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Vol. 224 No. 10 |
EnCana Corp. has approved plans to split the company into two separate units with different focuses. EnCana (GasCo) will retain the natural gas side of the old organization, which makes up 80% of the company’s production, while oil sands production and refining will belong to the new integrated oil company Cenovus Energy Inc. The plan was first proposed in May 2008, but the company delayed a final decision when the credit crisis created an uncertain market environment.
Cortec Manifold Systems (CMS), in collaboration with its Southeast Asia partner Empayar Damai Sdn Bhd (EDSB), supplied compact manifold valves for the Tangga Barat Cluster Project offshore Malaysia. The valves were manufactured in CMS’s Houma, Louisiana, facility. The manifold consists of 29 slots with piping and valves manufactured using 316 stainless steel material. Each slot consists of multiple 6-in. double ball valves, poppet diverter valves, check valves, and 2-in. ball and throttle valves.
FMC Technologies is expanding its R&D network with the addition of a new Global Technology Center. Constructed on FMC’s Houston campus, the center will house product technical management teams and core technology groups made up of a variety of experts, including mechanical and electrical engineers, designers, metallurgists, material scientists, chemists, welding engineers and other specialists in the design and verification of deepwater equipment. It has several videoconferencing suites to connect teams around the globe, as well as visualization rooms equipped with large, high-definition monitors to display 3D animations and designs. The company also announced it will acquire Cerritos, California-based Direct Drive Systems (DDS). DDS develops and manufactures high-performance permanent magnet motors and bearings for the oil and gas industry. The transaction is valued at about $120 million.
Logan Oil Tools, a manufacturer of fishing tools and related products, announced the acquisition of Dennis Tool Co. (DTC). Based in Houston, DTC focuses on the design and manufacture of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) products including PDC cutters for oilfield drillbits, PDC bearings for downhole drilling motors and other parts for various industries.
Tesco was granted a letter of award for directional casing while drilling in Brunei. This allows the company to participate with its Casing Drilling services on any of Brunei Shell Petroleum’s operating rigs. The award was effective August 2009 for two years, with an option for a one-year renewal.
CGGVeritas announced the expansion of its open processing and imaging center in Aberdeen, UK. The center has been upgraded to support advances in the seismic imaging technology and services it provides. Technology expansions in the center include a significant investment in enhanced computer power and data throughput resources, as well as a new purpose-built client data room, with a graphics computation center for viewing of large 3D seismic volumes.
InterMoor Inc., an Acteon company, has completed design, fabrication and installation of two suction piles for the Thunder Hawk development in the Gulf of Mexico. The two 16-ft-dia. by 95-ft-long suction piles, each weighing 159 tons, were designed for 550-kip holdback capacity using a devil’s claw chain ratcheting mechanism. They were fabricated and function-tested at the company’s Amelia, Louisiana, facility to meet API RP 2SK standards. The piles were used to secure the pipeline end terminals, or PLETs, for a subsea tieback to the Thunder Hawk semisubmersible in 5,800 ft of water.
Pressure control specialist Boots & Coots has entered into an agreement to purchase Halliburton Company’s external abrasive jet cutting systems. The system is used extensively as a method to cut damaged wellhead or pressure-control equipment. It was developed by Halliburton in 1991 to assist firefighting crews in Kuwait in battling more than 700 fires left after the Iraq war. The system uses sand and water to abrade the wellhead or surface equipment, allowing the well to flow in a vertical direction so that the fire can be extinguished with water.
Alfa Laval has signed an agreement with StatoilHydro for plate heat and spiral heat exchangers. The five-year agreement, with an option to extend up to four years, means that StatoilHydro makes Alfa Laval the preferred supplier of plate and spiral heat exchangers. The agreement can be used in any project where StatoilHydro acts as an operator or technical service provider. The two companies have cooperated for the last 10 years on various oil and gas projects.
Moyno Inc. completed major expansion and upgrades to its research and development laboratories located in the Springfield, Ohio, facility, including the polymer development test lab and the hydraulics lab. The upgrades to the R&D laboratories include: advanced control systems to manage multiple tests and to track, display, record, store and retrieve a large amount of test data for analysis; new equipment for evaluating elastomer performance in controlled, simulated and actual application environments; computerized photographic capture, storage, retrieval and distribution of real-time test images with direct links to customers; and an advanced machining/manufacturing operation for quick turnaround of all prototype components needed for laboratory testing without disruption of the factory schedule.
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