ShawCor Ltd.,
Toronto, won an Offshore Technology Conference 2013 Spotlight on New Technology Award for Bredero Shaw's mobile robotic cutback system, which the company said is safer, quieter, requires less labor, and produces consistent high-quality cutback profiles while generating recyclable waste, all significant benefits to the industry. The award recognizes innovative new technologies capable of revolutionizing the offshore exploration and production industry. The 2013 award acknowledges ShawCor's continuous commitment to innovation and builds on the precedent created by the Thermotite® ULTRA ™ novel thermal insulation coating and the simulated service vessel, which were awarded OTC Spotlight on New Technology Awards in 2010 and 2012.
Schlumberger Ltd.,
Paris, introduced its DigiScope slimhole measurement-while-drilling service with a robust signal that transmits to surface real-time drilling optimization and formation evaluation data at high physical bit rates of up to 36 bps for reservoir description and geosteering in land, extended-reach, and deepwater wells. The company said the tool's telemetry is six times faster than traditional MWD services as proven with more than 200,000 ft drilled in the most challenging formations across four continents in the last 3 years. It also powers the complete suite of Schlumberger slimhole logging-while-drilling services in the same bottomhole assembly. It is fully compatible with Schlumberger's Orion II data compression platform.
Schlumberger also released its slimhole PowerDrive Archer high build-rate rotary steerable system that delivers build rates to 18°/100 ft with full directional control and dogleg assurance for complex 3-D well profiles and multilateral well designs. In one run, it can drill well profiles previously possible only with motors with the rate of penetration and wellbore quality of a fully rotating RSS, the company said. This slimhole edition has drilled 130,000 ft in carbonate, sand, and unconventional reservoirs as part of Schlumberger's integrated drilling systems offering, including advanced Smith PDC drill bit technology. The company describes it as a step-change in drilling performance in geosteering and openhole sidetrack applications, proven in more than 130 field test runs in North America, the Middle East, West Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Clough Ltd.,
Perth, an engineering and project services company, selected Huntsville, Ala.-based Intergraph Corp.'s SmartPlant P&ID Engineering Integrity to automate many manual validations of piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) against best practice engineering rules, safety practices, and client-specific standards for improved design quality. It also will boost safety, quality, and productivity in design, officials said. Clough is a longtime customer of Intergraph and an experienced user of its SmartPlant Enterprise solutions. To enhance automation and expand its capabilities, the engineering firm sought to establish P&IDs as part of an intelligent process design system and eliminate the manual checking process. Clough determined SmartPlant P&ID Engineering Integrity is "a perfect fit" with SmartPlant P&ID and can automate comprehensive design validation against more than 3,000 rules out of the box. The engineering company can also apply its own rules in the system, set to its operational process standards. Engineers can automatically execute checks against all P&IDs to ensure the design basis is correct before execution, reducing risk of late changes and improving design quality, said company officials.
Merichem Co.,
Houston, named Dr. Patrick Hickey as its president and chief executive 0fficer, following the retirement of long time CEO Kenneth Currie earlier this year. Hickey began his career at Merichem as manager of research and technical services and later served as director of research and vice-president of research, development, and technology. In 2009, he became president of Merichem Chemicals & Refinery Services LLC and executive vice-president of Merichem Co. He was promoted to president of Merichem Co. in 2010 and to the board of directors in 2012. Hickey earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical engineering from Manhattan College. His doctorate in Chemical Engineering is from Clemson University.
J&J Technical Services LLC,
Shreveport, La., said Randy Bushong joined its artificial lift sales department. He will be responsible for business development in the Permian Basin and will operate out of the company's regional office and service center in Odessa, Tex. Bushong has more than 30 years of experience in gas and industrial sales, operations, and management, with extensive knowledge of pumps, pipe, valves and fittings, specialty valves, and accessories.
