ASCO announces the renewal of a significant contract in Norway. The award with BP Norge emphasises the established geographic scope of ASCO’s Norwegian operations as well as the value placed on its integrated approach to logistics management.

The supply services contract will be delivered across Norway, providing support in Tananger and Farsund, as well as further services in the northerly base of Sandnessjøen.

ASCO will continue to provide BP with support relating to quayside handling, local transport, cargo carrying units (CCU) and waste management, inventory and materials management, customs compliance and storage. They will also manage services within aviation, logistics/marine, and material management.

The contract has 3 x 3 year options and this marks the start of the first option period which will run until Q1 2019.

Runar Hatletvedt, Managing Director, Northern Europe at ASCO said: ‘We look forward to continuing and strengthening our valued relationship with BP. This renewal demonstrates ASCO’s capability to provide comprehensive oilfield support services packages that deliver vital efficiency gains.

‘ASCO’s capabilities in Norway are far reaching, and this extension provides recognition of the value this brings to our clients.’

‘Next Generation Marine Power & Propulsion’ is a fast moving networking event that focuses on viable solutions for vessels of all sizes. Over 20 expert speakers will highlight a range of unique opportunities.

The program covers three phases; ‘Here and Now Technology’ - considers how the UK and global marine industry can utilize the latest engineering. ‘Next Generation Systems’ - are within a few years of commercial release. ‘Innovation and Future Possibilities’ - are pushing the boundaries far and wide.

The event is being held at the Grand Harbour, Southampton from 26 to 28 April 2016. Attendees at the two day Conference and one day Workshop include commercial and military end-user organizations, boat builders, engine manufacturers, mechanical & electrical engineers, naval architects and legislators.

The unique style of this event brings together an international group of experts armed with the latest knowledge to highlight the potential use of innovative power and propulsion systems. The objective is to identify a range of genuine solutions for workboats, pilot boats, wind farm support vessels, survey vessels, scientific research craft, fishing vessels, superyachts, patrol craft, military and unmanned craft.

Alan Priddy is a world leader in offshore expeditions who has powerboated and sailed around the world in both directions. He holds 37 records and knows what type of craft is required to break the World Powerboat Circumnavigation Record of 61 days. His presentation captures that spirit, ‘They said it could never be done - the scientific and engineering approach to the manufacture and use of emulsified fuels.’

Captain Don Cockrill, Secretary General of the UK Maritime Pilots Association, looks at ‘Powering the modern port - ships, tugs and the hidden fleet of support vessels.’ Johnny Lindstrom, Chairman of the National Marine Electronics Association, is flying in from the US with technical support globally for the fast emerging technologies, ‘Integrating vessel management systems using the NMEA 2000 protocol’.

Conference organizer, John Haynes, said, ‘Most people in the marine industry are time poor and know that their job list grows when they are out of the office, plus a lot of information can now be gathered from the internet. We have to innovate and use people’s time effectively.’ Next Generation events are dynamic and relevant, with focus on long breaks to encourage networking. John Haynes added, ‘We know that having the right people onboard is essential and there is no substitute for meeting the experts face to face.’

BAE Systems HybriDrive, XALT Energy and Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (SMMI) are lead supporters of the event. Day two of the conference ends with a guided tour of the SMMI facility, located alongside Lloyd's Register, at the new £140m Boldrewood Innovation Campus at Southampton University. SMMI is a unique centre of excellence, bringing together a research, innovation and education community.

The workshop day looks at ‘new marine energy’. Fast moving sessions focus on informal discussion and industry experience from subject matter experts including Lloyds Register and DNV-GL. A relevant topic is high energy battery installations, including Lithium-ion. The ‘hybrid’ sessions focus on simple and viable business cases for next generation vessels of all sizes. This is not just green energy for the sake of it as presenters highlight how fuel can be saved, maintenance costs reduced and engine life extended.

