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Vol. 226 No. 8 |
Composite Mat Solutions (CMS), a subsidiary of SOLOCO, a Newpark company, has opened new headquarters in Louisiana. The plastics-molding facility will focus on developing, manufacturing and marketing thermoplastic mat systems for roadways, work pads and site access. CMS produces a thermoplastic mat with an interlocking feature called the DURA-BASE Composite Mat System. The company recently introduced a lightweight, hand-portable mat with self-contained fasteners called the BRAVO Mat System.
Halliburton has expanded its Real Time Operations Center to include a Reservoir Modeling Center of Excellence. The new modeling center provides comprehensive field development expertise in the areas of reservoir characterization, geostatistical and geocellular modeling, numerical simulation and production optimization. The offering, a part of Halliburton’s Digital and Consulting Solutions Division, is led by an integrated team with more than 60 years of industry knowledge in Canadian and international resource plays, including coalbed methane, tight gas, enhanced oil recovery and heavy oil.
Honeywell opened a new Caspian region head office in Baku, Azerbaijan. The firm is expanding its operation within the country to provide consistent and reliable support to oil and gas firms in the region, using local expertise to deliver consistent, reliable services and support to Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry.
Schlumberger contributed two $1,000 scholarships to the AAPG Outstanding Student Chapter Awards. Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, was the award recipient among US-based chapters, and Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia, was honored as the outstanding international chapter. Awards are presented yearly at the AAPG annual meeting. Student chapter requirements for selection of awards are: maintenance of student AAPG memberships; active AAPG faculty sponsor; and participation in Earth Science Week, field trips, meetings and special community events.
Dallas, Texas-based SKM Growth Investors has sponsored the acquisition of Jet-Star Co. and Rio Pumping Services, Inc., two independent oilfield services companies providing cementing, fracturing and other pressure-pumping services. The newly formed entity will operate under the name JetStar Energy Services, Inc. It will target mid-tier oil and gas producers in North Texas and Oklahoma, specifically those operating in the Barnett Shale, one of the largest gas fields in North America, producing more than half of US shale gas, about 2% of total US production.
Hercules Offshore LLC acquired a fleet of 17 liftboats from Superior Energy Services. The liftboats have leg-lengths ranging from 65 to 130 ft and are currently in the US Gulf of Mexico. The fleet will be operated as part of Hercules subsidiary, Hercules Liftboats LLC. Following the acquisition, Hercules has 38 units capable of working in water depths greater than 70 ft.
Enterra Energy Trust has agreed to acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of High Point Resources, Inc. The transaction, including assumption of High Point’s debt of about US$67 million, is valued at approximately US$250 million. High Point has about 11.5 million boe of proved and probable reserves, consisting of 54.5 Bcf of natural gas and 2.4 million bbl of oil and natural gas liquids, which will more than double Enterra’s current reserves.
Invensys Process Systems has opened a new technology center in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The facility includes well-equipped technology demonstration, customer training, and technical support areas as well as offices for local sales and engineering staffs. Staffed by 15 full-time specialists, the new technology center complements the company’s existing presence in China, which includes the Shanghai-Foxboro Co. Ltd facility in Shanghai, with its manufacturing, sales, customer support, training and engineering capabilities.
Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd., UK subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Ltd., has won a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) President’s Award for the third year in a row. The award is presented to those companies that have attained a minimum of 10 consecutive RoSPA Gold Awards. In determining the award winners, a panel of health and safety experts measures the participating companies’ accident frequencies based on lost-time injuries and reportable injuries together with proactive HSE initiatives introduced or planned. In 2004, the company developed its own in-house behavioral-based HSE Program called CORE (Continuous Observation & Risk Evaluation). Employee participation in HSE was encouraged through “HSE Program Effectiveness Surveys,” carried out on a number of projects both in the UK and other countries. In addition, Foster Wheeler participated in the European Week for Occupational Safety & Health.
Stabil Drill, a supplier of downhole tools and equipment for the oil and gas industry, delivered an urgent order for 28 tons of specialized pipe to a drill site more than 4,700 miles away, in less than six days. The operator of a production platform in the North Sea offshore Norway experienced drilling problems due to a highly deviated well, and required hole cleaning and torque reduction in the 17-1/2-in. well section. Stabil Drill mobilized 30 joints of 6-in.-OD Hydroclean drill pipe with a total weight of more than 55,000 lb, and transported the pipe to the port city of Stavanger, Norway, where it was loaded on a ship bound for the drill site. Hydroclean reduces or eliminates cuttings and torque problems associated with non-conventional wells. The project, southwest of Stavanger in the North Sea, involves drilling more than 20 wells in 400+ ft of water.
InterMoor Inc. has agreed with ATP Oil & Gas Corp. to anchor a floating production unit in the Gulf of Mexico’s Mississippi Canyon 711 for ATP’s Gomez project. InterMoor will provide and install a 12-point, taut-leg mooring system using polyester rope, which offers lower cost and better performance than conventional steel catenary systems. Additionally, InterMoor will secure the FPU to the seabed with subsea Suction Embedded Plate Anchors (SEPLAs), making this project the first permanent mooring system to use SEPLAs, a cost-effective alternative to the more traditional Suction Embedded Anchors. The system has a designed field life of 10 years. Water depth at the location is approximately 3,000 ft.
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