Energy, Oil and Gas Issue 120 May 2015

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Rethinking

strategies A look at the material implications of the fall in oil prices for the major natural gas markets

A moment of truth Integrating renewables into the German energy market Reaping the rewards The essential guide to talent sustainability

this ISSUE: Employee performance management

Issue 120 May

Editor Editors Chairman Andrew Schofield Director Mike Tulloch Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Profiles Editor Andrew Dann Staff Writers Jo Cooper Steve Nash Ben Clark Art Editor Gérard Roadley-Battin Production Manager Fleur Daniels Business Development Director David Garner Corporate Advertising Sales David King dking@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Joe Woolsgrove Head of Research Philip Monument Business Development Manager Mark Cawston Research Managers Ben Richell Natalie Griffiths Editorial Researchers Jeff Johnson Wendy Russell ­Office Manager/Advertisement Administrator Tracy Chynoweth Digital Subscriptions Iain Kidd digital @schofieldpublishing.co.uk

We have expanded our remit to reach a more global readership and also the features will offer a wider coverage of energy.

Welcome

all to the first issue of Energy, Oil and Gas! The new name of the magazine also heralds some changes to the content, as we have expanded our remit to reach a more global readership and also the features will offer a wider coverage of energy. So now you might find stories about renewable energy and nuclear power alongside our previous focuses on oil & gas.

We have also been hard at work developing a new website for Energy, Oil and Gas – energy-oil-gas.com – which will reflect the content of the magazine and alongside the digital issues, make EOG’s content available on all devices, both desktop and mobile.

However, while the name may have been updated, and we offer digital issues of EOG, we are still available in print too. I believe holding a hard copy in your hand and seeing your company name on the page has a strong value. Let me know if you agree?

editor LIBBIE HAMMOND

© 2015 Schofield Publishing Limited all rights reserved 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131

please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Regulars

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Natural Gas

Iván Martèn asks – how will low oil prices affect natural gas markets?

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The TALENT model

Paul Taylor thinks its time to go back to basics and adopt the skills lifecycle methodology

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News

Some of the recent developments within the oil and gas industry

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Renewables

Henry Edwardes-Evans takes a look at the German renewables market and how this energy can be integrated into conventional markets

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Employee performance

Shirley Barnes discusses how the right employee performance framework can bring productivity gains

Profiles

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22 Caledonian Petroleum Services 30 Bearwood Engineering 36 Whessoe Engineering 42 Total 46 Ocean Installer

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48 Huawei Marine Networks 50 Radley Engineering 53 Technip India 56 Nordic Maritime

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58 IHC IQIP 62 Welltec

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Contents

66 Fenelon Storage Tanks 68 SRP Subsea 72 AB Klaipedos Nafta

80

76 Scandinavian Tank Storage

90

80 Altec Engineering

90 K2 Specialist Services

82 Array Training

92 PV Drilling

84 Lamons UK

94 Loops Automation

88 Pressure Tech

96 Arc Energy Resources

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Rethinking

strategies Iván Martén asks: How will low oil prices affect natural gas markets?

G

lobal natural gas markets have already felt some impact from the slide in oil prices.

But they will be affected to a much greater degree if oil prices remain in the $50-to$60 range for an extended period. Below we examine the US, Asian, and European markets to gauge their potential responses.

The US In early 2014, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected that US demand for natural gas would reach 770 bcm in 2020. Given the extent to which oil prices have fallen subsequently, however, that projection, especially its assumptions regarding exports and demand from the transportation sector, is likely far too ambitious. For US LNG exports to appeal to Asian and European buyers, spreads between US Henry Hub prices and prices in Asia (which are indexed to the price of oil) and Europe (which are indexed mainly to hub prices) must be sufficiently wide.

But spreads have narrowed considerably as oil prices have fallen. Demand from transportation, meanwhile, stands to be dampened significantly by narrowing price differentials between natural gas and oil products, which will likely reduce substitution of the former for the latter. All told, we expect US demand in 2020 to be well below the EIA's projection.

The fall in oil prices will also weigh on US production of Below Iván Martén, natural gas, since oil and gas companies are likely to scale senior partner and back development. A major reason for this is that, with cash managing director flows from their currently operating oil fields shrinking, of The Boston Consulting Group these companies have less cash to invest. This will force them to be increasingly selective in the investments they make, and projects with relatively high break-even prices, which would include some gas-development projects in the current environment, could be delayed or canceled. Coupled with this, the economics of many ‘wet’ gas fields - those with a high liquids content - have been eroded by the oil price fall,

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which could further reduce investment.

Given the above, we believe that a prolonged period of low oil prices would lead to a smaller US natural gas market. It would also limit the US’ role as an LNG exporter, retard the development of natural gas’ role in the transportation sector, and reduce the price competitiveness of US-produced natural gas on the global market.

Asia By region, Asia has had the world’s fastest growth in demand for natural gas in recent years, with demand rising by more than six per cent annually for the past five years.

Historically, Asia has relied heavily on imports to satisfy its

Natural gas

demand, given relatively limited local production. To ensure security of supply, Asian buyers have relied principally on long-term contracts, largely indexed to oil prices.

Given the linkage of Asian gas contracts to oil prices, the recent fall in oil prices will directly impact Asian gas prices, pushing them significantly lower. Indeed, northeast Asian LNG spot prices have already fallen significantly. Another factor that will put downward pressure on prices in Asia is planned LNG development projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea. These could introduce a large volume (roughly 90 bcm per year) of new supply to the market.

A key near-term effect of lower oil prices - and one that could remain in place over the longer term if oil prices stay

low - is a reduction in the perceived need among Asian LNG buyers for index diversification. Over the past few years, Asian buyers have looked to broaden the basket of indices they use when securing LNG supply, with a particular push to move away from oil in favor of Henry Hub–indexed volumes, whose prices became increasingly attractive compared with prices for oil-indexed volumes when oil was about $100 per barrel. With oil prices now well below that, and with more uncertainty over the competitiveness of US LNG, Asian buyers have to review their diversification strategies.

Over the medium to longer term, it seems likely that, if the current oil-price environment persists, it will enhance the

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sustainable development of Asia's natural gas market.

Europe Europe's natural gas market has evolved into one with significant liquidity. In 2013, for example, the volume of gas traded in all of the region’s hubs combined exceeded natural gas demand in those countries by a factor of ten.

Today, most volumes in Europe are indexed to hub prices, which are decoupled from oil prices. This decoupling was quite evident in 2014, when oil prices and European natural gas prices moved in largely opposite directions for much of the year. (See the graph above.)

The relationship between oil prices and natural gas prices has changed significantly in Europe in the past decade, reflecting an evolution of the indexation structure of gas contracts in the region. In 2005, about 70 per cent of European natural gas volumes were indexed to prices of oil and oil products; by 2013, almost 80 per cent of volumes

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were indexed to hub prices.

This change in European market structure is a direct consequence of several rounds of renegotiations between European midstream players (including E.ON, RWE, and GDF Suez) and their main natural gas suppliers (such as Gazprom, Statoil, and GasTerra). This effort was undertaken several years ago by midstream players with the goal of adapting their supply portfolios to the prevailing gas-market environment. The effort remains in progress, thus we expect hub-based indexation in Europe to continue to increase.

For European natural gas contracts that remain indexed to oil prices, the decline in the price of oil has had a direct impact on contract prices. Hence holders of these contracts have less pressure to renegotiate them. We believe, however, that oil indexation will remain a risky strategy for midstream players over the longer term, given the enormous potential for margin volatility.

The risk of an oil indexation strategy to relevant European

Natural gas

The fall in oil prices has material implications for the major natural gas markets. In Asia's market, the effects will be direct; in the US and Europe, they will be largely indirect. Players in all markets will need to think through their strategies carefully if they hope to capitalise fully on the opportunities that emerge

midstream companies could prove even greater in the near to medium term, given the indirect effect of falling oil prices on the European market. Europe acts as a sink for surplus international LNG volumes. In a scenario of low LNG prices in Asia, some LNG-supplying countries, such as Qatar, and LNG portfolio players could redirect part of their volumes to the European market, thus fostering competition in Europe between traditional pipeline suppliers (namely, Norway, Russia, and Algeria) and core LNG sellers. This could push gas prices in European hubs to levels below the prices of natural gas contracts that are indexed to oil and oil products at current prices.

The fall in oil prices has material implications for the major natural gas markets. In Asia's market, the effects will be direct; in the US and Europe, they will be largely indirect. Players in all markets will need to think through their strategies carefully if they hope to capitalise fully on the opportunities that emerge.

The Boston Consulting Group Ivån MartÊn is a senior partner and managing director of The Boston Consulting Group and the global leader of the firm's Energy practice. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy. It partners with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highestvalue opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 81 offices in 45 countries.

For further information please visit: bcg.com bcgperspectives.com/energy_and_environment marten.ivan@bcg.com.

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rewards Reap the

Paul Taylor offers the essential guide to talent sustainability

O

rganisations are reliant on their ability to embrace expertise and achieve competitive differentiation. However, the process industries are sitting on a ‘demographic time bomb’. Veterans with comprehensive knowledge and vital skills either in engineering, project planning, scheduling or operations management are soon to disappear from the workplace through retirement. So, what steps can companies take to mitigate skills shortages and help sustain their long-term future?

It is time for businesses to go back to basics and adopt the skills lifecycle methodology. This is an integrated system Below Paul Taylor, of T.A.L.E.N.T. (Training, Academia, Legacy, Evaluation, senior vice Networking, Tools), whereby companies can implement best president, practice to mitigate the loss of important skills and ensure international sales, the talent pipeline remains robust for the long-term. While EURA, APAC, MENA, AspenTech some organisations are good at certain aspects of human resourcing, there is still disconnection between all the vital areas of the business. This is not a linear process – it is an on-going dynamic practice that helps improve operational efficiencies and maximise profitability.

Best practice for talent development, retention and utilisation: 66 Implement continuous Training

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66 Build relations with Academia 66 Safeguard the skills Legacy 66 Enforce the disciplines of Evaluation 66 Encourage the art of Networking 66 Provide cutting-edge Tools The T.A.L.E.N.T. methodology revolves around core integrated disciplines, which companies can simultaneously manage and easily apply to their business, either regionally or internationally.

Training In order to address the skills shortage, several companies are taking greater measures to conduct their own in-house training and graduate programmes. For example, MOL PIMS Academy makes it possible for young graduates to quickly acquire the key technical competences and practical experience necessary to become effective supply chain professionals in the petroleum industry. Other examples include, Exxon Mobil who set up the Sakhalin Technical Training Centre, running internationally accredited training programmes to allow it to raise the share of Russian nationals working on the Sakhalin-1 project to 90 per cent by 2012.

The cost of training new or existing engineering talent is often a point of contention. On the one hand, this requires

The TALENT model

time and investment, which comes with high employer expectations for immediate business returns. On the other hand, the loss of expertise due to the inability to develop skills has far wider implications. Companies need to keep pace with new techniques, product upgrades to systems and demonstrate market understanding in order to meet customer expectations. Training is a crucial part of nurturing and retaining talent. This needs to be an on-going process – if you don’t train, there’s no gain.

Academia Developing close links between industry and academia is a vital pipeline to ‘turning on the talent tap’. Many companies have successfully sponsored graduate programmes or initiatives to encourage engineering talent. For example, TOTAL created its own university in 2005 followed by an education department in 2010. In the United Arab Emirates, where it is a requirement to employ 75 per cent local nationals by 2014, the company created the Total Academy and the first group of students graduated in 2012.

AspenTech, a leading provider of optimisation software, recently established the AspenTech Academy, a corporate advisory group of world-renowned university professors. Its charter is to advise and guide AspenTech on the development

of future aspenONE software products and is a catalyst for interaction between the world's leading process industry software company and top researchers and educators in the chemical engineering academic community.

Helping university professors educate students to better understand engineering technology and gain insights to overall operational challenges and market trends will make the transition from academia to industry much easier for graduates. If companies take the lead to work with academia more closely then the next generation of engineers will be prepared for key roles and have a head-start when entering the workplace.

Legacy A crucial strategy for process industry companies is to establish effective ways of capturing and retaining knowledge with the ability to pass it on to the next generation. The market has for some time recognised the growing issues of a skills gap where veteran engineers have retired or on the verge of leaving the profession.

According to international trade body the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the average age of a petroleum worker is 51. Nearly 60 per cent are 45 or older. This represents a peak in the profile of existing workers and indicates that

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There is a clear need for a sustained approach to capturing, nurturing and retaining knowledge for the long-term future of the process industries. T.A.L.E.N.T. is a model that is scalable and can be used as a guide to address skills issues that exist in the industry today. This is not a linear journey – it is an on-going dynamic process that helps improve operational efficiencies and maximise profitability

approximately 40 per cent of the workforce will be lost over the next decade. In the E&C market, larger companies are growing either organically or via acquisition. The combination of experienced engineers retiring and younger talent being poached means the stronger are becoming stronger – the weaker are becoming weaker.

Employers continually drive organisational performance to deliver high return on investment, but it is remarkable how little is done to legislate for the loss of expertise due these retiring personnel. Handing down skills efficiently allows younger engineers to learn quickly and avoids ‘the wisdom walking out of the door’. It’s time to legislate for a better system of talent legacy. Therefore, make plans to retain the knowledge, secure the expertise and maximise business growth potential.

Evaluation Engineering excellence is a crucial business differentiator for many small to medium sized companies. Large operators are under enormous pressure today to meet tighter project timetables. However, the process of evaluating staff performance and setting clear goals is often an under estimated discipline. Sometimes the practice of establishing clearly defining targets and reviewing career goals can be conducted with little attention in a highly pressured, time

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constrained environment. Evaluation is a two-way process.

It is an opportunity for the employer to assess performance and acknowledge added-value achievements and for the employee to express viewpoints and benchmark their skills against the industry standards to identify areas for improvement. Evaluation also builds loyalty. Implementing comprehensive programmes across the main areas of the business and assigning key business performance indicators helps to assess results. Through transparent metrics and realistic goal setting, both employers and employees can set clear expectations to best manage career aspirations.

Companies need to constantly measure workforce performance and analyse measurements to keep talent strategies aligned to business goals and deliver results.

Crucially, the process of evaluation ensures staff are adding immediate value to projects and maintaining safety standards that deliver reliable, quality engineering to tackle complex projects.

Networking Many companies succeed in business by building strong networks with industry leaders and professional institutions.

Greater interaction brings greater benefits. Both individuals and employers will gain at all career stages. Ultimately, it is the proactive engagement of companies with eminent

The TALENT model

aspects of life. The use of intuitive optimisation software, for example, helps to improve decision-making and provides younger engineers with easy-to-use functionality including, state-of-the art visual analysis and powerful process design to reduce energy usage, minimise capital operating costs and improve product yield.

