Norway-based boat system and davit-handling specialist Vestdavit has secured a breakthrough order for its unique MissionEase multi-boat handling solution for mission bays, under contract to offshore support vessel owner Esvagt.
Multi-boat handling on the high seas will be a defining characteristic of flexibility for offshore ships in the years ahead, according to Vestdavit, and MissionEase’s fast and safe solution for transferring boats between storage and davit is expected to enhance the attraction of ships up for charter.
MissionEase is the first multi-boat handling system in the offshore segment which has been designed from its conception for the widest array of ancillary craft, including RIBS, ROVs and Unmanned Support Vessels. It uses a system of hydraulic cradles running along the mission bay deck to move boats from their stowage positions to the maintenance, preparation or launch areas, whose patented feeding system links seamlessly with dual or single-point davits on either side of the vessel.
Esvagt has specified the innovative MissionEase in-hangar boat transfer system for installation onboard a crew change vessel under construction at Spanish shipbuilder Astillero Zamakona. The system will have capacity for four boats, with a transverse MissionEase cradle with lift and lowering capability feeding boats to one Vestdavit TDB telescopic davits on each side of ship.
“The mission bay is becoming a key capability for vessels offshore, where flexibility in operations can be the most significant attraction,” said Vestdavit Managing Director Rolf Andreas Wigand. “We are delighted that a company whose reputation has been built on operating some of the industry’s most flexible ships is the early first adopter of MissionEase.
The Esvagt crew boat installation will feature four fixed boat supports on deck, adaptable to accommodate three different boat types, plus one transverse cradle with lift and lowering capability. The cradles move across the ship, picking up boats from the supports and feeding them to the davits for launching.
With its own braking system, MissionEase allows boats to be moved within the bay, even in high seas or with a list on the vessel for launching, or back to stow when recovered. A single operator can control both davits and the cradle system by remote control, while the system also benefits from a manual back-up, with accumulators built-on for emergency operations in case of blackouts.
As part of the Esvagt contract, Vestdavit is also delivering a Workboat davit to accommodate a daughter craft onboard, with an SWL telescopic painter boom.
“Many existing multi-boat handling systems rely on overhead gantries to lift boats within the bay. This can be hazardous when ships are in motion, while slinging and unslinging boats consumes precious time that operators cannot afford,” said Wigand. “MissionEase brings together all of our experience with naval and seismic ships to ensure the benefits of the mission bay can be successfully applied across a growing range of offshore vessel types.” Access a video showing the MissionEase system in operation.
Trelleborg's offshore operation in Norway is expanding its production capability with a new manufacturing line. The addition will complement its current range of thermal insulation materials by adding Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE) powder coating and polypropylene (PP) to its portfolio, solidifying the company’s leading position as a subsea system thermal insulation provider.
Hans Leo Hals, Managing Director of Trelleborg's offshore operation in Norway, says: "We are very excited to expand our offerings to our customers with additional materials and a wider product range. The new materials complement our current activities and ensures we continue to focus on our customers first, allowing us to offer the optimum solution based on customers’ project requirements, meeting their cost and performance needs."
In addition, to establish and operate the new production line initiative, Trelleborg will strengthen its team with two new hires. With a combined experience of over 40 years working with thermoplastics, Eirik Simonsen and Adam Jackson, will take on the roles of Thermal Insulation Business Group Director and Technical Manager.
Simonsen says: "I am delighted to work on establishing the new production line and look forward to introducing new materials to our customers. It is extremely important to meet customer needs and we believe we are now better equipped to do so.”
The new production line will be built at Trelleborg's facility based in Krokstadelva, Norway and is planned to initially occupy 1,000 square meters. The initiative will add FBE powder coating and PP material options to the facilities vast range of Vikotherm™ thermal insulation materials including rubber, silicone, glass syntactic polyurethane and solid polyurethane. The manufacturing line should be in production from quarter one of 2017.
Add Energy, the international oil and gas upstream consultancy provider, has doubled its workforce in Aberdeen and Houston to 55 personnel as a result of recent UK and abroad contract wins.
The contract wins, which include BP and two additional oil and gas operators and expansion into power generation, has allowed the company to secure the jobs for the next three years in its asset and integrity management division, despite the current low oil price environment.
Add Energy has recently seen an increase in business, acquiring a number of contracts for maintenance optimisation and cost saving solutions to support companies operating in the challenging environment.
Peter Adam, Executive Vice President, Add Energy commented: “We are thrilled to have increased the headcount in our Aberdeen office, especially at a time when many companies are looking to reduce personnel. We have endeavoured to recruit locally during the process to ensure opportunities for both the development and employment of graduate engineers in the city.”
