News Release - 13 January 2016

Global integrated drilling waste management and environmental services firm, TWMA, has been shortlisted in the Export Achievement category at this year’s Offshore Achievement Awards.

The shortlisting recognises the company’s business growth resulting from successful export activity in the oil and gas and energy sector.

TWMA has adopted a proactive approach to export markets, focusing on its fully integrated service offering and international expansion throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Rob O’Neill, Director of Business Development at TWMA, said: “We are delighted to be nominated for this prestigious industry award, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of our whole team. Successful export activity is vital for the company and for achieving long term sustainable growth, in addition to continued international expansion which is a key element of our business strategy.”

The company is also once again sponsoring the Environmental Innovation award at this year’s awards, after winning this award in 2014 in recognition of its unique TCC RotoMill® and TCC RotoTruck® products.

Now it its 30th year, the Offshore Achievement Awards is the largest and longest established industry awards for the UK offshore energy sector. Winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony on Thursday 17 March, at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

For more information on TWMA and its services, click here.

Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, has marked 1 million working hours without a single Lost Time Incident (LTI). This milestone follows on from Aquatic’s achievement of 1000 days without an LTI in December 2014.

Aquatic's offshore team using harnesses and ladders to assemble modular reel drive system

The improvement level in FPAL scoring since 2013 and successful accreditation to BizSafe3 in Singapore demonstrate that Aquatic is continually improving standards and providing training opportunities across HSEQ.

David Tibbetts, vice president technology, Aquatic, and accountable for the health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) function, said, “This achievement is due to the commitment of the Aquatic team to maintain the culture of safety promoted globally by Acteon. Our staff training focuses on our obligation to the safety of all those who work with us, and for us. With the support of Acteon, Aquatic is focused on continually improving standards, strengthening its culture of safety and remaining firmly committed to HSEQ leadership in the offshore industry.”

With this new global framework agreement in place, Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions can further improve efficiency and uphold their position as forerunner in advanced technologies for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Commenting on the achievement, Lead Group Category Manager, Gaute Fardal from Aker Solutions, said: “We are pleased to have Lloyd’s Register on board as a new Group Frame Agreement supplier to Aker Solutions. Our expectations to the agreement are highly competitive priced services and further enhanced efficiency in our processes and product solutions.”

The contract gives Aker Solutions access to all relevant services from the Lloyd’s Register Group, including inspection, compliance, certification and advisory/consulting services in areas like risk management/HSEQ, engineering dynamics, asset integrity, drilling, wells and reservoirs.

Inge Alme, Sales Director at Lloyd’s Register said: “Aker Solutions’ efforts in efficiency stewardship are testament to their commercial and environmental commitment. They are demonstrating yet again that their efficiency programs are designed and implemented with high accuracy, completeness and transparency.”

The project builds on Lloyd’s Register’s solid track record of enabling the oil and gas industry to improve efficiency and performance while reducing environmental impact.

The first call off from the contract is already in place: a global project for international quality management system standard ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 (environmental) certification of Aker Solution’s Subsea division. The project will be carried out by LRQA – a division of the Lloyd’s Register Group and a world leading professional assurance services organization specializing in management systems compliance and expert advice across a broad spectrum of standards, schemes and customized assurance programs.

“Of special interest is our process for technology qualifications,” said Alme. “This is an important area for a company like Aker Solutions, where new innovations in areas like subsea processing can be critical for tomorrow’s leading oil and gas operators.”

The Technology Qualification offered by Lloyd’s Register provides a route for companies to provide evidence that their equipment will function within specified operational limits and with an acceptable level of confidence. It gives a step-by-step approach on how to develop and operate new technologies in a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly manner.

“Our approach supports a better way to manage costs and the associated risks of bringing new technology to market,” said Alme.

The framework agreement is valid for 3 years with options for extension for a further 2 years.

The companies will through a joint work group identify opportunities where they can create value for customers by combining Aker Solutions' capabilities in subsea products and technologies with Saipem's assets and expertise in engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea infrastructures.

"We will team up with Saipem on targeted projects, providing integrated solutions that will enable our clients to make the most of their upstream investments, reduce development time and lower operating costs," said Luis Araujo, chief executive officer at Aker Solutions.

The companies will engage with clients from the initial concept and design phase to promote total system engineering, providing the best solutions for construction, operations and maintenance. The collaboration will develop and manage all interfaces between subsea production systems and subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) as well as provide services over the lifetime of a field.

