North Sea News
Shame the Nigerian CAA has mandated "new" aircraft......all these "old" aircraft have no place they can make like Elephants anymore.
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The oil companies couldn't contract these old aircraft if the helicopter industry had some balls and stopped offering 32 year old (next March) aircraft and started telling the oil companies they were not available.
Also, it doesn't help that one of their customers have been dragging their ar$e for months about reintroducing the 225 -- and still no date in sight...
Never mind, bonuses all round!
Thread Starter
Chevron leaving Wick
Helicopter firm leaving north to return to Aberdeen | John O'Groat Journal | News
CHEVRON UK is leaving the area and returning to Aberdeen as its contract with Wick John O’Groats Airport is finally up.
The company had been using the airport as a staging post for its Alba and Captain oil fields after a link was forged a year ago following the grounding of the Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma fleet because of safety fears.
The contract runs out today and Chevron has decided to return to working the way it did before from Aberdeen and going back to using Bristow, an offshore helicopter transport services company.
The Chevron base in the area had been using not Super Pumas, but the smaller Eurocopter EC155 helicopters that carry 10 passengers and two crew. These were seen to be a safer option in the time of crisis when a number of Super Puma helicopters were involved in incidents last year and the helicopter crash off Shetland happened in August of this year.
Businessman Andy Bruce, who owns Far North Aviation, is staying positive because although the move is a loss for now, he can still see Wick being picked by oil companies over Aberdeen in the future.
"It’s all worked because when Chevron came here they got a completely dedicated facility," he said. "If they’d gone anywhere else they wouldn’t have got that attention.
"It’s gone very well as not only did they fire people out to the Captain field, but there have been other instances where Aberdeen was having little problems or emergencies and they needed to get people out to the rigs quickly. Wick is perfect for that, where Aberdeen struggles, and it has literally transformed the airport."
Mr Bruce said Aberdeen and Sumburgh do enough to get oil personnel out to their work, but when there is a problem in one or both of these facilities, they cannot cope.
Helicopters from the Beatrice oil rig, which is only 12 minutes from Wick, also often come to the airport to sit out the strong winds and not waste fuel.
The company had been using the airport as a staging post for its Alba and Captain oil fields after a link was forged a year ago following the grounding of the Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma fleet because of safety fears.
The contract runs out today and Chevron has decided to return to working the way it did before from Aberdeen and going back to using Bristow, an offshore helicopter transport services company.
The Chevron base in the area had been using not Super Pumas, but the smaller Eurocopter EC155 helicopters that carry 10 passengers and two crew. These were seen to be a safer option in the time of crisis when a number of Super Puma helicopters were involved in incidents last year and the helicopter crash off Shetland happened in August of this year.
Businessman Andy Bruce, who owns Far North Aviation, is staying positive because although the move is a loss for now, he can still see Wick being picked by oil companies over Aberdeen in the future.
"It’s all worked because when Chevron came here they got a completely dedicated facility," he said. "If they’d gone anywhere else they wouldn’t have got that attention.
"It’s gone very well as not only did they fire people out to the Captain field, but there have been other instances where Aberdeen was having little problems or emergencies and they needed to get people out to the rigs quickly. Wick is perfect for that, where Aberdeen struggles, and it has literally transformed the airport."
Mr Bruce said Aberdeen and Sumburgh do enough to get oil personnel out to their work, but when there is a problem in one or both of these facilities, they cannot cope.
Helicopters from the Beatrice oil rig, which is only 12 minutes from Wick, also often come to the airport to sit out the strong winds and not waste fuel.
Thread Starter
Good returns for Loganair
BBC News - Loganair sees profits and turnover take off
Scottish airline Loganair has reported soaring profits and turnover following a strong rise in passenger numbers.
Loganair operates scheduled services under Flybe livery
The group saw turnover increase by 20% to £87m for the year to the end of March, while pre-tax profit rose by 24% to more than £4.3m.
Passenger numbers climbed by 12% to a record high of almost 592,000.
Loganair said its results had been helped by the temporary grounding of part of the North Sea helicopter fleet from late 2012.
It added that oil firms required more fixed-wing aircraft after Super Puma EC 225s were grounded in the wake of two ditchings off Aberdeen and Shetland last year.
Loganair, which operates 26 aircraft, said its results had come against a backdrop of "an ongoing difficult period" for domestic aviation in the UK.
During the last financial year, the Flybe franchise partner added two new routes to its network, taking over a Norwich to Manchester service and a Glasgow to Leeds service from Flybe and BMI Regional respectively.
But it also withdrew its scheduled services from Dundee Airport last December, blaming the proximity of Edinburgh and its wide choice of flights for the move.
'Good results'
Executive chairman David Harrison said: "Our good trading results mean that our financial position has been further strengthened, so that we continue to operate without debt.
