Swathe Services has just purchased the newly launched Sonic 2020 multi-beam and ultra high resolution upgrade for the Sonic 2024 to add to its already expanding rental pool.

The image above shows raw data collected by the Sonic 2024 UHR system of the Margaret Smith shipwreck in Southampton

The Sonic 2020 is the most compact high performance wideband shallow water multi-beam echo sounder providing over 20x selectable operating frequencies to choose from within the 200 to 400 kHz band. In addition to selectable operating frequencies, the Sonic 2020 provides variable swath coverage selections from 10° to 130° as well as ability to rotate the swath port or starboard in real-time. The Sonic 2020 frequency agility, productive swath coverage and narrow focused 2° beam widths provide hydrographic professionals with quality data output for shallow water survey operations.

The Sonic 2024 can be upgraded to provide extremely narrow beam widths (0.3° x 0.6°) at 700kHz operation making this option invaluable for detailed offshore site surveys such as pipeline inspections, cable laying operations or other micro bathymetry applications. The raw data acquired from this option over the Margaret River Wreck in Southampton can be seen in the above picture.

With these recent purchases Swathe Services rental pool now includes a large number of R2SONIC multi-beam echo sounders including ultra high resolution and 3000m depth rated options, as well as an iXBlue HYDRINS and iXBlue ROVINS.

Aker Solutions has laid the foundation stone of a new plant in Paraná that will double the company's subsea production capacity in Brazil.

The plant in the city of São José dos Pinhais in the Paraná state in Brazil will be operational in 2015. It will replace Aker Solutions' current subsea manufacturing facility in Curitiba and double production capacity in the country.

Aker Solutions' Executive Chairman Øyvind Eriksen and Luis Araujo, president and country manager of the company's Brazilian operations,  took part in a ceremony laying the foundation stone at the new site.

Luis Carlos Setim, the mayor of São José dos Pinhais, attended together with other local government officials.

"Brazil is a very important market for Aker Solutions and this new plant will strengthen our subsea offering," says Araujo.

The new facility will have about 1,200 employees and generate work for an additional 5,000 people at suppliers. The plant will be built on a plot of land totaling 168,220 square meters.

Petrobras contract

Aker Solutions is expanding its manufacturing capacity after winning a contract in April to deliver subsea equipment to the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. The contract, worth NOK 4.6 billion (USD 800 million), is for 60 well-sets with vertical subsea trees, subsea control systems, tools and spares to be used at Petrobras' deepwater pre-salt field developments in Brazil.

"The forecasts for the Brazilian oil and gas industry are very promising and we are committed to developing our manufacturing capabilities and local content," says Araujo.

Macaé development

Aker Solutions last year started building a new multi-purpose service site for its drilling equipment business in Macaé, 180 kilometers northeast of Rio de Janeiro. The facility, set to open in 2014, will expand the company's capacity to serve the fast-growing drilling market in Brazil. Aker Solutions is also located in Rio de Janeiro and Rio das Ostras in Brazil.

Aker Solutions, established in Brazil since 1978, currently employs 1,400 people in the country. The company is a leading provider of subsea equipment and services in Brazil's offshore pre-salt market. It also delivers downstream and topside process technology, offshore mooring and loading systems, deepwater drilling systems and subsea intervention services.

Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) has announced that the company will donate $500,000 to support disaster-relief and recovery efforts for the communities affected by the devastating tornadoes that recently swept through central Oklahoma. The contribution includes a $500,000 cash donation to the American Red Cross Oklahoma Relief Fund and a commitment to match employee donations up to $1,000 per employee.

"From our founder's humble beginnings and the company's inception in Ardmore to the employees that live and work in the area, Oklahoma is a part of the fabric of Noble Energy," said Charles Davidson , chairman and CEO of Noble Energy. "We will stand with the communities of Oklahoma to help them recover from the damage and devastation caused by the tornadoes."