"Thanks to our cooperation with Aker Solutions our clients will have access to a wealth of complementary capabilities and resources from the earliest phases of the projects," said Saipem Chief Executive Officer Stefano Cao. "This joint effort will support efficient subsea development."

Conductor Installation Services Ltd (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, announced that it successfully completed its second conductor installation operation during the last 12 months for a leading North Sea oil and gas operator.

Work was carried out on a major gas development project in the Southern North Sea. CIS installed six 30-inch conductors on the project to form the foundations of six development wells. In addition, CIS supplied all conductor-running services, handling equipment, together with drive shoes that improve driveability by 40%.

Following completion of a comprehensive drive study, CIS crew worked with rig contractor Ensco and the operator to commence the driving operation. CIS worked from the jack-up rig Ensco 80, and used a 90 kJ hydraulic hammer to drive all six conductors to their target depth on the wellhead platform. Conductors were driven as deep as 401 feet from the rig floor to the conductor toe, reaching a depth of 158 feet below the mudline.

The installation campaign was completed on time, without delay or downtime. Once again, this operator saved time and money as a result of CIS’s efforts on their behalf.

Building on success

Earlier this year, CIS carried out a pile-driving campaign on the same development that was completed 17 hours ahead of schedule. As a result, the operator realized significant cost-savings in terms of reduced equipment rental fees, rig time and labor.

“We have worked on behalf of this operator in the North Sea many times,” said Andy Penman, Group Managing Director of CIS. “Once again, the driving operation went to plan. The investment in planning, detailed drive study, technology employed and experience of our installation team contributed a great deal. The positive relationships that we share with Ensco and the operator mean that we come with a winning attitude and commitment to achieving success on every job we undertake, and this operation was no exception.”

The range of services provided by CIS supports the Acteon Group’s commitment to defining subsea services across a range of interconnected disciplines.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announces that Kerri McClellan has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel for the corporation. McClellan, who is based in Jacksonville and reports to Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mike Roberts, joined Crowley approximately two years ago as senior corporate counsel and assistant corporate secretary and has excelled at corporate governance and transactional work among other legal areas.

“Kerri has been a tremendous partner in the legal department, and a key leader on important initiatives throughout the company,” said Roberts. “She is a first-rate transactional lawyer and is unafraid to take on any substantive assignment. From IT contracts to complex regulatory matters she always adds value.”

McClellan supervises two members of Crowley’s legal team, and serves as the legal representative on numerous important company projects, including a cyber-security task force, the new Crowley Cares Foundation, and many others. With extensive experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and compliance, McClellan is responsible for a wide array of legal matters.

“She consistently brings innovative ideas and a valuable perspective to each project,” said Roberts. “She anticipates needs extremely well, and brings professionalism, great energy and good humor to all. She is a source of positive encouragement, support, and reinforcement to those around her who seek to model her best behaviors.”

Prior to joining Crowley, McClellan served as a transactional attorney, strategic advisor and compliance counsel to multinational corporations while at a large law firm. She also served as a transactions and tax controversy advisor at a large professional services firm where she specialized in mergers and acquisitions, transaction integration, and taxation. McClellan has a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Florida, a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School, and a Master of Laws in Taxation degree from Boston University School of Law. McClellan is a licensed attorney in Florida and Massachusetts.

Tellus is Robertson’s strategic new ventures tool, designed to help exploration geoscientists rapidly understand petroleum geology at regional, basin, and play scale. It is the industry’s definitive exploration database, incorporating a comprehensive tabular database of petroleum systems data, with play-fairway maps delivered in industry-standard ArcGIS® format. Tellus helps explorers to understand the key play variables, trends, extensions, or missed potential in a consistent and easy-to-digest format. Tellus is complemented by Frogi, an extensive geochemical database and interface containing rock, oil, gas, and seep analyses from across the globe.

Example play fairway map showing distribution of fields, reservoir, seal and source kitchens linked to the play. Tellus provides rapid evaluation of proven and potential play elements, concepts and risks for over 2400 plays in 430 basins worldwide.

The 2015 Release 2 update offers significant technical and scientific improvements driven by client feedback and leveraging expertise from across CGG GeoConsulting. The new release includes geological model updates to every major oil- and gas-producing region of the Tellus world, with particular focus on exploration hotspots and emerging markets.

A completely revised suite of over 250 paleogeographic maps is now available across all 32 regions of the Tellus world. These new maps represent the latest scientific thinking, and are based on Robertson’s industry-leading Plate Wizard™ deformable tectonic model and Merlin⁺ source and reservoir facies prediction project. For the very first time, Tellus paleogeographic maps are based on a huge database containing thousands of control points for every time-slice, and have been drafted in consultation with technical experts from across CGG GeoConsulting.

