Services/Suppliers

Sept. 8, 2008

Atwood Oceanics Inc.,

Houston, has received a commitment from an undisclosed operator in West Africa for the Atwood Southern Cross semisubmersible drilling rig to drill a single well. The contract will commence immediately after the rig completes its current contract off Italy. It provides day rates of $262,500 during mobilization from Italy to West Africa and $352,000 during a 60–90-day drilling job.

In addition, the Atwood Aurora, currently under construction, has won a contract from RWE DEA Nile GmbH for work off Egypt. The Atwood Aurora is a LeTourneau Super 116E jack up under construction at Brownsville, Tex., by subsidiary Atwood Oceanics Pacific Ltd. The contract is for a firm period of 2 years at an operating day rate of $165,000, with a cost escalation clause, two options to extend the term to 3 years, and a mobilization payment of $4.5 million. Total construction cost of the Aurora is estimated at $177–180 million.

Atwood Southern Cross semisubmersible drilling rig. Photo courtesy of Atwood Oceanics.
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Atwood Oceanics is engaged in the business of international offshore drilling and completion of exploratory and development oil and gas wells as well as related support, management, and consulting services.

Fluke Engenharia Ltda.,

Rio de Janeiro, has renewed its inspection, repair, and maintenance contract, worth more than $50 million, with Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras). The contract covers the inspection and maintenance of mooring lines on all Petrobras rigs off Brazil until 2012. To meet the requirements of the contract, Fluke is opening a new 11,000 sq m base in Espirito Santo state about 600 km north of the company’s headquarters at Macaé. The base is expected to be completed by November 2008.

Fluke, an Acteon Group company, specializes in the design, supply, and maintenance of high-quality mooring equipment. Fluke also provides mooring equipment certification and inspection services. In addition, its Fluke Tecnologia subsidiary provides inspection, maintenance, and certification of lifting equipment and training on lifting operations.

Halo LLC,

Fourchon, La., will open its new rigging warehouse and test facility at Fourchon in September 2008. Halo’s facility will be located in InterMoor’s 25-acre Fourchon yard and provides both companies with expanded services and capabilities for their customers.

The Halo facility includes an 11,000 sq ft warehouse and fabrication shop, a hydraulic swaging machine capable of pressing up to 3.5-in. sleeves, and seven spooling units, with the largest capable of handling 300,000 lb. In addition, the facility features a 3 million-lb, 220-ft load test bed with 11-ft stroke capable of testing mooring lines and heavy-lift slings of all types and sizes. The test bed is expected to be operational in fourth quarter 2008. By leasing at InterMoor’s facility, Halo gains access to InterMoor’s heavy-lift and equipment handling capabilities to support its inspection, maintenance, and repair services.

Halo is a top supplier of wire rope and industrial supplies to the offshore industry, offering testing, inspection, and training services.

InterMoor is a leading supplier of mooring technology for rig moves and mooring services, including engineering and design, fabrication, and subsea installation.

United Stars Inc.,

Beloit, Wis., has acquired GearTec Inc., Willoughby, Ohio. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

GearTec specializes in the custom fabrication of a wide range of short-run gears up to 100-in.diameter that are marketed to the offshore drilling, wind power, tunnel boring, OEM, steel, crane and related industries for incorporation into a wide range of products. United Stars also owns United Gear & Assembly, another distinguished, long-time manufacturer of medium- to high-volume, smaller-sized gears used in construction equipment, agriculture, transportation, engines, transmissions, and hydraulic pump and motor applications. United Stars is also the parent of United Industries and United Stainless, manufacturers of stainless steel tubing.

East-West Center (EWC),

Morrison
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Honolulu, announced that its president, Charles E, Morrison, was unanimously elected to a second term as chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). He is the first chair to have served a 3-year term and the first American to chair PECC since 1993. As chair of PECC, Morrison guides the network of 26 member committees representing most of the economies of the Asia Pacific region. EWC will be the host committee for the next PECC general meeting in Washington, DC, in May 2009. PECC also named Jusuf Wanandi of Indonesia as the Asia co-chair, beginning in 2009. Wanandi has served on the EWC’s board of governors and has chaired its International Advisory Panel.

