Port Hedland is a key export location for Australian iron ore exports. BHP Billiton is undertaking development of a 100-million-tonne-a-year outer harbour expansion at the port. 

GHD, a global engineering and environmental services firm, commissioned the system to provide marine water quality data from monitoring sites located in areas surrounding the port dredging operations.

OceanStar enables near real-time monitoring of various water quality parameters required for environmental compliance reporting associated with activities such as dredging and marine construction.

The multi-award winning system acquires data from in-situ water quality sensors by integrating subsea, satellite and internet technologies. It offers global coverage through Iridium satellite telemetry, and has a unique design that allows sensors, instrumentation and electronic equipment to be located below the surface or on the seabed, rather than on the surface or suspended from data buoys. This configuration enables low cost system deployment due to the small size of the relay buoys and correspondingly reduced mooring requirements. It also reduces vulnerability to extreme weather events, theft, vandalism and collisions. The system can be integrated with various types of sensors, depending on the application.

Since 2007 the OceanStar system has been deployed at some of Australia’s largest offshore energy development projects, including Woodside Energy’s Pluto project and Chevron Australia’s Gorgon project. The system has proven reliability in some of the most demanding marine conditions, including in cyclonic weather.

The system delivers sensor data to users anywhere in the world within seconds via an online marine data management system. The system is not restricted in its deployment by the limited offshore range of cellular networks, making it ideal for use in remote locations. It can also be easily re-deployed from one project to the next due to its modular design. The system offers extended endurance capability with low maintenance requirements when compared to conventional data buoy systems, significantly reducing the cost of operation.

Wärtsilä Hamworthy, the global leader in environmental and liquid cargo handling solutions for the marine and oil & gas markets, has won a contract to supply its Flare Gas Recovery packages to four floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units under construction for Petrobras.

The units, each of which will be able to handle 150,000bpd, are to be deployed on the pre-salt fields, off Santos, Brazil. Three of the FPSOs will be utilised for Block BM-S-11 Lula (Tupi) and one will go to Block BM-S-9 Guara.

“We have developed a strong position in the growing market for flare gas recovery as offshore operators seek greater efficiency over increasing environmental concerns due to flaring,” said Hamilton Santos, Project Manager, Gas Recovery Business Unit, Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems.

“Flaring gas has a global impact on climate change by adding about 400 million tons of CO₂ in annual emissions. Petrobras is committed to minimising flaring in its operations and has therefore planned for flare gas recovery systems to be installed on all units for the pre-salt development.”

The contract underscores Wärtsilä Hamworthy’s leading position in this growth market and follows the breakthrough deals signed late last year for systems to be installed on the P58 and P62 FPSO conversions in the Baleia Azul and Roncador fields offshore Brazil, both owned and operated by Petrobras. The business has so far delivered over 20 similar systems to the offshore industry. The first FPSO is expected to be operational by the end of 2014, with the next three producing by 2015.

“Petrobras made its biggest oil field discovery to date in the pre-salt development and the Tupi block alone will increase Brazil’s reserves by around 50%,” Mr Santos added.

FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FTI) announces that it has signed an agreement with Technip France, on behalf of the Technip Samsung Consortium (TSC), to supply offshore loading arm systems as part of the Shell Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project.

FMC’s scope of supply includes seven offshore footless marine loading arms, four for liquefied natural gas and three for liquefied petroleum gas. FMC’s Loading Systems business in Sens, France will design and manufacture the equipment. 

“Today’s announcement expands our existing support of the Prelude development, having received the subsea equipment contract in June of 2011,” said Robert Potter, FMC’s Executive Vice President, Energy Systems. “The Prelude FLNG facility will be the largest floating offshore facility in the world, and we are pleased the Technip Samsung Consortium has selected our loading systems.” 

FLNG opens up new business opportunities for countries looking to develop their gas resources, bringing more natural gas to market. Shell is the first to go ahead with such a project, Prelude FLNG.  The Prelude facility will be built by TSC at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, Korea. It will measure 1,600 feet (488 meters) from bow to stern and weigh around 600,000 tonnes when fully loaded.  It will be moored over 120 miles (200 kilometers) from land and will produce gas from offshore subsea fields. The facility will treat and liquefy the gas onboard via a cooling process before storing and exporting the LNG via conventional LNG carriers.

