Ceona, SURF contractor with heavy subsea construction capabilities, has been awarded a new deepwater contract with Houston-based Bennu Oil & Gas LLC in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on their Mirage field. This contract comes after a first contract was awarded and completed last year for operations on their Clipper deepwater field.

The agreement will see Ceona deploy its newest vessel, the Amazon, to install a flexible flowline of approximately 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers) and an umbilical of about 2.6 miles (4.2 km) from Bennu’s Mirage well location, which is located in Block 941 of the Mississippi Canyon Field. Each will be tied-back to Bennu’s Titan Production Facility at a depth of approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).

The contract is the second that Ceona has won with Bennu after previously being selected to install a 1.1 mile (1.7 km) umbilical and two 15 mile (24 km) electric quad cables at a depth of 3,000 ft (914 m) on the Clipper pglenroject in spring 2014.

Offshore work is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2015 and, as with the previous operation, the project management and engineering work will be coordinated from Ceona’s Houston offices.

Janelle Pence, VP Commercial Americas, commented: “We have established a strong relationship with Bennu following our previous work together and this latest contract gives us the opportunity to build on this as well as our track record in the GoM. We are also pleased to be able to deploy the Amazon on this project because it provides another opportunity to demonstrate the vessel’s deepwater capabilities.”

The project is the second that Ceona has been awarded in the GoM to be carried out by its flagship field development vessel, the Ceona Amazon. In March, the company announced a Letter of Intent for a major rigid pipelay project in the Gulf of Mexico for leading US independent oil & gas operator, Walter Oil & Gas Corporation.

The unique Ceona Amazon will be deployed on the Coelacanth export pipelines project with the scope of work involving the vessel laying both an oil and gas export line, totaling more than 22.5 miles (36km).

The Ceona Amazon is a multi-functional vessel capable of operating in multiple pipelay (rigid/flexible pipe and umbilicals) and operational mode (heavy subsea construction). At 655 ft (199m) long, it is equipped for heavy lifting with two 400mt deepwater cranes, and has capacity to carry 9,500mt of pipe.

Lightning is the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazard across Australia. Tragically, people die, key assets are damaged, operations are disrupted, and businesses incur losses measured in millions of dollars every year.

▪ Project to develop 190 million barrels of oil

▪ Total Block 15 production anticipated to reach 350,000 barrels of oil per day

▪ Nearly $740 million invested in Angola for the project

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has announced that its subsidiary, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited (Esso Angola), has started oil production ahead of schedule at the Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 project offshore Angola.

Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 is a Block 15 subsea infrastructure development of the Kakocha, Bavuca and Mondo South fields. Mondo South is the first field to begin production, and the other two satellite fields are expected to start up in the coming months.

The project develops approximately 190 million barrels of oil with peak production currently estimated at 70,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to increase total daily Block 15 production to 350,000 barrels. Esso Angola is operator of the project and Block 15.

The project optimizes the capabilities of existing Block 15 facilities to increase current production levels without requiring additional floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs). The Mondo South field is being developed with tiebacks to the Mondo FPSO, while the Kakocha and Bavuca fields are being developed with tiebacks to the Kizomba B FPSO.

“This exemplifies ExxonMobil’s project management expertise and the capabilities of local suppliers and businesses that helped maximize the value of Angola’s petroleum resources,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Development Company. “As a result, our team achieved the best safety performance to date among the major Block 15 projects and reached a high level of Angolan participation.”

Nearly $740 million has been invested in Angola for the project, including contracts for fabrication, logistics support and training and development of Angolan personnel.

“Achieving successful startup has a lot do with the strong partnership between ExxonMobil and other Block 15 co-venturers, the government of Angola, most notably the Ministry of Petroleum, and Sonangol,” Duffin said.

ExxonMobil was awarded Block 15 in 1994 and, to date, has discovered a total of approximately 5 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Oil production from Block 15 to date has exceeded 1.8 billion barrels. Kizomba Satellites Phase 1 started production in 2012.