PECC, a nongovernmental organization based in Singapore that is widely regarded as the antecedent to the intergovernmental Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, provides information and analytical support for APEC ministerial meetings and working groups, and is one of the three official observers of APEC.

EWC is an education and research organization established by the US Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations among the nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the US. Much of its research focuses on oil and gas, energy, and environmental issues.

Tracerco,

Billingham, UK, has won a contract to supply a Profiler subsea separation monitoring package to FMC Technologies for the Total E&P Angola-operated deepwater Pazflor oil field development project off Angola. The Profiler unit provides accurate and reliable subsea density mapping and interface visualization to allow real-time measurement and control of subsea oil and gas separation. The Profiler is the only separator liquid level, oil/water interface level, and process control measurement system qualified for subsea use. The Pazflor project targets development of hydrocarbons in water depths at 2,000–4,000 ft and entails 49 subsea wells connected via subsea production and injection lines and risers to a spread-moored floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Tracerco’s evolutionary technology for the three gas/liquid subsea separators is scheduled for delivery to FMC Technologies in mid-2009. The topside control system is designed to accommodate a further 21 wells and a fourth gas/liquid subsea separation unit.

Tracerco, a Johnson Matthey PLC company, provides specialized measurement instruments and diagnostics services to increase production, reduce operating costs, and optimize shutdown programs.

Felderhoff Bros. Drilling,

Gainesville, Tex., has agreed to collaborate with Oil Purification Systems (OPS), Shelton, Conn., to implement the OPS Enviro-Pur fluid cleaning system, which helps to lower overall drilling rig maintenance costs by maintaining the quality of lubricating fluids used by all types of rig equipment and by reducing the overall consumption of those fluids. The Enviro-Pur system cleans gear lube while the rig is running, minimizing downtime and equipment breakdown. Felderhoff expects the system to save it more than $500,000/year/rig in repair and rebuilding costs as well as avoided lube costs by essentially eliminating oil changes.

Felderhoff, a Complete Production Services company, operates 22 drilling rigs in North Central Texas.

OPS is a leader in fluid cleaning technology for the oil and gas and other industries.

Aker Solutions,

Oslo, has been awarded several contracts for supply of offloading systems. The total contract value for Aker Solutions is about 85 million kroner (Nor.). The contract awards are from the joint venture Euronav/OSG and MODEC International LLC. The Euronav/OSG contract consists of offloading systems for two floating storage and offloading Units (FSOs). The contract with MODEC is for two offloading systems for an FPSO. The offloading system delivered from Aker Solutions is a configuration of mooring and offloading equipment at the stern/bow of the FSO/FPSO that allows for offshore transfer of crude oil from the FSO/FPSO to a shuttle tanker. The offloading system establishes a safe and secure connection for the hose to the shuttle tanker. This connection can be quickly and safely disconnected, in the event of an emergency, without creating surge loads in the hose. The system can operate at rates up to 15,000 cu m/hr.

The Euronav/OSG vessels are the world’s largest crude oil tankers. The vessels will be operated by Euronav/OSG after their conversion to FSOs. MODEC is converting a tanker to an FPSO at Cosco shipyard in Dalian, China. The FPSO will be operated for Petrobras off the coast of Brazil. Delivery of the offloading systems to the FSOs/FPSO will take place during first half 2009.

Tandem loading at Espadarte Sul field off Brazil with Aker Solutions’ offshore loading system. Photo courtesy of Aker Solutions.
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Meanwhile, parent Aker Solutions ASA has obtained full control of Aker Marine Contractors after acquiring an additional 30% share in the company from Taubåtkompaniet AS, giving Aker Solutions 90% of the namesake marine contracting firm. Separately, Aker Capital AS acquired Taubåtkompaniet’s remaining 10% share in Aker Marine Contractors. Aker Solutions ASA expects to acquire the remaining 10% shares held by Aker Capital AS when formalities related to waivers from the participants in Aker Solutions’ bank syndicate are in place. The transactions value Taubåtkompaniet’s previous shareholding in Aker Marine Contractors at 740 million kroner.

