Offshore News

[Savoia]

Australia To Host Offshore Helicopter Symposium

The Pacific offshore helicopter symposium will be held in Australia next month in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center at Darling Harbour.

Topics to be discussed at the October 8 event include the new CASA rules on commercial operations such as the latest IFR, copilot qualifications and multi-engine performance standards.

Changes to the latter could result in many hospital helipads and oil rig platforms operations being considered unsuitable for the current crop of medium to heavy helicopters, unless the new EASA rules are modified.

For more information, contact the Australian Helicopter Industry Association at [email protected]

Australia To Host Offshore Helicopter Symposium | Aviation International News (http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2013-09-04/australia-host-offshore-helicopter-symposium)


Malaysian oil and gas industry looks to aviation safety

The council representing the interest of the oil and gas industry in Malaysia is set to launch an aviation working group to continue to expand its competencies and to better understand the role that aviation and especially helicopters play.

Malaysian oil and gas industry looks to aviation safety - News - Shephard (http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/malaysian-oil-and-gas-industry-looks-aviation-safe/)


Oil and gas sector needs 120,000 new employees

The oil and gas sector needs to recruit 120,000 new employees worldwide over the next decade to avoid a skills shortage, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers research, and companies in the sector are pushing hard to attract employees into the interesting and exciting (not to mention well remunerated) industry.

Oil and gas sector 'needs 120,000 new employees' - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/10286787/Oil-and-gas-sector-needs-120000-new-employees.html)

[SASless]

Interesting news for the GOM.....business is going to pick up....most of it long distance off shore work for deep water rigs.

Wildcatter Hunch Unlocks $1.5 Trillion Oil Offshore U.S. - Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wildcatter-hunch-unlocks-1-5-113441846.html)

[Savoia]

A Cougar aircraft has gone tech today and will remain offshore overnight

Helicopter encounters problem on drilling rig - Local - The Telegram (http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2013-09-25/article-3406361/Helicopter-encounters-problem-on-drilling-rig/1)

[Savoia]

Shell Silent on Arctic Operations

SEATTLE — Shell Oil has not disclosed new safety measures since a critical federal report in March, and it has not applied to drill in the Arctic in 2014. Six months after federal officials chastised Shell Oil for its faulty offshore drilling operations in the Arctic, the company has yet to explain what safeguards it has put in place or when it plans to resume exploring for oil in the vulnerable region.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-52437487/turbine/la-apphoto-shell-arctic-drill-ship2-jpg-20130925/600
Shell Oil’s Kulluk drilling barge off southern Alaska in December

Shell's 2012 return to offshore Arctic exploration after a generation away was marred by high-profile problems, including hefty fines for polluting the air and a drilling rig that ran aground. The company canceled its 2013 drilling season, and its 2014 operations are in question.

The Interior Department is scheduled to unveil a set of tightened safeguards for offshore Arctic drilling before the end of the year, regulations whose need is underscored by Shell's difficulties.

"If we don't do this right, we are opening America's Arctic to catastrophic industrial disasters," said Jim Ayers, former director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, who helped review the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Arctic is home to some of the most extreme weather conditions in the world. It is covered in ice for eight to nine months each year and cloaked in darkness for a third of that time. The closest Coast Guard base is nearly 1,000 miles away.

Shell Oil's Arctic drilling operations in limbo - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-arctic-drilling-20130926,0,4034450.story)

[Savoia]

Yesterday's 'Cougar gone tech' on the Henry Goodrich platform seems to have been related to an autopilot issue on an S92 .. still awaiting confirmation.

A spokesperson for Husky Energy said the crew were doing pre-flight checks on the Henry Goodrich oil platform around 9:30 a.m. when there was a problem with the chopper's "Stability Augmentation System."

Cougar tried to send a maintenance engineer to the platform, but the helicopter was forced to turn back because of fog.

The grounded Sikorsky aircraft stayed on the rig overnight while workers returned to St. John's on an offshore supply vessel.

Cougar helicopter stranded offshore - Newfoundland & Labrador - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cougar-helicopter-stranded-offshore-1.1868970)

[Savoia]

New Aircraft and New $100m Facility for Bristow in Trinidad

Since oil and gas exploration in T&T has moved further into deep water, rig crews will now benefit from state-of-the-art transportation offered by Bristow Caribbean Ltd (Bristow) with the newly-acquired Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters and the development of a $100 million facility at Piarco.