Many companies have adopted AspenTech’s aspenONE software to achieve operational excellence increasing capacity, improving margins, reducing costs, becoming more energy efficient, ensuring safety and shrinking their carbon footprint. With aspenONE, new and occasional users have become proficient faster and experienced users can do more. This is critical for process industry companies facing workforce development and skills shortages.

Process optimisation software helps to build efficiencies in the processes undertaken by engineers, so the development process of less skilled operators can use the tools to achieve the necessary tasks.

Conclusion

leaders, government and industry bodies that will help to nurture and reward chemical engineers across oil and gas, chemicals, manufacturing, engineering, construction and much more. Industry bodies, such as IChemE for example, build and sustain an active international professional community, united by a commitment to qualifications and standards that foster engineering excellence.

Networking helps connect the right people to discuss how to develop innovative ideas and feasible solutions that will address the increasing needs of the oil, gas and petrochemical industries and strengthen a collaborative approach to developing professional talent within the industry. From trade associations to industry events, trade communications to social media, networking nurtures positive interaction and entrepreneurialism.

Tools Investment in technology is a strategic basis for harnessing talent and building expertise in key disciplines. Essentially, providing staff with the appropriate tools will enable individuals to demonstrate their skills and efficiently meet the tasks aligned to the company goals.

Today’s generation of engineers embrace technology having witnessed a world where the use of software, mobile devices and cloud-based solutions are prevalent in all

There is a clear need for a sustained approach to capturing, nurturing and retaining knowledge for the long-term future of the process industries. T.A.L.E.N.T. is a model that is scalable and can be used as a guide to address skills issues that exist in the industry today. This is not a linear journey – it is an on-going dynamic process that helps improve operational efficiencies and maximise profitability.

If we are to mitigate a skills shortfall across the process industries, then we need to apply best practice to the process of talent sustainability – from developing skills that will model our plants, through to operational management of highly technical and complex projects.

The next generation of talented engineers will build our communities, develop infrastructure, design and construct new roads, inspire creativity in chemicals and manage our manufacturing industries.

Executing an integrated T.A.L.E.N.T. model and aligning it with the overall business strategy will allow process industry businesses to reap the rewards of enhanced loyalty and productivity, establishing a clear vision for transforming the way companies optimise their biggest asset – people.

ASPENTECH Paul Taylor is senior vice president, international sales, EURA, APAC, MENA, AspenTech, and is a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team. AspenTech is the world's leading supplier of software that optimises process manufacturing.

The company’s software tackles the most complex process manufacturing challenges, creating value and improving profitability for our customers.

For further information please visit: aspentech.com

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News

Perfect service location A joint venture between Subsea Masters, a subsidiary of UK based GEV Group, and a Las Palmas shipyard in the Canary Islands has been agreed, to provide rig maintenance and repair for the West African offshore drilling market.

The agreement, signed with Zamakona Shipyard, is set to give the UK group a base from which to work on drillships and semisubmersibles currently operating off West Africa, benefiting Subsea Masters’ current customers as well as other international drilling contractors working in the region.

“This is an exciting opportunity for GEV Group,” comments managing director David Fletcher. “Zamakona Shipyard is already working on projects for drilling contractors with rigs moored in the region, such as Transocean. It is, therefore, a logical step for us to partner with such a long established and forward thinking organisation in Las Palmas and provides customers with an alternative to West African service locations.”

Subsea Masters will offer well control equipment maintenance and servicing, including subsea riser management and complimentary services such as tubular and rig inspections.

"We have been fine-tuning the agreement for the past 12 months to ensure we have the infrastructure and equipment in place to deliver a world class service to our clients and Las Palmas is the perfect service location, being part of the EU yet situated just off the coast of West Africa,” added Harry Waters, Subsea Masters operations director, based in Las Palmas.

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$100m contract Fugro has been awarded a five-year contract with an estimated value of $100 million by Total E&P Congo. The agreement is for ROV services and remote subsea tooling in the Moho Nord field, situated around 75 kilometres off the coast of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo.

Fugro will supply four 200hp FCV 3000 work class ROV systems and innovative BOP tooling which will be installed on board three mobile drilling units and one field support vessel.

“Moho Nord is the first major field in which rig BOP test closures have been carried out using Fugro’s new BOP skid system,” said Richard Mathieson, Fugro Subsea’s ROV services project manager. “This uses a special high-flow pump on the ROV to drive further pumps located on the BOP skid, allowing the transfer of large volumes of water-based fluid from the skid reservoirs into the rig’s BOP hydraulic rams when directed.”

Other ROV tasks include setting up regular fluid injection, drilling re-entry, bullseye checks and routine video monitoring, inspection, cleaning and intervention tasks on and around the BOP, as well as alignment control during manifold installation. The ROV on board the field support vessel recently installed transponder arrays on the seafloor to accurately position the drill ship at its drilling location.

Grid connection A new award by 50Hertz Offshore GmbH (a subsidiary of 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, transmission grid operator in Germany) worth approximately 230 million euros has been secured

by Prysmian Group. The company is to design, produce and install a power cable system for the offshore wind park cluster West of Adlergrund in the German Baltic Sea. The award comes as a result of 50Hertz exercising an option for a further grid connection already provided for in the existing contract for the West of Adlergrund project - that was originally worth 480 million euros effective immediately with options for further grid connections to be activated separately - when secured by Prysmian in May 2014.

The project scope comprises the design, supply and installation of multiple high voltage submarine cable systems, now including this additional connection, between planned Offshore Wind Parks, approximately 40 km north-east of the island of Ruegen, to the Lubmin substation in North East Germany (and consequently with the mainland electricity grid) along a route of approximately 90 km (submarine) and three km (land).

Marine cable laying will be performed using the Group’s DP2 ship Cable Enterprise specifically geared to use her particular expertise in offshore wind farm connections in the best way to serve the growing markets in Northern Europe and to provide highly complex installation solutions. The vessel has been newly upgraded and converted from dumb barge to self-propelled DP2 vessel able to operate in very shallow waters.

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Record-breaking year FTI Consulting, Inc, has released FTI Intelligence’s latest renewable energy publication, Global Wind Market Update – Demand & Supply 2014. This report is part of a series of datadriven publications evaluating competitive markets, policy, finance, technology and business models across the energy spectrum.

The report examines the global wind market evolution, forecasts for the wind market between 2015 and 2024, and assesses key market and technology trends and policy changes.

The 175+ page report includes more than 60 tables, charts and graphs illustrating the development of the global wind market. The report is authored by members of the FTI-CL Energy practice, a cross-practice team of energy experts from FTI Consulting including experts from its subsidiary, Compass Lexecon.

“The wind industry has been through a major overhaul and has begun to shift away from FiT-based market mechanisms, and in several parts of the world is at grid parity. The wind industry has shown its resilience and ability to adapt, however the record 51.5GW installations disguise the underlying challenges the industry still faces,” says Aris Karcanias, managing director at FTI Consulting and co-lead of the company’s Clean Tech practice.

To purchase the FTI Intelligence Global Wind Market Update – Demand & Supply 2014 report in its entirety, visit the FTI Intelligence website at www.fti-intelligence.com or contact Feng Zhao at feng.zhao@fticonsulting.com or Aris Karcanias at aris.karcanias@fticonsulting.com.

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European A moment of truth for

power

Henry Edwardes-Evans takes a look at the German renewables market, and how this form of energy could be integrated into conventional energy-only markets – giving gas-fired units some hope of a future balancing role

I

Below Henry Edwardes-Evans, associate managing editor, Platts Power in Europe

14

t is fair to say that Enel chief executive Francesco Starace is not a fan of Brussels’ energy policy. Facing the press at the Italian utility’s investor day in London on March 18, Starace said current distortions in wholesale and renewable electricity markets ruled out any investment that carried a hint of merchant risk.

Enel likes to do things in style, flying in dozens of assistants and foreign correspondents to its investor presentation, laying on breakfast and lunch for the assembled journalists and analysts. This year, however, there was a spectre at the feast in the form of a six billion euro impairment loss. The black hole in Enel’s 2014 accounts included a €3 billion cut in the value of up-for-sale Slovak utility Slovenske elektrarne, and a €2 billion hit in the value of Enel's conventional generation assets in Italy, nobbled by low power prices, waning demand and growing wind and solar output. No surprise, then, that Starace said Enel would not be building any new fossil-fired power plant in Europe

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while there was an absence of long-term price visibility.

Similar messages from Europe’s big utilities this year have all sought to placate investors tired of the sound of the shutters coming down on conventional plant assets.

Irsching shock While the sector is used to this by now, it still came as a shock when German utility E.ON announced March 30 that it planned to close its 550-MW Irsching-4 and 846-MW Irsching-5 combined cycle gas turbine plants in Bavaria in 2016. These units came on line in Q3 2009 and Q2 2010.

They are top-of-the-class 60 per cent efficient peaking generators, representing €500 million-worth of Siemens’ best kit with an operational life of 25 years.

Two points are worth making. Firstly, the timing of this announcement is significant. Germany is looking, reluctantly, at the need for capacity payments, a strategic reserve or some way of compensating controllable, quick-response back-up plants. The government favours a re-designed energy-only

Renewables

wholesale market with sharper pricing signals, but in the meantime a whole raft of distressed German generators are threatening closures. E.ON’s announcement underlined that even new, flexible assets are at risk.

Which brings us to a second point: this is no bluff, on an economic basis and under existing market design, these plants should indeed close. German forward power prices do not warrant a strategy of toughing it out until nuclear and lignite plants close in the early 2020s, when it is reasonable to assume tighter capacity margins might start to inflate prices again.

As for the prompt market, this is where renewables are truly laying waste to returns. On March 31, German dayahead baseload power prices dropped to their lowest level for a working day in over ten years.

A windy, sunny Spring has seen record wind and solar output levels, rising close to 40-GW on the last day of the month. The result was a day-ahead price of €15.75/MWh for baseload and €20.75/MWh for peak.

Platts German Forward Assessments (Eur/MWh), March 30, 2015

Baseload

Peak

Cal 2016

32.05 - 32.55

40.55 - 41.05

Cal 2017

31.50 - 32.00

40.25 - 40.75

Cal 2018

31.15 - 31.65

40.00 - 40.50

Source: Platts

Stellar growth for renewables German solar capacity additions may have slowed to a trickle in recent months, but total installed capacity stands at 38.46 GW – it’s a huge dispersed fleet now, larger in aggregate than any other power source in the country. In April the country starts trialling its first capacity auctions for the technology, before rolling out the concept for other renewable technologies. This should set solar on track to hit a target ‘corridor’ of 2.4-2.6 GW of new plant every year.

Renewables’ combined generation accounted for 26.2 per cent of gross German electricity generation in 2014, beating

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lignite-fired generation into second place. Biomass, wind and solar power are established big hitters. Coal, lignite, nuclear, gas – the conventional techs are increasingly playing a supporting role.

German wind goes from strength to strength, defying expectation last year with 4,750 MW in capacity additions, 58 per cent more than in 2013 and the biggest annual gain on record. Wind output last year met almost ten per cent of German consumption.

The sector is fully mature, illustrated by the fact over 1,100-MW of the additions related to re-powering of existing wind farms with more powerful turbines.

The outlook for 2015 is for a net increase in wind capacity of 3.5 GW-to-4 GW, followed by a decline in 2016, albeit remaining at a high level, according to a Deutsche Windguard report.

Coming late to the scene, German offshore wind capacity has reached the one GW mark as installations in the North Sea and the Baltic more than doubled in 2014. Over two GW of offshore wind projects are in advanced stages of construction, but grid connection is progressing slowly and the expense of this form of generation is definitely a drawback – making it the preserve of the larger utilities.

Scarcity pricing With renewables growth comes volatility. Transmission system operators are understandably nervous about grid stability and want sufficient backup.

The question is how best to provide this. As noted, conventional generators want capacity payments. The German government is far from convinced, and is minded to improve current energy-only market design, augmented perhaps by a limited ‘strategic reserve’ system of around four GW of new, quick-response generation (most likely gas-fired) and demand response (consumers ramping down).

Capacity markets are essentially a national response to perceived wholesale energy-only market failure. By contracting capacity to be on standby at all times, these mechanisms drain risk and so price volatility from short-term power markets. With no volatility there is no signal to invest, prompting further intervention and all the unintended consequences that follow.

Speaking in London, Enel’s Starace characterised capacity markets as ‘aspirin to treat the fever, not the disease.’

“We have overcapacity now because ten years ago there was no long-term signal telling investors to stop building,” he said. “And we are going to suffer in ten, 12 years’ time because

German electricity generation 2013-2014

2013 TWh

2014 TWh

2013 % share

2014 % share

Lignite

160.9

155.8

25.4

25.4

Nuclear

97.3

97.1

15.4

15.8

Coal

121.7

109

19.2

17.8

Gas

67.5

58.3

10.7

9.5

Oil products

7.2

6

1.1

1

Renewables

152.4

160.6

24.1

26.2

Other

26.2

27.2

4.1

4.3

Gross generation

633.2

614

Gross electricity consumption 599.4

578.5

Share of renewables in electricity consumption

25.4

27.8

2013 TWh

2014 TWh

2014 % share of total renewables

% change on previous year

Wind onshore

50.8

54.7

34

7.6

Wind offshore

0.9

1.3

0.8

45.1

Hydro

23

20.5

12.8

-10.9

Biomass

41.2

43

26.8

4.5

Solar photovoltaic

31

34.9

21.7

12.6

Household waste

5.4

6.1

3.8

12.7

Geothermal

0.1

0.1

0.1

50

Total

152.4

160.6

100

5.4

Source: BDEW

16

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Renewables

nobody is building now for the same reason - no signal.”

Wholesale power markets themselves need sharpening, Europe’s big utilities argue. First and foremost renewables need to be integrated, accepting balance responsibility and losing the privileges of priority dispatch and priority access.

Then the role of grid operators contracting capacity to balance the system needs to be rolled back, allowing the market to respond to scarcity pricing much closer to realtime. Regulators need to focus on implementing the cross-border intraday markets that will help this happen.

It’s a huge ask – but Germany appears to be listening and a moment of truth approaches: will Berlin re-boot the German wholesale power market and give scarcity pricing a chance to work?

Traders argue that the market can deliver security of supply more efficiently than top-down, belts-and-braces regulation. Policymakers seem to agree but are unlikely to

resist intervening with some form of capacity support to make absolutely sure that the lights don’t go out.

Platts Henry Edwardes-Evans is associate managing editor, Platts Power in Europe. Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets.

Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. A free trial of Platts’ Market Data Direct can be accessed via http://trial.platts.com/market-data-direct.

