company:statoil

  • Norway awards #Equinor license to build #CO2_storage under seabed | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters
    https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N1ZB3BN

    Equinor has won a license to develop carbon dioxide (CO2) storage under the North Sea, Norway’s oil ministry said on Friday, part of a push to combat climate change.

    Equinor is expected to submit a development plan this year, with parliament making a final decision in 2020 or 2021.

    Proponents of carbon capture and storage (CCS) say countries need the technology to help fulfil pledges made around the time of the breakthrough Paris climate change agreement in 2015.

    But environmentalists say is a costly technology that will perpetuate the status quo when rapid and deep cuts to energy use are needed to limit global warming.

    #CSC #captage_de_CO2
    ex-#Statoil

  • Norwegian frigate collides with oil tanker off country’s coast, 8 injured (VIDEO) — RT World News
    https://www.rt.com/news/443399-tanker-frigate-incident-norway


    The Norwegian Navy frigate “KNM Helge Ingstad” after a collision with a tanker.
    ©NTB Scanpix- Marit Hommedal via REUTERS

    A Norwegian Navy frigate returning from a NATO exercise collided with an oil tanker off Norway’s coast. Eight people received light injuries in the incident while the warship started slowly sinking.
    The early morning collision, which involved the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS, happened off Norway’s western coast near an island chain on which the municipality of Øygarden is located.

    Unlike the warship, the tanker, which carries around 625,000 barrels of crude, was mostly undamaged in the incident and no signs of an oil spill were reported. The ship was still ordered to return to port for inspection.

    The frigate, which reportedly received a long tear in the hull’s starboard side, started to take on water and listed dangerously. A tank of helicopter fuel was damaged and leaked some of its content, local media say. The crew of 137 was ordered to abandon ship, which was moved closer to land to prevent it from capsizing.

    The incident also triggered the shut-down of several oil industry sites in the vicinity, including a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway’s largest gas processing plant and several offshore fields.

    • Pas d’infos précises,…

      Cette après-midi, la BBC sort des fuites sur les communications entre les deux navires avant la collision qui ont été enregistrées. Pas glorieux, semble-t-il pour la marine norvégienne. En tous cas, les dégâts sont impressionnants et l’échouage volontaire a très certainement évité un chavirage rapide que l’on voit se profiler sur la première vidéo, alors que le navire est déjà à la côte.

      Norway warship Helge Ingstad ’warned’ before collision - BBC News
      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46150048


      Chris Cavas — @CavasShips — 8 nov.
      Images of the damage caused to Norwegian frigate HELGE INGSTAD F313 from collision with tanker SOLA TS. Views are obviously before the ship partially sank. The below-water damage to the ship was more extensive than the photos can show.

      The tanker, which was heading northbound, contacted the frigate, heading southbound, to ask if they had a plan to safely pass them as they seemed to be on a collision course,” Kjetil Stormark, the editor of AldriMer.no told the BBC.
      Citing what he called key sources, he said: “The response was:We have everything under control.’”
      Lucky vessels
      The incident is undergoing investigation, both by the police and by the Accident Investigation Board Norway, officials told the BBC.
      Mr Stomark says that because the tanker was “slow, heavy and much larger”, it was the warship’s responsibility to move around it.

    • Version française, sans les informations sur les échanges radio.

      Frégate norvégienne : le point sur l’accident | Mer et Marine
      https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/fregate-norvegienne-le-point-sur-laccident


      Capture d’écran d’un direct de la télévision publique norvégienne
      © NRK

      C’est un accident spectaculaire qui risque bien de sceller le sort de la frégate norvégienne Helge Ingstad. À 3 heures 55 du matin, le pétrolier Sola TS a quitté le terminal pétrolier de Sture, près de Bergen, en direction du nord. Il était alors suivi du remorqueur Tenax. Huit minutes plus tard, le tanker entrait en collision avec le bâtiment de combat norvégien qui faisait route inverse. À 4 heures 50, la Marine norvégienne commençait l’évacuation des 137 membres d’équipage se trouvant à bord de la frégate, devenue incontrôlable.
       
      Heureusement, il n’y pas de victimes à déplorer pour les deux navires. Seuls huit marins de l’Helge Ingstad ont été légèrement blessés et c’est un miracle à la vue des images diffusées par les autorités. L’abordage a eu lieu sur tribord. Le pétrolier, probablement lourdement chargé de pétrole, a vu son écubier littéralement déchirer la coque de la frégate sur la moitié de sa longueur au niveau de la ligne de flottaison. Une importante voie d’eau n’a pas pu être maîtrisée. Sur les photos de la télévision publique norvégienne NRK1, on peut observer que le tanker a été très faiblement endommagé au niveau du bordé et de l’écubier tribord. Ce dernier est très proéminent sur ce bateau et est probablement renforcé pour soutenir son ancre et sa chaîne.

    • ça se confirme ; le centre de contrôle du trafic maritime avait également prévenu…

      Wrecked Norwegian Frigate Was Warned Prior to Collision
      https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/wrecked-norwegian-frigate-was-warned-prior-to-collision

      Prior to her collision with the Suezmax tanker Sola TS on Thursday, the Norwegian frigate KNM Helge Ingstad was repeatedly called over VHF, both by the approaching vessel and by the nearby Fedje VTS center, according to a new report. However, the bridge team on the frigate allegedly responded that they had the situation under control. The Ingstad and the Sola TS collided shortly thereafter. 

      Norwegian defense outlet Aldrimer first reported the radio exchange in an update Friday, citing “five sources” with independent knowledge of the accident.

      According to the report, the Sola TS spotted the Helge Ingstad visually shortly after departing the Sture petroleum terminal outside Bergen. The Ingstad was inbound, heading for the Haakonsvern Naval Base at Mathopen. The Sola’s bridge team called the Ingstad to determine her intentions. The Fedje VTS center also noted the situation and called the Ingstad repeatedly to warn that she was on a collision course. 

      Shortly after 0400 on Thursday, the two vessels collided. The impact tore a large hole in the Ingstad’s starboard side, spilling fuel, injuring eight crewmembers and rendering her unable to maneuver. Aldrimer’s sources reported that the Ingstad’s crew turned on her AIS transponder after the collision so that she could be easily located by rescuers, thereby corroborating the sudden appearance of her AIS signal on commercial tracking services shortly after the collision. 

      On Friday, Fedje Maritime Transport Center confirmed that it had played a role in a VHF exchange with the Ingstad. The Norwegian military declined requests for comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

    • Communiqué officiel de l’OTAN, le 8/11/18

      Allied Maritime Command - SNMG1 ship accident at sea
      https://mc.nato.int/media-centre/news/2018/snmg1-ship-accident-at-sea.aspx

      NORTHWOOD, United Kingdom (November 08, 2018) HNoMS Helge Ingstad was involved in a collision with the Maltese oil tanker Sola TS in Norwegian waters around 0400 this morning (8 Nov) while sailing inner Fjords for navigation training.

      Due to the damage to the frigate it was moved to a safe place and the crew was evacuated in a professional manner. There are no reports of damages or leaks from the oil tanker and no report of serious injuries, though eight crewmembers are being treated for minor injuries.

      The Norwegian Armed Forces are working with the Norwegian Coastal Authority to address the situation. The Norwegian frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad is part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1). The group was sailing in and around the Fjords, following their participation in exercise Trident Juncture 2018 which concluded on November 7th.
       
      The rest of SNMG1’s ships are positioned nearby at sea in the event that further assistance is required. The Norwegian Armed Forces Press Office has lead for further information, contact at +47 40 43 80 83, info@njhq.no.

    • Plan de situation, histoire de ne pas perdre la main ;-)
      https://drive.google.com/open?id=1t_JjDMYnt3uLCIBt3wotJxemMltL87uI

      On remarquera que le lieu de l’échouage est à un jet de caillou du terminal d’Equinor (ex-Statoil)

      source de la localisation de l’échouage :
      We Have Located The Precise Spot Where Norway’s Half Sunken Frigate Lies (Updated) - The Drive
      http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24795/we-have-located-the-precise-spot-where-norways-half-sunken-frigate-lies

    • Ça n’a pas trainé ! VesselTracker (l’autre site, celui que je n’utilise quasiment pas,…) a sorti l’animation basée sur les enregistrements AIS. La collision a lieu, sans doute, vers 0:18-0:19, le Helge Ingstad active son transpondeur AIS juste après. Le Vestbris manœuvre en catastrophe pour éviter le Solas TS

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izbXbQ1Shmk

      EDIT : pour mémoire, les sources indiquent un délai de 8 minutes de temps réel entre l’appareillage du Solas et l’abordage.

