SERVICES | SUPPLIERS

June 3, 2013

Bolttech Mannings Inc.,

Pittsburgh, agreed to acquire Alberta-based Red Flame Industries Inc. (RFI), a specialty plant and pipeline engineering and certification services company. The acquisition expands Bolttech Mannings' broad portfolio of services such as industrial bolting, induction services, and on-site machining for the oil, gas, petrochemical, steel, power generation, and offshore industries. It also strengthens the company's presence in Canada, which it sees as a growing market. RFI offers equipment inspection, certification, specialty mechanical services, data management and customized non-destructive testing, and Hot Tap solutions. Jared Sayers will continue as chief executive and president of RFI at its Red Deer, Alberta, headquarters. Details of the acquisition were not revealed.

Santrol,

Sugar Land, Tex., the oil and gas branch of Fairmount Minerals industrial sand and proppant company in Chesterland, Ohio, acquired the self-suspending proppant technology from Soane Energy LLC of Cambridge, Mass., that officials said will improve production by substantially increasing the surface area of propped fractures to the reservoir. They describe it as a "game-changing" proppant suspended in the fracturing fluid that is transported farther for substantially better propped fracture length. The technology, which eliminates the need for certain fluid additives, improves hydraulic fracturing efficiency, officials said. This is achieved by enveloping a traditional proppant, such as Northern White sand, in a polymer that suspends the proppant in the hydraulic fracturing fluid. Once the proppant is placed in the fracture, traditional breakers remove the polymer leaving the proppant in place.

The proppant remains suspended in the fracturing fluid throughout the entire delivery process, lessening the need for fluid viscosifiers, such as guar and its derivatives, crosslinkers, friction reducers, biocides, gel stabilizers, or high acid-alkaline buffers. This simplified fluid requirement increases hydraulic fracturing efficiency. Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Atwood Oceanics Inc.,

Houston, said a subsidiary was awarded a 1-year drilling services contract by Addax Petroleum Cameroon Ltd. for the Atwood Aurora jack up rig. It will work off Cameroon at a day rate of $193,000 inclusive of the 15% Cameroon withholding tax, or $164,000 exclusive of the 15% Cameroon withholding tax, depending on the well location. The contract is expected to commence in February 2014 in continuation of previously announced contractual commitments. With the award of this contract, the firm contractual commitment for the Atwood Aurora is expected to extend to February 2015, officials said.

In other news, Atwood Oceanics agreed to repurchase 2 million shares of its common stock from Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. (H&P), Tulsa, at a discount to the May 23 closing price. Atwood Oceanics will then cancel those shares. The transaction is expected to close on June 13. H&P also will make a block sale of an additional 2 million shares of Atwood Oceanics common stock to an unspecified financial institution. When these actions are completed, H&P still will own 4 million shares of Atwood Oceanics, or 6.3% of its outstanding stock.

Aker Solutions ASA,

Oslo, won a contract from Norcem AS, a Norwegian cement manufacturer and subsidiary of HeidelbergCement AG in Heidelberg, Germany, to test and study the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gas emitted by the cement industry. The award in cooperation with the European Cement Research Academy marks the first use of technology to capture CO2 at a cement plant, officials said. Aker Solutions will perform long-term testing with its in-house mobile test unit to select optimum chemical solvent for high content CO2 flue gas at Norcem's plant in Brevik, Norway. Aker Solutions has developed CO2-technology solutions since the early 1990s. A separate company, Aker Clean Carbon, was established in 2007 to commercialize the technology. Aker Solutions took full ownership of Aker Clean Carbon in 2012. Carbon capture and storage activities are an integrated part of Aker Solutions. The contract value was undisclosed.

Aker Solutions laid the foundation stone of a new plant in São José dos Pinhais that will double the company's subsea production capacity in Brazil. It will replace the company's current subsea manufacturing facility in Curitiba. The new facility will have 1,200 employees and generate work for an additional 5,000 people at suppliers. It will be built on a 168,220 sq. m plot. Aker Solutions is expanding its manufacturing capacity after winning a contract in April to deliver subsea equipment to Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras). The $800 million contract is for 60 well sets with vertical subsea trees, subsea control systems, tools, and spares for Petrobras' deepwater pre-salt field development off Brazil.

Aker Solutions last year started building a multi-purpose service site for its drilling equipment business in Macaé, 180 km northeast of Rio de Janeiro. The facility, set to open in 2014, will expand the company's capacity to serve Brazil's fast-growing drilling market.