For further information please visit: platts.com

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17

performance Maximising

What now for training and employee performance management, following retrenchment? By Shirley Barnes

W

Below Shirley Barnes, client relationship director, Dinamiks

18

ith ongoing volatility in the price of oil and gas and retrenchment in the industry, what can operators do to maximise the performance of staff and therefore the performance of the business, while reducing risk caused by human error?

Or, after the axe has fallen, what next? Productivity rises of several percentage points [sometimes much more] are achievable across industry sectors where improvements in productivity have been implemented and then maintained after year one.

A formal framework that tracks an individual employee’s performance [and, optionally, attitude and behaviour] - and ability to meet objectives and targets - is a starting point, particularly where it highlights where training is required and ensures it supports the employee in meeting those objectives and targets.

The same framework can incorporate a competency framework, which is a specific set of competencies (covering

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how good staff are at given tasks) that relate to a job and the goals of the business. A competency framework can be used to define the blueprint for the best employee performance a business wants to achieve, and will comprise a number of competencies applicable to job roles. Hand in glove with it must be a clear understanding among staff of what best performance is. That understanding is the benchmark used for assessing, or measuring and analysing, the performance of an individual, team, project, department - or the entire user organisation.

A business that does not specify an expected standard of performance to its employees will be one where judgement by managers may be more subjective than fact-based, possibly leading to reduced, not enhanced, productivity. An industry standard competency framework provides a basis for performance appraisals and the development of staff, by training, mentoring or coaching.

A competency framework can play a pivotal role in disaster prevention, including incidents leading to death,

Employee performance

own server. Whichever the organisation uses, the solution can produce analysis in real-time and pinpoint areas of weakness that require urgent or medium (and perhaps longterm) attention.

If a company uses the integrated route, thereby linking training to objectives and performance and other targets, what does it involve and what is at the heart of it? It should involve annual or more frequent employee performance appraisals, which can be ongoing for a time if the business wants to get the most detailed current picture of the performance of its workforce and see where, or if, performance needs to be improved and training introduced.

Where an organisation has a geographically dispersed workforce it may prefer an ‘always on’ cloud-based (online) system over an approach located on its own servers. Being online, a cloud-based system can be accessed from anywhere in the world via an internet connection, and at any time.

Using industry best practice tick box questions, the system should aim to use as little time as possible of the person delegated with the management of it and by the employees answering the questions.

The answers are analysed automatically by the system to give the manager an instant snapshot of the workforce’s performance and competencies, and training requirements, if any.

Employee Development Planning

injury, shutdowns and punitive financial actions. If training is to be implemented, should it be delivered as a standalone activity or part of an integrated employee performance and talent management approach that supports a competency framework? The standalone route can be useful for plugging glaringly obvious gaps in skill sets, but, medium to longer term, a full overview of employees’ performance - and training needs - offers the most well-informed and robust route to optimal business performance and ROI.

Paperless Even short-term, using paperless ways of measuring and analysing employee performance, a comprehensive picture can be built up of a workforce’s capabilities and whether those capabilities are meeting the requirements of the business or need to be developed. Results also quickly show if staff have the required understanding of what best performance is.

Those ways are either cloud-based or on an organisation’s

Employee Development Planning, or EDP, can operate at the heart of the system if the user organisation chooses and is particularly effective where the integrated approach is utilised.

EDP requires more activity than simple box ticking, and therefore, being interactivity-based, helps to reinforce training.

What makes EDP interactive and therefore a useful addition to the training toolkit? It has a ‘notes’ function where employees undergoing training can comment on it at any stage of the training. The manager can view the comments and adjust the training accordingly, if necessary, and hold a meeting (face-to-face, in person or by video link) with any employees if there is a disconnect between expectation and result, or what the employees think of the training and how they are progressing with it.

Feedback by employees on training can also help them to ‘buy-in’ to training and give them a sense of ownership and control over it, which between them can also help with its reinforcement.

In addition to employees keeping a record about their training received, including their own rating of it and the results they attained - and why they rate it as they have their manager can also comment. The objective of such activity by both employee and manager in the notes function is to ensure the benefits of training are realised as fully as possible and the performance of staff (and therefore of the

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19

Training will benefit an organisation the most where there is a clear understanding among staff as to what best performance is, because that understanding is the benchmark by which the performance of an individual/team/project/department or entire organisation is assessed

business) optimised to the maximum.

The notes, with appraisals, can also show where, in the organisation, employees who are underperforming are likely to perform better in a different job role (see below).

With EDP, and the competency framework of which it is part, an important difference arises with traditional training - focusing more on employees’ performance rather than time spent in traditional training, i.e. EDP and the framework are learner, as distinct from delivery, focused.

nature and therefore able to handle different jobs – a crucial factor, perhaps, during times of retrenchment.

In addition to being embedded throughout employee performance management, EDP can link seamlessly to talent management objectives, giving a truly dynamic, real time and more holistic approach to the management of employee performance, upskilling, talent and competencies - and conformance to standards, regulations and new legislation.

Self service High performers Research shows that there is a tendency for people in classroom training to progress at the speed of the slowest member. The opposite applies in competency-based learning, where those of a higher ability progress more quickly, thereby either reinforcing their stature as high performers or helping them become high, or higher, performers.

Some staff might underperform because they are unsuited to their job role and/or have a resistance to change, while still being valuable employees, willing to be making a contribution to the business and progress within it. EDP not only helps identify them and the sort of roles they are best suited to, it can also identify those staff who are adaptable in

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To make optimal use of EDP (and the integrated approach) the culture of the user organisation needs to be attuned, or synchronised, to its self-service approach.

In the past, training and other organisational initiatives were seen as being ‘top down’ activities, led by management.

Management was proactive, employees, anticipating instructions from management, passive. That is changing, as self-service evolves and gathers pace and employees take more responsibility for their actions including training and the overall contribution they make to the business.

User organisations of the EDP approach to training say they place great emphasis on training (or ‘learning’) because it enables them to meet all the specifications of

Employee performance

their existing contracts - while future proofing contracts and framework agreements by being prepared in advance with the competencies and skills that might be required.

I.e. those users train staff in advance of contracts expected to be awarded and keep a full record of the training within EDP, while linking the training to the corporate objectives, including those regarding compliance.

In addition to ensuring all contracts are met to spec, EDP similarly addresses contracts that are subject to change by ensuring employees are up to speed with all skills and competencies required by a contract – actual, possible and changing. The emphasis therefore is on closing all possible skill gaps and prioritising employees who demonstrate flexibility/adaptability and a continuous willingness to learn.

In conclusion In parallel with a competency framework and deliveryfocused learning, EDP helps to align staff, management included, to the objectives and business goals of the user organisation. Each aspect of an employee’s performance can be attended to (and optimised, if necessary). As well as an individual’s attitude and behaviour being analysed, if required, their competencies and level of conformance to

the organisations values can be addressed in order to further improve performance and compliance.

EDP is particularly useful in those organisations when, at year end, a performance appraisal is carried out among staff to see, in easily assimilated graphical form, how individual employees or teams have progressed over the previous 12 months (or however long it has been since the last appraisal) and how they have responded to any training provided.

Training will benefit an organisation the most where there is a clear understanding among staff as to what best performance is, because that understanding is the benchmark by which the performance of an individual/team/ project/department or entire organisation is assessed.

Although EDP is part of a generic but customisable performance and competency framework solution, its capabilities are unique to each user organisation; they are created from requirements specific to the organisation’s business goals and deployed to ensure employees’ personal development plans are met - and that those plans meet those goals. Goals should not focus solely on business performance and related targets. They might also involve an understanding of an operator’s values and, of course, risk; failure in these areas can lead to costly financial penalties in addition to injury and death and impacts on share price.

An integrated and paperless approach to training gives clarity in addition to producing a raft of data that can be viewed as internal business intelligence; the more of that there is, the better it can help the organisation, provided it is deployed intelligently.

If the markets are correct, operators in oil and gas face an uncertain few years (or months, if optimists are to be believed) during which they will face the challenge of how to maximise the efforts of depleted workforces, retain shareholder value and seek to improve margins still further.

Time perhaps, to see how a competency framework can best be introduced, or enhanced if one is already in place, and then how the potential of operators’ human capital can be realised?

Dinamiks Shirley Barnes is client relationship director, Dinamiks Ltd. Established in 2010, Dinamiks Ltd was an early adopter of cloud computing for corporates and SMEs. Shirley has extensive experience of managing software and IT projects and liaising with customer organisations both nationally and globally. As customer relationship director of Dinamiks Ltd she oversees all elements of customer support for Dinamiks, the company’s cloud-based offering for managing the performance, appraisals and training (via employee development planning, or EDP) of customer employees.

For further information please visit: dinamiks.com shirley@dinamiks.com

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21

The educated

Celebrating 25 years

in operation during 2014, Caledonian Petroleum Services (CPS) has performed impressively since its inception, which has resulted in a strong reputation for the company as a leading supplier of support services for the offshore industry. Able to deliver superior quality and experience when its comes to fabrication, project management and manpower services, the company’s capabilities have been further strengthened since it was acquired and became part of the Global Energy Group (GEG) in 2010. Today the CPS brand is able to offer complete turnkey solutions, from dimensional control, 3D laser scanning surveys, vessel design, integrity engineering and construction to its already established fabrication business.

CPS has further expanded its facilities through the acquisition of S&D Fabrication, in early 2014. “CPS has always been known as a premier fabrication company, ” explains business development manager, Raff Celentano.

“However we have also created and developed

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the other services to deliver a truly seamless repair order execution service to support the asset integrity market.”

With unrivalled modern fabrication facilities located in Aberdeen (3 off) and Dunfermline, with all the facilities consisting of structural workshops, piping workshops (carbon steel and exotics) both internal and external secured storage facilities, means that CPS can deliver to the most demanding of schedules.

“From our point of view the company’s price point and cost structure has always been set in a market where we may have to compete against a number of competitors regularly for fabrication scopes,” he continues. “This means that even at a high oil price we are always proactive in addressing our cost-base and processes.”

In a competitive market, CPS has differentiated itself through the development of a niche service that targets, supports and delivers solutions for mature assets in a cost effective and efficient manner.

“CPS’s ‘vanilla’ integrity service, a plain,

PROFILE

simple and no frills service, is aimed at the repair order market rather than large turnkey projects. The oil and gas market is presently all about maintaining asset platform integrity while maintaining safety standards. That is one of our strengths as we are in a prime position to support our clients in the low cost asset integrity market.

“Presently the oil and gas market is all about maintaining asset platform integrity and production protection through integrity and reliability scopes rather than production creation through new large projects,” Raff says.

“A lot of companies are looking for cost reductions in the current climate, but we have always operated in a very competitive sector and have never been at the behest of oil price.”

As the UK offshore industry faces the challenge of supplying to the mature asset market at a lower cost, CPS has focused on meeting the needs of its clients through a more specialised approach, as Raff discussed with European Oil and Gas in August 2014: “CPS

Caledonian Petroleum Services

are the mechanics supporting our clients’ MOT rather than designing and building the car from scratch, which the larger EPC’s perform.

“It’s about doing what you need to do to maintain integrity safely. We provide focused construction driven practical solutions to the mature asset market and have added rope access construction personnel to enhance our offering.

In the current climate a number of operators are engaged with CPS to realise over 20-30

A staunch supporter of innovation, the company believes the delivery of an unrivalled service stems from forwardthinking

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23

Tested Technology

Proven Performance ONSHORE, OFFSHORE AND SUBSEA

VECTOR Techlok® Clamp Connector

Unitized Seal-lok™

VECTOR Duoseal™

WellProtek™ Spherical Element

Flexlok MTM™ Seal

® VECTOR SPO Compact Flange

VESTPAK Test Gasket

VECTOR Optima® Subsea Connector

Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies is a global provider of innovative sealing solutions that meet the challenges of the oil and gas industry Petroleum Elastomers

Metal Sealing Solutions

Our extensive, proprietary portfolio includes natural and synthetic compounds tailored to application demands for a wide range of products, to include cement plugs, BOP products, FS seals and swellable packers.

Our innovative solutions include the Vector Product line of connectors and flanges which utilize proprietary metal seal technology. Our Flexlok MTM™ seal excels in high temperature, highly corrosive downhole applications.

Advanced Thermoplastics

Materials Development & Product Testing Lab

We offer a wide range of custom sealing solutions made from high performance thermoplastics. Our patented, bi-directional Unitized™ seal is suited for extreme HPHT applications, successfully tested to 600°F and 13,000 psi.

Designed for material development and verification, the lab’s capabilities include proprietary elastomer development, evaluation of physical properties, and performance testing of designed solutions.

www.fogt.com

PROFILE

Caledonian Petroleum Services

To develop its other services, CPS, in partnership with Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) established an industry first with the CPS Academy

per cent cost savings not through cuts but working within the CPS model compared to the conventional models.”

People pioneers Spear headed by Bob Steel, MD, the company’s impressive customer base and ongoing success, is its adherence to parent company GEG’s four core values, which ensures CPS continues to deliver an unrivalled service. These integral values include the building of 360 degree trust through the demonstration of care, transparency and fairness with all stakeholders; operating as a global team. CPS works with sister firms to

deliver successful results, without compromising its own unique strengths; it also supports, develops and inspires personnel to develop and succeed on a personal and professional level while also delivering innovation, safety, quality and service to the best possible standard. A staunch supporter of innovation, the company believes the delivery of an unrivalled service stems from forward-thinking, in addition to a focus on health and wellbeing and a positive ‘can do’ attitude.

Indeed, as CPS has grown over the years, it has always ensured that it has the right resources. It has recently engaged with the Global Energy Group’s Graduate training scheme to complement its existing degree qualified personnel operating in its commercial, business development and welding service functions to support their already strong operations team.

Bob Steel has always promoted investment in the technical skills of its staff with an apprenticeship scheme in place since its early days in operation, the people pioneering company has also developed a strong relationship with The Prince’s Trust, which resulted in its involvement in the ‘Get into Oil and Gas’ programme.

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25

Applus RTD UK Ltd Wellheads Way Wellheads Industrial Estate Dyce, Aberdeen AB 21 7GD Sean Pirie - Aberdeen Business Manager Phone: 01224 772161 E Mail: sean.pirie@applusrtd.com

www.applusrtd.com

The Applus Group is a world leading testing, inspection and certification company recognized as a reference point for quality and integrity.

Applus RTD is the group’s specialist for non-destructive testing and inspection and delivers cutting-edge technologies to the oil, gas, energy and petrochemical industries.

We provide the full range of conventional inspection techniques together with bespoke solutions using advanced methods – many of which we have pioneered for industry over the past 76 years.

As a UKAS 17020 Type ‘A’ fully accredited inspection body, we offer the highest quality service with our dedicated specialist staff always aiming to exceed our client’s expectations.

