Subsea services group Acteon has enhanced its capabilities in the provision of temporary and permanent mooring systems by acquiring Bruce Anchor.
The three year contract extension for AOD III potentially worth US$ 112 million follows previous extensions awarded to AOD I and AOD II. All AOD rigs now have contracts serving a reputable client in the Middle East to 2019.
Due to the war in Syria, we are seeing a humanitarian catastrophe, and especially the situation in the town of Aleppo is critical.
In Aleppo thousands of desperate people are living in the midst of this crisis, and the relief centers for those fleeing are over-filled. It’s cold and there is not enough access to sanitary conditions or heat. The need for humanitarian aid is significant.
Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross
“We are all affected by the pictures and stories coming out of Syria and Aleppo. The situation is critical and the international community must contribute. Our contribution goes to the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, that has a long history of humanitarian aid in challenging conditions. We believe it’s important that companies like ours contribute,” says Reidar Gjærum, head of communication at Statoil.
The Syrian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) have been asked by the conflicting parties to transport our civilians and injured people from Eastern Aleppo.
100 Red Crescent volunteers, together with ICRC personnel are involved, and are using 10 ambulances and around 20 buses. During last week they managed to transport around 10 000 people, many who were children.
“I’ve been here every year the last five years during the war, and I see that it’s now worse than ever. The amount of people needing emergency help and aid, the amount that are severely injured and the number that has been killed gets higher and higher,” says Sven Molleklein, president for Red Cross in Norway.
“Those who live in Aleppo have to make impossible decisions to get to safety. They make their way through destroyed buildings, and walk for hours. On their backs they carry the injured, the sick and small children. They arrive at reception centers with nothing. Thanks to the gift from Statoil we can now help even more people with food, shelter, clean water and warm clothes or blankets,” says Mollekleiv.
As a result of multiple contract wins in 2016, independent subsea Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) service provider, ROVOP, has recovered strongly from the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
The company enjoyed a record period in the second half of its financial year with sales of almost £10million and EBITDA of £3.5m for the six months to September 2016, an increase of 14% and 27% respectively over the same period in 2015.
It also welcomed 15 new customers, spanning ten countries, to its high-profile global portfolio of clients and expanded its fleet with an electric work class ROV, the Seaeye Leopard, the most powerful vehicle for its size in the world.
ROVOP deploys an ROV off the coast of Germany. Photo credit: ROVOP
Earlier this year ROVOP was named as one of the London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain. The report was a celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses.
To be included in the list, companies needed to show consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming their industry peers.
Chief Executive, Steven Gray, said: “Our last financial year was very much in two halves. The bankruptcy of one of our major clients in 2015, Ceona, presented a significant challenge that came as the falling oil price bit hard. But I am delighted with the way our team responded, delivering a strong rebound in activity and financial results to achieve a doubling of revenue from the first half of our financial year to the second.
“We have achieved several significant milestones this year. These include our first project in South East Asia, the successful completion of a multi-year North Sea decommissioning project, the deepest unexploded ordnance survey and relocation project ever undertaken globally, the first installation of commercial scale tidal energy turbines in Scotland and securing a second world war submarine that posed a significant environmental risk. I am delighted with the success of the projects and the momentum we have managed to build in a challenging landscape.
“The market now clearly recognizes that current generation ROVs lower cost and the importance of the high quality personnel employed by ROVOP and trained in our in-house academy.”
The company has also announced the appointment of Lee Shanks as Business Development Manager. Lee has joined ROVOP in its Aberdeen office and brings extensive subsea sector experience to drive further business growth.
Commercial director, Euan Tait, explained the addition of Mr. Shanks to the team will be key:
“Lee has exceptional experience both in technical and customer facing roles. Appointing him as Business Development Manager is an important part of our plans to maintain close relationships with our clients as well as further strengthening our position with new customers in new territories.
“The market remains challenging but our ability to lower costs, while using the best equipment and personnel on the market, means we continue to enjoy regular successes. This appointment will further drive our business development and those successes into the New Year.”
Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has relocated and almost doubled the size of its engineering and design center of excellence in a new 1,000 square meter premises in Ahmedabad, India.
Seatronics Ltd, an Acteon company and global leaders in the rental and sale of marine electronic equipment, has secured a contract with Bibby Offshore to be their preferred supplier of subsea rental equipment.
The agreement is structured on the provision of marine electronic equipment to Bibby Offshore including ROV, NDT and survey equipment from Seatronics’ rental pool, consisting of more than 9,000 assets. Bibby Offshore will also benefit from Seatronics’ integrated services such as calibration, asset management and personnel support. The contract has been established for an initial 12 month period with the opportunity for extension.