BP and partners Total, Petrobras and Petrogal were named winning bidders for eight deepwater blocks offshore Brazil in the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency’s (ANP’s) 11th bid round. BP will be operator in two of the blocks.

The companies have committed to explore concession blocks FZA-M-57, FZA-M-59, FZA-M-86, FZA-M-88, FZA-M-125, and FAZ-M-127 in the Foz do Amazonas basin, BAR-M-346 in the Barreirinhas basin, and POT-M-764 in the Potiguar basin, for oil and gas resources, with the right to develop any commercial discoveries under the Brazilian concession regime.

BP will be operator with a 70% stake in block FZA-M-59, and in block BAR-M-346, with a 50% stake.

“BP is delighted with this result. It will increase our frontier exploration exposure along Brazil’s equatorial margin and plays to our strengths in deepwater. We look forward to a successful exploration programme working with our partners Total, Petrobras and Petrogal,” said Mike Daly, BP’s Executive Vice President of Exploration.

Today’s winning bids follow BP’s re-entry into the Brazilian upstream in 2011 with the purchase of interests in 10 blocks from Devon Energy and the subsequent farm-in to four Petrobras-operated deepwater blocks in the Brazilian equatorial margin in 2012.

“This is an exciting outcome for BP. It reaffirms our long-term partnership with Brazil, expanding our upstream portfolio to 22 E&P concessions in seven different basins, in addition to our biofuels, lubricants, aviation and marine fuel businesses,” added Guillermo Quintero, BP Brazil Regional President.

BP and its partners now expect to work with the ANP to finalise the awards. The signing of the contracts, in which BP will participate through its Brazilian subsidiary BP Energy do Brasil Ltda., is expected to take place in August 2013.

Table of the awarded blocks:

Foz do Amazonas basin - SFZA-AP1

Barreirinhas basin - SBAR-AP2

Potiguar basin -

CGG announces that Robertson, a CGG company specializing in geology, geophysics and reservoir engineering, has completed the first phase of its MERLIN⁺ source and reservoir facies prediction project initiated in April 2012. Global subscribers can now gain a genuine commercial advantage from the project’s deliverables which are designed to improve exploration success in underexplored and frontier basins.

MERLIN⁺ provides a unique and proven means of reducing exploration risk by combining industry-leading plate tectonic reconstructions (Plate Wizard^TM), global databases and detailed palaeogeographic mapping with Earth systems modeling to predict key elements of the petroleum system.

MERLIN⁺ builds on the data and methodologies brought together by Robertson within the original MERLIN project launched in 2007 that have enabled the prediction of source facies globally. Comparison of predictions to known source rock data shows greater than 80% accuracy, giving confidence to the prediction of source facies for both conventional and unconventional plays.

MERLIN⁺ will be completed in a number of phases over an initial four-year period and global subscribers are invited to guide and participate in its continued improvements. MERLIN⁺ incorporates the results of the Earth systems modeling into an innovative predictive methodology to deliver valuable source facies and clastic sediment flux predictions.

Sophie Zurquiyah, Senior Executive Vice President, Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir, CGG, said:  “As it becomes increasingly difficult to identify viable new exploration opportunities, innovative solutions such as MERLIN⁺ are essential to maintain a competitive edge. The addition of its unique predictive capabilities to Robertson’s broad portfolio of global and regional multi-client geological products opens the door to addressing the key challenges of frontier exploration and, combined with CGG’s other products and services, helps to position us as the partner of choice for delivering the key geoscience solutions required by the industry today.”

Gibdock has completed a refit of the seismic vessel WG Cook(photo) for WesternGeco, reflecting the yard’s growing ability to attract return customers in the specialised offshore vessel market.

WG Cook is one of six 12-streamer 3D seismic ships delivered to the owner in 2010. The 19-day project was completed on time and with no serious QHSE incidents in preparation for WG Cook’s deployment offshore Canada for a seismic survey.

