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Burning the midnight oil EMPIRE PETROLEUM Bringing unproductive assets back to life

er S OTTO SIMON At the forefront of the UK’s zero-carbon transition

FLUITEN ITALIA Mechanical seals for heavy duty applications

John White Managing Director

Could you do it?

Managing Director John White asks you to put a hard hat on and imagine working offshore. to attend BBQs with their mates, missing their kid winning first place at the egg and spoon race on sports day at school, longing for the companionship of their partner and many more simple pleasures that most of us take for granted.

With an increasing demand for oil and gas at the time of writing, some of my team know of friends and family who work away on oil and gas platforms who instead of a typical ‘two-on, two-off’ work/home ratio, are now being asked, expected, to work a three-on, one-off ratio! Now that’s a tough gig as the saying goes and I for one take my hat off

to those that must endure that in order to supply us with that huge list of creature comforts that we glean from this industry.

So next time you see an offshore worker driving around in a nice expensive car, wearing some designer label clothes (apologies for the stereotyping there) rather than roll your eyes and think about how overpaid they are, ask yourself if you would be willing to make the commitment and sacrifices they do, and whether that extra bit of cash in their pay packet each month acts as a decent substitute for all of those pleasures that they regularly miss out on… n

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elcome dear reader to your latest edition of Inside Oil and Gas. Having recently returned from a local energy event where we were pleased to meet some of our oil and gas customers and readers face to face, it is all things O&G here in the office right now.

What is also here right now, thankfully, finally, is some good weather. The sun has turned up, somewhat late to the party but always welcome, nevertheless. It is all too easy to forget about the oil and gas industry in the warmer months as we naively relate oil and gas predominantly with heat and warmth.

Of course, we all know and appreciate the many services that we depend on that come from these sectors. Too many to list in the short space I allow myself here, however, cooking and fuel for driving are certainly two that immediately spring to mind.

What I am steering you, maybe a little clumsily toward, is an appreciation of those people working in the oil and gas industries, especially those that work offshore or away from home for long periods, and must do so regardless as to what month it is!

Although I studied to become an offshore safety and health officer, I never pursued it as a career. However, I do have some appreciation as to the hardships that the offshore workers have to endure as I spent many years in the submarine service of the Royal Navy and as such spent many months away from loved ones and friends.

As a result, I can personally attest to the sacrifices these people make – missing their children’s birthdays, not being free

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Managing Director John White Editorial Manager Daniel Barnes Events Manager Adam White Feature Writers Jordan Yallop Phil Nicholls Filomena Nardi Colin Chinery Andy Probert James Wills Laura Watling Romana Moares Richard Hagan Business Development Manager Darren Foiret Editorial Development Managers Natalie Martin Judi Wheaton-Mars Jeff Johnson Ginelle Lorenzo Clare Bishop Sales & Marketing Director Richard Brightmore Sales Manager Helen Leisi Project Managers Kym Hamilton Tony Ingrouille Chris Renicar Becky Scrivens David Earl Callum Robb

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Art Director Ian Spencer Art Editor Philip White

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Designers Daniel O’Malley Sarah Jones Georgina Harris

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United Kingdom New report reveals ammonia market could accelerate hydrogen use in the UK Germany Mubadala Petroleum achieves Pegaga gas flow in Malaysia Italy Air Liquide and Shell sign ten-year agreement for renewable electricity in Italy USA bp and Linde plan major CCS project to advance decarbonisation efforts across Texas Gulf Coast

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Oil and gas news in brief Latest news from the oil and gas industry

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Did you know?

Interesting and unusual oil and gas facts from around the world

Director’s comment Could you do it?

Matter of fact Events 6

Oil & gas events Upcoming events in the industry

Contents

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What’s new in the oil & gas industry?

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From simple ideas to engineering feats The latest innovations, ideas and product launches

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Featured in this issue

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Fine seals delivered? I’m yours!

Fluiten Italia Cool heads of the high-pressure tech world Maximator

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Combatting corrosion Mahnke At the forefront of the UK’s zero carbon transition Otto Simon When the pressure is on Christof Group SBN Empire prepares to strike back Empire Petroleum Pushing into tubular expansion tech Enventure Global Technology ‘Koiling’ around the new energy order Koil Energy Solutions

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Multi-skilled, safety conscious operator Sparks Maintenance Contracting Where projects are always in the pipeline Servetech Middle East General Trading The UAE’s trusted gas partner Al Fanar Gas Group Innovation and social responsibility in Brunei Brunei Shell Petroleum

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Oil & Gas Events Upcoming events in the industry

upcoming events

ONS 2022 – 29 August – 1 September ONS offers a unique opportunity to reach a global audience and engage with the energy community. The event is designed for growing companies at all stages and from all areas within the energy sector. For more than 40 years, ONS has been an international energy event, and a unique meeting place for everyone involved in the entire energy sector. Since its launch in 1974, the event has been staged in Stavanger, Norway. With more than 70,000 attendees and 600 speakers, including some of the world’s most innovative technology minds, ONS has grown into one of the largest networking events in the energy sector.

https://www.ons.no/

Gastech 2022 – 5-8 September As the largest exhibition of its kind supporting the gas, LNG, hydrogen and energy industry, Gastech 2022 Milan will provide space for 1,000 exhibitors to showcase the value that they can bring to the industry. Outdoor exhibition space will be available for the demonstration of lower-carbon technologies and mobility solutions. And, with over 24 international pavilions, the show floor will have a truly international appeal supporting an integrated worldclass business environment.

www.gastechevent.com

Oil & Gas Asia 2022 – 13-15 September The Oil and Gas Asia Exhibition (OGA), presents an ideal ground for oil and gas stakeholders to meet key decision makers from national and international oil companies, at the same time attain current and relevant information on the trends, technology and solutions of the industry. It is also a crucial event that continues to highlight Malaysia and its potential in the oil, gas and energy sector to strengthen the country’s position as a strong oil and gas nation, especially in the Asian region. OGA 2022 expects to welcome 2,000 participating companies from 60 countries/regions and over 29,000 visitors during the three-day event.

www.oilandgas-asia.com

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Africa Oil Week – 3-7 October 2022 Africa Oil Week will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, under the Patronage of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Republic of South Africa. Under the theme ‘Sustainable Growth in a Low Carbon World’, Africa Oil Week will advocate the importance of developing hydrocarbons in Africa and the sustainable development of oil and gas.

In 2022, Africa Oil Week will also deliver the sister event, Green Energy Africa Summit (GEA Summit), at the same time at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

www.africa-oilweek.com

ADIPEC 2022 – 7-10 November Hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), ADIPEC 2022 is expected to build upon the success of the 2021 edition, which returned as the year’s only event to facilitate face-to-face meetings for the energy industry following the challenges of Covid-19.

The ADIPEC Exhibition provided a world-class environment for buyers and sellers to meet, learn, network, do business and discover new products, solutions and technologies from over 2,000 exhibiting companies displaying their innovative approaches to investing in and collaborating with the energy sector.

www.adipec.com

Subsea Expo – 21-23 February 2023 Subsea Expo is the world’s leading annual subsea exhibition and conference, held annually at P&J Live in Aberdeen. The exhibition is a quality-focused event showcasing the capabilities, innovations and cutting-edge technologies of the underwater sectors, with over 185 exhibitors and 6,500 delegates attending the latest show. The conference runs multiple parallel sessions and attracts a broad range of experts to discuss the challenges facing the industry, new and transformational technologies, digitalisation, clean energy and the path to net zero, among other topics. www.subseaexpo.com

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Country Focus Reporting on the latest developments from the UK’s oil and gas sector

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Kingdom New report reveals ammonia market could accelerate hydrogen use in the UK A new report reveals how the UK’s North West could build on world-leading plans for local low carbon hydrogen production and use by also pioneering low carbon energy imports through ramping up Britain’s use of ammonia.

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new report titled ‘The role of ammonia in the North West hydrogen economy’ by the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA), outlines how using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier could further boost its rollout in the UK as a low carbon fuel. Doing so could also diversify the energy being imported into the UK. Hydrogen forms a key part of the UK’s net zero plans, recently featuring heavily in the Government’s Energy Security Strategy and the North West’s Cluster Plan, a roadmap to decarbonising the region’s industrial cluster.

Low carbon hydrogen will be transported via pipelines for distribution to industry and other sectors of the economy to replace fossil fuels or refrigerated to very low temperatures to store and transport it in liquid form for international shipping. Using ammonia – a compound made of hydrogen and nitrogen – means it can be easier to liquify and transport over long distances. It can also provide additional hydrogen storage capacity.

“The North West is ideally placed to capitalise on this market. We have mature supply chains used to producing and handling ammonia in large quantities, coupled with a high demand for hydrogen from industry looking to decarbonise. Ammonia could also be key to decarbonising our energy imports through destinations like the Port of Liverpool.

“The success of ammonia will be down to its versatility. Not only can it be a low carbon hydrogen carrier, but it can also be used as a green fertiliser and shipping fuel.”

UK doubles 2030 hydrogen target

Ammonia alone can be used as a lowcarbon fertiliser or even a green shipping fuel. Alternatively, by converting it to hydrogen it can then be used more widely for transport, industry, heating homes and in power generation.

The North West’s industrial leaders say the region is in a prime spot to develop this low carbon market. Not only does the region have a high demand for hydrogen, due to levels of energy-intensive industries, but it already has a long history of large-scale

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Professor Joe Howe, Chair of the NWHA and Executive Director, Thornton Research Institute at the University of Chester, said: “The Government has doubled its 2030 hydrogen production target and it’s a major part of the UK’s green future. Ammonia could be an important component of the hydrogen economy, providing a cost-effective way to store and transport the low-carbon fuel around the UK and beyond.

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The success of ammonia will be down to its versatility.

Not only can it be a low carbon hydrogen carrier, but it can also be used as a green fertiliser and shipping fuel

ammonia production, with the UK’s largest ammonia manufacturer, CF Fertilisers located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

Ammonia – a low carbon alternative More broadly, ammonia could also play a role in decarbonising the UK’s energy imports.

The low cost of solar energy overseas mean green ammonia plants in places like North Africa and the Middle East could supplement domestic supply.

With the UK currently importing some 200TWh of LNG every year, ammonia can act as low carbon alternative. With the North West boasting one of the UK’s largest and most centrally placed ports at Liverpool, it could be a key location for ammonia imports.

The North West is already making significant strides in developing a hydrogen economy. The region is home to the leading hydrogen and carbon capture project HyNet North West, which will deliver amongst the lowest cost CO2 transport and storage infrastructure in the UK by extensively repurposing existing onshore and offshore assets.

The project can deliver nearly 40% of the Government’s new national 2030 target for low carbon hydrogen production. Able to benefit from the existing regional technical skill base in engineering, chemicals production, refining and offshore oil and gas, HyNet North West is planning to be operational from 2025. n

Country Focus Reporting on the latest developments from the German oil and gas sector

Germany Uniper to build and operate Germany’s first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven German energy firm Uniper has broken ground on the country’s first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven, investing around €65 million.

Phase 1 Phase 1 of the LNG terminal model provides for the regasification of LNG via an FSRU that can be connected to the existing Umschlagsanlage Voslapper Groden (UVG) sea bridge. There, the LNG will be converted into gaseous natural gas. The gas will then be fed into the German natural gas pipeline system.

For this project phase, the existing UVG has to be adapted and a connection between the FSRU and the onshore facilities has to be established (so-called shipto-shore interface). The adaptation of the UVG will be carried out by Niedersachsen

Ports GmbH & Co KG (NPorts) in close cooperation with Uniper.

The connection to the natural gas pipeline system 28 kilometres away, and thus also to the Etzel natural gas storage facility, is currently being implemented

by Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE). With a capacity of up to 7.5 billion cbm per year, around 8.5% of Germany’s natural gas requirements are to be landed in Wilhelmshaven in the future.

construction and operation of both the LNG and ammonia terminals.

Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO of Uniper said: “Russia’s war against Ukraine has turned the world we live in upside down – this is especially true for the energy industry. We are doing our utmost to support the German government in its plan to diversify Germany’s sources of supply for natural gas and, in the long term, also for hydrogen.

“With our LNG terminal, we are taking an important step – in close cooperation with the German government – towards the desired energy independence. In doing so, we are relying on our expertise as a global LNG player and gas trader. In the medium and long term, we are developing Wilhelmshaven into the energy hub of the future, with a focus on hydrogen and green gases.”

The LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven accounts for one of the two LNG terminals the German government revealed in February 2022 it plans to build as the country looks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. The second terminal is planned for construction in Brunsbüttel. n

Phase 2 In a second project phase, a permanent and expanded port solution for the FSRU is to be implemented in parallel to the existing UVG. The plan is to provide additional unloading and handling facilities for green gases, such as ammonia, to be able to utilise the full potential of this new infrastructure project in Wilhelmshaven.

The green ammonia is either transported away directly by rail or converted back into hydrogen on site via so-called crackers. The port infrastructure of NPorts and the Uniper-owned site enable the joint

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a press conference on May 5th, Federal Minister Robert Habeck and the Lower Saxony Ministers Olaf Lies and Bernd Althusmann set the “first pile driving” for the construction of Germany’s first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven. As well as building it, Uniper will operate the terminal once construction is complete.

A letter of intent (LOI) was signed for the chartering of two floating storage and regasification units (FSRU). Uniper had optioned both FSRUs on the market for the federal government.

In addition, an agreement was signed between the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony on the expansion of Wilhelmshaven into a green energy hub for Germany. Uniper is supporting this project with its on-site projects – in the short term in the form of the LNG terminal, and in the medium and long term in the form of the Green Wilhelmshaven project.

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Country Focus Reporting on the latest developments from the Italian oil and gas sector

Italy Air Liquide and Shell sign ten-year agreement for renewable electricity in Italy Shell Energy Europe Limited (SEEL) has signed a ten-year contract with Air Liquide to provide renewable electricity to power its industrial and medical gas production operations in northeast Italy.

In line with Air Liquide’s sustainability objectives Air Liquide has existing agreements for renewable power in several geographies such as the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This new

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This agreement demonstrates, once again, our ability to provide our customers with solutions contributing to CO2 emissions reduction and illustrates the group commitment to implement concrete actions to foster a low-carbon society, in line with our sustainability objectives

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rom 2023 Air Liquide will purchase 52 gigawatt hours of solar photovoltaic renewable energy a year which will be sourced from Shell Energy Europe Limited’s (SEEL) portfolio of solar power offtake agreements in Italy.

With an equivalent solar photovoltaic installed capacity of 42 megawatts, this renewable electricity will power the production of a large proportion of Air Liquide’s industrial and medical gases in the northeast of the country and save nearly 24,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

Pascal Vinet, Senior Vice President, and a member of the Air Liquide Group’s Executive Committee supervising Europe Industries activities, said: “With this new contract, Air Liquide takes another step towards the energy transition, supplying its operations with ever-increasing amounts of renewable electricity.