“Recruiting locally also allowed us to attain the local expertise and build a pool of highly experienced principle engineers to consult for our clients and also mentor and coach younger engineers for the future.”
Add Energy plan to invest further into the local economy and secure work for another 10 personnel before the end of 2016 in order to continue the business, and service other clients and contracts.
Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), announced on Monday that it has an agreement to sell 100 percent of its record title interest in Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon Blocks 114, 158, 202 and 248, referred to as the Brutus/Glider assets, to EnVen Energy Corporation, through its affiliate EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC. In line with Shell’s global divestment plans, this transaction includes $425 million in cash.
The transaction is expected to close in October.
Shell Brutus oil platform. Photo credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer
The Brutus/Glider assets include the Brutus Tension Leg Platform (TLP), the Glider subsea production system, and the oil and gas lateral pipelines used to evacuate the production from the TLP.
The Brutus/Glider assets have a combined current production estimate of approximately 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Shell is a leading, global deep-water operator, with a strong development pipeline and production on-stream in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and Malaysia as well as exploration and appraisal opportunities. Shell currently produces approximately 600,000 boe/d and plans to increase production to more than 900,000 boe/d by the early 2020s from already discovered, established reservoirs.
Semco Maritime has been awarded a contract on Atex Management Services including software supplied by SafeEx for inspection of approximately 30,000 pieces of equipment in Maersk Oil's Culzean project.
After a bidding round, it is official that Semco Maritime will be suppliers of a system based on the SafeEx Software for inspections in Maersk Oil's Culzean gas field. The software will be used to perform the initial Ex-inspections on a production platform, which consists of a residential platform, a process platform, a wellhead platform and a FSO operating in the field.
Though the system initially will be used for Ex-inspections, there is a further desire to use it for mechanical completion and other maintenance and inspection tasks. The system will be integrated to Maersk Oil’s ERP systems SAP and technical completion system PIM360.
SafeEx’ tablet-based inspection and maintenance software allows you to perform all routines in one procedure.
- The advantage of the SafeEx Software is that the system provides a uniform way to make inspections that increases safety and save 30 to 60 percent on man-hours, says Market and Business Development Manager Erik Grønborg from Semco Maritime, who for years has designed and produced equipment for Maersk Oil.
SafeEx’ tablet-based inspection and maintenance software allows you to perform all routines in one procedure. Technologically it is the leading solution on the market right now.
A standard rig or platform typically have 30 to 40 different checklists for inspections, but the SafeEx Software converts these checklist into electronic tasks. The tasks are conducted in guidance from the hand-held tablet using integrated layout drawings. This gives a significant reduction in the number of man-hours.
Each piece of equipment has a RFID chip installed, which is approved for Ex zone 1. This enables the software in the handheld device to create an electronic time-stamp and a full electronic audit trail. After each completion of an inspection, all information is instantly available online both off-shore on the unit and among the onshore management.
- Our mission with the tablet-based software solution has been to streamline work procedures of inspections, in order to make them faster, easier and more cost-effective in performance. In addition, there is the whole safety aspect in which our software provides a full overview of the maintenance condition, explains CEO Henrik Andersen from SafeEx.
The contract with Maersk Oil is one of the largest installation in terms of number of equipment that SafeEx has ever won. Besides the fact that the system will be used at Maersk Oil, the DNV GL-verified SafeEx Software is being used for inspections at among others Petronas, Statoil, Dong Energy, Seadrill, Noble, BW Offshore, Aker Solutions and Arla Foods.
The Maersk Oil operated Culzean project is located about 145 miles east of Aberdeen and is one of the largest gas discoveries in the UK North Sea.
The first gas from the project is expected in 2019 and it is expected to provide for around five percent of UK’s total gas consumption by 2020/21 with a peak production rate of 400 to 500 million standard cubic feet per day.
U.S. Crude Stocks Build AgainCrude stocks continued to build, rising by 2.3 million barrels this past week, as imports surged to a multi-year high while the inventories of the three major light products were about flat. For next week, PIRA sees lower crude imports, higher runs, and reduced production due to weather-related shut-ins, and causing a large crude stock decline. Cushing crude stocks declined 1.04 million barrels this past week, and lower Canadian imports should ensure another significant decline in next week’s EIA data.
On Tuesday, August 30, NYMEX October futures assumed prompt-month status and immediately saw a sharp bout of selling. In particular, prices have been in a steady state of erosion since topping ~$2.90/MMBtu to start the week, as Thursday’s outsized storage report and less supportive weather forecasts, showing potentially cooler temperatures aided by tropical storm activity, have weighed on sentiment.
While the eclipse of coal in the U.K. comes with little surprise, the behavior of coal units on the Continent is now more intriguing. While older and inefficient units have clearly moved out of the money, a more interesting issue is at which point the most efficient coal units will start switching off. Generation data show gas trending higher in Germany, although steam coal is still generally dominating the German mix.
