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ADIPEC Preview
ADIPEC 2023 will facilitate global dialogue on critical energy and climate issues, foster meaningful partnerships and inspire credible solutions towards securing a cleaner, more affordable and sustainable energy future.
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John White Managing Director
We all love a good event
Managing Director John White fails to hide his envy for the team attending events.
Welcome, Dear Reader, to your latest edition of Inside Oil & Gas.
What a busy year it has been for this publication, not least because of the exciting number of articles and advertisements we are pleased to bring to you. We are also kept active as the proud official media partners for a variety of tantalising events.
You will note how the event sections of this edition focus on ADIPEC and SPE Offshore Europe. As media partners, we have produced a preview article for both events and will attend SPE Offshore Europe in person. Two of my experienced editorial research team, whom many of you already know, and our events manager will fly up to Aberdeen in September with a view to meeting friends old and new.
We enjoy our event partnerships and always try to personally attend as many as we can. However, often we simply have a magazine presence and are happy to promote them, but sadly cannot attend all these events due to the many other commitments their dictator of a boss forces on them…
Truth be known, I am often envious of those who attend, as they return smiling, having enjoyed excellent networking, plus a few drinks and laughs with exhibitors and visitors during the event, and in the evenings for social gatherings. I assume these post-event gatherings are popular, as the team seems to return with more than a few drink receipts that I am expected to refund!
So, Dear Reader, I hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. If you are attending an event and meet some of my team there, then please help them keep the bar tab to a minimum, thank you. n
UAE
ADNOC accelerates decarbonisation plans with 2045 net zero goal
ADNOC is accelerating its decarbonisation plan to bring forward its net zero ambition to 2045, from its previous target of 2050, and to achieve zero methane emissions by 2030. ADNOC is the first company in its peer group to accelerate its net zero target to 2045.
These new targets mark a new chapter in ADNOC’s journey to a lower-carbon future. The company has placed sustainability at the heart of its long-term strategy, including investing in renewables, building a global hydrogen value chain and deploying innovative climate technology solutions.
In 2022, ADNOC’s upstream carbon intensity performance was approximately 7kgCO2e/boe as it responsibly contributed to meeting growing global energy demand. Furthermore, its industry leading methane intensity was approximately 0.07%, and the company was awarded the Gold Standard Pathway by the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0.
Additionally, in 2022 ADNOC achieved greenhouse gas emissions reductions of roughly 4mt by using grid energy from solar and nuclear power to supply 100% of its onshore operations as well as about 1mt from energy efficiency
and flaring reduction projects. These results, independently assured by DNV, place ADNOC in the top tier of lowest carbon intensity oil and gas producers in the world.
ADNOC is a key enabler of the UAE’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution, which raises the ambition of the UAE’s nationwide emissions reduction ambition to 40% by 2030. The company is also playing an important role in supporting the UAE’s recently updated Energy Strategy 2050, its new National Hydrogen Strategy and Abu Dhabi’s Climate Change Strategy.
ADNOC will drive the global growth of renewable energy and green hydrogen through its shareholding in the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
Masdar is a leading renewable energy company, targeting a portfolio of more than 100GW of renewable capacity and the production of 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. n
USA
Permian Strategic Partnership announces 21st member
The Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) has announced that ChampionX has become the organisation’s 21st member. With this addition, ChampionX joins an impressive roster of top-tier companies committed to responsibly developing resources in the Permian Basin while improving residents’ quality of life in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico.
ChampionX is a global leader in chemistry solutions, artificial lift systems and highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely, efficiently and sustainably around the world. ChampionX’s expertise, innovative products and digital technologies provide enhanced oil and gas production, transportation and realtime emissions monitoring throughout the lifecycle of a well.
“As our 21st member, ChampionX is now an essential part of the PSP, bringing with them an outstanding reputation of innovation and a steadfast commitment to improving the community,” Tracee Bentley, President and CEO of the PSP, said. “The team at ChampionX will help fuel transformative initiatives that further PSP’s mission, leaving a lasting mark on countless lives in the Permian Basin.”
Since its founding in 2019, the PSP has achieved incredible results in
its mission to improve the lives of residents across the Permian Basin. This groundbreaking coalition has committed $130 million in member company contributions to leverage an impressive over $1 billion in collective investments, which have had transformational impacts on education, healthcare, workforce development and road safety in the region.
“Our purpose of Improving Lives translates into creating a meaningful and lasting impact in the areas we serve,” Shankar Annamalai, Senior Vice President, Permian Basin at ChampionX, said. “We firmly believe that the strength of any community lies in the well-being of its citizens, and we are taking another step forward in our journey to support and empower the Permian community. This membership reflects our genuine commitment to make a difference in people’s lives and drive positive change.”
Latest developments from the UK industry
KINGDOM
‘Gas-up’ process complete for UK’s largest LPG storage terminal in Avonmouth UNITED
Flogas Britain, one of the UK’s leading liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) suppliers, has completed the ‘gas-up’ phase of commissioning on what will become the nation’s largest above-ground LPG storage terminal, with the capacity to store 34,564 tonnes of LPG.
The project, which has converted the former National Grid LNG facility at Avonmouth, Bristol, will significantly increase Flogas’ LPG storage capability. This will improve the UK’s off-grid gas infrastructure and provide greater security of supply to commercial and residential customers nationwide, as demand grows through energy transition.
Flogas Britain has made a significant investment in the facility to support the decarbonisation strategy for UK off-grid homes and commercial customers nationwide.
The plan is to commence operational supply to customers from the winter of 2023. The project comes at a critical time, facilitating the crucial role LPG plays in transitioning the UK’s off-grid businesses and homes from high carbon fossil fuels to an efficient low-carbon alternative.
The new Avonmouth facility is in line with Flogas’ 2040 vision to build a lower carbon
future for off-grid homes and businesses. The site will be ‘bio-ready’ from the outset, capable of storing bioLPG, a chemically identical renewable alternative to LPG. As a ‘drop in’ fuel, bioLPG can be blended with or replace LPG, without the need for changes to infrastructure, boilers or equipment.
The project will deliver an essential source of supply and security of product to customers and depots within the Southwest UK. This is an essential part of the company’s strategic plan to future-proof the energy transition with the ability to store bioLPG.
“We will continue our investment strategy in the facility with a view to build a 6km pipeline to connect the terminal to Bristol Port, allowing Flogas to import renewable sources of liquid fuels into the UK,” Paul Horton, Flogas Britain’s Chief Operating Officer, said. “In addition to our investment in the Teesside terminal, which is due into service later this year, the future is incredibly bright for Flogas. n
Latest developments from the German industry
GERMANY
Twinsity secures major funding from EIC to take infrastructure inspection to the next level
Twinsity, the leading deep-tech startup specialising in AI-based infrastructure inspection, has secured a €2.5-million funding round from the prestigious European Innovation Council Accelerator (EIC). This significant funding not only validates the German company’s outstanding achievements to date, but also drives it towards further development and expansion on a global scale.
Twinsity has distinguished itself in the technology industry with its innovative AI-based automated inspection platform for large infrastructure assets, such as bridges, dams and oil and gas refineries.
By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Twinsity’s Twinspect platform increases operational safety and efficiency, providing its customers with unparalleled insights and proactive maintenance solutions.
Twinsity has achieved special recognition in the EIC’s highly competitive funding programme for its future-oriented innovations and its advanced work in the field of infrastructure monitoring.
As a testament to the company’s achievements, Twinsity was not only granted €2.5 million in funding but has also been selected by the European Union as a prime example of success. The EIC Accelerator serves as a springboard for breakthrough innovation,
providing substantial support to innovative companies with ideas that have exceptional market potential and the ability to revolutionise industries.
The funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator will be instrumental in driving the company’s continued growth and enabling the realisation of its ambitious goals. Twinsity plans to use the funds to enhance its core technologies, accelerate research and development efforts, and expand its team of industry-leading experts.
“We are incredibly honoured to receive this funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, as it reflects the immense potential of our AI-based automated inspection platform”, Fabien Chalas, Founder & CEO, said. “This investment will fuel our mission to transform the way large infrastructure is inspected and maintained, ultimately increasing operational safety and minimising risk. n
Latest innovations from the oil and gas industry
SHELL AVIATION to tackle lifecycle carbon emissions
Shell Aviation has introduced a new lifecycle sustainability approach for its AeroShell aviation lubricants to avoid, reduce and then compensate for lifecycle carbon emissions, improving aircraft performance while helping customers meet their net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon emissions ambitions.
INalignment with Shell’s target to become a net zero-emissions energy business by 2050, AeroShell has confirmed its commitment to continue working to avoid and reduce carbon emissions by optimising production and product design. The company also plans to embed circularity into product packaging, improve the energy efficiency of facilities and use renewable energy to reduce emissions across the supply chain.
Shell will then purchase high-quality, independently verified carbon credits to compensate for carbon emissions which are not currently being avoided or reduced.
The new lifecycle sustainability approach will be included as standard across the full AeroShell product range, including turbine engine oils (TEOs), piston engine oils (PEOs), greases and fluids, for both the commercial airline and general aviation markets.
This upgrade to the AeroShell offering marks the latest step in Shell Aviation’s efforts to decarbonise in alignment with Shell’s net zero-emissions target, which includes increasing low and no carbon offering to customers. n
Photo credit Photographic Services, Shell International Limited.
DNV and Harbour Energy highlight benefits of innovative virtual reality technology
DNV’s virtual reality (VR) tool, which is helping improve safety standards in the energy sector, is to be showcased at SPE Offshore Europe 2023 (OE23) in Aberdeen.
The independent energy expert and assurance provider DNV has used the VR technology to develop a major accident hazard (MAH) programme, consisting of various scenarios where users walk through a simulated environment using hand controllers and a typical VR headset with headphones and cameras built in.
The scenarios, which incorporate typical operational tasks like opening valves or erecting a scaffold, lead to a simulated failure which escalates to a fire or an
explosion and provides opportunities for discussions on barriers and how to respond appropriately to incidents. The familiar setting creates a memorable experience for the users and allows them to retain key safety messages that will help them identify and mitigate hazards and avoid major accidents in real life. The messages are embedded within various training scenarios which provide discussion points throughout the session.
The DNV programme has already been adopted by 10 oil and gas operators including Harbour Energy, the largest London-listed independent oil and gas company, to complement the organisation’s existing training programme for MAH awareness.
DNV and Harbour will present a paper detailing how VR has made a transformative approach to MAH awareness training at OE23, which will be held at P&J Live, Aberdeen from 5-8 September 2023. n
Latest innovations from the oil and gas industry
BCCK provides efficiency with Nitech nitrogen recovery unit
BCCK, a leader in engineering, procurement, fabrication and field construction services, has announced its award of an additional NiTech Style IV nitrogen rejection unit (NRU) in the Permian Basin.
Applying the latest technology to BCCK’s advanced NRU process, the 175 MMSCFD NiTech Style IV will be added to an existing gas plant to improve efficiencies on residue gas compression. The Style IV NRU features a modular skidded design and is capable of high ethane recovery and rejection. BCCK, a complete solutions provider, will supply all equipment necessary for reduced emissions and a smaller footprint
“We are excited to integrate our NiTech NRU technology into this existing facility,” Greg Hall, Executive Vice President, BCCK, said. “The NiTech NRU technology has been a key component in the drive for renewable energy solutions, and we are proud to use our patented technology to lower greenhouse gas emissions.”
For more than 30 years, BCCK has deliv ered its advanced NiTech NRU process allowing customers to easily achieve their product specifications.
The environmentally friendly solution offers efficiency and cost savings through a smaller footprint and minimal operator attention.
BCCK specialises in full EPC projects including concept, engineering, design, fabrication, manufacturing and complete construction services. Providing full EPC services helps BCCK improve project economics by being a single-source provider for all stages of a project.
The company is also the industry leader in nitrogen rejection with its proven NiTech process. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, with a satellite engineering and sales office in The Woodlands, Texas, BCCK was founded in 1980 and holds numerous technology patents. n
bp expands investment in bioenergy, collaborating with US biofuels developer
bp has expanded its investment in bioenergy as bp ventures committed $10 million, leading the Series B investment round, in WasteFuel, a California-based biofuels company that will use proven, scalable technologies to convert bio-based municipal and agricultural waste into lower carbon fuels, such as bio-methanol.
Globally, solid waste production totals about two billion tonnes annually and is expected to increase to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. WasteFuel’s deployment of anaerobic digestion and methanol production technologies will convert municipal and agricultural waste into viable lower emission alternatives to traditional fuels, like bio-methanol.
In hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping, bio-methanol has the potential to play a significant role in decarbonisation. Maritime transport represents around
90% of trade worldwide, whilst producing 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In the effort to reach Net Zero, some of the biggest companies in the shipping industry are converting to methanol-ready ships. bp is working to establish supplies of lower carbon alternative fuels for the shipping sector and will look to use its trading expertise to bring WasteFuel’s bio-methanol to market.
WasteFuel plans to develop multiple bio-methanol plants around the world in collaboration with local strategic partners including waste companies. WasteFuel expects its first project will be in Dubai, and the company has a pipeline of additional projects to develop. bp and WasteFuel have entered a memorandum of understanding for bp to offtake the produced bio-methanol and collaborate towards the optimisation and improvement of bio-methanol production. n
Rotork upgrades Gatwick fuel farm with intelligent actuators
Rotork has helped upgrade and mod ernise a major Gatwick fuel farm, providing it with IQ3 intelligent actuators on Rotork’s Pakscan™ control network.
GASHCo is one of Gatwick Airport’s main fuel tank farms and has been using Rotork products for over 30 years. The actuators installed on the site are used on the fuel hydrants housed at Gatwick Airport. Rotork’s site services team carried out an obsolescence survey and identified the older equipment on site.
Gatwick was made aware that in the event of a failure or breakdown, the required spare parts may not be available for the obsolete actuators. Due to the risk of unplanned downtime, they decided to upgrade 24 actuators and add these to their maintenance agreement.
Installation was carried out by Rotork service engineers, which assured GASHCo that the work was carried out to a high standard. The upgrade to the IQ3 actuators will maximise uptime and increase reliability while reducing operational costs. The older IQMk1 and A range
actuators have been reliable during their operation, showing the efficiency and consistency of Rotork products. This made the decision to upgrade the actuators an easy choice.
The installed IQ3 actuators have the capability to capture performance data through the integrated data logger, display accurate position and torque sensing, and include integral controls as standard. The actuators have a low whole-life cost, and their high degrees of reliability and availability means a reduced likelihood of any interruption to operation. n
Mobile app from Intelligent Wellhead Systems improves frac safety and reliability
Intelligent Wellhead Systems, Inc (IWS), a leading supplier of digital control technologies that improve oil and gas well completion operations, has announced the introduction of the inVision Mobile App.
The pioneering technology provides users of the IWS inVision Technology Platform with instant access to key wellsite operational data. It is the latest addition to the company’s portfolio of digital technologies for completion operations, further enhancing safety and reliability.
To date, inVision completion technology has delivered more than 95,000 stages without a single wireline or pressure control incident while utilising the IWS system. This incident-free safety and reliability track record continues to encourage oil and gas operators to adopt a digital infrastructure to improve wireline and hydraulic fracturing operations.
“Developing the inVision Mobile App represents the next step in our efforts to encourage operators to embrace a digital infrastructure,” Bill Henn, Vice-President of Business Development,
Developing the inVision Mobile App represents the next step in our efforts to encourage operators to embrace a digital infrastructure “ “
said. “By giving operators even easier access to operational data at the wellsite, they can respond immediately to changing conditions, helping to reduce risk, lower costs and improve uptime while on-the-go.”
With inVision Mobile, users can now view a wide range of key data from a cell phone or tablet. They can inspect pad progress and current well activity, as well as a live frac tree and live valve positions. When running frac and wireline data through IWS safety and efficiency controls, users can analyse frac and wireline plots remotely, as well as a pre-set frac and wireline plots with the most pertinent data. n
Amarinth, a world-leading, net-zero designer and manufacturer of low lifecycle cost centrifugal pumps and associated equipment, primarily for the offshore and onshore oil and gas industries; nuclear and renewable energy generation; defence; desalination; process and industrial markets, has been contracted by Wood to overhaul the three oil containment skid packages managed and operated by Oil Spill Response Limited.
Six years ago, Amarinth supplied ten API 610 OH1 pumps with Plan 53B Seal Support systems to the Subsea Well Response Project for a global containment toolkit that can support subsea well incident response if well shut-in is not immediately possible. The equipment helps contain and quickly remove oil from the sea and offload it into tankers for removal from an incident.
The containment equipment is made available through Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) for the international oil and gas industry and is always ready to be deployed anywhere in the world. OSRL is the largest international industry-funded cooperative
and exists to respond to oil spills wherever they may occur. The company provides response and intervention services, helping to protect coastlines, wildlife and communities. OSRL is wholly owned by most of the environmentally responsible oil and gas companies around the globe, and its membership represents the majority of the world’s oil production.
With strong demand to replace Russian oil and gas assets, and ongoing unrest in parts of the world, there has never been a greater need for the environmental protection that the OSRL oil spill response equipment offers should any incident occur. n
Mitsubishi Power receives turnkey contract to build three gas turbine combined cycle power plants
Mitsubishi Power, a power solution brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has received a full-turnkey contract from Chiba-Sodegaura Power Co Ltd, for a project to build three gas turbine combined cycle power plants with 650MW class natural gas-fired units in Sodegaura City, Japan.
A full-scope long-term service agreement (LTSA) was also signed. Commercial operation will commence successively from the 2029 fiscal year, and Mitsubishi Power will thereafter provide support for businesses in providing reliable power supplies through its full-scope LTSA.
The gas turbines that will generate the bulk of the power will be M701JAC gas turbines, a cutting-edge, high-performance model, according to the construction plan, which has been designed to achieve minimal envi ronmental impact.
This project is a joint venture between MHI and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and covers EPC (engineering, procurement and construction). The two companies will collaborate on this project, with MHI supplying gas turbines, steam turbines,
heat recovery steam generators and flue gas desulphurisation systems, and Mitsubishi Electric supplying generators and electrical products. n
02-05 October 2023
ADIPEC 2023
ADIPEC is an international platform convening global energy producers, consumers and innovators to accelerate game-changing solutions and transformational progress for the future of energy. Hosted in Abu Dhabi by ADNOC, ADIPEC builds on its 39-year legacy of innovation and evolution for the entire energy ecosystem.
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20-21 September 2023
World Offshore Week
World Offshore Week is the #1 mega show bringing together all industry stakeholders impacting the offshore oil and gas sector. This leading platform is the focal point for the offshore industry to discuss best practices and latest solutions in transforming the future of offshore energy.
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12-14 March 2024
Oceanology International 2024
Oceanology International is the leading forum where industry, academia and governments connect with the world’s marine science and ocean technology communities. The three-day conference will welcome over 8,000 attendees and enable more than 500 exhibitors to showcase the latest ocean technologies.
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Inside Oil & Gas asks the experts about their personal experience in the industry
minds inside Oil & Gas
Question: What benefits do you see from attending industry events and conferences, either face-to-face or online?
“
Events are great for networking and building relationships, not just meeting people. You build relationships through interaction. I’m more comfortable faceto-face and I believe that human beings are naturally herd animals. While digital has its place, the opportunity to meet people, establish relationships and reestablish past relationships is great.
David Strang, UK Offshore Director, Brand Energy & Infrastructure
Participating provides an opportunity to interact with people, talk about the business and elevate brand awareness. Events are also great for building relationships with new clients, established customers and suppliers. We can learn more about them, seek feedback on pain points and engage them on what they want to see in the market.
“
Although the customer interface and knowledge gathering experience has now migrated to a reality involving more remote video conferencing, I firmly believe that the face-to-face interactions had at industry events and conferences still have a very important role in relationship building and knowledge harvesting for the betterment of our business.
“ “
We are excited to attend Offshore Europe to meet new and existing customers and suppliers. We are an excellent vehicle for product manufacturers to take their product to market, and we look forward to continuing to offer our customers the widest variety of equipment for their personnel to use in com pleting their tasks.
Martin Suttie, Managing Director, First Integrated Solutions
In person or online its almost guaranteed to help you learn new things and build better relationships for the benefit of business.
Udaya Kumar, Director of the Flow Engineering Division, Servetech
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Attending conferences is of major benefit to us as we can meet with clients, improve our networks and get to understand the emerging trends in the industry.
Geir Knapskog, MD, PSW Technology
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“We are fortunate to have experienced and knowledgeable staff at Delmar with many years of working in the energy sector. We value personal relationships greatly and industry events are one of a number of ways we enjoy engagement with our peers and the wider community. We like to play our part in sharing good practice and learning from each other.
“Paul Crichton, Business Development Manager, Delmar Systems
“
I believe in face-to-face meetings with clients. We have participated in ADIPEC for the past eight years, for example. It allows us to chat with the client, understand their challenges and generally gain a broad picture of what’s happening in the industry around the world.
“
Bellatreche Abdelghani, General Manager, Specialized Oilfield Products media@insidepublication.com
I’m a face-to-face guy. The benefit of attending events like ADIPEC is displaying to the market; paying back the respect that they can meet you in their own environment. People see that you’re making the effort to be there - the customers and end users appreciate that.
Around that event, I always plan a seminar. I think it’s very appreciated. It doesn’t pay you back in sales - we don’t see it, anyway - but what we do see is that people recognise us and our distributors. They come to us and give us feedback about how we’re supporting the distributors. And being there, representing the brand, the way we do, makes me proud. There is no alternative. It’s all about paying attention to your customers and making an effort. ADIPEC is one of the best trade shows ever.
Rifat Cevahir, Heavy Lifting Sales & Export Manager, Royal Van Beest
“We would love to hear your answers, so send an email over to our Editorial Manager, Phil Nicholls.
upstream downstream one voice
event focus:
SPE OFFSHORE
A preview of SPE Offshore Europe, followed by associated company profiles for :
3t energy first integrated solutions semco maritime ponticelli frères group helix energy solutions group delmar systems brand energy & infrastructure hodge clemco 3x engineering friulforgia
Portfolio Director, Energy and Marine, Jonathan Heastie outlines to Inside Oil & Gas what can be seen at the show.
