ABS Energy News June 2007



	Strong FPSO Market: ABS Classing Major Conversions and Newbuilds Orders for floating production systems are the strongest in a decade. Industry analysts say 39 production floaters have been ordered over the past 12 months. ABS is currently classing 13 of these 39 under construction as newbuilds or conversions from tankers. Read more.
	Spar Experience: World’s Deepest Spar to be Installed with CVA Assistance from ABS Floating production systems such as Spars must comply with U.S. federal regulatory codes in order to receive a Certificate of Inspection (COI) from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and a permit to operate from the Minerals Management Service (MMS) for operation in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico. ABS has been selected to act as the Certification Verification Agent (CVA) for the MMS for the Shell Perdido Regional Hub Truss Spar destined for GOM in 2009. Read more.
	MODU Committee Adopts Changes Highlights from the Annual Meeting of the ABS Special Committee on Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) included presentations on the reformatting of the current Rules and structural Rule changes related to spud can fixity. Read more.
	Cossack Pioneer Seeking Life Extension The ABS-classed FPSO Cossack Pioneer started life as a 250,000 dwt very large crude carrier (VLCC), delivered in 1972. Substantially modified and converted to its current role in 1995 the vessel will undergo its seventh special survey in 2009 and its operator, Woodside Petroleum, is now working with ABS to identify the most effective way to extend the unit’s operating life. Read more.
	Scorpion Awards Five Jackups to ABS The just delivered jackup, Scorpion Offshore Courageous, is the first in a series of five jackup rigs building to ABS class for Scorpion Offshore. Read more.
	More Jackups: Orion Orders to ABS Independent drilling contractor Orion International Drilling Services, Ltd has signed a contract for two Friede & Goldman Super M2 jackups at the MIS yard Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates naming ABS its classification society. This follows the order in mid-2006 by Mosvold Drilling Ltd. of its Mosvold rigs both of the same design and the first to be built in the UAE together with the other two units being built at QGM for Thule Drilling. Read more.
	Blake Builds Fleet with Two Multi-Service Jackup Rigs Known for its operations in the Gulf of Mexico, Blake Drilling and Workover Co., an affiliate of Blake Offshore LLC, will build two self propelled, multi-service jackup vessels designed to operate internationally. The vessels will be the first of their type designed and built to stringent MODU specifications making these rigs distinct from liftboats. ABS will class the vessels as Self Propelled Mobile Offshore, Jackup Well Servicing Units using its MODU Rules. Read more.
	N-Notations for Offshore Units Operating on Norwegian Continental Shelf A newly released Guide and notation from ABS has positioned the society to play a more active role with operators working on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Read more.
	Sophisticated Pipelay Vessel to be Built to ABS Standards ABS has been selected to class a highly sophisticated pipelay vessel for Saipem being built at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China. The vessel will be ice-strengthened and equipped with the highest level of redundant dynamic positioning (DP3). Read more.
	First ACP Rig for Rowan Major international offshore and land drilling contractor Rowan Companies, Inc., recently had its first Alternative Compliance Program (ACP) rig, the Bob Palmer, surveyed under the program with three more under construction enrolled in ACP. Read more.
Close X Tony Nassif, President & CEO, ABS Group of Companies, Inc.; Bill Sember, President & COO, ABS Europe; Tom Gilmour, President & COO, ABS Americas; Jim Liebertz, President & COO, ABS Pacific; Todd Grove, Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff, ABS; Chris Wiernicki, President & COO, ABS.	Follow Up: OTC Papers and Reception ABS was among the 2,400 companies exhibiting at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) this year. As the leading offshore classification society, ABS also presented several technical papers on the topics of floating offshore installations, compressed natural gas and risk-based classification for offshore production systems. ABS also hosted a well-attended reception for its many clients. Read OTC Technical Papers in full. Read more.
	ABS Supports Singapore's Science and Technology Initiatives ABS has extended its commitment to marine and offshore education and research with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centre for Offshore Research and Engineering (CORE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Read more.


	BG LNG Carrier Named BG continues its investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with the recent naming ceremony for its ABS classed carrier Methane Alison Victoria at the Samsung Shipyard in Korea. Read more.


	Mooring JIP Makes Recommendations ABS Consulting, an affiliate of ABS, has been managing the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Mooring Strength Reliability (MODU JIP) joint industry program. The project nears completion and recommendations have been incorporated into the American Petroleum Institute’s API 95F Recommended Practices available for free download. Read more.


	LNG North America Summit 2007 Nearly one quarter of LNG ships on order are to ABS class.; ABS’ Manager, Gas Ships, Ship Sector Development, Patrick Chaney, will speak on "U.S. Shipping Supply and Demand: A Class Society Perspective on Trends” at the LNG North America Summit, June 19-20, Houston, TX. *For conference details.*
	11^th International Jackup Conference ABS presents at this specialized conference on jackups at City University, London, Sept. 11-12, London, UK. Jackups are being built to ABS Rules at an unprecedented rate and the class society leads in offshore classification services. For conference details.
	ABS Exhibiting at KIOGE 2007 Growing interest in the oil and gas sectors in Russia and Kazakhstan will make this one of the largest international oil and gas exhibitions in the region. Visit ABS at KIOGE, October 2-5, Almaty, Kazakhstan.


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