Our local base at Wellheads Industrial Estate in Aberdeen has been recently refurbished to increase capacity and help us provide the North East of Scotland with the full range of NDT & ANDT Inspection techniques and customer support at short notice; • ToFD • Ultrasonics (UT) • Eddy Current • Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) • Permanent Monitoring • Liquid Penetrant Inspection (LPI) • Pulsed Eddy Current • Radiography (Gamma or X Ray) • Tank or Vessel Inspection • Phased Array Additionally our Technical Centre can provide PCN or ASNT Level 3 specialists to support the most complex of inspection tasks as well as producing client specific Procedures.

We look forward to being of service!

PROFILE

Bob has ensured that CPS regardless of the climate, invested in the training of people through its four-year apprenticeship scheme and has been involved with the Prince’s Trust for two and a half years, through its ‘Get into Oil and Gas’ programme. It has maintained a regular recruitment of five to six apprentices a year, though it incurs a cost it ensures the future requirement on the fabrication side is delivered.

As Raff elaborates: “If you look at the industry, it was only a year and a half ago the sector was

Caledonian Petroleum Services

lamenting about the shortage of manpower, whereas today many companies are making redundancies and reducing the workforce. To develop its other services, CPS, in partnership with Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) established an industry first with the CPS Academy; a notable development as it is the first and, so far, only company to have a training programme accredited by a university as a third-party partner. We have been in development of our Oil and Gas Survey ENERGY,oil&gas

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27

PROFILE

Caledonian Petroleum Services

The company’s progressive attitude towards training and career development has earned it a retention rate of 92 per cent amongst its staff Academy over the past year and a half and this supplements our survey offering,” Raff reveals. “This has been done in association with the SCQF – the body which manages Scotland’s national qualifications framework.

This means that the qualification has a value that is transferable and is accredited by Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.”

The company’s progressive attitude towards training and career development has earned it a retention rate of 92 per cent amongst its staff, and the CPS Academy is an industry-defining first that is sure to influence the direction of

offshore training in the future. This combined with its determined approach to efficient operation will differentiate CPS as a unique service provider for years to come, as Raff concludes: “CPS has over 80 per cent staff to contract ratio, so we don’t have the tool to cut contractor rates, instead we ensure that we operate efficiently to reduce costs rather than through cuts. The key for the CPS management is that we continue to invest in training as we don’t believe in a ‘boom and bust’ way of thinking, instead we continue to keep our costs competitive and take a long-term view.”

Caledonian Petroleum Services cpsaberdeen.co.uk

Services Survey, integrity & vessel design engineering, fabrication, installation and site services

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29

control Comfort

Built upon

decades of experience and heavy investment in technology, the Wabtec owned company, Bearward Engineering Ltd is one of the largest producers of industrial radiators in the world.

30

ENERGY,oil&gas

energy-oil-gas.com

Founded in 1958, the business has been subject to enviable growth each year, and today operates out of a 40,000 square metre site in Northampton, UK. Supplying to the world generating set market, as well as supplying

PROFILE

radiators for pumping and construction equipment, off highway, and other specialist equipment sectors, the company manufactures over 35,000 radiators a year with a turnover of ÂŁ50 million.

Delivering into an industry that has seen increasing requirements in the reduction of noise and emissions pollution has ultimately led the business into placing great emphasis on innovation and technical expertise. Leading the way for the industry, it has developed a new range of sectional radiators, providing customers with the most advanced range of

Bearward Engineering

cost effective material, backed by worldwide and immediate after sales support. The applications and installations of the products are many and varied, from engine mounted power modules, to purpose designed low airflow, high-pressure reserve units for high acoustic applications. The result of this is that Bearward manufactures a complex range of radiators to cool engines from 500 KW to 3MW, including conventional jacket water radiators and water/charge-air configurations.

The company works closely with a large customer base that includes many of the ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

Bearward Engineering

Leading the way for the industry, it has developed a new range of sectional radiators, providing customers with the most advanced range of cost effective material, backed by worldwide and immediate after sales support

main manufacturers in the power generation and construction market such as Caterpillar, Cummins, MTU, Mitsubishi and SDMO. Recognised as a leader in innovation, the success of the business is attributable to a combination of modern thinking and a base of traditional experience, as UK sales manager Matthew Eggleton explained in his previous interview with European Oil and Gas: “Bearward has a number of old-school engineers, combined with modern technology, which allows us to be very quick to bringing to market new designs

and bespoke applications. We have developed a product, which allows on-site serviceability for any size of engine, and which is also designed to eliminate the failures associated with thermal expansion within cooling systems – this is our innovative sectional core solution.”

Belonging to the Wabtec Group, the business benefits from the ability to expand globally, setting up facilities in the local regions as it does.

By enabling local serviceability and manufacture, the total cost of the product can be reduced.

As part of the cooling division within a bigger organisation, Bearward has the ability to share technology and resources with sister companies, such as Young Touchstone and Unifin. Whilst the biggest threat to Bearward is the many lower cost producers of cooling systems, which are coming to the forefront on a global scale, it is the company’s trusted sectional product and global manufacturing ability that ensures it can keep such threats at bay.

Ultimately the success, which Bearward Engineering has experienced, is a result of the huge benefits that its sectional radiators bring to end users for all markets. The sectional cores principally split one large cooling surface into many smaller modules, and the sectional product is designed in such a way that they can be individually removed whilst the cooling ENERGY,oil&gas

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33

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PROFILE

system remains in situ for maintenance or replacement. In essence, a cooling system that is maintained will provide superior cooling performance against one that is not.

With Bearward’s design, section removal can be completed by hand without the need for heavy lifting equipment and in circumstances of critical applications or sites; spare sections can be kept locally for quick changes. The sectional core removes all gasket joints associated with traditional cooling systems, and is designed to float within rubber seals removing the thermal stress to the cooling surface and isolating from heavy vibration. If a radiator is damaged, sections can be replaced on site making repairs much quicker and easier, additionally assisting cleaning if the radiator is operating in dirty conditions.

Renowned globally for its customer service, Bearward remains focused on its clients beyond the point of purchase, offering its comprehensive world-wide aftercare service. As part of its fast and efficient response to all service and repair

Bearward Engineering

issues on an international level, all parts are supplied with full warranty promoting the quality and reputation the company has worked hard to build. Boasting state-of-the-art R&D facilities, which are continually sharing data within the group, the support given to new developments is at a top level. Some of the company’s most recent introductions are the aluminium sectional radiators that have a direct cooling performance and dimensions to the copper brass sectional product.

Manufactured with the aid of the latest automated processes, quality is absolutely consistent, and Bearward’s sectional radiators give the highest levels of process control. Beyond the continuous and targeted developments of the product line, the company maintains a clear focus on the future. Its strategy is destined to ensure that the next five years will be as positive as the last few decades, aiming to keep a heavy focus on pushing its global presence, setting up local sub assembly and service locations, which effectively complement and support its continually improving portfolio.

Bearward Engineering Ltd bearward.com

Services Manufacturer of industrial radiators

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35

pedigree A true

With a history that dates back over 200 years, over the last 40 years Whessoe has developed a specialist expertise in the storage and handling of liquefied gases in cryogenic, low temperature, and pressurised forms. Building on its position as the first company in the world to build an LNG import tank, it today has global involvement in a range of cryogenic (liquid) gas storage tanks and terminals.

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energy-oil-gas.com

As a well-established, vastly experienced and multi-disciplinary contractor, Whessoe combines proven technology, quality and safety with global capabilities in studies and concepts, FEED, basic design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, to deliver comprehensive and value-engineered solutions to customers in the hydrocarbon and energy industries. “We’ve been directly involved in more tank projects

PROFILE

globally than most other organisations, reflecting the scale of our involvement in the industry,” says interim CEO, Len Taylor, adding: “As a business we have moved on from high integrity, quality assured systems and structures for cryogenic and low temperature service with a purely LNG focus to include ethane, ethylene, propylene, LPG and ammonia.”

Originally founded in 1790 in the UK,

Whessoe Engineering

Whessoe established a successful foundry and engineering works to take a significant role in the nascent railway, gasworks and steel construction industries throughout the 19th century. In 2013, Whessoe was acquired by Samsung C&T Corporation, keen to bolster its offering of fully integrated solutions and include LNG storage and design. That drive has seen Samsung commit to investments totalling ENERGY,oil&gas

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37

KSB increases investment in LNG Valve production The KSB Group is investing 12million euros in its cryogenic valve production facility located in South West France.

The new building, measuring 4,400 square metres, is designed to accommodate new machining and welding equipment as well as test facilities for the production of triple offset butterfly valves.

These valves are mainly used on platforms or factory ships, both in offshore and on shore production facilities. Almost 60% of the globally operating LNG tankers are equipped with valves from the KSB Amri production site.

• KSB Limited • 2 Cotton Way • Loughborough • Leicestershire • LE11 5TF • 01509 231872 • www.ksb.co.uk

Danais TBT

Triodis

Our technology. Your success.

Pumps Valves Service •

•

AD_Valve_TBTDanais.indd 1

09/04/2015 13:34:41

PROFILE

Whessoe Engineering

KSB KSB are proud to have long a standing relationship with Whessoe Engineering.

Valves manufactured by KSB are of the highest quality which is a prerequisite of Whessoe Engineering. KSB have successfully supplied their AMRI range of high performance double offset cryogenic butterfly valves to Whessoe for the Dragon LNG project. KSB valves have proved themselves time and time again for reliability and longevity in service. KSB are continually developing their range of valves to satisfy increasing demand of the market place and hope to continue their good working relation with Whessoe into the future.

millions into the business in a deal that saw Whessoe becoming the latest company beneath the Samsung umbrella. “We have grown significantly over a very short period of time, more than doubling the size of the company in just over two and a half years.

As a result, we have acquired additional skills into the business, better positioning ourselves to explore the overall ambition of Whessoe and Samsung,� points out Len. Calling upon a workforce, which has become renowned for its skills in providing technically and commercially

strong project solutions, it has been able to build on that position, developing its level of involvement in the value engineering process, taking responsibility for full EPC projects as part of the Samsung C&T family. Whilst immediate opportunities are hard to predict, the close alignment between Whessoe and its parent group will be further demonstrated in April, when its leaders meet to address how, from a global perspective, it can realise the best leverage from the market.

Extending from its roots, the business is well ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

into the construction phase of an ethane import terminal in the UK, but as part of a global brand, Whessoe has been able to weather market downturn through its far reaching recognition, and has been responsible for more than 120 projects on all five continents. “There is an insatiable demand for energy in developing parts of the world, and complementary to Samsung’s overall ambition to grow within the cryogenic gas tank markets, we are actively entering those markets,” says Len. One of the strengths of the Samsung business is that it is able to take on a project through its full life cycle, from concept, scoping studies and front end engineering design (FEED), through to full EPC, commissioning and readiness for operation, as Principal Contractor under CDM or in a PMC role.

As the demand for LNG continues to expand, one particular economy that is notably growing is that of India, as Len explains: “India is a very important part of the world for the Whessoe organisation, and we have a number of contracts there, all of which are within the key centre of LNG, in Gujarat, just north of Mumbai. Our most recent contract is with one of the largest Indian manufacturing companies who are building an import terminal in Dahej.

Operating as a PMC, we are effectively acting as the owners’ engineer, over-viewing the design on our customer’s behalf. India is a country that has big ambitions in terms of its economic growth, and alongside that has a big demand for energy, for which the government sees LNG as a natural route to gaining that energy.”

With a significant amount of infrastructure both planned and established, fuels such as

oil and gas are required to fire it, and storage solutions offer a reliable solution that ensures a readily available supply. Additionally the manufacture of materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene are reliant on the cost effective energy and raw materials such as Ethane. Through increasing the company’s involvement in the movement it is backing that growth as well as fulfilling its ambitions of being part of a solution to the economic growth

Whessoe Engineering

in the area, as Len adds: “We are still looking at a number of geographical areas, including the expansion of our capabilities into mainland Europe, particularly within the Benelux region.

Additionally, symbolic of our growing focus within South East Asia, we are currently executing projects in Malaysia and Singapore as well as targeting other areas such as Indonesia and the Philippines.”

Extending from its interests in cryogenic storage of gases, the company looks to the future actively interested in other opportunities that involve gas processing, gas compression and gas distribution. Operating in a portfolio of market sectors with Samsung C&T and actively interested in the power sector, in which there is a clear link with gas management and gas processing, such as CCGT, IGCC and CCS. “Samsung sees Whessoe as being a very key part of its growth ambitions, and in playing that role we recognise the importance of maintaining the customer focus that we have within the business, delivering the service our customers expect, combined with responsiveness and flexibility.

Our aim is to add value for our customers, rather than just doing a piece of work, and as such we already offer consultancy/advice to customers on how to best exploit opportunities, and as a result, those relationships have already begun to secure a significant amount of repeat business,” concludes Len.

Whessoe Engineering Ltd whessoe.co.uk

Services Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning

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A total

upgrade Founded in the 1920’s as a French oil producer in the Middle East, Total has grown to become the fourth ranked publicly traded integrated international oil company in the world. Now employing over 100,000 employees in 130 plus countries across the world, last year the company brought in revenues of 177.7 billion euros. Operating across the oil and gas, renewables and specialty chemicals sector, the company is split into a number of divisions all serving the company’s vision to responsibly enable as many people

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as possible to access energy in a world where demand is constantly growing. The vision is to meet these energy demands without abandoning the environment by placing sustainable development squarely at the centre of its strategy, to better serve its customers around the world.

Alongside its efforts into innovation and production within the energy sector to create a more sustainable solution, is Total’s commitment to social and environmental issues around the world. Set up in 1992, the Total Foundation has dedicated time and resources to public health, community engagement, cultural and environmental initiatives to secure the future for all involved. Running parallel to its commercial operations, the programmes involved in the foundation involve fighting pandemics, helping young people into employment, improving cultural relationships and dialogue and preserving marine biodiversity.

Testament to its commitment to these causes, the company invests 30 million euros a year into the foundation.

Total’s oil and gas business is split into exploration and production, refinery and

PROFILE

petrochemicals, trading and shipping, and marketing and service divisions. A closer look at the company’s refinery and petrochemicals division reveals some of the ways Total is working to achieve its over arching vision.

In 2013, the company announced plans to modernise its refinery in Antwerp, Belgium to meet the growing demand for lighter, ultra-lowsulphur diesel and heating oil. The one billion euro plan includes the OPTARA (Optimisation of the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam area) project, and ROG (Refinery of Gas) project.

Speaking in the initial press release for the project, president of Total Refinery and Petrochemicals, Patrick Ponyanné highlights the significance of the project: “It is a milestone for the further development of the Antwerp facilities into one of the most profitable platforms of the refinery and chemicals business of Total.”