    • À l’instant, l’intégralité des échanges en VHF entre Fedje, Sola et Helge Ingstad avec visualisation des positions de tous les bâtiments (y compris après la collision). En norvégien,…

      Le locuteur en norvégien du Sola TS, navire de l’armement grec Tsakos, sous pavillon maltais et dont l’équipage est certainement cosmopolite a de grandes chances d’être le pilote, basé justement au centre de contrôle du trafic de Fedje qui assure (de tous temps, dit WP) le service de pilotes pour le fjord de Bergen.

      VGTV - Hør samtalen mellom skipene

      https://www.vgtv.no/video/167055/hoer-samtalen-mellom-skipene

    • Les fuites quant aux échanges radio étaient fausses :
      – dès la prise de contact (laborieuse…) le pétrolier demande une manœuvre,
      – ce que la frégate annonce accepter, apparemment, sans qu’il se passe grand chose,
      – presque tout de suite après, le Solas TS réclame, fermement !, tourne ! sinon, c’est la collision.
      – le Helge Ingstad n’a jamais indiqué contrôler la situation. En fait, il ne dit rien… Après la collision, il dit qu’il essaye de contrôler la situation.

      Hør samtalen mellom skipene

      Fedje VTS, det er Sola TS,

      Sola TS, hør

      Ja, jeg hørte ikke navnet. Vet du hvilken båt som kommer mot oss her ?
      jeg har den litt på babord

      (10 secondes)

      Nei, det er en en… Jeg har ikke fått noen opplysninger on den.
      Den har ikke rapportert til meg.
      Jeg ser bare den dukker opp på skjermen her.
      Ingen opplysninger om den, nei, nei.
      Nei, okey.
      Nei (?)

      (43 secondes)

      Sola til VTS ?

      Ja

      Det er mulig det er « Helge Ingstad »
      Han kom inn nordfra en stund tilbake. Det er mulig det er han som kommer her.

      Helge Ingstad, hører du Sola TS ?

      Helge Ingstad

      Er det du som kommer her nå ?

      Ja det stemmer.
      Ta styrbord med en gang.
      Da går vi for nærme blokkene.

      Svinge styrbord, hvis det er du som kommer.
      Altså, du har…

      (7 secondes)

      Jeg har et par grader styrbord nå vi har passert eh…
      Passert eh…
      (?) styrbord

      Helge Hingstad, du må gjøre noe. Du begynner å nærme deg veldig.
      Helge Hingstad, drei !
      Det blir en kollisjon her da.
      (15 secondes)
      Det kan være en krigskip. Jeg traff den.

      Det er mottatt.

      (16 secondes)

      Det er tauebåten. Over.

      Ja, tauebåten er her, ja.

      Jeg tror vi bare må kalle ut de…
      De andre tauebåtene.
      Får se på skadene her.

      Heldigvis er det et sett med de da. Vi må jo se…

      (?)

      (25 secondes)

      Fedje VTS til Sola TS ?

      Sola TS hører.

      Har du kontakt med vår DD krigskip ?
      Ingen kontakt ?

      Hei, dette er Helge Ingstad.

      Hei, Helge Ingstad. Dette er VTS.
      Hører du meg ?

      Ja, så godt jeg klarer.
      (on entend l’alarme en fond…)
      Vi ligger da… like ved… nord for…
      Nord for Vetlefjorden.
      Har slått alarm. Prøver å få kontroll på situasjonen.

      Ja, er det du som har vært i kollisjonen der ved Sture ?

      Ja, det er korrekt.

      OK.
      Hvor mange personer har du ombord ?

      Vi har 134 personer ombord.

      OK.
      Gi meg status om situasjonen så snart som mulig, da.

      Ja, jeg skal gjøre det.

      Etter kollisjonen går Helge Ingstad inn mot land i rund 5 knop.

      Fedje VTS til Sola TS ?

      Sola TS svarer.

      Hvor mange personer har du ombord totalt ?

      (10 secondes)

      23

      Hvor mange passasjerer ?

      23

      23, ok, 2, 3

      Få en status av deg når du vet litt mer.

      Kan du gjenta ?

      Vi må få høre hvordan det går med deg etter hvert som du får litt mer oversikt.

      Det er ikke noe spesielt her.
      Vi går fram og sjekker på bauen, da. Så stoppet vi her.
      Forelopig så ser det bra ut, men vi må frem og se, vi vet jo ikke skadene der fremme.

      Ja, ok.

      Helge Ingstad til VTS ?
      (30 secondes)
      Helge Ingstad til VTS ?

      Ferje TS, KNM Helge Ingstad.

      Helge Ingstad til VTS ?

      Vi har en situasjon.
      Vi har gått på et ukjent objekt.
      Vi har ikke fremdrift.

      Helge Ingstad har ikke fremdrift ?

      De har vært i en kollisjon med Sola TS, forstår jeg.
      De driver inn mot land uten fremdrift.
      Har du gått på grunn ?

      Det er foreløpig litt løst fra min side, men vi trenger umiddelbar assistanse.

      Trenger umiddelbar assistanse.

      (?) rett fram.

      Vi skal se om vi kan få tak i en tauebåt.

      (?)

      Ajax, Ajax til VTS ?

      Trauebåten Ajax blir sendt fra terminalen med en gang.

      Ajax, Ajax, jeg gjentar.

      Ja Ferdje VTS til Ajax.

      (?) Helge Ingstad. Han ligger like nord for deres.
      Han ligger uten framdrift.

      (?)

      Helge Ingstad til VTS ?

      Helge Ingstad.

      Tauebåten Ajax fikk beskjed. Den er på vei.

      (?)

      Den (?) om mer enn tre minutter.

      Ajax, Ajax, KNM Ingstad K16.

      Ajax til VTS ?

      Helge Ingstad, Ajax.

      Ajax, KNM Helge Ingstad K16. Vi er på vei.

      Vi har ingen framdrift, vi går på noe anker.
      Vi trenger assistanse fra taeubåt.

      note (quelques à peu près de gg:translate) :
      • tauebåt, ce n’est pas « bateau-feu » mais remorqueur (tugboat)
      • framdrift / uten framdrift, ce n’est pas « progrès / sans progrès », mais propulsion / sans propulsion

    • Article de Defense News quelques heures après la diffusion des échanges. La présentation de ceux-ci souffrent toujours des à peu près des commentaires initiaux.

      Warnings and confusion preceded Norwegian frigate disaster : here’s what we know
      https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/11/11/warnings-and-confusion-preceded-norwegian-frigate-disaster-heres-what-w

      The Royal Norwegian Navy was dealt a devastating blow in the early morning hours of November 10 when one of its five capital Nansen-class frigates collided with a fully loaded oil tanker more than 10 times its size while returning NATO’s Trident Juncture exercise.

      The frigate Helge Ingstad lost steering and drifted at five knots onto the rocky shore near Norwegian port of Sture, north of Bergen, saving the ship from sinking in the Fjord, according to media reports. The crew of 137 was forced to abandon ship. Ingstad is now resting on its side on three points while crews move to secure it.

      The disaster has far-reaching consequences for the Norwegian Navy, which is facing the loss of one of its premier warfighting assets,

      This is a huge blow to the Norwegian navy,” said Sebastian Bruns, who heads the Center for Maritime Strategy and Security at the University of Kiel in northern Germany. The loss of the $400 million ship, which appeared likely, leaves the Norwegian Navy with a 20 percent cut to its most advanced class of ship, Burns said.

      The situation is made all the more painful as evidence mounts that Ingstad was repeatedly warned to alter course before the collision and failed to take corrective action to avoid the collision.

      Local media reported that the Maltese-flagged tanker Sola TS identified Ingstad and tried to avoid the disaster. The reports also revealed details that show that Ingstad did not have a firm grasp of the surface picture it was sailing into.

      The disaster developed quickly, with Ingstad transiting the channel inbound at 17 knots and Sola TS traveling outbound at 7 knots.

      Sola TS raised the Ingstad multiple times and was discussing the emerging danger with shore-based Central Station, according to the Norwegian paper Verdens Gang. The responses from Ingstad appear confused, at one point saying that if they altered the course it would take them too close to the shoals, which prompted Sola TS to respond that they had to do something or a collision would be unavoidable.

      Contributing to the confusion, the Ingstad appears to have been transiting with its Automatic Identification System switched off. That seems to have delayed recognition by central control and the other ships in the area that Ingstad was inbound and heading into danger, the account in VG seems to indicate.

    • Mon interprétation, au vu des échanges – et des dégâts provoqués par la collision (la capture de la visualisation de l’écran radar n’est pas vraiment lisible) : il semblerait que le Helge Ingstad après avoir accepté d’infléchir sa trajectoire vers la droite (à tribord) ait, en fait, viré vers sa gauche, d’où l’impact à tribord, au deux tiers de sa flottaison.

      On voit la déchirure provoquée par l’écubier, il n’est pas possible de savoir si le bulbe du pétrolier a entrainé des dégâts sous la flottaison. Sans doute, non puisque le Solas TS a pu reprendre sa route sans trop de problème et à vitesse normale.

