BP (NYSE: BP) announced an agreement to lease thousands of acres in northeast Ohio for future oil and gas production in the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation.
Utica/Point Pleasant is a relatively new and very promising shale basin that consists of a potentially significant liquids-rich gas source, and this deal adds an important American energy source to BP's onshore gas portfolio.
''BP is excited to expand our presence in Ohio in a way that will create jobs, bolster the local economy and provide additional sources of energy from an important emerging American resource,'' said Lamar McKay, chairman and president of BP America. ''Over the last five years BP has been America's largest energy investor with vast experience in developing natural gas resources. We intend to bring our expertise and the highest industry safety and environmental management practices to this project.''
BP signed an agreement to lease about 84,000 acres in Trumbull County, Ohio with the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley (ALOV), a group representing area mineral owners. Members of ALOV voted March 26 to approve the lease arrangement. Terms of the agreement, to be executed with each landowner, are confidential.
Through its heritage companies of Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) and Amoco, BP's roots in Ohio date back to 1870. BP operates the BP-Husky refinery near Toledo which it owns in a joint venture with Husky, LLC, and is also a leading marketer of fuels in Ohio through independently-owned marketers under the BP brand. BP heritage companies have also been active in the upstream business throughout its history in the state of Ohio.
The Utica/Point Pleasant shale is at a depth of about 6,000 feet. This rock formation is of similar thickness to the Marcellus and has the potential to deliver higher liquids rates. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates a recoverable Utica shale potential between 1.3 and 5.5 billion barrels of oil and between 3.8 and 15.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
''We are very encouraged by what we have seen of the Utica/Point Pleasant formation. Our focus in 2012 will be to better understand the geology and devise a plan to safely develop the resource,'' said Tim Harrington, regional president for BP's North America Gas (NA Gas) business. ''BP is committed to hiring and purchasing locally whenever possible and we anticipate having a positive impact on the region while providing a new source of energy for America.''
BP is the second largest oil and gas producer in the U.S. with a workforce of about 23,000 people, making BP the country’s second largest oil and gas employer.
Operating across a vast U.S. geography that stretches from onshore U.S. Gulf Coast through the Rocky Mountains, BP's North America Gas business has one of the best portfolios in the industry with a presence in seven of the leading U.S. onshore basins. In the lower 48 U.S. states alone, BP and its co-owners operate fields holding some 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to satisfy U.S. needs for more than two years.
Currently BP has active shale positions in the Woodford, Haynesville, Fayetteville and Eagle Ford. With a huge resource base and a deep expertise in unconventional gas, including shale, the NA Gas business provides production value and an ability to transfer technical knowledge to all parts of the globe.
Source BP
The Grimaldi Group becomes the first shipping company in Italy to be awarded the full Authorised Economic Operator (AEO-F) status. The prestigious award was granted by the Italian Customs Authorities in Naples in the areas of Customs Simplifications and Security and Safety, following a special audit made at the Group’s Head Office.
The award results from six months of preparation of the Group’s Safety, Quality and Security Department and certifies that the Grimaldi Group fulfills comprehensive security and safety guidelines laid down by the EU with regard to reliability, solvency, compliance with relevant legal provisions and fulfillment of specific security and safety standards.
Being certified means, among others, lower risk that the flow of goods into and out the EU will be stopped for examination, reduced number of data to be provided for the summary declarations and easier access to authorizations and permits.
The status of the Authorised Economic Operator applies to all economic operators and their business partners playing a role in the international supply chain, i.e. producers, exporters, forwarders, warehouse keepers, customs agents, carriers, importers who are involved in activities covered by the relevant customs legislation and are eligible in terms of reliability and security in the supply chain.
The AEO certification reinforces Grimaldi’s ongoing commitment to quality and reliability in its maritime and logistics services as well as preventive security and safety measures. AEO accreditation is a further sign of the quality of the Grimaldi Group’s processes in creating a secure supply chain based on maritime transport.
Source Grimaldi Group
The globally operating Kuehne + Nagel Group is rolling out KN PharmaChain, a product tailored to the specific needs of the Pharmaceutical- and Health Care industry. KN PharmaChain offers – among other features – door-to-door temperature control, a 24 hour alert system, optional wireless temperature measuring and Best Practice (GxP) standards for facilities, working processes and training programmes.
KN PharmaChain is Kuehne + Nagel’s response to the Pharmaceutical industry’s requirements for effective and proper airfreight transportation solutions. If not correctly handled and transported, pharmaceuticals efficacy may be compromised or rendered completely ineffective, resulting in serious and costly consequences, in particular in case of high value, mission critical and temperature sensitive products. Therefore, the choice of a logistics provider is highly important for Pharmaceutical and Health Care companies as they need partners who understand the nature of sensitive products as well as the strict regulatory rules. They must also be familiar with the logistics challenges in both mature and emerging global
markets.