SPE Offshore Euro
Running in Aberdeen on 5-8th September, SPE Offshore Europe is the energy industry’s platform for navigating towards a better energy future. One of the organisers, Portfolio Director, Energy and Marine, Jonathan Heastie, told Inside Oil & Gas what visitors can expect. Questions by Phil Nicholls.
Looking ahead to SPE Offshore Europe, what do you see are the benefits to businesses of attending the show?
It’s the wondrous power of being face to face. I’ve organised events for many, many years, so I’m always going to advocate being live in an environment with people who you can interact with.
Having gone through the Covid experience of the last few years, more and more people now understand the value of being at the right event, with the right colleagues from the industry.
Portfolio Director, Energy and Marine, Jonathan Heastie
ope
By coming to an event like SPE Offshore Europe, you can see technologies on the show floor, you can see what’s new. You can sit in the conference rooms or show floor theatres and learn from experts in the field. Visitors will bump into people that they never knew they wanted to meet. It’s these serendipitous connections, creating new energy in the industry, that are the value of face-to-face events.
How has SPE Offshore Europe evolved since the last show? We see it is the 50th anniversary – what is new for this year?
One of the things we’re doing to celebrate 50 years is looking back at the people, the technologies, the moments,
the organisations that helped to shape SPE Offshore Europe. The event is also considering how we think the next 50 years might go, so we are looking back to look forward.
The big difference from our last event in 2019 is the amount of energy transition content. This is not just in the
Portfolio Director, Energy and Marine, Jonathan Heastie outlines to Inside Oil & Gas what can be seen at the show.
conference rooms upstairs, run by our partner SPE, but also on the exhibition floor, in every corner of every hall. There are new features, there are new learning hubs, all focused on the process of energy transition.
What visitor and exhibitor numbers are you targeting for this year?
We’re trying to get back to where we were in 2019, when we had just over 38,000 atten dees over the four days of the show. There were around 850 exhibitors from about 120 countries.
What can visitors expect from their trip to SPE Offshore Europe?
There are four main areas that we’re focusing on in the event. Energy Security probably is the main one, but that also takes in some of the newer technologies and energy sources that we will need to blend into the portfolio. These solutions have a more sustainable side to them, which connects to our second focus of Energy Transition.
Innovative Technology underpins both of these themes, which is our third focus. Finally, there is a focus on the Future Talent needed for the industry to successfully deliver these first three themes.
Looking at the companies already booked for SPE Offshore Europe can you share any previews about the innovations and developments on display this year?
5-8 September 2023
Live, Aberdeen, UK
We’re still learning about what our exhibitors intend to showcase and perhaps launch at this year’s OE. We’ve got a full season to go before the doors open, and most exhibitors are still planning their show activities in private at present. I’d suggest readers keep tabs on the exhibitor list pages on our show website, as exhibitors should be uploading more information as we approach the event in September. There will also be a lot of new exhibitors joining over the coming months, especially those from our international pavilions.
Are there any other special aspects of SPE Offshore Europe that you would like to include in this feature? Please can you tell me more about the Energy Transition Theatre and the Energy Transition Zone.
One of the new features on the floor for this year is the Energy Transition Zone of exhibitors. This has about 900 square metres of space, the first time we've ever had an area dedicated to energy transition. This Zone is already largely full and, at the heart of the Zone, is the Energy Transition Theatre focused on offshore wind. There are about 100 seats in the theatre, where operators and supply chain partners who are diversifying their portfolio will come to share some of their plans about how wind will play a part in the transition.
Portfolio Director, Energy and Marine, Jonathan Heastie outlines to Inside Oil & Gas what can be seen at the show.
Please can you tell me more about your conference programme – who do you have lined up to speak and what topics are high on the agenda?
We have four committees working on the programme for SPE Offshore Europe, run by our partner SPE. Our show website has the latest iteration of the conference programme for readers to review. The specialists on our committees are shaping the theme and programme content for the conference, ensuring it is relevant and fit for the industry’s needs and requirements.
What do you consider to be the main industry challenges for the Oil & Gas sector for the future? How far do events such as SPE Offshore Europe go in helping companies overcome such difficulties?
Events like SPE Offshore Europe convene people, we bring people together.
Attending will be technology experts, operators, supply chain companies, industry representatives from associations and governments. We bring those people together and give them a platform to discuss challenges and harness opportunities. But I think security of energy supply will be the biggest challenge, with transition a key opportunity as part of that. It’s a changing energy landscape in the world, but particularly for the UK and northern Europe. So, it’s really good to have an event like SPE Offshore Europe that can bring everybody together, face to face, to talk about these challenges and opportunities.
-8 September 2023
Live, Aberdeen, UK
On a personal level, what aspect of SPE Offshore Europe are you most excited about?
The part that I am longing for is simply being able to open the doors on the show. We will bring everybody back together to meet and do business, to learn, to educate, to drive things forward in the industry.
If we can play a small role, giving a platform to people who will both secure our supply and also develop the sustainable energy supply chain to help decarbonise the industry and meet the necessary global targets, then that's brilliant!
Is there anything not covered by the above questions that you would like to share with our readers?
I would encourage everyone to attend the event. After the enforced break, it is more important than
ever to be at SPE Offshore Europe. There will be so many important meetings at the event, so much learning, so many companies, new technologies, new approaches, new partnerships, new business models and new ways of financing.
There will be important discussions in every corner of the venue. So, it would be a real shame for people not to be there in some way or another. However attendees interact at SPE Offshore Europe, it is vital that they participate, because there’s so much value to be found at the event during such an important time for us all. n
With its innovative solutions and its uniquely holistic approach, 3t Energy Group is transforming routine training for millions of oil and gas and industrial staff every year into genuinely beneficial and productive experiences. Through the use of cutting-edge technology, the company provides bespoke, blended training solutions for a diverse array of customers. Richard Hagan met with Gavin Taylor, Vice President of Global Sales, to find out how the company trains over 130,000 people a year.
Proudly owned by private equity firm
BlueWater, 3t Energy Group consists of four companies that have come together as a result of a series of strategic acquisitions. The group, which today consists of Drilling Systems, AIS Survivex, 3t Transform and the recently acquired Utilities Construction Training (UCT), offers a variety of training facilities, workforce management solutions and software, and digital learning platforms to a wide spectrum of clients that include the oil and gas industry, renewables, utilities and power as well as industrial companies such as manufacturers and corporates.
Footprint and facilities
3t Energy Group enjoys a truly global reach: in the UK, the company boasts a network of world-class training facilities in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and
London, as well as various office and harbourside locations. Its latest training facility in Teeside is due to open imminently, adding to a growing UK base.
Additionally, the company has sales offices in Houston, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It also has training centres created through strategic joint ventures, located i n Guyana in South America and one in Qatar. “We’re the first OPITO approved training centre to set up in Guyana; it’s an important, emerging oil and gas region and we are delighted to be operating there,” said Gavin Taylor, Vice President of Global Sales
Altogether, 3t Energy Group employs 400 staff across all its locations. This complement of staff is certainly kept busy thanks to the group’s very high rate of training activities. “Our traditional training operations are the real engine of our
organisation,” he said. “On any given day we have 500 people training in our centres, and in total, we train around 130,000 people per year. We’re recognised as having the best and largest training centres in the UK.”
That recognition comes partly in the form of accreditations. The Group’s AIS Survivex is a star performer in this regard, boasting a full 47 individual accreditations from OPITO – far more than any single competitor worldwide. The group’s training centre in Newcastle also has the distinction of issuing the most wind industry GWO certificates from a single site loca tion: more than any other training site in the world.
History and development
3t Energy Group began taking shape in 2015 with BlueWater’s acquisition of Drilling Systems, the world number one
for advanced drilling simulators and a globally renowned name in the industry, specialising in the designing, manufacturing and selling of hands-on training simulators for drilling operations.
“It’s like an aircraft simulator but for drilling,” Gavin explained. “Drilling contractors, operators and training schools use these simulators to train crews on how to drill a well, for example.”
In 2017, BlueWater acquired AIS Training, the largest training provider for the energy sector-based in North Shields just outside of Newcastle, merging with Drilling Systems to create 3t Energy Group.
Survivex, based in Aberdeen, was the next to be brought into the fold in 2018, substantially increasing the group’s footprint and infrastructure in the United Kingdom. Petrofac training’s UK in-person training business was subsequently
Gavin Taylor Vice President of Global Sales
acquired in 2021, followed by UCT at the end of 2022.
The Group has enjoyed sustained and substantial growth. “We’ve grown to be the largest Energy Sector training provider in the UK, and by a large margin,” said Gavin. “We’re now much bigger than any competitors locally and we're becoming a global powerhouse for training, growing our footprint and offering, and extending our expertise worldwide. We’re a very fastgrowth organisation and it’s an exciting time to be part of 3t.”
Flexible high-tech training
Today, 3t Energy Group is a world-leading provider of training and competency services to the global energy and industrial sectors, and it prides itself on its ability to transform training with the use of tech nology. “We support our clients to deliver safer, smarter and more efficient people,” Gavin noted.
3t Energy Group’s core markets are those with safety-critical operations, where the training and competency of the workforce in those environments is critical to their ability to operate safely and efficiently. “We serve hazardous markets like oil and gas, wind power, utilities, and power generation, as well as the nuclear sector,” he said, “but we serve a much wider customer base too - anywhere where there’s a need to support the development of learning for the customer’s needs, we can support with high-impact solutions.”
The perfect blend
3t Energy Group especially prides itself on what it calls its blended training solutions. Broadly speaking, these are bespoke training services developed to meet a client’s specific needs and challenges in any given project.
“Learning has evolved a lot over the years and today, people learn very differently to how they did even just 20 or 30 years ago,” Gavin explained. “In the past, the material was delivered via books and lectures, but the way that we as learners consume knowledge and information today has rapidly changed. Blended solutions, therefore, allow us to incorporate different learning styles across a single project, to address the different needs of the learners and significantly boost learning outcomes.”
For its blended training solutions, 3t Energy Group begins by reviewing the content that must be delivered and the specific demographics of the audience that must be trained. The company then leverages all of the capabilities, assets and expertise available across its group to deliver a bespoke, holistic, blended solution to the customer.
“Blended solutions leverage the power of technology, including digital learning, physical simulations and software,” said Gavin. “All of that is augmented by different learning styles in order to meet the diverse needs of the learning personnel by incorporating different training methods that suit different people. This approach has been shown to help immensely with knowledge retention in particular.”
For example, the group recently delivered (and won) a digital innovation award for a bespoke training programme for bp as they onboarded Operations and Maintenance technicians for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project. For this major infrastructure project, incorporating an FPSO, FLNG and Offshore Hub, bp needed 3t to create a programme to onboard their workforces to the multi-billion-dollar producing asset off the coast of Mauritania and Senegal.
“We created an exact digital twin replica of bp’s asset and created a programme for these workforces to train safety-critical procedures via VR headsets hosted in our training facilities,” noted Gavin.
This cutting-edge programme yielded significant results for bp, including an improvement to learning and competency rates, time saved on training get ting teams up to speed before the asset was even complete, plus cost and carbon footprint reduction from reduced travel for training This style of blended learning also provides tangible boosts to learning outcomes including greater confidence in the field, improved team engagement and, importantly, greater employee safety.
Concluding, Gavin shared the group’s plans for the future: “We want to continue growing, while giving our clients more solutions that serve them even better. We’ll further increase our geographical density with more infrastructure around the world , and we want to get into other industries where we know we can make a significant impact with what we do.”
n
The core ethos at First Integrated Solutions gives customers the best possible product and service in order to keep them coming back. On the back of continuous improvements in customer experiences, the company has enjoyed fruitful, long-term relationships with its customers. Richard Hagan met with Business Development Director Gary Taylor and Managing Director Martin Suttie to find out how this dynamic company continues to set the standard every day for equipment at job sites offshore and across the United Kingdom.
First Integrated Solutions (FIS) is an industry leader in the equipment rental sector, providing complete, innovative solution packages backed up by technical support and high-quality customer service. In addition to its equipment rentals, FIS also manufactures wire rope slings, and it provides procurement management, inspection services and Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) management and analysis services.
F IS prides itself on being a customerfocused, one-stop-shop for the offshore industry, providing high-quality equipment from well-known, established brands that offshore teams are familiar with and comfortable with using.
“Having that well-known equipment makes the customer’s experience as easy as possible, because you don’t
want your teams having to spend lots of time learning how to use it,” said Managing Director, Martin Suttie. “We make it possible for the guys to open the container or pallet and find everything that they need to do the job. That’s the experience we want to deliver and it’s all part of our emphasis on customer service.”
An integrated footprint
FIS’s operations are incorporated across two distinct sites: its headquarters and main operations base are in Aberdeen, Scotland, while a smaller satellite facility is in London. Altogether, FIS employs approximately 80 people.
On the strength of both its own convictions and customer demand, FIS’s operations are proudly carbon neutral.
“We are working on further potential improvements, such as extending the solar panels that we already have on our main building, across to our other buildings,” confirmed Mr Suttie.
FIS has augmented those physical measures with the purchasing of carbon credits to offset its remaining – currently unavoidable – emissions. “Due to our efforts with these initiatives, our overall emissions percentage will still decline despite our fast growth,” he continued.
Robust product range
FIS’s core strength is the depth and breadth of its range of rental equipment, including ATEX (an EU safety certification for potentially explosive atmospheres) products, rigging lofts, welding plant, power tools and fabric maintenance equipment. Its offerings are designed
and delivered to provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective equipment solution to the energy, utilities, civil engineering and construction sectors.
Business Development Director Gary Taylor shared three highlights of FIS’s range: “We have several products that add to safety offshore, including ATEX HAVI, Cleanspace breathing respirators, and RiConnect. RiConnect is an RFID tag ging system that we’ve tailored into solutions demanded by the industry. It includes applications such as pre-use checks for offshore users, and electronic tracking of the service history of the items. RiConnect helps to ensure that pre-use checks are
“WE PLAN TO CONTINUE OUR CURRENT GROWTH TRAJECTORY WHILST ALWAYS ENSURING THAT THE CUSTOMER IS KEY BY SUPPORTING AND SUPPLYING THEM WITH A ROBUST, COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF RELIABLE, HIGH-QUALITY EQUIPMENT”
done every time equipment is taken out of the rigging lofts, for example.”
PBS Offshore, which provides full EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) services to Total UK’s assets, trusts its equipment rentals to FIS. “We support this contract with our full range of products and services, negating the
n eed for the client to manage multiple vendors,” said Mr Taylor. “It also helps to drive commercial and technical innovation on the client’s sites, while providing the client with a dedicated resource supporting the delivery of their contract’s key performance indicators (KPIs).”
FIS provides both sales and rental of equipment. While its ATEX kit, complete rigging lofts and air hoists continue to prove strong performers on the rental side of the business, its wire rope slings and hydraulic equipment have seen strong ongoing sales.
Shaping the future of safety
FIS constantly strives to provide workers in the oil and gas sector with equipment that shapes, leads and builds on their safety culture.
“Workers’ wellbeing is at the foremost of our product development strategy,”
Mr Suttie noted. “A recent example of this is our investment in providing ATEX HAVi, a wearable technology designed to record operators’ Hand-Arm Vibration
exposure, enabling compliance with the control of vibration at work regulations. Our range of working at height equipment, and our working at height compliant power tools is also a highlight.”
Additionally, One of FIS’s sister companies, First Competence, has embraced high-tech solutions for training and competence: using Virtual Reality, the company can recreate accidents, putting the user back at the scene of the incident which they can then re-watch multiple times, moving between different viewing points. This ensures that the lessons learned from those events are
more easily understood by the trainee and more easily shared.
“From what we have seen, this method is much more useful and memorable than reading a report,”.
FIS believes that a strong safety culture is key to retaining skilled workers in the oil and gas sector, who are constantly at a premium. “While attracting and retaining staff is partly about pay, it’s also about respect for your team and ensuring that they are looked after,” said Mr Suttie. “Employers that look after the health and safety of their team are likely to improve staff retention; therefore it’s vital that senior management teams must pay
attention to innovation in the safety market to protect their team. We have very skilled people with transferable skills in the industry and it’s important that as an industry we look after them.”
In conclusion, Mr Taylor reflected on FIS’s future: “Thanks to our ongoing capital investments in new rental fleet equipment, (which is much higher than our competitors), we will be here for a long time still to come.
“But in the meantime, we expect to see increased opportunities in the defence, nuclear and offshore wind sectors. We plan to continue our current growth trajectory, while always ensuring that the customer is key by supporting and supplying them with a robust, comprehensive range of reliable, high-quality equipment.” n
Business Development Director Gary Taylor
Highlighting its expertise in the energy sector at this year’s Offshore Europe exhibition is Semco Maritime. Offering more than 40 years of experience, this engineering and contracting company excels in comprehensive project management for any energy-based project. Managing Director and UK Country Head, David Hutchinson perfectly summarised why Semco Maritime is so successful. Report by Imogen Ward.
ASthe world’s largest provider of EPC for offshore renewable substations and an expert in the operation of offshore maintenance and modifications, Semco Maritime has mastered both sectors, ready for when the two collide.
“Semco Maritime is unusual as a company because it is well positioned in both renewables and oil and gas. We are prepared for when they both meet in the electrification of the North Sea and other regions around the world,” Managing Director and UK Country Head David Hutchinson explained. “We are ready for when that time comes.”
Established in 1980, Semco Maritime took the oil and gas industry by storm, forming a reputation for excellence as an engineering, procurement and construction contractor. Now, the company is making waves across the renewables sector and, with new group targets in place for 2027,
the company plans to facilitate a revenue split of 65% renewables and 35% oil and gas.
Perpetuating partnerships
An exciting development in 2019 witnessed the creation of PBS Offshore (a consortium between Ponticelli, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services and Semco Maritime).
Initially established for five years, the partnership has been successfully operating for four. PBS was created to collate the knowledge and experience of all three companies, and it currently provides the general maintenance and operations of all Total E&P UK Limited’s sites. This includes Elgin and Franklin, Culzean and Aliza FSO, Gryphon FPSO, Alwyn and Dunbar, and the Shetland Gas Plant.
“The PBS contract looks after the seven assets of Total that are situated in the North Sea and the Shetlands,” said David. “The contract was initially put in place for five years however, there is scope for a possible two-year expansion.”
With the PBS consortium a success, Semco Maritime UK decided to relocate
to a new office in Aberdeen where the facility placed the company in a prime location that was close to the PBS office and existing Semco Maritime clients.
“Although the move has positioned us closer to our PBS partnership, the new facility has also expanded our capabilities,” David explained. “We have successfully increased our employee headcount and traversed outside of our traditional engineering and service capabilities.”
Located in Westhill, this facility has also provided the business with a geographical
advantage for its other projects, including the maintenance of the Noble Innovator Jack-Up Rig earlier this year. Berthed at the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour, the 647ft tall rig benefitted from a range of Semco Maritime’s services, including project management, upgrades, modifications and hull rebranding.
In the oil and gas sphere, Semco Maritime has also recently entered a strategic partnership with BlueNord (a Norwegian independent international petroleum company). With the hope of
identifying and investigating opportunities within the sector, this partnership will pursue pre-established operations contracts as well as the development of new oil fields. Semco Maritime will be trusted with the dayto-day operations of topsides plus general maintenance and procurement.
“Our business sees huge value in partnerships and collaboration agreements,” said David. “That’s how we have developed as a company, and we are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities, that will enable us to grow. The BlueNord agreement is a great example of that: they’re a com pany that we believe we can work hand-in-hand with to advance our services.”
Racing into renewables
With the scope to further expand its reach within the offshore renewables sector, Semco Maritime already has an impressive track record of building 24 offshore wind substations and servicing 55 wind farms since 2002.
The largest, and perhaps most significant in the US, is part of Vineyard Wind. As the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US, Vineyard Wind is under construction off the coast of Massachusetts. Once complete, the project will have the capacity to generate enough energy for 400,000 homes.
As the world’s largest provider of EPC for offshore renewable substations, Semco Maritime was perfectly equipped to engineer the project’s Electrical Service Platform.
“Seven substations in the US were awarded to Semco Maritime,” said David. “The largest one, Vineyard, was delivered to the north-eastern seaboard of America earlier this year.”
Advancing on its goals, the company has also been heavily involved in Project Greensand. Located in Denmark, this world-first project successfully captured carbon in subsea depleted wells.
“Project Greensand is unique,” David noted. “This is the first time anyone has attempted to do this into a subsea depleted well, and as of 2023, we have successfully captured more than 800
tonnes of CO2. Transporting the CO2 cross-border to the Nini field in the Danish North Sea, we have provided infrastructure on the back of the vessels to support offshore operations. Semco Maritime supports many decommissioning projects, so we truly understand the importance of helping to clean up the North Sea, and it’s a cause we fully support.”
Sustainability at sea
On the topic of North Sea clean up, the company is also developing Powerto-X hydrogen-based technologies: “I see Power-to-X as one of the future elements
of Semco Maritime – we will be involved in technology that can help with the ocean clean up,” David explained. “This will help with the world’s progression towards net zero.”
Semco Maritime is preparing for involvement in multiple future net zero projects, using engineering, offshore manpower and new technologies. This is an ongoing objective that aligns nicely with the company’s 2027 strategic targets.
In 2021, the company developed a new sustainability strategy which outlined its personal emission-related objectives.
Notably, Semco Maritime’s aim is to become scope one and two carbon neutral by the end of 2023. To achieve this, the company is committed to reducing its energy consumption, with programmes in place at each of Semco Maritime’s offices worldwide. The company has also committed to the purchase of green electricity from Denmark.
“We are on track to meet our targets for 2023,” David said. “Our scope one and two carbon emissions are now down to double digits, and we are working tirelessly alongside governments, utilising best practices to get those figures down.”
Going forward, Semco Maritime plans to continue improving its environmental impact. The company also aims to expand its customer presence and is looking to source additional potential partnerships at Offshore Europe 2023. “We really enjoy working on collaborative projects, and events are a great place to establish these,” David said. “This year, we are exhibiting at Offshore Europe alongside our PBS con -
sortium partners, Ponticelli and Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services.
“I think the world after the pandemic is a different place, but one thing that we must do is go and develop more business together, to meet each other again and really understand the issues of our clients.
