FoundOcean has completed the grouting for an 8-legged jacket in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico. The project, completed on behalf of McDermott, mobilized from Port Fourchon, Louisiana and is one of a number of successful projects completed by FoundOcean in the region.

With offices and equipment located in both the US and Mexico, FoundOcean is ideally placed to support its clients in the Americas.

FoundOcean were consistent in demonstrating their technical expertise, going the extra mile to ensure the project ran without delay, comments Joaquin Vazquez, Project Manager for McDermott. This included a visit to the fabrication yard in Tampico to conduct an inspection of the jacket’s grout lines in order to identify any issues that could cause costly delays to the offshore installation schedule.

FoundOcean consistently strives to provide innovative solutions to specific client requirements, drawing on its extensive experience of providing competent solutions to challenging installation projects for the energy construction industry, comments FoundOcean’s CEO Jim Bell.

In the case of Ayatsil-A, FoundOcean were able to provide a bespoke grouting solution, providing a customized high strength grout able to withstand the hot climate, whilst still being able to be mixed using the FoundOcean Recirculating Jet Mixer, in order to facilitate efficient, timely completion of the grouting operations.

The next MTS Houston Section May luncheon will be held on May 28, 2015 and will feature a presentation by George Pettigrew, Vice President and Head of Chissonga Development (Angola) for Maersk Oil. Mr. Pettigrew will discuss the current state of major capital projects and operations trends. As the price of oil hovers in the $40-$60 per barrel range and the global supply glut persists, many companies are hitting the “pause” button on the sanctioning of new major capital projects.

Billions of dollars’ worth of spending on major upstream and downstream projects have been placed on hold, including Shell’s $6.5 billion Al Karaana petrochemicals project in Qatar, Sasol’s $14 billion gas-to-liquids project in Louisiana and Total’s $11 billion Joslyn oil sands project in Alberta. Final investment decisions have also been postponed for the foreseeable future on Chevron’s $10 billion Rosebank field in the U.K. North Sea and Statoil’s $16 billion-$19 billion Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea of Norway.

An executive from Saudi Aramco recently stated that the global oil and gas industry is poised to “potentially cancel about $1 trillion in capital funding” in 2015. This is having a significant impact on countries around the world that have been counting on revenues from higher oil prices to balance their budgets, as well as operators and service companies that are being forced to drastically reduce their costs. Nonetheless, many believe there is still significant potential for long-term value in proceeding with major capital projects.

About the Speaker

George Pettigrew joined Maersk Oil as Vice President and Head of Chissonga Field Development (Angola) in February 2015. George heads a Project Leadership Team of nine managers (including Subsurface, Facilities, Operations, Drilling & Completions, Legal, HSE, Integration, Project Services and HR). George began his career as a Project Engineer with Britoil in 1982. He became Project Manager and Deputy Business Unit Leader for BP in Aberdeen in 1996. From 2000-2004, he headed up New Assets in BP’s Norwegian Business Unit where he oversaw the discovery, appraisal drilling, concept selection and negotiation of gas export for Skarv Development and managed a recovery program for the failed installation of a jacket and water injection platform (including contractor settlement).

From 2004-2009, George served as General Manager of the BP/ENI Joint Venture in Egypt and delivered Phase One of Gas Growth in Egypt on schedule and below cost. He established a multi-discipline and national subsea organization with competency to deliver this and future subsea projects. George was Global Director of Project Management and Execution for BP in London from 2009-2012, and he most recently served as BP’s Vice President of Projects in the West Nile Delta. George holds a Master’s degree in Marine Technology from the University of Strathclyde.

UPCOMING MTS HOUSTON PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS IN 2015

June 25 - LLOG Delta House Floating Production System, Rick Fowler, Vice President, LLOG Exploration.

July 23 - Golf Tournament September 24 - Kodiak - GOM Tieback, Danny Hough, Deep Gulf Energy

October 13-14 - Dynamic Positioning Conference

October 29 - MTS Houston Barbecue (Note revised date) December 3 - Anadarko Lucius Project, S. Michael Beattie, General Manager GOM Deepwater Facilities, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

NYC-based PIRA Energy Group believes that the vast majority of the bearish news is already out and that the price lows for global crude oil markers are in. In the U.S., stocks build but surplus to last year narrows. In Japan, crude and finished product stocks build, amid higher demands. Specifically, PIRA’s analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following:

Asia-Pacific Oil Market Forecast

PIRA believes that vast majority of the bearish news is already out and that the price lows for global crude oil markers are in. The current trajectory to crude stocks peaks in May, and then draws commence June-August. Supply disruptions, while having come off in March, will remain high for the foreseeable future. Any final deal with Iran will not result in significantly higher volumes until much later in 2015 at the earliest. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s production is making new historic highs and the Kingdom is raising prices to Asian customers. The magic of price is working to tighten oil markets and higher oil prices are in the offing. PIRA has once again revised its 2015 crude oil price outlook higher.

