Jee Ltd, a leading subsea multi-discipline engineering and training company, has announced a number of key internal promotions to strengthen its capabilities and champion the delivery of projects.

The new structure, headed up by Jonathan McGregor, Head of engineering at Jee underpins Jee core services including Design, Integrity management, pigging and late life. The company has also appointed a Head of project management to increase business efficiency.

Commenting on the appointments, Mr McGregor, Head of engineering said: “As Jee grows, we need to adapt the company structure to support future business needs, ensuring we are capitalising on future opportunities.

Jee Ltd Head of Engineering, Jonathan McGregor

“The new structure and appointment of heads of service areas will not only support these opportunities but is vital in ensuring we are responding to our clients’ needs effectively and efficiently. I’m delighted to be heading up this new, highly skilled and ambitious team.”

With more than 20 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, Grant Adam has been promoted to Head of Integrity Management. Prior to joining Jee in 2013, Mr Adams held a number of engineering and integrity management positions in the energy sector, including Principal Pipeline Engineer at Oceaneering. Mr Adam also presents Jee’s ‘Advanced integrity management of deepwater pipelines and risers’ course focusing on route cause analysis and risk mitigation.

John French is stepping up to Head of Design, expanding his responsibilities from his previous role as Principal Engineer. As Head of Design, Mr French will oversee all design projects from the feasibility stage to detailed design. He is also focused on developing innovative low-cost solutions.

Graham Wilson is moving to the role of Head of Late Life from his previous position as Head of the Pipeline Discipline team. Mr Wilson is an experienced chartered Mechanical Engineer who has worked in the oil and gas industry since joining Jee as a Graduate Engineer in October 2004. As Head of Late Life, Mr Wilson is responsible for lifetime extension and decommissioning projects.

Paul Otway is taking on the role as Head of Pigging. Mr. Otway has extensive experience in subsea pipeline design and integrity projects for global operators, particularly in-line inspection (ILI) campaigns and offshore management. With niche skills in defining technical pigging campaigns, pig selection and design, Mr. Otway was announced as the winner in the young emerging talent category at the 2013 Subsea UK awards for his work.

In addition, Joe Gransden, has been promoted to Head of Project Management. Mr. Gransden is an experienced Lead Engineer who has worked on a variety of oil and gas projects since he joined Jee in 2008. Mr. Gransden remit is to focus on further service efficiency.

Jee is an independent subsea engineering and training company with offices in Aberdeen, London and Tonbridge. Jee’s multi-disciplined capabilities and integrated services span the whole life-of-field including design, integrity management, pigging, late life and training for the global oil, gas and renewables industries.

With only three weeks left to become part of the presentation line-up for this year’s SPE ICoTA European Well Intervention Conference, experts in well intervention are urged to submit an abstract on the topic and share the latest developments in the field with their peers.

BMT Cordah, a subsidiary of BMT Group, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced the appointment of Andrew Glass as Managing Director.

Andrew will be responsible for leading the business in implementing strategy, direction and policy, ensuring the company continues to provide an extensive range of specialist services to its UK and international offshore oil and gas customers. Commenting on his new role, Andrew said: “I am extremely excited to be given this opportunity to work with a great team and I’m looking forward to leading the organisation in its drive for future growth both here in the UK and internationally.”

With a wealth of experience in Environment Health and Safety (EHS) from the RSK Group where he held the position of Director, Andrew spent several years in the UAE developing new service lines. He helped bring the business back to profitability, achieving financial targets and delivered business benefits for clients with a 100% track record. He further supported the creation of an Eastern European office.

Notable projects include the operational review of three international and two domestic airports for the Abu Dhabi Airports Company. Here, he redefined EHSQ operational practices, as well as influencing the redesign of organisational structure. All five airports were certified to ISO9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO14001 standards.

Andrew has a degree in Industrial and Operations Management and is a member of the: Chartered Management Institute and Institute of Management Consultancy. He is an Associate of the Institution of Environmental Management and Assessment and an approved professional by the EHS centre Abu Dhabi for all entity sectors.