“This agreement demonstrates, once again, our ability to provide our customers with solutions contributing to CO2 emissions reduction and illustrates the group commitment to implement concrete actions to foster a low-carbon society, in line with our sustainability objectives.”

contract signed in Italy underlines Air Liquide’s commitment to play a leading role in the energy transition and reduce its carbon footprint, in line with its sustainability objectives.

Shell Energy Europe is present in 14 European power markets, offtakes renewable power from wind farms and solar parks in mainland Europe and the UK, providing business customers with innovative, reliable, and cleaner energy solutions and helping them navigate through the energy transition.

Rupen Tanna, General Manager for Power at Shell Energy Europe, said: “Across Shell Energy Europe, we are focused on delivering a range of clean power solutions to help customers reduce their emissions and we are delighted to help Air Liquide progress their decarbonisation goals. We have a growing

portfolio of renewable energy, and this supports the expansion of clean energy developments in countries where we operate.”

About Air Liquide Air Liquide is a world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health, Air Liquide is present in 75 countries with approximately 66,400 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients.

Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy.

They embody Air Liquide’s scientific territory and have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902.

Taking action today while preparing the future is at the heart of Air Liquide’s strategy.

With ADVANCE, its strategic plan for 2025, Air Liquide is targeting a global performance, combining financial and extra-financial dimensions. Positioned on new markets, the group benefits from major assets such as its business model combining resilience and strength, its ability to innovate and its technological expertise.

The group develops solutions contributing to climate and the energy transition – particularly with hydrogen – and takes action to progress in areas of healthcare, digital and high technologies.

Air Liquide’s revenue amounted to more than €23 billion in 2021. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes. n

Country Focus Reporting on the latest developments from the USA’s oil and gas sector

USA bp and Linde plan major CCS project to advance decarbonisation efforts across Texas Gulf Coast bp and Linde have unveiled plans to advance a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Texas that will enable low carbon hydrogen production at Linde’s existing facilities. The development will also support the storage of carbon dioxide captured from other industrial facilities – paving the way for large-scale decarbonisation of the Texas Gulf Coast industrial corridor.

Generations in the making Linde will use its proprietary technology and operational expertise to capture and compress the CO2 from its hydrogen production facilities for the project. Together with its extensive infrastructure of hydrogen production facilities and its storage cavern connected through its pipeline network across the Texas Gulf Coast, this project will enable Linde to supply cost-effective, reliable low carbon

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We are excited to bring Linde’s

leading technology portfolio and infrastructure to support this project and make low carbon hydrogen available to our customers in the Gulf Coast. More broadly, Linde is well positioned to enable similar projects, be it in the Gulf Coast

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pon completion, a new a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Texas will capture and store CO2 from Linde’s hydrogen production facilities in the greater Houston area – and potentially from its other Texas facilities – to produce low carbon hydrogen for the region. The low carbon hydrogen will be sold to customers along Linde’s hydrogen pipeline network under long-term contracts to enable production of low carbon chemicals and fuels.

As part of the project, bp will appraise, develop and permit the geological storage sites for permanent sequestration of the CO2. bp’s trading and shipping business aims to bring custom low carbon solutions to the project, including renewable power and certified natural gas, along with commodity trading and price risk management expertise.

where we operate two hydrogen

pipelines and a hydrogen storage cavern, or elsewhere in the US

hydrogen and, together with bp, provide carbon capture and storage solutions.

Dave Lawler, Chairman and President of bp America, said: “The energy expertise in Texas and strong supply chains have been generations in the making. This new low carbon energy project will help us leverage those strengths for the next chapter of the energy transition. In particular, it can help decarbonise hard-to-abate industries for the greatest potential impact on emissions while protecting jobs. bp is proud to support this project as we continue delivering on our own strategy and net zero ambition.”

The project will be a further important step in the development of bp’s low carbon busi-

ness. bp is evaluating large-scale CCS and hydrogen projects for industrial clusters in the US and already is in action on Teesside, the industrial heart of the United Kingdom.

Committed to low carbon hydrogen “Linde is committed to lowering absolute carbon emissions 35% by 2035 and reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Capturing the CO2 from our hydrogen production plants in the Houston area will be a significant step towards achieving these goals,” added Dan Yankowski, President, Linde Gases North America.

“We are excited to bring Linde’s leading technology portfolio and infrastructure to support this project and make low carbon hydrogen available to our customers in the Gulf Coast. More broadly, Linde is well positioned to enable similar projects, be it in the Gulf Coast where we operate two hydrogen pipelines and a hydrogen storage cavern, or elsewhere in the US.” The overall development, expected to be operational as early as 2026, will also enable capture and storage of CO2 from other large industrial facilities in the region and could ultimately store up to 15 million metric tons per year across multiple onshore geologic storage sites – the equivalent of taking approximately 3 million cars off the road each year. n

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Latest news in the oil and gas industry Keeping you up to date with market leaders

latest news

Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC and Masdar to join bp’s UK hydrogen projects

bp

has taken a major step forward in strengthening its strategic partnership with ADNOC and Masdar of Abu Dhabi, bringing international participation to its planned blue and green hydrogen developments in Teesside in the north-east of England.

ADNOC – the UAE’s largest energy company – will take a 25% stake in the design stage of bp’s blue hydrogen project, H2Teesside. This will be ADNOC’s first investment in the UK. bp and ADNOC will now advance the project, initially to the next stage of design, the pre-FEED stage. H2Teesside is expected to kickstart the UK’s hydrogen economy at scale with the development of two 500MW hydrogen production units by 2030. The project is targeting start of operations in 2027.

Masdar – the Abu Dhabi renewable energy company – has also signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a stake in bp’s proposed green hydrogen project, HyGreen Teesside. This project is planned to produce 60MWe (megawatt electrical input) of hydrogen at start-up in 2025, increasing to up to 500MWe by 2030.

Together, these two projects could deliver 15% of the UK Government’s recently expanded 10GW target for hydrogen in 2030. bp will also join ADNOC to evaluate a new blue hydrogen project in Abu Dhabi, conducting a joint feasibility study for a world-scale, low-carbon hydrogen project in the country. In addition, ADNOC, bp and Masdar have joined with Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer) and Etihad Airways to explore production of sustainable aviation fuels, from hydrogen and municipal waste gasification, in the UAE. Bernard Looney, bp’s Chief Executive said: “By joining forces with ADNOC and Masdar we are reinforcing the world-leading role that Teesside, and the UK more widely, can play in developing new sup-

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plies of energy, as well as new skills and supply chains. We’re backing Britain and the resources, capability and net zero ambition here in the UK make it ideal for the development of low carbon hydrogen.

“As well as boosting home-grown energy, the global nature of our partnership with ADNOC and Masdar will support our plans to decarbonise some of the most hard-to-abate sectors in the world – like industrial manufacturing, power and aviation. Partnerships like this reach beyond borders to provide the new energy solutions the world needs.”

HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Masdar Chairman, said: “In the UK, our role in Teesside will represent ADNOC’s first investment into the UK and help to accelerate innovation in decarbonisation of energy in industrial sectors.

Similarly, the partners’ collaboration in Abu Dhabi is expected to further position the UAE as a regional leader in low-carbon energies and technology-driven industrial growth.”

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar’s Chief Executive, added: “Masdar has been a long-standing investor in the UK’s renewable energy sector, and we will leverage our expertise in offshore wind and sustainable aviation fuels to support both nations’ energy transition while solidifying the UAE’s leadership position in the emerging green hydrogen economy.”

These new agreements follow from the formation of a strategic partnership for clean energy solutions in the UK and UAE between bp, ADNOC and Masdar in September 2021, including the intention to work together to develop low carbon hydrogen hubs, such as at Teesside. These initiatives are subject to relevant customary regulatory clearances.

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Green hydrogen: a key to unlocking energy security in Europe

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iemens Gamesa has launched a white paper, Unlocking European Energy Security, outlining the energy supply challenges facing Europe since the invasion of Ukraine and the actions needed to bring about stability and energy security while addressing the climate emergency and delivering decarbonisation.

In the space of just three months in 2022, the importance and urgency of nations protecting and ensuring their energy supply increased dramatically. Geopolitical events have elevated energy security to the forefront of European governments’ concerns, both in terms of securing independent supply and securing predictable prices for the consumer.

In the years to the EU’s 2050 deadline for climate neutrality, renewable energy and green hydrogen will be of pivotal importance. In delivering energy security with clean, affordable and domestically produced clean energy and fuels, large-scale decarbonisation is possible simultaneously. Through the conversion of hard-to-abate industries to this green fuel, nations can hit the targets necessary to achieve net zero.

The importance of tackling both issues of energy security and decarbonisation together is highlighted by Siemens Gamesa global CEO Jochen Eickholt: “The current crisis should not be allowed to push the climate emergency down the agenda. It is imperative that the entire renewable energy ecosystem is aligned on the need to reduce the demand for fossil fuels. For green hydrogen to reach scale and, thus, competitiveness, it too needs a seismic shift in the scale and speed of renewables roll-out.”

The white paper highlights five levers which hold the key in unlocking energy security in Europe.

First, it suggests an increase in the volume of renewable energy produced in Europe; speeding up the process of permitting is critical to this.

Secondly, the paper recommends initiating green hydrogen infrastructure for transportation and distribution, whether that is domestically produced or imported, and develop a stable hydrogen trading market.

Creating innovate storage solutions to ensure continuity and predictability of supply and introducing flexible legislation enabling sector coupling to balance electricity demand and green hydrogen production was proposed next; while the fourth point was to introduce legislative and regulatory tools to create a market for EU-generated green hydrogen with guaranteed cost comparison against fossil fuel-based imports.

Fifth and finally, the white paper says the industry should industrialise the scale of production of the electrolyzers necessary to supply demand in Europe.

Juan Gutierrez, global CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s Service business said: “Siemens Gamesa calls upon European governments and the relevant industries to work together in coalition to deliver energy security through renewables and green hydrogen, environment security through essential decarbonisation and security of stable pricing of energy to end consumers.

“The terrible events of the invasion of Ukraine have laid bare uncomfortable truths about the vulnerability of each of these elements, but it’s within nation states’ power to address each of these through a united approach to increase renewables installations and the adoption of green hydrogen.”

New oil discovery close to Barents Sea Johan Castberg field

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quinor has made a new oil discovery in Snøfonn Nord, exploration well 7220/8-2 S, by the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea. The well was drilled 5km south-southeast of discovery well 7220/8-1, which is in the Johan Castberg field, and 210km northwest of Hammerfest.

Equinor is the operator of production licence (PL) 532. Preliminary calculations of the size of the discovery indicate between 37 and 50 million barrels of recoverable oil. Together with the other licensees, Vår Energi and Petoro, Equinor will consider tying the discovery to the Johan Castberg field.

“Snøfonn Nord is an exciting discovery in the vicinity of the Johan Castberg development and can add valuable volumes to

the installation in the future,” said Kristin Westvik, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production North.

“In cooperation with the licence partners we will consider a possible development.”

The Snøfonn Nord discovery was made exactly one year after the Isflak discovery in the same area but is probably somewhat bigger.

Drilling of the well was carried out by the Transocean Enabler rig and is now completed. Transocean Enabler will move 800m further west in PL 532 to drill a new exploration well.

Snøfonn Nord is the 10th discovery in the Castberg licence and the 12th exploration well to be drilled in PL 532. The production licence was awarded in the 20th licencing round in 2009.

Inside Oil & Gas

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Latest news in the oil and gas industry Keeping you up to date with market leaders

latest news

DNV partners with IOGP to develop decarbonisation standards NV has been selected by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) to support the decarbonisation initiatives of IOGP members – producers of 40% of the world’s oil and gas.

To support IOGP and its members, DNV will develop metrics, recommended practices, guidelines, and methodologies, focusing on carbon capture and storage (CCS), electrification of oil and gas assets, reducing flaring and venting, increasing energy efficiency, and developing business cases for hydrogen.

Decarbonisation is a priority for oil and gas companies, with two thirds of the industry expecting to increase investment in this area in 2022, according to DNV’s latest Energy Industry Insights research.

Ditlev Engel, CEO, Energy Systems at DNV said: “The upstream oil and gas industry is under mounting pressure to ensure an affordable and reliable energy supply while also decarbonising at pace, with the sector needing to urgently address both the global climate crisis and acute energy crises in many regions. Across the energy industry, we see companies forming new partnerships and increasing collaboration to manage the complexity and scale of transitioning to low-carbon energy systems. The IOGP’s commitment to help its members reduce carbon emissions at pace is encouraging and much needed.”

Hari Vamadevan, Regional Director UK & Ireland for Energy Systems at DNV added: “With DNV’s expertise across the energy

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With DNV’s expertise across the energy system including oil, gas, hydrogen, wind, solar, power grids and energy efficiency, I look forward to working together with IOGP to support the safe, efficient, and accelerated decarbonisation of upstream oil and gas

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system including oil, gas, hydrogen, wind, solar, power grids and energy efficiency, I look forward to working together with IOGP to support the safe, efficient, and accelerated decarbonisation of upstream oil and gas.”

IOGP is working with its 82 members to enable a low-carbon future: spearheading transformative technologies, facilitating collaboration, optimising processes, and creating standards.

Concetto Fischetti, IOGP Energy Transition Director said: “We are delighted to partner with DNV, to the benefit of our mutual members and the whole industry, in developing low carbon and energy transition technical practices and guidelines complementing the knowhow and operational experience of our member companies’ experts.

Energy transition is central to our work programme, and with DNV, we will enhance IOGP’s support for the rapid decarbonisation of upstream oil and gas.”

Ikon Science launches the Data Explorer app I

kon Science, a leading global provider of geoprediction and open subsurface knowledge management software and services, has launched its latest version of Curate, a cloud-native subsurface knowledge management solution, featuring the new Data Explorer application.

As data-driven workflows continue to drive innovation and ability in subsurface teams across the energy industry, it’s vital that teams can quickly search, appraise, and utilise information contained in centralised data platforms, such as OSDU. Curate enables energy companies to best leverage and contextualise disparate existing data – regardless of source – to drive faster and more accurate decision making for accelerated exploration, minimised portfolio risk, and optimised production.

Data Explorer provides deep search capabilities and customisable data visualisations which allow geoscientists to quickly assess data 16

Inside Oil & Gas

availability, quality, and value. This supports prospect appraisal, well planning and regulatory reporting. Data Explorer also significantly enhances subsurface insights by enabling energy companies to rapidly detect broad data trends and isolate anomalies that require further investigation.

The availability of the Data Explorer application is enriched by Curate platform enhancements that improve usability, bulk download capabilities, geospatial understanding, efficiency, and collaboration.

“We are excited to introduce our Data Explorer application to enable energy companies to gain a more intimate understanding of their data and its quality to leverage specific measurements that can reveal deeper subsurface detail,” said Dr Denis Saussus, CEO of Ikon Science. “Our commitment to continuous improvement ensures our Curate portfolio helps energy companies unlock greater opportunities and efficiencies for a better bottom line.”

www.insideoilandgas.com

Business groups urge Biden administration to support domestic energy production he American Petroleum Institute, the Consumer Energy Alliance, the Louisiana Mid Continent Oil and Gas Association, the National Oceanic Industry Association and the US Chamber of Commerce have joined with more than 80 trade groups representing a diverse cross section of industries in calling on the Biden administration to act on policies that support US energy security and increase domestic production of natural gas and oil. In a letter to President Biden, the signatories urged the administration to implement a new five-year program for federal offshore leasing as soon as possible.

