Daily Archives: August 28, 2012
Sonardyne Supplies BOP Control System to Noble’s Drillship (USA)
Sonardyne International Ltd. has been awarded a contract by Noble Corporation to supply a Wireless Acoustic Emergency BOP Control System for its new deepwater drillship. The Noble Globetrotter II is the fifth Noble new-build vessel, along with other existing rigs, to be equipped with Sonardyne’s safety critical acoustic technology, providing reliable through-water wireless communications, positioning and BOP control in an emergency situation.
The Noble Globetrotter II is of similar design to its sister vessel, the Noble Globetrotter I. The vessel is due to begin work in the Gulf of Mexico in the second half of 2013.
Noble Corporation is one of the largest offshore drilling contractors in the world and operates a worldwide fleet of 79 rigs and drillships. The Noble Globetrotter II is currently en route to the Netherlands for tower and drilling system installation and once complete, will be capable of drilling in water depths up to 10,000ft. The vessel is due to begin work in the Gulf of Mexico in the second half of 2013 on long-term contract to Shell.
In the event of loss of normal communications with a BOP stack, Sonardyne’s self-contained, high security acoustic command and control backup system is used to execute emergency shutdown and riser disconnect procedures. The digital wideband acoustic signal technology incorporated into the supplied system has been proven to offer reliable performance in a well blow-out scenario despite intense noise pollution from a ruptured wellhead that would have severely limited the performance of an analogue acoustic BOP system.
“We have previously installed Sonardyne BOP control systems on several other Noble rigs so we’re delighted to be able to continue providing them with the critical positioning and control solutions they need,” said Ted Kenny, Business Development Manager of Subsea Control Systems at Sonardyne. “As the only provider with acoustic systems that are field-proven in the immediate vicinity of a major subsea blowout, we have the technology and in-depth knowledge to support Noble as it continues with its deep water exploration activities. The redundancy of the equipment chosen for the Noble Globetrotter II means that they will be able to reliably communicate with the BOP from either the rig or remotely from a standby vessel if the need ever arises.”
Subsea World News – Sonardyne Supplies BOP Control System to Noble’s Drillship (USA).
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Obama’s real legacy – $10 trillion in new federal debt over just four years
(NaturalNews) As Election Day nears, Americans certainly have some sobering choices to make. Whoever wins the White House has a monumental fiscal crisis to deal with – one that makes losses incurred during the Great Recession of 2008 look like pocket change.
Either way you cut it, the country has been, and will remain, on a path of unsustainable debt. Federal spending under George W. Bush added some $4 trillion dollars to the country’s already burgeoning national debt, but under President Obama that debt has skyrocketed to a staggering $16-plus trillion, and, if the current administration’s budget projections remain unchanged, Obama will have added an unprecedented, mind-numbing, calculator-busting $10 trillion in federal government debt that your children – and their children and their children – will likely have to pay off.
It’s stunning, really, to sit back and watch the country being spent into oblivion, but that’s what’s happening.
Modest growth + increased debt = insolvency; the question is when
“By the end of this year, the federal debt is expected to be $16.2 trillion, which is $6.2 trillion more than when President Obama first came into office four years ago,” says The Weekly Standard, a conservative publication, in a recent blog which included a graphic projecting record budget growth between now and Fiscal Year 2017, the end of a second Obama term if reelected.
Starting at an estimated $15.2 trillion of debt currently (which is about $5 trillion more than when Bush left office), federal debt is expected to rise to $17.5 trillion by next year, then rise by roughly a trillion dollars a year until 2016, when the federal debt is expected to exceed $20.3 trillion.
This isn’t hyperbole; under the current regime, the country has suffered through four straight years of trillion-dollar deficits, and there is no reason to expect, given its history, that the current administration would change much.
“The Congressional Budget Office also says it expects the economy to continue recovering at only a modest rate the rest of this year, growing at a modest annual rate of 2.25 percent. The slow-moving economy and massive federal deficits are top-flight issues in this year’s presidential and congressional campaigns,” The Associated Press said in parsing a CBO estimate on current budget projections.
“Federal debt will increase to $25.4 trillion by the end of 2022, an increase of $10.6 trillion (72 percent) under the president’s budget policies,” adds the Senate Budget Committee.
Budget? What budget?
Part of the problem is unrestrained spending. As in, Congress has not voted on, and Obama has not signed, an actual budget in more than three years. According to the Standard, it’s been more than 1,212 days since Senate Democrats allowed a budget vote on the floor of their chamber.
“Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires Congress to pass a federal budget. Despite the clear priority the Constitution gives to maintaining discipline in federal spending, the last time Congress enacted a budget was April 29, 2009,” more than three years ago, noted Mathew Staver, chairman of the Liberty Council.
