Aquatic Engineering and Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, has been awarded a multi-million pound contract on the $10 billion Moho Nord subsea project, off the coast of the Republic of Congo, West Africa. The contract was awarded by a UK-based subcontractor working for Total E&P Congo. Aquatic’s ten-month campaign portion will mobilize in October 2015.

Aquatic, the global partner for complete flex-lay solutions, will supply reel drive systems, together with a team of supervisors and technicians. They will provide the technical expertise and support to operate the equipment hired for the duration of the operation. Aquatic will be instrumental in the installation of 23 km of subsea flexible pipes and 50 km of umbilicals.

The Moho Nord subsea deepwater offshore project is located approximately 75 km off the coast of Pointe Noire and is the latest project being developed in the Moho-Bilondo License. Since 2013, three other Acteon companies (2H Offshore, SRP and UTEC Survey) have been awarded work on the Moho Nord subsea project. Each Acteon group operating company functions as a discrete business, while complementing sister companies to add value for the customer.

Martin Charles, Aquatic’s managing director, said, “This project is the most significant for Aquatic to date, and affords us the opportunity to forge a closer relationship with our customer in a new geographical location, while levering support from other Acteon Group operating companies. Our people and equipment will work in close partnership with our customer to deliver the project safely and on time, where output is expected to achieve 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2017.”

Gibdock, the Gibraltar ship repair yard, is strengthening its impact within the German ship owning market. Working in partnership with its local agent, Hamburg-based Combitrade, the yard has managed to win a significant amount of business from some of the country’s leading shipowners and managers in recent years.

Further proof of the rising reputation of the yard in this important sector of the market was provided recently when Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG chose Gibdock to work on one of its 1730 teu capacity geared containerships.

John Taylor, Gibdock operations director, says “In many respects this was a routine drydocking, but the hatch cover work in particular was quite time consuming and there was only a tight time window for us to complete all the various tasks required by Peter Döhle. Our team rose to the challenge and redelivered the vessel back to service on schedule.”

Peter Döhle selected Gibdock for this work partly because of its strategic location, which meant the ship could be docked at the yard without deviation before returning to its trade rotation. Other factors included Gibdock’s reputation for good quality and for delivering projects on time.

Timo Schultze, Combitrade manager, says: “The most important issue for the owner was that the repairs to the ship should not be delayed, as the vessel had to catch the next charter. This meant that the whole project was very time critical, especially because of the extensive works to the hatch covers.”

Largely due to Gibdock’s reputation within the market for delivering on time, Combitrade was able to persuade Peter Döhle to rely on the yard. Mr. Schultze says, “When Gibdock quotes the redelivery of a vessel for a specific date and time, assuming no unforeseen works occur, you can rest assured that you will get your vessel back as scheduled.”

Budgetary factors were also an influential consideration. As Mr. Schultze explains, “This is another of Gibdock’s strong points - keeping to the budget without hidden costs in the quotation. This is particularly important at a time when charter rates are still low, and unforeseen expenses are difficult to accommodate.”

Combitrade is confident that Peter Döhle will return again, based on its positive experience with this latest project, as will other German shipping companies. Mr. Schultze concludes, “The best proof of the quality and the reliability of a yard are its repeat clients and Gibdock has a number in Germany. Hopefully Peter Döhle will be one of them in the future.”

SpeedCast International Limited (SpeedCast), a leading global satellite telecommunications service provider, today announced that it has been awarded a multi-year communications contract from Gulf Marine Services (GMS). The new dual-beam Ku-band satellite service will provide high-performance broadband connectivity for client office applications and voice services across nine GMS barges.

GMS is one of the largest providers of self-propelled, self-elevating accommodation jack-up barges in the world. The vessels work in offshore oilfields, often in harsh weather conditions, and therefore require a reliable and high-quality connection between the vessels and the land-based operations.

“We have a modern fleet that enables us to serve our clients’ needs, which require sophisticated communications systems,” said Simon Cook, COO of Gulf Marine Services. “Not only does SpeedCast achieve this, but they are also able to deliver an advanced, globally accessible communications solution that is reliable and has a proven operational deployment record.”

SpeedCast’s solution will initially deliver MBR 2048/512 CIR 512/256 links for each vessel, with scope to upgrade as necessary depending on client requirements. With SpeedCast’s strong global network and support capabilities the vessels will benefit from enhanced communications and VoIP services for operations and crew welfare. SpeedCast will deliver principle support for GMS from its Dubai, U.A.E. sales and support center, backed by its global support network.