UOP LLC,

Des Plaines, Ill., a Honeywell company, will provide technology for what is described as "the world's largest on-purpose propylene production facility" located on the Gulf Coast. Ascend Performance Materials Operations LLC will use UOP's trademarked Oleflex process technology to convert propane to propylene. It is the 14th Oleflex project Honeywell's UOP has announced since the beginning of 2011, and the company's 7th Oleflex project in North America since the technology was developed. Ascend will install the Oleflex technology at a facility at an unspecified location on the Gulf Coast to produce more than 1 million tonnes of propylene annually, beginning in 2015. In addition to technology licensing, Honeywell's UOP will supply engineering design, catalysts, adsorbents, and selected equipment for the project. Ascend has offices throughout the world and five manufacturing facilities in the US.

Paradigm Ltd.,

Matin

Amsterdam, named Arshad Matin as president, chief executive officer, and a member of its board of directors, to be based in Houston. Eldad Weiss, founder and former CEO of Paradigm, will continue his association with the company as non-executive chairman of the board. Matin previously served as executive vice president at IHS Inc. where he managed all business lines, accounting for over $1.5 billion in revenues. He also led Seismic Micro-Technology (acquired by IHS) as president and CEO, and formerly served as president and chief operating officer of BindView Corp. (acquired by Symantec). He also led an enterprise security business at Symantec Corp. Matin holds an graduate degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania , the Wharton School; a graduate degree in computer engineering from The University of Texas, and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Regional Engineering College in Bhopal, India.

Senergy Group Ltd.,

Edinburgh, joined with the University of Aberdeen to develop a graduate petrophysics and formation evaluation program in response to the growing demand for petrophysicists. The program is believed by officials to be the first not only dedicated to petrophysics but also designed as a flexible modular program for people wishing to combine studies with work. Officials said a key objective is to address the shortfall of "practitioners" in the industry who can do the job as well as understand the science and the techniques. The program is to begin in September and will be open to graduates or equivalent with an existing position in the oil and gas industry who have backgrounds in fields such as geosciences, physical sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Officials said the program "can be delivered anywhere in the world," with attendance required approximately four times annually for periods of 1-2 weeks. Senergy already delivers specialist training to companies around the world and will be marketing this new program on a global basis.

Willbros Group Inc.,

Collins

Houston, named Earl Collins as president of its oil and gas product and service lines, including construction, maintenance, turnaround, and fabrication for projects from the wellhead to small capital projects inside refinery limits. Collins joins Willbros from CH2M Hill Inc. in Englewood, Colo., where he served as president and global director of engineering, procurement, and construction operations for all energy and chemicals projects servicing the upstream, midstream, and downstream markets. He previously held positions with what used to be Peter Kiewit Construction, now Kiewit Corp. Collins has an undergraduate degree in construction engineering from Iowa State University.

NCS Survey Ltd.,

Westhill, Scotland, an Acteon company, appointed John Meaden managing director. Meaden has more than 30 years of experience in the offshore survey industry. Before joining NCS Survey in September 2011, he was survey manager for Subsea 7 in northern Europe and managing director of Fugro–UDI in Aberdeen. He started his career as a field surveyor and an offshore party chief before moving into project and commercial management. Meaden has an undergraduate degree from Portsmouth Polytechnic, now the University of Portsmouth, in Hampshire, England. He also has a diploma in surveying from Glasgow University and a graduate degree in business from Aberdeen University. He is a graduate of the Harvard University Program for Management Development. NCS Survey, part of Acteon's marine electronics, instrumentation, and survey business, has bases in Aberdeen, Stavanger, and Rio de Janeiro.

Large Diameter Drilling Ltd. (LDD),

Penryn in Cornwall, UK, launched LM Handling, a new joint venture between Acteon companies LDD and Menck GmbH offering global coverage in offshore lifting and handling equipment and services on a sales and rental basis. It will operate out of existing LDD and Menck bases and will use the new Acteon operations base in Singapore scheduled to open in the third quarter. Operations will focus on providing turnkey solutions to customers' lifting and handling offshore challenges through a collaborative approach with current and potential customers. Company officials expect it to build on the synergies between the Acteon companies and enhance the group's subsea service to customers by bringing together specialist engineers, project managers, and equipment for critical tasks such as jacket and monopile installation along with the myriad of subsea and offshore construction work.

Acteon's $11 million, 10,000 sq. m custom-built service center in the Tuas industrial area of Singapore is due to open in July to support offshore operations of Acteon companies across the region. It will be the first purpose-built Acteon center to provide engineering, design, equipment maintenance and servicing, and equipment rental and sales for multiple Acteon companies including the CAPE Group, Conductor Installation Services (CIS), Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd., and Claxton Engineering Services.

