OGV Energy - Issue 42 - March 2021 - Robotics & AI

MAR 2021 - ISSUE AUGUST 2020 42

UK’s No. ENERGY SECTOR

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PUBLICATION

THE ROBOTICS & AI ISSUE FEATURING

Oceaneering - Spectis Robotics IMRANDD - Re-Gen Robotics - Innovo SPRINT Robotics - Innovair Boston Dynamics

GLOBAL ENERGY NEWS

UK North Sea - Europe - US Australia - Middle East

WORLD PROJECTS MAP ROBOTICS & AI ZONE INNOVATION & TECH

OIL-PRICE P.18

Crude oil market currently switching into backwardation

ROBOTICS P.22

The adoption of technology is set to grow in coming years and give early adopters an advantage

GREEN ENERGY CONTRACT AWARDS ON THE MOVE STATS AND ANALYTICS LEGAL & FINANCE EVENTS

INNOVATION P.30

Remote inspection helping to reduce uncertainty & minimising exposure to risk

RENEWABLES P.34

Hiring wave coming as offshore wind demands to triple by 2030

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Advancing Oceaneering’s Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle Through Rigorous Testing www.oceaneering.com

READ ON PAGE 4

PREDICT THE FUTURE. AIDA MAX™ delivers an intuitive view of the current and future condition of your asset, using data analysis and engineering knowledge to accurately manage, risk, cost and operational performance in real-time.

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CONTENTS

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COVER FEATURE 04 Oceaneering: Advancing Oceaneering’s Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle Through Rigorous Testing

GLOBAL ENERGY NEWS 04

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11 - UK North Sea 14 - Europe 16 - US 17 - Australia 18 - Middle East

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WORLD PROJECTS MAP

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20 - EIC - World's latest project updates

ROBOTICS & AI REVIEW 22 - Robotics and AI in Oil & Gas 24 - Re-Gen Robotics sees an uplift in demand for robotic tank cleaning 25 - Spectis Robotics: Inspection camera 26 - Innovo: The transition from hydrocarbons to renewable energy

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27 - SPRINT Robotics: Advancing real-world deployment of Robotics

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28 - IMRANDD: History Predicting the Future

INNOVATION ZONE

30 - Boston Dynamix: world leader in mobile robots

32 - Innovair: Reduce uncertainty & minimise the risk of rework or delays

GREEN ENERGY

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34 - Hiring wave coming: Offshore wind staff demand to triple by 2030, hundreds of thousands needed

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35 - Eavor Loop: The world’s first scaleable, renewable energy

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EVERY MONTH 36 - People in Energy: OMNI Integrity Director William McLean 38 - Contract Awards 42 - On the Move 44 - Stats and Analytics 48 - Legal and Finance 49 - Events 50 - Community Partner: Aberdeen FC

KENNY DOOLEY MAIN EDITOR It is with a renewed sense of optimism that I write the March “Editors letter” as we now appear to have some light at the end of what has been a long and challenging tunnel. The UK government has announced a gradual easing of lockdown measures and with vaccinations being rolled out globally, energy events are already starting to be re-scheduled and some have already taken place in the Middle East with no issues.

With this in mind, we are delighted to announce that the OGV Energy team have just booked their flights and hotels for ADIPEC and look forward to hosting our first face to face business breakfast there since 2019, which seems a long time ago now!

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The March theme is “Robotics and AI” and we are delighted to welcome Oceaneering as our cover partner showcasing their autonomous remotely operated vehicle “Freedom”, which will be ready for commercial operation on May this year.

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The rest of this month’s magazine features our regular reviews of the Energy sector in the North Sea, Europe, the Middle East, the US and Australasia along with industry analysis and project updates from Rystad Energy and the EIC.

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Sprint Robotics, share insights on how they are helping to promote robotics techniques in technical inspections, maintenance and operation of capital-intensive infrastructure and we also hear from Innovo Engineering & Construction Ltd, Re-Gen Robotics, Spectis Robotics and IMRANDD.

Thanks again to our readers and please join us for our online panel session on the “Robotics and AI “ theme on March 25th, in partnership with Sprint Robotics! @OGVENERGY

VIEW THE OGV MAGAZINE ONLINE AT www.ogv.energy/magazine

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COVER FEATURE

By Steffan Lindsø, Subsea Robotics Product Manager, and Casey Glenn, Electrical Engineering Lead

Advancing Oceaneering’s Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle Through Rigorous Testing Oceaneering continues to test its autonomous Freedom vehicle offshore Norway, achieving milestones along the way.

Advances in secure, reliable communication networks, software, batteries, and positioning sensors have pushed forward the development of resident and autonomous vehicles in the near-term. Because of these advances, these vehicles can accurately position themselves and receive missions to gather data and safely send it back to shore for analysis.

Oceaneering's Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle is undergoing qualification testing in Tau, Norway.

Freedom can inspect miles of flowlines and remote wellheads as it flies around the field. The vehicle, like our Liberty™ E-ROV resident system, can be remotely piloted from an Oceaneering Onshore Remote Operations Center (OROC) while in tethered, free-swimming mode. While in autonomous mode, free of the tether, its advanced autonomous software enables high quality inspections of infrastructure.

Autonomous Software Development

In the long-term, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) used for survey scopes will have to become more Oceaneering envisions the future of offshore energy industry robotics being a autonomous and work for longer durations than combination of man-in-the-loop operations, like our traditional ROVs, as current functionality allows. Oceaneering well as autonomous capabilities, without anyone in direct control of continues to advance subsea residency and the vehicle, being used to complete parts of a work scope. The line autonomy for AUVs with our Freedom™ Oceaneering’s Freedom™ between what is remote controlled and what is autonomous will Autonomous Subsea Vehicle technology. become increasingly blurred in the near future, so much so that we Autonomous Subsea Vehicle anticipate many vehicles must have the capabilities to operate in Since 2004, Oceaneering has been at provides a new level of both scenarios. the forefront of remote piloting and efficiency by combining the control technology (RPACT), which Freedom’s software enables the vehicle to carry out low altitude allows subsea vehicles such as remotely work class functions of an pipeline inspections for pipeline surveys. The vehicle can track operated vehicles (ROVs) to be piloted pipelines 2-5 m off the seabed to provide high resolution data ROV with the speed, range, from shore. Advanced subsea vehicles survey altitudes and at 8 m for reconnaissance. and maneuverability of are benefiting from increased 4G offshore coverage along with faster, stable, and This configuration of the vehicle enables pipeline tracking with an AUV. more cost-efficient satellite communications. unprecedented proximity and tolerances, providing significantly improved Additionally, more offshore installations have data acquisition. However, tracking a pipeline this closely adds complications. direct fiber to shore connectivity resulting in lower To compensate, the software includes a heightened level of obstacle detection, latency and higher fidelity connections. autonomous obstacle avoidance, and situational awareness. These features allow the vehicle to re-plan its route and re-engage with the tracked pipeline. Freedom has been Oceaneering’s Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle outfitted with Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav navigational instrument as well as Teledyne’s provides a new level of efficiency by combining the work Reson T20 technology. class functions of an ROV with the speed, range, and maneuverability of an AUV. Freedom is supported by a docking station at seabed and can operate in two modes: remotely piloted via tether to provide real-time control – or operated in an autonomous and tetherless configuration. The vehicle boasts a working range of 200 km, a working depth rating of 6000 m, speed of 6 knots, and subsea deployments of up to six months.

The case for a hybrid autonomous and resident remote vehicle like Freedom, particularly in the North Sea, is evident.

For example, offshore in the North Sea, there are dozens of fields and associated pipelines located within a 100 km of the coastline. With the Freedom vehicle’s long reach, it can be easily launched from shore to service these assets, dock subsea as a resident vehicle, recharge, transfer data, and move between fields to support other assets as needed.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Freedom™ successfully lands on third party docking station at Oceaneering's testing facility in Tau, Norway.

Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle

2017 Freedom Development Project Begins

TEXT

May 2019 Commencement of the Living Lab Software Qualifications January 2020 Freedom Vehicle in the Living Lab June 2020 Freedom in Living Lab Untethered Jan 2021 Freedom Undergoing Software Reliability Qualification March 2021 Offshore Trials at Sheltered Pipeline Offshore Norway April/May 2021 Extended Offshore Trials May 2021 Freedom Ready for Commercial Operation Name of Image Description of image

Freedom’s control software features recognition of pipeline features including free-spans, depleted anodes, mattress crossings, and anomalies which can trigger sub-missions for further inspection, thus avoiding the requirement for subsequent inspection operations post initial survey.

The team has focused on the continual advancement of the system’s pipe tracking and sensor fusion algorithms throughout the software development process. Increased focus has also been dedicated to achieving the highest-possible quality of data for the end client while advancing work in subsea obstacle avoidance and object of interest inspection routines.

Software reliability and failover tolerance has been another area where the team has achieved marked improvement. The intensive qualification process also has put a large focus on our reliability engineering and potential hazard identification.

Findings from live testing at our dedicated facility in Norway have supported the development of our reliability engineering and ensures that learnings are continuously rolled into the product as part of our continuous improvement process.

software and hardware, both in very shallow water and water depths of up to 300 m. The facility and the test vehicle are used to evaluate software modules as they are being created

by Oceaneering’s highly experienced internal software development team. The team is based in both the US and Norway, which allows near-roundthe-clock development testing and verification.

The software platform was qualified in May 2019 using a prototype test vehicle that was robust and well suited for the testing environment and enabled us to bump the vehicle while testing the autonomous software. In the water at the test site, we can simulate the offshore environments that the Freedom vehicle may encounter with a variety of pipeline types at depths ranging from 10 m to 240 m.

In January 2020, the Freedom vehicle arrived at the test site for testing in water. In June 2020, we began testing the vehicle untethered. It is currently at an API Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5.

In September 2020, Freedom completed the industry’s first autonomous subsea docking operation using Equinor’s newly developed UID Docking Station at our Norwegian test facility.

Offshore trials will begin at a nearby sheltered pipeline in late February 2021 and run for approximately one month. This phase will enable the team to verify all autonomous features of Freedom on a real pipeline in a sheltered location during the winter. Another objective will prove the hydro-acoustic control for supervised autonomy and subsea launch and recovery into our docking cage using machine vision and advanced autonomous docking algorithms. After these tests, the Freedom vehicle will move offshore for final qualification trials on offshore pipelines in UK and Norway sectors. These trials are expected to be completed by April/May 2021, whereafter the technology will be qualified to TRL 6 and ready for commercial operation with our customers around the world.

Testing and Qualification To ensure that the Freedom autonomous vehicle meets its specifications (range of 200 km, a depth of 6000 m, speed of 6 knots, and durability of up to six months subsea), a rigorous testing schedule was required.

In March 2019, Oceaneering created a Subsea Test Site near Stavanger, Norway, devoted to the development, testing, and verification of the new control software and the next-generation vehicles.

From the test site, a vehicle can be launched and controlled from the quayside and navigate to a shore-side obstacle course, which includes a subsea docking station and various pipelines designed to replicate an offshore environment.

This setup is used to ensure the software works as intended and is thoroughly tested for reliability.

The test site enables daily testing of Freedom’s

Proserv’s Artemis 2G (A2G) subsea electronics module

Freedom™ conducts pipeline inspection tests at Oceaneering's facility in Tau, Norway.

The Freedom™ Autonomous Subsea Vehicle' provides a new level of flexibility and efficiency by combining the features of a ROV and an AUV into one vehicle. Typical tasks include pipeline survey, seabed survey, close visual inspection and light intervention activities.

Learn more at: www.oceaneering.com/freedom

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MEMBER'S FEED OGV COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THE MONTH (Most Social Media Engagement in February)

Bilfinger Salamis launches new logistics facility marking long-term investment in north east Leading integrated maintenance, modifications and services contractor Bilfinger Salamis UK has opened a new 27,000 sq. ft. operations and logistics site in Aberdeen, marking a long-term commitment to the region and UK energy market.

Located in one of the most accessible low carbon business communities in Scotland, Bilfinger at The Core will operate as the company’s northern hub for all equipment, plant and materials logistics to service onshore and offshore sites throughout the UK. The investment, which the company pledged in 2019, represents the strength of its commitment to the region and to operating in the North Sea. It follows a number of key contract renewals that the business secured in the second half of 2020, which included multi-year agreements to deliver fabric maintenance and inspection services for two major operators.

Dales Marine opens its 2021 Apprentice Intake Dales Marine Services Ltd, a leading ship repair and maintenance company based in Scotland, announces its 2021 Apprentice intake. To support several recently announced new contracts, Dales Marine Services pledged to expand its current apprenticeship programme, which currently stands at 46 apprentices across the group. Due to continued growth and the company's desire to develop and maintain its highly skilled workforce, Dales is looking to take on Apprentices Engineers, Apprentice Platers/ Fabricators, Apprentice Welders at its three main sites in Aberdeen, Leith and Greenock and Trainee Office Administrators in Leith and Greenock.

North-east safety firm helps to bridge gap between academia and industry Salus Technical, have teamed up with the University of Edinburgh to provide the next generation of engineers the opportunity to work with real-life industry software. Salus Technical MD and Founder, David Jamieson, offered the company’s new risk assessment software solution – Bowtie Master - free-of-charge to university students of degrees related to Process Safety, such as Chemical and Process Safety Engineering.

www.ogv.energy I March February 2021 2021

ETPM raises £3,350 in first week of Six Nations Challenge

UK based service firm drills ahead with US expansion

Subsea and marine recruitment specialist ETPM has raised more than £3,350 for three local charities in the first weekend of its annual Six Nations Rugby Tournament Super Saturday Sweepstake. The figure has already surpassed this year’s target of £2,000 and is an 111% increase on the total raised last year. The funds raised have come from sweepstake admission fees and from donations. Now, in the lead up to the second weekend of action, the team at ETPM has doubled its target total to £4000 and is hoping clients, friends and supporters will help them cross the fundraising try line by continuing to donate throughout the tournament.

An Aberdeen headquartered drilling equipment inspection and maintenance firm has expanded its Houston division investing in larger premises and appointing two new US technical directors to manage its international operations. RigQuip, which opened an office in Houston last year, has now moved into a 15,000sq ft service facility, including office, workshop and yard space to support its growing client base.

Highlighting its commitment in the region, RigQuip has also further enhanced its senior management team with the addition of two Houston-based industry experts.

Green Apple Award won by Legasea for Environmental Best Practice Legasea have won their award for environmental best practice in relation to their Subsea Circular Economy services. Legasea competed against more than 200 other nominations in the Scottish Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice, and they will be presented with their trophy and certificate at a presentation ceremony planned for May 2021, subject to current restrictions being lifted.

STATS Group showcase Tyra isolation and tie in success in Danish North Sea STATS Group’s expertise in isolation projects, extending asset life and the decommissioning of pipeline infrastructure, was on show this week at a Virtual Tech Showcase hosted by Energy Voice.

During the Subsea Session, Director of Sales, Ron James, presented a case study of a STATS project in the Tyra gas field offshore Denmark, which is being redeveloped in a $3.4bn project to extend the field’s operational life by at least 25 years.

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ENERGY NEWS

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MARCH 2021

UK NORTH SEA

Energy Review

By Tsvetana Paraskova

Opportunities and collaboration in the supply chain, field development updates, and outlooks for 2021 were the highlights of the UK North Sea oil and gas industry news flow in the past month.

The UKCS Upstream Collaboration Report, jointly run by OGUK and Deloitte and including surveys of the industry to create the collaboration index, showed that re-energising collaboration is set to deliver greater value after the COVID shock to the industry in 2020.

The headline figure to assess progress in collaborative relationships, the Industry Collaboration Index, increased slightly to 7.1 in 2020 from 7.0 in 2019, entirely due to the higher scores suppliers received from operators, acknowledging the flexibility and support the supply chain showed during the challenging year.

The focus on cost reduction continued to drive collaboration and its role has further increased in 2020, with 30% of respondents, up from 26% in 2019, saying they collaborated to reduce costs, the report said.

