Claxton Engineering Services Ltd, an Acteon company, is celebrating its 30th anniversary of successful operations in offshore and subsea engineering. The company has grown extensively since it began in the UK in 1985 and now employs approximately 150 people in offices across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

In October, Claxton’s managing director, Laura Claxton, was nominated and shortlisted for the prestigious Businesswoman of the Year award at the 33rd Vitalise Women of the Year Luncheon & Awards. This was in recognition of her role in supporting Claxton’s successful growth in the UK and internationally; the company’s annual turnover almost quadrupled between 2006 and 2014.

Laura Claxton said, “I am very proud of what Claxton has achieved over the last 30 years. We are now a genuinely international business, having worked in 35 different countries across six continents. Our staff has 1000 years of combined industry experience between them. Our ethos of strong service and delivery and a commitment to our customers has enabled us to provide engineering and services that match and often exceed those of much larger competitors.”

Dannie Claxton, technical director, Claxton, added, “The oil and gas market has changed significantly over the last 30 years and Claxton’s customer requirements have changed with it. More so than ever, operators are under pressure to deliver projects safely, quickly and efficiently. Claxton continually adapts its offshore engineering and support services, and uses its extensive in-house capabilities and experience to deliver value for its clients through the development of new technologies to tight schedules or using smarter methodologies.”

Claxton has designed and supplied more than 3000 custom-built solutions to customers; installed more than 5,000 conductor guide centralisers; built up a rental pool of more than 4000 items; completed more than 280 decommissioning projects; and produced and run 1,460 m (1,129 t) of high-pressure, subsea drilling risers.

Claxton has also achieved several industry firsts. In 2009, Claxton supplied the world’s first 12,200-psi, high-pressure, high-temperature riser technology. The company also pioneered the positive-grip tension ring and designed and built the largest tensioning system in the world at 1000 t. Claxton also performed the first rigless well abandonment in the North Sea in the Leman field for Perenco and, in 2014, completed the first rigless removal of a stuck bottomhole assembly during slot recovery.

Laura Claxton concluded, “By continually striving to respond and adapt to customers’ needs, we have built an enviable reputation and a robust suite of products and services that we are truly proud of. Across our entire product range, from a pre-drilling template, to a complete riser system, to decommissioning and extending the life of assets, you will find innovation drawn from our team’s passion for solving operating challenges. We look forward to rising to the challenges that lie ahead over the next 30 years.”

Claxton has created an infographic of 30 company facts to mark its 30th birthday.

McDermott International, Inc., (NYSE:MDR) has announced it has received regulatory approval for its McDermott Marine Construction Ghana Limited (MMCGL) joint venture to pursue key offshore opportunities in Ghana. McDermott and MMCGL officials made the announcement during the 2015 Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Petroleum Commission Ghana notified MMCGL that it has been granted regulatory approval to develop contracting abilities to support the country’s burgeoning subsea and offshore engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) industry.

“This critical approval opens the way for McDermott’s participation for growth in Ghana with partner Hydra Group of Accra,” said Robert Gillespie, McDermott’s Commercial Director for Europe and Africa. “From its inception, the goal for the MMCGL joint venture is to support local growth and experience transfer in Ghana to ensure delivery of effective offshore solutions.”

Delali Otchi, CEO of Hydra Group, said the important regulatory approval “is just the beginning for the MMCGL joint venture to bring local and international expertise in support of the development and growth of Ghana’s offshore oil and gas industry.”

iSURVEY, a leading provider of survey and positioning services to the global oil and gas, offshore renewables and telecommunications markets, has secured a framework contract with Total E&P UK Limited for the provision of rig move navigation and positioning services.

Andrew McMurtrie, managing director at iSURVEY Offshore Limited

With an Effective Date of 12 October 2015, the three year framework contract will give the iSURVEY team the opportunity to provide platform, rig and vessel-based positioning services to Total’s offshore operations in the UKCS.

Total currently has multiple drilling rigs on hire, all of which have the potential to require positioning during moving operations.

