Oceaneering Expands Subsea Services With $30 Million Acquisition

Oceaneering International Inc. acquired the assets of Blue Ocean Technologies LLC for $30 million in cash, expanding the Houston company’s subsea services into riserless light well intervention (RLWI), an Oct. 17 Oceaneering release stated.

Blue Ocean is a privately held provider of RLWI systems, which holds the current depth record for deepwater riserless intervention at 2,500 m (8,200 ft).

Oceaneering’s acquisition included three RLWI systems, two of which are currently under construction and are expected to be fully functional by mid-2017. The company said it expects to invest about $10 million to complete the construction of the two RLWI systems.

Blue Ocean’s RLWI systems are capable of performing a wide variety of services for well interventions, according to the release. These include well diagnostics, damaged well remediation and workovers, and well plugging and abandonment.

Oceaneering intends to report the future financial results of Blue Ocean through its subsea products segment, under its services and rentals business unit.

Mozambique Appoints Bank Chairwoman As Energy Minister

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi appointed businesswoman Leticia Klemens as his new energy minister, just weeks after the capital city of Maputo and Eni signed a 20-year deal to sell LNG to BP Plc.

Mozambique’s official news agency AIM said Klemens was chairwoman of Mozambique’s largest commercial bank, the International Bank of Mozambique, and also headed the Association of Mozambican Businesswomen.

Her predecessor as energy minister, Pedro Couto, was removed from the job in late September and appointed as president of Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power company.

The southern African state discovered offshore gas reserves six years ago that amount to about 2.4 Tcm (85 Tcf). These reserves are one of the largest finds in a decade and are enough to supply Germany, Britain, France and Italy for nearly two decades.

Eni and Mozambique should reach a final investment decision by year-end 2016 on a project to build a floating offshore platform with capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes per year of LNG from gas in the Coral South Field, which is part of the huge discovery of reserves in the Area 4 concession.

Emerson Acquires Permasense

Emerson has agreed to acquire U.K.-based Permasense Ltd., a provider of nonintrusive corrosion monitoring technologies, a news release said.

The acquisition represents another step in Emerson’s strategy to invest in its core business platforms and expand in markets with significant long-term growth opportunity, U.S.-based Emerson said in the release.

Permasense monitoring systems use unique battery-powered sensor technology, wireless data delivery and advanced analytics to continuously monitor for metal loss from corrosion or erosion in pipes, pipelines or vessels, and deliver data. The Permasense product line will become part of Emerson’s Rosemount portfolio of measurement and analytical technologies, according to the release.

Airborne Oil & Gas Secures Funding

Airborne Oil & Gas announced Oct. 10 that it has raised €23 million (US$25 million) in a series C investment round from new and existing shareholders.

Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) joins the shareholder base with an investment of €10 million (US$11 million). SAEV is the corporate venturing arm of the Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

The funds raised will enable Airborne Oil & Gas to further focus on growing the business, including product development, qualification, expanding its manufacturing capacity and increasing its sales force.

For its product design and manufacturing, Airborne Oil & Gas has obtained a number of DNV GL qualifications as well as product qualifications from several leading operators such as Chevron, Petronas and Shell.

Brazil Will Ease Local Content Requirements In Oil, Gas Auctions

Brazil will stop favoring companies that offer to purchase a larger amount of local goods and services when selecting winners in oil and gas rights auctions, newspaper Valor Economico reported on Oct. 17.

In previous auctions, companies that offered more in the way of local content requirements were favored over peers.

The newspaper said it was “practically certain” that this will not be the case in the 14th round of oil rights concession auctions, likely to be held in 2017.

Brazil’s new center-right government also intends to loosen minimum local content rules by not specifying whether individual components, such as bolts, have to be produced in the country.

“There is a consensus that the local content policy is a part of a wider industrial policy and has been positive, but it should not be static and needs to be improved,” Valor quoted Industry Minister Marcos Pereira as saying.

Efforts by Reuters to contact Brazil’s energy and industry ministries were unsuccessful.

President Michel Temer’s administration has been taking action to boost private investment in the country’s oil industry, such as removing a requirement that Petrobras be the sole operator of vast offshore reserves in the costly subsalt layer.

New MSA Replaces Previous Agreements Between Global Maritime, Statoil

On Oct. 18, Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering received a global master services agreement (MSA) from Statoil ASA for platform technology studies, safety studies, marine verification and warranty surveys.

This MSA replaces several previous frame agreements between Statoil and Global Maritime.

Global Maritime has previously provided services for Statoil’s fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and elsewhere. Most recently, Global Maritime disconnected and towed the Njord A semisubmersible floating production platform from the Njord Field to an onshore maintenance facility.

Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering is based in Stavanger, Norway.

Subsea International, Ashwood Enter Equipment Funding Arrangement

Customers of equipment sourcing company Subsea International Ltd. will be able to access financial support for purchasing equipment after Subsea International agreed to an equipment-funding arrangement with U.K.-based Ashwood Partnerships, according to an Oct. 14 press release.

Subsea International sources equipment for oil and gas, offshore renewables, decommissioning, subsea electronics and other sectors.

Subsea International’s commercial director said that customers will be able to purchase equipment to develop projects safely and on time with reduced risk.

Aker Solutions Plans To Acquire Stake In Brazilian Company

Aker Solutions has agreed to buy 70% of Brazilian C.S.E. Mecânica e Instrumentação Ltda with an option to purchase the remaining stake three years after closing the transaction, according to a news release.

The acquisition, which is subject to approval by Brazilian competition authorities, is expected to close by the end of first-quarter 2017, Aker said in a news release. The purchase price was not disclosed.

C.S.E. provides maintenance, assembly, commissioning and crane operation services at offshore and onshore facilities. The company’s fabrication shop in Rio das Ostras is located near Aker Solutions’ subsea services facility.

“Aker Solutions has established a solid presence and reputation in Brazil's oil and gas market over the past 40 years and entry into the country’s brownfield segment is an attractive growth opportunity,” Aker Solutions CEO Luis Araujo said in the release. “Joining forces with a successful local player like C.S.E. fits well with the internationalization of our services business, allowing us to bring our competence, knowledge and experience within this field to this important and growing region.”

C.S.E. CEO Altair Dietrich and the company's COO Luiz Joanello will stay on with the company. C.S.E. will remain a separate legal entity with a management team consisting of personnel from each company, according to the release. Headquartered in Brazil’s Parana state, C.S.E. has 2,300 employees.

Eni Talks With Potential Buyer For Mozambique’s Area 4 Gas Field

Eni confirmed on Oct. 20 that it was in talks with a buyer for a stake in its Area 4 gas field offshore Mozambique but said a deal had not yet been reached.

Italian broker Equita said in a note to clients earlier on Oct. 20 that according to the chairman of Mozambique’s energy company ENH, Eni had sold a majority stake and the operatorship in Area 4 to Exxon Mobil Corp.

“Talks with a potential buyer are ongoing. However, a deal has not yet been finalized,” an Eni spokesman said.

State-controlled Eni, which owns 50% of Area 4, had previously said it was ready to sell up to 25% as part of a disposal program to help fund growth.

In August, sources said Eni had wrapped up talks to sell a multibillion-dollar stake in the field to Exxon Mobil, adding that the deal would not be announced for several months at Exxon Mobil's request.

—Staff & Reuters Reports