Leading international equipment solutions specialist Ashtead Technology has strengthened its team with the appointment of Neil Harrap as NDT Market Manager.

Neil is a highly experienced non-destructive testing (NDT) specialist having spent 31 years in aerospace engineering with the Ministry of Defence, much of which was spent with the RAF. During this time, Neil’s roles included NDT Equipment Subject Matter Specialist, NDT Field Team Manager, Military Tri-Service NDT School Instructor and Aerospace Engineering Technician. More recently, he has been a lecturer at TWI and provided technical support for one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced NDT instruments.

The appointment, which is a new position, has added to the company’s capabilities as specialists in NDT. Ashtead Technology provides NDT equipment as part of its global service offering, which includes rental equipment, calibration, repair and maintenance, offshore personnel and bespoke engineered solutions.

A large fleet of NDT inspection equipment for both topside and subsea testing is available from offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Singapore and London, where Mr Harrap is based.

Chief executive Allan Pirie said: “As we continue to grow, we are putting more resources into our proven services, including investing heavily in NDT instrumentation and technical support staff.  Neil is a welcome addition to our team, with his unparalleled experience in the sector, which will allow us to implement our NDT strategy effectively and maintain Ashtead Technology’s reputation as a market leader in this sector. Customers will have access to the latest instrumentation, coupled with a high level of engineering and technical support both before and during the rental period.”

Mr Harrap said: “Ashtead Technology is well known for its equipment rental capabilities, and I am delighted that my NDT knowledge will be put to good use here. The company aims to give its customers a full service offering in all of its capabilities, and I look forward to working with our technology to give customers a full understanding of our equipment, as well as technical training to make sure they are getting the best service possible. Whether inspecting platforms, subsea assets or pipelines, we can rent a wide range of suitable inspection equipment for Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM), Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI), Flooded Member Detection (FMD) and Cathodic Protection (CP) inspections, for topside, diver and ROV use.”

Offshore accommodation and workspace specialists HB Rentals has officially opened its new eastern hemisphere headquarters in the North East of Scotland.

The purpose built £1 million facility, located in Sauchen, was officially opened by the Provost of Aberdeenshire, Councillor Jill Webster, in a ceremony attended by HB Rentals’ clients, suppliers, employees and senior management.

Provost Webster said: “HB Rentals' new facility represents a significant investment in Aberdeenshire and we welcome this boost to the local economy through employment opportunities and increased business activity in the area.

The facility is ideally located at the centre of the North East oil and gas industry in Aberdeenshire benefitting from being located in an area consistently judged to have the highest quality of life in Scotland as well as being an ideal base for HB's international growth plans."

With over 500sqm of covered workshop area and employing a multi-disciplined workforce of around 46 people, the new premises will handle all manufacturing for the company’s eastern hemisphere and allow it to build and consolidate the fleet of A60 accommodation units it currently supplies as well as handling any custom build projects the firm receives.

The base is seen as crucial to HB Rentals’ ambitious growth targets for its key operations in the region which include Europe, West Africa, the Caspian and Middle East.

Eastern hemisphere business unit director Norman Porter said: “The opening of this new purpose-built facility places us in the ideal position to capitalise on business opportunities in an increasingly competitive market and will allow us to fulfill our ambitious growth targets.  The North East of Scotland remains one of the world’s major energy centres and these facilities will allow us to better fulfill our customer’s orders in this region as well as the rest of the eastern hemisphere with the provision of offshore accommodation and workspace solutions.”

The official opening comes after a period of sustained success for the company, which has won several contracts recently.

Sales and marketing manager for the eastern hemisphere Brad Hirst added: “It has been an exciting time for the company recently with several large projects on-going.  Increasingly customers are coming to us requiring custom built or tailored accommodation solutions and the investment in these facilities will mean we are able to offer the full range of services needed to fulfill their requirements and deliver projects to exact specification, on time and within budget. ”

The move to the new premises comes five years after the company first began operating in the North East of Scotland.

HB Rentals operates a fleet of more than 400 A60 units comprising a wide variety of 2 to 12 man accommodation cabins, galleys, laundry, recreation and mess rooms, gymnasiums, heliports, offices, laboratories, MWD, mudlogging and well-support cabins as well as other custom fit-outs as specified by its worldwide customer base.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) [NYSE: SAI] announced it was awarded a prime contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to provide deep ocean acoustic detection for Transformational Reliable Acoustic Path Systems (TRAPS). The single-award cost-plus fixed-fee contract has a fourteen-month base period of performance, one six-month option, and a total contract value of approximately $10 million if the option is exercised. 