“We appreciate the support we get because we are continually looking at ways of developing the company here in the UK,” he concluded. “We really enjoy working with clients and our supply chain. Thanks to them, we can create better solutions and innovative ideas for the industry. Semco Maritime has always been a very humble company with a strong customer focus. That will never change.” n
first-class
Exhibitions, energy and engineering
Leading the market in offshore construction, Ponticelli Frères Group is an ace in engineering, construction and maintenance. With more than 100 years behind it, the Group has been busier than ever, making its mark on the energy sector.
Ponticelli UK Managing Director Olivier Renaud shared the latest news with Inside Oil & Gas magazine. Report by Imogen Ward.
With the energy industry expanding rapidly, Ponticelli aims to accelerate its presence in the sector.
“We are actively investing in renewables, carbon-free energy and nuclear power,”
Ponticelli UK Managing Director Olivier Renaud said: “Nuclear, especially, is developing in the UK and France, with around eight new reactors planned for construction over the next 20 years. Ponticelli Frères Group aims to partake
in these sectors, to honour its commitment to respecting the environment and providing basic needs to the population in a safe and consistent manner.
“Ponticelli Frères Group is already involved in floating offshore wind, with the construction engineering, procurement, fabrication, quayside assembly, float-off and wind turbine integration of three steel floaters for the EOLMED Project in the south of France. Each one can generate 10MW
of power. It is this capability which we will bring to the UK renewables marketplace”.
Established in 1921 by the Ponticelli brothers, the group has developed a bespoke approach to the design, construction and maintenance of oil and gas production facilities globally.
Now with an impressive turnover of more than €1 billion, the group has made several significant acquisitions to add momentum to its continuous growth.
Advantageous acquisitions
“We recently acquired GenSun, which was a strategic sector-based investment,” explained Mr Renaud. GenSun is a provider of photovoltaic EPC for companies, communities and developers looking for sustainable solutions. With the brand successfully integrated, Ponticelli expanded its capabilities,
adding the production and installation of solar panels to its mix.
Ponticelli is always on the lookout for new partnerships, taking advantage of industry events and conferences. The group will be attending Offshore Europe in September, where it has, in the past, established several crucial relationships.
“Events such as Offshore Europe are crucial to Ponticelli,” said Mr Renaud. “They improve our customer base by providing us with a platform to showcase the full and diverse range of Ponticelli’s global capabilities.
“These events are also excellent opportunities for us to create partnerships, and Offshore Europe is actually where we met Brand and Semco.”
Ponticelli UK established its UK operations in 2019, leading Aberdeen-based consortium PBS, alongside Brand Energy
& infrastructure Services and Semco Maritime. This collaborative relationship is responsible for delivering a 5-year general maintenance and operations contract for TotalEnergies E&P UK. Ponticelli believes in strong working partnerships like this one and intends to expand its portfolio to other operators within the UK.
“Our operating partnerships are based on mutual confidence, an agile and flexible approach to problem-solving, and shared values,” explained Mr Renaud.
Another record-breaking year
With the group celebrating a record year, a large portion of its impressive €1 billion turnover came from the nuclear sector, as well as general upstream and downstream installation and maintenance activities.
One project that has been incredibly successful so far is Ponticelli’s brownfield EPCIC contract for the development of Al Shaheen (Qatar’s largest offshore oil field). Under the management of North Oil Company (NOC), the Debottlenecking Produced Water Management (DBN PWM) and AB Overboard Structure (OBS) Project will increase oil production and stop water over-boarding on A and B location Al Shaheen.
“The NOC project includes all disciplines, ” Mr Renaud explained. “We have been performing structural work, piping, E&I, ICSS, diving campaigns, jacket and module fabrications, transport and installations, as well as modifications and interconnecting offshore activities. As we speak we have deployed in Qatar the whole spectrum of Ponticelli’s capabilities.”
Ponticelli appreciates the advantages of having such a diverse skillset on hand : hoping to optimise this portfolio, the
group has also focused its future ambitions internally. “We have a focus on internal investments, especially within the renewables sector, and in particular photovoltaic canopies.” “Over the next few years, we will actively invest in our subsidiary, Enersteel, to double our production rates to 5,500 tonnes.”
Through Enersteel, Ponticelli is a leading designer and installation specialist of photovoltaic car park canopy systems in France. In 2020, the company was even awarded an impressive contract with Disneyland Paris, to install one of the largest photovoltaic car park canopy systems in Europe.
All fuelled up for net zero
Now more than ever, with the advancement of Ponticelli’s sustainable energy strategy , the group is dedicated to improving its environmental impact. Committing to net zero by 2045, the group regularly
assesses its carbon footprint, and has established an Environmental Committee to ensure this goal is achieved.
“Whilst monitoring our carbon footprint, the Environmental Committee actively searches for ways to make improvements,” said Mr Renaud. “Currently, the group is partnered with Air France, to financially support the airline’s transition into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Superseding European Union targets of five per cent, Air France has set its own SAF target –aiming to achieve ten per cent by 2030.
“In the UK we have also launched an electrical vehicle scheme, which is available to all 550 Ponticelli UK employees. In 2021, we celebrated our centenary. For the past 100 years the group has remained under the same family ownership, and
Olivier Renaud UK Managing Director
they want Ponticelli still to be here in another 100 years’ time. For that to be viable, long-term sustainability is essential.”
This year, Ponticelli was also awarded EcoVadis gold status, which places the Group within the top 5% of its sector for sustainability management performance.
Social responsibility and QHSE are hugely important to the group, and as part of its objectives, Ponticelli is committed to ensuring that people’s safety, health and wellbeing remain at the centre of all its operations.
“Safety is good business,” Mr Renaud concluded. “Safety is an integral part of the group’s DNA, and we are committed to the pursuit of a zero-accident working environment to ensure that our workforce thinks safe, works safe and stays safe.”
Expanding Helix’s responsible participation in energy trans best-in-class and global leading decommissioning service
Helix Energy Solutions Group, an international offshore energy services company, has evolved over five decades to provide industry leading specialty services to the offshore energy market. Helix Energy Solutions Group Vice President – Special Projects, Daniel Stuart, explained more to Hannah Barnett.
Helix centres its services around a three-legged business model well positioned to facilitate the global energy transition by maximising production of remaining oil and gas reserves, supporting renewable energy developments and decommissioning end-of-life oil and gas fields.
“We are looking at a number of areas where our expertise could be utilised in the offshore wind space, to really future proof the industry,” said Mr Stuart “I think people are always going to be attracted to work in oil and gas, because it's a challenging and technological business. But I also think people are attracted to a company that recognises that the business is transitioning from a high carbon environment to a lower carbon one.”
A job well done
Since moving into the space a decade ago, Helix is now the leading provider of subsea well access services around the world.
“We've done more in that field than all our competitors combined,” said Mr Stuart.
The company notably worked as a first responder after the notorious oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The Helix Q4000 vessel played a key role in a successful ‘static kill’ procedure on the Macondo Well when 32,000 barrels of specially engineered mud and cement were pumped from the
Q4000 directly into the well at high pressure, sealing the leak.
“After the Macondo blowout, the company heightened its focus basically on fixing deepwater wells,” recalled Mr Stuart. “As well as expanding into subsea decommissioning, we have become deepwater plumbers to the industry. More recently, through our acquisition of the Alliance group of companies, we are now one of the biggest well services players on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf.”
Indeed, one of Helix’s key strengths is its ability to adapt and evolve, taking transferable skills from the subsea space and repurposing them for the fast-growing offshore wind energy market.
“Our involvement in windfarms is very much at the front end of the construction p rocess,” Mr Stuart explained. “Alongside conducting surveys, we are involved in the removal of boulders, explosive sites and unexploded ordnances on the seabed. All this must be thoroughly
SCHLUMBERGER
Expanding the operational envelope
Intervention technology greatly advanced over the past 20 years to expand the possibilities of what can be done with a lighter footprint. Wireline powered intervention technology can now perform operations previously only possible with coiled tubing, such as milling completion elements of shifting downhole sleeves. Coiled tubing has become more intelligent with real-time data and fibre optics communication for advanced downhole instrumentation.
Expanding downhole intervention options enables more intervention work to be done successfully and economically from light well intervention vessels. We believe that this will further reduce costs and carbon intensity for the industry.
editorial mention
cleared in advance to build an offshore wind farm. And once the foundations and towers are in place, they are linked up with inter-array cables.
Helix has chartered multiple vessels within the past year, specifically to address the offshore wind space and meet the growing demand worldwide.
“We've recently expanded the model from the UK sector to the east coast of
the United States. In addition, we're going to be involved in some of the first wind farm projects taking place in offshore Taiwan, another extremely busy area for offshore wind.”
SPE Offshore
This September, Helix will be represented at the 2023 SPE Offshore event in Aberdeen. The company intends to demonstrate its experience in the decommissioning space, where it is currently working with a variety of notable groups including Petrobras, Trident, Cooper Energy and New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE). Within this context, Helix feels it reflects the zeitgeist of the sector.
“Decommissioning old wells and returning them to their former state is in huge demand in the North Sea and across the world and we are
quite specialised at it,” said Mr Stuart. “So, we are hoping, in a quiet way, to show what we have done.”
Mr Stuart was positive about the longterm business benefits that can be achieved by attending industry events. “People can sometimes take a cynical view,” he said.
“But I've never been to a show where I haven't had at least a half dozen very interesting conversations that lead, through other networking, to new opportunities for regular business. More often than not, the really creative stuff comes from the different combinations of what companies can accomplish together.”
After several years of Covid-induced lockdown, this will be the first in-person SPE Offshore event since 2019, making it an especially notable occasion.
“Working remotely can be extremely efficient for certain parts of our business,”
Mr Stuart reflected. “But ultimately, what opens new opportunities is getting together with people, challenging ideas, learning about what other services are out there and explaining what you can do. We aren’t creating something that is going to impact our business in the next three months; we are creating something that is going to impact our business – and potentially the industry – in the next three to five years. That’s the way I look at shows like SPE Offshore.”
An alliance with Alliance
In mid-2022, Helix acquired the Alliance group of companies, a Louisiana-based privately held company, that provides services in support of the upstream and
midstream industries in the shallow water Gulf of Mexico Shelf, including decommissioning, intervention, maintenance and repair (IMR), heavy lift and commercial diving services. This acquisition added a fleet of shallow water assets to Helix’s arsenal, including Jones Act-compliant lift boats, offshore supply vessels, a heavy lift derrick barge and diving vessels, as well as plug and abandonment systems, coiled tubing systems and snubbing units.
“I think the acquisition was one of the most impactful things we’ve done in recent years,” said Mr Stuart. “It means that alongside being the largest well access provider for interventions in the subsea space, we’re now one of the largest dry tree intervention and decommissioning companies in the world.”
Another dynamic and significant collaboration started close to a decade ago, when Helix partnered with Schlumberger, now SLB, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor. According to Mr Stuart, in the last couple of years the partnership has truly come to fruition.
“Now, when hiring a Helix deepwater vessel anywhere in the world, it comes with a fully integrated spread of well services onboard provided by SLB,” he explained. “It means that instead of having to deal with multiple contractors, the operator only deals with one. We take care of everything else. And just one invoice every month, all run through a Helix contract. We're taking a lot off the operator’s hands, in terms of personnel and frankly, hassle.”
Though similar alliances exist, no other group offers a full range of services including coiled tubing and well testing.
“And we are the only alliance who offer a fully risk-shared contract,” said Mr Stuart. “The operator pays for our vessel, so if there’s a problem with any of the services, the entire package is affected. That aligns the need of the operator with that of the vessel provider and the service company.”
Helix have formed partnerships with a range of key subcontractors in order to
be a one-stop-shop for subsea interventions. “One of our key relationships is with Workstrings International, who provide us with high pressure riser systems for our Intervention Riser Systems, a 10K well
access package.” The ‘go-to’ relationship has seen Workstrings providing riser systems and servicing from the Gulf of Mexico to New Zealand.
As a flourishing and evolving business reacting to a rapidly changing industry, Helix remains a company with bright prospects for its future, and for those who run it.
“People like working here,” Mr Stuart concluded. “Our vessels are different from anything else that’s out there. There’s a small company vibe. Employees have a feeling of ownership. “ n
Offering complete foundation and mooring solutions to the energy industry, Delmar Systems is a global brand that has become a touchstone for clients looking to ensure their projects do not founder at sea. Now servicing the renewable energy sector and the rising trend for floating storage regasification units, the company is primed for significant growth in both sectors. Paul Crichton, Business Development Manager, sat down with Andy Probert to discuss the company’s work scope.
Established in 1968 to service the Gulf of Mexico region, Delmar Systems has since become a mainstay in designing, manufacturing, supplying and installing anchor and mooring solutions. It has expanded to the world's leading oil and gas hubs, such as the UK, Singapore, Australia, Norway and Brazil. It recently purchased Deep Sea Mooring and Vryhof Anchors and rebranded them as Delmar
Systems to give the group a solid European fo othold. This was initially to serve the traditional energy and, more recently, the renewable energy sectors, particularly floating wind.
Now the world's largest foundation and mooring solutions company, employing 160 people, it has provided anchors, moorings and installation services on around 80% of the installed floating wind projects globally, explained Paul Crichton, Business Development Manager.
Technology advances
Delmar Systems has deployed 807 mooring line releases with its patented RAR Plus technology. This is an acoustic mooring line release system enhanced with increased robustness and reliability
to operate in the world's harshest environments. A vital feature of the RAR Plus is the independent mechanical backup release function the rig can actuate without ROV or anchor handling tug supply vessel support for ultimate reliability.
“The RAR Plus is proving to be an effective cost and emission saving, risk-mitigation tool for our customers,” said Mr Crichton. “We ensure clients receive the full benefit of releasable mooring systems by providing the most reliable solutions on the market.”
The RAR Plus improves rig-move efficiency, reduces emissions and facilitates a MODU’s ice and hurricane avoidance strategy. This technology and industry-leading mooring philosophy is resulting in significant cost savings and carbon emission reductions.
Continuing to strengthen
In 2022, Delmar and CAN Systems were jointly awarded the design and supply of a mooring system for the INGS LNG Alexandroupolis (FRSU). The mooring chains, anchors and restrictors have been successfully delivered at Alexandroupolis Port. Delmar will act as the project’s installation provider too.
INGS LNG Alexandroupolis is a significant energy project, with high importance for Greece, Bulgaria and the broader region since it contributes to the diversification of
energy sources and routes for Southeast Europe. It also enhances energy security and competition in the region and supports the creation of a regional natural gas hub.
“The project is strategically located at the crossroads of the Southern and Vertical Gas Corridor,” Mr Crichton continued, “and offers access to liquified natural gas to the markets of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Northern Macedonia and further away in Northeast Europe.”
In addition, Delmar has just delivered anchors for an LNG project in Mexico and will conduct the mooring pre-lay operations in the coming months. “LNG has become critical to Northern Europe's energy security,” he said. “Delmar is proud to contribute to providing cost-efficient solutions for LNG export and import. ”
The rapid rise of offshore renewables has called for new solutions, and Delmar has seized the opportunity to introduce two innovations on the TetraSpar Demonstrator
project: the Stevadjuster and the Deltracker tracking system.
The TetraSpar project is a floating wind turbine foundation and is the world's first full-scale demonstration of an industrialised offshore foundation. It is carried out in a partnership between Shell, RWE, TEPCO Renewable Power and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies. The foundation is a tetrahedral structure assembled from tubular steel components. It is expected to offer significant competitive advantages with its potential for lean manufacturing, lean
assembly and installation processes, and low material costs.
The Stevadjuster is an innovative, costeffective and time-saving solution for chain adjustment, pre-tensioning of moorings and easy connection or disconnection of anchor lines. The Stevadjuster removes the requirement for high bollard pull by utilising the force multiplier of a vertical pull.
The entire operation takes place subsea and does not require winches or other heavy equipment on the moored platform.
Therefore, the bollard pull of each vessel
involved in the operation does not need to be prohibitively high.
“Modest installation or maintenance vessels have sufficient capacity to get the job done,” Mr Crichton said. “The use of this subsea chain adjuster offers significant safety benefits, as the tensioning operation is performed away from the floater.”
Deltracker is software used to track the lifecycle and usage of mooring equipment. The TetraSpar Demonstrator takes about 115 components to be moored. Looking ahead at a farm-scale level, it might be dealing with over 6,000 mooring components per wind farm. A digital tracking system, such as Deltracker, will be indispensable, as it is a standalone software package with userspecific dashboards, a GUI interface, and easy to navigate framework for tracking all components of a mooring system.
Delmar has continued to develop bespoke products for the industry, recently furthering its Stevtensioner, a force multiplier used for high tension installation work, particularly attractive to windfarm installation and its Stevpris Mk-7 anchor, which is being field tested in the North Sea, and multiple fit-forpurpose floating wind anchors. Mark 7 is the latest anchor design, superseding the Mark 6, which has been the industry benchmark for over 20 years.
“We are also developing our mooring line monitoring software and establishing a planned and unplanned regime for floating wind farm mooring line maintenance,”
Mr Crichton added. “One of the benefits of being the world's largest foundation and mooring provider has been the seamless evolution of our business to service the renewable energy sector.”
Meeting global demand
“Being a truly global organisation, we have been approached by key operators and Tier 1 contractors to assist with the design, manufacture and installation of our anchor product range and life of field
maintenance of the whole mooring line,”
Mr Crichton continued. “This is due to our years of experience working subsea with floating structures, managing integrity of the mooring lines.
“The huge global demand for capacity has seen us engage in an extensive expansion of our international manufacturing bases, capitalising on our rich history of manufacturing anchors worldwide for the oil and gas sector. This will further strengthen our market-leading position as the primary anchor OEM and mooring services provider for the energy sector.
“As the energy sector grows in size and scale, we are well placed to deal with this evolution through our scalable products and services. This will allow us to serve a significant role in the energy expansion process and assist in standardising the floating wind industry, allowing for a reduced cost of energy.
“Delmar takes the environment extremely seriously: all our processes are vetted to ensure maximum environmental benefit,
and many of our product lines reduce the overall CO2 emissions on projects.”
Mr Crichton concluded by highlighting how Delmar are committed to a healthy relationship with both clients and suppliers; built on the foundations of integrity and trust, and its reputation for excellence, which “we constantly monitor as part of our continuous improvement programme.” n
Brand Energy & Infrastructure is a leading international provider of access and specialised services for industrial end markets, including fabric maintenance support for offshore operations. Richard Hagan met with UK Offshore Director David Strang and Babette Haas, the Marketing Director for BrandSafway International, to find out how the company’s skilled people and unique systems contribute to the smooth daily operations of its illustrious customers.
The history of Brand Energy & Infrastructure can be traced back to 1919 and the establishment of Scaffolding Great Britain, a company that quickly became well-known across the country. The decades since saw Scaffolding Great Britain participate in several acquisitions and mergers, with this company ultimately becoming part of the US-based BrandSafway Group.
Specialist coatings manufacturer Venko, with a footprint across the UK and the Netherlands, was also acquired in 2018 by Brand Energy & Infrastructures, in a move that substantially propelled Brand into the offshore market. Venko’s
technology and expertise have subsequently become a core part of the offering of the modern Brand operation.
Specialist fabric maintenance solutions
Brand offers its clients a large portfolio of services, including access solutions, insulation, coatings and general maintenance services. “With all of the services we provide, we are ultimately a people business,” said UK Offshore Director David Strang.
Babette Haas, Marketing Director for BrandSafway International, agreed: “Our assets are primarily our people, but we
also have an extensive fleet of scaffolding and access hardware across our international locations. “This includes our highly innovative QuikDeck solution – a suspended platform access system that is regularly used in the offshore business. It’s a highcapacity load platform that offers the advantage of safely working on an open, modular platform. QuikDeck can transform clients’ projects by saving up to 50% reduction in erection time over traditional approaches.”
Efficiency is at the heart of Brand’s service provision to its customers, which is further evidenced by its implementation and use of the Tubelock and wedge coupler scaffolding solutions on offshore platforms. “With Tubelock, we achieve 30 per cent
better efficiency compared to traditional scaffolding because of its intuitive twist and lock mechanism and flexibility of the system,” said Ms Haas.
“Our access solutions are intentionally market leading. We choose to develop and invest in innovative systems because we understand the environment they operate in; and these systems guarantee better productivity from our workforce and ultimately, it’s less time spent on site, which reduces our client costs and hazardous exposure hours.”
High-profile maintenance
In 2019, Brand joined an Aberdeen-based consortium of three contractors including Ponticelli, Brand Energy & Infrastructure
Services and Semco Maritime, in a bid to secure major new offshore projects in the North Sea and beyond.
The consortium – known as PBS – was awarded its first contract only a year later in 2020 when it secured a major North Sea maintenance deal from oil company TotalEnergies. “It was the largest maintenance contract ever awarded on the UK continental shelf,” said Mr Strang. “It represented a major step forward in our offshore business.”
The contract began in 2020 and requires PBS to manage asset integrity, maintenance and reliability, fabric maintenance, shutdowns, and modification projects for all Total Exploration and Production UK-operated assets, on a long-term basis.
Another project highlight for Brand was its involvement in a Barge Campaign project for ONEGas, a consortium including Shell, starting back in 2012 and still running to this day.
“The project initially called for the refurbishment of 36 platforms delivered in one phase, including 100 per cent reinstatement of coatings,” said Mr Strang. “We carried out the work with a specialist team totalling 200.”
“Our successful completion of these platforms proved that we can plan and deliver large offshore fabric maintenance projects to reinstate and reset the life of the platform in terms of its summer maintenance.”
BrandSafway, the group of which Brand Energy & Infrastructure is a member, employs approximately 40,000 people globally, located in 360 facilities in 30 countries. In the UK, Brand Energy & Infrastructure conducts industrial services both onshore and offshore. The UK offshore operations are being facilitated by its three main hubs in Great Yarmouth, Aberdeen and Immingham.
Brand also does extensive offshore business in the Netherlands, where it has two main offshore hubs in Den Helder and Hoogeveen besides its traditional onshore business. Overall, Brand employs
more than 8,000 staff in its international industrial locations in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and India.
Sustainable services in action
Brand has a number of sustainability programmes. These include active monitoring and measurement of all its transport needs as well as personnel trips – including all flights. LED lighting has been implemented wherever possible, while its vehicle fleet consists of a large number of electric vehicles.
