TAM International Inc., an independent oilfield services company providing inflatable and swellable packers, has announced a new TAM manufacturing facility to be built in the Houston area.

The expansion will allow TAM to support growth in the production of existing TAM products and improve capacity for manufacturing large offshore products for oil and gas production. Plans for the state-of-the-art facility include 126,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 17,000 square feet of office space. The 26-acre site is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 and Pinemont in Northwest Houston. The facility will house up to 300 employees directly involved in the manufacturing process.

“This move will support TAM’s plan to increase capacity for the production of packers in excess of 40 feet long and 26-inch diameter,” said John Robinson, TAM International’s Director of Manufacturing.

The new facility is designed with the goal of obtaining a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. LEED certification provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

“LEED certification demonstrates TAM’s commitment to conserve energy and resources where possible,” Robinson said. “This rigorous certification ensures we are conscientious of the environment as we consider processes such as recycling, using efficient and natural lighting, and indoor and outdoor water reduction.”

Robinson, the manager of the new manufacturing facility, has more than 35 years of experience managing manufacturing operations in the oil and gas industry.

Kingham, Dalton, Wilson, Ltd. (KDW) were contracted to design and build the new Houston manufacturing facility.

Glynn Rhinehart has been named President of Fugro Chance Inc., which has 400 employees in Lafayette, LA and Houston, TX. Rhinehart has been with Fugro for 17 years, most recently as president of John Chance Land Surveys, Inc. which provides land surveying and aerial LiDAR mapping services to the oil and gas, railroad, and electric transmission industries throughout the U.S. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Civil Engineering (Lafayette, LA). He earned a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Development from Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO). He has 40 years experience in civil engineering, surveying, and data management related to the oil and gas industry and is a registered Land Surveyor and Civil Engineer in Louisiana.

Rhinehart replaces Phil Stutes who has been promoted to Regional Director of Fugro’s Survey Division, overseeing survey companies in North, Central, and South America.

Stutes has been president of Fugro Chance for 12 years. He joined Fugro (originally John E. Chance & Associates) 42 years ago. Stutes is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Civil Engineering and earned a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Geodesy at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana). In the early 1980s Stutes was actively involved in the implementation of the company’s proprietary satellite positioning system called STARFIX® which is now used worldwide. He is a registered Professional Land Surveyor for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Clariant Oil & Mining Services has named  Graham Gammack Head of Marketing for the Oil Services business line.  Gammack has been with the company for nearly two years, previously serving as Director of Business Development.

Prior to joining Clariant, Gammack served as the Manager of Process and Capability Improvement at Baker Hughes.  He has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and 25 years of domestic and international oil and gas experience.  During his career he has held a number of positions in technical sales, operations support and P&L management.

Gammack is replacing Nick Phillips who was recently named Head of Marketing, Technology and Key Accounts for Clariant Oil Services.

DeepOcean Group Holding AS, (“DeepOcean Group” or “the Company”) an integrated provider of subsea engineering and trenching services, announces that DeepOcean AS (“DeepOcean”), a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group, has been awarded a long-term frame agreement for offshore survey services for Statoil.

The four-year frame agreement, plus two one-year options, includes services covering light construction, ROV surveys with hull mounted Multi Beam Echosounder (MBE) and ROV surveys without MBE.

As part of this contract, Statoil has also awarded DeepOcean the first call-off for light construction services work on the Norwegian continental shelf. This call-off has a firm duration of six months with six one-month options included. The project will commence March 1 and it will be executed from the survey and light construction support vessel Volstad Surveyor. The project will be lead by an onshore project team in DeepOcean’s Haugesund office.

“This contract has been a key target for DeepOcean and we are pleased that Statoil has once again placed such confidence in our company and the quality of the work our organisation delivers,” says Mads Bardsen, the President of DeepOcean. “With this latest contract, we currently have four vessels working for Statoil through 2012,” he says.

