Offshore Energy News

Japan will conduct test mining of rare-earth-rich mud from the deep seabed off Minamitori Island, some 1,900 kilometres (1,180 miles) southeast of Tokyo, from January 11 to February 14, the head of the government-backed project said.The operation will mark the world's first attempt to continuously lift rare-earth mud from a depth of around 6,000 meters on to a vessel.Tokyo, like its Western allies, is seeking to secure stable supplies of critical minerals as China, the dominant supplier of rare earths…

While challenges linger from the 2025 offshore rig market, there are signs it will look brighter from late 2026 onwards.Main Events of 2025One of the biggest talking points of 2024 and 2025 was Saudi Aramco’s suspension of 36 jackups from April 2024, but by 3Q 2025 21 units had been re-deployed into other regions of the world. Fast forward to today, the national oil company (NOC) has confirmed it will restart work with eight of the remaining suspended rigs in early 2026. It has…

Oil prices steadied on the first day of trade in 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020 as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports.Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 4 cents on Friday to $60.81 a barrel by 1029 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 3 cents at $57.39.Russia and Ukraine traded allegations of attacks on civilians on New Year's Day despite talks overseen by U.S.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a new four-year contract with Petrobras for the remotely operated support vessel (RSV) Skandi Commander.The contract was awarded following the same competitive tender process that led to six previous four-year RSV contracts announced earlier.The Skandi Commander will be equipped with both a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the latter being a unique feature of this agreement.The contract…

Offshore seismic services firm Shearwater Geoservices has finalized the preparations for the upcoming start of a new multi-client seismic project offshore Nigeria.The 3D survey is backed by significant industry funding and will be executed in partnership with Harvex Geosolutions and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).The project is scheduled to start at year-end 2025 and will be carried out by Shearwater’s high-end vessel SW Duchess over an expected two-month period.The survey will provide high-resolution subsurface data across the Western Niger Delta Basin…

Saipem has obtained ISO 55001:2024 certification, the international standard for asset lifecycle management, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards operational excellence and offshore sustainability.The certification, issued by DNV, confirms Saipem’s Asset Management system compliance with the most advanced requirements, covering all operational phases - design, procurement, installation, commissioning, maintenance and decommissioning, ensuring a robust and effective “Asset Integrity” framework.The certification applies to Saipem’s entire offshore asset portfolio…

Ocean Infinity has reached a significant milestone with the delivery of the final vessel in its 14-vessel Armada fleet, featuring advanced underwater robotic systems capable of a wide range of data collection tasks.Over the past five years, Ocean Infinity has built and deployed a fleet of cutting-edge lean crewed vessels unlike anything the industry has seen before.This latest delivery completes the 86-meter class of Armada ships, following the successful introduction of the 78-meter class in 2023.

A consortium of GE Vernova and Singapore’s Seatrium has secured a major contract from Dutch-German grid operator TenneT to deliver the BalWin5 offshore grid connection, a 2.2 GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system designed to bring North Sea wind power to Germany’s electricity network.BalWin5 is expected to provide enough renewable electricity to supply about 2.75 million households, forming part of Germany’s strategy to accelerate offshore wind deployment and…

Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm, planned for 44 km off Stonehaven in North East Scotland, has submitted the application for planning permission in principle for the onshore infrastructure of the Project to Aberdeenshire Council. The submission covers the elements from the landfall point near Benholm, underground cable corridor, onshore substation and proposed connection to the planned Hurlie substation at Fetteresso Forest, where the wind farm-supplied power enters the National Grid.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) completed and redelivered HOS Rocinante, a first-of-its-kind U.S.-flagged Service Operation Vessel (SOV) converted for Hornbeck Offshore Services.The vessel marks a milestone in the evolution of the U.S. offshore service fleet to be future-ready for both the offshore wind and petro-energy sector demands for broadly capable marine support vessels.Originally built by ESG as an offshore supply vessel, HOS Rocinante unerwent extensive conversion at ESG’s Allanton and Port St Joe Shipyards in Panama City…

Kongsberg Maritime has signed a major contract with Sea1 Offshore to deliver Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) for the company’s four new offshore construction vessels. Each vessel will be equipped with two advanced LARS units, supporting subsea construction and ROV operations.The scope of supply per vessel includes two telescopic A-frames, fully electrical umbilical winches, energy efficient hydraulic power units, and a dedicated control system. Each system offers a safe working load of 15 tonnes (vehicle dry weight) and winch cable capacity of 4…

France-based STAPEM Group has chosen Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) technology as the permanent solution for one of its flagship offshore support vessels, the STAPEM Boreale.Operating in one of STAPEM Group’s key regions, Angola, the vessel is now equipped with a Ranger 2 GyroUSBL 7000 system, an all-in-one, high-performance USBL system for precise positioning performance, previously used on a hire basis.Ranger 2 GyroUSBL 7000 is optimized for ultra-deepwater operations and, like all Ranger 2 GyroUSBL systems, includes a single, pre-calibrated transceiver head.