Seatronics and Bibby Offshore have upheld a strong working relationship for a number of years, collaborating on an extensive variety of survey and diving projects, in particular the use of the RTS Gen 5 Mux solution, exclusively available from Seatronics, which has formed an integral part of Bibby’s ROV systems.
Scott Gray, Operations Manager UK, Seatronics, stated: “We are delighted to have secured preferred supplier status with Bibby Offshore.
“Working with a company such as Bibby Offshore reinforces Seatronics’ status as the market leader in Marine Technology, delivering the latest products and services whilst ensuring our customers receive the best service possible. In order to continually improve our service, we promoted consignment stock of standard spares and cables and connectors, allowing equipment to remain onboard vessels between projects reducing the costs of mobilisations, our ability to provide new technology, our place within Acteon and our ability to bring other operating companies to the table if required, competitive pricing and our track record in support and service”.
Petsec Energy announces the release of the preliminary development schedule for the Company’s Hummer Project at Main Pass Blocks 270/273/274 in which it holds a 12.5% working interest. This follows the successful production test of the Company’s Main Pass Block 270 #3 BP 01, Hummer discovery well, conducted over a 48 hour flow-back period beginning 16 November 2016.
During the test, flow rates were measured at restricted rates on variable choke sizes. Over the last three hours of the 48 hour test period the well flowed at an average rate of 19.88 MMcfpd (million cubic feet of gas per day) and 396 bcpd (barrels of condensate per day) through a 16/64th inch choke with an average flowing WHP (well-head pressure) of 9753 psi (pounds per square inch) and no formation water. Production rates continued to rise over the duration of the test with a maximum gas rate of 20.5 MMcfpd recorded.
Image courtesy: Petsec Energy
The next stage of development will use the results of the production test to design, fabricate and install a deck section with production facilities on the jacket, lay gas and oil flow lines and connect them to existing oil and gas sales pipeline transportation systems. The Company estimates first production from the Hummer project to commence mid-year 2017.
Petsec will continue to update the market on completion of key milestones in the development of the project.
The Main Pass Block 270 # 3 BP 01 well was perforated from 14,100 feet to 14,186 feet measured depth (MD), 14,058 feet to 14,144 feet true vertical depth (TVD) in a sand reservoir. Well logs indicate additional potential reservoirs in the well, which are yet to be tested. These untested sands will be targets of future drilling on the Hummer Project. Significant production occurs for similar reservoirs along trend. Peak production rates from those intervals can exceed 25 MMcfpd and 1000 bcpd.
Petsec’s Chairman and Managing Director, Terry Fern, commented:
'The success of the Hummer production test confirmed that the Hummer Project is a substantial oil and gas discovery with resource potential significantly exceeding the Company’s pre-drill mapped upper target estimates. The Hummer development appears to be well timed as both gas and oil prices are substantially higher than at the beginning of the year. U.S. Henry Hub gas prices have moved above US $3.60/Mcf and US WTI above US$50/Bbl. We look forward to first commercial gas and oil production from the Hummer Project in Mid-2017.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) has named Clay Neff president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production, effective January 1, 2017.
Neff, 54, succeeds Ali Moshiri, who will retire from Chevron after 38 years of distinguished service, effective April 1, 2017, consistent with the company's mandatory retirement policy. Neff, who is currently managing director of Chevron's Nigeria Mid-Africa Business Unit, will oversee Chevron's exploration and production activities in 15 countries across Africa and Latin America. In his new role, Neff will report to Jay Johnson, Chevron's executive vice president, Upstream.
In his current role, Neff is responsible for Chevron's upstream operations in Nigeria and West Africa. He received his Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1984 and joined Chevron the following year as a drilling engineer. Since then, he has held numerous engineering, operations, commercial and management positions of increasing responsibility in the United States, Angola and Nigeria. Mr. Neff is also the chairman of the board of trustees for the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Over the course of his career, Moshiri has developed significant operational and international experience. He has held key leadership roles throughout the enterprise, including manager of Petroleum and Facilities Engineering, general manager of Strategic Planning and Assets Evaluation for Chevron Overseas Petroleum, general manager and advisor to the vice chairman of the board of Chevron Corporation Exploration and Production, and managing director of Chevron Latin America Exploration and Production Company.
"Clay's broad operating experience, particularly in Africa, makes him highly qualified to lead these two key regions for our business," said John Watson, Chevron's chairman and CEO.
Commenting on Moshiri's retirement, Watson said, "Ali has played a central and critical role in growing our business in Africa and Latin America. He has also distinguished himself as a champion of Chevron's commitment to economic and social development in the areas in which we operate."
McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) announces a contract award from Saudi Aramco for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of four jackets and three gas observation platforms offshore Saudi Arabia. The total weight of all structures combined is 11,595 tons.
Well management and performance improvement specialist Exceed has reported a positive year in 2016, including a recruitment drive resulting from increased activity both internationally and in the North Sea.
