Blog Archives
Huisman to Deliver Well Intervention System for Helix’s Q7000
Huisman, a Dutch specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solutions, has secured a new contract from Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. for the delivery of a Well Intervention System onboard Helix’s new build Semi submersible “Q7000”.
The system, which is based on Huisman’s proven Multi Purpose Tower (MPT) design, will be built by the Huisman production facility in China.
The fully integrated 800mt Well Intervention System will be capable of handling the Intervention stack, the high pressure riser and other components. The Huisman Multi Purpose Tower has the same functionality as a normal derrick but offers improved accessibility to the well center, which allows for new improved handling procedures that increase efficiency and safety. The superior accessibility to the well center and the small footprint of the MPT are ideally suited for well intervention and subsea installation services. Subsea equipment can be skidded into the well center from three sides, offering enhanced flexibility.
The active heave compensation hoist system of the MPT provides excellent means for safe landing of equipment at the seabed while the passive heave compensation system provides a safe and redundant means to supply top tension to the risers. A guide trolley, travelling the entire length of the tower, guides the subsea modules during lifting operations. The system also features multiple transfer hatches that can be used to move equipment into the well center, and a skiddable work floor covering the moonpool flush with main deck.
The skiddable work floor allows large subsea modules to be deployed, without the need for a raised work floor. When large objects need to pass the moonpool the work floor can be skidded aside. In closed position, the work floor is flush with the main deck, which significantly reduces HSE risks and improves equipment handling on deck.
In addition to the Well Intervention System Huisman will also supply a 150mt Knuckle Boom Crane and a 160mt Pedestal Mounted Crane. Previous orders from Helix, amongst others, the Multi Purpose Tower onboard the “Q4000”, “Well Enhancer” as well as the cranes for the “Q4000” and “Q5000”.
Press Release, October 09, 2013
Q7000: Helix Orders Semi-Submersible Rig from Sembcorp Marine
Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard has secured a US$346 million contract to build a second semi-submersible well intervention rig for Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (Helix), a market leader in subsea well intervention services.
Scheduled for delivery in mid-2016, the semi-submersible light well intervention rig will be built based on a design jointly developed by Sembcorp Marine Technology Pte Ltd (SMTP), a fully-owned Research & Development subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, and Helix. Featuring the latest technology, the rig – named Q7000 by Helix – is an efficient purpose-designed platform with capabilities to perform a wide variety of tasks, including conventional and extended top hole drilling, subsea construction, decommissioning well intervention, coiled tubing operations and twin ROV deployment.
The Dynamic Positioning (DP) class 3 unit has the ability to operate in deepwater operations worldwide, including the North Sea and West of Africa.
William Gu, General Manager of Offshore Division said: “We are honoured that Helix has chosen to build their second semi-submersible well intervention rig with us. This repeat order is significant as it testifies as to their trust and confidence in our design and building capabilities in rigs with well intervention and subsea capabilities that are customised to meet this new growth segment of the market. We are committed to build on our partnership with Helix and to meet their stringent standards of quality, safety and reliability.”
Owen Kratz, Helix’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are pleased to work with our trusted partner Jurong Shipyard on this second unit of the semisubmersible well intervention rig, to be named Q7000.”
The above is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of Sembcorp Marine for the year ending December 31, 2013.
VIDEO: Ulstein, NOV Present Next Generation Offshore Vessel
In the following video, National Oilwell Varco (NOV) and ULSTEIN present what they describe as the “next generation of modern offshore vessels.”
According to the caption of the video published on Ulstein’s YouTube channel “this is the standard for future offshore construction.”
The vessel platform used is the ULSTEIN designed Deepwater Enabler.
The 160.0 m long Deepwater enabler is a Multi-purpose Offshore construction vessel of a highly flexible design that can, according to Ulstein, be customized to meet client’s specifications and requirements.
The construction vessel is designed for various offshore operations. With a simplistic customization process it can be used to install and maintain offshore wind turbines, as well as for flex-lay, well intervention and slim hole drilling operations for the offshore oil and gas industry.
If February this year, Toisa placed an order for a construction vessel of the Deepwater Enabler design. The vessel will be built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.
See the video below:
BP Extends LWI Contract with Island Offshore
Island Offshore, a leading name in global Light Well Intervention (“LWI”) activities, has been awarded a major contract extension with BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd.
The two-year contract extension, covering 2014 and 2015, has been awarded to Island Offshore and the North Sea RLWI Alliance, which operates three monohull vessels specially designed for well intervention tasks. Island Offshore’s Island Constructor – a 120m long, 8,200 ton, state-of-the-art Ulstein built X-Bow vessel – will perform the scope of work for the client.