"It is further encouragement that the new financial year has started well, with passenger numbers in our core scheduled services in the Highlands and Islands and beyond showing some growth.
"There is also a healthy level of charter work being maintained, an area which has continued to make an important contribution to the business.
"The temporary grounding of part of the North Sea helicopter fleet from late 2012 has led to an increased requirement for fixed-wing support to the UK offshore sector, and we have been pleased to provide effective solutions to a number of key oil industry customers.
"We're hopeful that this will lead to longer term opportunities from Aberdeen."
Loganair operates scheduled services under Flybe livery in mainland Scotland and Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Loganair operates scheduled services under Flybe livery
The group saw turnover increase by 20% to £87m for the year to the end of March, while pre-tax profit rose by 24% to more than £4.3m.
Passenger numbers climbed by 12% to a record high of almost 592,000.
Loganair said its results had been helped by the temporary grounding of part of the North Sea helicopter fleet from late 2012.
It added that oil firms required more fixed-wing aircraft after Super Puma EC 225s were grounded in the wake of two ditchings off Aberdeen and Shetland last year.
Loganair, which operates 26 aircraft, said its results had come against a backdrop of "an ongoing difficult period" for domestic aviation in the UK.
During the last financial year, the Flybe franchise partner added two new routes to its network, taking over a Norwich to Manchester service and a Glasgow to Leeds service from Flybe and BMI Regional respectively.
But it also withdrew its scheduled services from Dundee Airport last December, blaming the proximity of Edinburgh and its wide choice of flights for the move.
'Good results'
Executive chairman David Harrison said: "Our good trading results mean that our financial position has been further strengthened, so that we continue to operate without debt.
"It is further encouragement that the new financial year has started well, with passenger numbers in our core scheduled services in the Highlands and Islands and beyond showing some growth.
"There is also a healthy level of charter work being maintained, an area which has continued to make an important contribution to the business.
"The temporary grounding of part of the North Sea helicopter fleet from late 2012 has led to an increased requirement for fixed-wing support to the UK offshore sector, and we have been pleased to provide effective solutions to a number of key oil industry customers.
"We're hopeful that this will lead to longer term opportunities from Aberdeen."
Loganair operates scheduled services under Flybe livery in mainland Scotland and Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Thread Starter
Aerocopter: I think OHM is referring to this:
Chevron casts doubt on $10bn North Sea oil project
Chevron casts doubt on $10bn North Sea oil project - Telegraph
Chevron casts doubt on $10bn North Sea oil project
The US oil giant says it may not be viable to proceed with the Rosebank project, one of the biggest oil developments in UK waters.
US oil giant Chevron has warned it may not be economically viable to proceed with a planned $10bn North Sea oil project, in a blow to hopes of a revival in the region.
Chevron said that the Rosebank project “does not currently offer an economic value proposition that justifies proceeding with an investment of this magnitude”, amid rising costs of drilling.
The project, which has been under consideration for a decade, had already been handed tax breaks from the government in the hopes it would make it viable. The disclosure that even these incentives may be insufficient is a blow to government hopes to stem steep declines in North Sea output.
“Rosebank has always been a challenging project. At present, the cost of doing business continues to rise,” a Chevron spokesman said.
The Rosebank field, 80 miles north-west of the Shetland Islands, lies in water depths of 3,600 feet and will require a floating production, storage and offloading vessel.
It is thought 240m barrels of oil could be recovered from the field.
US oil giant Chevron has warned it may not be economically viable to proceed with a planned $10bn North Sea oil project, in a blow to hopes of a revival in the region.
Chevron said that the Rosebank project “does not currently offer an economic value proposition that justifies proceeding with an investment of this magnitude”, amid rising costs of drilling.
The project, which has been under consideration for a decade, had already been handed tax breaks from the government in the hopes it would make it viable. The disclosure that even these incentives may be insufficient is a blow to government hopes to stem steep declines in North Sea output.
“Rosebank has always been a challenging project. At present, the cost of doing business continues to rise,” a Chevron spokesman said.
The Rosebank field, 80 miles north-west of the Shetland Islands, lies in water depths of 3,600 feet and will require a floating production, storage and offloading vessel.
It is thought 240m barrels of oil could be recovered from the field.
Thread Starter
Met Office issues Severe Weather Warning for Scotland
Three-day cold snap to bring snow and gale-force winds - Telegraph
A spokesman for the Met Office said: "Wednesday evening will see deepening low pressure to the North of Scotland, bringing very strong winds to a large part of the country.
"Gusts up to 60-70mph are likely but we could even see winds in excess of that. There is some concern about winds of that strength, which is why we've issued the warning.
"There's some rain – which could turn into snow – tied up with that as well, so pretty bad conditions."
The severe weather warning is in place across everywhere north of East Anglia between midnight and 6pm on Thursday.