Boatracs Inc., a leader in providing integrated satellite communications and software solutions to the maritime industry, announced today that Moran Holdings, Inc., a leading maritime services company, has signed a multi-year extension to its satellite communications services contract.  As part of the renewal Moran added Boatracs BTConnect, the new web-based messaging and mapping software platform launched by Boatracs in December 2011.

“Boatracs has been a core part of our communications infrastructure for almost 15 years,” said Joe Baviello, Director of Information Systems at Moran.  “The extension of our agreement and adoption of BTConnect strengthens our relationship with Boatracs and ensures our shore operations stay in constant contact with our fleet.  As a BTConnect beta program participant, we were very pleased with the performance of the new product.  The Boatracs team was responsive to our feedback and Version 1.0 BTConnect is an outstanding tool for dispatch and fleet management.”

Moran began working with Boatracs in 1997, installing the Qualcomm OmniTRACS mobile communication terminal on tugs to provide satellite communications and positioning for vessels that were working beyond cellular range.  As part of the solution, Boatracs provided integrated software with a shore-side interface that provided mapping and two-way messaging in standardized forms as well as free-form text messaging.  Over the years, Boatracs has continued to provide a reliable, easy to use and cost effective solution to Moran’s captains and operations team.

“We are honored that Moran has extended its contract,” stated Irwin Rodrigues, President and CEO of Boatracs.  “This renewal demonstrates the emphasis Boatracs puts on long-term customer relationships and staying in tune with current industry requirements.  Our suite of products reflects a commitment to providing simple and effective solutions for the complex issues maritime operators face today.  Now, with BTConnect, we are responding to the mobile demands of our customers and delivering an enhanced interface that is web-based and can be accessed from any mobile device.”

Veripos, world leaders for supply of high-precision GNSS positioning support to the offshore oil and gas industry, has been awarded an extension to its contract with BP under which it will continue to provide precision positioning for the energy company’s turret monitoring system aboard its floating production storage and offloading unit in the West Shetland Basin, BP Schiehallion.

With the extended contract, Veripos remains responsible for supplying the vessel with its dual-beam Standard positioning service to ensure metre-level accuracies, with seamless correction data being delivered by two independent satellite broadcasts.

Meanwhile, identical Standard services will also continue to be provided by Veripos under a separate contract awarded by Aberdeen-based Vector Offshore for positioning of four regional support vessels on long-term charter to BP, Caledonian Vigilance, Caledonian Victory, Caledonian Vanguard and Caledonian Vision.

On January 25, 2012, Robert S. Shaw notified Transocean Ltd. of his resignation as Vice President, Controller and Principal Accounting Officer to pursue other opportunities. Mr. Shaw will remain with the Company for a period of time sufficient to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. Mr. Shaw’s departure is not related to any disagreements with the Company’s accounting, financial reporting or internal control over financial reporting.

Effective immediately, Gregory L. Cauthen, Interim Chief Financial Officer, will assume the responsibilities of Controller and Principal Accounting Officer pending identification of Mr. Shaw’s replacement.

Remediation from organic loading in deepwater marine sediments

CSA International, Inc. (CSA) has initiated a program to develop a remediation methodology that can be successfully utilized with marine sediments that have been subjected to excessive loading with organic compounds, particularly in deepwater environments where biodegradation processes are slowed due to low temperature.  To address this problem and in consideration of the inherent difficulties associated with working in deepwater, CSA has combined proven mechanical and biologic technologies to be applied in a unique way.

CSA has assembled the engineering and scientific team to take the program forward and has now completed the Preliminary Design Effort.  The concept incorporates proven subsea equipment modified to deploy specific tools developed by the program to properly restore the deepwater seabed through the use of both mechanical and biological systems.

“The capability and capacity advancement of free flying and seabed crawling remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) has finally allowed us to deploy technology to the seabed in a way not previously possible,” stated Kevin Peterson, President and CEO of CSA.  “By combining proven ROV tooling technology with the application of known biological compounds, we’re able to positively effect the remediation of marine sediments, speeding up its natural recovery.”

