Services/Suppliers

Aug. 25, 2008

Compressor Engineering Corp. (CECO),

Hutton
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Houston, has announced a celebration of 60 years of service to the gas compression industry by James R. Hutton, CECO vice-president. The CECO veteran is also marking his 50th anniversary as a professional engineer. Hutton joined CECO in 1986, after he retired as president of Dresser Machinery’s international division, where he worked for 38 years. He is also the author of How to Sell Technical Equipment and Services (2005), which is available from PennWell Books at http://store.pennwellbooks.com/howtoseltecs.html. Hutton served as a chief engineer in the US Navy during World War II and holds a BS in engineering and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

CECO is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of engine and compressor replacement parts for gas pipelines, gathering and processing companies, and petrochemical, industrial, and refrigeration plants worldwide. In addition, CECO Pipeline Services provides new construction and a variety of maintenance services to pipeline operators.

Weatherford International Ltd.,

Houston, has acquired International Logging Inc. (ILI), also of Houston. ILI provides mud logging, formation evaluation, and drilling-related services at the well site in more than 55 countries. In addition to its fleet of surface logging units, ILI provides an advanced gas chromatograph system, GCTracer. This service will be linked with a number of existing drilling- and production-related services that Weatherford currently offers. ILI also brings a newly designed electronic drilling recorder for unmanned monitoring of drilling data and one of the most advanced communication and information management services in the industry. Terms of the deal aren’t disclosed.

Weatherford is one of the largest global providers of mechanical solutions, technology, and services for the drilling and production sectors of the oil and gas industry, operating in more than 100 countries.

Elliott Co.,

Jeannette, Pa., has announced that it will build the compressor train for the world’s largest hydrogen peroxide-to-propylene oxide (HPPO) plant, a facility SCG-Dow Group plans to build near Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The HPPO plant will produce propylene oxide using new, proprietary hydrogen peroxide-to-propylene oxide technology that Dow Chemical Co. and BASF AG jointly developed. The new process technology eliminates the need for a complex, integrated petrochemical facility to produce propylene oxide. Elliott said its four-stage, double-flow design was chosen for its ability to handle the state-of-the-art vapor compression steps that HPPO process technology requires. In addition to the compressor and gear, Elliott will also provide a buffer gas system and a lube oil system for the plant. Delivery is scheduled for late 2009.

SCG-Dow Group is a joint venture of Siam Cement Group and Dow Chemical.

Elliott is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and service of technically advanced centrifugal compressors and steam turbines used in the petrochemical, refining, oil and gas, and other process industries, as well as in power applications. Elliott is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based industrial conglomerate Ebara Corp.

Geotrace,

Houston, has announced its participation as a 3-year sponsor in the Edinburgh Anisotropy Project (EAP). This sponsorship will allow Geotrace to further enhance its four-component processing technology and participate in research into new anisotropic capabilities. EAP is a consortium-supported research team working under the Seismology and Geomagnetism Program at the British Geological Survey. The principal objective is to investigate the application of seismic anisotropy to the oil industry.

Geotrace is an independent, integrated, reservoir services company that provides subsurface imaging solutions to the oil and gas industry worldwide.

TechCorr USA LLC,

Pasadena, Tex., has acquired J&V Electric, Spring, Tex., merging the latter into its new Electrical & Instrumentation (E&I) Division. The new division will focus on providing residential, commercial, and industrial clients a wide range of electrical contracting and instrumentation services. Terms of the deal aren’t disclosed.

J&V Electric is a privately held company that has been providing electrical contracting services to the residential and commercial building industries for over 25 years.

TechCorr is a leading supplier of engineering, inspection, nondestructive testing, and industrial cleaning services to the oil and gas production, refining, petrochemical, and power generation industries worldwide.