“The project was awarded on a competitive tender basis, while the location of the yard is also favourable for this project,” says Mick Richardson, WesternGeco Fleet Technical Manager. “However, our return to Gibdock also reflects our preference for teamwork based on forward planning and our requirement for a strong commitment to QHSE. We were also pleased with Gibdock’s preparation and pre-fabrication work.”

Richard Beards, Gibdock Managing Director, says that the WG Cook project falls firmly in line with Gibdock’s strategy to work in long-term relationships with ‘best in class’ clients. “As well as delivering high quality work on a high-value vessel, this kind of project relies on transparency at the planning stage. This means final costs match estimates provided.”

Mr Beards says the close coordination between Gibdock’s commercial and production departments proved pivotal to the project’s successful execution, citing the key roles played in the Gibdock team by Estimator Carlos Anastacio and WG Cook Project Manager Filip Tsankov.

Gibdock allocated its largest drydock to the project, allowing a variety of yard equipment to be deployed simultaneously. The dock’s heavy lifting capability was also a factor, with one of its three cranes being occupied continuously by a 5m exhaust extension and main mast modifications. Docking repairs also included the replacement of the ship’s thruster z-drives, box cooler removal, sea chest modification, hull blasting and painting.

Particularly demanding was upgrade and modification of WG Cook’s hydraulic pipes on two decks, and modification of hydraulic lines after equipment relocation. The WG Cook project included work on hydraulics, so skills available in this trade were a particular focus, with close co-ordination between the ship's owner, the yard and the yard’s subcontractors.

“Around 300 personnel from the yard and the owner were onboard the vessel during the project’s peak period,” says Mr Beards. “Co-ordinating work so that completing one job did not interfere with another was a critical factor in redelivering WG Cook on schedule and with no serious QHSE incidents.”

A custom-built service center at the new Offshore Marine Centre in the Tuas industrial area of Singapore will boost Acteon operations and improve its customer service in South East Asia.

Due to open in July 2013, the new $11 million, 10,000-m² Acteon Singapore Operations Center will support the offshore operations of Acteon companies across the region. It will be the first purpose-built Acteon center to service multiple operating companies. The base will provide engineering, design, equipment maintenance and servicing, equipment rental and sales activities for CAPE, MENCK, Conductor Installation Services (CIS), LM Handling, Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd. and Claxton Engineering Services.

“South East Asia is an expanding market for all Acteon businesses and offers numerous opportunities in subsea services. We have now reached the point where we need to provide the right local infrastructure and workforce to serve our customers in the region.” said Acteon Group Ltd. executive vice president Paul Alcock. “As bulkhead port access is at a premium in Singapore, the new facility will provide Acteon companies with easy and unrestricted port mobilization and demobilization options for heavy equipment, which will be supported by our on-site 128-te workshop crane capacity.”

“Operating a world-class service center from the Offshore Marine Center will strengthen our presence in Asia and underline our long-term commitment to the region. Customers should benefit from quicker responses on equipment supply and turnaround, and should gain clearer understanding of the operations and capabilities of the Acteon companies on site,” said Alcock.

“We are delighted that Acteon has chosen to establish its regional service center at the Offshore Marine Center to serve its customers in Asia better. The Offshore Marine Center, with its common waterfront area, is a strong testament to the collaboration between the government and industry to develop innovative solutions that optimize the use of resources,” said Lim Kok Kiang, executive director, transport engineering, Singapore Economic Development Board.

Statoil was the highest bidder on 6 licenses in Brazil's 11th licensing round, the first licensing round in the country since December 2008. With the new licenses, Statoil has strengthened its position in the Espirito Santo basin.

The award in Brazil's 11th licensing round reflects Statoil's extensive application and ambition of long-term growth in Brazil. Out of the six licenses awarded in Espirito Santo, Statoil is the operator for four and partner in two of the licenses.

"We are very pleased with the outcome," says Tim Dodson, executive vice president for Exploration in Statoil.

