ASCO announces the award of a contract by BP Exploration and Production to provide a range of integrated oilfield services to support its UK North Sea operations.
The comprehensive contract, which is worth in excess of £100 million, covers a variety of activities including: supply-base operations; warehouse operations; the provision of waste management and local freight forwarding services.
The 5 year contract with options will bring all ASCO's service lines together to provide a strong, cohesive delivery model focused on the provision of value and service excellence.
Craig Lennox, CEO – Europe at ASCO said: 'We are pleased to be building on a client relationship that spans more than 20 years. Maintaining this strong and successful connection with BP is a great achievement and we look forward to safely and efficiently delivering on this key contract.'
Danos executives recently announced the formation of a Project Management Group (PMG) to provide a single point-of-contact for customers with large-scale projects involving multiple services lines.
The PMG will streamline critical project communication as well as ensure complete project integration across Danos' core service lines – production workforce, construction, fabrication, coatings, instrumentation and electrical, environmental services, scaffolding, and shorebase and logistics management.
Danos President and CEO Hank Danos said, "The addition of the PMG enables us to provide expert help for every phase of our customers' projects: from pre-job planning to quality and project controls and subcontractor management to project reporting."
Sophisticated planning and scheduling software and detailed client reports will provide customers with single-source accountability for project planning, management, communication and execution. While 2015 marks the official launch of Danos' PMG, the company's team of project management experts has years of experience successfully managing critical projects across the globe for Chevron, DSME, McDermott, Shell, Flour, BP, ExxonMobil, CBI, AkerSolutions, URS and Exterran.
"The PMG is just one more way Danos continues to respond to customer requests for world-class energy solutions by offering a more complete package to meet their project needs," Danos said.
BMT Group Ltd, a leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has agreed to purchase Navegação e Controle Indústria e Comércio Ltda (NavCon), a leading Brazilian specialist in monitoring systems for the offshore oil and gas industry. The company's name has officially changed to BMT NavCon Ltda.
BMT Scientific Marine Services Ltda was previously a minority stakeholder in NavCon. This new agreement fully integrates NavCon into the BMT group of companies.
NavCon was founded in 1998 and is strategically located in the technological site of São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil. The company specializes in data acquisition and motion monitoring systems, navigation and heading reference systems, and GNSS receivers for offshore, air, land and space applications.
Tom Johnson, President of BMT Scientific Marine Services, commented: "I am delighted that NavCon has now been fully incorporated into the BMT family of companies as BMT NavCon. We have been working with them for the last couple of years. We have seen them continue to grow and utilize their knowledge and capabilities in the Brazil oil and gas market. We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate."
Francisco Nozolino de Azevedo, General Manager of NavCon, added: "NavCon welcomes this agreement with BMT Group. BMT has proven with their worldwide presence and the multiple industries they support that they are a unique and diverse company. Their support will help us continue to expand and further develop our product and service offerings not only for our local customers, but also for the international oil and gas market."
Statoil (U.K.) Limited has on behalf of the Mariner co-venturers awarded the contracts for supply base and warehousing services for the Mariner field to Asco UK Limited.
Asco is an international oilfield support services company, headquartered in Aberdeen. The supply base and warehousing facility for Mariner will be operated by Asco from Peterhead, north of Aberdeen.
The scopes awarded encompass the provision of supply base services, including personnel, local transportation, marine gas oil, quayside services and a nearby warehousing facility.
Asco will perform the services for the Mariner field under two five year contracts, anticipated to start during Q1 2016. The contracts also include 2 x 2 year extension options.
Peterhead offshore supply base, owned and operated by ASCO (Photo: ASCO)
"We are pleased with the interest we received in the market for this tendering process. We received competitive bids from several highly qualified companies," says managing director for Statoil Production UK, Gunnar Breivik.
"Production on Mariner requires a high level of drilling activity and the field is reliant on a seamless and cost efficient logistics chain. Asco is a well-established player and their supply base in Peterhead is a proven, high-performing logistics hub. We are looking forward to working closely with Asco to tackle industry challenges and optimize the supply and warehousing services that we depend on for successful operations on Mariner," Breivik says.