“We are delighted that we can support the modern, innovative and sustainable solutions that GMS provides its partners in the offshore oil sector,” said Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast. “Our Ku-band service is unrivaled, providing seamless connectivity and a powerful business solution to enable GMS to maintain its focus on providing its clients with efficient and cost-effective solutions.”

“The Middle East is a critically important market for the offshore oil sector,” said Piers Cunningham, VP of Maritime Services, SpeedCast. “SpeedCast has continued to invest in its network and infrastructure to service the demanding requirements of its offshore customers. Likewise, SpeedCast has continued to invest in products and services, for both FSS and MSS, that allow us to serve as a one-stop-shop for our maritime and energy customers’ critical communications.”

This announcement follows SpeedCast’s successful acquisitions of Hermes Datacomms, Geolink Satellite Services, and most recently SAIT Communications, which have further enhanced SpeedCast’s products and services tailored for the energy and maritime sectors.

Leading subsea engineering and training firm Jee Ltd is offering delegates of SPE Offshore Europe 2015 free technical subsea workshops over the course of the four day event.

Marsol International Ltd, a Dubai-based global marine solutions provider focused on the offshore oil terminal market and related infrastructure, has launched its holistic integrity management system to drive forward efficiencies in capital and operating expenditures.

As infrastructures and assets deteriorate over time, their long-term operational efficiency decreases. Marsol International’s Advanced Systems Integrity Management (ASIM) initiative relies on in-depth information gathering, which in turn allows its engineers to carry out the redesign and verification of components to achieve life extension, reduced cost and reduced risk.

Commenting on the importance of integrity management, Mike Young, managing director of Marsol International, said: “Over the last 47 years Marsol International has developed engineering solutions for the fabrication, commissioning and operation of offshore terminals and infrastructures. During that period, we have seen increased involvement in identifying and reengineering points of failure in different systems, generated not only by design and engineering but also through changing environmental conditions and operational practices.

“As a result, we have worked with clients, consulting engineers, contractors, original equipment manufacturers and operators. This has put us in a unique position to fully understand the differentiators between inspection, repair and maintenance and the intricacies of integrity management. Assessing the operational environment, and thus the operational integrity, Marsol is then able to extend its offering to cover life prediction and life extension programs, with resulting efficiencies in capital and operating expenditure. This has become even more relevant due to aging infrastructure and the current low price of oil.”

Marsol International has provided operational engineering and management solutions to clients, consultants and EPC contractors for new offshore terminal facilities, and operational integrity management and IRM services of existing facilities to offshore terminal owners and operators.

A surge in crude tanker vessel capacity over the next two years will lead to a fall in ship-owner earnings from current highs, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Rising capacity is being driven by anticipated tonnage demand growth in the dirty tanker market, which is expected to gather momentum once US shale oil production starts shrinking. Similarly, tonnage demand in the product tanker market has been increasing with the expansion of refinery capacity in Asia and the Middle East.

One of the primary reasons behind the recent surge in tanker freight rates, particularly in the dirty tanker market, has been sluggish fleet growth over the last two years. However, as the fleet is likely to expand rapidly in the next two years, the ongoing firmness in rates may prove short-lived.

“Drewry expects annual growth in the crude tanker fleet to accelerate from 0.7% in 2014 to around 5% over the next two years, to reach 377 million dwt by the end of 2017,” said Rajesh Verma, Drewry’s lead analyst for tanker shipping. “However, this growth is expected to recede thereafter, assuming vessel ordering remains controlled.”

Attractive freight rates and a growing trade on long haul routes resulted in hefty ordering in the large vessel segments, especially since the second half of 2014. “A total of 42 million dwt of capacity has been ordered since 2014, which compares with just 25 million dwt in 2012-13, when a bearish freight market and tight credit availability checked ordering,” added Verma.

A surge in US shale oil production had held back growth in the global seaborne crude trade. But the recent collapse in oil prices has checked domestic shale output and increased worldwide stocking activity, so boosting demand for crude tanker tonnage. Drewry expects the global oil trade to strengthen further, fuelled by rising US crude imports and an increase in Asian refining capacity.