“We continuously benchmark all of our transport and ensure that we’re making incremental changes as we go,” said Mr Strang. “We’re constantly maximising loads and storing assets on site wherever possible in order to minimise transport.”
“On the social side, the company is also actively caring for its employees,” added Ms Haas. “We offer health and safety training regularly, as well as mental health programmes. Many of our people are specially trained on that, as well as on the governance side.”
B rand participates in the annual SPE Offshore Europe exhibition, where the industry can meet its teams in person
– both on its own and as part of its PBS consortium. Brand also looks forward to the annual Offshore Energy Awards at the end of each year.
Looking ahead, Brand expects continued growth of the company and its staff.
“We’re focused on investing in people; retaining the good people we have and attracting more good people to the business in both white- and blue-collar roles – so that we can continue to grow,”
Mr Strang revealed.
Concluding, Mr Strang reflected on his excitement for the work that Brand is doing:
“I love making things better, and retaining the status quo is never an option for me. At Brand, we are efficient at evaluating what works best and at working with the client to make things possible. That’s why I get out of bed in the morning.” n
HAVING A BLAST WITH SURFACE TREATMENT EXPER
Hodge Clemco is a leader in manufacturing and supplying abrasive blasting and surface treatment solutions that have become quality marques in various industries. Sales and Marketing Manager Liam Davis spoke to Andy Probert about the company’s recent acquisition by the US-based SurfacePrep, and ambitions to consolidate its global business.
RTISE
For nearly 65 years, Hodge Clemco has consistently been the leader in manufacturing and supplying abrasive blasting equipment and surface treat ment solutions to the UK industry. From its smallest blast pot to large, containerised bespoke acoustic or weatherproof blast rooms, the Sheffield-based company has developed innovative blasting technology that fits clients’ needs.
“Whether bespoke or standard, Hodge Clemco works hard to design and manufacture equipment that is fit for the job,” said Liam Davis, Sales and Marketing Manager. “The company is highly active across different industries where the primary threat is corrosion, whilst also supporting other applications such as polishing and peening. The equipment is designed to transport abrasive media at a high velocity towards the component or structure, to achieve the desired surface cleanliness and/or profile required.
Hodge Clemco Sales & Marketing Manager, Liam Davis
HODGE CLEMCO I PROFILE
Delivering the perfect surface preparation for the protective coating to then be applied therefore providing protection for many years, whether it’s a gas pipeline, an oil rig platform or a wind farm component.”
The company has consolidated its market footprint in the UK through strategic acqu isitions over the last decade. However, in 2021, Hodge Clemco became part of SurfacePrep, a group of companies with facilities across the US, Canada and now the UK, considerably strengthening its hand and brand presence.
“These are exciting times as Hodge Clemco continues to maintain its leading position in the surface finishing industry in the UK and abroad,” said Mr Davis.
The company’s comprehensive product portfolio covers every solution for abrasive blast cleaning; from portable units, hand blast cabinets and shot blasting equipment to a full range of recyclable abrasives and abrasive recovery services. Hodge Clemco is also renowned for its full blasting training, equipment servicing, abrasive reprocessing and disposal, and blasting substrate inspection equipment.
The company also has a team of qualified service technicians and installation engineers across the UK to ensure it can provide a total service solution offering for its equipment. It also provides a recycling service where spent abrasives can be reprocessed rather than being shipped to landfill.
Blasting heritage
Hodge Clemco was launched in 1959 and was part of the Samuel Hodge Group, a diverse engineering group founded in 1897 around the marine industry. The company jointly formed Wolverhampton Abrasives as part of a venture with IMI to produce and market abrasive materials before Wolverhampton Abrasives became a subsidiary in 2007.
With changing markets, the popularity of site blasting techniques reduced in favour
of fixed installations which can be environmentally controlled and offer lower running costs. Hodge Clemco rose to the challenge, developing innovations to cater to this growing trend and installed for clients including the Ministry of Defence, Rolls Royce and Airbus.
In 2015 Samuel Hodge acquired Dinnington-based Mac'Ants Abrasives, a supplier of abrasives and blast materials and one of the world's largest specialist plastic media manufacturers. This enabled Hodge Clemco to offer an expanded range of abrasives, from plastic media and aluminium oxides to garnets, silicon carbides and anti-skid materials, to complement the Hodge Clemco market leading expendable abrasive range, JBlast.
Hodge Clemco opened a state-of-the-art abrasives facility at Dinnington in 2019. The investment in the 3,500sqm unit expanded its ability to manufacture and hold stocks of abrasive media in the UK, such as plastic media, garnet and aluminium oxide.
Now as part of the SurfacePrep group, Hodge Clemco acts as an independent subsidiary and a dynamic stepping stone for its new parent group into the UK and Europe. The group has also bought a clutch of similar companies, including a powder coating specialist, to offer strategic locations across the UK.
Quality operator
Hodge Clemco, which employs around 80 people, predominantly caters to the UK market, while 10% of its business – mainly on the abrasive media side – is exported worldwide; to Europe, the USA and the Far East.
“With a diverse portfolio, featuring over 50 different blast machines,” Mr Davis said, “as well as wet and dry solutions,
offshore specific portable machines , fixed installations, and the consumables, Hodge Clemco is the real benchmark for the blasting sector.
“The company has seen year-on-year growth, and for 2023 we are facing another successful year. Our order book looks healthy, and plenty of projects are in the pipeline.
“Another element of the business consolidation will be the hiring and renting of equipment as market trends emerge. SurfacePrep will enable Hodge Clemco to increase its product portfolio and complement the subsidiary companies working under the parent group.”
One of Hodge Clemco’s specialisms is designing and manufacturing in conjunction with leading fabrication maintenance companies for the offshore industry. “We also design and manufacture ATEX-rated products to work in restricted zones which could have an explosion-risk,” Mr Davis continued.
For turnkey solutions, the company recently designed a unit for the marine industry, and specially fabricated, to it through the hatch opening on ships and boats. The blast machine is used to carry out abrasive blasting on internal areas.
The closed-circuit blast head allows for blasting and recovery of abrasive and eliminates airborne abrasive and dust created from blasting.
Hodge Clemco has also manufactured a closed-circuit blast system for Tods Defence in Dorset. The system is being used to blast large sonar pods on the front of submarines and warships.
“While the company continues to steer through the current economic climate, there is now more poor-quality, sub-standard competition in the market with cheap alternatives, rather than trying to maintain the qualities that Hodge Clemco attests to,” Mr Davis said. “Our products can be differentiated because they are well-engineered and made to last.
“We like to build good long-term customer relationships based on honesty, integrity and reliability while offering value-formoney machines, abrasives and services. A stand-out for Hodge Clemco is working as a partner and building solutions that fit their purpose. It goes to the heart of SurfacePrep’s motto of ‘delivering results beyond the surface’.”
He added that in maintaining its quality approach, Hodge Clemco is primed to exploit the premium-standard range of products sourced from SurfacePrep. This includes the RockRidge Abrasive garnet,
predominantly used in blasting offshore rigs, jackets and pipelines, as well as for waterjet cutting applications.
Being sustainable
Hodge Clemco offers a recycling route for spent media from the abrasive blasting processes, according to Mr Davis: “While the main avenue is to landfill, our company offers to collect it on a waste transfer license and, depending on its condition, it can be reprocessed and supplied into other applications and processes, such as furnace linings or for ship ballasts.
“Not only is it a green, environmentally friendly approach, but it also helps customers remove their waste media and supply that product to others for their applications. It offers a second life for the waste while saving money and protecting the planet.
“It is a service that is growing rapidly year on year, and one which Hodge Clemco is proud to offer.”
EXPERT’S HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SUBSEA REPAIRS
Monaco-based 3X ENGINEERING is one of the world’s leading companies specialising in pipeline maintenance using patented composite technology, primarily serving the oil and gas sector. Andy Probert spoke to Sales Manager (Europe) Jean-François Ribet about the company’s scope of work and its ambitions to become a prime mover with North Sea operators.
Asubsea leak of any kind in the oil and gas sector can run to millions of dollars and cause long-lasting environmental damage if it isn’t dealt with promptly and efficiently. For most oil majors, contractors and partners, 3X ENGINEERING’s patented solutions are often the first lines of defence.
Since 1990, 3X has become a globally acknowledged leader in pipeline maintenance using composite technology.
Founded by Stanislas Boulet d’Auria, the company is a proven developer, manufacturer, supplier and installer of a portfolio of quality products that are not just a quick fix – but a long-term solution.
“Our holistic philosophy means a comprehensive approach to leaks in any environment,” explained
Jean-François Ribet, Sales Manager (Europe). Its patented solutions, such as StopKit, ReinforceKit, RollerKit and
TanKit, are highly sought-after worldwide through its qualified distribution network of over 60 partners.
“It is all about confidence: at 3X, we provide confidence to our clients with our engineering knowledge in composite expertise, as well as the field knowledge, flexibility, responsiveness and product quality. Failure can never be an option.”
Key focus
One of the key focus points for Monacobased 3X in 2023 is to increase its presence in the North Sea area with clients and operators, ensuring that its products are on offer through its network.
“As a global operator, we want to maximise our coverage across different seas and continents,” said Mr Ribet, “and
the North Sea’s oil and gas sector is a prime area we want to leverage our products into.
“3X has extensive composite knowledge, unique know-how and experience in critical fields of industry. Subsea applications take into account more constraints, and there is no place for uncertainty.
“Thanks to our R&D team, we have developed specific solutions to ensure successful and long-term repairs for up to 20 years. Technically, our resins have been certified by well-established third parties, such as DNV GL in Norway. We have proven results with, for example, an adhesion result of 10Mpa compared to the standard 5Mpa.
“We can repair all kinds of defects, such as external and internal corrosion, holes
and leaks, crack and dents. We have developed a range of products to respond to every eventuality, with a design lifetime approach. We reinforce assets to give them back their integrity.”
Through its large distributor network, it has certified applicators situated close to facilities worldwide to apply 3X products: and if they are needed, 3X’s dedicated technical team can be deployed on-site to perform the repair.
Product prowess
3X’s products, which comply with ISO 24817 and ASME PCC2 standards, have also been tested with Bureau Veritas, TUV, ABS, Lloyd’s Register and private labs of well-known petroleum companies.
Mr Ribet emphasised their patented products are proving popular and reliable for operators in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Its Stopkit is an online leak-sealing solution which can stop a live leak up to 150 bars and up to 150°C. “We have developed specific and unique know-how regarding subsea repairs and have successfully concluded many projects,” he said.
In 2018 and again in 2020, 3X was called on to repair several subsea caissons for a Norwegian oil and gas company. “Thanks to our solutions, the client could still operate their offshore platforms without shutdowns and in complete safety,” Mr Ribet explained.
One of the many technological advances made by 3X has been its REINFORCEKiT®4D SUBSEA (R4D-S). This is a wet lay-up system wrapped helicoidally around a pipe to bring mechanical resistance to
the damaged pipe section. The number of layers, determined by calculation, is linked to the pipe pressure, temperature, diameter and thickness, as well as the pit depth and length, the steel grade and the pipe location.
R4D-S can repair and reinforce pipelines operating at temperatures between +5°C (+41°F) up to +65°C (+149°F) subject to external/internal corrosion, leaks, dents and mechanical damages for the underwater environment.
Mr Ribet reflected that the 3X teams had installed R4D-S across many projects, including repair to reinforce a 48” subsea pipe damaged by an external corrosion defect and leak at 5m depth.
This project was the longest one performed by 3X in a subsea environment. It was successfully repaired using R4D-S despite various complicated parameters: a 48” large diameter pipe, leaking defect,
and 27m length of repair requiring a composite wrapping in many sections. As part of another project in Vietnam, R4D-S was utilised by 3X’s local distributor Petroenertech to reinforce a 16” subsea pipe with a dent at a depth of 49.4m.
“Despite Covid, the project was conducted by our distributor under the supervision of 3X by videoconference throughout the repair,” said Mr Ribet. “This demonstrated the adaptability of 3X and its distributors to work remotely during the pandemic.”
Sustained growth
3X had enjoyed considerable growth in recent years despite the pandemic, according to Mr Ribet: “Our company has continued growing every year, increased its activities and still managed to successfully meet the demands of each and every project. 3X would like to thank its clients
and partners who have trusted our know-how and solutions.
“However, even as the company grows, it is important to stay focused on our core v alues of responsiveness and quality. Clients depend on us and our products, and we will never lose sight of that.”
Mr Ribet outlined how the company’s growth had also taken its proven solutions from the energy industry into the power plant and nuclear sectors with its Reflangekit product, an online SF6 leaksealing solution. “3X has also developed solutions for structural repairs to reinforce beams in the railway sector,” he said.
“Because our core values are innovation and quality, the research and development team keep exploring new technologies to improve the standard of our products and technical services and to develop
new repair solutions,” Mr Ribet concluded. “ 3X is also continuing to expand its network of distributors globally, so that even more end-clients can benefit from our experience and expertise.” n
Friulforgia is the forging and machining headquarters of the TTN Group and is a leading player in the steel sector in its own right. Friulforgia manufactures pre-machined and final machined forgings of any shape, and works with grades ranging from carbon, duplex and super duplex stainless steels. Hannah Barnett spoke to Mosè Molaro, Sales Manager, and Francesco Rizzani, Plant Manager, to learn more.
Friulforgia has hit the sweet spot in business. The flexibility afforded from being a medium-sized company compliments the vertical integration offered by its membership of the TTN Group.
Verticalisation means clients benefit from the convenience of a single supplier providing a comprehensive solution. Friulforgia handles all operations from forging to the final machining and packaging, within the group. “Essentially, we simplify the procurement process for our customers by offering them a single point of contact, even for ready-to-mount components,” said Mosè Molaro, Sales Manager.
Friulforgia specialises in open die forging, with seven manufacturing plants in northern Italy, one in Spain and a sales office in Texas. The company offers a wide range of forgings: these include blowout preventers, risers, clamps, jack-up components, valve bodies, cylinders and much more. Thanks
partly to its strategically located branch in Houston, which opened in 2017, the company has established a strong presence the offshore oil and gas markets.
Investment and growth
Alongside the investment into the US office, Friulforgia increased its forging capacity in 2020 by installing a brand-new press with a power capacity of 3,800 tonnes.
“This investment has allowed us to produce more alloy steel, which has a larger field of applicability in the oil and gas industry, so it’s been a very important development,” Francesco Rizzani, Plant Manager, explained. “This includes duplex and super duplex steel that we have produced extensively for making pipes, fittings, subsea connectors, bespoke valves and so on.”
The investment is paying off, as Friulforgia is experiencing a period of strong growth. Turnover has increased from 20 to almost
30 million EUR in the last three years. For the wider TTN Group, it has increased from 70 million to close to 100 million EUR.
Another crucial investment decision was the acquisition of a new Carnaghi vertical lathe for finishing operations. The decision was made having identified a weakness in the company’s vertical turning operations.
“The new lathe can machine parts up to 3.5 metres in diameter and 3.7 metres in length,” Mr Rizzani said; “so, it’s a large machine. It can also mill some boards and surfaces, so it’s not only a lathe but a machining centre. Carnaghi is one of the world leaders for these sorts of machines, making this is a very significant investment.”
Friulforgia aims to ensure this investment will mean the company can effectively handle increased demand for vertically
turned products and provide comprehensive solutions to its customers. The new lathe will be installed by spring 2024.
“This investment will further increase our turnover because one of the main goals is to have the possibility to be self-sufficient in vertical turning and not always depend on sub-suppliers,” Mr Molaro agreed.
“Sometimes sub-suppliers are very busy and have no space for our parts. So it’s very important to us to be able to manage this operation for ourselves.”
And it is not just investment into machinery: the company is also strengthening its operations in terms of project management and personnel.
“We are investing in our workforce,” Mr Molaro said, “by building a team dedicated to complex jobs. For offshore oil and gas customers, there are many
requirements regarding manufacturing procedures, inspections and testing. The management of projects is getting more and more complex because of requirements for various types of documentation, so we have our new people for managing these issues.”
SPE Offshore
Friulforgia is exhibiting at SPE Offshore Europe in Aberdeen in September 2023. The renowned industry event helps the offshore energy value chain to accelerate the transition to a better future by uniting the power of expertise, knowledge and innovative technology.
Mr Molaro explained that he appreciates the value of face-to-face networking more than ever, following the restrictions posed by the Covid pandemic: “As valuable as electronic presentations may be in describing our activities, they cannot match the practicality of showcasing our capabilities and versatility in person.”
For such a diverse industrial group like Friulforgia, with eight vertically integrated manufacturing locations and a wide production range serving multiple industries, engaging in a two-way discussion with prospects is essential.
“It allows us to address their questions and provide specific industry or product-related
details that may arise,” said Mr Molaro. “We recognise that effective communication and direct interaction play a crucial role in demonstrating our expertise and meeting the unique needs of our clients.”
Friulforgia already has the benefit of years of experience and strong contacts throughout the industry, strengthened by its presence in the United States. The company has also cultivated valuable customer
relationships in the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. “With this solid foundation, we are hoping that SPE Offshore will help to create links in the rest of Europe and other parts of the world,” Mr Molaro said.
Sustainable supply chain
In order to improve sustainability throughout its entire production chain, Friulforgia is starting to select suppliers based on their alignment with environmentally friendly principles and objectives. This evaluation process will apply to suppliers of raw materials, as well as those involved in outsourcing tasks.
Like any successful business with many moving parts, it also remains vital that the company maintains a strong day-to-day relationship with its suppliers. Friulforgia chooses suppliers carefully, following a strict qualification and monitoring procedure, particularly concerning the quality of products.
The company purchases hundreds of steel ingots to be forged every year from sites in Italy, Austria and Germany and there can be no compromises on quality.
“Each supplier performs better on some steel grades than others,” Mr Molaro said: “so, it is our priority to select the best solution to maximise the final performance of our products. This is also why our supplier base is limited to a few reliable companies we know very well, which has always enabled us to deliver high-quality forgings.”
The shift to renewables is also a key element of the energy transition. Friulforgia has always operated in that sector, supplying forgings to prominent companies mostly in the wind-power and hydro-power sectors, including an offshore tidal energy farm in Northern Europe.
“Over the past few years, we have observed significant growth in wind-power projects and a slow-but-steady increase
of hydro power,” Mr Molaro concluded.
“We recognise that renewable energy sources are the inevitable future and are fully committed to investing substantial time and resources to providing the best possible service to customers in these industries. We understand the importance of renewable energy in addressing global environmental challenges and achieving sustainability goals.”
n
upstream downstream one voice
event focus:
ADIPEC
A preview of ADIPEC, followed by associated company profiles for :
specialized oilfield products emdad enhanced drilling lamprell bluewhale offshore al fanar gas
Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, explains the show to Inside Oil & Gas.
ADIPEC 2023
Hosted in Abu Dhabi by ADNOC, and taking place from 2-5 October 2023, ADIPEC is an international platform convening global energy producers, consumers and innovators to accelerate game-changing solutions and transformational progress towards decarbonisation and the future of energy. Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, organisers of the show, shared with Inside Oil & Gas what visitors can expect.
What makes ADIPEC special this year?
ADIPEC has evolved considerably over the years. Today, we build on our nearly 40year legacy of innovation and evolution with a bolder vision, and stronger purpose to support the energy industry and wider
ecosystem in its efforts to transition towards greater sustainability. Under the overarching theme, ‘Decarbonising. Faster. Together’, ADIPEC 2023 seeks to unite industries to accelerate the urgent action and game-changing solutions needed to decarbonise quicker and future-proof the global energy system.
For four days, ADIPEC will convene some of the brightest minds from across the energy value chain and beyond –including government, private enterprise stakeholders, technology, academia
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
2-5th October, 2023
www.adipec.com
and finance – to ignite the innovative and disruptive thinking needed to tackle the world’s most pressing energy challenges.
And with ADIPEC 2023 taking place less than two months before the UAE hosts the 28th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP28), our event is uniquely placed to offer a global stage to address some of those critical issues from across the energy ecosystem and focus on moving the needle forward towards securing sustainable energy for all.
How have you been preparing for ADIPEC 2023?
ADIPEC consistently strives to be a force for transformation and leadership, offering a platform for the industry, by the industry. Through continued discussions with key industry stakeholders – including the ADIPEC 2023 Executive Committee – we have iden tified specific challenges the energy industry needs to be advanced, including reducing methane emissions, supporting the decarbonisation of heavy industries and facilitating finance and investment in low-carbon energy and clean technology.
Reflecting this, ADIPEC’s themes and programme have been designed to bring together the ideas, ambition, technology and capital needed to address some of these critical issues and drive energy progress on the path to net zero. They are focused on facilitating collaboration and innovation, to enable diverse actors to unify around a common cause and empower them to share ideas, co-operate and build the momentum needed to create the energy system of the future.
These key industry challenges will be addressed across 10 strategic and technical conferences and more than 350 sessions, where more than 1,600 speakers
Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, explains the show to Inside Oil & Gas.
Abu Dhabi,
Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events.
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will share diverse perspectives and approaches, forge collaborations and explore the strategies and innovations critical to accelerating a cleaner, more secure energy future.
How is ADIPEC responding to industry needs in this rapidly changing and challenging energy environment?
ADIPEC’s central focus on decarbonisation reflects the need for energy and related sectors to reduce their carbon emissions in support of the global energy transition. As part of our commitment to that, we have developed enriched conference and exhibition offerings to enable a secure and sustainable energy future.
This includes the new ADIPEC Decarbonisation Accelerator; a specialised exhibition area that enables organisations to showcase their game-changing projects and solutions driving decarbonisation at scale. Within the Accelerator, a dedicated Start-up hub will host pioneers presenting groundbreaking technologies that drive the future of decarbonisation and accelerate energy progress.
Complementary to that, we have introduced the new Decarbonisation Connect
initiative to facilitate connections on the show floor by showcasing exhibitors’ decarbonisation strategies and innovations through dedicated spaces and presentations. To increase engagement, we are also developing the Decarbonisation Guide, featuring exhibitors' decarbonisation products and solutions and a schedule of exhibitor presentations during the event.