Boat builders, engine OEMs and specialist component manufacturers now recognise that they need to work together to develop next generation systems that fit the changing requirements of modern fleets. The unique knowledge gained from presentations and networking sessions will help to shape long term decisions that lead to improvements for in-service systems and procurement of next generation vessels.

Next Generation Marine Power & Propulsion Conference

One of the UK’s largest oil producer’s employee development and competency system has been recognized as amongst the best in the world after it secured coveted approval from industry skills organization OPITO.

Designed to ensure high quality performance and safe working practice, the Competence Management System (CMS) approval guarantees personnel working on all three of Nexen Petroleum UK Limited’s North Sea assets - Buzzard, Scott and Golden Eagle - are performing their roles to global best practice criteria.

Nexen fully embraced the opportunity to implement the OPITO scheme by deploying around a third of its UK-based workforce to deliver the challenge – this reduced the overall timeframe to achieve OPITO’s high standards of excellence. The workscope involved developing and enhancing Nexen’s own in-house process and led to more robust roles and responsibilities being identified and created within the organization.

To gain approval, OPITO carried out a series of audits covering 15 different safety critical roles across the business, including offshore installation managers, superintendents, supervisors, lead technicians and technicians.

Achieving full approval demonstrates Nexen’s commitment to mitigating risk and ensuring the continual development of its workforce.

John McDonald, managing director of OPITO UK, said: “Having a system for managing workforce competence independently approved to industry best practice not only ensures there is measured development of employees' skills sets, it helps to set and maintain a framework for continuous improvement and performance management, driving efficiencies and delivering cost benefits across a business.

“The assurance of a skilled and competent workforce is a vital tool in helping companies succeed in the current climate, but more importantly, it ensures that we continue to build a sustainable industry for the future. It is extremely encouraging to see an operator like Nexen raising the bar for the rest of the industry by investing in its North Sea workforce in this way.”

Ray Riddoch, UK Managing Director UK and SVP Europe said: “This was a tremendous team effort involving several departments across Nexen collaborating together and involved around 135 personnel who carried out this challenging task with diligence and integrity over an extended period ensuring that a Best In Class system was delivered and one can be sustained long term.”

Nexen has plans to develop the OPITO approved CMS further and extend it throughout its global operations in the near future.

Aker Solutions secured a global framework agreement to deliver engineering and project management services at BP-operated subsea oil and gas fields.

The contract has a fixed period of five years and may be extended by two years. It covers subsea engineering services, asset integrity management and operations support.

"We are delighted to partner with BP in finding cost-effective solutions to boost productivity and optimize the infrastructure of the company's subsea fields," said Luis Araujo, Aker Solutions' chief executive officer. "We have provided subsea operations support to BP in the UK for more than 15 years and look forward to building on this partnership with a global agreement."

Aker Solutions will execute the work through a global delivery model.

Both parties agreed not to disclose the contract value.

Damen Anchor & Chain Factory (AKF) has shown it remains expert in welding following the renewal of its ISO certification. The certificates; ISO 9001 and ISO 3834 welding procedure show AKF follows stringent quality management systems and has strict procedures in place for its welders and welding procedures.

“The ISO 3834 welding procedure is a foundation for Damen Anchor & Chain Factory for its future strategy in meeting the market demands in custom made towing chains and the repair of towing and hoisting equipment,” explained Laurens van Gelder, General Manager of AKF. “Offshore companies and steel mills require us to have certain procedures in place and of course want to be assured they are receiving quality standards in welding jobs. Receiving our renewal shows we remain experts in the field of welding.”

The certification addresses all aspects of design and fabrication of welded components, including welding procedure specifications, quality control and quality assurance during welding.

In order to receive the qualification, AKF had to demonstrate its welding and procedures are of the highest quality and use quality components. Welders have extensive training and experience, their skills are verified and comply with all applicable codes and standards.

