Stabiltec Downhole Tools,
Parks, La., acquired Electric Line Technologies Inc. (Eltech) in Broussard, La. Details of the acquisition were not available. Derrick Derouen, president of Eltech with more than 20 years experience in tool design and manufacturing, will serve as vice-president of the new Stabiltec Eltech Division. That division will remain at its present location in Broussard until relocated to the Stabiltec corporate facility in Parks. Stabiltec specializes in the precision manufacturing and refurbishing of downhole tool and has proprietary technology for application of hard surfacing to extend the life of drilling components. Eltech specializes in design and manufacturing of accessories and components of E-line tools. This acquisition greatly expands Stabiltec's suite of services and expertise and increases its inventory, said Stabletec President Michael Robicheaux. He said, "Future plans are to provide full-service design and manufacture of a wide range of electric wireline tools and accessories."
EMAS AMC,
Singapore, the subsea construction division of the EMAS operating brand of Ezra Holdings Ltd., was contracted by BP Exploration & Production Inc. for subsea work in the Atlantis field in Green Canyon block 743 in the Gulf of Mexico.
The project includes installation and replacement of subsea equipment comprised of manifolds, pipeline end manifolds, jumpers, and associated hardware in 6,800 ft of water, as well as assisting BP in complete commissioning and start-up activities. EMAS AMC's regional headquarters in Houston will execute the planning and installation for the BP project during the first half of 2012.
A previous contract awarded to EMAS AMC by BP for work in the Atlantis field was completed in 2010 with the installation of subsea hardware for BP's Thunder Horse project. EMAS is a leading offshore contractor providing construction, marine, production, and well intervention services. It operates globally with offices in 16 locations spanning Africa, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Earlier this year it completed acquisition of Aker Marine Contractors AS.
The SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden's
Department of Fire Technology and the Swedish Petroleum Institute (SPI) propose a research project on ethanol tank fire fighting, designated ETANKFIRE, to develop and validate a methodology for fire protection and fire suppression involving tanks of ethanol fuels. Researchers also hope to determine the large scale burning behavior of ethanol fuels.
Fredrik Rosen, marketing manager of SP Fire Technology in Borås, Sweden, said, "As ethanol storage and handling facilities are expanded, it is ever more important that the fire behavior of ethanol is understood so that effective methods of fire protection and suppression can be developed." Existing fire suppression methods such as alcohol resistant (AR) foam may be effective for ethanol storage tank fires "if done very carefully," Rosen said—or perhaps not.
"The fact is that no scientific research has been released to the public that claims success in this matter," he said. "Similarly there is no experience from real ethanol tank fires that shows that we can successfully combat a full tank fire using conventional methods, even given AR foam. Clearly, there are still many unanswered questions to be investigated before a reliable solution can be found."
The project will be guided by a steering committee of funding stakeholders. Further information about project plans, dates and locations of workshops, and additional background are available at www.sp.se/en/index/research/etankfire.
Schlumberger Ltd.,
Houston, released its Avocet 2012 production operations software platform engineered to produce a complete and up-to-date picture of operations with engineering analysis capabilities to pinpoint causes for production shortfalls.
"Today, production engineers manage seven times more wells than they did in the mid-1990s," said Meyer Bengio, vice-president of petroleum engineering at Schlumberger Information Solutions. "The large number of wells combined with the significant increase in real-time data generated from permanent sensors has created a situation in which engineers only have time to react to well problems, rather than preventing them. With Avocet, engineers can be proactive with all of their wells and act with confidence to close the gap between actual and potential production."
The Avocet 2012 software supports production computations, visualization of production networks, and reporting of current and historical information. Additional capabilities include component allocations, determination of artificial lift efficiency, AFE and workover performance tracking, and a tracking system to avoid costly well integrity problems and to record well completion operations to meet regulatory requirements.
Tendeka,
Aberdeen-based provider of completions and reservoir monitoring products and services announced two key promotions: Gillian King, appointed vice-president of the Asia Pacific region; and Derren Simpson, named vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa.