“As opportunities in energy transition arise, the industry needs to be able to build and improve partnerships and collaborative relationships with renewables companies, as well as with businesses from other sectors,” the report reads.

“In this difficult environment, the ability to work closely with suppliers and/or customers to support one another is crucial,” Graham Hollis Office Senior Partner, Deloitte (Aberdeen), wrote in the report.

“Greater collaboration will be a key factor in unlocking future industry developments and to strengthening our basin, our versatility, and our resilience. The ability to work together well across companies, industry and the wider energy sector will be critical to delivering a successful energy transition which supports jobs and the communities we work in. Collaboration needs to be part of our DNA; while it is not a silver bullet, it is good for business,” said OGUK Supply chain and Operations Director, Katy Heidenreich.

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ENERGY NEWS

The UK subsea supply chain has improved its outlook for the industry with less anticipated redundancies, greater optimism, and new geographical markets, according to a snapshot survey carried out by industry body Subsea UK.

Eagle area, comprising the producing Golden Eagle, Peregrine, and Solitaire fields, for an initial consideration of US$325 million. The area has low cost structure with 2021 unit operating expenditure expected to be around US$5/Boe and life of field operating and capital expenditure anticipated to be around US$20/Boe, EnQuest estimates.

In November 2020, 80% of respondents did not anticipate making redundancies in the near future, compared to 73% of respondents in the same survey in July.

“We are delighted we have agreed the acquisition of a material interest in Golden Eagle, a high-quality, low-cost UK North Sea development. Upon completion, this acquisition will add immediate material production and cash flow to EnQuest and will allow us to accelerate use of our substantial tax losses. It also demonstrates our continued commitment to the UK North Sea and diversifies our existing production base,” said EnQuest CEO Amjad Bseisu.

Optimism has also grown since July, with 63% of the 300 companies surveyed now feeling fairly optimistic about the next six to twelve months, compared to 56% in July 2020.

“These findings are very encouraging as we move into 2021 and underline the resilience of the UK’s underwater engineering industry,” Subsea UK’s chief executive Neil Gordon said.

“The UK Government’s recent Energy White Paper presents some exciting opportunities for our sector which has a key role to play in the energy transition and the green recovery.

Along with other industry bodies and relevant organisations, we will focus our efforts on working with government to ensure the subsea supply chain is at the heart of the country’s energy strategy and measures are in place to ensure it can maximise the opportunity,” Gordon added.

Due to the coronavirus-related restrictions, Subsea UK postponed Subsea Expo 2021 for a year. The world’s largest underwater engineering event is now scheduled to run from 22 to 24 February 2022, Subsea UK said at the end of January 2021.

The revised Strategy of the Oil and Gas Authority came into force on 11 February. The new strategy reflects the ongoing energy transition and features a range of net-zero obligations on the oil and gas industry, including stepping up efforts to reduce production emissions, support carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, and unlock clean hydrogen production, OGA said.

The UK offers operators best profit conditions to develop big offshore fields, Rystad Energy said in a recent analysis of how each country’s fiscal regime affects the profitability and breakeven price of developing offshore mega projects.

The United Kingdom scored the highest post-tax valuation and offers the best profitability conditions for operators, with a net present value (NPV) of $11.1 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) in the country at a flat oil price of $70 per barrel. Kuwait, Canada, the US, and Colombia complete the top five of countries for profitable large-scale field developments from operators’ perspective.

In company news HitecVision/NEO Energy said they had entered exclusive negotiations to buy ExxonMobil’s upstream assets in the central and northern North Sea, which, if successful, are expected to result in a signed sales agreement in the first quarter of 2021, with close later in the year.

Italy’s Eni was awarded a new Production Licence in the 32nd UK Offshore Licensing Round. The Licence, named P2511, covers an area of approximately 340 square kilometres and is located some 250 kilometres offshore UK in the Northern North Sea in a water depth ranging from 100 to 130 metres. It is situated near the UK/ Norwegian border where several significant discoveries have been recently made, Eni said.

Independent oil and gas production and development company EnQuest PLC signed in early February an agreement with Suncor Energy UK Limited to buy Suncor’s entire 26.69% non-operated equity interest in the Golden

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

The UK subsea supply chain has improved its outlook for the industry with less anticipated redundancies, greater optimism, and new geographical markets, according to a snapshot survey carried out by industry body Subsea UK.

Zennor Petroleum Limited has launched its Net Zero Carbon Strategy and announced it had become one of the first North Sea E&P companies to achieve carbon neutrality for 2020 in Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions.

Wood has entered into a new agreement with Spirit Energy to partner on the delivery of late life solutions for the Morecambe Bay gas fields, one of the UK’s largest gas accumulations.

The five-year consolidated services contract, valued at $130 million, will see Wood working to extend field life, lower costs, and reduce late life carbon intensity across the Hub’s offshore assets in the East Irish Sea and the Barrow onshore gas terminal on the northwest coast of England.

Serica Energy plc has received a renewed License and secondary sanctions waiver from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) relating to the North Sea Rhum field, in which Serica has a 50% interest.

Serica’s production from its interests in Bruce, Keith, Rhum and Erskine fields averaged 23,800 boe/d during 2020, significantly impacted by the 45-day shutdown for caisson repairs at the Bruce field in the first quarter. The company has a healthy cash balance, no borrowings and limited decommissioning liabilities, Serica said in its corporate update at the end of January.

Jersey Oil & Gas announced a significant increase in the 2C contingent resource estimate for the Buchan oil field within the Greater Buchan Area (GBA). Dynamic reservoir modelling has determined that the P50 estimate of the technically recoverable resources for the Buchan oil field is 126 million stock tank barrels, up by more than 50% compared to previous estimates derived from decline curve analysis. Buchan oil quality is light sweet crude at 33.5° API, while the expected ultimate recovery factor is 54% of original oil in place.

“We recognised the potential of Buchan at an early stage and have maintained our strategic focus on this area in the heart of the Central North Sea with the benefit of aggregation of high value assets becoming self-evident. The GBA development project presents a very compelling investment case that we believe will have wide industry appeal. We look forward to formally engaging with industry in due course and attracting the right industry partnership aligned and committed to the GBA's future success,” said Jersey Oil & Gas CEO Andrew Benitz.

Neptune Energy and its joint venture partners bp and JAPEX said on 28 January that drilling had commenced on the Seagull project in the UK Central North Sea. The Gorilla VI (JU-248) jack-up rig, operated by Valaris, will drill four wells for the development during the drilling campaign expected to last 18 months.

Reabold Resources has raised £7.5 million via the issue of new shares. The net proceeds from the fundraise will be used, among others, for additional appraisal and development activity at the West Newton project, potentially one of the largest oil and gas discoveries onshore UK.

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BRENT OIL PRICES OVER THE YEARS March review

1

YEAR AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2020 - $32.01

Sparrows Group announced it had been awarded a five-year contract renewal with a UKCS operator, worth an eight-figure sum, to continue supporting its production across two assets, as well as its decommissioning programme across three other fields in the North Sea. Full-service unmanned aviation company Flylogix has entered into a strategic partnership with Oil Spill Response Ltd to develop enhanced response techniques using long-range unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The twoyear development agreement will explore the benefits of using long-range UAS – operating beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) – for spill identification, quantification and monitoring.

Petrofac, Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, and TechnipFMC announced on 15 February they had formed an innovative industry alliance which seeks to maximise the recovery of oil and gas from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

“Industry level collaborations such as this, will drive the standardisation required to reduce the time and cost of tie-back developments. Petrofac is thrilled to combine the asset knowledge gained as Repsol Sinopec’s operations and maintenance partner, with our engineering and project management expertise in support of this exciting collaboration,” said Nick Shorten, Managing Director of Petrofac’s Engineering and Production Services, West business.

Jose Luis Muñoz, CEO Repsol Sinopec said: “As an industry we must get better at recognising the benefits of utilising existing North Sea infrastructure to maximise the economic recovery of the basin, minimise carbon emissions and transition to a lower carbon economy.”

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The North Sea oil and gas sector was in a "paper thin" position with oil prices tumbling, the industry warned. The supply chain in particular was at risk with cash flows already tight following the 2016 downturn. Coronavirus and increased supply had led to a "perfect storm", according to Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) The UK government had pledged to support all businesses during the pandemic and said it was in close contact with OGUK. The industry wanted urgent engagement from ministers so that businesses could access finance. A decision by the oil-producing cartel OPEC to increase production had pushed prices to below $30 a barrel. That meant companies were beginning to row back on investments which are vital to the supply chain.

5

YEARS AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2016 - $38.21 Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne cuts North Sea taxes. The chancellor announced a major overhaul of the North Sea tax regime, in response to difficulties facing the UK oil and gas sector. In his Budget statement, he said Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) would be "effectively abolished", having cut it last year from 50% to 35%. The existing supplementary charge for oil companies will also be cut from 20% to 10%, backdated to 1 January. The SNP's deputy leader Stewart Hosie welcomed the changes. But he said he was "slightly disappointed in the lack of strategic direction" and that there was no mention of exploration or production allowances for the industry.

Mr Hosie said tax receipts from the North Sea had dropped to extremely low levels.

W W W. O G V. E N E R G Y

10

YEARS AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2011 - $123.26

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The Japanese quake and tsunami led to sharp reactions in both leading share and commodity prices on world markets as companies and investors attempted to position themselves to avoid major losses and gain a share in the proceeds of businesses that might benefit from changes in demand. Japan, the world's third biggest economy and third biggest importer of oil, wanted less in the short term as factories are shut and economic output declines. A barrel of benchmark Brent crude was down as much as $2.68 at $111.16, while US light, sweet crude fell to as low as $98.47 - also a drop of almost $3.

But gas prices have risen. With 11 of the country's 54 nuclear power stations out of action, Japan was expected to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The price of LNG leapt to their highest level since November 2008, with energy analysts warning of higher prices in the UK, which takes 20% of its power from LNG.

14

ENERGY NEWS

By Tsvetana Paraskova

Europe

Energy Review

Oil & Gas Ireland’s Government said in early February it would introduce legislation to ban new oil and natural gas exploration and extraction.

“The decision we have made today to legislate for a ban on new oil exploration and extraction will send a powerful message, within Ireland and internationally, that Ireland is moving away from fossil fuels towards a renewable future,” said Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, Norway, awarded 61 offshore exploration licenses to 30 companies in the latest annual licensing round for oil and gas exploration in mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Equinor, Lundin, Aker BP, and Vår Energi were awarded the highest number of licenses either as operators or partners.

“This year’s award of 61 new production licences to as many as 30 companies shows that the petroleum industry still has significant expectations of making profitable discoveries on the Norwegian Shelf,” said Kalmar Ildstad, director license management at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Norway’s Equinor said at the end of January that its giant Johan Sverdrup oil field is expected to increase its daily production capacity up to 535,000 barrels of oil by mid-2021. This is around

Oil and gas exploration policies, updates from oil majors about their strategies in the energy transition, renewables power generation milestones, and many deals in the renewables industry in the UK and the rest of Europe were the highlights of the European energy themes at the start of 2021.

100,000 barrels per day more than the original basis at start-up in October 2019.

Renewables

Equinor also announced its first discovery for 2021, made near the Troll field in the North Sea. The Røver North discovery adds to a number of discoveries in the Troll/Fram area in recent years.

Renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time to become the UK’s largest source of electricity over the whole year in 2020, Drax said in its latest Electric Insights quarterly report.

Shell confirmed that its oil production peaked in 2019, as it accelerates its net-zero emissions strategy. The supermajor expects its oil production to gradually decline by around 1-2% each year, including divestments and natural decline. In the upstream, Shell will focus on value over volume, which is set to continue to provide material cash flow into the 2030s.

Together wind, solar, hydro, and biomass provided 104 TWh of electricity, or 39% of all power consumed in Britain. Renewable output has increased tenfold since 2010, while fossil-fuelled output has fallen by 60%.

In 2020, supply from coal, gas, and oil fell to below 100 TWh for the first time since 1960, the report noted.

France’s Total also reiterated its transformation toward a broader energy company and plans to change its name to TotalEnergies to reflect the two pillars of its strategy, LNG and electricity from renewable energy sources.

In the European Union, renewables also overtook fossil fuels to become the EU’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020, according to the annual report of Ember and Agora Energiewende. Renewables rose to generate 38% of Europe’s electricity in 2020, up from 34.6% in 2019, for the first time overtaking fossil-fired generation, which fell to 37%, the report showed.

Aker BP, however, will remain a pure-play oil and gas company and will contribute to the energy transition through maximising value creation, minimising emissions, and by sharing of data and competence to other industries.

“The operational performance has never been stronger, the financial position has never been more robust, and our investment opportunities have never been more attractive to pursue,” CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said on the capital markets update in early February.

Floating offshore wind in the UK could reach “subsidy-free” levels by the early 2030s, a study completed by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOW CoE) showed.

The study suggests large floating offshore wind projects could secure Contracts for Difference (CfD) strike prices below current wholesale electricity price forecasts as early as 2029, depending on the deployment scenario pursued by the UK. Globally, offshore wind capacity installations are set to jump by 37% this year, following 15% growth in 2020, Rystad Energy has estimated. Last year, China was the main contributor to offshore wind installations growth, accounting for 39% of additions, followed by the Netherlands with 18% and the UK with 17%.

Johan Sverdrup oil field

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Global installed offshore wind capacity is set to increase by 11.8 gigawatts (GW) in 2021, adding to the 31.9 GW of installed capacity at end-2020, Rystad Energy reckons.

Europe

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by a public-private partnership, will be able to cover the consumption of 10 million European households, once fully completed.

“It will make a big contribution to the realisation of the enormous potential for European offshore wind, and I am excited for our future collaboration with other European countries”, said Dan Jørgensen, Danish Minister for Climate.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution opened a call for evidence to find ‘shovel-ready’ green projects that can be accelerated by network investment over the next two years.

A team led by London South Bank University (LSBU) has launched what it says is a worldfirst research project to develop a new way of recovering waste heat from industry and decarbonise heating and cooling through new hydrogen technologies.

Europe invested a record 26 billion euro (US$31 billion /£22.6 billion) in new offshore wind farms in 2020, which is set to finance 7.1 GW of new offshore wind to be built in the coming years, WindEurope said in early February.

Europe now has 116 offshore wind farms across 12 countries, with 40% of the capacity in the UK, the association said. bp and Total were among the successful bidders in the UK’s offshore wind leasing round 4. The Crown Estate announced six proposed new offshore wind projects in the waters around England and Wales, which together represent just under 8 GW of potential new offshore wind capacity. bp and partner Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (EnBW) of Germany were selected as the preferred bidder for two highly-advantaged 60year leases with 3 GW of generating capacity in the round, the first such UK leasing round since 2010.

“Our study will investigate new ways that industry can reuse waste heat and convert it for use in heating and cooling. About 60% of total waste heat produced in the UK by industry could potentially be reused,” said Professor Yunting Ge, LSBU Professor of Building Services Engineering.

Renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time to become the UK’s largest source of electricity over the whole year in 2020, Drax said in its latest Electric Insights quarterly report.

A 50/50 joint venture between Total and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) also secured rights in that round. The Total-GIG project, which will be located off the UK’s East Anglian coast, could deliver up to 1.5 GW of renewable electricity.

Another major oil company, Shell, also enhanced its diversification by agreeing to buy ubitricity, the largest public EV charging network in the UK. Denmark reached an agreement to build the world’s first wind energy hub as an artificial island in the North Sea. The hub, to be owned

EMEC is also collaborating with Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) to decarbonise heat and power at Kirkwall Airport through green hydrogen technology. The project, funded by the Scottish Government via Highlands and Islands Enterprise, will see a novel hydrogen combustion engine, provided by Doosan Babcock, installed and demonstrated at Kirkwall Airport in Orkney in 2021.

Scotland-based Global Energy Group (GEG) and Rosetti Marino, headquartered in Italy, have created a strategic partnership to execute largescale renewable energy and energy transition EPC and EPCI contracts in the UK.

