International oilfield support services company, ASCO has announced its decision to divest the majority of the Company’s non oil and gas-related waste services following a strategic review of its portfolio. The bulk of these services operate from Enviroco’s Sheffield facility.

On 27th October 2015, Biffa Waste Services Ltd agreed to purchase ASCO’s waste management site in Sheffield. Employees affected by this sale (around 20 personnel) will transfer to Biffa’s employment under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations.

This move reinforces ASCO’s ongoing commitment to its oil and gas business.

CEO Alan Brown said:

‘We have been very open about the fact ASCO’s core focus exists within the Oil and Gas industry. In line with this strategy, it makes sense for us to streamline our business to reflect our intentions. We are proud of the successful growth our waste business achieved in the non-oil and gas market, however the time has come for us to move our emphasis elsewhere.’

Through its venture capital arm, Evonik has invested in Airborne Oil & Gas (IJmuiden, Netherlands). The specialty chemicals group now holds a minority interest in the Dutch company. The investment was made jointly with HPE Growth Capital (HPE) and Shell Technology Ventures. The parties have agreed not to disclose the volume of the transaction. Airborne Oil & Gas (AOG) possesses a unique technology for the production of thermoplastic composite pipes for a variety of offshore oil and gas applications.

The current offshore oil & gas infrastructure consists of either rigid steel pipes or so-called flexibles. The latter comprise of multiple layers of steel and polymers. AOG’s thermoplastic composite pipes dispense with steel entirely and are therefore not susceptible to corrosion. They have extremely high mechanical stability but are also flexible. As an added advantage they are lightweight and can be fabricated in lengths of up to 10 kilometers, which means that AOG’s pipes can be installed relatively simply and cost effectively. Rigid steel lines are welded together from segments that are 10-20 meters long, using highly specialized and costly pipelaying vessels.

AOG’s thermoplastic composite pipes are suitable and beneficial for a wide range of offshore applications. A number of operators have qualified AOG’s pipes for offshore oil & gas transport lines, where the benefits of low cost installation and the absence of corrosion offer breakthrough improvements. A considerable amount of the 150,000 to 200,000 km of globally installed transport lines is over 20 years old and in need of replacement, which is an attractive entry point for AOG.

AOG Flowlines ready for shipment to a customer

For Evonik, the oil & gas industry is an attractive growth market and an important innovation field. Furthermore, the company is a market leader in polyamide 12, marketed as VESTAMID®, which is well-proven in pipes for oil and gas production and transport “Airborne Oil & Gas is an excellent strategic match for Evonik,” says Bernhard Mohr, head of Venture Capital at Evonik. “Their unique pipe technology and Evonik's high performance polymer portfolio enable us to develop new solutions for the industry.

“In Evonik we’ve gained a strategic investor with an extensive knowledge of plastics for oil & gas applications,” says Eric van der Meer, CEO of AOG. “We hope this will give us additional impetus to develop our business further.”

Excellent mechanical properties thanks to unidirectional tapes AOG’s pipelines consist of three layers: An inner plastic pipe is covered with a composite of unidirectional tapes, which in turn is sheathed by plastic. Polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide 12 and PEEK can be used. Unidirectional tapes are thin plastic bands in which continuous reinforcing fibers are embedded in parallel alignment. When a number of such bands are stacked vertically at defined angles and fused together, it results in an extremely stable composite.

AOG’s special expertise lies in the design of both the composite material and the finished pipe, for a variety of applications: All the layers are melt-fused to one another inseparably, which explains the outstanding mechanical properties of the pipelines. AOG is therefore regarded as an innovation leader in thermoplastic composite pipelines for oil & gas applications.

As part of its venture capital activities, Evonik plans to invest a total of €100 million in promising start-ups with innovative technologies and in leading specialized venture capital funds. The regional focus is on Europe, the US, and Asia. Evonik currently has holdings in seven start-ups.

Leading engineered servicing company for wellbore clean up and abandonment, Coretrax, has successfully completed an extensive three year decommissioning contract with global operator Hess Corporation for the first designated abandonment campaign of its kind. The project began in 2012, involving 30 well abandonments at the FFFA and IVRR fields in the UK North Sea.

As part of this abandonment campaign, Coretrax successfully ran 45 bridge plugs and cement retainers, including some with a drillable brush. Due to extensive section milling operations required on the project, Coretrax provided its BOP cleaning and swarf recovery string to remove swarf from ram cavities and protect the blow out preventer (BOP). In some cases up to 40kgs of swarf was recovered per run.

John Fraser, global business development director of Coretrax, said: “At a time when decommissioning is climbing the agenda within the oil and gas industry, we really valued the opportunity to be part of this successful collaboration with Hess and its contracted partners.