The Statoil operated Mariner field, located approximately 150 kilometers east of the Shetland Isles, is currently under development and production is scheduled to start in 2017.
The development concept includes a production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket and a floating storage unit (FSU). Drilling will be carried out from the PDQ drilling rig, with a jack-up rig assisting for the initial years.
In the period when both the PDQ and the jack-up are drilling Mariner wells, the field will require at least five sailings a week from the Peterhead supply base.
Statoil is the operator of the Mariner field with 65.11% equity. Co-venturers are JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (28.89%) and Dyas Mariner Ltd. (6%).
Facts:
• The Mariner Field is located on the East Shetland Platform of the UK North Sea, approximately 150 kilometers east of the Shetland Isles.
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• The Mariner heavy oil field consists of two shallow reservoir sections – the deeper, Maureen Formation at 1492 meters and the shallower Heimdal reservoir at 1227 meters.
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• The development of the Mariner field will contribute more than 250 million barrels reserves with average plateau production of around 55,000 barrels per day.
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• The field will provide a long-term cash-flow over a 30-year field life. Production is expected to commence in 2017.
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• The concept chosen includes a production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket, with a floating storage unit (FSU). Drilling will be carried out from the PDQ drilling rig, with a jack-up rig assisting for the initial years.
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• The Mariner field development entails a gross investment of more than USD 7 billion.
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• Following the final investment decision in December 2012, Statoil in 2013 established an office an Aberdeen.
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Statoil's new UKCS operations center is currently under construction on the Prime Four business park at Kingswells west of Aberdeen.
Frontier International, specialists in international oil and gas resourcing, has opened its first office in India.
An integral part of its global growth strategy, Frontier's new premises signifies further international expansion for the company and will support its increased activity in Asia and the Middle East. The Gurgaon-based operation will be led by local manager, Arjun Bhakhri, (photo) who brings with him over 10 years' oil and gas recruitment experience within India and the Middle East, with a history of working with both operators and tier 1 contractors.
Commenting on the new office, Mr Bhakhri said: "I am delighted to be a part of Frontier's increased international expansion. The company continues to grow in strength across India and the Middle East, working with some of these areas' most significant oil and gas companies, and I look forward to being a part of this continued success."
Paul Radcliffe, Frontier International's managing director explains the importance of the company's permanent Indian presence: "As a company, Frontier has a long pedigree of working with clients in Asia and the Middle East. Our investment in this office is a succinct illustration of our commitment to ensuring we continue to provide the very best service in oil and gas recruitment to our clients in these areas.
"The combination of Frontier's global footprint and local knowledge fuses our expertise and understanding of regional requirements with unrivalled access to international talent and skill."
In business since 1999, Frontier International was established by oil industry engineers Mark Clarke and Paul Radcliffe in response to industry requirement for expertise-driven management of specialist well design and drilling engineering. Quickly identifying a gap in the market, they moved to grow Frontier in answer to the lack of technical expertise in the staff recruitment and contractor recruitment/management sectors.
Frontier holds a substantial number of global contracts with the major oil and gas operators and service companies. International client demand in recent years has led the company to successfully expand in several key regions, with wholly owned subsidiaries covering East Africa and the Caribbean, as well as the Gurgaon-based subsidiary which serves both India and the Middle East.
Jordan Westmoreland brings extensive industry expertise to identify and meet customers' marine scientific equipment needs.
Okeanus Science and Technology, LLC (Okeanus) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jordan Westmoreland to Operations Manager. Westmoreland, an employee of Okeanus since its inception in 2013, will oversee day to day operations, as well as maintenance and mobilization efforts of the company's fleet of marine scientific rental equipment.
Leveraging his wealth of hydrographic survey and oceanographic research experience, Westmoreland will be responsible for assessing customer and project specifications to develop specialized equipment packages and solutions that best suit each customer's needs.
