By Astana EXPO 2017Green energy is no longer a mere dream, but the not-too-distant future. The availability of clean technologies gives the world a chance to win the struggle with climate change by creating a new world energy matrix.We are on the threshold of a new reality where green energy will be an indispensable part of every country’s economy. In 2016, UNEP experts recorded an unprecedented increase in total capacity of green power plants — 138.5 GW versus 127.8 GW in 2015. In addition, there is a downward tendency in the price of implementation of these energy sources. Thus, the volume of renewable energy investment decreased by 23%, equaling 2013 indicators of $241.6 billion. This enables countries and companies to extensively use the green technologies that are becoming more available.This summer representatives of 115 countries and 22 international organizations will gather in the capital of Kazakhstan at EXPO 2017 ‘Future Energy’. They will discuss prospects for industry development and sign the Manifesto of Values and Principles, following the example of the Kyoto Protocol, to encourage further stable development of the planet.The exposition will become a platform where the participating countries will present the most important projects in the field of renewable energy in their pavilions.In 2016 China invested almost $80 billion in green energy (UNEP report), once again retaining its leading status. In its Green Silk Road pavilion, the country will not only tell about its history, culture and strategy of stable development and technologies in the context of the “One Belt, One Road” economic initiative, but will also demonstrate the production of clean energy in daily life.Russia in its turn will showcase its potential in the field of renewable energy by the example of the Arctic. Guests of the exposition, called United Energy Flow, will suddenly find themselves in the vast territories of Russian North and will even be able to see and touch an actual iceberg.Germany, Europe’s second largest investor in renewable energy, will carry visitors into the City of Future, where one can see an animated laser show that will once again remind people that the main driving force of the energy shift is human. The pavilion will also present a wind farm model, sun panels, Smart Grid and Smart Home systems and energy saving technologies.Kazakhstan, hosting the green exposition, despite a large oil and gas supply, is implementing a target policy of renewable energy development. The republic has great potential for extensive use of all kinds of renewable energy sources. By 2030, the share of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan’s total electricity generation is planned to reach 10%, and by 2050 half of the power produced in the country is to be green.Nur-Alem, the world’s largest sphere-shaped buildingKazakhstan’s pavilion will attract the attention of visitors to EXPO 2017. It will be located on the ground floor of Nur-Alem, the world’s largest sphere-shaped building. One can get acquainted with the history, culture and nature of the republic and the country’s development strategy here. On other floors of the building, space, solar, wind, biomass, water and kinetic energy will be presented in an interactive and informative way.The world’s most interesting projects in green energy will be showcased in the Energy Best Practices Area. The international choice commission, which includes Nobel Prize laureates, has selected 24 projects from 13 countries. One of the most interesting ones, Solar Impulse, is the first solar-paneled airplane to successfully complete a round-the-world flight, which attracted the attention of people all over the world. This pavilion will also present the Glowee startup. Young scientists from France have developed an unusual technology for energy production based on the bioluminescence of marine organisms.From June 10 through September 10, the capital of Kazakhstan will become a place that unites the whole world. The Industry Contribution is a new section in which the oil and gas industry companies share their project endeavors or analyses. This article was produced by Astana EXPO 2017 and does not necessarily reflect the view of OffshoreEnergyToday.com. No member of the editorial team took part in creation of this article. Please contact us at sm@navingo.com for inquiries.
Illustration purposes only (Image courtesy of Petronas)South Korean energy company S-Oil has signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas supply deal with the Malaysian LNG giant Petronas. According to a company’s filing to the stock exchange, deliveries under the contract are set to start in April 2018 until March 2033.Petronas has agreed to deliver 700,000 tons of LNG per year for the duration of the contract.The LNG volumes delivered by Petronas have been contracted to cover the company’s demand for the fuel that is increasing with the expansion of its facilities.Although S-Oil declined to disclose the contract value, it has said in its filing that it has “taken advantage of the favorable LNG market conditions.”
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. announced today that its subsidiary VBMS in consortium with NKT Cables has been awarded the Borssele Beta contract by TenneT for the installation of two 67-kilometer-long export cables that will connect the Borssele offshore wind farms 3 and 4 to TenneT’s onshore grid in the Netherlands.In addition, VBMS will install a seven-kilometer-long interconnector cable between the Borssele Alpha and Beta offshore substations. The contract value of Boskalis’ share is approximately EUR 70 million.In order to execute the project in a safe and efficient manner, Boskalis has taken full advantage of the expertise and capabilities within the group.To minimize maintenance to the cables during their operational lifetime, Boskalis will pre-sweep and dredge the shallow parts of the route, which will enable VBMS to simultaneously lay and bury the export cables at the required depth. Borssele Alpha will go into service in 2019 followed by Borssele Beta in 2020.According to Boskalis, this project is closely related to the development of generating renewable energy due to climate change and increasing energy consumption.