Operator Esso Angola has 40 percent interest in Block 15. Other co-venturers include BP Exploration Angola Limited, with 26.67 percent, Eni Exploration Angola BV, with 20 percent, and Statoil Angola Block 15 AS, with 13.33 percent. Sonangol is the concessionaire.

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) announced today that it has received a large contract amendment from Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) for a platform in the Hout field, located 26 miles east of Al-Khafji in the divided zone between Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Work on the brownfield project is expected to be executed through the second quarter of 2017 and is included in McDermott’s first quarter 2015 backlog.

The large contract amendment is an addition to the initial scope for KJO’s Hout project awarded to McDermott in March 2012. The original scope was for an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) project for structures including a tripod jacket, deck and flare tower and some 26 miles of 24-inch subsea pipeline. Additionally, McDermott was to carry out modifications to a number of existing platforms in the Hout field through its dedicated brownfield division in Jebel Ali.

“This award is a customer relationship success story,” said Tom Mackie, McDermott’s Vice President, Middle East. “We have always strived to deliver the best production solution to KJO and today’s award demonstrates continued confidence in McDermott’s capabilities.

“McDermott wins on our ability to deliver a differentiated, full scope EPCI solution for brownfield or greenfield projects to enhance the safety, operability and maintainability of our customer’s facilities. These unique capabilities set us apart for the large contract amendment at KJO’s Hout brownfield production facility.”

The scope includes EPCI for one new platform and two bridges with a total weight of approximately 3,300 tons, including significant modifications at the existing complex.

Engineering is expected to be carried out by McDermott’s detailed engineering teams. Structures are scheduled to be fabricated at the Company’s Dubai-based fabrication facility. Vessels from the McDermott global fleet are scheduled to undertake the installation work.

Addressing wellhead fatigue issues and proving sufficient margin for drilling operations has been a growing challenge for the oil and gas industry over the last decade. Wellhead fatigue can have significant technical, financial and safety implications for the system. In close cooperation with industry partners, DNV GL is addressing this issue through an ongoing joint industry project (JIP). This has resulted in a new recommended practice (RP) addressing the structural loading of offshore well systems.

Fatigue loading has increased as blowout preventer (BOP) systems are getting bigger due to regulatory development and the need for deep water functionality. Furthermore, the rigs are spending more days to drill multilateral wells and install complex completions. DNVGL-RP-0142 for wellhead fatigue analysis provides a framework for assessing fatigue of wellhead and casing systems due to wave-induced loading. It provides an overview of the different analysis methods, challenges and modeling details to consider.

Schematic example of the dynamic system when the rig is connected to a subsea well during the drilling operation.

Ole Rengård, senior vice president and project manager at DNV GL–Oil & Gas, said: “During all riser-connected operations, the well system is subjected to fatigue loading induced by environmental conditions and associated rig motions. Analysis of a connected riser system, including the well system, is both complex and multidisciplinary”. Furthermore, the JIP Steering Committee Chairman, Buba Kebadze, BP Exploration, added: “The RP will become an important industry reference and provide a methodology for assessing the fatigue of the subsea wellhead and associated riser systems forming a common basis for exchanging data between the wellhead supplier, rig owners, analysis houses and operators”.

The ongoing JIP work involves the following participants: BP, Centrica; Chevron; Det Norske; Eni; ExxonMobil; GDF Suez; Hess; Lundin; Marathon; Nexen; Shell; Statoil; Talisman; Total; and Woodside. The JIP’s Advisory Board, chaired by Statoil and consist of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hess, and Marathon, is actively working with the development. Currently, the JIP is preparing for detailed studies of the uncertainties in the analysis methodologies, and is investigating when and how to use the different modeling methods. The studies will be carried out by different analysis houses and the results will be documented in technical reports and further annexes to the RP.