Recognising the importance of the maritime sector – which supports the transportation of 90% of all traded goods –ADIPEC 2023 has broadened its focus on the wider maritime and logistics industries. We have launched a dedicated hall to host our expanded Maritime & Logistics Zone and dedicated Maritime & Logistics Strategic and Technical Conferences. The zone will connect the global maritime and logistics supply chain with leading experts in energy and technology driving lower-carbon solutions while maintaining sustainable
EVENT PREVIEW
Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, explains the show to
Inside Oil & Gas.
growth, while the conferences will gather industry leaders, regulators and decisionmakers from across the shipping and logistics supply chain to engage in technical and strategic dialogue around decarbonisation and digital innovation.
These new offerings, alongside our expanded youth programme, Hydrogen Strategic Conference and all new ADIPEC Awards categories, support the global energy transition by focusing the wider industry’s attention on key needs and issues. Proof of ADIPEC’s responsiveness and relevance to industry’s needs can be seen in the fact that we had our highestever number of submissions for our Technical and Downstream Technical Conferences, and a record number of submissions for our ADIPEC Awards.
What are the top-line issues for energy and energy-related companies this year?
Energy industry volatility, climate change- related commitments, persistent global conflicts, and record levels of inflation are among some of the many challenges currently being faced by the global energy ecosystem. At the same time, energy and its related industries, like manufacturing and transport, face growing pressure to reduce emissions outputs – through improved efficiency and use of cleaner fuels, secure investment for research and development for cleaner products and services, and to ensure the continuity of the company’s commitment to sustainability through training and development of its workforce.
While the issues faced by the energy ecosystem are manifold, as an inclusive platform convening countries, governments and policymakers ADIPEC has created an event programme and setting to enable participants to engage in inclusive dialogue, foster collaboration
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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and work collectively to find solutions. Some of the timely topics of focus in our conference programme include reinforcing regulatory systems to guide and accelerate emissions reduction, decarbonising end-use and heavy industries to facilitate discussion and resolution, and navigating safety and sustainability for hydrogen.
In the same vein, we have introduced all new ADIPEC Awards categories reflecting topics of importance to a sustainable and inclusive energy transition, like hydrogen, decarbonisation at scale, clean-tech and sustainable energy for the developing world. Like previous editions, the awards focus on celebrating the pioneers in industry who are implementing the projects and programmes that are helping to scale up, innovate, and support the changes needed in the energy sector and beyond.
What can visitors expect to see on the show floor at ADIPEC 2023?
More than 2,200 companies from across the entire energy value chain will exhibit at ADIPEC’s 15 exhibition halls, which include four specialised exhibition areas – the Decarbonisation Accelerator, Maritime & Logistics Zone, Digitalisation in Energy Zone, and Manufacturing & Industrialisation
Exhibition & Conference. Additionally, the 30 dedicated country pavilions at ADIPEC 2023 will highlight each country’s latest innovations and best practices, offering a platform for global collaboration and innovation.
ADIPEC’s strategic conference programmes have been curated to focus on important topics like hydrogen, decarbonisation, manufacturing and industrialisation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and the development of future leaders. The technical conference programme has been designed to demonstrate cutting-edge technical and engineering insights that will drive ideas, overcome challenges, create new value and highlight innovation. n
SPECIALIZED
Specialized Oilfield Products was established in 2004 as a joint venture with Canadian manufacturer Lee Specialities, from which it also took its name. A later rebranding would see it become Specialized Oilfield Products, today a leading engineering, designing and manufacturing company for quality wireline and well services equipment for land and offshore operations. Richard Hagan chatted with General Manager Bellatreche Abdelghani who revealed the company’s impressive growth plans.
Pr esent in 18 countries, with clients including the so-called ‘big four’, spanning Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Specialized Oilfield Products (SOP) is a key player in the upstream industry.
Pumping out premium products
SOP offers a wide variety of specialised products in even more bespoke packaging. The jewel in the crown of the product range is its wireline units. These are offered in onshore, truck-based packages, and in offshore skid-based pack ages. Its truck units can be built into containerised trucks, crane trucks, integrated trucks and into logging trucks.
Its skid-based units, meanwhile, are available as single-drum
s lickline units, single-drum e-line units and double-drum slickline units. Moving on to its mast products, SOP offers a wide range of mast heights ranging from a 40ft mast to a 90ft mast. Two ginpoles are also offered, one 35ft and one 50ft.
Similar to its wireline units, the company’s well head maintenance units are a third category and are also offered i n either skid-based configurations or in truck-mounted units. Finally, SOP offers well service pumping units, once again in either skid-mounted form or as a trailer-mounted unit
Brokering bespoke
SOP manufactures all of its products inhouse and, according to General Manager Bellatreche Abdelghani, that gives the company a substantial edge over the competition: “Thanks to our large factory and our advanced manufacturing capabilities, we are able to supply bespoke solutions depending on the client’s particular requirements. Our in-house design and engineering team is on hand to develop customised solutions and a bespoke design.”
SOP’s in-house state-of-art engineering capabilities were put to the test with a recent Australian client request for wireline units light enough to be carried by helicopter to an inland facility. Due to the weight limitations inherent to helicopter transport, the
client required the units to be made extra lightweight to enable safe carriage via helicopter. SOP’s teams rose to the occasion and developed a lightweight unit with a high-grade aluminium alloy frame and lighterweight equipment within.
“We have since supplied 45 of these lightweight units to the client,” said Mr Abdelghani. “We are the only company that accepted the challenge of moving these orders from New Guinea and Australia to the middle of a jungle in New Guinea, via helicopter. The project was such a success that the client has already begun talks for more equipment.”
Electrifying emissions
In the meantime, Mr Abdelghani pointed out that SOP’s in-house teams have been hard at work developing the company’s latest innovation: “As the world focuses increasingly on sustainability and carbon emissions reduction measures, we have developed sophisticated electric motor-based solutions that will allow our clients to move away from dirty diesel-based systems.
“We’re in talks with two big customers already, with a view to providing complete electric systems, including by replacing hydrostatic transmission, rather than diesel-driven systems; and there is huge interest from them in the lower emissions and decreased carbon footprint that this can offer them.”
These efforts align with SOP’s own emissions reduction goals, having committed itself to Euro 6 emissions standards.
Going local
SOP’s manufacturing facility is located in Mussafah in Abu Dhabi and consists of an impressive 45,000-square-foot property boasting two factories, with one dedicated to fabrication and one to final assembly. The two workshops form a production line beginning with fabrication, progressing to assembly and then into final testing and commissioning.
104 highly skilled staff are employed in this large facility.
Thanks to a raft of high-tech machinery that includes modern, sophisticated CNC machines that were installed in 2019, SOP is now able to manufacture as much as 80% of its required components in-house.
The company’s growth plan for the next five years will see it open another, similarly large and high-tech manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in 2024. As a result of local content requirements, the new facility will be built within the context of joint ventures with local contractors.
“Saudi Arabia is a huge market and will remain so for the next five years; at least until 2028 and beyond,” said Mr Abdelghani. “The Saudi government requires projects like this to involve local manufacturing, thus increasing in-country value. We are still ironing out the details of the business model for this new facility, but we have already had discussions with local contractors for local content.
“The challenge is that there is a shortage of local contractors with the required skills and assets in Saudi that
will allow us to manufacture 100 per cent of the product there, so the difficulty right now is in developing a business model that accounts for that while still allowing us to serve our clients.”
Setting the standard
With almost 70 years’ worth of accumulated experience within its engineering and design teams, SOP is optimistic about its prospects for the future.
“We’re planning to diversify our product range through increasing our range of pumping, wellhead maintenance units and auxiliary equipment available,”
Mr Abdelghani noted. “We believe that we make the best equipment in the market and therefore the bulk of our reinvestment in the business goes into design and engineering.”
Its strong industry relationships and supply chain logistics will also continue to play a major role in SOP’s success. Despite international supply chain delays, SOP’s in-house manufacturing has ensured that any delays are otherwise softened as much as possible. “We are confident that our strong relationships and local manufacturing will continue to overcome any remaining challenges,” the GM explained.
Concluding the discussion, Mr Abdelghani reflected on the love for the business and the industry shared by himself and his teams: “What excites me about the work we do here is when we deliver a project, and the client is so fully satisfied with everything we’ve done that the client immediately starts discussing further work together.” n
EMDAD is an upstream and downstream integrated solutions provider in Abu Dhabi. Since its inception in 1979, the company has kept pace with the development of the region’s industrial landscape. Now, in accordance with the energy transition, EMDAD has branched into renewable energy too. Hannah Barnett spoke to COO Basil Al Ramahi to find out more.
into renewable energy, actively contributing to reducing our carbon footprint and addressing climate change, in parallel with the UAE’s vision.”
EMDAD has a significant market share within the energy sector. As a result, the company is continually re-investing into its facilities and therefore its ability to provide tailored solutions.
Adaptation is in EMDAD’s DNA. Over t he years, the company has evolved from trading, maintenance and repairs into a comprehensive solutions provider in the energy sector.
“We have diversified our capabilities, expanded into new markets and embraced emerging technologies by forming strategic partnerships and acquiring companies that complement our services and enhance our capabilities,” said COO Basil Al Ramahi. “These collaborations have enabled us to broaden our expertise, access new markets, and strengthen our position as a leading player in the industry to meet the changing needs of our clients. Now we are venturing
The company’s headquarters are located in the heart of Abu Dhabi city. The main facility of 90,000 square metres at an industrial complex in Abu Dhabi includes workshops for valve testing and maintenance/retrofit, well intervention fishing and milling services, cementing and coil tubing stimulation, asset integrity, cathodic protection, facility management, civil maintenance work, reinforced thermoplastic, turnaround shutdowns services, scaffolding, fabrication and manufacturing in addition to whipstock services. EMDAD also has a 121,000 square metre site in Habshan, strategically located close to oil fields. The site accommodates 250 personnel, 24 offices and hosts a plant designed to treat oil-based mud waste, among other operations.
“We have continuously invested in enhancing our production capacity to meet the growing demands of our clients,” said Mr Al Ramahi. “Our state-of-the-art facilities, advanced equipment and skilled workforce enable us to deliver products
and services in a timely and efficient manner. By maintaining a strong production capacity, we ensure that we can meet the diverse needs of our clients across various projects and sectors.”
Sustainability in the sector
Acknowledging the importance of the environment has become vital in the oil and gas sector. As a result, EMDAD has made significant strides in developing renewable energy options. The company formed EMDAD Energy in 2022.
“EMDAD Energy is a really exciting division of our company,” said Mr Al Ramahi. “We have made a strategic move into renewable energy, solar and wind power specifically. It reflects our commitment to a greener and more sustainable future.
“It also presents a tremendous business opportunity. The demand for clean energy solutions is rapidly growing. By offering solar power services, we are tapping
into this expanding market, diversifying our revenue stream and positioning ourselves as a leader in the renewable energy industry.”
By embracing renewable energy, the company hopes to showcase its commitment to staying ahead of the curve, remaining responsive to environmental concerns and changes in regulation. In addition, the company is implementing various measures to improve its own sustainability.
“We are actively working to reduce energy consumption across our operations,” explained Mr Al Ramahi. “This includes adopting energy efficient technologies and optimising our process. We are also implementing waste reduction and recycling programmes to minimise our environmental footprint.”
Though some green measures might be relatively new, EMDAD is well practiced in several other sustainable practices. For example, the company has a long-term
partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), treating oil-based mud cuttings wastes.
“All the cuttings come from the ADNOC rigs to our central station,” explained Mr Al Ramahi, “We treat the cuttings and reuse them for filling the roads or construction. We have been doing this since 2007 and are proudly the only company delivering such unique service to date for ADNOC.”
ADIPEC
EMDAD will be showcasing its capabilities at ADIPEC 2023. The international platform and trade show promotes cross-sector partnerships and inspiring game-changing solutions, aiming to move towards a cleaner, more secure energy future. It takes place in Abu Dhabi in October.
“ADIPEC is a major platform for networking with industry professionals, potential clients and partners,” said Mr Al Ramahi, “allowing us to forge valuable connections and collaborations. Trade shows also offer the opportunity to showcase our products, services and innovations to targeted audiences, while raising awareness about our brands and generating leads. Additionally, I think participation in trade shows enables us to stay abreast of
industry trends, learn from the experts and gain insight into emerging technologies.”
This year’s theme is ‘decarbonising faster together’, which comes at an ideal time with the recent launch of EMDAD Energy. The company intends to highlight a range of innovative solutions in the renewable energy sector. This includes solar power, as well as wind, hydropower and bio energy, plus the benefits gained from the integration of AI technology and drones.
“I think our primary focus is to promote our expertise in renewable energy and showcase our commitment to sustainability,” said Mr Al Ramahi. “With our partners and our strategic principles, we can add significant value to ADIPEC.”
Partnerships and services
Alongside renewables, EMDAD is very successful in upstream and downstream services. The company leverages its expertise to provide cutting-edge technologies and solutions that drive the exploration, production and extraction of conventional and renewable energy resources. Through this comprehensive range of services, EMDAD empowers its clients to optimise operations, enhance efficiency and maximise yields.
“Upstream, we provide worldwide global partners with the latest technology,” explained Mr Al Ramahi. “And we have our own services, like through our sister company Emjel, which provides cementing and coil tubing stimulation services. We also have services for fishing, milling, whipstock and rental directional drilling, among others.”
In the downstream sector, the company delivers innovative solutions that facilitate refining, processing and distribution of energy products. Whether it's optimising refining processes, designing state-ofthe-art storage facilities or implementing efficient transportation networks, EMDAD excels at developing integrated solutions that enhance productivity, reliability and safety.
“We firmly believe in the transformative power of renewable energy,” continued Mr Al Ramahi. “By leveraging our
extensive industry experience and forward-thinking mindset, we are at the forefront of developing and implementing renewable energy solutions. From designing and constructing solar power plants to harnessing the force of wind and water, we embrace the full spectrum of renewable energy sources, providing clients with sustainable alternatives that align with their environmental objectives.
“Our approach is characterised by customisation and adaptability. We understand that each client’s needs and challenges are unique. Therefore, we work closely with our clients to deliver products and solutions that are specifically tailored to their requirements, ensuring optimal performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.”
Though recent years have posed challenges for the supply chain, the company
continues to prize close relationships with its partners, many of which stretch back decades.
“Our relationship with suppliers is built on trust and a mutually beneficial partnership,” said Mr Al Ramahi. “We conduct performance evaluations and continuous improvement initiatives. Our suppliers and partners are crucial to our success as they contribute to our supply chain efficiency, product quality and overall customer satisfaction.”
The company was also a proud collaborator in the Made in the UAE scheme, an open invitation to businesses and entrepreneurs to engage with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology for an investment into innovative product development. EMDAD contributed four products, fully designed and manufactured in the UAE.
With plans to elevate its Industry 4.0 capability and continue to drive sustainable growth in the energy sector, EMDAD looks set to continue to adapt, evolve and grow. and strive to be the favoured choice for talented Emiratis. For Mr Al Ramahi, it is being part of a well-established industry – while also pushing for change – that makes his job so fulfilling.
“ It is an honour to be part of a nation that is committed to tackling climate change and taking a leading role in driving the sustainability agenda,” he concluded.
“As the COO, I’m inspired by the potential we have to make a significant difference, from developing innovative renewable energy solutions, to implementing sustainable practices. Through our operations, we can actively contribute to the UAE’s sustainability goals and global efforts towards a more resilient and low-carbon future.” n
Basil Al Ramahi, COO
Drilling into pressure management
tech
Specialist drilling technology and service provider Enhanced Drilling offers unique and robust drilling technology and services to the offshore oil and gas industry. It serves all parts of the well – from cuttings transport on the seabed or back to the drilling vessel, to pressure management during drilling and completions. Richard Hagan met with CEO Kjetil Lunde to find out how the company’s systems and solutions are redefining pressure management whilst drilling.
Since its establishment in 1987 outside Bergen, Norway, Enhanced Drilling has delivered over 1,000 wells globally in all major basins and with most of the world’s major oilfield operators, ranging from super majors and national oil companies to independent operators.
Today, thanks to Enhanced Drilling’s range of revolutionary drilling support systems, the company’s client base has diversified outside of its traditional customer base of oilfield operators, to include drilling contractors now also.
Taking MPD to new heights and lows
Enhanced Drilling offers several high-tech, ground-breaking technologies that have repeatedly proven their value in every basin and in all conditions worldwide.
One of these is Enhanced Drilling’s EC-Drill ® system. EC-Drill ® is a Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) service that uses the controlled mud level technique. The heart of this system is a subsea pump module connected to the riser, and a sophisticated control system topside which also monitors and adjusts the riser pressure.
By adjusting the fluid column in the riser, EC-Drill ® is able to control pressure in the well in real time, on the fly. “Our pumps are able to rapidly manipulate the pressure in the well,” said CEO Kjetil Lunde. “If any issues are picked up topside on the rig, the operator can quickly change the pressure generated by the fluid in the well. It allows you to drill very difficult wells with narrow pressure margins. That in turn allows for more efficient, quicker drilling. It’s also a huge safety bonus.”
“We have now combined the system with a riser closure device, giving us the ability to add pressure to the well,” Mr Lunde added. “It can be applied to all sections post Blow Out Preventer (BOP). So, given that we are manipulating the pressure by adjusting the fluid column in the riser, it means that the deeper the well, the more pressure we can manage.”
As a brand-new system, Enhanced Drilling is now able to offer a closed riser system combining the two MPD methods; Controlled Mud Level and Surface Back Pressure, adding the best of both methods into a single system.
Rising to the occasion
Another technology offered by Enhanced Drilling is its Riserless Mud Recovery. Based on the same technology as EC-Drill ® , this system is utilised during top hole drilling before the BOP and riser are installed. The system consists of a subsea pump module placed on the seabed close to the top hole, and a suction module placed o n the well. These are linked to a power and control unit topside from which the system is controlled.
The Riserless Mud Recovery system allows the drilling operator to drill using engineered fluid. “It offers the operator
very unique well volume control capabilities that they usually don’t have access to during top hole drilling,” Mr Lunde noted. “If, for example, there are shallow hazards or difficult areas in the first phase of the well, this is a great product that gives them more control over that drilling process and avoids unwanted incidents.
“More importantly, this is a recycling system,” he continued. “With our pump we’re able to return all the mud that oth erwise would have been dumped onto the seabed back to the rig so that it can be recycled. This has a very positive impact on seabed conservation.”
“We have successfully used this system in highly environmentally sensitive areas of the world, such as reefs and fish spawning locations, where there are important subsea features that can otherwise be harmed. Avoiding what we call ‘pump and
dump’ is something the industry should be aiming for, and the technology for that is now here. At Enhanced Drilling we take pride in providing a more sustainable way of drilling.”
Going global
Enhanced Drilling is headquartered in its birthplace outside Bergen, in western Norway. There, the company owns 3,000sqm of workshop area and 800sqm of warehouse area, in addition to a 9,000sqm
yard and 2,600sqm of office space. This large facility, operated by 93 staff members, enables the company to comprehensively service its operations globally.
More recently, Enhanced Drilling opened its first facility in Houston, Texas. Its ‘Houston Technical and Training Centre’ employs 34 people and incorporates a 900sqm workshop and warehouse and 200sqm of office space. This modern new facility will ensure that Enhanced Drilling can properly service its growing presence in the Gulf of Mexico.
“We see a large demand for our technology increasing globally. We won a major contract in Houston in 2019 and by 2023 we were deploying on our second rig with a contract already in hand for a third, so we’re enjoying rapid growth in the Gulf,” said Mr Lunde. “We believe the Americas will be one of our most important operational areas going forward.”
Enhanced Drilling also has an operational hub in Perth, Australia, with seven permanent staff members serving both the Australian and Southeast Asian markets.
See Enhanced Drilling live
In October 2023, Enhanced Drilling will attend the IADC MPD conference in Denver, where they will present three papers dedicated to its operations and groundbreaking technology. “We expect our papers to be interesting to the operators and drilling community because this is the first time that anyone has done what we’re doing with an MPD system,” Mr Lunde revealed.
Enhanced Drilling will also be presenting EC-Monitor™, a novel continuous flow checking system, at the IADC Advanced Rig Technology Conference in Amsterdam.
Concluding, the CEO reflected on an award that Enhanced Drilling recently
earned: “In 2022, we received the award for Best Well Integrity Technology at the World Oil Awards. Achieving this award, from amongst the high-quality entries we were competing with, is a testament to the capabilities of our organisation. It reiterates the value of our 35-year focus on innovation backed by our extensive intellectual property catalogue.”
“We never simply deliver what other companies deliver. This philosophy has led to the in-house development of these wonderful systems, and we certainly look forward to introducing our technology to even more operators in the years to come.” n
TOANENERGY-PACKED WORLD
Lamprell is a leading provider of contracting services to the global energy sector. Sustainability and innovation are common threads that drive strategy and growth through its renewables, oil and gas, and digital business units. Group HSES Manager David Enders, and HSES Bids & Sustainability Coordinator Mudashir Afolabi spoke to Andy Probert about the company and its desire to be net zero by 2050.
Sustainability works hand-in-hand with Lamprell's corporate responsibilities, whether that lies in its renewables, oil and gas, or digital business units. A leader in building complex offshore and onshore process modules, platforms, and in fabricating and refurbishing jack-up rigs and liftboats, Lamprell is actively involved in several sustainable initiatives. It has publicly committed to becoming net-zero by 2050 and driving sustainable gains across its supply chain.
It has established a reputation as an early mover and leader in the renewables sector since 2007. By the end of 2022, it had delivered 138 foundations for offshore windfarm farms on the East Anglia ONE, Moray East and Seagreen projects and it had concluded the Middle East’s first green trade finance facility for use on the Seagreen project.
Lamprell employs more than 5,000 people across multiple facilities, with its primary hub located in the Hamriyah Free Zone, in the UAE, which can produce up to 150 transition pieces annually, using its state-ofthe-art production line. The facilities cover
LAMPRELL
800,000sqm with over 1.5km of quayside, explained Mr David Enders, Group HSES Manager.
Underpinned by nearly 50 years of expertise, Lamprell has continued actively targeting the growing renewables industry in its traditional European markets and in new geographies, including the USA and Asia.
Key milestones
In September 2022, Lamprell was awarded a contract for construction of structures for deployment on the Moray Offshore Windfarm in the UK’s North Sea. The work includes constructing 60 wind turbine generator transition pieces and two transition pieces for offshore substations and shipping them to the UK.