A new milestone in oily water treatment onboard ships has been reached. Shipowners seeking Clean Design class notation can now specify  a bilge water treatment system that is certified according to  DNV’s new 5 ppm type approval process.

DNV Clean Design class notation is a voluntary newbuilding specification which covers most aspects of ship design and operation. For bilge water, Clean Design stipulates a maximum 5 ppm of oil remaining in the water after treatment, prior to pumping overboard. MARPOL regulations stipulate 15 ppm. In 2011, DNV introduced a 5 ppm type approval process for marine bilge water separators. Leading the wave, Alfa Laval’s PureBilge is the first system to obtain the new 5 ppm DNV type approval certificate. The system has also been granted the US Coastguard Certificate of Approval.

Previously, ship owners specifying 5 ppm have had to take the word of the equipment supplier that the system really does meet the limit. Unfortunately, this has not always been enough. Some systems actually have problems reaching even 15 ppm under real life conditions.

While claiming that their equipment can meet the limit, it is not unknown for suppliers to simply adjust the oil-in-water monitor down from 15 ppm to 5 ppm so that it functions as an oily water alarm with automatic stop.

Recirculation, tanks fill up

In such cases, the equipment is not removing the oil down to 5 ppm. It simply prevents it from being discharged overboard. The bilge water then goes into recirculation and fills up the bilge water tank. When this is full it is pumped to the waste oil tank and when that has no more capacity the ship has a problem. It is in situations like these that environmental infringements may occur.

Type Approval certification

In May 2011, the DNV 5 ppm Type Approval Programme No. 771.60 became available for certification for Oily Water Separators (OWS) for the first time.

Alfa Laval’s PureBilge system was tested according to this procedure and in December 2011 Alfa Laval obained Type Approval Certificate No. P-13965 for PureBilge 2005 and 5005 (2.5 m³/h and 5.0 m³/h).

For Alfa Laval this was not a great step. Since its release on the market in June 2009, PureBilge had been tested onboard ships under real life conditions and consistently achieved results below 5 ppm.

Clean and Clean Design notations
DNV Environmental Class notation reduces a ship’s environmental impact due to air emissions, sea discharges and accidental damage to the ship’s hull. The notations award owners and operators who choose to design and operate their ships in an evironmentally sustainable manner. The aim is to reduce the emissions from each ship so that the overall environmental burden from shipping is reduced.

DNV Clean notation stipulates that the vessel must be designed and operated in accordance with current and future regulations for protection of the environment. Technical and management processes and procedures for collection, transfer and storage of waste must also be adopted.

The Clean Design notation is based on the same Clean goals but is stricter. It stipulates that the constructional design and operation of vessels should be such that it minimizes their impact on the environment.

Why do ship owners want Environmental Class notation?

Clean and Clean Design class notations are voluntary environmental newbuilding specifications. As indicated in Fig. 1, an important driver is the oil majors’ environmental policies, which are becoming increasingly stringent following a number of environmental disasters.

Fig. 1 - Slide 7 from DNV Clean Design presentation

As cargo owners and charterers, the oil companies typically demand higher than normal environmental compliance from the ship owners transporting their cargoes, such as tanker owners and owners of offshore supply vessels.

The same applies to owners building LNG carriers and car carriers and, to some extent, to cruise lines, as environmental awareness grows among passengers.

Clear benefits
DNV points out that the image of the individual ship owner and operator will clearly improve with customers and authorities, “since the notation demonstrates that the company’s policy is to be environmentally proactive in order to prevent accidental pollution as well”. 

For owners interested in promoting an environmental profile, the notation confirms a higher environmental standard. By adopting the Clean Design notation, owners clearly demonstrate that they have acted to limit emissions and operational and accidental pollution by taking proactive steps and responsibility.

Aspects covered by Clean Design
The Clean Design notation stipulates requirements for controlling and limiting operational emissions and discharges. As Fig. 2 shows, these requirements cover the most important environmental aspects: Fuel tanks’ protection from grounding damage; handling of sewage and garbage; environmentally friendly antifouling; combustion machinery emissions (NO_x and SO_x); use of refrigerants; Green Passport Inventory for recycling the ship; handling of ballast water; handling of fuel oil; handling of bilge water.