Swire Oilfield Services,

Aberdeen and Stavanger, has acquired Australia’s Maritime Products & Services. Terms of the deal aren’t disclosed, apart from being described as a multimillion-pound acquisition. MPS was founded in 2001 and quickly established itself as Australia’s leading supplier of chemical tanks, pump, and filtration equipment. Operators in the Australia region now will have access to Swire Oilfield Services’ extensive suite of products and services that include chemical tank, basket, and container rental; chemical handling; and aviation fuel services. The acquisition will also enhance the range of Swire services on offer to the rest of the industry, most notably taking the company into the new area of pump and filtration units specifically designed for high-pressure, low-flow well applications. Over the past 9 months, Swire has acquired businesses in Norway, Angola, Nigeria, the US, and now Australia for a total of £35 million. In addition to the acquisitions, £18 million has been invested to improve and enhance the company’s fleet across its global locations.

Meanwhile, Swire Oilfield Services has opened a new base at Yutzhno in Sakhalin Island to serve growing demand for containers, tanks, and baskets in a region with strong offshore oil and gas field development under way.

In addition, ConocoPhillips has decided to make use of its option to renew its contract with Swire for the hiring of tanks and containers. The contract period will be for 5 years and covers the Norwegian part of the North Sea. Swire is currently supplying a full range of equipment to fulfill ConocoPhillips’s varied demand for containers, tanks, and baskets. The two companies will also further integrate on the system side and will actively pursue the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) as a part of the contract. The contract will continue with a strong focus on all health, safety, and environmental quality matters related to the lifting equipment covered by the contract.

Swire Oilfield Services, part of the Swire Group, is the world’s largest supplier of specialist offshore cargo carrying units to the global energy industry and is a leading specialist in helicopter fuel systems and chemical handling services.

Aker Solutions,

Oslo, has been awarded two contracts totaling a value of about 150 million kroner (Nor.) for the design and supply of on-vessel mooring systems. The contracts were awarded by Bluewater Industries Inc. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The Bluewater contract consists of eccentric fairlead chain stoppers and roller RamWinches for a deep draft production unit owned by ATP Oil & Gas Corp. The hull for the deep-draft production unit of Moss Maritime’s Octabuoy design will be built by Cosco Shipyard in China. After completion, it will be located in Cheviot field in the UK North Sea. The Daewoo contract consists of eccentric fairlead chain stoppers for the Pazflor FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading vessel) destined to operate in Angolan waters. Daewoo is building the FPSO in South Korea. Pazflor field, operated by Total E&P Angola, is located about 200 km off the coast of Angola in nearly 800 m of water.

Aker Solutions RamWinches work aboard the Independence Hub in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Aker Solutions, through its subsidiary Aker Pusnes AS, has developed the eccentric fairlead chain stoppers design, which is an innovative on-vessel mooring solution with several advantages. With the eccentric fairlead chain stoppers, the mooring load is secured at keel level, thereby increasing the fatigue life of the chain. The design eliminates the need for reinforcements at the deck level, thereby decreasing the overall weight. The equipment will be manufactured in Europe and South Korea, with delivery to take place during 2009.

Aker Solutions ASA is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products, and integrated solutions to the oil and gas, refining and chemicals, mining and metals, and power generation industries.

Siemens Energy & Automation Inc.,

Alpharetta, Ga., has achieved a world record with the introduction of an 8-MW variable frequency drive (VFD), the world’s largest. The newest Siemens Robicon Perfect Harmony Drive operates with an output frequency of 500 Hz. While basic VFD topologies have been limited to output frequencies of 120–200 Hz, Siemens has previously manufactured and installed drives that operate at frequencies of 315–400 Hz. This latest VFD will be used to drive permanent-magnetic motors, such as those found in natural gas processing and transportation applications that require high-speed compression.

Siemens Energy & Automation, one of Siemens AG’s operating companies in the US, manufactures and markets one of the world’s broadest ranges of electrical and electronic products, systems, and services to industrial and construction market customers. Its technologies range from circuit protection and energy management systems to process control, industrial software, and totally integrated automation solutions. The company also has expertise in systems integration, technical services, and turnkey industrial systems.