“We are fully confident that these highly advantaged resources will deliver – at a minimum – the 8-10% returns we demand of our renewables investments,” bp chief executive Bernard Looney said.

“This project is our largest renewables development in Europe to date and an important step toward our 2050 net zero ambition”, said Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Renewables at Total.

Following a competitive tender, the Scottish Government has awarded the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) a contract to explore opportunities for floating offshore wind and hydrogen supply chains in Scotland and France.

Renewables rose to generate 38% of Europe’s electricity in 2020, up from 34.6% in 2019, for the first time overtaking fossil-fired generation, which fell to 37%, the report showed.

Ørsted has taken the final investment decision on the Danish demonstration project H2RES, which will use offshore wind energy to produce renewable hydrogen. The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021 and will be Ørsted’s first renewable hydrogen project in operation.

Iberdrola plans to invest more than 1 billion euro (US$1.2 billion / £870 million) in the first industrial-scale floating offshore wind farm in Spain, expected to generate 300 MW of clean energy off the Spanish coast.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Shell, Vattenfall, and municipal company Wärme Hamburg have signed a letter of intent to plan how they can jointly produce hydrogen from wind and solar power at Vattenfall’s Moorburg power plant site in Hamburg and utilise the hydrogen in its vicinity.

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ENERGY NEWS

By Tsvetana Paraskova

US

ENERGY OVERVIEW

The U-Turn in US Energy Policy

At the start of 2021, the US oil and gas industry is cautiously optimistic amid rising oil prices and apprehensive about the marked shift in the new US Administration’s energy policies.

Operators and oilfield services providers are more optimistic about the industry’s prospects than they were six months ago, but they are bracing themselves for changes in the federal government’s oversight of new lease sales on federal land and in federal waters, and increased scrutiny over the climate impact of new oil and gas infrastructure.

federal lands and waters would undermine environmental progress, cost American jobs, jeopardise education and conservation funding, and shift the U.S. to greater reliance on foreign energy.

“With a stroke of a pen, the administration is shifting America’s bright energy future into reverse and setting us on a path toward greater reliance on foreign energy produced with lower environmental standards,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “Limiting domestic energy production is nothing more than an ‘import more oil’ policy that runs counter to our shared goal of emissions reductions and will make it harder for local communities to recover from the pandemic.”

According to API, a ban on new leasing on federal land and in federal waters would have Meanwhile, while the oil price rally had analysts and investors energy security, economic, and environmental impacts. US oil imports could rise by 2 wondering whether US shale producers would abandon the million barrels a day by 2030, while US offshore natural gas and oil production could pledge to rein in drilling and return more to shareholders, decrease by 68% and 44%, respectively. Nearly 1 million jobs could be lost by 2022, while severe winter storms in the heart of the shale patch in Texas gross domestic product (GDP) could drop by a cumulative $700 billion by 2030, API said. knocked off in the middle of February around one-third of In addition, lower natural gas production could delay the shift from coal-fired to natural total US oil production and wreaked havoc on pipeline flows gas-fired power generation, thus increasing coal use and emissions. and refinery operations. The disruptions sent the price of the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, to The first consequence of President Biden’s order to pause new leasing permits above $60 per barrel—the highest price since was the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rescinding the early January 2020, just before the COVID-19 Record of Decision for the oil and gas lease Gulf of Mexico planned for Operators and pandemic and the brief OPEC+ break-up March 2021. This effectively cancelled the lease sale, which would have sent oil prices into a tailspin with WTI oilfield services offered 78.2 million acres for a region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease, or crashing into negative territory for one 14,594 unleased blocks, all of the available unleased areas in federal providers are more day in April 2020. waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

President Biden’s Energy Agenda

optimistic about the industry’s prospects than they were six months ago

On his first day in office, US President Joe Biden started issuing executive orders to reverse many of the policies of former president Donald Trump, including energy policies. President Biden revoked the Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL cross-border pipeline between Canada and the United States, as part of policies to protect the environment and public health. The killing of the pipeline project drew harsh criticism from Canada’s oil-producing province of Alberta, as well as from trade unions in the United States who had supported President Biden’s presidential bid.

TC Energy, the developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, stopped construction on the project and let go of 1,000 workers in both the United States and Canada.

A week later, President Biden issued another executive order, to tackle the climate crisis, in which he directed the Secretary of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices.

In response to the executive order, the American Petroleum Institute (API) warned that limiting domestic energy produced on

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

“Cancelling this huge offshore Gulf oil auction helps protect our climate and life on Earth. President Biden understands the urgent need to keep this oil in the ground,” Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity, said.

“A ban on new leasing, if permanent, would mean that by 2035 US offshore oil and gas production would be about 30% lower than if lease sales had continued,” Wood Mackenzie said in a snapshot overview of the Biden Administration effect on the US energy sector.

While most of the attention has been focused on the impact of the policies on oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska could be affected the most in relative terms, Rystad Energy estimates. According to the independent energy research and business intelligence company, about 72% of Alaska’s remaining recoverable oil resources could stay in the ground, although the effect on production will be felt only after 2030.

“Alaska’s economy is heavily oil-reliant and given this, it’s hard to see renewables replacing the North Slope oil any time soon. Consequently the energy transition push brings unique challenges for the state, which needs to weigh associated direct and indirect job losses, while also replacing the revenue streams for the state and its people,” said Krishan Pal Birda, upstream research analyst at Rystad Energy.

Industry Hopes the Worst of the 2020 is over If WTI oil prices keep at around $53-55 per barrel throughout 2021, the wave of bankruptcy filings from 2020 is set to subside to pre-pandemic levels, Rystad Energy said at the end of January.

U.S. “Last year was arguably the most devastating year in history for the North American oil and gas industry.

Even so, Rystad Energy’s analysis concludes that 2020’s round of Chapter 11 filings fast-tracked an overdue reduction in the number of market participants by removing troubled companies and allowing their healthier competitors to remain in the playing field,” Rystad Energy noted.

Australia

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By Andy Hogan

“In essence, nearly all public E&P producers are now positioned to navigate 2021 without significant bankruptcy risks,” Artem Abramov, Head of Shale Research at Rystad Energy, said, adding that a certain low number of Chapter 11 filings would be an integral part of the oil and gas business.

In 2020, the Texas upstream oil and gas economy suffered a 30% contraction, largely due to the pandemic and the resulting crash in global energy demand, the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers’ Texas Petro Index (TPI) showed in early February.

At the end of 2020, the Texas share of total US crude oil production had grown to 44% from 42% in 2019.

“A number of Texas upstream indicators have turned the corner from the worst of the COVID lows, most notably crude oil prices and the monthly statewide rig count,” the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers said.

“That the industry is adding jobs is encouraging, pointing to at least somewhat better times ahead in 2021,” Alliance Petroleum Economist Karr Ingham said. “The Texas Petro Index is poised to find its cyclical trough, hopefully in the first quarter 2021, and begin to register a long and steady recovery from the ravages of COVID in 2020.”

Across the US, oilfield services and equipment sector employment rose by an estimated 8,421 jobs in January 2021, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analysis by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council.

The Council’s monthly Oilfield Services and Equipment Employment Report estimates that job losses due to pandemic-related demand destruction totalled 81,061 as of January 2021. Oilfield services employment has dropped by 80,014 jobs since January 2020.

Texas Freeze Boosts Oil & Gas Prices and Disrupts Production The extreme winter weather in many parts of the US in February, including in Texas, disrupted oil and natural gas production, pipeline flows, power generation, and refinery operations. The lowest temperatures in Texas in three decades cut off one-third of US crude oil production in mid-February, with more than 50% of the output in the Permian estimated to be down. Freezing temperatures and rolling power outages in Texas hampered the pumping of oil, as wellheads froze, electricity was out, and icy roads prevented trucking of sand and water to well sites.

Natural gas prices jumped to above $3 per million British thermal units amid record demand for power and heating across the United States.

US oil production declined by more than 30% in the week of 18 February, and as a result, WTI oil prices shot up to nearly $62 per barrel—the highest price since the first week of January 2020.

“The View from Down Under” Perth, several cities in Eastern Australia and Auckland in New Zealand have had short duration snap lockdowns over the last month, all were related to the escape of variants of the COVID virus from quarantine accommodation and remind that the pandemic is still very much in full flow, despite the recent reduction of the infection rate across some areas of the globe.

Fortunately, thus far the outbreaks have been successfully contained.

Australia started its’ vaccination programme in the last week in February with the goal to have all of the population vaccinated by October this year.

The Federal government is taking a pragmatic approach to critical industries by allowing exemptions for key overseas personnel and granting them visas to enable them to relocate to and work in Australia.

Oil and Gas is seen as critical, government policy is to have a ‘Gas Led Recovery’ from COVID while investing in renewable energy technologies. It should be noted that the granting of such a visa under exemption still requires 14 mandatory quarantine on arrival.

Decommissioning and P&A in ANZ is still very much to the fore, in addition to ENI, Woodside and Cooper who have firm plans over the next 12 months, the NZ Government through the MBIE ministry, has issued all of the 3-part ROI for the decommissioning of the Tui Field.

The first part concerns the removal of the FPSO Umuroa, which is expected to be done by the middle of this year. The second part relates to the removal of the flowlines and seabed infrastructure with the final part concerning the P&A of all 8 wells and removal of the trees and wellheads.

MBIE are seeking interest from owners of single hull intervention vessels, specialist intervention vessels and drilling rigs, the planned timing of the work is 100 to 120 days over the coming NZ summer.

Offshore drilling activity continues to slowly recover from the 2020 hiatus, at the start of the year just one semi sub was working in ANZ waters, off NW Australia with a modular drilling rig working on a platform offshore New Zealand. A second semi commenced operation late in February off the coast of Victoria.

2 more semis and 2 jackups are expected to start up over the course of Q2 this year.

Plans are in place, subject to FID and regulatory approvals, for drilling and P&A campaigns over 2022 which could see MODU count approach double figures for the first time since 2015.

Stay Safe!

“The View from Down Under” is brought to you by: Networked Energy Consulting Pty Ltd, based in Perth, WA, Australia

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ENERGY NEWS

MIDDLE EAST Energy Review

By Tsvetana Paraskova

Middle Eastern oil producers, with their continued production cuts as part of the OPEC+ deal, played a role in oil prices hitting in February 2021 the $60 per barrel mark for the first time in more than a year. OPEC, its key members from the Middle East, and the OPEC+ alliance with non-OPEC producers led

by Russia are optimistic that the oil market is on its way to rebalancing and that global oil demand will rebound in the second half of the year.

While major producers in the Middle East continued to rein in oil supply in their attempt to tighten the market, the biggest companies in the region announced expansion projects and strategic agreements, while major international companies signed contracts with some of the national oil companies in the Gulf.

OPEC+ moves to tighten oil market The production cuts from OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, plus the additional 1 million barrels per day (bpd) reduction in production from Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Middle East and the largest oil exporter in the world, have supported the crude oil price rally over the past two months.

Prompt Brent and West Texas Intermediate prices exceeded the threshold of $60 a barrel in February while the futures curve in both Brent and the US benchmark fell deeper into backwardation, signalling a tightening market.

“With the crude oil market currently switching into backwardation, we are hopeful that 2021 will be a good year for overall demand,” OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said at the monthly meeting of the OPEC+ technical panel in early February.

Barkindo opened the virtual meeting by highlighting the improving prospects for the global oil market and the global economy, which is expected to grow by 4.4% this year, compared to a decline of 4.1% in 2020.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC+ group also expressed optimism that 2021 would be a year of recovery. Overall compliance of the OPEC+ alliance with the production cuts stood at 101% in December 2020, the committee said.

“The Committee observed that, while economic prospects and oil demand would remain uncertain in the coming months, the gradual rollout of vaccines around the world is a positive factor for the rest of the year, boosting the global economy and oil demand,” the JMMC said.

In its February Monthly Oil Market Report, OPEC reduced by 100,000 bpd its oil demand growth outlook for 2021 compared to the January report,

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

and now expects global demand to rise by 5.8 million bpd from 2020 to average 96.1 million bpd. The downward revision was mainly the result of extended lockdowns in major mature economies.

“While the global economy is showing signs of a healthy recovery in 2021, oil demand is currently lagging, but is forecast to pick up in the 2H21,” OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report in February.

With the crude oil market currently switching into backwardation, we are hopeful that 2021 will be a good year for overall demand, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said.

Qatar greenlights world’s biggest LNG project While the major oil producers in the Middle East are trying to tighten the market with the OPEC+ cuts, expecting a rebound in oil demand later this year, Qatar, which left OPEC in 2019, is doubling down on its major export commodity—liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Qatar Petroleum announced on 8 February it had taken the final investment decision to build what it says would be the world’s biggest LNG project in terms of capacity.

Qatar Petroleum sanctioned the development of the North Field East Project (NFE), which is expected to boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 110 mmtpa. The project, scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025, will cost US$28.75 billion.

The North Field East Project is likely to be the biggest project sanctioned across the global upstream business this year, Wood Mackenzie research director Giles Farrer said, commenting on the announcement.

“Qatar is pursuing market share. This FID is likely to put pressure on other pre-FID LNG suppliers, who may find Qatar has secured a foothold in new markets,” Farrer added.

Middle East EPC contract for PDO’s Marmul Main Production Station (MMPS) - Gas Compression project. The scope of work for the 30-month, lump-sum turnkey contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, start-up and initial operational support. The second contract is a project delivery contract with Petrofac’s partner and main PDO contract holder Arabian Industries Projects LLC, for selected PDO concession areas in the North of Oman. The scope of this seven-year contract is for provision of reimbursable engineering services, integrated project support and management services, and has an option to extend for three years, Petrofac said.

In addition, the Qatari project, at a long-term breakeven price of just over $4 per million British thermal units, is right at the bottom of the global LNG cost curve, alongside Arctic Russian projects, WoodMac’s Farrer noted.

The sanctioning of the project puts Qatar on track to return as the world’s largest LNG producer by 2030, while also making the Middle East the world’s top region for oil and gas project sanctioning in 2021, Rystad Energy said in a report.

Qatar’s liquefaction capacity is set to increase to 110 million tonnes per annum, which would represent 18% of the global total at the end of the decade, currently estimated at 600 million tpa, Rystad Energy noted.

Middle East set to accelerate project approvals after 2020 shock In addition, “Rystad Energy expects rising oil prices to trigger sanctioning of global projects worth about $100 billion this year, of which the Middle East is set to contribute almost 40%, or $40 billion,” the independent energy research and business intelligence company said.

More than 26 Middle Eastern projects, worth a total of US$50 billion, have been delayed over the past year, with Qatar’s LNG project making up the lion’s share as it was pushed to 2021. At the beginning of 2021, the Middle East region had projects worth US$98 billion due for sanctioning between 2021 and 2023, according to Rystad Energy.

“With NFE now sanctioned, further investment commitments largely depend on developments in the UAE, where ADNOC aims to boost oil and gas production capacity and has a $40 billion project pipeline till 2025,” the energy research firm said.

“In Saudi Arabia, the oil price downcycle has hit ongoing bidding processes and we estimate the giant Zuluf oil development worth $12 billion will be sanctioned in 2023. Recovering prices are also likely to spur sanctioning activity in other parts of the region, especially in Oman, Iraq and Iran,” Rystad Energy noted.

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Rystad Energy expects rising oil prices to trigger sanctioning of global projects worth about $100 billion this year, of which the Middle East is set to contribute almost 40%, or $40 billion.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) awarded on 10 February the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 4 to Cosmo E&P Albahriya Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan’s Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. Cosmo will hold a 100% stake in the exploration phase, investing up to US$145 million (AED532 million) in exploration and appraisal drilling, including a participation fee, to explore for and appraise oil and gas opportunities in the block that covers an offshore area of 4,865 square kilometres northwest of Abu Dhabi city.

Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO ASA said on 11 February it had bought ExxonMobil’s 32% interest in the Baeshiqa license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The acquisition, pending government approval, would double DNO’s operated stake to 64% (80% paying interest). DNO had bought its first 32% interest from ExxonMobil and assumed operatorship of the Baeshiqa license in 2018.

“Following the stabilisation of oil prices and export payments in Kurdistan, DNO is stepping up spending on new opportunities,” DNO’s executive chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said.

Halliburton announced it was awarded a contract from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to collaborate on their digital transformation journey through the maintenance and expansion of digital solutions for their North Kuwait asset.

“By using cloud computing, IoT and real-time technologies to drive new ways of working, we can improve production planning, scheduling and enable virtual and autonomous reservoir optimisation,” said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice president of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions and Consulting.

Deals and Contracts Companies operating in the Middle East have signed several major contracts and acquisition deals since the middle of January.

MIDDLE EAST REVIEW SPONSORED BY

bp will sell 20% in Oman’s Block 61 to PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) of Thailand for US$2.6 billion, said the UK-based supermajor which will remain operator of the block, holding a 40% interest, following completion of the sale.

“We are committed to bp’s business in Oman – this agreement allows us to remain at the heart of this world-class development while also making important progress in our global divestment programme,” said bp’s chief executive officer Bernard Looney.

“We look forward to working closely with PTTEP, our other partners, and the Government of Oman on the continued success of Khazzan and Ghazeer, and to explore further opportunities in Block 61,” Yousuf Al Ojaili, vice president, bp Oman, noted.

Also in Oman, Petrofac has been awarded two contracts worth a combined US$300 million through Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The first contract is a direct

At Craig International, procurement isn’t just about processes, products and numbers. We promote a culture of ownership among our people, who are trusted to get on with the job on your behalf. We’re proud of how we serve clients. We’re always looking for new ways to add value and routinely introduce new technological solutions to make service delivery even simpler, smoother, faster. When it comes to procurement, we get it. Adding value, innovation and efficiency at every turn in your supply chain. www.craig-international.com

WORLD PROJECTS

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WORLD PROJECTS MAP

GUYANA - ExxonMobil Greater Yellowtail Area Development US$6bn

Greater Yellowtail Area Development - ExxonMobil and its partners are expected to submit plans by the end of 2021 for a fourth development phase at the Stabroek block involving the Greater Yellowtail discoveries. FEED studies are underway for a fourth FPSO.

MARCH 2021

The EIC delivers high-value market intelligence through its online energy project database, and via a global network of staff to provide qualified regional insight. Along with practical assistance and facilitation services, the EIC’s access to information keeps members one step ahead of the competition in a demanding global marketplace. The EIC is the leading Trade Association providing dedicated services to help members understand, identify and pursue business opportunities globally. The EIC is renowned for excellence in the provision of services that unlock opportunities for its members, helping the supply chain to win business across the globe.

WORLD PROJECTS SPONSORED BY

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QATAR - Qatargas Ras Laffan – NFE - LNG Liquefaction Trains Expansion 1 US$18bn

INONESIA - Husk Madura BD, MAC Gas Field Development US$250mn est.

A final investment decision has been reached on the mega project.

The decision to proceed was announced together with the multibillion dollar EPC contract which was awarded to a joint venture of Chiyoda Corporation and Technip Energies. The project is expected to start production in Q4 2025.

Tendering for the MOPU is still underway with a final investment decision now expected in 2021.

Expected to be operational by 2023 the MOPU for MAC is expected to produce 64 MMcf/d of gas.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

4 DENMARK - Total Tyra Field Redevelopment US$3.3bn Total is studying the possibility of using renewable energy generated from wind farms to power its Culzean facilities and its Tyra facilities as part of a push to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2.5 mtpa by 2025.

5 THAILAND - Chevron Gulf of Thailand Asset Retirement Programme US$1bn est.

Sapura Energy (Thailand) Limited has received an award of service request for the year 2021 wellhead platforms & pipelines installation and wellhead platforms removal campaign in Thailand from Chevron. The contract scope of work comprises engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of wellhead platforms and pipelines and the wellhead platforms removal.

WORLD PROJECTS

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MALAYSIA - PTTEP Block SK410B – Lang Lenah Gas Discovery US$5.7bn

Block SK410B – Lang Lenah Gas Discovery - PTTEP successfully completed the Lang Lebah-2 appraisal well in SK 410B. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,320m and discovered over 600m of net gas pay, indicating a larger reservoir than the initial estimate. The well test delivered a flow rate of 50 MMcf/d and the result will accelerate the development plan for the project.

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POLAND - PGE Offshore Wind Farm EW Baltica 2/3 US$2.5bn

FRANCE - Saipem Éoliennes Offshore du Calvados US$2.16bn

NEATHERLANDS - Shell NortH2 Hydrogen Project US$200mn

Ørsted and PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (‘PGE’) have signed an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture for the development, construction and operation of the Baltica-2 and Baltica-3 projects. Both projects are eligible to be included in Poland’s 2021 offshore wind allocation round. Baltica 3 is the most advanced of the two projects and could become operational in 2026.

Saipem has been chosen for the design, construction and installation of the 64 monopile turbine foundations. The contract remains subject to a final investment decision. Installation will be carried out by crane vessel Saipem 3000.

Mott MacDonald will be the lead technical integration consultant, and they will collate, evaluate and develop the potential technical solutions required to realise the project. The company will also provide cost, scheduling and risk management services associated with the technical implementation, to provide a clear path to the developers for investment decisions and further development for the project.

WORLD PROJECTS SPONSORED BY

www.the-eic.com

22

ROBOTICS & AI

By Tsvetana Paraskova

The adoption of technology is set to grow in coming years and give early adopters advantage over others, analysts say.

ROBOTICS AND AI in Oil & Gas

Cloud computing adoption could give the industry advantage with greater operational efficiency, data and analytics company GlobalData said in a report in 2020. The company has identified bp, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total as some of the leaders in cloud computing adoption in the oil and gas industry.

“Cloud adopters will be better placed to swiftly implement new time, energy and cost saving technologies that will help oil and gas companies adapt to the changing industry,” said Ella Benson Easton, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData.

According to GlobalData, cloud computing will facilitate the adoption of other valuable time, money, and energy saving technologies, including AI and ML in the oil and gas industry.

AI Set To Be the Most Disruptive Technology

The oil and gas industry is looking to shake off the 2020 shock and adapt to the new realities of a post-COVID world where remote working is no longer considered the exception.

The energy industry had been slower than other sectors to adopt new technologies and branches of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years. Yet, even before the pandemic upended the plans of each and every oil and gas company in the world, the sector had started to embrace digitalisation, robotics, and increased use of various AI technologies to make operations more efficient, lower costs, and protect employees’ health and lives.

The impact of the coronavirus on the oil and gas industry is only speeding the use of remotely operated robots for inspection and maintenance and the use of drones in detection of leaks. Moreover, AI, machine learning (ML), and advanced analytics additionally help companies make better decisions how and where to drill for resources, how to reduce costs and streamline operations, and how to boost safety using predictive analytics.

Oil and gas executives are increasingly aware that in today’s and future world, the industry will be relevant not only with net-zero emission pledges, to which many of the biggest European majors have committed in recent months, but also with adopting advanced technologies to improve performance and reduce costs.

Oil & Gas Embraces Technology

The oil and gas sector may be, as a whole, a late adopter of AI, but it has been increasing investment in the most advanced AI technologies, GlobalData Energy notes. According to GlobalData’s patents database, the number of yearly AI patents in the oil and gas industry doubled in just five years—to 119 last year from 61 back in 2015.

“Companies that invested early are already enjoying decreased costs and improved efficiency. They can use the capital made available by these improvements to get even further ahead of their competition. Companies who are yet to invest must do so soon or risk obsolescence,” GlobalData says.

AI is optimising and securing energy assets and IT networks, an MIT Technology Review Insights report, sponsored by Siemens Energy, showed in January 2021.

“Advancements in digital applications in industrial operating environments are helping improve efficiency and security, detecting machine-speed attacks amidst the complexity of the rapidly digitalising operating environments,” says the report ‘Transforming the energy industry with AI’, which was based on interviews with IT and cybersecurity leaders at oil and gas companies worldwide and was conducted in September and October 2020.

Robotics and AI Use in Oil & Gas Industry

Many companies are already using robotics, drones, remote inspection, and AI to enhance safety and security, lower costs, and optimise operations.

A growing number of companies are using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with connected sensors and devices, digital oilfields, and digital twin technologies to remotely monitor, and even operate, their physical assets. Robots are helping workers on offshore oil and gas platforms, performing tasks that could be risky for people.

Last year, robots, advanced technology, and remote monitoring turned out to be very useful for the oil and gas industry when most of the world started working from home.

With large physical assets, often in harsh-environment conditions, oil and gas companies appreciated the ability to be able to perform some of the tasks remotely via smart sensors, robots, and drones.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

AI was rated as the most important technology in GlobalData’s Emerging Technology: Sentiment Analysis Q4 2020 survey. Predictive maintenance, seismic reservoir recognition, asset management, risk and leak detection will all benefit from various AI uses, survey respondents said.

Many companies in the oil and gas sector are already using robotics, drones, remote inspection, and AI to enhance safety and security, lower costs, and optimise operations.

A part of bp’s net-zero ambition will revolve around digital transformation and innovation, for example. bp uses Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot for inspection of remote facilities, improving employee safety by keeping people away from potentially hazardous work environments.

“High-pressure oil and gas can create risks for people working in close proximity. If we could have a robot with the proper sensors out there, we’d much rather do that,” Adam Ballard, Facilities Technology Manager at bp, says in a feature about Spot on Boston Dynamics’ website.

Royal Dutch Shell is using drones for methane detection to enhance its existing methane leak detection and repair program in the Permian Basin in the United States. Shell reached in July 2020 an agreement with Avitas, a Baker Hughes venture, to expand the use of drones to strengthen its methane leak detection and repair (LDAR) program in the most prolific US shale basin.

Shell also contracted in 2020 Cyberhawk, the creator of iHawk, a cloud-based asset visualisation software, for a five-year contract, under which iHawk will become Shell’s next-generation visualisation software platform for all onshore, offshore and subsea assets, as well as all global construction projects.

SUBSEA ROBOTICS REVIEW & AI

AI was rated as the most important technology in GlobalData’s Emerging Technology: Sentiment Analysis Q4 2020 survey

In August 2020, Equinor said it had completed the world’s first logistics operation with a drone to an offshore installation. A drone flew a 3D-printed part for the lifeboat system from the Mongstad base to the Troll A platform in the North Sea. “Drones could reinforce safety, boost production efficiency and contribute to lower CO2 emissions from Norwegian oil and gas. Drones will also play a role as we shape new energy solutions on the Norwegian shelf,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

Also last August, Fugro said it had delivered the first fully remote inspection of an oil and gas platform in UK waters, 250 kilometres east of Scotland, using a remotely operated

vehicle (ROV) and Fugro’s remote operations centre (ROC) in Aberdeen. In a first for the UK sector, the platform’s entire jacket structure was inspected remotely, Fugro says.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which has invested in technologies and AI in recent years, said in November 2020 it had completed the first phase of its large-scale multi-year predictive maintenance project to maximise asset efficiency and integrity across its upstream and downstream operations. The predictive maintenance project uses AI technologies such as machine learning and digital twins to deliver maintenance savings of up to 20%, ADNOC says.

Most recently, bp said in February 2021 it had successfully completed an

autonomous vehicle trial at its Lingen refinery in Germany. bp was working with autonomous vehicle software developer Oxbotica in the trial, which was a world-first in the energy sector and the latest addition to the bp ventures technology portfolio.

Following the success of the trial, bp targets to progress to deploying its first autonomous vehicle for monitoring operations at the refinery by the end of the year.

“This relationship is an important example of how bp is leveraging automation and digital technology that we believe can improve safety, increase efficiency and decrease carbon emissions in support of our net zero ambition,” said Morag Watson, SVP digital science and engineering at bp.

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ROBOTICS & AI

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Re-Gen Robotics sees an uplift in demand for robotic tank cleaning E

nsuring sound working practices is our highest priority at Re-Gen Robotics, to strive to protect people and the environment. Our technological innovations and new ways of thinking are all revolutionising the approach we are taking to eliminate accidents, harm to people and to reduce the environmental impact of our operations.

Re-Gen Robotics tank cleaning systems solve all the problems of safety, manpower, time and effective utilisation of resources connected with cleaning of oil tanks. Productivity is enhanced and tanks can be brought into operation again more quickly.

We hear that ‘in some circumstances’ manned entry to a tank is necessary. The crew will physically scrub the contaminants from the surface of the tank to ensure it is adequately cleaned. In 2021 this is seriously unnecessary, our robots are explosion proof, complete cleans at over twice the speed of a manual crew and if a tank clean has to be urgently turned around, we can simply put two robots in a tank, further reducing cleaning time and without any of the risks.

While service providers across the Oil & Gas Industry are bracing themselves for another year of challenge and uncertainty, Re-Gen Robotics Managing Director, Fintan Duffy is continuing to see a surge in demand for his robotic tank cleaning services.

360-degree cleaning process, the waste material is transported off site using an ADR tanker and safely treated in an authorised, licensed facility.

The entire tank cleaning operation is recorded on CCTV from the ATEX cameras and is made available to the client upon completion of the works. All files are date and time stamped to ensure the process is traceable for auditing purposes.

A record of gas detection readings is also issued on completion of each vessel cleaning, produced by the onboard gas monitoring equipment. The intelligent onboard truck telemetry system gives us the opportunity to collect data that can then be aggregated and analysed in order to optimise the process. The combination unit provides real time information on all key parameters and is accessible to clients.

Our technology has continued to evolve at an incredible rate, leading to investment in a further two robots this year and new auxiliary equipment, to expand our solutions further and meet growing demand.

Thanks to our highly standardised and self-contained operation process, the cleaning schedule is very precise, allowing clients to reasonably estimate the amount of time needed for cleaning any given tank. There are clear advantages for tank terminals; fixed costs, reduced paperwork and permits, and no requirement for capital outlay, standby rescue teams or inhouse robot operators. But primarily, the operation is 100% no man entry, so it’s much safer.

Our unique, closed loop cleaning system can reduce cleaning time by up to 45% , significantly decreasing downtime and loss of production whilst oil tanks are not operational. Using a fully contained waste removal and a

Recent product innovation includes an offset suction head to clean under water suction pipes around the external diameter of tanks. The offset suction head is a low-profile tool, to access under pipes and has the ability to remove waste from below floor level as well as the ability to operate offset on the left, right and straight-ahead positions. This tool alone has decreased tank cleaning time by 10-12%.

A 360-degree full coverage washing head, was developed with the capability to wash the walls and the roof of tanks and affords faster turnaround times by 10% on floating roof tanks, where roof washing is included in the scope of works on tank cleans.

The innovations we are developing are based on existing and evolving customer needs, we’ve set a new bar in safety processes and are receiving excellent client feedback on service, quality and delivery.

When it comes to high hazard safety, nothing should be left to chance, at Re-Gen Robotics, we’re providing a realistic and proven alternative to ‘man entry’ tank cleaning.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Re-Gen Robotics is the first and only Zone 0 EX certified, remote controlled, 'No Man Entry' robotic tank cleaning company, in the UK and Ireland.

To see our robots in action, visit www.regenrobotics.com

ROBOTICS & AI

A VIEW FROM ABOVE Have you ever watched inspection footage taken by a camera hanging from a cable?

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ave you ever watched inspection footage taken by a camera hanging from a cable?

If motion sickness doesn’t stop you from watching, the poor quality of video captured due to camera movement will leave you no more aware of the asset condition than before you played the video file! The Zenith system, developed by Interactive Aerial, combats the issues of unwanted camera movement using a combination of advanced sensors and stabilisation technology.

