The offshore supply vessel industry faces significant challenges to meet the decarbonization goals of energy company clients. Vessel operators must find ways to reduce carbon emissions while also maintaining the efficiency and capacities of their vessels. Hydrogen has long been seen as a “fuel of the future” that could yield the emissions reductions needed to…
As the world continues marching down the road towards net-zero carbon emissions, the US Gulf of Mexico continues to be a leading and growing oil and gas production basin. The cost of renewable energy development, low profit margins on renewable energy, and the cost of carbon emission offsets requires significant cash flow which must come from…
The number of active drilling rigs continues to belie the overall activity in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. Historically, it has been deepwater floating rig activity that has driven vessel demand but the current deepwater rig count currently stands at 19. This is striking because the price of oil has remained sustained above $80…
Almost immediately after taking office in 2021, President Biden imposed a moratorium on federal oil and gas lease sales. Thirteen states in total, including Louisiana, Texas and all but one state along the Gulf Coast, filed suit. The suits claim substantial loss of revenues for local government funding, loss of jobs for those states’ workers, and…
From the recent peak in oil from $122/bbl on approximately June 8th to the price of $94/bbl on July 22nd, oil is down 22%. This is a rather dramatic change given the amount and short period of time. I recently discussed the potential of a recession and the impact it may have on oil demand and oil…
In early 2020, prior to the the COVID shutdowns in mid-March, the offshore oil and gas industry in the US GOM was showing strong signs of a sustained recovery. By the end of February 2020, there were 22 deep water rigs actively drilling, the most since 2017. After the pandemic shut the world down, offshore activity dropped dramatically…
I recently did an analysis of oil prices and the number of deepwater rigs in the US Gulf of Mexico going all the way back to 2014. I wasn’t sure what the results might indicate but I had a general idea of what the averages were at the end of each respective year. In summary, here are…
While the offshore market is showing signs of a sustained recovery with OSV demand increasing dramatically over the last few months, there are other industries that will drive even more OSV demand. There has been much made of the need for existing OSVs to support offshore wind farm activities in the US. Though the desire is for…
As 2021 draws to a close, there are many reasons to be both optimistic and cautious about our industry in 2022 and beyond. While there have been positive trends in market drivers for OSV demand, we are still faced with the threat of COVID and the impact it may have on oil and gas demand. Overall,…
Back in August, I touched on the growing sentiment among Super Major and Major energy companies that the US Gulf of Mexico will remain a critical offshore oil and gas basin for years to come. In that same month, during the annuals Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Shell announced as part of its long-term energy…