Andrew McMurtrie, managing director of iSURVEY, said: “This framework contract award is testament to the quality of work and results iSURVEY regularly provides for our clients. It is extremely promising to see that the services offered by iSURVEY are being recognised within the industry.

“Having launched our Aberdeenshire base in 2014, the past year has seen iSURVEY’s UK side of operations grow in a very short space of time, and we look forward to continuing the expansion of our services and working closely with Total over the coming years.”

Brazil remains a development area for the oil and gas industry, so to effectively service its customers in the region, Trelleborg’s offshore operation has invested in two new regional appointments.

Project Manager, Rafael Campos handles local contracts to provide clients with quicker and more efficient support on the ground. Sales Manager, Bruno Matos aims to grow relationships with local customers and associations, as well as support the business by building a knowledge of local market trends.

Richard Beesley, Commercial Director of Trelleborg’s offshore operation in Brazil, comments: “We understand that our presence in Brazil is vital to providing high quality communication, understanding and support for our local customers. Since our customers are hugely important to us, we are investing in training and developing our Brazil-based teams to support the growing needs of the region.”

Trelleborg has secured a contract to supply Drill Riser Buoyancy Modules (DRBM) for drill ships that will operate in Brazil in Q2 2016 and is scheduled for delivery from late 2015 into early 2016 to one of the major leading drilling companies in the world.

Beesley continues: This contract firmly establishes Trelleborg as a leading supplier of Drill Riser Buoyancy Modules for the Brazilian new build market. Through our ongoing focus and investment in ground breaking innovation, technology and skilled personnel, we strive to perform at every level to meet our customer’s needs globally.

This is a continuation of our long-standing commitment to developing innovative products and sophisticated materials designed specifically to exceed market requirements and meet the demands of increasing service depths for the global offshore drilling segment.

” In order to reduce a drilling riser’s net weight in water, and ensure that the structure and drilling vessel are supported, Trelleborg offers tailor made DRBMs which are fitted around the length of the riser pipe, improving the riser’s buoyancy and protecting it from service damage.

Global marine technology company, Kongsberg Maritime has appointed a new business manager for the Offshore Production division of its Kongsberg Maritime Ltd base in Aberdeen.

David Wilson has over 27 years’ experience in the marine engineering industry, the vast majority of which has been spent with Kongsberg Maritime. He has played an integral role within a number of teams, holding key positions within technical sales and business development, covering Offshore Support, Offshore Survey and Construction, Merchant Shipping, Marine Research and Naval markets.

David Wilson, newly appointment business manager of Offshore Production, Kongsberg Maritime Ltd

Since 2012, David has held the position of general manager, Kongsberg Maritime Middle East DMCCO (Dubai) and returns to Aberdeen to manage the company’s Offshore Production division, focusing on its integrated control and safety systems (ICSS), which allow operators to control complex production facilities, using Kongsberg’s unique “The Full Picture” philosophy.

Commenting on David’s appointment, Frank McLean, general manager of Kongsberg Maritime Ltd’s Aberdeen base said: “David brings a wealth of experience to our Offshore Production division, having an impressive track record of sales and business development across the company.

“This is a period of challenge for the offshore industry, and there is no doubt that David has the capacity to strengthen Kongsberg’s offering of attractive full-scale integrated asset management solutions and services to our customers.”

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Wilson said: “My focus in the Middle East was customer support, and this will be valuable on my return to lead the Offshore Production team in Aberdeen. Kongsberg Maritime currently has topside automation on several oil and gas production units in the UK sector, and recent major contract wins with Statoil (Mariner) and BWO (Catcher) demonstrate clear market recognition of our strengthening capabilities.

“I look forward to working with our customers to continue to offer the very best solutions, products and services.”

Global-leading energy services company Proserv has secured a contract with a value of more than 20 million NOK (approx. £1.6 million) to provide topside control equipment at one of the largest field discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The agreement will see Proserv supplying Aibel, on behalf of Statoil, with a hydraulic power unit (HPU) and three chemical injection panels to be used on the prestigious Johan Sverdrup development’s drilling platform.