“Every year DNV GL invests up to 5% of revenue into research and innovation and manages 100 ongoing joint industry projects annually. Providing a neutral ground for the industry to meet and discuss its most complex challenges means we can quickly find solutions for the whole industry. Our openly accessible industry standards and recommended practices can help ensure safety, increase predictability throughout the supply chain and help the industry to manage costs, without hindering innovation,” said Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO of DNV GL – Oil & Gas.

The assessment of wellhead fatigue damage under this RP is applicable during all stages (or types) of operations when riser systems interface to the well, including drilling, completion, production, workover and plugging and abandonment. Fatigue accumulation continues until the riser is ultimately disconnected from the wellhead.

DNV GL has a broad experience in analysis and in helping the industry assessing the integrity of drilling systems and wells.

DNV GL will be presenting technical papers at OTC in Houston on Dynamic Risers for Floating Production Systems and a Case Study of Asset Integrity and Risk Assessment for Subsea Facilities and Equipment Life Extension. See here for details of times and location.

Flexlife, a specialist provider of flexible pipe integrity and engineering services for the oil and gas industry, has won a number of contracts this year to date, valued at over $6m USD for oil and gas operators in the US Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and Malaysia.

The contracts are separate from the recently announced award from Apache North Sea Limited for subsea project management and engineering support in the North Sea.

The scope of work for the contracts includes integrity management engineering, flexible riser annulus testing and ultrasonic scanning, subsea project management and engineering support. Also included are the deployments of Flexlife’s Armadillo repair clamps and FlexGel, a cost effective permanent repair solution for mitigating corrosion in caissons, I-tubes and J-tubes.

Flexlife CEO Garry Millard said: “By focusing our business activity on our core competences and patented technology for cost effective integrity management, and by expanding our business acquisition activities to areas of growth, we are seeing positive results in a difficult market.”

Aberdeen-born Flexlife is widely recognized throughout the industry for its expertise and excellence in the integrity and engineering of flexible risers and flowlines. The company’s latest financial results, to year end April 2014 marked its highest revenue and profit to date, with an increase of 5% in group turnover to £14.9m, and a 50% increase in customers.

Offshore facility operators can now consider an alternative and more cost-effective means to transfer personnel to and from their facilities, which is safe, efficient and regulatory compliant.

Statoil, Eni Norge, Lundin Norway, OMV and GDF SUEZ will collaborate on solving operational tasks tied to exploration in the Barents Sea.

The project, called BaSEC, Barents Sea Exploration Collaboration, will initially last for three years. The project will cover the Barents Sea, but with a special focus on the areas included in the 23rd licensing round.

The Barents Sea Exploration Collaboration will initially last for three years. (Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland)

"We are taking operational responsibility seriously and have connected leading companies with operations in the Barents Sea to work together to find good and robust solutions for the tasks we see ahead, especially considering the new areas that have been opened in the Barents Sea south-east," says Statoil's Irene Rummelhoff, senior vice president for exploration in Norway. The project, which was initiated by Statoil and Eni Norge, will be led by Statoil in the first phase, but all the companies participate in the steering group and contribute to the working groups, and the work will start immediately.

"Our goal is to increase coordination and develop cost-effective solutions for exploration in the Barents Sea in both the short and medium term. We will collaborate with authorities, industry organizations and other relevant institutions to deliver on this. We aim to be effective and address the concrete actions that need to be taken and share relevant solutions and data with both the authorities and the rest of the industry. It is in our common interest to have robust exploration activity in the Barents Sea," says Rummelhoff.

The companies aim to find common solutions for operations in the Barents Sea, and through that contribute to high level of safety and emergency response. This will happen through sharing of data, cost-effective solutions, more collaboration and increased coordination.

The following working groups will be established:

• MetOcean and ice

• Environment and oil spill response

• Logistics and emergency preparedness

• Mobile drilling units

• Health and working environment

The criteria for participation is to either have made discoveries in the Barents Sea and/or have two or more operated licenses north of 73° N. The project will evaluate adding more participants after the awards in the 23rd licensing round.