 "The award of the blocks in the Espirito Santo basin is in line with Statoil's exploration strategy to build on core positions in prolific and proven basins."

Statoil's application for exploration licenses in the basin is based on established and new geological play models.

"The new positions underscore our ambition to grow in Brazil, which we see as a region for long-term growth.

"Access to new quality acreage is an essential prerequisite for further value creation through exploration activities and for increasing Statoil's international production level from key clusters such as Brazil," says Thore E. Kristiansen, senior vice president South America and president for Statoil Brazil.

In December 2012 Statoil acquired a 25% participating interest from Vale SA in BM-ES-22A in the Espirito Santo Basin. Petrobras is the operator with 75%.

The farm-in is pending Brazil National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel (ANP) approval. BM-ES-22A is adjacent to the BM-ES-32 license where Statoil is partner and which holds the Indra discovery.

"These new licenses in the Espirito Santo basin give us a significant acreage position in a proven hydrocarbon basin. They have the potential to provide large-scale additional resources close to our existing discoveries, which with success will result in Statoil building a new core position," says Dodson. 

Statoil operates the Peregrino field in Brazil, which came on stream in April 2011, and Statoil is currently the largest international operator in the country. Statoil is also operator of some of the world's largest oil and gas discoveries over the last couple of years and has a strong safety and environmental record.

The 11th bidding round on 14 May was conducted by the ANP. The concession agreements from the 11th licensing round are scheduled to be signed in August 2013.

In the 11th licensing round in Brazil Statoil has been awarded:

Six exploration licenses in the Espirito Santo basin, of which four as operator and two as partner.

The licenses are located in the deepwater sector of the Espirito Santo basin, close to the licenses BM

ES-32 and BM-ES-22A which are operated by Petrobras and in which Statoil is already a partner.

The blocks have an exploration phase of seven years, divided in to two periods of five years and two

years, and the total well commitment for the six licenses is 10 wells.

Consortium:

ES-M-596: Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.* (50%), Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda. (50%)

ES-M-598: Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda.* (40%), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (40%), Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção S.A. (20%)

ES-M-669: Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.* (40%), Total E&P do Brasil Ltda. (25%), Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda. (35%)

ES-M-671: Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda.* (35%), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (40%), Total E&P do Brasil Ltda. (25%)

ES-M-673: Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda.* (40%), Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção S.A. (20%), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (40%)

ES-M-743: Statoil Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda.* (35%), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (40%), Total E&P do Brasil Ltda. (25%)

Gulfstream Services Inc (GSI), provider of cutting edge equipment to the international oil and gas industry, has successfully completed two six figure decommissioning contracts with major oil and gas service companies, Helix Well Ops UK and Dof Subsea.

The Helix contract was part of the BP North West Hutton decommissioning project where GSI tools were used to remove 10” and 20” pipelines from the seabed. GSI’s Hydraulic Shear was an effective engineering solution in the situation due to the quick boat to boat times.

Photo: Martin Blake, operator/workshop technician, GSI,  working on GSI product

GSI equipment was used by Dof Subsea for the cutting and recovering of items on a North Sea platform including a 6” pipeline, concrete mattresses, clump weights and various small steel structures. After the assignment it was reported that the performance of GSI equipment and personnel were above expectations and caused no downtime.

Both projects were carried out in the North Sea over a three and two week period respectively.

Caroline Grant, operations manager GSI, said: “It has been a busy few months for GSI. We are delighted to be involved in such high profile projects with Helix and Dof Subsea. The efficient delivery of the projects are a testament to the effectiveness and quality of our products and staff. This is further proof that we are at the forefront of the decommissioning market.

“Since we established the GSI hydraulic shear division in 2006 we have performed over 8000 cuts in worldwide locations using our specialised decommissioning equipment. Looking ahead, we will continue to endeavour to provide first class service to all our customers.”

