CONTRACT AWARDS

Baker Hughes awarded contract for Plaquemines LNG project

Baker Hughes has been awarded a contract and granted notice to proceed by Venture Global LNG to provide an LNG system for the first phase of the Plaquemines LNG project in Louisiana, US.

The highly-efficient liquefaction train system (LTS) supplied by Baker Hughes is modularised, helping to lower construction and operational costs with a ‘plug and play’ approach that enables faster installation.

Baker Hughes manufactures, tests, and transports the pre-assembled and fully integrated modular turbomachinery units for Venture Global LNG at its manufacturing and assembly facilities in Italy.

As part of the scope, Baker Hughes will also provide field services to assist in commissioning of the supplied equipment. The order builds on an award from 4Q21 for Baker Hughes to provide power generation and electrical distribution equipment for the comprehensive power island system of Venture Global LNG’s Plaquemines LNG project.

“We are delighted to continue our strong collaboration with Venture Global LNG. The Plaquemines LNG project is another great example of our extensive experience with modular LNG to provide fully integrated compression and power solutions,” said Rod Christie, Executive Vice President of Turbomachinery & Process Solutions at Baker Hughes. “As an energy technology company, Baker Hughes’ role is to provide the most efficient and lower carbon technology solutions to meet our customers specific needs, and LNG is a critical part of the energy future. We see a new LNG cycle emerging and expect demand will remain robust in the coming years.”

Saipem, awarded an offshore drilling contract by Aker BP worth 325 million USD

Saipem has been awarded a contract by Aker BP for a drilling campaign offshore Norway. The operations are expected to start from the end of Q4 2022, upon termination of the works in which Scarabeo 8 is currently engaged.

Scarabeo 8 is a Saipem semisubmersible drilling rig able to work in harsh environments. It is a dual derrick deep water unit with a dynamic positioning system and with enhanced mooring capabilities. Scarabeo 8 meets the highest standards of the most stringent rules and regulations, and it has proven track records in working with most recognised Oil Companies in the challenging North Sea environment, from West Norway to the Barents Sea.

The contract duration is three years for an approximate value of 325 million dollars. The contract also includes the option of two oneyear extensions and encompasses potential upsides among which a performance bonus scheme and a mechanism of rate adjustment to market rates from the third year onward.

Saipem previously worked successfully with Aker BP in 2018. This new long-term contract further consolidates the collaboration with the Norwegian company, also including the use of innovative solutions to deliver increasingly efficient, safe and environmentally focused operations.

Petrofac secures North Sea contract extension with Spirit Energy

Petrofac, a leading international service provider to the energy industry, has been awarded a two-year Operations and Late Life Asset Support contract extension with Spirit Energy, building on its decade-long relationship with the Operator.

The contract includes the provision of Operations and Maintenance support for Spirit Energy’s York platform in the Southern North Sea, and Engineering, Project, and Consultancy services for all of the Operator’s North Sea assets.

Petrofac has supported Spirit Energy’s assets since 2012. From 2018 to 2019, it took part in preparation work for the decommissioning of the Operator’s Audrey and Ensign platforms.

Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer for Petrofac’s Asset Solutions business, said: “The renewal of this key contract is demonstrative of the successful working relationship our respective teams have developed over the past ten years and the value Petrofac has been able to add in the late life operations phase. Our support of Spirit’s recent life extension project on York, which has increased production by three to four years, is a great example of this. We look forward to continuing in this vein.”

Subsea 7 awarded substantial contract

Subsea 7 announced today the award of a substantial contract that will be recorded in the backlog of our Subsea and Conventional business unit in the first quarter of 2022.

The award, made to a consortium including Subsea 7, comprises engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of offshore facilities, subsea pipelines, and associated infrastructure.

Project management and engineering will commence immediately, and offshore activities are scheduled to commence in Q3 2024.

No further details are disclosed at this time due to contractual obligations.

AGR engaged by Emperor Energy to progress permitting of Judith-2 well off Australia

AGR’s Well Management division has secured a new contract with Emperor Energy Limited (‘Emperor’) on its Judith-2 appraisal well off the coast of Victoria, Australia.

AGR’s Well Management experts in Perth will progress the preparation and submission of necessary applications to the Australian National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to gain approval to drill the Judith-2 appraisal.

The well is planned for the Judith Gas Field located in permit Vic/P47 in the Gippsland Basin, 40km offshore from the Orbost gas plant. Emperor holds 100% in the permit.

AGR’s initial work scope will include preparation of an Environment Plan for drilling the Judith-2 appraisal well, preparation of an Environment Plan for geological and geophysical testing of the Judith-2 wellsite to accommodate a jackup drill rig, and completion of the necessary engineering and environmental studies to facilitate the environmental plans. It will also include overall project management and engineering to further progress the basis of design of the drilling programme.

