Bechtel Group Inc.,
Bechtel is a leading engineering, construction, and project management company with projects in oil and gas, energy, mining, transportation, and infrastructure.
BJ Services Co.,
Houston, has appointed Kyle Ruzick area manager, Gulf Coast, for its process and pipeline services group. In his new role, Ruzick will oversee all process and pipeline services operations, business development initiatives, and financial management throughout the Gulf of Mexico region. He brings 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, engineering, technical operations, and management within the process and pipeline sector. Ruzick launched his career in the oil industry in 1990 with Halliburton, where he served in a variety of management roles in the US and abroad. He joined BJ Services' process and pipeline services group in 2003 as West Africa operations manager, progressing to the position of area manager for the Northern North Sea and Nigeria, working from the company's base in Aberdeen. Ruzick holds a BS in petroleum engineering from the University of Wyoming.
BJ Services Company is a leading provider of field development and production enhancement services to the energy industry.
Bredero Shaw,
a unit of Toronto-based ShawCor Ltd., has entered into a joint venture agreement with OOO ArkhTekhnoProm, an affiliate of OAO Mezhregiontruboprovodstroi, the leading Russian offshore pipeline contractor. The JV will establish a pipe coating facility at the Port of Arkhangelsk in Russia's Arkhangelsk Region to provide advanced concrete weight coating services for the emerging northern Russia offshore pipeline market. The JV involves the formation of a company owned 75% by OOO ArkhTekhnoProm and 25% by Bredero Shaw. Bredero Shaw will lease one of its proprietary mobile concrete coating plants to the JV and will operate the plant under a technical services agreement for an initial 4 years. The first contract to be executed by the joint venture involves concrete weight coating of 48-in. pipe for a pipeline crossing of Baydaratskaya Bay from the Yamal Peninsula. This project will commence during the second quarter of 2010. It is expected that the Arkhangelsk location will enable the JV to undertake future pipe coating projects related to Yamal Peninsula pipeline development as well as other offshore projects throughout Russia.
ShawCor is an energy services company specializing in products and services for the pipeline and pipe services and the petrochemical and industrial segments of the oil and gas industry.
Cecon ASA,
Arendal, Norway, has appointed Morten Kilen operations director, Andrew Towler business development director, and Jorn Otto Gunderson commercial director. Kilen has been with the company since 2007 as project manager on several offshore construction projects. He holds an MS and has 15 years' experience as project manager, project engineering manager, and installation manager on numerous projects. Towler, based in Perth, has been with the company since 2005 as operations director. He holds an MS, BA, and BS and has >25 years' offshore experience, of which the last 20 years was as project manager for significant offshore development projects. Gundersen has been with the company since 2008 as project services manager. He attended the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy and has >15 years of management and senior management experience as contracts and tendering manager on numerous projects.
Cecon is an independent subsea installation contractor focused on engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contracts for steel pipelines, J/S-lay, flexible flowlines, and risers together with cables and umbilicals for subsea oil and gas projects worldwide.
2H Offshore Engineering Ltd.,
London, has merged its UK-based shallow-water conductor and deepwater riser engineering teams into a single engineering group. The combined group of engineers based in Woking will deliver a full range of shallow-water and deepwater conductor and riser engineering services. The shallow-water conductor engineering team was previously based in Norwich and formed part of the UWG analysis group that 2H acquired in July 2008. The Norwich office will be closed.
Meanwhile, 2H has opened a new office in Aberdeen to provide improved support for clients based in the area. 2H has been serving Aberdeen through its London office for over 15 years. The Aberdeen office will initially focus on drilling riser, completion riser, conductor, and wellhead assessments but will also take on other types of engineering with support from 2H's London office. The Aberdeen office will be staffed through a mix of local recruitment and relocation of experienced employees from other 2H offices.
2H manufactures and markets deepwater oil and gas riser equipment.
KCA Deutag,
Aberdeen, has appointed Tim Summers nonexecutive chairman. He joins the company from TNK-BP in Moscow, where he most recently served as CEO. Summers held a variety of senior roles with BP PLC prior to his appointment as COO at TNK-BP 4 years ago. He is a chartered chemical engineer, graduate of Manchester University, and a fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining.
KCA Deutag, owned by funds controlled by First Reserve Corp. and Pamplona Capital Management, is one of the largest international land drilling contractors outside the Americas and one of the largest platform drilling contractors in the North Sea.