Bristow shows off new helicopters | The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper (http://guardian.co.tt/business/2013-10-06/bristow-shows-new-helicopters)

[Savoia]

The helicopter is the workhorse for the off-shore oil and gas exploration and production industry. The ever-increasing demand for energy, ever escalating prices of crude oil and the discovered existence of oil and gas in off-shore areas ensure that there is a hectic increase in off-shore oil exploration in recent times. More and more hitherto untouched off-shore areas are being explored and developed through large public and private sector investments. Helicopters form an essential and critical part of off-shore operations as they connect these facilities to the mainland.

Offshore Helicopter Operations in India: An Overview (http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/indias-energy-security-role-of-offshore-helicopter-operations/)

[Savoia]

BP makes ‘significant’ Gulf of Mexico find after most successful exploration year in a decade

Iain Hepburn, 18th December 2013

BP says it has made a significant find in the Gulf of Mexico – as it prepares to celebrate its most successful year for new field exploration in a decade.

The British supermajor has struck oil for the third time in the region, this time at the Gila prospect, around 300miles southwest of New Orleans.

The deepwater exploration well was drilled to a depth of 29,211 ft, and found multiple Paleogene-aged reservoir sands.

Now appraisal work is underway on the find to determine just how big the discovery is.

“Gila continues our successful drill out of the prolific Paleogene play system in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” said BP’s global head of exploation, Mike Daly.

“Subject to successful appraisal, Gila, Tiber and Kaskida together offer the potential for significant future oil developments in the Keathley Canyon area.”

The firm’s two similar finds in the Gulf of Mexico have yielded significant results for BP, with the 2009 Tiber discovery believed to contain up to 6billion barrels of oil, and the Kaskida find in 2006 which contains 3billion.

BP owns a majority interest in the prospect, along with ConocoPhillips.

The find comes as the company announced its most successful exploration year in a decade, with seven potentially commercial discoveries made from 15 wildcat wells.

Among the significant finds were the Pitu discovery and Pitanga wells off Brazil, and the Lontra find off Angola, which it holds a 30% stake in.

“The exploration results that BP has seen in the fourth quarter alone include a new play opener in a frontier basin offshore Brazil, together with discoveries in emerging plays in our production heartlands of Angola and the Gulf of Mexico,” sad Daly.

“We are very pleased that both these frontier and core portfolios are starting to deliver and anticipate leaving the year with nine further wells operational, sustaining our recent momentum into 2014.”

BP makes 'significant' Gulf of Mexico find after most successful exploration year in a decade | Energy Voice (http://www.energyvoice.com/2013/12/bp-makes-significant-gulf-mexico-find-successful-exploration-year-decade/)

[Bravo73]

Weststar starts seven year offshore contract in Thailand | Helihub - the Helicopter Industry Data Source (http://helihub.com/2014/02/07/weststar-starts-seven-year-offshore-contract-in-thailand/)

7 Feb, 14 Weststar Aviation Services Sdn. Bhd., a member of the Weststar Group of Companies, today announced the successful launch of its first regional expansion in Asia after its new Songkhla base in Thailand commenced operations on a seven-year PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) contract last Friday.


Weststar Aviation Services expansion into Thailand comes after a joint venture with its new Thai partner, United Offshore Aviation (UOA), the offshore aviation arm of the Nathalin Group of Companies, which is one of the largest transportation and energy group of companies in Thailand and has multiple business interests in Marine Transport, Green Energy and Ship Management, amongst others.


PTTEP is a leading Thai Petroleum Exploration and Production Company that is amongst the top ten public listed companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and operates more than 40 projects around the world.


“We are very pleased to announce our new presence in Thailand. The joint-venture with UOA represents another big step forward for Weststar Aviation Services and reflects our growing presence in the global offshore aviation industry,” said Tan Sri Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, Group Managing Director of the Weststar Group.


The seven-year PTTEP contract, with an option for a two-year extension, is worth RM2billion and will utilise six AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters and a total of 140 staff at the Songkhla base.


The Songkhla base is Weststar Aviation Services’ seventh operations base and marks the Malaysian corporation’s second venture overseas, with its first international base having commenced operations for Tullow Oil in Nouakchott, Mauritania in May last year. Weststar Aviation Services currently services contracts totalling more than RM8billion with one of the largest and most modern offshore helicopter fleets in the world.


