Monday, 31 August 2026

Allseas' heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit has removed TAQA UK's North Cormorant topsides from the northern North Sea and delivered the structure to Shetland for dismantling and recycling, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The former production topsides weighed more than 17,000 tonnes and came off in a single lift before being carried to Dales Voe, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

North Cormorant is the second topsides removal completed under Allseas' long-term Engineering, Preparation, Removal and Disposal (EPRD) contract covering TAQA UK's Northern North Sea facilities, per the same report. The contract covers removal and disposal of more than 120,000 tonnes of offshore infrastructure.

Brown & Mason will handle the dismantling and recycling work onshore. According to Offshore Engineer OEDigital, that work supports a TAQA-Allseas commitment to recover at least 97% of materials across the Northern North Sea program.

Pioneering Spirit completed its first commercial single-lift operation on 22 August 2016, when it removed the Yme MOPUstor platform in Norway, the outlet reported.

Eni has signed an official agreement to enter the OFF-5 exploration block offshore Uruguay, taking operatorship with a 50% interest, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The agreement was signed together with MIWEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of YPF, and the Uruguayan National Oil Company ANCAP, and followed approval by the Uruguayan authorities. MIWEN holds the remaining 50% interest in the block as Eni's partner, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

The move is not Eni's only recent position offshore Uruguay. The company has reached an agreement to acquire a 40% interest in the adjacent OFF-6 block, which is operated by APA Corporation, according to the same report.

South Africa's Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) announced price increases for all fuel types taking effect Wednesday, with diesel carrying the heaviest adjustment.

Both grades of petrol, 93 and 95, in unleaded and lead-replacement form, rise by R1.34, according to the DMPR. Diesel with 0.05% sulphur increases by R2.93, while the 0.005% sulphur grade goes up R3.14.

The department pointed to the crude benchmark as the driver. The average Brent Crude price rose from USD 82.37 to USD 87.88 over the period under review, the DMPR said. It attributed that move to continued US/Iran tensions, uncertainty over the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and higher shipping costs.

A second mechanism adds to the pump increase. The Slate Levy rises 21.90 c/l, from 61.38 c/l to 83.28 c/l, and will be implemented in the petrol and diesel price structures from 2 September 2026, according to the DMPR.

That levy adjustment follows a widening shortfall in the slate account. At the end of July 2026 the cumulative slate levy stood at a negative balance of some R9.519 billion for petrol and diesel combined, the department said.

The slate mechanism recovers the gap between the regulated domestic price and actual import parity costs, so a negative balance is passed through to motorists via a higher levy. With the levy change landing the day after the price adjustment, diesel users face both the R3.14 basic fuel price movement on the low-sulphur grade and the 21.90 c/l levy step.

The gap between the petrol and diesel adjustments is more than double: R1.34 on petrol against R2.93 and R3.14 on the two diesel grades.