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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.
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