Forward coal pricing moved notably higher this week, with prices rising initially due to the suspension of loading activity at Puerto Bolivar, although after the suspension was lifted, prices rose to even loftier highs. In fact, 4Q16 prices for FOB Newcastle and API#2 are now just marginally below their recent highs. For prompt pricing, API#4 forwards generally underperformed relative to API#2 and FOB Newcastle, giving FOB the premium spot back. Continued strength in the Chinese market remains the driving force for pricing, as it is becoming increasingly apparent that the limitation of working days at Chinese coal mines will not be relaxed.
The RGGI cap and trade program is at a crossroads, as partners negotiate the post-2020 cap declines, with PJM states reportedly resisting the steeper reductions favored by New England and NEPOOL looking at an alternate wholesale market structure. RGGI prices received a boost from the June Stakeholder Meeting, but declined on news of the NY nuclear subsidies in July. August prices averaged lower than July, but were moving towards the $5 mark. PIRA expects the Sept. 7th auction to be dominated by compliance buying as the market continues to await a draft Model Rule, expected this fall. Longer term, it must be decided whether the RGGI price signal will be the primary mechanism to reach climate goals.
Global equities posted another gain on the week. In the U.S., the “growth” indicator outperformed the “defensive” indicator. Banking, materials, and utilities, led the performance. Energy was down slightly, -0.4%. The international tracking indices also gained, with China, emerging markets, and Europe doing the best.
The seasonal meltdown in tanker markets in this year’s third quarter has been especially severe, and little relief is anticipated before 4Q 2016. OPEC production growth is slowing and is not adequate to offset rapid fleet growth this year or next. Nigerian production outages and competition from VLCCs have decimated rates in the Suezmax sector, which have been driven well below cash operating cost levels.
Asian LPG markets were the standout winners last week with notable outperformance vs. broader markets. Prices in the destination market were buoyed by increases in Saudi contract prices from September FOB loaders. Cash and futures prices for propane converged to near $300/MT after 3% declines last week. Butane prices were mostly unchanged, being called near $328/MT on Friday afternoon.
Stocks build to highest level in six weeks. Output of ethanol-blended gasoline dropped for the fourth straight week.
The first full week of metrological autumn will see both combines roll and a rather dramatic cool down in the NW Belt. Low temperatures will be in the mid-30’s as far south as Cedar Falls, Iowa, by Thursday, September 8 even though it would appear that freezing temperatures will not infringe on major growing areas.
This week saw finished stocks draw 1.7 MMBbls, with noted declines in naphtha and gasoil stocks. Crude stocks were only marginally lower. Runs also eased slightly, but they will show more significant drops in the next few weeks. Gasoline demand remained strong, but stocks built slightly on higher yield and lower exports. Gasoil demand rebounded with lower yield and strong exports, and stocks began to correct a four-week rise. Kerosene stocks continued to build. Refining margins remain very weak, though there was some improvement in cracks in the last week.
After a bottom for the year seen in July, a reversal in German gas generation is currently underway, and with 2.5 GW dispatched in August, gas is up by 37% month-on-month and 66% year-on-year. Lower power flows from historically cheaper France have been a major relief for German conventional/thermal generators, albeit August saw both higher solar generation (+1.1 GW), together with higher wind output (over 1 GW year-on-year), dampening the bullish impact of the lower French flows.
While France has been seen shifting toward net importer status from Belgium and Germany, PIRA sees an unprecedented market context in Germany during September, when gas units will be more competitive against coal, and gas will potentially be able to meet — together with lignite — the entire need for fossil fuel generation. We have seen coal units ramping down during renewable-induced power prices collapses, but will coal switch off to allow gas to generate? German prices appear vulnerable to downsides in the shorter term, considering the resilience of coal-fired generation and further weakness ahead for gas prices. However, German winter prices are largely undervalued assuming our expected thermal demand (~36 GW on average). This level of thermal demand requires prices in the low €30/MWh, at current fuel prices.
U.S. RIN values rise early in the month, but fall later. Brazilian ethanol output declines in the first half of August.
Corn yield comparisons to 2014 have given traders that déjà vu feeling all over again. Always searching for some sort of analog, the late-September/mid-December 50 cent corn rally in 2014 is starting to draw comparisons to 2016, although the Funds aren’t looking at it that way. With the 2016 rally a month earlier than in 2015, some are of the opinion that this year’s recovery can also be a month earlier than 2014.
We estimate that incremental gasoline demand over five U.S. public holidays averages about 290 MB/D. Downstream buying begins as early as two to three weeks before major holidays like the end-of-year Christmas/New Year period. Dealer buying for minor holidays appears to take place a week before or even in the same week.