“As part of the project we ran the blow out preventer magnet and jetting sub up to three times after over 30 milling operations and there was virtually no swarf within the cavities, which gave the entire team the confidence to progress to the next stage immediately. Our products were highly successful, and none of our cement plugs had to be re-set.

“As abandonment continues to be a costly and lengthy process, the utilisation of products that offer cost and time efficiency as well as safety benefits, are imperative for efficient and effective decommissioning operations. We are proud to have achieved real success for our client. These results are a real testament to our products, services and team. I believe this project will lead the way for future decommissioning and abandonment projects in the North Sea and beyond.”

Coretrax was established in 2008 to provide a bespoke and tailored service and offers a wide range of downhole tools and services which provide progressive solutions to improve time efficiency, maximise cost reduction, reliability, damage prevention and technological advancement to the global oil and gas industry.

The company currently employs 36 people across its bases in Aberdeen, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This number is projected to increase within the next nine – 12 months due to increased business activity globally.

Brazil remains a development area for the oil and gas industry, so to effectively service its customers in the region, Trelleborg’s offshore operation has invested in two new regional appointments.

Project Manager, Rafael Campos handles local contracts to provide clients with quicker and more efficient support on the ground. Sales Manager, Bruno Matos aims to grow relationships with local customers and associations, as well as support the business by building a knowledge of local market trends.

Richard Beesley, Commercial Director of Trelleborg’s offshore operation in Brazil, comments: “We understand that our presence in Brazil is vital to providing high quality communication, understanding and support for our local customers. Since our customers are hugely important to us, we are investing in training and developing our Brazil-based teams to support the growing needs of the region.”

Trelleborg has secured a contract to supply Drill Riser Buoyancy Modules (DRBM) for drill ships that will operate in Brazil in Q2 2016 and is scheduled for delivery from late 2015 into early 2016 to one of the major leading drilling companies in the world.

Beesley continues: This contract firmly establishes Trelleborg as a leading supplier of Drill Riser Buoyancy Modules for the Brazilian new build market. Through our ongoing focus and investment in ground breaking innovation, technology and skilled personnel, we strive to perform at every level to meet our customer’s needs globally.

This is a continuation of our long-standing commitment to developing innovative products and sophisticated materials designed specifically to exceed market requirements and meet the demands of increasing service depths for the global offshore drilling segment.

” In order to reduce a drilling riser’s net weight in water, and ensure that the structure and drilling vessel are supported, Trelleborg offers tailor made DRBMs which are fitted around the length of the riser pipe, improving the riser’s buoyancy and protecting it from service damage.

The two new giant compressors that started up on the Troll A platform this month will help increase gas recovery by 83 billion cubic meters. The occasion attracted a platform visit from EEA and EU affairs minister Vidar Helgesen.

“Europe is in a transition phase with regard to both competitiveness and climate. Stable and competitive gas deliveries from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) play a key role along these two axes. Higher production and flexibility from the Troll field is therefore good news to both Norway and Europe,” said Helgesen during his visit.

The compressor module before departure from Thailand. (Photo: Aibel)

“This is a new strategic milestone for the Troll field. The compressors are an important investment to ensure sustainable, long-term production and activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS),” says Gunnar Nakken, newly-appointed senior vice president for the operations west cluster.

The compressors ensure a daily export capacity from the Troll field of 120 million standard cubic meters of gas, totaling 30 billion standard cubic meters of gas per year. This is equivalent to the consumption of 10 million households in Europe.

The compressors are an important measure to meet the Troll field's long-term production profile, currently extending to 2063. They are operated by land-based power from Kollsnes west of Bergen, ensuring zero emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the platform. “This is an important climate contribution from Statoil,” Nakken emphasizes.

During the past 18 months Statoil has started up low-pressure compressors on Troll A, Kvitebjørn, Heidrun, Kristin, Åsgard and Gullfaks, the last two on the seabed. This increases the recovery rate by more than 1.2 billion barrels and extends the life of the installations. The project has extended the expected life of Troll A from 2045 to 2063.

These investments in existing fields give highly profitable barrels. The field recovery increase the compressors provide, 83 billion standard cubic meters of gas or 533 million barrels of oil equivalent, is more than the Aasta Hansteen and Valemon fields combined,” says Nakken.

The main supplier Aibel built the compressor module at its yard in Thailand, the integrated utility (IU) module was prefabricated in Poland and assembled in Haugesund, where the smallest module was also built. The three modules total more than 6,000 tons.

Five new 70-kilometre-long cables have been laid between Troll and land, and a converter station has been built at Kollsnes. On the platform the current is converted back into alternating current. The converters, cables and the compressors' engines have been supplied by ABB.

