ISSUE 22

UKâ€™s No

ENERGY SECTOR

PUBLICATION

TEXO GROUP OPENS NEW FACILITY

IN PORT OF BLYTH P.19

The goal of reducing decommissioning costs by 35% is in mind. The industry is working towards making decommissioning in the UK Continental Shelf safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly. It’s all got to be done for less than £39 billion, so project expenditure is under the microscope. But every decom project comes with a mammoth amount of information, regulation and documentation. Time is wasted hunting down that piece of legislation, or the results of that environmental survey you received a couple of days ago. Maybe it was last week actually. Perhaps someone saved it in a shared folder already. But is it the current version?

Wasted time costs money. Find what you’re looking for, instantly.

Manage your decommissioning projects with ease, with Microsoft Office and ESRI ArcGIS integration, intelligent workflows, advanced search, version control, and a complete audit history.

oilandgas@m-filesinc.com

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CONTENTS FEATURES THIS MONTH 06

UK North Sea review

What lies beneath: Making way for offshore windfarms

Renewables Global Overview

Will surging U.S. exports lead the way to a clean energy future?

A responsible, sustainable future for procurement in oil and gas

16 18

Overview: Gulf of Mexico

Future Oil & Gas creates ‘exciting next chapter’ for industry in transition

Texo opens new facility in port of Blyth

Interview with Steve Higgon, CEO of TAAP

Mental Health Training - Supporting a happier & healthier workforce

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY 22

TAXI™ Solution: how a new approach to radiography inspections avoids nucleonic trips

The ripple effect of one compressor part

The future is now: Operational Risk Management Digital Twins in practice

EVERY MONTH 26

Women in industry - Pia Turcinov, Board member & Director of National Energy Resources Australia

A day in the life - Marnix Boorsma, Partner at KPMG Advisory

30 32 36 38 40 42 43

World Projects Map

Contract Awards On the move - Recruitment Bassoe Analytics - Rig Utilisation OGA Project Tracker - Pathfinder Legal & Finance - Renewables on the up? Events

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LETTER AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Journalists Tsvetana Paraskova Kirsty Whyte Loren Steffy

Editor’s Letter

Kenny Dooley Managing Director

Design Ben Mckay Fara West Contributors Gary Thirkettle Jim McNab Jean-Louis Alderweirelt Scott Lehmann Steve Higgon Pia Turcinov Marnix Boorsma Mike Sibson Neil Anderson Printed by C-Growth

In recent years there has been an increased spotlight on renewable energy sources with it now being considered a mainstream energy source. More companies are taking steps towards a more carbon-friendly future as the whole energy sector strives for cleaner energy and an overall cleaner industry. To highlight the importance of these issues, this month we dedicate our issue to a renewables focus. Check out our global renewables overview and N-Sea’s article on making way for offshore windfarms.

software platforms can de-risk and simplify your digitalisation journey.

Our regional focus this month brings us to the Gulf of Mexico, which has well and truly recovered after one of the worst downturn’s in the oil and gas industry. In fact, the region saw its highest annual average production last year, and is on track to set another record this year.

For this issue’s “Day in the Life” segment, we follow Marnix Boorsma - Partner at KPMG for Energy & Natural Resources. KPMG’s oil and gas network serves all areas of the industry, helping to future proof decision making. Marnix gives an insight in to his senior role and the career background that lead to this.

Our UK North Sea Review is back and reports that investment is on the rise in the UK oil and gas sector. Read more to find out how the UK’s North Sea operators and contractors are investing more in people, research and development (R&D), technology, and new markets, bucking the trend of the wider UK economy. FOR MORE INFORMATION VIEW OUR MEDIA PACK

This month our cover star is digital transformation specialist, TAAP. Their expertise ranges from machine learning, data visualisation, mobility and integration and business process change. TAAP allows companies to understand how modern

Our “Women in Industry” is Pia Turcinov, Board member & Director of National Energy Resources Australia. Pia champions diversity within energy and technology and won the 2018 Gender Equity Promotion award. We learn more about her career background and passion for highlighting STEM skills as a pathway to stimulating career options.

Over in our “Innovation and Technology” zone, we explore Oceaneering’s TAXI solution - the new approach to radiography inspections that avoids nucleonic trips. Meanwhile, Compressor Products International share their Hi-Flo RS valve which stands apart from other products in remote and offshore applications because of its replaceable PEEK seat plate. We also discover how an Operational Risk Management (ORM) Digital Twin can help connect previously disparate business processes in ways that haven’t been possible until now.

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UK NORTH SEA

UK North Sea Oil & Gas Review By Tsvetana Paraskova

Investment is on the rise in the UK oil and gas sector Research showed that investment is on the rise in the UK oil and gas sector. A conference discussed how the industry and the supply chain are getting ready for the energy transition. Authorities awarded frontier offshore licences, a major asset transaction, and a major field start-up (these were the highlights of the UK North Sea oil and gas industry between the middle of May and early June.) UK’s North Sea operators and contractors are investing more in people, research and development (R&D), technology, and new markets, bucking the trend of the wider UK economy, a report from the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce showed on 29 May. According to the 30th Oil and Gas survey conducted by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute and KPMG UK, confidence is rising across licence holders, operators, and the supply chain for the first time since the downturn. The proportion of firms from the supply chain working at or above optimum levels in the UKCS is the highest since the 2014 survey results—at 49%, the latest survey showed. Moreover, 90% of firms are optimistic about the long-term future of Aberdeen as a global energy hub. Nearly three quarters, or 72%, of firms expect their profits to increase this year. “Our survey paints a picture of an optimistic industry, investing to deliver the opportunity of a productive UKCS and a vibrant future for Aberdeen as an all energy hub,” Shane Taylor, Research and Policy Manager at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said, commenting on the survey. “The levels of optimism reported in our survey are encouraging but for those of us passionate about the fu-

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“It has been very encouraging to see the industry generating new prospects and play concepts, and seeking acreage in areas which have never before been licensed, such as parts of the East Shetland Platform, underlining the positive impact of ongoing Government-funded data initiatives,” said Dr Nick Richardson, Head of Exploration and New Ventures at the OGA.

ture of the region, it’s excellent to see an overwhelming majority of firms are optimistic about the long-term future of Aberdeen as not just Europe’s oil and gas capital, but as an all-energy hub which will be relevant long after the UKCS comes to the end of its operational phase,” Taylor noted. The UK’s oil and gas industry’s comeback “is very much in progress,” OGUK Chief Executive Deirdre Michie said in a speech at the OGUK Industry Conference in Aberdeen on 4 June.

The OGA will now launch the 32nd round this summer for exploration and field development opportunities in mature areas of the UKCS. In mid-May 2019, the OGA launched a UKCS technology portal, aiming to give a clear picture of existing technologies and identify the R&D opportunities for future technologies.

Oil and gas production on the UKCS has increased by 20 %over the past five years, Michie said, noting that costs are being held at an average of $15 a barrel, while efficiency in production has risen to 75% from the low-60s%.

In deals on the UKCS over the past weeks, the highlight was Ithaca Energy buying Chevron’s North Sea business, Chevron North Sea Limited (CNSL), for US$2 billion. Ithaca Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Israeli integrated energy company Delek Group Limited.

“Our fiscal regime continues to be one of the most globally competitive and capital is being attracted back into the basin,” Michie said. More than £3.2 billion was invested in 13 projects in 2018, and roughly the same amount is expected for 2019 too, OGUK reckons.

“The acquisition of CNSL is a significant step forward in the long term development of Ithaca Energy and underlines our belief in the North Sea, particularly in the UK Central North Sea where the enlarged business will own a range of interests in a number of key producing assets,” Ithaca Energy’s CEO Les Thomas said.

“No one wants to see a return to boom and bust, and this is where innovative projects and ways of working including the use of new technologies can unlock activity in a sustainable way and this industry has some great and increasing examples of this happening today,” said Michie on 4 June.

Commenting on the deal, Mike Tholen, Oil & Gas UK’s Upstream Policy Director, said,

On the same day, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) said that it had offered to award 37 licence areas over 141 blocks or part-blocks to 30 companies in the 31st Offshore Licensing Round for exploration and production in frontier areas—in the Faroe-Shetland Basin, Moray Firth, East Irish Sea, East Shetland Platform, Mid North Sea High and English Channel. Supermajors as well as first-time entrants, were awarded licences, the OGA said.

“The deal continues the UK trend of smaller companies taking on assets from the majors. Following hot on the heels of Chrysaor’s deal with ConocoPhillips, we’ve seen assets worth almost US$5 billion change hand in the last few months.” In other deals and field development plans and updates, one of the highlights was Total starting up production from the Culzean gas condensate field. With a plateau production expected at 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), Culzean will account for around 5% of the UK’s gas consumption, Total said on 11 June. “The Culzean project is delivered ahead of schedule and more than 10% below the initial budget, which represents Capex savings of more than 500 million dollars,” said Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration and Production at Total. The Culzean field contains resources estimated at between 250 and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent. The project includes the drilling of six wells, and the construction of three bridge-linked platforms and of a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) unit. Gas from Culzean is exported via the CATS pipeline and the UK National Grid, while condensate is stored in the FSO for offloading by shuttle tanker, Total says. Zennor Petroleum announced on 21 May the successful completion of drilling and testing operations at its 100% owned Finlaggan field in the UK Central North Sea.

“This $2 billion transaction is a further signal of confidence in the industry – and highlights how the hard work to improve the attractiveness of the UK Continental Shelf is enabling a diverse range of investors to play into the basin, reinvigorating activity.”

“With the drilling and completion phase behind us we are now fully focussed on the Summer 2019 subsea installation programme which will take us another step closer to realising first production from Finlaggan next year,” said Martin Rowe, Zennor’s Managing Director.

According to Kevin Swann, senior research analyst, North Sea upstream, at Wood Mackenzie,

On the same day, energy logistics company Peterson said it had doubled its marine gasoil (MGO) capacity in

UK NORTH SEA

“We see Aberdeen Harbour as the long term supply hub for the North Sea and view this as a valuable investment to support the required efficiencies of the modern energy industry,” Chris Coull, Director at Peterson, said. Aberdeen Marine Surveyors Ltd (AMS Global Group) announced on 22 May that it had entered into an agreement to start a 50/50 joint venture company with Boatlabs of Norway, which will be called Boatlabs AMS and will provide dynamic positioning, offshore and marine services in both the UK and Norway. Perenco has extended and expanded their support contract with Servelec Controls for service, support, and maintenance of Perenco’s North Sea assets. Perenco and Servelec Controls extended their agreement for another two years, covering three onshore sites, Dimlington Onshore Terminal in Humberside, Bacton Onshore Terminal in Norfolk and the Remote Group Control Room (RGCR) at Bacton, plus 11 associated offshore assets in the North Sea, including both manned and unmanned gas platforms, Servelec Controls said in May. On 23 May, London-based private equity firm Blue Water Energy said that it had bought Pipeline Technique Limited (a provider of high-end pipeline welding, field joint coating and spoolbase services to the energy industry) from Heerema Marine Contractors for an undisclosed sum. Petrofac said on 28 May that it had secured two North Sea contract extensions for operations and maintenance (O&M) for long-standing clients worth a combined US$32 million. Petrofac secured a 12-month renewal from Total E&P

“

We see Aberdeen Harbour as the long term supply hub for the North Sea and view this as a valuable investment to support the required efficiencies of the modern energy industry

Said Chris Coull, Director at Peterson

UK for O&M support to its Alwyn and Dunbar platforms in the Northern North Sea—a role it has held for 14 years. Petrofac also signed a 12-month extension with a major International Oil Company (IOC), under which it will continue to provide offshore and onshore O&M support to one of its platforms in the Central North Sea. Malaysia-listed Hibiscus Petroleum said in May that it is conducting the subsurface field development engineering studies at the Marigold and Sunflower fields in the UKCS, as part of drafting a field development plan by the end of 2020. “Development options being currently considered include a fixed platform, a floating solution, as well as a tieback to existing, nearby infrastructure solutions,” Hibiscus Petroleum said.

third-party restrictions at Cygnus. In development and exploration in the UKCS, Neptune Energy spudded Darach in May and expects to spud Isabella in the third quarter, ahead of schedule, the company said.

Senior Vice President for UK and Ireland offshore.