“Lower bunker prices continue to support vessel earnings and increased ordering of large vessels reflect optimism in the market,” added Verma. “So long as ship-owners abstain from excessive ordering in the coming years, we can expect fleet growth to slow after 2017, which in combination with the prospective increase in global oil trade will lead to some longer term recovery in crude tanker earnings.”

“Tanker Forecaster” is a quarterly report published by Drewry Maritime Research and is priced at £2,115 for an annual subscription. The report is available from the Drewry website www.drewry.co.uk.

WFS Technology Ltd announces the appointment of Bill as Vice President, Operations and General Manager, WFS Technologies (NI).

WFS Technologies supplies subsea wireless instrumentation and control products and solutions to customers in the Oil & Gas, Renewables, Environmental, Consumer and Defence markets.

Bill is an experienced Operations Manager with over 25 years in manufacturing, logistics, engineering, strategic and quality systems roles. He has delivered site start-ups, set strategies and led major change projects in telecoms, IT, construction and process industries. Bill Strahan has also developed individuals and teams to succeed both in periods of growth and cost reduction.

To meet market demand, Bill is tasked with transferring technology and knowhow developed at WFS’s R&D operations to a world-class manufacture, service and customer support facility in Belfast.

Bill’s comments “I am delighted to join Brendan and the talented team at WFS, and look forward to helping them to deliver the next phase of growth for this highly innovative leader in susbsea communications technology”.

Brendan Hyland comments “We welcome Bill to the team. His leadership, experience and skills will help WFS to build on its successes and scale its operations to meet the future demands of subsea instrumentation and ccontrol products and solutions.”

Marking the fifth anniversary of the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico, a summary of inquiries into the tragedy flags up key ways to prevent a repeat

Much has been done to reduce the risk of another major incident such as the Macondo tragedy, but more change is needed. This is a key message in a new summary by DNV GL of findings and recommendations by 21 major inquiries into the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The inquiries were conducted by governmental, industry and independent organizations in the US, UK, Norway and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

“We have carried out this review because no single investigation provides a full overview of the actions recommended to prevent another Macondo,” said Peter Bjerager, director for the Americas, DNV GL - Oil & Gas. “There will doubtless be further investigations, particularly around long-term environmental effects of the spill. The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) intends to address organizational and human factors. Five years on though, it is timely to review key lessons and recommendations.”

Lessons learned

Broad subject headings for the recommendations from all 21 inquiries are summarized in the table to the right. Among technically-focused investigations, the US Justice Department commissioned a DNV GL forensic examination of the Deepwater Horizon rig’s blowout preventer (BOP) recovered from the seafloor. DNV GL made detailed recommendations[1] regarding BOP design and operation issues.

Among the most high profile studies, the US Deepwater Horizon Commission[2] and its chief counsel[3] included lessons learned for industry, government and energy policy. The Commission stressed how culture was a key factor for enhancing safety and discussed issues affecting BP, its contractors, and the industry in the Gulf of Mexico generally. The organization and response by US federal and state agencies, and the cooperation of BP and the whole industry, was commended by the national incident commander, Admiral Thad Allen.

In other nations, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (formerly OLF), led an inquiry for which DNV GL reviewed regulatory differences between the US and Norway. This concluded that the Norwegian Continental Shelf had robust legislation and safe operations.[4] It made 45 recommendations for improvements to prevention, intervention and response, and summarized those related to well control and response issues.

In the UK, the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) studied fire and explosion issues related to Macondo. HSL relied on key investigations elsewhere, mainly in the US, and found that recommendations from these generally matched those for offshore UK.[5]

The legacy

DNV GL’s summary of inquiries flags the legacy of reforms to reduce risk and improve occupational and process safety. “Many key recommendations have been adopted in one form or another,” Bjerager said. He cited the emergence of two new US regulatory entities: the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). This has separated safety oversight from resource management. “The set-up now emphasizes goal-based safety and includes increased numbers of inspectors to boost presence offshore in both safety and environment.”

BSEE has issued new requirements for: drilling safety; BOP recertification; negative pressure tests; professional engineer sign-off on casing and cement; and for a compulsory estimate of worst-case blowout events.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Association of Drilling Contractors have worked on an interface requirement between rig lessees and drilling contractors. Several new API standards are available. SEMS I & II have been implemented with the new Center for Offshore Safety defining the protocols and approving third-party audit service providers.

BSEE has provided guidance on safety culture, and is working with another US federal agency to implement a confidential reporting system for offshore incidents and near misses. The Bureau has also established the Ocean Energy Safety Institute within Texas A&M University. This will research longer-term issues such as risk, reliability data, and the best available and safest technologies.