Mr. Van Gelder added: “Most of the well-known offshore companies in the field of oil and gas and steel mills requiring heavy duty hoisting equipment already know where to find us. Being an anchor and chain producer from origin, Damen Anchor & Chain Factory is among the world’s most experienced companies to handle such requests.”

The welding certification, which is part of ISO 9001, was first obtained in 2012 and covers hoisting and towing equipment, anchors and chains. ISO 9001 was first obtained in 1998.

Veripos, a leading global supplier of high-precision GNSS positioning services to the offshore oil and gas industries, has extended its ranges of proprietary software with introduction of Quantum, a new all-purpose suite of visualization modules providing a state-of-the-art user interface for delivery of next-generation services and features.

Designed to operate with all current Veripos positioning options including its latest Apex5 multi-constellation PPP service, the new software has been developed with significant input from a wide range of users by way of simplifying any system configuration while easing methods of interpretation. Other advances include integral diagnostic functions for simple identification of any operational problems together with indications of likely solutions.

Visualization modules can also be operated independently without affecting concurrent positioning calculations which might otherwise be feeding critical survey or vessel systems. At the same time the Quantum framework comprises a series of different modules to meet a variety of specific operational tasks such as those necessary for hydrographic and seismic surveying as well as dynamic positioning. Its versatility also extends to providing a basic foundation for accommodating new modules or features.

Okeanus Science and Technology (Okeanus) has introduced the FlexSEA Modular Flotation System (FlexSEA) as part of its portfolio of flotation equipment available for rent. Okeanus will be the exclusive provider of FlexSEA, engineered by SeaRobotics Corporation (SeaRobotics).

FlexSEA modules are configurable to supply different amounts of buoyancy for a variety of payload sizes and weight conditions. The mounting arrangements are designed so that standard Remotely Operated Vehicle manipulators can be used to remove, untether or detach some or all of the temporary flotation modules after use; this allows for recovery and re-use. The modules can be of equal size, or modules of different sizes can be configured to be attachable and detachable to form arrays. The arrays provide buoyancy to a wide variety of subsea modules, tools, instrumentation packages, vehicles and submersibles. Depth ratings of 2000 to 4000 meters of seawater are available.

“Listening to experts in the field of subsea equipment deployment, we were able to address some of the shortcomings of current products. The FlexSEA modules will provide improved efficiency and flexibility, enabling more cost effective equipment deployments”, commented Don Darling, President of SeaRobotics.

“The addition of the FlexSEA buoyancy line of products to our existing portfolio of flotation rental equipment is very exciting, as these modules were engineered and designed to take a ‘building block approach’ to a very critical component when working with ROV’s in a subsea environment” stated Benton LeBlanc, President and General Manager of Okeanus. “Being a fully customizable solution, we at Okeanus can put together a buoyancy package to fit the exact needs of our customer, eliminating waste and allowing our customers to realize a considerable cost savings.”

UTEC Survey, an Acteon company, has appointed Zamil Group as its partner agent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The appointment allows UTEC Survey to support projects undertaken by its clients actively involved with ARAMCO ‘LTA’ contracting agreements. These contracts include significant offshore brownfield support projects involving pipeline and platform infrastructure upgrades over a seven-year cycle.

UTEC Survey Regional Manager, Sean Fowler commented that: “We were extremely selective in choosing the correct partner to work with in Saudi Arabia. Since 1930, Zamil have created Saudi Arabia’s largest and most diversified trading organizations. Their core values and innovative spirt are aligned with UTEC. Additionally, Zamil provide us with enhanced capabilities through their vessel fleet and marine services division.”

Commenting on the agreement, Zamil Group said: “We are delighted to represent UTEC in Saudi Arabia providing gateway services into the world’s largest oil producer, ARAMCO. We look forward to developing new opportunities and a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

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IHC IQIP has officially launched its new S-4000 Hydrohammer pile-driving system. The Royal IHC business unit’s latest development in hydraulic impact hammers is the largest available on the market, and enables the installation of offshore foundations in even the toughest ground conditions with the largest type of monopile. It‘s also suitable for applications in the oil and gas industry.