Mumbai-based ship management company MMS Maritime India announces it is to begin a major recruitment drive for Indian seafarers, after its parent company, the Japanese ship owner Meiji Shipping Group, unveiled an expansion of its tanker fleet.

MMSI provides crew to Meiji’s oil and gas tanker division which numbers 19 ships. MMSI CEO Dr. Sanjay Bhavnani (photo) said he expected four new tankers to be delivered to Meiji by the beginning of 2016. The 28,000 DWT medium range (MR) vessels are presently under construction at a Japanese shipyard.

“MMSI currently employs around 300 crew and we are looking to recruit a further 80-90 seafarers from India to help man these four new ships,” he said. “The positions we are seeking to fill will be across the full spectrum of roles from officers and masters to chief engineers. A number of senior positions will be filled from our existing workforce to ensure the ships have the right levels of experience and expertise. MMSI has built its reputation on having some of the best trained and most motivated seafarers in the industry. We are immensely proud to say we have one of the highest retention rates of officers and ratings in the world at more than 90pc. We will therefore be carefully selecting candidates to ensure they are of the highest caliber to maintain our rigorous standards.”

Dr. Bhavnani, an experienced former ships chief engineer, said the new ships would support Meiji’s drive to charter more of its vessels to the oil majors as well as smaller oil companies.

“The expansion of the oil tanker fleet has been very carefully planned by Meiji,” he said. “We are looking years into the future with this new state of the art fleet. This is very much a long term investment designed to position ourselves as the most competitive operator in the world. We are optimistic the global shipping sector is beginning to recover and expect that to continue gradually over the next few years. The critical factor for MMSI is to provide the best possible training, support and working conditions to attract and retain the highest caliber of crew. By having experienced well trained crew on board we know we can offer oil companies absolute confidence in our ability to manage their tankers at a highly competitive cost.”

Dr. Bhavnani said MMSI can offer seafarers career progression and tailored individual support and training.

“It is no accident that we have one of the highest retention rates in the industry,” he said. “Our culture is to offer continuous learning. We aim to understand what the seafarers’ ambitions are and seek to build roles around their strengths. It is further vital that our crew have the latest skills and training to ensure they are right at the cutting edge of technology.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the world's sixth-largest oil producer in 2014, and the second-largest producer of petroleum and other liquids in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), behind only Saudi Arabia. Because the prospects for further oil discoveries in the UAE are low, the UAE is relying on the application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques in mature oil fields to increase production.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics

Using EOR techniques, the government plans to expand production 30% by 2020. EOR is an expensive process, and at current prices, these projects may not be economic. However, despite today's low oil prices, the UAE continues to invest in future production.

The Upper Zakum oilfield is one region that has been targeted for further development. The field is the second-largest offshore oilfield and fourth-largest oilfield in the world, and it currently produces about 590,000 barrels per day (b/d). In July 2012, the Zakum Development Company awarded an $800 million engineering, procurement, and construction contract to Abu Dhabi's National Petroleum Construction Company, with the goal of expanding oil production at the Upper Zakum field to 750,000 b/d by 2016. Production from the Lower Zakum field should also increase, with oil production eventually reaching 425,000 b/d, an increase from the current level of 345,000 b/d.

The UAE produced 1.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas in 2013. A top-20 global natural gas producer, the UAE also holds the seventh-largest proved reserves of natural gas in the world, at slightly more than 215 Tcf. Despite its large reserves, the UAE became a net importer of natural gas in 2008 as a result of two things: the UAE reinjected approximately 30% of gross natural gas production in 2012 into its oil fields as part of EOR techniques, and the country's rapidly expanding electricity grid relies on electricity from natural gas-fired facilities.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics

To help meet growing internal natural gas demand, the UAE has increased imports from Qatar and plans to increase domestic natural gas production. However, the UAE's natural gas has a relatively high sulfur content that makes it difficult to process, making it hard for the country to develop its extensive reserves. Advances in technology and growing demand have made the UAE's reserves an economic alternative to imports from Qatar, and UAE has several ongoing projects that will increase the country's production in coming years.

The UAE has also announced its intention to expand non-oil energy assets, in an attempt to reduce reliance on natural gas for power. For more analysis of the UAE's energy sector, see EIA's Country Analysis Brief on the United Arab Emirates.

Principal contributors: Alex Wood, Kelsey Tamborrino

Source: www.eia.gov

NYC-based PIRA Energy Group believes that Global economic momentum is stabilizing, which is supportive for the demand for inventory. In the U.S., peak refinery turnarounds drive DOE petroleum balances. In Japan, crude runs ease and stocks jump. Specifically, PIRA’s analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following:

World Oil Market Forecast

Global economic momentum is stabilizing, which is supportive for the demand for inventory. Global oil demand growth is strong, especially in China, India and the industrialized countries, and will remain so in 2016. Supply growth is quickly eroding. Capacity constraints limit OPEC growth while non-OPEC crude/condensate is about to fall below year-ago levels. Oil markets will need more oil and prices will have to signal this. However, short term, there are strong headwinds for oil prices, but once January is front month and December inventory declines are evident, prices will rally strongly. Political risks to supply are turning higher with more turmoil in Iraq and a rising potential for infrastructure attacks in Nigeria.

