Spain: Metalships & Docks to Build Subsea Construction Vessel for McDermott

McDermott International, Inc. (McDermott) will build another high capacity reeled pipelay vessel with top-tier payload capacity, tentatively named Lay Vessel 108 (LV108). The vessel will be a sister ship to the recently completed subsea construction vessel the Lay Vessel North Ocean 105 (LV105), and is to be built to similar specifications at Metalships and Docks S.A.U. shipyard in Vigo, Spain.

“LV108 is another milestone in our vessel renewal program focusing on the subsea construction market for flexible and rigid product installation,” said Stephen M. Johnson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of McDermott. “Market analysis indicates that the subsea and deepwater construction market is expected to continue to grow and there is demand for more tonnage in both the rigid reel lay and flexible lay markets. The LV108 is expected to meet this need.”

LV108 is designed for advanced deepwater operations with a high-capacity tower for rigid and flexible pipelay and state-of-the-art marine construction equipment that will enable installation of a variety of products to a depth of 10,000 feet, including rigid-reeled pipelines, subsea components and hardware, and deepwater moorings for floating facilities as well as flexible products – cables and umbilicals.

The principal characteristics of the vessel, such as payload, tension capacity and product size, will mirror those of the LV105, but McDermott anticipates enhanced functionality of the LV108 equipment design compared to the LV105. Delivery of LV108 is anticipated to be around third quarter 2014 for outfitting of the custom-designed lay system, built by a specialist fabricator in Europe.

The vertical reel will have a nominal payload of 2,500 tons plus, subject to vessel loading conditions, and a lay tower operational between 90 and 40 degrees. The nominal tension capacity is expected to be 400 tons, and the range of pipe the vessel can install is between 4 to 16 inches diameter. This 427-foot, dynamically positioned vessel will be equipped with a 400-ton heave compensated crane, will have a transit speed of 15 knots and will operate across a range of water depths up to more than 10,000 feet.

“In May we completed building and outfitting the LV105, a vessel that aims to improve our worldwide capabilities to meet the growing needs and technical challenges of the subsea and deepwater markets. The vessel will perform its first project in Asia in up to 4,430 feet of water. We look forward to LV108 joining the LV105 and other vessels in our fleet in 2014,” said Johnson.

Shipbuilding Tribune – Spain: Metalships & Docks to Build Subsea Construction Vessel for McDermott.

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Spain says markets are closing to it as G7 confers

By Julien Toyer

MADRID | Tue Jun 5, 2012 5:44am EDT

(Reuters) – Spain said on Tuesday that credit markets were closing to the euro zone’s fourth biggest economy as finance chiefs of the Group of Seven major economies were to hold emergency talks on the currency bloc’s worsening debt crisis.

Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro sent out the dramatic distress signal in a radio interview about the impact of his country’s banking crisis on government borrowing, saying that at current rates, financial markets were effectively shut to Spain.

“The risk premium says Spain doesn’t have the market door open,” Montoro said on Onda Cero radio. “The risk premium says that as a state we have a problem in accessing markets, when we need to refinance our debt.

The country, which enjoyed rapid growth after it joined the euro at its launch in 1999, is beset by bank debts triggered by the bursting of a real estate bubble, aggravated by overspending by its autonomous regions.

The risk premium investors demand to hold Spanish 10-year debt rather than the German equivalent hit a euro era high of 548 basis points on Friday, on concerns that Spain’s fragile banking system and heavily indebted regions will eventually force it to seek a Greek-style bailout.

Montoro said Spanish banks should be recapitalized through European mechanisms, departing from the previous government line that Spain could raise the money on its own and prompting the Madrid stock market to rise.

But his comments on Spain’s borrowing sent the euro down after the 17-nation European currency earlier hit a one-week high against the dollar on expectations that a conference call of G7 finance ministers and central bankers may hasten bold action.

The European Central Bank holds its monthly rate-setting meeting on Wednesday and European Union leaders meet on June 28-29 to discuss their strategy for overcoming the two-year-old crisis which has already seen Greece, Ireland and Portugal forced to accept international bailouts.