GSI was established in the US in 1978 and now has four bases across the states. Gulfstream Services UK was set up in January 2010 in Aberdeen to serve the international oil and gas industry and growing demand from customers in UK, Norway, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Around 6300 subsurface cuts have been carried out and 2000 land based cuts. The deepest cut completed by the firm was 3019ft, for major oil and gas projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

GSI aims to provide innovative and cost efficient solutions to industry challenges and all of its products have evolved in line with customer requirements.

Currently the GSI global hydraulic tooling fleet consists of 26 workable shears and grapples, which are used for numerous applications within the oil and gas industry including platform and pipeline removal, slot recovery, chain cutting, wire rope cutting, salvage work and well blow out intervention.

GSI recently increased its staff numbers in response to business growth – the company currently has 12 members of staff and plans to expand this by a further three in the coming months.

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) has announced that it has secured a contract from Saipem to supply umbilicals for the Burullus West Delta Deep Marine Phase IXa development located offshore Egypt.

The order consists of ten subsea production control umbilicals totaling approximately 84 kilometers (52.2 miles) in length and two electrical power cables totaling approximately 55 kilometers (34.2 miles) in length.  Product manufacturing is planned to be performed at Oceaneering's facility in Rosyth, Scotland and is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2013 and be completed in the third quarter 2014.

After record breaking 2013 conference with 104,800 attendees, the Offshore Technology Conference Board of Directors has elected a new Chairman and Vice Chairman for 2014-2015. Edward (Ed) G. Stokes takes on the role of OTC Chairman and Dr. Joe R. Fowler will assume the Vice Chairman role.

Stokes has been a part of the OTC since 1995 and on the Board of Directors since 2008, representing the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.  He has served as Vice Chairman since 2012 and as Program Committee Chairman in 2002.

In his career, Stokes has amassed a broad range of supervisory and managerial experience in his long career in the upstream and marine segments of the oil and gas industry. He currently serves as Project Coordination Manager – Offshore at ConocoPhillips. In his current role, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the offshore portion of the marine segment of the Brass LNG project, a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Total, and Eni International.

Prior to this, Stokes was the Manager of Business Development at ConocoPhillips Shipping where he was responsible for business development activities within the shipping company. He also provided marine project development support to worldwide business units.

He has an AS in engineering science from Eastern Oklahoma State College, BS in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Houston Baptist University. He holds a Professional Engineer (PE) registration in Texas and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Stokes has 15 technical publications, presented papers in 5 countries, and holds patents related to oilfield production and LNG ship design. He is a native of Okemah, Oklahoma.

Dr. Fowler is President and co-founder of Stress Engineering Services, Inc., (SES) a 375-person engineering consulting firm based in Houston with additional offices in Cincinnati, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Calgary.  SES is a world leader in floating systems design, fitness-for-service evaluations, consumer-product mechanical design, measurement and control systems, and third-party testing of full-scale systems and equipment.

Dr. Fowler received his BS with honors, MS, and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He is a Fellow of ASME, and in 2000 he received the Outstanding Alumni Honor Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Buccaneer Energy Limited (ASX:BCC) advises that the Alaskan Oil and Gas Conservation Commission ("AOGCC") has inspected and certified the Endeavour jack-up rig for operations within Alaskan state waters, this was the final certification required for the Endeavour to be able to commence drilling operations.

The Cosmo # 1 well spud at approximately midday EST on 13 May 2013 (Sydney) and is currently at 600' drilling ahead.

The Company will provide weekly drilling updates commencing on Tuesday 21 May 2013.

The Cosmopolitan Project ("Cosmo") is located in 80' feet of water approximately 30 miles to the north west of Homer. Cosmo is jointly owned with privately owned Fort Worth, Texas based BlueCrest Energy II, LP ("BlueCrest") owning a 75% working interest and Buccaneer a 25% working interest, with Buccaneer as the Operator for the project.

