Editor’s Picks for 2014

The editors of Subsea World News have selected a few among many worth remembering articles from the previous year that received exceptionally high attention from our readers.

In no particular order, here are some of the news to look back on, in case you missed them last year. Enjoy.

Pieter Schelte Faces South Stream End

Allseas’ flagship vessel, the 382 metres long and 124 metres wide Pieter Schelte, might be looking for a new job following the latest South Stream developments.

Allseas was supposed to start laying 900km of the second line in the summer of 2015, using Pieter Schelte for the job. However…

Subsea 7 Axes Almost 150 Jobs in Norway

The UK-based oil services company Subsea 7 is reported to be letting go almost 150 employees in Norway.

Namely, the company said last September that it was planning to cut costs by reducing its headcount, largely due to project delays, but didn’t specify which areas will be cut.

According to the latest reports…

Xodus Subsea to Boost Market Competition

Chiyoda Corporation, Xodus Group and Saipem International BV, a subsidiary company of Saipem Spa, have joined forces to set up a subsea engineering company named Xodus Subsea.

Xodus Subsea plans to challenge the largest tier-one subsea engineering companies for a share of the global market. Xodus Subsea will be headquartered in London and have a presence in several cities across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Middle East and Asia Pacific including eight dedicated engineering centres in priority energy locations.

Tasik Subsea to Build New Subsea Vessel in China

John Giddens, who built Hallin Marine into a global subsea services player after starting it from a container in his back garden, has re-entered the industry with the announcement of the build of a 105m subsea operations, diving and ROV support vessel.

The contract for the construction of the vessel, tentatively named “Tasik Toba” has been signed with Fujian Mawei Shipyard in China.

Technip Moves to Buy CGG

French oil services provider Technip has announced that, on Monday, November 10, 2014, it approached CGG to create a first tier oil and gas services provider.

The proposed transaction would take the form of a public tender offer in cash for CGG’s shares at a price of 8.30 euros per share. CGG confirmed having been approached by Technip in an unsolicited manner in respect of a potential combination, and according to the company, “the conditions to pursue were not met.”

McDermott Builds World’s Largest Specialty Valves for Ichthys LNG 

McDermott’s experts, in collaboration with a leading valve manufacturer, have developed, as the company claims, a first of a kind in the valve industry, the world’s largest forged body specialty valve, for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project.

Each valve measures approximately 9 meters in length and 7 meters high, and weighs more than 100 tonnes. The first valve has been successfully built and tested.

MH370 Might Not Be in Indian Ocean, Emirates Airlines Head Says

The boss of a major airline believes missing flight MH370 may not have crashed in the Indian Ocean, and that probably control was taken of that airplane.

The Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared more than six months ago as it travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In an Interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Emirates Airlines head Tim Clark has stated…

Offshore Industry Must Take Better Care of Overweight Workers

The UK oil and gas industry will have to take steps to be more accommodating to overweight employees, a leading North East law firm has said.

Kirk Tudhope, employment lawyer and partner with Ledingham Chalmers, explained that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is currently considering whether being substantially overweight is a “protected characteristic” under EU and therefore UK employment legislation.

Aker Solutions Splits into Two Companies

Aker Solutions will split into two companies to speed up a streamlining process that will reduce costs and better position all parts of the group to meet the needs of customers in an increasingly competitive global energy industry.

The Subsea, Umbilicals, Engineering and Maintenance, Modifications and Operations (MMO) areas will form a new company under the Aker Solutions name.