|
Vol. 234 No. 7
FloaTEC successfully completed the mating operation of the topsides and hull of Petrobras’ P-61, Brazil’s first tension leg wellhead platform (TLWP) near shore to the BrasFELS yard in Angra Dos Reis, Brazil, on May 12. The P-61, which uses FloaTEC’s ETLP proprietary design, will be installed later this year at Papa Terra field for Papa Terra BV, a JV between Petrobras and Chevron. FloaTEC is a 50/50 JV between Keppel O&M and McDermott International.
Ensco has ordered an additional advanced-capability DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship, based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, ENSCO DS-10, will be the eighth Samsung DP3 drillship in the Ensco fleet. It will be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd. (SHI) shipyard in South Korea, with delivery scheduled for third-quarter 2015. The agreement includes an option for an additional drillship of the same design. ENSCO DS-8 and ENSCO DS-9, also based on the GF12000 hull design, are scheduled for delivery in 2014.
Schlumberger contributed five scholarships to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ (AAPG) Outstanding Student Chapter Awards. Two universities were selected as the 2013 chapter winners, and four additional universities were awarded honorable mention student chapter scholarships. Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., was the top award recipient among U.S.-based chapters, and the Universitas Indonesia, in Jakarta, was honored as the outstanding international chapter.
Tenaris has started up two new presses at its mill in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil, after a $180-million investment. The new presses will manufacture tubes with greater wall thicknesses, in more sophisticated steel grades, capable of performing in Brazil’s deepwater, pre-salt settings. The new U- and O-forming presses will allow the manufacturing of tubes with wall thicknesses up to 1.5 in., with diameters between 12¾ in. and 48 in. The company is also installing its fifth R&D center in Brazil, at Ilha do Fundão in Rio de Janeiro. The $38-million center should open by December 2013.
InterMoor, an Acteon company, has become the first U.S.-based company to achieve certification under DNV 413: Service Suppliers Engaged in Renewal Survey Examination of Mooring Chain Intended for Mobile Offshore Units. InterMoor can now inspect, certify and recertify mooring chains and related components, such as connecting links and wire rope, for mobile offshore units that have or will have DNV classification (DNV-OSS-101 and 102). There is also scope to include water blasting of chain, visual inspections, measurements, and mechanical and non-destructive testing. The service will be available in the Gulf of Mexico, Central and South America, and West Africa.
Superior Energy-Marine Technical Services (MTS), a division of Superior Energy Services, received its first Certificate of Acceptance from a client for the use of their Arctic Containment System (ACS). Designed, built, owned and operated by MTS, the ACS was developed to act as a containment system for collection and control of potential environmental hazards, in the case of a subsea well control incident. Capable of operating in any offshore environment, it is specifically designed for work in harsh and Arctic regions.
Halliburton has opened its new Technology Center at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Technology Park, located at Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The center provides the setting for collaboration, as Halliburton works with the country’s leading universities and customer research groups to establish a global center of expertise for deepwater and mature fields, particularly those found in Brazil. The 7,062-sq-m technology center is located on three floors and includes specialized laboratories, a collaboration room, a testing area, and conference and training rooms.
Acteon plans to open a custom-built service center at the new Offshore Marine Centre in the Tuas industrial area of Singapore, to boost operations and improve customer service in Southeast Asia. Due to open in July 2013, the $11-million, 10,000-sq-m Acteon Singapore Operations Centre will support the offshore operations of Acteon companies across the region. It will be the first purpose-built Acteon center to service multiple operating companies.
Cameron recently opened its new CAMSERV aftermarket drilling facility in Singapore. While the facility will primarily serve major shipyards and offshore drilling contractors across Asia, it also will provide aftermarket support for Cameron’s global customer base. The new facility joins a network of more than 65 global service centers that offer 24-hr/day service. It will increase Cameron’s workforce in Singapore to more than 1,200 by year-end. The new facility is part of a $120-million, multi-year global investment in Cameron’s aftermarket drilling business.
Newpark Drilling Fluids, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newpark Resources, has opened its new world headquarters and laboratory facility in Katy, Texas. Newpark Drilling Fluids President Bruce Smith said the company broke ground on the project in March 2012, and that its completion places a variety of Newpark groups in one location. The facility is on 11 acres along Houston’s Interstate 10 Energy Corridor, just off Mason Road. Newpark’s research and development laboratory, including a field services lab, occupies 37,000 sq ft of the building’s 106,000 total sq ft. The lab features Newpark’s state-of-the-art downhole drilling simulator and a full range of analytical capabilities.
On June 6, 2013, Technip inaugurated its Innovation and Technology Center near Paris, on a unique site in Rueil-Malmaison. Patrick Ollier, Mayor of Rueil-Malmaison, and Thierry Pilenko, Technip’s chairman and CEO, were both present for the occasion. The center brings together more than 50 managers and specialists of subsea technologies necessary to develop underwater oil and gas fields. The facility centrally manages Technip’s technological development, and coordinates all relevant R&D centers and regional entities. Its main mission is to boost innovation, and to direct the action of the company’s partners.
Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) signed a data licensing agreement worth $6.4 million for the provision of 3D controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) and magnetotelluric (MT) data from EMGS’ multi-client data library in the Norwegian Sea. Following this transaction, EMGS has, in total, secured close to $15 million of multi-client sales from the basalt mapping program in the West of Shetland area, and production licenses 598 and 527 in the Norwegian Sea. In addition, EMGS has secured initial pre-funding for the first phase of its 2013 Barents Sea multi-client survey program, which covers approximately 3,000 sq km of 3D EM data.
Expro has been recognized for the ninth consecutive year by the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for the company’s outstanding global safety record. Expro was awarded a RoSPA commendation for excellence in health and safety at work, within the oil and gas sector, as part of the 2013 RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards.
Vallourec has dedicated a new pipe mill to serve, in particular, the North American market for production of shale hydrocarbons. Located in Youngstown, Ohio, within the existing Vallourec Star facility, the new unit further expands the range of Vallourec products manufactured in North America. With an initial annual production capacity of 350,000 t of small-diameter seamless tubes, the new mill represents an investment of $ 1.05 billion, and employs 350 people. The mill delivered its first pipe in December 2012, and will ramp-up throughout 2013.
|