Phase II of the program includes a Pilot Study, during which the efficacy of the prototype will be evaluated in the lab.  Phase III will build and test the full size tooling required to be deployed by ROVs of opportunity.

For more information on CSA services or studies, please contact our main office at 772-219-3000 or visit our website at www.csaintl.com.

Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ: HERO) (the "Company") announced on Tuesday that the Mako, a 175' class liftboat in Nigeria, was engulfed by a fire that originated on a third-party rig, the KS Endeavor, during the early morning hours on January 16, 2012. The Mako was providing excess storage services adjacent to the KS Endeavor drilling rig at the time of the incident. The incident occurred off the coast of Nigeria, approximately 250 kilometers west of Port Harcourt.  All 27 personnel aboard the Mako were safely rescued and transported to a local clinic for medical evaluation and treatment. No major injuries have been reported.

At this time, the Company has not been able to confirm the extent of the damage to the Mako, although visual indication from Company employees at the site indicated that the vessel sustained significant damage. The vessel has an insured value of $8.0 million, subject to a $1.0 million deductible. The deductible would not apply in the event the vessel is a total loss. The Company also carries removal of wreck insurance, subject to a $250,000 deductible.

The Company has notified the appropriate authorities, including the United States Coast Guard.

About Hercules Offshore
Headquartered in Houston, Hercules Offshore, Inc. operates a fleet of 42 jackup rigs, 17 barge rigs, 65 liftboats, two submersible rigs, and one platform rig. The Company offers a range of services to oil and gas producers to meet their needs during drilling, well service, platform inspection, maintenance, and decommissioning operations in several key shallow water provinces around the world. Hercules Offshore currently holds 28% of share capital in Discovery Offshore, a pure play, ultra-high specification jackup rig company.

Hydratight has formed a strategic partnership with one of the world’s leading commercial diver training schools.  

Hydratight and the UK-based Professional Diving Academy will collaborate on specialist courses aimed at improving both subsea joint integrity and skills, as well as diver safety.

The partnership aims to fill a gap in the current training provision for industrial divers, initially offering a course on the subsea use of bolting tools with extensive underwater practical tuition – the only course of its kind in the world.

Currently the biggest problem for divers is that much of their formal training in the use of subsea bolting and jointing equipment has to take place on dry land, or more commonly during a sometimes disjointed training regime conducted by experienced divers, often while a contract is running.

“There simply hasn’t been anywhere for divers to learn how to operate specialist tools underwater from experts - and these aren’t skills that should be learned on the job,” said Hydratight’s global competency leader, Jason Barnard.

“When bolt tensioners, torque wrenches and other powered equipment is taken underwater, everything changes: weight, handling, the forces employed, the time taken and many more critical factors, are all different.

“Generally, engineers don’t go underwater because they aren’t divers; divers don’t know the best uses of the equipment because they aren’t experts in the procedures and tools.

“We aim to bridge that gap by offering specialist training where it should be delivered – both in the classroom and underwater in realistic conditions, including highly-restricted visibility.”

The PDA offers Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), accredited commercial diver construction and inspection training for delegates aroundthe world. The organisation has a well-established reputation for delivering highly-advanced courses. It recognised and responded to a critical gap in specialised subsea training and found Hydratight, with its renowned expertise and commitment to technician training, an ideal strategic partner.

“With several high-profile leaks from offshore oil and gas flow lines making international headlines recently, we feel that divers should have a mechanism that allows them to train on this highly specialist equipment and associated procedures in the proper working environment,” said PDA’s training manager Neil MacMillan.

Both organisations anticipate that courses will be available in early 2012 run by Hydratight and PDA experts at the academy’s extensive wet and dry training facilities in Dunoon, Scotland and through a strategic network of training facilities worldwide.