Companies in the news

Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded a FEED contract by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to upgrade its Oil Gathering Center GC-24. The project furthers the companies’ cooperation on major projects since 2004, including three new gathering centers and strategic pipeline projects in northern Kuwait. KOC plans to increase oil production by up to 1 MMbpd by 2020, and maintain that level of production for the next 10 years. The GC-24 project is expected to enhance the existing facility, increasing capacity by 50,000 bopd from the current level of 165,000 bopd. 

GE Oil & Gas has been awarded a surface wellhead and Christmas tree equipment and services contract by Statoil, for its Johan Sverdrup project in the North Sea. Under the multi-year agreement, GE will manufacture, deliver and install its standardized surface wellhead and Christmas tree systems at multiple wells that make up part of the field. The agreement will service and support the project over the life of the field. In addition to the supply of equipment, GE also will provide its full range of digital solutions to drive higher productivity.

InterAct, an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract with a major West Coast operator to provide well integrity management and engineering services for three gas fields in California. The scope of the contract includes the creation of individual wellbore diagrams and evaluation against current standards, along with conceptual site models to identify theoretical leak paths and classify wellbore risk factors. To comply with the state’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program regulatory requirements, the reservoir will also be analyzed to determine reserve estimates and further characterized as necessary. The company will provide a team of subject matter experts who will advise on all phases of integrity management and engineering.

FourPoint Energy closed its acquisition of Chesapeake Energy’s remaining Western Anadarko basin assets for $385 million. The assets acquired include an interest in nearly 3,500 producing wells—primarily in the Granite Wash, Missourian Wash, Upper and Lower Cleveland, and Tonkawa formations—and consist of approximately 64% natural gas and 36% oil and NGLs. The assets cover approximately 473,000 net acres, within 15 counties in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. Also included in the transaction, FourPoint will take over three field offices in Elk City, Okla., and Borger and Shamrock, Texas.

Paradigm has opened a Seismic Center of Excellence in Mumbai, India. The center, staffed by domain experts, will be dedicated to dealing with the challenges associated with processing, imaging, interpreting and modeling multi-line 2D seismic surveys. It is part of a comprehensive Geoscience Services business offered by the company for exploration and development projects around the world. Services offered include everything from full azimuth seismic imaging and characterization, to modeling and well log management.

Topaz Energy and Marine has, in a consortium led by Blue Water Shipping, secured a contract to supply and operate 15 vessels for Tengizchevroil JV in Kazakhstan. The contract is valued in excess of $350 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Topaz will commission the construction of 15 newly designed module carrying vessels, which will commence work in 2018 for a minimum contract period of three years. The 403.5-ft long vessels have been designed in collaboration with Vard Shipyard Group, and crafted to navigate shallow river systems as they transport modules and cargoes through Russian waterways to Tengiz field in Kazakhstan. 

Schlumberger has acquired Saltel Industries, a France-based engineering, manufacturing and service company. The company offers expandable patches and steel packers technology. It is headquartered in Bruz, France, with an additional five global office locations. In addition, Schlumberger has acquired Omron Oilfield and Marine, Inc., a Houston-based company that specializes in automation technology. The company designs and manufactures aftermarket services for automated drive and control systems, power houses and drillers’ cabins.

Vallourec Tube-Alloy, a Vallourec subsidiary, has opened a new plant in northern Singapore. Designated Vallourec Tube-Alloy Asia-Pacific, the new site will support OCTG activities and specialize in threading VAM premium connections on wellhead and completion equipment, as well as in manufacturing turnkey OCTG accessories. It has an annual capacity of 25,000 threads. With 50 engineers and technicians, the facility is equipped to support manufacturers based throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Protea has delivered its 0.5t SWL cargo lift to Knutsen OAS Shipping. The lift system, designed and manufactured at Protea’s production facility in southern Poland, will be installed on the Martin Linge FSO vessel that will be chartered to Total. It is fully compliant with the DNV Lifting Appliance 2.22 standard, and will be used to transport cargo from the walkway level to the helideck.

Tendeka has won a four-year contract with Wintershall Norge AS to supply sand screens for wells in the Maria, Brage, Skarfjell and Vega field developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The contract includes an additional four-year extension option. Tendeka will supply its FloMax premium mesh sand screen, which uses a multi-layer design for sand retention. Additionally, the company will supply its FloRight screen with inflow control device (ICD), which enables uniform production or injection along the entire payzone of the well. 

Noble Energy has been issued a certificate of compliance to the SEMS standard, which represents the highest criteria for safe operations of offshore drilling platforms. The certificate was issued by DNV GL Business Assurance USA, Inc.—a COS-accredited audit service provider—and is based on audits of Noble Energy’s facilities and workflows supporting Tamar field in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel. In assessing the company’s Tamar operations, DNV GL utilized SEMS audit protocols developed by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) for the Gulf of Mexico.