BAKER HUGHES
Announced the commercial release of the FLEXPumpER™ extended-range pump, which expands the operating range of a single electrical submersible pumping (ESP) system. The new pump operates efficiently in a wider flow range to improve production and reduce operating costs, particularly in the dynamic production conditions characteristic of unconventional resource plays.
As production rates from unconventional oil wells decline, operators typically switch out pumping units, or even artificial lift production methods to accommodate the various flow ranges. The FLEXPumpER technology can operate with a flow range from 2,900 to 50 barrels per day.
The production stream in unconventional oil plays also can contain high levels of gas entrained in the fluid, which can impact ESP system efficiency and reliability. The FLEXPumpER design features patent-pending advanced turbulence mitigation (ATM) technology to increase pumping efficiency and reduce gas locking, as well as a redesigned bearing system to withstand the high temperatures generated in the pump during short-term operation with gas slugs. Particle swirl suppression ribs in the diffuser provide abrasion resistance by reducing the buildup of abrasives that can cause erosive wear.
FREUDENBERG OIL & GAS TECHNOLOGIES
Opened a new facility in Port Talbot, Wales. Over the next few years, the Freudenberg Group will invest £11m in the Port Talbot operation. The first phase of the project, which was celebrated with the opening of the new facility, was the consolidation of the three original Vector Technology Group sites in Wales into one. The Vector business was acquired by Freudenberg in January 2013, and a search for a new facility was started soon after. This move benefits the business with greater operational efficiencies, a significant investment in new CNC machining capabilities, and additional testing and R&D capabilities.
Backed by a £3m business financing grant from the Welsh Government, the project retains the operations in the area, and creates an additional 60 positions. The total number of staff will rise from 237 to 297 as a result of the investment, and now physically occupies 116,000 sq. ft.
The demand for products engineered and manufactured by Vector Technology Group has increased in recent years beyond the capacity of the original footprint, which had already grown to occupy three separate sites across the Baglan Industrial Estate.
Working with the Welsh Government, Freudenberg made the commitment to invest and expand in the area, taking over a vacant factory also on the Baglan Industrial Estate.
TEJAS TUBULAR PRODUCTS, INC.
Announced and commenced construction of the New Carlisle Works facility, focusing on the heat treatment and manufacturing of 4 ½-in.-9 5⁄8-in OD well casing for the oil and gas industry. With an annual capacity expected to exceed 72,000 tons annually, the primary output of this facility will be heavier weight production casing with premium and semi-premium threaded connections.
MIRAGE MACHINES
Energy sector portable machine tool specialist Mirage Machines, an Acteon Company, has invested a seven figure sum in the launch of a subsea-focussed engineering research and development subsidiary for North America in Houston, Texas. Acquired by Acteon in 2006, the business is certified to ISO 9001:2008 standard.
Mirage Subsea is delivering Mirage Machines' on-site machining technology including industry-leading subsea diamond wire cutting machines and hot-tapping equipment, along with ROV tooling and solutions to clients across the region, focussed on the Gulf of Mexico.
The base will also provide technologies for refineries and petrochemical plants onshore, including flange-facing, milling and pipecutting equipment. Mirage Subsea has been established with an initial staff of five operating from an engineering workshop and stores facility covering 10,000 square feet.
It has already secured specialist solution deals with a major oil and gas operator in the Gulf, with Diamond Wire Saws delivered for use in flow line works within days of the technology arriving in the US.
Headquartered in UK, Mirage has already extended its headquarters and manufacturing and engineering facilities in Derby, to respond to rising market demand for its machines.
WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL PLC
Announced that it has been awarded an exclusive contract with Statoil Petroleum AS valued at $400 million for the delivery of Tubular Running Services on 19 drilling units in Statoil's portfolio. This contract has a base period of six years with the option of two consecutive two-year extensions.
As a result of the contract, Weatherford is the leading provider to Statoil for Tubular Running Services, including fixed platforms. Weatherford currently holds nine drilling units and expects new builds in the next six to 18 months.
Throughout the term of the contract, Weatherford will assist with the selection and delivery of customizable solutions, which allow Statoil to achieve greater well integrity for offshore projects in both remote locations and mature infrastructures.
The contract win aligns with Weatherford's strategic focus on its core businesses. Its extensive technology portfolio allows clients to address complex drilling and production challenges throughout the lifecycle of the well.
NK TECHNOLOGIES
Announced that it has successfully completed an ISO-9001/ISO-14001 recertification audit of its quality assurance and environmental management systems. The systems have been consolidated in order to provide for efficiencies in managing both systems collectively versus separately. The four day audit was performed by SGS, an ANAB accredited independent third party registrar.
