construction of shuttle tankers ranging from 42,000 to 120,000 dwt at Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex. Russian oil company Rosneft has an exclusive agreement with the Zvezda yard to build all its new marine equipment and vessels. These include four multifunctional ice-class supply vessels, 10 Aframax class tankers, ten 42,000 dwt Arctic Shuttle tankers and a 69,000dwt Arctic Shuttle tanker.

Tanker company Sovcomflot has also recently ordered LNG-fuelled tankers from Zvezda, which will then be chartered on to Rosneft.

The agreement terms include exchange of experience in designing and construction of shuttle tankers. Samsung will provide technical specifications as well as the basic and detailed design of the vessels to Zvezda and will assist with development of detailed engineering drawings jointly with Lazurit Central Design Bureau.

The major Korean shipbuilder will also provide technical support for planning, project management and quality assurance during construction and assembly, procurement of materials and equipment and ensure the engineering support of construction of shuttle tankers at Zvezda.

In addition, Samsung will also train the Russian personnel at their shipyard and organize internship programmes at similar projects. 

Source:seawanderer

MOL and Magsaysay inaugurate Philippines

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Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Magsaysay Maritime Corp have officially inaugurated their new training academy in the Philippines which features a “ship-in-campus” – first in the country.

MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy (MMMA) is a non-profit joint venture that brings together one of the world’s largest shipowners MOL and the biggest crewing agent Magsaysay that aims to provide maritime students with real-life working environments.

The 13.7-hectare facility which houses a ship-in campus, student complex, academic building, and a student dormitory.

MOL President, Junichiro Ikeda and Magsaysay Group ceo Doris Magsaysay Ho led the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday with the ceremony officiated by Arthur Tugade, Philippines Secretary of the Department of Transportation, and the Ship-in Campus was officially named by Senator Grace Poe.

The Ship-in-Campus was named the Spirit of MMMA and is a five-storey facility that houses Kongsberg full and mini mission bridge simulators, engine simulators, a 2-stroke main engine, generator, deck and engine workshop, mooring and windlass machine and Olympic-size swimming pool.

“We anticipate that the MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy will make a substantial contribution to our future seafarer needs and help support further development and growth in the shipping industry. Filipino seafarers have long played a critical part in worldwide vessel operations,” said MOL’s Ikeda.

“It is our intention that the MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy will not only serve as an educational institution but also act as a springboard for those seeking a long and fulfilling career in a challenging industry.”

The academy will be able to train 350 students a year with the first batch ready for cadetship in 2021. Half the cadets will serve on MOL vessels, while the other half will serve on ships from principals of Magsaysay.

“We owe it to the seafarers and their families to protect the standards, credibility and reputation of the Philippines’ seafarer brand. The establishment of and investment in this Academy is our commitment to contribute to this goal,” said Magsaysay Ho.

The academy will offer Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation leading to a profession as a Marine Deck Officer to Master and a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering leading to a profession as a Marine Engineer to Chief Engineer.

Source:seawanderer

Port Of Long Beach Awarded $50 Million

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The Port of Long Beach has received preliminary approval for a $50 million grant from the California Air Resources Board for a sweeping, transformative demonstration of a near-zero and zero-emissions supply chain at the nation’s second-busiest seaport.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has preliminarily awarded the grant for the Sustainable Terminals Accelerating Regional Transformation (START) Project. The START Project will demonstrate nearly 100 pieces of zero-emissions terminal equipment and trucks at three California seaports, develop a near-zero emissions tugboat, deploy two of the cleanest ships to ever to call the West Coast, and advance workforce development programs to support sustainable goods movement.

The START Project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Long Beach equipment funded by START includes 33 zero-emissions yard tractors and one top handler at Pier C — one of the nation’s largest deployments of zero-emissions equipment at a single terminal; five electric trucks at Shippers Transport; two charging outlets at the Clean Trucks Program Center, which will be the first publicly accessible heavy-duty truck charging outlets in Southern California; two Matson container ships with Tier 3 engines, which will be the cleanest container ships to call the West Coast; and Harley Marine electric-drive tugboats.

“The Board of Harbor Commissioners envision a zero-emissions future in Long Beach,” said Board President Tracy Egoscue. “This project accelerates the commercialization for the technology we need to get there, incorporating seaports, terminal operators, equipment manufacturers, schools and universities from all around the state. The Harbor Commission is very thankful to the California Air Resources Board for seeing the potential in this project.”

“The prominent role the Port of Long Beach plays in the national economy puts us in the unique position to lead large sustainability efforts such as this that would not be possible elsewhere,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “This will help get us to the green future that we all know is necessary if we want to continue to grow our business, and it’s the right thing to do for our communities.”

