ABS Energy News September 2007



	ABS Takes on Deepwater Ports CE Role for USCG Playing a role in bringing clean burning natural gas to Massachusetts and New England is ABS as the third-party Certifying Entity (CE) on behalf of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for Excelerate Energy’s Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge™ deepwater port offshore Massachusetts Bay. *Read more.*
	Ultra Deep GOM Drilling Reaches Record According to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) a record number of drilling rigs are currently working in ultra-deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 14 rigs drilling for oil and gas in 5,000 feet of water or greater 11 or 80 percent are built to ABS standards. *Read more.*
	MODUs Highlight Dubai Seminar With the Middle East becoming a new building center for offshore structures, ABS recently held a two-day technical seminar for rig owners, yard engineers and designers. Attendees discussed jacking gear systems, mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) machinery, systems and structural fire protection as well as the ABS Eagle Engineering Plan Review Module which allows for real-time electronic plan review. Read more.
	First Drilling Rig to Earn Habitability Notation The jackup Soehanah is one of a number of super premium jackups worldwide built to PPL Shipyard's proprietary design, the Baker Marine Pacific 375 Class. ABS has classed many of these jackups. However, what makes this rig special is that it is the first mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) to receive ABS’ habitability notation, HAB+. Read more.
	ABS Certifies MODEC’s HSE Program MODEC is the first floating production facilities company to obtain integrated certification against three international standards governing Safety (S), Environment (E) and Occupational Health (H) Management as contained in the ABS Marine HSQE Guide. Read more.
	Diamond’s Ocean Scepter Launches ABS Surveyor John J. Kim stationed in Brownsville, Texas, attends the recent launching of Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Scepter jackup. The KeppelFELS Super B Class design is ABS classed and scheduled for deployment in the Gulf of Mexico. *Read more.*
	ENSCO 8500 Semisub Awarded to ABS Leading international driller ENSCO returns to ABS for classification on its ENSCO 8503 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible. This rig is the fourth in the ENSCO 8500 Series which is based upon an ENSCO proprietary design. ABS has classed the previous three rigs and says enhancements to this fourth semisub include: two million pound quad derrick, offline pipe handling capability, increased drilling capacity, greater variable deck load and improved automatic station keeping ability with dynamic positioning.
	Seadrill Builds Again to ABS International offshore drilling contractor Seadrill is building its third ultra-deepwater drillship (Hull 1769) at South Korea’s Samsung Shipyard with ABS specified as the class society. The two previous drillship units ordered by Seadrill were also to ABS Rules and the latest will be dynamically positioned and capable of operating in water depths of up to 10,000 feet. The unit is scheduled for delivery in June 2010.
	Jackup Success Adds Another to ABS Class Taiwanese-based Offshore Group Corp has placed a contract with SembCorp Marine’s subsidiary Shipyard PPL to build a third Baker Marine Pacific Class (BMC Pacific) 375 self elevating drilling unit or jackup with ABS securing its classification. The rig is the third in a series with ABS also having been specified in the building standards for the previous rigs. Read more.
	ABS Sweeps Series of Semi-Subs The TDS-2500 column stabilized drilling unit for Brazil’s drilling contractor, Delba Maritima, will be classed by ABS. The rig is the third in a series of semisubmersibles based on the Gusto MSC design with engineering and project management awarded to SBM-Atlantia. 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.	ABS Scores Second FPSO for New Zealand Singapore-based Tanker Pacific has awarded ABS classification for its floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, Maari, slated to operate offshore New Zealand in early 2008. Read more.
	‘Massive’ Project Using Polyester Moorings ABS was selected as the classification society of record for Independence Hub because of its extensive experience in the Gulf of Mexico, its ability to act on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard and its experience with polyester moorings. Read more.
	Agbami FPSO Naming Ceremony ABS Pacific management and surveyors attended the recent naming ceremony for the Agbami FPSO at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Koje, South Korea. The ABS classed newbuild FPSO will operate for the Star Deep Water Petroleum Ltd. (an affiliate of Chevron Corp.) *Read more.*


	Dual Class with CCS Marks LNG Milestone ABS is working with China’s classification society, CCS, on dual classification of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers built in China. Five carriers total are building at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. The contract signals an increased level of sophistication for China yards. *Read more.*
	Sakhalin Project LNG Carrier Ice Classed Hyundai Merchant Marine’s 150,000m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, Hyundai Ecopia, will be dual classed by ABS and the Korean Registry (KR). The carrier is one of the first to receive ice-class notations as it is slated for Russia’s Sakhalin Island project. The vessel is building at Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard (HHI) in Ulsan, Korea. Read more.


	Moura Appointed Angola Country Manager Success with offshore discoveries in the People’s Republic of Angola has led to a boom in exploration and production activities in recent years. Angola now ranks third behind Iran and Saudi Arabia in new oil discoveries. Watching over ABS surveyors in this African nation is newly appointed Country Manager Marcus Moura. Read more.
	Mexico Bustles with Offshore Activity ABS Country Manager for Mexico Paul DeLaire reports high levels of construction activity in Mexico in support of the busy offshore rig market. Read more.


	RTM STAR Center Certified to SIGTTO LNG Standards ABS Consulting has certified RTM STAR Center's Tankship Liquefied Gases course as meeting all the requirements of the Society of International Gas Tanker & Terminal Operators, Ltd. (SIGTTO), LNG Shipping Suggested Competency Standards. Read more.


	ABS Hosts Offshore Session at MTEC 2007 Further support for offshore developments in Southeast Asia continues as ABS hosts a half-day conference session at the MTEC 2007-International Maritime-Port Technology and Development Conference in Singapore, 26-28 September. Leading offshore research and development staff from ABS’ Corporate Technology will present on a wide range of topics including: Simulation Technology for Offshore and Marine Hydrodynamics, Stability of Deep Waters Semisubmersibles and Design and Analysis of Deepwater Risers. Complete schedule of topics. With a tremendous amount of offshore development taking place in the region, ABS has established a Singapore Offshore Technology Center (SOTC) to support knowledge transfer in support of offshore technology issues. In addition to the offshore session, ABS’ Senior Vice President of Technology Peter Tang-Jensen will deliver a keynote presentation discussing issues related to large container ships.
	Chaney Delivers Global Perspective on LNG Fleet Attendees at the LNG North America Summit 2007 in Houston, TX, USA were provided a class society perspective on the size and number of LNG carriers on order from ABS’ Manager, Gas Ships, Patrick Chaney. With exploration in harsh arctic waters, Chaney discussed the latest developments with carriers built to ice-breaking standards. Learn more about LNG classification services. ABS will present at the upcoming Second Annual Global LNG Infrastructure Summit, October 4-5, Mexico City, Mexico. The latest developments regarding offshore LNG terminals will be discussed.
	ABS Hosts 10th International Symposium on Practical Design of Ships and Other Floating Structures (PRADS) This international ship symposium includes several sessions dedicated to technical topics for the offshore industry. ABS hosts the conference in Houston, TX, USA, 30 September -5 October. Several ABS papers will be presented, including leading-edge research in a paper from ABS “Extreme Load and Fatigue Damage on FPSO in Combined Waves and Swells.” View PRADS website and full technical session details.
	Visit ABS at Kazakhstan’s Premiere Oil and Gas Exhibition ABS will be exhibiting at KIOGE 2007 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2-5 October. This is the 15th anniversary for this international oil and gas exhibition and conference.
	Technical Sponsor for D.O.T. ABS is the technical sessions sponsor for the upcoming Deep Offshore Technology (DOT) Conference & Exhibition 10-12 October in Stavanger, Norway.


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