SGS SA,
Geneva, said a large energy and petrochemicals company awarded it a 12-month contract for welding and crane fabrication inspections at project sites in Sydney and Kuala Lumpur. The name of the client and details of the contract were not revealed. Four SGS experts including a lead crane inspector, subsea welding inspector, project coordinator, and a project manager will work on fabricating heavy duty cranes to be used in shipbuilding yards in South Korea. SGS is currently serving this particular client with ongoing packages at projects in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, Canada, and other countries. SGS inspections services will include checking brakes, clutches, sheaves, and wire rope assemblies. SGS will conduct design studies and review calculations, perform dynamic and static load testing, and inspect all structural load-bearing members, including sheaves. Crane girders, rails, and overhead crane columns will be examined to assure structural integrity and line level and span crane gantry will be surveyed.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS),
Trondheim, Norway, entered a cooperation agreement with Spectrum ASA, Oslo, covering the Foz de Amazonas basin in Brazil. Spectrum provides multi-client seismic surveys and high-quality seismic imaging services to the global oil and gas industry from offices in Norway, the UK, the US, Brazil, China, Egypt, Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore. It already has more than 21,000 km of multi-client 2-D seismic data coverage of this highly prospective area of the equatorial margin. EMGS has been given access to this data for planning and improved imaging purposes and will soon start the acquisition of 3-D resistivity data in a regional, multi-client program covering about 8,000 sq km of the Foz de Amazonas basin. The program, which has generated broad industry interest, covers offshore blocks that have been included in the 11th licensing round. The combined data offering will add insights to reservoir location and size and highlight new leads, thereby providing customers with a competitive advantage in their licensing and exploration strategies, EMGS officials said. Interest in the Brazilian equatorial margin is high following the Zaedyus discovery northwest of the border in French Guiana; Petrobras's Pecém discovery in the Ceará basin southeast of Foz de Amazonas; and analogous discoveries in the West African equatorial margin. EMGS's vessel BOA Galatea will start 3-D EM data acquisition close to the border of French Guiana's territorial waters and work its way south east. Survey completion is expected in August.
Seatronics LTD.,
Aberdeen, an Acteon company, and its Norwegian partner, Rental Technology & Services AS (RTS), have a contract to supply six Gen 5 multiplexer systems to Bibby Remote Intervention Ltd. (BRIL). Officials said the Gen 5 is the most versatile survey multiplexer system available on the market, offering unprecedented communication links. The system enables a complete survey spread including but not limited to dual-head multibeam echo-sounder side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler, inertial navigation system, 2-D real-time sonar and up to 3 HD cameras, all to be run over one single mode fiber from the remote operated vehicle (ROV). The first two systems are already in operation onboard the Toisa Warrior.
2H Offshore Inc., another Acteon company, has named Glen Jewell and Hanh Ha as additional directors of its London office, effective the start of this year. Jewell and Ha will share responsibility for the management of engineering activities and continued development of the business. Ha's primary activity sector will be flexible riser, flowline, and umbilical engineering. Jewell's focus will be drilling and production risers and conductor systems.
Jewell is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and joined 2H Offshore after completing his master's degree in mechanical engineering at Surrey University in 2004. He first worked on analysis projects including riser and conductor studies for a number of locations globally. Jewell then moved into a package engineering role where he was responsible for the foundation design and specification for several hybrid risers installed off West Africa. For the past 3 years, he has worked as engineering team leader with responsibility for a number of engineering projects and contributing to the day-to-day running of the company's London office.
Ha graduated with a master's degree in metallic and ceramic engineering materials in 2000 from Manchester University. He joined 2H Offshore in 2011 with 10 years previous subsea engineering experience in the delivery and execution of field developments with flexible riser, flowline, and umbilical systems. Upon joining the London office as a principal engineer, he has been involved in the execution of several engineering projects with a focus on the provision of technical guidance in specification, design, analysis and delivery management of flexible riser and umbilical systems.
Oilfield Instrumentation (OI),
Lafayette, La., hired Scott Deaton for Houston area sales, primarily representing the harsh environment laboratories and special custom buildings division and also promoting the company's drilling instrumentation products and services when applicable. Deaton previously worked at Schlumberger and Smith Bits as measurement-while-drilling and logging-while-drilling operator and coordinator, and as directional drilling coordinator. Deaton was introduced to OI's operations in the field through his work for Pathfinder, a division of Schlumberger, in Conway, Ark. It was this experience with OI that helped persuade Deaton to join the company. Deaton started his oilfield career 18 years ago performing maintenance duties. He worked his way through the ranks at various service companies, eventually achieving managerial status.
Expro International Group Ltd.,
Reading, England, was awarded a $4.5 million 1-year contract for the supply of
73⁄8-in. diameter, 10 km hydraulic completion landing string system and a set of topside and DH controls in China. This will enable the firm to capitalize on an emerging and highly lucrative deepwater market set for major growth over the next 5 years, company officials said. It will be the company's latest DH operation in China following previous successful campaigns on other horizontal tree developments. Expro's new base in the Shekou industrial zone positions the company to provide customers offshore and onshore services, officials said.