Less Potential for Weather-Driven Demand Erases Upside Risk; Supply Builds

The strong supply out of Russia and Norway, combined with the growing presence of unsold LNG in the Atlantic Basin, makes the short-term outlook continuously vulnerable to the downside. PIRA does not expect a major selloff to emerge, and if one were to come, it would not be until mid-December at the earliest due to the need to protect storage going into 1Q peak demand season.

Dutch Imports at Three-Year Lows in Spite of Coal Retirements Ahead; Weaker Gas Prices Will Keep Prices in Check

Total Dutch net imports plummeted to only roughly 100 MWs so far during October, or a three-year minimum. While 1.6 GWs of coal is set to be retired by the year end, the removal of the coal tax, combined with significant weakness in the gas pricing picture, will keep the Dutch prices in check, translating into structurally lower imports in the months ahead.

China’s Coal Demand Struggles Continue; Market Recovery Still Distant

The coal market pushed lower again last week on weaker oil pricing, a strong U.S. dollar (particularly relative to the euro), and continued softness in coal fundamentals. The weakness in pricing was most notably apparent for API#2 (Northwest Europe), likely due to the drop in the euro, while FOB Newcastle (Australia) prices also fell, but to a lesser degree. Demand continues remain soft in many key demand markets, and outside of India, there has been limited rationalization of uneconomic supply. Absent any unforeseen supply disruptions and/or mine idlings or closures, weakness in pricing will persist.

LPG Pulled Lower, Ethane Rebound Continues

U.S. NGL markets were pulled lower by the broader energy markets. November Mt Belvieu propane futures fell 3.5% to near 43¢/gal, outperforming to more than 5% decrease in global crude prices. Butane at the market center fared slightly better, losing 2.8% to settle near 58.5¢/gal on Friday. Ethane’s outperformance continues with prices flat week-on-week despite the plunge in Henry Hub prices, which led to ethane’s premium in Btu terms surging to 64¢/MMBtu — the largest premium in years.

Clean Power Plan Published, Additional Info Released

The Clean Power Plan is finally set to be published in the Federal Register, with regulations for new/modified power plants and the proposed Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) / Model Trading Rule. Stakeholders will have access to technical support documents on proposed free allocations for the individual covered units, "Gas Shift" ERCs for rate trading. Publication will start the 60-day clock to file legal challenges to final rules and the 90-day comment period for the proposed FIP/Model Rule.

U.S. Ethanol Prices and Margins Fall

U.S. ethanol prices decreased the week ending October 16 and manufacturing margins dropped to the lowest levels since January. D6 and D5 RIN values rose after the EPA implied that the final biofuels mandates will probably be higher than those proposed on May 29.

All About the Dollar

After spending most of the trading week eking out modest gains, the ECB’s forward guidance on rates resulted in an extended rally for the dollar and an apparent end to any immediate bullish hopes for the grain/oilseed quadrant.

Asia’s Manufacturing Indicators Remain Sluggish, but Other Data Are Looking Better

China’s economic data suggested that the country’s economic momentum was roughly stable. The recent resiliency came from the service sector, while the industrial sector continued to struggle. Housing indicators were encouraging. China’s latest rate was not a surprise and is basically seen as a calibration of the government’s policy stance. Data from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan were mixed, but contained encouraging signs.

Peak Refinery Turnarounds Drive DOE Petroleum Balances

We are still around the peak of the refinery turnaround season and this past week’s data, like the prior week, showed a large crude stock, which was almost offset by a large product draw. The resulting 1.5 million barrel overall stock increase was 2.9 less than the increase last year in the same week, narrowing the year-on-year stock excess slightly to 165 million barrels. Sixty percent of the stock excess is in crude oil and 21% is in the two major light products.

Gas Flash Weekly

Another all-time record high for salt storage helped pull total Producing Region inventories deeper into new high ground. Still, maneuverability remains considering that non-salt inventory is ~65 BCF below its high, and capacity remains available in the Consuming East and West. While space remains to absorb surplus supply, the pall of a mild start to the heating season is not only placing an effective cap on near-term prices, but keeping alive the risk of even lower levels.