"Gusts up to 60-70mph are likely but we could even see winds in excess of that. There is some concern about winds of that strength, which is why we've issued the warning.
"There's some rain – which could turn into snow – tied up with that as well, so pretty bad conditions."
The severe weather warning is in place across everywhere north of East Anglia between midnight and 6pm on Thursday.
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I would say Chevron's decision re Rosebank is a shot across the bows of the service sector as a whole in the oil industry here in the UK.
North Sea/W Shetland is - perhaps inevitably - high cost, and with those costs rising, eg. pay generally, it's going to take a big effort to alleviate this.
Despite the oil price, drilling away from development drilling has been pretty poor in the UKCS this year, and the reason is not solely down to a lack of rigs. We'll see how next year goes. It's never easy to predict oil prices, but (thankfully) $150 oil as predicted previously isn't coming to pass just yet. If Iran behaves itself, and with the likes of shale oil, the oil price may indeed soften, not harden.
I hope there isn't a pattern here, but with Shell (Fram) last year, now Chevron (Rosebank) and Statoil (Bressay) all deferring projects, it has to be a concern.
Talisman are looking to exit the province, and Chevron with the Rosebank decision are perhaps thinking along those lines too in the medium term.
What do the guys/girls that work and fly in the UKCS think over the next few years?
North Sea/W Shetland is - perhaps inevitably - high cost, and with those costs rising, eg. pay generally, it's going to take a big effort to alleviate this.
Despite the oil price, drilling away from development drilling has been pretty poor in the UKCS this year, and the reason is not solely down to a lack of rigs. We'll see how next year goes. It's never easy to predict oil prices, but (thankfully) $150 oil as predicted previously isn't coming to pass just yet. If Iran behaves itself, and with the likes of shale oil, the oil price may indeed soften, not harden.
I hope there isn't a pattern here, but with Shell (Fram) last year, now Chevron (Rosebank) and Statoil (Bressay) all deferring projects, it has to be a concern.
Talisman are looking to exit the province, and Chevron with the Rosebank decision are perhaps thinking along those lines too in the medium term.
What do the guys/girls that work and fly in the UKCS think over the next few years?
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Talisman's problems are little to do withe N Sea financial environment and a n awful lot to do with poor management TBH
On the other hand the continued escalation of all N Sea costs is quite frightening
On the other hand the continued escalation of all N Sea costs is quite frightening
but dont for one minute think that salaries and transport costs are the main issue. Thats surely just peanuts in the big old scheme of things.
They must be minimal in comparison to the building of things like FPSO's etc. The technology and hardware cost (amongst other things) is astronomical.
They must be minimal in comparison to the building of things like FPSO's etc. The technology and hardware cost (amongst other things) is astronomical.
Last edited by helimutt; 5th Dec 2013 at 07:43.
Actually Terminus, you're right. Now why woud I know a single thing about it? so the offshore workers possibly wanting more money is the same as building a new fpso etc in terms of cost?
so come on then, tell us the actual costs (actually, just ballpark percentages if you like) if you know so much. I'd actually like to know what percentage of the overall costs, salaries and transport run to.
so come on then, tell us the actual costs (actually, just ballpark percentages if you like) if you know so much. I'd actually like to know what percentage of the overall costs, salaries and transport run to.
Its very variable Mutt, it depends on field life, field age, crew change rosters, distance offshore, local regulation, location (Africa is different to the NS) it varies company to company. But, I can tell you that my company spends about $100m per year on helicopters alone, and that is only for 2 fields (in different parts of the world)
Last edited by industry insider; 5th Dec 2013 at 10:06.
$100m a year.
So just out of interest, what is spent on salaries for the same area in a year, what is spent on hardware and licences/backhanders etc for rights to that field?
ie I happen to know the annual budget for one particular FPSO I worked with was in the many millions a year, having spent 15yrs working for bp.
So just out of interest, what is spent on salaries for the same area in a year, what is spent on hardware and licences/backhanders etc for rights to that field?
ie I happen to know the annual budget for one particular FPSO I worked with was in the many millions a year, having spent 15yrs working for bp.
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and a drilling rig is in the order of $400,000 a day....
Makes helicopter budget quite small. If we were paid the equivalent of the current North Sea salaries or day rates, then your budget would probably only be around 2-3% of overall spend. No fly, no personnel, no profit for the shareholders which runs into millions even in a poor year at the current barrel rate. Our overtime rate doesn't even compare with a drilling deck chap's delayed flight payment. Time to get real.
Makes helicopter budget quite small. If we were paid the equivalent of the current North Sea salaries or day rates, then your budget would probably only be around 2-3% of overall spend. No fly, no personnel, no profit for the shareholders which runs into millions even in a poor year at the current barrel rate. Our overtime rate doesn't even compare with a drilling deck chap's delayed flight payment. Time to get real.