Fig. 2 - Slide 4 from DNV Clean Design presentation

As stated in DNV’s “Guidance for the Environmental Class Notations Clean and Clean Design”, “for Clean Design the vessel must have bilge water holding tanks as required for the Class Notation OPP-F, which means that they must have required capacities dependent on the engine rating. The machinery space bilges must not be discharged to sea, but be discharged to shore. Clean Design requires oil content of bilge water to be less than 5 ppm.”

However, meeting DNV’s Clean Design requirements for bilge water takes more than setting the oil-in-water monitor to 5 ppm. The treatment system must actually achieve 5 ppm.

Current MARPOL legislation stipulates that separated bilge water containing 15 ppm or below oil in water can be discharged into international waters. In reaction to increasing environmental awareness in the shipping and other industries, future legislation is expected to be more stringent, requiring the limit to be reduced to 5 ppm. For the Great Lakes it is already 5 ppm.

Since a growing number of shipowners are specifying it and DNV now has a 5 ppm type approval process for bilge water separators, a MARPOL 5 ppm limit may not be far away.

A new angle on OWS type approval testing
International Maritime Organization (IMO), resolution MEPC 107(49), effective from January 1, 2005, for type approval of bilge water separators for 15 ppm, specifies that, in addition to the removal of oil from bilge water, bilge water separators must be tested with a stable emulsion (including fine particles and a surfactant chemical).

What differentiates DNV 5 ppm type approval testing from type approval testing for 15 ppm according to MEPC 107(49)? Actually, very little. It is basically the same basic process with one very important difference. As stated by DNV, “the 5 ppm bilge water separator must be designed to operate in each plane that forms an angle of 22.5° with the plane of its normal operating position.”

This simulates a ship listing 22.5°. Thus, this testing process has gone some way towards simulating real life operating conditions at sea. Although Alfa Laval believes that it could have gone even further and simulated sea heave, the company sees this as confirmation of its assertion that centrifugal separation is the only effective technology for bilge water treatment onboard ships.

“The gyroscopic effect of the liquid circulating at high speed inside the separator bowl offsets pitching and rolling,” says Pauli Kujala, Senior Business Manager, Oily Waste Treatment Systems, Alfa Laval Marine & Diesel Equipment. “The result is sustained high separation efficiency. If traditional static systems were to be tested with a realistic bilge water ‘cocktail’ under conditions simulating a rough sea state 24/7 for 20 days, they would immediately be eliminated.”

Pure Bilge – the first certified 5 ppm Bilge Water Separator
So, for the first time there is a marine supplier who can supply a bilge water separator with a 5 ppm DNV Clean Design type approval certificate. Many claim to provide this performance, but only Alfa Laval with PureBilge currently holds the certificate. For the first time, the ship operator can sleep at night, completely secure in the knowledge that his crew will not have to face full bilge water and waste oil tanks and that his ship is discharging treated bilge water with an oil content of less than 5 ppm (a good margin considering the MARPOL limit is still 15 ppm).

 

PureBilge is the only system on the market that provides a cleaning performance in real life conditions of 0-5 ppm oil content in the water without chemicals, adsorption filter or membranes. This cleaning performance is unaffected by sea heave, oil shocks or high solids loading, and no backflushing is required.

Fully integrated tamper-proof BlueBox
The PureBilge system is the fastest growing technology in the market. Like Alfa Laval fuel oil and lube oil separators, it offers the full automation and remote control that will be required by the unmanned engine rooms of the future. No manual engagement is required.

The system is supplied with the fully integrated tamper-proof BlueBox Bilge Data Recorder, which locks in critical data and encapsulates the whole sampling line. In combination with PureBilge’s certified performance, the result is assured compliance – not only with IMO MEPC 107(49), but with the wishes of all who demand a greener profile.

International oilfield services company Expro has once again been recognized for its outstanding safety record globally.

Expro has been commended in the oil & gas industry sector of the annual 2012 Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) safety awards.