Employing approximately 1700 people, the complex at Antwerp currently produces a variety of petrochemical products including fuel oil, gasoline, LPG, chemicals, diesel, jet fuel, C4 fractions and aromatics, and is the company’s biggest refinery in Europe.

The OPTARA project began construction in 2013 and is due for completion in 2016, and involves building two new units and upgrading an existing one. As the first of its kind for Total it represents a very large and complex project.

The two installations will be a new solvent deasphalting unit and a mild hydrocracking unit to convert heavy fuel oil into desulpurised diesel and ultra-low, sulphur heating oil. The ROG project is a synergy project between refinery and petrochemistry taking current fuel gas from the refinery and converting it into valuable raw materials for the thermal crackers.

Main contractors for the project are KBR, Technicas Reunidas and GE Oil and Gas. The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project was awarded to Technicas Reunidas, one of the leading engineering and construction companies in oil and gas development. US engineering, procurement and construction company KBR is to supply its ROSE (Residuum Oil Supercritical Extraction) technology to provide the solvent deasphalting systems to the project. The technology will be able to split 48,000 barrelsper-stream-day of residue from a mix of crude oil in to deasphalted oil and asphaltene. The deasphalted oil will then be upgraded in a mild hydrocracking unit. Amongst others, one of the most important benefits provided by KBR’s ROSE technology is the lower cost and higher yield advantages in the deasphalting process of crude oil.

For the ROG expansion project, GE Oil and Gas will supply compressors to convert low-value refinery off-gases into low-cost petrochemical feedstock. Part of a trend to lower costs of production and improve operating efficiency, the process recovers significant amounts of valuable hydrocarbons that would other wise be burned as fuel. Importantly, this replaces the need to use expensive oil-based naptha feeds in naptha crackers.

The project at Antwerp is part of a continual drive for Total to ensure maximum safety and efficiency across its refinery and petrochemicals division. It forms just one part of a global effort, which includes further upgrades in the US, and the building of a full-conversion refinery and expanding capacity in Asia and the Middle East. Significantly, the project will help reduce costs within the Antwerp refinery, whilst maintaining efficient, high levels of fuel in order to meet growing demands for lighter, more environmentally friendly fuels. It is hoped

Total

The project at Antwerp is part of a continual drive for Total to ensure maximum safety and efficiency across its refinery and petrochemicals division. It forms just one part of a global effort, which includes further upgrades in the US, and the building of a fullconversion refinery and expanding capacity in Asia and the Middle East

Franki Foundations In December 2013 Franki Foundations Belgium started piling works for the Optara project at the Anwerp Total refinery. By now approximately 2500 piles have been installed on this site.

Depending on the specific job site conditions a wide variety of pile types was opted for: Omega and Atlas displacement screw piles, micropiles and driven tubed piles.

Franki Foundation Belgium’s clients are Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain), Amec Foster Wheeler (Italy) and Kinetics Technology (Italy).

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PROFILE

that the upgrade will also boost competitiveness, save jobs, improve the company’s industrial performance and shrink its environmental footprint in an industry continually the centre of world environmental focus.

According to Total, global energy demand is forecast to be 25 per cent higher in 2030 than in 2010, with fossil fuels making up 75 per cent of that demand. The increase in demand is mostly driven by demographic and economic growth in emerging economies. This coincides with an international focus on environmental impacts and the need to reduce the effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Ultra-low sulphur diesel is part of this continual drive to reduce emissions, as the reduced levels of sulphur make diesel a much cleaner fuel to use, particularly in the automotive industry.

With more and more people turning towards diesel powered cars, the ability to produce more on a much more efficient scale is a significant step for Total at Antwerp.

At end of 2013, Total completed 13 projects to build, revamp and replace units at its Normandy refinery. Part of the projects’ objective was to shift the production focus of the complex towards diesel, an indication that the company is responding to the rising demand for the fuel. As in the Antwerp terminal, the project was designed to improve energy and environmental performance to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. Similar objectives were present in the company’s Port Arthur refinery upgrade in the US between 2009

and 2011. It is clear that Total is taking large and significant strides to achieve its vision of meeting increasing energy demands, whilst reducing the environmental impact it has on the world.

The OPTARA and ROG projects at Antwerp are the latest steps in the company’s mission and the heavy capital investment of over one billion euros that is going into the project highlights

Total

Ultimately, by increasing production of cleaner fuels in a much more efficient and environmentally friendly way, Total is positioning itself to remain a strong player amongst the top of a globally competitive market Port of Antwerp

how seriously Total takes it. With ongoing projects in Asia and the Middle East it also clear that the continuous drive to achieve its vision will continue into the future as demand climbs and international pressures tighten regulations within the energy sector. Ultimately, by increasing production of cleaner fuels in a much more efficient and environmentally friendly way, Total is positioning itself to remain a strong player amongst the top of a globally competitive market.

In its oil refinery in the port of Antwerp, the Total Group is busy constructing two new units: a solvent de-asphalting unit and a mild hydrocracking unit.

For the implementation of this huge project, 29 modules with high-tech assembly parts are transported from Tarragona in Spain to the Port of Antwerp. One of these modules even weighs up to 1000 tonnes.

Total total.com

Project Upgrade and modernise Antwerp refinery

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rise On the

Since its foundation in January

Below Steinar Riise, CEO Ocean Installer

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2011, Ocean Installer AS has experienced rapid growth thanks to its in-depth industry experience and market ambition, swiftly progressing from a fledgling business to an internationally recognised and successful industry player. Following a prosperous three years, the company has grown to approximately 300 employees and boasts an annual income of $200 million alongside a backlog that is nearing $400 million. “Ocean Installer has experienced rapid growth along all key parameters – in terms of organisation, geographic presence, backlog, assets and operations. We currently have six established offices in Stavanger, Norway; Aberdeen, UK; Houston, US, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Perth, Australia; Dubai, UAE and Mexico City, Mexico, as well as operations in a number of regions,” begins Steinar Riise, CEO of Ocean Installer. “This carefully balanced, yet rapid growth has placed Ocean Installer in a position where it now bids on and wins, as well as successfully executes, subsea projects in competition with the major global subsea contractors.”

Boasting strong SURF (subsea structures, umbilicals, risers and flowlines) expertise, the technical staff at Ocean Installer have an average of more than ten years experience within this subsea segment. The company also provides full EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction and installation) services within the marine and subsea sectors, offering turnkey solutions in energy-oil-gas.com

SURF, inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), surveying and trenching and rock dumping.

To ensure the delivery of the highest possible quality, efficiency and sustainability, Ocean Installer has invested in a fleet of three first-rate, robust construction support vessels (CSVs) that promote environmentally cutting edge operations and solutions. Built in 2002, Normand Clipper was extensively upgraded in 2005 and is today a global capacity vessel that is suitable for both shallow and deepwater operations. The vessel has a 250 tonne crane capacity and 1700 m2 deck and a DP class two system. Meanwhile, the Normand Mermaid, a light construction support vessel (LCSV), was built in 2002 and is equipped with a DP class three system, a 100 tonne crane capacity and 765 m2 deck; the vessel can perform general subsea construction, installation of smaller structures and ROV intervention.

The most recent addition to Ocean Installer’s fleet is Normand Vision, which was introduced to the market in the second quarter of 2014.

Built for heavy construction work, the high capacity CSV is equipped with a 3000 tonne carousel, a 150 tonne vertical lay spread system (VLS), a 400 tonne active heave compensated (AHC) crane and launch system for ROVs. Highly advanced in station keeping, efficiency and performance, she is designed to operate in demanding conditions and has been purpose built for SURF projects. In November 2014, following Ocean Installer’s award for an

PROFILE

umbilical installation project with Oceaneering for LLOG on the Delta House Project, the Normand Vision began its first SURF project in the Gulf of Mexico, having previously taken on a number of projects in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

As expected, Ocean Installer has continued to enjoy success since it was previously featured in EOG’s sister magazine, Shipping & Marine in April 2014; other key developments for the firm include the establishment of an office in Australia in October, followed by the opening of an office in Brazil in December, two strategically important areas that offer further opportunities for carefully executed growth, as Steinar notes: “The Asia Pacific and Oceania region represent significant growth opportunities in the years ahead, and we saw a need to meet client demand for subsea construction services. Mr Bijan K. Mahapatra is leading the office in Perth and with his local knowledge and network we are well positioned to expand our operation and business in the region. In addition, we saw the need to establish an office to serve the Brazilian oil and gas market. The company has seen an increasing demand of targeted vessels in the region and the short time frames in which accurate engineering solutions are demanded. We have already introduced our high capability vessel Normand Clipper to the region working for Saipem, with very promising initial client feedback. We were very fortunate to hire the highly experienced Mr Marcelo Mendonca. He has done an excellent job promoting Ocean Installer in the region.”

Other projects that the company has been involved in include the installation of umbilicals for BP on its Thunderhorse project, which was a milestone for Ocean Installer in the Gulf of Mexico; it has also recently secured further work with Statoil for an umbilical marine installation at the Visund field, as Steinar highlights: “The work scope at the Visund field will include load out and transport of new umbilical riser, installation of a new umbilical riser system including vertical anchor and mud mat for supporting umbilical

Ocean Installer

termination assembly. The content of the work includes all activities necessary for installation of the pliant wave umbilical riser. Furthermore, we have also signed contracts for various installation services on the Troll and Åsgard field for Statoil.

This underlines the importance of the ‘home’ market for Ocean Installer.”

Through a combination of experience, skills and high capability vessels, Ocean Installer is certain to flourish as it continues to build longterm relationships with clients by delivering excellence in the short and long term. “The key to further success relies on our ability to fulfill and exceed our client’s expectations on existing projects. Our overarching vision is to become a key service provider in the global SURF market, and this will be our guiding objective also over the next five years. In more concrete terms it implies further consolidating our position in the regions we currently have operations,” concludes Steinar.

Through a combination of experience, skills and high capability vessels, Ocean Installer is certain to flourish as it continues to build long-term relationships with clients by delivering excellence in the short and long term

Ocean Installer AS oceaninstaller.com

Services Subsea construction

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flow Data

Huawei Marine Networks Co., Limited (Huawei Marine/HMN) is a joint venture established by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Global Marine Systems Limited.

Bringing together the industry leader in optical transmission and over 160 years of marine engineering excellence of the two parent organisations, Huawei Marine integrates innovative products and state-of-the-art technologies to provide highly reliable, costeffective fibre-optic network solutions to the telecommunications and oil and gas industries.

Headquartered in Tianjin, China, with a manufacturing base and research and development facilities in both Beijing and the United Kingdom, Huawei Marine has grown rapidly, with over 280 employees and a substantial customer base incorporating sovereign governments and global blue-chip multi-national organisations.

“The joint venture structure allows us to leverage the expertise of both parent companies including the substantial R&D resources of Huawei. The strength of their advanced optical transmission technology coupled with Global Marine’s mechanical design, marine engineering and subsea installation expertise is crucial to delivering cost-effective solutions with a design life of 25 years,” says Mike Constable, chief executive officer.

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Aligned with HMN’s full turnkey network solutions philosophy, the business offers system design and engineering, procurement, manufacturing installation and comissioning services all under one contract. “Our turnkey approach mitigates project risk and maximises customers return on investment,” adds Mike.

“Since 2013 our addressable market has expanded significantly and that has, in part been driven by the development of our new optical amplifier or repeater and branching unit. With this second generation repeater we are able to provide a higher fibre count in our system design, up from two-fibre to six-fibre pair systems, which substantially increases system design capacities.”

The development of HMN’s secondgeneration repeater, is a culmination of over three years of product qualification and testing, ensuring that the repeater units are capable of flawless operation over a design life of 25 years. Having maintained a strong focus on the engineering quality of the mechanical, optical and electrical parts at component level, this translates into a substantial increase in reliability and performance.

“We have built in significantly more redundancy to increase the performance parameters. The new design allows us to transmit more light even greater distances. This

PROFILE

is a product differentiator compared to our competitors, in that it has a titanium housing so is lighter and smaller, and therefore can be laid and buried simultaneously, so that the repeater is not left on the seabed and exposed to risk until a secondary ship is available to post lay bury them. This reduces risk and constitutes a significant cost saving that we are able to pass on to our customers,” explains Mike.

With completion of a comprehensive product qualification and testing regime, HMN’s second generation repeater is due to be deployed in a telecommunications system in Africa shortly; with system loading onto an installation ship commencing in a few weeks.

“We have a number of other contracts ready to be executed incorporating this new, product, so by year end, we expect have more product and systems going into the water,” Mike adds. “As a result, we have increased our market share. Today, we are currently constructing projects with both our first, and second generation repeaters in Africa, Russia, and Asia, with potential in the Middle East to follow. We are the only supplier with two repeater products, each bringing unique, innovative benefits to address a niche space in the market.”

Telecoms research indicates the provision of high-speed data transmission connectivity has a direct impact on a nation’s economic growth, while driving the transformation of the business landscape through the development of the internet and other associated applications such as cloud services. In a similar manner, the economic benefits of reliable broadband connectivity, already realised on a global scale are replicated on a micro-scale for the oil and gas industry.

“It’s essentially about eliminating the digital divide, whether that is on a global scale as we have seen with the internet, or at micro level by seamlessly integrating offshore oil and gas platforms with onshore communications networks,” states Mike.

As the world continues to become even more connected and the flow of data increases exponentially every year, the telecom sector is exhibiting strong growth, however it has taken some time for the oil and gas industry to begin to understand the benefits of submarine cable fibre to platform connectivity. This infrastructure is a key enabler for the oil and gas industry, particularly as the digital oil field gains momentum.

Huawei Marine Networks

“It’s not just oil that is flowing out of reservoirs but data too, and that data has to be gathered, tracked and analysed to be used effectively. There is a lot more instrumentation going into the oil fields that collect and monitor all manner of data, but leaving that data stranded offshore doesn’t make sense and it won’t provide the benefits that can be realised by enhancing field automation, reducing operational costs and enabling faster inproved decision making,” highlights Mike.

Fibre-based communications infrastructure also facilitates other technologies, including emerging big data applications such as Permanent Reservoir Monitoring (PRM) systems.

“I believe that the oil and gas industry is starting to view high-speed broadband connectivity as fundamental to its field developments. As a result, we are working alongside our customers on some bespoke opportunities, in Africa and other regions,” says Mike.

Fibre-optic submarine cable systems can be deployed retroactively to link platforms and assets in existing brown field developments or in conjunction with other infrastructure development such as the platforms and pipeline networks on greenfield sites.

“We are active all over the globe, delivering solutions to any customer, anywhere in the world,” points out Mike. The ability to provide turnkey network solutions, and the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems by expanding original design capacities have proven to be the company’s two primary revenue streams.

“We were born out of the desire to change the face of the industry that had been without innovation for almost two decades. That vision remains. We have a product road map, where we are actively developing specific new subsea hardware for the oil and gas industry. Innovation is a big part of our culture,” Mike adds.

