A double-hulled tanker refers to an oil tanker which has a double hull. They reduce the likelihood of leaks occurring compared to single-hulled tankers, and their ability to prevent or reduce oil spills led to double hulls being standardized for oil tankers and other types of ships including by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships or MARPOL Convention. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in Alaska in 1989, the US government required all new oil tankers built for use between US ports to be equipped with a full double hull.
The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time in 17 March 1958. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, IMO currently has 175 Member States and three Associate Members.
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation, and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fragrances, and plastics. The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Upstream regards exploration and extraction of crude oil, midstream encompasses transportation and storage of crude, and downstream concerns refining crude oil into various end products.
Engineers India Limited (EIL) is an Indian public sector engineering consultancy and technology licensing company. It was set up in 1965 with the mandate of providing indigenous technology solutions across hydrocarbon projects. Over the years, it has also diversified into synergic sectors like non-ferrous metallurgy, infrastructure, water and wastewater management and fertilizers.
The National Iranian Oil Company is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran. NIOC was established in 1948 and restructured under The Consortium Agreement of 1954. NIOC ranks as the world's second largest oil company, after Saudi Arabia's state-owned Aramco.
An oil terminal is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling road tankers or barges; ship loading/unloading equipment at marine terminals; and pipeline connections.
The Whiddy Island disaster, also known as the Betelgeuse incident or Betelgeuse disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, around 1:00 am, when the oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded in Bantry Bay, at the offshore jetty for the oil terminal at Whiddy Island, Ireland. The explosion was attributed to the failure of the ship's structure during an operation to discharge its cargo of oil. The tanker was owned by Total S.A., and the oil terminal was owned by Gulf Oil.
BW Group is a maritime company involved in shipping, floating gas infrastructure and deep-water oil & gas production. The company has over 490 vessels managed by an international team of over 12,000 staff worldwide. The group was founded by Sir Yue-Kong Pao in Hong Kong in 1955 as World-Wide Shipping. In 2003, the company acquired Bergesen d.y. ASA, Norway's largest shipping company, which was founded in 1935 by Sigval Bergesen the Younger. In 2005, the business was re-branded as BW. With its LNG and LPG fleets combined, BW Group owns and operates the world's largest gas shipping fleet of more than 200 gas vessels, including five FSRUs. Hafnia, a member of the BW Group, operates the world's largest fleet of oil product tankers, and BW Offshore comprises the second largest number of floating oil and gas production units (FPSOs). BW's controlled fleet of over 490 ships also includes crude oil supertankers and dry bulk carriers.
The Ministry of Petroleum (MOP) (Persian: وزارت نفت, romanized: Vezârat-e Naft) manages the oil industry, the producer of oil and petrochemical products. MoP is in charge of all issues pertaining to exploration, extraction, exploitation, distribution and exportation of crude oil and oil products. In addition, according to the "Imports and Exports Regulation Act", issuing import licenses for such products is also among the functions of the Ministry of Petroleum. The ministry has been placed under sanctions by the United States Department of State as of 2020.
Nautical publications is a technical term used in maritime circles describing a set of publications, either published by national governments or by commercial and professional organisations, for use in safe navigation of ships, boats, and similar vessels. Other publications might cover topics such as seamanship and cargo operations. In the UK, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, the Witherby Publishing Group and the Nautical Institute provide numerous navigational publications, including charts, publications on how to navigate and passage planning publications. In the US, publications are issued by the US government and US Coast Guard.
A Single buoy mooring (SrM) is a loading buoy anchored offshore, that serves as a mooring point and interconnect for tankers loading or offloading gas or liquid products. SPMs are the link between geostatic subsea manifold connections and weathervaning tankers. They are capable of handling any tonnage ship, even very large crude carriers (VLCC) where no alternative facility is available.
Puerto José is a sea port in northeastern Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea, in the state of Anzoátegui, about 10 km west of Barcelona. It is home to an important oil tanker loading complex, the Complejo criogenico de Oriente José, created in 1985 and now more often referred to by its original name, the Cryogenic Complex of Oriente, San Joaquin Plant. The complex is used to load several of Venezuela's petroleum products onto oil tankers, including Ameriven-Hamaca, Cerro Negro, Sincor, and Zuata Sweet.
Oil tankers generally have from 8 to 12 tanks. Each tank is split into two or three independent compartments by fore-and-aft bulkheads. The tanks are numbered with tank one being the forwardmost. Individual compartments are referred to by the tank number and the athwartships position, such as "one port", "three starboard", or "six center."
International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is a leading international trade association for the marine contracting industry. It is a not for profit organisation with members representing the majority of worldwide marine contractors in the oil and gas and renewable energy industries.
The oil and gas industry plays a central role in the economy of the United Kingdom. Oil and gas account for more than three-quarters of the UK's total primary energy needs. Oil provides 97 per cent of the fuel for transport, and gas is a key fuel for heating and electricity generation. Transport, heating and electricity each account for about one-third of the UK's primary energy needs. Oil and gas are also major feedstocks for the petrochemicals industries producing pharmaceuticals, plastics, cosmetics and domestic appliances.
GL Noble Denton is one of the oil and gas businesses of DNV GL, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and London, UK. The company is an independent technical advisor to industry operators across the world.
The Flotta oil terminal is a major crude oil reception, processing, storage and export facility on the island of Flotta, in the south of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. It receives and processes crude oil delivered by a subsea pipeline from the Piper, Claymore, Tartan and Golden Eagle platforms and associated fields. The terminal includes facilities for exporting stabilised crude oil by tanker.
ISO Technical Committee 67 – Oil and gas industries including lower carbon energy is a technical committee within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO/TC 67 is responsible for developing and maintaining international standards in the worldwide upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas industry and related lower carbon energy activities. Its role encompasses the harmonisation of standards for facilities, equipment and operations used for drilling, production, pipeline transport and processing of liquids and gaseous hydrocarbons on, and between, offshore oil and gas installations and onshore terminals and oil refineries.
The International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals is a standard code of practice for the safe operation of Oil tankers and Oil terminals. Which provides information to ship-owners, seafarers and oil companies information on best operating practices, national and international legislation, occupational safety and health and ship design relating to Oil tankers and Oil terminals. ISGOTT was first published in 1978. It is a joint publication of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). ISGOTT has its roots in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the shipping industry recognized the need for comprehensive guidelines to ensure the safety of oil tankers and terminals. During this time, there were increasing concerns about the safety and environmental risks associated with the transportation and handling of oil. In response to these concerns, the ICS and OCIMF collaborated to develop a guide that would establish standardized safety practices for the industry. The guide aimed to address various aspects of safety, including cargo handling, emergency response, personnel safety, and environmental protection. Over the years, ISGOTT has undergone several revisions and updates to incorporate advancements in technology, changes in regulations, and improvements in industry best practices. The collaborative effort between ICS and OCIMF in developing ISGOTT emphasizes the importance of cooperation between shipping companies and oil companies to establish and promote international safety standards. The guide has become a widely recognized and respected resource in the maritime and oil industries, providing a common framework for safe operations.