The Energy Department announces that it has issued a final authorization for Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. The Cove Point LNG Terminal in Calvert County, Maryland is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 0.77 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas for a period of 20 years.

The development of U.S. natural gas resources is having a transformative impact on the U.S. energy landscape, helping to improve our energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country. This increase in domestic natural gas production is expected to continue, with the Energy Information Administration forecasting a record average production rate of 72.4 Bcf/d in 2015.

Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the United States. For countries that do not have an FTA with the United States, the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorizations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.”

The Energy Department conducted an extensive, careful review of the Dominion Cove Point LNG applications. Among other factors, the Department considered the economic, energy security, and environmental impacts and determined that exports at a rate of up to 0.77 Bcf/d for a period of 20 years was not inconsistent with the public interest.

The full final authorization for Dominion Cove Point can be found HERE.

The Path Forward on LNG Export Applications

The Energy Department will continue to act on applications to export LNG from the lower 48 states after completion of the review required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and when DOE has sufficient information on which to base a public interest determination. During this time, the Department will continue to monitor any market developments and assess their impact in subsequent public interest determinations as further information becomes available.

Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract to decommission multiple wells in the North Sea by Centrica Energy. The initial campaign includes six subsea wells in the central North Sea, in categories 2.1 and 2.2, which will be abandoned using a diverless, vessel-based approach.

Recently, LoneStar Energy Fabrication (LSEF) completed work on the $5.1 billion Big Foot drilling platform that is now ready to begin drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the largest project in LSEF’s history, and the company was the primary fabricator of the 4,600HP modular drilling rig. The extended tension-leg platform (ETLP) is the industry’s largest and will operate in the Bigfoot oil and gas field, 225 miles south of New Orleans at a depth of 5,200 feet.

The project took LSEF two years to complete and tapped into the company’s 100 years of combined experience in the fabrication and rig up of offshore rigs, helidecks, modular living quarters and offshore buildings for the oil and gas industry.

“Big Foot is now onsite being moored and should begin drilling soon,” stated Lone Star Energy Fabrication’s President, Brian Shanklin. “This was an amazing project that aligned extremely well with our fabrication, rig up and commissioning capabilities. We had to compete against other, larger, more experienced and better known fabricators to win the Big Foot contract, but our proven ability to deliver high quality work, on time and within or under budget helped us win the job.”

Gargantuan does not begin to describe the size of the Big Foot project. The platform cost approximately $5.1 billion, will house 200 workers, and has the capacity to produce 75,000 barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of gas per day. Standing more than 40 stories above the Gulf of Mexico and weighing in at more than 8,200 tons, it will operate in 5,200 feet of water. At that depth pressures exceed 2,325 pounds per square inch.

Big Foot was not the first large offshore project for LSEF. The company also served as the primary fabricator for the $5 billion Olympus project that required more than 650,000 man-hours to complete. Olympus is now in operation 130 miles south of New Orleans and is known as the Mars B TLP DVA rig.

Located on 40 acres in the Cedar Crossing Industrial Park, just 20 miles south of Houston near the Houston Ship Channel, LSEF is perfectly located to work on jobs like Big Foot. With direct access to the Houston Ship Channel, as well as rail and air transportation, the company can tackle onshore and offshore as well as international projects of any size.

“We specialize in modular units that encompass rigs, living quarters and helidecks. As an example, the average sleeping quarters we build accommodates 100+ workers with sleeping, shower and galley facilities,” explains Shanklin. “When a job is completed it can easily be lifted by cranes and loaded onto barges to move into the Gulf or shipped out via rail or truck.”

The company has more than 100,000 square feet under roof and is a certified facility that complies with the most rigorous standards in the industry that includes: ISO 9001, API Q1, ABS (American), BV (French), DNV (Norwegian), SOLAS (British and USCG (American).