KlUber Lubrication North America LP,
Londonderry, NH , said Ron Person joined its operations as director of business development for oil and gas. He will be responsible for further developing application-specific support and customer service initiatives designed to better position Klüber Lubrication as a leading specialty lubricant producer in the oil and gas market. He is to work closely with key equipment manufacturers in the industry to match existing Klüber products to applications as well as identify areas for new product development. Person has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Klüber, he was a global subsea manager for BP Lubricants. Prior to that, Person held business and technical roles at Deutsch Offshore, Teledyne Technologies, M-I SWACO, and Cameron. He has an undergraduate degree in industrial distribution from Texas A&M University. Klüber Lubrication manufactures specialty lubricants offering high-end tribological solutions to virtually all industries and markets worldwide. Most products are developed and made to specific customer requirements.
Aker Solutions ASA,
Oslo, signed a contract with ExxonMobil Corp. for the supply of subsea umbilicals for the Erha North phase 2 development in Nigeria, an extension of the existing Erha subsea system and infrastructure located approximately 97 km off Nigeria in 1,000-1,200 m of water. Aker Solutions' scope of work includes the delivery of two dynamic and two static steel tube umbilicals, at a total length of 16.5 km, in 2014. The umbilicals will be designed, engineered, and manufactured at Aker Solutions' facility in Mobile, Ala., supported by project management and engineering by a local team in Lagos, Nigeria. The Mobile facility provides reliable horizontal bundling and extrusion machines, deepwater access to installation vessels, high capacity processing and storage carousels, and on-site welding and test facilities.
Aker Solutions also secured a NOK 650 million contract with BP PLC to help redevelop one of the largest oil fields in the UK sector. The Aberdeen operation of Aker Solutions will manufacture and supply all subsea controls equipment for the Quad 204 project, the redevelopment of the Schiehallion and Loyal fields located 100 miles west of the Shetland Islands. The scope of work includes subsea controls equipment for subsea trees, manifolds and subsea safety isolation valves as well as controls distribution assemblies. The Schiehallion and Loyal fields are estimated still to contain 450 million bbl of recoverable oil, and a £3 billion upgrade is underway. Due to the water depth in the area, Schiehallion is entirely reliant on subsea production technology, with production collected on a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO). The deliverables will be managed, designed, and built by Aker Solutions' subsea controls center in Aberdeen with the first deliveries scheduled in the first half of 2014.
Houlder Ltd.,
London, an employee-owned marine design and engineering company, has strengthened its new marine equipment business stream with the appointment of Paul Shaw as director. Created in 2012 during a restructure, Houlder's marine equipment business supplies pipelaying, access, handling, and support equipment to the offshore energy sector. Shaw joins Houlder with a background in the energy technology and offshore cable industries. He has proved adept at delivering sustainable growth in global markets, said company officials. The appointment marks the latest development in a strategy that has seen Houlder more than double in the last 5 years. Shaw will be based in Houlder's Tyneside office and will lead a team operating globally to support energy companies, their contractors, and suppliers.
EMAS AMC,
Singapore, the subsea construction division of the EMAS operating brand of Ezra Holdings Ltd., a global offshore contractor and provider of integrated offshore solutions to the oil and gas industry, won a contract from Statoil ASA for the transport and installation of subsea templates for the Norwegian Sea's deepest offshore project, the Aasta Hansteen field development, with a water depth of 1,300 m in the Norwegian Sea, 300 km west of Bodø, Norway. EMAS AMC's scope of work includes the transport and installation of two four-slot templates and one single-slot template. All templates will be transported from Aker Solutions' facilities in Sandnessjøen, Norway. EMAS AMC will use its advanced subsea construction vessel, Lewek Connector, for transport and installation work and will partner with local suppliers in Sandnessjøen for most of the required work preparations and vessel supplies. Engineering and planning will be managed by EMAS AMC in Oslo. The offshore transport and installation work will take place in 2015. EMAS AMC's previous contract wins from Statoil include riser replacements on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, as well as a subsea umbilical, risers, and flowlines contract for marine installation and pipe lay in Fram H-Nord, situated in the Troll C/Fram area in the northern part of the North Sea.
Lockheed Martin Corp.,
Bethesda, MD, is leveraging its expertise in the manufacture of space shuttle external tanks to meet the rapidly growing demand for liquefied natural gas tanks for storage and transportation and has received initial orders to manufacture cryogenic tanks for fueling LNG powered vessels in the New Orleans area.
As part of its longer-range LNG business plan, Lockheed Martin will adapt production equipment used to manufacture the external tank for the space shuttle for a wide range of LNG supply chain applications. In addition to applying its external tank manufacturing expertise, the Lockheed Martin LNG tank manufacturing team will draw on a variety capabilities developed for a wide range of other programs, spanning propellant handling; assembly, test, and integration; composites manufacturing; and production facility and tooling design.
