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The art of oil
Wednesday 25 November 2009
INVESTORS in London-based offshore oil producer Dana Petroleum were left just a little confused last week as they were guided past some of the UK’s most valuable abstract objects.
They, and some of the capital’s analysts that follow Dana through the world of oil exploration and production, were guided around the Tate Modern on the company’s capital market’s day.
The management then gave the analysts and investors a tour of its strategy to expand through more exploration and production in countries like Mauritania and Guinea.
The company outlined how it will invest closer to home in the North Sea as well, and how it could be in the market for an oil production ship.
One of the analysts wrote in a report the next day: “Making sense of Dana’s strategy is a breeze compared to interpreting some of the art on display (even with the benefit of a guide).”
Perhaps there was method in Dana’s madness after all.
Exploding facts
HOW can the tanker industry demonstrate the dangers of using ultra-low sulphur fuels when the new European regulations come in at the start of next year?
As it stands, ships in all European ports will only be able to burn fuel with sulphur content of less than 0.1% from the start of January, which could be a potential risk to ship boilers.
At a meeting in London last week one tanker industry executive joked that something drastic could be arranged to highlight the potential risks to ship boilers.
“The tanker industry does not want to endanger people, but there is the potential risk that boilers could explode,” the shipping executive said
He went on to remark that an exploding tanker would effectively close down any European port for weeks.
“If you want to blow up a boiler on a tanker, then the question is which port do you want to close — Rotterdam or Antwerp, perhaps?”
Hidden treasures
THE annual report on the state of Germany’s maritime industries, issued by the country’s naval headquarters (Flottenkommando) is usually a real treasure trove for statistics freaks.
Who would have guessed that UK-flagged vessels accounted for 32.3m tonnes of cargo turnover in German seaports last year, which makes it one of the largest flags represented?
Or did you know that there was only one German-controlled vessel flying the flag of Tuvalu last year, the same number as that for France?
Of course, the report is comprehensive, but at the cost of being up to date.
It is not so much that most of the figures in it are from 2008, but the conclusions in the accompanying texts which seem slightly disturbing.
It was issued early in November but a section on German shipbuilding makes no mention of the yards that have fallen victim to the continuing economic crisis or the many workers who have since lost their jobs.
Facts, then, but not all the facts.