On 31 May, industrial aviation service provider Bristow Group Inc announced a new contract with BP to support its North Sea operations by delivering a fully integrated aviation solution from bases in Aberdeen and Sumburgh for a five year primary term which commenced on 13 May 2019.

“Lancaster is the UK’s first producing fractured basement field and the fact that Hurricane has delivered this industry milestone on time and within budget is an incredible achievement,” Hurricane Energy’s CEO, Dr Robert Trice, said.

BEL Valves, part of the British Engines Group, said on 3 June that it had entered a joint venture with Plexus Ocean Systems Ltd to provide high integrity valves for the supply of full-package surface Xmas trees and wellhead products for the oil and gas industry. The joint venture company Plexus Pressure Control Limited (PPC) will be based at Plexus’ facility in Dyce, Aberdeen.

Jersey Oil & Gas said on 28 May that it had agreed terms with Total E&P UK Limited (TEPUK) in relation to TEPUK’s termination of its 2013 farm-in to licence P2032, and under the full and final settlement, JOG will receive £750,000 from TEPUK.

Equinor and its partners plan to take a final investment decision (FID) for the Rosebank project on the UKCS by May 2022, the Norwegian oil and gas major said on 4 June.

Neptune Energy reported on 29 May that its UK North Sea production averaged 16,700 boepd in the first quarter of 2019, up by 20 percent from the prior period, thanks to improved production efficiency and fewer

“We believe there is more value to capture in Rosebank including the opportunity to reduce development cost,” said Hedda Felin, Equinor’s

“

Aberdeen with the addition of a new tank for a £3 million investment.

Hurricane Energy said on 5 June that it had achieved first oil from the Lancaster field to the west of Shetland.

“We have successfully achieved our start-up data acquisition objectives and commenced the evaluation of this material. Up to 12 months of stable production will be required in order to provide a clear view of the reservoir and enable us to plan for associated full field development scenarios,” Trice noted. Cluff Natural Resources Plc, which has an exploration and appraisal portfolio focused on the Southern and Central North Sea, announced on 5 June a placing and subscription of new ordinary shares, seeking to raise at least £15 million to fund the company’s share of well costs on the Selene and Pensacola prospects, to invest in advancing its other North Sea licences and potential future licence awards, as well as for general, working capital and corporate purposes.

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RENEWABES

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on renewable energy sources with it now being considered a mainstream energy source. There has been a growing appetite for offshore wind farms as global energy demands increase and last year the total number of connected offshore windfarms in Europe reached 105 which equates to a total of 4,543 connected turbines across 11 countries.

Currently, with 37 active offshore windfarms and a total of 2,016 turbines generating 8,483.420 MW, the UK is one of the biggest offshore wind contributors with windfarms in the North Sea accounting for 70% of Europe’s offshore wind capacity. Additionally, investment in new projects across Europe continues with 12 projects reaching Final Investment Decision last year. Like all construction projects, there is a substantial amount of planning and work which needs to take place prior to installation. A crucial part of the offshore windfarm construction process is clearing the site where the turbines will be installed, including the route where cables will be laid, to ensure there are no obstacles, some of which could be dangerous. During the Second World War approximately 600,000 to 1,000,000 naval mines of all types were laid. Clearance campaigns began after the war however almost 75 years later, there are still thousands of unexploded ordnances (UXO) present offshore. UXOs are often found during offshore projects, which pose a potential threat to work and vessels, especially when laying cables in the seabed. A cost-effective and efficient riskbased solution for the mitigation of UXO is therefore a priority for offshore projects. UXO management is split into three distinct activities: geographical survey to search for magnetic contacts; visual identification of any contacts to determine if they are UXOs, debris or boulders for example; and then the removal of the object and disposal of any UXOs found. N-Sea, a leading integrated subsea infrastructure services provider, delivers a comprehensive range of survey and IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair) services to the oil

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What lies beneath: Making way for offshore windfarms By Gary Thirkettle, Chief Commercial Officer at N-Sea

and gas, renewables and civil contracting communities. Specialising in subsea surveys, N-Sea has an impressive track record of UXO campaigns which includes the investigation and mapping of potential targets using state-of-the-art survey technologies, ROVs and divers. New technologies are enabling safer and more efficient clearance campaigns and as such the company’s survey expertise and wealth of experience in this area has been used to develop the next-generation of UXO detection equipment – MagSense. MagSense is an innovative vertical gradiometer array system which delivers highly accurate UXO campaign data within the renewables and oil and gas sectors. Developed by N-Sea in collaboration with EIVA, MagSense collects and records high resolution data in magnetically noisy subsea environments and hostile conditions, delivering greater efficiency, unprecedented accuracy and enhanced safety. The systems manoeuvrability and flexibility have been designed specifically to reflect modern-day imperatives in offshore construction and can be tailored to individual client requirements.

The pioneering system was first adopted during the installation of offshore windfarms in the German Bight. Pre-installation research had identified the work sites as high-risk areas for UXO; therefore, installation could only commence after clearance work had taken place across these locations. Unfortunately, UXO are not always in plain sight and for a clearance campaign to be successful, all suspected targets must be identified and removed – even if they are buried. The difficulties of identifying and extracting buried targets are well documented; however, by engaging vertical gradiometry, MagSense is able to better discriminate between potential UXO and other obstacles therefore removing the need for further target investigation. This is highly beneficial as it results in less excavation, less time and ultimately, less cost. During this project, a challenge presented itself when the expected targets were not only extremely small in size and weight, but were also buried in the seabed. Add to this an already challenging North Sea environment with strong currents, and a rapidly changing seabed and poor visibility,

the need for a high-tech survey solution becomes quickly apparent. MagSense was deployed not only because it could perform with greater accuracy than competitors’ systems, but it could do so with maximum efficiency. The technology enabled vessels to operate at a higher survey speed, which meant each campaign was successfully completed in less time and delivered a 50% reduction in offshore operation time when compared to previous projects. This project proved MagSense to be invaluable in producing more efficient and accurate UXO survey results in highly challenging conditions. MagSense has since been used on numerous offshore renewables UXO projects, including clearance campaigns on several windfarms across the UK and Europe. So, what makes MagSense ideally suited to offshore windfarm construction projects? Aside from the highly accurate data which is obtained using this technology and enhanced project safety, MagSense has been specifically designed to conduct wide seabed surveys thereby covering a larger area than other survey technologies and is suitable

JUNE RIG STATISTICS for use in all environments. What is also unique about MagSense is the added ability to collect high quality, high density gradiometer data in shallow tidal areas. Used alongside the EIVA 3D Scanfish, the MagSense frame can be towed through water in ways previously not possible. This means even the most uneven and difficult terrain is surveyed accurately and consistently. Additional sensors improve control and the 3D steering of the frame significantly reduces the amount of infill to be budgeted for which further reduces operational time. MagSense also features a unique launch-and-recovery system (LARS) which significantly reduces risk to personnel by keeping manual handling to a minimum and removing the need to swing loads which can have serious HSE implications. MagSense has vastly enhanced the safety of UXO projects and is an example of N-Seaâ€™s commitment to delivering safe, sound and swift operations. The LARS system further exemplifies this and is being further developed to ensure it can operate in even harsher sea conditions than it currently operates to further improve efficiency without compromise to safety. As the drive for renewable and sustainable energy sources continues it is imperative to know exactly what lies beneath the surface as the seabed is cleared to make way for offshore windfarms. Engaging the services of experts in the field of UXO clearance who have innovative technologies at their disposal to accurately, efficiently and safely identify and clear work sites of UXO and other obstacles remains essential.

Source: Infield Rigs 14/06/2019 The data above focuses on the marketed rig fleet and excludes assets that are under construction, retired,

destroyed, deemed non-competitive or cold stacked.

RENEWABES

Renewables Global Overview

Although the share of renewables in the energy mix varies from one country to another and from one market to another, all analyst forecasts point to a continued growing trend of renewable energy deployment around the world.

By Tsvetana Paraskova

In recent years, renewable power generation and capacity installations have been growing while renewable power costs have been steadily falling, making the case for renewable energy as a low-cost solution to rising carbon emissions in the long-term.

Currently, a third of global power capacity is based on renewable energy sources, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a report in April 2019.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) also warned that the world cannot afford to hit the ‘pause button’ on renewable capacity growth.

Renewable energy capacity added 171 gigawatts (GW) globally in 2018, up by 7.9% on the year, driven by capacity additions in solar and wind energy which together accounted for 84% of last year’s growth, IRENA said in its annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2019.

Renewable power capacity growth flattened in 2018, growing at the same pace as in 2017, which “raises concerns about meeting long-term climate goals,” the IEA said in May 2019. According to the agency, the 2018 net capacity additions represented only 60% of the net additions needed each year to meet long-term climate goals.

As of the end of last year, global renewable generation capacity amounted to 2,351 GW, with hydropower representing the largest share with installed capacity of 1,172 GW, the statistics showed. Generation capacity of renewable energy grew at the same pace in 2018 as in 2017—at 7.9%, with solar energy booking the largest growth, 24% or 94 GW of capacity increase, followed by wind energy with an increase of 49 GW, or 10% growth.

“Thanks to rapidly declining costs, the competitiveness of renewables is no longer heavily tied to financial incentives,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director.

Over the past two decades, the share of renewables in the growth of global electricity generation capacity has increased from about 25% in 2001 to 63% in 2018. The share of renewables in total global generation capacity has also increased—from 22% back in 2001 to 33% in 2018, IRENA said.

“What we mainly need are stable policies supported by a long-term vision but also a focus on integrating renewables into power systems in a cost-effective and optimal way. Stop-and-go policies are particularly harmful to markets and jobs,” Mr Birol added.

The agency, however, noted that the world needs to employ renewable energies faster if it were to meet the Paris climate goals. “Renewable energy deployment needs to grow even faster, however, to ensure that we can achieve the global climate objectives and Sustainable Development Goals,” IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin said, commenting on the statistics.

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RENEWABLES

Costs have dropped so much in recent years that renewable power is already the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world, IRENA said in its Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018 report on 29 May. According to the report, more than three-quarters of the onshore wind and four-fifths of the utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) project capacity to be commissioned in 2020 should provide lower-priced electricity than the cheapest new coal-fired, oil or natural gas option, without financial assistance. “Cost reductions for solar and wind power technologies are set to continue to 2020 and beyond,” IRENA said, noting that falling costs will make renewable power “the competitive backbone of the global energy sector transformation.”

Going forward, renewable energy investment and installation are expected to continue to grow around the world. According to energy research and business intelligence firm Rystad Energy, total capital expenditure (capex) in renewable projects in Asia excluding China will outpace investment in oil and gas exploration and production as soon as in 2020, thanks to higher renewable energy investment in Australia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea. “These countries each have strong pipelines for renewable energy developments of all types, including offshore wind,” Gero Farruggio, Head of Renewables at Rystad Energy, said in May 2019, commenting on an analysis of investments. “And, importantly, most have large targets outlining the inclusion of renewable power sources within their respective energy mixes, with corresponding support policies,” Farruggio noted.

In the UK, renewable energy sources play an increasingly important role in electricity generation and in government plans to boost renewable energy investment and encourage business growth in the respective supply chains and their exports.

In 2018, the UK electricity generation’s fuel mix continued to shift away from fossil fuels, thanks to rising renewable energy generation which accounted for 33.3% of electricity generation, according to data from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The rising share of renewables contributed to a higher share of low carbon generation, up by 2.7 percentage points to 52.8% in 2018, despite lower nuclear power generation due to maintenance. According to the latest provisional monthly data published by BEIS on 30 May, the share of renewables of electricity generation in March 2019 was at a record high of 37.4%, while the share of wind power also hit a record high at 26.6% of electricity generation. The UK government launched in March 2019 a joint government-industry Offshore Wind Sector Deal, whereby offshore wind is set to provide more than 30 percent of British electricity by 2030. “This deal will mean for the first time in UK history there will be more electricity from renewables than fossil fuels, with 70% of British electricity predicted to be from low carbon sources by 2030 and over £40 billion of infrastructure investment in the UK,” the government said. The deal is part of plans to make the UK a global leader in renewables and to support the supply chain, potentially boosting its exports fivefold to £2.6 billion by 2030.