To deliver the products, Proserv will make the most of its international network with staff at Proserv’s base in Norway working in collaboration with their Dubai colleagues.

Contract win underpins Proserv’s track record of developing existing technologies that can co-exist together and be retrofitted.

Henrik Johnson, Proserv’s regional president for Scandinavia, said: “To be involved with such a high-profile development is a major endorsement of Proserv’s capabilities. Our global footprint and reputation for working effectively across the company’s international operations, combined with our track record of developing existing technologies that can co-exist together and be retrofitted, played a key role in securing this contract.

“As a result, this ensures innovative and cost-effective solutions to clients while this latest contract also further secures jobs in what is a testing time for the oil & gas industry as a whole.”

The work is due for completion by June 2016 and the HPU will be delivered with remote controlled cleaning system for hydraulic oil.

Proserv’s chemical injection panels will service a total of 80 injection lines. The panels allow for each line to be remotely operated and monitored for flowrate and pressure.

Proserv, which operates worldwide through 29 operating centers based in 11 countries, has a 40-year track record in delivering world-class solutions for the energy industry, particularly in the drilling, production and subsea market sectors.

International oilfield support services company, ASCO has announced its decision to divest the majority of the Company’s non oil and gas-related waste services following a strategic review of its portfolio. The bulk of these services operate from Enviroco’s Sheffield facility.

On 27th October 2015, Biffa Waste Services Ltd agreed to purchase ASCO’s waste management site in Sheffield. Employees affected by this sale (around 20 personnel) will transfer to Biffa’s employment under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations.

This move reinforces ASCO’s ongoing commitment to its oil and gas business.

CEO Alan Brown said:

‘We have been very open about the fact ASCO’s core focus exists within the Oil and Gas industry. In line with this strategy, it makes sense for us to streamline our business to reflect our intentions. We are proud of the successful growth our waste business achieved in the non-oil and gas market, however the time has come for us to move our emphasis elsewhere.’

Ashtead Technology, a leading independent provider of subsea equipment rental, sales and services to the offshore industry, has invested over $300,000 in the latest generation of visual inspection tools for deep sea exploration.

The investment will see Ashtead offering a range of SubC Imaging products to meet increasing industry demand for enhanced, cost effective inspection solutions. A world-leader in video technology used to monitor the integrity of subsea assets and infrastructure, SubC Imaging provides state-of-the art cameras with HD video capabilities that can capture and transmit high quality data from extreme water depths.

Chris Echols, Vice President of Ashtead Technology (photo) in Houston said: “Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, stricter subsea inspection regulations were introduced which has led to a need for more reliable, high resolution visual inspection technology. “The SubC range of cameras, in which we have invested, capture a true visual representation of the underwater world from which we can accurately estimate the remaining life of a subsea infrastructure and assess the integrity of the equipment.

“As the subsea industry enters deeper waters, the need for companies to collect more meaningful data increases. By investing in this equipment, we are able to help our customers ensure they can capture a true picture of what is going on and take preventative measures to ensure the integrity of high-cost, high-risk subsea equipment and infrastructure, thereby saving costs and reducing risk.”

The new 1Cam MK5 range is capable of outputting live HD video over coax or fiber and can record HD 1080P video and capture up to 24mp still images to its internal storage. The units are rated up to 6500m and come as standard with integrated reference lasers. For even greater capability, they can be coupled with an external LED light/strobe or line laser.

Engineered to deliver vivid color video footage in real-time while travelling almost any direction, the MK5 range provides high quality footage of the underwater world.

Ashtead has further enhanced its product offering with the SubC DVR/Overlay system which can record multiple 3D, HD and SD video channels simultaneously, add overlays, stream video and audio over a network, and also includes a new event logging feature.