Here are some more staggering numbers:
- — Under current figures, the U.S. debt-per-person exceeds $50,900; U.S. debt per taxpayer; however, climbs to a staggering $140,000 each
- — The current national debt is slated to surpass $16 trillion before Election Day
- — The country’s Social Security liability is in excess of $15 trillion; the prescription drug liability is more than $20 trillion, and Medicare’s unfunded liability is $83 trillion, for a total unfunded liability of a massive, country-shattering $120.4 trillion – or every dollar in gross domestic product the U.S. will generate for the next eight years. And in case you’re interested, that’s a total debt of more than $1 million per taxpayer.
As Americans, we have some very important fiscal decisions to make when we go to the polls in November.
Sources:
http://www.weeklystandard.com
http://content.usatoday.com
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Related articles
- USA $20 trillion in debt by 2016 (investmentwatchblog.com)
- Obama Economic Plan Would Explode Debt To $25.4 Trillion (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
- Obama Increased Foreign Debt By 72% (conservativeread.com)
- Obama Economic Plan Would Explode Debt to $25.4 Trillion (breitbart.com)
- The Government Is Bankrupt and Will Destroy the Economy (americanthinker.com)
- Obama Increased Foreign Debt By 72% (godfatherpolitics.com)
Pacific Drilling Orders Kongsberg IMS System for its Drillship
Kongsberg Maritime will deliver a sophisticated new Information Management System (IMS) as part of a ‘Full Picture’ Integrated Automation System (IAS) delivery to the Pacific Drilling owned Samsung 12000 design dynamically-positioned drillship, Pacific Santa Ana.
The IMS, which will be shown on the Kongsberg Maritime stand at ONS is a new development, which uniquely, facilitates consolidation of all control system data into a single, role-based secure web-portal. In practice, the IMS enables enhanced information sharing and better insight into operations for offshore and shore-based teams. This will result in improved decision support and safety of operations in addition to better troubleshooting of systems on board, maintenance planning and a reduced need for service personnel aboard service vessels.
Based on a suite of integrated applications offering improved information management and sharing possibilities, the new Kongsberg Maritime IMS is a modular system with a highly scalable infrastructure, enabling it to be deployed to very specific operational requirements. The Pacific Santa Ana delivery features a datalogger covering all datasources on board the drilling rig and replication of data to an onshore fleet database.
All data can be accessed in a role based web portal for offshore and onshore users. The core application is the user-defined dashboard in the web portal, which allows users in different roles to customise their views according to their specific needs and job roles. Uses for this application range include domain-specific information views and management fleet KPI views.
The new Kongsberg maritime IMS will join the already installed Kongsberg Maritime K-Pos Dynamic Positioning, K-Chief 700 automation, K-Safe safety system and K-Thrust thruster control already installed. The Pacific Santa Ana commenced drilling operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in Spring 2012 under a 5 year contract with a Chevron subsidiary. The IMS project started at the beginning of April 2012 with a Factory Acceptance Test at Kongsberg Maritime in June. The Customer Acceptance Test is at the end of August. The system is expected to be fully operational during September 2012.
Press Release, August 28, 2012
Pacific Drilling Orders Kongsberg IMS System for its Drillship| Offshore Energy Today.
- Two Unique Developments from Kongsberg Up for Prestigious Prize (Norway) (worldmaritimenews.com)
- Arctic Dynamic Positioning R&D Project Gets $3.2 Million Go Ahead (gcaptain.com)
- UK: Kongsberg Underwater Cameras for SMD Trencher (worldmaritimenews.com)
Democrats To Hold 2-Hour Muslim Jumah Prayers At DNC, Event To Be Led By Terrorist Supporters
Among the issues to be discussed are “Islamophobia,” The Patriot Act, “anti-Sharia laws,” and something called “masjid zoning laws,” which apparently refers to so-called anti-mosque zoning.
Terrorfest At The DNC!
Wahhaj was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Among his other activities, Wahhaj has called for the replacement of the United States Constitution with Sharia law taken directly from the Koran.
Jibril Hough is a radical Muslim leader who, among other things, called the founder of the Congressional anti-terrorism caucus a “hatemonger.” His mosque, the Islamic Center of Charlotte, is owned and controlled by an organization that funnels money to Islamic terrorists, which has been identified as a front for Hamas and the Muslim brotherhood in America. Hough has said in the past that only America and Israel commit terrorism by retaliating against…terrorists. Here’s Hough’s reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden. (video and more)
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- DNC Convention Welcomes Jumah with Unindicted Co-Conspirators (independentsentinel.com)
- DNC Jumah!!!! (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- Democrats refuse to cancel Jumah Jihad at the DNC (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
- Obama Refused Cardinal’s Prayers at DNC but Lists Muslim Jumah Prayers as “official function” (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
- 20,000 Muslims Meeting In Charlotte for Democratic National Convention (rubinoworld.com)
- DNC Turns Down Catholic Blessing, Plans For Islamic Prayer Instead (personalliberty.com)
- DNC’s Islamic prayer leader keynoted “Jihad Summer Camp” – two weeks before 9/11 (creepingsharia.wordpress.com)
Statoil stepping up in the Arctic
Statoil is stepping up its Arctic activities and will drill nine wells during a non-stop 2013 Norwegian Barents exploration campaign. The company plans to meet development challenges here by tripling its Arctic technology research budget.