      Sous le choc (17 noeuds entrant vs 7 noeuds sortant, presque 45 km/h de vitesse relative) le Helge Ingstad a pivoté sur sa droite est s’est retrouvé, désemparé, sans propulsion, ni gouvernail, à dériver vers la côte à 5 noeuds ; la manœuvre n’a pas du tout été délibérée, mais entièrement subie.

    • Il y a 3 jours, Le Figaro reprenait les éléments de langage de l’armée norvégienne, rien depuis. Quant au Monde, aucun signe de l’affaire ; la dernière mention de la frégate norvégienne est de janvier 2014, où elle opérait à Chypre dans le cadre du contrôle des livraisons d’armes chimiques en Syrie…

      Norvège : une frégate menace de couler après une collision
      http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2018/11/08/97001-20181108FILWWW00059-norvege-7-blesses-legers-dans-une-collision-entre

      « La KNM Helge Ingstad a subi des dégâts au-dessus et en dessous de la ligne de flottaison. Les dégâts étaient tels que la frégate n’était plus stable et n’avait plus assez de capacité de flottaison », a déclaré Sigurd Smith, officier de la Marine norvégienne, lors d’une conférence de presse. « Il a par conséquent été décidé de l’échouer énergiquement sur le rivage », a-t-il expliqué. La Marine a refusé de se prononcer à ce stade sur les causes de la collision.

    • en Norvège, tout finit par des chansons,
      sur NRK, (vidéo sur FB, uniquement)
      https://www.facebook.com/NRK/videos/582039188932786

      Vi hadde en gang en båt,
      en feiende flott fregatt
      men plutsellig så gikk det galt en november-nat.

      å grøss og gru
      å grøss og gru
      Hva skjedde nu ?
      Jeg bare undres :
      Hva skjedde nu ?

      Fregatten Helge Ingstad så stolt og kry.
      Hal toppseil my boys, hit hoy,
      Kosta to milliarder da den var ny
      Hal toppseil my boys, hit hoy.

      Nå var hun på øvelse smekker og grå
      sonarer og radarer passet godt på
      men tankern med olje kom ut av det blå.
      Hal toppseil my boys, hit hoy,

      Hør skipsklokkens, klang
      noe galt er på gang
      men vi holder kursen som vi alt satt
      for dette er den norske marinen fregatt !
      Hal toppseil my boys, hit hoy,

    • Une version officieuse qui circule en défense de la marine norvégienne : le Sola TS n’était pas sur le rail du trafic sortant, il est plus à l’ouest. À quoi, il est répondu :
      • il venait d’appareiller, sa vitesse n’était que de 5 noeuds, alors que le flux sortant était à 10 noeuds,
      • pour appareiller, vu la situation, il a besoin de l’autorisation du centre de contrôle du trafic (Fedje VTS)

      … qui lui a, sans doute, été accordée (ce n’est pas dit). Et c’est là, que l’absence d’information AIS prend toute son importance. L’écho radar était visible, mais pas l’identification, ni la vitesse (17 noeuds, ce qui n’est pas rien dans un détroit (un fjord, en fait,…) Le centre de contrôle ne devait certainement pas suivre manuellement (à l’ancienne !…) l’écho radar, se reposant sur les informations visualisées.

      Sjøoffiser mener at tankskipet « Sola TS » hadde feil kurs før ulykken – NRK Norge – Oversikt over nyheter fra ulike deler av landet
      https://www.nrk.no/norge/sjooffiser-mener-at-tankskipet-_sola-ts_-hadde-feil-kurs-for-ulykken-1.14290245

      Hvorfor « Sola TS » ikke legger seg på samme linje som den andre trafikken, er ikke klart. Det er noe som besetningen om bord og losen sannsynligvis kan forklare.
      […]
      Den andre trafikken var skip som hadde større hastighet enn « Sola TS ». Ut fra AIS-data så er det klart at disse måtte vike dersom tankskipet hadde fortsatt mer mot øst før det tok svingen mot nord.

      […]

      – Tankskip som skal forlate en terminal kaller opp trafikksentralen med informasjon om at de er klar for avgang, og angir seilingsrute. Deretter blir det gitt seilingsklarering dersom det ikke er noe hinder for dette, skriver regiondirektør John Erik Hagen i Kystverket i en generell kommentar til NRK.

    • DN : Berging av fregatten « Helge Ingstad » kan koste opptil 300.000 kroner per dag - Forsvaret - Næringsliv - E24
      http://e24.no/naeringsliv/forsvaret/dn-berging-av-fregatten-helge-ingstad-kan-koste-opptil-300-000-kroner-per-dag/24490783

      Trondheim-selskapet Boa Management har fått oppdraget å løfte havarerte KNM «Helge Ingstad» på lekter og frakte båten til verft. Det melder Dagens Næringsliv.

      Skipsmeglere avisen har kontaktet anslår med noen forbehold at det kan koste 30.000-35.000 dollar per dag å leie inn taubåt og lekter som trengs for jobben. Altså mellom 250.000 og 300.000 kroner.

    • Le texte d’Aldrimer.no repris ci-dessus par la NRK.
      KNM Helge Ingstad fryktet å gå på grunn ‹ aldrimer.no
      https://www.aldrimer.no/knm-helge-ingstad-fryktet-a-ga-pa-grunn

      Il contient une vidéo d’animation des trajectoires AIS plus claire, avec un champ plus large.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6I1twpZVIY

      elle permet de suivre, p. ex. la trajectoire de l’Ajax qui a aidé à l’appareillage du Sola TS et qui repart immédiatement, comme on l’entend dans la transcription VHF, à la demande de Fedje VTS, dès l’abordage. Son trajet permet, en creux de suivre celui du KNM Helge Ingstad, sur laquelle viennent s’agglutiner les remorqueurs. Malgré la localisation AIS, du navire de guerre de l’OTAN, F313 qui apparaît brusquement (à 0’09"), après la collision, derrière le Sola pour ne plus bouger ensuite, la MàJ de la position ne se faisant plus.

    • RIP KNM Helge Ingstad !


      A shipwrecked Norwegian navy frigate “KNM Helge Ingstad” is seen in this Norwegian Coastal Administration handout picture in Oygarden, Norway, November 13, 2018.
      Jakob Ostheim/Norwegian Coastal Administration/Handout vis REUTERS

      Norwegian frigate now nearly submerged after collision
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-accident/norwegian-frigate-now-nearly-submerged-after-collision-idUSKCN1NI10Z


      A shipwrecked Norwegian navy frigate “KNM Helge Ingstad” is seen in this Norwegian Coastal Administration handout picture in Oygarden, Norway, November 13, 2018.
      Jakob Ostheim/Norwegian Coastal Administration/Handout vis REUTERS

      A Norwegian navy frigate that collided with an oil tanker last week was almost completely submerged on Tuesday despite efforts to salvage the sinking vessel, pictures taken by the Norwegian Coastal Administration showed.

      The ship’s plight off the Norwegian coast is, however, not disrupting the nearby Sture crude oil export terminal. “We are in normal operations,” said a spokeswoman for the plant’s operator, Equinor.

      The Norwegian military has been working since Thursday to salvage the ship by tethering it with several cables to the shore. Some of these had broken.

      The ship sunk a meter further and, as a result, two wires broke. They were replaced with two stronger ones. We worked until midnight on this. After midnight, we realized it was not safe for our staff to carry on the work further,” said Haavard Mathiesen, the head of the salvage operation for the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.

      Around 0600 (0500 GMT), more wires broke and the ship sank further. It is now in deep water and stable,” he told a news conference.

      The ship was stranded off Norway’s west coast early last Thursday after it collided with the tanker that had left the Sture terminal. The facility was shut for several hours as a result.

      Eight Navy staff, out of a total crew of 137, were slightly injured in the incident.

    • L’édito de gCaptain.
      Pas de piste, pas d’hypothèse, un appel à la vigilance.

      Who Sunk The Battleship ? – gCaptain
      https://gcaptain.com/who-sunk-the-battleship

      Again. There was a collision at sea again.
      […]
      Take the time to read up on this seemingly textbook collision. Think about the other maritime incidents that have happened recently. Don’t think that these accidents only happen to other people – it only takes one misstep between a near miss and a catastrophe.

      Take away what you’ve observed from this – discuss it with your colleagues. Find ways to ever be improving. Awareness, procedures, re-design from lessons learned.

      Fair winds and following seas – if not that a strong hull and a cautious mariner.