U.S. Coal Stockpile Estimates

Power sector coal stocks saw a strong seasonal build this month as fall weather patterns and weaker gas prices sapped coal burns. PIRA estimates U.S. electric power sector coal stocks will reach 180 MMst at the end of this month, or 85 days of forward demand based on our forecast of Nov./Dec. average coal burn (vs. 63 days one year ago).

U.S. Ethanol Production and Stocks Increase

The U.S. ethanol industry was stable the week ending October 16, with production rising only 2 MB/D from the previous week to 951 MB/D. Stocks built 84 thousand barrels to 18.9 million barrels, with the only draw occurring in PADD I.

Little Enthusiasm

The last week of the month usually brings with it an anticipation for the upcoming WASDE, but this month feels a little different than most. Whether it’s the general malaise around trading contracts that remain range-bound, or the realization that harvest is quickly coming to an end and with it any chances of a “surprise,” there’s just not a lot of enthusiasm about the November WASDE, scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 10th.

S&P 500 Continues to Improve

The S&P 500 posted a third week of solid gains. Also, all of the related indicators improved again (Russell 2000, volatility, high yield credit and emerging market credit). Overall, commodities eased slightly, as did ex-energy. Oil was also slightly lower. With regard to currencies, the most noted move was strength in the Korean won and Thai baht. Korea reported rather strong GDP growth in 3Q of 5% annualized, which was better than expected. China moved to lower interest rates last Friday morning in an attempt to further stimulate their growth prospects.

Japanese Crude Runs Ease; Crude Stocks Jump

Crude runs eased along the lines suggested by our maintenance schedules. Crude imports rose sharply and stocks built 4.9 MMBbls. Finished product stocks drew slightly, but gasoline, naphtha, gasoil, and kerosene stocks built as those demands eased back. The indicative refining margin remains good, though most cracks, other than naphtha, eased.

Seasonal Demand Rises, but Supply Gains Are Formidable

A wide disconnect between incremental, fully operational and functional liquefaction capacity and incremental buying is emerging with no signs of abatement in the coming years.

Global Equities Post a Another Strong Week

Global equities gained again. In the U.S., many of the tracking indices were positive on the week, with technology and industrials performing the best. Retail and energy lagged and were lower on the week. Internationally, many of the tracking indices gained. The Japanese tracking index did slightly better than the U.S. market, but most of the other international indices did not do as well. Latin America was the only index to post a decline.

China Using Carrot Rather than Stick to Rationalize Tea Kettle Refineries

For years, China has been trying to rationalize its inefficient tea kettle refining capacity despite opposition from local/provincial governments and the tea kettle refining companies. China seems to have now found an effective strategy by offering crude import quotas to those refiners rationalizing small CDUs. Eight refiners have already applied for or been granted crude import quotas. PIRA expects the total effect will be a rationalization of 500-600 MBD of capacity, higher utilization of remaining Chinese refining capacity, and higher quality products.

Azerbaijani Company AzMeCo Suspends the Purchase of Gas for Methanol

“Due to the fact that the world prices for methanol decreased, the purchase of gas from Gazprom at the current price has become unprofitable for the company,” said AzMeCo. “As a result, it was decided to suspend the purchase of gas, as methanol production is unprofitable under existing conditions.” During the contract period, AzMeCo received more than 100-mmcm of Russian gas. Azerbaijan Methanol Company (AzMeCo) planned to purchase up to 2-bcm/y of gas from Russia’s Gazprom Export.

U.S. Refiners Creep Capacity Faster

2014 was a banner year for U.S. distillation capacity creep; 2015 also appears to be a good year for creep, although below 2014. With favorable refining margins and crude runs approaching effective capacity, refiners are able to justify a greater amount of creep investment.

Costs Are Down in Low Price Environment, but Current and Future Supplies Are Still at Risk

The current low oil price environment has made it cheaper to operate existing oil fields and to develop new supplies. Compared to last year, Brent-equivalent costs to produce current supplies have decreased by around 9%, while costs to develop new supplies have been reduced by 25% for U.S. shale and 12% for non-shale projects worldwide. However, in spite of these reductions, some high-cost existing production remains at risk of being shut in were Brent prices to fall below $40/Bbl. Also, many new projects require Brent prices well above $50/Bbl to become profitable. Low-cost, non-OPEC supplies and the likely increase in OPEC supplies will not be sufficient to meet future demand. Therefore, higher-cost supplies, including oil sands and deepwater, will be required to balance global supply and demand, requiring prices to rise from current levels.

Analysts Obsession with Conventional Oil Discoveries May No Longer Be Warranted

Conventional oil discoveries have dropped significantly in the past 50 years in spite of record exploration activity, especially in recent years. In the past, this would have driven concerns over reserves replacement, R/P ratios and remaining years of production. However, as unconventional volumes (bitumen/extra heavy oil and shale oil) play a more significant role in meeting future oil demand, the focus increasingly shifts from reserves to costs. But, higher oil prices will still be required for development of high cost unconventional volumes needed to meet demand growth and decline from existing fields.