As offshore wind farms are predicted to move further offshore into deeper waters, the demand for larger monopiles and, subsequently, larger hammers is also expected to increase. Built using proven technology, the Hydrohammer has a strike power of 4,000kJ, which is the most competitive piling outputs currently available.

The S-4000’s slim body design allows for easy handling and can be used in parallel with other IHC IQIP systems, such as the Noise Mitigation System (NMS) and existing pile sleeves (from 108” to 6.5m in diameter). Oil supply has also been upgraded through the implementation of new 3” hydraulic hoses, which can also be easily stored on deck with the Hose Reel 12-80 series.

In addition, the lifting and movement of the hammer has been improved thanks to the new up-end cradles that facilitate easier transportation. Through the development of this supplementary technology, IHC IQIP has been seeking to proactively support the market demand for larger hammer specifications.

IHC IQIP has already supplied a fully operational S-4000 unit to DEME Group’s offshore marine engineering division GeoSea, which specialises in complex engineering projects. The relationship between IHC and GeoSea has long been productive, and the handover period of the S-4000 was a successful one. It has been delivered to the 41.3km² Nordsee One offshore wind farm project in the German North Sea, which has an average water depth of between 25 and 29m. GeoSea already successfully installed more than 10 monopiles with the S-4000, after installing the first 30 monopiles with the Hydrohammer S-3000.

IHC IQIP’s Remco Lowenthal says: “We are delighted that the S-4000 is already proving a success for GeoSea. We have a reliable partnership with them, and it is gratifying to see the confidence they have in us and our technology. The experience and expertise that has gone into the design of the S-4000 will allow us to operate effectively on future projects all over the world, regardless of the conditions.”

Marsol International, an UAE-based global marine solutions provider focused on the offshore oil terminal market and related infrastructure, has been awarded two contracts in Oman.

The first contract involves a Single Point Mooring (SPM) change out, including the removal of the existing aging structures followed by installation of new buoys. The second contract involves providing and managing all marine and offshore activities related to tanker loadings via an SPM offshore marine terminal, including marine works, vessels, equipment and manpower.

Marsol personnel during the SPM change-out in Oman

Mike Young, Director of Marsol International, said: “We’re delighted to have secured these contracts in Oman, which allow us to utilise elements of our long-term asset integrity management service. By assessing the operational environment and integrity of assets, combined with our robust project management and engineering capabilities, we can retain and enhance the value of our customers’ assets.

“We have always worked closely with clients to ensure we develop holistic marine solutions that drive forward efficiencies in capital and operating expenditure, and these contracts allow us to further extend our offering in the region.”

Since 2005, based on experienced gained over 47 years, Marsol International has provided operational engineering and management solutions to clients, consultants and EPC contractors for new offshore terminal facilities, and operational integrity management and IRM services of existing facilities to offshore terminal owners and operators.

Sparrows Group has secured an initial five-year contract to deliver cranes and maintenance services at one of the North Sea’s largest and most prestigious new developments in over a decade.

The firm will supply Statoil’s Mariner development on the UK Continental Shelf with crane operator personnel to support drilling, operations, maintenance and logistics, and will deliver maintenance and engineering services to ensure the availability and reliability of the Mariner A platform’s two pedestal cranes.

Options to extend the contract mean it could potentially run for a total of nine years.

Stewart Mitchell, chief executive officer at Sparrows Group, said: “As the longest-established North Sea crane engineering company, it is an honor to be involved as work begins on one of the most high profile projects the region has seen in many years. We hope Mariner has a long and successful life ahead of it.

“The platform will be subject to high levels of lifting activity with both the north and south cranes working to support the drilling operations, so our experienced operators and maintenance personnel will be integral to ensuring optimal operational performance.”