      Note : la première partie de la dernière phrase est traditionnelle, la suite moins.
      https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/fairwinds.htm

    • L’amiral commandant les forces navales états-uniennes en Europe était à bord de la frégate. C’est lui qui était le responsable de l’exercice OTAN Trident Juncture

      Amerikansk offiser om bord da « Helge Ingstad » kolliderte - Bergens Tidende
      https://www.bt.no/article/bt-VRJjWV.html

      TOPPADMIRAL: Sjefen for de amerikanske marinestyrkene i Europa, admiral James G. Foggo III, var om bord på KNM «Helge Ingstad» fire dager før ulykken. Etter ulykken har Havarikommisjonen sendt en henvendelse til Foggos styrke. De vil ikke si hvorfor.
      FOTO: MARIUS VÅGENES VILLANGER / FORSVARET

      Amerikansk offiser om bord da Helge Ingstad kolliderte
      En amerikansk marineoffiser var om bord på KNM Helge Ingstad da det smalt, bekrefter Forsvarsdepartementet. Offiserens rolle blir nå etterforsket.

      James G. Foggo III - Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G._Foggo_III

      James “Jamie” Gordon Foggo III (born September 2, 1959) is a United States Navy admiral who currently serves as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe while concurrently serving as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Africa and commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples.
      […]
      25 October to 7 November 2018, admiral Foggo is responsible for conducting the NATO exercise Trident Juncture.

    • De mauvais esprits font remarquer la très faible efficacité (!) des travaux entrepris tout de suite après l’échouage pour empêcher le naufrage de la frégate…

      La glissade au fond a englouti les composants à forte valeur qui étaient initialement récupérables (radar Aegis et système électronique hypersophistiqués, idem pour la propulsion par turbine)
      (on remarquera sur la photo ci-dessous qu’il en va à peu près de même pour le dispositif anti-pollution à en juger par les irisations de chaque côté des barrages flottants…)

      Lokale selskaper bak mislykket « Helge Ingstad »-sikring - VG
      https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/EoryO2/lokale-selskaper-bak-mislykket-helge-ingstad-sikring

      Ifølge Forsvaret ble den beste kompetansen i Norge hentet inn da bergingen av KNM « Helge Ingstad » ble satt i gang. Kritikere sier arbeidet fremstår uprofesjonelt. Nå står milliardfregatten under vann, og er i fare for å gli videre ut på dypet.

      Therese RidarMagnus NewthOda Leraan Skjetne
      Publisert:16.11.18 21:15

      Da KNM « Helge Ingstad » ble grunnstøtt etter kollisjonen forrige uke, ble fregatten sikret med ti stålvaiere festet til land. Sikringsjobben var ferdig lørdag morgen. Slik lå skipet fram til mandag kveld, da vaierne foran på skipet begynte å ryke. Tirsdag morgen hadde alle festepunktene foran på fartøyet røket, og « Helge Ingstad » sank nesten helt under vann.

      Den mislykkede sikringen av fregatten til en verdi av fire milliarder har fått hard kritikk i ettertid.

    • Voici donc mon #Thread concernant l’accident du #HelgeIngstad, cette frégate que la Norvège a perdu sans combattre il y a une semaine..

      François Narolles @FNarolles
      https://twitter.com/FNarolles/status/1063493033969287170

      signalé par @unagi, https://seenthis.net/messages/736408#message736413

      Mon analyse est très voisine, mais j’aurais tendance à augmenter la responsabilité du centre de contrôle du trafic.

      • la frégate va vite, très vite, trop vite : 17 noeuds, c’est pratiquement le double de la vitesse de l’ensemble des bateaux environnants, la vitesse de rapprochement est donc de 44 km/h, soit 11 m/s
      • son AIS est éteint, alors que le navire est en vue des côtes, dans un trafic dense, ça n’a pratiquement que des inconvénients (c’est une des conclusions des analyses des accidents des destroyers de la marine états-unienne l’année dernière). D’un autre côté, on comprend que l’état-major soit réticent à ce que tout le monde (y compris les méchants) puisse connaître en une connexion à MarineTraffic ou VesselFinder la position des navires de sa flotte, du moins ceux qui sont en eaux côtières

      • le centre de contrôle du trafic échoue totalement dans sa mission et commet une très lourde faute. Quand le pétrolier lui demande qui il a en face de lui, le VTS ne le sait pas d’emblée. C’est proprement ahurissant. Il est probable que cela vient du fait que le suivi des navires se fait uniquement sur la base de l’AIS ; position, cap et vitesse sont affichés automatiquement. Il n’y a probablement pas (ou alors pas au même endroit) de suivi manuel du navire sans AIS ; celui-ci mobilise une charge mentale intense, une grande concentration et génère un stress non négligeable (souvenirs précis de service militaire en Iroise,…)
      • d’après ce que j’ai lu, le VTS doit autoriser l’appareillage des navires du port pétrolier. Si c’est exact, alors il a donné un clear pour une situation qui ne l’était pas du tout et était hautement problématique. En demandant de retarder l’appareillage d’une demi-heure, ça laissait le temps à la frégate de défiler et de dégager le terrain

      • je ne vois pas trop ce que le Sola TS aurait pu faire d’autre, il est à 5 noeuds, en phase d’accélération pour atteindre les 10 noeuds qui lui permettront de s’injecter dans le rail sortant, ce qui fait qu’il est décalé vers l’ouest par rapport à ce rail, fermant une partie du passage pour le Helge Ingstad. Ses capacités de manoeuvre sont très limitées, c’est d’ailleurs pour ça qu’il a toujours un remorqueur au cul (le Tenax).
      • sans doute, lui aussi, pouvait (aurait pu…) maintenir une veille radar et suivre les échos, y compris sans AIS, – cf. supra – mais, il est possible que son radar ait été masqué par les structures du port et, donc, que la frégate n’ait pas été perçue au départ du quai (par ailleurs, elle était encore « loin ») et, surtout, c’est normalement le boulot du VTS.

      À mon sens, à partir du moment où le pétrolier a appareillé, la situation est plus que problématique et il aurait fallu un enchaînement exceptionnel pour éviter la catastrophe (perception ultra-rapide de la situation et de sa gravité, manoeuvre sans hésitation de la frégate dès la prise de contact radio).

    • Le rapport préliminaire d’enquête de la commission norvégienne d’enquête. On peut saluer la performance et la transparence : moins d’un mois après l’événement !

      Investigation of marine accident, collision outside the Sture Oil Terminal in Hjeltefjorden, Norway | aibn
      https://www.aibn.no/Marine/Investigations/18-968

      On the morning of Thursday 8 November 2018, the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) was informed of a collision between the frigate ’KNM Helge Ingstad’ and the Maltese registered tanker ’Sola TS’ in Hjeltefjorden, outside the Sture terminal in Øygarden Municipality in Hordaland County, Norway. The AIBN contacted the Defence Accident Investigation Board Norway (DAIBN) and it was decided to initiate a joint investigation into the accident, led by the AIBN. The AIBN then contacted the Marine Safety Investigation Unit of Malta (MSIU), which is also a participating party in the investigation; cf. Chapter 18 Section 474 of the Norwegian Maritime Code.

      29 November 2018 the AIBN publishes a preliminary report on the accident and two interim safety recommendations. This preliminary report is published to communicate the information obtained during the initial phase of the ongoing investigation. The purpose is to provide a brief update on how the investigation is progressing as well as a preliminary description of the sequence of events and disseminate safety-critical issues identified at this stage of the investigation. This preliminary report also identifies areas that need further investigation and describes lines of investigation that will be followed up.

      En lien, deux pdf
      • Preliminary report 29.11.201
      • Appendix : Interim safety recommendations 29.11.2018

    • De très utiles précisions :
      • le Sola TS avait laissé ses feux de ponts allumés le rendant difficile à distinguer des lumières du terminal pétrolier dont il s’éloignait doucement et ne permettant pas le repérage rapide de ses feux de navigation et donc la lecture de sa trajectoire
      • dans la version de la passerelle du KNM Helge Ingstad où venait de s’effectuer la passation de quart, cette masse lumineuse a été prise pour un obstacle fixe non identifié et c’est cette perception qui justifie l’absence de manoeuvre d’évitement vers la droite, justement pour éviter de percuter cet obstacle fixe

    • À noter surtout dans les recommandations préliminaires la mention d’un grave défaut de conception de ces frégates (et peut-être d’autres issues des chantiers espagnols Navantia.

      En effet, les dégâts provoqués par la collision ont noyé 3 compartiments étanches mettant en péril la stabilité du bâtiment mais lui permettant de se maintenir à flot, conclusion initiale à bord, conforme aux documents décrivant la stabilité du navire, ceux-ci mentionnant que l’envahissement d’un quatrième compartiment entrainait la perte du bâtiment.

      Or, l’eau s’est rapidement infiltré dans un quatrième compartiment en passant par les passages des arbres d’hélice, puis aux autres compartiments à travers les cloisons.

      To start with, flooding occurred in three watertight compartments on board KNM Helge Ingstad: the aft generator room, the orlob deck’s crew quarters and the stores room. There was some uncertainty as to whether the steering engine room, the aftmost compartment, was also filling up with water. Based on this damage, the crew, supported by the vessel’s stability documents, assessed the vessel as having ’poor stability’ status, but that it could be kept afloat. If more compartments were flooded, the status would be assessed as ’vessel lost’ on account of further loss of stability.