Once the necessary regulatory approvals are in place, AGR will provide final well design, procurement, contracting and drilling operational services for the Judith-2 well.

The contract award follows Emperor’s very positive results achieved from new 3D seismic across the field and Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) analysis indicating the presence of gas conforming to structural closure in the primary objective Judith and Longtom reservoir sands. An additional play has also been identified from AVO analysis in Kipper and Golden Beach sands (tied back to the nearby Kipper-1 well), with the potential for an updip extension into Vic/P47 of the producing Kipper Gas Field.

The proposed Judith-2 appraisal well will test the primary Judith and Longtom sands as well as test the new Kipper and Golden Beach sand play, when drilled in 2023.

Andy Perchard, VP APAC of AGR, (pictured) said “We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with Emperor Energy. The AVO results have further demonstrated the high quality prospect that the Judith-2 well represents. We look forward to working closely with Emperor as we progress towards a 2023 drilling date.

The contract with Emperor builds on what has been a fantastic start to the year with AGR Well Management securing multiple projects across the globe from Brazil to the Gippsland Basin. The breadth of services provided to our clients ranges from regulatory support, peer reviews, CCS expertise to the provision of Well Project Management for a number of upcoming drilling projects.

Andy commented further, “It is fantastic to be involved in so many projects globally and also to be able to offer the full spectrum of AGR’s services to our clients. It genuinely shows our ability to manage any scope of work and is a testament to the depth and breadth of our offering at AGR.

This is what separates AGR from its competitors, not only are we the world’s largest independent Well Management provider but our business has also evolved over the years to provide a true engineering consultancy to our clients in support of their needs.”

North Star wins £100 million emergency vessel support work in UKCS

North Star has been awarded a raft of new contracts totalling more than £100 million to support new and existing clients in the UK Continental Shelf with its fast-response emergency fleet, purpose built to protect personnel working on offshore oil and gas platforms.

These significant new wins are a combination of new clients and new asset locations, as well as continuations secured with operators the 135-year-old maritime company has worked with since the 1980s. With additional year charter options, this marks North Star’s most sizeable emergency response rescue vessel (ERRV) order book in recent years.

The company is the North Sea’s largest emergency response vessel operator with 41 ERRVs in its overarching fleet which are currently assigned to support 50 offshore oil and gas installations in the region, delivering reliable, uninterrupted, around the clock assistance, 365 days a year.

With strategic locations in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Lowestoft, the business employs 1,400 personnel across the UK, including 140 deck and engineering cadets enrolled in its three-year training programme, now in its 26th year. It is also a key member of the UKCS ERRV Association.

To enhance its ongoing growth, North Star has undertaken an in-depth sustainability study across its existing 47-strong offshore infrastructure support vessel fleet to help decarbonise its tonnage, enhance operational performance, and meet its net-zero 2040 target. It has also invested a six-figure sum in the fleet management software tool Sertica as part of its digitisation strategy to streamline the business and support further efficiencies.

Matthew Gordon, North Star CEO said: “Winning these significant ERRV contracts worth £100 million demonstrates the industry’s ongoing confidence in our highly effective and reliable fleet which continues to provide a safe place in case of an incident for the thousands of people working out at sea on oil and gas assets every hour of every day, solidly across the year.

“North Star has supported the offshore energy sector for the past 40 years and we have an unrivalled expertise and high quality ERRV fleet. I’m proud to say that we have never left any client’s offshore workforce unsupported, ensuring there is always a vessel on standby to enable any crew changes, help to replenish stores on the installation, or support regular maintenance.

“The North Sea is still a very competitive landscape, and we recognise the need for continual investment in our fleet and services to ensure we deliver value and efficiencies to remain market leading. As part of this, we have looked to optimise our operations with a new maritime fleet management system and begun the process of decarbonising our entire fleet.”

TechnipFMC scores FEED contract in Norway

Offshore engineering giant TechnipFMC has signed a deal with OMV Norge for the subsea production system (SPS & SURF) front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Iris Hades field in the Norwegian Sea.

The contract is worth around NOK30m ($3.4m) and includes an option for engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI).

“This contract award is an important milestone for the project. Our objective is to submit the plan for development and operation to the authorities at the end of 2022”, said Knut Mauseth, general manager for OMV in Norway.

The Iris Hades field is located close to the Morvin field. The development concept for the gas/condensate discovery is a four-slots subsea template with three producing wells tied back to the Equinor-operated Åsgard B platform. OMV is the operator with 30% working interest. The partners are Equinor 40%, DNO Norge 20% and Spirit Energy 10%.