Four service levels cater for all needs
KN PharmaChain offers four service levels, depending on the grade of specific temperature control requirements and special handling demands of each shipment. Full risk assessments of carrier partners as well as of transport lanes ensure best-in-class services on all routes within the KN PharmaChain network comprising of 58 strategically designated stations. Comprehensive Best Practice (GxP) policies apply for staff, working processes and facilities, and by the end of 2012, all locations will be fully GxP-compliant.
Kuehne + Nagel plays a pioneering role in shipment visibility
As an option, temperature visibility can be provided by the use of active wireless sensors which record and transmit the shipment temperature throughout the entire transport chain. Logistics facilities are equipped with active wireless transmitting technology and customers can view temperature indications directly inside the KN Login online tracking & 2 of 2 tracing tool. Kuehne + Nagel is the first logistics provider to offer a service using active sensors. Additional added-value services include globally available packaging solutions.
Setting new industry benchmarks
Temperature controlled shipments are monitored by the KN PharmaChain CareTeam, operating 24 hours/day and 7 days/week from two locations in Europe and the Americas. An electronic alert system ensures that any disruption in the supply chain will be reported immediately to the CareTeam which is pro-actively tracking all temperature controlled shipments.
Industry expertise and product know-how are key elements of KN PharmaChain. This is why Kuehne + Nagel has award-winning training programmes in place which were developed in cooperation with customers.
“KN PharmaChain is our dedicated, end-to-end supply chain solution for Pharma & Healthcare shipments, either temperature or non-temperature controlled. We have developed this product in close cooperation with customers and partners and are convinced that Kuehne + Nagel once again introduces innovative solutions which will set new industry standards”, explains Tim Scharwath, Executive Vice President Air Logistics of Kuehne + Nagel International AG.
Source Kuehne + Nagel International AG
KOREA's Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), ranked 18th biggest among the world's container lines, says it will levy a US$400 per TEU general rate increase from April on cargo moving from China to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Earlier this month HMM levied another general rate increase on its China to India service, achieving a satisfactory vessel utilisation level, the company said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GERMANY's Hapag-Lloyd has announced it will levy a US$200 per TEU fuel surcharge from April 16 on cargo moving from north Europe and the Mediterranean to ports in the Far East, including Japan.
The carrier said the surcharge, called a "interim fuel participation" surcharge, would apply to both dry and refrigerated cargo. The shipping line said the increase was necessitated by rising bunker costs, and added that the surcharge would be revised "on a monthly basis in line with the Hapag-Lloyd bunker charge".
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GENEVA's Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's second largest container shipping line after Maersk, has issued a notice to trade that it will levy US$100 per container, regardless of size, to cope with a current equipment imbalance.
"To face the extraordinary demand for equipment for cargo destined to Asia" MSC said it was levying the surcharge on all export cargo, including waste, from North Europe, the UK, Scandinavia/Baltic and Russia to the Far East from April 2.
The announcement comes after Maersk issued a statement a week earlier saying that it has stopped taking eastbound cargo bookings from North Europe to Asia on account of insufficient vessel capacity. The shortage was attributed to "a large number of consecutive (westbound) vessel cancellations (from Asia) during the Chinese New Year".
A report, from London's Containerisation International, described these two developments as being "extraordinary", as it points out that at present eastbound vessels are typically less than half full.
It said that according to Container Trades Statistics, eastbound cargo from North Europe to Asia increased by eight per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the preceding quarter, to 1,140,392 TEU. More significantly it highlighted cargo volume in January amounted to 377,574 TEU, which it said was less than the monthly average recorded in the fourth quarter of 2011.
"The implication is that, having sorted out westbound freight rate levels, ocean carriers have now turned their hungry eyes to the eastbound trade lane. Others can be expected to follow, therefore, including the Mediterranean, where the dynamics are similar," the report said.
It cited the World Container Index as showing the average all-in rate quoted for spot cargo from Rotterdam to Shanghai was US$541 per FEU, including terminal handling charges at both end, in the week beginning March 19. This, according to the report, "barely covers loading and discharge costs alone". During the same period a year earlier the freight rate was around US$1,050 per FEU, including BAF.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
TAIWAN's Wan Hai Lines has announced it will increase rates in services from the Far East to India from April 1.
Freight rate increases of US$150 per TEU and $300 per FEU on dry, reefer and specialised cargo from Far East Asia including Japan, Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and south east Asian countries to East Indian ports.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Ports of Auckland (PoA) has stopped sacking its dockers, and will re-start labour talks with its union, but will still lock out its 300 unionised dockers from April 6 after an Employment Court ruling resolved little.