      Next, the crew found that water from the aft generator room was running into the gear room via the hollow propeller shafts and that the gear room was filling up fast. From the gear room, the water then ran into and was flooding the aft and fore engine rooms via the stuffing boxes in the bulkheads. This meant that the flooding became substantially more extensive than indicated by the original damage. Based on the flooding of the gear room, it was decided to prepare for evacuation.

      The AIBN considers the vessel’s lack of watertight integrity to be a safety issue relating to Nansen-class frigates and therefore issues the following two safety alerts.

    • Early report blames confused watchstanders, possible design flaws for Norway’s sunken frigate
      https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/11/29/early-report-blames-confused-watchstanders-possible-design-flaws-for-no

      In a statement to Defense News, Navantia spokesperson Esther Benito Lope stressed that the report is “very preliminary” and that the company has offered to work with Norway on the investigation.

      Navantia has offered, since the very beginning, its collaboration with the [Royal Norwegian Navy] in order to clarify the accident,” Benito Lope said. “Navantia will analyze all the possibilities, considering that some of the mentioned possibilities … are concluded from a very preliminary investigation.

      The statement went on to say that the company has not received any official notice or fielded any consultations about the cause of the accident.

      Navantia has not received any official communication, neither any consults about possible causes, nor participated in any action … in Norway,” Benito Lope wrote.

    • Navy divers arrive at KNM «Helge Ingstad» - Norway Today
      http://norwaytoday.info/news/navy-divers-arrive-at-knm-helge-ingstad

      The vessel is not lifted anytime soon. The vessel is filled with nearly 10,000 cubic meters of seawater, and a large part of this must be pumped out first, the Project Manager for the Salvage Operation, Commander Captain Arild Øydegard tells VG.

      We have great lifting capacity, but not to lift both a vessel of about 5,000 deadweight tonnes and another 10,000 metric ton of seawater. So this we have to get rid of underway – we have estimated that we might have 500 cubic metres left when we lift it up, he says.
      […]
      There is still no final decision as to whether the Frigate may be repaired. According to VG, two working groups have been established to assess that question; one who will try to salvage the material on board and one who is planning a possible repairing.

      Øydegard announces that the hull is relatively intact, except for the 45-metre tear that the Frigate sustained in the collision with «Sola TS».

      We have damage to the rudder and such, but this is a warship which hull has tolerated the stresses so far, Øydegard explains.

    • Grave problème d’étanchéité d’une frégate norvégienne construite par Navantia
      https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/grave-probleme-d-etancheite-d-une-fregate-norvegienne-construite-par-navan

      Le Bureau d’enquête sur les accidents de la Norvège a identifié dans un rapport préliminaire des « problèmes de sécurité critiques », qui nécessitent une « attention immédiate ». Notamment des problèmes d’étanchéité entre les compartiments de la frégate KNM Helge Ingstad construite en 2009 par Navantia.

      Coup dur pour Navantia. Après la collision le 8 novembre entre une frégate norvégienne, un bâtiment moderne d’environ 5.000 tonnes construit par le chantier naval espagnol, et le pétrolier maltais Sola TV, le Bureau d’enquête sur les accidents de la Norvège (AIBN) a identifié dans un rapport préliminaire public daté du 29 novembre, des « problèmes de sécurité critiques », qui nécessitent une « attention immédiate ». L’AIBN a affirmé que le manque d’étanchéité entre les compartiments des frégates de la classe Nansen, est l’un de ces problèmes de sécurité. Il a déjà émis deux alertes de sécurité en attendant de poursuivre une enquête plus approfondie.

    • Frégate HNoMS Helge Ingstad : un rapport de la marine espagnole remet en cause la version norvégienne | Le portail des sous-marins
      https://www.corlobe.tk

      #C’était_à_prévoir : les critiques adressées au constructeur Navantia par le rapport préliminaire du bureau norvégien d’enquêtes sur les accidents maritimes ne passent pas en Espagne. La marine espagnole a rédigé son propre rapport qui dédouane complètement Navantia et conclut qu’une erreur humaine a été la cause principale de l’accident de la frégate Helge Ingstad.

      Ce rapport remet en cause la version des autorités norvégiennes : la semaine dernière, le bureau norvégien d’enquêtes sur les accidents maritimes avait pointé du doigt le chantier naval espagnol. Selon le rapport espagnol, « il existe des preuves claires que les dommages initiaux ont touché 4 compartiments étanches, et des indices que 5 aient été réellement endommagés dans la collision, ce qui dépasse les critères de survie fixés pour ce navire. »

      Le rapport interne de la marine espagnole explique que « la longueur de la déchirure visible sur les photos est de 15% de la longueur à la ligne de flottaison (18,2 m), soit 3 tranches contigües inondées. »

      Il ajoute aussi que l’avarie pourrait avoir aussi touché d’autres compartiments. « L’analyse des images indique que, probablement, sous la ligne de flottaison, un 4è compartiment étanche ait été éventré. »

      Pour la marine espagnole, une erreur humaine est la seule cause de l’accident. Une suite d’erreurs ont été commises : navigation à vitesse excessive (environ 17 nœuds), non-utilisation de l’AIS, non-respect du règlement international de prévention des abordages en mer, et non-prise en compte des avertissements du pétrolier.

      Le rapport conclut que « aucun navire ayant des caractéristiques similaires à la frégate n’aurait été capable de contrôler la voie d’eau et d’éviter le naufrage ».

      Remarque : que la cause de l’accident soit une erreur humaine ne fait guère de doute, ce qui est en cause est la suite, l’issue finale de l’accident : le naufrage…

    • Integrity of Nansen-class frigates questioned by Helge Ingstad investigation | Insurance Marine News
      https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/integrity-of-nansen-class-frigates-questioned-by-helge-ingstad-

      Meanwhile, during the weekend of December 1st and 2nd, the Coastal Administration continued monitoring the Helge Ingstad with daily inspections of the oil spill equipment. Patrol boat Bergen and anti-pollution vessel Utvær were in the area and had collected about 50m3 of oil mixture by December 1st. In total, about 90m3 of diesel mixed with water had been recovered by the Utvær.

  • Norwegian Parliament Approves $6 Billion Plan for Giant ’Johan Castberg’ Arctic Oil Field – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/norwegian-parliament-approves-6-billion-plan-for-giant-johan-castberg-arct

    The Norwegian Parliament has approved Equinor’s development and operation plan for the giant Johan Castberg field located in the Barents Sea within the Arctic Circle.

    The plan now heads to Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for formal approval.

    The #Johan_Castberg field, with estimated recoverable resources of 450-650 million boe (barrels of oil equivalent), is currently the largest subsea field under development globally.

    Johan Castberg was first discovered by then-Statoil in 2011, but its development was pushed back due to the crash in oil prices beginning in 2014.

    Statoil, which recently changed its name to Equinor, finally greenlit the project in 2017 after cutting project costs by more than half compared to 2014-2015 levels, reducing the project’s break-even price to less than $35 per barrel of oil.

    cf. posts
    en 2013 https://seenthis.net/messages/144878
    et 2014 https://seenthis.net/messages/303604
    by @reka sur le report du développement du champ

  • As its wealth fund goes green, Norway’s firms struggle to keep up
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf-climatechange/as-its-wealth-fund-goes-green-norways-firms-struggle-to-keep-up-idUSKBN1GG0

    Many Norwegian companies lag high standards for reporting their impact on the environment that the Nordic nation’s $1 trillion wealth fund is championing abroad in 2018.

    The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, which is barred by the Norwegian government from investing at home, wants the 9,100 companies in which it holds stakes to submit data on issues such as water use and climate effects to London-based non-profit group CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project.

    In Norway, just two firms - DNB bank and property firm Entra - were on a CDP list of 160 “A” rated performers worldwide for disclosure in 2017. That was comparable to other Nordic nations but not exemplary, CDP data show.

    Norway’s state-controlled oil group Statoil got an “F” grade for disclosure of fresh water use - a core focus area for the fund abroad - after it declined to take part in the CDP survey.

    On climate change reporting, including tracking greenhouse gas emissions, Statoil got a strong “A-“.

  • Statoil Enters Offshore Wind Market in Poland – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/statoil-enters-offshore-wind-market-poland

    Norway’s Statoil has signed an agreement with Polish power company Polenergia to acquire a 50% interest in the two early phase offshore wind development projects in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea.

    The two projects, Bałtyk Środkowy III (BSIII) and Bałtyk Środkowy II (BSII), have a planned capacity of 1200 MW with the potential to power more than 2 million Polish households.

    Statoil is also entering into a 50/50 joint venture with Polenergia to further mature these projects with Statoil being the Manager for the development, construction and operational phases.

  • Booming Asian Gas Demand Ripples All the Way to Norway - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-12/booming-asian-gas-demand-ripples-all-the-way-to-norway

    Asia’s rapacious thirst for liquefied natural gas is sucking supplies from surprising places. 