Looking to the future, HMN is focused on expanding its existing business and customer base by developing and implementing more systems in the water to bring secure broadband connectivity for both the telecoms and oil and gas sectors.

“There are a number of regions which are quite active in driving forward fibre to platforms and other advanced data applications, however there are still other regions that need this investment and hold great opportunities for HMN,” summarises Mike. “It’s an exciting time for us, and for our customers.”

The ability to provide turnkey network solutions, and the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems by expanding original design capacities have proven to be the company’s two primary revenue streams

Huawei Marine Networks huaweimarine.com

Services Fibre optic sub marine cable solution provider

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Engineering

opportunities Radley Engineering Ltd

was founded in 1972 by brothers John and Thomas Radley in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Today, Radley Engineering Ltd employs 255 people, and is one of Europe’s leading specialists in the design, manufacture, fabrication and site installation of high quality stainless steel, carbon steel and exotic materials.

Vision, mission and value proposition: The company’s vision is to be a leading global provider of specialised engineering solutions that will bring value to its clients.

The success of Radley Engineering has been driven by a set of core values: 66 Safety - The safety and health of all employees is the most important value held by the company and will never be compromised.

66 Integrity – The company will behave ethically, honestly and will work together to achieve organisational goals. It will honour its commitments and accept responsibility for its actions.

66 Environment - A commitment to sustainability and to acting in an environmentally friendly way.

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66 Teamwork – it works to inspire, support and assist each other’s efforts towards individual and shared goals.

66 Respect – It treats individuals with respect and sensitivity and values their contribution.

66 Performance – It is dedicated to satisfying its customers’ needs and exceeding their expectations.

Greg Conaty, Technical Director, outlines the companies’ value proposition to their clients: “At Radley’s we create value for our clients by playing a key role in transforming ideas and inventions into innovations that, by definition, create value for all our customers and supply chain partners. Our market sectors include Oil & Gas, Mechanical, Pharmaceutical, Bio Pharma, Power Generation and Special Architectural Projects.”

Greg goes on to outline the Radley Engineering Ltd mission statement: 66 To safely and consistently deliver specialised engineering solutions for its targeted market sectors.

66 To deliver a high quality, comprehensive, professional service and take full responsibility for the realisation of customers’ investment plans.

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radley engineering

66 It will deliver operational excellence in every corner of the organisation and meet or exceed its commitment to the communities it serves.

66 It is dedicated to creating an atmosphere of optimism, teamwork, creativity, resourcefulness and its dealings with everyone will be conducted in an open and ethical manner.

66 All of its long-term strategies and short term actions will be moulded by a set of core values that are shared by each and every employee.

Site Facility: The state-of-the-art site facility, in Dungarvan, is set against the backdrop of the Comeragh Mountains on a ten-acre site that consists of: 66 Carbon Steel Pipework Fabrication Dedicated 2,000 Sq. Metre workshop c/w 4 overhead gantries.

66 Stainless Steel Pipework Fabrication Dedicated 1,400 Sq. Metre segregated compound for pipe & fittings.

66 High Purity Pipework facility – Dedicated 2,000 Sq. Metre Cleanroom to ISO Class 10/1000/10,000 servicing the pharma, bio pharma and medical market sectors.

Radley’s purpose built facility is also capable of: 66 Welding (Automatic & Manual Processes) 66 Machining 66 Polishing 66 De-Greasing & Cleaning 66 Passivation 66 Shot Blasting & Priming 66 Painting & Powder Coating 66 Heat Treatment 66 NDE 66 Vessel Repair & Refurbishment

in new technologies and welding techniques.

This commitment to research and continuous improvement has resulted in Radley Engineering successfully achieving approval for weld procedures for Subsea drilling risers.

Approval of its weld procedures has been granted by some of the largest exploration companies in the world. Greg explains: “We have now secured several subsea welding contracts for 2015. The tubes which are free issued to Radley Engineering by the pipe manufacturer are welded in a tightly monitored and controlled environment. The tube material grades are highly specified chrome martensitic, F22 and 4130, both manufactured to client’s specification and working to extremely high pressures on the seabed. Radley’s are the first company in Ireland to achieve this welding

At Radley’s we create value for our clients by playing a key role in transforming ideas and inventions into innovations that, by definition, create value for all our customers and supply chain partners

Products include: 66 Pressure Vessels 66 Subsea Drilling Risers (Approved/Qualified welding procedures) 66 Storage/Heating/Cooling Tanks 66 Pipework Systems and Installations 66 Heat Exchangers 66 Condensers 66 Reactors 66 Process Columns 66 Modular Design for Skids & Structures

Subsea Drilling Risers: Radley Engineering Ltd continues to invest ENERGY,oil&gas

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radley engineering

Special Architectural Projects:

procedure approval. All weld procedures are completed by our highly qualified and experienced coded welders.”

Radley Engineering Ltd is committed to future investment in new equipment and machinery for the production of the units and hopes to expand its client base in the Oil & Gas market. Existing clients include Phillips 66 / ConocoPhillips, Shell, Statoil and Worley Parsons.

Welding Capabilities & Materials: Radley Engineering Ltd is also one of Europe’s leading specialists in the welding of exotic materials. Its welders are fully trained certified specialist welders in various materials including: 66 Stainless Steel (Austenitic) 66 Carbon Steel 66 Low temperature Carbon Steel 66 Hastelloy alloy (C22 / C276) 66 Aluminium 66 Monel 66 Duplex 66 Super Austenitic Duplex 66 Titanium (Grade 2) 66 Incoloy 66 Cupro Nickel

Design & Documentation: Radley Engineering is the industry leader in computerised vessel design and modelling using both 2D and 3D applications including Auto Desk Product Design Suite (Inventor and Autocad), Autodesk Plant Design Suite, PV Elite and Finglow. This allows Radley’s to design vessels to ASME VIII, PD 5500, EN13445, API650 and TEMA standards.

Radley operates a Quality Management System certified by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) under ISO 9001:2008. Radley’s commitment to quality, inspection documentation and design standards ensure that client’s specification requirements are continuously met in full.

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Radley Engineering is proud to be associated with a number of high profile projects including ‘The Spire of Dublin’, ‘The Heron Tower’ in the heart of London and the Waterford City Suir Cable Stay Bridge. This is a clear indication as to the flexibility of its workforce and its design capabilities.

Greg concludes: “As the company looks to the future, we will continue to maintain our excellent relationships with the existing supply chain from client, EPCM and contractor in our current market sectors. We will forge ahead to develop new relationships within the subsea oil and gas markets as well as the UK nuclear power market where we are talking with EDF. This is an exciting time to be working at Radley Engineering Ltd and with the next generation of Radley’s, now in key positions within the company, the future looks bright.”

Radley Engineering Ltd radleyeng.ie

PROFILE

Technip India

together Stronger

Operating as a

Below Samik Mukherjee, country head and managing director

100 per cent wholly owned entity of Technip France, Technip brings in strong competency in the field of onshore refining, petrochemical, LNG, fertilisers, oil & gas; offshore process platforms and subsea engineering in India.

Technip Group was founded in 1958 in Paris as an engineering company with a workforce of just 100 people and over the course of a little over 50 years the business has grown into a global company with a workforce totalling 38,000 people across 48 countries in five continents. Today Technip is listed on Euronext Paris (EURONEXT: FR0000131708) and traded in the US on the OTCQX marketplace (OTCQX: TKPPY). Throughout its history Technip has demonstrated a keen ability to anticipate and adapt to the needs of its clients as well as the changing demands of the energy market.

Within India the company has a strong presence and offers a wide spectrum of services from licensing, PMC services, FEED, basic engineering to full EPC projects covering everything from ‘concept to commissioning.’

These activities are supported by a broad portfolio of technologies that were further strengthened by Technip Group’s acquisition of Global Industries Ltd. and Stone & Webster Process Technologies during 2011 and 2012 respectively, giving Technip India a broad base within the energy market.

Technip India recently took the decision to merge all of its existing entities in India under One Technip umbrella, which was successfully completed in April 2014. “Technip’s different entities in India underwent a corporate

restructuring by way of a court approved merger to become one legal entity as Technip India. In a further step, the merged entity Technip India Limited moved its country management headquarters to Mumbai and it remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Technip France SAS. The aim of the merger was to provide a consistent value proposition to all our customers/stakeholders in India as One Technip, enhance the collaboration between Technip India and other Technip group entities and to leverage the synergies of combined operations of three centres – Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Today Technip India has a 3200 strong workforce, based across three locations in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, led by a single country management team,” explains country head and managing director, Samik Mukherjee.

“This integration has helped each operating centre to enhance their capabilities with the support of the other centres, thus resulting into increased growth in terms of business volume/portfolio and more opportunities for all employees of Technip India,” he continues.

“There are three aspects of this integration – legal, people and process. We have completed the legal integration part but people and process integration are an on-going process. Integration of multiple entities to One Technip reaffirms Technip Group's strong commitment for the growing domestic market to deliver challenging and exciting projects for the energy industry in India.”

Technip India has built a strong reputation for delivering first-class service and as such has developed an equally impressive client base, including highly regarded industry players ENERGY,oil&gas

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Onshore Construction Co. Pvt. Onshore Construction Co. Pvt. Ltd headquartered in Mumbai, India, is immensely proud of its nascent association with the engineering conglomerate, Technip, on the build-own-operate contract for two 110 MTPD Hydrogen Plants for Air Products, US at the Kochi Refinery in India. Critical mechanical work encompassing structural, piping and equipment erection entrusted to the care of Onshore Construction is progressing satisfactorily meeting the highest international standards on quality, safety and project control set

by Technip.

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such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL); Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC); Reliance Industries Limited; Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL); Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL); GAIL (India) Limited; Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited; EIL; Kochi Refineries Limited; Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T); Gujarat State Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited; JBF Industry; Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL); Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited and National Fertilizers Limited.

“Our structural alignment will help us to deliver tailor-made service to our respective clients with a focus on value added services and extended product portfolio in the local and international market,” says Samik. “Currently in addition to domestic EPC projects and engineering services for the Technip Group, we are concentrating on

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the high value added services (for both domestic customers/Group) by entering the areas of conceptual studies/feasibility reports/FEED (front end engineering)/procurement services/ project management consultancy (PMC).”

Amongst its recently completed projects Technip India can count a number of highly successful and widely publicised operations, including the notable installation of the Heera Redevelopment (HRD) process platform for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).

“The HRD installation was completed using our proprietary Unideck integrated topside floatover installation system for the first time in the Indian waters,” Samik explains. “The unique feature of this installation method is that it performs the integrated production deck (topsides) installation in a single operation, thus saving installation time and lowering risks compared to some other traditional methodologies of multiple lifts of smaller modules. The HRD platform will help in increasing field exploration and development activities, thus improving domestic hydrocarbon production.”

Furthermore, Technip India is further demonstrating its expertise through highly technical projects for Reliance and JBF Petrochemicals. “We are proud to be associated with setting up an ethylene gas cracker for Reliance Jamnagar in India. In terms of size and complexity, this is truly the biggest and world class Gas Cracker Project using Refinery Off Gasses as the main feed. The scope of work includes a license for steam cracking, supply of

PROFILE

basic engineering package and engineering and procurement services. The ROGC plant will utilise Technip’s ethylene technology, including its proprietary SMK furnaces technology, one of the major cornerstones of Technip's ethylene know-how. The products from this plant will be utilised as feedstock for the new downstream petrochemical plants,” Samik reveals.

“We are also working with JBF Petrochemicals, a wholly–owned subsidiary of JBF Industries Ltd for 1.25 million tons per year latest-generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) unit, to be located in the Special Economic Zone in Mangalore, India,” he continues. “PTA is the primary feedstock for polyesters used in textiles and packaging. The contract covers the basic engineering, front-end engineering design, detailed engineering and procurement services for the ISBL (inside battery limit) and the OSBL (outside battery limit) of the unit. The scope of work also includes supply of materials and construction management services for the ISBL. The plant will feature BP’s leading-edge proprietary PTA technology.”

Currently, under the leadership of the stable India Government, the country is at the inflection point to see the transformation of the energy sector, driven by favourable policy framework, focus on deep water development, operational excellence in manufacturing to reduce energy consumption and enhanced skill-sets to achieve scalability and pace for execution of mega-projects. Technip India relies on its highly skilled personnel to steer the company further in the right direction, as Samik concludes: “Our strengths are our people – a key pillar for our success. Recently, Technip in India has achieved the exclusive Top Employers Asia Pacific 2015 certification as a mark of its dedication to the development of the people.

Technip Group has also been certified as one of the first five companies in the world as a Global Top Employer 2015. Our global Top Employer title combined with the certification at country and regional level demonstrates the quality and consistency of the company’s human resources policies and practices across the group’s worldwide network in 48 countries.”

Technip India

Our strengths are our people – a key pillar for our success.

Recently, Technip in India has achieved the exclusive Top Employers Asia Pacific 2015 certification as a mark of its dedication to the development of the people

Technip India technip.com

Services Project management, engineering and construction

ENERGY,oil&gas

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Seismic and subsea With several years

Below Kjell Gauksheim, Nordic Maritime’s executive director

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of industry experience, Nordic Maritime PTE Ltd. has garnered a respected reputation as a Singapore based ship owner and management company.

The business was founded by Morten Innhaug during 1999 and began operations as a ship manager for 2D and 3D seismic survey vessels on behalf of the Russian geophysical company Dalmorneftegeophysica JSC (DMNG). From this base Nordic Maritime continued to develop and gradually grew from a ship management company to a fully fledged vessel owner and operator in its own right, with its prime areas of operation including Southeast Asia; West Africa; the Middle East; India; Brazil; China; Australasia and Russia. Presently the company is headquartered in Singapore and also manages a further office in Jakarta, Indonesia from where it specialises in the operation of vessels flying the Indonesian flag.

As the company has grown so too has its service offering, which has expanded and developed inline with the changing demands of the offshore oil and gas sector, as executive director for business development and marketing, Kjell Goran Gauksheim explains: energy-oil-gas.com

“Today we essentially operate two departments in Nordic Maritime, one of which is seismic survey, while the other is subsea and offshore support. Over the years we started to acquire our own vessels, enabling the company to not only provide seismic management but also sail its own ships. We acquired our first 2D seismic vessel in 2007 from there on we have further expanded with 3D and ocean bottom node (OBN) capabilities, which have remained a core part of the business since 2007.

“We have also invested into a totally different market in subsea support vessels and we have now built a DP2 subsea vessel in India with a sister vessel arriving later this year. This means that we had a new vessel for 2014 and we have another coming in this year, as well as a further new build seismic support vessel.”

