Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) has named Clay Neff president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production, effective January 1, 2017.
Neff, 54, succeeds Ali Moshiri, who will retire from Chevron after 38 years of distinguished service, effective April 1, 2017, consistent with the company's mandatory retirement policy. Neff, who is currently managing director of Chevron's Nigeria Mid-Africa Business Unit, will oversee Chevron's exploration and production activities in 15 countries across Africa and Latin America. In his new role, Neff will report to Jay Johnson, Chevron's executive vice president, Upstream.
In his current role, Neff is responsible for Chevron's upstream operations in Nigeria and West Africa. He received his Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1984 and joined Chevron the following year as a drilling engineer. Since then, he has held numerous engineering, operations, commercial and management positions of increasing responsibility in the United States, Angola and Nigeria. Mr. Neff is also the chairman of the board of trustees for the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Over the course of his career, Moshiri has developed significant operational and international experience. He has held key leadership roles throughout the enterprise, including manager of Petroleum and Facilities Engineering, general manager of Strategic Planning and Assets Evaluation for Chevron Overseas Petroleum, general manager and advisor to the vice chairman of the board of Chevron Corporation Exploration and Production, and managing director of Chevron Latin America Exploration and Production Company.
"Clay's broad operating experience, particularly in Africa, makes him highly qualified to lead these two key regions for our business," said John Watson, Chevron's chairman and CEO.
Commenting on Moshiri's retirement, Watson said, "Ali has played a central and critical role in growing our business in Africa and Latin America. He has also distinguished himself as a champion of Chevron's commitment to economic and social development in the areas in which we operate."
New decommissioning service launched by Lloyd's Register helps operators, equity holders, investors and regulators navigate the regulatory and technical complexities of late-life operations and decommissioning to drive significant cost savings, improve project efficiency, reduce risk, and safely decommission assets and facilities.
In-depth technical knowledge, cost estimation and determining decommissioning risk liabilities make it easier for companies to plan and execute with confidence against a challenging low oil-price market.
"Operators are faced with a huge challenge and conflict between maximizing economic recovery, a low oil price and decommissioning on the horizon," says Alasdair Buchanan, Energy Director at Lloyd's Register.
"We understand decommissioning requires an investment with little to no return for operators, accompanied by an element of ambiguity globally about the requirements set by regulators and uncertainty on long term liability. The onus is on operators to execute decommissioning in the most cost effective manner, especially in jurisdictions such as the UKCS where tax relief is available on decommissioning activities."
Image courtesy: Lloyd’s Register
Lloyd's Register is offering an integrated portfolio of late-life and decommissioning services to support operators, equity holders and regulators in key territories including the UKCS, GOM and across Asia in how best to manage their operations productivity, with minimal risk and cost effectively in the run up to Cessation of Production (CoP) and decommissioning.
"We are launching this new service to help duty holders, owners, operators, equity holders and regulators drive significant cost savings, improve project efficiency, reduce risk and safely decommission assets and facilities," highlights Buchanan. "Following several years of acquisition, we have the in-house capability to support industry across late-life operations and decommissioning. It is a unique offering from CoP preparation, planning and surveys, to plug and abandonment, waste management and monitoring post removal – all from one independent provider."
The expertise covers subsea operations through to topsides, offshore and onshore technical and engineering solutions, project and data management, assurance and commercial services.
Industry estimates suggest the tax certainty created by the UK Government's policy for oil and gas decommissioning will drive at least an additional £13 billions of capital investment in the North Sea.
"If you're responsible for any element of decommissioning or if your operations are moving towards CoP, you'll know only too well the scale of the project ahead of you," says Buchanan. "For any operator or investor, issues exist around managing costs, environmental and safety implications and the daunting challenge of navigating through the regulations and standards that must be adhered to, but it doesn't have to be a daunting process."
"We offer a wide range of services across the decommissioning life-cycle that provide a standardized process to decommissioning, that in itself, will lead to further cost savings and commercial incentives in planning, project managing, budgeting and execution."