It is a highly positive start to a year in which the top Southeast Asian offshore aviation service provider expects to announce further overseas ventures in the coming months.


6 AW139s? That's a lot of pilots needed. :ok:

[meanttobe]

See jobs 2014 thread
Apologies Bravo

[Bravo73]

Job Vacancies: Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd | Weststar Group (http://weststar.com.my/main/index.php/available-vacancies-weststar-aviation-services-sdn-bhd/)

Wrong thread. That wants to be here: http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/531362-rotary-jobs-2014-a.html

;)

[meanttobe]

Major expansion planned at Weststar.

Weststar orders 10 additional AW139 helicopters | Vertical Magazine - The Pulse of the Helicopter Industry (http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/26613#.Uvz-SXggHCQ)

[meanttobe]

Anyone got a 139 to spare?

https://www.atlantic.fo/en/about-us/news/2014/atlantic-airways-wins-tender-to-provide-statoil-helicopter-service.aspx

[meanttobe]

Current East Africa offshore flying ops. Focused article on Bristow/Everett partnership.


Heliops (http://www.heliopsmag.com/features/playing-with-the-big-boys)

[meanttobe]

Big move by NHV. That must be confident that can secure future work.


NHV orders 6 more EC175s ? taking total to 16 | Helihub - the Helicopter Industry Data Source (http://helihub.com/2014/02/25/nhv-orders-6-more-ec175s-taking-order-to-16/)

[meanttobe]

Weststar Aviation starts operations in Morocco with two AW139s | Helihub - the Helicopter Industry Data Source (http://helihub.com/2014/03/03/weststar-aviation-starts-operations-in-morocco-with-two-aw139s/)

[meanttobe]

Houston energy companies expected to spend more on offshore helicopter services - Houston Business Journal (http://m.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/nuts-and-bolts/2014/04/offshore-helicopter-market-expected-to-surge.html?r=full)

[helimutt]

Interesting choice of offshore helicopter picture for that last article. Didn't that one ditch back in the 80's due collective problem?

[meanttobe]

Looks like Bristow has picked up the BP Great Australia Bight contract for 3 heavies.
Meanwhile CHC have picked up a contract for 2 heavies out of St Johns with Statoil. Looks like they also won a Limsar contract offshore for Shell Australia with a 225. All the operators are waiting on an IOC tender result for 6-7 heavies for east coast canada. Busy times ahead.

[Ian Corrigible]

Interesting choice of offshore helicopter picture for that last article. Didn't that one ditch back in the 80's due collective problem?
Also Bristow's last 214ST to retire (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/280009-last-b214st-retired-n-sea-ops.html). Photo already added to the Bristow photo (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/287207-bristow-photos.html) thread.

I/C

[heli1]

Bell 214ST and now 525.......back to the future !

[meanttobe]

Confirmation of previous rumour.

Statoil Awards Contract to CHC Helicopters Canada Inc. to Provide Offshore Transportation in North Atlantic | Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140505006150/en/Statoil-Awards-Contract-CHC-Helicopters-Canada-Provide#.U2fpJYm9LCQ)

The Hebron project is the next big award for East Canada .

[belly tank]

Recent news for Bristows new contract in Ceduna, Australia. This is great news for the company entering into the gulf of OZ.

www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/bps-138m-investment-for-international-helicopter-company-bristow-to-set-up-ceduna-air-base/story-fni6uma6-1226906321864

[terminus mos]

Dedicated SAR S-92 coming in late 2015. Standby for adverts for crews, particularly experienced SAR Captains.

[meanttobe]

Bristow Australia wins $A138M offshore contract from Ceduna for BP (http://helihub.com/2014/05/12/bristow-australia-wins-au138m-offshore-contract-from-ceduna-for-bp/)

More press on recent Bristow win in Australia. CHC seem to be losing ground in both the on shore and offshore market in Oz. Australian Helicopters (Avincis/Babcock) have taken the Victoria HEMS contract and are pushing hard for the NSW and WA HEMS/SAR work.With BRS winning a new piece of work along with the INPEX contact, Bond Offshore Australia winning the PTTEP the market is very competitive.

