It’s amazing how little it takes for perspective on a business to change more or less overnight and be seen through a completely fresh set of lenses. Andrew McBarnet reviews some surprising developments.A month or so ago at the annual meeting…
One or two recent asides from major seismic contractor bosses implies that they expect that the global seismic fleet to move closer to some kind of equilibrium next year where the supply of vessels is no longer so out of kilter with the demand for survey work…
Andrew McBarnet detects a shift of emphasis in the marketing of marine seismic.The marine seismic industry is well used to the cyclical nature of its operations, but could currently be described as being in something of a state of limbo. This…
With holding power over 100 times their own weight as well as clear economic advantages, the first drag embedment anchors made quite a splash in the offshore industry in the 1970s. Yet some project engineers still feel more comfortable with…
Within days of sister company Heerema Fabrication Group handing over the largest offshore deck ever built in the Netherlands, Heerema Marine Contractors was announcing plans to diversify its installation fleet with a multirole monohull vessel…
Heavy lifting, drilling and pipelay solutions provider Huisman has designed and built rock dumping systems before, notably for Tideway's Rollingstone and Seahorse vessels. But its next system, to be delivered later this year for the Tideway newbuild Flintstone…
Following a recent flurry of new contracts, Marine Subsea UK is currently carrying out a multi-client well abandonment programme for a number of North Sea operators. Managing director Alasdair Cowie talks to Meg Chesshyre about how he sees the multiclient approach as the way forward…
With a major Russian Arctic contract already in the bag for next year, the Tideway Group is looking at early payback on its €115 million investment in the industry's first ice-class fallpipe rockdump vessel.Dubbed Flintstone, the DP2 vessel…
The world's largest deepwater well intervention ship recently set sail from Norway, bound for its first offshore contract. Before it left port, Terry Knott visited the newbuild Skandi Aker to find out what makes this vessel stand out from the pack…
Operating in the marine seismic environment requires the ability to constantly adapt and chase down the opportunities. Andrew McBarnet describes how fortunes tend to favour the big rather than the brave.It’s business as usual’ has got to be something of a misnomer in commercial life…
While operating in Brazil’s pre-salt region does require an array of technologies, Petrobras CEO Jose Gabrielli told a Houston lunch that a bigger challenge lies in meeting logistical demands for operating in deep waters offshore. During the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce event in March…
The trend toward putting more and more production equipment on the seabed – and in increasingly deeper waters – strongly challenges the offshore construction industry to continuously improve their ability to perform such activities in a safe and cost-effective manner…
Compact Azipod units promise the means of producing more efficient thrust for drilling vessels, saving fuel cost and cutting emissions. OE hears from developer ABB Marine.Bunker prices for the IFO380 grade fuel used by the majority of ships were on the rise at time of writing…
Prosafe’s newest rival in the flotel market is Swedish company Floatel International, established by Bassoe Offshore and management in Gothenburg in late 2006 and run by an experienced management team comprising personnel from Consafe Offshore…
Mounted onboard the GDF Suez E&P Nederland chartered multi-purpose supply vessel REM Mermaid, Offshore Solutions BV’s offshore access system has notched up over 1000 operational connections without any lost time incidents. The OAS, a heave compensated…