With only three weeks left to become part of the presentation line-up for this year’s SPE ICoTA European Well Intervention Conference, experts in well intervention are urged to submit an abstract on the topic and share the latest developments in the field with their peers.
BMT Cordah, a subsidiary of BMT Group, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced the appointment of Andrew Glass as Managing Director.
Andrew will be responsible for leading the business in implementing strategy, direction and policy, ensuring the company continues to provide an extensive range of specialist services to its UK and international offshore oil and gas customers. Commenting on his new role, Andrew said: “I am extremely excited to be given this opportunity to work with a great team and I’m looking forward to leading the organisation in its drive for future growth both here in the UK and internationally.”
With a wealth of experience in Environment Health and Safety (EHS) from the RSK Group where he held the position of Director, Andrew spent several years in the UAE developing new service lines. He helped bring the business back to profitability, achieving financial targets and delivered business benefits for clients with a 100% track record. He further supported the creation of an Eastern European office.
Notable projects include the operational review of three international and two domestic airports for the Abu Dhabi Airports Company. Here, he redefined EHSQ operational practices, as well as influencing the redesign of organisational structure. All five airports were certified to ISO9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO14001 standards.
Andrew has a degree in Industrial and Operations Management and is a member of the: Chartered Management Institute and Institute of Management Consultancy. He is an Associate of the Institution of Environmental Management and Assessment and an approved professional by the EHS centre Abu Dhabi for all entity sectors.
Offshore Network have developed a whitepaper examining EnQuest and Wintershall’s production optimization strategies – http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper. The free whitepaper has been created in the lead-up to the 2nd Offshore Production Optimization Conference which includes speakers from Nexen, Repsol, Wintershall, DEA, TAQA, OMV Petrom and more.
With oil prices taking a substantial hit as of late, industry is faced with even bigger challenges when looking to improve production rates and to maximize recovery. 2015 is expected to see the first annual increase in production on the UKCS in 15 years so it's clear that the efforts being made by industry to improve approaches are working but there's still much more to be done. EnQuest's President for the North Sea and Wintershall's Technical Director and Deputy Managing Director gave presentations on production efficiency challenges in the North Sea at the Offshore Production Optimization Conference in November 2014. This whitepaper reviews their approaches and includes:
A review of EnQuest’s production optimization model and how they developed a methodology to stabilize OPEX whilst simultaneously boosting brownfield production
A look at the late-life planning at Brage and the proposed activities Wintershall have in place to improve production from this asset
Future considerations and development plans for EnQuest and Wintershall within the North Sea and how collaborations with the oil and gas community should play a part in this
You can review the whitepaper at http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper.
NorSea Group (UK) Ltd has appointed Karen Russell as its first UK Finance Director. Karen becomes the third addition to the Group’s executive team as the company continues to grow its activity across Scotland in both the decommissioning and subsea support sectors.
She joins MD Walter Robertson and Operations Director Mike Munro in the new team leading the company’s expansion in the UK.
Karen has more than 13 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry. She began her accountancy training with Deloitte and Touche, then worked in financial roles with both Qserv and Weatherford before most recently spending almost eight years with Asco as Finance Manager.
In her new role with NorSea Group (UK) she will be responsible for overseeing all of the company’s financial functions as well as supporting the business as it increasingly grows its decommissioning capabilities as an integral part of its future growth strategy.
“This is a very exciting time to be joining NorSea Group,” said Karen. “It is a growing company in the UK with huge potential for future development as it diversifies from its traditional role as a logistics and base services company into the expanding decommissioning sector. I’m looking forward to taking on a hands-on role and getting very involved in the day to day running of the company in Aberdeen and at our bases at Peterhead, Montrose and Scrabster.”
NorSea Group (UK) is reaching the successful conclusion of the company’s first major small piece decommissioning contract, carried out at Smith Quay, Peterhead, on behalf of Endeavour Energy.
“We are delighted that Karen has joined us to strengthen our Executive management team,” said Walter. “She has a wealth of relevant experience and will use her expertise to move the company forward, grow its core business and develop new services.”
Total has signed an agreement to sell 20% of its interests in the Laggan, Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet fields, located in the West of Shetland area, to SSE E&P UK Limited Ltd for £565 million (around $876 million), subject to the customary approvals.