Moray West is a new offshore wind farm comprising 60 turbines in the outer Moray Firth. Ocean Winds, a venture between EDP
Renewables and ENGIE, is developing it. Once operational in 2024-25, the project will provide reliable energy for the equivalent of 640,000 homes.
To complete the works on this new project, Lamprell will make use of its new production line, which will be completed in mid-2023 and which enables the expedited construction of jacket components, transition pieces and monopiles for renewables projects.
Transition pieces and monopiles form the foundations of the wind generator turbines. The transition piece is a reinforced part of the support structure connected to the wind turbine tower. Monopiles are steel piles which sit beneath the turbine tower, typically by way of a transition piece, and are driven into the seabed.
Mr Mudashir Afolabi, HSES Bids & Sustainability Coordinator, outlined how one of Lamprell's historic milestones
had been the delivery of six offshore windfarm installation vessels for various clients across the globe.
More recently, Lamprell has expanded its scope of products into floating offshore facilities, High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) and High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) platforms and jackets. These are part of Lamprell’s future renewables strategy, and the company is actively targeting and bidding on these projects.
As well as oil and gas, Mr Enders highlighted how the company was also focused on digital solutions in construction and operational projects to increase productivity and ensure its continuing world class safety standards.
Sustainable journey
“Our supply chain has a truly global scope, stretching from Asia to Europe,” Mr Enders continued. “One area of focus is the potential impact on sustainability. Mudashir and I are increasingly engaging with supply chain stakeholders to get
them to report on their Scope 3 emissions while promoting best practices in their sustainability management.
“Lamprell's sustainability journey has been ongoing for around ten years, with the reporting and monitoring on waste diversion on-site, and improving its external C0 2 reporting.” In launching its CO 2 reduction programme, Lamprell has reduced gross greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 48% since 2015.
Mr Afolabi noted that the company was considered a leader in the industry in managing ESG risks and opportunities, rated AA by MSCI and has decreased its gross diesel usage by 77% since 2015.
Lamprell's environmental stewardship programme is focused on the communities in which it operates, according to Mr Afolabi: “We are committed to protecting and enhancing local ecosystems through various initiatives, including our annual UAE Clean Coastline event, which was launched in 2018. We regularly engage with our stakeholders to increase sustainability awareness and encourage adopting environmentally conscious best practices.
“The construction industry as a whole is a significant polluter, being responsible for 40 per cent of global carbon emissions. Lamprell, however, has implemented initiatives pragmatically supporting its strategic sustainable efforts.”
A case in point was a $500,000 investment for the implementation of recommendations from third party facility energy audit.
“Sustainability is part of Lamprell’s DNA and embedded in its procedures and workforce, overseen by our Sustainability Committee,” said Mr Afolabi. “Recently we initiated a sustainability awareness programme that was designed to improve the knowledge and behaviours towards sustainable practices among employees and their families.
“We want to take that to the next level, and Lamprell is planning to implement annual initiatives which aim to achieve and deliver the net zero road map by 2050.”
These have already included a change of diesel generators at its main facility to 'grid-connected electricity', helping
to more than halve energy emissions between 2015 and 2022. Solar panels are also being considered as a way to provide further alternative-energy power sources at its facilities.
“We look to make our systems more efficient, in an effort to drive down emissions and become more energy-efficient,” explained Mr Afolabi. “We have a pipeline of other solutions that we are planning to implement. It has the added benefit of reducing costs to the business!”
“Our approach to net zero is structured around energy efficiency, replacement of fossil fuel where possible and engaging our supply chain,” said Mr Enders. “We are also seeking support from our supply chain, particularly in areas where sustainable frameworks are still evolving. We want to include key performance indicators
into our subcontracts, as a way to measure supplier progress on ESG matters and to drive more sustainable solutions to our clients.”
“We have seen over 100 per cent growth in our renewable bid pipeline in the last three years, and the renewables market is currently very buoyant. Lamprell’s bid pipeline for renewables projects currently exceeds US$2 billion. The trend is expected to continue as the drive for sustainability continues globally,” concluded Mr Afolabi. “Lamprell is well-positioned to benefit from this growth market and has invested strategically to capture some of this growth, with the major investment of the production line in our Hamriyah facility.”
“As climate change is a major driver for the energy transition,” Mr Enders concluded, “Lamprell is well placed to take advantage of forthcoming opportunities.” n
Headquartered in Singapore (the undisputed oil hub of Southeast Asia), Bluewhale Offshore has been excelling in the management of offshore oil drilling services since it was first established in 2016. In an exclusive interview with Inside Oil & Gas magazine, President, Mr Xu Jingsheng provided insight into the company’s latest operations. Report written by Imogen Ward.
Bluewhale Offshore has wasted no time in getting stuck in with everything the oil and gas sector has to offer. Bolstered by its parent CIMC Group, the company has been working hard to make a name for itself.
“Over the past seven years, we have been successful in the delivery of safe and efficient projects to our customers,” President Mr Xu Jingsheng said. “The
quality of service that we provide has given our clients a great first-hand impression of what we can do.”
Bluewhale Offshore was initially set up in 2016 to manage the offshore drilling rigs owned by its parent company CIMC. The group is a first-class supplier of logistics and specialist energy equipment. Through the group’s various subsidiaries and divisions, it has presence in a diverse range of
BLUEWHALE OFFSHORE I PROFILE
industries, including modular construction, offshore and shipping.
Now, with a presence in more than 12 countries (offering a complete service of offshore drilling, plug and abandonment, field decommissioning, and other offshore services), Bluewhale Offshore’s books have been busier than ever.
Spouting out amazing projects
All of the work currently ongoing at Bluewhale Offshore is being completed on a long-term basis and has been very
successful so far. This is, in part, due to the reliability of its suppliers.
“Quality is very important to us, and we aspire to maintain that throughout every aspect of our service,” Mr Xu explained. “That also applies to our supply chain. We tend to assign contracts that last several years to make sure they are a reliable source for us and can provide supplies that are a reflection of that.”
Since it was first established, Bluewhale Offshore has completed five major projects, and has several exciting
ones currently underway. Within the company’s portfolio is work for several major companies, including CNOOC.
Last year, Bluewhale Offshore was awarded a contract from CNOOC China for the use of one of its semi-submersible rigs, Bluewhale I, in the South China Sea. Predicted to last until 2025, this project really makes the most of the rig’s capabilities and comes off the back of a previous collaboration.
“This is our second project with CNOOC, both of which have been dedicated to its deepwater development,” Mr Xu said. “The return custom of this company really highlights the success and dependability of our services.”
The first CNOOC project also utilised Bluewhale I for a total of two years, completing five exploration wells and a further
11 development wells. The semi-submersible was exposed to extreme weather conditions and incredibly deep-water levels. Despite these intense conditions, the project was still completed six months ahead of schedule and to high-quality standards.
A fin-tastic fleet
Bluewhale I has significant history in the South China Sea, having completed a majorly successful drilling operation back in 2017. Originally contracted to drill three wells in the deep-water off the coast of Shenhu, the main goal was to locate and drain a significant amount of gas hydrate. However, upon completion of the first well, more than 300,000m3 worth of the gas was collected, and it was decided that the project had surpassed require ments
and therefore could be finished after just 20% of the original expected timeframe.
“Our two deep-water semi-submersibles, Bluewhale I and Bluewhale II are both designed to operate in the North China Sea in harsher, colder conditions,” Mr Xu said. “Their maximum water depth is 12,000ft. We also currently have two mid-water semi-submersibles, called GM4D North Dragon and GM4D Beacon Atlantic, these two are approved to operate in a maximum water depth of 3,900ft.”
The company’s deep-water submersibles also benefit from a Frigstad D90 design, making them the perfect
choice to withstand rough elements out at sea.
The fleet also consists of Caspian Driller, a highly efficient jack-up rig. This rig was commissioned in 2014 and has provided continuous service for Dragon Oil since 2015.
Swimming in ISO certifications
Bluewhale Offshore’s dedication to delivering safe operations within the oil and gas industry is extremely commendable. With the backing of its parent, the company abides by several key commitments: ensuring the health and safety of
Bluewhale President, Mr Zu Jingsheng
its people, minimising any impact on the environment, and safeguarding the integrity of its business by meeting the highest ethical standards.
To meet these commitments the company has several in-house policies, relating to QHSE and operations.
“Bluewhale Offshore sees safety and the environment as top priorities, when it comes to crews, the companies we have contracts with and also the markets we operate in,” Mr Xu said. “At a core level, we are all competent with QHSE – from the top of the company to the frontline operations – everyone adheres to our QHSE policy.
“To further this, we have developed a very comprehensive Safety and Environment Management system which is integrated into our core management system. This has been in place now for seven years and is a very important element of our daily operations.”
The company has successfully retained ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 certificates to maintain this ethos.
“All our employees receive training, as well as weekly meetings to explore our expectations for safety,” Mr Xu continued. “We want to give our employees the tools needed to work within a safe space, whilst also minimising their environmental impact. This also applies to the varying regulations of each country that we operate in, and we believe we demonstrate this excellently through our ongoing and completed operations.”
As the horizon comes into view, Bluewhale Offshore is excited about the possibilities that come with it. “We always remain optimistic when it comes to the future,” Mr Xu concluded. “We are looking forward to working with the major oil companies around the world, both new and returning. We intend to develop and expand our business worldwide, having spoken to companies based in Asia, North America and South Africa, and we are excited about the potential of what we can do within the industry.” n
Located in the capital of the UAE, Al Fanar Gas is one of the country’s leading oil and gas companies. Now, as the UAE is focusing more on the future of sustainability, Group CEO Moustafa Rashad explained how Al Fanar is getting involved, in an exclusive interview with Inside Oil & Gas. Report written by Imogen Ward.
With the largest market share of LPG in Abu Dhabi, it is safe to say that Al Fanar Gas has achieved a lot over its 33-year history. Currently maintaining a solid market share of 90%, the group is now looking to further its presence within the green energy sector.
“Following many years of success, Al Fanar is now entering the world of sustainability and green energy,” Group CEO Moustafa Rashad said.
“We have conducted many studies with multinational companies who are working with green and blue hydrogen as well as ammonia, and we are looking into carbon capture projects too. These developments have been made to match the UAE’s COP28 vision, and the evolving requirements of the market.”
Al Fanar has been adding value to the oil and gas sector since it first began operating in 1990. With expertise in LPG, SNG and NG, Al Fanar provides a comprehensive service from concept to commissioning, and its installations can be found in more than 70% of Abu Dhabi’s most iconic buildings
Now, with a growing interest in the green energy sector, Al Fanar has successfully diversified its capabilities. With the backing of several key partnerships, the company
is well on its way to enhancing its presence in sustainable energy.
“We believe that we must have some diversity in our work, and to check new business and revenue streams – especially now the world is moving from fossil fuels to sustainable clean energy,” Mr Rashad said. “Currently, clean energy only supplies around 4.7 per cent of the country’s energy demand. So, we still have a long way to go.”
Looking inwardly, Al Fanar is also implementing internal change to improve its own
carbon footprint. It is currently in the process of converting its fleet of 14 gas trucks to NG power, which is a much cleaner alternative. The group is on a mission to eliminate its use of paper in-house as well.
Bringing projects to life
Whilst strengthening its presence within the green energy sector, Al Fanar also has some other major projects on the go. Most recently, the company won a project with Abu Dhabi Ports that is equivalent to AED125 million.
Excitingly, this partnership has also resulted in the establishment of a new company, KEZAD Industrial Services, created from the combination of both businesses’ expertise. The new company will target the investor’s demand for energy, developing and providing new solutions for customers.
Al Fanar already heads the UAE’s SNG sector, having installed more than 80% of the country’s total SNG stations.
Al Fanar has also signed several agreements with significant clients within the hospitality sector, including Line Investments & Property (the Abu Dhabi-based shopping mall development and management division of Lulu Group).
“For the past 10 years, we have held a corporate agreement with Line Investments & Property, supplying all its completed mall
projects,” Mr Rashad said. “We also have long-term contracts with Abu Dhabi National Hotel, Marriott Group, NCT&H and Millennium Group.” These contracts have enabled Al Fanar to supply gas for more than 150 hotels within the UAE.
Another successful venture close to home saw Al Fanar working with DAMAC, a large property developer situated within Dubai. Featuring townhouses and villas, DAMAC Lagoons has installed Al Fanar’s gas infrastructure. The company supplies this Mediterranean-inspired neighbourhood with all the gas needed to meet the requirements of a bustling community.
“Under DAMAC’s portfolio, we are supplying more than 20,000 clients,” Mr Rashad added.
Attending ADIPEC
When it comes to creating meaningful partnerships within the oil and gas sector, Al Fanar thrives. One such example is ADNOC. Since 2016, the group has been approved as one of ADNOC’s main gas distributors.
“Up until the present day, we have completed many tenders for ADNOC, managing the whole operation and maintenance of LPG and natural gas for Abu Dhabi’s new islands,” Mr Rashad said. “As an authorised distributor of LPG for ADNOC, we have successfully distributed more than 100 million litres/year to its customers.”
The relationship between these two entities does not end here though. ADNOC also hosts ADIPEC, a hugely successful oil and gas technical conference. Occurring in Abu Dhabi each year, ADIPEC brings together industry heads from all over the planet to
share knowledge, cutting-edge technology and expertise in order to spearhead change.
As a regular attendee, Al Fanar finds the conference incredibly insightful.
“We have been continuously participating in ADIPEC for eight years now,” Mr Rashad said. “The conference really helps us to understand what is happening with other
AL FANAR GAS I
market players and big names within the industry. It gives us the opportunity to touch base with the latest innovations and technology, and also enables us to improve as a company. Most importantly, it allows us to get our name out there and prove that Al Fanar is a company that consumers can trust, and it really is just a great chance to spend four days celebrating the success of everyone in the industry.”
Forward into the future
Al Fanar has its eyes set on expansion. Having laid out a five-year strategic growth plan in 2022, the company has been completing quarterly assessments to ensure it is on track to meet its 2027 deadline. When it comes to expansion, the company is aiming big, looking at new markets in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
“We are looking at making several acquisitions, mainly in Saudi Arabia, but also in Eastern Europe,” Mr Rashad said.
“We believe that we can add value to Europe’s energy supply.”
On a final note, Mr Rashad discussed the importance of safety in Al Fanar’s operations: “We have a strategy to be number one, without compromising safety, and we have been working closely with the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi, to put forward new regulation safety criteria for the gas industry – specifically when it comes to gas cylinders. They aren’t safe and should be removed from use.”
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upstream downstream one voice
FEATURE COMPANIES
mrds group klaus union royal van beest decom engineering jc valves metalfar locus bio-energy emirates electrical & instrumentation al marwan group
MRDS Group is recognised as a global leader in providing equipment maintenance solutions to the energy sector. Following its acquisition by Garrick Group in 2020, the UKheadquartered company has expanded into the United Arab Emirates and has ambitions to build growth in new fields. Andy Probert caught up with Managing Director Ian McGillivray and Sales Director Ryan Coats to discuss the company’s evolution.
Established in 2015, MRDS Group has achieved much in its relatively short lifespan and is primed to grow even stronger in the international energy sector
The UK-headquartered company specialises in the project management, inspection, repair and overhaul of oilfield drilling and marine equipment, both onshore and offshore. Yet, it harbours major ambitions to enter new markets, such as the renewables and decommissioning sectors, and stamp its credentials as a quality-driven, service-focused provider.
With more than 100 years of combined experience, its senior management has been bolstered by two key milestones: acquisition by Aberdeen-based investment firm Garrick Group in 2020 and expansion into the United Arab Emirates.
“Our acquisition has not only helped to sustain our business growth path throughout the UK and West Africa, but ensured MRDS is well positioned to tap into the incredible potential of MENA’s energy sector and build a solid platform to increase its international footprint,” said Ian McGillivray, Managing Director.
Service profile
MRDS services all vessel types, from drilling platforms, jack-ups and turbine installation vessels to semi-submersibles, drill ships and land-based rigs. It offers a wide range of engineering support, such as oilfield equipment subject experts, to talented field service technicians with vast experience in mechanical, hydraulic and electrical work.
Mr McGillivray outlined how MRDS engineers have operated throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and West Africa. Having agreements with key European shipyards, its engineers are certified for local and international work. MRDS also undertakes a variety of projects, including the reactivation of
cold and warm stacked rigs, five-yearly drilling equipment overhauls and recertification projects.
“We are focused on maintaining and overhauling the hearts and lungs of the drilling rig to ensure it can safely perform in the field,” said Mr McGillivray.
MRDS is also working on becoming a Tier 1 contractor for its international client base, which primarily includes international and national drilling contractors, operators and large service engineering houses.
It also supplies oilfield capital equipment and associated spare parts to meet clients’ needs worldwide. “We have extensive experience in competitive lead times because we offer rapid supply chain solutions,” continued Mr McGillivray. “A major
strength is extensive knowledge of critical parts and consumables to supply drilling equipment. MRDS always goes beyond the call of duty to deliver customer satisfaction.”
UAE and beyond
MRDS employs over 50 people and has an impressive contracting pool of technicians to call on, to cater to the scale of the project. It completed a rig reactivation at a UAE shipyard for an oil company operating in West Africa. “This was followed up by the same client with a rig-re-activation in Holland using a team of about 15 service technicians,” said Mr McGillivray. “This demonstrates our abilities to work wherever and whenever, scaling up or down for a key project.”
The company has also completed periodic surveys on semi-submersible rigs in Norway and Holland for an international drilling contractor. “That includes jack-ups in shallow water and semi-submersibles in harsh environments, so the level of sophistication in our work is increasing,” he added
“We have an excellent reputation with drilling contractors and operators, and of getting the job done when others cannot within a given timeline,” agreed Mr Ryan Coats, Sales Director. “Our ambitions now run to expanding into the decommissioning and renewables sectors as they hold enormous potential.”
“MRDS saw 50 per cent growth in 2022, compared to 2021, and we predict double-digit year-on-year growth in
2023,” Mr McGillivray said. “As part of our strategy to expand into new markets, MRDS has completed decommissioning solutions for a client, focused on plug and abandonment for a semi-submersible and jack-up rig. We are also keen to transfer our skills into the renewables sector.”
Initially focused on work in the UK North Sea, the company expanded its operations by opening a 10,000sqft workshop in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone in 2021.
“This move has vastly increased our client base,” explained Mr McGillivray. “MRDS is supporting international clients in the Middle East, West Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia, from our Jebel Ali workshop and office.
“MRDS invested there because of the client base and the sheer volume of potential rig work in the Middle East. Although MRDS has only been 18 months in the UAE, we are already making a mark with the quality standards on our projects.”
When the UAE branch was created, it was staffed by engineers from the UK, but that has quickly transitioned to a locally-based multi-national team of highly-skilled engineers. The branchhas since completed various significant contracts.
Strengthened by acquisition
MRDS’ acquisition by Garrick Group three years ago enabled the company to sustain its global position and diversify into new sectors. At the time, Mr Ronnie Garrick of Garrick Group said: “MRDS has built up an impressive reputation in the oil and gas industry for its drilling repair services and is a solid platform for the business to grow into global markets, which is where we aim to take it.
“The company has continued to thrive through the pandemic, which is a testament
to its loyal customer base and impressive track record.”
“MRDS has gone from strength to strength in the North Sea and international markets,” added Mr McGillivray. “The investment from Garrick Group will allow the company to sustain its international growth while making more of an impact to future-proof the company for years to come.
“The company has worked in over 20 countries on four continents and looks forward to continued growth in the energy sector. What drives us to achieve the best with clients is to deliver consistent quality service standards across all our operations, as well as maintaining good communications and trust.”
“The potential for MRDS going forward is to grow and meet the opportunities that come to us,” he concluded. “We are just starting to scratch the surface of what can be achieved. The future is bright and exciting, given our pipeline of projects for 2023-24.” n
Going beyond THE
Klaus Union, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of pump and valve solutions, is one business that does not just go with the flow: with multiple patents and continuous research and development, the company is well-placed to support clients as the energy transition away from fossil fuels gathers pace. Alexander Enghardt, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, spoke to Andy Probert about its ambitions to expand the business footprint internationally while reducing its carbon emissions impact.
When choosing pumps, pumping systems and valves, Klaus Union’s name is usually at the top of the list of choices for clients. Since the early 1950s, the company has been a market leader in producing and supplying these solutions to the chemical, oil and gas, petrochemical, and, latterly, the renewables industries.
Based in Bochum, Germany, the familyowned company offers a comprehensive portfolio of centrifugal pumps and screw pumps, with a focus on seal-less magnet drive technology. Following norms such as ISO, ASME/ANSI and API, the Klaus Union standards are considered to be one of the highest available on the market.
Since many of the global operators of Klaus Union products emanate from the oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical sectors, exceptional requirements in technology and quality are Klaus Union’s daily business.
“ When handling critical liquids, there is zero room for error when it comes to pump and valve solutions, and ours always meet exacting standards,” said Alexander Enghardt, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing. “Transport of aggressive, toxic, explosive, hot or valuable fluids does not allow any compromise on quality, service life and safety. Our failure-free products guarantee the most reliable operation and protection of people and the environment.”
Ahead of its time
Shortly after inception, Mr Franz Klaus, the founder of the company, developed the world’s first seal-less magnet drive centrifugal pump, introducing it to
industries at the world-famous ACHEMA exhibition in Frankfurt in 1955.
German chemical companies picked up this idea and spurred Klaus Union's rapid growth. Further developments included the first titanium pump manufactured in Europe and new, more powerful magnet systems providing power transmission of nearly 1MW and managing temperatures up to 450°C.
Klaus Union was one of the first companies to reach ISO 9001 certification.
Since 1999, when the first API685 was published, the oil and gas industry relies more and more on seal-less magnet drive technology. With the launch of the DSP twin screw pump series (single/double volute, timed/untimed, sealed/seal-less) in 2012, Klaus Union established a very good name in the displacement pump sector.
Today, with around €80 million-turnover, the company employs 300 people at its two plants in Bochum, plus the sales and
Heavy-duty centrifugal pump with magnet drive
service offices in Europe, Asia and North America. “We are also engaged in the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies,” said Mr Enghardt. “Our specially designed seal-less centrifugal pumps are ideal solutions to perfectly match many applications.”
Important development
One of Klaus Union's key concepts in the development of magnetic drive pumps was the introduction of non-metallic containment shells. By using them instead of the conventional metallic ones, Klaus Union has eliminated eddy current losses and significantly increased the efficiency of magnetic drive pumps.