Ron Collier Vice President of Business Development at SubC Imaging said: “With the new MK5 range, SubC continues to raise the bar when it comes to the quality and capability of underwater cameras available to the subsea industry. Ashtead has been integral to the global market success of our products and the continued investment in our products reflects the company’s commitment to providing its customers with the best available subsea technology.”

Through the delivery of enhanced technical support services, Ashtead Technology is committed to delivering a range of value-added services which now include the supply of offshore personnel, equipment sales, complete asset management, calibration, repair and maintenance, custom engineering, cable moulding and training.

Danos is proud to announce that the company’s Amelia, La.-­‐based fabrication facility has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification for its quality management system (QMS). Two of Danos’ other locations – the Larose fabrication shop and headquarters in Gray, La. – are already ISO 9001:2008 certified.

The ISO 9001:2008 standard is an important benchmark for quality based on recognized principles of superior quality control, including strong customer focus, motivation of top leaders, decision-­‐ making and commitment to continual improvement. Earning the certification requires an accredited third-­‐party auditing organization to thoroughly review a company’s internal QMS processes to ensure they are capable of consistently delivering a service that reliably meets customer needs and expectations. Danos is now fully certified by ABS-­‐QE for ISO 9001:2008 QMS for production workforce, fabrication, construction and coating services.

“We are proud of achieving ISO certification and what this means to our organization,” said Mark Danos, vice president of projects. “This helps us to continue to raise the standard that we have set to deliver high-­‐quality products to meet or exceed our customers’ needs.”

In addition, Danos’ fabrication shop in Amelia has received the American Society of Engineers (ASME) “U” and “R” stamp certifications for the fabrication and repair of boiler and pressure vessels. With the capacity to handle large-­‐scale fabrication projects, the Amelia yard includes 120,000 square feet of fabrication area, including 94,000 square feet under roof. Situated on Bayou Boeuf, the facility’s more than 18 feet of water depth makes load-­‐out easy for barges traveling to and from the Gulf of Mexico.

These industry certifications are evidence of Danos’ continuing commitment to providing the highest level of quality and customer service. The ISO 9001:2008 certification (created by the International Organization for Standardization) establishes Danos as a company that uses resources efficiently and has the right processes and people in place to consistently deliver on, and even exceed, customer expectations.

Across the offshore industry, two approaches to financing and project spend are apparent: life cycle value versus short term costs. This is according to Trelleborg’s offshore operation’s roundtable members, who analyzed findings from the company’s Next Level Report at Offshore Europe in September.

Panelists agreed that although it is tempting for organizations to look for larger upfront savings - especially whilst budgets are under scrutiny due to lower oil prices - in fact, sustainable marginal gains can reap greater rewards long term and should be favored. One panelist’s example was a multibillion dollar project in which an operator may be averse to introducing innovative solutions as they only appear to save $10m. While this may seem a small saving in the overall project spend, cumulative savings of this amount could hugely benefit the project’s overall costs.

That said, the reduced oil price appears to be creating an incentive for businesses to communicate more openly through supply chains to establish smarter ways of doing business. As such, panelists stated that now is the time for supply chains to collaborate, invest and embrace innovation. Otherwise, decisions makers could make short term cost savings on long term issues, which could reoccur if not properly addressed.

Overwhelmingly, the key message from the roundtable was one of change. Members stressed that against a backdrop of challenges, the industry should remain optimistic and proactive. An openness to innovation and clear communication between stakeholders is paramount to ensuring a leaner, quicker and more exciting market in the future.

Trelleborg surveyed decision makers to identify ways in which the industry can respond to pressure against a backdrop of slowed market growth. Responses were analyzed for its Next Level Report, and formed the basis of the roundtable discussion.

You can watch Trelleborg’s roundtable here.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) says that media and environmental activists’ allegations about the company’s climate research are inaccurate and deliberately misleading.

“For nearly 40 years we have supported development of climate science in partnership with governments and academic institutions, and did and continue to do that work in an open and transparent way,” said Ken Cohen, vice president of public and government affairs.