"I look forward to applying my skills and knowledge in the oceanographic research industry to further help Okeanus grow its business relationships," Westmoreland said. "By providing customers with the best options to facilitate their data requirements, we will become known as a partner rather than just a supplier."
"Jordan's experience in the fields of hydrographic survey and oceanographic research have given him vast knowledge about every type of project," added Benton LeBlanc, Vice President and General Manager of Okeanus. "He truly understands our customers' needs, and has the unique ability to custom-build solutions to solve their most complicated problems."
Inaugural meeting brings class and industry together to improve technical standards for offshore equipment safety.
As part of its mission to serve the public interest as well as the needs of members and clients by promoting offshore safety and security, ABS, the leading provider of classification services to the global offshore industry, recently convened the inaugural meeting of the ABS Offshore Equipment Advisory Committee.
A group of technical advisors gathered on Wednesday, 4 March 2015, at the ABS Energy Corridor office to exchange information for Rule development and enhancement of classification services for offshore equipment. One of the primary focuses of the Committee is to gather information from offshore experts to guide changes and additions to publications such as the ABS Guide for the Classification of Drilling Systems.
"The ABS Offshore Equipment Committee plays an important role in bringing together key stakeholders to provide critical expertise to improve standards for equipment safety," says ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. "ABS will continue to work with industry, academia and government to develop a robust offshore safety regime that safeguards assets, the environment and most importantly people."
Recognized as a technology leader, ABS is the class society of choice for next-generation units operating in remote and challenging environments and drilling deep, high-temperature, high-pressure wells. ABS classed the first mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) in 1958 and continues to be the classification leader for the high-specification units that will support the energy needs of future generations.
DeepOcean Brasil Servicos Ltda., a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding BV (DeepOcean), announces the that company has been awarded a one year extension of contract for the provision of flexible repair and IMR services from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. using the Deep Endeavour.
Deep Endeavour is a multi-purpose subsea support construction and cable-lay vessel, with work class ROV, riser recovery and deployment system and more than 1,600m2 of deck space. Vessels track record includes ROV based subsea maintenance operations, saturation diving support, as well topsides construction support. Vessel has already proven her performance in the Brazilian Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) market, and will maintain her special capability for repairing flexible pipelines and electro hydraulic control umbilicals.
"DeepOcean has an extensive track record in providing IMR services for our oil and gas customers worldwide. We are pleased that Petrobras values our IMR services, and has extended the contract with DeepOcean. This award allows us to maintain our long term commitment to Brazilian subsea industry even in a strained global subsea business environment." Mads Bårdsen DeepOcean's EVP International comments..
Fugro's continued expansion in Africa was marked with the recent establishment of Fugro Ghana Limited in Accra. This new base provides access to Fugro's comprehensive range of services and will support the promising market for oil and gas projects for its clients in the processes of exploration, construction and field development in Ghana.
Demonstrating its commitment to the Ghanaian market, as well as the implementation of the Local Content legislation, Fugro has established a partnership with Lima Oil Services Ltd in Accra. The partnership also ensures that Fugro is ready to comply when the Local Content Policy is extended to other market sectors, including mining, energy and infrastructure, as expected.
Kelvin Abdallah, Director of Fugro Ghana Limited stated, "I am proud to be part of the process of integrating Fugro's experience and knowledge into the Ghanaian community. Our country is full of opportunities and the group's extensive expertise and state-of-the-art technology mean we are best placed to maximise them.
"Our plans include extensive training programmes which will benefit from close coordination with Fugro Academy, the initiative that facilitates staff training and development across the Fugro Group," he continued. "I am confident that with such support, Ghanaian resources can meet the requirements of the international oil and gas industry."
On 12th February 2015, the new JV company was presented at the Ghana Petroleum Commission.