“For the US to continue to be an energy leader into the future, smart and effective energy policies are needed today. However, your administration’s policies have often hindered domestic producers’ ability to deliver on this growing demand. Oil and natural gas leasing on Federal lands and waters has essentially stopped, despite court orders, and while DOI has taken steps to complete and implement the next 5-year Program, there will be an unprecedented gap between the current and next 5-year Program,” the letter states.

The letter follows testimony from Secretary Haaland in May, during which the Secretary confirmed that the Department of Interior (DOI) is far behind in the process of developing and implementing a 5-year program and will not have a new plan in place by the time the current program expires on July 1st. Offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico currently represents over 15% of natural gas and oil production.

Without a 5-year program in place, no new offshore lease sales can be held, leaving future domestic production in jeopardy.

“We are at a critical time where a lack of federal action and regulatory uncertainty may discourage companies from making the multibillion-dollar investments needed to develop offshore resources in the US and ensure the long-term viability of a lower-carbon national strategic asset,” the letter states. “If the door closes to new US production, investment dollars will instead flow abroad to more active basins to the detriment of American workers, energy consumers, and the environment.”

The letter outlines a number of actions that the administration can take to avoid further economic impact and help ensure accessible, affordable, and reliable energy in the United States.

One of the main suggestions is to execute the laws that mandate the DOI complete a long-term offshore leasing program with robust lease sales to avoid unnecessary production and development disruption. This requires the prompt completion of the steps necessary

to finalise the OCS Leasing Program for 2022-2027. The business groups signing the letter argue that the expected delay will harm American investment, production, and jobs and is already having an impact on investment and jobs throughout the supply chain.

Another suggestion put forward by the group is for the administration to provide certainty on oil and natural gas leasing by compelling the DOI to meet deadlines and honour its obligation to lease on federal lands and waters.

API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than 11 million US jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Nearly 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting.

API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organisation and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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17

Latest news in the oil and gas industry Keeping you up to date with market leaders

latest

news

INEOS Olefins Belgium joins Fluxys project for hydrogen network with open access in Antwerp C hemical company INEOS Olefins Belgium is the first industrial player to sign an agreement with Fluxys to participate in the feasibility study for the development of an open access hydrogen network in the port of Antwerp. The cooperation follows the market consultation initiated by Fluxys last year to match supply and demand for hydrogen in the Belgian industrial clusters.

Project ONE, the investment project for the construction of an ethane cracker on the right bank in the port of Antwerp, could play a significant role in the dimensioning of the hydrogen network in Antwerp. Depending on the future transition to net zero emissions and the scenario chosen, the plant has the potential to take around 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen off the grid.

Ralf Gesthuisen, Technology Manager of Project ONE said: “We have identified several technological paths for Project ONE that would allow us to further reduce our emissions and achieve the transition to climate neutrality. One of them is to use more hydrogen as a fuel for our cracker’s furnaces and steam boilers. From day one of the start-up of our plant, we have been able to meet 60% of the heat demand with the high volumes of hydrogen from the cracking process. If we gain access to more low-carbon hydrogen in the future, we can increase this to 100% and bring the emissions of Project ONE to net zero. Our participation in Fluxys’ feasibility study brings us one step closer to making this a reality.”

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Inside Oil & Gas

Raphaël De Winter, Director Business Development & Innovation at Fluxys commented: “With Fluxys we are fully committed to helping develop a well-functioning market for hydrogen quickly. This requires an open access grid to which everyone can connect on an equal footing so that supply and demand can find each other smoothly. We are working on infrastructure proposals in the various industrial clusters in Belgium. In Antwerp, the interest shown by INEOS Olefins Belgium is an important step in the development of the infrastructure needed by industry.”

He added: “The train is leaving now: with the interest of all the companies combined, we will complete the studies for the grid in Antwerp early 2023 and conclude contracts in the first half of 2023 to be able to build.”

As a group, INEOS is already involved in numerous projects where hydrogen plays an important role. One example is the collaboration with Fluxys and the other consortium partners of Power to Methanol to build a demo plant for the production of sustainable methanol from hydrogen and captured CO2 by electrolysis.

In November 2020, the INEOS group launched a new business to develop and build green hydrogen capacity across Europe to support the drive towards a carbon-free future. This was followed a year later by the announcement to invest € 2 billion in the production of carbonfree, green hydrogen across Europe.

Matter of fact Interesting and unusual oil and gas facts from around the world

matterof fact The record for the smallest oil refinery is held by the C&H refinery at Lusk, in Wyoming, USA. Founded in 1933, it processes only 190 barrels of crude oil each day.

The world’s first large oil refinery was begun in 1856 at Ploieşti, Romania.

The Rafov Refinery began production in 1857 with a daily production of over seven tonnes.

The first public gas utility company was the Gas Light and Coke Company, operating in London. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1810 and the charter was granted in 1812 by the Prince Regent George IV. The oldest continuously producing oil well is the McClintock Well No 1 in Rouseville, Venango County in Pennsylvania, United States. Originally dug in August 1861 on the Hamilton McClintock Farm, the well initially produced 175 barrels of oil daily. Today, when the well is pumped the proceeds from the oil sales are restricted to repairs, upkeep and maintenance of the historic site, which has since been turned into a museum.

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“

Every problem is a gift

“

without problems we would not grow – Anthony Robbins –

Butane and isobutane both have the chemical symbol C4H12. However, the carbon atoms in isobutane are connected via a central carbon atom, rather then being linked together in a chain-like structure in butane.

A typical Platform Support Vessel will spend 25% of the time in harbour loading and unloading, 40% in transit and 35% loading or discharging at sea.

The largest oil drill bit in the world is a giant 45” diameter, deployed on the Maersk Resolute jackup rig.

With a capacity of 4.1 million barrels, the ULCC supertanker Seawise Giant was the longest self-propelled vessel ever built. Completed in 1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Japan, the Seawise Giant had a length of 458.45 metres, making her longer than the height of the Empire State Building.

An impressive 97% of the 24,200 tonne Brent Delta oil platform was either recycled or reused after the two-year dismantling project at the ABLE Seaton Port in Teesside, UK. Inside Oil & Gas

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What’s new in the oil and gas industry?

The latest innovations, ideas and product launches

what’s

new

in the oil and gas industry ?

New sensor-to-satellite technology from Wyld Wyld Networks’ new range of low-power, sensor-to-satellite terminals and modules make it possible to provide uninterrupted connectivity across oil and gas operations in remote locations where there is no alternative network coverage.

The Wyld Connect devices transfer data directly to terrestrial networks or through Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites as a result of partnership with Eutelsat. With 100% global coverage, Wyld Connect will help to deliver a more productive digitisation of energy infrastructure, which is essential to meet operational targets and corporate sustainability goals. The full sensor-to-satellite service will be available in the second half of 2022.

GD Energy Products’ timesaving SafeLock valve cover lock for drilling modules GD Energy Products has launched SafeLock, a hammerless quarter-turn valve cover lock for drilling modules. SafeLock delivers safer and faster removals, without requiring any tools. Durable and hammerless, SafeLock eliminates safety hazards and increases operational efficiency by reducing the multiple revolutions needed to remove the valve cover lock to a simple quarter-turn.

Corrosion resistant threading and grease zerks keep threads lubricated between service intervals. A robust handle design increases leverage and ergonomics.

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Intelligent electric actuators provide flow control at South Korean chemical plant Over 100 Rotork multi-turn and part-turn intelligent electric actuators have been installed at a new petrochemical site in Daesan, South Korea. The IQ actuators will provide flow control at the plant which produces ethylene, polyethylene and propylene. The project is a joint one between Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical. It is found 50 miles southwest of the South Korean capital Seoul. The new facility will produce 750,000 tonnes of ethylene, 750,000 tonnes of polyethylene and 400,000 tonnes of propylene per year. The actuators have been installed in the cracking units in the plant to control the flow of the oil that is the feedstock at the heart of the production process. They operate ball, gate, globe, and butterfly valves.

SWiG develops underwater wireless acoustic standard International oil and gas industry network, Subsea Wireless Group (SWiG), has launched a new wireless acoustic standard to improve communication between offshore vessels and the vehicles used in underwater inspection, maintenance and repair. SWiG addresses problems related to the increasing diversity of communication systems used by AUVs. Its new standard, SWiGacoustic, provides a simple acoustic protocol that satisfies interoperability requirements, aiding seamless communication between platforms. SWiGacoustic is derived from the digital underwater signalling standard NATO ANEP-87 Edition A Version 1. It reflects decisions made by SWiG members to balance capabilities with compromise in key areas such as bandwidth versus range, frequency capability and transducer sizes.

Innovative fuel conditioner recognised with industry award Fuel additive supplier ElimiNOX Limited has been recognised with a prestigious industry innovation award for its pollution-reducing fuel conditioners. The company was recognised by the UK and Ireland Fuel Distribution Association for successfully promoting “innovative fuel conditioners” ElimiNOX Eco™, developed by SulNOx Group.

This unique product reduces CO2 and other greenhouse gases by improving fuel efficiency and is made from natural, biodegradable ingredients. Ben Richardson, CEO of SulNOx Group Plc, said: “This award is fantastic recognition of the hard work and dedication of the ElimiNOX team.

It is also a true endorsement of the technology SulNOx has developed and is yet more independent acceptance of our potential to immediately play a significant role in reducing emissions, improving air quality and tackling the climate crisis at scale.”

Rhosonics Clamp-In pipe integration system Rhosonics’ new pipe integration system for the Slurry Density Meter (SDM) – the Clamp-In, has been designed to make it easy to remove the sensor without interrupting the process.

The Clamp-In allows the installation of existing pipes in the process: plastic pipes, metal pipes or even pipes with internal liners. All necessary mounting materials are supplied with the product, including the drill for making the hole in the pipe. Vitor Braz, Global Sales Manager said: “The Clamp-In is the most practical way of installing the SDM inline, and it comes with a hot-tap! So, the sensor can be pulled out and put back again to the process while there is slurry flowing.”

Inside Oil & Gas

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iOG &

upstream downstream one voice

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE fluiten italia

maximator

empire petroleum

mahnke

otto simon

enventure global technology

sparks maintenance contracting

christof group sbn koil energy solutions

servetech middle east general trading

al fanar gas group

brunei shell petroleum

FLUITEN ITALIA

I

PROFILE

FINE SEALS

DELIVERED?

I’M YOURS! Fluiten Italia SpA designs and produces mechanical seals for heavy duty applications.

Rino Campaniello, Marketing Manager, outlined the Fluiten story with Phil Nicholls.

A

lberto Delfo Colombo started Fluiten Italia SpA in 1962 in the suburbs of Milan. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Fluiten opened its crucial research and development department in 1971, starting with a room for dynamic tests and simulating real operating conditions for its seals.

Growth continued with a bigger factory in 1981 and entry into the global market in 1997 following ISO 9001 certification.

Fluiten joined the European Sealing Association in 2007 and over the past 20 years has achieved a number of milestones. The company has developed new cartridge seals for ISO pumps, a complete range of seals in accordance with API682 standards, has updated its series of seals

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Inside Oil & Gas

for mixer applications, the – “gas lift off” seals with Fluilift technology – and has also developed a new series of seals suitable for services with pressures over 100 bar.

Fluiten is now celebrating its 60th anniversary and commissioned a book to record the company’s story. Rino Campaniello, Marketing Manager at Fluiten, summarised the book’s remit: “Fluiten’s outstanding achievements today are the results of 60 years of devotion and accomplishment. Three elements were needed to achieve our goal: technology, investment, and above all people.”

The finished book will be distributed to customers, suppliers, and workers at Fluiten, especially younger employees

who may not be aware of the company’s story. Mr Campaniello is proud of his part in the history of Fluiten. The current Marketing Manager joined the company straight out of school as a draughtsman.

Through the years, Mr Campaniello became a Sales Engineer, then a Sales Manager, before being appointed to his current role.

Fluiten grew steadily by supplying hightech products to the market. Even in 2021, with the impact of the Covid pandemic, Fluiten still posted a growth with revenue across all its European entities. The company maintains a research and production facility outside Milan, with administrative offices in the centre of the city, employing 120 people in Europe.

The relatively small size of Fluiten serves as a benefit to the company, as highlighted by Mr Campaniello: “This is one of Fluiten’s strengths, because we concentrate all our development and production activity to Milan, and have all our core functions in one place, which means we are faster at making decisions and responding to customer requirements.”

Alongside Fluiten’s flexibility, Mr Campaniello emphasised the constant drive to be competitive. This is especially true when Fluiten’s main competitors are multinational companies with the possibility of low production costs. “We believe in investing in technology,” Mr Campaniello said, “We have always capped costs by investing in the latest generation of

Inside Oil & Gas

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29

FLUITEN ITALIA

I

PROFILE

robotised and customised machine tools and metrology room for our specific needs.

“Fluiten spends a lot of time developing machine tool production, and this is one of our big advantages. In fact, our machines give us a lot of flexibility and the possibility to manage small-volume production on specific projects, and this is what our customers need.”

The quality of the machine tools and quality control instrumentations at Fluiten is a point of pride for Mr Campaniello: “The supplier of this equipment tells us that our factory is equipped with tools few companies in Europe have. This is because in order to produce mechanical seals at high technological levels it is essential to be well equipped.”

Research and development To maintain this reputation for quality seals, Fluiten invests 2.5% of its profits in research and development of new technologies capable of guaranteeing zero emissions and achieving significant savings in terms of energy consumption.

“Fluiten sees the need to develop innovative solutions in line with a drive for sustainability,” Mr Campaniello confirmed.

Leading this drive at Fluiten is the Research and Development Department.

“The focus for research and development,” Mr Campaniello explained, “is on production technology for the oil and gas industry 30

Inside Oil & Gas

and the power market. Our customers increasingly require a solution with safety guarantees when operating in very severe conditions. Our seals need to cope with pressures of 100 bar and shaft rotating speeds over 5,000 RPM. “Research and development is really at the centre of our organisation; this is what the market recognises and is another key to our success. Fluiten products are tested under real operating conditions to verify that our theoretical calculations are confirmed by practical results before being supplied to the customer. There are very few companies that have this knowhow and our customers appreciate our capabilities.

“In the recent years, one reason for Fluiten’s growth is our ability to provide engineering and development for a specific application. Our salesmen are experienced engineers able to understand the evolving market requirements. So, what we have done several times is develop a specific solution according to these requirements. Fluiten then manufactures this solution, which becomes the standard for other clients.”

Precision engineers When asked about a best-selling product, Mr Campaniello emphasised again the bespoke, engineered solutions offered by Fluiten. “People like to have fresh bread from the baker, rather than the bread

from a supermarket!” he quipped. “This approach to seals is epitomised by the Fluiten HPK seal, capable of operating at over 100 bar and over 5,000 RPM. Fluiten’s precision-engineered seals are a strong part of the company’s USP. “The market needs a reliable solution,” Mr Campaniello said, “A solution that prevents emissions that are dangerous for the environment and to people. The market needs very reliable products and a solution that minimises energy consumption.”

