Companies in the news

Specialist Subsea Services Ltd (S3), a provider of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and survey services to the international energy industry, has announced the acquisition of two new ROV systems to expand its workclass fleet. The two Triton XLX 150-hp ROV systems are advanced workclass units manufactured by Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd. The XLX system shares many features with the XLS ROV units, such as propulsion, power distribution, manipulator fitment, video cameras, lighting, tether management systems and associated deployment A-frame and winch combinations. The new XLX units also feature automatic station keeping, high-bandwidth survey multiplex and power circuit facilities, and a new “video wall” human-machine interface combined with a touch-screen operator display and integrated diagnostics system, which reduces operator fatigue and improves overall efficiency.
 
Specialty chemicals firm Clariant has acquired Saskatchewan, Canada-based oil services company Prairie Petro-Chem and will integrate it into the Clariant Oil Services business. The transaction significantly enhances Clariant’s presence in the Bakken shale. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Prairie Petro-Chem, originally formed in 1969, operates locations in Weyburn and Oxbow, Saskatchewan, and in Virden, Manitoba. The company serves about 7,000 oilfield sites, representing more than 50% of the southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba market. Prairie Petro-Chem achieved sales of about C$30 million in 2010.

Bristow Group was awarded the 2011 National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Safety in Seas Award, recognizing the company’s outstanding contribution to the safety of life offshore for energy workers through its Target Zero program of training and safety tracking. Bristow’s nomination was selected by a panel of judges from the US Coast Guard, the National Academy of Sciences’ Marine Board, and a former senior regulatory official with the Minerals Management Service. Target Zero is a comprehensive cultural and training system. The company has achieved a 47% improvement year-on-year in lost-work-time cases, with overall improvement from 2007 to 2009 of 88%. Also, Bristow has maintained a record of zero environmental incidents.

Crosco Integrated Drilling & Well Services Co. announced that wholly owned subsidiary Rotary Drilling Co. has commenced with drilling services for Kalegran Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of MOL, the Hungarian oil and gas company. Drilling is being provided with the 2000-hp drilling rig Rotary 67. The Bekhme-1 well, the first of a two-well contract, is being drilled in the Akre-Bijeel block in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Crosco is currently providing services in Oman, Kurdish Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, Albania, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.  

Global Tubing, a manufacturer of coiled tubing and related products and services, announced a significant expansion at its Dayton, Texas, facility. Global Tubing is expanding both its service and manufacturing operations. Completion of this phase of the expansion is expected by the third quarter of 2011, at which time Global Tubing will have more than doubled its manufacturing capacity since mid-2010. The company also announced that it has fully qualified three steel vendors with mills in three different countries to supply all of its current and anticipated requirements.

LMKR, a geoscience technology and consulting services provider focused on unconventional oil and gas exploration and production, has formed a strategic partnership with Object Reservoir, a provider of reservoir analysis services and technology to the E&P industry. The companies will work together to close the workflow and data integration gaps among the different geology, geophysics and engineering disciplines. These gaps result in unacceptable ranges of production and capital spending uncertainty related to the development of gas shale plays. LMKR will develop technology to integrate seamless workflows, as well as reservoir characterization, well, completion and production data exchange between the LMKR GeoGraphix Discovery Suite for geology and geophysical interpretation, the Object Reservoir ORKA knowledge architecture environment for the management of unconventional gas well analyses, and the Object Reservoir Limits analytic modeling and production forecasting tool for shale gas wells.

Downhole monitoring specialist firm Zenith Oilfield Technology has completed successful well trails of its Z-Sight technology in South America. The Z-Sight system provides remote access and control through the web, giving operators complete control of operations; they are immediately notified by e-mail or SMS when a well shuts down and production is being lost. The Aberdeen-based company recently completed trials in this region that showed that Z-Sight can increase production by up to 30% per day. This follows successful well trial results in Kuwait and a further seven trials with major operators in the Middle East and India. Three trials in South America showed that optimum production in artificially lifted wells can be achieved by utilizing the Z-Sight technology. In one of the well trials, production was boosted by 90 bpd of oil by increasing frequency as recommended by the system. In another it was found that more than 1,000 bpd could be achieved when the technology immediately identified that the capability of the well exceeded the flow capability of the electrical submersible pump installed. A second trial in South America diagnosed that an ESP was underperforming by 30%. This issue was picked up as soon as the technology was implemented on the well. Analysis of the data sent via Z-Sight confirmed that resolving the ESP performance problem would increase drawdown on the well by 60 psi, resulting in a production increase of 230 bpd.

Subsea engineering company J P Kenny, together with its related Wood Group Kenny sister companies, will perform subsea and pipeline front-end engineering design (FEED) for the Browse LNG development located offshore Western Australia’s Kimberley region, about 425 km northwest of Broome. The FEED project commenced in February and will take place over the next 12–15 months based at the new Browse project office in Perth. The first gas from Browse is expected in 2017. Wood Group Kenny is also participating in the riser FEED work for the Browse project, through MCS Kenny, and will support Aker Solutions in delivering design and engineering solutions for the steel catenary risers on Browse.

International oilfield services company Expro has been been granted a $27 million contract offshore Israel. Noble Energy awarded Expro the contract for deepwater operations onboard the Transocean Sedco Express for the Tamar field development and on aboard the Pride North America for an exploration program. Expro will provide Noble with specialist well testing and subsea services and equipment, including a high-flowrate well testing package and large-bore subsea safety systems.

Total Safety, a provider of integrated safety services and compliance solutions, has acquired substantially all of the assets and ongoing business of Webb, Murray & Associates, a Houston-based fire protection and safety services company.