“We have a fantastic supply chain already in place in the UK, from businesses in and around East Anglia to across England, across Scotland as well as Northern Ireland. The Sector Deal will attract even more businesses in the UK to join the offshore wind supply chain and we are excited to see the transformative impact this will have on our projects,” ScottishPower Chief Executive, Keith Anderson said, commenting on the Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

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REGIONAL FOCUS

Will Surging U.S. Exports Lead the Way to a Clean Energy Future? By Loren Steffy

In late May, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had approved additional liquified natural gas exports from a terminal on Quintana Island, Texas. In a press release, the U.S. Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes said the project, operated by Freeport LNG, was “critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world.” The release quoted another

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DOE official, Steven Winberg, as saying the department was promoting an efficient regulatory system that “allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported to the world.”

told my wife I needed to fill the car up with “freedom juice.” Jokes aside, the Trump’s administration’s sloganeering grabbed the media’s attention and wasted an opportunity to explain the significance of America’s newfound energy abundance to a public that has little understanding of energy

The social media mockery was swift and deserved, and I must admit, I made a few quips myself. That night, on the way to dinner, I

markets, or how rising American energy production affects them. At the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston in early May, the buzzwords were “energy transition” - the recognition that fossil fuels will get cleaner and help to speed the diversification of our energy mix to include other sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen.

“

In the same press release touting “freedom gas,” the DOE noted that exporting LNG means “cleaner air here and around the globe,” but it didn’t go into detail. Unfortunately, many Americans see exports as the latest example of profiteering by greedy oil companies.

For the first time in more than six decades, the United States is on the verge of becoming a net exporter of energy. Such a development would have been unthinkable even 10 years ago, but hydraulic fracturing has created a tectonic shift in global energy markets.

Declining demand for heavy crude, combined with the growing demand for clean fuels, is boosting the profitability of U.S. refiners. The refining industry’s gross margin was 12.4% in the first quarter, compared with 5.9% a year earlier. Sanctions on heavy crude from Venezuela, a key supplier for Gulf Coast refiners, may crimp profits slightly, but the overall market dynamics will continue to play to the industry’s favour.

U.S. oil production will approach 13 million barrels a day by the end of next year, and by then, the country will export more crude oil and fuel products than it imports, according to a forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (Some private forecasts predict it will happen sooner.) The U.S. already has become a net exporter of natural gas, and the EIA expects an additional 8% increase, to an all-time high of more than 90 billion cubic feet, the EIA said.

However, U.S. refiners aren’t entirely ignoring the shale boom going on in West Texas, either. Instead of relying on one grade of crude, many are hedging their bets, buying some West Texas Intermediate as well as heavier grades from overseas. Oil imports on the Gulf Coast recently hit their lowest level in three decades. The 1.8 million barrels a day imported in March represents a 70% decline since 2007, EIA reports.

Last year, oil output broke a record set in 1970, and the EIA predicts it will continue to rise steadily, setting new records annually through 2027. Once the U.S. achieves its status a net exporter, it will likely remain one for decades to come.

In fact, rising U.S. exports represent an opportunity to align the interests of energy companies and environmentalists in a way we haven’t seen since before the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969. Exports are a key step toward moving the world closer to a clean energy future, regardless of the Trump administration’s stance on climate change.

This new web of exports and imports will become increasingly important as new standards for marine fuels take effect in 2020.

Many environmentalists scoff at the industry’s sincerity, but the shift to cleaner fuels is more about market demand than political policy. Most U.S. refiners long ago calibrated their plants for heavy-crude imports. While some are adapting to the lighter crude produced domestically, a system is emerging in which U.S. refiners - which are among the most advanced in the world continue to import heavy crude, strip out the sulphur content, and produce cleaner-burning transportation fuel. Meanwhile, the lighter crude being exported is used by refineries in other countries who lack those sulphur-removing capabilities, enabling them to produce lower-sulphur fuel abroad.

Crude oil and refined products, however, are only half the story. This year, the U.S. will surpass Malaysia to become the third-largest LNG exporter behind Australia and Qatar. Even more stunning is the fact that the U.S. shipped its first batch of LNG just three years ago. Since then, exports have surged to almost 110 billion cubic feet, supplying 33 countries. That capacity may double by the end of this year as more terminals — such as the Freeport LNG terminal on Quintana Island — come online. Forecasters see LNG demand

rising as much as 9% globally over the next few years. In addition, new pipelines are transporting more gas from West Texas to Mexico. America now supplies about 65 percent of Mexico’s gas, and that number likely will grow thanks to a decision by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to prohibit fracking. America’s trade wars with China and other countries, as well as sanctions against oil-producing nations such as Iran, Venezuela and, perhaps, Mexico, could disrupt this evolving market in the short term. But over the long term, America’s energy production - oil, natural gas, fuels and renewables - will keep rising for at least a generation. As the world demands cleaner fuels, it’s the U.S. and its rising exports that will lead the way - not by exporting molecules of U.S. freedom, but by bringing greater efficiency to the global energy market and ensuring the widespread development of cleaner fuels. As part of this market democratisation, environmentalists may have to find new villains, or at least be more selective in choosing them. The proliferation of natural gas, its growing use in electricity production, the drive to reduce carbon emissions from transport fuels, and the export of crude to refineries that can best use them in making the cleanest products are crucial first steps toward the energy transition of the future. Loren Steffy’s latest book George P. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet, will be published in October. Contact him at loren@lorensteffy.com

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Reduce - reuse - recycle A responsible, sustainable future for procurement in oil and gas

At Craig International, we pioneered smart procurement for the oil and gas industry. With an expert international team and unrivalled access to manufacturers and vendors around the world, we’ve built systems and delivered economies that make procurement leaner and less wasteful.

methods and choosing more sustainable options wherever we can. In our own business we’re reducing our carbon footprint and reducing waste in our offices, stores, vehicles and working patterns. We can also have a huge impact by influencing our partners, suppliers and customers.

But now it’s time to get tough. Sustainability and environmental responsibility are top of the agenda for client businesses, industry bodies, governments and consumers. Concern for environmental issues is likely to become ever more intense in years to come, and it’s a concern that we at Craig International share.

We source millions of items every year. From major pieces of engineering equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to tail spend MRO items, upstream, downstream and beyond. We’re actively engaging with suppliers to fulfil their environmental responsibilities and working with oil majors to deliver sustainable product options. We call this initiative EcoBuy, and it’s a key element of our business plan for now and the future.

Happily, we’re in a position to do something about it. We’re adapting our working

We’re also committed to helping our customers work more sustainably. One example is our EnergySurplus service, which helps businesses all over the world buy and sell unwanted materials and equipment. Not only does it cut waste and save on raw materials, but EnergySurplus also allows our customers to realise value tied up in surplus stock. At Craig we’re aiming for a circular economy, where resources remain in use for as long as possible to extract maximum value with minimum waste. We’re actively looking to engage with like-minded businesses - as suppliers and as customers - so we can work together to achieve real progress.

We’re delivering more and using less. It’s good for business - and it’s good for the environment.

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REGIONAL FOCUS

Overview Gulf of Mexico By Tsvetana Paraskova

The Gulf of Mexico has definitely recovered from one of the worst downturns in the oil and gas sector in a generation - the region saw its highest annual average production last year and is on track to set another record this year.

Major oil companies have sanctioned and brought online new projects since 2017 and continue to expand their development plans in the Gulf of Mexico as they have managed to bring costs down.

Rising production, especially in Texas, resulted in US annual crude oil production reaching 10.96 million bpd in 2018, up by 17% compared to 2017 and beating the previous production record from 1970.

Analysts expect drilling activity and investment to return to the Gulf of Mexico this year and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the area to pick up.

In the Gulf of Mexico, oil and natural gas producers brought online 11 new projects last year, while eight new projects are expected to come online this year, the EIA said in April 2019.

In 2018, crude oil production in the federal US Gulf of Mexico increased by 61,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the highest annual average of 1.74 million bpd, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The Gulf of Mexico was the second-biggest oil producing region in 2018, after Texas, which pumped 40% of all US crude oil production last year.

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The number of producing natural gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico dropped from 3,271 in 2001 to 875 in 2017, leading to a decline in the regionâ€™s natural gas production, the Administration said last November. However, a total of 16 new field starts in 2018 and 2019 combined may slow or even reverse the nearly two-decade decline in natural gas production

YEAR COUNTRY FOCUS

AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2018 - $74.41 in the Gulf of Mexico, the EIA noted. These 16 projects have a combined natural gas resource estimate of about 836 billion cubic feet. This year, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is set for another record-breaking performance, Rystad Energy reckons. The energy research and business intelligence company forecasts that oil production this year will average 1.95 million bpd, with some months potentially touching the 2 million bpd threshold, also thanks to Royal Dutch Shell’s new oil and gas platform Appomattox, which began production in May 2019, months ahead of schedule. Appomattox, which currently has an expected production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), is the first commercial discovery brought into production in the deepwater Norphlet formation - the first ever production from a Jurassic play in the Gulf of Mexico. Industry analysts will be watching closely the development and production at Appomattox for indications about other potential reservoirs in the Norphlet formation.

“Appomattox creates a core longterm hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries,” Andy Brown, Upstream Director at Shell, said. Commenting on Appomattox and the Gulf of Mexico’s oil production, Joachim Milling Gregersen, Analyst on Rystad Energy’s Upstream team, said: “The torch has been carried by large deepwater fields, of which Appomattox is the latest contribution.” Another major oil company and one of the largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, BP, advanced plans in May to expand its Thunder Horse project, sanctioning the development of Thunder Horse South Expansion Phase 2 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico—a project expected to add 50,000 bpd of oil production. “This latest expansion at Thunder Horse is another example of how the Gulf of Mexico is leading the way in advantaged oil growth for BP, unlocking significant value and safely growing a high-margin business,” said Starlee Sykes, BP’s regional president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada. “It also highlights our continued growth and momentum in a region that will remain a key part of BP’s global portfolio for years to come,” Sykes said.

Shell’s Appomattox is a cornerstone of its global deepwater strategy, and all eyes will be on the well performance of the potential heavy hitter, according to WoodMac. The energy consultancy also expected a potentially thriving M&A market in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019. In April, Murphy Oil Corporation said that it would buy deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets from LLOG Exploration Offshore for US$1.6 billion. The transaction makes Murphy the eighth-biggest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, while only a year ago, they were number 20, Imran Khan, Senior Research Manager, US Gulf of Mexico Upstream Oil and Gas, at WoodMac, said. “We forecast a big year for M&A in the Gulf of Mexico, and the momentum is starting to pick up,” Khan noted. In May 2019, Equinor said that it had exercised its preferential rights to buy an additional 22.45% interest in the Caesar Tonga oil field from Shell for US$965 million in cash, boosting Equinor’s interest from 23.55% to 46%. “Deepwater Gulf of Mexico forms an important part of Equinor’s portfolio. This deal will strengthen our position in this prolific basin and build on the recent discovery in the Blacktip well. Later this year we will be drilling the Equinor-operated Monument prospect, which has the potential to further develop our position in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Christopher Golden, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Development and Production International, North America Offshore. Exploration activity in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to increase by 30 percent this year, with Shell and Chevron leading the way. However, the actual exploration growth will come from new entrants – Kosmos Energy, Equinor, Total, Murphy, and Fieldwood, according to WoodMac. One of those new entrants, Kosmos Energy, announced in early June 2019 the first success from the 2019 Gulf of Mexico exploration campaign - an oil discovery at Gladden Deep in which Kosmos holds a 20% working interest.

Aker BP, on behalf of the Wellhead Platform Alliance, awarded PG Flow Solutions a contract to supply a number of pump systems to the Valhall Flank West wellhead platform. International pump manufacturer, Sulzer has released its BLUE BOX advanced remote analytics platform, which had gone live for US energy company, Phillips 66. Alfa Laval had won two orders – together worth SEK125 million – to provide Framo pumping systems for an oil platform and an FPSO in the North Sea.

YEARS AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2014 - $58.10 The Swiss company, Sulzer, acquired both Grayson Armature businesses - Grayson Armature Large Motor Division Inc (Houston) and Grayson Armature Orange Texas, Inc - for an enterprise value of US$42 million. Grayson Armature expects revenues of US$35 million in 2014. The Chilean pump manufacturer Neptuno Pumps was selected as winner of the ‘Engineering and production technology leadership’ award at the 2014 Manufacturing Leadship Awards, celebrated in Palm Beach, FL (USA). In Moscow, Russia 15 – 19 June 2014 on stand 13C9, WEG exhibited its energy-efficient and high performance equipment at World Petroleum Congress for the first time.