Cosmo # 1 Well Plan

The Cosmo # 1 well is a vertical well that has a targeted Total Vertical Depth of 8,000' ("TVD"), the well is anticipated to take approximately 45 days to drill and test.

Surface casing will be set at 800' after which the well will be drilled to the top of the Tyonek Formation ("Tyonek") at 2,000' where casing will again be set. The first gas Tyonek gas zone should be intersected at approximately 2,150' with multiple gas zones anticipated intersected to 6,000'.

Casing will be set at approximately 6,000' before drilling through the proven oil bearing Starichkof and Hemlock Formations, and will reached the target depth of 8,000' after drilling the prospective West Foreland Formation. The current plan is to take oil cores to augment the reservoir data to further optimize the future oil plan of development. At this stage it is not planned to flow test the oil formations.

On completion of drilling and logging operations the well will be plugged back to the bottom of the Tyonek gas formation. Gas zones within the Tyonek Formation that are identified as potentially commercial through drilling and logging will then be perforated and flow tested. If successfully tested the well will be temporary abandoned as a future gas producer.

Historical Technical Appraisal and Drilling

The Cosmopolitan oil accumulation was initially discovered by Pennzoil by exploration drilling in 1967.

- Oil reservoirs are the Oligocene Lower Tyonek (Starichkof sands);

- Reservoirs are non-marine sandstones with 750' of vertical oil column;

- Oil gravity is 24-27 degrees API; and

- Pioneer estimated OOIP at 360 MMBO;

An offset well (Starichkof State Unit #1) was drilled by Pennzoil in 1967 to the northeast of the discovery well:

- Well was low on the structure and wet in the oil zones;

- Several cores in the shallower Tyonek Formation revealed excellent rock properties with porosities >20% and permeability of 100 - 1000 md;

- Conventional core was taken in the Lower Tyonek Starichkof Formation with average porosity >14% and average permeability > 36 md; and

- Gas cut mud was tested from Tyonek intervals suggesting possible gas higher on structure.

The accumulation was tested again by Arco in 2001:

- Hansen #1 well was drilled from onshore with long reach and found oil in the Starichkof and Hemlock sands;

- 2 Drill Stem Tests ("DST") in the Starichkof sands tested at 200-300 BOPD; and

- Follow up DST's in 2002 found Hemlock sands oil which tested at 300 BOPD and a subsequent Starichkof test of 125 BOPD.

The accumulation was tested again by ConocoPhillips who acquired Arco assets in 2003:

- Hansen #1A was sidetracked out of the original Hansen #1 with a long reach well drilled from onshore;

- DST in the Starichkof/Hemlock intervals tested at rates up to 1000 BOPD; and

- Extended production test stabilized at 550 BOPD.

Pioneer acquired a 40 square mile 3D survey covering the structure in 2005 and obtained a 100% ownership position in 2007

Additional drilling occurred by Pioneer in 2010:

- Hansen #1A-L1 was drilled as a long lateral out of the #1A sidetrack;

- The #1A-L1 is a horizontal well drilled within the Starichkof interval;

- An extended production test was conducted after drilling and stimulation (frac); and

- Results were a cumulative 33,504 BO produced with no water at 250 BOPD + 1 MMcfg/day additional to the Hansen #1A extended production test of 550 BOPD.

Okeanus Science and Technology, LLC (Okeanus) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jacob Marcell as President as of 1 May 2013.  Based out of Houma, Louisiana, Okeanus is an international provider of oceanographic and marine scientific research equipment.  Mr. Marcell was appointed president due to his extensive experience and long track record in the U.S. subsea industry.  Prior to joining Okeanus, Marcell was president of Mako Technologies, and he has extensive senior experience, including ROV services and tooling and topside and subsea rental equipment and services.

Okeanus was recently established to cater to the Science and Technology rental and integration of equipment market.  Okeanus provides the latest technology as well as tried-and-true industry standards to all the regions of the globe to support and accomplish clients' goals.