Image courtesy of Golar LNGLNG shipper Golar LNG reported a net loss of $43.9 million for the third quarter of 2017, narrowing from the $73.8 million in the second quarter of the year. A pick-up in utilization toward the end of the quarter resulted in a small rise in time charter revenues which increased $1.0 million to $25.0 million in the third quarter of 2017, the company said.Golar noted in its quarterly report that the shipping market recovery is underway, as shipping demand has exceeded supply growth for the first time since 2013.“As of today, the effective time charter rates being achieved in 4Q are more than twice that recorded in 3Q. An improving trend is expected to continue into 2018-2019 when shipping supply should lag demand created by increased production,” Golar LNG said.During September vessels began to pull out of the spot market to service dedicated volumes. Rising LNG prices in the East in response to significant demand from China and Korea also resulted in additional arbitrage opportunities and ton-miles as more US volumes headed further eastward.“Spot rates have steadily increased from 2-year highs in early October to 3-year highs today with sentiment continuing to improve as we move into peak winter gas demand,” the report reads.LNG prices have also surprised to the upside. Current JKM prices at around $9.80 per mmbtu compare to $7.10 this time last year. Similarly, European prices of $7.70 compare to $5.90 last year, the company said.Looking to 2018, around 45 vessels are scheduled for delivery, equivalent to 10 percent of the current fleet. This compares to more than 12 percent expected production growth for the year.
Product tanker 19Winner, which had grounded on the coast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, was refloated on July 2.Operated by Indonesia’s Azer Enterprises, the tanker was moved with high tide and tug assistance, and brought to anchor at Kaohsiung Anchorage.During the rescue process, the hull structure remained intact and there were no oil spills reported in the area. The ship was refloated during the third attempt, after two previous refloating operations failed when the cables broke.The vessel ran aground in a tropical low that had almost reached typhoon strength off Taiwan on June 14. Another tanker, the 5,357 dwt Shine Luck, also grounded at the time.According to Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau (MOTC), the tankers were not loaded with cargo, however, they jointly had around 200 metric meters of oil on board.The tanker Shine Luck was blown against concrete wave-breaks near the entrance of a fishing port. The authorities decided to extract the oil from the tanker in order to prevent a possible oil spill.The oil removal operations were concluded on June 17 and the 1992-built tanker broke in two the next day.World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Maritime and Port Bureau (MOTC)
MacArtney has established a workshop facilities at its headquarters in Denmark.MacArtney HQ recently repurposed the old salmon smoking facility in Hjerting to accommodate the new 2500 sqm facility that incorporates new workshop space for electronics, fibre optics, cabling and mechanics.The effective use of space has allowed for the extension of the moulding room, API cable production room, stores department, cable spooling, shipping office and canteen, the company explained.Dan Ravn, workshop manager, said: “The new facilities provide a fantastic workspace for our colleagues and a showroom for our customers; it is really somewhere we can see our ideas and designs come to life.”
TechnipFMC has added to its international fleet of subsea pipelay, diving, and construction ships after purchasing a newbuild diving support vessel – the Deep Discoverer.The company signed a deal with VARD shipyard in Norway to purchase the vessel in late 2018. The vessel is currently undergoing an operational readiness program and will begin work in the first half of 2019, TechnipFMC said on Monday.The vessel will primarily service the North Sea diving construction and Inspection, Repair and Maintenance (IRM) markets.Deep Discoverer has DP3 capabilities, as well as an 18-person twin bell saturation diving system, in-built air diving spread and a 250 Te NOV Hydralift subsea crane. The 2017-built Deep Discoverer is 121 m long and it can accommodate 120 people.According to the company, this acquisition reinforces TechnipFMC’s position in the IRM sector, whilst supporting sustainable project economics for clients.Bill Morrice, Vice President of Commercial for UK and Mediterranean at TechnipFMC, said: “This addition to our fleet not only demonstrates our steadfast commitment to diving construction operations in the North Sea, but also significantly improves our capabilities in the IRM market.”
