Seanic Ocean Systems Inc. (Seanic) and CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) are responding to challenges faced by the oil industry to address increasing regulations and environmental stewardship concerns. This strategic partnership merges technology and environmental expertise with the goal of improving oil spill response equipment and services. Innovative solutions developed by Seanic and CSA will provide much-needed support to the oil industry, which is under increasing pressure to maximize efficiency while minimizing risk and environmental impact.

Both companies already support the oil spill response needs of the energy industry, providing a range of specialized equipment and services, from engineered solutions to oceanographic sensors and from testing and maintenance to developing dispersant monitoring plans. Forging this partnership integrates the skills and experience of each company, resulting in better service to both industry and the environment.

“Seanic’s Remote Systems Technology combined with CSA’s experience in Environmental Sciences will allow us to approach oil spill response, particularly the application and monitoring of dispersants, in a unique and innovative manner,” stated Kevin Peterson, President of CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. “As environmental regulations evolve, water depths increase, and locations become more remote, cost-effective solutions based on solid science and technology become more important than ever.”

Seanic brings expertise in ROV tooling, engineered solutions, and the maintenance and improvement of oil spill equipment. Their corporate headquarters in Katy, Texas offers state-of-the-art facilities for manufacturing, testing, storage, and maintenance of equipment, including stabilized yard space, a tool pool, storage warehouse, and a 500,000-gallon in-ground wet test tank. Overseas facilities in Scotland, Norway, Australia, and Singapore support international operations.

CSA brings 46 years of specialized experience in marine environmental consulting, serving the energy industry worldwide through offices in the United States, the Eastern Mediterranean, Qatar, Trinidad, Singapore, and Australia. CSA’s expertise in coastal, marine, and deep ocean surveys, sampling, monitoring, assessment, and mitigation is built on the integration of science, operations, and an understanding of environmental data collection, management, and analysis within geospatial domains.

Well management and performance improvement specialist Exceed has bolstered its decommissioning credentials through a strategic alliance with international oil and gas service company, Weatherford.

The collaboration will offer an end-to-end solution for well decommissioning, using an integrated team which brings together extensive technical and commercial capabilities.

Exceed brings a proven track record in well management to the partnership which will ensure lessons are learned, knowledge is shared and the performance improvement curve is significantly accelerated, whilst Weatherford boasts extensive global plug and abandonment experience, field proven tools and technology and a global footprint.

John Anderson, Exceed commercial director

The expertise brought from both companies means that commercial models can be flexible and tailored to meet client requirements. Significant value is added through cost savings to operator groups through bulk purchases, shared equipment and resources, and improved safety and operational performance through an incentivised approach.

The collaboration also opens up potential to create a project-wide EPC approach through the appointment of further partners. Global agreements have already been established with a number of internationally recognised service providers to expand the service portfolio as and when required.

The collaboration follows Exceed’s recent plug and abandonment contract win with Fairfield Energy, which will see the firm support a campaign which covers 45 platform wells and 16 subsea wells, and recognises the Exceed team’s strong track record in decommissioning.

John Anderson, commercial director at Exceed, said: “This alliance is a major step forward in demonstrating what collaboration in the decommissioning sector should actually look like.

“Integrating the supply chain, sharing resources and drawing upon a knowledge base which extends beyond one company will mean major savings, quicker project execution and effective risk management. There is great potential for this joint approach both now and in the future.”

Bibby Offshore (BOUK), a leading subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has secured a multimillion pound contract with a North Sea Operator, to deliver decommissioning operations in the Northern North Sea East Shetland Basin.

The agreement, due to commence in Q2 of 2016 and be completed by the end of 2016, will utilise one of Bibby Offshore’s construction support vessels with adequate deck space and crane capabilities to execute operations approximately 550km North-East of Aberdeen.