Offshore Network have developed a whitepaper examining EnQuest and Wintershall’s production optimization strategies – http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper. The free whitepaper has been created in the lead-up to the 2nd Offshore Production Optimization Conference which includes speakers from Nexen, Repsol, Wintershall, DEA, TAQA, OMV Petrom and more.

With oil prices taking a substantial hit as of late, industry is faced with even bigger challenges when looking to improve production rates and to maximize recovery. 2015 is expected to see the first annual increase in production on the UKCS in 15 years so it's clear that the efforts being made by industry to improve approaches are working but there's still much more to be done. EnQuest's President for the North Sea and Wintershall's Technical Director and Deputy Managing Director gave presentations on production efficiency challenges in the North Sea at the Offshore Production Optimization Conference in November 2014. This whitepaper reviews their approaches and includes:

A review of EnQuest’s production optimization model and how they developed a methodology to stabilize OPEX whilst simultaneously boosting brownfield production

A look at the late-life planning at Brage and the proposed activities Wintershall have in place to improve production from this asset

Future considerations and development plans for EnQuest and Wintershall within the North Sea and how collaborations with the oil and gas community should play a part in this

You can review the whitepaper at http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper.

Veripos, a leading supplier of high-precision GNSS positioning services to the world offshore and associated industries, has appointed John MacLeod as General Manager of its Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) Region. Based at the Company’s Aberdeen headquarters, he will responsible for continuing development of the Region’s growing activities in response to increased demand for its facilities.

Until recently Vice-President Regional Operations with Forum Energy Technology, Mr. MacLeod has over 25 years’ experience within the global subsea oil and gas industries, working predominantly in the ROV, offshore survey and diving sectors in a senior capacity with other prominent organizations supplying both manufactured products and services; they include Ashtead Technology, Nautronix and Sonardyne International.

Commenting on the appointment, Philip Milne, Chief Operating Officer of Veripos, said “John’s wealth of experience and management skills will be invaluable and an important addition to our operational resources and expertise”.

Total has signed an agreement to sell 20% of its interests in the Laggan, Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet fields, located in the West of Shetland area, to SSE E&P UK Limited Ltd for £565 million (around $876 million), subject to the customary approvals.

“The sale of these minority interests is aligned with Total’s portfolio management strategy and target of divesting $5 billion of assets in 2015. It allows us to capitalize fully on this new deep offshore development, while retaining a majority interest and operatorship,” commented Arnaud Breuillac, President, Exploration & Production. “With the upcoming start-up of Laggan, followed by Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet in the coming years, Total is opening up a new frontier area for gas production in the United Kingdom.”

Following completion of the transaction, Total will hold a 60% operated interest in the Laggan, Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet fields, alongside partners DONG E&P (UK) Limited (20%) and SSE E&P UK Limited (20%). The sale also includes 20% of Total’s interest in the Shetland Gas Plant and interests in several exploration licenses located in the West of Shetland area, including the Tobermory discovery.

Laggan and Tormore

The Laggan and Tormore fields are located around 140 kilometers west of the Shetland Islands on Blocks 206/1a, 205/4b and 205/5a, in 600 meters of water. Development of the fields was launched in 2010 and first gas is expected in the coming months. The development concept consists of a 140-kilometer tie-back of five subsea wells to the new onshore Shetland Gas Plant, with a peak production rate of 500 million standard cubic feet per day.

Edradour and Glenlivet

Development of the Edradour and Glenlivet fields was launched in 2014. The Edradour discovery is located 75 kilometers northwest of Shetland on Block 206/4a, in 300 meters of water. The Glenlivet discovery is located north of Edradour on Block 214/30a, in 400 meters of water. Edradour will be developed by converting the discovery well into a production well, connected to the main Laggan-Tormore flowline by a 16-kilometer subsea tie-back. Glenlivet will be developed via two wells and a 17-kilometer production pipeline tied back to Edradour. Edradour is expected to start up in 2017, followed by Glenlivet in 2018.