Energy Ventures,

Stavanger, a venture capital firm specializing in upstream oil and gas technology, has invested $19 million as the financier behind NovaDrill, a new company that will commercialize state-of-the-art drilling technologies. Provo, Utah-based Novatek International Inc. will partner with Energy Ventures in the new enterprise, contributing proprietary advanced technologies related to various downhole drilling and logging tools. Novatek has been a leader in industrial diamonds and polycrystalline-diamond compact cutter designs and developed the IntelliServe system for downhole telemetry.

Established in 2002, Energy Ventures is a leading venture capital firm providing competent capital to high-growth oil and gas technology companies. Energy Ventures manages and advises three oil and gas venture funds with a combined capital base in excess of $410 million.

Expro,

Reading, UK, has been awarded a well testing services and production clean-up contract from StatoilHydro ASA. The 2½-year contract is considered to be one of the largest contract structures for these services worldwide. This is the third consecutive time that Expro has secured this contract structure, which will fully execute the company’s capabilities, including drill stem testing, surface well testing, memory gauges, subsea equipment, and tubing supplies. It will involve exploration work in Norway, plus production clean-ups in the North Sea, as well as production clean-ups in the Norwegian Sea and, potentially, in the Barents Sea. The contract gives Expro a firm foundation to expand its service offering and enhance its staffing levels in the region. The initial contract is expected to be completed in December 2010, and if options are secured, the contract will run until the end of 2014.

Expro is a market leader in providing services and products that measure, improve, control, and process flow from high-value oil and gas wells. It markets in the areas of well testing and commissioning, production systems, wireline intervention, connectors and measurements, and drilling choke systems.

O’Brien Oil Pollution Service Inc. (OOPS),

Brea, Calif., and Response Management Associates (RMA), Spring, Tex., are holding the annual Practical Response to Oil Spills (PROS) Course Sept. 17–18, 2008, at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow in Houston. The PROS Course is designed for senior executives, facility managers, incident commanders, and qualified individuals and their alternates, as well as first responders and section chiefs.

OOPS provides QI (Qualified Individual) and SMT (Spill Management Team) services to over 150 oil and gas companies and 350 shipping companies, representing in excess of 5,000 oceangoing vessels operating in US territorial seas.

RMA is a highly specialized professional consulting firm that provides safety, environmental, and regulatory compliance services to the energy industry.

Innovation Fuels,

New York City, has shipped the first cargo of biodiesel from a New York Harbor producer bound for Rotterdam. This initial shipment of 15,000 bbl is bound for European customers through Innovation Fuels Europe, a joint venture of Innovation Fuels and Arpadis Group. The shipment follows the company’s recent closure on a $15.5 million financing round led by Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group on behalf of New York Common Retirement Fund, RNK Capital, and Lyrical Partners. Innovation Fuels is the first biodiesel refinery company supported by all three institutional investors.

Innovation Fuels is a vertically integrated, producer of renewable, environmentally friendly fuels with a global reach and a verified 950,000 bbl/year refinery at New York Harbor. It recently acquired North American Biodiesel, a company that was founded 2 years ago for the purpose of developing a biodiesel production facility in Milwaukee and that provides Innovation Fuels with direct, deepwater international access via leasehold at the Port of Milwaukee on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

Pacific Maritime Institute,

Seattle, has announced the graduation of the first class from its Workboat Academy Workboat Mate program. The Workboat Mate Program takes 2 years to complete, with 25 weeks of shore-based instruction and 52 weeks of onboard training. Upon graduation, the trainee receives a Mate 500-1600 Gross Tons license, with Towing Endorsement (if serving on tugs); STCW-95 Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch; and an Able-Bodied Seaman Limited endorsement. PMI has 80 cadets in the program today.

AgustaWestland,

Cascina Costa di Samarate, Italy, has sold 14 AW139 helicopters to Saudi Aramco, serving the Saudi Arabian state oil company’s offshore oil and gas operations, security surveillance, and VIP transportation needs. The AW139 is a next-generation rotor-wing aircraft that features an advanced avionics system and four-axis autopilot and is able to perform offshore and hoist loads with high safety margins and endurance. AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is a provider of rotorcraft transport and lift solutions to military and commercial operators around the world.

Agusta Westland’s AW139 helicopter.
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