U.S. Stocks Build but Surplus to Last Year Narrows

The United States had another hefty stock build this past week. Last year’s overall build in the same week was even larger leaving the year-on-year inventory excess modestly down. Over half of the year-on-year increase is in crude oil, while the bulk of the rest is in other products. Gasoline and distillate stocks are each 15-17 million barrels above last year, but since gasoline inventories are nearly double those of distillate the year on year excess is a smaller 7%.

Build, Amid Higher Demands

Crude runs increased slightly and crude imports rose such that stocks built. Finished product stocks also built. Gasoline and gasoil demands were higher, but with a slight stock build for gasoline and a more significant stock build for gasoil. Kerosene demand rose and stocks drew 30 MB/D, similar to the rate drawn in the previous week. The indicative refining margin eased on the week but still remains statistically strong.

Freight Market Outlook

Thus far in 2015 spot tanker markets have eluded the seasonal decline generally experienced during the second quarter of the year. Firm spot tanker rates helped by rising OPEC output and cheap bunkers combined to propel first-quarter vessel earnings to their best showing since 2008, and this momentum has continued in April. Although floating storage has not yet materialized to any significant degree, a current overhang of West African crude could produce some floating stocks.

High U.S. LPG Stocks to Keep Building

Propane inventories continue to climb in the offseason, with stocks adding 1.99 million barrels in the latest week, matching the previous week’s build. Propane inventories are currently 57.5 MMB, 31 million barrels higher than a year ago. Inventories of other NGLs and LRGs (excluding propane) increased by 2.7 million barrels last week, climbing to the 85.2 MMB level. The surplus to a year ago expanded to 12.6 MMB.

Ethanol Prices Rise

U.S. ethanol prices gained the week ending April 17 as petroleum values surged. Demand was strong as blenders prepare for the peak driving season. 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.

ABS, the leading provider of classification services to the global marine and offshore industries, announces the appointment of Howard Fireman to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a move that strengthens alignment and generates further synergies across all of ABS' technical programs.

Fireman, who will report to ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki, assumes this role following former Senior Vice President and CTO Todd Grove's appointment as ABS Group President and CEO.

Technology continues to be a core element of the ABS mission of protecting life, assets and the environment. Fireman's appointment further strengthens the ABS commitment to technology and innovation needed to support our members and clients.

Fireman joined ABS in 2013 following a 35-year career with the US Navy, where he was recognized as a technical leader in ship design, total cost of ownership, systems engineering, design integration, research and development and operational support. He also served as Chief Naval Architect and Director of Surface Ship Design and Systems Engineering.

Fireman holds a BSE and MSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan and has a Master's degree in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins University.

"ABS continues to lead the industry in advancing the application of technology to meet today's marine and offshore challenges while anticipating those on the horizon," ABS Chairman and CEO Chris Wiernicki said. "Howard's strong technical experience will be important to continue our long history of innovation and drive our global research and development agenda."

This appointment was effective April 20.

About ABS

Founded in 1862, ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.

Asset integrity management specialist, XPD8 Solutions, has secured a £375,000 contract for work in West Africa with Tullow Oil.

Over six-months, the Aberdeen-headquartered firm will migrate Tullow Oil’s existing computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to the Maximo software package. The system will support planning, scheduling, performance monitoring and reporting of asset integrity key performance indicators at the Jubilee floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in Ghana.

The scope of work includes cleansing, enrichment and migration of existing master data to the new CMMS and its implementation.

XPD8 Solutions will support Tullow Oil in its work aboard the Jubilee field’s FPSO in Ghana.

XPD8 is recognized as a leader in maintenance engineering, condition monitoring and integrity services for the oil & gas sector.

Mark Cavanagh, managing director at XPD8, said: “It is a pat on the back to our team that we have been chosen to work again with Tullow Oil, which is an existing client for us, on what is another significant contract for XPD8. We will be providing a system that meets the client’s standards and will support them to achieve industry best practice.