The company has brought together a decade of investment in new technology and company acquisitions, and which now give operators a one-stop-shop for the technical expertise and experience needed to run decommissioning projects. Its unique standardized process to decommissioning can be applied in:
"Determining the nature, timing and sequence of ending the life of a field or facility, in the most cost effective way, requires specialist knowledge of the reservoir, well design, production properties and the process equipment."
Buchanan states that before any operator embarks on decommissioning, experienced subsurface teams are needed that use specialists in geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir and petroleum engineering and field development to conduct a range of technical studies.
"Our aim is to provide a high level of certainty and reassurance to industry that the approach to decommissioning and the associated costs of carrying out decommissioning can be done effectively," emphasizes Buchanan. "The oil price drop has made decommissioning more relevant for many operators and we believe that as those costs are so big at the end of field life, cost estimates for decommissioning should be subject to careful scrutiny.
"Our process at Lloyd's Register is also about understanding the minimum that needs to done to achieve a safe and robust decommissioning process. It is also important that solutions are not over-engineered or over compensated for in costly, unnecessary remedial activity that has little to do with compliance to certain standards or processes."
Lloyd's Register points out that the service extends to non-operated partners or M&A organizations.
"If you are considering an asset purchase or transfer, you need to understand your decommissioning liabilities and where you are exposed to cost escalation," comments Buchanan. "Our independent evaluations provide that in-depth asset knowledge, residual value determination and decommissioning cost liabilities."
BP (NYSE: BP) and GE (NYSE: GE) announces the start-up of Plant Operations Advisor (POA), a new digital solution designed to improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of BP’s oil and gas production operations. Plant Operations Advisor is already helping BP manage the performance of one of its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and, subject to a successful pilot, it will be deployed next year to other BP facilities around the world.
The tool, built on GE’s Predix operating system, was created as part of a development partnership the two companies announced in January. “BP gravitates toward new technologies, especially digital, and that makes working with them particularly exciting,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas. “We are taking a big step forward together during this time of digital transformation, deploying what we’ve co-created over the past year to drive the kind of productivity improvements that the oil and gas industry needs. The global deployment is expected to be the largest-scale deployment of GE’s Predix-powered APM technology to date.”
Plant Operations Advisor will help prevent unplanned downtime and improve facility reliability by helping engineering teams respond quickly to issues as they occur in real-time.
“By bringing together some of the best minds at GE and BP, we were able to develop this innovative digital product and are confident that it will have a significant impact on our business,” said Ahmed Hashmi, BP’s Head of Upstream Technology. “When fully deployed, these advanced digital technologies will change the way we work and improve the integrity and performance of our assets around the globe.”
Using GE’s Predix and Asset Performance Management (APM) capabilities, POA rapidly integrates operational data from producing oil and gas facilities to deliver notifications and analytical reports to engineers so they can identify operational performance issues before they become significant.
The system provides simplified access to a variety of live data feeds and includes visualization capabilities including a real-time facility threat display. It also incorporates an extensive case management capability to support learnings from prior operational issues.
GE intends to offer this technology, which combines big data, cloud hosting, and analytics on both individual pieces of equipment as well as the entire production system, as an APM solution that will be available to the industry.
International project services consultancy, Cambla, has launched an upgraded version of its Schedule Animation Tool (S.A.T) to the renewables market.
Initially launched to market last year, the technology was a world-first for the oil and gas industry and has been further developed to ensure effective and efficient planning of renewable marine operations. S.A.T provides an accurate visual representation of vessel locations and planned activities, offering project teams full fleet management support and significant cost savings.
Alexander MacLeod, founder of Cambla
The most recent upgrades to the tool significantly improve user experience and include improved comparison view, detailed project infrastructure and the addition of renewable graphics.
Alexander MacLeod, founder of Cambla, said: “Ultimately, we aim to ensure that S.A.T offers the best possible user experience for planning renewable marine operations, so we have continued to upgrade the technology to meet our clients’ business requirements. Cost effective, time saving processes are always in demand and S.A.T offers operators an innovative tool for the most efficient project planning.
