Latest News
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Windward Offshore Lines Up Key Suppliers for New CSOV Fleet
With four commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) currently under construction, German shipowner Windward Offshore has formed strategic partnerships with major industry suppliers such as Ampelmann, MAN Energy Solutions, and others, to ensure safe and high-quality delivery of the vessels.The CSOVS, two being built in Norway and two in Vietnam, are part of the contracts Windward Offshore signed with Vard for the design and construction of two hybrid CSOVs, which was later expanded to four vessels.The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2025, with the remaining three vessels to follow in 2026.Windward Offshore Orders Two More CSOVs from VardThe vessels are 87.5 meters long, with and beam of 19.5 meters, and will be prepared for future operation on green methanol. They will feature height-adjustable motion-compensated gangway with elevator and boat landing system, as well as battery hybrid system.Windward Offshore has finalized the contracts with industry-leading suppliers during the design and planning phases of the project to ensuring that the CSOVs will be outfitted with cutting-edge technologies.Ampelmann will supply motion-compensated gangways for all four CSOVs. The company will deliver four electric-powered W-type systems to Windward Offshore, each equipped with a motion-compensated lifting function.Seaonics has been chosen to supply 3D motion-compensated cranes with a 7-ton 3D capacity for the fleet. These electric-driven cranes will enhance the operational capabilities of Windward Offshore’s vessels.In collaboration with Vard, MAN Energy Solutions will supply the main engines for all CSOVs. The engines are designed being able to run on methanol from the time of delivery, reflecting Windward Offshore’s commitment to environmentally friendly operations.ScanReach will enhance onboard safety with its innovative wireless connectivity mesh node system. The ‘ConnectPOB’ location management service will enable real-time tracking of all personnel on board, significantly improving response times during emergencies or muster activities.This technology represents a major step forward in the digitalization of the maritime industry, aligning with Windward Offshore’s focus on safety and innovation.With these four state-of-the-art vessels, Windward Offshore is poised to expand its presence in the offshore wind industry, supporting global energy providers in the construction, commissioning, and maintenance of offshore wind farm.
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NAM Extends BrandSafway’s Maintenance Contract for North Sea Assets
Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services by BrandSafway has secured a six-year extension to its maintenance term contract with oil and gas production company NAM Offshore for its assets in Southern North Sea.With a strong focus on safety and productivity, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services will provide advanced access and maintenance services, to continue the 55-year partnership with NAM.Brand’s services for NAM include access solutions, insulation and coating with the support of a dedicated and multi-skilled team to ensure smooth and efficient execution.“We are delighted to receive this award and excited to further strengthen our collaboration with NAM Offshore in building an organization dedicated to continuous improvement. Central to this lasting partnership is our steadfast commitment to driving innovation and enhancing productivity,” said Otto Witjes, Director Offshore at Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services Netherlands.“Our shared commitment to operational excellence has played a key role in improving efficiency and optimizing maintenance processes. Brand’s proactive approach and focus on delivering outstanding performance in safety, quality and efficiency provides a strong foundation for the next 6 years of collaboration,” added Floris Schasfoort, Asset Manager ONEgas East at NAM.
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Base metals dip on firmer dollar after Fed signals fewer rate cuts in 2025
Base metal costs decreased after the Federal Reserve suggested a reduced frequency of U.S. rates of interest cuts for the coming year, bolstering the dollar. The three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME). fell 1.2% to $8,923 per metric load by 0332 GMT. The dollar index hovered near a two-year peak, making. it more pricey for other currency holders to buy. greenback-priced products. On Wednesday, the U.S. reserve bank cut rate of interest by 25. basis points, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell stating that future. cuts depend upon high inflation reducing, hinting at economic. changes under the Trump administration. The most-traded January copper agreement on the Shanghai. Futures Exchange shed 0.3% to 73,780 yuan ($ 10,107.82). a load by the close of Asia morning trade session. Regular rate cuts like this year are not likely next year. When the Fed slows cuts, it tends to put a little bit of pressure on. riskier financial investments like products, a trader stated. LME aluminium slipped 0.6% to $2,514 a heap, zinc. eased 0.8% to $2,971.5, lead dropped 0.5% to. $ 1,971.5, tin slid 2.9% to $28,260 and nickel. shed 0.8% to $15,390. SHFE aluminium fell 0.4% to 19,835 yuan a lot, tin. dipped 2.5% to 239,760 yuan, nickel declined. 1.1% to 122,930 yuan, zinc descended 1.3% to 25,095. yuan and lead sunk 0.8% to 17,440 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click. or.