Fraser Moonie, chief operating officer of Bibby Offshore

Bibby Offshore has been appointed to carry out remedial rock placement over the existing 16” oil export pipeline, recovery of 12” pipeline bundles, subsea structure removal with pile severance and debris removal within the platform’s 500m zone and along bundle routes. Waste disposal services will also be provided by BOUK, recovering items that can be decontaminated, disposed or recycled, followed by an over-trawl of the cleared field.

Fraser Moonie, chief operating officer of Bibby Offshore, said: “We are looking forward to building on our existing relationship with this particular client and continuing our partnership to provide subsea services for its offshore assets.

“Decommissioning work is of a specialist nature and, with more oil and gas infrastructures reaching the end of their design life, multi-industry experience is key to ensure each project is complete in a safe and responsible manner. With ten years of experience in decommissioning projects globally, often in highly challenging conditions, we have built up a strong track record and are ideally positioned to support companies operations.”

Seagull Oil & Gas has launched the most cost efficient and comprehensive e-learning training package in the industry for offshore personnel working in explosive atmospheres.

Building on International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, the new series covers basic understanding, installation in Ex-areas, Exi installation, cable entry, IP degree, and inspection and maintenance.

“We believe today’s market requires more cost efficient and better Ex and El safety training” says Morten Aasen, Managing Director, Seagull Oil & Gas. “Together with leading subject experts we have developed a series of new courses covering these safety-critical subjects. The e-learning will work as individual self-study courses but also offered as part of blended learning."

The content of the courses includes e-learning modules that normally require two days of classroom study covering theory. ExTek, the only certified CompEx centre in Norway, will offer the self-study course components so that an entire five-day 01-04 CompEx course can be completed with only three days spent in the classroom.

“Blended learning and self-study will be a greater part of future training, both to increase quality and reduce the cost of training,” says Mr. Aasen. “Ex and El safety are important subjects for our clients and we will continue to develop innovative and cost efficient solutions to meet their demands.”

Aker Solutions' maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) business in Norway will as a subcontractor of Kværner provide engineering services for upgrading the semi-submersible platform at the Statoil-operated Njord A oilfield. 

Statoil-operated Njord A oilfield. Photo: Øyvind Nesvåg / Statoil.

The company signed a subcontractor agreement with Kværner, which was awarded the framework agreement for the Njord Future project by Statoil. Aker Solutions' initial delivery will be front end engineering design (FEED) work. The contract with Kværner also includes engineering work in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase of the project should the operator decide to proceed with this, as well as an option for prefabrication work.

"We look forward to working with Kværner to find the most robust and cost-effective solutions for Statoil on this project, which draws on our experience in complex modifications," said Per Harald Kongelf, head of Aker Solutions' Norwegian operations.

The MMO unit in Bergen will execute the FEED work with support from Aker Solutions' engineering business in Oslo, working as an integrated team with Kværner. The work will start immediately and at its peak involve 120 employees of Aker Solutions.

Aker Solutions has previously delivered concept and feasibility studies on upgrading Njord to Statoil.

Materia, Inc. (Materia), in conjunction with Aegion Corporation (Aegion), has been selected by Shell Offshore, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), to supply pipeline insulation materials for the Appomattox development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Materia’s Proxima® resin technology delivers a broad range of products that increase reliability and performance for high pressure, high temperature applications in deepwater oil and gas exploration and production.

The insulation system is unique among existing polymers in its ability to provide an effective thermal barrier between flowlines and seawater. The thermosetting cross-linked hydrocarbon polymer maintains structural integrity in deepwater operating environments as an incompressible solid at water depths greater than 10,000 feet. This advanced insulation technology can also be rapidly and safely applied in the factory or the field.

Chuck R. Gordon, Aegion’s president and chief executive officer, said, “The collaboration with Materia will leverage their leading polymer insulation technology, Bayou’s world class coating, logistics and prefabrication capabilities, and Bayou Wasco’s pipe insulation technology for the safe and efficient transportation of crude oil from deepwater oil field developments in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Dr. Michael Giardello, co-founder and senior advisor to Materia, said, “Shell’s safety and performance requirements were rigorous. We were charged with supplying pipeline insulation materials that met their performance requirements, while greatly reducing the complexity of the system.”