In other news, Tendeka agreed to give Matpatson Petroleum Services the exclusive promotion and sale of Tendeka products in Nigeria. The agreement "gives Tendeka access to a very important market and will provide operators in Nigeria with the very best technology to monitor, manage, and control their completions and reservoirs," said Tendeka CEO Gary Smart.
Matpatson was formed in 2002 and has 51 employees. Its aim is to maintain, ensure and sustain a continued development and availability of indigenous expertise in Nigeria for the oil and gas industry.
ABS,
Houston, the leading classification society for maritime vessels, plans to strengthen its ties to the South Korean maritime industry with establishment of the ABS Korea Energy Technology Center (KETC) in Busan [formerly Pusan] early next year. This will be ABS' first energy center and will focus on applied research to a broad range of current and future technology challenges. Dr. Hoseong Lee, a veteran of ABS and of the South Korean maritime industry, was named to the new position as vice-president of global Korean technology development to provide guidance and oversight for KETC.
The plan is for KETC to undertake research in partnership with local universities, shipyards, and other organizations, drawing upon the knowledge and experience of ABS engineering and survey staff worldwide. Priority areas include offshore exploration and production technology, subsea applications, LNG technology, ship energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
Lee is the ABS liaison for South Korean businesses as of Nov. 1. Although he will be based in Houston, ABS officials said he will spend considerable time in South Korea working closely with the ABS staff as well as coordinating South Korean business development worldwide.
Andre Han, currently the ABS country manager for South Korea, will take on the additional role of senior advisor, maintaining responsibility for managing the strategic in-country operations with shipyards, vendors, government officials, and other key stakeholders.
Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS president and CEO, said KETC will help ABS better anticipate the needs of its South Korean customers and expedite service delivery. He said, "Korean shipbuilders are global organizations, and this renewed focus will be instrumental in providing the most effective classification service delivery that we offer."
Transocean Ltd.,
Zug, Switzerland, opened a 32,000 sq ft state-of-the-art training center and offices in the G Tower in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some 120 Transocean personnel work in the Kuala Lumpur facilities, which house Transocean's Far East and Australia (FEA) Division led by Managing Director Kaustubh Dighe. The training center supports Transocean's personnel worldwide, including its FEA Division, which has a total of 17 contracted rigs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and Brunei. With six newbuild Transocean rigs under construction in Korea and Singapore—two ultra-deepwater drillships, and four high-specification jack ups—the center will provide the most advanced training available for crews before the new rigs enter service. The training center is scheduled to serve 1,200 Transocean employees annually with more than 20 types of courses. It utilizes seven classrooms and three simulators with observation rooms and video-taping facilities in a virtual working environment. Training equipment includes a crane simulator, conventional drilling simulator, and well-control simulator. Two cyber chair drilling simulators are planned for next year. The Kuala Lumpur center is one of Transocean's four global training centers. The other three are in Aberdeen, Houston, and Macae, Brazil.
Wood Group,
Houston, is restructuring its engineering division into two groups—Subsea, Pipeline, Riser Integrity Management and Process & Facilities—as part of its focus on growing its international production support and gas turbine services businesses following the acquisition of PSN and the disposal of its Well Support division. To facilitate engineering growth, the Engineering division is being restructured
The subsea-related group—led by Steve Wayman—was formed last year under the Wood Group Kenny banner. The new Process & Facilities Group will operate under the Wood Group Mustang banner. It will include Alliance Engineering, Energeticos, IMV Projects, and Mustang. The integration of Alliance and Mustang is a key element of the formation of the new group, which will be led by Mustang President Steve Knowles. Edmund Lunde, president of Alliance Engineering, will assume a new role as vice-president of strategic development for Wood Group Mustang and will lead integration planning and implementation.
