PAS,
Houston, has appointed Chris Lyden president. Previously, he was vice-president of global marketing at Invensys Process Systems. Prior to that, Lyden had spent 26 years at Honeywell Inc., holding several executive positions, including vice-president of sales for Honeywell HiSpec Solutions and vice-president and general manager. In addition, he held leadership positions in several key industry segments at Honeywell, including power generation, hydrocarbon processing, upstream oil and gas, and chemicals.
PAS is a leading supplier of software products and consulting services to the process industries worldwide since 1993, with solutions including alarm management, automation configuration management, control loop performance monitoring, real-time performance metrics management, and knowledge management.
Object Reservoir Inc.,
Houston, has named Joel Walls vice-president and chief petrophysicist. He will lead the company’s collaborative exploitation projects for major shale gas plays and will lead development of innovative workflows for integrating petrophysical and geomechanical analysis with Object Reservoir’s signature high-definition reservoir modeling software, Resolve. Walls is a geophysicist and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the research, development, launch, and sale of leading-edge petrophysical software and advanced technology services for oil and gas exploration and production. While completing his doctoral work with the Stanford Rock Physics Project in 1982, he cofounded Petrophysical Services Inc., which was acquired by Litton Core Laboratories in 1984. He served as director of the Dallas Advanced Technology Center for Core Lab until 1990, when he formed the software company PetroSoft Inc., in San Jose, Calif. PetroSoft merged with two other software companies to form Rock Solid Images (RSI) in 1998. Walls served in several executive positions at RSI, including vice-president of business development and vice-president, technology. RSI was acquired by Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping in 2007.
Walls holds a master’s and a PhD in geophysics from Stanford University and a BS in physics from Texas A&M University at Commerce, Tex. He is a cofounder and the first president of the Society of Core Analysts and is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Society of Petroleum Engineers, and Society of Petrophysicists & Well Log Analysts. He is the author of many publications in various geophysical and petrophysical journals and holds a US patent in the field of seismic reservoir characterization.
Object Reservoir is a technology and services company for the global E&P industry.
KBC Advanced Technologies PLC,
London and Houston, has appointed John Dosher senior vice-president of strategic consulting. Dosher, formerly president of Pace Consultants Inc. (now Jacobs Consultancy Inc.), is a widely recognized expert in the economics of technical planning and management of refining, petrochemicals, raw materials, and natural gas operations. He has served as an expert technical witness before several regulatory and arbitration panels, including the US Senate committee on Environment and Public Works (2004), where he evaluated the current state of US refining capacity. Dosher has an MBA from the University of Houston and a BS in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University. He is also a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.
KBC, a leading independent consulting, process engineering, and software group, delivers improved operating performance to the oil refining, petrochemical, and other process industries worldwide.
Aker Solutions,
Oslo, and Arkema, Colombes, France, have signed a memorandum of understanding for global cooperation on marketing of Arkema’s proprietary polyvinyl chloride (PVC) technology. Under the terms of this proposed cooperation, Arkema will provide its proprietary PVC technology and start-up technical services, while Aker Solutions will supply process design, engineering, and construction services. The terms of the cooperation agreement include technical support to help potential licensees optimize Arkema’s PVC technology. Aker Process BV is Aker Solutions’ legal entity entering into the MOU with Arkema.
Aker Solutions is a unit of Aker Solutions ASA, 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.
Arkema, a global chemical company and France’s leading chemicals producer, consists of three strategically related businesses: vinyl products, industrial chemicals, and performance products.
ABS,
Houston, has received the Best Classification Society award by the MASTECH Techno Maritime Committee. The award was given at MASTECH’s Silver Jubilee conference and dinner in Dubai. MASTECH is an international maritime conference organized by MAST (Middle-East Alumni of Ship Technology), from the Department of Ship Technology at Cochin University of Science and Technology. Award recipients were recognized for their “outstanding contributions towards the maritime industry.” ABS was particularly cited for its contributions to the UAE maritime industry. ABS has maintained a network of regional and port offices throughout the Middle East area for more than 30 years, with regional administrative headquarters in Doha and operational headquarters in Dubai. Nearly 40 senior technical representatives from the Middle East shipping, oil and gas, and offshore support sectors are members of the ABS Middle East Technical Committee, established to strengthen industry ties in the region.
ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property, and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction, and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.
Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services,
Houston, the business development arm of Fugro Airborne Surveys and Fugro Ground Geophysics, has named its business development team for the Europe-Africa-Middle East region. Raffaela Heinbockel will direct efforts in the Middle East, and Stewart Walter will lead in Europe and Africa.
Heinbockel, head of geophysical services in the Middle East for Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services, has more than 12 years’ experience in geophysics and has a PhD in geophysics from the University of Hamburg. She is a member of the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers and has experience working all over the world.
Walter, international business development coordinator in Europe and Africa for Fugro Multi-Client Services and Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services, has more than 20 years’ experience in the oil, gas, and minerals exploration industry. He has a master’s in geophysics from Imperial College at the University of London and a bachelor’s in mathematics and physics from the University of Leeds.
Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services is part of Fugro, which provides advanced surveying, seismic, oceanographic, meteorological, and positioning services. Fugro interprets and processes data collected at sea, on land, and from the air.
Gulf Fleet Management,
Lafayette, La., has selected ABS Nautical Systems LLC’s fleet management software as the foundation for its future operations. Opting for a near sweep of the Nautical Systems’ NS 5 software suite, GFM will use the tool for the maintenance, purchase, inventory, quality, and voyage management of its fleet of 15 offshore supply vessels, fast support vessels, and seismic support vessels operating worldwide.
GFM owns and operates marine vessels providing logistics and specialty services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry, primarily in the US Gulf of Mexico and select international markets.
ABS Nautical Systems, part of Houston-based ABS, is one of the leading providers of integrated fleet management software packages available to the marine and offshore industries. It offers a fully integrated, modular approach to managing all the principal operational expenses associated with a vessel or offshore rig, ranging from maintenance and repair, to regulatory requirements, purchasing and inventory, and crew management and payroll.
ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property, and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction, and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.
Subsea 7 Inc.,
Westhill, UK, has announced that its i-Tech division’s ROV team onboard the Ocean Bounty semisubmersible has received Chevron Australia’s Outstanding Contractor award at the operator’s Contractor Health, Environment, and Safety Management Forum. I-Tech was recognized for the successful planning and execution of incident- and injury-free ROV operations on Chevron’s 2008 Ocean Bounty rig campaign for its Wheatstone natural gas field development off Western Australia. This award follows i-Tech’s Asia-Pacific business having recently achieved a milestone of 4 years without a lost-time incident across all onshore and offshore operations.
I-Tech is the world’s second largest provider of ROV support services to the exploration and production industry, operating out of four regional centers: Europe and Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America, and Brazil.
Subsea 7 is one of the world’s leading subsea engineering and construction companies, offering all the expertise and assets that make subsea, umbilical, riser, and flowline field development possible. Subsea 7’s global offshore operations are supported out of the North Sea, Africa, Brazil, North America, and Asia-Pacific regions. Subsea 7 has a fleet of industry-leading, dynamically positioned ships capable of reeled and flexible pipelay, subsea construction, and saturation diving and a portfolio of pipeline construction yards worldwide.
Wood Group Pressure Control,
Houston, has appointed Marcus A. Smedley vice-president of engineering. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of WGPC’s engineering activities. In addition, he will be responsible for developing new product lines and will assist WGPC with expanding its capabilities into new markets. Smedley has 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, spending most of his career with FMC Technologies. There he gained experience as an engineer, project manager, product manager, sales manager, and business development manager. Smedley has a degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute. Smedley is a co-author and industry presenter of topics relating to top tensioned riser installation and analysis, surface wellhead technology, and subsea systems technology. He is also co-inventor of five US patents for oil and gas industry products.
WGPC, part of international energy services company John Wood Group PLC, designs and manufactures wellhead systems, gate valves, chokes, and actuators that control formation pressures and product flow from initial drilling through production for oil companies around the world. Also offered are repair, maintenance, and remanufacturing services for wellhead systems, gate valves, and flow control products.
Wood Group is an international energy services company with three businesses—engineering and production facilities, well support, and gas turbine services—providing a range of engineering, production support, maintenance management, and industrial gas turbine overhaul and repair services to the oil and gas and power generation industries worldwide.