Gulf Offshore Logistics LLC,
New Orleans, has announced plans to build eight deepwater offshore support vessels. That would increase its fleet to 21 owned and operated deepwater service vessels, with several of these vessels slated to work under long-term charter agreements extending into 2014. Four of the vessels will be 220 ft by 36 ft DP2 fast supply vessels powered by four 3,000 hp CAT engines and capable of speeds exceeding 30 knots. The vessels will be built by Gulf Craft LLC in Patterson, La., with the first vessel to be delivered in 2012. The other four vessels will be 300 ft class DP2 diesel electric platform supply vessels with capacities for 18,000 bbl of liquid mud and 13,000 cu ft of dry bulk. These vessels will be built by Thoma-Sea Builders LLC in Lockport, La., with the first delivery set for 2012.
GOL is a full-service marine transportation and logistics company providing vessels and logistical support for the US Gulf Coast oil and gas industry.
UTEC Survey,
Houston, has named Colin Erskine sales manager for UTEC Survey Construction Services Ltd., Aberdeen. Erskine will be responsible for developing new growth opportunities and client relationships in Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, and West Africa. Erskine has more than 25 years of experience in the offshore survey industry. Previously, he was director of sales for Ashtead Technology and, prior to that, a survey manager for Stolt Offshore. Erskine has a bachelor's in topographic science from the University of Glasgow.
UTEC Survey provides a comprehensive range of offshore survey services to the oil and gas, hydrographic, telecommunication, and construction industries.
Deep Sea Supply PLC,
Limassol, Cyprus, has appointed Espen Skadal CFO. Previously, Skadal was investment director at Agder Energi AS, where he headed the corporate finance business and was managing director of Agder Energi Venture AS. Prior to that, he held positions in Orkla ASA's investment division as portfolio manager and financial analyst, including Orkla Swiss Branch in Zurich. He has also experience from DnBNOR as account manager in the oil and gas department. Skadal has an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and is a certified financial analyst and certified portfolio manager.
Deep Sea Supply owns and operates a fleet of anchor handling tug supply vessels.
T3 Energy Services Inc.,
Houston, has opened a new wellhead and production systems facility at Fort Nelson, BC. The facility is to serve as a field support base for the recently discovered Horn River basin gas shale. It will have test, assembly, and repair capabilities supported by manufacturing capabilities from T3's Nisku operation. The Fort Nelson facility will maintain a full complement of service tools in addition to a full range of wellhead and gate valve spare parts.
T3 provides a broad range of oil field products and services in support of drilling and completions, workovers, production, and transportation.
Reservoir Group LLC,
XDT is the recently launched downhole drilling tools and services division of Reservoir Group focused on the globalization of its range of downhole roller-reamers and ancillary tools, as well as bringing innovative products to market. Previously, Grener was managing director of Andergauge. During his 14-year career with Andergauge, he spearheaded international growth and the sale of the company to SCF Partners followed by a subsequent sale to Grant-Prideco. Prior to Andergauge, Greener spent several years in international roles with Eastman-Whipstock and Baker-Hughes INTEQ. He has an engineering degree from Brunel University.
Reservoir Group is an international group of companies providing the global oil and gas industry with exclusive drilling, completion, and production technologies and related services.
Wartsila Corp.,
Helsinki, has launched a new portfolio of environmental services to serve both the energy and marine markets. The new offering will help customers minimize emissions into the air and water and help them meet increasingly stringent legislation and regulations.
The new portfolio includes a range of products, solutions, and services aimed at both land-based power plants and marine vessels. Included are catalysts that treat nitrogen oxide emissions, scrubbers for removing sulfur oxides, and oily water treatment systems.
Wartsila is a leader in complete life cycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets.
GeoBio Energy Inc.,
Seattle, has appointed Paul Spencer CFO and Chris Wain COO. Spencer and Wain have worked together for several years in business development and financial consulting for early-stage companies. They will bring GeoBio up to speed on financial reporting requirements, consolidate the books and records of GeoBio's proposed oil and natural gas services industry acquisitions, assist the completion of such acquisitions, and develop financial projections and valuations for the combined entities. Spencer is a CPA and a founding partner of TanOak LLC, a Seattle-based business development firm. He previously worked as an office managing partner for BDO Seidman. Prior to that, he worked for Ernst & Young. Wain, also a founding partner of TanOak, brings a 25-year career in engineering, operations, finance, technology integration, and R&D, fulfilling C-class and senior management roles with BP PLC, British Aerospace, Bombardier, Ciba Geigy, and PTI.
GeoBio Energy's business model emphasizes the acquisition and operation of existing companies in the oil and gas services and energy industry. Its most recently proposed acquisitions include the Farmington, NM-based downhole chemicals specialist H&M Precision Products Inc. and an undisclosed wellsite construction company in Colorado's Piceance Creek Basin.