Another important add-on upgrade to the Tellus world is the availability of a newly completed North Sea region. The North Sea remains an active region for oil and gas players due to attractive fiscal conditions and well-developed infrastructure. The Tellus North Sea region focuses on areas of remaining exploration potential, including the East Shetland Platform, Norwegian–Danish Basin, Ringkobing Fyn-High and the Mid North Sea High, as well as documenting and mapping petroleum systems of the Northern North Sea, Moray Firth, Central Graben and Southern North Sea. Tellus: North Sea draws on 20 Robertson multi-client studies in the region, Robertson’s Target (unique play evaluation tool), Global Fields, and Frogi databases, as well as public domain data.

Mark Weber, Senior Vice President of CGG GeoConsulting, said: “Tellus and Frogi are proven tools in Robertson’s integrated portfolio of global and regional multi-client geological products, and Tellus is relied upon by Independents, NOCs and Supermajors operating across the globe for fast assimilation of geological information, or for a second opinion on the petroleum potential of a region, basin, or play. With the capabilities of both tools being regularly enhanced to meet client requirements and benefitting from the latest geological insights of our GeoConsulting experts, they play an essential role in the screening toolkits of New Ventures groups and explorationists to inform and shorten their decision-making process.”

Churchill Drilling Tools, a specialist engineering company delivering market-leading and innovative drilling solutions to the global oil and gas industry, has announced the opening of its new Dubai office following international success and growing demand for its technologies.

Churchill will officially open its new Dubai office at the beginning of January 2016 to enhance its support structure in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia Pacific regions. This new hub will be key to the perpetual success and growth of the company as it continues to expand internationally.

“The focus for Churchill Drilling Tools going into 2016 is to be the leading provider of activated technology within the string in all our operating regions as we continue to expand and break into new markets,” said director Mike Churchill.

“This growth will bring with it the benefits that Churchill’s tools can provide, alongside the experience and expertise of a company focused on innovation to deliver excellence, to the international market.”

The company is enjoying a record business year at its Houston base, which significantly encouraged the investment into the new facility in the Middle East. Developing and strengthening of Churchill’s Houston operations saw a significant increase in revenues, as the benefits of investment in its own offices and workshop facility in the US enabled it to greatly improve all aspects of its export business. Churchill aims to replicate this success at its new base in Dubai.

Heading the Dubai office is general manager Nicholas Kjaer, who has more than 12 years’ experience in energy management roles, of which 10 years have been based in the Middle East. He has been involved in drilling operations, on projects spanning from the Middle East to China, Russia, Norway and Denmark.

Nicholas said: "It is exciting to be part of a company that keeps moving from success to success by bringing innovative technology to the market. The launch of our Middle East office will ensure we can cater even more efficiently to our clients here in the region.”

Mike Churchill added: “Following our achievements this year, we are pleased that we are able to enhance our global footprint. It is also an extremely exciting time for our employees, as we go from strength to strength and continue to deliver superior value to our clients across all regions.

“The success and growth of our activities globally has also led to a significant recruitment drive. Several new roles have been created in the company within last six months to cater for the expansion in exports alone, and we would hope see that number increase in 2016, as we look to outperform last year’s figures.”

Wood Group has been awarded a new contract by PetroRio to deliver services to the Polvo A platform, in the southern Campos basin, approximately 100 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Integrated operations and maintenance services will be provided by Wood Group PSN under the two year contract, which is effective immediately.

The contract builds on Wood Group’s experience supporting the Polvo field, which consists of a fixed production and drilling platform connected to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). Wood Group Kenny has held two contracts to provide integrity management support to the field, the most recent of which completed in early 2015.

Robin Watson, chief executive of Wood Group, said: “We look forward to beginning this new partnership with PetroRio, where our focus will be on working collaboratively to deliver safe, efficient and effective services.

“Our experience operating in Brazil, alongside our strong history of supporting offshore assets across their life cycle in the North Sea, positions us well and we are committed to leveraging our knowledge and expertise to optimize the productivity of the Polvo A platform.”

Rob Spillard (photo) brings over twenty-five years’ experience in the offshore survey industry and will take overall responsibility for the technical direction of the Wirral-based company. Having previously performed key roles at Fugro EMU, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Rob will play an intrinsic part in the continuing growth of the company.