In addition to being one of the largest fabrication and rig up yards in the Houston area, it is also one of the top 10 located on the Gulf Coast. The Cedar Crossing complex provides Lone Star unlimited growth potential with 15,000 acres of raw land surrounding the existing facility.

Shanklin has a unique, but very valuable, background. “I started out working as a roughneck on an offshore platform rig. That gives me a unique perspective that very few people who build rigs have. I grew up in the business. I understand what the front line workers have to do on their jobs and how they live on these platforms,” says Shanklin. “You can’t get that perspective from a university or from talking to an engineer or reading about it. When you have lived on a platform a couple hundred miles from shore, like I have, you understand how important safety and quality construction really is,” he emphasizes.

LSFE has completed large projects in the past, has others underway and still more in the pipeline. The company just completed work on one 3,000 HP platform rig for a large Mexican oil company, and a second is being completed, tested and commissioned. Work is also underway on two 120-man living quarter projects along with work for other major oilfield service providers. LSEF was also a prime contractor on the Olympus project, completed in 2012 which was also one of the largest ETLP projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

While the recent drop in oil prices has had a major impact on shale drilling and related services, it has had a minimal impact on LSEF, because large oil and gas companies, LSEF’s primary customers, have had major project budgets in place for years, and most will be completed with the anticipation of higher oil prices in the future. Deepwater drilling and production are long term, multi-billion dollar projects that take several years to complete and are not impacted by short-term fluctuations in oil prices. Some experts even predict resurgence in Gulf oil drilling and LSEF is well positioned to benefit from future projects.

“We also do work for other companies around the world and the combination of offshore, land-based, and international work helps to stabilize our project load and ensures work continues to come in,” explains Shanklin.

Shanklin actually sees the downturn in the oil industry as an opportunity to attract high quality employees. “We are only as good as the people who work here,” he explains. “Most of our team has been built through referrals from existing employees. With the recent downturn, a lot of smaller fabrication companies have been forced to lay off highly qualified employees and our existing team members notify us when they identify a potential employee and we pick from the best available. We have built an excellent team with a broad range of certified skills that helps us continue to win contracts.”

LSEF has big plans for the future. “I believe we have established that we can deliver extremely large high quality projects, on time and within budget, and that is our foundation to grow the company,” Shanklin explains. “I believe the key to our future is to build upon our high quality, cost control culture, and focus on maintaining our safety record. Safety is paramount in this industry. You have to protect your people if you want to become an industry leader. We have made good inroads into international markets and I see LoneStar growing its international business significantly in the coming years,” he concludes.

Many developments are taking place these days in the Arabian Sea countries with agreements signed or discussed on various oil and gas projects creating major investment options.

Oman and Iran are in discussions regarding an underwater gas pipeline deal; Russia and Pakistan recently finalized a $2 billion LNG pipeline deal; India is in discussions with Iran for oil deals for E&P projects as well as exports; a block with proven gas reserves in the Mannar Basin in Sri Lanka just became available; while China obtained 40-year management rights in Pakistan’s Gwadar port opening up a route for transporting Middle East oil through a 3,000km long land route.

These examples highlight the various investment opportunities of the Arabian Sea region, where many more exist and are open to international interest. The Arabian Sea Region Oil & Gas Summit, will gather the international and national oil and gas industry to discuss and address the options both on countrywide and regional level.

The Summit will be held on 26th-27th May in the 5* InterContinental Hotel Muscat, Oman with the official support and endorsement of the Minister of Oil & Gas of the Sultanate of Oman focusing on the oil and gas business in Oman, India, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Sri Lanka.

General Managers, Chairmen, Presidents and Executive Directors from the regional oil players and VP Business Development as well as Country Managers and Heads of Exploration from international oil majors have already confirmed their presence in the speaker line-up.

The Petroleum Federation of India, the Middle East Association and the International Gas Association – CEDIGAZ act as supporters of the Summit. Solarlite, the company that provides environmentally friendly solution to operators of mature fields, is a gold sponsor of the Summit.