 TRAPS is a fixed passive sonar node designed to achieve large-area coverage by exploiting advantages of operating from the deep seafloor.  Under a previous contract, SAIC completed the initial TRAPS prototype design under the Deep Sea Operations Program Phase 1B, part of the Distributed Agile Submarine Hunting program, and continued validation of the underlying scientific approach through the further analysis of available Navy datasets. In Phase 2, SAIC completed a highly successful deep ocean acoustic data collection using the primary sensor intended for the TRAPS prototype that validated key foundational hypothesis for this breakthrough approach.

 Under Phase 3 of the contract, SAIC will expand the number of prototype nodes to demonstrate a scalable distributed system prototype system to detect quiet submarines.  SAIC intends to supply DARPA with a capability to use systems of configurable technology to achieve Antisubmarine Warfare surveillance needs over large, operationally relevant deep ocean areas.

 "We're excited to continue to work with DARPA on this program, maintaining our commitment and focus on offering innovative solutions that will lead to a final sea test demonstration employing multiple long endurance nodes modified and tested for improved power efficiency, information assurance, enhanced signal processing and manufacturability," said John Fratamico, SAIC senior vice president and group general manager. 

 NorSea Group, Norway’s leading supplier of base services and integrated logistics systems to the oil and gas industry, has appointed Kim Christensen as its first UK General Manager to lead the group’s future developments in Scotland.

 He will head up NorSea Group (UK) Ltd, a new company within the Group, which has been established to reinforce the Group’s commitment to enhance its business activity in the UK. To support this, NorSea Group will open its first UK office in Aberdeen.

 The move follows NorSea Group’s recent announcements that it had signed an agreement with the Scrabster Harbour Trust in Caithness and formed a strategic working partnership with local logistics firm Hugh Simpson (Contractors) Ltd to develop Scotland’s most northerly mainland port as a one-stop supply base servicing the oil and gas industry.

 Mr Christensen’s initial focus will be to build on the existing Scrabster relationships and to move proposals forward to establish a base which will particularly benefit offshore operators and developments in the northern North Sea andEast/West of Shetland. He will do this through working closely with the local community to maximise benefits for the area.

 Alongside that, he will be responsible for identifying new business opportunities in the UKCS with an emphasis on North-East Scotland right up the coast to Orkney and Shetland.

 “NorSea Group (UK) Ltd anticipates expanding operations in Scotland by establishing a presence in additional strategic ports within the next two years.Many of the Norwegian companies we work with already have existing relationships with companies operating in the UK North Sea sector so there is already a good fit there,” says Knut Magne Johannessen, director of international and project operations in NorSea Group.

Seatronics Limited, an Acteon company, and Zetechtics Limited have signed a global representative agreement for the Jupiter range of subsea ROV intervention control systems and associated products.

The agreement includes the provision of rental equipment that will be held in all Seatronics’ locations: Brazil, Singapore, Australia and the UK. In addition to extensive pools of rental equipment, each location will hold a substantial sales stock, thereby offering a flexible and rapid response to all client requirements.

David Currie, managing director, Seatronics says: “Seatronics is a market leader in the rental and sale of marine electronic equipment and continues to offer the finest products and solutions to the subsea services sector. The Zetechtics agreement demonstrates our commitment to widening our portfolio of specialist ROV equipment and will further complement the Seatronics range. Both companies embody the quality-driven, market-leading approach demanded by customers in today’s subsea oil, gas and renewables sectors. The global coverage, in-house knowledge and enhanced value-added services that Seatronics can provide will, I am sure, lead to an increased level of interest in the Zetechtics product range.”

Tim Overfield, managing director, Zetechtics says: “This agreement provides professional worldwide availability of Jupiter products and services. As a result of the agreement Seatronics and Zetechtics clients can expect enhanced service and support across the entire range of Jupiter products.”

Orange Business Services has appointed Martin Denari as global director of the company’s industry sector focused on oil, gas and mining. With more than 25 years of international experience and executive leadership, Denari oversees the development of Orange’s communications and vertical-specific solutions for large exploration and production companies that operate on an international scale.