The Offshore Technology Conference Board of Directors,

Stokes

Houston, elected Edward G. Stokes as chairman and Dr. Joe R. Fowler as vice-chairman for 2014-2015. Stokes has been a part of the OTC since 1995 and on the board since 2008, representing the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He has served as vice chairman since 2012 and was program committee chairman in 2002. He currently serves as offshore project coordination manager at ConocoPhillips, responsible for day-to-day management of the offshore portion of the Brass LNG project, a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., Total SA, and Eni International Resources. Stokes previously was manager of business development at ConocoPhillips Shipping. He has undergraduate degrees in engineering science from Eastern Oklahoma State College and in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University, and a graduate business degree from Houston Baptist University. Stokes has written 15 technical publications, presented papers in 5 countries, and holds patents related to oilfield production and LNG ship design. He is a native of Okemah, Okla.

Fowler is president and co-founder of Stress Engineering Services Inc., a Houston-based engineering consulting firm with offices in Cincinnati, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Calgary. The company is a leader in floating systems design, fitness-for-service evaluations, consumer-product mechanical design, measurement and control systems, and third-party testing of full-scale systems and equipment. Fowler received an undergraduate degree with honors, a graduate degree, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and in 2000 received the Outstanding Alumni Honor Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M.

Harkand,

Aberdeen, agreed to acquire the main assets and business of Veolia Marine Services (VMS), the Houston-based division of Veolia Environmental Services. Harkand is an international subsea inspection, repair, maintenance, and light construction group formed in February through the merger of Iremis, Integrated Subsea Services Ltd., and Andrews Survey following investment by Oaktree Capital Management. Employing more than 750 people at bases in Aberdeen, Dubai, Singapore, and Perth, the group plans to be a $1 billion business in 5 years. Details were not disclosed of the VMS acquisition that will add 150 onshore and offshore employees, three dynamically-positioned multi-purpose vessels, and six work-class remotely operated vehicles to Harkand's workforce and fleet. Harkand is already active in the North Sea, Asia Pacific, and Africa, and the acquisition will expand its international reach with VMS's established record in deepwater inspection, repair, and maintenance in the Gulf of Mexico.

Acquired assets include the DP2 multi-purpose support vessel Swordfish with a nine-man saturation diving system and two Triton XLS ROVs onboard; the DP3 multi-purpose support vessel Viking Poseidon, with two Triton XLS ROVs onboard; and the DP3 multi-purpose support vessel Normand Pacific with two Triton XLS-XLX ROVs onboard. The management teams of Harkand and VMS, supported by Harkand shareholder Oaktree Capital Management, will work closely to integrate the business. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory conditions including approval by US anti-trust authorities. It is expected to be completed in June.

Prysmian Group,

Milan, was awarded a $100 million contract for supply and installation of submarine cables for a section of ExxonMobil Corp.'s existing offshore operations in the US. The job involves replacement of 50 km of submarine power cables with increased capacity 40 kV ethylene-propylene rubber insulated cables designed for water depths of 450 m. The cables will supply electric power from the existing shore-based generating plant to offshore platforms. The turnkey project will be executed by Prysmian with the submarine power cable supplied by its Drammen, Norway factory and installation using the Cable Enterprise laying vessel. This vessel will undergo significant modification in 2014 to convert it to a full dynamically positioned vessel. Prysmian has participated in development of some of the most strategic submarine power interconnections worldwide, supporting the global upgrade of power grids for a better use of available resources with its state-of-the-art cable technology.

Damen Shipyards Group,

The Netherlands, will soon begin construction of 14 terminal tugs for Kuwait Oil Co. The series consist of two types, including nine tugs of Damen's recently launched 3212 model and five units of the familiar 2810 design, with 80 and 50 tons of bollard pull, respectively. Delivery of the vessels will begin in 2014. Damen's naval architects and designers in The Netherlands have tailored KOC's exacting requirements on layout, systems, and performances. Existing Damen designs have been combined with state-of-the-art technology and dedicated features. The new tugs will be assisting tankers at near-shore loading terminals and at single point moorings further offshore. All ships will be equipped with a powerful fire-fighting system for immediate action in an emergency. Damen has been building vessels for KOC since the late 1980s. In the 1990's, it delivered a complete fleet of tugs, crew tenders, work boats, and mooring boats to KOC. Damen Shipyards Group operates more than 45 shipyards, repair yards, and related companies worldwide and employs more than 6,000 people in 34 countries.

Hallin Marine LLC,

Houston, a Superior Energy Services company, secured a contract with EnQuest PLC for an inspection, repair, and maintenance project in the UK sector of the North Sea. Work will include full structural inspection activities as well as a number of repair and maintenance operations at EnQuest's Thistle Alpha Platform, 275 miles northeast of Aberdeen.