The court ruled that the sacking of the dockers was a separate issue from the lock out after a week of recruiting 57 staff to replace the sacked regular dockers. The contract workers will remain in place during the lockout.
Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) president Garry Parsloe said his members were entitled to an immediate return to work "with all collective employment agreement obligations being met", reported the New Zealand Herald.
London-based International Transport Federation, which represents transport labour at the United Nations, condemned the lockout as "unbelievable, unlawful and practically suicidal" which prevents the regular dockers entering the port area.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said of the collective bargaining: "This really is a victory for common sense, and a ringing endorsement of MUNZs decision to resist the port company's plans and challenge them in law."
"If the company can genuinely match that willingness - and prove that they are committed to a negotiated solution - then an end to this dispute and the damage it has done to the port's reputation could be within reach," Mr Crumlin said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
JAPANESE carrier Kambara Kisen Co Ltd (KKC) has inaugurated a near sea shipping links connecting Tianjin's Orient Container Terminal to ports on the Sea of Japan, Xinhua reports.
This is Tianjin's first shipping line to minor ports in Japan. It uses five ships, calling at Tianjin, Maizuru, Niigata, Toyama, Kanazawa and Otaru.
Tianjin is now operating 16 shipping services to Japan, which cover the three major economic circles centering Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, as well as the four regional centres of Kyushu, Shikoku, Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
APM TERMINALS Moin Container Terminal is (TCM) 33-year concession agreement with the Government of Costa Rica has received final endorsement from the state Comptroller General.
APM Terminals, a unit of Denmark's AP Moller group, will be able to start the 18-month implementation phase performing all the required studies and final design work which, once completed, will be submitted to the Costa Rican government for approval.
The next stage will then be dredging the access channel and the turning basin and the start of reclaiming the island terminal site on the Caribbean side of the Central American country.
"APM Terminals is very pleased with the pace and dedication with which the Costa Rican government has focused on advancing this project. The administration has demonstrated this is a top priority and we intend to follow through on inaugurating the first phase of this project on schedule in 2016," said APM T Moin managing director Paul Gallie.
The concession requires US$992 million from the company for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of the world-class container terminal in the Caribbean port of Moin, Limon province, representing the largest single infrastructure project in the country.
Currently the Caribbean port handles up to 80 per cent of the country's international commerce.
"We are a global specialist in terminal development and operations who have built similar projects on schedule, so we're very confident we can exceed Costa Rican expectations with this concession. Modern container terminals play a pivotal role in improving the efficiency of the logistics chain which results in a lower door-to-door cost. This will have a key positive impact, especially for the fruit export trade," assured Mr Gallie.
The overall goal of the project is to develop and provide world-class marine terminal container handling services, increasing the competitiveness of Costa Rica's international commerce.
Designed as a gateway terminal to handle Costa Rica's increasing containerised exports and imports, the terminal's is only 10 hours by sea from the Panama Canal.
Larger, modern vessels offer economies of scale, environmental efficiencies and additional reefer stowage, said the company statement.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Port of Montreal is to receive C$15.6 million (US$15.7 million) in federal funding to raise container capacity to 1.8 million TEU when the project is completed in March 2014, announced Canadian Transport Minister Denis Lebel.
The project will increase the port's container capacity by 12.5 per cent to 1.8 million TEU, reported the Montreal Gazette. Upon completion, the expansion of the port will provide the region with 150 jobs, said the report.
Port CEO Sylvie Vachon said the Maisonneuve Terminal was near its 470,000 TEU annual capacity limit and the expansion would bring it up to 520,000 TEU with the east end Viau Terminal converting its space from bulk to boxes.
Another C$1 million project will be spent on software, 50 per cent of which will also be funded by the federal government and the rest by the Port of Montreal.
The Port of Montreal set an all-time record for cargo volumes in 2011 totalling 28 million tonnes.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DENMARK's AP Moller-Maersk CEO chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen, 53, faces more heart surgery and six to eight more weeks of sick leave after been laid up for three months, reports Reuters.
Mr Andersen's first cardiac operation sought to repair a leaking heart valve in December, shortly after the CEO of his major unit, Maersk Line, Evinid Kolding, resigned to run Danske Bank while the man who ran the group's tanker division, Soren Skou, took over from Mr Kolding to run the container operation
In Mr Andersen's absence AP Moller-Maersk is being run by its executive board, the members of which report directly to the chairman of the board, Michael Pram Rasmussen, the company said.
"The management team has passed the test and has shown itself to be robust and will also be able to handle the extension of Nils Andersen's sick leave without any loss of momentum," said Mr Rasmussen.