Garnering perhaps more attention than the fact that YTD Indian LNG imports (uncontracted) of Australian LNG have registered 5 mmcm/d versus no first half buying in 2015, Chevron has announced the finalization of a long-sought supply contract with China's ENN for volumes from Gorgon. Although the volumes are, at just under 1-bcm/yr., low compared with previous China/Australia contracts, the contract is notable for several reasons.
Although on-peak prices remained volatile in August, weaker cooling loads in the Southwest reduced Palo Verde average prices by about $4/MWh from July. SP15 prices also edged lower, but warmer weather, lower hydro output and rising gas prices led to a small gain at NP15 and a sizable jump at Mid-Columbia (+$4). Implied heat rates have been supported this year by weak gas prices and strong cooling loads, but we expect heat rates to move lower through 2018 in response to a rebound in gas prices and rising solar capacity. Southwest coal and California gas retirements will not provide sufficient support to avert weakness.
The Chinese market continued to be a sizably net bullish factor for seaborne coal prices despite the normalization of weather conditions. Domestic coal production continues to fall; thermal coal imports are comfortably above prior-year levels for the year-to-date. Seaborne coal supply growth will remain limited, while the demand side is showing some improvement. While the considerable pricing rally that has occurred over the past eight months has started to fade, we believe that there continues to be more upside to prices, with a bullish oil pricing outlook providing much of the stimulus.
U.S. August job growth fell somewhat short of market expectations, but it did not represent a disappointment. On a trend basis, the labor market has picked up pace considerably. In spite of a tightening in labor conditions, wage growth (based on average hourly earnings) has not accelerated. There are flickering signs, however, that this may soon change. Recent data from emerging markets (such as the August confidence readings from China, and July industrial production for South Korea and Brazil) were constructive for the outlook.
EIA just released its final monthly June 2016 (PSM) U.S. oil supply/demand data. June 2016 demand came in at 19.83 MMB/D, which was 100 MB/D better than PIRA had assumed in its balances. Demand grew 1.2% versus year-ago, or 242 MB/D moving back closer to the 296 MB/D average growth seen Feb.-Apr. Gasoline and kerojet outperformed the barrel average, with gains of 2.9% (273 MB/D) and 4.7% (77 MB/D), respectively. Gasoline performance was in line with the improved June VMT growth, which was 3.2% versus 2% in May. End-June total commercial stocks stood at 1,382.4 MMBbls, which were 7.6 MMBbl higher than the preliminaries, but 9.5 MMBbls lower than PIRA had assumed in its balances.
The Argentinian government is set to propose a lower price hike for residential gas following a rejection of original increase by the Supreme Court. The new price model was decided September 1, Infobae reported, without saying how it obtained the information. The government will submit the new price increase in a non-binding national public hearing scheduled for Sept. 16. S&P 500 Moves Higher The S&P 500 closed slightly higher on the week. As would be expected, volatility moved lower, while high yield debt and emerging market debt indices generally held firm. The dollar mostly strengthened, and the total commodity index fell back on the week.
EIA recently released its June oil balances. Domestic crude supply, which is domestic crude production plus the balancing item, declined to a new cyclical low of 8.81 MMB/D. This is the lowest figure seen since June 2014. From the April 2015 peak, the decline has been a cumulative 1.15 MMB/D, or about a 10%, annualized decline rate. Domestic field crude production also reached its lowest level since June 2014, and the year-on-year decline rate reaccelerated back to about 620 MB/D, or -6.6%.
Broader fundamental considerations will drive prices beyond $3/MMBtu before year end. While such levels are likely to be sustained into 2017, there is an “expiration date” attached to such heights, especially if end-March storage is left near 2 TCF.
Saudi Arabia's formula prices for October were just released. With more crude available for sale in October due to refinery maintenance, pricing in Asia and the U.S. was made less generous to customers. This sends a constructive message to the market.
The Rough outage announcement in June sent storage spreads to levels unseen for several years, encouraging a full Continent to inject as much as possible to help the U.K. with its storage shortfall. Now that Rough is back, there is a lot of gas in storage that is hedged to withdraw in 1Q, and it could spell trouble for deliveries.
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.
Aker Solutions is introducing a new executive management team as part of a broader reorganization aimed at further strengthening operational and financial performance and better meeting customer needs.
The new organization will have five delivery centers: Customer Management, Front End, Products, Projects and Services. This set-up will help drive further standardization and accelerate a companywide improvement program to boost cost-efficiency by at least 30 percent by the end of 2017. The new team will be operational from Nov. 1.