“The tool is particularly effective for renewables operations, and allows operators to view the fabrication of project infrastructure including the installation of wind turbines and associated subsea construction work. Users can also monitor the delivery requirements for the project to effectively control the management of parts, materials and equipment required for the complete construction of a renewables project.“
Cambla has also recruited Lee Birnie, a Computing placement student from Robert Gordon University’s School of Computing Science and Digital Media, to support with the development of the upgrade.
Alexander continued: “We recruit graduates every year through the Scottish Government’s ScotGrad scheme, which not only provides us with further support for our projects and product development plans, but also offers valuable hands-on experience for young people looking to kick-start their careers.
“I believe it is particularly important to bring students and graduates into the business. Lee has been an invaluable addition to the team so far and we look forward to supporting his development during his time with the company.”
Established in 2013, Cambla offers expert project planning, cost control and probabilistic services to support oil and gas and renewable projects using a pre-built toolkit of processes and reports. Cambla’s team of expert project planners support client projects across the globe, from early appraisal through to the final close-out period, ensuring a high quality result is achieved at all stages of the project.
GRAY, La. – Danos’ fabrication service line has achieved an important safety milestone: 1 million man-hours without an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-recordable incident.
“This achievement is a credit to the dedication of our fabrication team,” said Mark Danos, vice president of project services for Danos. “Despite taking on increasingly more complex projects, their commitment to operating safely and doing things the right way every time has never wavered; it is the key to our success.”
Danos’ unyielding emphasis on safety – it is one of the company’s core values – has produced a culture in which proper training and procedures are the bedrock of daily operations. These safety results demonstrate Danos’ commitment to ensuring every team member is provided the tools, environment and knowledge that enables them to work safe every day.
Danos’ Larose, La. fabrication facility has been OSHA-recordable incident-free for seven years and the company’s Amelia, La. facility has been incident-free since opening its doors in 2014.
Trelleborg’s offshore operation based in Houston has invested in a new Global Riser Analysis team to incorporate in-house mathematical simulation capabilities into its current engineering group.
The Global Riser Analysis team consists of experienced local and global finite element (FE) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis personnel utilizing specialized software to enable Trelleborg to deliver an even more complete engineering service to new and existing customers. The team are able to model equipment and system responses to environmental forces, providing greater opportunities for design optimization across the full range of Trelleborg’s product offerings. Potential benefits to customers include cost savings, increased service life and multi-functional designs.
Riser Analysis team 2. Image courtesy: Trelleborg
Antony Croston, Business Group Director with Trelleborg’s offshore operation states: “We are committed to continuously improving our engineering and manufacturing services and the Global Riser Analysis team will be a great addition to our engineering group. Through this new service, the team will help advance our product development and design opportunities at the system level as well as bring innovative ideas and cost savings to our customers.”
In addition to advances in product design, Trelleborg’s offshore operation aims to utilize established consulting backgrounds within the Global Riser Analysis team to offer customers in-house global and local analyses of offshore drilling and production operations, applying a fully coupled vessel to well approach. These riser studies will assist clients in defining operational methodologies and structural system limitations for offshore drilling and production operations globally.
Croston continues: “The Riser Analysis team will be able to consult with our clients on active projects and offer the best solution based on a true optimization of product performance and the overall effect on the system design. We will be ideally placed to advise which design choices give the biggest payback in terms of maximizing operational efficiency.
“Our future strategy is to expand our analysis capabilities, through partnerships, integration of real world data from field deployed acquisition systems, and verification testing to develop creative solutions to the present and future challenges presented to the offshore energy industries.”
The Global Riser Analysis team is currently developing solutions to reduce drilling riser drag and fatigue loadings for the purposes of improving rig uptime in the most demanding environments.
Saipem has been awarded new contracts and change orders in the E&C Offshore segment, for an overall amount of about 1 billion dollars.
