Contract Awards

Sparrows Group awarded five-year Morecambe Hub contract with Spirit Energy

Sparrows Group has been awarded a five-year contract by Spirit Energy for the provision of crane maintenance and lifting services across its Morecambe Hub assets in the East Irish Sea (UK Continental Shelf).

The Morecambe Hub comprises of six fields, three of which have been operated by Spirit Energy for over 30 years. Gas-producing, the North Morecambe, South Morecambe and Rhyl fields are located approximately 25km south west of Walney Island, west England. The contract will see Sparrows deliver crane maintenance on all fixed lifting assets across the Morecambe Central Processing Complex, DP6, DP8 and DPPA platforms. The provision of crane engineering, design services and technical authority will be managed from the company’s headquarters in Aberdeen.

Stewart Mitchell, chief executive officer of Sparrows said: “Having recently refurbished the DP6 and DP8 cranes for Spirit Energy, we’re excited to be working with the team again to deliver a longer, more sustained lifting inspection and maintenance campaign in one of the UK’s most important gas producing hubs.

“Having a clear strategy for managing lifting assets is essential for reducing equipment downtime and increasing safety. I am extremely proud of our dedicated people who consistently deliver a high-quality service to our clients and we look forward to working with the Spirit Energy team to support their ongoing operations.”

One of the largest gas fields in the UKCS, at its peak, the Morecambe Hub met 20% of the UK’s domestic gas demand. Gas from all the fields is processed at Barrow Gas Terminals, which is located near Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, before entry into the National Transmission System.

Expro bags Chevron contract for riserless well intervention system

Expro Group Australia, a subsidiary of Expro International Group Holdings, has secured a contract from Chevron Australia for its subsea riserless well intervention (RWI) solution.

The five-year contract covers the supply of light well intervention vessel services for the Chevron-operated Gorgon facility, Expro Group said.

The RWI system provides a wire through-water integrated solution for carrying out intervention and/or abandonment operations on all types of subsea wells, according to the company.

The intervention package is complete with well access and multiple conveyance methods, including slickline, eline, and the company’s new CoilHose technology, which substitutes coiled tubing’s conventional steel pipe with hose.

The Expro RWI system has been developed as part of wider Subsea Well Access portfolio, which also consists of Subsea Test Tree Assemblies (SSTTA), as well as an Intervention Riser System (IRS), ensuring customers have the correct solution for all subsea well access requirements.

Gary Sims, Expro Senior Area Manager, said: “Australia is an important market for us and we recently invested in an $11 million multi-purpose built facility in Perth which will support the Chevron contract. The facility will have a 2,100 square metre re-enforced dedicated light well intervention area for storage and maintenance of specific equipment.

Equinor has, on behalf of the partners ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil, awarded Baker Hughes, Halliburton and Schlumberger contracts for drilling and well services on the Bacalhau field in Brazil.

The total value of the three contracts is estimated at US$455 million. The contracts have a firm period of 4 years and two 2-year options. “We continue to build our local Australia Subsea Well Access expertise. Along with our vessel partner, we will provide a highly skilled, predominately local Australian crew”.

Graham Cheyne, Vice President of Well Access and Subsea, added: “In 2019, we expanded our subsea intervention capabilities with the introduction of two new well access solutions to the market – the RWI and the IRS. Our partnership with an intervention vessel provider “The awards build further on our positive cooperation experience with the three selected suppliers in our projects worldwide. They will be essential to ensure safe and efficient drilling and well operations on the Bacalhau field,” said Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer. The contract scope awarded to Baker Hughes covers drilling services and completion. combines our efforts to provide a full subsea package to meet our customers’ requirements.

“Built on proven technology and service expertise, this contract award allows us to demonstrate our enhanced subsea strengths.

“Since introducing our new well access solutions, we have secured a number of exciting new contracts in the APAC region, complementing

Three contracts awarded to the value of $455 million

our core subsea landing string business”. Halliburton’s scope of work will include intervention services and liner hanger, while Schlumberger will deliver wireline services.

The awards are expected to make a significant contribution to local content in Brazil. The average local content of the three contracts, considering the majority of services will be performed in Brazil, is estimated at 74%.

“Brazil is a core area for Equinor, and Bacalhau is an important asset in the Brazilian pre-salt Santos area. Together with our partners, we are currently maturing the project towards a final investment decision (FID) which is planned in 2021,” said Trond Bokn, acting senior vice president for project development in Equinor.

Earlier this year, the partnership entered into FEED contracts with early commitments and pre-investments for the Bacalhau field with MODEC for FPSO and Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) for SURF. The awards have an option for the execution phase under a lump sum turnkey contract setup which includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for the entire SURF and FPSO scopes.

GDI land Decommissioning contract with North Sea Operator

Aberdeen headquartered company GDI have recently announced a successful contract award through competitive tender for the provision of services to support a decommissioning project with a North Sea operator.

Located on the city’s Queens Road and with a growing staff base of over 60 employees, GDI provide efficient technology and safety driven solutions to their clients. Their philosophy is to leverage technology in order to reduce cost and manpower requirements and increase safety and quality.

GDi contend that they stand out from the conventional laser scanning and engineering service providers as their technology-led approach is delivering solutions which enhance visualisation, optimise design/ engineering and offer a unique and powerful inspection technology.

Gareth McIntyre, R&D Director at GDI commented on the recent contract success: “The ability to execute planning, engineering and inspection projects without mobilising any personnel to facilities is disrupting conventional procedures and delivers massive efficiencies and opportunities to the decom sector.”

Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn. Bhd. (BSP) has exercised the option to add exploration drilling of one deepwater well to the work scope of the drillship Maersk Viking.

The contract extension has an estimated duration of 35 days, with work expected to commence in May 2021 in direct continuation of the rig’s previously agreed work scope. The contract value of the extension is approximately US$7.1 million, including additional services provided. Maersk Viking is a high-spec ultra-deepwater drillship which was delivered in 2013. It is currently preparing for the drilling campaign for BSP, which is expected to commence in March 2021, after having been warm-stacked in Johor, Malaysia. GDI’s partnership with the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) has underlined their commitment to innovation and their goal to disrupt conventional business models from the mainstream service companies and this recent contract success is another example of how their strategy is delivering results.

A report launched by Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) last year illustrated the potential growth of the decommissioning sector. It noted that

McDermott International, Ltd has been awarded a contract to provide front end engineering and design (FEED) services for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG field development.

The award is for a booster compression module FEED with optional engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for the project. The booster compression module will be added to the Ichthys LNG offshore central processing facility, located off the northwest coast of Western Australia. “This award illustrates McDermott’s continuing decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure represents almost a tenth of the oil and gas industries overall expenditure and will cost around £15.3 billion over the next decade.

GDI feel they are the perfect fit for this ever-expanding market as their approach and philosophy present a significant opportunity for operators, in an environment where constrained operations and budgets

McDermott awarded FEED contract for Ichthys gas field development

are in place. expertise in complex offshore EPCI,” said Ian Prescott, McDermott’s Senior Vice President,

Asia Pacific. “Our work to date demonstrates our qualifications to deliver smart solutions in challenging environments – and to the highest safety and technical standards.”

McDermott is also undertaking umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (URF) as part of an expansion of the existing Ichthys LNG facilities.

Engineering will be completed in McDermott’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The

Maersk Drilling secures one-well contract extension for Maersk Viking

FEED will commence in October 2020.