"We are taking this step to generate even greater synergies across the group and enhance our ability to create value for customers and shareholders," said Chief Executive Officer Luis Araujo. "The move will speed up our global improvement efforts by putting in place even leaner workflows, eliminating duplication and cultivating our strengths as a leading offshore oil-services provider."
As part of the plan, Dean Watson has been named chief operating officer. Watson joins from Schlumberger, where he has held various leadership positions, and will report to Araujo.
The other executive management team members were selected internally. Valborg Lundegaard, currently head of Engineering, will lead the customer management center. Svenn Ivar Fure will continue to lead the company's front end efforts. Egil Boyum, currently head of the subsea business in Europe and Africa, will lead the products center. Knut Sandvik will lead the projects center, moving from being head of Maintenance, Modifications and Operations. David Clark, currently regional head for Europe and Africa, will lead the services center.
Svein Stoknes will remain as chief financial officer and Mark Riding will continue as head of strategy. "The new set-up will facilitate a strategy to grow our services organization and pursue a more international business with a diverse customer base," said Araujo. "It will build on the consistently strong execution we're showing on major projects globally."
Current Head of Subsea Alan Brunnen and Head of Operational Improvement and Risk Management Tore Sjursen will remain at Aker Solutions through to the end of the year to maintain the good momentum and help in the transition to a new structure.
"I wish to thank both Tore and Alan for their strong dedication and valuable contribution over many years in the development of Aker Solutions," said Araujo. "I wish them every success."
The company will continue to report financial figures for the third quarter, fourth quarter and full year of 2016 based on the existing organizational structure.
Driven by the increasing requirements for harsh environment GustoMSC launches a new harsh environment drilling semi-submersible series: the OCEAN-HE. Based on the extensive experience in harsh environment and existing OCEAN designs, these units will add true value to the market in terms of safety, workability and efficiency.
The OCEAN850-HE and OCEAN1600-HE form the basis for respectively the mid water and deep water harsh environment regions of operations. The semi-submersible hull shape is especially designed for low motion characteristics and optimum station keeping capabilities.
The OCEAN1600-HE is the top of the range and the largest drilling semi design by GustoMSC to date. With a maximum displacement of approximately 70,000 tons, a large derrick, DP3 and a 16 point mooring system for station keeping, combined with a large deck area and large variable deck load, it aims at the high spec deep water spectrum. It is designed to cope with the North Atlantic environmental conditions. With the OCEAN850-HE a cost efficient midwater harsh environment design is provided. In the current market CAPEX needs to be controlled as well as the OPEX, to enable to work profitably at a reasonable day rate. It resulted in a moored-only harsh environment semi-submersible of approximately 50,000 tons displacement with a water depth rating of 1,000 meters and a 6th generation efficient single derrick combined with horizontal riser storage.
GustoMSC has been involved in the design and engineering of semi-submersibles since the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, Keppel Fels-DTG and GustoMSC teamed up to develop the DSS series of drilling semisubmersibles, including the Maersk D-rigs, the Gold Star and the Floatel DSS20-NS designs. This successful development is still continuing.
GustoMSC’s proprietary OCEAN series, started in 2008, has also become a success story with five units built and introduced within weight, budget and time. With the introduction of the OCEAN-HE series GustoMSC is able to provide full coverage of the harsh environment drilling spectrum.
Statoil and Petrobras took a step forward in strengthening their cooperation in Brazil by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU was signed by Statoil CEO, Eldar Sætre (left), and Petrobras CEO, Pedro Parente. (Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland)
The intention of the MoU is to evaluate joint participation in future tenders for exploration areas and to increase upstream collaboration in producing fields in the Santos and Campos offshore basins.
The agreement also sets out a potential framework for cooperation on value creating opportunities in the gas value chain.
The agreement was signed by Petrobras’ president and CEO Pedro Parente and Statoil’s CEO Eldar Sætre during the ONS 2016 conference in Stavanger.
It follows the agreement in July 2016 whereby Statoil acquired Petrobras’ 66% operated interest of the BM-S-8 offshore license in the Santos basin, subject to government approval. "This MoU reflects our long-term commitment to Brazil and is a result of our strong and long-standing relationship with Petrobras. Collaboration with partners like Petrobras, a company well-known for its technical expertise and profound knowledge about one of our core strategic areas, represents an excellent opportunity for us. We hope that this will result in significant value creation potential for both parties”, says Statoil CEO, Eldar Sætre.
Petrobras and Statoil through this agreement will continue their exploration strategic alliance, with the intent to define opportunities in the pre-salt polygon of the Santos and Campos basin. The companies aim to capture value through application of technology and simplification of operational activities. Currently, Petrobras and Statoil are partners in 13 blocks in either exploration or production; 10 in Brazil and three abroad.