    China to Japan and South Korea are paying top dollar for the super-chilled fuel. The pull is so strong that Norway’s Statoil ASA, which usually exports most of its LNG to Europe, is shipping a rare cargo east. It plans to send more.

    Asia gets most of its LNG from Australia, including from the giant Gorgon project on the country’s northwest coast. Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are also big suppliers.

    Statoil’s tanker, the Arctic Aurora, due in South Korea this week shows how the LNG market is becoming global, with more cargoes traveling long distances from the Atlantic to the Pacific region as China leads a landmark shift to burning gas instead of coal. For Statoil, it’s a chance to squeeze a little more profit from its overall gas production that’s already near full capacity.

  • Shell Gives North Sea Shot in Arm With Field Redevelopment - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-15/shell-gives-north-sea-operations-shot-in-arm-at-penguins-field

    Royal Dutch Shell Plc made one of its biggest commitments to the North Sea in 30 years, with plans to redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field.

    The Anglo-Dutch oil major will build a floating production, storage and offloading vessel — its first new manned installation in almost three decades — to take output from eight wells it plans to drill. Peak production will be the equivalent of 45,000 barrels a day, with a break-even price of less than $40 a barrel, Shell said on Monday.

    It is another example of how we are unlocking development opportunities, with lower costs, in support of Shell’s transformation into a world class investment case,” Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream director, said in a statement.

    Penguins, a joint venture between Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp., is already operational after first being developed in 2002. Oil from the field — about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of the Shetland Islands — will be transported by tanker to refineries, while the gas will be sent by a pipeline to the St. Fergus terminal in Scotland.

    #Penguins_Oil_Field


    Shell initiated a the Brent decommissioning project in 2006 due to depleting resources. Image courtesy of Shell UK.

    carte issue d’un article sur le démantèlement du champ #Brent
    https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/brent-field-decommissioning-north-sea

    • Alors que la prospection en #mer_de_Barents a été très décevante.

      2017 Was a Disappointing Year for Drillers in Norway’s Arctic Waters - Bloomberg
      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-11/hope-wanes-for-elephant-oil-finds-in-norway-s-arctic-waters

      After a disappointing year for drillers, Norwegian authorities are reviewing their hopes for the Nordic country’s hottest exploration area.

      In the part of the Barents Sea that’s currently open, you’ve sort of tried the elephants — the big opportunities,” Bente Nyland, the head of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, said in an interview. “You’re now down to the next generation in size.

      That means the industry regulator would be happy with any discovery of about 500 million barrels of oil, she said. That’s a far cry from the multibillion barrel deposits discovered in the North Sea, which have helped Norway become one of the world’s richest countries over the past decades.

      Apart from Statoil ASA’s #Snohvit gas field, no single discovery in the Barents has reached half a billion barrels. A record drilling campaign in the region last year yielded only one oil discovery with commercial potential. A particular disappointment was Statoil’s #Korpfjell well, the first to be drilled in the newly-opened Barents Sea South-East region abutting Russian waters. Estimated to have billion-barrel potential, the prospect proved to hold only unprofitable amounts of gas.

  • La Norvège attaquée en justice sur le climat
    http://www.lemonde.fr/climat/article/2017/11/14/la-petromonarchie-norvegienne-attaquee-en-justice-sur-le-climat_5214472_1652

    Si des actions similaires ont été tentées ailleurs, c’est la première fois en #Norvège que des ONG attaquent l’Etat en #justice pour lui demander des comptes sur sa politique climatique et contraindre ainsi la « pétromonarchie » scandinave à faire face à ses contradictions : un des premiers pays à signer l’accord de Paris dès le 22 avril 2016, mais aussi le septième exportateur d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre dans le monde.

    #Greenpeace et #Natur_og_ungdom (« Nature et jeunesse », une des organisations écologistes les plus puissantes du pays) accusent le gouvernement d’avoir violé la Constitution du royaume ainsi que l’#accord_de_Paris sur le climat en autorisant, le 18 mai 2016, la prospection pétrolière dans une zone jusque-là inexploitée, en mer de Barents. Trois licences couvrant au total 40 blocs ont été attribuées à treize compagnies, dont le norvégien Statoil, dans une région longtemps disputée à la Russie, jusqu’à la signature d’un accord en 2010.

    #pétrole

  • World’s First Floating Wind Farm Opens Up Off Scotland – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/hywind-sctoland-worlds-first-floating-wind-farm-opens-up-off-scotland

    The first offshore wind farm to use floating wind turbines has started producing power for the Scottish energy grid in what could be the start of offshore wind’s push into deeper and more favorable waters for renewable energy production.

    Hywind Scotland, the first floating wind farm in the world, was officially opened Wednesday by the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, officially opens the wind farm. The project is operated by Statoil in partnership with Masdar,

    The 30MW pilot wind farm is located in the North Sea about 25 kilometers offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and will power approximately 20,000 households. The park, made up of five Siemens 6MW wind turbines, covers an area of about 4 square kilometers, and is located in water depth ranging from 95-120 meters. The area sees an average wind speed of about 10 meters per second.

  • Statoil, Shell and Total enter CO2 storage partnership - Statoil, Shell and Total enter CO2 storage partnership - statoil.com
    http://www.statoil.com/en/news/statoil-shell-total-co2-storage-partnership.html

    The partners are today signing a partnership agreement to mature the development of carbon storage on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The project is part of the Norwegian authorities’ efforts to develop full-scale carbon capture and storage in Norway.

    In June, Gassnova awarded Statoil the contract for the first phase of the project. Norske Shell and Total E&P Norge are now entering as equal partners while Statoil will lead the project. All the partners will contribute people, experience, and financial support.

    The first phase of this CO2 project could reach a capacity of approximately 1.5 million ton per year. The project will be designed to accommodate additional CO2 volumes aiming to stimulate new commercial carbon capture projects in Norway, Europe and more globally across the world. In this way, the project has the potential to be the first storage project site in the world receiving CO2 from industrial sources in several countries.
    […]
    The storage project will store CO2 captured from onshore industrial facilities in Eastern Norway. This CO2 will be transported by ship from the capture facilities to a receiving terminal located onshore on the west-coast of Norway. At the receiving terminal CO2 will be transferred from the ship to intermediate storage tanks, prior to being sent through a pipeline on the seabed to injection wells east of the Troll field on the NCS. There are three possible locations for the receiving terminal; a final selection will be made later this year.

  • Avec le rachat de #Maersk_Oil & Gas, #Total se renforce en mer du Nord
    http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2017/08/21/total-se-renforce-en-mer-du-nord-en-acquerant-le-danois-maersk-oil-gas_51747

    C’est la plus grosse opération de Total depuis sa fusion avec Elf en 1999. Et la plus importante en mer du Nord depuis le mariage des norvégiens Statoil et Norsk Hydro en 2006. La compagnie pétrolière française a annoncé, lundi 21 août, l’acquisition pour 7,45 milliards de dollars (6,3 milliards d’euros) du Danois Maersk Oil & Gas, filiale du numéro un mondial du transport maritime A. P. Moller-Maersk.

    « L’opération s’est faite assez rapidement. Nous avons montré que nous étions très déterminés. Et elle s’est faite à un prix raisonnable situé entre 50 dollars et 55 dollars le baril », indique au Monde le PDG de Total, Patrick Pouyanné.

    Elle permettra au groupe tricolore d’accroître ses réserves prouvées et probables de 1 milliard de barils, s’ajoutant aux 11,5 milliards actuels, et de porter sa production à 3 millions de barils (équivalent pétrole) par jour à la fin de la décennie. « Entre 2014 et 2020, la production de Total sera passée de 2,1 millions à 3 millions de barils par jour », ajoute-t-il.
    […]
    Alors que la production d’or noir décline en mer du Nord depuis le pic de 2000, l’intégration des activités de Maersk fera passer le groupe français de la troisième à la deuxième place dans la région, derrière Statoil.
    […]
    Autre avantage pour une entreprise très exposée aux aléas géopolitiques, selon M. Pouyanné : « Cette opération équilibre nos risques. Il y a un mois, je signais avec l’Iran, aujourd’hui avec le danois Maersk, dont 85 % du portefeuille se trouvent dans les pays de l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques [OCDE] et 80 % en mer du Nord. » En juin 2016, il avait déjà signé un contrat majeur avec le Qatar.

  • Norway Arrests #Greenpeace Ship and 35 Activists During Protest at Arctic Oil Well – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/norway-arrests-greenpeace-ship-and-35-activists-during-protest-at-arctic-o


    Photo: Nick Gobbing/Greenpeace

    Norwegian authorities have detained Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise after a protest at a Statoil contracted drilling rig at Norway’s northernmost oil field in the Barents Sea, the environmental group said in a statement.