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Volkswagen, unions continue talks over plant closures and pay cuts, sources state
Talks in between Volkswagen and labour unions over plant closures and pay cuts are expected to last well into Thursday as both sides have actually still not reached a deal, according to 2 individuals familiar with the matter. Talks have been continuous considering that Monday in hopes of reaching an arrangement before Christmas to prevent huge strikes that the IG Metall union has actually warned might start as early as next year. Around 100,000 workers have already staged two separate strikes in the previous month, the biggest in the business's history, protesting management's strategies to cut wages, minimize capability, and potentially closed down German plants for the very first time. Talks could still break down, the sources said, asking for anonymity as the settlements were personal. There's still much to do, among the sources stated. Volkswagen declined to comment and IG Metall was not instantly available for a remark. Both sides stay far apart on essential concerns, including the potential for plant closures. Labour agents have strongly opposed this, while the carmaker has actually kept it can not rule out the possibility. Citing individuals familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported earlier in the day that Volkswagen and labour unions were nearing an arrangement to restructure the brand name without closing factories in Germany. The management is willing to keep plants running and restore job security contracts up until 2030 in exchange for employees foregoing reward payments, according to the report. Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car manufacturer, is grappling with lean need, rising costs and inexpensive competition from China.
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Base metals fall on US rate outlook, stronger dollar
Base metal rates fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled a slower rate of U.S. interest rate cuts next year, strengthening the dollar. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME). fell 1% to $8,942 per metric lot by 0135 GMT. The dollar index hovered near a two-year peak,. making it more costly for other currency holders to purchase. greenback-priced products. On Wednesday, the U.S. central bank cut rates of interest by 25. basis points, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell specifying that future. cuts depend upon reducing high inflation, meaning economic. modifications under the Trump administration. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai. Futures Exchange was down 0.2% at 73,900 yuan. ($ 10,127.45) a lot. LME aluminium fell 0.4% to $2,518 a lot, zinc. fell 0.6% to $2,976, lead alleviated 0.5% to $1,972,. tin slid 1.6% to $28,650, while nickel dipped. 0.5% to $15,435. SHFE aluminium slipped 0.2% to 19,875 yuan a load,. tin was down 1.6% at 241,850 yuan, nickel slid. 0.9% to 123,180 yuan, while zinc shed 1.1% to 25,130. yuan and lead was 1.2% lower at 17,375 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click. or
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Gold recuperates from one-month short on short-covering
Gold costs leapt more than 1% on Thursday on shortcovering after dipping to the lowest in a month earlier in the session, while the marketplace waited for key U.S. information for additional hints on the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory. Spot gold got 0.8% to $2,607.88 per ounce since 0251 GMT. However, U.S. gold futures relieved 1.2% to $2,620.60. Really short-term oriented speculators are looking for opportunities to purchase the dips and gold's gain is because of short-covering after the metal touched the psychological level of $ 2,600 yesterday, stated Kelvin Wong, OANDA's senior market analyst for Asia Pacific. If the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) information is available in line with expectations that should not be a huge surprise. However in case it inches as much as 3% and above, we could see some pressure on gold again. Traders are now looking out for key U.S. GDP, preliminary jobless claims information later in the day and core PCE data later on this week for more insights into the Fed's 2025 rate cut path. The bullion declined more than 2% to its lowest given that Nov. 18 after the Fed lowered rates by 25 basis points as anticipated but suggested it will make less rate cuts by the end of 2025. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank's policymakers want to see more development in bringing inflation down as they think about the course of future rate cuts as inflation has surpassed year-end projections. Markets now expect the Fed to leave its benchmark overnight rate unchanged at the Jan. 28-29 conference. Higher rates reduce the appeal of holding the non-yielding asset. Area silver was up 0.3% to $29.44 per ounce, platinum added 0.6% to $924.65. and palladium got 1% to $912.70.