Having seen significant increases in sales activity from the North America market in recent months, UK-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry; and specialist in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – is expanding its Houston, Texas-based operation with an additional 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility.

Announcing the move, Advanced Insulation’s managing director Andrew Bennion says: “The 10,000 sq. ft. expansion means we are now even better placed to assist our North American customers more effectively by providing an in-house insulation facility.”

Until now, most insulation services were undertaken at its customers’ facilities, but the expansion means Advanced Insulation can now insulate subsea components and systems using its ContraTherm® range at its own warehousing and manufacturing facility.

As Andrew goes on to say, the recent appointment of Mike Sherman and Larry King to develop and implement Advanced Insulation’s strategic growth plans for this key market is already paying dividends. “We are forecasting subsea sales to increase significantly in the coming months and are anticipating substantial additional appointments to ensure we continue to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of our North American customers.”

IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has signed an agreement with Alliant RigServ LLC to join the IFS Partner Network as a Referral and Services partner for the deployment of IFS Solutions in the offshore oil and gas industry in North America. The new alliance supports IFS’s strategy to build a long-term partner ecosystem that benefits both companies with greater market penetration through enhanced technology and knowledge resources for IFS solutions.

RigServ is an established supply chain and technology consulting company that offers best-in-class solutions to companies such as Maersk Drilling, KS Drilling, SapuraKencana Drilling, Marathon Oil, Ensco, Seadrill, Xtreme Drilling, Vantage Drilling and Ocean Rig. RigServ’s current active projects include supply chain consulting, technology and systems consulting, supply chain outsourcing, enterprise business intelligence reporting, process improvement, ERP systems management, catalog maintenance and cleansing, inventory reviews, full lifecycle software development, business transformations, project management, quality management and equipment monitoring.

As a member of IFS’s growing Partner Network, RigServ’s services will expand to include implementations of IFS’s robust enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and enterprise service management (ESM) software solutions, which are recognized by the oil and gas industry for performance, functionality and flexibility.

“We are delighted to be on-board with IFS. Our team members are experts in the oil and gas business and know its inherent challenges from the rig floor to the board room,” said RigServ’s Director Christopher Collins. “IFS’s enterprise solutions are well-known and highly regarded throughout the oil and gas industry and we are excited about the enormous value this partnership will bring to our business.”

“We are pleased to expand the IFS Partner Network by forging relationships with the best technology and consulting partners in the business, such as RigServ,” said Dean Flitter, vice president of services for IFS North America. “This strategic alliance will help increase our resources, which is an important part of our global growth strategy to target larger, global accounts.”

Aqueos Corporation, a premier provider of subsea services to the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Coast, has announced the appointment of Jason Brink to the position of Project Manager-Special Projects.

“Aqueos is excited to have Jason onboard our Team. His experience in deep water ROV and diving operations adds depth to our team and complements our Gulf of Mexico operations. His ability to present technical solutions and support to our Houston based clientele is expected to enhance both our sales and project execution.” said Ted Roche, Aqueos President / Chief Executive Officer. Roche further states, “We look forward to Jason’s contribution and enhanced value to Team Aqueos.”

Aqueos Corporation, with offices in Broussard, LA and Ventura, CA, provides marine construction and specialty subsea services including a complete range of commercial diving, remotely operated vehicles (ROV’s) and vessel-related services primarily to the offshore oil and gas markets.

Spring 2015 Permanent Reservoir Monitoring (“PRM”) operations over the Statoil operated Snorre and Grane fields have now been completed ahead of schedule thanks to a combination of excellent operational performance, minimum downtime and favourable weather conditions.