    Greenpeace said the vessel and 35 activists were unlawfully detained after entering the exclusion zone of Statoil’s #Korpfjell well, halting drilling operations for the Songa Enabler semi-submersible. The ship, activists and crew members were all arrested by the Norwegian Coast Guard, the group said.

    Greenpeace said it hopes the protest will send a message to the Norwegian government to stop oil drilling in the Arctic.

    Just 10 days before ratifying the Paris Agreement, in June 2016, the “environmentally friendly” Norwegian government granted new oil licenses. Now, a year later, Statoil has just started to drill for oil in the northernmost area ever licensed by Norway,” the group said.

    In 2017, Statoil had scheduled to explore five licenses in the #Barents_Sea, including the northermost Korpfjell well. Exploration drilling will take place in the period from May to September using the Songa Enabler, a floating, self-propelled rig purpose-built for cold climates and operated by Songa Offshore.

    Earlier this summer, the Arctic Sunrise met up with the Songa Enabler at a well about 170 miles north of the Norwegian coast, in the Arctic Barents sea.

  • Greenpeace activists protest near oil rig in Norway’s Arctic sea area
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-oil-greenpeace-idUSKBN1A61SA


    Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise ship sails next to Statoil’s Songa Enabler oil rig during a protest in the Barents sea, Norway, July 21, 2017.
    Will Rose/Greenpeace/Handout via Reuters

    Environmental activists protested on Friday near an offshore rig contracted by Statoil in the remote Norwegian Arctic, where the firm is looking for oil and gas deposits.

  • Statoil to Develop Carbon Capture and Storage System Off Norway – gCaptain
    http://gcaptain.com/statoil-to-develop-carbon-capture-and-storage-system-offshore-norway

    Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil has been assigned the task of developing a carbon storage facility offshore Norway, in what could be the world’s first storage site to receive carbon dioxide from several industrial sources.

    The storage project is part of Norwegian government’s efforts to develop full-scale carbon capture and storage in Norway. The project was assigned by the Norwegian state-owned carbon capture technology firm Gassnova. 

    According to Statoil, the system will capture CO2 from three onshore industrial facilities in Eastern Norway and transport CO2 by ship from the capture area to a receiving plant onshore located somewhere on the west coast of Norway. At the receiving plant, CO2 will the be pumped over from the ship to tanks onshore before being sent through pipelines on the seabed to several injection wells east of the Troll field on the Norwegian Outer Continental Shelf, Statoil said. 

    Several possible locations for the receiving plant will be evaluated and a final decision will be based on criteria such as safety, costs and expansion flexibility, Statoil added.

    #séquestration_du_carbone
    #capture_de_CO2 #captage_de_CO2

  • Big Oil Replaces Rigs With Wind Turbines - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-23/oil-majors-take-a-plunge-in-industry-that-may-hurt-fossil-fuel


    Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

    Big oil is starting to challenge the biggest utilities in the race to erect wind turbines at sea.

    Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil ASA and Eni SpA are moving into multi-billion-dollar offshore wind farms in the North Sea and beyond. They’re starting to score victories against leading power suppliers including Dong Energy A/S and Vattenfall AB in competitive auctions for power purchase contracts, which have developed a specialty in anchoring massive turbines on the seabed.

    The oil companies have many reasons to move into the industry. They’ve spent decades building oil projects offshore, and that business is winding down in some areas where older fields have drained. Returns from wind farms are predictable and underpinned by government-regulated electricity prices. And fossil fuel executives want to get a piece of the clean-energy business as forecasts emerge that renewables will eat into their market.

  • Statoil Wins U.S. Offshore Wind Lease Off New York – gCaptain
    https://gcaptain.com/statoil-wins-u-s-offshore-wind-lease-off-new-york

    Norwegian energy giant Statoil has been declared the provisional winner of the U.S. government’s wind lease sale of 79,350 acres offshore New York.

    The win will allow Statoil the opportunity to explore the potential development of an offshore wind farm to provide New York City and Long Island with a significant, long-term source of renewable electricity.

    Statoil submitted a winning bid of $42,469,725 during the online offshore wind auction concluded Friday by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
    […]
    The lease comprises an area that could potentially accommodate more than 1 GW of offshore wind, with a phased development expected to start with 400-600 MW. The New York Wind Energy Area is located 14-30 miles (30-60 km) offshore, spans 79,350 acres (321 km2), and covers water depths between 65 and 131 feet (20-40 meters).

    • de cet article qui mentionne également tous les soucis que peut créer ce champ d’éoliennes

      Offshore wind farms coming soon to NY coast | Brooklyn Daily Eagle
      http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/3/17/offshore-wind-farms-coming-soon-ny-coast

      Questions remain about fisheries, shipping lanes, radar systems

      A number of entities expressed caution, however. In its comment to BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that the area in question is a habitat for roughly 35 important fish species and is the site of significant fisheries. NOAA called for an expanded assessment before proceeding with the leases.

      In a similar vein, David Frulla of the Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents permit holders in the Atlantic scallop fishery, commented to BOEM that the group “strongly objects to the leasing of submerged lands that overlap lucrative scallop beds.”

      The group said BOEM had failed to adequately evaluate the impact the project will have on the region’s fisheries, and asked BOEM to remove more than a dozen lease blocks from consideration for leasing.

      The National Ocean Service also has objections. In its comments to BOEM, the agency highlighted the location of high frequency radars supporting the U.S. as part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System.

      “There are 11 high frequency radars in New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island that will be negatively impacted to some degree or another by wind turbines situated offshore Long Island. This would result in a loss of coastal radar monitoring for 100 miles of the NY, NJ, RI coasts,” NOS commented. 

      Significantly, the shipping industry has also expressed grave concerns. Douglas Schneider of the World Shipping Council (WSC), which represents more than 29 shipping companies that operate upwards of 5,000 ocean-going container vessels, commented that WSC has filed multiple submissions with BOEM noting “the critical need for wind energy projects to be sited a safe distance from areas of high-density commercial vessel traffic.”

      The proposed wind lease area is situated between two principal shipping channels out of New York Harbor: the outbound Ambrose to Nantucket traffic lane and the inbound Hudson Canyon to Ambrose traffic lane.

      The proposed WEA would almost completely occupy the space between these two busy traffic channels, Schneider says. To reduce the risk of collision between vessels and what is termed allision between vessels and fixed wind turbines, two-mile buffer zones must be established, he wrote.

  • A Single Vessel Is Behind Canada’s Largest-Ever Trade Deficit - Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-04/a-single-vessel-is-behind-canada-s-largest-ever-trade-deficit


    Blue Marlin arrives in Bull Arm, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland carrying the 30,000 tonne module from South Korea, Sept. 2, 2016.
    Photo: Hebron Project

    Canada posted its largest trade deficit on record in September, a whopping C$4.1 billion ($3 billion) — and a single piece of equipment is to blame.

    A heavy-load carrier arrived at Bull Arm, Trinity Bay in Newfoundland on Sept. 2, after a voyage from South Korea that began in June.

    You’ll note that the 224.8 meter-long vessel had to sail around Africa rather than go through the Suez Canal, due to its size and cargo.
    The Blue Marlin, as the vessel is known, was carrying a 30,000 tonne utilities and process module made by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The module, which had been under development since 2013, will be used in the Hebron offshore-oil project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

    Exxon Mobil Corp. has the largest interest in this project; co-venturers include Chevron Corp., Suncor Energy Inc., Statoil ASA, and Nalcor Energy Corp. The field has been estimated to contain more than 700 million barrels of recoverable resources.

    The arrival of this module helped push the imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts up by C$2.9-billion in September, according to Statistics Canada, meaning the nation’s trade deficit excluding this increase would have totaled C$1.2 billion for the month — an even smaller gap than the C$1.7 billion deficit that economists had been estimating.

  • Norway Oil Worker Talks Hold 6% of Production in the Balance - Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-30/norway-oil-worker-talks-hold-12-of-production-in-the-balance

    Norway is facing the first oil worker strike since 2012 as government-mediated talks for platform workers approach a Friday midnight deadline.
    Should the talks fail, more than 700 workers will walk off the job, affecting fields run by Exxon Mobil Corp., Engie SA and Wintershall as well as drilling operations at Statoil ASA. About 6 percent of the oil and gas output in western Europe’s largest producer will be halted, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association.
    […]
    Should a strike materialize, output at fields such as Balder, Gjoea and Vega will see production cut, according to the group. While the walkout will include KCA Deutag Drilling Norway AS employees on Statoil ASA platforms, including on Oseberg and Gullfaks, Statoil will maintain production even as drilling operations halt, Morten Eek, a spokesman for Norway’s largest oil company, said on Wednesday.