More information about the Summit can be found on www.arabianseasummit.com and about the organizers, IRN, at www.irn-international.com.

Global Marine Systems Limited has extended its subsea capability with the acquisition of a powerful jet trenching ROV. The new submersible compliments the existing burial equipment portfolio and is designed for pre and post-lay trenching as well as simultaneous lay and burial in the offshore subsea cable sectors.

MMT (Sweden) has recently completed a pipeline inspection for Dong E&P in the North Sea, Danish sector. This was the eight year in a row that MMT performed this for Dong.

The operation was conducted with MMTs survey vessel Franklin to find exposed pipe and if it was exposed more than 60 %, a more careful inspection with MMT ROV Comanche was performed including video inspection. The project and report was delivered as planned to both MMT´s and Dong´s satisfaction.

Image: MMT´s Survey & ROV vessel Franklin

Intertek, a leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide, is launching a new set of oil and gas decommissioning services to help manage costs and asset inventory.

The company showcased the new services, which focus on the circular economy approach, at Decom North Sea’s lunch and learn yesterday.

Raymond Pirie, Vice President of Exploration and Production said: “We have many years experience of asset inventory and asset integrity planning so bringing all our experience together in a complete solution for managing decommissioning is a natural progression for the business.

“Circular economy provides great opportunities for decommissioning, when planned correctly it can create greater cost control as well as ensuring that redundant materials are removed and used in the most effective way possible. Asset inventory is a key component of this, knowing what is on the asset will determine what can be done with each piece. This in turn has implications for timing, cleaning, cutting and removal options so early identification of the inventory is crucial to understand the reuse opportunities.”

With over 30 years experience in environmental consultancy services, Intertek will complete and manage the applications and permits associated with decommissioning projects for regulators and stakeholders. They will also utilize the expertise of their labs in waste analysis to provide waste characterization and ensure that pipelines are safe to prepare for removal. Once equipment has been decommissioned and repurposed, Intertek can then recertify it to ensure it is ready to reuse – the final step in the circular economy approach.

To assist with managing inventory and data for each asset, Intertek are using its GeoAIMS (Geographical Asset and Information Management System). GeoAIMS is a web-based application which allows users to interact, query and retrieve data from the database without needing GIS software. Using GeoAIMS for decommissioning projects means real-time updates of hazardous materials can be taken as and when they are located and identified. It will also allow the type and quantities of hazardous and residual materials to be logged and tagged to their exact location.

Mr. Pirie continued: “As well as the services to manage the decommissioning work, we can also provide training and manage the change for the people involved. The offshore environment is different for an asset in the decommissioning stage to one in production and we can help people to recognize that and develop the right culture.

“By offering our clients a full life-cycle approach to decommissioning, the client can have one dedicated point of contact and our knowledge of their project ensures that all the phases run effectively together.”

Fugro has set a new seafloor drill water depth record of 2,923 meters (9,589 feet) while completing a combined sampling and piezocone penetration testing (PCPT) borehole to 62 meters (203 feet) below the seafloor. Achieved using its ‘Seafloor Drill I,’ the single deployment in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico exceeded the previous water depth mark for seabed-based drilling technology.

Fugro’s seafloor drill recently set a new water depth record in the Gulf of Mexico.

Andrew Cooper, the Fugro Project Manager, was onboard the vessel for the record-breaking dive in early April 2015 and was pleased with the results. “The project team worked together to deliver a safe and productive operation while obtaining high quality data for our client,” he explained. “‘Seafloor Drill I’ performed as expected in these water depths and we are excited to pioneer the deeper depths demanded by the offshore oil and gas industry.”

Fugro also operates ‘Seafloor Drill II’ which adds coiled tubing PCPT capability and automated handling of drill rods and tools during subsea operations. Both seafloor drills are designed for offshore geotechnical and geohazard investigations.

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