Indeed despite the uncertainties within the market generated by the falling price of oil, Nordic Maritime has remained proactive in ensuring that it maintains a modern fleet and in winning contracts across the globe. The DP2 VS470 MKIII subsea service vessel, Mokul Nordic was built and delivered during March 2014 at the Tebma Shipyard in India. Following

PROFILE

Nordic Maritime

Although Nordic Maritime has proven itself to be an effective and reliable partner to clients throughout the world, it remains a company that is very much focused on the Asian market and that is also interested in developing local content

this the vessel was sailed to Norway, where it received its 100-tonne active heave compensated offshore knuckle-boom crane before beginning offshore support operations in the North Sea. “We took delivery of the first of two new IMR/ ROV support vessels during March 2014 and at the time we still had to install the crane, which was located in Norway,” Kjell elaborates.

“We took the decision of rather than sending the crane to India, to instead sail the vessel to Norway and have a strong summer operating in the North Sea. This was highly successful, as against strong competition from high-quality tonnage we were able to secure work for the entire summer even with a major as Statoil.”

The performance of Nordic Maritime and its new vessel continued to impress culminating with the announcement of the renaming of the Mokul Nordic to the Nordic Prince during December 2014, as well as the award of a five-year charter for the vessel on behalf of Noble Energy in Haifa, Israel. Commenting on the award of the contract at the end of 2014, Kjell exclaimed: “We are glad to announce that our vessel, Nordic Prince had arrived at Haifa Port and on-hire for the highly reputable international oil company, Noble Energy. This marks a good start to what we believe will be a strong collaboration between Nordic Maritime and Noble Energy. Nordic Prince is now installed with a WROV and is all ready for the new project.”

During the course of its charter for Noble Energy, the Nordic Prince will perform ROV operations as well as environmental and field development surveys. The contract was won in the face of stiff competition from several

strong candidates and following the award of the contract Nordic Maritime has committed to develop local content through a training programme aboard the Nordic Prince in close co-operation with the company’s local partner and agent K&H Maritime Ltd. “We started on the contract during November 2014 and are working on the project now. I am pleased to say that the work is progressing very well – Noble are a great client,” Kjell says.

Although Nordic Maritime has proven itself to be an effective and reliable partner to clients throughout the world, it remains a company that is very much focused on the Asian market and that is also interested in developing local content. As such, its Indonesian base will increasingly be an important hub for the company over the coming years as it looks to capitalise on the impressive success that it has enjoyed over the past months. “We are a Norwegian owned but Singapore based business and very much an Asian market player,” Kjell concludes. “Within our Indonesian office we have already re-flagged three vessels with the Indonesian flag to comply with local Cabotage and we did this to test the waters of flying a local flag. We have all the necessary shipping and agency licenses for operating in Indonesia, which is the biggest market in Asia at present and we have a good foothold there so we hope to gain more business out of being a local operator. Over the next three to four years growing the business and our fleet will certainly be our main target.

Asia and especially Myanmar in particular will be a main target going forward but we are also bidding in West Africa, India, the Middle East and other areas of the region.”

Nordic Maritime PTE Ltd nordic.com.sg

Services Seismic and subsea support services

ENERGY,oil&gas

energy-oil-gas.com

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feet Giant

March 2015 saw a major development

Below Marc Doorduin, commercial director of IHC IQIP

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for the on- and offshore installation, foundation and decommissioning market, when Royal IHC launched IHC IQIP – a new organisation that integrates four of IHC’s business units – IHC Hydrohammer, IHC Handling Systems, IHC Sea Steel and IHC FUNDEX Equipment. Through this merger, IHC is taking the next step in offering a fully integrated solution for customers in the oil and gas, offshore wind, and coastal and civil markets.

“With the inspiration to serve in a more efficient way, we found that combining what had historically been separate business units into just one, not only was of great benefit to our existing customers, but has furthermore encouraged learning and a closeness between the units that is already helping the business to grow,” explained Marc Doorduin, commercial director of IHC IQIP. “Over the years we have seen our customers evolve with a higher demand for services, and in responding to that demand we have combined our businesses into one single cohesive unit.”

With many of its customers already working with one or more of the four IHC businesses now integrated under the IHC IQIP umbrella, energy-oil-gas.com

the merger was the next logical step in its desire to respond to clients’ requirements to reduce interfaces, costs and risks and create room for further growth as it continues to contribute substantially to IHC's overall proposition for its onshore and offshore customers.

Drawing on almost two centuries of combined experience and an unbridled passion for innovation, the service driven business is able to meet the demands of its broad customer base. This includes oil and gas corporations, installation contractors, engineering agencies and government authorities, on a global scale.

Focusing on quality, and building upon an impressive track record in various markets, it is its progressive and continuous search for improvement through innovation that has resulted in the ongoing success with tailor-made solutions and a strong global and local presence.

“Our intention is to develop into a true international company, using our footholds in Singapore, Australia, the US, China, France and Germany to be as close to our customer base as possible,” said Marc. “Additionally we are setting up a hub in Brazil, highlighting our drive to provide a local service on an international scale.” As its existing customer base grows to

PROFILE

include clients that operate all over the world, the demand to be served locally also increases, ultimately requiring equipment and servicing to be available locally. “By dividing our rental equipment between our international hubs we are able to fulfill those demands, not only in supplies, but also in maintenance of both equipment and customers own assets,” he adds.

Offering rental, sales, and leasing of its own equipment across the business platform is a dominant factor in IHC IQIP’s annual turnover, but equally important is the company’s specialism in servicing. “We can offer maintenance to customers’ equipment, either of our own brand or from other manufacturers.

Furthermore we have set up an advisory service, providing consultancy on foundations and equipment and how that can be used in specific projects such as deep water pile driving or noise mitigation in offshore wind, as well as one-off engineering projects, custom making equipment that helps the customer to solve installation challenges,” he adds.

To maintain the profitability of operations, companies in the oil and gas, offshore wind, and coastal and civil markets are increasingly looking for ways to lower their costs, decrease risks and maximise project efficiency, which has inevitably led to a growing demand for integrated solutions. Approaching the market as one organisation ensures its customers will only have to deal with one point of contact, with benefits that support both project management and efficiency.

Together IHC IQIP is a reliable partner for onshore drilling and piling solutions, offering multifunctional foundation rigs and hydraulic pile driving hammers for a broad variety of coastal and civil works. Offshore, IHC IQIP is able to offer its clients a wide range of handling, lifting and deep-water lowering equipment for the installation of all types of offshore facilities, including fixed and floating structures, subsea pipelines and subsea infrastructures. Designing equipment, which is often dedicated and custommade to withstand extreme conditions and heavy loads, it encompasses the safe movement of large piles and pipes, as well as complete platforms in a safe, efficient and controlled manner. As the oil and gas industry has moved from shallow to deeper, and even ultra-deep waters, IHC continues to support its customers by designing and producing equipment capable of withstanding deep-water conditions.

IHC IQIP

A result of its long history in the oil and gas industry is that the business has a strong connection with the installation of structures.

With customers facing the challenges of tougher operating conditions, the need for the design and fabrication of dedicated equipment has continued to grow. “Innovation, especially in engineering is important, bringing together techniques and equipment parts to develop prototypes as well as designing solutions from scratch. It is something we also drive forward with standard equipment, such as the noise mitigation system that we have developed

to control the integrity of the pile during installation of Offshore Windfarm foundations.

Besides noise mitigation we can also use that equipment to control the positioning, verticality and orientation of the pile. So while we started developing the device to mitigate the noise, we soon found we were able to use it to create a lot of additional value,” explains Marc.

The challenge of noise reduction is constantly encouraging the business to develop additional installation methods and innovative solutions.

Next to its well-known Noise Mitigation System, new piling methods such as High Frequency Low Energy (HiLo), SMART Pile Driving (SPD) and efficient pile driving (EPD) have been successfully introduced.

The business has developed as a onestop shop for the rental and purchase of all equipment relating to its specialism in piling solutions for onshore foundations and offshore installation of conductors, anchor piles, jacket skirt and/or leg piles, monopiles and start-up piles at sea. “We are involved in major offshore windfarm development that has an ever increasing demand for larger foundations, such as the Monopile XL. Because of our investments

Innovation, especially in engineering is important, bringing together techniques and equipment parts to develop prototypes as well as designing solutions from scratch

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in big hammers that can cope with the high energy demand we are able to deliver the right solution,” says Marc. Through its pile guiding and handling solutions, the business aims to further reduce the installation and total cost of offshore projects and to extend the possibilities of the Monopile XL in offshore wind projects.

Whilst Governments and authorities are now starting to force oil companies to remove production facilities once resources have been depleted, IHC IQIP has already built up an impressive track record in what is a relatively young market. The demand for dedicated and custom-made tools is increasing, which is something that IHC IQIP is able to deliver.

“We have a good record in decommissioning projects, focusing on the removal of structures, jackets, subsea templates and pipelines, but we want to bring that further, and by adding equipment to our product portfolio we can offer more solutions to our clients,” highlights Marc.

This service requires specialised and customised

equipment or, in other cases, equipment that is a ‘spin-off’ from existing tools.

“As we move forward that will be a major focus, but one that will be shared with concentrating on the development of our service aspect. We see customers have an ever-growing need to have a partner that is able to ensure that maintenance is completely covered. By servicing the market with add-ons we can take away the headache of maintenance of fleet management, essentially being closer to the customer,” concludes Marc.

IHC IQIP

Fischcon In close dialogue with IQIP (former IHC), Fischcon supplied more than 500 diesel/hydraulic driven power packs over the course of a few years.

Fischcon designs and constructs these custom built/containerised power packs ranging from 175L/min @ 320 barg up to 4800L/min @ 320 barg whilst complying to DNV offshore regulations. For offshore applications the units are deployed by IQIP to e.g. drive piles, whilst for onshore locations the sets are used to drive applications for construction and infrastructure purposes.

Holland Hydraulics Holland Hydraulics is a Dutch company, specialised in engineering, production, installing and servicing hydraulic systems in business sectors such as building & construction, heavy duty machinery, defense, offshore and shipbuilding. The company is well known for its unique and tailor made solutions. For IHC IQIP the hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems for the ‘Noise Migration System’ were engineered and installed. The NMS, that positions the piles, and limits the noise of driving piles into the sea bottom, has first been used for the Riffgrund offshore windmill farm in Germany.

Holland Hydraulics thanks IHC IQIP for a pleasant and constructive co-operation.

IHC IQIP iqip.com

Services Intelligent equipment and smart solutions for foundation, installation and decommissioning

ENERGY,oil&gas

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robots Revolutionary

The result of

Below Jørgen Hallundbaek, Founder and CEO of Welltec®

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one man’s vision to improve existing practices within the oil and gas industry, Welltec® has grown from its inception by Jørgen Hallundbaek to become a globally operating, innovative developer of groundbreaking solutions. Indeed, since inventing the Well Tractor®, Jørgen maintained a strong belief in his pioneering technology and established Welltec® in 1994. The Well Tractor® is a unique product that is run on an electric line and can be transported by helicopter for swift mobilisation to ensure significant cost savings and increased recovery from wells. It was developed as part of his university thesis in 1987.

Since its incorporation and subsequent roll-out of the Well Tractor® in 1996, the dynamic firm has gone from strength to strength as it has continuously created innovative technologies that ensure safety, increased sustainability and delivered higher recovery. In fact, Welltec® has caused something of a revolution in the industry with its solutions, which have made previously impossible operations achievable.

“Welltec® is a global provider of solutions for oil and gas wells from vertical to horizontal – offshore and onshore. Our solutions are tailored

energy-oil-gas.com

to allow operators in the oil and gas industry to produce more cost effectively with improved recovery while achieving significantly higher returns. For 20 years we have been driven by the belief that the industry can be more efficient and safe while delivering higher recovery and overall sustainability. Our offering of unique intervention solutions and groundbreaking completion technologies has proven time and again that it is possible. Safety and higher recovery are no longer contradictions,” begins Jørgen Hallundbaek, founder and CEO of Welltec®.

“Our game-changing solutions allow our customers, some of the world’s largest national and independent oil companies, to optimise production through ground-breaking flexible well completion solutions (WCS) and innovative well intervention services (WIS). Our disruptive innovations challenge the conventions, maximising production, increasing oil recovery and improving well integrity and safety, with faster and less intrusive solutions in environments that are becoming increasingly complex, remote and hostile. In an industry characterised by maturing fields and increasing depletion, the premium attached

PROFILE

to technology, which aids in reversing these trends is continuing to gain momentum. Our value proposition is compelling; our technology enables clients to unlock more production from their assets and to address reservoir complexities and uncertainties with a greater number of options, which are cleaner, safer and more sustainable,” he adds.

With ~1000 employees operating in 59 locations in 29 countries, Welltec® is on a mission to meet the world’s demand for oil and gas in the most efficient way possible.

Committed to the development and provision of well technologies and solutions for oil and gas organisations, the company has invested in new facilities that will have a core focus on its latest development, the Welltec® Annular Barrier (WAB®). “The Transformation Center in Esbjerg, Denmark, is one more step on the path towards achieving our vision of transforming the upstream oil and gas industry such that it becomes safer and more sustainable. The new facilities will help enable that,” says Jørgen. “The 77,500 square foot facilities will be producing our expanding fleet of unique completion products, including the WAB®. Introducing our Flex-Well® concept we have opened up a whole new way of integrating well design and interventions. With the Flex-Well® it is possible for operators to design their wells to achieve optimal production for the life of the well. In short, Flex-Well® enables operators to produce oil and gas safer, more sustainable and with higher recovery.”

Following its launch into the market, the WAB® has achieved a number of breakthroughs in the industry; for example, since 2012 it has been utilised for zonal isolation in wells completed without cement. And on 16th January 2015, a press release announced that it had been installed as a primary, standalone well barrier element for the first time in the industry.

Discussing the ground-breaking qualities of the WAB®, Jørgen states: “The Welltec® Annular Barrier (WAB®) was developed for well integrity applications and for zonal isolation within the reservoir section or between reservoir units. It is an expandable metal annular barrier delivering a surface controlled, rugged, reliable, large expansion annular barrier with high-pressure capability covering a wide range of hole sizes (full Delta P capability from in-gauge to washed out holes).

“The 9 5/8 inch WAB® is both qualified in

Welltec

accordance with the IS014310 V3 standard and more recently qualified to the V0 leak criteria for application in cased hole environments. As mentioned above the WAB® has been deployed by a major NOC as a standalone primary well barrier (no cement required) in compliance with NORSOK D-010 Rev 4 standard. These qualifications permit the WAB® to replace cement in eliminating a fundamental problem within the industry, surface annular pressure (SAP). SAP is present on a large population

of well stock currently and may result in corrosion to the B-annulus, requires undesired governmental approval and unnecessary rig and workover resources to repair. The WAB® offers a new, fast and more cost effective way to challenge this problem which to date has seen very few feasible approaches for its elimination.”