This technical innovation has led to the concept of leakage-free magnetic drives becoming even more prevalent in the chemical, oil and gas, and petrochemical industries.
Over many years, Klaus Union relied on non-metallic technical ceramics for a wide variety of applications, primarily because of their high resistance to chemical corrosion and wear. Until now, the range
of applications has been limited due to the specific material properties.
However, pump applications increasingly require higher operating pressures, temperatures and flow rates while maintaining maximum efficiency. Klaus Union now offers an expanded application range of these non-metallic shells up to 914 psi (63 bar) pressure and for temperature ranges from minus 200°C (-328°F) to +450°C (+842°F).
The company has also developed solutions of double containment shells, used for most critical applications, having one metallic and one non-metallic shell – called hybrid double containment shells – where eddy current losses are significantly reduced as well.
Klaus Union’s non-metallic shells are made of zirconium oxide, which is electrically non-conductive. “Because of this property, no eddy current losses affect pump performance,” Mr Enghardt explained, “and no heat is added to the pumped fluid.”
This concept brought other significant advantages, such as enabling dry-run
capable executions (RTZ-design) and executions without continuous flush flow (OTZ-design). It enables applications with high gas content, pumping solid loaded liquids and liquids close to boiling point.
Instrumentation to monitor the containment shell temperature is not required as eddy current losses are eliminated.
Further advantages include higher mechanical strength, vacuum-tight up to 0 bar absolute, enhanced energy efficiency and high corrosion and erosion resistance, enabling zirconium oxide to be used in a nearly unlimited application range, primarily when related to acids.
Ceramic containment shells are a fundamental part of Klaus Union's modular pump system. Due to the universal casing cover, containment shells can be easily mounted or replaced.
“The operator saves on stock capacities and service costs,” Mr Enghardt continued. “There is no heat input into the pumped liquid; this significantly increases the process's reliability. Consequently, no temperature monitoring is required.”
Additional advantages include lowered energy consumption as there are no
performance-impairing eddy currents. “The consumed power can be reduced by an average of 10 to 15 per cent, compared to metallic containment shells. And with reduced shaft power demand, smaller electric motors and cables can be installed.”
Driving sustainable growth
With these continuous advances in its product range, Klaus Union is poised for major growth. “The company intends to move beyond traditional markets into new regions such as South America and Africa,” Mr Enghardt said. “One focus is to be an even bigger player in renewable energy, carbon capture or recycling, in addition to its current applications.”
Klaus Union, which was awarded the ECOVADIS Silver Medal, is continuing on its path toward sustainability and is focusing on reducing its carbon footprint, Mr Enghardt said: “We are already operating the facilities with a high percentage of green energy, producing 2,000kW of solar energy or using an energy mix with a high percentage of green energy. Our employees are even using this energy to
charge their cars at various e-charging stations around our factory.”
One of the challenges for the company is attracting qualified personnel. “This is a general problem that many industries in Germany have,” Mr Enghardt said.
“Hopefully, with the help of the government, the problem will be lessened, but for a medium-sized company like Klaus Union, this problem is likely to remain a constant headache.”
Although German-made products are not always the lowest in CAPEX, a strong emphasis on product excellence and customer service has helped raise Klaus Union’s profile.
“Customers and operators rely on the good name of Klaus Union, which stands for experience, responsibility and progress,” concluded Mr Enghardt. “Through our network of subsidiaries and representatives, we offer comprehensive services such as expert advice, after-sales and detailed assistance in solving individual pump problems.
“The quality of its products and the exchange of experience with its partners in various industries have made Klaus Union one of the world market leaders. The motto 'Our quality is your success' is at the heart of everything we offer customers.” n
Heavy-duty containment shells made from industrial ceramics up to 63 bar
Heavy-duty, single volute twin screw pump with magnet drive
When things need to be lifted, customers all over the world call Royal Van Beest. Known for its premium quality lifting equipment, Royal Van Beest’s impressive portfolio of lifting, lashing and mooring fittings is trusted on the world’s most demanding work sites. Having just celebrated its centenary, this Dutch family-owned company is more optimistic about the future than ever before. Heavy Lifting Sales & Export Manager Rifat Cevahir got Richard Hagan hooked on the lifting industry.
Since 1922, Royal Van Beest has been manufacturing premium quality lifting equipment and today, thanks to its commitment to excellence, quality and customer service, it has climbed to the top of the demanding, high stakes lifting game. It is deservedly now the world’s leading manufacturer of lifting, lashing and mooring fittings – such as shackles, hooks and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) accessories.
Celebrating the centenary
Van Beest was established in Sliedrecht, (near Rotterdam), in 1922, by Dirk Van Beest, after whom the company is named. Initially, all of the company’s forged products were mainly sold to Dutch dredging companies, such as Boskalis and Van Oord, who are nowadays still major clients.
The family ownership and the company’s living connection to the original Van Beest family remain a key part of the company’s modern identity and a proud aspect of its heritage.
In 2022, Van Beest celebrated its centenary with the simultaneous announcement that it had successfully applied for the title
of Royal. The application process with The Netherlands’ Royal House began in 2021 and took over a year, involved detailed audits of the company’s current and historical business practices, ownership and management. All of its past directors were also investigated. Meanwhile, the Royal House even sought the Mayor of Sliedrecht’s advice on the application.
Having successfully completed the process, Van Beest changed its name to Royal Van Beest. The Royal title reflects the company’s reliability, integrity and ambition and further adds to the company’s credibility.
Doing the heavy lifting
Royal Van Beest remains headquartered in Sliedrecht in the Netherlands, but today, its reach goes far beyond the town’s borders. The Green Pin ® shackles are often used in major oil and gas projects and recently contributed to ADNOC’s Lightning project in the UAE, the Margin Oil Field Development in Saudi Arabia and the Northfield East LNG project in Qatar. Royal Van Beest has also supplied projects in the Caspian Sea, Brazil and the US. Shackles have been used for topside installations, platforms or installation on the seabed.
This is only possible thanks to its network of 900 distributors spanning 94 countries, Royal Van Beest efficiently serves customers around the world, including ADNOC, ARAMCO, Shell, BP, ENI and Total.
Royal Van Beest is able to fulfil demand uniquely efficiently thanks to its substantial
stockholding. “We carry the largest stockholding in the world,” Heavy Lifting Sales & Export Manager Rifat Cevahir revealed. “Our mindset has always been to put money into material rather than in the bank, because when times are tough, such as during the high demand for energy and gas due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, then our distributors must be able to trust that they’ll be able to source their product from us no matter what.”
Royal Van Beest’s stock is securely held in its own warehouse, which features 13,000 pallet places for a combined stock value of €50 million. This stockholding capacity ensures that Royal Van Beest has 97-98% stock availability at all times.
The company is staffed by 250 employees located worldwide, including workshop teams, office and sales staff.
Forging a new path
Over its 100 years in business, Royal Van Beest has constantly evolved not only its product range, but, crucially, also the way the shackle range is manufactured.
One of the key changes it has made is in its switch from standard forging to a method known as upset forging. While forging is traditionally a process that involves physically hammering or pressing a product into shape, upset forging (also known as ‘free forming’) is an automated process that involves locally heating a metal bar and then applying pressure to the end of the bar in the direction of its
ROYAL VAN BEEST I
axis, to bend it into its final shape –a shackle body.
Parts produced using upset forging exhibit better levels of strength and soundness, while resisting deformation and breakage during use. These characteristics make such shackles ideal for applications where high performance is critical – such as the heavy-lifting industry.
Shackles make up fully 80% of Royal Van Beest’s turnover, of which the standard range of shackles is manufactured in Holland in a specialised, highly automated production line.
“Our upset forging line is quite unique: we have three forges that bend a solid shackle into shape, and from there we only have to drill the eye,” Mr Cevahir said. “It’s fully automated and involves minimal material loss leading to a very competitive price.”
The production lines include heat treatment and assembly, with automated inspections occurring throughout the process, ensuring that any flaws or imperfections are identified and resolved immediately. This process maintains Royal Van Beest’s extremely tight tolerance levels and it guarantees that sub-par products will never reach a customer’s warehouse.
Going green
While one of Royal Van Beest’s most active markets is the oil and gas industry, it is deliberately developing new business in the wind energy market, and it’s doing that through
smart investments in product development and in an exciting acquisition.
One of Royal Van Beest’s best-selling products is its Green Pin ® shackles. Regarded as the world’s leading brand for premium quality lifting and lashing equipment, The Green Pin ® range includes shackles, turnbuckles, hooks and fibre link chains. Easily identifiable thanks to their trademarked green colour pin, Gree n Pin ® shackles are built to international standards, are battle-proven and offer unrivalled performance and reliability.
In 2017 and late 2022, Royal Van Beest acquired Irizar Forge and Sling Supply International SA (Slingsintt), both based in Spain. Irizar Forge is the expert in forging heavy lifting hooks and crane blocks, while Sling Supply International is especially well-known for the lifting tools that it has developed for the global wind i ndustry and used in the lifting of nacelles, hubs, towers and blades.
Thanks to these acquisitions, Royal Van Beest is now able to counter every market’s demand, including wind farm contractors, a holistic lifting solution that features the company’s entire portfolio of li fting products from crane block to seabed Additionally, thanks to ongoing investments in its heavy lifting hooks as well as mooring equipment, Royal Van Beest is able to offer a range of seabed mooring products for floating wind farms.
“We expect that these products together could make us a one-stop shop f or our customers,” Mr Cevahir concluded “Where contractors who need to lift a nacelle may previously have had to sepa rate the product suppliers, we are now able to supply everything in one project.”
Royal Van Beest attends the ADIPEC show in October every year and you are cordially invited to meet the Royal Van Beest team and discuss your lifting requirements. n
Subsea construction and demolition solutions specialist Decom Engineering offers unique, industry-leading cutting innovations and value-adding pipe coating removal solutions. After witnessing a major industrial catastrophe, a visionary father and son team decided that the industry needed better tools to avoid a repeat, and thus Decom Engineering was born. Richard Hagan spoke to Commercial Director Nick McNally to find out how Decom Engineering’s solutions are changing the way customers work.
Established in 2012, Decom Engineering was founded by current CEO Sean Conway and his father, an engineer.
The pair were moved to action in 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Watching the catastrophic oil spill unfold - which saw over four million barrels of oil drain into the sea in the largest oil spill in the history of marine drilling – Sean and his father decided that there had to be a better, faster way to cut and cap the well.
Harnessing Sean’s business education and his father’s engineering skills, the two men established Decom Engineering. They immediately began working on designing and building the saw they had envisioned as a solution, in a project that would ultimately take eight years.
Simultaneously, Decom Engineering developed its Pipe Coating Removal (PCRM) technology, a solution which would go on to become one of its most important developments. Decom Engineering subsequently secured major investments from a private equity partner, propelling the development of its Chop Saw which was launched to the market in mid-2021.
A cut above the rest
Today, Decom Engineering has two products: Its PCRM solution, and its C1 Chop Saw. Its PCRM machine is a groundbreaking technology that removes the hardened plastic protective coating from subsea pipes. As opposed to conventional, energy-intensive and time-consuming solutions for removing that coating, PCRM is a completely cold process that also captures all of the waste plastic. The high-quality plastic salvaged from these pipes is then sent for recycling.
The pipework can then be reused in construction, particularly for pilings. “We refer to the PCRM process as ‘unlocking the value of the steel’,” said Commercial Director Nick McNally. “It’s better for the economy, better financially, and better for the environment because instead of ordering brand new steel, the construction industry can use steel that’s already made, so there’s no carbon footprint,
resulting in a 98 per cent carbon saving. It’s good for the economy because it’s cheaper for the construction industry and it makes the steel available at very short lead times.”
Decom Engineering’s C1 Chop Saw is a uniquely robust cutting solution developed for the oil and gas industry. The C1 features a rotating blade set between t wo hydraulic jaws, allowing it to be reliably clamped onto anything that needs to be cut. In cutting scenarios in which a clean cut is required, it’s the undeniably superior solution, particularly measured against competing diamond wire-based tools.
“The C1 saw saves the vessel substantial amounts of time,” said Mr McNally. “We are able to do cut after cut, repeatedly – all of them in one go, without having to recover
the saw, change the wire, and send it back down after each cut.
“We’ve found that our ‘sweet spot’ is where we have to cut material that diamond wire and shears cannot cut –primarily very hard steel or plastic or concrete-coated steel,” he continued. “We’re also much more reliable where multiple cuts are involved. Our speed plus our reliability saves the vessel time, and that’s the most important factor for us and for our customers.”
Project milestones
Decom Engineering’s C1 chop saws have been proven in some of the most demanding projects worldwide.
A particular highlight was a project off the coast of Mauritania, West Africa, in which Decom Engineering was contracted by Havfram to be the sole cutting contractor for a substantial scope involving decommissioning a Petronas field. The
work involved cutting 84mm R4 stud-less mooring chains, umbilicals and termina tion heads, at a water depth ranging from 900 to 1,000 metres, and all powered via an ROV.
“We had specifically designed and tested our equipment for operations at that depth, but this project was our first opportunity to prove it,” said Mr McNally. “After successfully and quickly cutting through the material involved in the scope, the client requested additional works that we had not planned to cut.
“We agreed: and we were able to cut the additional two material types: in only
two minutes per cut versus the 40 minutes that it had been taking with a different solution that the client had previously tried. We saved the client three days of vessel time!”
Footprint and the Future
Decom Engineering’s administrative headquarters is located in Belfast, but t hanks to the company’s steady growth, it will soon be moving into a large new facility in Aberdeen, Scotland, to put it as close as possible to the oil and gas industry there. “The new facility will include a warehouse and office space and it’s where most of our future hires will be based,” Mr McNally confirmed.
As demonstrated by the Mauritania project, Decom Engineering is a global business and as of early 2023, it had
active work sites in Thailand, the Congo, t he Bass Strait in Australia and the North Sea.
Meanwhile, the company is busy on its latest innovation; a very large new variant of its chop saw capable of tackling the biggest projects.
“The new saw is our C146; it’s a game-changer and it represents our next major step in innovation,” said Mr McNally. “It will be able to cut from two to 46-inch pipes, thanks to its 2.8-metre-wide blade.”
In order to service growing demand, Decom Engineering is also swiftly expanding its fleet of saws. Between late 2021 and early 2023, its fleet grew from only two to 11 saws, with additional saws still on order by mid-2023. Simult-aneously, the company is growing its con
sultancy business as customers i ncreasingly turn to Decom Engineering for its various types of specialist, expert assistance on site during cutting operations.
In conclusion, Mr McNally shared his thoughts on the future. “The decommissioning market looks strong for at least the next 50 years – especially with the various new fields being established as a result of the current geopolitical climate.
“We also see growing opportunities within renewables: for example many wind turbines are reaching the end of their life and must be replaced. Nuclear energy also has many exotic materials that must be cut. So we are optimistic that there is a bright, strong future for our specialist solutions!” n
JC Valves is a Spanish valve manufacturer established in 1968. The company has now grown to operate factories and subsidiaries around the world. It provides a range of services, including the design and manufacture of custom-built valves, for customers in the oil and gas industry. Albert Aguila, Sales Manager, explained more to Hannah Barnett.
Working from an HQ in Barcelona, JC Valves may be Spanish in origin, but it is a truly international operation.
“We have a global presence with our subsidiaries and an extensive distribution network,” said Sales Manager Albert Aguila. “So our customers can find the right support locally, wherever they are. They don’t need to wait for the Spanish branch. There are JC Valves representatives from Southeast Asia to North America ready to service them.”
Overall, JC Valves has a presence in seven countries: “Four are locations of factories and three are what we call service centres, stocked with parts and offering the possi -
bility to repair valves and do special mountings,” explained Mr Aguila.
The company now employs 400 people around the world. It recently secured the investment to move its (still relatively new), factory in Chennai, India, to another location with a larger production capacity. It is also due to open a new factory in Indonesia, as a joint venture with a local partner.
A company overview
2023 started productively for JC Valves, as the company achieved API 641 fugitive emission certification. This accreditation is aimed at quarter-turn valves, covering many different designs, temperature ratings and sealing components. The test focuses on the performance of the packing as well as the boundary connections, using methane as a test medium.
This year, the company also continues to invest in new equipment and systems to increase efficiency and sustainability. “We recently installed solar panels on our rooftop in Barcelona,” said Mr Aguila, “in order to be
self-sufficient in power generation. We will be extending those to other premises in China and India too. We have also increased warehouse and office capacity at our subsidiary in the Middle East.”
Alongside this investment into facilities, JC Valves continues to develop products,
with a new cast trunnion valve on the market and improvements in the design of its floating valve range. The company understands the sector well enough to successfully adapt to the needs of an evolving industry. It has embraced 3D modelling and all its designs are created that way now:
“And we have launched a specific valve range to cover the hydrogen market,”
Mr Aguila added: “because we intend to be part of this challenging energy transition market.”
All this growth, expansion and success is complemented by the figures. In 2022, JC Valves recorded a turnover close to 100 million EUR. This was split fairly evenly
JC VALVES I
around its bases, according to Mr Aguila: “around 40 per cent in Europe, 30 per cent in the Middle East and the other 30 per cent mainly in North America and Southeast Asia.” During the same period, the company produced and supplied close to 150,000 valves to customers around the world.
Solid investments
JC Valves recently invested in a new ERP system, which is already running at its headquarters, and will be implemented in factories and subsidiaries worldwide over the coming years. The new system
is intended to improve operations and internal coordination.
Alongside the software upgrade, machinery is also being improved:
“We have invested in two new automatic test benches at the factory in Spain,” Mr Aguila said: “One is already in operation and the second will be fully installed by Q4 of this year.”
The company continues to be busy in the US and Canada, especially for work in gas treatment and onshore oil. The company supplies many of its trunnion mounted ball valves to the North American market.
These valves have metal seats for application in high temperatures, making them ideal for use in gas treatment plants.
“Of course, we are also very active in the Middle East,” added Mr Aguila. “We sell a lot of applications for water management in oil fields there. With customers like KOC, Qatar Petroleum and ADNOC, it’s a really big market.”
Ahead of the competition
One of the ways JC Valves maintains its competitive edge is by offering an extensive product line. Its valves can be manufactured
in a wide scale of sizes, ranging from half-an-inch up to 42 inches. In addition, a well-stocked inventory is essential.
“Part of our commercial policy is to keep one of the highest stock levels in the market,” explained Mr Aguila. “We hold roughly 30 million EUR in stock. The service we provide is therefore very high – especially considering we are a manufac turer. And there is the stock held by our distributors, which is in addition to the 30 million EUR worth that we have.”
Like any successful business, especially one which places so much import on being well-stocked and maintaining its longevity, a strong relationship with suppliers is crucial.
As Mr Aguila explained, JC Valves looks for suppliers with a similar vision and strategy: “We are quality- and service-oriented and want to work with suppliers who are too: and we want to keep prices stable where possible. That is part of our DNA. Although
raw material prices are fluctuating and energy costs are rising, we always try to look at the long-term scenario. So we need our suppliers to understand and commit to that vision too. And in return, we support them in the good times and in the challenging times.”
Looking forward
JC Valves is undoubtedly well prepared to navigate whatever the future brings, alongside certain set goals and objectives. For example, the company is committed to its social responsibility and always striving to improve working conditions. Additionally, JC Valves aims to decrease the gap in representation between men and women employed in the sector.
The company is set to keep growing steadily. “As a private business, we are focused on sustainable growth,” Mr Aguila said. “We don’t plan to grow by acquisition, but do plan to keep growing, step-by-step,
year-by-year.” For Mr Aguila, who has worked with JC Valves for 20 years, this remains an exciting and dynamic role.
“When I started, I thought I would be here for three-to-five years, and then move on to the next place,” he concluded. “But somehow, JC caught my interest. I love leading the sales team and having the chance to interact with different people in different countries. It’s an active job, so I never get bored. And I prefer working in a Spanish company with an international view, rather than working in a multinational company for the Spanish market. I think I still have a good few years left to go with JC Valves!” n
With more than 60 years’ experience b manufacturer of forged steel flanges. Oil & Gas, General Manager Eugenio M is approved by all major chemical, petro by Imogen Ward
ehind it, Metalfar is an industry-leading In an exclusive interview with Inside Messa explained why the company ochemical and oil companies. Report
Metalfar has been incredibly successful over its 62-year history, serving the Americas, Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia from its headquarters in Italy. The reason for this success? A consistent dedication to its customers and the quality of its products.
“Our history is woven with key values,” General Manager Eugenio Messa explained. “Those values, and the quality of our products, are never compromised. This commitment has provided us with all the major approvals in our sector.”
Located in Cesana Brianza, Italy, on premises covering 600,000 square feet, the company has the capacity to manufacture 60,000 tonnes annually. The production of carbon, alloy and stainless-steel flanges are included in this capacity, alongside forged steel fittings, valves and tailor-made products. This customised option accounts for around 10-20% of the company’s overall production rate. On top of this, Metalfar can also manufacture its products to all grades and standards.
Added value at every stage
With such diverse capabilities, it is no wonder that last year the company witnessed a 40% increase in turnover. Metalfar accredited this achievement to two factors – the first being an increase in costing, transitions nicely into the second element: the ability to employ new material grades, that are of added value, into its production processes.
That added value is essential to the company. With a customer-centric
approach, Metalfar does everything possible to ensure it provides an experience that is quality-driven and stress-free.
The company was one of the first in Italy to gain the ISO 9001 certification and always makes sure to have a high level of stock in store to prevent any delays in production. An additional bonus of this vigilance is the ability to work to enormous quantity requirements whilst meeting prompt delivery times.
With quality assurance always in mind Metalfar also abides by European requirements, working solely with European suppliers.
“All our supplier partnerships are formed on mutual trust,” said Mr Messa. “Of course, today we could buy material from anywhere, but we find those personal relationships crucial, and select suppliers and partners based on that.
“Metalfar’s major suppliers are steel mills, and we make sure to see them once every two months to continue to strengthen those relationships. We only buy services and materials from European countries –especially Italy – for two reasons:
“Firstly, it is easier to create those personal relationships with companies
Metalfar General Manager, Eugenio Messa
who are close to us. The second reason is related to requirements. A lot of the time, we are required to work exclusively with European material. We, of course, have nothing against suppliers from other continents, but we must follow the rules and expectations placed upon us.”