As part of the project, the Port of Long Beach will demonstrate a full near-zero/zero emissions supply chain. In operation, this means a ship — one of the cleanest in the world — would be brought to SSA Marine Pier C by an electric-drive tugboat, and then plug into shore power rather than run the vessel’s engines for power needs while docked. Then, the cargo containers on the ship would be handled by zero-emissions, battery-electric yard tractors and top handler cargo-handling equipment before being transported on a zero-emissions electric truck to Shippers Transport, an off-dock container yard.

Among others, project partners include the ports of Oakland and Stockton, SSA Marine, Matson Navigation Co., Shippers Transport, the Long Beach Unified School District and Long Beach City College. The Port of Long Beach was the lead applicant for the award.

Additionally, Port staff will also work with LBCC and LBUSD to share their port-related education and workforce programs with school districts and community colleges in Oakland and Stockton.

The project will be completed by June 2021 and includes $52 million in matching funds from private and public partners for a total cost of $102 million.

Source:seawanderer

Hapag-Lloyd’s 15,000 TEU Ship “Al Jmeliyah”

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The 15,000 TEU ship “Al Jmeliyah” was officially christened in Rotterdam. Naming patron is Inge Sijbesma, the wife of Feike Sijbesma, CEO of the corporation DSM – one of Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest customers in the Netherlands. The name “Al Jmeliyah” is Arabic for “the beautiful one.” With its ten sister vessels, the “Al Jmeliyah” numbers among the so-called “Ultra Large Container Vessels” in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet.

However, this was not the first time that Hapag-Lloyd has christened a ship in Rotterdam. The most recent one was the christening of the “Rotterdam Express” in 2000. “With its 4,890 TEU, it was enormous for the time,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “Less than 20 years later, we are christening a ship here that is three times as big. This illustrates the huge changes in our industry in terms of capacities and technologies.”

“We are very proud to be hosting this naming ceremony in the ECT Delta terminal, as it attests to the close relationship we have with Hapag-Lloyd,” said Leo Ruijs, CEO of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam. “This relationship now stretches back almost 50 years. The first Hapag-Lloyd ship docked here in October 1968.”

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. Hapag-Lloyd offers 19 services to and from Rotterdam from the Far East, South America, Australia, the United States, Pakistan, India, South Africa, the Caribbean and Scandinavia, thereby providing its local customers with a truly global network. Fifty vessels in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet call at the port, and the liner shipping company handled more than 424,000 containers in Rotterdam in 2017.

The “Al Jmeliyah” was built in 2016 for the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), which merged with Hapag-Lloyd in May 2017. The ship is 385.5 meters long and 51 meters wide. In addition, it is one of Hapag-Lloyd’s 17 so-called “LNG-ready” ships that are technically equipped to use liquefied natural gas. It was manufactured by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.

The “Al Jmeliyah” operates in the FE4 service, the Far East 4 loop. Departing from Rotterdam, it sails to Hamburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Yantian, Shanghai, Busan, Ningbo, and Shanghai before heading back to Europe.

Source:seawanderer

Multifunction icebreaking PSVs

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When Sovcomflot needed OSVs capable of servicing the Sakhalin-2 development in the Russian Far East, it turned to icebreaker specialist Archtech Helsinki Shipyard for assistance.

Sovcomflot (SCF) operates in the sub-Arctic conditions of the Sea of Okhotsk and this environment requires a special kind of OSV. To service the Sakhalin-2 development, the experience of Archtech Helsinki Shipyard was utilised.

SCF ordered four vessels and as of the end of August 2018, all four had been delivered. The first three vessels, Gennadiy Nevelskoy, Stepan Makarov and Fedor Ushakov, are named for historical Russian naval officers and were delivered in 2017, with the fourth vessel, Evgeny Primakov, delivered in 2018 and named for the former Russian prime minister, foreign minister, foreign intelligence chief and Chairman of the Soviet of the Union.

As well as the more conventional tasks performed by OSVs, such as emergency evacuation, rescue and fire-fighting operations, oil spill response and platform support duties, the vessels will also protect the Sakhalin-2 project from the effects of ice. To meet the challenges posed by their operating environment, the vessels are capable of breaking ice up to 1.5 m thick, and are classified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping with Icebreaker 6, AntiIce and Winterization (-35) notations. Deck outfitting is largely under cover and lifesaving equipment is sheltered and fitted with protective covers.

All four vessels measure just over 104 m in length, with a width of 21 m and a draft of 7.9 m. While specific configurations vary, all of the vessels are capable of a maximum speed of 16.9 knots and are fitted with Wärtsilä engines, ABB Azipod azimuthing thrusters, Brunvoll bow thrusters and Gesab SCR exhaust gas treatment systems.

The vessels were designed to be environmentally friendly and meet IMO's Tier III NOx emission requirements. Along with scrubber systems, the vessels are also fitted with systems to decrease underwater noise levels. They all have an Eco notation from class.

Source:seawanderer

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