The market for US Jones Act (USJA) deepwater OSVs has continued to trend favorably for vessel owners. While the seasonal uptick in demand is occurring as expected, the number of deepwater OSVs departing the Gulf of America also continues to increase. These two phenomena are creating a very tight supply in the near term and…
President Trump recently signed an executive order on energy policy entitled Unleashing American Energy. This order sets out to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters including on the Outer Continental Shelf as well as ensure all regulatory requirements related to energy are grounded in clearly applicable law. As the President has…
Unsurprisingly, the ongoing energy transition continues to face headwinds. Various governments have made bold proclamations regarding their objectives to slash greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades. However, this has resulted in far fetched ideas, like fully eliminating internal combustion engine vehicles, some of which has been backed by oil and gas companies now…
Over the last seven quarters, the floating deepwater rig count in the USGOM continues to remain static between 20 and 22 rigs. Yet, demand for deepwater OSVs is significantly higher than just one year ago. While a summer uptick is expected, this does not explain the rise in demand relative to this time last year….
Deepwater OSV charters, particularly those of Super Major oil companies, have long had a strong age limit preference (if not strict rule) to cap the age of vessels in their term-charter fleet. These limitations are now being reconsidered as charterers recognize that the current fleet is aging, yet there are no new vessels in construction…
The deepwater OSV market in the US GOM is becoming a “tale of two groups” of vessel supply. The newer, more capable, and most efficient deepwater OSVs are in high demand with sustained long-term contracts. On the side of the market are the oldest, least capable, and least efficient OSVs that are chartered to fill…
I have and will continue to advocate for an “all of the above” approach to investing and developing global energy solutions. What is problematic, however, is the focus on renewable energy to the detriment of conventional oil and gas resources. The targets and timelines to achieve net zero carbon put forth by many of the…
It’s dangerous to assume that a current situation might be different than something similar in the past, but this just may be the case for the OSV industry in the US GOM. The reasons for this are becoming more clear as the level of US GOM offshore activity has remained relatively static over the past…
This time of year not only means the holidays are here but also the International Work Boat Show (WBS) that’s held annually in New Orleans. Based on the size of the crowds, this year’s conference was easily the most attended show post-COVID. This doesn’t surprise me given the resurgence in the offshore oil and gas industry and…
To me, when there is overwhelming positive agreement on something, then it’s time to take a step back and consider if that sentiment is deserving. For today’s OSV industry, it certainly seems time to evaluate if the current positivity around the industry is warranted—something we haven’t see since 2007 and 2008. In that timeframe, the upticks were being driven…