At the time when many countries close borders and impose travel restrictions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABB has increased the remote availability of technical service teams to help crews from shore.



Nothing is left to chance when Korean shipyards Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries are building giant gas tankers worth billions of dollars.

NOAA intends to collaborate with a private company led by Victor Vescovo, the first person to reach the deepest point in all five of the world's named oceans, in an effort to explore, characterize, and map unknown areas of the deep ocean. 

Teledyne Marine announces the launch of LINK, their new online learning and collaboration center.

Leading integrated subsea and offshore solutions provider, Unique Group, has entered a new partnership with floating dry dock innovators, Tugdock, by providing their Seaflex brand buoyancy bags for the Tugdock systems and also by representing the product internationally through the company’s wide network.

Meteorological equipment specialist Biral has recently launched its new Lightning Works software program to work with its popular BTD-200 lightning warning system.

Fugro has signed a 5-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide shoreline mapping services in support of the agency’s Coastal Mapping Program.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, IADC has been following the Dutch Government’s advisory measures with regard to limiting the spread of the virus. IADC had plans to host two events in June in The Netherlands. Both of these events are postponed.  

ABB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hydrogène de France to jointly manufacture megawatt-scale fuel cell systems capable of powering ocean-going vessels.

Kraken Robotics Inc. has entered into a Partnership Agreement with Greensea Systems, Inc., creator of OPENSEA, an open architecture robotic platform.

DeepGreen Metals, Inc. has acquired Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML), giving the company exploration rights to a 74,713 km2 block of CCZ seabed that contains an inferred resource of 756 million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules.

Utilizing its wave modeling and remote sensing data expertise, Infoplaza has secured a contract for the provision of a global metocean database to DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Enineering), a world leading ship and marine engineering company.

Petrobras informs that it has identified the presence of oil in a exploratory well of the Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde block, located in the Campos Basin. 

Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) has published its 2019 Sustainability Report and annual Payments to Governments Report. The publications further demonstrate the steps Shell is taking to increase transparency around activities that are important to investors, governments and civil society.

Marine contractor Van Oord is due to complete final tests of its new Deep Dig-It trenching machine, designed and engineered in collaboration with world leading sub-sea technology experts Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD).


ExxonMobil  is reducing its 2020 capital spending by 30 percent and lowering cash operating expenses by 15 percent in response to low commodity prices resulting from oversupply and demand weakness from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Capital investments for 2020 are now expected to be about $23 billion, down from the previously announced $33 billion. The 15 percent decrease in cash operating expenses is driven by deliberate actions to increase efficiencies and reduce costs, and includes expected lower energy costs.

“After a thorough evaluation of the impacts of the pandemic and market conditions, we have worked closely with business partners to plan and execute capital adjustments that preserve long-term value, maximize cost efficiency, and put us in the strongest position when market conditions improve,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

“The long-term fundamentals that underpin the company’s business plans have not changed -- population and energy demand will grow, and the economy will rebound. Our capital allocation priorities also remain unchanged. Our objective is to continue investing in industry-advantaged projects to create value, preserve cash for the dividend and make appropriate and prudent use of our balance sheet.”

ExxonMobil continues to monitor market developments and can exercise additional reduction options if required. As market conditions evolve, the company will continue evaluating the impacts of decreased demand on its 2020 production levels as well as longer-term production impacts.

The largest share of the capital spending reduction will be in the Permian Basin, where short-cycle investments can be more readily adjusted to respond to market conditions, while preserving value over the long term. Reduced activity will affect the pace of drilling and well completions until market conditions improve. Importantly, the reductions will not compromise the scale, functional excellence and cube development advantages that are maximizing resource recovery and value in the Permian.

Developing the numerous world-class deepwater discoveries offshore Guyana remains an integral part of ExxonMobil’s long-term growth plans. Current operations onboard the Liza Destiny production vessel are unaffected, and startup of the second phase of field development remains on target for 2022, with the Liza Unity production vessel currently under construction. As the company waits for government approval to proceed with a third production vessel for the Payara development, some 2020 activities are now being deferred, creating a potential delay in production startup of six to 12 months.

A final investment decision for the Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, expected later this year, has been delayed. ExxonMobil continues to actively work with its partners and the government to optimize development plans by improving synergies and exploring opportunities related to the current lower-cost environment. The Coral LNG development continues as planned.