A total of over 6,000 km of data has been shot over the two fields, now in the second full year of operation. Source operations started over the Grane field after mobilization in Stavanger on the 3 May with completion on Snorre on the 13 July. The D-PMSSTM has now been demobilized from the platform supply vessel ‘Siddis Sailor’, operated by OH Meling, and will be re-mobilized again later this Summer for the Autumn survey period.

Marcus Smith, Operations Director commented: “We have had two excellent surveys this season with the best recorded production figures and lowest downtime hours seen since we started the PRM survey for Statoil. Records have been broken and all with zero HSE incidents during this time. The working relationship between the WGP and OH Meling crew onboard the ‘Siddis Sailor’ has gone from strength to strength and this cooperation has helped us achieve this outstanding performance. We look forward to returning in the Autumn and acquiring yet more data to assist Statoil in increasing their PRM data library”.

FoundOcean’s deep-water capabilities were demonstrated once again when Subsea 7 called on them to develop and execute grouting procedures for operations at 5,300 ft. (1,615m) in the Gulf of Mexico.

After 3 years with the company, Mick Slater has been appointed to the role of Operations Director. With an MBE to his name and over 40 years of industry experience including more than 30 years in the Royal Navy, Mick will hold overall responsibility for HSE, IT, HR and Compliance. Mick comments: “I feel privileged to accept the opportunity that the BOD have presented me with by this appointment. We have a great foundation and some very talented people here at Bibby HydroMap and I’m keen to build on this and play an active part in key operational and strategic decisions that will ultimately enable the continued, successful growth of the company.”

As part of the company’s focus on efficiency, the newly created role has followed a restructuring of the senior management team. Bibby HydroMap Managing Director Andrew McLeay comments: “After a challenging year for many of our offshore clients, we are optimising our operations and creating added value, whilst continuing to grow the business and diversify our services.”

“The last two years have brought significant change within the company, and we now employ over 115 personnel from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. The successful rebrand from Osiris Projects to Bibby HydroMap, alongside the launch of Bibby Athena and our survey ROV d’ROP, has opened up new opportunities and increased our global presence. The appointment of Mick to the Operations Director role will help to develop the business further and solidify our position as “The seabed survey company of choice.”

Sparrows Group has expanded into the Malaysian market after forming a strategic partnership with a local service provider in the region, Efficient Technology Sdn Bhd (Eftech), as part of the company’s ambitious plans to treble business in Asia Pacific over the next five years.

As part of the country-wide agreement, Sparrows Group will offer services such as offshore crane maintenance, crane hire, fluid power, inspection and cable and pipe lay products which are in particularly high demand in the region.

Sparrows Group already works with a number of drilling companies in Malaysia however it is expected that the agreement with Eftech will enable this to increase significantly.

Stewart Mitchell, chief executive officer at Sparrows Group, said: “We see Asia Pacific as a key growth area for Sparrows Group in the coming years. Malaysia’s oil reserves are the fourth highest in Asia Pacific and by partnering with a well-respected local company that shares our commitment to assure delivery to clients, such as Eftech, we believe we are on the right track to realizing our aims.

“In many ways a partnership with Eftech is a perfect fit as we complement each other’s strengths. Eftech is an established provider of process and pipeline services, combined with our in-depth knowledge of lifting and handling, fluid power and cable and pipe lay we will provide operators with an integrated specialist service of the highest standard.”

At present Sparrows Group employs over 120 people in Asia Pacific and over 2,100 globally. They currently have bases in Singapore, Myanmar, Australia, China and two in Indonesia in the region.

Malaysian regulations stipulate all offshore service activity for Petronas, the state’s national oil and gas company, should be carried out through a local company.

The agreement with Eftech, which was founded in 2002, will see the company supporting Sparrows Group in providing its services across Malaysia’s three producing offshore basins. At present there are more than 130 offshore operating platforms in Malaysia and over 30 drilling rigs.

Dato’ Mahathir Samat, managing director of Eftech said: “Our partnership with Sparrows Group and their considerable track record in crane maintenance services has been integral to us being awarded a license for this type of work by Petronas. There is a demand in our local market for the level of service we can bring through our partnership which I am sure will bring many benefits to the Malaysian offshore sector.”

