The last couple of years have seen fairly lean pickings for offshore fabricators in the Netherlands and on the UK east coast. But for one Dutch yard, paradoxically, things could scarcely have gone better.HSM in Schiedam, already sitting on a…
Big things are in the air at Dockwise. Since going public on the Dutch stock exchange last December, the heavy marine transportation specialist has been putting together an ambitious five-year growth plan for its traditional core business and two key bolt-on activities…
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…
BP's Gulf of Mexico oil leak is an unmitigated disaster, not just because of the amount of oil that has to be skimmed, the oil-soaked birds that have to be cleansed and the beaches that require purification. It has allowed an Obama administration…
Subsea installation of the world's largest test facility for wave energy technology was imminent as OE went to press, with the loading of the UK South West Regional Development Agency's pioneering Wave Hub and its 25km power cable onto a cable…
GDF Suez takes over as operator of Gjøa when the field comes onstream in October. The project comprises a semisubmersible platform with subsea tiebacks, and is also expected to be a hub in the future. Meg Chesshyre opens this month's Scandinavian…
The first half of 2010 saw 118 new offshore wind turbines fully connected to European grids according to the latest statistics from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).Those 118 turbines have a capacity of 333MW – well over half the…
FIRMSTGS-Nopec Geophysical has bought the directional survey business and information for ongoing client-initiated programs from P2 Energy Solutions' Tobin business line. The purchase includes P2's existing database of over 38,000 directional surveys…
Aware of the step-change in offshore windfarm construction that is required to meet today's renewable energy targets, governments around the world have instigated new planning procedures to encourage yet control offshore renewable energy development…
Among the greatest uncertainties in future energy supply is the amount of oil and gas yet to be found in the Arctic: the US Geological Survey estimates the region to hold as much as one-fifth of the world's untapped reserves of hydrocarbons…
The Xodus Group has achieved rapid growth since its three founding directors set it up as an independent consultancy in 2005. Now an international company, its employee base numbers 200 in the UK and 70 in Australia. Turnover in the 12 months to September 2009 was around £24 million…
Chinese companies have stepped up their activities over the last year, and two recent reports from analysts Infield Energy Analysts and Wood Mackenzie suggest increased activity in the near future, especially as the NOCs venture into deeper waters…
The Titanic, Columbia space shuttle and Deepwater Horizon disasters span a period of almost 100 years but have more in common than might at first be apparent. All three were avoidable and foundered on a misguided belief in their indestructibility…
R&D-focused companies have raced to develop remote technology that will cut rig time while maintaining health & safety standards. Red Spider's Rod Falconer discusses how its technology has enabled operators to approach interventions and completions…