In an ongoing effort to increase responsible and efficient offshore energy operations, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has implemented a new quality assurance process for reviewing and assessing its permitting systems. The new process seeks to reflect on permits issued by the agency and helps inform best practices for offshore energy permitting.

Statoil is awarding a contract for pipelaying to Subsea 7 and for marine operations to Ocean Installer in the Askeladd field development.

The LNG plant at Melkøya. (Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland)

"The Askeladd project is being developed in a period of several key milestones for Statoil in North Norway. The Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea will come on stream at the end of the year. The Johan Castberg development began in earnest after it was recently sanctioned. In addition, Statoil’s drilling campaign in the Barents Sea is being pursued this year," says Torger Rød, Statoil’s senior vice president for project development.

Subsea 7 will lay a 44-kilometre-long and 20-inch-wide pipeline that will tie Askeladd to the Snøhvit field.

Support activities for the operations will be based in Hammerfest and other locations. Starting immediately, the work will continue throughout 2019. The installation will be performed in the summer of 2019.

Installer will install two subsea templates in 2019. A 42-kilometre-long umbilical, a 35-kilometre-long MEG (mono-ethylene glycol) pipeline and two manifolds will be installed in 2020. In addition, Ocean Installer will fabricate and install four spools and protective structures and carry out tie-ins and ready-for-operation activities. The operations will mainly be mobilized from Hammerfest, and will give spinoffs for local suppliers.

Both Subsea 7 and Ocean Installer have previously been awarded similar contracts for the Johan Castberg development. There will be synergy effects between the two projects that are key developments for the Norwegian continental shelf and for North Norway in the years ahead. "Statoil’s activities in the north generate ripple effects and together with the collaboration partners we are actively seeking competitive suppliers in this part of the country," says Pål Eitrheim, Statoil’s chief procurement officer.

Together with the main Johan Castberg suppliers Statoil carried out a separate supplier day in Tromsø last week to look at common opportunities.

The Askeladd project was sanctioned in March with planned production start at the end of 2020. The development will extend plateau production at the Hammerfest LNG plant.

The Askeladd development will consist of three wells in two new subsea templates which are designed for adding any future wells. Infrastructure for tying the Askeladd development to the existing Snøhvit field installation will also be installed.

Aker Solutions has previously been awarded the contract for the two subsea templates.

Innospection an inspection provider for the global processing industry has opened its new 3.5 million euros, research and development facility in Germany.

In support of President Donald J. Trump's America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Joe Balash announced on March 21, that region-wide Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 250 generated $124,763,581 in high bids for 148 tracts covering 815,403 acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 33 companies participated in the lease sale, submitting $139,122,383 in bids.

Dräger Safety UK has secured new contracts worth in excess of £3 million after successfully diversifying into new technology and training service areas focused on upstream and downstream operations in the North Sea.

The employment of the GRT has turned out to be an important milestone for the logistics function of Siemens Gamesa.

Leading offshore inspection company, AISUS has announced its first major contract win in the Middle East with North Oil Company (NOC).

Non-compliant discharge of oily water continues to be an environmental threat – and an expensive headache for the marine industry. With the tamper-proof Alfa Laval BlueBox SA, a stand-alone oil content monitor and data recorder, Alfa Laval is providing peace of mind to ship owners and operators.

Recently, a customized Damen Cutter Suction Dredger, type CSD500, has been named by her owner Basra Gateway terminal at the Damen Dredging yard in the Netherlands. Immediately after the ceremony, the dredger was made ready for transport and towed to Rotterdam, from where it was shipped to Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq. The dredger’s first job will be the port extension for Basra Gataway Terminal.

Wärtsilä, a global technology group headquartered in Finland, announces that it has acquired Transas, an innovative, digital solutions provider headquartered in the UK.

Add Energy, an international energy consultancy provider, in partnership with their Indonesia partner, PT Synergy Engineering, have been awarded a maintenance build contract for work on Tangguh LNG expansion project in Indonesia.

Planet Ocean handed over the most recent RADAC system to Mr Alistair Stagg of Fugro at Oceanology International 2018 at London Excel. Planet Ocean have signed a framework agreement with global geo-intelligence provider Fugro to provide WaveGuide Onboard systems to their vessels. The handover saw the fourth system to be delivered under the agreement.

Integrated systems manufacturers Ocean Scientific International Ltd are reporting high levels of interest in their Oil Spill Monitoring buoys following several recent installations in the Middle East and exposure at the world leading ocean technology and marine science exhibition, Oceanology International.

Senior oil and gas sector professionals expect a step change in the industry’s capex, opex and R&D spending levels in 2018, according to a new industry benchmark study from DNV GL.

Xodus Group has delivered a decommissioning and abandonment study for wells, surface and subsea facilities in Tunisia on behalf of Thyna Petroleum Services (TPS).

UUV Aquabotix Ltd announces a partnership with Norwegian technology supplier Water Linked AS. As part of the partnership, Aquabotix will integrate the Water Linked Underwater GPS system with its Endura ROV (remotely operated vehicle). This will enable greater underwater positioning for Aquabotix across a wide range of applications, including tank and hull inspections, fish farm exploration and search and recovery missions.