In particular, the most significant are the notification of award by Saudi Aramco of two EPIC contracts (Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Construction), under the Long Term Agreement in force and renewed in 2015 until 2021 for activities in Saudi Arabia. These two contracts refer to, respectively, the development of fields in Marjan, Zuluf and Safaniya located in the Arabian Gulf, which are among the most important offshore fields in the Region. These contracts include the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation and implementation of subsea systems in addition to the laying of pipelines, subsea cables and umbilicals, platform decks and jackets. Furthermore, the two contracts will also include additional maintenance and dismantling works on the existing platforms already operating in the fields.
“With these contracts, Saipem is further reinforcing its presence in the Middle East, a highly strategic area”, stressed Stefano Cao, CEO of Saipem. “New contracts from a long-standing customer like Saudi Aramco are also an important, strong mark of its trust in Saipem as - once again – the high quality of its services and its solid expertise in the construction and installation of offshore platforms is recognized”.
Saipem is one of the world leaders in drilling services, as well as in the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of pipelines and complex projects, onshore and offshore, in the oil & gas market. The company has distinctive competences in operations in harsh environments, remote areas and deepwater. Saipem provides a full range of services with “EPC” and “EPCI” contracts (on a “turn-key” basis) and has distinctive capabilities and unique assets with a high technological content.
Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) is to invest up to £3 million in developing a water-jetting tool which has the potential to double trench production rates in seabed trenching operations.
The subsea and engineering technology company has awarded a contract to Northumberland-based Osbit which specializes in bespoke engineering projects for international energy clients.
Osbit will be the lead detail design and development provider for the SCARJet subsea vehicle which features ESS’s unique water-jetting and burial performance enhancement technologies and complements its range of SCAR-branded seabed preparation and trenching solutions.
Michael Cowie, Technical Director, Ecosse Subsea Systems Ltd
The technology will expand Banchory-based ESS’s capability to execute larger scopes of work – including soft soil projects - whilst the innovative design will differentiate them from existing suppliers.
ESS were recently awarded a subsea trenching contract by leading European offshore specialist JD-Contractor A/S for the Kriegers Flak windfarm offshore Denmark.
The Aberdeenshire company has just completed a £5 million seabed clearance project on behalf of DONG Energy on the Race Bank Offshore Windfarm located off the Norfolk coast and a route clearance and trenching project on behalf of Prysmian Group on the 70-turbine Wikinger offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea.
The subsea trencher is a modular design, incorporating hydraulically driven track assemblies, a primary burial tool water feed and deployment systems, and a work-class ROV docking interface, compatible with the most widely used ROV systems in service today.
ESS technical director Michael Cowie said: “This is a major investment which will strengthen our suite of SCAR seabed tools and offer real benefits to clients operating in the renewables and oil and gas sectors. It is anticipated the SCARJet could double trench production rates compared to existing trenchers in the same class, with significant time and cost savings for the end-client.
“We chose Osbit to deliver this important addition to the SCAR range because of their impressive track record, technical expertise and ability to offer a flexible approach to the project. Our operations team are looking forward to collaborating with Osbit to develop and deliver what we believe will be a game-changing trenching system.”
Osbit director Robbie Blakeman said: “We see a natural fit between Osbit and ESS, with us providing world-class expertise in the design and manufacture of subsea vehicles, while ESS has a wealth of operational experience and a vision for sustainable trenching technology.”
“We share a passion for delivering engineered solutions which reduce complexity and drive down costs, maximize operational effectiveness and reliability, whilst constantly improving safety.”
The R&D for the SCARJet has been supported by Scottish Enterprise and part funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds Programme.
MetOcean Solutions recently provided free access to all their hindcast data statistics from around the world.
"Anyone with internet access can now view and download historical weather statistics from a range of global locations," states Dr. Rafael Guedes, Manager of Hindcasts. "In total we have statistics available from more than 380,000 datapoints around the world, a number which is constantly increasing as we run our models for new locations."
Historical data such as 100 year return period value (RPV) wave height is important baseline information for anyone operating in the ocean.
MetOcean Solutions’ hindcast data provide high quality marine weather information generated in-house by a team of expert scientists using state-of-the-art atmospheric and oceanographic models. The hindcast statistics can be accessed through the MetOceanView platform with no login required.