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE: HLX) announces that effective May 11, 2015, Cliff Chamblee will retire after 36 years in the offshore services business and will 
resign as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Also effective May 11, 2015, Scotty Sparks will be promoted to the position of Executive Vice President – Operations. Scotty has 25 years of industry experience and has been with Helix since 2001. He currently holds the office of Vice President – Commercial and Strategic Development, and has also served in various positions within Helix's robotics subsidiary, including as Senior Vice President, during his tenure at Helix. Prior to that Scotty held various positions within the industry, including Operations Manager at Global Marine Systems.
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated, "Cliff has proven to be an invaluable asset to Helix in all of the roles that he has had in his 14 years with the company, including the last four years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Cliff has through the years demonstrated operational excellence, leadership and unparalleled drive, and we wish him well. I am also pleased to announce Scotty's promotion to the position of Executive Vice President – Operations. In his new role, Scotty's responsibilities will include operational and commercial responsibility for all of Helix's business units, and I am confident that he will bring his operational knowledge, commercial acumen, and leadership skills to the position.
Suretank, the world's leading provider of engineered solutions to the offshore oil and gas industry, has announced that it is has acquired a majority ownership stake in Louisiana based manufacturer AmGulf Fabrication, LLC. The company will be rebranded as Suretank USA with immediate effect.
Having acquired a minority shareholding in 2013, Suretank has developed a strong working relationship with AmGulf offering its full range of DNV 2.7-1 certified offshore tanks and cargo carrying units (CCU's) from the company's state of the art facility in Houma, Louisiana.
John Fitzgerald, Suretank CEO, said: "In pursuing our long-term strategy to build local in markets worldwide we are continuously looking for companies that help us to achieve this goal.
"The US is a significant growth market for Suretank and having in-market manufacturing and equipment deployment is extremely important to maintaining customer service excellence."
"We are confident that we have found the right company with AmGulf Fabrication and we are excited about the prospects that taking our investment in this business to the next level will bring. Furthermore we intend developing and building additional specialist products in the USA such as wire-line, well intervention and pumping systems," John continued.
AmGulf Fabrication was established in 2012 by Messrs Lawrence Detiveaux and Jason Underwood.
Commenting on the investment Mr Lawrence Detiveaux, Chairman at Suretank USA, said: "This is a great opportunity for the business, our employees and our customer base. The company was set up on the business principles of Suretank so we are already closely aligned with Suretank's business ethos. We have established a strong reputation for delivering high quality products and custom engineering solutions and the business continues to go from strength to strength. We are excited that Suretank recognises the potential we have to offer them in the US market and are looking forward to the future."
Going forward Mr Jason Underwood takes up the role of Managing Director, Suretank USA and will be responsible for the day to day operations of the business reporting directly to John Fitzgerald.
Suretank is a global leader in the supply of tanks and CCUs (Cargo Carrying Units) to the offshore oil and gas industry. The company has design and manufacturing facilities in Ireland, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Thailand, UK and USA as well as sales offices in Australia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Norway.
Bibby Offshore Holdings Limited ("Bibby Offshore" or the "Company"), a leading provider of subsea installation, inspection, repair and maintenance ("IRM") services to the offshore oil and gas industry, announces several Board changes as part of a reorganization of the Company's management team to reflect its ongoing growth.
Sir Michael Bibby will step down from the Board as Non-Executive Chairman of Bibby Offshore with effect from 20 February 2015 and be replaced by Mike Brown, who is currently Group Portfolio Director for Bibby Line Group. Sir Michael continues as Managing Director of Bibby Line Group. Mike was appointed as Group Portfolio Director in September 2014 in response to the increasing size and complexity of Bibby Line Group's businesses, including Bibby Offshore. A key responsibility of the Group Portfolio Director includes the Chairmanship of a number of Bibby Line Group's businesses. Mike has extensive experienced gained through senior roles with BOC Group, GKN, Serco and Rentokil-Initial; and most recently as a Managing Director at Interserve.
Neale Stewart is appointed with immediate effect to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (Assets and Services), from his previous role as Finance Director. As Chief Operating Officer (Assets and Services), Neale will be focused on the management and optimisation of our extensive global asset fleet and resource pool, which includes seven subsea support vessels and 17 remotely operated vessels.