Oil, gas and miningare core vertical industries for Orange. With offices, refineries, extraction sites, ships and pipelines widely dispersed across the globe, sometimes in hard-to-reach places, both on and off shore, companies need to rely on a connected IT infrastructure and advanced communication services to support their development across the globe.

Exploration makes up the majority of costs for oil, gas and mining companies as they try to meet a growing demand for resources that are becoming scarce. These exploration regions present challenges in access, safety, retrieval and costs. In his new position, Denari will leverage Orange’s global reach covering 220 countries and territories and deep solution portfolio to design an ICT sustainable environment in which these companies can operate and develop. 

The Orange portfolio includes high-speed VPN and satellite connectivity, unified communications, cloud services, video conferencing, mobile access, M2M connectivity, data analytics and 40-plus years of industry expertise delivering these services to a number of isolated regions. For customers, this translates into more accurate tools for exploring resources, real-time collaboration between workers, fewer accidents, precise asset tracking, and better amenities for an onsite crew.


“The true value-add of Orange Business Services to the oil, gas and mining industry is making remote, isolated regions more hospitable and accessible for exploration and production,” said Denari, global director, oil, gas & mining vertical, Orange Business Services. “Customers can rely on Orange to expand beyond their environmental limits in pursuit of new opportunities”

Denari has a thorough background that mixes international business with a sophisticated grounding in engineering, communications and information technology. He has a successful track record, initiating start-ups in a number of different countries. Prior to coming to Orange, Denari served as CEO for such technology service providers as T-Systems Argentina, gedas Argentina (Volkswagen Group), and the Latin American unit of Baan. In the U.S., he served as an IT and business development manager for Halliburton energy services based in Houston, Texas. He also worked in several countries for Schlumberger in close contact with real-time data delivery activities between well sites and interpretation centers.

As SEA CON® continue their growth they are also continuing to find new ways to better serve their expanding market.  A prime example of this is SEA CON’s new Encapsulating & Molding facility in the West Houston area, opening to develop even greater levels of support both to the Gulf Coast region and internationally.

“There is clear evidence that the market is growing” says SEA CON’s Marketing Manager Melanie Harrison. “The demand on suppliers to increase manufacturing, design, support and customer service also grows in line with this upturn. This new facility is just one of a number of steps we will be taking to achieve our mission”.

Concurrent to this growth in demand is the need for suppliers to exhibit great flexibility and the ability to react quickly to customers needs both planned and unforeseen, while still maintaining high levels of quality and innovation.  Part of this solution is seen by SEA CON to include holding increased stock of most popular connectors to help fill an increasing need for short order custom assemblies.

SEA CON is passionate about the important issue of ensuring the needs of their clients are dealt with quickly and efficiently and the new installation will certainly enable them to meet growing needs and higher expectations. 

SEA CON currently has five main production facilities geared to the delivery of a mass production of subsea connectors. At times this can make it difficult to provide customers with short order custom assemblies. The new work shop will specialize in these short order needs of SEA CON clients, current and future.

The workshop will allow SEA CON to carry more stock of their most popular connectors to mainly benefit their existing customers who don’t necessarily need a molded assembly. Some of the product lines will include the Rubber Molded, WET-CON, ALL-WET and 55/66 series assemblies. Stocks of these are already held, but this new facility will see these stock levels increase.

Craig Newell, Vice President of Sales & Corporate Business Development said “Consistency throughout the business is paramount to our success and the launch of a new Encapsulation and Molding Workshop is just another example of our commitment to over deliver on the promise and work with an overt focus on the changing needs of our clients.” 

Blade Offshore Services have opened an office in Macaé, the centre of the oil industry in Brazil. The Company wishes to establish a permanent administrative base in Brazil to take advantage of the fast expanding energy market, and the growing demand for the Company's services in the region.

John Swingler, Drilling Services Director, is a Brazil resident and is delighted to oversee the latest BOS development. 'The move demonstrates the company's commitment to the region and it will help enormously to manage our activity in Brazil, which has expanded rapidly over the last few years to become a significant part of our global business. We are definitely now ''open for business'' in Brazil and look forward to developing our relationships with existing clients and partnering with new ones'.