"Our historical data archives reach back to 1979," adds Rafael. "The information available includes wind and wave distribution statistics, roses, joint probability tables and extreme value analysis data."
Suitable for environmental investigations and climate analysis, the datasets offer key baseline information for project scoping, offshore and coastal design, project planning and environmental impact assessment.
"We display tiles with gridded statistics from selected global datasets, including gridded mean wave height, period and direction for total swell and wind-sea wave components, percentiles and extreme value analysis of significant wave height and wind speed, vector-average currents, as well as mean air and sea-surface temperature."
Click here for free access to the more than 380,000 hindcast data locations worldwide.
For a list of full historical datasets available, click here.
Unique Group, a leading integrated subsea and offshore solution provider, has announced that its On-Site Engineering division, through its Wellube brand, has partnered with KSB Group to offer a new service to its customers in the Middle East and Africa region. On-Site Spark Erosion is the latest addition to the division's wide portfolio of services that include hot tapping & line stopping, on-site machining, and safety valve testing among many others.
The KSB Group, headquartered in Germany, is a leading supplier of pumps, valves and services. KSB also continues to remain the world market leaders in the spark erosion industry supplying their services for over 20 years to a wide variety of sectors ranging from oil and gas to marine.
Removal of the coupling bolts on a 9E gas turbine using spark erosion technique. Photo credit: Unique Group
Spark erosion, also known as metal disintegration or electro discharge machining (EDM), is a technique that's primarily used for tap, stud, bolt and drill removal or seized fasteners. The cutting action of a metal disintegrator is accomplished by creating a series of intermittent electric arcs that break down the hardest metals into minute particles in a safe and controlled manner.
An electrode, held in the head of the disintegrator, vibrates as it cuts while a coolant is pumped through the electrode to wash away the powdered metal. The technique chiefly employs electrical energy to remove metal from the work piece without creating any contact with it. The technique can also be used for marine and marine engine repairs.
As there are no cutting forces involved in a spark erosion process, delicate operations can be performed on thin work pieces. The technique can produce shapes unobtainable by a conventional machining process and can also be used to provide a texture on the inside of mold tools for plastic products.
Sahil Gandhi, Director at Unique Group's On-Site Engineering division commented, "Our Wellube brand is widely recognized as a leader in the provision of on-site machining services. As a world-renowned brand, we're continuously on the lookout to grow our reach by offering new services to customers the world over. The decision to partner with KSB was imminent considering their in-depth experience in the spark erosion industry."
"Their spark erosion machines are powerful and highly reliable, thereby ensuring maximum material removal in minimum time, thus keeping the customer on schedule."
Paul Eccles, Spark Erosion Sales Manager at KSB asserted, "We're pleased with our new association with Unique Group. We at KSB have always aimed at giving our customers the best possible service to suit their business needs backed by a 24hr support plan and the same ideology resonates with the Unique Group team. Their strong customer base and sound knowledge of the market is instrumental in establishing the best-in-class metal disintegration service to customers in the region."
EnerMech’s cranes and lifting division has benefited from a £85 million-plus uplift to its order book with a series of contract wins, extensions and renewals.
The Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group has consolidated its position as a major international cranes services provider, strengthening its reputation in the Caspian region and extending its reach by winning new work in the Gulf States, Far East and the Caribbean.
In Azerbaijan, BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) have renewed a contract which EnerMech has held since 2010 for up to a further five years. Crane operations, maintenance and inspection services for 16 BP offshore pedestal cranes and two new platforms on the Shah Deniz 2 project are included in the contract. EnerMech has also undertaken to employ an Azeri-only nationalized workforce for the contract term which also includes the provision of spare parts, repair and refurbishment and training.
EnerMech’s cranes. Photo courtesy: EnerMech
In Qatar, EnerMech has secured exclusivity for the provision of crane maintenance services to the Al Shaheen Field. As part of its integrated services approach, EnerMech will also offer process, pipeline and umbilicals, valves inspection and repair, hydraulics and training services.
