Drydocks World, Aker Solutions to Upgrade Production at UK Rosebank Field

Part of the sinings ceremony - WAM
Part of the sinings ceremony - WAM
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Drydocks World, Aker Solutions to Upgrade Production at UK Rosebank Field

Part of the sinings ceremony - WAM
Part of the sinings ceremony - WAM

Drydocks World, a DP World Company, and Aker Solutions have formed a joint venture to upgrade a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Rosebank oil and gas field in the UK.

The new joint venture combines the complementary strengths, resources, and experience of Drydocks World’s leading marine and offshore services with Aker Solutions’ integrated solutions, products and services to cater for the needs of the global energy industry, state news agency WAM reported.

The joint venture signed its first contract with Altera Infrastructure, a global energy infrastructure services group, to upgrade, refurbish and electrify the FPSO, the Petrojarl Knarr. The vessel will be redeployed at Rosebank field, with the upgrades allowing it to be kept in the field for 25 years without drydocking.

The contract was officially signed in Dubai at DP World’s Head Office by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Chairman of Drydocks World; Sturla Magnus, Executive Vice President, Topsides and Facilities at Aker Solutions; and Arne Hygen Tørnkvist, EVP of Altera Infrastructure.

Aker Solutions will handle the detailed design and procurement of equipment in Norway, while Drydocks World will be responsible for the fabrication and construction work at their yard in Dubai.

Commenting on the cooperation, Bin Sulayem said: “This joint venture between Drydocks World and Aker Solutions will deliver world-class maritime engineering and construction solutions to the global energy industry. The sector needs smart, collaborative partnerships like this to ensure sustainable production and to successfully transition equipment and vessels for the future. Today’s announcement is an important step forward.”

Capt. Rado Antolovic PhD, CEO of Drydocks World-Dubai, said: “Based on our strong prior working relationship and the aligned cultures of each partner, the new joint venture between Drydocks World and Aker Solutions will bring the shared strengths and values of both companies and provide a range of solutions including engineering, procurement and construction to a global market.”

Kjetel Digre, CEO of Akers Solutions also said that “collaboration and partnerships are at the core of how we work. In Drydocks World-Dubai, we have a world-class partner in developing solutions, and we look forward to continuing our long-term relationship by delivering jointly towards the Rosebank oil and gas field development project.”

Tørnkvist, for his part said: “I am very pleased to sign this contract on behalf of Altera - being the owner of the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO. The FPSO will operate for up to 25 years in the most challenging environment on the planet. I see this as a start of a strong and long-term relationship with Drydocks World.”



EU Sees €28 Billion Hit from Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
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EU Sees €28 Billion Hit from Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

The European Union estimates that the first wave of Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs will hit as much as €28 billion ($29.3 billion) of the bloc’s exports in what would be a massive escalation in the US president’s trade war, Bloomberg reported.

The amount of goods — which the EU assesses will include derivative products as well — would be about four times larger than the last time Trump targeted the bloc’s metals sector, according to people familiar with the EU’s thinking.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors on Friday after his visit to Washington to meet with his US counterparts. He cautioned that the situation is in flux and the details and the scope of any tariffs could still change, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

As part of his effort to rewrite global trade rules, Trump announced a series of duties including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports that could take effect as soon as March 12. He’s also announced reciprocal tariffs based on policies of partners that are seen as obstacles to US trade.

The European Commission, which has authority over EU trade actions, declined to comment.

For the EU, the fight over American metals tariffs started in 2018 during Trump’s first term, when the US hit nearly $7 billion of European steel and aluminum exports with duties, citing national security concerns. At the time, officials in Brussels scoffed at the notion that the EU posed such a threat.

In that first salvo, the US hit steel goods with 25% tariffs and aluminum with 10%, and included exemptions for certain products. Bloomberg reported earlier that this time around, no exemptions were planned.

The 27-nation bloc retaliated by targeting politically sensitive companies with retaliatory duties, including Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles and Levi Strauss & Co. jeans. The measures were applied product-by-product and included agricultural goods and apparel in addition to steel and aluminum products.

The two sides agreed to a temporary truce in 2021, when the US partly removed its measures and introduced a set of tariff-rate quotas above which duties on the metals are applied, while the EU froze all of its restrictive measures.

The EU has said that it would respond quickly and proportionally to US tariffs and could reactivate as a first step the lists previously suspended. The commission has been preparing various lists with different sectors and goods targeted with the principle of causing more harm on the American side, including in sensitive constituencies, Bloomberg previously reported.

The commission has said that unfreezing the suspended tariffs, which are on pause until the end of March, could be done quickly.

Sefcovic, who met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Jamieson Greer, his pick for US trade representative and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett this past week, told EU envoys that the atmosphere was positive but no negotiations were conducted yet, said the people.

According to Bloomberg, Sefcovic said he used the meeting as a first point of contact to open the channels of communication and to try to debunk claims by the Americans that he said were false, including that Europe’s value added tax is unfair to the US, they said.

In order to avoid a trade clash, Sefcovic offered to his American counterparts a deal to lower tariffs on industrial goods, including cars, one of Trump’s longstanding demands.