Statoil has already engaged Sparrows Group’s engineering team to support them with the integration of the cranes’ and mechanical handling equipment during the platform’s construction phase which is currently ongoing in South Korea.

Mariner A will be equipped with A-frame, lattice boom cranes mounted on fixed pedestals. The two crane capacities are 50 ton capacity at 40 meter radius and 17 ton capacity at maximum radius of 60m.

Full provision of training and competency services is included in the contract, along with equipment modification, upgrade and replacement components, as well as repair and maintenance of equipment onshore.

The Mariner Field is located approximately 150 kilometers east of the Shetland Isles and consists of two shallow reservoir sections. The Maureen Formation sits at 1492 meters with the Heimdal reservoir at 1227 meters.

Due to begin operation in 2018, it is expected that the field will contribute more than 250 mmbbls reserves with average plateau production of around 55,000 barrels per day. Mariner is expected to have a 30-year field life.

Conductor Installation Services Ltd (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, announced that James Chadd has been appointed Managing Director. As of 1 April 2016, Chadd will be responsible for overseeing the fulfilment of all strategic initiatives, as well as driving day-to-day execution of business globally.

“Having worked with James since founding the company in 2005, I am extremely confident that he will continue to build upon CIS’s solid track record of achievement and service excellence,” said Andy Penman, outgoing Group Managing Director of CIS. “In addition to his valuable skill set and in-depth knowledge of the global conductor- and pile installation industry, his commitment to the growth and development of CIS makes him the ideal choice for this leadership position.”

Prior to his promotion, Chadd served as Group Technical Sales Manager for the past eight years. During this time he carried out business development and technical sales outreach in Europe, Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Previously, he worked as Offshore Conductor Installation Supervisor before being promoted to the post of Technical Sales Engineer in 2006. Before joining CIS, Chadd worked as a Conductor Installation Engineer in the field – both onshore and offshore - installing conductors and piles around the world for nearly four years for BJ Tubular Services.

CIS, a member of Acteon’s Conductors, Risers and Flowlines group, provides conductor and pile installation services associated with construction projects carried out in the global oil and gas industry. These services are carried out both onshore and offshore to, for example, create foundations for new wells, platforms, bridges and jetties.

The range of services provided by CIS supports the Acteon Group’s commitment to defining subsea services across a range of interconnected disciplines.

Intertek, a leading global quality solutions provider, has been appointed by FAB Link Ltd. to provide marine environmental and planning support for the France-Alderney-Britain (FAB) Project - a proposed electrical interconnector situated underwater between France and Great Britain via the island of Alderney.

A 1400MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) electricity interconnector project that will connect the French and British electricity grids. The project will consist of two pairs of electrical cables, a converter station at each end, and connections into the high voltage grids at each end. The interconnector will travel nearly 220 km between the electrical substations at Menuel, on the Cotentin peninsula in France, and near Exeter, Devon, England and is scheduled to commence construction in 2018.

As marine specialists with extensive interconnector project experience in the UK and internationally, Intertek will be responsible for coordinating pre-application consultation, consent applications and consent compliance activities for FAB Link’s offshore infrastructure between UK landfall and southern extent of Alderney waters. This will include delivery of a marine license application to the Marine Management Organization (MMO) in England and a Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) license application to the States of Guernsey for protection of the seabed required during the cable installation process.

Frank Beiboer, Managing Director of Intertek Energy & Water, said: “With a submarine power cable track record which spans more than 15 years and 10 interconnector projects, we are pleased to have been selected by FAB Link and look forward to working closely with their project team to develop this major international offshore infrastructure project.”

Intertek has extensive interconnector project experience including cable routing constraints and feasibility studies, route engineering, and survey management.

This project is being jointly developed by RTE and FAB Link Limited. FAB Link Ltd is a joint venture company of Transmission Investment LLP and Alderney Renewable Energy Ltd. RTE is the French transmission system operator of the electricity grid.

