The Ekofisk Plaform has been producing for 40 years and is operated by ConocoPhilips image courtesy Statoil

LONDON (Dow Jones)–The June loading program for North Sea Ekofisk crude oil is scheduled at 263,000 barrels a day, up from 237,097 barrels a day originally planned to load in May, a trader who had seen the loading program said Friday.

The June program consists of 13 cargoes and is equivalent to 7.9 million barrels, up 550,000 barrels from the number originally scheduled in May.

The Ekofisk fields are operated by ConocoPhillips (COP).

-By Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires

M/V Seahorse is one of two fallpipe vessels owned and operated by Boskalis. The company has a third vessel, the Rockhopper, currenlty under construction.

Royal Boskalis Westminster announced today that it has won three energy related contracts for diverse projects in the North Sea and Irish Sea worth a total of over EUR 110 million (US$144 million).

First, Boskalis says it has partnered DONG Energy and Scottish Power Renewables for the partial construction of the “West of Duddon Sands” offshore wind park located in the Irish Sea. The EUR 70 million contract includes seabed preparation and the transport and installation of 108 wind turbine foundations.  The project will be carried out by one of Boskalis Offshore’s fallpipe vessels, with the help from SMIT Marine tugs and Volker Construction International.  Boskalis says the work is expected to begin in the early 2013 and is schedule to be completed mid-2014.

The second contract announced today includes stone-dumping work on behalf of Seajacks, experts in offshore wind turbine installations, for the Meerwind offshore wind park that is being developed offshore Germany in the North Sea.  Boskalis says that this project will the placement of an erosion protection filter layer on the seabed using a fallpipe vessel, after which Seajacks will install 80 wind turbine foundations.  Work on this project is expected to commence in August with completion expected in mid-2013.

Finally, Boskalis, through SMIT Subsea, has won a contract to carry out inspection, repair and maintenance work around 20 offshore oil production platforms and infrastructure for Maersk Oil in the Danish section of the North Sea.  The work will be carried out using two of SMIT’s Diving Support Vessels.  Boskalis says these activities will take place in the course of 2012.

Boskalis says its strategy is aimed at benefitting from key macro-economic factors which drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth and the challenges that go hand in hand with climate change. These projects are closely related to the development of generating renewable energy due to climate change and increasing energy consumption.

A worker at the Elgin Platform, image: Total

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Recent incidents in the U.K. North Sea have highlighted the dangers faced by workers as ageing oil and gas installations reach the end of their productive lives, but while greater scrutiny by operators is required, proposed new regulation by the European Union could actually increase the risks of a serious accident, the country’s main offshore union said Wednesday.

More than two hundred Total SA (TOT) workers were evacuated from the Elgin platform last month after a huge gas leak was detected onboard, while last weekend a fire broke out in a Nexen Inc. (NXY) processing unit on the giant Buzzard field.

These events have served to shine the spotlight on a long-standing issue, but the best way of ensuring future worker safety is to continue developing the local system of employee and industry engagement and not to hand over responsibility to the EU, which has no experience or competence in this area, said National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers regional organizer Jake Molloy, whose proposed resolution on this matter was adopted by the Scottish Trade Union Congress in Inverness Wednesday.

Molloy, who described the move as “ill-conceived and poorly thought out,” said workforce involvement had led to “significant safety improvements–with more still to come–but all the good work currently underway could be jeopardized with the application of the EU regulation.”

The call was echoed by fellow U.K. union, Unite. “Now, more than ever, we need a renewed focus on offshore health and safety. Trade unions must ensure that health and safety standards are never compromised due to commercial pressures–any risk at all is too high a risk for offshore workers and their families,” said Unite Regional Industrial Officer John Taylor.

-By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires

“We want to get our own picture of the environmental damage from the scene.” says Christian Bussau, chief scientist and ocean expert at Greenpeace.

What was not mentioned by the organization is the simple fact that all uncontrolled blowouts are dangerous and cause damage but…

French-based Total has maintained that the leak does not pose a significant environmental threat. However, Greenpeace still wanted to measure any environmental impact related to the incident for themselves. The activist organization has sent out research vessel, Koenigin Juliana, from Germany. Their actions are based on their beliefs that oil companies often try to hide information concerning accidents.

“We can see this thin oil and grease that seems to come from Elgin floating in the water,” said activist Manfred Santen, speaking to Dow Jones Newswires by satellite phone from onboard the Greenpeace vessel.

But a spokesman for Total was quick to respond with another obvious fact: “The only confirmation that we have had [of anything resembling an oil slick] is a sheen of gas condensate,” said the spokesman. He said the gas condensate was a light hydrocarbon–similar to petrol–and was expected to dissipate naturally, either evaporating due to warmer weather or through wave action.

Now just outside a 2-nautical-mile exclusion zone surrounding the platform, the Greenpeace crew is taken air and water samples and “documenting” the damage. Reports from aboard the ship also describe a faint smell of gas in the air, and a definite multi-colored sheen.

Total contends that the sheen will evaporate on its own but, just in case, they have prepared a Hercules military transport plane to spray dispersant over the area’s waters around the platform if necessary.

Greenpeace is currently holding at the edge of the exclusion zone waiting on British authorities’ advisement on whether it is safe to approach the platform.

Hopefully they will be told to leave the response to the professionals.

Production risers on a North Sea platform

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Weak demand for North Sea Forties crude due to refinery maintenance season and the availability of cheaper alternatives have prevented Forties prices from jumping despite a shutdown of Total SA (TOT)’s Elgin field, which contributes to the Forties stream, traders said Tuesday.