Stuart Jackson will move to the role of Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect, expanding Stuart's responsibilities from his previous role as Strategy Director. Prior to joining the Company in 2014, Stuart held a number of roles in the energy sector during his 30 year career including as Chief Financial Officer of Acergy before its merger with Subsea 7 and, most recently, Chief Financial Officer at CEONA, the Goldman Sachs start-up venture in the offshore services sector.
In addition, Simon Featherstone, Chief Executive Officer of Bibby Financial Services, will be joining the Board as a Non-Executive Director from 20 February 2015; replacing Jon Haymer and Iain Speak. Gaurav Batra will continue as Bibby Line Group's other nominated Non-Executive Director for Bibby Offshore.
Howard Woodcock, (photo) Chief Executive of Bibby Offshore commented:
"The reorganization of our Board and management team is reflective of the success Bibby Offshore has experienced in recent years, both in the North Sea and internationally, and the need to ensure our business is best placed to continue to grow.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to helping make Bibby Offshore the company it is today. We are now fully equipped to enter the next exciting phase of our growth and evolution, with a Board and management team that has invaluable expertise and deep industry insight."
BOARD COMPOSITION
The Board of Bibby Offshore is comprised of:
Biographies of all Board members are available on request.
Aker Solutions presents five strategic objectives after splitting in two in September last year tobetter position all parts of the business and meet the needs of customers.
The company, which met with investors in London, will build on its strengths in key subsea and field design markets as it seeks to:
Be the preferred partner, with an unparalleled level of safety and performance
Capture growth in offshore deepwater, subsea and harsh environment markets
Maintain and expand a global presence through disciplined, organic growth
Further develop portfolio with a diversity of customers, regions and strong contract mix
Deliver operational excellence, realize synergies, strengthen cost control and capital discipline
"The split allows us to reduce complexity, build on synergies and bring down costs, which makes us much better equipped to respond to the needs of customers in the 22 countries where we operate," said Chief Executive Officer Luis Araujo. "Our focus now is on creating value for our clients and shareholders through the right technology development, quality in execution, cost control and by applying the full force of our engineering skills at the conceptual stage of a project to find the most effective solutions."
Aker Solutions yesterday won a contract from Statoil to deliver a concept study for future phases of the North Sea Johan Sverdrup development, Norway's largest oil find in three decades. While Norway is the company's single largest regional market, Aker Solutions is this year set to get 60 percent of its revenue outside its home market amid an expansion in key offshore oil and gas markets in Africa, Brazil and Asia Pacific. That share is growing from 50 percent last year and about 40 percent the year before.
Aker Solutions had a near-record order backlog of NOK 48 billion kroner in 2014 after winning major contracts including a NOK 14 billion order from Total at the Kaombo field in Angola, one of the world's largest subsea developments, and a more than USD 300 million contract from Petrobras in Brazil to deliver subsea manifolds.
The company's subsea, umbilicals, engineering and maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) areas were spun off in September 2014 to create a new business under the Aker Solutions name.
"We're ideally placed to excel in key subsea, deepwater and field design markets through our considerable local content, strong client relationships, leading technology and unique engineering," said Araujo. "We're taking on current market challenges from a position of strength, with a robust order backlog and a sharp eye on our operational and financial performance.''
Aker Solutions has intensified its focus on operational excellence and cost control through improvement agendas within the company and externally with customers. New cost-savings programs in all business segments and corporate functions are well underway. These include a goal for the engineering business to reduce engineering and procurement services costs 30 percent by the end of 2017. The MMO area is also on track to lower the cost of modifications 30 percent by the end of 2016. The subsea segment has set a target to improve operational efficiency 15 percent annually. This was achieved in 2013 and 2014.
Outlook
Uncertainty has increased for oil-services providers as oil companies scale back spending amid concern over capital and the slump in oil prices since last summer. This is particularly affecting the Norwegian MMO market and the company anticipates a continued slowdown in this area over the next one to two years. Major projects such as the Johan Sverdrup development will help offset some of the decline.
