Subsea in July

Subsea World News has gathered all the highlights to bring you a summarized version of the most popular articles from the previous month.

Industry majors made the news again last month with new contract awards, including Saipem’s field development project for the Zohr gas field, located off the Egyptian coast in the Mediterranean sea. The project is part of a €1.5 billion of contract wins the Italian oil and gas services provider announced in July.

OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company, said it will supply subsea production system and a dual multiphase boosting system for the Woodside’s Greater Enfield project for approximately $300 million.

The Houston-based subsea engineering specialist, Oceaneering, has sealed a deal with Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) to provide up to ten remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems with associated subsea tooling, engineering and technicians to support HMC’s global operations, including fixed and floating platform installations, platform decommissioning, subsea infrastructure and pipeline installations.

In addition to these contract awards, Technip and Bibby Offshore secured work in the North Sea. Technip said it will provide Repsol with diving support and IRM services for 2016, with possible extension to include 2017 and 2018, while Bibby clinched a 15-day campaign which will see diving support vessel Bibby Topaz work for BP in August this year.

Also in July, FMC Technologies, the largest provider of subsea equipment to the industry, posted a sharp profit drop for the second quarter 2016, coming down to $2.2 million from $108 million same time last year. Aker Solutions also reported a drop from 209 million Norwegian kroner to NOK 131 million in Q2 2016. Other industry providers, such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, Saipem and Oceaneering booked a quarterly loss.

French oil services provider, Technip, bounced back into the black as it reported a profit of €123.3 million, while SURF specialist Subsea 7 and EPCI company McDermott posted better-than-expected earnings results.

Industry slowdown also hit the Asian market as the offshore contractor Ezra slumped to a third-quarter loss of close to $243 million, and financially troubled Swiber applied to be placed under judicial management after it pulled back its previous application for provisional liquidation.

Further July highlights came from Norway as Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies signed a purchase agreement with a subsidiary of National Oilwell Varco (NOV) for the sale of Subsea Products business. Bibby Offshore is facing a hurdle called Industri Energy, after Norway’s biggest offshore union issued a boycott warning, forcing the company to go to court in order to prevent such action.

For the month of July, our 10 most-read articles were:

                                                                  Pirates Attack Cable Layer in Red Sea                          Bibby Gets Norway Boycott Warning

                                                                    Saipem Lands Contracts Over €1.5 Bln                      NOV Buys Kongsberg’s Subsea Products

              Technip Bags IMR Contract in Noth Sea                                  FMC Technologies Sees Profits Plunge

                                Bibby Offshore Secures BP Work                                 Oceaneering Lands Heerema Subsea Deal

Swiber Applies for Liquidation                                OneSubsea Bags Woodside EPC Contract