“Our maintenance engineering staff will deliver the project that helps to reinforce our position in West Africa and builds upon what has already been a successful partnership.

"It has been widely reported that the oil and gas industry is experiencing a difficult period and I believe we are able to support our customers in saving on costs through our effective maintenance programs.”

The Jubilee FPSO was installed in November 2010, at a water depth of 1,100m and is designed to operate for 20 years.

This latest contract compliments existing work being carried out by XPD8 on MODEC’s Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) FPSO, operated on behalf of Tullow Oil. The deal, announced during April 2014, sees XPD8 working as part of the engineering, procurement and construction team to develop a maintenance program and inventory data.

Formed in 2003, XPD8 is a privately owned company which provides skilled engineers for all areas of the asset management process.

XPD8 has received ISO9001 accreditation for its quality management systems which ensures high standards throughout the business.

Amid low oil prices, pressure is growing to find industry wide solutions which can reduce costs. The documentation demanded today for subsea operations is time-consuming, complex and costly to deliver. Now a DNV GL led Joint Industry Project (JIP) involving twenty industry players has made a major step forward in addressing this global industry with the first issue of a Recommended Practice.

Working together the partners have invested considerable time to scope out and agree upon a set of typical subsea production systems (SPS) and functions with common terminology and a required minimum set of documentation between E&P operators and contractors. A first issue of the DNV GL Recommended Practice (RP) establishing industry guidelines and recommendations is now available to JIP partners and will be publicly available later this year. The work has been performed in Norway but has an international focus, not limited to appliance to the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

“The JIP group has made significant progression in standardizing the vast set of documents for designing, approving, manufacturing, verifying, operating and maintaining subsea equipment. The RP is an important element in DNV GL’s wider drive to streamline the global subsea sector and to increase efficiency, predictability and assure quality,” explains DNV GL JIP project manager, Jarl S. Magnusson. “We are now in dialogue with oil majors in Houston with the aim to build an even broader international network collaborating and capitalizing on the joint work.”

Halvar Larsen, Subsea Manager, Det norske says, “The collaborative approach to solving a common industry challenge through a JIP on neutral ground is the fastest way to develop a common global standard. Alignment between operators, contractors and suppliers and establishing a common understanding of the need for appropriate information have been interesting to witness through this JIP. In addition I see increasing interest from the industry and am really looking forward to using the results from this JIP in our next subsea project.”

Jan Ragnvald Torsvik, lead engineer of Life Cycle Information at Statoil and co-chairman of the project, is now operationalizing the draft RP in Statoil, implementing the RP result from 2014 with Statoil’s technical requirements for Life Cycle Information. This requirement will be adopted for new projects including development of the Johan Sverdrup field. Statoil is one of the first international E&P companies to implement the new standard.

“As a contractor, processing, handling and expediting various types of documents to and from suppliers, clients and third parties represents a significant portion of the man hour costs on typical subsea EPCI projects today,” says Torgils Skaar, engineering department manager at Subsea 7. “Aligning documenting procedures and paperwork will present marked financial savings and provide a higher level of predictability for the production, handling and administration of technical documents and time taken to undertake such tasks.”

The subsea documentation RP is linked to current sources of industry standards and practices and is open for industry review. To request a copy of the publicly available RP later this year, please register here. At a later stage, the RP may be included in industry guidelines, such as NORSOK, and/or as an amendment to relevant ISO standards.

The next phase of the JIP is now to extend the current scope of Subsea Production Systems (SPS) to also include subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and to further address documentation requirements between contractors and suppliers. Phase 3 of the JIP will be run in 2016 and will include among other activities to identify an improved and shared solution for governance of information and a finalizedDNV GL RP.

JIP partners:
Aker Subsea AS, Centrica Energi, Det norske oljeselskap ASA, DNV GL, FMC Technologies, GE Oil & Gas, GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS, Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS, Lundin Norway AS, Oceaneering, OneSubsea, RWE Dea Norge AS, Statoil Petroleum AS, Subsea7, Subsea Valley and SUNCOR.

Observers: Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway

The industrial revolution and ensuing growth of the great cities of the western world some 200 years ago was enabled by a change in primary energy supply – from wood to coal. Today it is said we are at the beginning of another period of change, from fossil fuels to sustainable energy – the move from black to green. However, this cannot be achieved all at once, it is a long journey and the first step is to change from burning highly polluting coal to cleaner natural gas.

