Pioneering Spirit Resumes Work on TurkStream Pipeline - MARITIME EXECUTIVE

2018-JUNE-28, 17:54:38

Less than a month after completing a successful platform installation off Norway, the Pioneering Spirit has resumed pipelay work on the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. She has had a busy year: she finished building the pipeline's first string on April 30, exited the Black Sea on May 2, installed a 22,000 tonne topsides unit at the Johan Sverdrup field off Norway in early June, and entered the Black Sea once more on June 20.

Upon her return at the TurkStream site, the Pioneering Spirit conducted preparatory work, including stinger deployment and pipelay equipment checks. Once she was ready, the unfinished head of the second pipeline string was recovered from the bottom of the Black Sea, at a depth of 7,100 feet. The initial 120 nm section of the second string was built in 2017, and was only completed up to the Russian-Turkish EEZ border.

"Catastrophic Damage" in Fighting at Ras Lanuf Terminal - THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Tank roof burns, Ras Lanuf, June 16 (National Oil Company)

2018-06-21 14:32:43Amer Hammuda

On Wednesday, Libya's National Oil Corporation reported "catastrophic damage" to two of the five tanks at the Ras Lanuf oil terminal due to fighting between militia groups.

The damage resulted in a 400,000-barrel reduction in crude oil storage capacity (from 950,000 barrels to 550,000 barrels), and the NOC said that Tank 2 is in danger of leaking and spreading the fire to the three surviving tanks. Ras Lanuf's terminal once had about a dozen tanks, but the long series of conflicts since the end of the Gaddafi era have destroyed all but a few.

The so-called Petroleum Facilities Guard militia attacked the terminals at Ras Lanuf and Es Sider on June 14. The group controlled the terminals until last year, when they were seized from by forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who controls the eastern half of Libya. The attack forced the NOC to evacuate employees, declare force majeure and suspend loadings, cutting Libya's daily oil export volume in half.

One employee was shot and injured during the attack on the terminal, and several more were robbed, NOC reported. All others were evacuated safely.

Egypt Skips Gas Bill, Loses LNG Shipment | The Maritime Executive

British Sapphire, image courtesy ATSB

By Reuters 2016-01-21

BP's diversion of a tanker of liquefied natural gas (LNG) away from Egypt due to payment issues is the first sign that the country's currency crisis could be jeopardizing its energy supplies, traders said.

Earlier this month the tanker British Sapphire was diverted to Brazil rather than discharging in Egypt, with the delivery of the LNG cargo for Egypt delayed up until October, traders said.