Work this year has included:
Exceed has also seen an increased requirement for engineering studies in 2016, with pre-feasibility engineering work, late life asset management and liability studies conducted on behalf of clients such as Faroe Petroleum, Boskalis, Verus Petroleum, The Oil & Gas Authority, Serica Energy and Houlder Marine.
As a result the firm has been one of the few to actively add to its numbers in the last 12 months, with a number of new team members coming from Applied Drilling Technology International (ADTI), the former well management division operated by Transocean. ADTI ceased trading in May 2015 however this was quickly followed by the announcement that Exceed would merge with eight of its senior members, with plans to increase this number in the future.
A further six members of staff have been taken on since then, including three graduate engineers. By March 2017 Exceed plans to have recruited 20 people from the previous ADTI workforce, close to 25% of the 90 staff at the time the business ceased trading.
Exceed managing director Ian Mills said: “Exceed continues to reinvent itself in the downmarket, with our team constantly reviewing performance and making incremental improvements. This not only futureproofs our business, but also ensures consistent company growth and a team that performs at the very highest level.
“We are approaching 2017 with a positive attitude based on the developments we have seen in the latter months of 2016. We have experienced an upward trend in incoming enquiries, which we believe is due to the respected track record and hard work of our team, along with major efforts to continually raise international recognition of the Exceed brand.”
This year Exceed has focused on expanding its global footprint, continuing to work with long term clients in North America through Exceed Canada whilst embarking upon both technical and strategic alliances with partners in more than 20 countries in seven regions.
Once such alliance is with global subsurface solutions provider Quad Operations, whose full range of geoscience services has allowed Exceed to bolster its capabilities in the subsurface sector.
Similarly, a partnership agreement with Netherlands-based Boskalis, a leading global maritime services provider, now enables Exceed to offer a fully-integrated decommissioning solution including topside, jackets, subsea and subsea pipeline capability. Boskalis general manager Dick Lagerweij commented: “The partnership with Exceed is a strategic move for both organisations on project-by-project basis. Boskalis offers marine services to tackle a wide range of decommissioning scenarios whereas Exceed brings relevant well engineering expertise and current know-how.”
Exceed’s most recent strategic alliance is with Norway based Well Expertise, a recently formed integrated well management group. The alliance will see both companies join forces to provide enhanced technical expertise and operational capacity to clients in the UK, Norway and internationally.
Well Expertise CEO Mike Simpson advised: “Our Exceed alliance allows us to further opportunities with a partner we can trust on both sides of the North Sea and internationally. The ability to share project resourcing and complement the skills of each team brings a new level of cooperation and enhances the fit for purpose model both companies believe in.”
On January 26, 2017, Blake Moore, Shell Project Manager will make a presentation to the MTS Houston Section on Shell’s Stones FPSO.
Shell is no stranger to setting world records when it comes to deepwater exploration and development. Some 23 years ago Shell started setting records for deepwater development with the Auger development at a depth of 2,860 feet. Then came Mars, Ursa Perdigo and others. Now the Stones development is setting another record as the world’s deepest oil and gas project to date. The development is located along the Walker Ridge area in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, 200 miles southwest of New Orleans in a water depth of 9,500 feet (2,896 m). Shell opted to develop the field using a disconnectable FPSO, tied to a subsea development. Nominal production capacities for the FPSO were set at 60,000 bpd of oil, 30,000 bpd of produced water and 15 MMscfd of associated gas. The FPSO design was based on a Suezmax size, double hull tanker and a contract award was given in early 2013 to SBM offshore to deliver the FPSO.
Shell’s Stones FPSO. Photo courtesy: Shell
The project execution phase began in the fall of 2012, and fabrication on the FPSO began upon arrival of the selected tanker in Singapore in June of 2013. Fabrication was performed in four separate yards in Singapore with topsides modules located in two of the yards (BTE and Dynamac), the disconnectable buoy (BTM) and turret in Keppel’s Benoi yard, and the ship conversion and integration in the Keppel Tuas yard.
The Turritella FPSO arrived at the Stones location in the Gulf of Mexico on January 1st, 2016, connected with the BTM which had been previously installed, and began all riser and umbilical pull-ins during February. Over the following six months integration activities with the subsea facilities were completed, along with final commissioning. Startup was achieved September 2nd, 2016.
Blake Moore has worked for Shell for over 34 years in various capacities (predominately in facilities and project execution) from California to Norway. He joined Shell’s Deepwater projects group in 1997 and worked several deepwater facilities ranging from subsea to beach, Semis, TLPs and more recently FPSOs. Blake became involved with FPSOs in 2007 as the FPSO lead for Concept Selection and early FEED work for an FPSO Shell was planing to install in Brazil. He later joined the Stones project during concept selection in mid-2010 and successfully completed the delivery of the Turritella FPSO to the Gulf of Mexico in September of 2016.