Previously each management system had been audited independently as the initial ISO-9001 and ISO-14001 registrations were achieved at different points in time, 14 months apart. NK Technologies offers an industry leading five year warranty in order to demonstrate the confidence it has in the design and manufacture of its products.
KLUBER LUBRICATION
A worldwide manufacturer of specialty lubricants, Kluber Lubrication has introduced Klubertherm HB88-182 for the long-term lubrication of rolling bearings. This pioneering lubricating grease offers excellent high-temperature properties and can be used for both low loads combined with high speeds and high loads combined with low speeds. It is fully synthetic and based on a thermally stable base oil, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thickener and special additives.
Klubertherm HB 88-182 protects more effectively against friction and wear than other high-temperature greases, proven both in the field and on FE8 and FE9 rolling bearing testers. At high temperatures, the new grease does not form residues like high-temperature greases containing a polyurea thickener. Klubertherm HB 88-182 is resistant to hydrolysis and protects components effectively against corrosion at high temperatures and in humid environments. It shows excellent compatibility with elastomer and thermoplastic components and seals. Klubertherm HB 88-182 stays soft and retains lubricity even after 500 hours at 180° C in the FE8 test rig. Moreover, its density is only half that of a PFPE grease. This offers the advantage of extended grease life and reduced consumption costs. Lastly, the fully synthetic high-temperature grease shows better degradability and sustainability than PFPE-based products.
CHAPARRAL ENERGY, LLC
Has appointed John D. Wehrle to the role of senior vice president of business development and finance, and David R. Winchester to the role of senior vice president of drilling operations. Wehrle previously served as managing director and co-head of U.S. operations for Scotia Waterous and most recently as a consultant for Apollo Global Management's Natural Resources group. Winchester was most recently with Chesapeake Energy Corporation, where he served as vice president of drilling operations. Wehrle and Winchester will both report to President and Chief Operating Officer Earl Reynolds.
Prior to his time at Scotia Waterous, Wehrle spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs & Co. and RBC Dominion Securities, as well as time at private equity-backed and public companies, including Bill Barrett Corporation and Vantage Energy.
ABS MATERIALS
The Board of Directors of high performance advanced materials manufacturer ABS Materials Inc. has selected J. Gary McDaniel to lead the company as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 3.
Under his leadership at Catacel Corp., the company was reinvigorated. Catacel became a major market player delivering over 50% annual sales growth. As a result of this growth, Catacel was recently acquired by Johnson Matthey, a global player in catalysts and process technologies. As head of a division of Honeywell/UOP, Gary orchestrated the successful turnaround of the company's petroleum refinery emissions control catalyst business, resulting in a 60% growth in sales and an 85% increase in profits. Earlier in his career, Gary excelled in various global management positions with leading advanced materials companies, including W.R. Grace & Company and Akzo Nobel.
McDaniel's near term efforts will focus on developing and executing the Company's commercialization strategies, including establishing key strategic partnerships and developing its market entry and penetration initiatives.
LQT INDUSTRIES
A full-service provider of high quality accommodation facilities, design-build construction services, and support services to the oil and gas industry, LQT Industries has engineered and built a new series of aluminum accommodation buildings that will be utilized by a major oil and gas operator on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
The buildings are 10'W x 35'L and weigh only 16,000 pounds. These newly built buildings, along with one of LQT's modular helidecks which will be placed on top of the buildings, have been allocated for a major oil and gas operator and commissioned on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico in September 2014.
The fleet expansion adds another option to their wide variety of buildings to give customers more flexibility to choose the optimum accommodation package for their project. LQT's construction division in Abbeville is currently in the process of building additional accommodation buildings to fulfill the increased demand for LQT's products and services.
CALBOND™
A leading USA supplier and manufacturer of PVC coated conduit and fittings, has developed a comprehensive line of PVC coated conduit, device boxes, GUA junction boxes, sealing fittings, union and pulling elbows, and strut that can be used throughout harsh oil & gas environments. Calbond's USA-made product line and competitive pricing makes it an ideal choice for integration within new oil & gas facilities or as a replacement for aging products in existing plants.
According to corrosionda.com, the annual cost of corrosion in the USA for oil and gas exploration, production and refining is over $5.1 billion. These costs are a result of unscheduled plant shutdowns, lost production, high maintenance repair costs and imposed fines. Calbond products are designed to withstand extreme temperatures, harsh, toxic, flammable and acidic elements found in the oil and gas industry. PVC coated conduit is often used in the oil and gas industry because of its affordability and flexibility.
Calbond's PVC coated conduit is available in both galvanized rigid steel as well as rigid aluminum and comes in 12 trade sizes from ½-in.-6-in.. Calbond PVC coated conduit is UL listed and fully compliant, without exception, to the NEMA RN-1 and ANSI C80.1 requirements.