Nitin Apte, Materia’s president and chief executive officer, stated, “Materia’s thermal insulation provides a simple and cost-effective solution to the challenges of deepwater oil and gas production. We greatly value this relationship with Shell and Aegion, and look forward to solving the thermal insulation challenges for future deepwater projects.”

Songa Offshore has taken delivery of Songa Enabler from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Korea.

Songa Enabler will shortly depart South Korea en route to Norway for commencement of an eight-year drilling contract with Statoil, with the first assignment on the Snøhvit field. The transit will take place with tow-assist and the rig will arrive in Norway with all third party equipment installed and ready for the client's final acceptance testing. Commencement of drilling operations is expected to take place in third quarter 2016.

Songa Enabler is a sixth generation, high specification, harsh environment, fully winterized, midwater rig designed for efficient year around drilling, completion, testing and intervention operations in water depths up to 500 meters. The rig is certified DP3 and is equipped with a "state-of-the-art" drill-floor and an efficient layout with improved safety and working environment features. 

Songa Enabler is the last rig in a series of four Category D rigs specifically built for and contracted to Statoil.

The proprietary Delmar Quick Release (DQR) was successfully installed and activated on a traditionally moored semi-submersible MODU in the US Gulf of Mexico. Eight DQRs were installed in an offshore mooring systems and deployed for over 160 days in approximately 7800' of water.

The DQR was used to save critical path rig time during transit from an offshore drilling site. Through detailed planning and efficient offshore execution, using the DQR resulted in approximately 3.5 days of saved rig time during disconnection operations. In addition, the DQR was used during weather that prohibited the use of the anchor handling vessel's ROV, which would have further delayed the rig move schedule.

“The first use of the Delmar DQR has provided the experience and assurance that our manual mooring release will provide both operational efficiency and mooring diversification for drilling operations in the future”, said Matt Smith, Delmar’s Vice President of Operations. “Our thanks to the drilling contractor and operator for providing us the opportunity to prove this technology in a real work situation.”

The patent pending DQR is an in-line mooring component developed by Delmar Systems, Inc. with a simple mechanical release feature that allows a vessel to separate from its mooring system while the lines are under tension. The system allows the rig to safely and efficiently offset or depart from a moored location, with or without the use of support vessels, alleviating the need for waiting on vessels to mobilize and arrive. The DQR can be used with any anchor foundation and allows for safe mooring of DP rigs as well as traditional moored rigs.

Delmar Systems received classification society approval from ABS and DNV for the design and manufacturing of the DQR, ensuring compliance with the strict industry standards for offshore mooring.

Click here to see the rig activate the DQR

New subsea technologies and systems must be qualified before use to build confidence that they will function as intended. However, current subsea technology qualification (TQ) processes can be inefficient, time consuming and variations in methodology impede industry players from leveraging on each other’s results. Now DNV GL is calling for a standardized system qualification approach and joint industry effort to drive faster take-up of new technology and value creation in subsea.

A new position paper ‘Subsea system qualification: Towards a standardized approach’ by DNV GL’s Strategic Research & Innovation unit aims to answer two questions: How can confidence in new subsea systems be demonstrated in a faster and more efficient way? How can already qualified technologies be re-qualified in an effective manner for reuse in similar systems or under slightly different operating conditions?

Subsea illustration Credit: DNV GL

The position paper proposes a joint industry effort in three steps to enable more effective technology development and implementation in the field: 1) Establish common industry principles, and consolidate a common framework for system qualification founded on existing industry procedures; 2) Develop a methodology to standardize system qualification for common use across the upstream oil and gas industry and 3) Pilot and demonstrate the developed methodology and roll-out a Recommended Practice.

“The subsea industry needs to overcome key challenges such as cost reductions, enabling increased recovery, and complex field developments. At the same time, the future trend still points towards more complex systems which require integrating process, power, and control systems subsea. Assuring safety and reliability on a system level is critical when interfaces become more complex and system integration failures are harder to identify,” says Tore Myhrvold, researcher and lead author of the paper, DNV GL.