Established originally in 1946, the Sparrows Group moved into the oil and gas market in 1975 and celebrates 40 years working offshore this year. They are one of the most well-known and trusted names in the oil and gas industry. The company provides engineered products and services, primarily to the offshore sector, specializing in lifting and handling, cable and pipe lay, and fluid power solutions.

Bruno Faure, Group Senior Vice President Subsea Projects and Operations at Technip, a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry, has taken over the role of President of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the association representing the interests of over a thousand offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies in more than 60 countries.

In addition to becoming President of IMCA, having served as Vice President of IMCA since September 2014, he also becomes Chairman of the association’s Overall Management Committee (OMC).

“We welcome Bruno as our President and OMC Chairman for the next two years,” says Jane Bugler, Acting Chief Executive of IMCA. “At the same time we are able to announce that Leon Harland, Executive Vice President Commercial & Technology at Heerema Marine Contractors, has taken over as the IMCA Vice President.

“I am delighted and honored to take the chairmanship of IMCA following on from Massimo Fontolan, who provided valuable guidance to the Council over the last two and a half years,” says Bruno Faure. “At a time when our industry is experiencing challenging times, I am convinced that IMCA can, more than ever, play a key role in facilitating the necessary constructive dialogue among clients, contractors and the supply chain, with the aim of offering to the industry the most appropriate solutions in the context of economic pressure.”

In 2006 he joined Stolt Comex Seaway (now Subsea 7) as Projects and Operations Director for Africa Region and then became President for Region Africa, Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean in Subsea 7 based in London.

Further information on IMCA Information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its members is at www.imca-int.com or from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and IMCA, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7824 5520; Fax: +44 (0)20 7824 5521.

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces that it has signed an agreement to form an alliance with Houston-based KBR, Inc. (KBR) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Granherne Inc. (Granherne), to collaborate in the delivery of Concept and Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) services to the global offshore oil and gas industry.

The alliance will bring two market-leading companies together to ensure the most cost-effective solutions are presented to clients in the early concept evaluation phase of a field development project. KBR's and Granherne's expertise in field development planning, concept evaluation and FEED will be complemented by Subsea 7's subsea project management and engineering experience and the application of technology and know-how to enable improved cost-benefit evaluation for clients.

Within the co-operation agreement between the companies, Granherne will support Subsea 7 on concept and FEED studies and Subsea 7 will support Granherne with subsea engineering and technology. The alliance will operate on a global basis using the existing resources of the two companies.

The alliance further provides the opportunity for KBR and Subsea 7 to collaborate in the execution phase of offshore projects. The combined experience and capabilities has the potential to deliver the full scope of any project. The decision to collaborate will be on a project-by-project basis and will be based on a clear and differentiated value proposition to the client.

Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 Chief Executive Officer, said: "This alliance will drive improvements in the offshore market with two leading independent companies working together to deliver greater value for clients worldwide. I look forward to strengthening our relationship with KBR through this alliance which provides the opportunity for early engagement in the project lifecycle when value creation can be optimized and where we can introduce enabling subsea technologies and know-how at the critical concept evaluation stage. This is key to assisting the offshore oil and gas industry to adapt to the lower oil price environment."

Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO, said: "This alliance combines the complementary skill-sets and know-how of two leading offshore contractors working together to ensure a greater contribution at the early stage of projects. Together, both companies can ensure that offshore oil and gas development becomes more economic and we look forward to continuing our already strong working partnership with Subsea 7."

LQT Industries, LLC, a full-service provider of high quality accommodation facilities, design-build construction services, and support services to the oil and gas industry, has provided eleven (11) aluminum accommodation modules to support onshore and offshore operations for the Gulf of Mexico. The aluminum modules supply major oil and gas production companies with accommodations for 64 personnel along with support facilities.