PREMIER HYTEMP
A leading provider of metal-based solutions to the oil and gas industry, is increasing its engineering capability in Singapore with the development of a second manufacturing facility.
The US $20 million investment by the Edinburgh-headquartered company will create a 67,000 square foot precision engineering facility which will serve the downhole tools, wellhead and subsea tree markets. This will complement the established Premier Hytemp manufacturing operation in Singapore which primarily serves only the wellhead and subsea tree markets.
The company has acquired land for the development adjacent to its existing 78,000 square foot facility in the industrial area of Jurong in western Singapore and expects to start construction later this year. The strategic location offers easy access to Singapore and throughout the Asia with excellent port facilities for export shipments.
HARKAND
International subsea inspection, repair, maintenance (IRM) and light construction company Harkand announced the appointment of a new head of engineering services in Europe.
In a new role for the company, Alan White will oversee the current 40-strong team to further expand the company's capabilities in the region. This is key to supporting the additional DSV added to the fleet this year and the new build DSV due for delivery in early 2016.
White brings with him more than 20 years' subsea construction and project management experience, having worked for other major contractors on various high profile subsea pipeline scopes of work from design through to fabrication and delivery in the North Sea. He will be based in Harkand's European headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Harkand provides offshore vessels, ROVs, diving, survey services, project management and engineering to the oil and gas and renewables industries. Employing close to 1,000 people at bases in Aberdeen, London, Houston, and Singapore, the company aims to be the leading subsea IRM and light construction contractor globally.
VALLOUREC
A world leader in premium tubular solutions, announced that it has been awarded a contract by Technip Umbilicals, for the Edradour project operated by TOTAL in the UK. As part of this first industrial order, Vallourec will deliver super duplex welded tubes for umbilicals from its plant located in Venarey-Les Laumes (Burgundy, France).
A key component in subsea installations, umbilicals are made of small-diameter tubes, cables and/or optical fibers which connect the equipments on the seabed together and to a control station at the surface by transporting fluids, supplying power, and transmitting information. Thanks to an innovative manufacturing process, Vallourec produces tubes to be fitted into umbilicals. These tubes offer superior strength and mechanical properties compared to products currently available on the market.
This new product with unique characteristics reinforces Vallourec's position on the subsea construction market. After successfully completing a thorough qualification process with TOTAL as technical sponsor, Vallourec's umbilicals plant is completing its ramp-up and has already worked on several prototype orders.
Manufacturing at the Vallourec Umbilicals plant is scheduled to start end of Q3 2014 with a delivery to Technip in Newcastle (UK) in the first half of 2015.
PETROSKILLS
Announced that Kevin Lacy has joined PetroSkills as Executive Vice President, Technical Staff and Disciplines. In this role, Mr. Lacy will be responsible for leading and building the PetroSkills technical staff organization into the petroleum industry's leading source of technical subject matter expertise. Mr. Lacy will also work with the PetroSkills senior leadership team in developing and implementing PetroSkills' strategy and future business objectives.
Kevin Lacy has spent nearly 35 years as a technical professional in the petroleum industry, serving in positions in the U.S. and around the world. Most recently, Mr. Lacy was Vice President for Global Drilling and Completions for Talisman. Prior to that role, he was Vice President for Gulf of Mexico Drilling and Completions for BP, and a Head of the BP Drilling and Completions discipline. He was also Vice President, Global Drilling and Completions for Chevron. Mr. Lacy built his credentials and experience through holding a number of technical and business roles in Chevron's international subsidiaries and in the US. He has a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.
BAKER HUGHES
Announced the commercial release of its TOPGUARD™ field amine measurement services, designed to help refiners manage corrosion risk by rapidly detecting low levels of monoethanolamine (MEA) in crude units. TOPGUARD services can detect and quantify MEA levels as low as 1 ppm.
Amine measurement typically relies on ion chromatography assessments, which, in most cases, require a day or longer to analyze results. By testing for MEA on site, Baker Hughes can rapidly provide critical data about its presence and concentration - often in as little as one hour. These results, when combined with data from the TOPGUARD corrosion risk monitor (CRM), deliver a comprehensive corrosion risk assessment that helps determine the need to mitigate MEA hydrochloride salt formation. With this evaluation, refiners can make timely adjustments to crude tower operations and implement mitigation programs to enhance operating efficiency.
TOPGUARD field amine measurement services are the latest addition to the Baker Hughes TOPGUARD overhead corrosion control program, which helps refiners predict and control the corrosive impact of crude blends and operating conditions in crude units.