YEARS AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2009 - $68.61 R&M Energy Systems lauhced the Moyno HTD™ pump, offering solutions in high temperature applications that previously could not use down-hole progressing cavity pumps. The line included the Moyno® HTD350 down-hole pump that has an elastomeric stator mechanically secured to the stator tube for greater temperature and chemical resistance. A partnership between Hyflux and STWA was formed to create the STW Research Partnership Programme, and has been created to “stimulate more effective cooperation between academia and industry to create technological breakthroughs in inorganic membrane separation technologies.”

BP’s net production in the Gulf of Mexico rose from less than 200,000 boepd in 2013 to more than 300,000 boepd at present. The UK supermajor expects to boost its production in the Gulf of Mexico to around 400,000 boepd through the middle of the next decade. Exciting new project sanctions could lead to more than US$10 billion of investment into the region, William Turner, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in December 2018, expecting 2019 to be a strong year for the Gulf of Mexico.

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Mental Health Training Supporting a happier and healthier workforce By Kirsty Whyte

Most of our adult life is spent working. In fact, the average person will consume 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, therefore, it’s clear that your job can have a huge impact on your quality of life. Last month welcomed “Mental Health Awareness Week” and highlighted the importance of discussing mental health in any environment; however, the number of reported work-related mental health cases are on the rise. The “Time to Change” mental health campaign cites that 1 in 6 British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety and depression each year. 6.6 million working days are lost as a result of this. Despite the growing figures, mental health stigma in the workplace remains an issue. Today, it’s a myth that people with mental health issues can’t work. With the right support, they perform vital roles in workplaces across the UK. For attitudes to change, there needs to be an open dialogue between employers and employees. By not addressing mental health, companies are suffering detrimental losses, with mental health issues costing employers around £35bn every year. According to the Centre for Mental Health, £21.2bn of this is in reduced productivity, £10.6bn in sickness absence and £3.1bn in staff turnover, however, it is impossible to determine the exact statistics as many mental health issues at work go unreported or are masked as something else. As workers we continue to diversify the workplace, adapting to new technology and exploring smarter ways of working, therefore, mental health should be embraced with the same proactive approach and not be dismissed or go unnoticed, which is often the case. Under the Health and Safety Act at Work 1974 (HASAWA) it is an employer’s duty to ensure the health and safety of employees is protected. Whilst first aid training

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is a staple of the workplace, mental health training is practically unheard of. First aid training equips employers with the skills to protect the physical welfare of their employees, however, there is a lack of training to support the mental well-being of the workforce. Omniscient Safety Innovations (OSI) has recognised this need and are offering a new “First Aid in Mental Health” course. This course will enable successful candidates to detect mental health concerns in their peers, enabling them to reach out and successfully apply the “CARE” technique. It allows companies to understand mental health, identifying conditions, providing advice and starting a conversation. It covers a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar and schizophrenia.

ards up to speed, companies can create a healthier, happier and more supportive workplace where every individual can thrive. By taking the first step towards mental health training, businesses can create a more inclusive environment with improved employee engagement, reduced sickness absence and better retention rates.

Brett Townsley, Managing Director of OSI said “All employers have a common law legal duty of care to protect as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees. This duty extends to include mental health in the workplace, and that’s why, at OSI, we believe it is essential to have skilled competent personnel to support our friends and colleagues in their day to day routines.”

For more information on the Omniscient Safety Innovations “First Aid in Mental Health” course visit www.omniscientsafetyinnovations.com or contact the team on 07852 281224 or to book, contact omniscientsafety@gmail.com

How to identify depression – key indicators Avoidance - contact with family and friends Avoidance - of social events, settings Avoidance - of hobbies or activities Deterioration in work performance Apathy - lack of interest or motivation A sense of hopelessness, low self-esteem Intolerance - things that would not have previously affected you, but now creates irritation Disturbed sleep pattern Change in sex drive Changes in appetite or weight Thoughts of harm or suicide

“At OSI we are very proud to be able to train personnel in both mental health awareness and mental health first aid. We are also working closely with Scottish Enterprise to bring an innovative approach and technologies into the market-place to change not only the way we identify mental health concerns but also to change the culture within the industry with regards to mental health.” Neglecting basic mental health support can be damaging to both human and economic potential. By bringing health and safety stand-

EVENT REVIEW

Future Oil & Gas creates ‘exciting next chapter’ for industry in transition More than 230 delegates, speakers and exhibitors from around the world shared views, debated topics and fulfilled business opportunities at the third Future Oil & Gas, a two-day conference and exhibition at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University on 11-12 June 2019.

most important technology focused exhibition for the upstream sector at the worldclass TECA events venue, with a series of high-level conferences running alongside.”

Under the theme of Exploring Disruption and Digital Innovation, the conference determined that people and skills are just as important as processes in the transformation of the upstream oil and gas sector.

Janet White, UK&I Chemicals & Petroleum Industry Leader at IBM said digital technologies will play a substantial part in helping the industry combat its four main challenges – increasing efficiency, accelerating sustainability, meeting customer expectations for new services and bridging the knowledge gap created by the loss of skilled workers over the past five years.

Opening the conference, Alexander Burnett MSP, Aberdeenshire West and Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy said: “Digitalisation is bringing forward a new wave of technologies that will change the way we do business, run operations and in particular the skills required by the workforce.”

“This next chapter of digital transformation will be driven ‘inside out’ through the core of the enterprise across mission critical processes enabling us to leverage exponential technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT and 5G with data that was previously hidden and deemed not accessible or available.”

Cllr Douglas Lumsden, Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council, said: “Future Oil & Gas revolves around innovation, which is something that is close to all of our hearts in Aberdeen. We’re a city that has been built on pioneering spirit and I’m proud to say that there’s no sign of that changing.”

Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno, Chief Information Officer & Corporate Vice-President at Pemex explained how the NOC was digitally transformed in just two and half years following a profitability crisis. “There is a saying that every crisis creates an opportunity. We leveraged that crisis to drive this transformation, to use digital as one of the key forward-looking initiatives to help us become more profitable, more competitive and better positioned.”

Digital Transformation Matthew Astill, CEO of Cavendish Group said: “This event has more than doubled in size from last year, with participants from many different countries. Our ambition is to build Europe’s

There was acknowledgment throughout the conference about workforce fears that digital transformation will lead to job loss. Chris Rivinus, Digital Transformation Programme Lead at Tullow Oil said: “The best way to move people past the fear of AI is getting them involved in the conversation, in the decisions about digital. They often get excited about how what’s possible today can make their lives just a little bit easier.” Brendan Sullivan, Chief Technology & Chief Information Officer at RigNet discussed the importance of protecting legacy systems against cyber threats. “Attackers have never had more weapons that now to break in. We are under siege by state-level hackers who have access to million-dollar quantum computers. It is a war.” The conference also addressed the issue of how far behind other industries the oil and gas sector is in its digital journey and the need for greater col-

laboration in the industry at all levels. Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy, Technology Fellow and Chief Data Scientist at Halliburton said: “Hidden features in oil and gas data collected over decades is the cause of capital waste, data waste, and time waste,” he said. “The future of oil and gas cannot afford to continue to grow its capital waste, and time Is ripe to mature the digital journey through talent transformation.” Running alongside the main Future Oil & Gas conference and exhibition this year was the Technology Innovation Showcase, a series of curated presentations delivered by technology experts including IBM, Blackberry, OPEX Group, Microsoft, Immerse, Electrosonic, Kongsberg Digital and GHGSat. There were also contributions from OGTC’s TechX Pioneer technology accelerator programme and Strathclyde University’s Advanced Forming Research Centre.

TEXO OPENS NEW FACILITY IN PORT OF BLYTH The Group specialises in the delivery of significant EPC projects, vessel mobilisations and demobilisations and brownfield modifications as well as bespoke mechanical equipment manufacturing – all of which are delivered with a strong technology-enabled solution. Robert Dalziel, Managing Director, Texo Group said: “This is a significant milestone for Texo. Our facility at the Port of Blyth further enhances our footprint on the Eastern Seaboard of the UK, ensuring we can provide a flexible approach to the delivery of client projects.” Andrew Robson, Managing Director, Texo CFS and business head for the new facility added: “We have worked closely with the Port of Blyth to create this outstanding facility. The Port now boasts an enviable array of specialists that is ideally placed to deliver the region’s offshore wind projects.” Texo, the technology-led EPC Group has announced the opening of its brand-new purpose-built facility at the Port of Blyth.

The facility will be officially opened at a launch event on Wednesday, 17th July 2019, where key stakeholders will be given a tour of the site and an insight into the advanced offering by Texo Group as well as some of its world-leading technologies currently in development.

The extensive facility, including a brand new 1,200sqm fabrication building with 40t lifting capacity, has direct dockside loading facilities with dedicated load out area, helping reduce road transport requirements for clients.

Texo is one of the fastest growing technology and engineering services groups in the UK. Since its inception ten months ago it has grown tremendously, having been awarded a number of significant EPC contracts.

The new site will provide an engineering centre of excellence for the rapidly growing offshore wind energy sector in the North East of England. Texo will provide an integrated solution for clients operating in mission critical sectors including renewables, oil & gas and marine specifically. All of its business units will have a presence at the new facility which encompasses: engineering, fabrication, drone, integrity, accommodation, compliance and resources.

For more information about Texo Group please visit: www.texo.co.uk

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COMPANY FOCUS

The inspection protocols are published into the cloud and are dynamically installed on demand with each client having their own installable intellectual property (IP). This isn’t just Forms and Reports but Guidance, Manuals, Videos and prior work history. The two Business Analysts can Publish Side by side upgrades with no down time, to 88 countries and in multiple languages. Each Intertek client has their own unique methods of working, data capture requirements, and output report layouts for the inspection protocols, Punchlists, Non Conformances, Inspection Release Notes and so on. Without a platform you can’t be as agile and reactive as Intertek have been, supporting over 350 operators and service providers globally.

The following extracts are from an interview with Steve Higgon, CEO of TAAP. I heard you say digitalisation is a journey? Digitalisation is a journey of business process change. It affects how organisations should be working as multi-disciplinary teams, where IT are working with the business, steered by the board, delivering change quickly. The technology now exists to facilitate rich data being captured that can feed enterprise data warehousing, which can be enriched by Machine Learning / Predictive Algorithms, even dynamically training predictive models, powering visual Dashboards and from which Actionable Insights (Ai) can be derived. This is essentially what the TAAP platform delivers for its clients.

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Without a platform you don’t have a strategy? A platform is the technology through which the digitalisation journey can be more easily embraced.

Learning by mistakes, fail fast, adapt, evolve, and try again? When I founded TAAP I loved seeing our clients reactions when we visited with them for the first time and showed them a running application of the process they had described.

I just love how Intertek who have been a TAAP client since 2012 have embraced this technology to deliver business agility to their clients on a global basis.

They would often supply us an Excel or PDF document showing the data that they needed to gather or collect. At the meeting they would start to talk about what they might envisage would help them with their business process change. At an appropriate moment we would run the App we had created and leave them speechless.

The Business Assurance team are using the TAAP platform to power the E-Reporting Inspections Service. With just two Business Analysts they were able to digitise over 1000 inspection protocols in the first year.

This shock and awe model had two benefits, firstly it showed that the app was demonstrable, it could be rapidly changed and evolve based upon lessons learned, and secondly, they could test their business process transformation at a low cost, and with managed risk, and get significant return for their investment with new unexpected insights often shaping new business opportunities and benefits that they hadn’t considered originally as part of the pilot project. We worked with an NHS Government Digital Exemplar Hospital and were able to digitise their Patient Discharge Process in less than four weeks. The transition from Excel hell to iPhone/Web was less than four hours for all wards in the hospital when we went live. For the next four weeks they made over 60 further additional changes to fine tune their working processes. They could only do this once they had seen the benefits of digitalisation and now had a better understanding of what the technology could do. We helped them, provided consultancy, educating them in what you can do with modern technologies and the TAAP platform. IT were very supportive recognising that a modernising NHS could learn from our Cloud hosted platform to help dramatically reduce costs, streamline process change, embrace mobility and real-time data with live data delivering actionable insights to make informed decisions.