Statoil’s exploration experience in the Barents is already extensive. Of the 94 exploration wells drilled in the Norwegian Barents Sea so far, Statoil has been involved in 89. Nine more Statoil-operated wells are on their way here next year.
“After our Skrugard and Havis discoveries we still see attractive opportunities here,” says Statoil Exploration executive vice president Tim Dodson.
“This is a less challenging area, as the Norwegian Barents is one of the only Arctic areas with a year-round ice-free zone. We also see the possibility of utilising knowledge gained here for Arctic prospects elsewhere later on – just like we’ve already done with Snøhvit.”
Statoil will start drilling in Nunatak in the Skrugard area in December, and will drill and complete four wells in this area over a six-month period.
“These wells are time critical, as any additional resources will make the Skrugard development even more robust,” says Dodson.
The campaign will then continue with the drilling of two-three wells in the Hoop frontier exploration area further north in the Barents in the summer of 2013. These will be the northernmost wells ever drilled in Norway.
The 2013 Barents drilling campaign finishes in the most mature province of the Barents: the Hammerfest basin. Statoil will carry out growth exploration close to the existing Snøhvit and Goliat discoveries here.
Arctic drilling unit
In addition to increasing its drilling activities, Statoil has created a technology road map to prepare for activities in even harsher Arctic areas.
This includes:
- A tripling of the current Arctic research budget – from NOK 80 million (in 2012) to NOK 250 million (in 2013)
- A research cruise to north east Greenland in September
- The maturing of an Arctic drill unit concept
Some of the technology highlights include work to allow for cost-effective 3D seismic for exploration prospect evaluation in ice, and the continuing development of a tailor-made, Arctic drill unit.
The work on the future drilling unit is based on Statoil’s experience with developing specialised category rigs for the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
The unit will be one that can operate in a wide range of water depths across the Arctic, and will involve integrated operations in drifting ice.
Functions here are to include a management system to reduce ice impact, an optimised drilling package for faster drilling and increased rig availability, and solutions to ensure that the rig maintains its position. At present no robust solution for dynamic positioning dedicated for ice operation exists.
“When we see a technology need, we try to fill the gap ourselves. We have now directed our strategic focus towards developing technology for exploration and production in ice. A new dedicated unit has been established to solve these challenges,” says Statoil Technology, Projects and Drilling executive vice president Margareth Øvrum.
Capacity is key
“We’ve secured a five-year contract for Seadrill‘s West Hercules drilling rig. The rig is currently being prepared for Arctic conditions, and can be used to drill consecutively in the region for years to come,” Dodson says.
Broad exploration experience in the Barents Sea and available rig capacity make Statoil well prepared for the 22nd licence round on the NCS. Applications are due in early December, while the awarding of new licences will take place in spring 2013. Seventy-two blocks in the Barents will be on offer.
“The Skrugard discovery has reignited interest in the Barents. A number of major companies that had left the area will be looking to make their way back in. The competition will be fierce, but we’ve built up a strong track record here, and our application will reflect this,” Dodson says.
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Amaralina Star Drillship Arrives in Brazil
QGOG Constellation announces the arrival to Brazil of the ultra-deepwater drillship Amaralina Star on August 25, to be operated by its subsidiary, Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás (QGOG).
The unit was built to operate in ultra-deepwaters to water depths of up to 10,000 feet and to drill wells depths of up to 40,000 feet. It will be able to operate in the Brazilian pre-salt area.
The Amaralina Star incorporates the highest technological standards and will contribute to expanding and diversifying QGOG’s expertise in ultra-deepwater drilling. QGOG differentiates itself through deploying cutting-edge technology and a specialized and well-trained workforce.
“Operating the Amaralina Star, a state of the art ultra-deepwater rig, is a key milestone for the Company, as it will be the first drillship we will operate, expanding our know-how in the area of offshore operations”, said QGOG President Leduvy Gouvea.
The Amaralina Star was built by the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard, located in South Korea. The shipyard is also currently building the Laguna Star drillship, which belongs to QGOG Constellation and will be operated by QGOG.
The two units have been chartered to Petrobras under a six-year contract, with options to renew for six additional years. Drilling services will be provided by QGOG.
Amaralina Star Drillship Arrives in Brazil| Offshore Energy Today.
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Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 