As part of the company’s focus on efficiency, the newly created role has followed a restructuring of the senior management team, which included the appointment of Mick Slater to Operations Director earlier this year. Bibby HydroMap Managing Director Andrew McLeay comments: “We are very pleased to have Rob join us as a key member of the executive board. I am looking forward to working closely with him during what is a very challenging time for much of offshore industry but one which also throws up a series of exciting opportunities for Bibby HydroMap as we continue to develop our range of services.”

Rob comments: “I’m both excited and delighted to join the company. Bibby HydroMap’s focus on a quality product, together with their investment in new, state-of-the-art vessels and innovative technologies like the d’ROP survey platform were all aspects that made me keen to join the team. I am thrilled to be a part of the company and look forward to working with our customers in 2016”.

M-I SWACO has developed a new technological solution and has now been awarded a contract with Statoil that is valued at around NOK 500 million, including options.

Statoil has not used this type of technology on supply vessels before but M-I SWACO has used the technology on its own vessels. This is the first time that the Schlumberger company M-I SWACO has commercialized the technology.

This is what the M-I SWACO tank cleaning module looks like.

"The solution increases the safety of our personnel as there is no need to enter the tanks and we reduce both time use and costs," says Jone Stangeland, vice president of logistics and emergency preparedness at Statoil.

The supply vessels transport chemicals in tanks below deck. When the tanks are emptied offshore they must be cleaned before being used for other assignments.

Manual tank cleaning is carried out by emptying the tanks of residual volume before personnel enter them, erect scaffolding and rinse with water and chemical cleaning agents.

Manual tank cleaning normally generates a high volume of waste and a typical clean can involve 10–15 cubic meters per assignment.

"By cleaning the water in the same operation, the volume of waste is reduced significantly," says Stangeland.

The new system will fit onto a lorry, and once the system has replaced manual cleaning, vessels will spend much less unproductive time while docked in connection with tank cleaning.

They will also be equipped with a marine generator that can be used instead of the main engine, when the vessel is docked.

"We have also specified strict requirements for NOx emissions and all new vessels are equipped with trip computers so that the crew can monitor fuel consumption, and adjust the speed and log fuel consumption more efficiently," says Stangeland.

Wood Group has been awarded a main contractor framework agreement worth approximately $400 million to deliver maintenance and modification services to four Statoil installations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Wood Group Mustang Norway will provide this support for the Snorre A&B, Grane and Visund facilities over the term of the six year contract, with the option of a further four-year extension. The agreement is expected to create approximately 250 jobs.

In addition, Wood Group Mustang Norway has been awarded a competition agreement, which will enable the company to tender for individual projects for Statoil operated onshore and offshore installations in Norway. This agreement covers a period of 10 years that starts in the first quarter of 2016.

Otto Søberg, president of Wood Group Mustang Norway AS, said: “This is a breakthrough for Wood Group on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and we look forward to building on our existing relationship with Statoil. The work secured will call for a considerable build-up of the offices in Bergen and Stavanger and we will undergo a recruitment campaign to enhance our key talent and bring the best expertise to the projects.”

Wood Group Mustang Norway has been active on the NCS for more than 20 years. The company has been working closely with Statoil on their Statoil Technical Efficiency Programme (STEP). These awards follow the results achieved by Wood Group Mustang Norway on ongoing modification projects for Statoil such as Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen and Kollsnes.

With an emphasis on efficiency improvements, Seadrill has chosen to extend its leasing of the SafeEx tablet-based software module for Ex inspections and registration, for use on seven units. At the same time, three new ones have also been added.

To further optimise their already quite modern fleet, Seadrill initiated a working relationship in March 2013 with SafeEx, a Danish company, whose products include software for Ex inspections that streamline procedures, improve documentation and increase safety.

Since then, Seadrill has leased the SafeEx Software for a total of 14 drilling rigs, including the seven for which the licenses were expiring and which have been renewed now for either one or three years. In addition, three new agreements were signed.

Ex inspections using the SafeEx Software are performed for Seadrill by third-party inspection firms, such as K2 Velosi for example. Previously, these inspections were conducted using pen and paper, but with the software solution from SafeEx they are now performed using a tablet containing General Arrangement (G.A.) Drawings and checklists for the unit concerned.

G.A. Drawings are interactive maps of the area concerned on the unit, where pointers show the equipment's exact position. Inspections of each individual piece of equipment are initiated by using the tablet to scan an RFID tag affixed to the equipment. This loads the related checklists, and data is registered directly. At the same time, it is possible to reposition equipment or register new equipment in the map.

"The G.A. Drawings provide extremely useful functionality. They are more efficient, simple to use and save time in comparison to the paper system previously used", says Oliver Donahue, Lead Inspector & Electrical Supervisor for K2 Velosi.