Investors have fled peripheral euro zone sovereign debt for the relative safe haven of German Bunds and U.S. and British government bonds amid worries about Spain’s banking crisis and fears that a June 17 Greek election could lead to Athens leaving the euro, setting off a wave of contagion around the euro area.

Spain will test the market on Thursday by issuing between 1 billion euros ($1.24 billion) and 2 billion euros in medium- and long-term bonds at auction.

Emilio Botin, chairman of the nation’s biggest bank, Banco Santander told Reuters Spanish banks needed about 40 billion euros in additional capital, adding that “there is no financial crisis in Spain”. Montoro said the figures were “perfectly accessible”.

But his dramatization of the debt situation set a stark backdrop for the conference call of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Britain, plus European Union officials, which two G7 sources said would start at 1100 GMT.

Montoro’s comments appeared aimed at pressuring the ECB and EU paymaster Germany to find ways of intervening. But the central bank has so far shunned calls to resume purchases of Spanish government bonds, and Berlin has said it is up to Madrid to decided whether to apply for assistance if it needs help.

Spain has been trying to persuade EU partners to allow direct aid from the euro zone’s rescue fund to recapitalize its banks without making it submit to the political humiliation of a full-fledged assistance programme, officials say.

FESTERING CRISIS

The festering euro zone crisis has sparked mounting concern outside Europe, with the United States fretting that it could further harm its faltering economic recovery, and countries such as Japan and Canada fearing fallout for the global economy.

“We have reached a point where we need to have a common understanding about the problems we are facing,” Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters.

Ottawa and Washington both called for action after a G7 source said fears that capital flight from Spain could escalate into a full-fledged bank run had triggered the emergency talks.

“Markets remain skeptical that the measures taken thus far are sufficient to secure the recovery in Europe and remove the risk that the crisis will deepen,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

In a sign of increasing concern about the euro area’s debt crisis, Australia’s central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.50 percent, the lowest level in two years. It cited further weakening in Europe and a deterioration in market sentiment.

PRESSURE ON BERLIN

Pressure is building in particular on Germany, the biggest contributor to euro zone rescue funds, to back away from its prescription of fiscal austerity for the region’s weaker economies and to work harder on fostering short-term growth.

Berlin argues that it is already doing its share by encouraging above-inflation domestic wage settlements, accepting the prospect of higher-than-usual German inflation and most recently agreeing that Spain should have more time to achieve its fiscal targets.

Furthermore, Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the door on Monday to the prospect of a euro zone banking union in the medium term, saying she would discuss with EU authorities the idea of putting systemically important cross-border banks under European supervision.

A German government strategy paper seen by Reuters sets out a timetable for closer fiscal union in the euro zone, but Berlin does not expect final decisions on strengthening economic policy coordination until March 2013, with only a roadmap being agreed at this month’s summit.

A G7 source familiar with plans for the call said the group would urge more progress at this month’s EU summit, though this alone would probably disappoint global markets.

Central banking sources said the ECB could contribute by cutting its main interest rate, lowering its deposit rate to try to shake loose some 700 billion euros parked overnight in its vaults by anxious banks, or by providing a third big liquidity injection to banks.

Some analysts believe the bank is more likely to await the outcome of the Greek election and the EU summit before taking decisive action.

A G7 source said there was only a very small chance the G7 would go as far as to pledge coordinated action to curb excessive currency volatility. Japan, for one, fears a strong yen, which has been a safe haven for investors during the euro zone crisis, could help tip its economy into recession.

The G7 could also call for concerted action at the upcoming summit of the wider Group of 20 major economies in Mexico on June 18-19, the source said. The G20, which includes China, played a prominent role during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

A G20 official in Asia said the grouping, which also includes Brazil and India, could look to put pressure on Germany to switch to stimulus mode, as part of a wider call for strong, developed economies to step up spending.

“Germany and Canada could be seen as those having fiscal capabilities among the advanced economies,” the official said.