In response to the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma this week, BP is donating $500,000 and emergency supplies to the Oklahoma Red Cross to support humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts.

BP America Inc. will donate $300,000 and the BP Foundation will donate an additional $200,000. The $500,000 will assist local Red Cross efforts to provide emergency meals, shelter, clothing, water and medical care in the affected areas. The $500,000 donation is in addition to donations made by the BP Foundation Employee Matching Program.

BP employees in eastern Oklahoma also today delivered a trailer of non-perishable relief items to a collection center near Moore for use by the Red Cross. BP employs about 600 staff and contractors engaged in natural gas and pipeline operations in Oklahoma.

Research is Part of a Long-Standing, Interagency Collaboration

Scientists have returned from a 15‑day research expedition in the northern Gulf of Mexico with the best high-resolution seismic data and imagery ever obtained of sediments with high gas hydrate saturations.

Map: The USGS Gas Hydrates Project integrates across USGS mission areas, programs, and regions. The stars indicate the locations of personnel involved in the Gas Hydrates Project. Within the US, much of the research focuses on the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, which represent marine and permafrost-associated settings for gas hydrates, respectively.

The expedition and the data and imagery collected resulted from long-standing cooperation between the U.S. Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This collaboration aims to advance scientific understanding of gas hydrates, an important potential future energy resource.

Gas hydrates are ice-like substances formed when certain gases combine with water at specific pressures and temperatures. Deposits of gas hydrates are widespread in marine sediments beneath the ocean floor and in sediments within and beneath permafrost areas, where pressure-temperature conditions keep the gas trapped in the hydrate structure. Methane is the gas most often trapped in these deposits, making gas hydrates a potentially significant source for natural gas around the world.

“This expedition represents a significant milestone,” said USGS Energy Resources Program Coordinator Brenda Pierce. “The data and imagery provide insight into the entire petroleum system at each location, including the source of gas, the migration pathways for the gas, the distribution of hydrate-bearing sediments, and the traps that hold the hydrate and free gas in place. The USGS has a globally recognized research effort studying gas hydrates in settings around the world, and this project combines our unique expertise with that of other agencies to advance research on this potential future energy resource.”

The recently completed expedition was planned jointly by USGS, DOE, and BOEM, and was executed by USGS.  Using low-energy seismic sources, USGS scientists collected details about the nature of the gas hydrate reservoirs and about geologic features of the sediment between the reservoirs and the seafloor. The new data also provide information about how much gas hydrate exists in a much broader area than can be determined from using standard industry seismic data, which is typically designed to image much deeper geologic units.

“Understanding the nature and setting of deepwater gas hydrates is central to the National Methane Hydrates R&D Program, which is led by DOE and managed by Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory,” said Christopher Smith, DOE’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. “Over the past 8 years, research carried out under this program has resulted in significant advances in our understanding of methane hydrates, their role in nature, and their potential as a future energy resource. This success is largely due to an unprecedented level of cooperation among federal agencies, industry, national laboratories, and academic institutions.”

“The high-resolution nature of the data acquired through this interagency project will uniquely inform the BOEM effort to assess the resource potential of gas hydrates on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf,” said Renee Orr, Chief, Strategic Resources Office, BOEM.

The data were collected at two locations in the Gulf of Mexico where the three federal agencies partnered with an industry consortium to conduct a drilling expedition in 2009. That expedition discovered gas hydrate filling between 50 and 90 percent of the available pore space between sediment grains in sandy layers in the subsurface. These reservoirs are expected to be representative of the 6,700 trillion cubic feet of gas that BOEM estimates is housed in gas hydrates in sand-rich reservoirs in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The new data are being used to refine estimates of the nature, distribution, and concentration of gas hydrate in the vicinity of the 2009 drill sites. This will help assess how useful specialized seismic data may be to estimating hydrate saturations in deepwater sediments.

