Page 33: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1996)

Rpfov i n g O ffs ho re omics Fuels Talk Of |k^t4U(Kture Rebuilding

W hen shrewd financial analysts start comparing todays domestic oil and gas economy tuith that of the early 1980s, even the skeptics have to take notice. And that is just what

Salomon Brothers has done.

According to Salomon's February advisory to investment portfolio managers, the fundamentals, in terms of oil com- pany spefidingf plans and service industry efficiency, are fh'diiger th$0 'at any time since the early 1980s. And that

WKK^efore commodity (oil and natural gas) prices spiked in ;"mid-Majich, as the nations energy reserves dropped to their loyj'est ievef s 'uice the 1970s, virtually ensuring the heated pace^of (offshore exploration and development will contin- ue. It is heady news for the ojfshore oil and gas industry, including the surviving marine service providers which stayed afloat during the decade followhig the mid-1980s collapse of oil and gas prices. One of the most encouraging developments offsh(tix> is the continuing resurgence of inter- est by the major oil companies — Exxon, Texaco, Mobil and^thevron to name(drop) a few — in the Gulf of

Mexico. XIany of the companies shifted the emphasis of the ur exploration activities overseas in-the late 1980s.

May. 1996

Their return to the Gulf is wide- ly attributed to improved seismic and drilling technologies, making it easier to find and produce oil and gas beneath salt domes and in deeper water. Steve Kenny, construction manger with Cliffs

Drilling Company, a provider of mobile drilling rigs, said there also may be other reasons. "There is the hassle factor, the complications oil companies have run up against in overseas opera- tions — political instability, lack of infrastructure and so on — which make doing business in the

Gulf more appealing, in spite of environmental regulations and liabilities which contributed to their pulling out," said Mr.

Kenny. In recent years, his com- pany has seen its customer base heavily weighted toward indepen- dent operators, once again grow- ing to include major players.

An issue which has been sim- mering on the back burner for years is now coming to a boil.

Virtually every viable drilling rig and supply vessel in the Gulf is spoken for. Utilization rates are 85 percent for rigs, and 95 per- cent for workboats — the vast majority of which are well past the age at which they were origi- nally expected to be replaced.

Construction of offshore hard- ware has been at a standstill for more than a decade. Add to that the growing success of deep water (1,000 to 7,000 ft.) exploration, which requires new-generation equipment capabilities, and the question remains: who is going to start the rebuilding and when?

Rigs

Of the two prevalent types of rigs operating in the Gulf—jack- ups and semisubmersibles — there are currently 164, of which 137 are under contract — more than at any time since 1986. At the peak of the offshore boom in 1984, 178 rigs were working, as compared with the 1992 figure of 86.

The significance of the "rig count" is that drilling is the engine which drives the offshore services industry of workboats, production platform fabrications and installation and pipelining.

Vessel utilization generally responds quickly to the pace of drilling while offshore construc- tion tends to lag two to three years behind, as new reserves are found and evaluated. "The average age of the Gulf rig fleet is about 20 years," said

Kevin College, production man- ager of HAM/PMB Shipyards at

Pascagoula, Miss. "However, their working lives can be extend- ed and capability increased con- siderably at a fraction of the cost of newbuilding — perhaps $70 to $100 million to upgrade a semi from 1,500 to 4,000-ft. (457.2 to 1,219.2-m) depth capability, com- pared with $300 million for a comparable new rig. "Replicating the workhorse jack-up rigs capable of working in water depths of 100 to 300 ft. (30.5 to 91.4 m), which make up about 80 percent of the fleet, would cost in the range of $70 to $100 million," he added.

The Le Tourneau yard at

Vicksburg, Miss., which built an estimated one third of the jack- ups currently at work when it (Continued on page 52)

E.N. Bisso & Son Christens Two Trinity Tugs

Two Trinity Marine-built high-hp river/ocean tugs, Jackie B. and Dee White, built for E.N. Bisso & Son, Inc., New

Orleans, were christened on March 23. The Jackie B. and Dee White were built at Trinity Marine Group's Halter

Marine, Inc. in Lockport, La., and have been working since their delivery in October and November 1995, respec- tively. The new tugs are being used primarily to assist larger ships using the Port of New Orleans and other ports.

Jackie B. is 110 ft. (33.5 m) in length, and Dee White is 118 ft. (36 m) long. Both have a 34-ft. (10.4-m) beam, a 15 ft. (4.6 m) operating draft, and are powered by two GM-EMD16-645E2 remanufactured diesel engines devel- oping 2,000 hp each at 900 rpm. They drive 126 x 87-in. stainless steel propellers through Haley reverse/reduc- tion gears. Electrical and ships service power in each tug is produced by two 75-kW Kato generators driven by two

Detroit Diesel 7-71 engines.

Both tugs have heavy anchor handling and towing gear, and both are equipped with an International double- drum towing winch with 2,400 ft. (731.5 m) of two-in. wire rope. The winches are driven by Detroit Diesel 6-71 engines. Anchor windlasses, tow pins and stern rollers were supplied by Fritz Culver.

Jackie B. and Dee White have semi-hydraulic steering systems with five control stations: the pilot- house; port and starboard wings; at the top of the upper deck house; and in the engine room. The tugs are also equipped with 57-sq.-in. rudders on 13-in. diameter stocks with built-up stainless steel liners.

The vessels' pilothouses are equipped with advanced navigation and communications equip- ment including two Furuno 48-mi. radars, two

Furuno GPSs, two SEA VHF radios, a SEA SSB radio, two Datamarine depth sounders and a Sperry gyro- compass. Each tug is also equipped with a Sperry

ADG 3000 VT autopilot with automatic track control, radius of turn control and a rate of turn control. . , . ,. „ , . __ .

For more information Pictured are Jackie B. and Dee White, two Trinity

T . j. Marine-built high-hp river/ocean tugs, built for E.N. /-• I ei °n J yc • J Bisso & Son, Inc. Circle 51 on Reader Service Card