At the core of the Zenith unit is a patented coaxial drive, which allows the Zenith unit to hold a heading, and to be rotated through 360 degrees by the operator using a portable control console. A stabilised two-axis gimbal system ensures that the camera head is always level, and a built-in LIDAR rangefinder records the distance to an object of interest so that post inspection measurements can be made using customised software.

The keys to accurate positioning of the Zenith unit are the Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), which measure acceleration in the x/y/z directions. The acceleration information is used to calculate movement of the Zenith, and to counteract movement with the coaxial drive and gimbal system.

The coaxial drive system uses independently driven counter rotating paddles to generate torque, which is applied to the vertical axis.

Varying the speed and acceleration of the paddles allows the torque to be applied bidirectionally, which counteracts the spinning motion usually experienced when lowering

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a camera on a cable. The gimbal allows the camera head movement to be compensated relative to the body of the Zenith unit, and to allow tilting of the head up and down.

The stabilised camera head can take 18 megapixel still photos, and up to 4K video. A 30x optical zoom allows close-up shots to be taken, and the entire system can be operated autonomously to take consecutive 360 degree panoramas of the inspection environment, lowering the Zenith unit incrementally between panoramas.

The most recent inspection involved lowering the Zenith down a 100m deep tunnel ventilation shaft, built in the Victorian era. The shaft was part brick lined, part bare rock, and approximately 4m in diameter. The Zenith system performed admirably, and the bottom of the shaft could be reached in under 5 minutes. Automated inspection captured areas of interest in spectacular detail, and the rope access team assisting the deployment did not need to descend into the shaft, which greatly increased the overall safety of the operation.

The Zenith system comprises three pieces of equipment: the Zenith unit, the winch and the controller. Each item of equipment communicates wirelessly with the next, and onboard microcontrollers manage the sensor inputs and motion control. The Zenith unit is lowered by the winch into an asset, and video footage is sent wirelessly to the controller. An operator can move the Zenith unit in a similar way to a pan and tilt camera, but with the ability to lower the Zenith vertically by up to 150m. This makes the Zenith system ideal for inspecting shafts, vessels, tanks or over the side of structures, such as bridges.

The Zenith system is available in the UK and Europe, exclusively from Spectis Robotics.

Contact us on 01224 701444 or email info@spectisrobotics.com for more information.

Find more information at www.spectisrobotics.com

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ROBOTICS & AI

WHAT LINKS AMERICA’S CUP RACING SAILS

Oceandrone is designed by Innovo to cut carbon emissions

and the energy transition?

The energy industry is gaining momentum in the transition from hydrocarbons to renewable sources of energy.

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t may seem an unlikely link but advances in racing sails have given a team of marine robotics experts at Innovo inspiration in their quest to help reduce carbon emissions from some vital energy industry activities.

Engineers at Innovo set out to use their decades of underwater robotics and naval architecture know-how, together with the technical advancements made in America’s Cup racing sails, to design an unmanned, eco-friendly drone replacement for tracking vessels. The aim is to significantly cut carbon emissions associated with surveys and inspections.

In spite of the ‘perfect storm’ of low oil prices and the upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy industry is gaining momentum in the transition from hydrocarbons to renewable sources of energy.

Many would argue that the crises of recent years accelerated the willingness in the oil and gas industry to embrace new technologies as a means of producing cleaner energy.

Offshore renewables, a significant piece of the sustainable energy jigsaw, requires inventive technology to fulfil its potential.

Two significant causes of emissions that the offshore oil and gas and renewables industries share are surveys and Inspection, Repair and Maintenance (IRM) tasks, the latter market being worth an estimated £644 million globally in 2020.

Route surveys of existing or planned umbilicals, pipelines or submarine power cables, and inspection, maintenance and repair tasks at offshore renewable and oil and gas facilities, are carried out by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) or Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) which are normally tracked by large vessels. The tracking vessels create pollution as well as being crewed by personnel who need to transit to and from the vessel, adding to the carbon footprint of each deployment.

Garry Millard Corporate New Business Development Director at Innovo

The key to successful innovation in low margin, high risk sectors like oil and gas and renewables lies in combining new thinking with reliable technology.

Growth in the development and production of unmanned surface vehicles had accelerated 49% between 2015 and 2019 but declined by 5% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 (according to Maia Research Analysis). In spite of this, and in the absence of funding for Research & Development (R&D) from the offshore renewables sector, we pressed ahead with the design and secured R&D supported by Innovate UK – one of only 15 UK companies to participate in Innovate UK's Global Business Innovation Programme, delivered by Enterprise Europe Network. The programme focuses on surface and underwater marine robotics systems and technologies.

The result is the Oceandrone an All Weather Surface Drone (AWSD) – an autonomous eco-robotic wind and solar powered sailing craft designed to operate 24-hours a day, 365-days a year even in extreme weather conditions.

The key to successful innovation in low margin, high risk sectors like oil and gas and renewables lies in combining new thinking with reliable technology. Oceandrone has automated systems enabling it to follow a programmed route, track the AUV, transfer data and self-hibernate during rough conditions.

In self-hibernation mode its innovative patent-pending 'pocket keel' sail, retracts into the keel for protection meaning that, unlike other autonomous vessels, the Oceandrone can avoid the kind of damage that could otherwise suspend tasks or require intervention.

The deck is designed to be free of equipment to make way for solar cells used to charge batteries to operate the propeller and for control and other systems including sonar, imaging, radar, Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR), environmental sensors and dataloggers payloads.

Innovation is found in the propulsion system too. It allows optimal use of wind and/or solar energy. That, coupled with the fact that there is no crew, means that the Oceandrone can spend virtually limitless time at sea without maintenance.

With movement of staff around the globe presenting its own risks and costs, the Oceandrone saves labour and fuel costs, and staff expenses.

For the energy transition to succeed in providing for current and future energy needs, a multitude of technological advances, large and small, will need to be invented, developed and grasped to help oil and gas become cleaner and offshore renewables to become more viable.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Innovo is an engineering, construction and equipment rental company supporting the renewables, communications, oil and gas, and marine industries worldwide.

Find more information at www.innovoteam.com

ROBOTICS & AI

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ADVANCING REAL-WORLD DEPLOYMENT

of Robotics for Inspection & Maintenance in the Energy Sector

With the acceleration towards digital transformation and the transition to a low carbon and circular society, robotics for Inspection & Maintenance (I&M) are becoming increasingly embedded in the overall digitisation strategies of energy companies.

Dr. Tjibbe Bouma, Chairman SPRINT Robotics: “A unique aspect of SPRINT Robotics is that we start from the asset operator perspective. Robotic developers and suppliers come to us exactly for that reason, we connect real world problems to potential robotic solutions.”

nvironmental advantages and safety performance are drivers for the increased use of robotics, as well as benefits such as operational efficiency and cost reduction associated with maintenance and unplanned shutdowns.

SPRINT Robotics organises a wide variety of events throughout each year: from webinars and seminars to regional roadshows and the annual World Conference for Inspection and Maintenance Robotics. Within the collaborative are a number of committees and groups: the Program Committee (asset owners and operators), Action Groups focused on specific asset classes (Storage Tanks, Pressure Vessels, Process Piping and Remote Operators), the Task Force for Cleaning and Fabric Maintenance, and three Regional Chapters. Each group actively addresses specific challenges, initiating projects, publications, and activities to drive progress forward.

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The SPRINT Robotics Collaborative is an industrydriven initiative that promotes the development, availability and application of robotics techniques in technical inspections, maintenance, and operation of capital-intensive infrastructure. SPRINT Robotics was launched in 2015 by several large asset owners from the energy industry to encourage the worldwide use of robotics for inspection, cleaning and maintenance. The collaborative aims to achieve field use of I&M robotics of capital-intensive infrastructure assets on a large scale to address immediate needs and long-term industry priorities.

In moving towards this goal, SPRINT Robotics helps connect the value chain, develop best practices, fast-track innovations, remove barriers to entry, and encourage knowledge sharing. These efforts enable end users to reduce cost, increase quality, and control the risk of inspection activities.

SPRINT Robotics has become an internationally recognised platform for I&M Robotics with a support base of nearly 100 organisations globally. As of date, the member companies of the collaborative consist of 21 Participants (asset owners and operators) and 72 Associate Participants (service providers, technology providers, manufacturers and research institutes), with three regional chapters around the world: Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

One major focus of SPRINT Robotics is to engage and bring together the whole value chain, from end users to service and technology providers.

SPRINT Robotics strongly focuses on the value that robotics for I&M can deliver to end-user organisations, i.e. the operators and owners of capital-intensive infrastructure. Robots are a means to an end and not a goal in themselves.

Connecting the value chain

In 2020, SPRINT Robotics had a substantial increase in virtual events. In addition to webinars, seminars and regular committee meetings, this past year members attended a.o. Virtual Showcases, Virtual Roadshows and had access to the Global Inspection, Maintenance & Cleaning Week, five days dedicated to different asset classes. The final day of the Global IMC Week was a highly successful session on Clean Energy, a focal point for many energy companies today.

The SPRINT Robotics initiatives are integral in connecting the value chain. The roadshows are a prime example of how SPRINT Robotics brings end users together with technology suppliers.

This series of events brings robotics straight to the doorstep of end users and provides a platform for direct engagement. The roadshows help to create awareness of the existence of these tools, showcase technology in interactive manner, spark ideas and dialogue to overcome specific challenges.

SPRINT Robotics continues to grow at a rapid pace, not only in numbers, but also with the expansion to other market sectors. The program at the last World Conference for Inspection and Maintenance Robotics was a good reflection of this, covering a broad scope ranging from

petrochemical and energy to public and water infrastructure, aerospace, subsea and next generation technologies.

Looking forward Technology keeps evolving at a very rapid pace, limited more by the ability of society to absorb it than by technological advances. Robotic hardware technically suitable for I&M is becoming readily available, even though important capability gaps remain. SPRINT Robotics sees the focus shifting from robotic hardware to embedding robotics into end-to-end solutions and global availability.

For many end-user organisations, robotics has become part of the digital strategy. Elements such as operational deployment planning and management, data analytics and AI, autonomy, establishing a reliable supply chain, expanding capabilities for I&M, are becoming more central.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted normal operations throughout the industry. Not only did the pandemic highlight vulnerabilities in supply chains, but it also demonstrated that manufacturing industries reliance on human presence in facilities is a risk to continuity. This has provided a whole new dimension to the importance of automated solutions, remote operation and robotics, to reduce the dependence on human physical presence in plants. This presents a significant opportunity for I&M robotics as it can help solve these problems.

In the light of climate change and the importance of sustainability, most countries in the world have recognised the importance of reducing CO2 emissions. New and rapidly growing industries and their supply chains focused on clean energy and the transition to a low carbon are emerging.

SPRINT Robotics aims to create synergies between sectors, share knowledge and best practices, as well as connecting leading experts in the respective industries.

SPRINT Robotics promotes the development, availability and application of robotics techniques in technical inspections and maintenance of capital intensive infrastructure.

Find more information at www.sprintrobotics.org

ROBOTICS & AI

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sing data science, AI and historical data to create a more sustainable future for late life assets Only a few years ago, many within the oil and gas industry perceived the use of data science and moves towards using Artificial Intelligence (AI), to be not much more than a novelle, highly technical phenomenon; too expensive and to challenging to implement, especially on existing and ageing assets.

HISTORY PREDICTING THE FUTURE

By Innes Auchterlonie, Founder and MD at IMRANDD

Fast forward to 2021 and the technology is being adopted at an increasingly rapid pace.

This has been partly driven by a much lower cost base and the need for more effective technology adoption to facilitate savings, but also because there is a renewed and urgent requirement to reduce physical POB on assets for reasons such as minimising the risk of physical interactions on plant and other unforeseen curveballs such as Covid-19.

Rather than lacking the horsepower to produce valuable data, operators are now struggling to compute the large and sometimes overwhelming screeds of information being churned out every minute of every day; a change from the challenges of the previous decade where asset owners struggled to obtain readily available quality historical information that could be turned into anything of significant or alternative benefit.

So what can be done with all this data – and how can it be turned into a valuable commodity for asset owners?

Machine learning and data science are providing useful ways to compute and digest previously unused data, enabling faster and more improved decision-making processes.

At IMRANDD, our software uses machine learning to collate and then monitor complex operations, identifying risks before they occur, as well as providing confidence in where, when and how to optimise inspection and integrity scopes. Gaining control and visibility of asset performance through the collection, interpretation and management of data facilitates better planning, cuts out the fat in integrity management and helps maximise remaining life.

Our engineers and data scientists use an inhouse suite of cutting-edge analytical tools and predictive modelling to manage the vast amount of inspection and maintenance information that was previously locked away, inaccessible or too hard to decipher. This enables customers to leverage information across other similar assets and equipment types to help 'futureproof' inspection and maintenance regimes by discovering patterns based on various inputs and then testing potential impacts through use of simulation.

By using our own data harvesting software to search for useful information in big data sets,

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Perception Vs reality – effective data analysis does not cost the earth While some still believe implementing advanced data analysis techniques on older assets is costly and a time-consuming process, this is not the case, in fact all though it sounds complex, when applied correctly, it makes complex tasks much simpler. Typically we help our customers utilise the value in information they already have, combining maintenance, inspection, integrity, engineering, document control and process data and eliminating the low value tasks of collecting, checking and cleansing this manually. By doing this we free up technical teams to focus on much higher value areas, supporting virtual collaboration and quicker access to information also.

Trust and accountability - the future of machine learning and AI

we can also extract information from previously unusable or disparate data sources, sort them into one central register or database and then link related pieces together to provide a much clearer picture of an asset’s performance – quickly piecing together a complex puzzle if you will.

This helps to identify trends as well as gaps and inconsistencies, which can then be addressed to generate key data outputs across assets.

By harnessing previously unused and ignored historical data we are improving equipment maintenance and inspection strategies and significantly reducing our customers’ OPEX costs, whilst, most importantly, improving overall risk management.

Visibility is key To challenge, review and analyse all aspects of an asset – Imrandd can apply the following solutions to support engineering, commercial and integrity teams.

While we must accept that currently, AI and deep learning does have its limitations, processes are being refined, improved and advanced at a rapid pace. Trust in the process, trust in the outcomes, and trust in the results - these are the concerns facing our industry as AI becomes further imbedded into our everyday activities.

To trust is to be vulnerable, and no person, or company wants vulnerability in their critical infrastructure.

So how do we combat this? How do we address concerns around AI provability and ensure the accuracy of machine learning outcomes? First, we have to accept the outcome of some AI systems simply isn’t provable. However, we can develop special purpose machine learning tools based on deep domain knowledge and intricate understanding of the industry they’re applied to. This way we can add control and checks to ensure accountability in the decision-making process.

At IMRANDD we’re building complex training data sets and developing machine learning tools for specific purposes, creating systems that draw on our deep understanding of materials and process engineering, as well as the latest developments in data science. This enables us to devise solutions with provable outcomes, and in turn manage the apprehension some operators still have about the use of machine learning and data analysis.

Concerns around liability, accountability and provability must be addressed if systems are to be useable and adopted with confidence.

However, these concerns can be overcome by using problem-specific techniques where processes can be explained, and the outcomes easily understood. This allows us to use latest data science thinking, applied to current and future challenges in the most reliable and costeffective way.

We can provide any of these solutions as stand-alone services, however when combined, our customers achieve a much more effective asset management programme, one that’s truly aligned with commercial, safety and operational considerations.

“Trust in the process, trust in the outcomes, and trust in the results - these are the concerns facing our industry as AI becomes further imbedded into our everyday activities. To trust is to be vulnerable, and no person, or company wants vulnerability in their critical infrastructure.”

IMRANDD is a provider of Techno-Economic(TM) solutions for safe and profitable asset management.