“Developing a standardized approach to subsea technology qualification will enable companies to leverage on each other’s qualification efforts and results, reduce the overall development time and ultimately enable faster innovation in the subsea sector,” continues Myhrvold.

Previous experience has shown that focus on qualification in the early phases of development reduces risk of failures in late phase testing. Failures and errors in tests that are run in later development stages, such as factory acceptance tests (FAT) and system integration tests (SIT), are expensive to fix since they may result in costly rework and re-iteration of the design process. DNV GL’s position paper recommends increasing the qualification efforts in the early phases of development to enable faster and more effective development and implementation of novel subsea technology systems.

The position paper also proposes that numerical or analytical methods (models) could prove to be cost effective and safe alternatives to current expensive physical testing or be used in conjunction with existing methods. These alternative methods can explore the effects from parameter variations and how different sub-systems or single components affect the entire system performance. By using non-intrusive numerical modelling tools to establish a common modelling platform, a wide variety of validated models can be used in the system qualification to virtually test system operational ranges and failures.

“The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reports that subsea tie-back represents the most relevant solution for 68 out of 88 discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf. To sanction many of these projects, fast and cost effective technology development is vital,” says Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO of DNV GL – Oil & Gas.

“Our efforts to drive standardization in the subsea sector aim to reduce cost, lead times and to increase confidence in new technologies to enable faster innovation. Our collaboration with the industry on subsea documentation and subsea forging for example have resulted in guidance that is being implemented in projects and now delivering benefits for operators,” adds Tørstad.

To download the position paper visit www.dnvgl.com/download-subsea-position-paper.

The MAY 2016 MTS Houston Section luncheon will be held on May 26 2016 and will feature a presentation by Cory Weinbel, Senior VP Development Projects, Venari Resources. Mr. Weinbel will discuss Improving Deepwater Project Outcomes through Enhanced Collaboration.

The current low oil-price environment makes the safe and efficient execution of Deepwater Projects more important than ever as companies look for ways to grow with decreasing project resources. The Oil & Gas industry has traditionally used partnerships to spread the cost burden and reduce risks associated with large projects but in general has not fully taken advantage of the resources and synergies offered by greater involvement of Partners in the Deepwater Development. This presentation uses Cory Weinbel’s experience as well as examples from the Deepwater Oil & Gas industry and other industries to characterize the enhanced collaboration mechanisms and show the tangible benefits and the limited downside to embracing and more-effectively exercising this collaboration. While the changes required for enhancing collaboration are simple, straightforward, and common-sense, they will require many companies and their employees to embrace a new cultural paradigm. The benefits to our industry can be significant and potentially include reduced project costs and schedules, standardization of key technical elements, and the training of new generations of project personnel.

Mr. Weinbel spent over seven years working for Helix Energy Solutions Group as Deepwater Project Manager and General Manager of Production Facilities where he spear-headed the development of the first ship-shaped disconnectible oil production unit in the Gulf of Mexico at the Phoenix Development. His work has allowed him to work on multiple types of deepwater floating production units including Spars (Gunnison), TLP’s (Marco Polo), Semisubmersibles (Independence Hub), and Ships/FPSOs (Phoenix, Jubilee.)

Earlier in his career, Mr. Weinbel worked as a project engineer/project manager for Kvaerner Oil & Gas, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas, and Kerr-McGee Chemical. Cory holds a Master of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering and Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science.

UPCOMING MTS HOUSTON PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have announced a five-year agreement allowing BSEE to capitalize on the best risk management approaches from the aeronautics industry to inform stakeholders and further strengthen worker and environmental safety protections on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Photo credit: BSEE

“Both BSEE and NASA work in harsh and uncompromising environments, relying on cutting edge technology to go deeper and further than previously thought possible,” said BSEE Director Brian Salerno. “This partnership brings together technical experts from BSEE and NASA to focus on the specific risks associated with offshore operations so that we can continue to find ways to improve safety for offshore workers and protect the environment.”