Indeed to some extent this is already happening; coal-fired power generation in the US provided 39% of electricity production in 2014, down from 53% 1997, mainly as a result of the move to lower cost natural gas. In the European Union between 2000 and end 2013 coal consumption fell by 11%. However, the world still burns huge amounts of coal, accounting for some 30% of global fuel consumption. Even in the UK, where the industrial revolution began, on Christmas day 2014, 38% of electricity still came from burning coal.

In the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference ‘COP21’ in Paris in December 2015, green activists are already embarked on a campaign calling for disinvestment from the oil & gas industry. In April the Guardian Media Group announced it will divest from fossil fuel companies. Academia has joined the campaign with sit-ins underway in a number of universities.

Much of this rhetoric is misdirected. There is a major gap between the realities of oil & gas and the public understanding of its fundamental importance to society. To many, filling the car tank is just a tax on driving and natural gas a monthly charge on home ownership. Few realise the sheer scale and importance of the oil & gas industry, not just in the supply of fuels but also its role as a provider of a huge range of products essential to our daily lives, from plastics to pharmaceuticals, from fertilisers to house paint.

The industry should be recognised a part of the solution in providing the natural gas that can enable step one of the journey, to stop burning coal.

John Westwood, Douglas-Westwood London

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Enhanced geomechanics technology and services strengthen geoscience portfolio

CGG announces that its GeoConsulting Business Line has acquired Taurus Reservoir Solutions Ltd., based in Calgary. Taurus offers reservoir and geomechanical simulation and engineering technology along with consulting services to the global petroleum industry. With an offering that spans single-well to large field-scale solutions, Taurus brings new subsurface understanding to both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

CGG’s GeoConsulting Business Line offers a broad range of geological and geophysical (G&G) consulting services and non-exclusive products to the E&P industry. The addition of Taurus will strengthen CGG’s G&G expertise and help clients make more informed decisions across the E&P lifecycle, from where to drill and how to best complete wells, to optimizing production over the life of the field.

Sophie Zurquiyah, Senior Executive Vice President, Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir, CGG, said: “We are delighted to extend the scope of our Geoscience portfolio further towards the reservoir with the geomechanical and engineering capabilities of Taurus. The leadership Taurus has developed globally in its domain fully aligns with CGG’s culture and the addition of its technology and expertise will enable us to further assist our customers in meeting their increasingly complex reservoir development and production challenges through tighter integration of the geoscience and engineering disciplines.”

Dr. Tony Settari, President and co-founder of Taurus, added: “We are very pleased to join CGG and look forward to bringing our technology and expertise in geomechanics, classical reservoir engineering and fracturing to the Geoscience portfolio of CGG. This unique combination will yield solutions that better address the most difficult subsurface challenges and enable oil and gas companies to further reduce the risks and costs associated with the production of hydrocarbons.”

- Demand for high level services met by expansion -

Intertek, a leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide, has officially opened its newly expanded center of excellence for corrosion testing services. The company has invested £1.2m in its Production and Integrity Assurance (P&IA) facility in Manchester, UK to meet growing demand for high-end corrosion and materials testing in the oil and gas industry.

The official opening was conducted by Dr. Bill Hedges, Technical Authority for BP. Intertek has a long-standing relationship with the oil and gas operator, having provided consultancy and testing services for its global activities in the North Sea, North Africa and Gulf of Mexico.

Jonathan Lake, Engineer, Intertek Production and Integrity Assurance, maintaining a sour service test. (MG 3941)

Speaking about the impact of corrosion on the industry, Dr. Hedges said: “Controlling corrosion in increasingly challenging production environments is of paramount importance to the oil and gas industry. Corrosion can be a notorious problem if not managed properly; it is time consuming and costly to remedy and impacts on safety and asset lifespan. By being able to identify and predict areas that are prone to corrosion issues and when these will occur, the industry is able to plan its maintenance and downtime activities more effectively. All operators face challenges with corrosion and expanding this center of excellence will support improvements in this area.”

New contract awards worth over £1m won by the P&IA team in recent months include studies for major clients in the UK, Middle East and South East Asia. The work covers a wide range of technical areas, such as corrosion fatigue, pipeline wet layup simulations, corrosion in super critical CO2 environments, evaluation of corrosion resistant alloy sand non-metallic materials under high-temperature/high pressure conditions plus a range of studies related to corrosion inhibition. This has driven the site expansion which now covers 27,000 sq ft and is one of the world’s largest independent laboratories dedicated to corrosion testing.