COMPANY FOCUS It provided the CEO with real time data for all patients in all beds. They embraced the technology, learned what did and didn’t work and then adapted the technology to suit their business and operational needs. Who believes the marketing message in regard to AI? The biggest problem is there is a lot of hype and wild claims being made about AI. One organisation claimed they had rolled out AI 1.0 into the NHS. I don’t mind looking a fool and asked the question what is AI 1.0? Search was the answer!! Keep asking questions, dig deep, it could pay dividends to keep asking those stupid questions.... So how mature is AI and how will that impact TAAP? AI has always fascinated me as did formal methods, mathematically verifiable applications. However the problem is that really complex applications have an infinite amount of complexity and consequently its extremely difficult to create solutions using these technologies, let alone find anybody skilled to help build these kinds of solution. There are some great point examples of AI being used within apps, face recognition, Alexa apparently, although she seems unable to learn much from my experience. AI in my opinion is still not yet very mature, which provides great scope for businesses to process and exploit data from which ML and AI can evolve. In respect of the TAAP platform it has the ability for organisations to build AI engines that can create and shape the user interface dynamically in real time. We already have an application machine generated based upon an expert system. It is used in the travel industry for hotel and asset inspection, auditing and compliance to H&S standards globally. We have created a platform that allows organisations to embrace AI at whatever pace they are comfortable, and we can support them on their journey. Am I the only one not using AI? It seems like everyone else has AI nailed already... they haven’t. I was on a UK delegation to an event in Paris very recently. It was a great technology event, lots of leading companies showcasing their products. Without exception every product had the word AI in the title, description and literature. When I asked the question of some of the products that claimed to have AI as a feature or capability, and when I really pushed the point it

became apparent there was no ML/AI - other than some very basic statistical calculations to assess a probabilistic outcome, and then not even that...

kids use to learn to program. We have extended Blockly to provide a drag and drop capability for live time data mining, data transformation, dynamic creation of SQL tables and attributes, even integrating ML and Ai insights.

I almost decided not to go into software industry because AI was about to revolutionise the software development and I’d be out of a job before I knew it... however 35 years on I’m still getting my sleeves rolled up and writing software.

Its about helping our clients do more, more quickly and using the

TAAP platform to achieve it. TAAP is an enterprise platform with mobility and process containerisation built in from the ground up. It allows organisations of any size to become an agile enterprise reacting to the needs of the business and its clients.

You don’t know what you don’t know.... I was at Microsoft Build in 2018 and had an opportunity to talk with Steve Guggenheimer, Head of AI for Microsoft. I asked him where we are in the AI journey. It was a great response, “it’s now at a stage that it’s time to invest and understand what it might be able to do. However it’s such a fast moving sector that whatever is happening now will be different again in 18 months time. However you can’t wait because by the time it’s stable others could have a very significant advantage over you”, the same is true for digital transformation. How should an organisation embrace digitalisation? The TAAP platform has been designed to help organisations start small and scale out. As a platform it has been designed to allow not just one process to be digitised, but all processes for an enterprise. We even support collaborative working and process IP sharing. When you need to perform a task or function the TAAP platform will dynamically install the resource for offline use without IT support or overhead. Start small, fast, learn, evolve and adapt.

Steve Higgon steve.higgon@ontaap.com

The technology is mature and evolving with more and more capabilities all the time. It’s a platform and it is not unique to Oil & Gas with deployments also in Retail, Automotive, Logistics, and many other sectors. It is a horizontal platform and we have examples of its use in almost every vertical. How is TAAP going to be helping the Oil & Gas Industry? Our platform is empowering our clients. This isn’t about selling consultancy it is about licensing technology to allow organisations to embrace and drive the digitalisation journey. TAAP is continually evolving and adding more tools and capabilities to the platform. A recent and exciting development is our BI Analytics Platform. This is a data manipulation and visualisation technology.

www.ontaap.com sales@ontaap.com Tel: 0845 230 9787

Google created Blockly which

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE SPONSORED BY LEYTON

TAXI™ SOLUTION: HOW A NEW APPROACH TO RADIOGRAPHY INSPECTIONS AVOIDS NUCLEONIC TRIPS Interview: Jim McNab, Radiation Methods SME at Oceaneering

However, it is often problematic to perform safety critical inspections such as corrosion detection around nucleonic level control systems using radiography, because the radiation exposure can interact with nucleonic detectors causing unplanned process upsets, typically called plant and equipment ‘trips’. Plant trips can result in an increased safety risk from interrupted process monitoring and substantial lost revenue.

Radiography is one of the most effective methods used to detect and measure CUI and other corrosion flaws but can the issue of plant trips ever be overcome?

The impact of non-destructive testing (NDT)

I N N O V A T I O N

T E C H N O L O G Y

Z O N E

A large number of oil and gas pressure pipework failures in the North Sea are caused by corrosion under insulation (CUI), which in turn can lead to a high risk of loss of pressure containment (LOPC). In a sector where safety is absolutely paramount, this has to change.

Radiography is one of the oldest NDT techniques and was developed in 1895, when the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen invented the X-ray, whic is a non-invasive method of seeing what is really going on inside the body, or a complex piece of equipment. Since then it has been applied to industries as diverse as security, art and forensic science. Of course, now it plays a huge role in inspection, maintenance and risk management across the oil and gas industry. NDT is a broad area and an engineering discipline in its own right. However, at its core it refers to a wide group of proven approaches used to analyse the soundness of a material or component. Popular methods involve visual inspections, ultrasonic techniques, radiography, thermography, laser shearography, eddy current testing, microwaves, and acoustics. The most effective NDT methods identify and address issues regarding safety, equipment reliability, environmental protection and regulations, without affecting the serviceability of the component, for example pipelines and other high-risk pressurised plant and equipment. This provides a huge benefit in an industry where efficiencies and production levels are crucial, but where safety and integrity are absolutely fundamental.

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Corrosion under insulation (CUI) The greatest benefit such methodologies provide is that equipment for transporting petroleum products (such as pipelines) can be inspected without making any structural changes. This means there is no reason to shut down nor to interrupt operations. CUI is a severe form of localised external corrosion that occurs in carbon and low alloy steel pipe and equipment that has been insulated. This form of corrosion occurs when water is absorbed by or collected in the insulation. The equipment begins to corrode as it is exposed to water and oxygen, and temperature fluctuation which is a common problem in the energy sector, both onshore and offshore. For more than 25 years, there was no reliable NDT method for detecting corrosion and CUI in the vicinity of nucleonics. That is until now. Inspection work scopes deferral has often been the case when the pipes are close to nucleonics because of the risk of process trips. Visual inspections can be performed on uninsulated pipes but can only give limited information about the equipment’s condition, and where facilities piping is insulated, the cost of removing, inspecting and then reinsulating equipment has to be taken into consideration, especially if the threat of CUI is unknown. Deferring inspections can leave operators open to safety and lost production risks from LOPC incidents. When deferment is not an option, operators often isolate nucleonics to prevent the risk of radiography sources ‘tripping’, but this leaves operators “blind” to potential process problems that could be developing, for example in vessel separators, and that is a potential safety risk in itself. This is a massive issue affecting many aging assets and Oceaneering was determined to develop a solution. In collaboration with the suppliers of specialist ‘Pulsed’ X-ray systems and nucleonic instrumentation manufacturers, Oceaneering’s SME designed and implemented a procedure which has fundamentally changed how inspections are carried out while the plant is in-service. In essence it has eliminated the risk of radiography affecting production operations in and around nucleonics. The combination is a unique inspection offering called the Trip Avoidance X-ray Inspection (TAXI™) system, which reduces plant and equipment downtime while simultaneously improving process safety.

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE ZONE

How it works As an example, a separator used in petroleum production is a large, pressurised vessel designed to separate production fluids into their main constituent components of oil, gas and water. The hydrocarbons come up from the seabed through the risers and are carefully monitored while being processed.

The oil and gas industry is an environment where safety, environmental sustainability and regulatory compliance are prioritised, but often have to be balanced with ensuring continued security and operating efficiencies. The area of asset integrity and inspection management plays a huge part in providing that balance, providing measurable data that enables the safe and efficient operability of facilities. The TAXI system is an industry breakthrough, enabling operators to carry out inspections around nucleonics while the plant is in-service. TAXI is revolutionising inspections, helping to assure the safety and integrity of oil and gas facilities globally.

Leyton are proud to have returned over £35million in R&D Tax Relief, R&D Allowances, Patent Box Relief and Grant Funding to our Oil & Gas and supply chain clients. In many instances, our clients were already claiming under these schemes, often with the support of accountants or other specialist firms. In these situations we have been able to enhance their existing claims processes, resulting in a typical claim uplift of 40% for R&D tax relief alone.

“Leyton’s specialism is not only in their tax knowledge around R&D legislation, but in their technical knowledge. Their technical team have done our job, therefore they are readily able to identify areas of R&D that we previously thought were routine. The ease of the process really helps our staff get on with their work, and gives us peace of mind that such a niche area is being looked after. Would highly recommend them to businesses even if they already claiming, their record speaks for itself.” MD, Oil & Gas Engineering. With the changes in the industry, now is the ideal time to understand what help is available to your business from government incentives or to review your existing process in claiming relief.

Z O N E

In the UK, in addition to our tax expertise, Leyton’s specialism sits with our Technical Consultants. Coming from a broad range of industries and sectors, they understand our clients’ processes and the challenges they face in day to day projects. As a result they can easily relate to the advancements being sought to proactively highlight your R&D activity.

T E C H N O L O G Y

This problem has made operators very wary of using radiation NDT methods offshore, with the only other alternatives being either to turn off the nucleonic detectors while radiography testing takes place, leading to a ‘blind’ situation where levels cannot be measured, or to defer the inspections until a planned shutdown or turnaround.

Looking ahead

Leyton, with 20 offices, are Europe’s largest R&D Tax Consultancy, having assisted over 8,000 UK clients and returned over £500million in reliefs and incentives. The challenges and opportunities faced within Oil & Gas mean that now more than ever, firms are thinking differently about how they do things and are continually developing and improving their products and services.

When radiography methods are deployed, the nucleonic detectors can become saturated, picking up radiation nearby, and creating the ‘false alarm’ that the fluid level has dropped significantly. When this happens, the detectors trigger an alarm which often leads to the complete shutdown of the plant or platform.

Following trials, one operator estimated TAXI could save them up to £5 million and 1,500 working hours per asset, per year, by avoiding production upsets, unplanned shutdowns and the ability to now carry out many more inspections in-service, reducing backlog.

Whilst innovation plays a fundamental role in every economy, many UK firms remain unaware of the full range of Government incentives available to them in support of their product or service developments.

I N N O V A T I O N

Nucleonics are used to monitor the levels of each phase. This is important because when the vessel becomes too full or too empty, there is a risk of liquids “carry-over” into the gas system, or gas into the liquids which can cause severe safety and production problems. These systems work by measuring the amount of radiation that is able to travel from one side of the vessel to the other. As the fluids rise and fall, the radiation beam intensity varies when reaching the detector on the opposite side of the vessel, indicating the accurate fluid levels within the separator.

TAXI neutralises this concern by creating unique pulses of radiation which the nucleonics detectors disregard avoiding the confusion completely, and doing it in such a way as to better meet the Ionising Radiations Regulation 2017. The system is field proven, having been trialled and now deployed on several North Sea offshore platforms as well as onshore process plants.