Our vision is to “Enable assets to live longer; profitably”. To find out how IMRANDD can help unlock the untapped value within your assets, contact: info@imrandd.com or visit www.imrandd.com

Enabling robotics to drive the world’s industrial future

COMING SOON www.vaarst.com

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

‘SPOT’

Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics is a world leader in mobile robots, tackling some of the toughest robotics challenges. We combine the principles of dynamic control and balance with sophisticated mechanical designs, cuttingedge electronics, and next-generation software for high-performance robots equipped with perception, navigation, and intelligence.

Boston Dynamics has an extraordinary and fast-growing technical team of engineers and scientists who seamlessly combine advanced analytical thinking with bold engineering and boots-in-the-mud practicality.

Company Details Website: www.bostondynamics.com Email: Sales@bostondynamics.com Tel: +16178685600 Address: 9PVR+2Q Waltham Massachusetts United States

Automate sensing & inspection, capture limitless data and explore without boundaries

TRANSFORMATIVE MOBILITY Spot is an agile mobile robot that navigates terrain with unprecedented mobility, allowing you to automate routine inspection tasks and data capture safely, accurately, and frequently.

The results? Safer, more efficient and more predictable operations.

SITE DOCUMENTATION Integrate Spot with a 360° camera and site documentation software to reduce time required to capture data and enhance employee productivity in documenting and managing site progress.

Learn how Pomerleau uses HoloBuilder’s Spot integration to save 20 hours of employee time per week documenting a 500,000 sqft. project.

DIGITAL TWIN CREATION Technology Development stage: Commercial Launch date: 2019

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY ZONE SPONSORED BY

Innovation plays a role in every economy, and many UK firms remain unaware of the full range of Government incentives available to them in support of their product or service developments. Leyton is 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, firms are thinking differently and are continually improving their products and services. Leyton is 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.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Equip Spot with a laser scanner and program routine scanning routes to create digital twins of worksites and identify rework sooner.

GAUGE READING Attach a Spot CAM to the base platform to collect color visuals and read analog gauges measuring pressure, flow, temperature, and more. Attach a PTZ to the Spot CAM to get 30x optical zoom and inspect gauges from afar.

LEAK DETECTION Add processing to visuals collected by the Spot CAM payload to detect water and steam leaks around plants and note equipment with degraded performance.

NOISE ANOMALY DETECTION Equip Spot with a microphone or utilise the one on the Spot CAM to detect abnormal operating noises like ticking, grinding, or whirring.

THERMAL INSPECTION Equip Spot with a thermal camera to detect issue-indicating hot spots on machines or electrical conductors.

TUNNEL INSPECTION Drive Spot underground remotely post-blast to look for cracks and instabilities and ensure safe conditions for workers.

VIEW THE FULL TECH ANNUAL MAGAZINE ONLINE AT

www.ogv.energy

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

WHY DOES BOSTON DYNAMICS MAKE LEGGED ROBOTS? Boston Dynamics focuses on creating robots with advanced mobility, dexterity and intelligence. We have long held that mobility sufficient to access both the natural and the built world required legs. We began the pursuit of this dream over 30 years ago, first in academia and then as part of Boston Dynamics because it was an exciting technical challenge and because to build a highly mobile robot required it. We wanted to build a robot that could go where people go. The commonly referred to “dull, dirty and dangerous” tasks don’t occur solely on a neatly organised factory floor, they pop up in the natural world and in existing infrastructure.

These are places where being effective requires deftly maneuvering through rocky trails, staircases, catwalks, doors or narrow cluttered passages. The environment can’t be conformed to the machine, and therefore the machine must be capable in the environment as it comes.

While we take the natural world as inspiration for our robots, the design is ultimately motivated by functionality. Our robots end up moving like humans and animals not because we designed them to look like humans and animals but because we made them balance. Balance and

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dynamic motion are characteristics we have previously only seen in animals. It is this organic quality of dynamically stable motion that people tend to associate with lifelike movement. Partly because of the benefits of dynamic motion, our robots can navigate tough unstructured, unknown or antagonistic terrain with ease.

Wheeled and tracked robots are limited by stairs, gaps, ground-level obstructions such as cabling and staged materials and minor height differences in flooring. These environments don’t present the same challenges for legged robots.

WHAT MAKES BOSTON DYNAMICS UNIQUE? One of the things that makes Boston Dynamics unique is the ambition to build dynamically stable, legged machines.

Marc Raibert began tackling this problem before anyone else in the world. And we’ve been at it since, almost 35 years. We’ve been inspired by and worked towards this goal for so long that we have invented techniques to make robots work that you can’t find in any textbook or technical article. The result is that we now know how to build walking machines of any size, shape, actuator style or powerplant. These unique designs enable our robots to conquer terrains inaccessible to others, and perform automated tasks in unstructured environments.

INNOVATION ZONE SPONSORED BY

www.leyton.com

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY REDUCE UNCERTAINTY & MINIMISE THE RISK OF REWORK OR DELAYS Innovair

Specialist survey & inspection solutions provider serving the Energy, Infrastructure & Construction sectors.

Founded by a team with over 40 years’ experience in Surveying, Inspection & Robotics, Innovair leverage this knowhow to help customers understand their environments, maintain asset integrity, reduce risk, and improve productivity.

Using the latest survey & inspection technology, including our pioneering Autonomous Robotics Solutions, Laser Scanners, Drones, Remote Visual Inspection & Advanced NDT equipment, we collect accurate & repeatable data from precisely where you need it.

A team of problem-solvers, driven by innovation, we work with our clients to fully understand their challenges, selecting the right tool(s) to complete each project safely, efficiently and to the highest standards.

Company Details Website: www.innovair.co.uk Email: info@innovair.co.uk Tel: 01224 434 806 Address: Unit 3 – Energy Development Centre, Claymore Drive, Aberdeen, AB23 8GD, UK

Technology Development stage: Various, with our initial autonomous robotics offering being at prototype Launch date: Initial autonomous robotics offering targeting Q3 2021

Functions and Benefits • Capture accurate & repeatable survey & inspection data from precisely where you need it.

• Remove the need to put personnel at risk.

• Access dangerous environments more effectively.

• Achieve cost reduction through data & technology.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Our integrated service offering includes: • Drone Survey & Inspection • Remote Visual Inspection • Laser Scanning • Advanced NDT • Autonomous Robotics Solutions We continue to enhance these capabilities, with our in-house R&D team focussed on developing intelligent robots which can navigate, position, and deliver complex projects in unstructured & dynamic environments.

Work remains to be done before the value of robots is fully realised by the Energy sectors, at Innovair our solution(s) aim at progressing the wider adoption of in-service robotics in industrial environments, including offshore oil & gas platforms and renewable assets.

Accurate & repeatable data from precisely where you need it Remote sensing technology has advanced considerably over the past decade and when integrated with robotic technology the applications and use cases will continue to expand over the coming years.

Innovair believes that robotics will play a significant part in supporting asset operators to overcome the current and future challenges.

As a business our objectives are clear: • Capture the most accurate and repeatable survey & inspection data; • Promote the use of robotics; to complete projects safely in the most complex, dangerous & difficult to access environments.

Want to find out more about the solutions we currently offer, take a look at the summaries below.

Drone Survey & Inspection Using our fleet of fixed wing, multi-rotor, and confined space drones, we deliver survey & inspection services across various assets & sites. Our team of experienced engineers use drones to collect and deliver data with the highest level of accuracy and repeatability.

Our stringent procedures ensure our operations are completed safely and we deliver the correct, actionable information to our clients so they can make data driven decisions and examine their assets. We can also provide alternative payload solutions including LiDAR, Thermal cameras and contact NDT. Our engineers can provide results in a variety of formats, supporting you to make best use of the data.

Data can be presented in PDF reports, edited video & photographs, or visualised through point clouds and highly accurate 3D models.

VIEW THE FULL TECH ANNUAL MAGAZINE ONLINE AT

www.ogv.energy

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Remote Visual Inspection (RVI)

Innovair believes that robotics will play a significant part in supporting asset operators to overcome the current and future challenges.

Our RVI solutions enable the safe and effective collection of visual inspection data. Drawing on a wealth of industry expertise, our experienced & competent inspection team are poised to meet your challenges. Our range of state-of-the-art remotely deployed inspection systems are used for a variety of applications. Working with our clients, we collect the required data from the most difficult to access areas on their assets.

Using systems including push rod/drop cameras, crawler vehicles and bespoke robotics, fitted with LED lighting, 360° pan & tilt camera functionality and the appropriate centralisation or adhesion solution for the task at hand, be that internal pipe work, tanks, vessels, towers, exhausts, wind turbine monopiles, blade internals or otherwise.

Laser Scanning Using the latest laser scanning technology, our teams capture accurate as-built information quickly, delivering holistic data sets to an internal accuracy of +/- 5mm.

Combined with HDR panoramic images, the colourised point cloud data outputs provide a digital visualisation of your environment, with the ability to extract measurements.

Highly accurate data sets are produced efficiently providing our clients with the data they need, when they need it.

Working across multiple sectors, our data collection techniques are extremely transferable. Whether your asset is below or above ground, a confined space or at height, we will provide a solution to

capture actionable point cloud data. Our team of Chartered Surveyors & Site Engineers deliver highly accurate measured surveys to enhance decisionmaking, reduce costs, save time, and improve safety.

Advanced NDT Using a tethered drone fitted with a modular robotic arm, Innovair can collect ultrasonic thickness (UT) measurements across a range of structures, at various angles. The highly accurate, real-time and web accessible data makes the decisionmaking process faster and more efficient.

Innovair are also preparing to launch a series of automated NDT scanning systems from late 2021. Designed for a range of in-service inspection requirements, our solutions will draw on the experience of our team and support our Energy clients to capture highly accurate and repeatable inspection data from across their assets. Deploying quantitative inspection techniques, via intelligent robotics, for challenging areas such as underdeck, splash zone, internal structures, pipework and confined spaces, will allow us to collect rich “as-found” data and give our clients a thorough understanding on current condition.

Autonomous Robotics Solutions We envisage a world where robots are used to complete the most dangerous of tasks, in the harshest of environments, in order to keep our people safe and to enable sustained production in a changing economic climate.

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Our R&D team are developing a fleet of intelligent service robots which can navigate, position, and deliver complex services in dynamic & unstructured environments. With these pioneering solutions offering a modular and flexible approach, the systems will adapt to different types of structures and surfaces, selecting the correct approach for each task, integrating with tethers, tooling, light and heavy lift platforms as required. Advanced control solutions & continuous monitoring will enable SIMOPS and safe integration with human teams around them.

Selecting the right tool(s) to complete each project safely, efficiently and to the highest standards At Innovair, we have an ambitious team working towards common goals. We look forward to continued engagement with our clients’ and wider industry as we expand our INNOVATION ZONE business through SPONSORED BY 2021 and beyond.

We aim to provide autonomy, safety and cost efficiency to our clients, whilst focussing on innovation, advancing technology and continuously developing the competency of our experienced www.leyton.com personnel.

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GREEN ENERGY C&D roles related to manufacturing – turbines, cables, substations and foundations – contribute about 66% of the total potential, while installation jobs account for 10% and project development for 4%. O&M adds a 20% share to the total jobs potential.

By 2030, turbine manufacturing will continue to create most of the jobs, accounting for 54% of the total.

Therefore, turbine manufacturers such as Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, Goldwind and GE Renewable Energy are expected to employ additional labor and establish more factories for bigger turbines in the coming years.

Meanwhile, foundation manufacturing contributes 8% of the total jobs in 2030, followed by foundation installation with 5%, potentially leading to major employment opportunities.

Rystad Energy estimates that Europe, Asia outside of China, and the Americas will drive the global jobs creation in the offshore wind sector. Europe, which dominates the offshore wind installed capacity globally, could expect to see demand for jobs more than triple by 2030, from 110,000 jobs in 2020 to around 350,000. The expected growth will be especially noticeable over the next five years, as annual capacity additions in the region are increasing and the installed base is growing.

HIRING WAVE COMING:

Offshore wind staff demand to triple by 2030, hundreds of thousands needed.

The Covid-19 downturn has once again caused employment rates to plummet in the oil and gas industry. Even though some uptick is expected when the recovery arrives, employment will never return to the glories of just a few years ago. However, there is an energy segment that will be the new hiring haven for energy jobs, a Rystad Energy analysis shows – offshore wind.

D

emand for offshore wind staff will triple by the end of the decade, surging to 868,000 full-time jobs from an estimated 297,000 in 2020. In fact, the hiring spree will already be visible in the middle of the decade, as jobs demand could reach about 589,000 in 2025.

Rystad Energy estimates offshore wind installed capacity could rise to 110 gigawatts (GW) by 2025 and 250 GW by 2030. This prolific growth will require a lot of skilled employees. In our analysis we have calculated the staffing needs in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) workers – one year of fulltime employment for one person regardless of actual hours – and Offshore included only direct and indirect jobs driven by offshore wind capacity deployment globally.

Direct jobs relate to development manufacturing, construction, installation, and the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Indirect jobs relate to materials and services consumed, such as workers in steel plants supporting offshore wind turbines, electronics workers at companies supplying nacelle components, and staff of renewable energy regulatory institutions.

In the Americas, the US will be a major driver for offshore wind deployment because of the ambitious plans to decarbonise the power sector by 50% by 2030 put forward by the current Democratic administration. We estimate that the US will have almost 15 GW of offshore wind installed capacity by 2030, with 30% coming from recent solicitations held by New York State. As we move towards 2030, demand for jobs is expected to be lifted further by other countries in the region, especially Brazil, which has several large projects expected to be commissioned around the turn of the decade.

It's worth noting that although the above regions will drive the job creation that we have estimated, the actual location of these jobs will not necessarily be in the same region that created them. This particularly applies to manufacturing jobs, as factories will ship equipment to wind projects in all corners of the world.

wind installed capacity could rise to 110 gigawatts (GW) by 2025 and 250 GW by 2030.

The jobs are grouped as construction and development (C&D) – which are typically capital expenditures – and operation and maintenance (O&M) roles – which relate to operational expenditures. The C&D jobs are expected to account for most of the employment over the next decade, although its share of the total employment decreases as we approach 2030.

O&M jobs, meanwhile, driven by the installed capacity of wind farms, have contributed about 7% of the total job count in 2020 and will make up about 12% in 2025. With a rapid increase in offshore wind installed capacity, O&M will gain a larger share of the total jobs. C&D roles will still dominate, however, because a typical offshore wind farm spends 60-70% of its capex in the lead-up to its commissioning, which takes between one and three years.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk www.ogv.energy I March January-February 2021 2020

Asia, excluding China, will see a major jobs boost, most noticeable in the second half of this decade, as South Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan are expected to contribute significant offshore wind capacity. China, meanwhile, could see demand for jobs stagnate towards 2030, despite the current activity ramp-up.

“Oil and gas workers will also benefit from this expected growth in offshore wind employment globally, as they share some skills sets and essential offshore knowledge.

Offshore wind areas such as foundation manufacturing, offshore construction, project development, and O&M have been highly relevant to oil and gas operations,“ says Alexander Fløtre, Rystad Energy’s Product Manager for Offshore Wind.

Offshore oil and gas and offshore wind operations have similar safety standards, with workers requiring at least basic offshore emergency training and often helicopter underwater escape training before deploying to offshore projects. This could be a great opportunity to recover some of the talent lost during the oil and gas industry downturn, especially O&M, project development and engineering jobs.

GREEN ENERGY

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THIS TECHNOLGY COULD COMPLETELY CHANGE THE RENEWABLES SCENE BP and Chevron have made a landmark investment into a new technology developend by Eavor, a Canadian geothermal energy firm, that could provide the world’s first scaleable, renewable energy from a constant source: the natural heat of the earth.

On Tuesday the two oil majors headlined a $40 million funding round into Eavor, a Canadian geothermal energy firm that has pioneered a new technology to generate heat and electricity in a way that could be deployed in many places around the world.

It is the first investment into geothermal energy for BP, which is a leader among the oil majors in the race to transition away from fossil fuels. It represents a reentry into the field for Chevron, which sold off its geothermal assets in 2016.