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.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) says that media and environmental activists’ allegations about the company’s climate research are inaccurate and deliberately misleading.

“For nearly 40 years we have supported development of climate science in partnership with governments and academic institutions, and did and continue to do that work in an open and transparent way,” said Ken Cohen, vice president of public and government affairs.

“Activists deliberately cherry-picked statements attributed to various company employees to wrongly suggest definitive conclusions were reached decades ago by company researchers. These activists took those statements out of context and ignored other readily available statements demonstrating that our researchers recognized the developing nature of climate science at the time which, in fact, mirrored global understanding.”

The allegations were contained in reports distributed by InsideClimate News, an anti-oil and gas activist organization, and the Los Angeles Times, and have prompted political attacks by Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Ted Lieu and Mark DeSaulnier.

Both InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times ignored evidence provided by the company of continuous and publicly available climate research that refutes their claims. “The facts are that we identified the potential risks of climate change and have taken the issue very seriously,” said Cohen. “We embarked on decades of research in collaboration with many parties, including the Department of Energy, leading academic institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and others to advance climate science.”

ExxonMobil scientists continue to research and publish findings to improve understanding of climate system science as a basis for society’s response to climate change and have produced more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on topics including the global carbon cycle, detection and attribution of climate change, low carbon technologies and analysis of future scenarios for energy and climate.

ExxonMobil scientists have been selected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations’ most authoritative body on the subject, as authors of their past four major assessment reports, and have contributed to National Research Council boards and committees on climate change.

“We recognize that our past participation in broad coalitions that opposed ineffective climate policies subjects us to criticism by climate activist groups,” said Cohen. “We will continue to advocate for policies that reduce emissions while enabling economic growth.”

Since 2009, the company has supported a revenue-neutral carbon tax as the preferred policy approach for emission reduction because it ensures a uniform and predictable cost of carbon, allows market prices to drive solutions, maximizes transparency to stakeholders, reduces administrative complexity, promotes global participation, and is easily adjusted to future developments in climate science and policy impacts.

ExxonMobil joined other companies to provide initial and ongoing funding to create and support the MIT Joint Program on Climate Science and Policy and Stanford’s Global Climate and Energy Project, which has engaged scores of researchers, faculty and students and has resulted in hundreds of scientific publications on climate change and low carbon technologies.

The company has an active research program into lower-carbon emission technologies, such as algae and cellulosic-based biofuels, carbon capture and storage and advanced engines to name a few.

More information on ExxonMobil’s climate research can be found on ExxonMobil’s corporate blog, Perspectives here.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Mexico’s National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection of the Hydrocarbons Sector (ASEA) have signed a letter of intent to strengthen cooperation, coordination and information sharing related to the development, oversight, and enforcement of safety and environmental regulations for development of offshore hydrocarbon resources.

The ceremony of signature was conducted by BSEE Director Brian Salerno and ASEA’s Executive Director, Carlos de Regules Ruiz-Funes. The signing took place after the closing of this year’s International Regulators’ Forum (IRF) Offshore Safety Conference in Washington, following on their earlier meeting in September. Mexico and the U.S. have a long history of mutually beneficial cooperation on conservation, management and sustainable development of natural resources. This continued cooperation between BSEE and ASEA is in keeping with broader bilateral efforts for cooperation in the environmental and hydrocarbons sector between the two countries. The letter of intent lays out areas in which the two agencies may coordinate, to include:

Periodic information and experience exchanges;

Organization of bilateral events and visits of delegations; Participation as observers in activities related to their respective authorities;

Conducting of joint studies and research where appropriate; Training of staff; and

Further cooperation by way of any other terms BSEE and ASEA may hereafter mutually determine.

ASEA was formally established on March 2, 2015 and is responsible for the regulation and oversight of all oil and gas production, as well as industrial safety and environmental protection in Mexico. The Mexican agency works with the goal of providing certainty to both investors and society. ASEA’s vision is based on adherence to international standards and best practices in regulation across the world, and it carries out its international collaboration with the intent of implementing the best technical processes in the newly established Mexican hydrocarbon sector.

Tuesday 20 October 2015, BigLift Shipping’s heavy-lift vessel Happy Star arrived in the Port of Rotterdam. This is the first time Happy Star has visited the Netherlands, bringing with her Damen’s largest transportation of stock vessels to date; a total of 22 vessels. Whilst several of these have already been sold, a number are still available and can be delivered quickly.