In coming years, the three agencies will continue their collaborative investigation of gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico and other locations across the world.

Learn more about USGS research on gas hydrates and energy at locations around the world.

Crowley Maritime Corporation's petroleum services group is entering the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market by acquiring Carib Energy LLC.  Florida-based Carib Energy, founded in 2011, was the first company to receive a small scale, 25-year, LNG export license from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for LNG transportation from the U.S. into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries.

While Crowley’s overall strategic focus on the LNG market will span several of its diversified business lines and leverage its storied history and success in the marine, project management, energy and transportation fields, Carib Energy provides an induction into the emerging energy market from which the company can grow its concentration on LNG transportation.

A Crowley LNG services group has been formed within Crowley’s petroleum services business unit. It is being headed up by Vice President of Business Development Matt Jackson, who reports to Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum services. This team will marshal Crowley’s extensive resources to serve the LNG market through LNG vessel design and construction; transportation; product sales and distribution, and full-scale, project management solutions.

“Crowley has a myriad of business lines, each with overlapping expertise perfectly positioned to develop a strong footprint in the LNG market,” said Tom Crowley, company chairman and CEO. “Whether it’s designing the next LNG bulk transport vessel, transporting ISO tanks via Crowley’s regularly scheduled liner service, arranging special carriage via our global logistics network or providing project solutions for LNG discovery and extraction; Crowley has the service portfolio to provide turnkey solutions within the LNG space.”

The acquisition of Carib Energy, which becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Crowley Petroleum Services, now provides Crowley an immediate book of business for the supply, transportation, and distribution of LNG via 10,000 gallon ISO tanks.  While Carib Energy has a pending DOE application to supply LNG transportation services into non-FTA countries, its current licensing allows them, and now Crowley, to supply cost-efficient, environmentally friendly LNG from the U.S. to both commercial and industrial customers within the Caribbean and Central and South America – all countries where LNG is an attractive commodity thanks to its low price point in the face of growing power supply costs.  Carib Energy is also cementing its involvement in future LNG fuel bunkering for ships transiting between the U.S. and Caribbean markets.

“The Carib Energy acquisition is an exciting opportunity for Crowley to utilize a combination of its core competencies including marine solutions, logistics planning and execution and associated technical and project management capabilities in an area that is by all measures growing rapidly both within the U.S. and abroad,” said Grune. “We look forward to playing a pivotal role with both new and existing customers as they strive to provide safe and reliable LNG distribution assets and services.”

As part of the Carib Energy acquisition, Greg Buffington (shown), the company’s president, will join Crowley as vice president of Carib Energy, reporting to Jackson. Buffington will continue to develop and expand the company’s Caribbean and Central America opportunities for small-scale LNG applications.  His experience is deeply rooted within the international propane gas industry where he spent 31 years in varying capacities. He was the founder of EFG Industries, an international supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) equipment, engineering and plant construction.

“We are very pleased to welcome Greg to the Crowley family,” said Jackson.  “He shares our understanding of the exponential business potential for LNG as well as our corporate values. He knows our ‘One Crowley, One Team’ approach will allow us to leverage a multitude of experience towards a common goal of success within this vastly untapped energy market.”

LNG facts from the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG): LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is natural gas that is cooled to -260° Fahrenheit until it becomes a liquid and then stored at essentially atmospheric pressure. Converting natural gas to LNG, a process that reduces its volume by about 600 times allows it to be transported. Once delivered to its destination, the LNG is warmed back into its original gaseous state so that it can be used just like existing natural gas supplies. When returned to its gaseous state, LNG is used across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors for purposes as diverse as heating and cooling homes, cooking, generating electricity and manufacturing paper, metal, glass and other materials. LNG is not stored under pressure and it is not explosive. LNG vapors (methane) mixed with air are not explosive in an unconfined environment. When exposed to the environment, LNG rapidly evaporates, leaving no residue on water or soil.