Weatherford International Ltd.,
Houston, has announced that its chairman, president, and CEO, Bernard J. Duroc-Danner, was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of energy, chemicals, and mining. Now in its 22nd year, the awards recognize leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success, and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses. Duroc-Danner was recognized for taking a small private company and turning it into one of the largest diversified upstream oil field service companies in the world. Duroc-Danner was honored during the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, Calif.
Weatherford International Ltd. offers one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of services and products including drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention.
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.
Geoservices Group,
Les Blanc-Mesnil, France, has acquired Wireline Service & Manufacturing SRL, Villaromagnano, Italy. Miguel Gil, general manager of WS&M, has joined the Geoservices Group and reports to Anna Albano, South Europe area manager.
Geoservices provides a range of oil field services that help evaluate hydrocarbon reservoirs and optimize field exploration, development, and production. Its offerings include mud logging, well intervention, and field surveillance.
WS&M offers slickline services with 14 slickline units in Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Tunisia.
IDM Group,
Houston, has completed its acquisition of Louisiana Electric Rig Service Inc., Rosenberg, Tex., along with the latter’s field support services for the global offshore drilling industry and the simultaneous merger of IDM’s existing AC electrical systems and controls business into Louisiana Electric. The combined company will operate as Louisiana Electric Rig Service. Combining Louisiana Electric Rig Service with IDM’s company of AC, variable frequency drives, controls, systems, and field services creates a company with a complete lineup of electrical systems and controls for the global land and offshore drilling industry. In addition, the company’s substantial scale and resources will enable it to deliver industry-leading products and services that address the rapidly expanding need for both new AC and SCR drive systems, the upgrade of existing drilling equipment, and field service of existing installations provided by most competing manufacturers.
IDM manufactures drilling rigs, integrated drilling systems, and comprehensive fluid-end pump parts from its two Houston facilities.
Louisiana Electric provides SCR drives, generator controls, top drive controls, and custom-engineered products.
Roxar ASA,
Stavanger, has named Tone Krakenes product manager for its flagship reservoir modeling solution, IRAP RMS. She will be tasked with bringing RMS2009 to market in early 2009, which will allow for the local updating of both the structural model and geological model, resulting in significant reservoir management and productivity enhancements. Krakenes will also work closely with Roxar’s development and regional sales groups to further bolster the company’s reservoir interpretation and reservoir modeling portfolio. IRAP RMS integrates a wide range of reservoir data across the characterization workflow, while also quantifying uncertainty for improving reservoir management decision-making. RMS2009 comprises 18 fully integrated software modules, including next-generation structural modeling, mapping, fracture modeling, well planning, and uncertainty management tools.
Krakenes has worked at Roxar since 2005 and has been responsible for providing presales support and training on IRAP RMS. Previous roles outside Roxar include senior geologist positions at ConocoPhillips, where she was responsible for subsurface evaluation on a number of North Sea assets; and Hydro (now StatoilHydro), where she worked on mapping, well planning, and 3D modeling solutions for Snorre field.
Roxar creates value for its customers through its reservoir interpretation, reservoir modeling, reservoir simulation, well and completion, production, and process solutions and consultancy services.
Frigstad Offshore Pte. Ltd.,
Singapore, has appointed Stein Diesen chief operating officer, effective Mar. 1, 2009. Previously, he served as senior vice-president, deepwater units at Seadrill, responsible for the successful execution of Seadrill’s extensive ultradeepwater rig construction projects entailing 11 semisubmersibles and drillships being built in South Korea and Singapore since 2005. From 2002 to 2005, Diesen was managing director for Smedvig Offshore’s fleet of mobile offshore rigs. Prior to that, he held various senior management positions in projects, operations, procurement, and business development with Smedvig, Statoil, and Aker in Norway and internationally. He has 34 years of experience in the offshore and petroleum industries. Diesen holds a BS in electrical engineering and an MBA from BI Norwegian School of Management.
Established in 1989, Frigstad is an independent drilling contractor offering a complete range of rig- and project-management services to the offshore drilling industry. The company is managed from Singapore, with branch offices in Norway and China.
