President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia wanted to retain its "superiority" in the Arctic and that it planned to renew its icebreaker fleet to bolster its presence there.Moscow has stepped up its efforts to tap the region's commercial potential, including by increasing freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Murmansk in the Russian Arctic to the Bering Strait near Alaska.
Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off Australia, off line since early February, is working on restarting operations but would not resume full production this year. The troubled Prelude FLNG platform was shut down following an electrical trip and Shell has faced a number of issues over the past few months in trying to restart full
A nuclear-powered ice breaker Russia says is the world’s largest and most powerful set off on Tuesday on a two-week journey to the Arctic as part of Moscow’s efforts to tap the region’s commercial potential.Known as Arktika, the nuclear icebreaker left St. Petersburg and headed for the Arctic port of Murmansk, a journey that marks its entry into Russia’s icebreaker fleet.
The owners of four Iranian fuel cargoes that were confiscated by U.S. authorities last month mounted a challenge to the seizure, asserting their rights to control the cargo, according to a court filing on Tuesday.The U.S. Justice Department last month announced the seizure of 1.116 million barrels of fuel it said was destined for Venezuela.
The United States said on Friday it had confiscated four Iranian fuel shipments that had been bound for Venezuela, disrupting a key supply line for both Tehran and Caracas as they defied U.S. sanctions.U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran should not be sending cargoes to Venezuela and added that the seized shipments were bound for Houston, Texas, a major U.S.
Tankers carrying Iranian fuel cargoes covered by a U.S. warrant for seizure are sailing to the United States after talks between U.S. authorities and ship owners, a U.S. government source and a shipping source said on Thursday.Iran had planned to transport the gasoline to Venezuela, a supply line that both Tehran and Caracas have flaunted in defiance of U.S. sanctions.
Offshore oil and gas driller Noble Corp said on Friday it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure debt, following a historic fall in energy prices.The company said it would swap all its bond debt, which accounts for more than $3.4 billion of its total debt, with equity in the restructured company.
U.S. prosecutors late on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is shipping to Venezuela, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to increase economic pressure on the two U.S. foes.The government of Venezuelan Socialist President Nicolas Maduro has flaunted the tankers, which departed last month, to show it remains unbowed by U.S. pressure.
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co, a unit of China State Shipbuilding Corp, has signed contract to construct three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers worth 3.9 billion yuan ($551.62 million), reported the state-backed Jiefang Daily on Tuesday.The LNG carriers, each with a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres
BP Plc began turning off production at three platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico and evacuating workers because of the threat from Tropical Storm Cristobal, forecast to make landfall in Louisiana over the weekend, the company said.Norwegian state-oil company Equinor ASA began evacuating non-essential workers on Wednesday and plans to shut production on Friday at its Titan oil platform if
The good news is that work has commenced on the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the United States Coast Guard in 43 years. The bad news is that when it enters service, projected to occur in FY2024, it will be the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the USCG in 47 years.Meanwhile, Russia has approximately 30 active polar icebreakers, including four that are nuclear powered.
China's marine fuels sales fell by as much as 50% in February as the rapidly spreading coronavirus and prolonged Lunar New Year break strangled freight movement in and out of the global manufacturing powerhouse, trade sources said.The epidemic, which has killed almost 3,000 people and infected about 80,000 in China alone