Commenting on the award, Robert Friedberg, Managing Director of Island Offshore Subsea, says: “We are delighted to continue our successful operations for BP. This is an important extension of a contract that has now been in place for 5 years.”
“It demonstrates the strength of the relationship we have built with BP and the excellent standard of service that Island Offshore, and its partners in the North Sea RLWI Alliance, have delivered.”
He continues: “We have acquired some unique experience working with the BP team in the harsh environments West of the Shetland, and we look forward to building on that in the future.”
The value of the new contract is approximately NOK 0.5 billion (USD 86.5 million) and includes options for NOK 0.75 billion (USD 129.8 million).
The North Sea Alliance was formed in 2004 to provide integrated wireline services to the growing subsea intervention market. The Alliance performs between 60-70 well interventions each year, providing services such as scale milling, gauging and logging operations, plug setting and re-perforating requirements. Island Offshore and the North Sea RLWI Alliance are currently the world leading riser-less wireline intervention,(“RLWI”), provider. To date the partners have performed close to 250 well interventions.
Houston,TX: BP Hires Helix’s Q5000 Semi
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a five-year contract with BP to provide well intervention services to BP in the US Gulf of Mexico with Helix’s deepwater well intervention semisubmersible vessel, the Q5000, currently being constructed in Singapore.
The contract is for a minimum 270 days each year and is expected to commence between April and August 2015 following the delivery of the vessel from the shipyard. The contract also includes a first right of refusal for additional days each year and an option to extend for two successive one-year terms.
“We appreciate the confidence BP has shown in our Company’s well intervention services, and look forward to this integral step in further executing our business strategy,” said Helix President and Chief Executive Officer Owen Kratz.
Representing a $585 million investment, the dynamically positioned Q5000 will be a bigger version of Helix ESG’s proven Q4000 semisubmersible MODU.
Helix Energy Solutions Group, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an international offshore energy company that provides key life of field services to the energy market.
Helix Completes Sale of ERT (USA)
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has closed the previously announced sale of Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT), the Company’s oil and gas subsidiary, to Talos Production LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Talos Energy LLC, a privately held Houston-based oil and gas company.
Proceeds from the transaction were approximately $620 million in cash, as well as overriding royalty interests in ERT’s successful Wang discovery and certain exploration prospects. Jeffries & Company, Inc. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Helix in conjunction with the transaction.
A portion of the cash proceeds from the sale of ERT will be used to repay the Company’s term loans and revolving credit facility indebtedness as required by the governing credit agreement.
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated that “the sale of ERT is an important milestone in the Company’s previously announced strategic plans to grow its Well Intervention and Robotics businesses.”
Related: Helix Sells Oil and Gas Subsidiary for up to $700 Mln
Helix Completes Sale of ERT (USA)| Offshore Energy Today.
- Talos Buys Energy Resource Technology (pehub.com)
- Helix Energy (HLX) to Divest Energy Resource Tech in ~$700M Deal (streetinsider.com)
- Helix Energy sells oil and gas subsidiary to Talos (bizjournals.com)
Helix disposals create deep-water operator takeover bait
Wade Youngblood, a production team leader, walks up a set of steps on the Helix Producer 1 in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011(Photo: Rusty Costanza/ The Times-Picayune)
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (HLX) is turning into a takeover target after streamlining the company to focus on its expanding operations for offshore oil-well support.
The Houston-based company agreed last month to sell its oil-and-gas unit and earlier exited a pipe-laying business, helping Helix reduce debt and center its operations on deepwater vessels and robotics for well maintenance. The divestments make the $2.2 billion company more appealing to a potential suitor such as Aker Solutions ASA (AKSO) or Technip SA (TEC) that may want to expand in marine contracting, said Capital One Financial Corp.
Helix also may attract other oilfield-services providers, according to Stephens Inc., while Iberia Capital Partners LLC says a rig owner such as Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) could be interested. Even after Helix’s moves led to a 31 percent gain in 2012 that beat U.S. energy equipment and services stocks, the company trades at a 23 percent discount to its closest competitor Oceaneering International Inc. based on this year’s estimated earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It’s a cleaned-up company,” Trey Stolz, an analyst at Iberia Capital in New Orleans, said in a telephone interview. “Helix would be attractive as an add-on for existing offshore service providers to immediately get a head start on the well intervention side. It’s the next step forward in further specialization of the offshore equipment.”
Terrence Jamerson, director of investor relations at Helix, didn’t return phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.
Oilfield Divers
Helix, which traces its roots to a group of oilfield divers in the 1960s, evolved into an offshore energy company with operations spanning deepwater construction, oil-and-gas production and well maintenance and repair.