Blade Offshore Services Brazil: Adress: Avenida Rui Barbosa, 1725 – 2nd Floor, Loja44F, Alto dos Cajueiros – Macaé/RJ Phone: +55 22 2765 7344

Wood Group Mustang announces Mark Brett director of business development for its Process Plants & Industrial Business Unit for its Martinez, Calif. location.  Brett will oversee the company's West Coast business development, expanding brand presence and strategic direction for the California and Pacific Northwest regions.

Brett brings 25 years of oil & gas expertise with concentrations in the upstream and downstream sectors to Wood Group Mustang.  His success includes operations management, business development, sales and marketing, and revenue and profit optimization.

Wood Group Mustang President, Process Plants & Industrial Curt Watson said, "Mark brings a wealth of knowledge to Wood Group Mustang's Process Plants & Industrial Business Unit, and I look forward to him taking our current and future West coast relationships to the next level."

Aker Solutions won a contract from Statoil to conduct an extended concept study for the floater for the Johan Castberg oilfield development in the Barents Sea. The contract, worth NOK 250 million, includes options for further work.

"This is an exciting opportunity to take part in the development of a major new oil field in northern Norway," says Per Harald Kongelf, regional president for Norway at Aker Solutions.

Aker Solutions has previously conducted concept studies for the Johan Castberg field, which is estimated to hold between 400 million and 600 million barrels of oil. The Statoil-operated field is located about 240 kilometres north-west of Hammerfest.

Executive Chairman of Marathon Oil Corp. and former Executive Vice President of Development & Production of Statoil ASA join the FMC Technologies Board of Directors

FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FTI) announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors.

The new board members are Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., Executive Chairman of Marathon Oil Corp., and Peter Mellbye, former Executive Vice President of Development & Production of Statoil ASA.

Mr. Mellbye will join the Board on October 1, 2013, and Mr. Cazalot will join the Board on December 1, 2013.

Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., Executive Chairman of Marathon Oil Corp.

Mr. Cazalot has been in leadership positions at Marathon Oil Corp. for the past 13 years, recently serving as Chairman, President and CEO. He currently serves as Executive Chairman. Prior to joining Marathon Oil Corp. in 2000, Mr. Cazalot served in various roles at Texaco, Inc. for 28 years. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Marathon Oil Corp. and is a member of the Board of Directors of Baker Hughes, Inc. Mr. Cazalot has a bachelor's degree in geology from Louisiana State University.

Peter Mellbye, former Executive Vice President of Development & Production of Statoil ASA

Mr. Mellbye served in leadership positions at Statoil ASA for 30 years. He most recently served as its Executive Vice President of Development & Production, International. Prior to joining Statoil, Mr. Mellbye worked for the Norwegian Trade Council and the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Ocean Installer, A/S, and is on the Board of Directors of Axis Offshore Pte. Ltd. Mr. Mellbye has a master's degree from the University of Oslo and a bachelor's degree from the University of Bergen.

Falmouth Scientific, Inc. (FSI), a global leader in precision oceanographic instrumentation and marine systems integration, is pleased to announce the addition of Unique System, L.L.C. to its family of manufacturer’s representatives.

Unique System has office locations in New Iberia, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. The company has achieved significant success over the years specializing in the supply of equipment for sale and rental to the diving and offshore industries in the Gulf of Mexico region. Unique System also extends the capabilities of the global Unique Maritime Group to companies operating within the North American subsea oil and gas, mining and construction sectors.

The partnership allows Unique System to expand their product portfolio and capabilities in these marketplaces, and will give FSI a local presence in the area. “We are excited to partner with Unique System as we grow our technology portfolio and customer base in these important segments” said an FSI spokesman.

Falmouth Scientific offers sensor based products such as portable low frequency seismic systems; current, wave, and tide meters; solutions for drilling & vortex induced vibration monitoring; portable sidescan sonar system; and other acoustics-based underwater instrumentation. Service areas include custom design, development, integration, and production of marine systems and acoustic transducers; and manufacturing services such as prototyping, product assembly, encapsulation (potting), calibration, and pressure testing.

FoundOcean, the largest dedicated offshore construction grouting company in the world, today announced the opening of its newest office in Houston, Texas to support its expansion overseas.


"Houston is recognized as the energy capital of the world, with almost half of its economic activity driven by the energy industry - particularly oil & gas. It provides a perfect base for FoundOcean to continue with its growing activities in the Americas," says Managing Director Jim Bell. 