“The sale of these minority interests is aligned with Total’s portfolio management strategy and target of divesting $5 billion of assets in 2015. It allows us to capitalize fully on this new deep offshore development, while retaining a majority interest and operatorship,” commented Arnaud Breuillac, President, Exploration & Production. “With the upcoming start-up of Laggan, followed by Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet in the coming years, Total is opening up a new frontier area for gas production in the United Kingdom.”
Following completion of the transaction, Total will hold a 60% operated interest in the Laggan, Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet fields, alongside partners DONG E&P (UK) Limited (20%) and SSE E&P UK Limited (20%). The sale also includes 20% of Total’s interest in the Shetland Gas Plant and interests in several exploration licenses located in the West of Shetland area, including the Tobermory discovery.
Laggan and Tormore
The Laggan and Tormore fields are located around 140 kilometers west of the Shetland Islands on Blocks 206/1a, 205/4b and 205/5a, in 600 meters of water. Development of the fields was launched in 2010 and first gas is expected in the coming months. The development concept consists of a 140-kilometer tie-back of five subsea wells to the new onshore Shetland Gas Plant, with a peak production rate of 500 million standard cubic feet per day.
Edradour and Glenlivet
Development of the Edradour and Glenlivet fields was launched in 2014. The Edradour discovery is located 75 kilometers northwest of Shetland on Block 206/4a, in 300 meters of water. The Glenlivet discovery is located north of Edradour on Block 214/30a, in 400 meters of water. Edradour will be developed by converting the discovery well into a production well, connected to the main Laggan-Tormore flowline by a 16-kilometer subsea tie-back. Glenlivet will be developed via two wells and a 17-kilometer production pipeline tied back to Edradour. Edradour is expected to start up in 2017, followed by Glenlivet in 2018.
Having seen significant increases in sales activity from the North America market in recent months, UK-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry; and specialist in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – is expanding its Houston, Texas-based operation with an additional 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility.
Announcing the move, Advanced Insulation’s managing director Andrew Bennion says: “The 10,000 sq. ft. expansion means we are now even better placed to assist our North American customers more effectively by providing an in-house insulation facility.”
Until now, most insulation services were undertaken at its customers’ facilities, but the expansion means Advanced Insulation can now insulate subsea components and systems using its ContraTherm® range at its own warehousing and manufacturing facility.
As Andrew goes on to say, the recent appointment of Mike Sherman and Larry King to develop and implement Advanced Insulation’s strategic growth plans for this key market is already paying dividends. “We are forecasting subsea sales to increase significantly in the coming months and are anticipating substantial additional appointments to ensure we continue to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of our North American customers.”
IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has signed an agreement with Alliant RigServ LLC to join the IFS Partner Network as a Referral and Services partner for the deployment of IFS Solutions in the offshore oil and gas industry in North America. The new alliance supports IFS’s strategy to build a long-term partner ecosystem that benefits both companies with greater market penetration through enhanced technology and knowledge resources for IFS solutions.
RigServ is an established supply chain and technology consulting company that offers best-in-class solutions to companies such as Maersk Drilling, KS Drilling, SapuraKencana Drilling, Marathon Oil, Ensco, Seadrill, Xtreme Drilling, Vantage Drilling and Ocean Rig. RigServ’s current active projects include supply chain consulting, technology and systems consulting, supply chain outsourcing, enterprise business intelligence reporting, process improvement, ERP systems management, catalog maintenance and cleansing, inventory reviews, full lifecycle software development, business transformations, project management, quality management and equipment monitoring.
As a member of IFS’s growing Partner Network, RigServ’s services will expand to include implementations of IFS’s robust enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and enterprise service management (ESM) software solutions, which are recognized by the oil and gas industry for performance, functionality and flexibility.
“We are delighted to be on-board with IFS. Our team members are experts in the oil and gas business and know its inherent challenges from the rig floor to the board room,” said RigServ’s Director Christopher Collins. “IFS’s enterprise solutions are well-known and highly regarded throughout the oil and gas industry and we are excited about the enormous value this partnership will bring to our business.”
“We are pleased to expand the IFS Partner Network by forging relationships with the best technology and consulting partners in the business, such as RigServ,” said Dean Flitter, vice president of services for IFS North America. “This strategic alliance will help increase our resources, which is an important part of our global growth strategy to target larger, global accounts.”