(Additional reporting by Leika Kihara in Tokyo, Ana Flor and Alvaro Soto in Brazil, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Fiona Ortiz in Madrid. Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Mike Peacock)

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Enagas: Musel LNG Terminal to be Mothballed After Completion, Spain

Even though the construction of 7 billion cubic meter/year terminal at Musel is nearing its completion and should be running until the end of the year, it will not be put into operation immediately due to insufficient gas demand.

Following a governmental decree, issued in March, the terminal will be put into “hibernation period” thus saving up to Eur67 million ($88 million) in regulated costs on annual basis.

According to, Antonio Llarden, the CEO of gas infrastructure operator Enagas, which has been contracted for construction of the terminal “it will not be brought online until demand justifies it,” Platts informed.

Namely, analysts predict a rise in gas demand in 2012 of up to 2.5%, followed by a surging demand for LNG having in mind the ongoing interest for pollutant free energy sources. Based on the fact that Enagas recorded a 30% increase in international LNG sale in 2011, the company forecasts a rise in LNG demand in the upcoming period which could pave the way for operationalization of the terminal.

The facility of 300,000 m3 LNG storage space, featured in two tanks of 150,000 m3 capacity and 800,000 m3/h emission capacity will be piping gas between Musel and Llanera, where it will be connected to the already operating gas pipelines in Galicia, León and Cantabria. The design of the facility allows extension of both its storage capacity and emission totaling to 1,200,000 m3/h.

As Llarden pointed out, the Spanish Government plans to construct another LNG terminal on the Canary Islands, which should be included in a new infrastructure plan, covering the period 2012-2020 and Enagas already has its eye on the potential construction.

Enagas: Musel LNG Terminal to be Mothballed After Completion, Spain>> LNG World News.

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Incensed Spain threatens Argentina after YPF seizure

MADRID – An incensed Spain threatened swift economic retaliation against Argentina on Tuesday after it announced plans to seize YPF, the South American nation’s biggest oil company, in a move which pushed down shares in Spanish energy giant Repsol, the controlling shareholder.

Madrid called in the Argentine ambassador in a rapidly escalating row over the nationalization order by Argentina’s populist and increasingly assertive president, Cristina Fernandez, a move which delighted many of her compatriots but alarmed some foreign governments and investors.

Promising action in the coming days, Spanish industry minister Jose Manuel Soria said: “With this attitude, this hostility from the Argentine authorities, there will be consequences that we’ll see over the next few days. They will be in the diplomatic field, the industrial field, and on energy.”

“Argentina has shot itself in the foot,” said Foreign Minister Jose Manual Garcia-Margallo.

Despite the rhetoric, Spain appeared to have little leverage over Buenos Aires – any action to be taken will be determined at a cabinet meeting on Friday – and Argentina has proven impervious to such pressure in the past.

Repsol said YPF was worth $18 billion as a whole and it would be seeking compensation on that basis, but the Spanish oil major’s shares fell by 7.5 percent in Madrid on Tuesday. The company said it could raise money in the bond market and sell some assets to help its cash flow.

Repsol described Argentina’s move as “clearly unlawful and seriously discriminatory” and said it would take legal action.

“This battle is not over,” Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau said. “The expropriation is nothing more than a way of covering over the social and economic crisis facing Argentina right now.”

But Fernandez dismissed the risk of reprisals. “This president isn’t going to respond to any threats … because I represent the Argentine people. I’m the head of state, not a thug,” she said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he expected Argentina to uphold international agreements on business protection with Spain. “I am seriously disappointed about yesterday’s announcement,” he said in Brussels.

But action against Argentina appeared limited in scope. The EU Trade Commissioner would write to Argentina’s trade minister to “reiterate our serious concerns” while an EU-Argentine meeting this week would be postponed.

“It’s absolutely shameful considering everything that Spain has done for Argentina,” said a woman called Domi, who was filling her tank at a Repsol petrol station in Madrid.

“I hope the government takes measures and does something serious. They’ve pulled our leg long enough!”

Spanish media condemned the Argentine action, believed to be the biggest nationalization in the natural resources field since the seizure of Russia’s Yukos oil giant a decade ago.