“Activists deliberately cherry-picked statements attributed to various company employees to wrongly suggest definitive conclusions were reached decades ago by company researchers. These activists took those statements out of context and ignored other readily available statements demonstrating that our researchers recognized the developing nature of climate science at the time which, in fact, mirrored global understanding.”

The allegations were contained in reports distributed by InsideClimate News, an anti-oil and gas activist organization, and the Los Angeles Times, and have prompted political attacks by Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Ted Lieu and Mark DeSaulnier.

Both InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times ignored evidence provided by the company of continuous and publicly available climate research that refutes their claims. “The facts are that we identified the potential risks of climate change and have taken the issue very seriously,” said Cohen. “We embarked on decades of research in collaboration with many parties, including the Department of Energy, leading academic institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and others to advance climate science.”

ExxonMobil scientists continue to research and publish findings to improve understanding of climate system science as a basis for society’s response to climate change and have produced more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on topics including the global carbon cycle, detection and attribution of climate change, low carbon technologies and analysis of future scenarios for energy and climate.

ExxonMobil scientists have been selected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations’ most authoritative body on the subject, as authors of their past four major assessment reports, and have contributed to National Research Council boards and committees on climate change.

“We recognize that our past participation in broad coalitions that opposed ineffective climate policies subjects us to criticism by climate activist groups,” said Cohen. “We will continue to advocate for policies that reduce emissions while enabling economic growth.”

Since 2009, the company has supported a revenue-neutral carbon tax as the preferred policy approach for emission reduction because it ensures a uniform and predictable cost of carbon, allows market prices to drive solutions, maximizes transparency to stakeholders, reduces administrative complexity, promotes global participation, and is easily adjusted to future developments in climate science and policy impacts.

ExxonMobil joined other companies to provide initial and ongoing funding to create and support the MIT Joint Program on Climate Science and Policy and Stanford’s Global Climate and Energy Project, which has engaged scores of researchers, faculty and students and has resulted in hundreds of scientific publications on climate change and low carbon technologies.

The company has an active research program into lower-carbon emission technologies, such as algae and cellulosic-based biofuels, carbon capture and storage and advanced engines to name a few.

More information on ExxonMobil’s climate research can be found on ExxonMobil’s corporate blog, Perspectives here.

Neptune is pleased to announce it has been awarded a geophysical and light geotechnical survey services contract by Shell Australia Pty Ltd (Shell).

The work will commence in November 2015 and includes a site survey of the Crux gas field and a 160km route survey between the Crux and Prelude gas fields, in water depths ranging from 90m to 280m.

Neptune will collect high resolution Multi Beam Echo Sounder (MBES), Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Sub Bottom Profiler (SBP) data on-board the Mermaid Investigator Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV).

Neptune Chief Executive Officer, Robin King, said “this project is the first to be awarded to Neptune by Shell in Australia and we are delighted to be involved. Furthermore, our survey business in Australia has been awarded a number of contracts in recent months and it is pleasing to see a steady flow of work for our Geomatics team”.

Wood Group has secured a new multi-million dollar contract to provide engineering services to BP's existing subsea infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, UK and Norwegian continental shelves and offshore Azerbaijan.

Wood Group Kenny (WGK) will deliver program, project and integrity management and operational support for subsea projects under the five year contract, which is effective immediately.

The contract will be delivered from WGK&'s offices in Aberdeen, London, Norway, Houston and Baku and adds to WGK's work with BP globally. WGK continues to perform work under a contract held since March 2007 to provide engineering and project management services to BP's portfolio of future subsea projects.

Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood Group Kenny said: “This significant contract demonstrates our unique independent model and our ability to deliver a complete portfolio of subsea services across global projects. “Wood Group has over 40 years of experience working with BP. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with this long-term client on this project, which will see us provide operational support for many of the assets we helped to design. Our key focus will be on effective and efficient delivery in this challenging climate."