MOL Group has successfully completed a deal to acquire Ithaca Petroleum NorgeMOL Group announced the successful completion of a deal to acquire 100% ownership of Ithaca Petroleum Norge (IPN) from Ithaca Petroleum Ltd. The deal doubles the size of MOL Group’s exploration portfolio, adding 600 million barrels of net un-risked best estimate prospective reserves. Entry into the Norwegian market also takes the company a step closer towards becoming an offshore operator in the North Sea.
Entry into Norway is a measured step for MOL Group, reflecting the company’s active approach to portfolio development. The move balances and grows MOL Group’s global upstream portfolio and includes 14 licenses in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, three of which are currently operated by IPN.
The investor-friendly nature of Norway and its political and fiscal stability were key reasons MOL Group decided to acquire IPN. Closure of the deal now extends MOL Group’s presence in the North Sea and builds on last year’s entry into the UK.
Alexander Dodds, Group Executive Vice President for Upstream added: “Entering Norway as one of the most investor friendly countries is an important milestone in our E&P Strategy. Norway will become a key exploration hub for MOL Group in the future and will help us achieve our goal of becoming an offshore operator in the North Sea. We believe Norway has a best in class approach to exploration, and we know that the new MOL Norge has an excellent team in place.”
While MOL Group will provide additional operational resources and support where needed, MOL Norge continues as a Norwegian company, and all staff will become part of the new entity.
Spring 2015 Permanent Reservoir Monitoring (“PRM”) operations over the Statoil operated Snorre and Grane fields have now been completed ahead of schedule thanks to a combination of excellent operational performance, minimum downtime and favourable weather conditions.
A total of over 6,000 km of data has been shot over the two fields, now in the second full year of operation. Source operations started over the Grane field after mobilization in Stavanger on the 3 May with completion on Snorre on the 13 July. The D-PMSSTM has now been demobilized from the platform supply vessel ‘Siddis Sailor’, operated by OH Meling, and will be re-mobilized again later this Summer for the Autumn survey period.
Marcus Smith, Operations Director commented: “We have had two excellent surveys this season with the best recorded production figures and lowest downtime hours seen since we started the PRM survey for Statoil. Records have been broken and all with zero HSE incidents during this time. The working relationship between the WGP and OH Meling crew onboard the ‘Siddis Sailor’ has gone from strength to strength and this cooperation has helped us achieve this outstanding performance. We look forward to returning in the Autumn and acquiring yet more data to assist Statoil in increasing their PRM data library”.
FoundOcean’s deep-water capabilities were demonstrated once again when Subsea 7 called on them to develop and execute grouting procedures for operations at 5,300 ft. (1,615m) in the Gulf of Mexico.
After 3 years with the company, Mick Slater has been appointed to the role of Operations Director. With an MBE to his name and over 40 years of industry experience including more than 30 years in the Royal Navy, Mick will hold overall responsibility for HSE, IT, HR and Compliance. Mick comments: “I feel privileged to accept the opportunity that the BOD have presented me with by this appointment. We have a great foundation and some very talented people here at Bibby HydroMap and I’m keen to build on this and play an active part in key operational and strategic decisions that will ultimately enable the continued, successful 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. Bibby HydroMap Managing Director Andrew McLeay comments: “After a challenging year for many of our offshore clients, we are optimising our operations and creating added value, whilst continuing to grow the business and diversify our services.”
“The last two years have brought significant change within the company, and we now employ over 115 personnel from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. The successful rebrand from Osiris Projects to Bibby HydroMap, alongside the launch of Bibby Athena and our survey ROV d’ROP, has opened up new opportunities and increased our global presence. The appointment of Mick to the Operations Director role will help to develop the business further and solidify our position as “The seabed survey company of choice.”
Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces that it has signed an agreement establishing a worldwide non-incorporated alliance with Houston-based OneSubsea®, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, to jointly design, develop and deliver integrated subsea development solutions through the combination of subsurface expertise, subsea production systems (SPS), subsea processing systems, subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines systems (SURF) and life-of-field services.