According to Mr Messa, this relationshipbased philosophy is also extended to the company’s employees: “For me, working at Metalfar is much more than being just an employee. I get to be a part of building something great, but no one can achieve anything alone, even more so nowadays.
I am incredibly lucky to have a team of people who are keen to support myself and the company.
“In response to that support, we are quick to offer training every day, to ensure everyone is constantly improving to meet their full potential.”
Forging new opportunities
Keen to set a precedent for growth, Metalfar has recently diversified: after spending the past 60 years focused on the oil and gas industry, the company has broken into a new market.
“For success to continue, it is crucial to always remain forward-thinking,”
Mr Messa said. “As part of our ability to do so, we recently began manufacturing for the automotive industry. This is a new and incredibly exciting sector that we are looking forward to exploring.
“We are always willing to adapt ourselves to meet the needs of customers. Currently, in the US there is a big demand for stainless steel; so of course, we have adapted to this area, to remain competitive in all material grades.”
Not afraid to invest in improvements, three years ago Metalfar also purchased
some NORSOK-approved E treatment equipment, which is now running 24/7. The company has also recently invested in new robotics which are being incorporated to improve the efficiency of operations.
These are just more reasons why Metalfar is approved by more than 60 engineering and oil companies worldwide, including major players Shell, Aramco and bp.
Sustainable solutions
Alongside the company’s active manufacturing projects, it is also working on internal plans relating to its carbon footprint. Currently using a lot of water to cool equipment, Metalfar has made plans to introduce a new system to reuse this water. All being well, this system is expected to be operational in the next two years.
“We also actively try to reduce our use of plastic,” Mr Messa said. “But the major sustainability project that we are currently involved with will introduce green raw materials into our production processes, which have a much smaller carbon impact.
By 2024, we anticipate these will account for 50 per cent of our overall raw material usage. We are going to continue to focus on this project over the next few years.”
Metalfar regularly attends events, including ADIPEC. Whilst doing so, the company also takes the time to visit its customers. This has enabled the company to commit to its customer-centric approach in a more sustainable way.
“Having previously exhibited at ADIPEC in the past, we have changed our strategy,” Mr Messa said: “Now going as an attendee, we can combine the advantages of the ADIPEC platform with visits to our customers in that region. So we will spend one day at the event, and then the remaining days will be dedicated to customer appointments.
“We believe the Gulf is the place to be in the world, and we want to be a part of that,” he concluded. “The Emirates and Qatar are booming, and we strongly believe that we need to put our efforts into becoming a piece of this growth.”
The biosurfactant
THE BIOSURFACTANT REVOLUTION
Locus Bio-Energy produces nature-derived biosurfactants which are globally recognised for outperforming traditional oilfield chemicals. Biosurfactants can address many oilfield production challenges - at a fraction of the dosage rate and cost. Dr Megan Pearl, VP of Technology, explained more to Hannah Barnett.
INthe oilfield, green chemistry often has the reputation of low performance and high cost. Locus Bio-Energy’s biosurfactant technology is working to change that.
“We focus first on performance,” said VP of Technology, Dr Megan Pearl: ”Our goal is to deliver the best performing products at economical price points for key industry pain points. The biosurfactant technology we provide enables operators to achieve production objectives with lower dosage rates and faster returns – plus the added advantage of minimising their environmental footprint.”
An overview
Oilfield surfactants are traditionally used to enhance oil production. Conventionally used surfactants are typically sourced from non-renewable, petroleum-based feedstocks and raw materials. In contrast, biobased surfactants range from partly to wholly derived from biological products, renewable domestic agricultural by-products, or forestry materials.
Biosurfactants are a class of wholly biobased surfactants comprised of highly complex molecules with unmatched multifunctionality and sustainability. Despite decades of research and promising potential, biosurfactant adoption in the oilfield was previously limited by prohibitive production costs and scalability.
“What differentiates Locus Bio-Energy from our competitors and predecessors is our approach to the market,” Dr Pearl explained. “We understand uninterrupted production is paramount to operators, s o we manage all stages of development
and testing internally to lower their barrier to adoption. Rather than providing one-size-fits-all chemistry, we’ve refined the product development process to deliver comprehensive biosurfactant solutions, complete with performance evaluations customised to each reservoir’s unique conditions.”
Biosurfactants can be tailored to various applications like hydraulic fracturing, paraffin control, enhanced oil recovery, wellbore remediation and more. Since the company’s launch in 2017, it has sold over two million gallons of biosurfactant-based products for a variety of applications across diverse U.S. basins.
“Early on, we focused on conventional applications, like huff and puff, that were low volume, low risk and low cost for the operator,” said Dr Pearl. “This was so that we could demonstrate proof-of-concept to the industry. As our reputation for proven biosurfactant technology grew, our product lines likewise evolved to include higher volume unconventional applications like hydraulic fracturing.”
With its expanding Texas teams and recently completed 5,000 square foot laboratory renovations in The Woodlands, Locus Bio-Energy has both the instrumentation and expertise to continue developing innovative biosurfactant-based solutions for a growing customer base.
Why biosurfactants
The complex and unique molecular structure of biosurfactants results in powerful, multifunctional properties. They are highly surface active and effective at lower concentrations, benefitting oil and gas production in several ways. In contrast to conventional surfactants, biosurfactants feature multiple active sites that contribute to their ability to maintain performance objectives, even as their concentration in the reservoir depletes.
“This translates to extended production enhancement,” explained Dr Pearl. “Traditional surfactants tend to flowback and lose efficacy at a faster rate.”
Biosurfactants are also very small. This typically results in lower treatment
dosage rates required to mobilise oil or penetrate and disperse deposits. It also means they can access the tiny pore spaces and nano fractures that traditional chemistries cannot penetrate, resulting in greater oil recovery.
The products
One of the company’s flagship product lines is SUSTAIN ® , which consists of multifunctional biosurfactant technology designed to outperform and replace synthetic surfactants for hydraulic fracturing. SUSTAIN’s demonstrated efficacy at lower dosages showcases its ability to deliver more oil with less chemical and cost compared to its synthetic counterparts.
“SUSTAIN recently beat nine established competitive surfactants in third-party lab testing,” explained Dr Pearl. “We’re incredibly proud of it. A Utica shale operator used an independent laboratory to evaluate surfactants for its multi-well program, and we were the only biosurfactant-based product in the group.
“We went up against nine different standard synthetic surfactants, all widely used and known for their performance in hydraulic fracturing. Results showed that SUSTAIN was the top performer, even at lower dosages. The operator has since pumped 100,000 gallons of our product for its completion program and plans to continue usage for future wells.”
The company’s biosurfactant-based products are continuing to prove their worth within varied oil plays. In addition to cutting-edge solutions for hydraulic fracturing, Locus Bio-Energy also offers products for applications such as enhanced oil recovery, flow assurance, saltwater disposal and wellbore remediation. Its latest product release was AcidBoost TM , a biosurfactant-based additive which delivers high-efficiency, cost-effective wellbore remediation for acid stimulation.
“The AcidBoost product line differs from other microemulsions on the market due to biosurfactant technology,” said Dr Pearl. “It simplifies conventional multi-stage
Dr Megan Pearl, VP of Technology
processes with a single-stage acid additive , enabling an easier, more efficient process that also improves performance.
“This is going to be an impactful shift in wellbore remediation for the industry. We have tested countless variations, and in every combination, not only are we cleaning the rock more efficiently, but also at a lower concentration. AcidBoost’s optimised treatment enables operators to bring their wells back into profitable production with less downtime, whilst also helping them reach their sustainability goals faster.”
Into the future
Locus Bio-Energy is a part of Locus Fermentation Solutions, an awardwinning greentech company that utilises the power of microorganisms to create patented, biological solutions to address global ESG challenges including climate change, food security, skin conditions, water contamination,
the environmental and safety impacts of natural resource extraction, and more. The company’s cost-effective, near-zero carbon footprint biomanufacturing develops solutions tailored to outperform chemicals in a variety of industries.
“We noticed growing need for higher oil and gas recovery that became more apparent as worldwide energy demands increased,” Dr Pearl explained. “There are primarily two ways to increase oil production: drill a new well or breathe life into an old well. While SUSTAIN is targeted to new well completions, AssurEOR STIM ® helps operators with the latter for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).”
The economics for EOR previously did not work in the operator’s favour, as the higher cost and lower production would typically justify drilling a new well rather than taking the more sustainable EOR route. However, biosurfactant technology is demonstrating significant performance
improvement in these types of enhanced oil recovery applications.
“And, because less product is needed than conventional surfactants, operators are realising quicker return on investment compared to conventional surfactants,” said Dr Pearl. “Those revitalisation efforts become more attractive when operators know they can get upwards of 40 per cent more oil out of wells than they are currently getting. Additionally, stimulating the well with AssurEOR STIM dramatically reduces carbon intensity, as it would require less than 2 per cent of the water and 0.1 per cent of the diesel that would have been used to drill another well.”
As the energy transition accelerates, Locus Bio-Energy's biosurfactant-based products provide a promising path that bridges performance and sustainability. Beyond providing solutions for operators to increase their production, the
technology demonstrates potential to drive the industry towards a more sustainable future.
Emirates Electrical and Instrumentation (Emirates E&I) is a leading technical and contracting services provider for a wide variety of oil and gas clients across both the domestic (UAE) and international markets. Hagop Dermosessian, General Manager of Emirates E&I, explained to Hannah Barnett how the company is now paving its way forward towards greater diversification.
Ev er since its inception in 2002, Emirates E&I has operated predominantly in the oil and gas space, with ADNOC serving as its major customer. But today, business is branching out, with Mr Dermosessian stating that: “We have diversified into the energy sector, as well as the infrastructure sector and have plans to grow and branch out regionally. We also hope to tap into the electromechanical space, and are becoming more of an E ngineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, as opposed to an electrical and instrumentation contractor, which we have been historically.”
Company overview
Emirates E&I has made a name for itself based on its seamless ability to integrate with its clients’ operations, ensuring that its projects are completed safely, on schedule, within budget, to specification, and with minimal downtime. The company was acquired in 2017 by the renowned Ghobash Group.
Elaborating on the company being part of the Ghobash Group conglomerate and how this helps to shape Emirates E&I’s diversification strategy, Mr Dermosessian stated that: “Because we are owned by a very financially sound Group, we don’t
shy away from opportunities. No matte r the size, we will look into all potential growth areas. We support all our customers, and we have a very skilled, experienced team which is continuing to grow. So, we have the capability to tackle any kind of project.”
As a result, beyond continuing to build a successful reputation in electrical instrumentation works over the past few years, the company has expanded its capabilities to include electromechanical and HVAC projects. This scale-up is in line with its objective of becoming a Tier-2 EPC contractor within the next three to five years.
Significant projects
During Q3 of 2022, Emirates E&I was awarded a major district cooling project, which would encompass the
modification of the existing chilled water system pipeline feeding a prestigious project in SeaWorld, Abu Dhabi. “We were responsible for all the chemical treatment and pre-commissioning of the chilled water network, which served as a new vertical for us, given that we hadn’t worked extensively in that space before”, explained Mr Dermosessian.
The company was also awarded another prestigious project, as a major subcontractor on a joint venture between ENGIE and EDF. This encompassed the replacement of 133,000 streetlights with energy-saving luminaires in Abu Dhabi. The project resulted in successful power savings of 74% across the municipality. Sharing the significance of this project, Mr Dermosessian said that: “This was a major milestone, as the project’s scope was new and served as a new vertical.
In the past we delivered similar street projects on a smaller scale for ADNOC, but now with the increased scale, we have successfully established a name for ourselves and opened the door to a whole new market.”
The company continues to work closely with its most prominent partner ADNOC, and during Q2 of 2022 was awarded a subcontracting agreement with an EPC contractor for an IT telecom building. In collaboration with ADNOC, Emirates E&I carried out the full Mechanical Engineering and Plumbing (MEP) works and was also recently awarded a contract to upgrade fire alarm systems and HVAC at 25 ADNOC substations and clusters. This is in addition to projects aimed at updating ADNOC’s access control PA/GA system and installing a new NAVAID system on its platforms.
“Most recently, during Q2 of 2023, we were awarded the biggest project in our company’s history,” stated Mr Dermosessian, as he went on to outline how the four-year contract for ADNOC on its LNG and offshore platforms, focused
on providing maintenance services for the lighting and all other electricals, is worth $34.3 million.
Sustainable paths
With ADNOC recently announcing over $1.2 billion in upcoming projects, Emirates E&I envisions many more prestigious contracts down the road. Elaborating further, Mr Dermosessian added that “It’s not only about ADNOC, as the UAE relies on oil and gas, and therefore the infrastructure that comes along with it. Today, there is
a growing need for new developments too. Solar energy is picking up pace and the market for other renewables is steadily growing. There is an abundance of projects in the region that support sustainability and we are working with as many of them as we can.”
The push to embrace renewable solutions and the energy transition comes as Dubai prepares to host COP28 in November 2023. “Everybody is working towards COP28, and you can see this from the number of projects that are being launched,” Mr Dermosessian went on to state. He also provided insights into the future, with the company’s response to the Region’s appetite for sustainable solutions: “At Emirates E&I, we have created a new ESCO division to fully embrace the energy transition and to accelerate our diversification plans. We have also teamed up with UMOE, a Norwegian company that manufactures hydrogen storage and transportation units. The company’s manufacturing process
doesn’t involve conventional steel and uses a composite material that lasts longer and weighs less. We are UMOE’s regional partners, and we are trying to provide a similar solution in the UAE, using different types of transportation and storage models.”
Time-served partnerships
As a leading company within the oil and gas space, Emirates E&I continues to build on its reputation, especially when it comes to onshore and offshore EPC work.
Elaborating on this topic, Mr Dermosessian said that: “There have been many times when ADNOC has specifically recommended us for specialised jobs: this has enabled us to establish relationships with other companies in the oil and gas space, including end users, developers, main contractors, and suppliers. We have had excellent rapport with our suppliers, as evidenced by some of our long-term partnerships running the course for the last 20 years.”
Giving away the secret to developing long-lasting relationships with suppliers, Mr Dermosessian said that “Being democratic and swiftly delivering on invoices is a good start. The most important thing is being fair and honest. We always ensure that we pay our suppliers on time, and we never favour one supplier over another, as long as they are technically sound, and their prices are in line with the market. It’s all about being in a competitive space.”
Spelling out his own professional commitment and passion for his role, Mr Dermosessian concluded that it was hard work which has resulted in his career’s longevity:
“Having played an active role in this market’s evolution for 20 years now, I can safely say that positivity, optimism, and
the determination to succeed have served as my greatest assets along the way. The same dynamic spirit applies to E&I, where we envision our service and delivery excellence not only growing, but increasingly contributing to a wider spectrum of projects and achievements which will impact the future of the energy sector. As we continue to branch out, strengthen our expertise, and partner with more stakeholders and clients, we take pride in remaining result-driven and dedicated to realising more meaningful goals. We look forward to sharing the outcomes and rewards of our progressive vision with all of our partners. This is what motivates me the most – moving forward with vision and going beyond the ordinary to achieve more.”
Al Marwan Group has, for nearly 50 years, been a well–respected contracting group in the UAE. This multi-faceted group includes Integrated Petroleum Company (IPC) and Al Marwan Heavy Machinery. IPC Commercial Manager Mr Houssam Dayoub and Al Marwan’s Director of Business Operations Abdalla Al Zaiem spoke with Andy Probert about the scope and expansion plans of these two subsidiaries.
The Al Marwan Group is well known for being among the leading contracting groups in the UAE. Al Marwan Group always strives towards its mission of being a one-stop destination for the construction and contracting industry. Classified as
class A contractors, the group is responsible for some of the most prestigious infrastructure projects in the UAE.
As a contracting group, it aspires to achieving the vision of ‘Building the cities of tomorrow’ by keeping a business focus
on activities that assist in achieving this goal. Business lines within the Al Marwan Group include infrastructure and building contracting, heavy equipment trading and hiring, asphalt and concrete contracting, real estate and development, robotised car park and technology, and oil-field equipment trading.
IPC: meeting high demand
Having clinched key distribution agreements to act for global manufacturers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)., the Al Marwan Group created Integrated Petroleum Company in 2004, when it became the exclusive agent for Serva SJS, a joint venture between USA's Serva and China's SJS. Since its inception, IPC has emerged as a leading cementing and pumping solutions specialist in the oil and gas industry in MENA.
“This enabled IPC to focus more on clients, products and after-sales, and has flourished ever since,” said Mr Houssam Dayoub, IPC Commercial Manager.
IPC now acts as a lynchpin between leading contractors and manufacturers in the energy field, primarily supplying
cementing and pumping equipment, acidising and fracturing units, downhole tools, and laboratory equipment.
Completely embedded within MENA's oil and gas infrastructure, IPC is much sought after by its partners for Serva SJS' cementing and pumping equipment, while offering localised after-sales servicing, support and spare parts. Cementing and pumping equipment solutions are related to drilling new wells.
“Both sides of our business are flourishing,” said Mr Dayoub, “with slightly more emphasis on the supply of cementing and pumping services, particularly for offshore projects.
“This indicates drilling activity offshore in the GCC is continuing to rise, and the latest OPEC decision to cut production has not adversely impacted IPC. Our business growth in 2023 is higher than in 2022 and fully rebounded after Covid.”
However, demand is so high that the company is all about keeping pace, although delivery times have expanded. Mr Dayoub cited one example: “A major challenge is sourcing critical engine components from suppliers for offshore oper ators. Stocks
for a specific high-quality safety-proven engine have been quickly exhausted, and delivery time is now longer. But our resourcefulness means we are working around these issues.
“IPC is exceptionally proud to continue representing Serva SJS and act as a bridge between it and clients. As the face of Serva SJS in MENA, many often comment
that they see no difference between us and Serva SJS in the quality service levels offered.”
Al Marwan Heavy Machinery
Building on these accumulated experiences and knowledge, the Al Marwan Group further expanded its business in 1978 with the establishment of Al Marwan Heavy Machinery.. Al Marwan’s Director of Business Operations Abdalla Al Zaiem explained how this service centre for heavy machinery enjoys increased inventory capabilities by stocking bigger equipment.
The addition of Al Marwan Heavy Machinery to the group’s portfolio expanded operations to serve the GCC region better, opening new branches in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Al Marwan Heavy Machinery is the UAE's exclusive dealer for new Kobelco, Dynapac, ABI, Powerscreen and Pronar equipment, and Simex, World Attachments, Toku and Jisung machinery
attachments, supplying the industry with new machinery and OEM parts. It is also a trusted source for the sale of pre-owned Volvo, Caterpillar and Komatsu machinery, among other brands.
Al Marwan's rental machinery fleet comprises over 1,800 heavy construction and lifting equipment machines operated by over 2,000 certified, seasoned operators and mechanics. With over 32,000 work orders fulfilled, the company has been the partner of success for various businesses.
The group has already been involved in numerous large-scale projects. One critical project showcasing the range and scope of their machinery fleet is the Sharjah to Khor Fakkan road construction project. Additionally, the fleet was hired to construct 11 artificial islands for ADNOC's Hail and Gasha Island project.
Long-reach booms have become essential for constructing oil and gas
infrastructure, enabling operators to reach areas that would otherwise be impossible to access. Al Marwan Heavy Machinery understands this, Mr Al Zaiem explained: “The deep excavation required for constructing pipelines, tanks and other facilities in oil and gas sites is easily achieved using these specialised long-reach booms.”
Being a leading heavy machinery supplier in the Middle East, this large fleet of in-house modified long-reach excavators is just one thing that sets AMM apart from competitors. Such expertise successfully modified the largest 80-ton Kobelco SK850 excavator in the UAE, boosting its overall reach from six to 28 metres. Additionally, the construction of the 33m long boom for the PC1600 is manufactured in-house, which puts this track-type digger among the largest pieces of heavy equipment in the industry. The company also changed
the next-gen Cat 395 excavator to become one of the largest CAT 395 excavators in the world.
Al Marwan’s fleet will boast about 15 of these long-reach vehicles by the end of 2023, including Komatsu PC850 26m, 24m and 22m large excavators, to meet clients' specialised needs. The Al Marwan Group has a strong track record of completing some of the world's largest projects, demonstrating its existing ability to provide top-tier heavy machinery solutions. The
company is currently involved in NEOM in Saudi Arabia, supplying all-new excavators, dozers, and hauliers to the megaproject.
Highly agile together
The broader Al Marwan Heavy Machinery takes its commitment to environmental sustainability seriously. Its Kobelco machines save clients a lot of fuel, making them economically efficient and lowering their environmental impact. Additionally, it has partnered with Pronar Recycling to bring a range of recycling and waste management equipment to the Middle East, which helps achieve a cyclical economy and a low-carbon environmental impact. In addition, the most recent partnership, becoming the official dealers for Powerscreen, a brand by Terex, will help supply powerful quarry equipment such as the Powerscreen Chieftain 2100X screener, which is one of the smartest quarrying solutions available today.
Al Marwan Heavy Machinery has a large fleet of brand-new machinery for rentals,
meaning it is operating state-of-the-art engines and exhaust systems that reduce carbon emissions.
The company recently launched a first-of-its-kind e-commerce platform in the Middle East, almarwan.com, revolutionising rentals and sales and providing a convenient and efficient way for users to access the machinery they need. Among its many high-profile clients is NESR, an international, industry-leading provider of integrated energy services and directly supplying oilfield operators with downhole tools.
IPC recently provided new high-standard, quality-assured skids cementing pumping units to a specific offshore operator for a key project. And it supplied 1,000 triplex units, a significant cementing unit component, to another contract client.
“At IPC, we pride ourselves in honest and open communication, delivering on what we promise and a commitment to high-quality after-sales service,” Mr Dayoub said. “These are central to
our long-term and successful supplier and client relations.”
“Al Marwan Heavy Machinery is committed to adapting tomorrow's technology,” Mr Al Zaiem concluded, “to offer convenient solutions for end-users by building on a history of excellence and expertise to become a global supplier of top-tier heavy machinery solutions.
“While commitment to sustainability and customer satisfaction are top priorities, Al Marwan's fleet and knowledgeable staff will continue to set the company apart across the industry.”