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE

THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF ONE COMPRESSOR PART

I N N O V A T I O N

T E C H N O L O G Y

Z O N E

WHY ON-SITE MAINTENANCE IS CRUCIAL IN OFF-SHORE APPLICATIONS

CPI RS VALVE

By Jean-Louis Alderweirelt, Compressor Products International Offshore drilling applications, by definition, aren’t easily accessible. Shipping equipment and supplies on or off the platform can impact efficiency, or even halt production altogether. Those maintenance stoppages affect the rig’s bottom line and are a hassle in general. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but one valve manufacturer has developed products that don’t just reduce downtime, but extend the life of compressors, and their new case studies back it up. There is great value in products that require little maintenance in order to keep functioning at a high level and downtime is just one of the issues. Many remote operations often don’t have the capacity to perform highly-skilled maintenance and refurbishing. They have limited staff, space and time to ship equipment to get serviced efficiently and safely; however, CPI has a solution with the Hi-Flo™ RS valve, a one-of-a-kind product that provides several benefits to the off-shore oil and gas industry. The Hi-Flo RS valve stands apart from other products in remote and offshore applications because of its replaceable PEEK seat plate. According to CPI’s Pascal Mahieux, “Instead of the valve seat component itself wearing, the seat plate wears over time. When valve efficiency begins to drop the seat plate is popped out and a new seat plate is snapped into place.” The product also provides value by not requiring special skills or tools to refurbish the valve when it needs maintenance, and it doesn’t need to be

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shipped off-site for maintenance. Many regions of the world, such as Africa, don’t have well equipped service centres for compressor part maintenance. In this case, shipping parts off-site can mean sending them to a different part of the world. It was in Africa, the Congo specifically, where the CPI Hi-Flo RS valve achieved its first of many successful case studies. A global oil and gas company equipped one of their compressors with the Hi-Flo RS valve, and after experiencing the easy maintenance and quality performance, they opted to outfit three more compressors with the valve. A representative from this particular customer voiced their satisfaction with the Hi-FloTM RS valves: “The CPI Hi-FloTM RS is the response to our problems. We don’t need to re-machine or use special tooling for maintenance. Furthermore, we don’t need to keep complete valves in stock — only rebuild kits. We have also reduced the unscheduled shutdown time.”

Lower maintenance and reduced downtime are already very valuable results of compressor parts, but recent case studies have shown even more benefits from these valves. In a separate case study, the ring design of the valve, not related to the seat plate, provided better resistance to dirty gas and other contaminants. This, as well as in other case studies, led to a longer compressor life. When it comes to valve performance, the longevity of the compressor speaks volumes about how the valve protects and supports the compressor. By dramatically improving the refurbishing process for valves and compressors, the effects can truly change the daily operation of an off-shore or remote operation and the life of compressors. With less downtime and a great investment in the compressors themselves, staff can focus more on the day-to-day off-shore operation.

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE

THE FUTURE IS NOW: OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT DIGITAL TWINS IN PRACTICE By Scott Lehmann, Sphera VP Product Management - Operational Risk Management An Operational Risk Management (ORM) Digital Twin can help connect previously disparate business processes in ways that just haven’t been possible until now. It can relate the collective performance of process safety systems to the real, cumulative risk impact on operations at any given point in time. ORM Digital Twin capabilities are not an aspirational vision of what the future could be, they are already used in production today. Here we share how a major international oil and gas industry operator has implemented ORM Digital Twin capabilities.

This operator had a well-defined approach to managing safety-critical elements (SCE) and associated components and equipment. A performance standard was defined for the identified SCEs on each installation, which is related to the risk reduction credit taken in the regulatory safety case. To improve the quality of the initial risk assessment, the operator used Sphera’s Operational Risk Management solution to present the assessor with templated risk assessments based on the type/category of SCE impaired. The templates helped to:

• Present relevant SCE performance standard content as checklists – which encouraged the assessor to, • Identify the level of safety or integrity criticality the deviation represents • Consider other protective functions that might compound the problem – that is, other deviations that also impact the area and major hazard under management

The benefits of digital transformation for process safety management are tangible and make the IIoT possible in an increasing number of organisations. With the single, shared view of the operational reality, Digital Twin technology enables organisations to close the gaps between how process safety is intended and the reality of operations.

Z O N E

A general criticism of the UKCS regulator (not specific to the operator) was that such risk assessments in practice rarely identified the true hazard related to the failure of the protective function of the critical equipment.

• Provide typical mitigating measures for the assessor to consider minimising risk based on the equipment class/function

Organisations are now increasingly using Digital Twin capabilities in their operations to reduce risk, improve productivity, and optimise costs. Digital Twin technology can help companies transform the way operations are managed by delivering a real-time, digital replica of the asset that simulates the operational reality.

Sphera’s ORM also helped the assessor define if the impairment would impact a local area of the facility, or the whole platform – for example single gas detector may have a localised risk impact, whereas firewater pumps unable to deliver the required capacity could impact the entire installation. The system was also used to manage all permitted activity on the operator’s facilities. This provides a combined view of all equipment risks and all activity risks on the barrier model, highlighting major accident hazard pathways.

T E C H N O L O G Y

The existing practice was to immediately carry out an operational risk assessment once such a deviation had been identified from formal inspection, maintenance, or operator activities. This initial risk assessment was approved by the local offshore installation manager (OIM) and would be discussed with the engineering support team onshore.

• Define the true hazard that the non-conforming equipment as a class gives rise to

A major international oil company operates multiple platforms offshore in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). This operator has a mature management system and a well-defined approach to process safety, asset integrity management and work control. By implementing an Operational Risk Management platform, a technical manager sought to further improve the risk assessments that are undertaken when critical equipment is not meeting its performance standard.

Technology has caught up with ambition and aspiration

I N N O V A T I O N

Improving the quality of technical risk assessments and modeling their cumulative risk impact

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE www.ogvenergy.co.uk SPONSORED BY LEYTON

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

Women in industry

Pia Turcinov

Board member & Director

of National Energy Resources Australia

My experiences in having been raised within a family business and later having worked in a number of roles focusing on supply chains, entrepreneurship and the small to medium enterprise (SME) sector, have highlighted the need for greater support to be made available and directed towards scaling and connecting these smaller ventures and scale-up businesses into the energy supply chain. With this need in mind I am a Director of Strategic Global Pathways â€“ a collective of industry experts who enable innovative entrepreneurs to commercialise, scale and enter global markets.

Tell us about your current role and what lead to this career? I always have to pause for a moment and smile when people ask me this question. Starting my career many years ago as a young and eager commercial lawyer fresh out of law school, I envisaged a fairly straight forward career path for myself. Fast forward almost 30 years and I now have what is known as a portfolio career. Over the years I have held senior positions within industry, provided leadership and governance as a company director and facilitated innovation and change across a number of State and Federal Government initiatives, focused on small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurship. Yet having left behind the somewhat notional security of a full-time job, my professional life at present is a collection of a multitude of roles, including

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Company Director, Advisory Board Member, Chairperson, Consultant and Entrepreneur. This portfolio includes my role as a board member and non-executive director of National Energy Resources Limited (NERA); one of six Industry Growth Centres as part of the Australian Governmentâ€™s Industry Growth Centres Initiative. I also sit on the board of Stanley International College, a dual sector education provider in Perth, Australia. With my passion for the future of work this role complements my work in the resources sector and offers insights into the innovative educational programs and skills training solutions needed to address the challenges and make the most of opportunities coming our way.

Whilst this portfolio may appear confusing or overwhelming to some, I always make a point and emphasise that all of these roles are indeed connected through one common thread; a focus on the advancements, benefits and

opportunities which innovation, technology and diversification offer industry, government and the community. Through this new model of work, I have found a strong sense of purpose, professional autonomy and degree of fulfilment that I sensed lacking in more traditional corporate roles. Portfolio careers are becoming more common because they enable you to build your career around a collection of skills and interests, as opposed to being limited by a specific job description. It is also a brilliant way to utilise a variety of skillsets, and insights gleaned across a broader spectrum of industries and sectors. This enables me to bring a quite unique perspective and add value through a multitude of lenses eg as a lawyer, technologist, innovator, diversity champion and consumer.

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

How did you get involved with NERA? Australia’s capabilities in the oil and gas sector are well known and living in Western Australia it is near impossible not to be drawn into the industry. Although I did not hail from a traditional oil and gas or engineering background, my experiences within the SME supply chain and innovation sectors allow me to appreciate and understand the challenges of taking new and often very disruptive solutions and products, into a highly risk adverse, complex and globally interconnected value chain. As the only industry-led research and knowledge organisation for Australia’s energy resources industries, NERA has proven itself as the go-to centre for energy resources solutions, technologies and services, uniquely positioned to broker collaboration and support sector-wide transformation. It is exciting to see NERA’s impact across the value chain with a focus on achieving significant industry efficiencies; identifying and supporting digital, automation and other innovative technologies; developing future workforce skills; and ensuring that there are regulatory frameworks that support future investment, innovation, productivity and global trade. I was fortunate enough to be involved with NERA from the very early stages of the Growth Centre dialogue and their formation, and continue to be amazed by the talent, resilience and sheer ingenuity of the sector. You champion diversity within energy and technology. Tell us about your work with Women in Technology?

Disturbingly women remain critically under-represented in not only in technology industries but also STEM professions as a whole, and consequently in the energy sector. It is imperative that we attract, retain and enable more women to consider the many options when it comes to careers in science, technology, engineering and innovation. As Chair of Women in Technology WA (WITWA), I am part of

a 3,000+ network of women and men who actively champion technology and STEM skills as a pathway to stimulating and viable careers. I think of this work as my passion project. WITWA is a not for profit enterprise on a mission to encourage business change to accommodate diversity and unlock the benefits to industry and society by activating the entire talent pool, regardless of gender. Technology is playing a fundamental part in disrupting and shaping the future of work, social interactions and communities. It also has the ability to take gender out of the work equation – many jobs will no longer be dependent on physical attributes that too often inhibited females in career choices in the past. To unlock these opportunities, it is critical that we inspire the next generation of young girls to consider and understand how STEM skills are the basis for creating a self-determining, independent future allowing them a multitude of choices to create meaning futures with financial independence.

You won the 2018 Excellence in Gender Equity Promotion Award, tell us more about that?

Is there anything you would like to see change in the energy industry?

I learn so much and get tremendous joy and a sense of fulfillment from mentoring and enabling women to unlock their full potential. Conversations often centre on the journey to truly embracing and believing in the value they each offer industry and community via their individual skills, strengths and passions. I have had many highpoints throughout my career (balanced with many challenges and disappointments) but hold the 2018 Excellence in Gender Equity Promotion Award awarded by the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Division) Inc. very close to my heart. The work, values and goals of the UN are inspirational. Having a chance to play a small part in championing diversity and equality provides me with tremendous pride and a great deal of satisfaction. Smoothing the path for others, providing a voice for those less vocal and playing a role in shaping better outcomes for future generations when it comes to women’s issues and gender conversations, is truly more than one can ask for.

What would be your advice to other women looking to enter the energy or technology industry?

Rapid technological change, global mega trends and significant changes in community perceptions and indeed expectations, when it comes to energy, will continue to significantly impact and disrupt the industry. Yet research, collaboration and innovation will also continue to drive growth. I would like to see continued efforts in connecting value chains and innovative solution providers across global energy hubs to leverage capabilities, talent and the adjacent possible.

Collectively we need to change the way we think and describe roles and responsibilities, opportunities and leadership qualities. My advice for any woman is to equip herself not only with the technical know-how required for particular roles, but also with a tactical support toolkit to help enter, navigate and find her place within her industry of choice. This includes bringing a mindset of continuous learning to the table, as well as identifying and leveraging both mentors and sponsors within an organisation and the broader sector.

Smart, innovative and disruptive ideas, products, services and solutions are no longer just the domain of the major operators or large R&D departments. How we enable innovators, start-ups and smaller players to address the big-ticket productivity, safety and optimisation challenges, will be key to the future of the industry. Traditional procurement methods and risk-mitigation strategies will need to be reinvented to accommodate this change.

I would counsel any woman to embrace opportunities presented, work on negating any inherent self-biases (you know - the I’m not good / clever / experienced / worthy enough conversations in your head) and upskill on adjacent competencies to their core strengths and qualifications. The industry is looking for resilient, agile and creative mindsets, who are able to communicate, collaborate and create solutions. Place yourself into this space, allow yourself to learn (and fail), and never be afraid of change.

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DAY IN THE LIFE

Day in the Life www.ogvenergy.co.uk

DAY IN THE LIFE

Marnix Boorsma

What is your experience working with ‘millenials’?

Partner, KPMG Advisory My name is Marnix Boorsma and I am a Dutch citizen with a background in mathematics. In 1998 I started my career in M & A banking and joined Shell in 2001. I worked more for Shell but with a McKinsey hat on a while after – until my former boss insisted I come back, which I did. I then worked for Shell in Upstream Europe, Upstream Asia and Integrated Gas. I was privileged to be expatriated for Shell to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. I was then headhunted as CEO for a Private Equity-backed scale-up that produced thermoplastic composite pipelines for the oil & gas industry. This year I joined KPMG as a partner in Strategy & Operations, based out of Amsterdam.

