Petro Sea Logisitics has added a Grove GMK64000 all-terrain crane to its fleet with Manitowoc Cranes to supply servicing and support for the joint venture in Africa 

Petro Sea Logistics, a joint venture between Belgian Sea-Invests and Côte d’Ivoire's Petroci, has added a Grove GMK6400 all-terrain crane to its fleet. The crane will be going straight to work at an oil field in the Port of Abijan. 

Petro Sea Logistics turned to Grove's African dealer Paterson Simons for the purchase. Formerly a buyer of strictly rough-terrain cranes, Petro Sea Logistics opted for an all-terrain GMK6400, which features a best-in-class 400 t capacity, as well as a 60 m boom. Its optional removable outrigger box, self-rigging auxiliary hoist and self-rigging MegaWingLift (which can boost its capacity by nearly 70 per cent) have made the crane one of the most successful in Grove’s history.

Pasico Ghana, a subsidiary in the Paterson Simons network, worked with Grove to provide Petro Sea Logistics with quick, localised support for the GMK6400, as well as extensive training and warranty options. The crane is scheduled to immediately begin oil field operations at the Port of Abidjan.

“After-sales service is the key to doing business in Africa,” said sales manager for French-speaking Africa for Manitowoc Cranes, Guillame Bertrand. “Our customers have grown to expect responsive, quality support throughout the region, and we’ve made great efforts over the last few years to ensure we are there for them when they need us.”

Eversendai Offshore have been awarded two new contracts by EPC contractors for projects in both North Africa and the Middle East regions

The South African Department of Energy announced on 29 December that as of 4 January, the retail price of 93 octane shall rise by 50 cents per litre and 95 octane by 48 cents a litre

The International Energy Agency (IEA) December 2016 report shows the difference from January 2016 when the cost of oil was at US$30 per barrel to today's >US$50 barrel and the ever-changing oil market 

In the IEA report highlights, there has been a big emphasis on the OPEC talks and production cuts, and the global production cut backs in order to bring the oil price up. As the report states, 'OPEC has agreed to cut output by 1.2mn bpd from January 2017 and secured a reduction of 558,000 bpd from non-OPEC.' 

The reduction has been secured by OPEC talks in Vienna in November and December this year. The additional cuts were led by Russia and are expected to curb 2017 growth from non OPEC producers to 0.2mn bpd from the IEA's previous estimate of 0.5mn bdp. 

Despite this, the global oil supplies in November were at a record high, 98.2 mn bpd, as OPEC production cancelled out the drop in non-OPEC output. In addition, global oil demand has grown to 1.4mn bpd, 120,000 bpd above the IEAs original forecast, with strong US numbers and changes to China's demand being the key to oil demand growth. 

The main story has been the addition of US$10 per barrel following the cut of production by OPEC and non-OPEC. This saw the loses that hit the oil markets in November to be reversed in December. 

A partnership forged by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will offer opportunities to Nigerians in the marine services in the oil and gas industry