Graeme Dicken, Business Manager for Testing at Intertek P&IA, said: “Corrosion is an important issue for the oil and gas industry, reportedly costing $1.4bn (£896m) annually, with subsea, topsides and onshore equipment all vulnerable. With asset life extension a key focus for the oil and gas industry, vital assets are increasingly expected to operate beyond their projected lifecycles driving a rise in demand for our experience providing advanced corrosion testing, technology development and research services.

“We would like to thank Bill for joining us today and sharing his experiences as we open the new laboratory. We have forged very strong relationships over the years with several major oil and gas operators, including BP. As a result of our collaboration on numerous projects over several decades, we have worked closely with the company to define ‘industry-standard’ testing protocols. We have a proven track record of developing test methodologies and constructing novel equipment, which then become industry-standard approaches.

“We have already seen the benefits of the investment, recently conducting a pilot plant-scale flow loop and full pipe section subsea simulation studies. The new facilities also include large-scale bespoke test rigs to simulate specific environments and issues, providing clients with accurate data and solutions.”

In addition to the expansion the facility has been granted accreditation for two tests under the UKAS ISO 17025:2005 standard - a vital requirement for clients seeking sour service testing. Jim Palmer, Director of Intertek Production and Integrity Assurance, said: “Our Manchester site employs 65 corrosion and materials specialists, offering a multidisciplinary resource at one location, supported by a team of internationally renowned experts. In addition to this investment in the Manchester center of excellence, the business has established an international network of corrosion and production chemistry laboratories in Aberdeen, Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi and Adelaide, which has significantly extended our global reach.”

Ovivo Inc. ("Ovivo") has been awarded a large contract to design and supply containerized modular fresh water makers for an offshore oil and gas production platform located in the North Pacific Ocean. The contract value is over $9 million Canadian and includes a custom designed production plant, using reverse osmosis membrane process. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in 2016.

The contract includes Ovivo's fresh water maker, through its heritage brand Caird & Rayner Clark. The units will produce potable water and turbine wash water directly from raw seawater at a temperature often below zero degrees Celsius. Life support systems, such as the fresh water maker, are necessary on offshore platform since it is difficult for supply boats to bring water to the platform in winter.

"This high specification engineering contract demonstrates that Ovivo possesses the technologies and equipment to meet the highest and most rigorous international requirements," said Marc Barbeau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We booked large orders recently in the energy market thanks to our global platform which allows us to support our clients wherever their projects are located across the globe," added Mr. Barbeau.

Newcomer to the UKCS, Hungary-based MOL Group is set to discuss its high-profile entry into the North Sea market at a Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen event on 6 May, 2015.

MOL Group, an integrated oil and gas company with operations in more than 40 countries, completed a deal in March 2014 to acquire 14 North Sea licenses which resulted in the creation of MOL Energy UK.

Managing Director of MOL Energy UK, Chris Bird, will speak at the next SPE Aberdeen Simplified Series event, organised by the Young Professionals Committee but aimed at oil and gas industry professionals of all ages.

Mr. Bird said: “The future rate of production in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) depends on a number of factors, such as continued investment and the success of further exploration. Establishing operations in the UK North Sea has been a major step for MOL Group and a carefully planned, strategic move which I look forward to discussing at this SPE Aberdeen event.”

As part of the presentation, Mr.. Bird will focus on risk management, value creation and the importance of industry collaboration and partnership. He will also discuss the way forward for the oil and gas sector in the UKCS, as well as the importance of this region to the global oil and gas industry.

SPE Aberdeen chairman Shankar Bhukya added: “SPE Aberdeen is thrilled to welcome MOL Energy UK to present at our next Simplified Series event. The company’s global experience will offer valuable lessons to all attendees and its recent move into the North Sea promises to be an extremely interesting topic. This is an event not to be missed.”

Chris Bird has approximately 30 years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas industry and has worked extensively with operators and contractors across the full value chain, focusing on turning around and growing businesses by developing people and technology. Chris enjoys both a European and Chartered Engineer status while being a Fellow of the IMechE, IoD and APM.