This is the second major contract secured with BP this year. In February, Massy Wood Group, a company jointly owned by Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) and the energy division of Massy Holdings Limited commenced a five year contract, with a potential value of up to $250 million, to provide services to BP's 13 upstream offshore facilities, and 2 onshore assets in Trinidad & Tobago.

Harris CapRock Communications has received a contract extension for satellite and remote communications services. The contract includes the transition to Harris CapRock’s Advanced VSAT network for three oil production platform sites in the Gulf of Mexico.

Since launching its Advanced VSAT solution, Harris CapRock Communications has transitioned more than 30 energy customers and is adjusting bandwidth on demand to over 100 sites in the oil and gas industry’s most productive regions around the world. Harris CapRock was recently named the most impactful service provider in the oil and gas sector by Via Satellite’s 2014 Excellence Awards Program.

Harris CapRock Communications is a premier global provider of managed satellite, terrestrial and wireless communications solutions for the maritime, energy and government markets. Harris CapRock owns and operates a robust global infrastructure that includes teleports on six continents, five 24/7 customer support centers, a local presence in 23 countries and more than 240 global field service personnel supporting customer locations across North America, Central and South America, Europe, West Africa and Asia Pacific.

CSA staff to unveil new service during the upcoming Esri Ocean GIS Forum

CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) iannounces their release of FMVsea a unique service provided by CSA’s Environmental Data and Geospatial Services (EDGS) division. FMVsea is a Full Motion Video service that supports creation of integrated digital video and GIS products (FMV) that will revolutionize the collection, interpretation, and visualization of information collected during field surveys. Features include on-the-fly FMV creation, interactive target identification and a projected field of view bounding box for setting context. FMVsea and the associated services allow actual creation of the Full Motion Video, batching processing, customized target dictionary development, video resizing for better performance in ArcGIS Desktop and video conversion to different formats, all fully compatible with Esri products.

To share more about the FMVsea service capabilities, Ms. Sarah Franklin (GISP), the Geospatial Services Coordinator at CSA, will give a co-authored Lightning Talk, “Application of Full Motion Video in Marine Surveys,” describing how analysts at CSA fuse raw video and spatial data, then use ArcGIS Desktop and the Esri Full Motion Video Add-In to expedite data analysis. We will illustrate how analysts extract spatial marine features from videos, reducing analysis time and placing observations of corals, sponges, fishes, etc. directly into a GIS framework. CSA has also provided scientists the added value of a continuously updated bounding box representing the camera’s field-of-view that is calculated and displayed in ArcGIS Desktop. This provides scale for objects in the video, enables users to evaluate spatial parameters, and, when combined with other data layers such as bathymetry or habitat maps, provides immediate context for what they are seeing in the video.

For those attending the meeting, please visit our booth (#109) to meet Sarah for more information on these and other CSA services and products.

CGG announces that it has now received all necessary permits to start acquiring the industry’s first regional broadband seismic survey of the Barreirinhas Basin in the Equatorial Margin of northern Brazil in early November. The MegaBar 3D multi-client survey has received strong industry support and will benefit from the full bandwidth offered by BroadSeis™ to illuminate the untapped potential of this frontier basin.

The 14,500 km2 survey is being acquired by the Oceanic Vega deploying Sercel Sentinel® solid streamers. The high-end BroadSeis dataset will be processed in CGG's Rio de Janeiro Subsurface Imaging center using the latest processing technology. The processing will also benefit from extensive in-house experience of the Brazilian Equatorial margin and its specific challenges. Fast-track processing deliverables will be available in several phases, starting in May 2016.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG, said: “CGG has responded to significant client interest in the potential of the Barreirinhas Basin with an ambitious program for a new benchmark broadband regional survey. BroadSeis has provided significant insight to explorers in the Atlantic and Equatorial margins of Brazil, and is the natural choice for our MegaBar survey. With over 50 years of operating history in Brazil, CGG is as dedicated as ever to supporting Brazil’s exploration, development and production challenges and believes that this new regional seismic data set will offer an excellent opportunity to understand the geological potential of this new frontier.”