The company in October said it sold off its pipe-laying vessels and in December announced that it had agreed to sell its oil-and-gas unit as part of a plan to shift its focus toward so- called well-intervention services. This business, which encompasses undersea well maintenance, salvage and repair using floating vessels and robotics, is more profitable than pipe- laying while requiring less capital outlays than are needed for exploration and production, Chief Financial Officer Anthony Tripodo told investors during a presentation in November.
The asset sales spurred gains in Helix shares that contributed to the biggest advance last year among the 11 members in the Standard & Poor’s Midcap Energy Equipment & Services Index. The stock closed yesterday at $20.86.
‘Simpler Package’
By helping to center Helix’s operations on a single, growing business, the disposals also have bolstered the company’s allure as a potential takeover target, said David Streit, an Appleton, Wisconsin-based equity analyst at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The firm oversees about $76 billion in assets, including Helix shares.
“This focuses the company and provides potential acquirers with a much more focused and simpler package of assets,” Streit said in a phone interview. The sale of the oil-and-gas unit “removed the last major impediment to an acquisition. The balance sheet will be net cash positive after the divestiture of the business is complete. And beyond that it’s a very straightforward and clean business.”
Including its current net debt of $589 million, Helix’s enterprise value as of yesterday was 6.64 times its 2013 estimated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The multiple for its Houston-based rival Oceaneering International (OII) was higher at 8.64 times this year’s estimated Ebitda, the data show.
Deepwater Appeal
“It’s trading at a multiple out of whack with other offshore asset-based service companies,” Iberia Capital’s Stolz said.
In its streamlined form, Helix may appeal to some contractors already operating in deepwater oil fields, Stolz said. The addition would give them a leg up as demand grows for well-intervention services, which use equipment sent down from vessels on the water’s surface to tap into aging wells on the sea floor and boost production.
Well-intervention vessels are in demand because they’re a cheaper alternative to drilling rigs, which have long been the standard and are now able to charge near-record leasing rates due to higher oil prices, Stolz said. The market for well intervention could experience growth similar to the past five years, when the number of aging wells nearly doubled to 3,500, he said.
Aker, Technip
Aker Solutions, a Lysaker, Norway-based oil-services company with well-intervention operations, could be a potential suitor for Helix, said Joseph Gibney, a Houston-based analyst with Capital One. The $5.8 billion company has a fleet of three deepwater well-intervention vessels, according to its website.
Paris-based Technip, with a market value of $13 billion, also could be a logical buyer because of its experience working in deep waters offering construction and engineering services for oil fields, Gibney said.
Ivar Simensen, a spokesman at Aker Solutions, declined to comment on whether the company is interested in Helix. Christophe Belorgeot, a spokesman for Technip, didn’t respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
Other oilfield-services companies may want to buy Helix to augment their businesses and gain technical expertise, said Michael Marino, an analyst at Stephens Inc. in Houston. Rig contractors such as Diamond Offshore may be interested in Helix as a way to recapture some of the work lost to lower-priced well-intervention vessels, Gibney and Stolz said.
Going Alone
Darren Daugherty, a spokesman for Diamond Offshore, declined to comment on whether the company is interested in Helix.
With Helix now focused on well intervention, the company could look to stay independent or even seek out acquisitions itself, said Todd Smurl, president and chief investment officer of Houston-based Ascendant Advisors.
“It might put them in play down the road but now they might actually be strong enough to be an acquirer as opposed to being acquired,” Smurl said in a phone interview. What’s more, after the stock rose 19 percent in the past month alone, “it’s not the screaming bargain it was,” he said.
Still, Stephens’s Marino estimates the company could fetch $25 in a takeover, a 20 percent premium to yesterday’s close.
“A takeout at those levels doesn’t seem crazy,” said Marino, who recommended that investors buy the stock after Helix announced plans to sell its oil-and-gas unit. “It makes a lot of sense for someone who wants to increase their presence internationally and offshore.”
Related articles
- USA: Helix Marks Strong Market Demand for Deepwater Well Intervention Services (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Helix Reports Oil Discovery at Wang Well in U.S. Gulf (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Helix Energy Solutions Group Sells Offshore Production Business for $610 Million (gcaptain.com)
- Helix Updates Well Intervention Fleet Backlog (dailyfinance.com)
- Helix disposals create deep-water operator takeover bait (fuelfix.com)
Helix Updates Well Intervention Fleet Backlog
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
Helix Energy Solutions Group announced today that it has been awarded its initial customer contractual commitments for the Helix 534. The Helix 534was acquired in August from Transocean and is undergoing modifications and upgrades necessary for conversion into a well intervention vessel at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The Helix 534 is scheduled to sail from Singapore during the first quarter of 2013 and after transit to the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to be placed into service in late second quarter 2013. Backlog for the Helix 534 involves work in the Gulf of Mexico and extends into 2016.
View original post 437 more words
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 