The SPE Aberdeen Simplified Series, currently sponsored by RESMAN and GE Oil & Gas, is a monthly event highlighting a technical issue or project within the oil and gas industry, approaching it in ‘simplified’ terms so that it appeals to a wider cross-section of industry professionals.

This event, which is free to attend, will take place from 6.45pm to 8.30pm on Wednesday, 6 May at the Aberdeen Station Hotel. Please note that demand for this event is expected to be high. For more information and booking please visit www.spe-uk.org/aberdeen/events.

About SPE

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 124,000 members in 135 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

About SPE Aberdeen

The SPE Aberdeen Section is the largest in the UK with more than 2,500 members and is run entirely by volunteers.

SPE Aberdeen members represent a range of ages, genders and nationalities, and the Section has student chapters at five universities in Scotland. SPE Aberdeen works closely with the oil and gas industry, Scottish universities and local schools, institutes and academia, to advance the learning and technical excellence in all aspects of the industry: offshore, onshore and internationally.

SPE Aberdeen won the SPE International Award for Section Excellence for the fifth consecutive year in 2014, the year it celebrated its 40th anniversary. For more information on the award winning section, please visit http://www.spe-uk.org.

About MOL Energy UK

MOL Energy UK Ltd. (a 100% subsidiary of MOL Group) was established in Aberdeen in March 2014. The company completed its first acquisition of four offshore licenses in December 2013, and then acquired six further offshore licenses in June 2014.

MOL Group is an integrated, independent, international oil and gas company, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. The Group is active in over 40 countries with a dynamic international workforce of nearly 30,000 people and a track record of more than 100 years in the industry. MOL’s exploration and production activities are supported by more than 75 years’ experience. At the moment, there are production activities in eight countries and exploration assets in 13 countries. The Group operates four refineries and two petrochemicals plants, under integrated supply chain management, in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia. MOL Group also owns a network of over 1,700 service stations across 12 countries in Central & South Eastern Europe.

Statoil and several other oil companies and nations joined together and have committed , for the first time, to end the practice of routine gas flaring at oil production sites by 2030.

CEO Eldar Sætre represented Statoil at the signing at the World Bank in Washington together with Norwegian foreign minister Børge Brende.

“Meeting the target of zero routine flaring by 2030 is a highly important contribution our industry can make towards mitigating climate change,” Sætre said in his speech in Washington today. “In our operations in Norway we do not carry out any routine flaring. This leading performance was made possible by a government determined to avoid waste and maximize value from its natural resources,” Sætre continued.

In 1971 Norway banned routine flaring. Coupled with a price on carbon equivalent of USD 65/ton CO2 today, these measures provided the necessary incentives for both the government and the industry to invest in production and export of gas. But globally every year, around 140 billion cubic meters of associated natural gas is wastefully burned or “flared” at thousands of oil fields.

This results in more than 300 million tons of CO2 being emitted to the atmosphere - equivalent to emissions from approximately 77 million cars.

Together with Statoil and Norway, eight other oil companies and eight other countries have endorsed the initiative recognizing that routine gas flaring is unsustainable from a resource management and environmental perspective.

They have all agreed to cooperate to eliminate ongoing routine flaring as soon as possible and no later than 2030.

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

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

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

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

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MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured a contract with the Brazilian shipowner and shipbuilder Grupo CBO. The contract is to supply Triplex deck handling equipment and cranes for four customized Havyard 843 anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS). The order was booked into first quarter 2015 order intake.

The 81.5m Havyard 843 is a modern anchor-handling vessel with a maximum speed of 16 knots. It has a 400 ton anchor handling winch and accommodation for up to 30. This Havyard design will be adapted to meet the particular requirements of Brazilian energy company, Petrobras. Two vessels will be built at Grupo CBO's Estaleiro Aliança yard and two at the Estaleiro Oceana yard.

Under the contract with CBO, MacGregor will provide each vessel with two sets of Triplex shark jaws (H-700) and guide pins (S-200), one cargo rail crane (KNC-60) and one knuckle boom deck crane (KN-150).

"We are delighted to sign another contract with CBO, further growing our good relationship," says Even Arne Kippernes, sales manager for Triplex products at MacGregor. "The Triplex shark jaws and guide pins are market leading products. They will help to ensure safe working deck operations on the new vessels; the jaws have a unique quick release system and, when not in use, they lie flush with the deck. The combination of Triplex cranes will provide very flexible, safe and reliable lifting capabilities."