American International Industries Inc.,
Houston, has formed a new downhole tools company, Downhole Completion Products Inc., based in The Woodlands, Tex. DCP will offer proprietary premium drilling and completion threaded products designed to meet any downhole conditions. American International named Larry Shumate, president of its Shumate Energy Technologies Inc. (SET) subsidiary, president of DCP as well. Shumate has over 30 years of manufacturing experience. SET has API certificates for advanced quality systems and is licensed to produce and monogram threaded products to API Spec 7.1 for drill stem and Spec 5CT for casing and tubing specifications.
American International is a diversified holding company with holdings in oil and gas and in industry, finance, and real estate in Houston and surrounding areas.
Gas Technology Institute,
Des Plaines, Ill., has named Ernest Lever senior institute engineer to lead GTI's research, testing, development, and deployment of plastic pipe, fittings, and other products. Lever has over 20 years of extensive project management, technology development, and research and development experience in the plastic piping industry. Previously, he worked for 13 years at Georg Fischer Central Plastics LLC, Shawnee, Okla., most recently as vice-president of engineering and quality for the last six years. Lever is recognized as an industry leader in electrofusion of plastics, failure mechanisms in plastic, and optimal design of plastic fittings.
GTI is a natural gas industry-focused research, development, and training organization that has been addressing the nation's energy and environmental challenges by developing technology-based solutions for consumers, industry, and government for more than 65 years.
Merichem Chemicals & Refinery Services LLC,
Schaumberg, Ill., has announced the first license for a LO-CAT unit and the first regenerable hydrogen sulfide removal technology to be installed and operated on a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The hydrogen sulfide removal module will be installed on an FPSO slated for operation in Aquila field in the Adriatic Sea off Italy. Italian firms COMART and Saipem are working together on the engineering, fabrication, and construction of the module. Saipem will operate the FPSO on behalf of Italian energy giant ENI. The LO-CAT system is designed to directly treat produced associated gas and provide a sweet gas stream with a hydrogen sulfide content of <100 ppm.
Saipem provides engineering, procurement, project management, and construction services for large-scale offshore and onshore oil and gas projects.
COMART is an Italian company committed to the design and fabrication of packages and modules for the treatment of natural gas and oil.
Merichem Chemicals & Refinery Services has more than 30 years of hydrogen sulfide removal experience and offers a complete portfolio of hydrogen sulfide removal processes, systems, and products to fit a wide range of applications.
RigNet Inc.,
Houston, has appointed John Bush manager, strategic business development. He will focus on extending the company's remote communications and collaborative applications to new geographic and vertical markets, particularly in attractive overseas markets where RigNet is underpenetrated or has no presence. Bush comes to RigNet with industry experience in the areas of circuit manufacturing, aerospace technologies, and software development. He has a BS in electrical and computer engineering, with a minor in telecommunications engineering, from Western Carolina University.
Meanwhile, RigNet has relocated its Aberdeen operations to a new and improved facility in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, to accommodate an increased headcount and a need for expanded workshop space and storage and testing facilities. RigNet's Aberdeen office, first opened in 2005, provides local support centers for field operations. Its functions include sales, operations, project management, engineering, procurement, and logistics. The office services RigNet's offshore and onshore clients with operations in the UK and Africa.
RigNet is a leading global provider of managed communications, networks, and collaborative applications dedicated to the oil and gas industry.
WellPoint Systems Inc.,
Calgary, has appointed Herve Seguin CFO. He has over 15 years of experience as a CFO for public Canadian companies, leading debt and equity transactions, including financings, as well as the management of treasury, tax, investor relations, budgeting, and planning functions. Previously Seguin served as CFO and corporate secretary for Certicom Corp., CFO of InfoCast Corp., and vice-president, finance, and CFO of Promis Systems Corp. Ltd. He is a certified management accountant and certified general accountant. Seguin replaces Bharat Mahajan, the company's CFO since July 2008, who has stepped down as CFO but will remain with the company through February 28 in a consulting role to assist in an orderly transition. Mahajan is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
WellPoint provides premier software and related services for managing critical operations within the energy industry.
Foster Wheeler AG,
Zug, Switzerland, has agreed to form a Saudi Arabian joint venture with SOFCON (A. Al-Saihati, A. Fattani, and O. Al-Othman Consulting Engineering Co.). Foster Wheeler SOFCON Consulting Engineering Co. will be based in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and will provide engineering and project management services for onshore and offshore oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, and associated infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia.
Foster Wheeler designs and constructs processing facilities for upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals, petrochemicals, power, environmental, and other industries.
SOFCON provides program management, engineering design, procurement, construction, and environmental services in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, notably in oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, power, water, and infrastructure.
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