Fugro has completed the geotechnical site investigations at the eastern array of Dogger Bank South Wind Farm, off UK.Fugro’s five-vessel campaign gathered core samples and cone penetration tests (CPT) data up to 50 meters below the seabed.According to RWE, which is developing the project together with partner Masdar, the results of the campaign will provide vital insights for designing turbine and platform foundations.Dogger Bank South (DBS) consists of two offshore wind farms - DBS East and DBS West - with an estimated combined capacity of 3 GW.RWE leads both DBS projects…

Marketing in Maritime (MiM), the specialist networking and development community for marketing and communications professionals in the marine and energy sectors, appointed Kae-Ley Brann to a new role of Business Manager.Brann joins at a pivotal time in the Marketing in Maritime journey, as it prepares to embark on an ambitious new chapter as a community-led professional development platform. As Business Manager, she will steer the evolution of Marketing in Maritime’s new ‘MiMbership’ program…

Havila Shipping delivered a stronger third quarter in 2025, reporting improved profit before tax and maintaining high fleet utilization despite softer day rates and several vessels undergoing planned maintenance.According to the company’s quarterly report, freight revenues reached NOK 149.3 million in Q3 2025, up NOK 8.5 million from the same period last year but down sequentially from Q2. Utilization remained robust at 95.3%, although two vessels were temporarily out of service for scheduled yard work.

The Jasmund offshore substation project for German grid operator 50Hertz, being delivered by HIS consortium, has reached a key milestone with the load-out of both its topside and jacket, marking a major step toward offshore installation in the Baltic Sea.The topside, built at HSM Offshore Energy’s Stormpolder yard in the Netherlands, measures 48 meters by 33 meters, stands 17.5 meters high and weighs about 4,500 tonnes. The matching 4,500-tonne jacket, rising 72 meters, was manufactured…

Danish power cable maker and services provider NKT has concluded a turnkey repair of one of the 220 kV high-voltage AC subsea export cables connecting the Beatrice offshore wind farm in the Scottish Moray Firth to the Aberdeenshire coast.The repair was executed in 38 days, according to NKT, which was hired for the repair job following an unplanned transmission outage that occurred in April 2025 on one of two of Beatrice’s Transmission Capital Partner (TCP) owned export cables.The malfunction reduced the site’s export capacity by 50%…

Chevron is studying options to buy global assets of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil, five sources familiar with the process told Reuters on Monday.The U.S. Treasury gave clearance last week to potential buyers to talk to Lukoil about foreign assets. Chevron would join Carlyle and other firms in the race for the Lukoil portfolio worth at least $20 billion.The United States last month imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies, Lukoil LKOH.MM and Rosneft ROSN.MM…

As COP30 kicks off its second week in Brazil, much has changed since the landmark Paris climate agreement was penned 10 years ago.The spirit of cooperation that once reigned has been shattered by economic rivalries and a stark divergence in climate policies among the world’s biggest polluters.The landmark UN COP21 climate agreement signed in Paris on December 12, 2015 saw 195 nations commit to setting binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.

Eneos Holdings, Japan's top oil refiner which has been expanding into renewable energy, on Wednesday warned of the surging cost of developing its offshore wind project, with its CEO saying returns were difficult to achieve.Eneos unit, Japan Renewable Energy, won a government auction to develop the Happo-Noshiro 375-megawatt offshore wind project in Japan's northern Akita prefecture together with Spain's Iberdrola and Tohoku Electric Power Co in March 2024.

A new generation of hybrid vessels is demonstrating significant gains in both fuel economy and operational output. For Olympic Subsea’s owner and CEO Stig Remøy, it proves that technology-led efficiency is the fastest path to decarbonization—and a powerful business case.When Stig Remøy began pivoting Olympic Subsea toward subsea and renewables a decade ago, the move was met with some internal skepticism. “Naturally, there were internal discussions — some believed oil and gas was the future,” he recalled.

As oil exploration and production goes, so goes the market for Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). Throughout 2025, the prices of oil- which drives exploration and production (E & P), have softened, moving down towards $60/barrel amidst economic uncertainty and a wider than anticipated opening of the taps by major oil producers. In the past year, the Baker Hughes overall count of U.S. rigs working has declined. September 2025’s U.S. Rig count of…

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