The project will allow a maximum transmission of 1400MW to help meet the need for increased capacity of energy trade between the two countries and thus contribute to the energy transition in Europe. The project is also designed to provide a route to market for marine renewable energy planned to be constructed in the seas around Alderney.

FAB has been recognized as a “Project of Common Interest” by the European Union following support received from both the French and UK governments. The FAB project has received funding from the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility.

Intertek’s Energy & Water provide the power transmission & renewables, oil & gas, water utility, and ports & harbours sectors with technical solutions to complex environmental and regulatory challenges throughout their project life cycle.

Harris CapRock Communications will install its Harris CapRock One system on Transocean’s entire fleet as part of a multi-year contract renewal for complete managed communications services. The contract provides satellite communications services and includes the industry’s most intelligent communications service on all current vessels, as well as pending new builds.

Image credit: Harris CapRock Communications

“Harris CapRock is providing us with a complete communications solution founded on breakthrough technology that delivers robust, always-on service anywhere in the world,” said Steve Fraser, IT director, Transocean. “They offered us the flexibility to control our costs and the ability to be more agile in responding to the market.”

The managed end-to-end communications solution includes teleport and satellite services, backhaul, dedicated bandwidth for crew internet, traffic optimization and cyber security services. The upgrade to Harris CapRock One will provide improved system performance while reducing downtime and maintenance costs. The new solution will more than double available bandwidth for the Transocean fleet, while providing a single worldwide bandwidth price. The pricing model simplifies forecasting and planning for the fleet situated in locations such as the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, Asia Pacific, Africa’s West Coast and United Arab Emirates.

“We are delighted with Transocean’s decision to upgrade to the Harris CapRock One solution as part of their contract renewal,” said Tracey Haslam, president, Harris CapRock. “Harris CapRock One will not only improve reliability and lower costs, but provide future-proof technology for Transocean’s operations moving forward.”

Turner Designs now offers a C6P Submersible Sensor package enabling up to six sensors in a corrosion resistant, highly durable, Delrin plastic housing able to withstand even the harshest of environments.

Modeled after the popular C3, the C6P can be configured with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 optical sensors ranging from deep UV to IR. An antifouling copper plate and a mechanical wiper are available as options to minimize bio-fouling on and around the sensors.

Each C6P comes with a factory installed temperature sensor; factory-installed depth sensors are available. A large internal data storage capacity, low power requirements, and a high capacity external submersible lithium ion battery allow for long-term deployments. Specialized firmware is available when integrating the C6P with continuous sampling systems that require 24/7 data collection via data streaming.

Standard optical kits are available for detecting: in vivo Chlorophyll (blue or red), Crude Oil, Refined Fuels, CDOM/FDOM (dissolved organic material), Blue/Green Algae, Fluorescein Dye, Rhodamine Dye, PTSA Dye, Optical Brighteners, Tryptophan, and Turbidity. The C6P can also be configured with custom optics for specific applications. The C6P is rated to a depth of 600m.

Prysmian Group, a world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, appointed Cristiano Tortelli, who joined the Group as Senior Vice President, to lead the newly created Oil & Gas Business Area that incorporates all of the Group’s activities in the industry, including umbilicals and flexible systems, down-hole technologies and core cables.

“The new Business Area will operate across the entire Oil & Gas supply chain. Technology will play a key role in meeting the new industry challenges, supported by a strong project management organization”, stated Cristiano Tortelli. “In the context of today’s oil prices, collaboration with Oil Companies and Industrial Service providers will be a key strategy in redefining the new industry standards, as well as a means to simplify the way capital projects are executed”, he added.

Cristiano Tortelli has a long international experience in the Oil & Gas industry. During his career he covered several key roles in GE Oil & Gas. Later he joined Air Liquide Group leading globally the Engineering & Solution organization.