GRAY, La. – Danos’ fabrication service line has achieved an important safety milestone: 1 million man-hours without an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-recordable incident.
“This achievement is a credit to the dedication of our fabrication team,” said Mark Danos, vice president of project services for Danos. “Despite taking on increasingly more complex projects, their commitment to operating safely and doing things the right way every time has never wavered; it is the key to our success.”
Danos’ unyielding emphasis on safety – it is one of the company’s core values – has produced a culture in which proper training and procedures are the bedrock of daily operations. These safety results demonstrate Danos’ commitment to ensuring every team member is provided the tools, environment and knowledge that enables them to work safe every day.
Danos’ Larose, La. fabrication facility has been OSHA-recordable incident-free for seven years and the company’s Amelia, La. facility has been incident-free since opening its doors in 2014.
Ashtead Technology has announced the acquisition of Abu Dhabi based TES Survey Equipment Services LLC for an undisclosed sum.
Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has launched a new online Fender Selection Tool, almost completely digitizing the fender selection process and saving consultants the huge amounts of time normally spent carrying out complex manual calculations. The tool is also intended to help specifiers and suppliers alike take steps towards a more standardized engineering process, reducing subjectivity in the design process and helping to shape consistent industry best practice.
The tool requires the user to input simple information on vessel type, berthing factors and speed. They then receive a broad fender selection, which can be further refined as the user enters more details into the input panel.
Mishra Kumar, Technical Director for Marine Fenders at Trelleborg’s marine systems operation, said: “With so many factors to consider in the specification of fender systems, we wanted to make the process as simple as possible for consultants, enabling them to determine the optimum fenders for their project needs in just a few clicks.”
The new tool can complete a calculation process for up to ten types of fenders, cross referencing up to 23 grades, which would take several hours if prepared manually. The digitized process takes the user through just four simple input sections, generating a document that details all potential fender systems suitable for the application and performance required. Results generated are compliant to both PIANC guidelines and the latest British Standards for fender system design.
The Fender Selection Tool is part of Trelleborg’s commitment to enabling a Smarter Approach to port and terminal efficiency. This philosophy – centered on key cornerstones of automation and data-centricity – extends beyond port and terminal infrastructure to enabling faster, more effective decision making across entire product lifecycles and supply chains.
To explore the tool, click here.
Marsol International, a UAE-based global marine solutions provider focused on the offshore oil terminal market and related infrastructure, has announced the launch of its new office, Marsol International Abu Dhabi.
The facility strengthens Marsol’s presence in the UAE region and increases the company’s capabilities for directly servicing Abu Dhabi-based clients.
Marsol has already undertaken several projects from the facility, including offshore hose studies involving modelling, inspection and repair operations, Emergency Pipeline Repair Service (EPRS) support and tanker terminal assessments for major companies in the area, as well as undertaking the Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production LLC’s first two shipments of crude oil from the Musandam gas plant.
Mike Young, Director of Marsol International, said: “It’s vital that we can provide the best possible service to our clients and our new Abu Dhabi facility ensures that we can effectively and efficiently complete projects in this region. The new facility has also led to the recruitment of two new team members who are ideally placed to provide on-the-ground support to our clients.
“We have already undertaken a number of significant projects which utilised our specialist, integrity management driven, holistic approach to operational and IRM solutions and we look forward to working closely with operators and service companies based in Abu Dhabi as we continue to expand our onshore and offshore operations.”
Since 2005, based on experience 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.
MetOcean Solutions recently provided free access to all their hindcast data statistics from around the world.
"Anyone with internet access can now view and download historical weather statistics from a range of global locations," states Dr. Rafael Guedes, Manager of Hindcasts. "In total we have statistics available from more than 380,000 datapoints around the world, a number which is constantly increasing as we run our models for new locations."
Historical data such as 100 year return period value (RPV) wave height is important baseline information for anyone operating in the ocean.
MetOcean Solutions’ hindcast data provide high quality marine weather information generated in-house by a team of expert scientists using state-of-the-art atmospheric and oceanographic models. The hindcast statistics can be accessed through the MetOceanView platform with no login required.
"Our historical data archives reach back to 1979," adds Rafael. "The information available includes wind and wave distribution statistics, roses, joint probability tables and extreme value analysis data."
Suitable for environmental investigations and climate analysis, the datasets offer key baseline information for project scoping, offshore and coastal design, project planning and environmental impact assessment.
"We display tiles with gridded statistics from selected global datasets, including gridded mean wave height, period and direction for total swell and wind-sea wave components, percentiles and extreme value analysis of significant wave height and wind speed, vector-average currents, as well as mean air and sea-surface temperature."
Click here for free access to the more than 380,000 hindcast data locations worldwide.
For a list of full historical datasets available, click here.
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