A three-year deal to provide crane operation and maintenance services to Daewoo International E&P on the Shwe Gas field in the Bay of Bengal, marks EnerMech’s first long term contract award offshore Myanmar.
A major breakthrough has been made in Trinidad & Tobago where EnerMech have been awarded a crane operation and maintenance contract by an international operator and a new base has been established on the island from which EnerMech will offer all its service lines in line with their standard approach to entering a new market.
In the North Sea, Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited have awarded EnerMech a five-year crane operation and maintenance contract covering the Buzzard, Scott and Golden Eagle platforms.
Also in the UKCS, contracts first awarded to EnerMech as far back as 2006 by two major oil and gas operators have been renewed for a further three years and EnerMech will continue to provide crane maintenance, mechanic and operator crews, spare parts and equipment inspection services on a combined total of 11 platforms.
EnerMech’s international mechanical handling services director, John Morrison, said: “It has been an excellent 2016 to date for our cranes and lifting services division with key contracts renewed by major clients alongside winning work in new markets and extending our market share. This is quite an achievement in today’s competitive environment.
“Our long-held belief that clients want integrated services and not a stand-alone provision of one service line is paying off, and it is particularly relevant in the current market conditions where operators and contractors are demanding much more cost-effective methods of doing business.
“Extending contracts in Baku with BP and in the North Sea, winning our first crane contracts with Nexen, Daewoo and in Trinidad & Tobago, while securing extra workscopes in Qatar, all indicate that our cranes and lifting expertise is highly regarded across the oil and gas producing world.
“We will continue to seek out more efficient methods of providing crane and lifting services to clients which are capable of being integrated with our other business lines. The energy industry is demanding more collaboration to counter the downturn in the oil price and this is an approach which has been championed by EnerMech since the company was founded.
Bosch Rexroth is launching a modular hydraulic power unit (HPU) program specially developed for the Maritime and Offshore market. These high-end power units cover a power range of 350 to 3,000 kW, and have obtained the type approval by Lloyd’s Register. The program starts with a "basic" unit which can be expanded using all kinds of options. Because all variants are included in the modular options matrix, a design can quickly be calculated complete with dimensions and weights. This gives Bosch Rexroth a lead in the world of hydraulic power units.
The type approved Modular HPU concept reduces time to market and optimizes dimensions and footprint.
Pierre Wouters, responsible for detail engineering of HPU at Bosch Rexroth in Boxtel, explains how the idea for this remarkable modular concept was born. "Within the Maritime & Offshore sector, power units are nearly always unique," says Wouters. "This means that until now, each HPU was separately designed and drawn. However, the market more than ever now demands fast response times and so a power range of 350 to 3,000 kW was chosen based on market demands. The units can be configured using a list of options, enabling the system to be made more maintenance-friendly, more reliable and more efficient."
The Modular Hydraulic Power Unit (MHPU) program starts with a configured solution for standard applications. This takes account of the minimum functions demanded by the customer. The HPU can also easily be adapted to additional requirements. For instance, if one requires it to include an e- cabinet and/or starter cabinet configuration. A large number of options can also be supplied, such as double cooling pumps for situations requiring redundancy, but also a cleanliness measurement system or depth filtration kit. The MHPU can also be fitted with pulsation dampeners, as well as a number of other options. Efficient IE3 electric motors, which can drive one or more pumps, are employed for driving the pump units. The MHPU program means that based on the request, often a detailed quotation and a 3D drawing of the aggregate can be presented on the same day. All this including relevant information on dimensions and weight. Moreover, a Lloyd's Type Approval has been obtained for the entire MHPU program.
"What we are doing now is developing 'industry 4.0-like features'," continues Pierre Wouters. "That means that we fit the HPU with extra sensors and interfaces so that in the near future we can enable communication via the Internet between the MHPUs and the customer's technical department or with our headquarters."
