ABS Energy News November 2006



	China Yards Expanding In Offshore Construction Chinese yards are going through an unprecedented growth in activity in offshore construction. ABS China General Manager Wing Kee Ho reports that with the demand for deepwater ships and rigs, the Chinese government has embarked upon a series of yard expansions. Read more.
	ABS Classed Semi Sets Deepwater Mooring Record Noble Corporation’s semisubmersible drilling unit the Noble Amos Runner has established a new world record for the deepest conventionally moored rig by mooring in 7,650 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Block 955). Read more.
	Diamond Gives ABS Vote of Confidence Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., a leading deepwater drilling contractor operating one of the largest fleets of offshore drilling units in the world, recently awarded classification of its 1987 built ultra-deepwater semisubmersible Ocean Confidence to ABS. The unit has a dynamic positioning system rated DP-3.
	ABS Awarded Five Petrobras Semisubmersibles Petrobras has awarded classification of five of six semisubmersible orders being built by various Brazilian companies to ABS. The DSS™ 38 semisubmersible drilling rig has been developed to meet operational requirements in the deepwater Golden Triangle region, comprising Brazil, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. Read more.
	Transocean Semi Undergoes Survey The Transocean semisubmersible Sedco 702 is undergoing survey and modification works in Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Read more.
	ABS Classes New Jackup Design in Indonesia ABS Indonesia Country Manager Ravi Chadha attends the strike steel ceremony for the L 201 MSC Gusto CJ 46-X100D jackup design being built for Standard Drilling ASA by Singapore’s Labroy Marine Limited. ABS was chosen as the rig’s classification society. Read more.
	Noble Using ABS Plan Approval Process Texas-based Noble Corporation recently adopted the Client Interface module of ABS’ web based plan approval system, O2E, to manage the plan approval process for all of its ABS classed offshore rigs . Read more.
	Asia Interest in ABS Offshore Experience With a tremendous amount of drilling unit activity taking place in Southeast Asia, there is growing interest in offshore technology developments. ABS technology and offshore representatives recently met at ABS’ Corporate Headquarters in Houston with representatives from the Centre for Offshore Research & Engineering (CORE) at the National University of Singapore to discuss joint industry projects. ABS has established a Singapore Offshore Technology Center (SOTC). Read more.
	Agbami FPSO Towed Out of Drydock The ABS classed floating production, storage and offloading unit Agbami FPSO was recently towed out of the newbuilding drydock from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) Shipyard for topside installation and testing. The 13 topsides modules will weigh about 35,000 tons. ABS will closely review the loads as well as calculations for the hull’s strength and fatigue assessment. The FPSO is destined for offshore Nigeria with first oil targeted in early 2008 with a daily production rate of about 250,000 barrels of oil.
	BP Atlantis Sails Away ABS is providing classification and certification services for BP’s Atlantis semisubmersible destined for the Atlantis Field, located approximately 125 miles south of New Orleans in the Green Canyon Block in approximately 6,500 feet of water. Photo shows the semisubmersible sailing from Port Aransas, Texas, to location. The unit is now moored on location and is being readied for production for start date in 2007. Photo: Tony Owen of BP


	First CNG Carrier Ready for Construction to ABS Class ABS has given full design approval for the class of the compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier designed and developed by Canadian-based Sea NG Corporation. It is the first full class approval for a CNG carrier issued by ABS. *Read more.*
	First Conversion of a Compressed Gas Liquid Carrier from a Suezmax Oil Carrier SeaOne Maritime Corp. called upon the extensive marine gas handling and transportation experience of ABS to class and certify the proposed conversion of several existing 150,000 dwt suezmax oil tankers to Compressed Gas Liquid Carriers. *Read more.*


	ABS’ Singapore Offshore Technology Center Providing Technical Excellence According to Dr. Jer-Fang Wu, Staff Consultant and Head of the ABS Singapore Offshore Technology Center (SOTC), the research center is actively participating in ship and offshore industry discussions in Southeast Asia. A presentation titled “Effective FPSO Structural Integrity Assessment to Achieve Optimum Service Life” was given by Dr. Wu at September’s FPSO Integrity Summit in Beijing China. For more information regarding SOTC or a copy of the paper, contact: jwu@eagle.org
	ABS Participates in FILDA Exhibition as Angola Presence Increases ABS was among the 200-plus exhibitors at the Luanda International Trade Fair (FILDA) in Angola. The expansion of oil and gas fields offshore West Africa has created opportunities for classification services. *Read more.*
	Jackup Expertise Noted at Conferences ABS' expertise in the classification of jackup rigs has earned the society the majority of the jackups currently on order. Recently a series of papers and presentations were given by the offshore engineering staff on stability and other jackup issues. *Read more.*
	Offshore Technology Seminar Tour ABS presented a series of one day seminars in Mumbai, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Singapore; Busan, Korea; and Yokohama, Japan to discuss the current issues in offshore technology. Topics included structural assessments for FPSO newbuilds and conversions, regulatory requirements for FPSO, floater selections and position mooring systems, certification procedures for topside facilities and risk-based verification and assessments for offshore installations. Contact our offshore experts. *Read more.*
	Upcoming...
	Technical Paper at Gastech 2006 Outlines Ship Design and Operational Challenges For Arctic Environments With nearly a quarter of all LNG carriers on order to ABS class, LNG experts at ABS will be presenting a paper titled “Winterization Guidelines for LNG Carriers in Arctic Environment" during Gastech 2006, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 4-6 December. Visit the ABS exhibit stand J80.
	ABS Keynotes at OSEA Asia’s largest oil and gas exhibition, OSEA 2006, 5-8 December, Suntec Singapore, will feature ABS Vice President of Energy Development William J. Sember as a keynote speaker covering production as well as gas recovery issues. Learn more about ABS offshore classification services.


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