At first, Mr Andersen was supposed to be away a month, but that was extended to two months at the end of January. He was then expected to be back at work this week, but doctors said he needed more surgery, and an operation was scheduled for today (March 28), after which medical leave will be extended up to two months.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Spanish government has announced plans to divest itself of 80 state-owned enterprises, including transport and logistics companies in a national austerity programme linked to its role in the European sovereign debt crises.
Centros Logisticos Aeroportuarios, an air cargo promotions unit of the airports state-owned AENA owner, is being axed as are freight transport subsidiaries of state railway Renfe, including Irion Mercancias (iron and steel), Multi-Mercancias (bulk products) and Logistica y Transporte Ferroviario (vehicles), among the 80 firms on the list, some of which are to be shut down.
Spain's Treasury and Public Administration Services ministry has also announced that a number of minority stakes held by the state in private companies in the freight transport sector will also be sold.
They include a 20 per cent shareholding in rail freight operator Transfesa, which manages a fleet of over 2,000 car-carrier wagons; and stakes in Combiberia (combined transport), Construrail (bulk rail freight) and in three companies specialising in rail freight services for automobile logistics, Semat, Autometro and Cargometro.
State assets in the Terminal Intermodal Del Monzon and in Sociedad Iberica de Transporte Intermodal and Alfil Logistics are also to be relinquished, reported London's International Freighting Weekly.
No details have been disclosed on how much capital the state is looking to raise from these shareholdings nor the terms and conditions or the timetable for the sale process.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) board has approved a US$42.7 million contract that involves placing fill material on portions of the land side of the new Navy Base Terminal and along the already completed 5,000-foot-long containment wall structure, which was constructed towards the shipping channel.
The facility represents the only permitted new container terminal currently under construction on the US east and Gulf coasts.
"The completion of the Navy Base Terminal, along with the Charleston harbour deepening project, demonstrates that South Carolina understands what the industry's future demands are, and we will be ready to meet them," said SCPA chairman Bill Stern. "The new terminal and a deepened harbour are both essential to fulfil our mission of economic development and serve our customers' needs for the foreseeable future."
The board selected for the project Massachusetts-based Jay Cashman, which was the lead contractor on the demolition of the former Cooper River bridges, as well as one of the partners on the $44 million containment wall project for the Navy Base Terminal, a statement from port authorities said.
Starting in April, crews will relocate 1.75 million cubic yards of dredged material from Daniel Island to the terminal site by water, placing the fill behind the containment structure and on portions of the upland area. The crews also will consolidate the upland area of the site by installing 5.7 million linear feet of vertical wick drains and surcharging the area to stabilise the site and prepare it for construction.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of January 2014, and will overlap with the next major fill contract, which is scheduled to begin late next year. At build out, the new 280-acre container terminal will boost the Port of Charleston's container capacity by 50 per cent.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Canadian National Railway has announced plans to acquire 65 new locomotives as well as 96 second-hand train engines that will be upgraded.
This major locomotive acquisition programme is intended to accommodate anticipated traffic growth and to improve operational efficiency, a company statement said.
A number of the new engines will have high adhesion - train-pulling ability - at low speeds for heavy-haul coal service in north western Canada, where steep grades and sharp rail curves make heavy demands on locomotives.
"CN's locomotive acquisition programme represents a balanced, capital-effective approach to handle expected volume growth over the next two to five years and to meet the locomotive requirements resulting from customer focused service plans," said CN vice president and COO Keith Creel.
"The new and used motive power will enhance operational efficiency and reduce fuel consumption by permitting the retirement of older, high-maintenance locomotives and the cascading of less fuel-efficient main-line units into less-demanding yard and local switching operations, while providing additional locomotives to accommodate increased traffic."
The railway operator said it will purchase this year 42 second-hand GE Transportation (GE) Dash 8-40C locomotives, 11 leased GE Dash 8-40C locomotives, and 43 second-hand Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) SD60 locomotives. The Dash 8 units have 4,000 and the SD60s 3,800 horsepower.
It expects to take delivery between 2013 and 2014 of 35 new ES44AC locomotives from GE, and 30 new SD70ACe locomotives from EMD. The GE units have 4,400 and the SD70ACe units 4,300 horsepower.
The new locomotives on order are equipped with distributed power technology (DP), a GE product, which is designed to improve train handling and fuel efficiency. The company expects that 50 per cent of its high-horsepower locomotive fleet will have DP by the end of 2013.
DP technology permits remote control of a locomotive throughout a train from the lead control unit. The advantages of such technology are faster, smoother train starts, improved braking and lower pulling forces at the head-end and within a train for improved safety, as well as lower fuel consumption and lower emissions.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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