Aker Marine Contractors also has entered into a 5-year charter with options with Taubåtkompaniet for the BOA Deep C deepwater construction vessel. Aker Marine Contractors has had full marketing control of BOA Deep C since 2004, and since its introduction, the vessel has seen almost full utilization.

Aker Marine Contractors is an international provider of marine operations and installation services to the oil and gas industry, covering floatover, subsea construction, mooring/floater installation, and facilities removal services. In addition to the BOA Deep C, Aker Marine also charters the BOA Sub C deepwater construction vessel.

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

Noble Denton Consultants Ltd.,

London, has secured a $3.5 million contract from Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services (GMS) to carry out detailed design work for a multipurpose, self-propelled, jack up lift boat, the Gusto MSC NG-2500X. Full detailed engineering work will be carried out by the company’s subsidiary ODL from its Sharjah base; work on the primary structure is already underway. The current design is intended for well services, repair and maintenance, installation, and decommissioning projects. It has accommodation for 150 personnel, has a 280-tonne capacity crane, and can operate in 200 ft of water. Hull construction will take place in China and take about 9 months to finish. The vessel will then be completed at GMS’s own facility in the UAE.

Noble Denton provides life-cycle marine and offshore engineering services to the oil and gas and renewables industries.

GMS owns and operates elevated support vessels, as well as supply and anchor handling tug supply vessels for work in the oil and gas industry worldwide.

Paradigm BV,

Amsterdam, has agreed to collaborate with Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) on geosciences consulting projects within Vietnam. The agreement calls for cooperation on projects related to seismic interpretation, prospect generation, geological modeling, integrated field studies, and field development plans. In support of this collaboration, Paradigm will install its software at VPI offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and conduct training for VPI employees.

Paradigm is an industry leader in digital subsurface asset management, serving oil and gas companies worldwide.

VPI carries out scientific and technological studies in exploration, production, transportation, storage distribution, petrochemical and processing, safety and environment, economics, and management of oil and gas for companies inside and outside the petroleum industry, as well as for foreign oil companies operating within Vietnam, cooperating with local and international organizations in these fields. VPI also provides training to improve professional capability of personnel working in the oil and gas industry, including post-graduate programs.

ENSCO International Inc.,

Dallas, has finalized a shipyard construction contract for a new ultradeepwater semisubmersible rig to be named ENSCO 8506. The contract for construction of the rig was entered into with Keppel FELS Ltd.’s shipyard in Singapore at a total project cost currently projected to be $560 million. Delivery is expected in second half 2012. ENSCO 8506 is the company’s seventh ultradeepwater semisubmersible rig in the ENSCO 8500 series currently under construction and will be part of the company’s eight-rig deepwater fleet that includes the ENSCO 7500 deepwater semisubmersible, which has been in service since 2000. The first four of the ENSCO 8500 rigs to be delivered are contracted to customers for term work commencing upon delivery, and marketing of the three latest ENSCO 8500 rigs already is underway.

ENSCO owns and operates a modern fleet of offshore drilling rigs serving the petroleum industry on a global basis.

Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS),

Trondheim, Norway, has completed the world’s largest multiclient electromagnetic (EM) survey in the Barents Sea, ahead of Norway’s 20th exploration licensing round. The survey area, at more than 9,000 sq km and covering 30 blocks, includes all the Barents Sea acreage in the licensing round. The service on offer is Clearplay Find, which is a further development of the service previously referred to as 3-D scanning. Clearplay Find data are acquired using 3-km-sampled, wide-azimuth 3-D EM grids.

EMGS electromagnetic survey in Barents Sea off Norway Illustration courtesy of EMGS.
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EMGS is a market leader in EM imaging, having launched the EM imaging industry in 2002 with the commercialization of seabed logging, a proven exploration method that uses EM energy to help oil companies in their search for hydrocarbons. EMGS provides a full suite of services, including data planning, acquisition, imaging, and interpretation.