The back story. Geothermal energy has been around for decades, enjoying a boom period in the 1970s and 1980s before largely falling out of the spotlight in the 1990s. Relying on heat below the surface of the earth, it has long been an attractive proposition for oil and gas companies, which have core expertise in below-ground exploration and drilling.

The problem is that conventional geothermal energy relies on finding super-hot water sources underground, making them expensive, risky, and rare bets. More recent advances have roots in the shale oil boom, and use fracking techniques to actually create the underground reservoirs needed to generate energy. But this can pose a problem from an environmental and sustainability standpoint.

With global energy companies in the midst of an existential reckoning, that standpoint has never been more important. BP has predicted that peak oil demand may have already passed, and the industry faces increasing pressure to pivot away from pollutive hydrocarbons to more sustainable sources. So far, much of the renewables investment has focused on wind and solar.

What’s new. Calgary-based Eavor announced that it had raised $40 million in its first major funding round, led by the venture arm of BP and including Chevron. It marks a significant injection of funds into Eavor, which has previously only accepted angel and venture capital investment.

The investment will be used towards research and development to help scale the power system to be price-competitive.

“We see Eavor’s potential to be complementary to our growing wind and solar portfolios,” said Felipe Arbelaez, BP’s senior vice president of zero carbon energy.

“Technology such as Eavor’s has the potential to deliver geothermal power and heat and help unlock a low carbon future.”

Eavor has developed a new type of geothermal technology that, in very simple terms, creates an underground “radiator.” The Eavor “Loop” consists of a closed-loop network of pipes installed typically 3 kilometers to 4 kilometers below the earth’s surface, originating and terminating in the same aboveground facility. The pipes are installed using advanced drilling techniques perfected in the oil patch.

Liquid travels in the pipes from the aboveground facility through the hot ambient underground environment, before naturally circulating back to the top of the loop.

The hot liquid is then converted into electricity or transferred to a district heat grid.

It doesn’t require the exploratory risk of traditional geothermal energy or disrupt the earth the way that fracking-style geothermal does.

An advantage to this type of energy is that it is constant, providing a base load of electricity to a grid system without requiring challenging battery solutions like intermittent wind and solar power. Unlike hydroelectricity, which relies on large sources of constant water flow, it is designed to be scaled, and Eavor envisions rigs installed under solar panel fields and in space-constrained regions like Singapore.

John Redfern, Eavor’s president and chief executive, told Barron’s that the system’s predictability, established in Alberta, Canada field trials in partnership with Royal Dutch Shell, is repeatable and scalable, making it much like wind and solar installations.

“We’re not an exploration game like traditional oil and gas or traditional geothermal. We’re a repeatable manufacturing process, and as such we don’t need the same rate of return,” Redfern said.

“Before we even build the system, unlike an oil well or traditional geothermal, we already know what the outputs can be. Once it’s up and running, it’s super predictable,” Redfern said. “Therefore, you can finance these things exactly like wind and solar, with a lot of debt at very low interest rates.”

GREEN ENERGY ZONE WISH TO SPONSOR THIS SPACE?

Looking ahead. Investment from BP and Chevron into Eavor is a vote of confidence on an energy technology that has the potential to be transformational. Make no mistake: this is early-stage. Eavor has much to prove and much could go wrong.

This may not work.

But in the grand scheme of things, $40 million is a drop in the ocean, and at some point billions of dollars must be spent to get technology like Eavor’s off the ground. With massive upside, there is ample incentive. If oil majors are serious about an energy transition, they need to take more risks like this.

www.ogv.energy/contact

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PEOPLE IN ENERGY

OMNI INTEGRITY DIRECTOR William McLean

PEOPLE IN ENERGY SPONSORED BY

Prodrill Energy Resource Solutions – people at the heart of the energy industry.

With over three decades of experience in sourcing the best talent in the upstream market, Prodrill are driven by people, passion and potential. Experts in human capital; Prodrill have a wealth of experience in providing tailored contractor management and staffing solutions for the global upstream & E&P industry.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Without doubt, engaging with my parent company (ICR Group) to design, build and launch a new integrity management software product. It is only the start of our journey, so hopefully we are able to build on our current achievements to hit new heights!

How has your job changed in the last 5 years, what do you do more for and what do you do less off Over the past 4 years where I have moved into the innovation space. I now find that I no longer do any “hands on” engineering/management work, as my role has shifted more into developing technology solutions that are both effective and simple to use for integrity engineers.

What ambitions have you still got to fulfil professionally in your career?

Professionally my main ambition is to establish our software product on a Global level.

If you were inviting guests to a dinner party, which 4 people you invite and why?

How did you get into the Energy sector and how long have you been working in it?

I came from the construction industry, where I spent the first 7 years of my career working as a Mechanical Engineer.

My experience in pressure system design, installation and commissioning provided a strong foundation for moving into the energy sector, where I have now been working since 2011.

What does your job involve on an average day?

Tony Robbins: I’m a massive fan of Tony Robbins and meet the legend in person for one night would be a dream come true! Elon Musk: we all like to learn from the best! Especially if you’re in the innovative space, who better than the person that is quite literally changing the World! Ricky Gervais & Joe Rogan: we need the evening entertainment, and who better to provide the sharp-witted humour than Rick Gervais and the only person to keep the conversation flowing across intellectual topics than Joe Rogan?

Who has been the most influential person in your life professionally?

I have had many “mentors” over my career, that have been hugely influential to me As we are a Technology company operating in a mature that I have never met in person. Hard to choose, so I’m going to have to go for the energy sector, my average day consists of working with a “collective mentor”. cross-industry team such as Corrosion & Integrity Engineers, Software Developers, Data Scientists to continually design and Over the next 10 years what do you see will be the key challenges in build innovative solutions that allows organisations to leverage the energy sector in the UK? the latest advancements in technology to manage their integrity lifecycle much more efficiently. More Coping with the transitions that we are currently facing. I see there generally speaking, my job involves directing being two key transitions that we are undertaking as a sector which all parts of the business, from product is only going to accelerate over the next 10 years in my opinion. development, to liaising with existing and Technology such as The first transition is that of moving from traditional to cleaner potential clients. cloud computing, AI, (greener) methods of producing energy and the second is the internet of things (IoT) rise in digitalisation. Going from traditional to greener methods How have you coped personally of producing energy, and will no doubt involve an explosion of and blockchain are and as a company with the new innovation, technologies, and processes for generating going to revolutionise pandemic? the new supplies to power the planet. Although there will be a lot of cross-pollination in experience and expertise that can be the way that Personally, I always try to focus on the gained through our history of producing energy, people will have everything is done. positives. Yes, the pandemic has brought to adapt is the new methods are to be sustained. Technology such many challenges, such as slow progress due as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) to remote working and not being able to meet in and blockchain are going to revolutionise the way that everything is person with clients. On the other hand, I now have done. The key challenge here will be the battle between understanding the more time where I am not travelling and now able to advancements in technology and being able to create solutions that are fit-forspend much more time at home with my family, which is great purpose, and that is easy for even the matures of industries (and workforce) to use. as I have a 3-year-old and a new addition back in November.

The rise in digitalisation is something that I personally am hugely interested in and hence why I have moved into this space.

We have actually coped really well throughout the pandemic, which has seen us become heavily reliant on technology for Given the experience you have now, what advice would you have given collaboration and keeping on top of our business targets. The yourself when you were just starting out in the Energy sector? pandemic has actually forced us to look at our own software product, and what can we do to support with remote working.

To always keep an eye on the wider landscape, as it is rapidly changing on many fronts.

As a result, we have built in an innovative Communications Look out for emerging technologies, industries, and new ways to do things, but more Hub to the software to allow for organisations to collaborate importantly – do not stop learning. Embrace the new ways of working because if you digitally and minimise the restrictions placed on teams by stand still, you’ll get left behind! having to work remotely!

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

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CONTRACT AWARDS

Maersk rig gets one more Martin Linge well Maersk Drilling was awarded a contract

by Equinor for the drilling of three wells and plugging of one on the Martin Linge field offshore Norway back in April 2020.

Maersk Drilling announced the addition of one more well to the rig’s campaign.

The contract has an estimated duration of 80 days, with work expected to start in September 2021 in direct continuation of the rig’s current work scope.

The contract value of the extension is approximately $29.5m, including integrated services provided, but excluding potential performance bonuses.

The contract extension is entered under the Master Framework Agreement between Equinor and Maersk Drilling, in which the parties have committed to collaborate on technology advancements and further initiatives to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

As the first of Maersk Drilling’s rigs to be upgraded to a hybrid, low-emission rig, Maersk Intrepid in late 2020 produced an initial data point of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions during drilling operations by approximately 25%,

www.ogv.energy I February March 2021 2021

compared to the baseline average for the rig, while NOx emissions were reduced by approximately 95%.

The contract with Equinor contains a performance bonus scheme based on rewarding reduced CO2 and NOx emissions.

Morten Kelstrup, COO of Maersk Drilling said: “We’re thrilled to add this additional work scope where Maersk Intrepid will again be utilising Managed Pressure Drilling to safely and efficiently deliver a high-pressure, high-temperature well at Martin Linge.

“Our collaboration with Equinor is focused on cost efficiency and responsible, low-emission drilling, and we look forward to continuing the journey we’ve started with Maersk Intrepid’s very promising first results within emissions reductions”.

Maersk Intrepid is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 jack-up rig, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea and featuring hybrid, low-emission upgrades. It was delivered in 2014 and is currently operating at Martin Linge for Equinor.

CONTRACT AWARDS

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CONTRACT AWARDS WISH TO SPONSOR THIS SPACE?

www.ogv.energy/contact

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CONTRACT AWARDS DNV GL secures three-year services contract for Total’s UK assets assets, including the Shetland Gas Plant, Elgin Franklin, Alwyn and continuing on Culzean and Gryphon.

The company has built and maintained a strong relationship, centred on trust, with Total following the Paris-headquartered operator’s acquisition of Maersk Oil’s production assets in 2018 – for which DNV GL was the incumbent safety services provider.

Hari Vamadevan, regional director, UK & Ireland, DNV GL, said: “As one of the largest operators in the UK, this contract award from Total is a key win for DNV GL and is a great start to the year. At a pivotal time for the oil and gas industry, our work with Total will focus on areas of safety, innovation and efficiency. We look forward to aligning with Total as the company continues its substantial investment in the drive to net zero.”

DNV GL has been awarded a three-year contract by Total E&P UK Ltd to provide multiple services across the full portfolio of the international operator’s oil and gas assets in the UK North Sea.

DNV GL, the independent energy expert and assurance provider will provide core services such as verification, classification and flag, risk advisory services and major accident hazard awareness training. These will be carried out for

Jack Downie, head of development and innovation, UK & Ireland, DNV GL, added: “This contract will see Total use a broad range of DNV GL’s services to enhance its operations, and support its low carbon goals. Throughout our conversations with the Total team, we see forward-looking motivation and the desire to further develop the value we add to its operations, while further strengthening the bond between our organisations.”

NOV Wins Offshore Wind Vessel Deal in China Chinese shipbuilder China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) has awarded NOV a contract to design and supply equipment for GustoMSC NG-14000XL-G wind turbine installation jackup vessel to be built for OHT, a Norwegian heavy transport and installation contractor.

"In close collaboration with VIND Offshore Installation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OHT, the design is specifically tailored to create a next-generation offshore wind installation unit with a significantly reduced carbon footprint," the company, which last year changed its name from National Oilwell Varco to NOV, said.

The vessel will incorporate a GustoMSC heavy lift crane with a maximum lifting height of up to 165 meters above deck. GustoMSC, an NOV subsidiary, is a Dutch company specialising in engineering and design in the offshore energy space.

reliability, and safety for hundreds of moves along with the lifespan of the vessel," NOV said.

In addition, the vessel is designed with an optimal hull shape, battery hybrid solutions, and an electrical control system to reduce emissions by 20% compared with similar-sized installation vessels. To further reduce the carbon footprint, the vessel is prepared for the use of fuel cells powered by hydrogen, the company added.

“Through this initiative, OHT firmly establishes its position as a leading, fully integrated Transport and Installation (T&I) company for offshore wind.

In doing so, we are responding to client concerns about the lack of capable vessel capacity in the booming offshore wind market,” said OHL Chief Executive Officer Torgeir E. Ramstad.

"Designed with the future in mind, the jack-up vessel is fully capable of taking on the installation and maintenance requirements of new generation offshore wind turbine generators," NOV said.

“Developing this project with OHT and VIND Offshore Installation has been very exciting.

Their focus on reducing emissions was inspiring, as well as their bold approach on targeting the upcoming supply shortage foreseen in the offshore wind installation market,” said GustoMSC Commercial Director Rutger Baan.

"The GustoMSC rack and pinion jacking system onboard will have a variable speed drive that is uniquely integrated to offer high performance,

“We continue to expand upon and provide our core engineering, manufacturing, and project management expertise as the world expands its

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

energy portfolio to lower-carbon sources and appreciate the opportunity to provide a total integrated package consisting of the design and supply of equipment for this wind turbine installation jack-up vessel.”

CMHI in Jiangsu will construct the vessel and will deliver it to OHT in the first half of 2023.

OHT, which has made a name for itself by transporting offshore oil and gas drilling rigs, dredgers, and other heavy machinery, has plans to transition from oil & gas to renewables by focusing its transportation fleet on offshore wind foundation, and turbine installation tasks.

The group plans to exit oil & gas markets entirely within 2026, with the exception of sustainable oil & gas decommissioning projects.

As for NOV, which has also been known for years as oil and gas equipment provider, it too is getting increasingly involved in the offshore wind space.

The company has, through GustoMSC, recently won a contract to design the first-ever Jones Act compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). The vessel will be built by Keppel AmFels for Dominion Energy.

CONTRACT AWARDS Chevron awards Worley engineering services contract Worley has been awarded a global contract for early phase engineering services by Chevron USA, through its Chevron Technical Centre division (Chevron).

Under the contract, Worley will provide early phase engineering services to Chevron’s global upstream and downstream projects, both onshore and offshore, over a five-year period.

The services utilise Worley’s digital design and optimisation tool, SeleXpress.

The contract will be executed by Advisian, Worley’s global consulting business, and will be led by the Houston office, supported by the global capability of Worley.

“As a global professional services company, we are pleased that Chevron has selected Advisian to help develop its upstream and downstream capability. This contract continues Worley’s long-standing global relationship with Chevron and supports Worley’s strategic focus on digital transformation and delivering a more sustainable world,” said Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley.

Petrofac Wins Two Contracts Worth About $300 Mln In Oman - Quick Facts Petrofac Limited said Thursday it has been awarded two contracts, together worth around $300 million through Petroleum Development Oman or PDO. Petrofac noted that the first contract is a direct EPC contract for PDO's Marmul Main Production Station or MMPS - Gas Compression project.

The scope of work for the 30-month, lumpsum turnkey contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, startup and initial operational support. The facility is located at Marmul in the South of Oman, about

800 kilometres from Muscat.

The second contract is a project delivery contract with Petrofac's partner and main PDO contract holder Arabian Industries Projects LLC, for selected PDO concession areas in the North of Oman.

The scope of this seven-year contract is for provision of reimbursable engineering services, integrated project support and management services, and has an option to extend for three years.

TecnhipFMC awarded EPCI contract for North El Amriya and North Idku TechnipFMC has been awarded a significant integrated Engineering Procurement Construction and Installation (iEPCI™) contract by NIpetco and PetroAmriya, two Joint Ventures between Energean and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for a subsea tieback located offshore Egypt on the North El Amriya and North Idku concession.

TechnipFMC will design, manufacture, deliver and install subsea equipment including the subsea production system, subsea trees, production manifolds, umbilicals, flexible pipelines, jumpers and associated subsea and topside controls.

This is the second project that TechnipFMC will execute for Energean using its integrated

subsea model, thereby reducing the overall cost, project interfaces and associated delivery risks. TechnipFMC is currently partnering with Energean to develop the Karish gas field development in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Israel.