FoundOcean has completed more than 100 offshore projects in US and Canadian waters for world-class installation contractors including McDermott, Cal Dive, Heerema, Saipem, Subsea 7, and Technip. These range from compliant tower foundation grouting, to record-breaking deep-water fabric formwork deployments for pipeline repair installations. 



The DNV-accredited company has invested heavily in its grout mixing technology to ensure fast, efficient, and safe offshore operations. 



Amir R. Mirza, International Business Development Manager, will be based at the Houston site supporting the organization’s clients in the region and developing business opportunities in the North, Central and South American oil & gas markets.

Unique System FZE, a Unique Maritime Group company, which is one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers, has announced the joining of Martin Bolton as the new Division Head for its Oil & Gas Division for the Middle East Region.  He will be based at Unique’s head office in Sharjah in the UAE.

His main responsibilities will include leading and developing the Oil & Gas Division’s team and to ensure that the high product quality, technical and customer service continues to fulfill customer expectations. His main role will be to further expand the Oil & Gas division amid offering a new range of services to the existing clients as well as a new set of clients in the Middle East Region. A few of these services would be Well Head maintenance, Refurbishment of Wellheads, internal and external casing cutting, Slot recoveries, Permanent Abandonments, Supply of High Pressure High Temperature Risers ( HPHT ) ,Supply of Low Pressure Risers, Supply of Double Studded Adapters ( DSA ), tension systems/ tension rings, Overshots, etc. With his primacy, we would soon be targeting a geographical expansion by exploring the competitive Middle Eastern territories of KSA and Kuwait to offer our portfolio of products and services.

Martin started his early career by working as a Service Technician and then as a Field Service and Subsea Service Engineer, for companies such as Weatherford, Vetco Gray and Dril-Quip which acquainted him to the running, installation and maintenance of equipment, and to the overall project completion. He rapidly advanced in his career and worked as a Business Development Manager and General Manager (Sales) over the past 9 years with Claxton, an Acteon Group company. All through his career, Martin has actively managed sales activities and opportunities, while also providing valuable technical and engineering assistance to clients.

On this occasion, Sahil Gandhi, Director @ Unique Maritime Group said, “We are extremely delighted to have Martin Bolton on board to further expand our Oil & Gas Division. He has remarkable experience in the Middle East region and his phenomenal sales, engineering and business development skills will invigorate our market share in the Oil & Gas sector which till date has not been deeply explored.”

Martin Bolton asserted, “I am delighted to be offered this challenging role to help develop Unique’s Oil & Gas division in the Middle East region. I hope to use my expertise to target new clients in this important market sector and target new products too, also add value to the services that the company already has to offer, and focus on customers’ needs and satisfaction.”

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) (“McDermott” or the “Company”) announces that John T. McCormack, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has advised the Company of his intention to retire, effective in the fourth quarter of this year. Mr. McCormack (age 66) has been with McDermott for ten years and has held his current role since 2011.

“I would like to thank Jack for his decade of contribution to McDermott,” said Stephen M. Johnson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of McDermott, “His commitment and knowledge of the business have earned him the respect of employees and customers around the world, and we extend our best wishes to Jack for his retirement.”

An internal and external search effort is underway for a successor, whom the Company expects to name in the near-term to provide for a smooth transition

Wood Group Mustang names Bob Lindsay CEng MIMechE president of the Offshore Business Unit, leading its global strategic direction and development.

A native of Australia, Lindsay brings to the table 35 years of management experience in international offshore business operations, having held various senior and executive management roles. His expertise includes design, construction, project management and business development of oil & gas production facilities that have included assignments in the UK, Brazil, Korea, South Africa, US and Australia.

Lindsay holds a Master of Business Administration from The Open University in the UK, a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Western Australia Institute of Technology and an Associateship in mechanical engineering (Bachelor of Science equivalent) from Western Australia Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Institute of Petroleum, the Institute of Engineers (Australia) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Wood Group Executive Vice President Michele McNichol shared, "Bob's personable and team-focused style, combined with his depth of offshore business operations, makes him a natural fit at Wood Group Mustang. It was of paramount importance to find a leader who not only has the technical and international business talent required for the job, but who also embodies our people-oriented culture."