Total said Monday it has shut down all production from Elgin as well as the neighboring Franklin field after a gas leak Sunday.

The fields were producing about 60,000 barrels a day of Forties crude, the main component of global benchmark Brent, or 14% of Forties daily output originally scheduled for April, traders said.

Production issues at Forties fields have led to higher prices of the oil grade in the past, with the rise often filtering through into Brent futures.

But Elgin isn’t the largest Forties field, and it will take about 10 days of a shutdown to have one standard 600,000-barrel cargo dropped from the loading program, which isn’t a big deal when demand is low, one North Sea trader said.

In the price-setting late-afternoon trade Monday there was no buying interest for Forties cargoes.

“I’m not seeing much excitement now either,” a second trader said, referring to Tuesday’s morning activity.

Participants await news from Total on how long production is expected to stay shut.

Total said earlier Monday it could take “a couple of weeks” under a best-case scenario to end the gas leak at Elgin.

“Normally these issues get resolved, so traders probably are cautious of getting too bulled up,” the first trader said.

-By Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires

Elgin/Franklin Wellhead Platform, image courtesy Total

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Total SA (TOT, FP.PR) has been forced to halt production from a platform in the Elgin gas and condensate field in the U.K. North Sea after a gas leak was discovered onboard Sunday, the French oil major said.

Operators Total E&P UK said “a well control problem” occurred on the wellhead platform in the Central Graben area, 240 kilometers (149 miles) off Aberdeen, at 12:15. All personnel had been accounted for and no injuries had been reported, Total said.

Arrangements were under way to evacuate nonessential staff from the platform and the Viking drilling rig. Production of some 10 million cubic meters a day of natural gas is expected to be halted over the next 12 hours due to the “unplanned outage,” tweeted Total E&P.

Emergency procedures have been activated and the Coastguard and Grampian Police have been informed, the company said.

-By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires

Viking Prince, image courtesy Eidesvik

Eidesvik has entered into an agreement with Lundin Norway for chartering of the LNG powered supply vessel Viking Prince, which will be delivered from Kleven Verft shipyard 30 March 2012.

Viking Prince will replace Viking Athene in the existing contract between the two parties from the time of delivery, which means that Viking Athene will be released from duty from the same date.  The original contract was firm for 4 drilling wells, with charterer’s option for another 6 wells. At the time Viking Prince commences the contract, Lundin is near the completion of the 2nd well.

“We are excited over the fact that the vessel will commence a contract from the time of delivery. It is delightful to see another operator on the shelf start using LNG powered supply vessels. For us it is satisfactory to be in the position to offer a vessel of the highest quality to a fast developing operator
with an exciting future,” says Eidesvik CEO Jan Fredrik Meling in a comment.

Image courtesy Eidesvik Offshore

About the Viking Prince…

This vessel represents a new generation of environmentally-friendly platform service vessels with great emphasis on fuel economy, low emissions and large capacities both below and on deck. Light ice class (ICE C) makes them suitable for northern waters. Sophisticated equipment for oil recovery (OIL REC NOFO 2009) and capacity for standby vessel further increases market value. Dead weight is 6,500 tons, length 90 meters, beam 21 meters, deck space more than 1,050 m2.

This Wärtsilä-designed VS 489 PSV features 4 LNG dual fuel engines to ensure low NOX emissions (85% reduction) and significantly reduced CO2 emissions (25% reduction). A new state of the art system for purifying ballast water is installed, a requirement to be implemented for vessels of this kind.

Where she will be operating:

This graphic, courtesy of Lundin, shows the areas where the Viking Prince will likely be utilized

Ekofisk is the oldest field complex in operation on the Norwegian continental shelf. The operator is ConocoPhillips. Image courtesy Statoil

LONDON (Dow Jones)–The April loading program for North Sea Ekofisk crude oil is scheduled at 337,788 barrels a day, up from 296,832 barrels a day originally planned to load in March, a trader who had seen the loading program said Wednesday.

The April program is equivalent to 10.1 million barrels, up 932,000 barrels from the number originally scheduled in March.

The Ekofisk fields are operated by ConocoPhillips (COP).

-By Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires

Furgo's C-Class seismic vessel MV Geo Caspian. Photo: Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden via Flickr

Fugro Geoteam, the marine seismic data acquisition arm Fugro, has been awarded contracts with four major international oil companies for 3D and 4D seismic surveys in East Africa and the North Sea worth a total of nearly US$120 million.  The surveys, which are to be conducted using Fugro Geoteam’s industry leading C-Class seismic vessels, will take place this summer.

Fugro’s C-Class vessels are designed to work in the most challenging offshore areas and to the highest environmental standards.  The vessels are capable of towing up to 16 seismic streamers on dedicated winches with a capacity of 8000m of cable allowing for deployment of the largest possible spread of seismic streamers.

Fugro’s fleet of C-Class vessels include the Geo Celtic and Geo Caribbean, and the slightly bigger Geo Caspian and Geo Coral.

Recent significant discoveries of natural gas off the coast of East Africa by companies including Italy’s Eni SpA and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., ExxonMobil and Statoil, and BG Group, have reinforced optimism that the region may hold massive reserves of natural gas and oil.

Snorre A and Safe Scandinavia flotel, image courtesy Statoil

Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract by Statoil to deliver replacement and upgrading of the drilling equipment and systems on the Snorre A platform in the North Sea. Estimated contract value is NOK 1 billion.

The Snorre A drilling contract scope will be performed by Aker Solutions’ drilling technologies engineering team in Kristiansand and will be concluded by its integration competence centre in Bergen. Prefabrication will be performed at Aker Solutions’ yard in Egersund.