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Oil falls on demand concerns after Fed signals slower relieving ahead
Oil costs fell in early trading on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled that it would slow the rate of interest rate cuts in 2025, potentially impacting fuel need. Brent futures fell 33 cents, or 0.45%, to $73.06 a. barrel by 0107 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude. fell 36 cents, or 0.51%, to $70.22. The falls reverse much of the gains from Wednesday, when. rates settled greater as U.S. unrefined stocks fell and the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by an anticipated 25 basis. points as anticipated. However those gains were topped after the. reserve bank later provided a more hawkish view on the outlook. for 2025, which continues to weigh on market belief. During the December 17-18 policy meeting, main lenders. projected they would make simply two quarter-percentage-point rate. decreases in the coming year due to stubbornly high inflation,. half a point less than they had expected as of September. Lower rates reduce obtaining costs, which can improve. economic growth and need for oil. U.S. unrefined stocks and distillate stocks fell while. gasoline stocks increased in the week ending Dec. 13, the Energy. Details Administration stated on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 934,000 barrels in the week to 421. million barrels, the EIA said, compared to experts'. expectations in a Reuters survey for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved. California's landmark plan to prohibit the sale of gasoline-only. lorries by 2035 and need a minimum of 80% of new automobiles to be. fully electrical by then. California's guidelines have actually been embraced by. 11 other states, including New York, Massachusetts and Oregon.
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Fuji Soft founding family affirms assistance for Bain's $2 bln hostile takeover bid
The founding household of Japanese IT firm Fuji Soft on Wednesday repeated its assistance for a takeover quote by private equity firm Bain Capital that is opposed by Fuji Soft's board, it stated in a declaration jointly launched with Bain. Amid a bidding war with rival personal equity giant KKR , Bain last week offered 9,600 yen per share, 1.6% more than KKR's 9,451 yen quote, and on Wednesday went hostile after Fuji Soft's board rejected the greater offer and supported KKR's. Fuji Soft creator Hiroshi Nozawa signed up with Bain in questioning the self-reliance of the special committee established by the board to scrutinise the bid, stating he had strong issue and distrust regarding the process of selecting the members. The special committee had forgotten the purpose of the special committee, Nozawa and Bain said, including that they had no objective to be hostile towards the executives and management of Fuji Soft. Fuji Soft decreased to talk about the release. KKR was not immediately available for comment. Nozawa, who together with relative owns 18.6% of Fuji Soft's shares, came out in assistance of Bain's quote in October and at the time knocked the way the privatisation process had been carried out. KKR, which has the backing of the Fuji Soft board, secured 33.9% of the company's shares in a first-round tender that managed to dodge an earlier bid from Bain that was at the time higher than its own. Fuji Soft declined Bain's offer on the premises that 2 large investors would hamper management decision making and Bain's tender offer would not conclude for three months. Through its tender, Bain is intending to acquire 50.1% of Fuji Soft's shares - including the Nozawa household's stakes - and would manage business in a way that appreciates the existing executives and management group, it stated.
Chevron to pay Woodside $400 mln in stake swap deal for energy tasks
Australia's Woodside Energy said on Thursday it had gotten in into a deal with Chevron to exchange stakes in a number of energy tasks, with the U.S. oil and gas giant making a money payment of up to $400 million to Woodside.
Under the regards to the deal, Woodside will acquire Chevron's 16.67% stake in the North West Rack (NWS) Task, the NWS Oil Project and its 20% stake in the Angel Carbon Capture and Storage Job, all located in Western Australia.
On the other hand, Woodside will transfer its 13% non-operated interest in the Wheatstone and its 65% operated interest in Julimar-Brunello Projects to Chevron.
The deal comes a couple of days after Woodside Energy received ecological approval from the Western Australian state to lengthen the North West Shelf melted natural gas project up until 2070.
This deal streamlines our portfolio, improving our focus and effectiveness by combining our position in our run LNG possessions, stated Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill.
Apart from the rationale to streamline Woodside's Australian portfolio, focusing on its operated LNG assets and streamlining NWS joint endeavor ownership, the company's increased stake in the Angel CCS Project likewise promotes the future development of this large-scale, multi-user carbon capture and storage hub in Western Australia, Woodside said.
The asset exchange will match both companies' interest for future development, said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
Concentrating on some properties in their own respective backyards makes great good sense in these fluid times in the energy sector.
The offer, which is expected to close in 2026, marks a substantial shift in the energy landscape, with both business improving their portfolios in the middle of the international shift to cleaner energy sources.
Shares of Woodside, nevertheless, fell about 2.3% to strike their most affordable level given that Jan. 11, 2022, by 1235 GMT.
(source: Reuters)