The US Coast Guard service has issued guidance on additional fire and explosion assessments that it would like to see introduced, and has highlighted safety culture issues. Two response consortia have been established in Houston (MWCC and Helix). The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (formerly OGP) has set up consortia at four international locations to provide emergency response support. API and the Norwegian Technology Centre, which develops NORSOK standards, have updated standards for drilling and well control, and have made their safety standards freely available. “Detailed assessments of fire and explosion lessons from Macondo have been made and are finding their way into designs,” Bjerager added.

CSB investigated the BOP failure after DNV GL’s forensic examination. It concluded that regulations should be updated to identify critical parts of safety equipment and ensure that these all operate reliably. The co-chairs of the Deepwater Horizon Commission maintain the oscaction.org website to monitor progress on implementation of its recommendations, and issue annual progress reports. “Generally it concludes that industry and the executive branch of the US government have done a good job implementing recommendations, but US Congress lags behind,” said Bjerager.

Global response

There has been change elsewhere. The European Union (EU) is adopting a safety-case approach similar to that of the UK, for all EU offshore developments. Australia has expanded coverage of its regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), to address drilling and environmental impacts because of Montara and Macondo, and to move closer to the goal of having a single offshore regulator.

“The UK and Norway believe their goal-setting approaches were not challenged by Macondo, but that many detailed aspects of drilling safety needed enhancement. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers are working on these issues,” Bjerager said. “Still, some important recommendations for the US regulatory system have yet to be adopted. The US appears not ready to adopt mandatory risk assessment with a risk target nor, at least as a partial step, to nominate safety-critical items with defined performance standards.” Download the report at: www.dnvgl.com/macondo.

The sharp fall in oil prices has resulted in intensified competition within the offshore oil and gas industry and the prevailing market situation confirms a continued uncertainty ahead. The market was quick to re-evaluate its processes and budgets, redirecting its primary focus to cutting costs, adding value and increasing efficiency.

NYC-based PIRA Energy Group believes that crude prices are setting the stage for a significant bounce from the recent downturn. In the U.S., the stock excess widens despite strong demand growth. Specifically, PIRA’s analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following:

Asia Pacific Oil Market Forecast

Crude prices are setting the stage for a significant bounce from the recent downturn. Product demand growth for the remainder of the year remains constructive, and products will get a lift from fall maintenance but the market will remain long product, which will make recovery in Asian refinery margins slow to materialize. Most noted will be a rotation out of gasoline crack strength, which has been leading and holding up the product barrel. Gasoil demand picks up the remainder of the year, but the overall uplift for gasoil balances and cracks will be notably muted due to rising supplies from new refinery startups, and high stock positions, particularly in Europe, but also in Asia.

U.S. Stock Excess Widens Despite Strong Demand Growth

Crude stocks drew this past week but this was more than offset by a product stock build, leaving stocks at a new record high and 157 million barrels higher than last year. Some 71% of the excess is in crude oil and distillate. Gasoline stocks are just 1.3% higher than last year despite historic refinery runs which is a tribute to strong demand growth.

European Oil Market Outlook

Brent crude prices lost ground over the last few weeks and are now under $50/Bbl for prompt cargos versus $60-65/Bbl in May and June. This decline has been led by the back of the market and is the result of a dramatic swing in market sentiment. However, PIRA expects prices to ultimately improve as physical balances tighten – more next year than in the remainder of 2015.

Spot U.S. Ethylene Prices Routed

Spot U.S. ethylene prices collapsed last week on worrying economic headwinds, lower feedstock prices, and high cracker utilization rates. Spot ethylene lost 7¢/lb or nearly 25% to settle at cycle lows of just 22.75¢/lb for September delivery. U.S. steam cracking margins plummeted with ethylene prices. LPG cracks, for both propane and butane dropped over 20% to near 26¢/lb ethylene. Ethane margins dropped to just 19¢, three cents better than natural gasoline cracks per PIRA calculations.

Medium Term Marked Down, Longer Term Unchanged

Recent upward revisions to the medium term supply outlook have caused us to slow the recovery in price over the next several years in our Reference case crude oil price outlook. However, post-2020, our balances still suggest a need for growing volumes of higher cost supply since US shale production is unlikely to maintain pace with global oil demand growth.