Aker Solutions expects to grow with its key markets over the medium term and at least maintain market share in its core businesses. Margins are expected to remain robust in Engineering and gradually recover in MMO. Aker Solutions targets peer-group margins over time for Subsea.
"Longer term, we are optimistic," said Araujo. "Our leading technology, engineering and project management skills put us in a prime position to benefit from a shift toward more complex offshore resources. Few companies are better placed in the global deepwater and subsea segments, which are among the fastest-growing offshore oil and gas markets in recent years."
Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) announced that Steven A. Webster (photo) has been appointed to serve on its Board of Directors, effective today.
Mr. Webster is a director and Chairman of Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. and Basic Energy Services, Inc. and serves as a director on the boards of other energy-related companies. He is also Co-Managing Partner and Co-CEO of Avista Capital Partners LP, a private equity firm, in charge of energy investments. Throughout his 40-year business career, Mr. Webster has been active in the energy industry, notably in the exploration and production and service sectors.
Mr. Webster has a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Management and an honorary Doctorate degree in Management from Purdue University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.
Mr. Webster is joining Oceaneering's Board following the decision by Jerold J. DesRoche to retire from the Board, effective at Oceaneering's next Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2015.
McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) ("McDermott") announced on Tuesday that it has been awarded a sizeable manifold and subsea safety isolation valve module fabrication contract by FMC Technologies for the Jangkrik fields located offshore Kalimantan, Indonesia. The contract was included in McDermott's fourth quarter backlog and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2016.
McDermott's Indonesian fabrication facility has broad experience delivering customized and high-quality subsea solutions.
"Our demonstrated track record in the delivery of customized, high-quality subsea solutions from our Indonesian fabrication facility on Batam Island, including the Gorgon subsea structures fabrication project and the Ichthys engineering, procurement, construction and installation project, positions us strategically to support FMC Technologies in fabricating the Jangkrik Complex subsea infrastructure," said McDermott's Hugh Cuthbertson, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific. "McDermott is also pleased to continue its longstanding commitment to providing in-country value to Indonesia through its delivery of projects from its Batam Island facility to the Indonesian energy industry."
This is the first time that FMC Technologies has awarded work to McDermott's Asia Pacific region. The scope of the project includes fabrication of approximately 3,200 tons of subsea manifolds and subsea safety isolation valve modules to be installed in water depths ranging from approximately 329 feet to 1,640 feet. Fabrication commenced in February 2015 at McDermott's Batam Island facility in Indonesia, which will also be responsible for factory acceptance testing ("FAT") / extended FAT and system integration testing.
"The McDermott team worked closely with FMC Technologies to determine execution strategies that meet their requirements and ensure high quality and on-schedule delivery," explained Cuthbertson.
The Jangkrik Complex is operated by Eni and comprises two main fields – Jangkrik Main, located approximately 44 miles from the coast in the Muara Bakau permit area, along the Makassar Strait, and Jangkrik Northeast, approximately 16 miles from Jangkrik Main.
Group now fully certified throughout the Americas
GAC Energy and Marine Services Limited in Trinidad & Tobago is now ISO 9001:2008-certified, completing the process for all GAC companies throughout the Americas region.
GAC Managing Director Gobind Kukreja shows off the company's latest ISO Certification.
The ISO 9001:2008 standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, motivation and implication of top management, process approach and continual improvement. Certification formally recognizes the high standard of the company's services in Trinidad and further assures GAC customers of quality, efficiency and compliance in Trinidad and Tobago.
To gain certification, GAC Trinidad worked on enhancing the GAC Group and regional processes on which it was based when the company was established in 2011. Last year, GAC worked with the Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) on a three-stage plan toward certification, including ISO awareness training, assessment, documentation review and audit, as well as the final certification audit.
As Managing Director Gobind Kukreja explains, all employees were actively involved in the process.
"Being a relatively small team of 14 employees we needed the involvement of all staff, that was done with great enthusiasm and we passed the certification audit with zero non-conformities," he says.
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