Issue: August 2025
SPECIAL FOCUS: Offshore Operations
Digital transformation in offshore operations doesn’t begin with most advanced complex solutions. It starts with solving the everyday data access issues that engineers face. A contextual digital twin is doing just that for FPSO operators.
The Mero-3 FPSO is among the largest deepwater oil production vessels, using advanced technology and engineering to boost oil recovery, cut emissions and improve efficiency in Brazil's Santos basin. Siemens Energy supplied topside modules, power generation, compression and electrical systems, showcasing the importance of FPSOs in global energy and sustainability efforts.
As offshore activity picks up, both in the U.S. and internationally, the need to construct new facilities is increasing. While some projects require customization, modular construction often can offer up standardization that operators frequently praise for cost savings and operational efficiencies.
Despite the offshore support vessel (OSV) market historically facing supply and demand issues, amidst the need for greater sustainability and growth in renewables, it has entered a rare phase of calm. It’s critical to take advantage of this industry cycle phase to pursue efficiencies in OSV operations.
As global offshore exploration surges in 2025, new concepts for floating assets and emerging carbon capture technologies are advancing the energy transition, with safety and sustainability at the forefront of innovation.
Offshore developments often face tight constraints during design stages, due to underestimating topsides’ sizes and weights early in the project. The keys to success are to harness what we know and what we can find out and to maintain open lines of communication during the design process.
The development of a fully electric subsea blowout preventer significantly improves BOP reliability and performance while reducing weight, wellhead fatigue, emergency disconnect times and OPEX. The full-scale testing of electric shear ram actuators on an 18¾-in BOP at HMH’s electrification lab validates the achievement of such benefits.
FEATURES
As the industry evolves to support oilfield companies’ sustainability goals, current dual-fuel solutions will enable drillers to navigate the industry’s shifting dynamics while keeping a competitive edge.
As oil and gas operators continue to seek ways to reduce their carbon footprint, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is gaining traction. With CCS, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are captured, transported to CO2 storage sites, and injected into geological formations deep underground, where they remain indefinitely.
Cavitation Technologies, Inc., specializes in development of advanced cavitation-based fluid processing systems. Their core innovation is the hydrodynamic cavitation Nano Reactor®, which has broad usage, including applications that may help to cost-effectively mitigate some of the industry’s produced water problems.
Seismic interpretation is about to get faster, smarter, and more connected. CMG Seismic Solutions is uniting Bluware, Sharp Reflections, and SeisWare into an open ecosystem that removes workflow bottlenecks, enables real-time collaboration, and transforms seismic insight into faster, more confident drilling and development decisions.
COS Safety Shares are advancing offshore safety through transparency.
COLUMNS
For all the oil and gas industry doubters out there, some interesting news surfaced recently. According to a new analysis by S&P Global Commodity insights, the methane intensity of oil and gas production in the Permian basin declined more than 50% during the 2022-2024 period.
I asked AI to tell me about sand control in oil wells. While I don’t trust AI with certain questions, especially for seeking an opinion, I had no argument about its accuracy with this straightforward “what is” question:
MANAGEMENT ISSUES
IPAA has guided the U.S. independent sector through many challenging times while representing producers’ interests in Washington, D.C. As the world changes, IPAA will adapt to new demands and opportunities, providing the energy that America needs and the facts America deserves.