U.S. Ethanol Prices and Margins Fall

Ethanol prices resumed their descent the week ending August 7, pressured by plummeting oil values and a flood of imports from Brazil. After improving the two prior weeks, manufacturing margins also decreased.

U.S. Output Up; Inventories Down

Ethanol output increased to 965 MB/D, up from an eleven-week low 961 MB/D the week ending August 7. Stocks declined by 710 thousand barrels to 18.5 million barrels.

The information above is part of PIRA Energy Group's weekly Energy Market Recap - which alerts readers to PIRA’s current analysis of energy markets around the world as well as the key economic and political factors driving those markets.

Bill Smart (photo) has joined the Delmar Systems, Inc. global business development team. Based out of Delmar’s engineering and subsea office in Houston, Texas, Smart will be focused on developing existing and potential new clients’ knowledge of Delmar’s subsea services capabilities.

Prior to joining Delmar, Smart served as Sales Manager for an international ROV provider. He has significant industry experience and has held business development, project management, and engineering positions. Smart holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University.

“Bill brings a unique balance of technical expertise and business development experience to the position,” said James Soliah, Delmar Subsea Manager. “His experience and knowledge are well suited to growing our subsea business and will undoubtedly open new and exciting opportunities for Delmar.”

Headquartered in Broussard, LA with engineering and subsea services based in Houston, TX, Delmar System, Inc. has provided mooring and subsea installation services for over 47 years to oil and gas regions around the globe, with offices strategically located to serve the offshore industry in the world’s most challenging offshore environments.

First Subsea has successfully completed the installation of bend stiffener connections for gas lift and production risers, power cables and umbilicals, for the Goliat FPSO in the Norwegian Barents Sea. Operated by ENI Norge AS, the Goliat FPSO is the first offshore oil development in Norway's Arctic region, in the Barents Sea.

In total the Goliat FPSO features 11 Type II bend stiffener connections (BSC) at present, with a further 10 receptacle I-tubes pre-installed within the base of the vessel, enabling more tie-backs to be added as field production increases. The Type II BSC was selected for the Goliat tie-backs because the receptacle has no moving parts, enabling a simpler riser, umbilical or cable connection.

The First Subsea Type II BSC comprises a ball and taper connector attached to a bend stiffener, which is pulled into a pre-machined I-tube. The connector is self-energising and self-aligning, and features First Subsea’s Automatic Release Clamp (ARC) enabling both diverless and ROVless bend stiffener connections.

Wood Group has received a letter of award for a new five year, US$ multi-million contract with Shell, to provide services to four onshore oil fields in Gabon.

Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) will deliver integrated engineering, construction, maintenance and industrial services to the Rabi, Gamba, Toucan and Koula assets.

Effective immediately, the award represents WGPSN’s first major contract in Gabon and will provide employment opportunities for around 200 Gabonese nationals.

Wood Group has more than 40 years of experience working with Shell globally.

James Crawford, WGPSN’s UK and Africa managing director, said: “This is the first time Shell Gabon has awarded a contract of this type that integrates engineering, construction and maintenance services. This new approach, which is also a first in the Gabon oil and gas sector, enables us to work collaboratively with Shell to optimise cost efficiency and production across these assets. Our work on this project will also support our client in creating a sustainable asset base in Gabon.

“Africa is a key region for our future growth strategy. We are proud that the majority of the employees on the contract are Gabonese, reflecting our commitment to prioritising the hiring and development of local people in the communities where we operate. We are also focused on transferring our technical expertise, developed in other basins, to enhance capability in this region.”

Today’s oil and gas environment has been impacted by a myriad of issues including restrained capital spending, curtailed investment and employment cuts for struggling companies across the supply chain. Recovery from current market conditions is expected to be slow, with oil prices likely not to return to pre-crash levels in the near term. However, such conditions are likely to prove beneficial for those private equity firms and strategic investors prepared to take a long-term view of the current downturn.

Constricted capital expenditure is directing Operator attention to maximizing efficiencies of their existing assets. Field redevelopment and production optimization of brownfield assets offers a comparatively low cost option to increase production. For example, Douglas-Westwood research shows that global offshore maintenance, modifications & operations (MMO) spend will decline by at least 12% in 2015 – driven by a combination of delayed projects and pricing. However, the underlying long-term trends remain favorable for brownfield developments – the need to ensure continued production levels holds strong and increased levels of spend are expected to return by 2017. This is recently illustrated by BP’s $1 billion investment into the Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP). Further brownfield investment will be essential if the industry is to create a competitive cost base and sustain production.