Used by NASA, probabilistic risk assessment is a technique to quantitatively model risk. It was used in the modeling of the Space Shuttle Program and is presently being used for the International Space Station and Orion deep space capsule programs.

“Whether the task takes one to deep space, or into the deep ocean, the analysis of the environment, training of personnel and risk mitigation factors are similar,” said Jack James, technology transfer strategist at the Johnson Space Center. “NASA is pleased to work with BSEE, and we endeavor to learn best practices from each other.”

The next MTS Houston Section luncheon will be held on April 28 2016. Dr. Michael Pavia, Chief Technology Officer with Glori Energy, will discuss delaying plug and abandonment by improving oil cut for mature offshore facilities.

Enhanced oil recovery operations are less common offshore in comparison to their mature counterparts onshore. Large inter-well distances, facilities constraints and capital expenditure limitations due to declining production greatly restrict choices for tertiary recovery strategies. Moreover, as oil cut continues to fall, maintaining economic production requires processing ever-increasing water volumes eventually requiring plugging and abandonment (P&A) even though well over 60% of the original oil remains in the formation.

A biological enhanced oil recovery (EOR) solution initially deployed offshore in the North Sea has been validated with multiple onshore demonstrations and is now available for mature, offshore facilities to promote preferential oil flow in water-flooded sandstone reservoirs. The method makes use of the existing biology in the formation.

This presentation will cover how rapid increases in oil production and oil-water ratios were achieved in as little as two to four months following initiation of biological EOR. Recommendations are offered for extracting otherwise trapped oil and recovering significantly more of the oil-in-place prior to P&A.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Michael Pavia is Chief Technology Officer with Glori Energy. Prior to joining Glori, Dr. Pavia was Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the venture capital firm Oxford Bioscience Partners, a position he held from 2002 to 2010.

Before joining Oxford, Mike Pavia was Chief Technology Officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where his major focus was to improve the productivity of the drug discovery and development process through the appropriate use of new technologies.

Dr. Pavia has over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and discovery. He was formerly VP - Cambridge Research at Sphinx Pharmaceuticals.

He also held senior scientific positions in the Department of Chemistry at the Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research Division of Warner-Lambert with a focus on drugs of the central nervous system. He serves on the boards of Azevan Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Selventa, Inc.

Dr. Pavia holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lehigh University and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.

UPCOMING MTS HOUSTON PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS

Fugro has been awarded a contract by Indian oil and gas company, ONGC, for the provision of ROV services on board the drillship Sagar Vijay. The contract, which was signed at ONGC’s offices in Mumbai, involves providing support for deepwater drilling operations off the east coast of India, in depths up to 900 metres.

A range of tasks will be performed by Fugro’s FCV ROV, including seabed surveys, monitoring of subsea drilling operations, guideline cutting and reinstallation, remote intervention and AX/VX ring gasket installation. Services also include setting up regular fluid injection, drilling re-entry, bullseye checks and routine video monitoring, inspection and cleaning on and around the BOP.

Fugro will also provide drill support tooling during the 18-month project, which is expected to commence in May 2016.

Apprentice Jens Erik Eriksen in Kværner and Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy Tord Lien marked the construction start on the Johan Sverdrup utility and living quarters platform on the island of Stord, north of Stavanger on Thursday, March 31, 2016.

“Johan Sverdrup is the biggest industrial project in modern times in Norway, and will create considerable value for society for generations to come. Today we are kicking off the construction of the utility and living quarters platform, which is the second of four platform currently under construction in the first project phase,” says Kjetel Digre, Statoil’s project director for Johan Sverdrup.

Johan Sverdrup platform. Credit: Statoil

Statoil awarded a joint venture between Kværner and KBR the contract for engineering and construction of the topside for the utility and living quarters platform for the Johan Sverdrup field in June 2015.

Stord is central in a comprehensive Johan Sverdrup project. Kværner Stord will fabricate parts of the topside steel frame, and will also assemble all parts for the utility and living quarters platform before the platform is installed on the field in 2019. At peak around 2000 Kværner employees will be involved in Johan Sverdrup deliveries.