"We are moving into a strategic partnership that will be beneficial for both companies. Statoil has very high levels of oil recovery in their producing fields, for example, and we will have access to this experience and know-how through a partner, with obvious benefits for both sides", says Petrobras CEO, Pedro Parente.
The agreement has a horizon of two years, and the joint activities undertaken will depend on negotiations following the signing of the document.
Offshore surveys are a necessary precursor for both Oil & Gas (O&G) and renewable energy installations on the seafloor. Particularly for new projects in remote regions, surveys (oceanographic, geotechnical, geophysical etc.) are critical for successful project design and implementation. However, current market conditions are forcing all parties in the supply chain to rethink their approach.
Douglas-Westwood (‘DW’) has engaged with industry experts within the market on future strategy and operator expectations. Feedback includes the obvious – “outprice competitors”, “meet highest standards”, “be flexible to operators’ needs” and “specialise” – but this is tough advice for those who are already attempting to accommodate all of these factors whilst trying to remain afloat. Within the tech-heavy survey sector, however, utilisation of new, innovative technologies is particularly appreciated by technical teams within the offshore client base, and continues to be a source of differentiation in a crowded market place.
If widespread automation of offshore assets and survey tools can be accomplished, cost savings will be significant. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (‘AUV’) developments are therefore likely to play an increasingly important part in the future of the offshore survey market – DW’s World AUV Market Forecast shows a bright future for AUV demand, both for O&G and renewables.
As inertial navigation systems are refined, there is greater scope for exciting new tools to be piloted subsea: the use of technologies such as synthetic aperture sonar, seafloor drills and sea drones is set to rejuvenate operational methods and provide efficiency gains to the wider survey market.
Fresh technology could significantly advance offshore survey operations, acting as a differentiator for smaller companies in a difficult market. However, the ability of tech-driven companies to both invest in R&D and successfully commercialise it through the downturn will have a major bearing on their future prospects.
Celia Hayes, Douglas-Westwood London
Decom North Sea has appointed Nigel Lees as the new Chairman of the Board.
As Vice President responsible for Decommissioning at Wood Group, Mr. Lees has amassed considerable experience in decommissioning, as well as an extensive industry network, and has been an active member on the Decom North Sea board of directors for the past five years.
Nigel Less, Decom North Sea new chairman
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Lees said: “As the spotlight intensifies on decommissioning and how the industry will prepare for the challenges ahead, this is an exciting time for me to take up the reins as Chairman. I believe that Decom North Sea has a crucial role to play in representing its membership as the recognised body for the decommissioning supply chain, working closely with our industry partners and government to ensure these challenges are met and opportunities realised in the most appropriate manner.
“I look forward to utilising my knowledge of the industry and working closely with the board to ensure that Decom North Sea continues to be at the forefront of the decommissioning agenda.”
Roger Esson, Decom North Sea Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce Nigel's election to the post of Chairman, as we have valued his input and commitment to the body over the last five years.
“This is a challenging time for the North Sea industry in general, with late life asset management and decommissioning increasingly appearing on the agenda. I have no doubt that Nigel’s significant experience and network will contribute to helping our members - and the wider industry - understand and prepare for what lies ahead.”
Mr. Lees’ election follows the decision of Callum Falconer to step down after two years, during which time he was instrumental to the development of the organisation.
Decom North Sea will once again be hosting its annual Offshore Decommissioning Conference on 14-16 November, in conjunction with Oil & Gas UK. One of the main focuses of the event will be late life planning and asset management, which has been recognised as a significant opportunity for the industry in the decommissioning process.
CGG announced at ONS 2016 the launch of TopSeis™, the latest evolution in offshore broadband seismic, specifically designed to overcome the intrinsic lack of near offsets inherent in 3D towed-streamer seismic.
Exacerbated by the use of progressively wider spreads to meet the industry’s quest for greater efficiency, the lack of near offsets leads to an inability to image shallow geological features, such as faults, gas pockets, channels and stratigraphic pinch-outs, effectively. By overcoming this shortcoming, TopSeis enables exploration and development teams to make critical investment decisions on the basis of superior high-density broadband data delivered at a lower cost compared to other techniques, notably ocean bottom seismic.
TopSeis is the latest outcome of eight years of collaboration between Lundin Norway AS and CGG to develop innovative broadband solutions, including early benchmarking of CGG’s BroadSeis™ solution, to improve subsurface understanding and increase exploration success. Its dual-vessel acquisition design, which places CGG’s broadband source over a customized receiver spread, combined with proprietary imaging, is an industry first. Extensive field trials have shown TopSeis to be a highly-effective solution which delivers unsurpassed broadband imaging of shallow targets.