  • Statoil Buys Half of $1.4 Billion EON German Wind Project - Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-25/statoil-buys-50-stake-in-1-4-billion-eon-german-wind-project

    Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest oil company, bought a 50 percent stake in EON SE’s Arkona offshore wind farm, entering the German market and widening its renewable-energy portfolio as it scales back its funding for traditional fossil-fuel projects.
    Statoil and EON will invest more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in the project, which lies 35 kilometers (56 miles) off the German island of Ruegen, the Stavanger-based company said in an e-mailed statement. Electricity production is scheduled to start in 2019 and will power as many as 400,000 households, it said. Siemens AG will supply the turbines.

    #Rügen

  • Highest Carbon Tax in Oil Nation Prods Statoil to Try #Batwind - Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-19/highest-carbon-tax-in-oil-nation-prods-statoil-to-try-batwind

    The highest carbon tax in an oil producing nation has persuaded Norway’s state-owned driller to experiment with batteries and wind turbines as an alternative for supplying electricity to offshore rigs.
    Statoil ASA is planning to park its floating Hywind turbines next to rigs, using lithium-ion batteries to store energy for times when the wind isn’t blowing, said Stephen Bull, a senior vice president overseeing the work. If it succeeds, the technology may spread to the fish-farming industry, which also has big offshore electricity needs.
    The project dubbed “Batwind” is an example of innovation that governments are hoping to encourage by putting a price on the pollution that causes global warming. Norway charges as much as 436 krone ($53) per metric ton of carbon emitted for fossil fuels extracted on its continental shelf, 10 times the price of certificates in the European Union’s offset market.
    It’s the “financial upside” that’s making the project more attractive financially, Bull said, whose company wants to be the world’s greenest fossil-fuel producer. “When you look at the platforms and you look at the exposure we have for power and carbon dioxide, it’s considerable.

  • Brazil to auction Amazon fracking licences - The Ecologist
    http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2985696/brazil_to_auction_amazon_fracking_licences.html

    The Brazilian government is to put 266 fracking blocks across 16 states up for auction tomorrow, 7th October.

    The areas chosen encompass Brazil’s main groundwater aquifers, areas of high agricultural productivity, Amazon rainforest, and important conservation areas such as Abrolhos, Bahia, a marine nursery for humpback whales.

    Companies from 17 countries - including BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Rosneft, Petrobras, Statoil, Premier Oil, GDF Suez, Total, Anadarko, 37 in all - are registered to bid.

    Some of these blocks even reach into indigenous territories within the states of Acre and Amazonas, at the Valley of Juruá, Serra do Divisor and Acre’s Javari Valley in the extreme west of Brazil.

    #Brésil #amazonie #peuples_autochtones #fracturation_hydraulique #hydrocarbures

  • Italian firm Eni poised to begin Arctic oil quest as Shell quits Alaska
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/30/italian-firm-eni-to-begin-arctic-oil-quest-shell-quits-alaska

    As environmentalists celebrated Shell’s retreat from the Chukchi Sea this week, #Eni is meanwhile making final preparations to a $5.5bn (£3.6bn) project in the Norwegian Arctic.

    [...]

    Eni’s spokesman sought to distance the Goliat project from Shell’s pursuit for oil in the Alaskan Arctic. He insisted Goliat is operating in a region considered by the industry as “the manageable Arctic” since it remains largely ice-free compared to other regions of the Arctic.

    But the Goliat project – which Eni has developed with Norway’s state-owned Statoil – is undoubtedly part of the oil industry’s push further north into Arctic waters in search for untapped reserves.

    #pétrole #Arctique

  • Shell va cesser ses #forages en #Alaska
    http://www.lemonde.fr/energies/article/2015/09/28/shell-va-cesser-ses-forages-en-alaska_4774720_1653054.html

    La compagnie Royal Dutch Shell a annoncé, lundi 28 septembre, qu’elle allait arrêter ses explorations à la recherche de pétrole et de gaz en Alaska après une première série de forages jugée décevante.

    Le président américain Barack Obama avait provoqué la colère des écologistes en autorisant en mai Shell à forer sous la mer des Tchouktches dans l’Arctique. Mais après moins de deux mois de forage, Shell a estimé que le résultat de l’exploration était « clairement décevant », le poussant à abandonner des recherches plus poussées.
    […]
    Les ressources de la partie américaine des mers de Tchouktches et de Beaufort sont considérables, selon une estimation du département de l’intérieur : 22 milliards de barils de brut techniquement récupérables et 2,6 milliards de m3 de gaz.

    Shell a englouti 7 milliards de dollars dans ces opérations sans avoir extrait le premier baril d’or noir. D’autres compagnies y ont des permis, comme l’américaine ConocoPhillips et la norvégienne Statoil, mais elles ne les utilisent pas encore.

  • ALGERIE : Statoil « apportera son expérience américaine » dans le domaine du gaz de schiste
    http://www.brujitafr.fr/article-algerie-statoil-apportera-son-experience-americaine-dans-le-domain

    Photo : Øyvind Hagen/Statoil Statoil lancera la première expérience de recherche et d’exploration de gaz de schiste en Algérie, dans le périmètre Timissit. Les travaux d’exploration dureront jusqu’en 2017, avant la phase d’exploitation qui s’étendra à 2023. L’Algérie a attribué, le 30 septembre dernier, quatre périmètres d’exploration et d’exploitation à trois consortiums : Enel-Dragon Oil, Repsol exploration-Shell, et Statoil/Sigma-Shell. La compagnie norvégienne, Statoil, a confirmé à Maghreb Emergent, qu’elle va mener la première expérience de recherche et d’exploration de gaz de Schiste en Algérie. Mme Mari Helen Skarholt, la directrice de communication de l’entreprise basée à Londres, nous a livré quelques détails sur le déroulement de cette (...)

  • Gaz : un méthanier norvégien met un terme au monopole russe dans les pays baltes
    http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2014/10/27/gaz-un-methanier-norvegien-met-un-terme-au-monopole-russe-dans-les-pays-balt

    La Lituanie a accueilli, lundi 27 octobre, un terminal flottant de gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL/LNG) baptisé Indépendance, qui brise le monopole du géant gazier russe Gazprom dans les pays baltes. Une garde d’honneur et plusieurs centaines de personnes agitant des drapeaux lituaniens étaient présents au port de Klaipeda sur la Baltique à l’arrivée de ce bateau de 294 mètres, loué pour dix ans au norvégien Hoegh LNG.
    Le méthanier permettra à la Lituanie d’acheter l’année prochaine au norvégien Statoil 540 millions de mètres cubes de gaz, et d’importer ensuite annuellement, après l’expiration fin 2015 de son contrat avec Gazprom, jusqu’à 4 milliards de m3, soit bien plus que les 2,7 milliards de m3 achetés à la Russie l’an dernier.
    (…)
    Lors de la cérémonie officielle à Klaipeda, la présidente lituanienne, Dalia Grybauskaite, a déclaré que le nouveau terminal allait « garantir la sécurité à la région toute entière », car il peut couvrir 90 % des besoins en gaz des trois pays baltes.


    Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite speaks during a welcoming ceremony for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel « Independence » in Klaipeda on Oct. 27, 2014. The « Independence », a huge floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal docked in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda on Monday, becoming the first such facility to sever Moscow’s energy grip on the Baltic states.
    © AFP PHOTO / PETRAS MALUKAS

    L’article WP[en] sur L’Independence
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FSRU_Independence

    L’annonce, l’année dernière (à l’époque, le bateau espérait couvrir 60% des besoins en gaz de la Lituanie…)

    At Anchor Off Lithuania, Its Own Energy Supply - NYTimes.com
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/business/energy-environment/lithuania-aims-for-energy-independence.html

    Kiaules Nugara — which translates as Pig’s Back Island—is central to breaking Russia’s hold on Lithuania. The Independence is to be anchored alongside this spot of land, less than two-thirds of a mile long, that sits in the channel leading to the Port of Klaipeda, a busy cargo hub.

    Klaipedos Nafta, a state-controlled oil terminal operator, is leasing the ship, formally known as a floating gas storage and regasification unit, from a Norwegian company, Hoegh, in a 10-year deal for 430 million euros, or $560 million. A South Korean shipyard has nearly finished building the ship. The work is expected to be completed in February and the ship is expected to arrive in Lithuania in November.

    Lithuania’s decision to go ahead with the L.N.G. project irritated the European Commission, which favored an initiative that would include member states in the Baltic Sea region. But the Lithuanian government was desperate to lower energy costs, revive strong economic growth and reduce an unemployment rate that last year stood at 13 percent.
    (…)
    We will be able for the first time in our history to negotiate, because we have alternative sources,” said Rokas Masiulis, the general manager of Klaipedos Nafta.
    (…)
    But Mr. Masiulis said his greatest challenge was overcoming the Lithuanian bureaucracy and fending off attempts to give the project “a shade of corruption.
    (…)
    Vilius Palileika, 59, a boat captain, said that while some residents of Klaipeda might feel threatened by the presence of vast quantities of L.N.G. nearby, “The port will become safer because it will be deeper, and because all ship traffic will stop for a few hours during gas deliveries.