I really enjoy working with and coaching people. Managing your time and organising yourself are recurring topics. I found myself sharing the same few tips over and over so captured them in a blog https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/almost-better-than-espresso-marnix-boorsma/. The other aspect that comes up frequently is the topic of career choice. More than a few people in their late 20s or early 30s seem to struggle with what career to really go for. Possibly that question premises that another life would make one significantly happier. I don’t think that is the way it works. Research consistently shows that humans adapt to situations. You might be euphoric about a suddenly discovered billion-dollar bank account, but after a while you adjust to the new baseline. People are elated to get into Harvard - and rightly so. Two weeks on campus and they have adjusted to new reality and the high of getting in has passed away. There is always a bigger fish. I think it was Schopenhauer who said that it is difficult to find contentment inside oneself, but impossible to find it outside. I agree with that view. I am quite happy with who I am.

Why KPMG?

What kind of projects do you do?

How do you manage your own time and energy?

Many people know KPMG as an audit firm, but its advisory business is actually vast. It has a real focus on people-driven progress and change, which is something that greatly appeals to me. PowerPoint decks have limited use, so helping a client must imply equipping them with reinvigorated or reskilled staff – so that the client can move their business forward. That is something I explicitly sought out.

Delivering sustainable cost improvements is an important focus area for us. If you wish to lower OPEX or CAPEX beyond a one-off exercise, you’ll need to work with people to make fundamental choices. It is a bit like choosing a different car. You are more likely to stay under the speed limit in a VW Golf than in a Ferrari. That may be a bit of a silly example but there is truth in the simile. It also means a different way of driving. People tend to be anxious about what such change will mean for them. Building comfort and confidence, re-establishing team and group dynamics, may seem like ‘soft’ issues but they are crucial for ‘hard’ delivery. This in a nutshell is what I do. It starts with building a shared vision, then a strategy for implementing that vision – and finally supporting a client for making it so.

As I grow older, I notice it becomes much more about energy allocation than time allocation. I have worked 40-hour weeks that felt like 80, and vice-versa. Right now, I am really relishing what I am doing. Then there is the matter of looking after your body. Minding what you eat is important. Recently for example I shifted to salads for breakfast, which makes a huge improvement over a sandwich in energy levels. I prioritise running. I get out three times per week for about 35 km per week. I get a lot of energy from spending time with the family. My wife and I have four kids. My plan was two, hers was three. I agreed to her idea, and then we had twins. We went from two to a zoo!

It’s funny, I really wanted to get back into consulting, but when I left McKinsey I was very much of the opinion that companies should really learn to help themselves. However, having then gained 10 years of in-the-field industry experience, I concluded that this was actually not very easy in practice. People are herd animals. The herd in turn encourages herd behaviour. If you wish to do something novel in an established company, it in effect requires stepping out of the herd. That behaviour is just not very much encouraged. Not because people do not want to, but because evolution ingrained a different type of natural preference into our psyches. I think this is fundamental. Which is why I believe organisations can benefit tremendously from external help. So, if continuous improvement is a large part of your nature, as is the case with myself, consulting is a very logical choice. I also really enjoy working on several projects at the same time. That variety is more challenging to find in industry.

Consulting means working with many people in the early stages of their career. How do they feel about energy? Many of that same younger generation are quite concerned with the environment. I often get asked the question – or challenge – on the why of oil & gas. My view is the same as when I entered that industry 20 years ago. It is big impact all the way. Big relevance. Big numbers. Big internationalism. Big engineering. Big geopolitical. And these days in particular, big change. It remains a fascinating industry in every respect.

What is your recommendation for someone entering the industry? A recommendation for anybody? That is a difficult one. People like Steve Jobs and Ray Dalio recommend meditation, but I never picked up on that groove. However, I enjoy running and I suppose that does have a meditative quality. Thinking about running, and specifically recovering after a run, I could recommend cold showers. If you Google cold showers, you find a range of benefits. What I found also is that it really trains willpower too. Quite a few people and sayings put high value on willpower. I invite anyone to start daily cold showers. Speeds up your morning routine, quite considerably!

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WORLD PROJECTS MAP

WORLD

PROJECTS MAP

4 3

JUNE 2019 1 1

ARGENTINA - ExxonMobil to go ahead with expansion project in Vaca Muerta Basin

ExxonMobil has decided to move ahead with the long-term development of the Bajo del Choique-La Invernada block in Vaca Muerta Basin, Argentina. The Bajo del Choique-La Invernada block is located about 93km northwest of Añelo and 183km northwest of Neuquén city. Within five years, the project is expected to produce up to 55,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (boe/d). It will include 90 wells, a central production facility and export infrastructure connected to the Oldeval pipeline and refineries. ExxonMobil could invest in a second phase expansion to increase production, subject to successful expansion, and plans to invest in a second phase of the project to produce up to 75,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day. The firm said that the timing of the second phase of the project is based on initial project performance and business and market conditions, and other factors. ExxonMobil lead country manager Daniel De Nigris said: “ExxonMobil has been an active player in the Neuquén basin since 2010 and in Argentina for more than 100 years. “We will continue to work closely with the government and our partners and will use our expertise and capabilities to bring jobs and other benefits to local communities.” Bajo del Choique-La Invernada block is operated by ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina with a 90% stake while the remaining 10% stake is held by Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén. After securing a 35-year concession in Vaca Muerta, ExxonMobil began an exploration pilot program in 2016 at Bajo del Choique-La Invernada block, which now has three producing wells and three further wells will be moved into production. ExxonMobil also commissioned a production facility, gas pipeline and oil terminal in 2017 and were recently connected to the Pacific Gas pipeline.

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3 CANADA - Greek Cyprus calls for arrest of Turkish drilling crew Tensions are escalating between Greek Cypriots and Ankara after international arrest warrants were issued for crewmembers aboard a Turkish drilling ship in disputed waters off the coast of Cyprus. Authorities in Greek Cyprus sought the arrest of 25 individuals, including workers on Turkey’s Fatih drilling ship

SAUDI ARABIA - Production restarts at Husky’s White Rose oil field

The rebuke to Turkey’s ongoing gas development projects in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, or EastMed, was condemned by officials in Ankara, who have vowed to move forward with energy exploration activities near Cyprus.

Husky Energy is one step closer to full production at the White Rose field after an oil spill months ago halted all operations, with the southern drill centre back online.

“We will continue our efforts to achieve regional peace by distributing the riches of Cyprus Island and the Mediterranean in a fair manner,” said Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez, stating the territorial energy rights of Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus were being violated. The spat comes as officials in the United States and Israel have increased cooperation with Greek Cypriots to develop energy resources in the EastMed, which is believed to hold enough gas to meet regional needs and potentially serve as an alternative energy source for European markets, which largely rely on Russian gas imports. Despite repeated appeals for Turkey to stop its “provocative” gas exploration activities near Cyprus, officials in Ankara are pressing ahead, risking a wider confrontation with not just Greek Cypriots but also regional stakeholders, which include the United States. According to Harry Tzimitras, the Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo’s Cyprus center, officials in Ankara have expressed determination in developing energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and will likely increase their activities by dispatching the Yavuz drilling ship to Cyprus’ territorial waters in the near future.

The company said production resumed from the southern drill centre, based on the startup plan accepted by the regulatory Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. Part of its risk assessment and due diligence included flushing the flowlines at the South White Rose extension and the southern and North Amethyst drill centres with water. The oil, gas and water in the lines were displaced to the SeaRose FPSO (floating, production, storage and offloading). In an emailed statement, Husky said the South White Rose extension and North Amethyst drill centres are isolated, and leak testing was done. “This process is similar to the one carried out in January before production resumed at the central drill centre,” the statement read. On 16th November, two spills on Husky’s SeaRose production vessel released 250,000 litres of oil, water and gas into the ocean about 350 kilometres east of St. John’s.

WORLD PROJECTS MAP

RUSSIA - OMV to pay £805m for stake in Achimov project in Urengoyskoye field The Achimov 4A/5A phase development involves bringing Blocks 4A and 5A of the Achimov deposits of the Urengoyskoye field into production. OMV and Gazprom have finalised a price of €905m (£805.21m) for which the former will acquire a stake of 24.98% in the Achimov 4A/5A phase development in the onshore Urengoyskoye field in Russia. The two firms signed an amendment agreement in this regard as a follow up for the basic sale agreement announced by them in October 2018. The signing of the final transaction documents is likely to be done by the year end, said OMV.

USA - Oil & Gas decides to focus on new well plans INEOS announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Aramco and Total, France, to build three new plants as part of the Jubail 2 complex in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A new state-of-the-art 425,000 tonne acrylonitrile plant, will use INEOS’ world leading technology and catalyst. It will be the first plant of its kind in the Middle East when it starts up in 2025. INEOS will also build a 400,000 tonne LinearAlphaOlefin (LAO) plant and associated world-scale PolyAlphaOlefin (PAO). These units will be the most energy efficient in the world when they begin production in 2025. The location in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will give INEOS access to competitive raw materials and energy, with well invested infrastructure, to better serve customers directly in the Middle East and markets across Asia. INEOS Nitriles is currently the world’s largest producer of acrylonitrile and acetonitrile with more than 90% of the world’s acrylonitrile using INEOS technology. It currently has four manufacturing plants, two in North America (Texas & Ohio) and two in Europe (Germany & UK). Terminals throughout the world facilitate our sales to customers in all regions globally. The INEOS Nitriles plant in Green Lake Texas is the largest and most efficient facility in the world. INEOS Oligomers already has a worldwide network of LAO and PAO production plants and bulk storage locations. The business produces a comprehensive range of speciality and intermediate chemicals derived from ethylene and isobutene.

Details of Urengoyskoye field and Achimov 4A/5A project Located in the northern West Siberia Basin, the Urengoyskoye field, which holds gas and condensate reserves, has been in production since 1978. The Achimov 4A/5A phase development of the Urengoyskoye field will involve bringing the Blocks 4A and 5A of the hard-to-reach Achimov deposits into production. Upon completion of the transaction, Gazprom’s stake in the Achimov 4A/5A phase development will come down to 50.01%. The third partner in the project is Wintershall Dea, which will retain its stake of 25.01%. OMV, in a statement, said: “The amended “Basic Sale Agreement” also contains the key principles of, and the way forward with respect to, the transaction. “The execution and implementation of the transaction itself is, amongst others, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board of OMV and an agreement with Gazprom on the final transaction documents as well as regulatory approvals at a later stage.” The Urengoy field, which is the largest gas and condensate field in Russia, is among the largest gas fields in the world, stretching over 12,000km2. Through the acquisition, OMV will be adding nearly 600 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to its reserves until the end of the year 2044 from its share of production in Achimov 4A/5A. Gazprom expects the Achimov 4A/5A phase development to begin production in late 2020. OMV’s share of production once the deposits reach plateau is expected to be more than 80,000boe/day in 2026. On its part, OMV is expected to invest around €950m (£845.25m) until the end of the year 2044 for the Achimov 4A/5A phase development, which includes nearly €75m (£66.73m) compensation for past cost incurred during 2017 and 2018.Pemex

should save 50bn pesos this year.

USA - Shell Sells California Refinery for US$1 Bn Shell has struck a deal with refiner PBF Energy to sell it its refinery in Martinez, California, for up to US$1 billion, depending on the closing date, the buyer said in a press release, adding that the acquisition will boost its total throughput capacity to more than 1 million bpd. The Martinez refinery has a capacity of 157,000 bpd. Shell has been trying to sell it for several years, Reuters notes in a report on the news. The supermajor will now fund the turnaround costs for the facility for the first quarter of 2020, estimated at US$70 million, as well as another US$40 million in downtime compensation if the deal does not get finalised by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Shell first tried to sell the Martinez refinery in 2015, at the height of the latest oil price crisis, so it was no wonder it failed to find any buyers quickly. Now M&A conditions have improved significantly as evidenced by the pickup of mergers and acquisitions in the industry, with the highlight of course being Occidental’s acquisition of Anadarko. For PBF Energy, the deal fits with plans for its California refining expansion. The company already has one refinery in the state, in Torrance, which has a capacity of 160,000 bpd. This seems to be particularly important ahead of the entry into effect of new International Maritime Organisation emissions rules. The acquisition, PBF said, will strengthen its position among producers of newrule compliant fuels. This is an important step for the refiner as the industry is struggling to make refineries compliant with the new, lower-sulphur fuel requirements that will enter into effect next January.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Front Altair arrives in UAE after attack The Norwegian-owned oil tanker Front Altair, which caught fire after being attacked in the Gulf of Oman, has arrived off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The Front Altair caught fire after the attack, sending a thick cloud of black smoke visible even by satellite from space. The US has blamed Iran for what it described as an attack with limpet mines on the two tankers.