Expro has received awards from RoSPA for the past eight years, achieving a gold award in 2005 and then winning the Oil & Gas sector award in 2006 and retaining it in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

In 2010, Expro received a coveted Gold Medal in recognition of six years of industry-leading health and safety performance and commitment. In 2011, Expro was also commended in the oil & gas industry sector.

David Ford, Expro’s group HSEQ manager, said: “Receiving a RoSPA safety award is an outstanding achievement. We are very proud to be recognised eight years in a row which rightly demonstrates that safety is constantly at the top of our agenda globally. Expro’s safety culture is testament to the hard work by all our employees.”

David Rawlins, RoSPA awards manager said: “The RoSPA awards programme provides well-deserved recognition for the winners and spurs on other organisations to raise their standards of accident and ill health prevention. We congratulate Expro on its success and encourage it, and all our other winners, to remain committed to safety and health, an approach that is well recognised to be good for workers and the bottom line.”

The official launch of Smit Lamnalco as a distinct entity has coincided with the global marine services group’s first commitment to new growth-driven investments, following the 2011 acquisition of Smit’s terminal and anchor handling tug supply activities by Lamnalco.

Daan Koornneef, Smit Lamnalco Chief Executive, said that the new identity has been adopted to reflect the extent of the turnkey services offered by the expanded group across the oil and gas sectors.

Smit Lamnalco owns, operates and crews one of the most modern terminal and ship-to-ship transfer auxiliary fleets in the world, as well as delivering a full range of dive support services. Its interests span pilot boats, mooring boats, utility craft and high performance tugs.

“Combined, Smit Lamnalco operates over 50 terminal contracts, employs close to 3,000 staff on around 180 vessels and is active across 30 countries,” said Mr Koornneef. “The new identity is an external sign of the work that has been going on behind the scenes to amalgamate the two companies to support further growth. By combining, we have significantly extended our reach in the FPSO and LNG sectors, in line with our target of becoming the leading supplier of cost effective marine support services in the world.”

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. and The Rezayat Group of Saudi Arabia each continue to own 50% shares in Smit Lamnalco.

Around one third of Smit Lamnalco’s contracts relate to vessels in and around the Middle East, with one third operating off West Africa. A further third covers vessels operating in diverse locations with significant growth potential, including other markets in Africa, Russia, Georgia, and South East Asia, Australasia and the Caribbean.

Mr Koornneef said that the launch coincided with new investment plans already sanctioned by Smit Lamnalco. It is preparing to order four 65 tonne azimuth stern drive terminal tugs, earmarked for operations in South East Asia. It also has two anchor handling tugs on order at Damen Shipyards and a number of smaller craft being built in Turkey. 

The merged operation has been restructured around four key regions that reflect the historical focus of both entities but also point towards Smit Lamnalco’s future ambitions: Africa, excluding Nigeria and the Red Sea; Nigeria; Russia, the Caspian Sea, South East Asia and Australasia; and The Middle East, India, Pakistan, and Red Sea ports.

As part of the reorganisation, Mr Koornneef heads a new ‘Leadership Team’, which includes four Managing Directors, one for each of the four regions, and supporting management teams.

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) ("McDermott") announced on Wednesday that its Malaysian affiliate Berlian McDermott Sdn. Bhd. was recently awarded a significant subsea contract for executing a deepwater engineering, procurement, construction, transportation, installation and commissioning project offshore Malaysia. The value of this contract is included in McDermott's first quarter 2012 backlog.

The award is for the subsea infrastructure of the Siakap North - Petai ("SNP") Development Project operated by Murphy Sabah Oil Co., Ltd. ("Murphy"), comprising rigid flowlines, flexible risers, an umbilical and subsea hardware and controls. The SNP field is located nearby the existing Kikeh field, northwest of Labuan Island, Malaysia, in waters 3,900 - 4,900 feet deep.

"Our subsea engineering expertise, fabrication track record at our Batam Island facility, state-of-the-art subsea construction vessels and understanding of the Malaysian market, contributed to this successful award," said Stephen M. Johnson, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of McDermott. "We look forward to delivering the facilities for this important field development for Malaysia."

The SNP field architecture consists of two rigid, insulated, pipe-in-pipe production flowlines, one rigid water injection flowline and one main umbilical system connecting eight new manifolds and subsea distribution units to existing riser slots on the Kikeh FPSO. The development calls for five water injection and eight production wells, drilled from the manifolds at each of the four drill center locations.