Turning the concept of shooting-over-the-spread acquisition into reality required a team of experts from multiple CGG business lines, including marine, multi-client, subsurface imaging and Sercel equipment.
TopSeis will play a key part in a forthcoming integrated geoscience study, including an extensive commercial survey CGG plans to acquire in the Barents Sea in 2017. This will offer other early adopters of this new technology the opportunity to benefit from the anticipated step-change in image quality for exploration and development in this region. TopSeis is also expected to have significant potential for applications in other areas offshore Norway as well as other parts of the world.
Halvor Jahre, Exploration Manager, Lundin Norway AS, said: “After successful close cooperation with CGG to develop, design and test the TopSeis acquisition concept, we view TopSeis as the next generation of broadband seismic acquisition. Results from a test offshore Gabon appear to confirm the data uplift indicated by modeling studies and we plan to move forward with full-scale TopSeis surveys on the Loppa High in the Barents Sea during 2017.”
Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGG, said: “CGG has once again drawn on the multi-disciplinary expertise within its integrated geoscience offering to spearhead another step-change in seismic imaging to enhance subsurface knowledge. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work so closely with Lundin on the development of TopSeis and look forward to seeing how this solution will open the door to a better understanding of shallow reservoirs to help oil and gas companies extract the full potential of these highly prospective fields in the Barents Sea and beyond. As we have seen with StagSeis™, the full-azimuth solution that we purpose-designed for subsalt imaging in the Gulf of Mexico, these made-to- measure approaches can prove very successful and reap dividends for the industry as a whole.”
Sparrows Group is set to further grow its presence in the Asian Pacific market following the formation of a partnership between Sparrows Offshore Services Pte Ltd and SapuraKencana Technology Sdn Bhd, the latter being a wholly-owned subsidiary of SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad.
The partnership will see both entities collaborating in the provision of offshore and onshore crane services including manufacturing, supply, operations, maintenance and overhaul of offshore and onshore cranes for the oil and gas industry in Malaysia.
SapuraKencana’s fabrication yard at Lumut, Sparrows Group will collaborate with the firm across Malaysia.
Sparrows Group is currently working with a number of drilling firms in Malaysia but this new alliance will see the group’s activity with operators in the country grow significantly.
Stewart Mitchell, chief executive officer at Sparrows Group, said: “SapuraKencana Petroleum is a prominent and well respected company and this partnership is right in many regards for us. It brings together two companies that have a reputation for delivering quality to the energy sector and SapuraKencana’s commitment to excellence is in line with our own values.
“Our specialist capabilities will complement SapuraKencana Petroleum’s diverse range of service offerings and we are confident that their knowledge and experience will support us in further establishing our presence in the country.”
Vivek Arora, Senior Vice President of Business Acquisition of SapuraKencana Petroleum said: “The collaboration with Sparrows Group will expand our range of service offerings in operations and maintenance (O&M) services. We are confident that this partnership will enable sharing of knowledge and technologies in providing high quality solutions to our clients in the oil and gas industry.”
Damen Trading’s story begins in 1986, with Damen Shipyards Group responding to growing market demand for used vessels. Since then, Damen Trading has gone on to sell over 500 used vessels, right across the maritime spectrum, developing along the way a reputation for personalized, reliable service.
The decision to establish Damen Trading was a logical one, says Senior Sales Manager Michel Radjiman “With Damen Marine Services already operating its own charter fleet, from the outset we had a lot of operational knowledge in-house. This helped us provide sound consultation to our clients, guiding them through the process of purchasing the right vessel for their requirements.”
Photo credit: Damen Trading
Mr. Radjiman says every sale is unique. The more than 500 vessels Damen Trading has sold to date have included offerings as varied as high-tech passenger catamarans and common river ferries to Damen Pushy Cats and large ASD Tugs. And, with the company’s international footprint, the diversity is guaranteed.
Damen Trading has always delivered a very personalized service to its clients, believing, like the Damen Shipyards Group generally, in the importance of developing relationships for the long term. Mr. Radjiman explains: “We have managed to create a large network of owners and clients who return to us time and again when they need to buy or sell a vessel. In this way we have developed the kind of partnership with our customers where trust and mutual respect are strong features, to the benefit of both parties.”
As part of this personal approach, Damen Trading’s Sales Managers and Sales Support team is there to assist clients with everything, be it the drawing up of sales documentation, conducting surveys, or simply arranging transportation necessary for viewing a vessel.
The brokerage business has changed enormously since 1986 when Damen Trading started out with just telex, a fax machine and a telephone. With the arrival of the internet, everyone can become a vessel broker. But, as Mr. Radjiman points out, not everyone has the track record of Damen Trading. “Coupled with the personal service, in which we take so much pride, we also have the experience to guide our clients throughout the entire sales process, from the initial first step to final delivery – and beyond. This is what makes the difference!”