La Razon newspaper carried a photograph of Fernandez on its front page in a pool of oil with the headline: “Kirchner’s Dirty War”, referring to her full name. The business newspaper La Gaceta de los Negocios called the takeover “an act of pillage”.

El Periodico spoke of “The New Evita”, pointing out that Fernandez had announced the nationalization in a room decorated with a large portrait of Eva Peron, the actress who was married to a president and revered by many Argentines as a populist mother of the nation and champion of the poor.

Repsol’s Brufau said he suspected nationalization of YPF was imminent when he tried to contact Fernandez last Friday and was told that the president “was angry” and did not want to speak.

YPF has been under pressure from Fernandez’s centre-left government to boost oil production, and its share price has plunged in recent months on speculation about a state takeover.

Spanish investment in Argentina may now be at risk after the move on YPF. In the “reconquista” or reconquest, of the 1990s, newly privatized Spanish businesses bought Latin American banks, telephone companies and utilities, much as their armor-clad ancestors had conquered the region 500 years earlier.

Through its latest nationalization move, Argentina runs the risk of frightening off foreign investors, key to contributing money to help develop one of the world’s largest reserves of shale oil and gas recently discovered in the Vaca Muerta area.

ACE UP ITS SLEEVE?

This led some analysts to question whether Argentina might have an ace up its sleeve in the form of a new partner such as China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group).

Repsol has, however, identified Vaca Muerta as “the cause of the pillage”, or the reason Argentina went after its YPF share.

A Chinese website said Sinopec was in talks with Repsol to buy YPF for more than $15 billion, although other sources said the nationalization move would probably get in the way of such a deal. Sinopec dismissed the report as a rumor.

Fernandez said the government would ask Congress, which she controls, to approve a bill to expropriate a controlling 51 percent stake in YPF by seizing shares held exclusively by Repsol, saying energy was a “vital resource”.

“If this policy continues – draining fields dry, no exploration and practically no investment – the country will end up having no viable future, not because of a lack of resources but because of business policies,” she said.

YPF’s market value is $10.6 billion, although an Argentine tribunal will be responsible for valuing the company as part of the takeover. Central bank reserves or state pension funds could be used for compensation.

Fernandez, who still wears the black of mourning 18 months after the death of her husband and predecessor as president Nestor Kirchner, stunned investors in 2008 when she nationalized private pension funds. She has also renationalized the country’s flagship airline, Aerolineas Argentinas.

Such measures are popular with ordinary Argentines, many of whom blame free-market policies such as the privatizations of the 1990s for the economic crisis and debt default of 2001/02.

Her announcement of the YPF takeover plan, however, drew strong warnings from Spain, Mexico and the European Union, a key market for Argentina’s soymeal exports.

Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon said Fernandez’s plan would damage chances for future foreign investment in Argentina and hurt Repsol, in which Mexico’s state oil monopoly Pemex holds a 10-percent stake.

Venezuela, where socialist President Hugo Chavez has nationalized almost all the oil industry, applauded her move.

The row over YPF comes as Fernandez heaps pressure on Britain over oil exploration off the Falkland Islands, over which Argentina claims sovereignty.

Source

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Spain: Ibercisa Provides Deck Machinery for McDermott’s Vessel North Ocean V

Ibercisa has supplied deck equipment for the lay vessel “North Ocean V” for the North American Company McDermott, built at the Vigo shipyard Metalships & Docks.

The supply includes combined anchor winches for 60 mm diam. chain, mooring winches machinery and pedal driven Capstan bollards.

This is the third vessel for which Ibercisa has supplied this type of equipment in the Vigo shipyard which has also sold the machinery to the Norwegian company Ocean, to McDermott and the French company Technip.

From the start, IBERCISA was characterized by its loyalty to the boat-building industry, its innovation, deriving from its experience and knowledge of the people of the sea , in perfect combination with its highly qualified engineers and technical staff and an outstanding “international” spirit which sees its machinery present in all the oceans of the world and in more than 30 countries.

Source

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Spain: Repsol Reports Drop in 2011 Net Income

Spanish oil company, Repsol, posted a net income of EUR 2.193 billion in 2011, 53.3% lower than that recorded in 2010 and which included the one-time gain from the agreement between Repsol and China’s Sinopec in Brazil.