The other strand of Fluiten’s success is the quality of the people employed at the business. As Mr Campaniello explained, Fluiten is a company where “employees are valued and trained because they are fundamental within the organisation. When we employ one person here in Milan, that person must be qualified within each department, especially in application engineering, in the technical office and in research and development. For this, we need two years of training.”

This extensive training is vital for the Fluiten sales team. “The mechanical seal is a technical product,” continued Mr Campaniello. “It is not possible to sell a mechanical seal if you are not an engineer, because often the sales team must talk with the client’s maintenance team, who only open the door if they recognise that they are talking the same language with an engineer. Thus, a qualified

engineer can collect data and come back with a solution.”

Despite this focus on the engineering team at Fluiten, modern business is still a group effort. “While people are in the centre of our organisation,”Mr Campaniello accepted, “suppliers are part of our organisation, this is what we strongly believe: suppliers are fundamental for growth.”

When Fluiten contracts with a supplier, the work is undertaken within a framework agreement specifying general conditions along with a common objective of quality and cost reduction for a specified period.

Even using such careful arrangements with suppliers, competition within the industry remains tight. Mr Campaniello highlighted the universal drive to reduce costs: “In this industry, the maintenance costs, and the goal of improving the average time between failures are the main objectives of the customer. To achieve this goal, we believe it is necessary to work in cooperation with the maintenance experts to offer high level services, globally.” The globalisation of the market is a clear ongoing trend.

Fluiten believes that high-quality mechanical seals can play an effective role in sustainability. It is estimated that

in industrial countries, pumps account for about 8% of the total energy consumption. Thus, efficient mechanical seals have a valuable role to play.

Sealing the future Mr Campaniello sees a bright future for Fluiten: “The challenge is to continue to grow while keeping the customer at the centre of our business. We can offer the client not only a mechanical seal as a product, but we also want to offer a complete service of pump repair – maintenance. Our strategy is to maintain our identity and flexibility. Fluiten had enormous opportunities to grow in emerging markets where a high level of technology is required.”

As Marketing Manager, Mr Campaniello is deeply involved in building Fluiten’s future: “I set myself the goal of identifying those areas of the market most suitable for Fluiten’s growth. I try to drive the development of new products and services required by our clients.

“To do our job, we need to be optimistic. The word ‘problem’ does not exist in our vocabulary: we know only the word ‘challenge’.” n Inside Oil & Gas

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MAXIMATOR

I

PROFILE

Germany’s Maximator GmbH is a technology leader in the field of high pressure and testing technology, hydraulics and pneumatics. With more than 40 years of experience, Maximator’s components and systems offer innovative solutions in a wide range of sectors and applications.

Recent innovations in gas solutions and hydrogen applications have enabled the company to remain at the cutting-edge of technological breakthroughs. Profile by Andy Probert.

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Inside Oil & Gas

I

nnovation at Maximator GmbH has always been at the very forefront of business development in high pressure technology, and to a wider extent, within industry. That spirit of discovery and curiosity in various applications has been honed since businessmen messieurs Schmidt and Kranz created Nordhäuser Maschinenfabrik in 1885.

The Glinz family bought the company in 1928, and have, for the best part of the last century, retained control of the SchmidtKranz Group, which included the launch of Maximator Hochdrucktechnik (highpressure systems) in the 1960s.

Established provider Since 2002, Maximator has operated as an independent company while still part of the Schmidt Kranz Group, which now includes Perforator Bohrtechnik, GHH Fahrzeuge (vehicles), Hazemag & EPR Bergbau und Bohrtechnik (mining and drilling equipment) and Fest Automatisierungstechnik (automation engineering).

The spirit of the Schmidt-Kranz Group and the Glinz family continues to permeate through Maximator whose business has grown due to its commitment to high quality products, engineering excellence and the ability to offer technical solutions for many industries.

Maximator is a leader in the field of high-pressure and pressure testing technology, hydraulics and pneumatics. The company develops, designs and produces everything from components to complex systems and even entire infrastructures.

As well as high pressure liquid pumps, gas boosters, valves, hydraulic units and gas booster stations, the company’s range of services encompass autofrettage systems, impulse test stands, systems for gas and water injection, and hydrogen compressor systems.

“For more than 40 years, our goal has been to increase the benefits for our customers in the best manner through our experience and expertise, and highly reliable quality applications for industries, such as oil and gas, and maritime,” commented Matthias Blome, Maximator’s Head of Sales and Marketing.

“When it comes to pioneering technology, Maximator uses innovative developments that support our customers in their fields with effective, environmentally-friendly solutions.”

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MAXIMATOR

I

PROFILE

Today, the business employs 380 people at its Nordhausen facility. A dedicated Service and Development Centre allows Maximator to offer customer-orientated services such as pressure, burst pressure and impulse testing, auto-frettage of components, and inspections on CNG and hydrogen tanks.

With sales offices across Germany and partner companies in 20 countries, including a dedicated office in the UAE to service clients in the Middle East, North Africa and CIS countries, the affiliated companies employ about 330 staff worldwide, helping to guarantee a global service at a local level in product performance and service provision.

“It has been our focus for the last two decades to build up a global presence and to be closer to our clients,” added Marketing Manager Christopher Schätz. “You can’t be a world leader without retaining that close contact with suppliers, partners and clients.”

Maximator also maintains 45 people in the service sector on a domestic and international scale to offer full support to their clients.

Maximator Germany posted €67 million in turnover in 2021, enjoying 7% year-on-year growth in sales, but with 40% growth in orders. The Maximator Abu Dhabi office, averaged around €3 million in annual turnover.

Sabharish Nandakumar, Maximator’s Abu Dhabi General Manager, said the ability to deliver a localised service was a win-win situation for all. The office, opened by Maximator in 2008, offers various customised high pressure solutions

to clients designed and packaged from Abu Dhabi.

“With local stock of various high pressure components and solutions, Maximator Abu Dhabi can quickly scale up to industry demands and also offers a local repair facility for Maximator equipment. Maximator Abu Dhabi also customises high pressure testing equipment for various applications locally in UAE itself by getting the parts from our headquarters and other sub vendors.”

While Abu Dhabi’s main focus supports the likes of Saudi Aramco, UAE’s ADNOC and PDO in Oman, the Middle East remains a very strong market for Maximator. From Abu Dhabi, the company distributes customised equipment throughout the region.

Maximator Abu Dhabi has achieved ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) Certification which plays a major role in getting the projects from various subcontracting companies in UAE, Mr Sabharish added.

New business advances

driven booster. These are now being presented to the market.”

The company has also created Maximator Gas Solutions GmbH, an affiliated company strong in electrical compressor systems for such things as breathing gas compression.

These systems include the filtration systems and storage cylinder bundles.

“They are qualified according to different standards for breathing gas storage systems for onshore and offshore use on oil and gas platforms,” Mr Blome confirmed.

In January 2022, Maximator Hydrogen GmbH was created as a spin-off business

Matthias Blome - Sales Director

Mr Blome said Maximator was continuing to expand its portfolio of products for the oil and gas fields, such as full flow double block and bleed valves (DBBVs) and the addition of NACE-compliant products for sour-gas service.

“We are also developing electro-hydraulic driven booster units, for example for API 6 PSL testing with gas for O&G equipment like well-head valves,” he added. “These boosters are bigger in capacity and that means less pressurisation time compared to an airSabharish Nandakumar General Manager - Abu Dhabi Operations

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Inside Oil & Gas

with a strong focus on hydrogen refuelling stations for various kinds of vehicles.

A ground-breaking ceremony took place on three hectares in Nordhausen before the end of 2020 initially for two production halls – Germany’s largest production facility dedicated to serial production of Maximator’s hydrogen filling stations. Construction concluded at the end of 2021 and production is set to begin.

“Over the past years, multiple refuelling has been engineered and built with an outstanding performance regarding efficiency and availability,” Mr Blome detailed. “We have designed and built special components, such as valves to tubing for these hydrogen refilling stations, but we are now scaling up to build these stations ourselves.”

Maximator has also established a collaboration with TestNet in Germany to offer a testing chamber for Type 4 accumulator for accumulating the gas in transportation.

Flexible to changing trends Maximator’s plans for the next two years will be to invest in infrastructure, such as workshop space, machining capacity and supporting processes, as well as new product development for the oil and gas industry, machinery construction and hydrogen applications As much as Maximator is renowned for its responsiveness, service, quality, cus-

tomised solutions, experience, and flexible and fast deliveries, it is still grappling with challenges focused on material supply chain issues, hiring qualified people and growing the infrastructure.

To ensure professional, long-term initial and advanced training for staff, Maximator has an academy with trained, TÜV-certified coaches. Behind all this is a certified quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001.

Mr Blome acknowledged that while the high pressure industry was changing, with oil and gas field development decreasing, and new fields of application being more gas related, Maximator remained steadfast in building long-term relations with suppliers and clients based on its commitment, reliability, loyalty and support.

High pressure applications are moving towards hydrogen (qualification and EOL testing of equipment like storage cylinders and accessories, hydrogen refuelling stations), plus food preservation and hot isostatic presses (powder metal and 3D printed items), and Maximator is intent on maximising its leverage.

According to Mr Blome, the company had not lost sight of the need to continue to build out its sustainability activities which encompass reducing its carbon footprint, maintaining energy audits, executing energy flow analysis, and consid-

ering future investments to further reduce energy consumption.

Concluding, Marketing Manager Christopher Schätz commented: “Maximator not only serves a huge range of applications, one of our main advantages is that we are testing using our own equipment directly for turnkey solutions.

“We know more than anybody else about our product and how we can improve it. This constellation of activity ensures there is no other high-pressure company on the market today that can match Maximator in terms of high-pressure technology. Customers trust in our experience and what we do for them.”n

Inside Oil & Gas

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PROFILE

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Inside Oil & Gas

CORROSION

I

COMBATTING

MAHNKE

The name Mahnke has been ever-present in the world of vulcanisation (the processes for hardening rubbers) since 1921. Today, the company’s varied products can be found in a wide variety of industries. As Jordan Yallop discovered, one of the most recent markets Mahnke has ventured into is the maritime sector, where the company’s many specialist corrosion resistant coatings are proving essential in this industry.

P

eter Mahnke GmbH, based in Kalübbe, Germany, enjoys a stellar reputation within the vulcanisation industry. The company was founded by Peter Mahnke together with his sister Evelin Mahnke-Vock in 1970 with the aim of fully focusing on the vulcanisation techniques for the industrial sector. Previous to this, the name Mahnke was primarily focused on the repair of car tyres and despite the difficulties presented by the socioeconomic factors of the time, the business built by Friedrich Mahnke thrived and became a well-known company.

The 1950’s saw a shift in production, whereby the company’s previous specialisation in tyres was being replaced due to more demand for industrial applications.

These two areas of production originally took place simultaneously, but as time pro-

gressed, the industrial applications sector was growing. The subsequent decades were characterised by continued growth of the company and by economic success, and two years later, Peter Mahnke GmbH was founded.

Today, the company’s customers include various businesses ranging from chemical, energy, heavy industry and shipyards.

Janosch Mahnke, Managing Director, talked about why the company has delved into the maritime sector: “We started in a new business field in 1990 called surface protection, which provides rubber linings that protect against corrosion.

“This new business avenue opened up our company to the maritime sector, and today we supply the rubber lining of the cooling systems on board vessels.

The rubber lining serves as this corrosion protection inside the whole cooling systems pipeline.”

The mission to protect Mahnke currently has three facilities – in Hamburg, Rostock and Kalübbe – with the latter being the company’s main manufacturing facility where the production of the products destined for the maritime sector are also handled. The 79 employeestrong business has a manufacturing area of around 3,000 sqm which constructs the various products that range from conveyer belts, corrosion protection coating and cargo hatch cover seals.

The company’s workshop, which employs modern technology such as blasting plants, autoclaves and Unimog systems, underwent expansion in 2019.

“We expanded our main location in Kalübbe by adding another manufac-

turing hall in order to be able to meet the increasing demand for products utilised in the offshore industry,” said Janosch Mahnke.

Mahnke produces a number of modern conveyer belt technologies and this area of manufacture accounts for a large portion of the company’s output. The other main area is its surface protection; the reliability of these corrosion resistant solutions comes from Mahnke’s many years of experience and extensive laboratory testing. The company prides itself on using an individual analysis method when supplying its products. The type of surface that needs to be protected is examined so Mahnke can advise customers on precisely what type of protection is most suitable for their needs.

This process ensures that the protection medium that is chosen is the most efficient one available. The company offers various

types which include soft rubber lining, hard rubber lining, Coroflake, PU surface protection and Flexthane.

Due to rubber linings having excellent chemical and corrosion resistance, this type of surface protection sees widespread use in the maritime industry. To this end, Mahnke has developed Remaclave 60 ISO/803, a product specially engineered with a two-layer lining of 2mm hard and 3mm soft rubber. This product’s high resistance to chlorinated and oily seawater makes it ideal for use in shipbuilding as a protection for seawater carrying pipes and is used by many renowned shipping companies. To date, Mahnke estimates it has lined over 25,000m of pipe on 50 separate vessels with Remaclave.

“Remaclave is our best-selling product for rubber lining due to its use in seawater carrying pipelines in cruise ships. This product gives us a combination of the

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advantages of hard rubber lining and the advantages of soft rubber lining,” said Janosch Mahnke.

The king of service As with all the company’s products, a strict quality assurance system is in place to ensure that all products and solutions are installed with a consistent high quality.

Mahnke is the sole supplier of rubber lined pipes to all major German shipyards and there are currently over 300 ships worldwide with rubber lined pipes installed by Mahnke. These solutions are not just limited to maritime functionality; they also have applications in power stations, waste incineration, chemical and offshore settings.

Mahnke’s marine portfolio also includes hatch seals for sea-going vessels. These seals are offered at both an excellent quality and a great price point.

Another area that Mahnke operates in is wear protection. This area adds lifespan to items that can endure wear and tear as part of their daily operation or transportation. Mahnke tailors this service individually to each application, and as such, the solutions can solve a range of problems form noise to caking.

Mr Mahnke was keen to highlight the company’s global, 24/7 customer service ethic approach.

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“We are doing on site repairs and such jobs all over the world,” he said. “So if a client calls us, we will send our supervisor or maybe a whole team in order to do the repair on site and this can be in Asia, America or Europe.”

Future proof products Thanks in part to Mahnke’s age and experience, the company enjoys long-term relationships with its suppliers. One of these is Rema Tip Top, a supplier of materials needed for the coatings and rubber linings which Mahnke produces. After being in business together for over 50 years, the two companies work closely together when such opportunities arise.

Mr Mahnke said: “We have the opportunity to use Rema Tip Top’s laboratory to analyse materials for chemical resistance on the rubber linings, or we are able to choose some tailored products; we can also choose the right lining for the plant or for the vessel.