Reservations are now open for Fugro’s program of technical workshops during the upcoming Offshore Technology Conference, May 4th – 7th in Houston, TX.

With a variety of timely topics, Fugro will showcase its unique technology in geotechnical, survey, and subsea disciplines with a series of brief workshops over three days. In the exhibition hall, the company’s display at Booth # 3721 will highlight its global presence that supports the exploration, development, production, and transportation of the Earth’s natural resources. The centerpiece – one of Fugro's in-house designed and built FCV3000 work class ROVs - will illustrate some of its extensive subsea capabilities and a specialist team will be at the booth to discuss this and other ROVs in Fugro’s fleet.

The workshop program begins on Monday morning with Fugro’s latest developments in ocean current hindcasts and metocean numerical modelling. The subsequent workshop covers GIS tools and methods, demonstrating how geophysical, geotechnical, and geohazard data sets can be integrated and analyzed. Monday’s final session is a presentation detailing a unique method of subsea visualization technologies, offering insight into industry advancements.

A session on “Law of the Sea” begins Tuesday’s workshops, addressing oil and gas concession blocks in contested waters. During the day’s program delegates can learn the latest information on Fugro’s specialist capabilities in seafloor drill technology as well as Fugro’s OARS™ system, which heralds a new wave of offshore monitoring operations and eliminates the need for an onboard surveyor. The last session on Tuesday explores the role of its new Echo Surveyor VII AUV technology in deepwater geophysical remote sensing.

Rounding off Fugro’s technical programs, Wednesday’s sessions open with a workshop on the Alaskan Arctic, offering insight into challenges where ice is the biggest obstacle. Delegates can discover Fugro's solutions including ice thickness mapping and ice gouge investigations. Also to be discussed on Wednesday is the hot topic of drones and Fugro’s unmanned systems through photogrammetry and remote sensing. The workshops conclude by exploring Fugro’s expertise in seep consultancy and how instrumentation and data analysis can address issues with wellhead and riser integrity.

Demand for Fugro’s workshops is expected to be high and seating can be secured by registering in advance.

▪ U.S. could miss out on widely acknowledged economic and environmental benefits associated with LNG exports

▪ Bureaucracy is stalling legislation and issuance of export permits U.S. role as world’s leading energy producer is at stake

The United States is at risk of losing economic opportunity and the ability to solidify its role as a global leader in energy production unless the government moves to approve liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, Rob Franklin, president of ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Company, said on Monday.

“If policymakers don’t revisit and redress some significant legal and regulatory problems…then the U.S. could be left behind during one of the great, historic developments in global energy and trade,” Franklin said in a speech at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C.

The U.S. has long embraced open and free markets. Free trade benefits Americans in the form of more choices, higher wages, and better jobs. Franklin said that the export of LNG should be treated no differently from other exports such as agricultural goods, automobiles and computer products.

”LNG exports can provide the spur to further increase America’s natural gas production, providing all the attendant benefits that would generate,” he said.

ExxonMobil has embarked on a $10 billion project to convert the LNG regasification terminal at Golden Pass, Texas, into an LNG export terminal. In support of this effort, an application to export to non-Free Trade Agreement countries was submitted to federal officials more than two years ago, but no decision has been made. Permit applications for some two dozen other projects are also in the same state of bureaucratic limbo.

“If we are serious about having a U.S. LNG industry and capturing the tremendous opportunities in front of us then we need to ensure that the case of LNG exports does not become just another casualty of bureaucracy,” Franklin said.

Global LNG demand is expected to triple between 2010 and 2040. To put this into perspective, it means that the amount of incremental gas needed to meet global demand by 2025 will be almost double the size of the entire U.S. gas market today. Most of the new demand for LNG will come from existing and emerging markets in the Asia Pacific as well as the Middle East.

Franklin noted that the February 2015 report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors concludes that LNG exports would increase U.S. GDP, create jobs, promote cleaner energy worldwide, while maintaining the competitive cost advantage for U.S. manufacturers. He also cited various other studies, which have generally reached the same conclusion that allowing LNG exports would benefit the American economy, and the greater the level of exports, the greater the benefit.

From an environmental perspective natural gas is the cleanest burning conventional fuel. When used for power generation it emits up to 60 percent less greenhouse emissions than coal – which have helped return emissions levels in the U.S. to where they were in the 1990s, despite the fact that the U.S. economy is six times larger now than it was then. The export of LNG will help manage emissions and the risk of global climate change.