Included in the On Damen transport are two Fast Crew Suppliers 2610, one ASD Tug 2310, three ASD Tugs 2411 and three ASD Tugs 3212, all of which have been sold and will be delivered to clients upon arrival. Additionally, there are a number of completed vessels available for sale. These are, two Stan Tugs 1606, two Stan Tugs 1004, two Stan Tugs 1907, two Stan Pontoons 5213, two Stan Pontoons 3011, a further ASD Tug 3212 and two Stan Launches 1004.

The Damen stock vessels are ready for operation, and so can be swiftly delivered to clients upon purchase. However, they can still be equipped with options specified by the client. Having arrived in Rotterdam the vessels will receive final touch-ups and cleaning before being delivered, either to clients or to various Damen shipyards.

Hugo Hoekstra, Design Engineer Pontoons & Barges at Damen Shipyards, said: “The main reason for this transport is to bring our stock closer to customers who demand short delivery times. Damen is able to group globally-produced stock vessels together in a transport to minimize cost of shipment, making our vessels available for clients of all sizes and industries.”

Mr. Buconić, Commercial Manager at BigLift Shipping: "Damen Shipyards and BigLift Shipping go back a long time. With Happy Star in position, BigLift was able to offer Damen a practical solution to bring a large number of their stock vessels to Rotterdam in one shipment. We are happy that we could offer Damen our technical solutions."

The recent JCPOA agreement reached between Iran and the P5 +1, and approval of by the Iranian Parliament, is a big step forward in normalizing Iran’s relations with the international community. In anticipation of the removal of the economic sanctions, Iran has produced a list of fifty oil & gas projects worth an estimated $185 billion that it intends to develop. These projects will be presented at a post-sanctions summit in London planned for February 2016, and auctioned to secure much-needed foreign investment in Iran’s oil & gas sector. A number of IOCs, including BP, Shell and ENI, have expressed interest in re-entering the Iranian market.

Despite these positive developments, DW takes a conservative view with regards to Iranian hydrocarbons production. Total onshore production post-2015 is expected to rise steadily at a 2% CAGR through to 2021, with additional output coming predominantly from projects in the Khuzestan region, including the North & South Azadegan field developments. Several phases of the giant South Pars gas and condensate field development are expected to come onstream within the next few years, contributing to a significant rise in offshore hydrocarbons production to over 5 mboe/d in 2019. However, DW does not expect Iran to reach its 2016 target of raising total oil production to over 4 mb/d until 2018.

There is significant upside potential for this forecast, with projects such as the North Pars, Golshan and Ferdowsi field developments listed amongst those Iran plans to auction for foreign investment. However, Iran’s ability to secure the necessary investment is dependent upon its compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, some of which could take several months to implement. Smooth implementation of the JCPOA will also depend on a continued dialogue between Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency. It is therefore unlikely that Iran will be able to fulfill the commitments needed to lift the sanctions before the end of 2015 or early 2016. Uncertainty also remains surrounding the structure of the new Iranian Petroleum Contract, due to be introduced at the London summit. Therefore, despite the positive outlook for hydrocarbons production, limitations to growth in the short-to-medium term remain.

CSA staff to unveil new service during the upcoming Esri Ocean GIS Forum

CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) iannounces their release of FMVsea a unique service provided by CSA’s Environmental Data and Geospatial Services (EDGS) division. FMVsea is a Full Motion Video service that supports creation of integrated digital video and GIS products (FMV) that will revolutionize the collection, interpretation, and visualization of information collected during field surveys. Features include on-the-fly FMV creation, interactive target identification and a projected field of view bounding box for setting context. FMVsea and the associated services allow actual creation of the Full Motion Video, batching processing, customized target dictionary development, video resizing for better performance in ArcGIS Desktop and video conversion to different formats, all fully compatible with Esri products.

To share more about the FMVsea service capabilities, Ms. Sarah Franklin (GISP), the Geospatial Services Coordinator at CSA, will give a co-authored Lightning Talk, “Application of Full Motion Video in Marine Surveys,” describing how analysts at CSA fuse raw video and spatial data, then use ArcGIS Desktop and the Esri Full Motion Video Add-In to expedite data analysis. We will illustrate how analysts extract spatial marine features from videos, reducing analysis time and placing observations of corals, sponges, fishes, etc. directly into a GIS framework. CSA has also provided scientists the added value of a continuously updated bounding box representing the camera’s field-of-view that is calculated and displayed in ArcGIS Desktop. This provides scale for objects in the video, enables users to evaluate spatial parameters, and, when combined with other data layers such as bathymetry or habitat maps, provides immediate context for what they are seeing in the video.

For those attending the meeting, please visit our booth (#109) to meet Sarah for more information on these and other CSA services and products.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate wants unmanned wellhead platforms to be considered more often as an alternative to subsea tie-back in connection with development decisions.