“In addition, there is a long-standing and trusting cooperation with producers in the Asian region. The company San Run International Trade Co Ltd has established itself within the last 20 years as a trustworthy partner and supplier for the production of special rubber components in order to complete the

product portfolio. These cooperations are important to secure a firm position in the market.”

He added: “As a family business, we have maintained long-term customer relationships and because of this close contact to our customers and their plans, we can easily adapt our material and products to their current requirements.

This is a point where we can stand out from other companies.”

In light of current supply chain issues and a degree of uncertainty in the markets, Mr Mahnke expressed his optimism for the market due to the nature of the products –

they are always in demand. To emphasise this, he pointed out the company is seeing an increase in demand for products destined for both the offshore and renewable energy sectors – with the company making 2,000 rubber lined parts for clients in offshore wind power alone in 2021 – an increase of nearly 100%.

“We need to adapt to the new industries, such as green energy. Whatever problems will come to the industry we will find a way to deliver our corrosion protection, because corrosion will always be an issue that needs companies such as ours to resolve,” he concluded. n

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OTTO SIMON

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AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE UK’S

C A R B O N

T R A N S I T I O N

Building on 150 years of expertise in gas processing, thermal processes and technology selection, Otto Simon Ltd has expanded into the emergent technologies sector, delivering projects for methane fermentation, bio-syngas production, and utilising hydrogen as fuel. Senior Project Manager Clive Mansfield discussed further the employee owned trust’s pioneering work in the burgeoning hydrogen sector. Feature by Andy Probert.

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Otto Simon became a member of the North West Hydrogen Alliance in 2019 and remains at the forefront of technical innovation in the developing hydrogen market.

“We specialise in providing services to the hydrogen sector, working on pioneering UK projects,” commented Senior Project Manager Clive Mansfield. This includes providing practical hands-on engineering expertise for feasibility studies, due diligence, undertaking demonstration trials, and repurposing conventional gas equipment to utilise blended or pure hydrogen as a fuel source in industrial settings.

The team has built considerable experience with hydrogen as a fuel and provides technical engineering support to several pioneering hydrogen projects.

Otto Simon is supporting Progressive Energy with the Department for Business, Enterprise, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) funded fuel switching studies. It recently delivered the HyDeploy project at Keele University, working with Progressive Energy and Cadent to trial the blending of hydrogen into the gas grid.

“We are working closely with the North West Hydrogen Alliance to develop and promote hydrogen technology in the North West of England,” Mr Mansfield revealed.

Key role in hydrogen projects

O

tto Simon Ltd has always led from the front, no matter what century it found itself. From the late 1800s, the original company, led by Dr Otto, became a world leader in coke processing and built more than 48,000 coke ovens worldwide.

Henry Simon, a Prussian born engineer who moved to the UK in 1860, revolutionised the flour milling industry by introducing the rolling flour milling plant. He turned his interests towards revolutionising the manufacture of coke and implemented innovative technology across the UK. When the companies merged in 1974, later becoming Otto Simon Ltd in 2004, a consolidated legacy of know-how and experience as a privately owned engineering consultancy and project delivery organisation began.

Becoming an employee owned trust in 2019, Otto Simon has around 100 employees in Manchester, Rotherham, Stalybridge, Forfar, and based on long-term client sites across the UK.

Enviable track record Otto Simon has developed an enviable track record in applying advanced technology in the coke/steel, renewables, waste, biomass, biofuels, energy, petrochemical, water and refinery sectors.

Building on 150 years of expertise in gas processing, thermal processes, and technology selection, it has since expanded into the emergent technologies sector, delivering projects for methane fermentation, bio-syngas production, and utilising hydrogen as fuel, among others.

Hydrogen has a crucial role to play in the UK government’s strategy to be net-zero by 2050. The North West of England produces 40 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions each year and acknowledges it is part of the global problem.

But now, the North West is at the vanguard of implementing regional solutions.

HyNet is arguably the most high-profile project of its kind in the UK. It has two principal objectives: to supply hydrogen to large industrial consumers of natural gas, which will entail building pipelines, and upgrading plant and fired equipment; and to capture CO2 from industry, compress, pipe and store it in depleted gas fields in the Irish Sea. The UK government recently awarded £33 million to HyNet to further develop this project, supported by a further £39 million of private funding from the HyNet consortium.

Investigative works have been undertaken to prove the feasibility of producing and supplying sufficient volumes of hydrogen to satisfy industrial demand, while preparatory work continues regarding the capture and storage of CO2.

The preparedness for the hydrogen revolution is in part driven by the funding from BEIS. Fuel switching studies and trials have commenced in which practical assessment will qualify the suitability of hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas.

This includes evaluating the introduction of 100% hydrogen into furnaces and fired equipment whilst parallel events have taken place assessing the effects of blending 20% hydrogen in natural gas for commercial and domestic use.

This is where Otto Simon’s extensive experience in gas processing, gas cleaning and managing the process and its safety standards and requirements is quickly gaining ground.

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Hydrogen in an industrial environment

Highly commended

Otto Simon is also heavily involved in a fuel-switching project at glass manufacturer NSG’s gas furnace in St Helens. It designed and implemented innovative modifications to allow the glass manufacturing plant to run on hydrogen fuel.

“The process was successfully trialled, marking an important step in decarbonising the UK industry,” commented Mr Mansfield.

Before a wholesale switch to hydrogen is made, the effect of its use on the manufacturing process needs to be tested and understood. Unlike boiler systems where fuel is used to raise steam or hot water, which can be piped for use elsewhere, fuel used in the manufacture of glass comes into direct contact with the product.

Any adverse impact upon product quality would be unacceptable.

Working with its partners, Otto Simon provided design, construction and commissioning services to facilitate the innovative hydrogen trials at NSG Pilkington Glass’s Greengate site. The trials were successfully completed and demonstrated hydrogen was as capable as natural gas in achieving excellent melting performance and product quality in the furnace, with vastly reduced carbon emissions.

“It gives confidence that a wholesale switch to hydrogen as a fuel is not only technically feasible, it would eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the process,” stated Mr Mansfield.

Once the feasibility was established, Otto Simon developed a conceptual design for full-scale deployment of switching to the new hydrogen fuel. It oversaw the construction and commissioning of infrastructure for the hydrogen trials at Greengate, and NSG successfully manufactured architectural glass using hydrogen fuel in a world-first trial.

Mr Mansfield asserted: “The results and experience gained from this project will allow us to support companies in other industries to trial and adapt to using hydrogen as a fuel source.”

Otto Simon and partner FutureBay were recently highly commended in the Energy Awards and the Sustainability Award at the IChemE Global Awards 2021, which celebrate chemical, process and biochemical engineering excellence.

The awards were for FutureBay’s development of a new energy storage technology based on a novel thermal cycle that delivers energy storage, cooling, heating, and converts waste heat to electricity.

By capturing, storing, and converting heat to electricity, the system allows users to shift the electrical load from peak to offpeak periods, utilising heat currently wasted to improve overall energy efficiency and enable electrical demand to be managed.

The technology can be applied to industrial and commercial processes, delivering significant environmental benefits to diverse industries. It can provide users with savings of up to 50% of energy consumption, 100% of energy costs and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 60%.

FutureBay built, tested, and operated a full-scale demonstration unit in Oldham which confirmed all aspects of the system’s operation. Otto Simon acted as principal designer to deliver the demonstration unit, supporting the concept development and managing the detailed design, installation and commissioning.

Once the system was built and commissioned, trials were conducted and proved the FutureBay system could capture the waste heat from the data centre and deliver 1.2MWth of cooling whilst simultaneously delivering stored electricity.

FutureBay’s containerised system has been designed for easy installation onto existing facilities. The system has been designed with environmental, health and safety benefits in mind, using nontoxic materials operating at low temperatures and pressures for safe and reliable operation.

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Mr Mansfield commented: “Otto Simon is proud of our involvement with the development of this project. FutureBay’s novel thermal cycle delivers energy storage capabilities which can benefit a wide range of commercial and industrial applications, as well as help to achieve the transition to a zero-carbon economy.”

More achievements Otto Simon has also been instrumental in working with Calysta and the Centre for Process Innovation to deliver a new biotech plant in Teesside that brings an interesting new twist in turning fuel into food.

As fish increasingly becomes an important source of protein, the debate for sustainability and protection of wild fish builds.

The required increase in fish production will have to come from farmed fish, and these fish need to be fed; at this point, technology enters the debate.

Calysta has developed a process utilising methanotrophic bacteria that convert methane into a single cell protein product.

The product, Feedkind™, is an alternative to fishmeal in aquaculture and promises to be a significant development in the protein market.

Otto Simon designed and constructed a plant to produce FeedKind™ protein that contributed to it winning ‘Team Award’ at the 2017 Global IChemE Awards. Following the successful project delivery, Otto Simon supports developing a pre-FEED Process Design Package for commercial-scale projects worldwide.

Otto Simon has also worked with Go Green Fuels, a spin-off from Advanced Plasma Power, to deliver a Compressed Bio-Methane Demonstration Plant in Swindon. The plant was designed to convert waste from local homes and businesses into bio-methane for injection into the local gas distribution network and reduce landfill.

The project won the Energy Award, Sustainability Award and Outstanding Achievement award at the 2018 Global IChemE awards.

Key differentiators Mr Mansfield emphasised that Otto Simon differentiated itself from the competition as it excelled in its chosen field while acting as an employee owned trust.

He explained: “Surveys show that employee-owned businesses achieve higher productivity, improved innovation, and better

resilience to economic turbulence, and workforces are more engaged, more fulfilled, and less stressed.

“By giving employees a stake and a voice in how the business is run, the employee ownership helps promote a general wellbeing of employees.” It also reduces staff turnover, enables long-running relationships with clients and encourages repeat business.

Ensuring all projects are delivered to the highest HSEQ standard, Otto Simon has won the RoSPA Gold Award for the past five years, earning them the RoSPA Gold Medal Award for outstanding health and safety achievements and they recently achieved over 1 million manhours without a RIDDOR reportable accident.

Mr Mansfield reflected that Otto Simon is agile and responsive, with a flat management hierarchy that enables them to adapt quickly and be flexible to clients’ requirements.

“Otto Simon has extensive experience delivering major projects from concept stage to commercial operation. We support clients at every step of their project development and forge lasting relationships to provide consistent, high-quality support. All this is underpinned by maintaining open, honest and collaborative working relationships.”

While the business has naturally enacted measures to limit the impact of the pandemic and continues to assess and respond to industry challenges, Mr Mansfield emphasised that one of Otto Simon’s key activities is to keep track of its carbon footprint.

He added: “Maintaining a continual improvement quality system means we’re always looking for ways to improve our operations. We work with clients to develop innovative technologies and processes which promote sustainability and support them in improving energy efficiency at their sites and facilities.”

Looking ahead, Mr Mansfield said: “The government’s hydrogen strategy lays out a road map for the next 20 years of hydrogen development in the UK. Otto Simon plans to continue supporting the development of the hydrogen economy in the North West and continue investing in emergent and novel technologies to promote decarbonisation.

“The challenge to the industry is to meet Net-Zero by 2050 and Otto Simon aims to position itself as an expert on hydrogen fuel switching.” n Inside Oil & Gas

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CHRISTOF GROUP SBN

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PROFILE

With a strong global reputation in industries such as petrochemicals, pressure vessels front runner Christof Group SBN is set to penetrate the oil and gas sector, with high expectations of success. The top management outlined the company’s plans to Colin Chinery.

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ong acclaimed for supplying prime quality pressure vessels for the chemical, petrochemical, and fertiliser markets, the Austrian-based Christof Group SBN is expanding into the oil and gas sector, with high expectations of success.

“From our viewpoint, oil and gas is a new market with very significant potential for growth, one where we will be extending the knowledge, experience and expertise developed in our traditional sectors,” inoted the top management.

“One of the specific capabilities that define us is the manufacture and especially the welding of complex material. The fabrication and welding of super duplex materials is very critical in the oil and gas sector and we are widely known for our ability to work with the most complex materials now being used in this market.”

Dedication, hard work and the courage to strike new paths in complex welding technologies formed the basis of Christof Group SBN with a history going back to the 19th century; more than 150 years later, this former steel mill has become a renowned global player.

Consistent quality, reliability and a solutions-oriented approach coupled with steady growth through numerous acquisitions and some 3,500 projects has earned the €100 million turnover Christof Group a global reputation, including heat exchangers, scrubbers, reactors and strippers deployed in the manufacture of ammonia and urea fertiliser.

Solutions for tomorrow Over 150 years’ worth of experience spurs Christof Group on to innovate smart equipment solutions for tomorrow’s industrial plants. Thus ensuring their regular heart-

beat – even when challenged to repair the unrepairable. Christof Group’s experts understand the technical complexities because they have decades of expertise and an intimate knowledge of process technologies and materials.

Specialities now being extended to the oil and gas sector include inner bore welding with no gaps or leakages. Products from Christof Group SBN are known to be resistant in even the most corrosive environments, with inner bore welding ensuring a gap-free connection between tube and tube sheet.

With high pressures, large dimensions, yet light in weight and on the pocket, the company’s multilayer designs are often the preferred choice of discriminating clients.

To ensure even greater safety, strength and stability, Christof Group SBN welds thin layers of different materials to fabricate a pressure vessel shell with unique properties.

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Innovative and efficient state-of-the-art technologies are incorporated in the highpressure equipment Christof Group designs and manufactures for the fertiliser and petrochemical industries. Well-established, close working relationships with technical universities, process licensors, consultants and material producers make this possible.

Along with the latest design and calculation methods – including finite element analysis and a special design data management system – Christof Group sets the pace in this sector.

Digital x-ray testing In 2019, Christof Group SBN introduced the novel digital x-ray method to test welding seams and further boost its top-quality pro-

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duction and project documentation. It’s quick and accurate and saves time and money.

Once digital test images are uploaded into a secure share file server, clients can view the digital images from anywhere in the world for a certain time.

“We are very active in R&D and are currently working on a very innovative technology that will enable our clients to measure different material properties without shutting down a plant, a technology that is currently not available,” stated the management.

“We want to enter the oil and gas market with, first, very good equipment suitable for the most demanding applications and secondly combining those products with stateof-the-art assessment technologies in order to remove downtime and increase efficiencies.

“It’s our experience, especially in welding, which is our core technology, as well as our knowledge of the relevant highpressure codes and standards across all regions of the world.

“Manufacturing excellence, on time delivery and, we are proud to say, a flexible partnership with our clients, are among the attributes distinguishing us from our competition.”

On time delivery Currently targeting different topside high-pressure applications and deep-water operations in regions such as Angola and Brazil where volumes pressures are high, Christof Group is noted for its very strong on-site focus and after sales service.

“We have a very dedicated team of 10 experts, highly qualified welders and fitters constantly travelling even in these difficult times, supporting our clients on site, giving directions and making very critical repairs,” commented the management. “What makes us very proud is that in at least two-thirds of the cases, we are repairing old vessels supplied by our competition.

“Operators come to us knowing that while they may possibly be paying that bit more – and maybe not even that – they want to be confident that they can extend the lifetime of their vessels.

