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Vol. 228 No. 7 |
3M Energy and Advanced Materials Div. announced the opening of a new Oil & Gas Customer Center in Houston. The center, a first of its kind, is dedicated to accelerating application development and will spotlight the company’s applications and technologies in the oil and gas industry. The facility includes laboratory, meeting and demonstration spaces. Many applications will be highlighted at the center, focusing on drilling fluids, low-density cement, liquid filtration and pipe insulation. Technical experts will collaborate with customers on their specific needs.
The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) announced that it is launching the IADC Career Connection initiative to help drilling contractors develop non-traditional sources of recruiting in Europe and North America. With more than 100 new offshore rigs and several hundred land units being constructed, today’s workforce is stretched thin, and personnel are at a premium. The program aims to broaden the employment base beyond traditional labor sources, such as workers who are facing job losses from downsizing or plant closures. Recruitment will be conducted through direct employer workshops and traveling job fairs.
Downhole oilfield equipment supplier Sondex plans to build a new facility and expansion in Aberdeen, Scotland. The facility will comprise 1,350 sq m of offices, manufacturing and test facilities, and have an additional 3,100 sq m of yard area. It will enable enhancement of the MWD and LWD product lines and provide local customer support facilities for all products.
Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) is investing $1 billion in a new deepwater construction vessel for operation in remote areas and ultradeep water. The new vessel will be 220 m long, 88 m wide and 44 m deep. It will have a maximum speed of 20 kt, about four times the speed of the company’s current deepwater construction vessels. It will include facilities for 550 people, upgradeable to 750 people. The vessel will feature an NMD Class III dynamic positioning stationkeeping system. The dual crane capacity will allow installation of pipelines and structures from 200 m to 3,500 m water depth.
Schlumberger has acquired V.I.P.S., a UK-based reservoir geomechanics software and consulting company. The company’s office in Bracknell becomes the Schlumberger Reservoir Geomechanics Center of Excellence under the direction of V.I.P.S. founder Nick Koutsabeloulis. Also, Schlumberger will acquire Insensys Oil & Gas Ltd, a UK-based provider of non-intrusive fiber-optic measurements for subsea production systems.
WellDynamics, provider of intelligent completion technology to the upstream industry, and Expro International Group PLC, a provider of electromagnetic wireless well solutions, agreed to integrate WellDynamics’ SmartWell intelligent completion technology with Expro’s CaTS cableless transmission electromagnetic telemetry system. The integration offers improved in-well monitoring and control throughout a well’s lifecyle.
Cal Dive International, Inc., of Houston will acquire all outstanding shares of HorizonOffshore, Inc., in a stock and cash transaction valued at about $650 million. The combined company will operate a fleet of 23 diving support vessels, seven pipelay/pipebury barges, one dedicated pipebury barge, one multi-service vessel, one combination derrick/pipelay barge and two derrick barges.
The Stavanger-based wellbore technology company Ziebel AS will merge with Houston-based upstream energy services company Knowledge Reservoir. The acquisition is Ziebel’s fourth following the UK companies iCalTech Ltd. and Axon Instruments Ltd., and US company Tubel Technologies Inc., which were acquired in 2006. Knowledge Reservoir has offices in London, Aberdeen and Muscat, and has recently opened a regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Gardline Geosciences acquired Lankelma Andrews, and will do business as Gardline Lankelma in the worldwide marine geotechnical market. The company will offer worldwide geotechnics, in-house consultancy and services ranging from near-shore down to 3,000 m. It will have a pool of 10 CPT units, vibrocorers and seabed sampling systems.
GE Oil & Gas established a new field service and maintenance center for Trinidad and Tobago, one of the top five producers of LNG in the world. The center will support a 17-year contractual service agreement GE signed in 2005, covering 27 gas turbines and 47 centrifugal compressors at the Atlantic LNG facility.
Private venture capital company 3i has sold its stake in Aberdeen-based Corpro, an independent oilfield services company, to SCF Partners. Corpro is the leading independent provider of coring services to the oil and gas industry. 3i has been a major 49.5% shareholder and investor in Corpro since 1998.
Blake Drilling & Work Over Co., Inc., will build two self-propelled, multi-service jackup vessels designed by Zentech, Inc. The vessels will be the first of their type designed and built specifically to the ABS, USCG and IMO “MODU” specifications. The units will be classed as Self Propelled, Mobile Offshore, Jack Up Well Servicing Units.
McDermott International, Inc., subsidiary J. Ray McDermott, S.A., has agreed to purchase substantially all the assets of Secunda International Ltd, including 14 harsh-weather, multi-functional vessels, with capabilities including subsea construction, pipelay, cable lay and dive support. Eight of the vessels have dynamic positioning capability. The purchase price is about $260 million.
Southern Research Institute announced plans to open its Carbon-to- Liquids (C2L) Development Center in the Research Triangle of North Carolina. The facility will research technologies that convert non-petroleum carbon resources into products such as diesel, jet fuel, methanol, ethanol and electric power.
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