A new study will look into the benefits and disadvantages of wellhead platforms.

The unmanned wellhead platform Tambar (BP) in the North Sea.
(Photo: BP)

"The main argument in favor of unmanned wellhead platforms as a concept, is that this could be an efficient development solution in terms of both cost and production. In fact, it is just as functional and robust as a subsea development, and it is also more accessible for inspection and maintenance," says Niels Erik Hald, principal engineer in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

An unmanned wellhead platform is a facility with a fixed substructure installed on the seabed, with dry wellheads located on the platform deck. The concept is an alternative to subsea wells where the wellheads are placed on the seabed. There are various types of unmanned wellhead platforms – from simple facilities to more advanced solutions including e.g. process equipment. Some can be entered from vessels, while others have bridges or helicopter decks.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has commissioned a study with the objective of gaining further knowledge about the different types of unmanned wellhead platforms. The plan is for the study, to be performed by Rambøll Oil & Gas, to be submitted to the authorities towards the end of December of this year.

With ExxonMobil reported to be moving the Liza discovery in deepwater Guyana into pre-Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) less than five months after confirming the find, the project has the potential to yield significant returns for investors, according to analysts with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest analysis states that a Floating, Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) development at the field would return above 19.8% in a flat-oil-price scenario of US$61.68 per barrel (bbl).

Furthermore, Anna Belova, Ph.D., GlobalData’s Senior Upstream Analyst, explains: “While there is risk around the assumed initial production rates of 20,000 barrels per day (bd) per development well, there is upside in additional cost efficiencies as low oil prices have been accompanied with decreases in FPSO leasing terms and drillship dayrates.

“Additionally, the 201 million barrels (mmbbl) recoverable reserves estimate falls on the lower end of 700 mmbbl of oil reserve suggestions from Guyana’s minister of governance. Higher reserve scenarios, recovering upward of 600 mmbbl, have an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) over 35% while capturing the economies of scale realized with FPSO developments.”

While the cost metrics for the Liza scenarios are consistent with other global developments with a leased FPSO production concept, the economic metrics are more favorable than global averages due to the competitiveness of the Guyanese Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) regime.

Matthew Jurecky, GlobalData’s Head of Oil & Gas Research and Consulting, says the project will benefit from the prevailing low-cost environment.

Jurecky comments: “The Liza project will also be well-placed to benefit from any uplift in oil prices post-development. Its commercial success could redefine the basin as a global deepwater production player.”

Ashtead Technology, a leading independent provider of subsea equipment rental, sales and services to the offshore industry, has invested over $300,000 in the latest generation of visual inspection tools for deep sea exploration.

The investment will see Ashtead offering a range of SubC Imaging products to meet increasing industry demand for enhanced, cost effective inspection solutions. A world-leader in video technology used to monitor the integrity of subsea assets and infrastructure, SubC Imaging provides state-of-the art cameras with HD video capabilities that can capture and transmit high quality data from extreme water depths.

Chris Echols, Vice President of Ashtead Technology (photo) in Houston said: “Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, stricter subsea inspection regulations were introduced which has led to a need for more reliable, high resolution visual inspection technology. “The SubC range of cameras, in which we have invested, capture a true visual representation of the underwater world from which we can accurately estimate the remaining life of a subsea infrastructure and assess the integrity of the equipment.

“As the subsea industry enters deeper waters, the need for companies to collect more meaningful data increases. By investing in this equipment, we are able to help our customers ensure they can capture a true picture of what is going on and take preventative measures to ensure the integrity of high-cost, high-risk subsea equipment and infrastructure, thereby saving costs and reducing risk.”

The new 1Cam MK5 range is capable of outputting live HD video over coax or fiber and can record HD 1080P video and capture up to 24mp still images to its internal storage. The units are rated up to 6500m and come as standard with integrated reference lasers. For even greater capability, they can be coupled with an external LED light/strobe or line laser.

Engineered to deliver vivid color video footage in real-time while travelling almost any direction, the MK5 range provides high quality footage of the underwater world.

Ashtead has further enhanced its product offering with the SubC DVR/Overlay system which can record multiple 3D, HD and SD video channels simultaneously, add overlays, stream video and audio over a network, and also includes a new event logging feature.

Ron Collier Vice President of Business Development at SubC Imaging said: “With the new MK5 range, SubC continues to raise the bar when it comes to the quality and capability of underwater cameras available to the subsea industry. Ashtead has been integral to the global market success of our products and the continued investment in our products reflects the company’s commitment to providing its customers with the best available subsea technology.”

Through the delivery of enhanced technical support services, Ashtead Technology is committed to delivering a range of value-added services which now include the supply of offshore personnel, equipment sales, complete asset management, calibration, repair and maintenance, custom engineering, cable moulding and training.