Kværner’s sub-supplier Apply Leirvik on Stord will construct the accommodation module for the living quarters platform, which will be the biggest on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The other modules for the utility and living quarters platform will be constructed at the Energomontaz Polnoc Gdynia (EPG), Mostostal Pomorze Gdansk (MPG), Mostostal Chojnice and Crist Offshore in Poland, as well as in Gothenburg, Sweden. Detailed engineering is performed at KBR’s office in Leatherhead, London, and at Apply Leirvik on Stord. The fabrication work was also kicked off today at two of the yards in Poland and at Apply Leirvik’s yard.

“The Johan Sverdrup project is growing every day. It is a complex puzzle with activities spread all over the world. We are 14,000 people working on the project every day in 2016, and together we will perform 100 million working hours. We depend on everyone delivering as required, and all pieces of the puzzle falling into place at the right time and with the right quality. Our top priority is a safe working environment. We do not want any injuries among personnel working for the Johan Sverdrup project,” says Digre.

The utility and living quarters platform will accommodate the crew working on the Johan Sverdrup field during the field life of 50 years. The platform will have the largest living quarters on the NCS with a capacity of 560 people. The platform will also accommodate the field’s control and emergency center, and some utility systems covering the whole field center.

The platform will be completed in the first quarter of 2019, before it is installed on the Johan Sverdrup field by use of the world’s largest heavy-lift vessel, the Pioneering Spirit.

Johan Sverdrup is by far the largest ongoing project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for the next few years.

Statoil has awarded contracts to DNV GL for verification of all 4 topsides, the 3 bridges, 3 of 4 jackets, topside installation by use of the Allseas single lift vessel ‘Pioneering Spirit and extended site assessment for the jack-up.

Johan Sverdrup is by far the largest ongoing project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for the next few years. Credit: Statoil ASA

Third party verification gives the operator and the authorities confidence that the project development has the required safety and quality level.

“The contract demonstrates that our investment in technology, service development and efficient operations is making us competitive also in this cost challenged market. We sincerely look forward to supporting Statoil and the Johan Sverdrup partners on this important project,” says Regional Manager for DNV GL- Oil & Gas Norway, Kjell Eriksson.

The value of the contracts is approximately 60 MNOK. 


Third party verification builds trust


Through third party verification, operators, public authorities and society at large can rest assured that operations, structures and systems meet the requirements set by legislation, the industry, authorities - and in some cases - voluntary commitments made by commercial operators. For the structures at Johan Sverdrup, a risk based verification approach is chosen to assess compliance with NORSOK standards, VMO standards (developed by DNV GL) and Statoil’s own technical requirements.

A total of 36 crude and natural gas projects are expected to commence operations in the North Sea by 2025, with the UK being responsible for 25, while nine will be located in Norway and the remaining two in Denmark, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report* states that of these planned projects, 31 will be for crude, with all five gas projects to be undertaken by the UK. In terms of their impact on global crude production, key planned projects in the North Sea are expected to contribute 819,000 barrels of oil per day (mbd) and 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd) by 2025.

Joseph Gatdula, GlobalData’s Senior Upstream Analyst, explains: “The UK will contribute the most planned projects in the North Sea region to 2025 as most new fields are smaller, less expensive tie-backs that utilise existing infrastructure.”

GlobalData’s report also states that the total capital expenditure (capex) incurred by key planned projects is expected to total US$86.5 billion, of which US $43.4 billion is anticipated to be spent between 2016 and 2025. Norway is expected to lead the region in these terms, with capex of US $27.8 billion during the 2016-2025 period.

Matthew Beven, GlobalData’s Upstream Analyst, comments: “Norway will lead North Sea capital expenditure, with Statoil contributing around 65%. This is mainly due to the Johan Sverdrup project due on stream in 2019.”

*Production and Capital Expenditure Outlook for Key Planned Upstream Projects in North Sea