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Opportunities galore for foreign operators in the Indian offshore sector where exploration for oil and gas is on the growth path
The
frenzied search for oil and gas in the Indian offshore sector has
literally caused an unbridled influx of foreign players endeavoring to
carve out a bigger share of the pie. With little or no impediment in
their way, overseas operators far outnumber the Indians. The most
important reason is that there are very few Indian operators thus being
unable to match the demand. The requirement for vessels in the Indian
offshore is pegged at 500 plus. This makes getting waiver of the
cabotage law a simple exercise. The only requirement being that
one-third manpower on the vessel should be Indians.
These were the factual eye-openers that took center stage at the Offshore Support Vessel Conclave 2013 organized by Oil & Maritime on 22nd
May 2013. Eminent speakers from the Indian maritime administration and
other regulatory bodies, offshore stakeholders, leading consultants,
brokers, legal experts and a host of other presenters of international
repute examined critical issues that have a strong bearing on future
operations in the offshore sector.
The
first session focused on the developing trends and deliberated on the
need for all E & P efforts directed to the deeper waters. There is
good news for the offshore operators. According to Capt L. K. Panda the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) has not mandated any
guidelines but has left the field open to the concerned maritime nations
to frame their own laws. Certification, risk management, regulations,
etc are issues best left for academic debates.
“Even
if the Merchant Shipping Act were to be amended to extend the
jurisdiction to beyond the Indian territorial waters of 12 nautical
miles, how then do we send our officers to the extended areas?” asked
Capt M. M. Saggi, former Nautical Advisor to the government of India.
“There are several issues that have to be considered in depth.”
However,
there are other matters that need urgent attention. Training being the
first priority as learning from accidents is not the best option. The
incessant search for skilled professionals is the order of the day. As
the search goes into ultra deeper waters, the demands for increasingly
higher critical technology calls for frequent up-gradation of vessels
and E & P gear.
For
the Shipping Corporation of India, the offshore has turned out to be
their bread and butter according to Capt Sunil Thappar, Director (Tanker
& Bulk Carriers). Whereas, A. K. Gupta, SCI’s Director (Technical
& Offshore Services) expressed concern about Indian operators ending
up playing only the second fiddle and desired that Cabotage laws be
strictly enforced as is the case in most countries of the world
including the U. S. and China.
The
second session featured major challenges being faced by OSV
stakeholders as the search moves into deeper waters. Capt R. K. Singh,
Sr. V.P. (Shipping) of Reliance Industries Ltd. highlighted the
difficulties confronting offshore operators particularly in obtaining
manpower. He praised the Director General of Shipping’s move to enforce
the employment of at least 50 per cent Indian seafarers on foreign
vessels which wish to come into the Indian offshore.
While
Suchint Miglani, Sr. Research Analyst, Drewry presented the E & P
scenario of West Africa, Capt. K Devdas, Sr. V. P. of T & OS
Division of SCI explained the future trends and the shape of things to
come including the government’s policy and the forthcoming government
auction for the gas and oil exploration. The organizers had arranged a
presentation on standards of training, certification and about the DNV
standards.
The
third session combined with the fourth focused on technical aspects of
offshore vessels, role of shipyards in enhancing efficiency through
design, durability and economics. Sarasij Majumder, COO (Offshore Biz)
of Pipavav Group dwelt on the functionalities of OSV and AHTVs
considering the various weather conditions and situations they were
expected to operate in.
Jan
Paul De Wilde, Design Manager of Rolls Royce Marine Norway, spoke about
the drivers of the OSV, need for reducing Green House Gases,
regulations that are designed to control emissions, diesel electric
propulsion, wave piercing hulls form and efficiency hull designs. Rakesh
Roy, a Naval Architect & Co-founder of Vedam presented various
designs that enhance capabilities of offshore vessels and about Retrofit
technology that can be exploited advantageously. A. Devdas, Area
Manager for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, of RINA S.p.A. – Marine
Division explained the various rules that have been brought into place
by RINA for offshore vessels.
The
conclave ended up with the Tom Kennedy, Optimarin AS presented his
company’s solution to ballast water treatment. He said, “We came up with
environmental treatment through simple and flexible solution. No
chemicals and no additives. It is simple and easy to fix and this
ballast water treatment system has been approved by DNV.”
He
informed that the first vessel on which this has been installed was in
2010 and today the company has orders for setting up this system in over
90 ships. Though the Ballast water convention is still to come into
force there is no doubt that Optimarin system will go a long way in
protecting the transfer of invasive species and coordinating a timely and effective response to invasions.Post to be found at:
http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/The-great-Indian-Offshore-promise/May-2013/The-great-Indian-Offshore-promise.aspx
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