Earnings were negatively affected by external factors such as the armed conflict in Libya and the strikes and the suspension of the Petróleo Plus program in Argentina.

The Upstream unit’s (exploration and production) recurring operating income was 1.301 billion euros by the end of 2011, a decrease of 11.7% compared to the previous year. Higher international crude oil and gas prices along with lower exploration costs somewhat mitigated the effect of lower production due to external factors and the depreciation of the dollar against the euro.

Repsol’s crude realization prices increased 14.4% compared to 2010. Particularly noteworthy was the 29.6% increase in the Repsol gas realization price compared with a 9.1% decline in the Henry Hub index benchmark. Realization prices had a positive impact of 648 million euros on the upstream unit’s income. During 2011, oil and gas production was 298,800 Boepd, 13.2% less than in 2010, mainly due to reduced production of liquids in Libya, and maintenance work in Trinidad and Tobago. In October, operations in Libya resumed and gross production of almost 300,000 Boepd has already been achieved.

Especially significant was the increased reserve replacement ratio for the Upstream unit, which in 2011 rose to 162% from 131% in 2010. Investments made during the period in this area totalled 1.813 billion euros, 62% more than during 2010.  Investment in field development represented 43% of the total and was assigned mainly to the United States, Bolivia, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. Investments in exploration were 40% of total investments, and conducted primarily in the United States, Brazil and Angola. The rest of the investment went mainly to the acquisition of Eurotek in Russia.

During 2011 multiple operations were carried out in this unit that consolidated and increased a portfolio of assets and projects that will allow Repsol to meet its production growth objectives and reserves replacement ratio.

Repsol highlighted the start of development of the giant Cardon IV gas field in Venezuela, the new discovery in the Sapinhoa (previously Guará) appraisal well in Brazil which confirms the high potential of the area, as well as the  declaration of commercial viability which allows the company to book reserves. Additionally the company increased production in the Margarita-Huacaya fields in Bolivia and the Shenzi field in the United States.

Repsol in 2011 also received approval from the Algerian authorities to start development work in the Reggane gas project in Algeria.

In addition, the company drilled six successful wells: Sapinhoa North, Northeast Carioca, Gávea (rated one of the 10 largest oil discoveries in the world in 2011) and Malombe in Brazil; Buckskin 2 in the United States and A1-130 in Libya (February 2011).

During 2011, Repsol added 720 mboe in contingent resources from successful exploration, acquisitions and revisions of existing fields. During the period, Repsol acquired a total of 79,000 km² of new acreage in 13 countries including Alaska,  Ireland, Norway, Colombia and the United States.

In February 2012, Repsol announced two new discoveries; in Sierra Leone (Jupiter) and a highly promising find in Brazil (Pao de Açúcar).

Spain: Repsol Reports Drop in 2011 Net Income

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Iran cuts oil exports to six EU countries

Iran has stopped crude supplies to Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and the Netherlands, reports Iran’s Press TV.

­Tehran has fulfilled its threat to retaliate for the EU’s oil embargo, agreed by the bloc on January 26. The sanctions gave the EU members time till July to find new suppliers.

Officials within Iran immediately called to cork the black gold stream to Europe, targeting economies weakened by the ongoing financial crisis. On Wednesday, these calls became reality.

Source

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Scientists Aboard Iberian Coast Ocean Drilling Expedition Report Early Findings

Mediterranean bottom currents and the sediment deposits they leave behind offer new insights into global climate change, the opening and closing of ocean circulation gateways and locations where hydrocarbon deposits may lie buried under the sea.

A team of 35 scientists from 14 countries recently returned from an expedition off the southwest coast of Iberia and the nearby Gulf of Cadiz. There the geologists collected core samples of sediments that contain a detailed record of the Mediterranean’s history. The scientists retrieved the samples by drilling into the ocean floor during an eight-week scientific expedition onboard the ship JOIDES Resolution.

The group–researchers participating in Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 339: Mediterranean Outflow–is the first to retrieve sediment samples from deep below the seafloor in this region.