According to Pierre Wouters, the current program covers a large part of the market needs in the Maritime & Offshore sector. "Of course some parts will always remain that have to be designed separately," says Wouters. "The systems are designed for a design pressure of 350 bar and a maximum flow of 6,000 liters/min. The functional switch blocks behind the HPU are often tailor made so that we are still talking about ETO (Engineered To Order). But the fact that the units can now be compiled with literally just a few mouse clicks saves so much time, also in production. This partly contributes to a significant improvement of the delivery times and costs and will ensure that Bosch Rexroth can operate even more competitively in this market."
ATR Group has announced a six-figure investment towards developing its inspection capabilities which will see in-house personnel delivering further rope access services and non-destructive testing (NDT), a method fast becoming one of the most in-demand techniques used by the energy industries across the globe.
NDT measures various material and mechanical properties of an object without affecting its operating performance. According to a recent report the global NDT market was estimated to be valued at $12.98 billion (USD) in 2015 and is projected to reach $18.88 billion by 2020.
As part of strengthening the capabilities of ATR Lifting Solutions’ 33 in-house engineers, the Group has appointed George Byers as divisional manager. An industry veteran with 30 years’ experience in oil and gas under his belt, he joins ATR following six years at international inspection services company Reel Group where since March 2015 he was the regional general manager in Houston, Texas.
ATR’s personnel are currently fully trained to industry body Lifting Equipment Engineers Association standards and are also qualified in accordance with Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Based in Aberdeen, Mr. Byers will oversee the workforce as they attend a combination of external and in-house training to become fully qualified in magnetic particle, dye penetrant, eddy current and ultrasonic NDT methods.
Findlay Moir, ATR Lifting Solutions Divisional Director
ATR Lifting Solutions divisional director Findlay Moir said: “We have one of the largest teams of inspection engineers in the UK oil and gas industry and, with George on board, the company is in a strong position to further develop our inspection and testing services to the next level.
“Given the challenging times facing the sector, we believe it is important to keep investing in and developing our people to ensure we can continue to offer increased value to our clients and galvanize our workforce.
“Advanced inspection services are the next logical step for ATR Lifting Solutions and we’ve already had strong interest from our clients to deliver this class of inspection. With the prospect of just one engineer needed to carry out routine inspections and NDT on the same work scope, it automatically makes it more time and cost effective for clients. It also has better safety implications.
“We look forward to George coming on board and broadening our inspection team’s expertise.”
Mr. Byers, who began his career as an NDT technician moving into management 10 years later, added: “ATR has a fantastic reputation for delivering successful campaigns here in the UK and globally, and I’m thrilled to be part of helping build on this even further.
“The supply chain has been hit hard by the downturn with companies looking to cut costs and make savings where possible. I truly believe this kind of investment in training will not only pay dividends to the business but strengthen ATR’s position as a leader in the sector.”
ATR Group is the market leader in the rental, sale and inspection of specialized equipment to the petrochemicals, marine, subsea and the offshore oil and gas industry. Its four business units are ATR Equipment Solutions, ATR Lifting Solutions, Underwater Engineering Services and Safety & Technical Hydraulics.
Offshore accommodation and workspace solutions specialist HB Rentals has secured contracts in excess of £1,000,000 for the manufacture of workshops, local equipment rooms and pressurised offshore service modules for multiple clients.
The company was commissioned by Prosafe to design, manufacture and supply two DNV 2.7-1 and 2.7-2, Safe Area certified welding workshops for the Safe Zephyrus semi-submersible accommodation vessel, operating offshore Norway.
HB Rentals was also commissioned to design, manufacture and supply a local equipment room by OneSubsea GmbH for subsea operations in the Taurus Libra field, offshore Egypt. The module was required to be DNV 2.7-1 and 2.7-2, A60 and Safe Area certified.
And HB Rentals was commissioned by Semco Maritime to design, manufacture and supply a DNV 2.7-1, A60, Zone II rated pressurised offshore service module for subsea services in the UK sector of the North Sea.
All of the modules were designed and manufactured at HB Rentals’ service facilities in Sauchen, Aberdeenshire. The premises include almost 3,000m sq. of workshops and stores, incorporating a fully equipped 450m sq. fabrication shop and a 2,000m sq. outfitting shop.