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CONTRACT AWARDS

CONTRACTS

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CONTRACT AWARDS

Bristow signs new offshore contract amidst Chapter 11 proceedings Amidst the process of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Bristow has secured a new five-year contract to fly workers to and from BP’s offshore oil rigs in the North Sea.

“We recognise BP plc has placed its trust and confidence in Bristow and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety standards every day and at all times, while delivering an efficient and best-in-class solution to help BP achieve their business objectives.”

with the acquisition of Columbia Helicopters – which operates a fleet of Chinooks and Vertol 107s on heavy lift and firefighting missions – but the deal was delayed and eventually fell through shortly before the company entered Chapter 11.

“This award further builds on Bristow’s success in the region, adding to two additional long-term contracts recently secured operating from our Aberdeen hub.”

When Helicopter Investor contacted Bristow for comment, it confirmed that the company is operating business as usual throughout the proceedings.

Bristow filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 11 May. The operator will be using the proceedings from the restructuring to strengthen its balance sheet and achieve a more-sustainable debt profile.

This is the first publicly announced oil and gas contract that Bristow Group has secured in 2019. The last offshore new contract the company announced was a three-year contract extension with Perenco UK to fly five AW139s on Northern Sea operations in June last year.

Matt Rhodes, Bristow’s Director of UK & Turkmenistan oil and gas, said:

Bristow was initially looking to diversify its fleet away from oil and gas

“No operations have been impacted by the restructuring process for Bristow Group; it is business as usual from an operations perspective. As such, we are continuing to work with our global clients on ensuring they have safe and reliable helicopter transport and Search and Rescue services, including competing for new work.”

The contract commenced on 13 May 2019 and sees Bristow fly daily flights from bases in Aberdeen and Sumburgh using existing Sikorsky S92s. The operator will also be supporting the S92 flights with fixedwing flight support provided by Eastern Airways.

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CONTRACT AWARDS

Petrofac secures contract with Petroleum Development Oman The contract, valued at approximately US$75 million, is the latest to be awarded under the agreement signed in 2017 to provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) Support Services for PDO’s major oil and gas projects.

Petrofac has secured its third project under a 10-year Framework Agreement with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)

The 19-month project scope includes management of line pipe material from sourcing, technical and commercial evaluation, planning and control services with management and co-ordination of interfaces with all parties involved.

with the award of a procurement services project for the Mabrouk North East Line Pipe Procurement Project in Oman.

Elie Lahoud, Group Managing Director, Engineering &

Construction – Oman, Iraq and Saudi Arabia said: “We have a strong track record with PDO in Oman and are delighted to have been awarded this latest project under the longterm framework agreement. “The procurement and management activities for this project will be undertaken from Petrofac’s Muscat office from where we provide first-class expertise in high-value order management. We continue to maximise the provision of local goods and services which evidences our ongoing commitment to delivering in-country value through each of the projects we undertake in the Sultanate.”

SBM Offshore awarded letter of Intent for FPSO Mero 2 lease and operate contracts by Petrobras SBM Offshore is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) together with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a 22.5 years lease and operate of FPSO Mero 2, to be deployed at the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, 180 kilometers offshore Rio de Janeiro. The Libra block, where the Mero field is located, is under Production Sharing Agreement to a Consortium comprised of Petrobras, as the Operator, with 40% Shell with 20%, Total with 20%, CNODC with 10% and CNOOC Ltd with 10% interest. The Consortium also has the participation of the state-owned company Pré-Sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) as manager of the Production Sharing Contract.

SBM Offshore will design and construct the FPSO Mero 2 using its industry leading Fast4WardTM program as it incorporates the Company’s new build, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardised topsides modules. This means that two out of three Fast4WardTM hulls currently under construction have now formally been allocated to projects.

2,000 meters water depth. Delivery of the FPSO is expected in 2022. Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore Brazil commented: “The signing of this Letter of Intent demonstrates again that SBM Offshore has started a new era of growth. Not only does this award represent the Company’s re-entry in Brazil, one of the most important markets for the Company with one of our key customers, it also re-confirms the competitiveness of our Fast4WardTM concept while expanding its geographical reach.”

The FPSO will be designed to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day. Furthermore the FPSO will have a water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, associated gas treatment capacity of 12 million standard cubic meters per day and a minimum storage capacity of 1.4 million barrels of crude oil. The weight of the FPSO topside modules will be around 33,000 tons. The FPSO will be spread moored in approximately

Eduardo Chamusca, Country Manager Brazil of SBM Offshore commented: “We at SBM Offshore Brazil are very excited with the winning of this important project. We see this as the

start of a new growth phase in one of SBM Offshore’s home markets, supported by around one third of SBM Offshore’s global manpower in Brazil. The FPSO Mero 2 represents a new generation of complex presalt FPSOs and as such is extending our significant experience base and track record in country. The team in Brazil is ready to support flawless execution of this project and ensure reliable operations for its lease period thereafter. Energy. Committed!”

McDermott and Saipem joint venture win $6bn Mozambique natural gas contract A joint venture comprising Saipem, McDermott International and Chiyoda Corporation has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth $6bn for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in Mozambique. Italian engineer Saipem will act as the leader of the joint venture company, CCS JV, which has formed to build the onshore project being developed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

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Work on the Area 1 Mozambique LNG project will include construction of two natural gas liquefaction trains, capable of producing 12.88m tonnes per annum, as well as associated infrastructure, storage tanks and export jetty facilities.

“We congratulate Anadarko and its co-venturers for the achievement and grateful for the confidence demonstrated toward our CCS JV. “With this project, we will strengthen our presence in East Africa, confirming Saipem’s role among the leaders in the LNG market for the energy transition.

Stefano Cao, Saipem Chief Executive, said: “After many years of dedication to this project, we are very happy to announce that we have reached full agreement for the contract.

“A project of such a scale will contribute significantly to the economic growth of Mozambique as

a new pole in the west-east energy routes and, as Saipem, we are proud of our substantial contribute to these future developments.”

CONTRACT AWARDS

Another offshore renewables win for Global Energy’s Port of Nigg Global Energy Group are set to win their next staging port award and the new client will be DEME Offshore, for the Moray East offshore wind farm development for what will be an estimated £10 to £12 million contract. Global’s Port of Nigg has been earmarked to provide the services of the Port for the receipt of completed jacket structures, that will be installed in the Moray Firth as foundations for the wind turbines. This will be the third success for the Cromarty Firth, after Port of Cromarty Firth at Invergordon announced a few months ago, their award for marshalling works for the turbines and piles for the same project. In March 2018, the Port of Nigg embarked on its first staging port/renewables hub contract for Siemens, the turbine supplier for SSE’s Beatrice offshore wind, Scotland’s first large scale and the UK’s deepest water offshore power generation project. The port’s service performance was recently commended by Siemens, as Global Energy transitioned their logistics processes from the oil &

gas industry to offshore wind, which has different technical requirements. The Beatrice offshore installation and construction operations has now been completed and Siemens are in the process of departing from the site at Nigg, ready for the ports next staging and marshalling contract commencing late 2019, early 2020. Global Energy are pleased that their ambitious £90 million investment programme since taking over the site in October 2011, is starting to pay off. £50 million has been spent on port infrastructure including the new south quay and £40 million on heavy plant and equipment such as cranes and low loaders (SPMT’s), to handle the large offshore wind structures and increase capacity for oil & gas logistics and load out work. Global also recently announced a further planned £10-£15 million investment, designed to expand quayside availability and adjacent yard space. With a busy schedule of planned wind farm developments in Scotland and the rest of the UK, Global feel that this will be money well spent.

The company has suffered from a lack of capacity in the last year. DEME Offshore are one of Europe’s largest offshore installation contractors working in the energy industry and were awarded by the Moray Firth owners EDPR, the EPCI contract for the foundations procurement and installation offshore, using their huge vessel the Orion, a new build expected to enter service by the end of the year. DEME Offshore are part of the Deme Group and operate a vast array of vessels and are active in multiple offshore scopes of work.

EDPR, together with partners/co-investors Engie and Diamond Green Ltd, are developing the 950 MW Moray East wind farm for first power generation in 2021. They were awarded a Cfd (Contract for Difference) by the UK government in October 2017. EDPR and its partners, are planning to develop the Moray West wind farm in 2023/24, subject to contract. If the West development goes ahead, it will be a further huge opportunity for the Cromarty Firth to win some of the work, which will help maintain continuity of employment in the area.

Contract award for subsea pipelines and marine operations for Johan Sverdrup phase II Equinor is awarding the contract for subsea pipelines and associated marine operations in the second project phase to Subsea 7. This will increase the share of contracts awarded to Norwegian suppliers in phase 2 of the Johan Sverdrup project to 85%.

The first phase of the Johan Sverdrup development is nearly 90% completed, with expected production starting in November. In phase 1, Subsea 7 was responsible for delivery and installation of several subsea components and tiein of pipelines at the field.

In the second project phase Subsea 7 is awarded the contract for delivery and installation of around 100 kilometres of infield pipelines and 25 spools, installation of umbilicals and marine operations associated with the subsea scope.

Chevron awards new contract to SPIE in Angola to support operations on the 0 and 14 oil blocks Founded in 1958 and based in Luanda, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Ltd is one of Angola’s largest oil producers (crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas or even natural gas). The three-year contract, which has been effective since 1 December 2018, provides services to Chevron’s subsidiary by SPIE Oil & Gas Services at the onshore and offshore sites, on the 0 and 14 oil blocks.

Chevron oil company subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Ldt has awarded a contract to SPIE Oil & Gas Services, a subsidiary of SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, to support operations on the 0 and 14 oil blocks located in the Angolan

The contracted services include the supervision and coordination of onsite teams enrolled on existing facilities and maintenance works.

province of Cabinda at the extreme north of the country.

SPIE’s teams will rely on their high level of expertise in the following areas: mechanical engineering, electrics and instrumentation, coating, scaffolding installation, fabrication, lifting and rigging, and operations to support technical staff (planning,

The contract is of great strategic importance to SPIE Oil & Gas Services as it allows the company to partner with a major oil operator and explore new business opportunities in the area.

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scheduling, and preparation of work packages). More than 100 experts will undertake alternate shiftsto fill approximately 50 vacancies in 2019. The contract also provides for the timely assembly of additional staff as and when operations render this necessary. In due course, SPIE Oil & Gas Services will evolve its services in order to create teams composed of Angolan staff and expats in a 7:3 ratio. “This contract is of great strategic importance to SPIE Oil & Gas Services; it effectively marks the first time we have embarked on such a contract with this client in Angola. That is why we are opening a new field office to meet contractual requirements and explore new opportunities to develop in the area”, explains Luis Varela Pais, Director of SPIE Oil & Gas Services in Angola.

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ON THE MOVE

ON THE

MOVE Following a near ubiquitous push towards a cleaner future, illustrated this week by the commitment announced by the UK government to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, the oil and gas industry’s role in the energy transformation been under the microscope. Whilst the top 20 listed producers invested more than $22 billion in alternative energy last year, this only accounts for 1.3% of CAPEX leading dedication to be called into question. This debate aside, it can’t be denied that there has been a considerable change in tone on the topic of climate change in our industry. Majors may not have proportionally invested their money where their mouth is, but they have certainly been leading the dialogue on this matter in recent years. Shell has tied executive pay to emission targets,

Corin Taylor

New Future of Gas Team Led by Corin Taylor DNV GL, a leading provider of risk management and quality assurance services to the oil and gas industry, developed a new Future of Gas team and has named Corin Taylor as a Principal Consultant. With his 15 years’ experience, Corin will be focused on driving solutions for customers related to the energy transition, specifically the decarbonisation of energy sources. Before joining DNV GL, Corin was a director at UK Onshore Oil and Gas and currently heads the Decarbonised Gas Alliance which aims to help deliver the United Kingdom emission reduction and air quality goals.

OGV Energy - Issue 22 - June 2019

OGV Energy, UK's Leading Energy Sector Publication

OGV Energy - Issue 22 - June 2019

Published on Jun 1, 2019

OGV Energy, UK's Leading Energy Sector Publication

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