Inspectors can also take pictures with the tablet, for example of defects or non-conformities, and register them. In addition, the SafeEx Software features the significant benefit that all information is made available to onshore management instantaneously once the inspection has been performed.

According to K2 Velosi, this has both optimised the work procedures as well as improved documentation and safety, with further optimisation being expected for maintenance in future due to the system now having been implemented and become a natural part of the procedures.

"The SafeEx Software is a big improvement from the old system", emphasises Oliver Donahue.

The SafeEx Software is DNV approved and in addition to Seadrill is also used by companies such as Statoil, Petronas, TRESE/PEMEX, DONG Energy, Noble Drilling and BW Offshore.

With recent type approval of an 81-meter-high evacuation system, VIKING has answered the needs of offshore fixed and jack-up rigs to handle extreme heights.

Leading maritime safety equipment and servicing manufacturer VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S has received type approval from Lloyd’s Register for its new offshore evacuation chute system, certified to operate at an unprecedented evacuation height of 81 meters to sea level.

“The system’s certified evacuation capacity is 146 people in just 10 minutes, comfortably beating the threshold required by maritime authorities, even from such an extreme height,” says Kristian Ellertsen, Norway-based Offshore Technical Manager for the company.

In 2013, Noble Corporation plc, one of the world’s the largest offshore drilling contractors, was in the early planning stage of its CJ70 jack-up rig for delivery in 2016. The company required an evacuation system that could cope with the rig’s unprecedented height, but the previous record for such a system, held by VIKING, was ‘only’ 64 meters.

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces the award of a sizeable⁽¹⁾ contract by Burullus Gas Company S.A.E. for the platform extension and tie-in on the first phase of the West Nile Delta development of the Taurus and Libra fields by BP, offshore Egypt.

Engineering and project management work will commence immediately and will be undertaken at Subsea 7's Cairo office and Subsea 7's Global Projects Centre in London. Fabrication of the deck extension and spools will be carried out at the Petrojet Maadia yard near Alexandria. Offshore work is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2016 using Subsea 7's Rockwater 2 as the main hook-up and accommodation vessel with Seven Borealis performing the offshore lift of the platform extension and the heavy construction vessel, Seven Arctic, installing the umbilical.

Oeyvind Mikaelsen, Executive Vice President Southern Hemisphere and Global Projects said: "This contract recognizes the value we bring to our clients through early engagement to engineer, design and deliver cost-effective solutions for complex field developments. We look forward to expanding our presence in Egypt and building a long, successful and collaborative relationship with Burullus."

(1) Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between USD 50 million and USD 150 million.

• Extending life of Schiehallion and Loyal fields

• Contracts for Hook up & commissioning and follow-on engineering

Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it has been awarded three contracts by BP to provide services to the Glen Lyon Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel as part of the Quad 204 Project, located 175 km west of the Shetland Isles, UK. The three reimbursable contracts are worth £31.5 million and will create 100 onshore and 50 offshore jobs.

The hook up and commissioning contract, worth £27 million, will run through to June 2017. Amec Foster Wheeler will hook up the new Glen Lyon FPSO to the Schiehallion and Loyal fields as part of the BP’s Quad 204 redevelopment, extending the life of the two fields, enabling them to continue production beyond 2035.

Amec Foster Wheeler will also provide follow-on engineering as part of a contract for any residual works that emerge during the transition from the yard in Korea to BP operations. This contract continues to June 2017.

Amec Foster Wheeler’s completions and commissioning specialist, qedi, is providing electrical and instrument technicians as part of the commissioning support to the Glen Lyon hook up. This £2 million contract will run through to June 2017.

Alan Johnstone, Amec Foster Wheeler’s Managing Director for Upstream Asset Solutions, said:

“We are delighted to work with BP on their Quad 204 redevelopment, which extends field life and contributes to the future sustainability of the Schiehallion and Loyal fields. The three contracts allow Amec Foster Wheeler to demonstrate its leading hook up and commissioning capabilities, whilst ensuring a focus on safe and efficient operations.”

Amec Foster Wheeler has been providing hook up and commissioning services to BP’s two new Clair Ridge platforms since 2013.

BP announced last week that the Glen Lyon has started sea trials as it begins its journey towards the west of Shetland. The Glen Lyon left the Hyundai Heavy Industry quayside in Ulsan, South Korea, on Saturday 5th December. It will now complete approximately two weeks of sea trials, after which it will return to the quayside for final class and flag approvals to certify it as a ship, a prerequisite before the long tow to west of Shetland can commence.