The alliance will bring together Subsea 7's experience and technology in seabed to surface engineering, construction and life-of-field services with OneSubsea's unique reservoir expertise and state-of-the-art subsea production and processing systems technologies. The alliance will combine both companies' resources to collaborate on selected projects, engaging early to improve field development planning from the reservoir to the production facility. By combining the complementary capabilities and market-leading technologies of OneSubsea and Subsea 7, the alliance will work collaboratively with clients to design, develop and deliver integrated SPS and SURF solutions which will enhance project delivery, improve the recovery, and optimize the cost and efficiency of deepwater developments for the life of the field.
Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 Chief Executive Officer, said: "This combination of subsurface, SPS, SURF and life-of-field expertise is unique in its breadth of integrated service offering and provides clients with the opportunity to significantly improve subsea field economics over the lifetime of the development. I am looking forward to developing further our relationship with OneSubsea as we will be able to capitalize on the synergies between our strong technology portfolios and develop joint technologies to improve our offering for our clients.
Mike Garding, OneSubsea Chief Executive Officer, said: "The technology and expertise from Subsea 7 perfectly complements OneSubsea's 'Pore to Process' business strategy to offer a holistic approach to subsea development solutions. Our established competencies in subsurface modeling and production systems engineering will be further strengthened by integrating the SURF expertise provided by Subsea 7. By integrating these key areas of expertise, we can reduce further risk and uncertainty to deliver the optimal solution for our clients to produce cost-effectively from subsea reservoirs."
Bruno Faure, Group Senior Vice President Subsea Projects and Operations at Technip, a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry, has taken over the role of President of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the association representing the interests of over a thousand offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies in more than 60 countries.
In addition to becoming President of IMCA, having served as Vice President of IMCA since September 2014, he also becomes Chairman of the association’s Overall Management Committee (OMC).
“We welcome Bruno as our President and OMC Chairman for the next two years,” says Jane Bugler, Acting Chief Executive of IMCA. “At the same time we are able to announce that Leon Harland, Executive Vice President Commercial & Technology at Heerema Marine Contractors, has taken over as the IMCA Vice President.
“I am delighted and honored to take the chairmanship of IMCA following on from Massimo Fontolan, who provided valuable guidance to the Council over the last two and a half years,” says Bruno Faure. “At a time when our industry is experiencing challenging times, I am convinced that IMCA can, more than ever, play a key role in facilitating the necessary constructive dialogue among clients, contractors and the supply chain, with the aim of offering to the industry the most appropriate solutions in the context of economic pressure.”
In 2006 he joined Stolt Comex Seaway (now Subsea 7) as Projects and Operations Director for Africa Region and then became President for Region Africa, Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean in Subsea 7 based in London.
Further information on IMCA Information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its members is at www.imca-int.com or from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and IMCA, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7824 5520; Fax: +44 (0)20 7824 5521.
Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces that it has signed an agreement to form an alliance with Houston-based KBR, Inc. (KBR) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Granherne Inc. (Granherne), to collaborate in the delivery of Concept and Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) services to the global offshore oil and gas industry.
The alliance will bring two market-leading companies together to ensure the most cost-effective solutions are presented to clients in the early concept evaluation phase of a field development project. KBR's and Granherne's expertise in field development planning, concept evaluation and FEED will be complemented by Subsea 7's subsea project management and engineering experience and the application of technology and know-how to enable improved cost-benefit evaluation for clients.
Within the co-operation agreement between the companies, Granherne will support Subsea 7 on concept and FEED studies and Subsea 7 will support Granherne with subsea engineering and technology. The alliance will operate on a global basis using the existing resources of the two companies.
The alliance further provides the opportunity for KBR and Subsea 7 to collaborate in the execution phase of offshore projects. The combined experience and capabilities has the potential to deliver the full scope of any project. The decision to collaborate will be on a project-by-project basis and will be based on a clear and differentiated value proposition to the client.
Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 Chief Executive Officer, said: "This alliance will drive improvements in the offshore market with two leading independent companies working together to deliver greater value for clients worldwide. I look forward to strengthening our relationship with KBR through this alliance which provides the opportunity for early engagement in the project lifecycle when value creation can be optimized and where we can introduce enabling subsea technologies and know-how at the critical concept evaluation stage. This is key to assisting the offshore oil and gas industry to adapt to the lower oil price environment."
Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO, said: "This alliance combines the complementary skill-sets and know-how of two leading offshore contractors working together to ensure a greater contribution at the early stage of projects. Together, both companies can ensure that offshore oil and gas development becomes more economic and we look forward to continuing our already strong working partnership with Subsea 7."
LQT Industries, LLC, a full-service provider of high quality accommodation facilities, design-build construction services, and support services to the oil and gas industry, has provided eleven (11) aluminum accommodation modules to support onshore and offshore operations for the Gulf of Mexico. The aluminum modules supply major oil and gas production companies with accommodations for 64 personnel along with support facilities.
Schlumberger has achieved SEMS certification to Center for Offshore Safety Program expectations and 30 CFR 250 Subpart S requirements. Schlumberger is the first service/supply contractor to achieve this voluntarily, further demonstrating their commitment to SEMS, assurance of their safety management system, and to ensure they know where is best to focus their continuing work on safety management.
SEMS is intended as a continuous learning and improvement system for safety and environmental management. A key feature of SEMS is the focus on establishing, managing and measuring barriers that protect against escalation to a major incident. The voluntary COS certification program for contractors that is delivered via Audit Service Providers (ASP) requires participation in a COS program SEMS audit using independent verification by third-party auditors that have been assessed and accredited by COS. COS focuses on the importance of combining SEMS Leadership and effective SEMS to deliver a good safety culture.
DNV GL Business Assurance USA, a COS-accredited (ASP), has approved Schlumberger for COS SEMS Certification based on the outcome of the COS SEMS audit. The audit scope included Schlumberger's Head Office, onshore manufacturing/service facilities, and verification of SEMS implementation at an offshore location where Schlumberger was active. A total of 12 locations were visited during the SEMS audit.
"While Schlumberger has had a comprehensive management system in place since the late 1980's, the SEMS certification audit provided a great opportunity to verify that our system meets the regulatory requirements of the US outer continental shelf. The exercise not only highlighted the numerous strengths of our organization but also identified opportunities for improvement. This process of continuous assessment and progression ensures that our system is maintained to the highest standards in the industry," said Rob Cummings, Schlumberger HSE Manager – North America Offshore.
Tom Teipner, Schlumberger President – North America, added, "While the current regulations apply only to operators on the outer continental shelf, I believe that voluntary participation in the SEMS audit process demonstrates Schlumberger's unwavering commitment to the safety and integrity of our industry. Leadership is about transforming a vision into a reality. This audit was another step forward in that vision of transforming the outer continental shelf into an area in which the safety of our people and respect for the environment is critical in everything we do."
"We are proud to work with Schlumberger on SEMS compliance," says Faith Beaty, President of DNV GL Business Assurance USA, Inc. "They have shown tremendous leadership in pursuing SEMS certification which — though mandatory for offshore operators — is not yet required for service providers. Clearly, they are making a move toward the future, and a strong statement about their commitment to safety and supply chain integrity."
"By successfully completing its SEMS audit, Schlumberger is sending a message to its customers and to the rest of the supplier community," says Chandran Ilango, Lead Auditor /Integrated Systems Sector Manager for DNV GL - Business Assurance. "Interest in SEMS is growing rapidly as a way of harmonizing audits among operators and service providers, to bring the industry toward a more uniform safety and certification platform that can boost confidence and ultimately increase safety performance across the board."
Charlie Williams, Executive Director for COS, stated "Schlumberger's voluntary COS SEMS Certification is an important achievement that indicates their continuing commitment and dedication to SEMS. Voluntary participation and certification of SEMS by a contractor like Schlumberger is a clear display of the importance they place on safety and environmental management and the relationship between contractors and operators. Contractors play a critical role in the SEMS process; therefore contractors who certify their management system provide numerous benefits to all stakeholders including operators and regulators. The COS hopes this trend continues to ensure continuous improvement in safety and offshore operational integrity."
The Center for Offshore Safety is an industry group that promotes continuous safety improvement for offshore drilling, completions, and operations through effective leadership, communication, teamwork, disciplined management systems, and independent third-party auditing and certification. The Center draws on expertise and input from the U.S. oil and natural gas offshore industry and the regulatory community.
Offshore Source keeps you updated with relevant information concerning the Offshore Energy Sector.
Any views or opinions represented on this website belong solely to the author and do not represent those of the people, institutions or organizations that Offshore Source or collaborators may or may not have been associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.