With a total depth of 5,941 meters, Mærsk Gallant has beaten the record for deepest well ever drilled on the Norwegian continental shelf.
On 31 July, Mærsk Gallant drilled the Solaris ultra HPHT (high-pressure, high-temperature) well to a total depth of 5,941 meters TVD (True Vertical Depth).
Maersk Gallant. Photo courtesy: Maersk Drilling
This means that Mærsk Gallant has beaten the record for deepest well ever drilled on the Norwegian continental shelf.
"We have broken a number of records during the Solaris operation. But this achievement is second to none. There was a lot of cheering in the driller's cabin that day," says Sadi Ozturk, Assistant Rig Manager on Mærsk Gallant.
He continues:
"The Solaris exploration well is one of the most challenging wells in the North Sea. All crew members are very excited about this achievement."
In the Solaris project – together with the customer, Total E&P Norge – Maersk Drilling has taken a 15,000 psi rig and adapted the equipment and procedures in order to drill a reservoir section where predicted pore pressures are well in excess of 15,000 psi.
The demanding requirements of the customer have led to a wide variety of modifications on the rig.
Given the extreme circumstances, the rig team on Mærsk Gallant has set several records during the operation.
The list includes:
1: the largest and most complicated BOP stack rig up.
2: the biggest cement job (600 m3 cement slurry).
3: the heaviest casing run (1,2M lbs).
4: first time a 20K BOP has been nippled up (installed) and used to drill an ultra HPHT well.
At the moment, the crew members on Mærsk Gallant are in the process of plugging and abandoning the well and expect to commence the rig move in the beginning of September.
Kongsberg Maritime’s energy, handling and operational technology solutions are to be further combined in complete vessel concepts under a new ‘Integration’ strategy introduced at ONS 2016. KONGSBERG is creating a new integrated platform to enable solutions that network seamlessly to provide tangible benefits with efficient operations on vessels and ashore.
KONGSBERG’s unique integrated vessel concepts meet the current and future demands of customers in the seaborne, offshore and marine marketplaces. Each individual concept is tailored for specific vessel types and the unique integration provides a technology edge, by combining separate systems to enhance day-to-day performance and long-term asset management.
The new concepts are a natural evolution of KONGSBERG’s Full Picture approach and promise to deliver much-needed integrated performance through even greater operational efficiency. The concepts utilize distributed technology platform architecture, unified into a unique technology edge working as one across the energy, handling and operational solutions. This provides a mode-based operational environment that collects information, delivers analysis and empowers proof-enabled decision-making.
KONGSBERG’s unique integrated approach delivers cost savings and enhances vessel and fleet efficiency, safety, life-cycle management, reliability and availability with complete benefits on each, while strengthening decision making capabilities and enabling the continual optimization of energy use. The unified solutions also enhance on-shore expertise that can steer on-board activity, feeding into planning, monitoring and controlling complex operations, and making real-time decisions in close collaboration with crew, while also providing a layer for analysis. This improves performance, efficiency and productivity.
Redefining energy management to energy control using new technical energy solutions that work in harmony with dynamic operation environments to monitor, manage and optimize energy use is a key aspect of KONGSBERG’s new integration concepts. This results in optimal energy utilization, less environmental impact and maintenance free solutions, for all vessels and all power sources, from conventional fuels to battery, hybrid and LNG.
Other core technology aspects include advanced handling solutions with integrated control and energy management. KONGSBERG’s truly automated heave compensating, high precision and energy efficient handling solutions enable better productivity, reduce costs and improve safety and security for the most demanding handling tasks. Integrated with i.e. energy systems, automation and dynamic positioning, maritime handling operations become safer and more cost effective.
Handling solutions are designed with the unique principles of utilizing energy from rotating equipment to optimize and regenerate power that reduces energy utilization. The integration of automation with the dynamics of the vessel operations enhances productivity and reduces human error.
Integration is a network and service layer that supports greater distributed control and monitoring functions across diverse equipment on board a vessel. Such an integrated network provides enhanced fleet management, enabled by increased connectivity, data capture and analysis in addition to continual control and measurement, with information now available on a single integrated platform supporting efficient planning, execution and decision making. Essentially, integration delivers a unified platform helping better resource utilization, sharing and task management for today and tomorrow.
“On the path to autonomy and remotely controlled operations, our new approach to integration is an important step forward. Greater integration mitigates risk and introduces superior cross-vessel understanding and situational awareness. Connecting systems increases potential for automation and autonomy, with more automated procedures and less personnel, enhancing safety and security,” said Stene Førsund, EVP Global Sales & Marketing, Kongsberg Maritime.
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