The new organization "will enhance our ability to better serve our clients with expanded resources, broader geographic reach, and more comprehensive services," said Mike Straughen, chief executive of Wood Group's engineering division
Knowles said, "Alliance and Mustang are already leaders in the upstream oil and gas market, having designed more topsides for tension-leg platforms, spars, and semisubmersible platforms worldwide than any other company. The combined capability of the new group will be a powerful force in the global market." Operations under the new structure will begin in January.
Cal Dive International Inc.,
Houston, was awarded a $27 million contract by Petroleos Mexicanos to install a 20-in. subsea pipeline in 24 m of water in the Abkatun field in the Gulf of Mexico. The project is expected to start in April. "This is a positive for the company, as activity concerns have plagued the group over the past few quarters. Hopefully this is the start of a trend, as management expects 2012 to be a very active year for the region," said analysts in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc.
UTEC Survey,
Houston, one of the world's largest independent survey companies, opened an office in Rio de Janeiro. It is the company's ninth international office in its continuing global expansion. Brazil "is a critical market for us, and we are committed to ensuring that we have a long-term presence that is supported by an experienced team and advanced systems," said UTEC Chief Executive Martin O'Carroll. The firm named Luciano Arvelo as senior project manager and Marcia Rainer as chief geophysicist in the Rio de Janeiro office. Each is experienced in the Brazilian oil and gas marketplace.
The office will provide local support to Brazil and the rest of South America. Initial services include construction support (i.e. acoustic metrology, pipelay and ROV positioning) and geophysical and inspection surveys. Steve Rampton, UTEC's chief development officer, said, "With offshore activity in Brazil expanding at its current rate, our clients are demanding partners who can deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions. We now have the capability to respond locally."
The company also has offices in Aberdeen, Calgary, St. John's, Perth, Naples, Singapore, and the UAE.
UTEC Survey also named Giovanni Ranieri as business development director for its Mediterranean operations based in Naples, Italy. Ranieri previously was at GeoLab Ltd. for 18 years as managing director and co-founder. He has more than 25 years experience in the oil and gas industry and earlier was an assistant professor of marine applied geophysics at the Oceanology Institute of Naval University of Naples.
Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd.,
Perth, named Peter Mills to its board as a non-executive director. Mills has extensive experience in the upstream oil and gas business in technical and general management roles in Europe, northern Africa, Asia, and Australia. Over the past 29 years he has worked for Woodside, BHP Petroleum, Hess, and Premier Oil in areas of field development, operations management, joint venture management, and commercial negotiation. He retains a strong technical involvement in oil and gas operations, particularly in field development, production optimization, and application of technology to enhance production and value. He most recently has focused on development of unconventional tight gas reservoirs.
Mills also is managing director of Eureka Energy Ltd. and a director of Castle Energy Consultants. He previously served as president of Premier Oil Indonesia, president of Hess Indonesia, and technical manager for Hess UK.
Meanwhile, Sino Gas said it is progressing toward development of its substantial unconventional gas assets in China with its Chinese partners, PetroChina CBM and China United Coal Bed Methane (CUCBM). As a result, Sino Gas Chairman Gavin Harper agreed to become full-time executive chairman of the company. Harper is an industry veteran with more than 36 years experience, primarily with Chevron Corp.
Clerk Maxwell,
T.D. Williamson Inc.,
Tulsa, a leading provider of pipeline equipment and services, announced plans to create a Global Pipeline Integrity Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. When completed, the world-class showcase facility will combine the TDW inline inspection engineering, manufacturing, operations, service center, and data analysis functions in one location. Not only will it house the company's inline inspection capabilities at one site, but also will leverage "the total breadth of TDW technologies," said Eric Rogers, director of pipeline integrity solutions for TDW. The center will showcase TDW pigging products, including launchers and receivers, and pipeline services, such as cleaning and non-destructive testing.
"Our technologies are constantly evolving and expanding," Rogers said. "Our ability to combine technologies and generate multiple data sets in a single inspection makes defect discrimination more accurate and efficient than ever before.." The center is expected to be in operation in the first half of 2012.
Hempel Coatings USA,
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