Switzerland-based MSC Cruises and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri signed today the final contracts for the construction of four luxury cruise ships.This announcement follows a memorandum of agreement inked between the two parties in October 2018.The contracts, subject to shipowner financing, have a total value exceeding EUR 2 billion (USD 2.2 billion).“With this now firm order, MSC is entering a new segment that bears significant potential globally,” Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC’s Cruises Division, said. “Today’s announcement confirms our group’s ability and strength to convert the soft backlog into backlog. We are proud to have achieved this important goal in less than five months from the preliminary agreement,” Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri’s Chief Executive Officer, commented.All four vessels will have gross tonnage of approximately 64,000 tons and will feature the latest maritime and environmental technologies available.Under the agreement, the first of the four ships will be delivered by spring 2023. The remaining three will come into service one per year over the following three years through 2026.MSC is the cruises division of MSC Group, the world’s second largest transportation and logistics business. Since starting to work with Fincantieri in 2014, MSC also ordered four ships for its MSC Cruises brand, for EUR 3.2 billion.The first two of these vessels, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview, are already in service. The next two vessels will be delivered in 2021 and 2023, with MSC Seashore already under construction at Fincantieri’s yard in Monfalcone.
Rever Offshore, a subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has appointed Barry MacLeod as its new chief executive officer.MacLeod replaces Mark Bessell, who stepped down from the role last month, for personal reasons, the company noted.MacLeod has eight years’ experience as board director of the company. His roles within Rever have included operations director, asset management director and latterly managing director, a post he has held for the past five years.Rever Offshore, formerly known as Bibby Offshore, completed a full rebrand in January of this year following the transition to new ownership.
The potential of the UK’s tidal and wave power sectors is laid out in a new report which has been delivered by the UK Marine Energy Council and Scottish Renewables.It also sets out an economic blueprint for the sectors, which remain “effectively locked out of the UK energy market”.Sue Barr, Chair of the Marine Energy Council, told how the proposed ‘innovation power purchase agreement’ model provides a framework for small-scale tidal and wave technologies to deploy devices in UK waters, and also secures a market for the power they produce.She said: “The UK’s tidal stream sector has achieved phenomenal results to date, with 10MW of operational capacity already deployed in our seas, proving the technology whilst providing economic and environmental benefits from Cornwall to Orkney. Our wave sector is not far behind.“However despite our world lead in these technologies, both tidal stream and wave power are effectively locked out of the UK energy market by a system which means they must compete with proven technologies, such as fixed offshore wind, which have achieved significant cost reductions having been granted a market mechanism by government.“If we as a country really want to reap the benefits of building these sectors in the UK, now is the time to act.“The industry has come together to deliver these recommendations to government, offering a sensible plan to scale-up the development of both tidal stream and wave power in the UK, and we look forward to working with them on these proposals over the coming months.”Scottish Renewables chief executive, Claire Mack, said: “Scotland’s remarkable marine energy resource has placed us front and centre in developing this industry with global potential, so we are pleased to have supported this report setting out this industry’s clear recommendations to government.“Despite a series of challenges facing the sector our members continue to break records, progress development and, as this new report sets out, deliver benefits to rural communities.“Getting the development pathway for these technologies right means being able to increase the benefits the sector delivers, help balance our energy system and export more of our knowledge abroad – as well as cutting the costs of these innovative technologies.”Barnaby Wharton, Head of Policy and Regulation at RenewableUK, said: “The UK is a global leader in innovative marine energy projects, building up a new industry which is bringing economic benefits around the country, especially in coastal areas.“We are already capitalising on our success by exporting our expertise in wave and tidal power around the world to countries including China, Indonesia, Canada, Peru and Australia.“This report makes a strong case for Government to establish a route to market for this ground-breaking technology using incentives such as tax rebates for companies which sign power purchase agreements with marine power projects.“The more generators the industry gets in the water, the more opportunities they have to learn how to increase their efficiency and reduce costs. We’re confident that, in time, this industry will be cost-competitive with other forms of mainstream low-carbon generation. As we go down that path, investment will increase and exports will continue to grow.”David Jones, project director at Marine Energy Wales, also lent the organisation’s support to the report, saying: “Wales, along with the devolved nations and regions, see marine energy as a critical low-carbon opportunity that is providing positive economic impact in rural coastal economies.”The report, UK Marine Energy 2019, can be downloaded from Scottish Renewables’ website.