HB Rentals is a Superior Energy Services company that specialises in the design, manufacture, sale and rental of DNV & ABS certified temporary offshore accommodation solutions, Zone I/Zone II hazardous area service modules, and workshop and refrigeration containers. The global organisation has been based in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire for more than 25 years.
HB Rentals managing director Norman Porter said: “At a time when the industry is experiencing significant challenges, these multiple contracts in our expanding build for sale division represent good news not only for us but for the sector in the North-east of Scotland as a whole.
“The personnel and facilities we have in our workshop and service premises have once again enabled us to design and create a range of modules to the very highest standards, which we hope will provide an environment to assist our clients in achieving their targets.”
Subsea cable and connector specialist Hydro Group has announced the appointment of William (Bill) Mildon, as president of newly formed Hydro Group Systems Inc. - a wholly owned subsidiary in Pinellas County, Florida.
Boasting nearly 40 years’ experience in undersea product development from complex sonars to sensors and undersea cable and connectors, Bill has held a number of senior positions, most recently as technical director at Nest Technical Services. His leadership skills saw him successfully lead teams in submarine penetration designs, under water connectors and numerous fiber optic inter-connect products.
In his new role Bill will be focussed on shaping and delivering Hydro Group Systems to carry the same vision of Hydro Group Plc, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Along with developing this vision in the US naval, oil and gas and renewable sectors, he is also to set up a manufacturing facility to produce Hydro Group products to the US market.
Doug Whyte, Hydro Group managing director, said: “We are growing at a significant rate, going from strength to strength which has led to the creation of Hydro Group Systems. As president, Bill will deliver product and service excellence, develop our people, shape innovation and ensure Hydro Group - as a whole - continues to exceed expectation at all levels.
“Throughout his time in the industry Bill has built up invaluable experience and expertise, and I look forward to working with him and seeing the value he will bring to both our business and our customers.”
Commenting on his appointment, Bill said: “I am thrilled to be joining Hydro Group at such an exciting time for the company. I’m confident that my previous experience will assist me in identifying new opportunities in the US market, and globally, for Hydro Group to continue expanding its business.”
From its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Scotland, Hydro Group develops the complete subsea electrical and optical interconnect package, built to withstand the harshest environmental conditions.
Hydro Group employs more than 100 full time staff worldwide and operates on a global platform providing total solutions to a portfolio of prime contractors, major operators, OEM's, defence agencies, defence organisations and the UK MOD.
NorSea Group (UK) Ltd and Scotoil Services Ltd, two of the leading service companies in the onshore decommissioning sector, have joined forces as NSDecom. The new collaborative venture will bring more efficient and cost effective benefits to the sector by providing a single project focal point for all services related to quayside and onshore decommisioning activity.
Targeted at operators, project managers and lead contractors the new partnership combines the logistics expertise of NorSea Group with Scotoil’s track record of experience in waste management and NORM decontamination. NSDecom will deliver a complete onshore service from receipt of waste and equipment at the quayside through the cleaning and cutting process to the final reuse/recycle/disposal option.
The main centre of operations will be at NorSea Group’s purpose-built, deep-water decommissioning facility at Smith Quay in Peterhead. Relevant licences are also in place at Aberdeen Harbour and NorSea’s supply base in Montrose.
Walter Robertson, left, and Craig Smith.
“With the decommissioning sector being guided by SEPA, we recognised the importance of working alongside an experienced and well-established specialist waste contractor,” said Walter Robertson, MD of NorSea Group (UK). “Scotoil Services has more than 30 years of experience and both parties saw the benefits to the sector of combing NorSea Group’s quayside assets and logistics experience with Scotoil’s market-leading NORM decontamination service and special waste management capabilities.”
Craig Smith, MD of Scotoil Services, said: “The collaborative alliance was developed in response to industry calls for more efficient and effective ways of working which would bring about lower costs and robust operational improvements. Together we have the key components to offer a complete and seamless onshore service which will benefit both operators and lead decommissioning contractors.”
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