Jonathan Landes, President Subsea at TechnipFMC, commented: “We are proud and honored to be selected for this important development offshore Egypt. This project award showcases TechnipFMC’s position as the market and technology leader for integrated projects globally and demonstrates the benefits of our iEPCI™ solution for subsea developments. We will continue our long-term, collaborative relationship with Energean and are pleased to work again with EGPC and EGAS for the development of gas production in Egypt.”

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Helix Energy Solutions Appoints Australia Country Manager Helix Energy Solutions Group has appointed Massimo Delia as Country Manager for Australia.

Massimo had previously worked as General Manager at Neptune Marine Services, Tendering Manager at Subsea 7 and held a number of senior roles with Saipem including Regional Subsea Division Manager, Commercial Manager and Project Manager.

Massimo Delia

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UK Oil and Gas Group Appoints Board Co-Chair

Oil and Gas UK, the representative body for the United Kingdom oil and gas sector, has announced the appointment of Arne Gürtner as Co-Chair to its board.

Arne is the Senior Vice President United Kingdom and Ireland Offshore at Equinor and will work with Contractor Co-Chair, Phil Simons; Vice President at Subsea 7 in his board role.

Arne has held a broad variety of leadership roles across Equinor for the past 12 years, including his previous position of Vice President for Technical Excellence in a global business function, as well as in several senior technical roles for arctic and deepwater technology.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

3

Oman Names Saudi Chairwoman to Head Oil Company

Oman’s government named Haifa Al Khaifi as head of a new company that controls the country’s biggest oil block, a rare appointment for a woman in a male-dominated sector in the Middle East. She will be Chief Executive Officer of Energy Development Oman, which ultimately owns the sultanate’s 60% stake in Block 6, a huge field capable of producing around 650,000 barrels of crude each day.

She joins from Petroleum Development Oman, the Persian Gulf nation’s state-run oil and gas exploration and production firm, where she was Chief Financial Officer. She is also Chairwoman of the Saudi Arabian unit of State Street, the Boston-based custodian and money manager.

4

Global Energy Group Welcomes New Chief Executive Officer

Global Energy Group have appointed Tim Cornelius as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Tim joins the business from 15 years with renewables development Simec Atlantis Energy where he served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Advisor.

Tim will be response for Global Groups financial performance and managing the ongoing transition into a low-carbon focused business. Tim was appointed as non-executive director in January. and now take over the CEO position from chairman and majority shareholder Roy MacGregor, who has fulfilled most of the functions of a CEO until now.

ON THE MOVE

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Baker Hughes Makes Senior Innovation Appointment Baker Hughes has appointed Sonya Batchelor as Vice President of Innovation and Offer Development.

Sonya has over 20 years of experience which includes spending 10 years with Castrol in a variety of senior positions, latterly as Vice President for Sales and Operations within the United Kingdom and Southern Europe region. She has also held marketing and strategy roles across several business lines within the company.

Annabel Green

5

Well-SENSE Announces New Chief Executive Officer

Well-SENSE, the downhole sensing technology specialist, has appointed Annabel Green as its new Chief Executive Officer. Annabel has over 25 years of oil and gas experience and joins the business from Tendeka, where she held senior strategic and product line management roles for the last nine years, most recently as Chief Technology Officer.

8

Full-Metal-Power Make Board Appointment

Full-Metal-Power have announced the appointment of Andrew Cowie to the advisory board. The role will work closely with Chief Executive Hans-Henk and the team to continue in leading the harsh environment downhole drilling motors Full-MetalPower supplies. Andrew joins the board with over twenty years' experience, with most of this time working with major operators.

She previously spent 14 years with Weatherford in technical completion and wireline intervention roles, and prior to this she worked at Schlumberger as a wireline field engineer.

9

6

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has appointed Eleni Beyko as Senior Vice President Offshore Wind.

Eleni has more than 20 year's experience in program engineering, business leadership and project management in the automobile and offshore oil and gas markets.

EC-OG Announces Chairman Appointment

EC-OG, a leader in intelligent battery and energy management technology for the energy industry, has appointed Bob MacDonald as the company’s Chairman. Bob has nearly thirty years’ experience covering multiple sectors across the energy transition and industrial markets covering executive and board roles.

Notably, he was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Specialist Technology Solutions business for Wood and during his 17 years with the business, was instrumental in expanding the technological and energy transition capabilities of Wood both organically and through acquisition, as well as serving as a key member of the leadership team when Wood Group acquired Amec Foster Wheeler.

7

Hill & Smith Welcome New Board Member

Hill & Smith, an international group providing sustainable infrastructure and transport solutions, has announced Leigh-Ann Russell as a Non-Executive Director. Leigh-Ann is currently Chief Procurement Officer for BP with responsibility for safety, compliance and efficiency of BP's global supply chain. Prior to joining bp in 2006, Leigh-Ann worked for both Schlumberger and a Shell Technology Venture portfolio company.

Sonya Batchelor

6

Bob MacDonald

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Makes Offshore Wind Appointment

She most recently served as Director Energy Transition for Americas at Technip FMC, where she supported its transition into new and economically viable wind energy resources and managed the Makani wind-borne energy spar offshore platform installation in partnership with Shell and Google X. Eleni’s prior experience includes more than a decade in automotive product development for Ford, focusing on vehicle systems engineering through simulation and vehicle testing while advancing to executive leadership positions.

10

Offshore Wind Consultants Appoint Director of Major Projects

7

Leigh-Ann Russell

8

Andrew Cowie

9

Eleni Beyko

Offshore Wind Consultants has appointed Scott Sutherland to the newly created role of Director of Major Projects, responsible for growing the company’s project management services for fixed and floating wind projects.

Scott Sutherland

Scott has more than 16 years’ experience in the renewable energy sector and has worked on a number of key projects including Deutsche Bucht and Erebus.

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STATS & ANALYTICS

Conducted by Craig Jamieson and Oddmund Føre @ Rystad Energy

Service Market Drivers Greenfield project sanctioning

Sanctioning year (2016 - 2022)

Year (2016 - 2022)

Year (2016 - 2022)

RYSTAD ANALYTICS

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Rystad offer global and regional tools tailored specifically for in-depth analysis of the upstream, oilfield service, energy markets and renewable energy industry.

The consistency of data is a result of our systematic research by combining publicly available information and Rystad Energy’s estimates and models. Our analysts gather data from company reports, investor presentations and press releases, governmental sources, as well as public institutions such as IEA, OPEC, USGS, and NPD.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Rystad Analytics Offshore Rig Market Analysis

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Database version: Rystad Energy Databases March 2021 (February 2021 Review)

Fleet current stats

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Global overview of current status

STATS & ANLAYTICS PROVIDED BY

www.rystadenergy.com

46

STATS & ANALYTICS

Conducted by Craig Jamieson and Oddmund Føre @ Rystad Energy

Database version: Rystad Energy Databases March 2021 (February 2021 Review)

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Utilisation

Colour code #222a68

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OGV Energy is delighted to be working in partnership with global energy knowledge house, Rystad Energy, to bring industry insights and analytic detail to our readers in Oil & Gas. As the sector continues to digitise operations on a project and company basis, this high-level monthly data aims to provide key information in context from an industrywide perspective and demonstrate the technology available for those seeking deeper insights to enhance strategic planning and development.

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Contract backlog

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

view rystad analytics on our APP

Date generated 12 February 2021

UKCS Status Report

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48

LEGAL & FINANCE

Free movement has come to an end!

Elaine Mcllroy, Brodies LLP

One of the issues that will be front of mind for employers in the oil and gas sector is how to recruit and retain talent now that free movement has come to an end. The frontier worker permit scheme may provide a solution for those employers who already had EEA cross-border workers coming to the UK for work before the transition period ended.

What is the frontier worker permit scheme?

The new frontier worker permit scheme opened on 10 December 2020. This scheme is designed to implement the commitments made in the EU Withdrawal Agreement to protect the rights of certain cross-border workers to continue to take up employment or self-employment in the UK after the end of the transition period. In order to qualify, the frontier worker must have a primary residence outside the UK - but they do not need to live within an EEA country.

Why might my employees want to apply for a frontier worker permit?

A frontier worker permit is flexible in that it is not tied to a specific job or to a specific employer. It would also allow a contractor to work on a selfemployed basis. Once someone has the permit (which will usually be valid for an initial five years) they can continue to work in the UK without any other form of work visa. They will retain that status provided that they continue to be a frontier worker.

The permit is free. This is a significant advantage compared to other applications made through the new points-based immigration system. In addition to there being no visa fees to pay, the employer is not required to pay the immigration skills charge (usually £1,000 per year of the visa) and the individual does not require to pay the immigration health surcharge.

WTI vs BRENT 1 YEAR

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Who is eligible?

How to apply

In addition to the requirement that the applicant's primary residence is outside the UK, the applicant must be an EEA or Swiss citizen.

They must normally have worked or have been self-employed in the UK at least once in the 12-month period before 31 December 2020.

There is a requirement that the employment was genuine and effective. In addition, in order to maintain frontier worker status, they must continue to come to the UK for the purpose of work or self-employment at least once in every rolling 12-month period from the date that they first worked, or were self-employed, in the UK in 2020.

Those who wish to come to the UK to work from 1 July 2021, should apply as soon as possible.

Individuals can apply online from inside or outside the UK. Supporting documents are likely to be required including paperwork from the employer.

There are some exceptions to these rules. For example, frontier workers who temporarily stop working in the UK in certain circumstances (e.g. because of illness or accident, following pregnancy or childbirth, or due to involuntary unemployment) may still have 'retained status' and therefore qualify for a permit. There are also exceptions if someone has not worked in the UK during certain periods when they otherwise would have due to COVID-19. The rules also set out what is meant by not being primarily resident in the UK.

Employers should consider whether to encourage their employees to apply for a frontier worker permit. Some individuals may not be aware of the scheme which may provide a very useful form of permission to work.

Irish citizens working in the UK can continue doing so and will not need to apply for a permit.

Permits can be renewed indefinitely provided that the person continues to meet the definition of a frontier worker.

Comment

What is the deadline for employees to apply?

Frontier workers will require a valid permit, as well as their passport, to work in the UK from 1 July 2021. Until 30 June 2021, they will still be able to enter the UK using their passport and they will not require any further evidence of their right to work.

WTI 1 MONTH

BRENT 1 MONTH

TRAVEL PARTNER Going above and beyond to support a vital service At Traveleads, we pride ourselves on building partnerships with our clients. We work tirelessly to look after your best interests in a number of ways – all with the aim of saving you time, money and adding value through expert consultancy. Ultimately, we want to make life easier for our clients, with a huge focus on the welfare of their most valuable asset - their people.

Never more so than at a time like this.

Supporting essential workers Our customers span a variety of sectors – from energy to medical services, manufacturing to sports teams. And whilst there is currently a global ban on the movement of people, the government has recognised the need to keep certain industries operating, meaning many still need to travel domestically and internationally. Whilst this may sound simple, it’s been a real complex challenge that our team has risen to.

Let’s look at the energy sector in particular, which like others is working from home where possible.

But with critical operations taking place up and down the country, on and offshore, there is no getting away from the fact that these essential workers need to travel; more than 12,000 UK staff are still working offshore, amounting to 40% of the total workforce across 147 offshore platforms.

With closed borders, reduced services and a myriad of other complications, our expert advice and continued support to keep them moving safely continues to be pivotal.

Traveleads Sales Director Sally Cassidy explains: “Arranging domestic travel to and from Aberdeen, as well as international travel to key energy hubs around the globe, has certainly been interesting at times. With border and quarantine restrictions, as well as complex visa requirements, our team’s skills are being put to the test but despite the odds, they always go above and beyond. Making it work for the client is non-negotiable.”

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Communication and forward-thinking The Traveleads partnership ethos is stronger than ever. Our team of experts are fully conversant with all the latest travel updates, guiding our clients on the best options available and alternative solutions in response to rapidly changing flight schedules and wider travel restrictions. Regular communication and proactive support for all our clients has been vital. Firstly, to provide reassurance that measures are in place for safe travelling. Secondly, as their travel partner, we are working closely with them to fully understand re-entry and return to work plans, offering assistance to update travel policies and procedures with passenger safety at the forefront, whilst continuing to deliver the efficiencies our clients depend on.

What the future looks like We know many of our energy clients are looking to resume travel as soon as is safe to do so and we stand ready to support them with this and the increasingly complex requirements that will no doubt continue. We continue to consult heavily, offering advice and knowledge even on speculative plans to support decision-making in a very challenging landscape.

As we look to the future, we recognise that welfare of travellers will be more important than ever and we’re already liaising with suppliers to ensure they’re putting in robust measures to uphold the highest possible standards as travel increases.

Oil & Gas Council

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SDI

We believe in delivering more than just travel management. We make our customers lives easier and this is proving to be invaluable at a time like this. So, whether our clients are travelling or not right now, we’re here.

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For all enquiries visit www.traveleads.co.uk or contact Sally Cassidy on m. 07715 079 723 scassidy@traveleads.net

49

COMMUNITY PARTNER

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deaths by suicide however, they will always provide support to anyone in distress or despair. The Branch contains around 70 volunteers from a variety of places in and around Aberdeen, and a mixture of ages and backgrounds!

The telephone remains the core of the service, but callers can now use email, can still drop in to meet a volunteer face to face * and will soon be able to access the service using online chat. * Due to Covid-19 restrictions the face-to-face service has been temporarily suspended.

What do Samaritans do? If you need someone to talk to, Samaritans listen. They will not judge or tell you what to do. You can call any time, from any phone, for free.

AFC & Samaritans | We’re here to help

A

berdeen FC have been working in partnership with Samaritans to raise awareness of the support that they can provide throughout these challenging times.

The Club and Trust’s dedicated call team made almost 4,000 calls and were able to speak to 2,537 fans who may have been experiencing loneliness, anxiety or depression.

Last year it was estimated that as many as one in four people would experience mental health issues as a result of being in lockdown and as this year got off to an equally challenging start, we want to let you know you are not alone and there is always someone there to support you.

Now we are highlighting the help and guidance that Samaritans can provide if you find yourself, a friend or family member struggling or in a difficult situation.

During the first lockdown, Aberdeen FC and AFC Community Trust (AFCCT) supported thousands in need with the #StillStandingFree campaign and continued that work over the festive period through the Calling Home for Christmas Campaign, Wellbeing Workshops, involvement in Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas and fans fundraising.

www.ogv.energy I March 2021

Who are Samaritans? Samaritans are there 24/7 for anyone struggling to cope, who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure.

They offer listening and support to people and communities in times of need.

Much has changed over the 60 years since the Aberdeen Branch was established yet much remains the same, their vision is still to reduce

What can I expect on a call with Samaritans? If you call Samaritans, they will listen to you and help you talk through your concerns, worries and troubles. They will focus on your thoughts and feelings and may ask you questions to explore these further, they won’t make decisions for you, their advice or opinions are not important for the call. They will offer you a safe space to talk anytime and in your own way, and they are not religious, the link between the name and any religious text is completely coincidental.

How do I contact Samaritans? • Call 116 123, free from any phone. • Email jo@samaritans.org, response time: 24 hours They are based on Dee Street in Aberdeen and have been in operation for over 60 years now. Due to the pandemic, you cannot visit them at the moment, but they do have more than 70 volunteers responding to emails and phone calls from those in need.

How can I help Samaritans? If you would like to donate direct to the Aberdeen branch of Samaritans you can donate £5 by texting ABSAMS to 70085, this will help the branch to continue operating the service.

(Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message)

Intelligent Plant produce a range of industrial apps for the Oil & Gas Industry, covering everything from Well Intelligence to Alarm Analysis. Benefits of using the Industrial App Store include: - Downtime reduction - Increased production - Custom alerts and displays

Get Connected The Industrial App Store is the first and only portal to host applications from any vendor or developer.

Easily connect your data to the store and share with apps and other users while retaining ownership and complete control over your data.

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