Outstanding service focus The top management confirmed Christof Group is investing heavily in extending this on-site service focus the company is bringing to the oil and gas sector.

“For oil and gas companies, it’s extremely important that a client can call you on let’s say 8pm on a Friday and have our guys on site on Monday morning. We really try to make this possible, giving added value to our clients.”

Assessing the developing oil and gas market, Christof Group SBN sees an everstronger emphasis on sustainability.

“It’s an area which we are working on heavily, bringing technologies to what is still a rather dirty market. If you can avoid shutdown, you are also creating efficiencies and saving a lot on resources and environmental impact.”

Looking to 2025 – this is a sector where equipment delivery can take 18 months – Christof Group SBN hopes to have delivered its first critical high-pressure equipment project to an offshore site, especially deepwater beds.

“Together with our colleagues in the group, we approach the market together –

in our case, very specific high-pressure vessels,” stated the top management.

“High pressure manufacturing excellence, reliability and strong on-site support; these in a nutshell, are the core attributes and capabilities of Christof Group.” n

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EMPIRE PETROLEUM

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PREPARES to strike back

As a Tulsa-based oil and gas company, Empire Petroleum oversees more than 1,000 wells across five US states, with the overriding aim to bring unproductive assets back to life.

Empire’s CEO, Tommy Pritchard, and President, Michael Morrisett, spoke to Andy Probert about the company’s ambitions to drive up production amid industry challenges.

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mpire Petroleum Corporation is a publicly-traded oil and gas company with current producing assets in Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Montana and New Mexico.

The management team, led by CEO Tommy Pritchard, and Company President, Michael Morrisett, is focused on targeted acquisitions of proven developed assets with synergies with its existing portfolio of wells.

“We look for assets where we can deploy rigorous methods that maximize reserve recovery, with limited and highly selective drilling activity, as well as improving margins and reducing unit operating costs,” commented Mr Pritchard.

Statement of intent Tulsa-based Empire’s standout statement among its many asset acquisitions since its official launch in 2018 is the May 2021 purchase of operated New Mexico oil and gas assets from ExxonMobil.

The acquired, operated assets comprise 700 gross oil, gas, and injector wells. They encompass about 40,000 net acres of Permian Basin upstream assets in the Eunice Monument Field (EMSU) in Lea County, around 15 miles southwest of Hobbs.

The EMSU field, discovered in 1929, was regarded as the second largest carbonate reservoir in the Texas-New Mexico Permian area. USGS estimated that known recoverable efficiency in the Eunice Field and surrounding satellites at close to 40%, with the 50

Inside Oil & Gas

primary and secondary recovery of an estimated 4.5 billion original oil barrels in place. This makes Eunice Monument one of the largest fields in the US. The properties currently produce around 1,100 barrels per day, with 67% being oil.

“We believe the EMSU and surrounding acquired fields have a significant resource base,” said Mr Morrisett. “In our view, these assets have current infill drilling and return-to-production well potential that should shortly enhance daily production.”

Empire CEO Tommy Pritchard added: “The acquisition is a terrific example of what Empire looks to manage in our assets: mature producing oil properties with predictable, long-life production and with significant upside potential.”

Both acknowledged the geological location holds 23,400 acres of residual oil zone potential, enabling a robust pipeline of growth opportunities.

Building of an empire Empire Petroleum was established initially in 1983, later domiciling in Delaware through an acquisition in 2001. Empire’s recent history under its current management team began with the addition of assets in central Louisiana in 2018, followed by five additional acquisitions over the next several months.

The company has stuck to optimising developed production by employing field management methods to maximise reserve recovery. Structured as a proven developed producing (PDP) focused company, it works to mitigate the steep decline curves and geologic risks associated with exploration and new well development.

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Mr Morrisett commented: “Empire has been a public-listed company since 1985 and was initially developed as a hobby by its founder Al Whitehead. As he got older, Tommy and I came in, and with our extensive backgrounds in the oil and gas industry, we took it on from there.”

Empire focuses on economic well rehabilitation, stimulation, field maintenance and management to generate low-risk cash flows that provide stability and growth for shareholders. Lastly, they employ a multi-year hedging program to lock in pricing.

With the EMSU acquisition, Empire now operates with an aggregate of over 100,000 net leasehold acres and 1,800 net barrels per day.

Apart from Lea County in New Mexico, Empire owns and operates wells in Bottineau, Renville, Burke, and McKenzie Counties in North Dakota; Richland County in Montana; St Landry and Beauregard Parishes in Louisiana; and Houston, Leon and Madison Counties in Texas.

In addition to current wellbore production, Empire maintains leases for production through 48,000 acres of Permian Central Basin Platform, 20,000 acres in the ND/MT Williston Basin, multi-

stacked pay zones in central Louisiana, and 30,000 acres in the East Texas basin, including Woodbine, Eagle Ford and Buda-Rose.

Mr Pritchard commented: “We are buying proven developed reserves. Each well goes into a decline period and then flattens out. So we look to wells that have a long life and stable decline rates. We look to manage that decline rate and produce the oil at a cheaper price than the previous owner, bringing greater economies of scale.”

Both pointed to the fact that their assets are at diverse ends of the country, with Dakota and Montana in the north, and Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico in the south. Dakota and Montana have experienced the most challenging winter with constant winds and temperatures approaching -50°C. “Our cold weather ops go 24/7 and hung in there,” commended Mr Pritchard. “In Texas, we had a very frigid week in 2021 and that closed down some of the operations.”

In 2018, Empire was staffed by just the CEO and President, but the company’s staff numbers have risen, topping eight at the Tulsa HQ and seven technicians in the field. “We also outsource tasks to people that are experts. But we run a very lean operation,” said Mr Pritchard.

Moving forward While there was a dip in oil production in 2020, the company has experienced substantial business growth from very little in 2018 to around $11 million for Q4, 2021.

“We are on pace to do $40 million alone in 2022, compared to what was close to zero in 2018,” Mr Pritchard said. “We have been growing through acquisition, and the latest one, in New Mexico, formerly operated for 40 years by Exxon Mobil, made a big difference in our revenue. And that’s really when people began starting to pay attention to Empire, which has been transformative for the company.”

Both said Empire’s focus is to return more inactive wells within its owned asset portfolio to production, and look for new zones and reserves within wells that are both active and inactive.

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“Many existing oil fields we are purchasing are older, and with a greater focus on the environmental part of the ESG, we are finding there are new products, companies, and regulations to work within environmentally as we grow the hydrocarbon business,” said Mr Pritchard.

“We are adopting new technologies, and one surrounds fugitive emissions, which is nothing more than ensuring gas is not leaking from the wellheads into the atmosphere. Imagine having 40,000 acres to focus and marshal. Hence, we utilise a business that can fly over and uses laser photonics to find fugitive methane emissions, allowing us to go in and fix problems before they get too big.”

Empire has also adopted initiatives to continue to monitor the wear and tear of rigging equipment and is constantly upgrading equipment in the field.

Mr Morrisett said: “One of the biggest challenges is growing the business through high oil prices. The service providers we rely on are also raising their prices. So costs are escalating, and we are focusing on managing those costs.

“We are still on the tail end of the Covid crisis, and we are continuing to deal with that, but our employees have been highly motivated and have been working hard to ensure the business continues on track.”

Another challenge is to stay ahead of local, state and national rules that are increasingly focused on the environment.

Mr Pritchard said: “Overall, we are trying to keep our expenses down and look to return production, study new zones and spend a lot of time looking to scale the company further.

“Although we are not big, we have a healthy balance sheet, and it’s continuing to get even better. We want to uplift our stock, and hope to go into the NASDAQ in pretty short order. New initiatives that we are discussing will certainly set us apart in our existing fields in the next few years.”

Mr Morrisett concluded: “We have terrific shareholders in our public stock, and they have helped to raise capital when they needed to. We are going through interesting times with great shareholders. We will focus on every dollar that we invest and what that return will be. It is all about driving shareholder value and being a good company at the same time.” n

REDDY PIPE & SUPPLY Reddy Pipe & Supply has a long history of service in the oil and gas industry. In today’s energy market, expectations are changing daily.

At Reddy Pipe we strive to exceed industry standards with a commitment to great products and customer service with our large selection of products and 24/7 availability.

We are happy to be a part of Empire Petroleum Corporation’s continued success in maintaining and operating their vast array of wells throughout their portfolio. editorial mention

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ENVENTURE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY

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First established in 1999, Enventure Global Technology has over 20 years of experience engineering industry-leading expandable liner innovations for the downhole environment.

Now, with over 2 million feet of its revolutionary solid expandable liner technology installed worldwide, Matt Meiners, Director of Technology & Product Development, sat down with Richard Hagan to talk about how this technology is saving operators huge amounts of money, time and even the wells, of over 250 operators in 39 countries around the world.

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ell-site oil and gas operations, regardless of location, are complex and fraught with risks and technical difficulties that must constantly be assessed and overcome to ensure the successful drilling, completion, and production of a well.

Enventure Global Technology, based in Houston in the US, manufactures and supplies a range of products and services designed to enhance the entire lifecycle of a well, including exploration, development, production and remediation.

Expanding possibilities with SET® Enventure’s signature product offering, the SET® Openhole Liner, was first introduced in 1999 and is based on the use of solid expandable liner technology. The SET Openhole Liner involves the controlled expansion of a solid steel tubular in the downhole environment. For those unfamiliar with this technology, the use of expandable tubulars involves enlarging the

inner diameter (ID) of a downhole tubular and its threaded connections using Enventure’s proprietary steel metallurgies, expandable premium connections and solid or segmented expansion cones.

The expansion cone is pushed axially through the tubular using hydraulic force provided from the surface. As it travels through the tubular, it radially expands and plastically deforms the tubular, with a gain of up to 20% of its inner diameter. According to Matt Meiners, Technology and Product Development, expandable tubulars have several advantages when used for the oil and gas industry.

Enventure was established out of the necessity in deepwater Gulf of Mexico to alleviate the problem of frequent reductions of inner diameter due to having to set extra casing strings to manage openhole trouble zones whilst drilling. Whenever extra traditional casing string must be used, the subsequent string must be smaller, thereby creating a telescopic effect that can lead to prematurely running

out of available string sizes and compromising the well.

“When using expandable liners, you can optimise the inner diameter of your casing once total depth has been reached,” Mr Meiners added. “Another disadvantage of reducing ID as extra casing strings are set is that the operator may sometimes have to lay down their conventional drilling assemblies and pick up smaller, less commonly used drilling assemblies. These actions all add risk and cost to the well design.”

Enventure’s expandable liners are a comprehensively proven solution and an effective alternative to traditional casing strings. The company boasts two million feet (over 375 miles) of its tubulars installed worldwide, on behalf of over 250 drilling operators in 39 countries and nearly 2,500 installations. These installations represent “far more successful installations than any other expandable provider,” as Mr Meiners noted. Its tubulars range in size from 3½” to 16”.

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Expanding into intervention solutions The majority of the company’s installations in the early 2000’s were in deepwater open-hole drilling applications, but since the mid 2010’s, the majority of its installations have been on intervention and remediation projects.

Expandable tubulars have applications in cased-hole applications as well. “Expandable liners can be used to repair damaged casing and casing connections, to cover unwanted perforations or used as a mechanical diverter to improve recovery during refracturing operations,” said Mr Meiners.

A widely used intervention solution offered by Enventure is its ESeal Cased-hole Patches and Liners – another of the company’s very popular solutions. ESeal has been successfully used in both existing and re-entry wells to seal off leaks and/or perforations, thus reinforcing the casing, improving the integrity of the well’s architecture, and allowing full pressure pumping capability into the reservoir.

A particularly interesting, trending development that Enventure is currently involved in is cavern storage wells, for which its ESeal Liners have proven to be a winning solution in the industry.

“Using an expandable liner offers a regulatory compliant and economically feasible solution when sealing the casing of a cavern well,” Mr Meiners explained. “This solution is accomplished by repairing and sealing a corroded or damaged section of casing when it occurs over the life of the well. By repairing existing storage wells with this technology,

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the resulting inner diameter is larger compared to conventional repairs, which then maximises the well’s throughput capacity.

Assurance vs insurance Customer perception of expandable liners has historically been a stumbling block for wider-scale adoption of Enventure’s technology. But as Mr Meiners pointed out, it’s an issue the company has been working hard to change, and their efforts are slowly paying off.

“We are often viewed as a planned contingency service or a form of ‘insurance’ for drilling operations. We are called out when the client runs into problems,” he commented. “Some major operators are now using us as a planned service, or as ‘assurance’. After repeatedly fighting trouble formations well after well, with other means like cement squeezes, and getting inconsistent results, they recognise the value of investing in a reliable solution, and they plan us into their operations from the start.

“Much of our competition isn’t direct competitors, but indirect competitors,” he continued. “These are mainly technologies that can be used in lieu of expandable liners. Cement squeezes, chemical diverters and ‘pump and pray’ methods are effective when they work but are sometimes unreliable. Meanwhile, more reliable, and less-traditional methods, like managed pressure drilling, are effective but far more costly.”

The company is optimistic that it can continue raising awareness of the value of using expandable liners to its cus-

tomer base and growing it even further, through ongoing awareness campaigns and through constant exploration and development of new solutions using expandable tubulars.

An expanding global footprint Enventure employs around 100 people globally with its headquarters based in Houston, Texas. Its manufacturing, assembly, R&D, and machine shop are all located at its second facility in Katy, Texas. In addition to the above, its Katy facility has the ability to build, assemble and test both prototype and commercial equipment, with a capacity to safely conduct live test expansions of any size in excess of 200 ft.

Beyond Texas, Enventure has assembly operations in Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Norway. Further afield, it has operational centres in Aberdeen, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur.

With such a large footprint, Enventure has been at the forefront of using video communications to meet and collaborate with internal staff and external partners. Mr Meiners highlighted the company’s recent and very successful use of video tools to connect its clients to witness development and live testing of bespoke tools and connect with third party inspections when required by the client.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, clients would typically oversee development operations or testing in person to ensure that their purchased equipment performs as expected, will meet their installation

requirements, that the machinery has been serviced correctly and that we have all of the right industry procedures and processes in place,” he affirmed.

“We’ve managed to transition to the use of video to connect the client to these processes instead. By not having to get everyone involved in this process to one physical location, it’s made the process much safer and more efficient with fewer distractions, and it’s saved clients from having to travel internationally, all while still delivering the same results.”

Since the early 2000’s in particular, Enventure has racked up a number of impressive milestones. In 2007, it celebrated its first monodiameter installation, and only a year later it reached its one-millionth foot of pipe expansion. By 2014, it

had established its refracturing liners into US land-based operations. A year later, it introduced its high torque rotating liners.

Between 2018 and 2019, Enventure launched its strongest expandable premium connection for refracturing applications, and it made its commercial monodiameter systems available in multiple sizes.

Awards in the pipeline In early March 2022, Enventure was awarded the prestigious API Q2: Specification 1 certification. This certification is the leading standard for oil and gas service providers and has been awarded to fewer than 200 companies. This coveted certification is only given to companies that can demonstrate robust procedures to ensure personnel competency, proper risk assessment, contin-

gency planning, and service quality.