[5711N0205W]

From North Sea Reporter HOME - klenergypublishing.com (http://www.klenergypublishing.com/)

Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecasts $24 billion in expenditure on offshore helicopter services between 2014 and 2018, a 57% increase compared with the preceding five-year period. Western Europe will continue to account for the largest share of global expenditure, driven by both the extensive North Sea infrastructure and the preference towards using large helicopters. The forecast is in DW’s first edition of the World Offshore Oil & Gas Helicopters Market Forecast, which covers all key commercial themes relevant to players across the value chain.

[meanttobe]

Shell launches landmark search and rescue service in Broome - Australia (http://www.shell.com.au/aboutshell/media-centre/news-and-media-releases/2014/press-release-07072014.html)

[John Eacott]

Boom in helicopter leasing is good news for the medevac industry (http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/boom-in-helicopter-leasing-is-good-news-for-medevac-industry/medical-allied-healthcare)

The stampede to cash in on the burgeoning deepwater offshore energy market has spawned a series of helicopter-leasing companies with billions of capital to invest. Initially the deals were for just large and medium helicopters servicing the oil and gas industry, but it now looks like some of these companies are making serious efforts to penetrate the medevac and parapublic markets — and that could be good news, especially for smaller players in the industry.
Companies such as Waypoint Leasing are moving into the light-twin space, recently announcing a deal to acquire 25 Airbus EC145T2s. Waypoint and other helicopter companies are growing like Georgia kudzu and are being backed by some smart money, including institutional investors such as Goldman Sachs. From its formation in 2013 through this May, Waypoint had acquired a portfolio of 37 helicopters worth $400 million and placed all of them.
Helicopter manufacturers like leasing. Leasing companies often make large buys, bringing added demand predictability to the assembly line, especially in uncertain economic times. The leasing companies usually get a volume discount that shows up on their bottom line. They also often are in the enviable position of monopolizing a manufacturer's output during economic boom times.
Leasing and safety intersect on several fronts. In many cases, leasing allows operators to free up capital that would otherwise be tied up in accumulated equity in the helicopters to grow or improve their businesses. It also allows them to operate a newer fleet with all the modern safety advances and turn that fleet over on an accelerated basis.
Leased helicopters also are less likely to suffer from neglectful maintenance as lease covenants frequently contain requirements that helicopters and engines be enrolled in flight-hour maintenance plans either independently or as an added cost right on the lease. This protects the residual value of the helicopter for the leasing company, but it also makes it less likely that the ship will suffer a catastrophic failure related to skipped or incomplete maintenance.
Waypoint, for example, recently inked a deal with helicopter engine-maker Turbomeca to provide engine support services to Waypoint's current and future customer base, including operators using Turbomeca's Makila 2A and 2A1 engines and Arriel 1S1 and 2S2 engines. The deal includes Turbomeca's monitoring of the engines and providing recommendations to operators "to improve engine reliability and performance."
That's good news for the crews and patients who fly in leased helicopters.

[John Eacott]

NTSB Bulletin Targets Helicopter Oil Rig Safety (http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/helicopters/ntsb-bulletin-targets-helicopter-oil-rig-safety)

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a series of recommendations for helicopter operators, specifically those flying to or near oil platforms. The recommendations came as a result of several incidents and accidents that resulted from complete and partial turbine engine failures that were attributed to the ingestion of gas discharges from oil rigs.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC), the American Petroleum Institute, PHI, an oil platform helicopter operator that experienced an accident in 2011, and others have issued safety alerts and recommended practices to help mitigate the risks associated with the ingestion of methane gas emitted from oil platforms. However, the NTSB has found these measures insufficient to help prevent an accident.

While several federal agencies regulate various aspects of the oil and natural gas industry no federal agency specifically oversees the safety of helicopter operations to and from offshore oil platforms, the NTSB said. Therefore, NTSB recommends that BSEE take on this responsibility. The agency also recommends that the BSEE, U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of the Interior work together to develop and implement systems and procedures for oil platform operators to mitigate the risks associated with the ingestion of gas discharges.

Furthermore, the NTSB has requested that API finalizes its revisions of Recommended Practice 2L, which addresses the venting of raw gases as it relates to helicopter operations.