Much of the sediment in the cores is known as “contourite” because the currents that deposit it closely follow the contours of the ocean basin.

“The recovery of nearly four kilometers of contourite sediments deposited from deep underwater currents presents a superb opportunity to understand water flow from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean,” says Jamie Allan, program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which co-funds IODP.

“Knowledge of this water flow is important for understanding Earth’s climate history in the last five million years.”

“We now have a much greater insight into the distinctive character of contourites, and have validated beyond doubt the existing paradigm for this type of sedimentation,” says Dorrik Stow of Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom and co-chief scientist for Expedition 339.

The world’s oceans are far from static. Large currents flow at various depths beneath the surface. These currents form a global conveyor belt that transfers heat energy and helps buffer Earth’s climate.

Critical gateways in the oceans affect circulation of these major currents.

The Strait of Gibraltar is one such gateway. It re-opened less than six million years ago.

Today, deep below the surface, there is a powerful cascade of Mediterranean water spilling out through the strait into the Atlantic Ocean.

Because this water is saltier than the Atlantic–and therefore heavier–it plunges more than 1,000 meters downslope, scouring the rocky seafloor, carving deep-sea canyons and building up mountains of mud on a little-known submarine landscape.

The sediments hold a record of climate change and tectonic activity that spans much of the past 5.3 million years.

The team found evidence for a “tectonic pulse” at the junction between the African and European tectonic plates, which is responsible for the rising and falling of key structures in and around the gateway.

This event also led to strong earthquakes and tsunamis that dumped large flows of debris and sand into the deep sea.

At four of the seven drill sites, there was also a major chunk of the geologic record missing from the sediment cores–evidence of a strong current that scoured the seafloor.

“We set out to understand how the Strait of Gibraltar acted first as a barrier and then a gateway over the past six million years,” says Javier Hernandez-Molina of the University of Vigo in Spain and co-chief scientist for Expedition 339. “We now have that understanding and a record of a deep, powerful Mediterranean outflow through the Gibraltar gateway.”

The first drill site, located on the west Portuguese margin, provided the most complete marine sediment record of climate change over the past 1.5 million years of Earth history.

The sediment cores cover at least four major ice ages and contain a new marine archive to compare against ice core records from Greenland and Antarctica, among other land-based records.

The team was surprised to find exactly the same climate signal in the mountains of contourite mud they drilled in the Gulf of Cádiz.

Because these muds were deposited much faster than the sediments at the Portuguese margin site, the record from these cores could prove to yield even richer, more detailed climate information.

“Cracking the climate code will be more difficult for contourites because they receive a mixed assortment of sediment from varying sources,” Hernandez-Molina says.

“But the potential story that unfolds may be even more significant. The oceans and climate are inextricably linked. It seems there is an irrepressible signal of this nexus in contourite sediments.”

The team also found more sand among the contourite sediments than expected.

The scientists found this sand filling the contourite channels, deposited as thick layers within mountains of mud, and in a single, vast sand sheet that spreads out nearly 100 kilometers from the Gibraltar gateway.

All testify to the strength, velocity and duration of the Mediterranean bottom currents. The finding could affect future oil and gas exploration, the researchers believe.

“The thickness, extent and properties of these sands make them an ideal target in places where they are buried deeply enough to allow for the trapping of hydrocarbons,” Stow explains.

The sands are deposited in a different manner in channels and terraces cut by bottom currents; in contrast, typical reservoirs form in sediments deposited by downslope “turbidity” currents.

“The sand is especially clean and well-sorted, and therefore very porous and permeable,” says Stow. “Our findings could herald a significant shift in future exploration targets.”

IODP is an international research program dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of the Earth through drilling, coring, and monitoring the subseafloor.

IODP is supported by two lead agencies: the U.S. National Science Foundation and Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Additional program support comes from the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling, the Australia-New Zealand IODP Consortium, India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences, the People’s Republic of China (Ministry of Science and Technology), and the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

The JOIDES Resolution is a scientific research vessel managed by the U.S. Implementing Organization of IODP (USIO). Texas A&M University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership comprise the USIO.

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