In addition, Enventure boasts an ISO 9001:2015 certification. This certification is awarded to companies that meet certain quality management system standards and which demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

In closing, Mr Meiners reflected on the company’s position in light of these awards. “They truly reflect the success of our processes, the competencies of our personnel, and our perseverance towards safe and flawless services to our customers,” he noted. “With these certifications, our customers can be assured of receiving the most outstanding solid expandable technologies.” n

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KOIL ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC

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Koil Energy Solutions, Inc, formerly Deep Down, Inc, is emerging from a major re-brand and relocation as it marks the company’s 25th anniversary. The transition is aimed at taking its services beyond the traditional offshore oil and gas core to the wider energy sector. President and CEO Charles Njuguna discussed in depth the strategic step-change with Andy Probert.

‘Koiling’ around the

new energy

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merging from its former entity Deep Down, Inc, Koil Energy Solutions, Inc is not only grasping the industry changes and challenges of tomorrow, but firmly setting its focus on achieving more today.

With 25 years of active service under its belt in full-cycle subsea technology and engineering complexities for the offshore oil and gas industries, the company has dared to think beyond its traditional offerings and re-energise itself for the future.

The company’s core offering has historically revolved around the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) sector of the oil and gas industry. Core products include the company’s patented flying leads, multi-quick connector systems (including a 20,000psi version under development), riser isolation valve systems, intervention equipment, and a range of umbilical terminations and accessories.

This is in addition to a full suite of offshore installation equipment and services such as cable and umbilical transpooling, testing, monitoring and commissioning, as well as life of field remediation solutions.

Proactive approach But with the oil and gas industry rapidly advancing to a crossroads and energy demands transitioning to alternative sources, Koil Energy has changed the company’s dynamic by taking a more expansive and diversified stance.

Koil Energy’s reputation for never shying away from challenges has enabled it to garner clients across the globe: it is increasingly being sought by renewable energy participants looking to benefit from this extensive experience. This is aside from discussions around various subsea storage technologies, marinization of new technologies, and even leveraging its core competencies for hydrogen applications.

President and CEO Charles Njuguna, who has been at the helm since 2019, has led a deep dive, root-and-branch reassessment of the company with the primary and unwavering focus on what it will mean for its 48-strong team, some of whom have clocked up more than 20 years of service.

“For the past 25 years, we have been known as a subsea oil and gas provider.

One of the things that we faced is that many pigeon-holed us as a deep-water provider because of our previous name and our history,” said Mr Njuguna.

“While it is good to be known for that, it was ironic there was a perception we were only deep-water specialists, and by inference, we couldn’t do shallow-water activities. In fact, we do both and many other services.”

He said: “Secondly, we were known for brand-specific expertise, but there was

a struggle to see beyond that. So we decided to take a step back and re-imagine what we could be.”

Importantly, the company fully engaged its staff in the decision making, and, according to Mr Njuguna, the team is now emerging stronger, more unified and fully prepped for an energising future.

DNA remains the same He emphasised: “Koil Energy may be a new name, but our DNA remains the same. Customers have come to depend on us for our results and reliability and our fearless drive to solve complex problems with never-before-seen solutions for the toughest deep-water challenges.

“But as those same customers expand their horizons beyond traditional oil and gas, this move is a charge into a new era, with a steadfast commitment to what we pride ourselves on: nimbly finding unique ways to enhance offshore energy operations.”

Reflecting on the new company name, Mr Njuguna added: “If you wanted to coil up 60 miles of cables, move them a few hundred miles down the coast, then transpool them to a different vessel, we have been the very team to flawlessly perform such a specialised task. The ‘K’ is a universal symbol for different electricity/ energy metrics. It’s energising. So our new name reflects our roots and our future.

“The team took a stern, introspective look into how best to evolve the company. We’ve solidified our focus on our core products and services and sharpened core competencies.

Ultimately, we have a unique skillset around different marinizing technologies, especially as our customers expand their horizons beyond traditional oil and gas. This is the next step in that journey. We want to be known as energy-source agnostic.”

New order taking shape Mr Njuguna explained: “Operators have always driven the industry, and award EPCs to service providers, like ourselves.

But I think the industry is moving towards developing interesting partnerships, for example, between an oil operator and a serInside Oil & Gas

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vice provider. Traditional relationships may or may not be the way for the future.

“My belief is that rather than discussing oil and gas and wind power, we should address it for what it is: energy as a whole.

And holistically look at the industry so we can work as one in an energy source agnostic sector. Koil Energy is there for the whole energy sector.”

He now envisages more opportunities to provide a service for re-terminations, either extending end-of-life assets or even bringing them back and giving assets a new lease of life.

“The future is truly limitless, and the team is engaged and ready. We are in several promising discussions and anticipate future announcements around the growing energy transition topic and our traditional lines of business.

“We are also looking at new partnerships, with one revolving around wind and creating a new consortium. One company has an energy–agnostic product that can be used across the energy spectrum – and Koil Energy is excited to be involved in this opportunity.”

With cable failings among the highest percentage of insurance claims in the wind sector, the company is also eyeing opportunities to introduce new technologies to close that gap.

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Mr Njuguna. “I truly believe our success is directly attributed to having the industry’s most experienced, adaptable and dependable personnel.

“Our new identity reflects our history with an inextinguishable passion to provide the most innovative solutions for future sources of energy, the most efficient and reliable equipment, and best in class returns for our shareholders.

“We continue to provide the services we are renowned for, but we are taking those same services and capabilities beyond traditional customers to others within the energy sector.”

The company is also relocating to smaller and better-equipped facilities to handle the diverse offerings and further advance its operations and growth. It will take up residence at its 101,000 sqft space at 1310 Rankin Road, Houston, in May. “Moving to this facility will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint, further streamline our cost structure and attract high calibre talent as we reposition for future growth. And being located close to George Bush Intercontinental Airport will make it easier for our customers to stop by as they travel into and out of Houston.”

Team approach, exciting future Every step of the company’s transition, from name change, relocation and service diversification, its employees have been

involved from the get-go. Mr Njuguna explained: “For example, we opened up the opportunity for them to discuss the name change, and from that point on, they have bought in very strongly to what we want to achieve.”

He added: “It has been a personal journey for myself. Through the pandemic, the up and downs of the energy industry and the company’s transition, I endeavoured to keep our employees and stakeholders informed, and it has been widely appreciated.”

Despite the changes internally, the company continues to operate along America’s Gulf Coast and for clients worldwide. Its equipment is spread globally on projects in Singapore, Gabon, Trinidad, and on standby for other offshore operations in other regions as the pandemic lockdowns ease.

Indeed, the company announced receipt of an order for installation equipment and services valued at more than $1.7 million, with all activities scheduled to be complete by the end of 2022. The project includes installing company-built equipment, whose final destination is the Gulf of Mexico, with part of the scope being performed in collaboration with other contractors at an overseas facility.

Mr Njuguna commented: “This award highlights our customers’ continued confidence in our team’s ability to provide integrated solutions that span the design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation of subsea production equipment.”

While challenges remain around recruiting talent, pricing and raw materials, the company is firm in its stance

Charles Njuguna, CEO

on being transparent with suppliers and clients, and taking a partnership approach on projects that help underpin long-term relations.

He concluded: “We are excited to see what the future holds. What’s most exciting for Koil Energy is our commitment to what we love to do, and still being able to offer the experience we have built up over 25 years.

“With a passion for building something bigger than ourselves, a desire to perform against the odds, and a drive to accomplish more than we should be able to, I believe we have the best team to adapt to the transitions now taking hold in the rapidly changing energy space.” n

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SPARKS MAINTENANCE CONTRACTING

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Award-winning Missouri-based Sparks Maintenance Contracting offers a multi-level approach to industrial contracting for many high-grade clients in the US. With safety at its core, the company has continued to grow apace in a highly competitive environment because of its can-do attitude.

Andy Probert reports.

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stablished by Brad Sparks in 2000, Sparks Maintenance Contracting (SMC) is a multi-faceted company that handles a range of contracted industrial projects across industry. Bryce Sparks, Justin Edmond and Josh Edmond all joined the business in 2015, helping to accelerate the company’s growth.

From industrial maintenance, installations, fabrication and welding to machining and rigging – and everything in between – the company is a specialist in many different trades.

SMC, operating out of Bowling Green, Missouri, has a 75,000 sqft production facility capable of any size fabrication job.

It is specialised in tool and die, builds, maintenance, production machining and contract assembly.

“We are often called to act on large scale industrial projects from extracting a production line and putting a new one in, to the installation and removal of all types of paint, blast, and wash booths,” detailed Ryan Niemeyer, Director of Operations.

Unique capabilities The company, which employs around 100 people, has experienced 25% growth year-onyear for the last five years, due to its unique offering of being able to go that much further on a job.

“Often, we are called in to do one job for a client, and often that then leads into another,” said Mr Niemeyer. “Our unique

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capability is that seemingly disparate services that we offer often fit well together to provide the customer the total package to meet their needs.

SMC’s crews are regularly on the road working for clients in a multitude of industries, such as oil and gas and industrial, as well as being experts in industrial power distribution, energy management systems, fabrication, welding, pipefitting, PLC and blast booths.

The company’s mechanical contractors also oversee mechanical projects for organisations, and these responsibilities run to industrial heating or cooling systems, refrigeration, piping, and plumbing of a building.

SMC also offers top-of-the-line epoxy flooring to restore and transform floors to meet clients’ standards, while it is also

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capable of being a contractor to fabricate steel structures such as buildings, platforms and mezzanines.

At its facility, SMC makes use of many different tools for each project. CAE programs and CAD programs allow employees to design and fabricate what their clients require. These can include production lines, ventilation systems, suspension systems, pipefitting, and HVAC projects.

Offering a full range of commercial and industrial fabrication, modularisation and pre-assembly work, SMC’s projects range from in-house to on-site installations, repairs and removal. SMC also has CNC fabrication equipment, including a shear, press brake, plasma table, machining centres, lathes and a new laser table to complete any given project.

When it comes to rigging materials and crane operations, the company has employees certified in that core area, enabling them to set machinery, heavy equipment, or install entire production lines. And when it comes to crane work, the company utilises its rigging workhorses – the Traksporter and Hoist 40-60 Forklift – to carry out jobs.

Mr Niemeyer emphasised that no matter what the workforce was engaged in, safety was at the core of everything.

“Safety is not only a practice that we train and perform on; it is a culture that our workforce lives by,” he added. “This culture is formed by shared values at every level, perception and competencies that ensure each employee has the determination never to give safety a day off. This means at work or home, our culture never stops. We are dedicated to having a progressive safety culture.”

This involves employee participation, auditing, and program evaluations to ensure they constantly follow the industry’s best safety practices.

Innovative and reliable Given the demand for services, SMC is currently engaged in investing in a new facility in Bowling Green, which will be eight times as big as the existing headquarters.

Mr Niemeyer commented: “It is an exciting phase in the company’s development, and the new facility, which is due to open by mid2022, will be able to offer even more industrial capabilities for clients, such as our new laser cutting technology.”

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The business’ dedication to clients recently earned SMC an award from Toyota for outstanding performance on projects in Toyota Motor North America Inc. And in line with its innovative approach, the company has developed tension monitoring anchor bolts and studs for use in any industry requiring the anchoring of heavy machinery. The Acura Monitor Bolt permits the ‘wrench-less’ checking of the tension of the anchor bolt.

The repeatable accuracy of the Acura Bolt tension indicator makes the use of a torque wrench obsolete. The bolt is repeatable under operating conditions to a plus or minus 5% of the desired tension, considerably better than plus or minus 25% commonly attained with a torque wrench.

SMC also supplies steel soleplates and two-piece shim able dyno chocks. According to Mike Smith, Director of Sales, it helps insulate epoxy grout for longer life and better bond strength to soleplates.

The company also allows shimming up or down to correct the ‘hot alignment’ with a two-piece chock design. The soleplates are also factory sandblasted and coated.

Mr Niemeyer said that while the company has adopted successfully pandemic measures and restrictions enabling teams to continue working out in the field, the biggest challenges were being felt with supply chain issues and the availability of critical materials.

He said that the main differentiator between SMC and other companies in the industry was not only its facility capabilities but the staff’s work ethic to provide options and solutions on jobs in the field.

“We are always communicating with the client and ensuring that the job we do is of high quality. When we come across an issue, we don’t plough on but communicate and cooperate with the client to find a solution.

“We always retain a can-do attitude, and given the industrial contracting sector that we are in, we maintain transparent and honest relations with customers that help foster long-term partnerships.”

Mr Niemeyer concluded: “SMC has built a reputation over the past 22 years as being a highly reliable contractor, no matter how complex the job. We have built a client base built on word of mouth, recommendation and return business, and these are the foundations to our success.” n

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SERVETECH MIDDLE EAST GENERAL TRADING

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PROFILE

WHERE

ARE IN THE

PIPELINE

With more than a century of expertise in piping systems, Servetech Middle East General Trading LLC has become a leader in its sector. CEO Ignatius D'Souza told Andy Probert more about the company and its ambitions.

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stablished in 2004, Servetech Middle East General Trading LLC began as a rigging shop, but within two years, with the help of stakeholders, transitioned into the piping business that was backed by a team with a combined 100 years’ experience.

The $15 million company, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, with satellite offices in Oman and Qatar, operates with licenses for every emirate to supply material to the ministries of that emirate. It employs 100 people, of which 40 are office-based, and 60 are technicians who can weld plastic, metal, and everything in between.

Servetech has stood the test of time, carving out a welldeserved reputation as a premier solution provider, with attention to detail in quality and service, in three core business areas: piping, rigging and automation.

The company’s niche is supplying, installing, testing and commissioning pipelines, especially plastic, from 16mm to 1,600mm diameter. Its contracting division also installs the pipes and fittings it sells.

Committed to being a preferred supplier “Servetech was the first of its kind to specialise in this particular category, and we have now fully evolved as a leader in this sector.

Piping now accounts for 60% of our business,” emphasised company CEO Ignatius D'Souza.

On the rigging side, Servetech trades in metal and nylon ropes, as well as the fabrication of slings, grommets and mooring tails.

Servetech is also Dubai Municipality-approved for certification of lifting equipment.

Servetech Automation Engineering Group (AEG) is an approved sub-contractor and a reputed service provider for potable water RTU-SCADA systems for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) that includes all field services, systems, programming and controlling processes.

Meanwhile, the company’s involvement in the extra-low voltage (ELV) subdivision includes the total design and installation of instrumentation systems, such as structured cabling systems, fibre optics, CCTV systems, and other technological services.

The business also maintains logistic support centres in GCC countries to ensure prompt delivery and are uniquely associated with international brands. A range of products have been approved by Emirates Electricity and Water Company (EWEC), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Dubai Municipality (DM) and other UAE ministries.

Mr D’Souza said: “Servetech is committed to being the supplier of choice through product and service excellence. Our portfolio includes a wide range of construction and building materials, marine and oil field supplies and other related products.

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“We are regularly adding new products to our vast product range, and we constantly endeavour to keep all the equipment and products up-to-date. A long-term commitment to customers’ aims and a collaborative approach to solving problems are fundamental to the way we work.