Whilst not subject to the same magnitude of orderbook reduction as Capex-focussed businesses, service firms that cater to ongoing operations have not been immune to implications stemming from low oil price. Virtually all have initiated cost reduction processes to cater for reduced activity and margin pressure. This includes the implementation of downsizing measures.

Our recent discussions with the investment community show an increased focus on brownfield-leveraged companies, for whom margin levels are typically lower, but are not subject to the same risk of backlog collapse. The growing trend towards improving efficiency in the current oil price environment will benefit brownfield focussed firms in the years ahead. Furthermore, long-term investment in the MMO sector may also provide an upside in transferable skills to a potential decommissioning market; should this occur before oil prices rebound to field-prolonging levels.

MMO providers offer an improved investment case, particularly as we settle in for what could be an extended period of low oil price.

TCO, leading provider of well completion technologies to the global oil and gas industry, has confirmed a continuation of strong sales results, leading to the expansion of its Aberdeen workforce by a third.

Within the past six months, the company has employed eight new personnel for its UK base, namely three engineers, a production scheduler, QHSE manager, administrative assistant and trainee produce, assembly and test technician as well as a new MD, Paul Betteridge (photo).

Mr Betteridge was appointed in March in response to company growth and to provide strategic vision, focusing on the expansion of TCO’s global presence.

Two further employees are expected to join the UK team this year, bringing the local headcount to 26 and accounting for 20% of the company’s personnel.

Earlier this year, TCO moved into its new, purpose built 1,000 square metre office and production facility in Altens. The new facility contains multiple pieces of state of the art equipment including two high pressure test systems for multi-line function testing and a heating chamber for thermal pressure testing.

Commenting on TCO’s 2015 performance so far, Mr Betteridge, says: “Given the current climate within the energy sector, we are exceptionally pleased to be able to maintain and grow the business. There is no doubt that this is down to the sound products and services we give our clients and we are keen to continue to expand our workforce, recruiting likeminded individuals to help us continue to prosper.

“2015’s turnover is predicted to match that of last year and we see real potential for international growth into 2016 and beyond.”

TCO serves the upstream oil and natural gas industry throughout the reservoir life cycle and specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of completion barrier plugs (laminated glass barrier plugs), chemical injection systems, topside chemical injection systems, multi-cycle valves and Annulus Pressure Relief Systems, as well as the provision of tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) equipment and services.

The company currently employs 130 people across its bases in Aberdeen, Norway, North and South America, Australia, Russia, Africa and the Middle East. This number is expected to grow in the coming months as the company achieves its plans for global growth.

InterMoor Inc., an Acteon company, provided Anadarko Petroleum Corporation with rapid hook-up services for their Heidelberg truss spar in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico after stepping in at short notice for another contractor. InterMoor’s extensive offshore mooring experience enabled it to adapt its procedures in a short amount of time, to safely accomplish the job quickly and efficiently, and to ensure the new production facility was safely secured in case of a storm.

The company hooked up the 80,000 bbl/d spar to three mooring lines in Green Canyon block 860, offshore Louisiana, at a water depth of 5,300 ft (1600 m). The project’s original contractor then resumed the job and completed the remaining six mooring lines along with the completion of the spar installation.

InterMoor initiated the engineering work in March 2015, began offshore work in early June and completed its part of the hook-up in July.

Todd Veselis, manager of projects, InterMoor, said, “Our client required a high level of responsiveness to ensure the project remained on schedule. Our extensive experience in mooring all types of floating oil and natural gas facilities and our ability to adapt our previous procedures in just a month meant we could mobilize vessels quickly and efficiently, while assuring safety in execution.”

InterMoor mobilized five vessels from Fourchon, Louisiana, USA, and provided crews for each. This involved more than 40 InterMoor staff on two tugs and three anchor-handling vessels. The Kirt Chouest and the Dino Chouest were the main anchor-handling vessels and a third acted as a support vessel between them and the platform. These vessels, as well as McDermott’s DB 50, maintained station keeping for the spar and completed the hook-up operations to get the spar ‘storm safe.’

Previously, InterMoor had fabricated some suction piles for the Heidelberg project in February 2015 and provided representatives during the installation of the Lucius spar, which is identical to the Heidelberg, in 2013.