Detailed engineering and procurement for the project are underway, and fabrication of PLETs, jumpers and other installation aids is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2012. Following the infrastructure installation, McDermott will undertake a comprehensive System Integration Test of the subsea units and provide commissioning assistance. The project scope is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2013.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO)  announced  yesterday that a subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, has entered into a turnkey contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. for construction of a new ultra-deepwater drillship with delivery scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2014. Total cost, including commissioning, spares and project management, but excluding capitalized interest, is expected to be approximately $655 million.

The new drillship, to be named Ocean BlackLion, will be of the same design as Diamond Offshore’s three units currently on order with Hyundai. Design specifications include dynamic-positioning, dual activity capability, a maximum hook-load capacity of 1,250 tons, and operating capability at water depths up to 12,000 feet, though initially outfitted for operation at 10,000 feet. The unit will also feature two seven-ram blowout preventer (“BOP”) stacks, with the second available for use as a spare.

Diamond Offshore has elected to equip its previously announced drillships now under construction with an additional seven-ram BOP to improve rig reliability. The cost to add a second BOP is approximately $34 million, bringing the average total price for each of the previously announced drillships to approximately $640 million.

Diamond Offshore also announced today that it has completed the sale of four jack-up drilling rigs in two separate transactions. The Ocean Heritage was sold for $45 million in cash, and the cold stacked mat-supported rigs Ocean Champion, Ocean Crusader, and Ocean Drake were together sold for $10 million in cash; all four units were held for sale in the Company’s first-quarter financial results.

“We are principally a floater company, and during 2012 we have sold five jack-up rigs for a total of $95 million, which is being reinvested in our fleet,” said Larry Dickerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Offshore. “We believe this new drillship along with our four additional units under construction—the Ocean BlackHawk, Ocean BlackHornet, Ocean BlackRhino and Ocean Onyx—will be profitably employed in the deep and ultra-deepwater markets.”

Proserv Group Inc., a leading global energy production technology services company headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, has acquired the subsea controls business of Weatherford International.  Proserv is backed by Intervale Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in middle-market oilfield services companies.  The acquired businesses specialize in subsea and topside communication and control systems, subsea intervention services and subsea termination equipment for offshore production optimization, control and monitoring.

The acquisition will include more than 300 personnel and all control systems operations in the UK, Norway, North America, the Middle East and the Far East. The transaction will bolster Proserv's rapidly-expanding subsea capabilities and specialist integrated services. David Lamont, Proserv's Chief Executive Officer, commented "Our plan for growth is to invest in complementary world-class technologies and build on our existing range of value-added products and services. This transaction is a perfect strategic fit for Proserv."

Charles Cherington, Managing Partner at Intervale Capital, added "This is a transformative transaction for Proserv and provides the company with a significantly broader suite of subsea and offshore capabilities. We anticipate that the addition of these business lines will further accelerate the company's already robust growth."

Proserv Group Inc. was formed by Intervale in June 2011, through the combination of Proserv Group AS and Galathea Group Inc.  Proserv's operating businesses include Proserv Technology, Proserv Offshore, Hydrafit Subsea, Gilmore Valve and Argus Subsea.

Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: BRS) has  announced that Ms. Lori A. Gobillot has been appointed to its Board of Directors.  Ms. Gobillot, whose appointment was effective May 1, will serve on the Compensation Committee.

Ms. Gobillot was an executive at United Airlines from 2006 until 2012.  She served as Vice President, Integration Management at United Airlines, Inc. from June 2010 to January 2012 where she managed the company's merger integration planning and implementation efforts following the merger with Continental Airlines.  Prior to the merger, Ms. Gobillot served as Staff Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Continental Airlines.  Before joining Continental Airlines, Ms. Gobillot was an attorney with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins.

William E. Chiles, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bristow Group, stated, "We are delighted that Lori Gobillot has agreed to join the Bristow Board of Directors. Her leadership experience in the airline industry will be a major asset to our Board.  She brings a depth of aviation, legal and transaction expertise to Bristow.  The Board of Directors and the management team look forward to her contributions to the organization."