“Such strengths enable us to understand our customers and apply our engineering and manufacturing expertise to help them in delivering their goals.”

Conservative approach The company is presently adopting a conservative approach to growth, currently put at about 5%, due to market uncertainty caused by the pandemic. This is in comparison to between 1020% pre-Covid-19. With many Indian-based employees opting to return home, Servetech opened a back office in India to remain operational and extend its support to the workforce.

Mr D’Souza explained: “For now, we are looking to consolidate and maintain our trading position in the Middle East. If we sustain a good growth pattern and we hit targets in 2022, we may consider expanding and look at other opportunities, such as moving into production of the products we currently supply.”

The company has a mix of social, environmental, market, and technology trends on sustainability. It aims to become paperless

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in 2022, while Servetech is regularly monitoring its water, electricity and fuel consumption to reduce its carbon footprint.

An increasing diversity in the type of projects conducted by Servetech has included the recent completion of welding, fabricating, and installing 900mm pipes within a theme park project.

It has also provided all piping for a water treatment project in Turkmenistan via a contractor.

“We currently have a supply and install project for the development of infrastructure in Sharjah, with contracts valued in excess of $3 million,” he informed.

In the recent past, the company has supplied and installed HDPE pipes and fittings for Dubai’s Qatra Water Solutions project and the Jafza Sewage Treatment Plant.

Servetech has also been operational on projects at The Agora Mall at Jumeirah, the relocation of an irrigation line in Abu Dhabi and pressure testing of underground pipes and fittings at Fujairah’s Petroleum Regeneration and Processing Facility.

Remaining strong While challenges are wrapped around incorporating technology to advance Servetech’s business interests and finding and retaining, the right employees, and the pressure to evolve further, Mr D’Souza remained philosophical about his company’s progress:

“The construction, infrastructure and civil markets in the GCC are still increasing as new projects, and new ideas are coming forward and being implemented. Having strong and stable players with good foundations will tide us over and we’ll become stronger.”

He added: “In terms of our competitors, I wish them well as I believe there is enough business for everyone. What makes us unique is our team’s vast experience in solution providing. We offer the whole package to clients and pay special attention to detail.

We ensure the end-user, however big or small, is always happy.”

This is further underpinned, Mr D’Souza stressed, by being honest, trustworthy, straightforward and prompt in helping to maintain good client relations. “These are the most important qualities. Always be the first to communicate and approach a subject, positive or negative. When I began my career, my mentor taught me that as long as the file grows, the business will grow.”

He reflected: “I believe the sectors where we are present in the GCC have a bright future. Our vision continues to be to exceed customers’ expectations in our supply and services, cultivated through a positive work environment.

“I would like to see Servetech maintain its leading position as a solution provider for fluid transmission, and expand into other countries eventually.” n

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AL FANAR GAS GROUP

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THE UAE’S

TRUSTED GAS PARTNER

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Fanar Gas Group, with over 32 years’ experience catering for the energy needs of the UAE, commands the largest market share of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) and Natural Gas (NG) in the Emirate.

This experience has gained the company an outstanding reputation – a quality of services which can be seen in over 5,000 projects across the UAE. These include some of the region’s most iconic projects.

Al Fanar’s clients include major developers, consultants and contractors for both private and public projects in commercial, industrial, and residential segments. The company is an Abu Dhabi National Oil

Company (ADNOC) authorised distributor of LPG and currently has distributed more than 70 million litres per year, largely thanks to its sizeable fleet of road tankers.

The success of Al Fanar can be partly attributed to its company values, as defined by Vice Chairman and Managing Director Mr Ali Alaa El Gebely: “Our company motto is ‘Your Safety is our Priority; Quality is our Standard’. To achieve our continued client satisfaction, Al Fanar is persistent in enhancing our services by utilising the latest technology in the Inside Oil & Gas

Mr Ali Alaa El Gebely, Vice Chairman

One of the leading oil and gas companies in the UAE, Al Fanar Gas Group has built a reputation as a specialist in LPG, SNG and natural gas distribution systems. Founded on the vision of Mr El Gebely and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the company also operates in several locations across the Middle East. The company’s sophisticated distribution systems have since been used in several of the region’s most iconic projects, as in well as thousands of homes and businesses. Article by Jordan Yallop.

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gas sector and being the best energy provider we can to our valued clients.

“Al Fanar is transparent to new opportunities and partnerships which aim to strengthen and widen our service quality to an international level.”

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the company has established fully operational branches in Dubai, Al Ain, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Oman. From these locations Al Fanar’s experts drive innovation by providing bespoke design, consultation, and feasibility studies for all types of gas projects imaginable. Meanwhile, the company’s trading arm delivers some of the most advanced equipment from reputable manufacturers around the globe.

A pioneering attitude At its heart Al Fanar is a pioneer, and having brought the latest gas energy technology to the UAE, the company is no stranger to being first.

“We were the first company to design, procure and install a natural gas network in a residential development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi,” outlined Mr El Gebely. “The installation took place in Al Raha Gardens Phase 1,2,3,4 and 5 and now services over 1,370 villas.

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of gas monitoring and payment in the Etihad Towers Complex.”

Adding to this, Al Fanar was also the first company to install an SNG system in Abu Dhabi, which was designed and built for the gas infrastructure of Al Reem Island.

This bespoke system was designed to adhere to ADNOC and GASCO specifications; an accomplishment positioning Al Fanar as both a market leader and industry front-runner.

The company also introduced Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) to the UAE market. This technology is designed to streamline operational efficiency and labour by using automation to check meter levels. And in a similar vein, the company is also changing the conventional approach the gas industry has towards digitalisation.

Mr El Gebely said: “To enhance our customer service transaction, which is created through our digital platform by an application that is connected to Al Fanar’s ERP System, the focus of our digitalisation is to improve the productivity and real time information updates in addition to our first initial step on going paperless.

“Al Fanar Gas Group has fully implemented digitalisation; we believe that applying the latest technology is a real weapon in any business growth.”

Comprehensive service Al Fanar Gas Group has four main operational segments; engineering, construction, LPG distribution and maintenance.

On the engineering front, the company provides design, supply, consulting, installation and testing of gas systems. The company’s engineering department has taken major steps in gas system design, involving both external and internal gas system installations.

Speaking about the construction segment, Mr El Gebely added: “We ensure that all construction phases are coordinated with value engineering and procurement scope, this is to ensure that the whole project is completed per the required time frame.”

LPG distribution in bulk is another of the company’s main segments, and has approved ADNOC’s resale and distribution partner status. Al Fanar LPG is transported to its valued clients across the UAE in a timely manner.

This final segment that Al Fanar is involved in is maintenance and 24/7 emergency call outs. “Al Fanar is fully equipped to handle any type of gas emergency with our highly skilled team and equipped emergency response vehicle that are ready to accommodate any type of gas emergency,” Mr El Gebely stated.

A testament to quality In addition to ADNOC certification, Al Fanar is also an integral part of the National InCountry Value (ICV) Program. The ICV is a government initiative that aims to boost economic growth by redirecting larger portions of public spending into the national economy.

The program seeks to achieve the optimum value for the UAE oil and gas resources. In the process, Al Fanar has also been recognised as ADNOC’s largest distributor of LPG in Abu Dhabi.

Recently Al Fanar signed a four-year contract with Abu Dhabi Ports Group for operations, maintenance, and meter management of natural gas facilities in ICAD, Musaffah, and KIZAD. Speaking further about ongoing projects, Mr El Gebely added: “Al Fanar is operating in 90% of the UAE’s hospitality sector and has been awarded six ADNOC tender projects for the past six years.

We are proud to operate with some of the most eminent companies in the UAE like

DAMAC, Line Investment, ICT, Tamakon, Scope Properties, Al Saqer and East & West International Group.”

Other developments Al Fanar has been involved in include Yas Island – one of the most prominent leisure developments in Abu Dhabi. The company also had a hand in Al Qana Aquarium, which opened in 2021 as Abu Dhabi’s national aquarium, and was also a part of the 1 million sqm Jewel of the Creek development.

The strength of spirit In the future, Al Fanar plans to continue its innovation and to enhance current services for all its clients. In line with this, the company is actively expanding and is on track to achieve its goals in the UAE – as well as expanding further into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

All of this has been possible due to the company’s spirit, well-trained staff and certified technical teams. The company recognises that the strengths and responsibilities of an individual may differ, but the overall vision is shared. This common goal has seen Al Fanar enjoy uninterrupted expansion over the last five years, with a growth rate of 300%.

Mr El Gebely closed: “We give importance to every single person in our company, as we believe that each person has contributed to the company’s growth.

We have employees that have been working with Al Fanar for 15 years – from this we are able to accomplish great results and it is what drives Al Fanar to keep moving forward.

“Our team is behind our success; our staff is Al Fanar’s foundation.” n

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BRUNEI SHELL PETROLEUM

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Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) is the largest oil and gas company in Brunei. BSP is dedicated to oil and gas exploration and production from onshore and offshore fields for domestic use and export. A report by Phil Nicholls.

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runei Shell Petroleum BSP manages an extensive network of infrastructure offshore and around Brunei. The company operates over 200 offshore structures linked by more than 5,000 km of pipelines, drawing oil and gas from 4,500 reservoirs reached by 800 wells. The company employs a diverse and highly qualified workforce of 4,000 employees and 20,000 contractors.

The partnership between Brunei and Royal Dutch Shell began with the onshore Seria oil field in 1929. A joint venture between the government of Brunei and Shell, BSP is the largest oil and gas producer in Brunei, supplying the equivalent of 350,000 barrels of oil and gas daily to nearby countries such as Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Australia.

The current Managing Director of BSP and the Country Chair of Shell in Brunei is Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis. A Norwegian

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national, Ms Johnsgaard-Lewis graduated from the University of Surrey in the UK with a M.Eng. Distinction in Chemical and Process Engineering. She initially joined Shell in 1996 as an offshore field engineer in the Netherlands. Ms Johnsgaard-Lewis enjoyed long-term postings around the world, before being appointed Managing Director of BSP in mid-2020.

Under Ms Johnsgaard-Lewis’ leadership, BSP remains the backbone of Brunei’s economy, supporting the growth and development of the country. She is a firm supporter of the Bruneianisation Directive which came into effect in June 2018. This directive requires oil and gas operators in Brunei to achieve a 90% proportion of Bruneian employees at all levels of the company.

“We as a company have also come a very long way in the area of Bruneianisation,” said Ms Johnsgaard-Lewis, speaking at a BSP event in 2021. “We continue to develop

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BSP Managing Director: Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis

BRUNEI SHELL PETROLEUM

local leaders, who are dedicated in their duties, passionate in making a change, and continue contributing to fuelling Brunei.”

Social investment In 2020, the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre in Seria, on the coast in western Brunei, was rebranded the Seria Energy Lab, or SEL. SEL is the flagship of the BSP social investment programme to expand science literacy in the country. At SEL, science is brought to life and creative minds are engaged by science and technology.

BSP also administers a social investment fund devoted to the creation or development of the skills and resources crucial to the sustainable progress of Brunei’s people, environment and community. These investment programmes are built on four key pillars: education, enterprise development, environment and biodiversity, and community development.

During 2020, 1200 students and teachers were educated in STEM via SEL outreach and NXplorer, 40 tonnes of rubbish was collected for recycling and over 1,000 higher-education students engaged in the Tell Everyone road safety campaign. i-Usahawan is a youth entrepreneurship development initiative in Brunei, launched by the Ministry of Energy in 2018. BSP is proud to be the front runner in offering iUsahawan contracts, with seven awarded to date. These contracts are in the areas of IT and Digitisation, part of BSP’s commitment to develop local businesses partners across their value chain.

Alongside participation in the i-Usahawan programme, BSP runs Shell LiveWIRE, developing the capabilities of local entrepreneurs through education and workshops. 2020 saw over 780 LiveWIRE students. The same year brought about 40 new registered companies after participation in LiveWIRE and another

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100 Bruneians employed by companies who benefitted from the programme.

In 2021, the Shell LiveWIRE Brunei programme celebrated its 20th anniversary. LiveWIRE Brunei has helped over 6,300 alumni since 2001. In line with Brunei’s strategic drive towards digitalisation and the Industry 4.0 revolution, the accompanying LiveWIRE Business Award Focus identified five main areas to support: agrotechnology, energy transition, waste management, digitalisation and smart manufacturing.

Digital transformation Just as digitalisation is a key topic for Brunei, so too is BSP undertaking its own digital transformation journey. The company is currently on-schedule to bring greater efficiency and develop powerful new capabilities from smarter exploration, leaner hydrocarbon development and safer operations. BSP was a sponsor and participant in the 2021 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in October 2021.

Ms Johnsgaard-Lewis spoke in a panel session at the summit on the future of working in the post-pandemic world: “The pandemic has pushed the world to go through a rapid digital transformation and while that has its own challenges, it also provided some opportunities.”

BSP launched its Digital Transformation Strategy in 2019, aimed at achieving specific

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strategic priorities to work faster, better and cheaper. The all-Bruneian team of data-scientists unlock value from data to develop practical solutions, helping the company continuously learn and improve.

Hajah Sofiah Haji Umar, BSP’s Digitalisation Manager was clear on the benefits of the team’s work: “Digital solutions have provided BSP with efficiency gains that would be impossible to achieve without technology.”

Partnerships for the future BSP announced a contract with ION Geophysical Corporation for logistics management in 2022. ION’s Marlin software suite will provide BSP with vessel monitoring, berth management and visual reporting tools for material supply workflows. The solution digitises manual processes and interfaces with existing tools, enhancing BSP’s ability to make informed decisions whilst managing its fleet of more than 70 vessels.

“We are thrilled to be able to embark on this journey with BSP to see them become a leader in digital integration of exploration and production marine logistics,” said Stuart Darling, Senior Vice President of ION’s Software group.

Another source of increased digitalisation at BSP arises from the partnership with GEP, a leading provider of procurement software and services. BSP will use the SMART – GEP’s unified procurement software platform – to

manage complete source-to-pay across its subsidiary operations. This includes a full range of functions, such as spend analysis, savings tracking, sourcing, contract and supplier management, purchasing and invoice handling.

Technology and the oil industry advance in lockstep, and BSP’s search for new fields around Brunei continues with the development of the Merbah Deep-1 and Jagus Subthrust-1 deep water wells. The Brunei Ministry of Energy is eager to venture into deep-water exploration activities to bring technological advancement and expertise to Brunei in support of the country’s economic development.

BSP’s technological expertise also drives the innovation that is vital to providing sustainable and clean energy. The jewel of BSP’s sustainability drive is the 3.3MWp Solar PV Plant located at the Solar Park near Seria. This Solar Plant received the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award 2021 at the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations. The site features 7,000 solar panels installed on four hectares of land, generating enough electricity to supply 600 households and contributing to Brunei’s target of 100 MW of renewable energy by 2025.

Brunei Shell Petroluem weaves together expansion of oil production, social responsibility and technological innovation for a sustainable future. n

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Rubber lining as corrosion protection system developed for seawater and chemicals • • • •

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