[EESDL]

What is the future of our helicopters? - Oil & Gas UK (http://Www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/news/future_of_our_helicopters.cfm)

[diginagain]

Video: The industry's size and shape - Energy Voice (http://www.energyvoice.com/2014/10/step-change-interview/)

[John R81]

14 October 2014


This Safety Directive is made in the interests of helicopter passenger safety and survivability for the reasons set out in Chapter 9 of the CAA Safety Review of Offshore Public Transport Helicopter Operations (CAP 1145). The review identified areas of passenger survivability that needed addressing including improving the prospects of rescue following a ditching, together with mitigating the consequences of capsize. This SD updates and supersedes SD 2014/001 which is revoked.

https://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=6442

[Ian Corrigible]

The helicopter industry is one casualty of the fracking boom (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-helicopter-industry-is-one-casualty-of-the-fracking-boom-2014-10-21)
Environmentalists aren’t the only group complaining about the recent boom in hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in the U.S.

United Technologies Corp.’s Chief Financial Officer Gregory Hayes said in the industrial conglomerate’s post-earnings conference call with analysts that the company’s Sikorsky Aircraft unit is seeing some pressure in its helicopter business, given the impact that fracking has had on the offshore oil business.

"With fracking in the U.S. growing so significantly, we’re seeing less of the oil and gas exploration expansion, which had driven the big ramp-up in commercial helicopters," said Hayes.

The executive said there was still a market for the helicopters, as Sikorsky is expected to deliver 40 commercial S-92s this year, and "a couple more” next year.

"It’s just that we’re not seeing quite the same growth because of the prevalance of fracking here in the U.S.," Hayes said.

The explosive growth in fracking has been a boon for the economies of several states, and has helped lower oil prices and reduce the U.S. reliance on foreign supply, but environmental groups have worried that it creates a greater greenhouse gas footprint.
I/C

[tottigol]

Actually Sikorsky ain't seeing quite the same growth because their helicopters just don't cut it.
Mr.Hayes ought to fire the consulting firm that is likely charging UT milions of stockholders dollars and hire a better engineering and design team for his helicopters.

[HeliTester]

"Actually Sikorsky ain't seeing quite the same growth because their helicopters just don't cut it."

Are there data available to substantiate that claim?

[heli1]

It's not the fracking that's denting Sikorsky profits but defence cuts. Methinks Mr Hayes was tongue in cheek when he referred to a " couple more sales" next year,presumably in oil and gas. Look at the S-92 backlog( but probably no longer at the S-76D?

[Ian Corrigible]

I read it as "40 commercial S-92s this year and ~45 in 2015," rather than "40 commercial S-92s this year and ~5 in 2015."

S-76D situation probably not as healthy...

I/C

[Hilife]

Also, the EuroCrap175

Nooby, because the EC175 is a POS.

Actually Sikorsky ain't seeing quite the same growth because their helicopters just don't cut it.

Like the AW149 you mean (how many sold after five years, a big fat zilch isn’t it?), or how about the Deadcat AW159, good for hauling "blueys" and little else from all accounts.

In addition to these iconic platforms :rolleyes:, I take note of recent comments on Rotorheads suggesting the AW189 SAR variant may not be on the ramp at Inverness when the shouts comes in on day one from those in mortal danger.

Should this turn out to be the case, would you be so good as to join in the spirit of ‘April Fool’s Day’ and re-post your anti anything other than AW comments above.

And whilst you’re feeling bitchy, how about you wade into the YUH-60A thread and tell us all how crap the Blackhawk is, the saviour of many a wounded British serviceman out in the Stan and ‘The chariot of choice’ for air transportation of British flag officers in country.

[HeliTester]

And whilst you’re feeling bitchy, how about you wade into the YUH-60A thread and tell us all how crap the Blackhawk is, the saviour of many a wounded British serviceman out in the Stan and ‘The chariot of choice’ for air transportation of British flag officers in country.And I believe that the "just don't cut it" S-76 is still 'The chariot of choice' for helicopter transportation of the British Royal Family.

[tottigol]

Never said that royalty makes you smart.

[jimf671]

Several of you seem to be trying to tell us that the helicopter market is a meritocracy. And one of you seems to go for aristocracy.

Can't really see that.

Over three tonnes, is it not simply a place where the biggest bully wins?

[belly tank]

BP dumps plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/bp-dumps-plans-to-drill-for-oil-in-the-great-australian-bight/ar-BBxgz4W?li=AAgfYrC&ocid=iehp)

[Spanish Waltzer]

What does that mean for the Bristow Australia contract there?

[Frying Pan]

Very little I imagine. The great BP effort is speculative. If it happened then maybe the helicopter side of things would have ramped up. But since it hasn't..........