This highly innovative equipment has been selected as the winner of the OTC Spotlight on New Technology Award in 2015 ; this is the fourth time that Welltec® has received the prestigious award, following a win in 2013 for the Well Cutter®, 2009 for the Well Cleaner® PST and 2008 with the Well Cleaner RCB. The company will receive the trophy in May 2015 during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Upon winning the award, Jørgen said: “We pride ourselves on being a transformational company, one that develops technology with real, immediate impact. The WAB® is another perfect example of our vision. Its universal application can significantly improve safety and efficiency in our industry, providing a reliable, effective annular barrier while eliminating the need and cost of cement.”

In addition to the highly effective and

Sandvik As a long-term partner, we at Sandvik have for more than 20 years supplied advanced corrosion resistant alloys and high performance materials to Welltec.

We use our expertise in tube, pipe, bar, wire, welding products and hot isostatic pressed (HIP) products to open up new possibilities.

Your goals, our focus.

When we say, ‘we help you get there’ it captures our commitment to help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals. It's part of our long-term investment in bringing you safe and reliable solutions that safeguard your productivity.

We regard safety as our guiding star.

Wherever our products are handled, be it in our own mills, the fabricator’s manufacturing facility, or in the end user’s environment, accidents and environmental hazards must be avoided at any cost.

Our ‘zero accidents’ ambition applies to our staff, customers, suppliers, strategic partners and the environment.

ENERGY,oil&gas

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THINGS CAN GET UGLY AT DEPTHS OF 10,000 FEET WE SEE A BEAUTIFUL OPPORTUNITY It’s clear that the days of easy oil and gas are over. As you explore further offshore in deeper and more harsh conditions, you’re certain to face many challenges. Like higher pressures, higher temperatures, corrosion and safety issues. Or maximizing your reservoir recovery from older reserves. One thing is certain: extreme conditions demand extremely reliable materials. Having supplied the offshore industry for more than 50 years and being present in all the major energy hubs, we understand your needs. So as you go deeper, we’re at your side, working to help you get there.

SMT.SANDVIK.COM/OILGAS

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successful WAB®, the company has been gaining market attention for its Well Stroker® XXS, which offers the first surface controlled, e-line tool that has the capability to latch and then pull or push objects in a well with up to 100,000 lbs of force. Selected as a finalist for the ICoTA Intervention Technology Award, the Well Stroker® XXS is a game-changing piece of technology that promotes safety and efficiency, while also significantly reducing costs.

“We are honoured to be a finalist for this important industry award,” said Jørgen. “We believe that the Well Stroker® XXS truly has the potential to change how the industry operates by replacing much larger equipment with a nimble e-line tool. In fact, an 18 ft Well Stroker® XXS is able to perform the same work as a work-over rig, which has incredible prospects for how we plan and execute operations. This is the fifth time we are selected as a finalist for the ICoTA Intervention Technology Award. We have won it the last two years for our WellLIT® and Well Cutter®.”

As uncertainty in the oil and gas market continues due to low oil prices, companies are increasingly focused on finding ways to reduce costs while increasing production. With its highly efficient and innovative solutions, Welltec® is in an enviable position to meet the needs of its clients to achieve their goals through the delivery of safe, sustainable and high quality approach that boosts recovery at a lower price.

“We want to transform the upstream oil and gas industry such that it becomes safer and more sustainable while achieving higher recovery.

Our mission, therefore, is to develop and deliver game-changing solutions, which allow our clients to optimise the management and development of their assets,” concludes Jørgen.

Welltec

Welltec® welltec.com

Services Provider of robotic well solutions

ENERGY,oil&gas

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base

A firm knowledge

Founded in 2004, Fenelon Storage Tanks Ltd was established as an Irish registered company focused on maintenance projects within the Republic of Ireland. Although the company remained busy for several years within the Irish market, it increasingly took on contracts within the UK, which would go on to become the company’s main source of revenue.

Following a management buyout in 2013, Fenelon is today a UK registered business that provides design, construction and maintenance solutions for structures including storage tanks, vessels, silos and steelworks. The business is headed up by managing director Dean Sheldon, who brings with him 30 years of experience in the construction and refurbishment of storage tanks. “When I joined Fenelon in 2006 it was a fairly new player in the market and was building up a reputation as a provider of good quality tank design, repair and build,” Dean reveals.

“However it was obvious that if the company wanted to have a greater impact on the market it would need to put things in place that would allow the business to continue to grow while maintaining its reputation for providing good quality, well managed tank projects.”

Indeed the business has continued to grow and further develop the service offering that it delivers to clients. A unique selling point for Fenelon is that provides its own in-house design service that allows it to work closely with clients to deliver truly bespoke storage solutions to projects, both nationally and internationally.

“Fenelon is unusual within the tank industry in that it operates its own design department,” Dean says. “This allows us more control over tailoring design to take account of client requirements, site conditions and ‘designed in’ safer construction. Having our own design department also allows our clients to have instant access to our design team from project

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inception to completion of tank build.”

Traditionally the roots of the business have been within Ireland and the UK, where the market continues to remain strong for the company, however as it continues to grow Fenelon is strengthening its global presence by exporting its design expertise and storage solutions in kit form. “Over recent years we have been involved in several projects for overseas companies who require tank design and supply in kit form. This involves designing the tanks to client requirements, fabricating all components and loading from our headquarters into containers for installation by others,” Dean explains. “This type of work requires a great deal of attention to detail as to miss something as apparently minor as a couple of roof bracings could have serious consequences to the programme at a remote site. Throughout contracts of this nature we cannot be of the mind-set that once the materials are loaded for shipment then that is the end of our involvement. We need to think ‘who will be unloading this container and what equipment will they have?’ etc. For example, whenever we load shell plates for erection overseas we always leave the lifting shackles in place on the last plate to ensure that they are available at the other end as soon as the container is opened. We believe details like this make all the difference to the end user.”

Historically around half of the work undertaken by Fenelon are new builds, while the remainder is comprised of repair and maintenance contracts. As such the company’s workforce has ample experience in all major aspects of tank work. This is a vital component in the success of Fenelon at home and abroad.

“The quality of our workforce is critical to the success of our business,” Dean says. “We have worked hard over the past decade to cultivate

PROFILE

a culture within Fenelon Storage Tanks where every individual feels part of a team.”

To date Fenelon has delivered kit-form storage tanks to clients in Nigeria and Burkina Faso and is in talks with clients in other regions including the Middle East. Within the UK the company continues to undertake any and all projects ranging from values of £10,000 to £10.5 million, including on-going maintenance projects with clients such as Phillips 66. “Some of the company’s current live projects include a long-term maintenance contract in a large Humber Refinery, a major tank refurbishment project in Essex, two new build tanks in Plymouth and a new build tank in Tyneside,” Dean reveals.

As the business continues to grow, Fenelon places great emphasis on the training of its current and future employees through apprenticeship schemes and other in-house training programmes. The result is a company that delivers a high level of professionalism, while taking advantage of the personalised client

Fenelon Storage Tanks

interface and rapid lines of communication of a smaller business. “We have been likened to a ‘family business’ by many of our main customers. While in meetings with management I heard on several occasions that they liked to work with Fenelon for this reason.” Dean notes: “At first I didn’t like the comparison as I thought it sounded unprofessional. Then after thinking about it I realised that this was not how the comments were intended. In fact it is a great compliment to our company that we can provide the service that we do and still maintain such a personal and friendly relationship with our clients.”

During the coming years Fenelon will combine its strong market reputation, proven track record and firm knowledge base of tank design to export kit-form tanks as well as design solutions to global clients, while continuing to supply UK clients with both design and construction services. As such, Fenelon Storage Tanks can be considered a reliable partner in an occasionally uncertain market.

A unique selling point for Fenelon is that provides its own in-house design service that allows it to work closely with clients to deliver truly bespoke storage solutions to projects, both nationally and internationally

Fenelon Storage Tanks fenelontanks.com

Services Storage tanks design and fabrication

ENERGY,oil&gas

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pressure

Withstanding

Formed in 2008

as a spin-off from the globally successful 2H Offshore company, which carries out global riser analysis, Acteon company Subsea Riser Products (SRP) set out to develop and produce high pressure risers. The company has a range of skills and capabilities in subsea engineering and procurement with experience in mechanical and structural engineering, fatigue, remotely operated vehicle equipment, metalsealed equipment and coated and corrosion-

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protected equipment. Its expertise lays strongly in high-strength steel forgings, machining and welding, fatigue-loaded connections, highly pressurised components, high-pressure subsea and surface drilling riser joints and completion and workover risers. This extensive knowledge and expertise has allowed SRP to become known for developing innovative and bespoke solutions for the offshore industry.

Based in the UK, SRP has grown to become a

PROFILE

global company, with supermajor oil companies, tier one EPIC and service and equipment contractors forming its client list. Not only is it the high quality products the company produces that draws clients to SRP, but also the attitude and level of service it offers. Speaking to Energy, Oil and Gas back in September 2014, head of business development Mike Ridgeway highlighted the company’s strengths in such a competitive market: “We have a straight-talking approach, which I believe our customers respect, and a real desire to deliver what our customer really wants – cost efficiency, on-time delivery and best-in-class quality. On top of this, our size allows us to be agile and responsive to requests, whether simply for information or for changes to project requirements; we also look to continuously improve in all areas. We recognise that we are a niche supplier that is operating in a specialised field; however, our very strong track record for delivering technically challenging projects is allowing us to develop highly strategic supplier relationships with some of the major players in the oil and gas industry.”

Where the company also excels is in its innovation to meet specific demands within the industry. One particular example of this is the Rocksteady Mooring Connector, an auto-latching subsea structural connector designed with long-term reliable performance in mind. Advanced locking mechanisms within the Rocksteady give it unparalleled fatigue performance. Combining the simple design with the company’s commitment to service leads to a product that is easy to install, less expensive to operate and quick to deliver. Following successful qualification and fatigue testing in 2013, the SRP Rocksteady was first delivered to Carnegie Wave Energy (CWE) for its CET05 project off Western Australia.

The project provided a wealth of engineering challenges due to demanding load conditions, as SRP was required to provide three Rocksteady connectors with a breaking load rating of 2000 tonnes at a depth of 30m. Successful completion of the project, however, served to demonstrate the company’s ability to respond to key criteria and customer demands, as well as illustrate its commitment to developing innovative solutions.

Following on from the success of the Rocksteady subsea connector, SRP has developed the Rocksteady handling tool using the same high capacity collet locking mechanism to lock into machined grooves in the bore of the riser. The mechanism gives a more efficient

SRP Subsea

load path, and offers higher load and pressure testing capabilities. The tool can be used for shallow water subsea wellhead jack up drilling, dry tree systems and marine rise deployment, with advantages coming in the form of fast and reliable horizontal and vertical installation, and a robust and flexible design adaptable to a range of bore diameters and operations.

SRP’s core business lays in the design and manufacture of risers. Its central portfolio includes the Nimway connector for highcapacity, quick-make-up completion and workover riser applications, riser flanges, handling tools and spiders. The Nimway connector eliminates the need for traditional bolted flanges by using a preloaded sleeve. The system thus eliminates the need for torque leading to high reliability with high make-up accuracy and enhanced fatigue life. In simple terms the Nimway provides the security of a flange with far fewer components and simplified

make-up. In the spirit of the company’s focus on innovation and continuous improvement, the connector is subject to further development for high pressure and dynamically loaded permanent subsea connections.

As a member of Acteon group SRP is a key part in a team of companies that are able to work together and integrate to offer worldclass subsea services. Synergies occur across the group, and with SRP’s development of the Rocksteady Mooring systems, a natural collaboration has formed between it and sister company InterMoor which provides innovative mooring and installation technologies. Acteon’s approach is to bring together the best-in-class expertise, products and services and tailor its capabilities to the customers needs. Its group of branded services include survey, monitoring and data systems, risers and moorings, seabed foundation technologies and wide ranging project support. By bring these

Following on from the success of the Rocksteady subsea connector, SRP has developed the Rocksteady handling tool using the same high capacity collet locking mechanism to lock into machined grooves in the bore of the riser. The mechanism gives a more efficient load path, and offers higher load and pressure testing capabilities

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SRP Subsea

We can offer people a much wider experience than larger organisations because we don’t put our personnel in one area of the business and instead actively encourage crossteam working, movement and promotion within the organisation

together the group is able to share innovation and expertise, which ultimately reduces cost, risk and complexity for operators, drillers and contractors. Being part of such a group puts SRP in a strong position to achieve its goal of becoming the ‘go-to’ company for high-pressure riser projects and subsea products.

Working within the offshore industry, maintaining a safe working environment is a top priority for SRP. The company sets its own commitment to preventing any injury or harm to anyone working in conjunction with the

company, which conforms to the ISO 18001 health and safety management system. Quality also sits at the heart of the businesses operations under ISO 9001. The certification manifests itself in the company’s focus on continual improvement of every product or process, ensuring each product is fit for purpose and meets clients’ needs for reliability, safety and product longevity.

Over the years SRP has established itself as a strong player in the riser industry. Whilst being part of Acteon has been a contributor to this success, the company’s own commitment to quality and service is fundamental to achieving this position. Equally as important is its strong engineering ethic and resourcing the right people ensuring it is fully prepared for demands in the industry both now and in the future. “We can offer people a much wider experience than larger organisations because we don’t put our personnel in one area of the business and instead actively encourage crossteam working, movement and promotion within the organisation. This results in a varied, and unusually high, workload, but it means we have the flexibility to move personnel to support projects when they spike in activity,” explained Mike in the last feature. Ultimately, with its sights set clearly on continuous improvement and innovation whilst remaining equally committed to its people and clients, SRP look set to enjoy more of the growth and success it has experienced over the last few years.

W. Maass (UK) W. Maass (UK) Ltd is pleased to have served SRP over several years in technical support and provision of special forged products, with successful supply of several major projects.

It was particularly pleased to be able to assist with the recent qualification of material and the manufacture of the Total Moho Nord 80 KSI Riser Flanges to an exacting standard in accordance with SRP design and development requirements.

SRP Subsea srpsubsea.com

Services Design and manufacture subsea risers for drilling

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Delivering

independence The development of

Marimatech The last couple of years have shown a trend in replacing the traditionally land based LNG terminals with Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRU).

During the spring of 2014 Marimatech successfully delivered to Klaipeda LNG FSRU a complete approach and mooring system comprising a laser docking system, a large display system, Viking quick release hooks with remote release and mooring load monitoring system, an environmental monitoring system, a ‘Portable Pilot’ system for the pilot on the LNGC, as well as Marimatech’s Dockmaster Software for the complete solution.

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Lithuania’s first LNG terminal was completed in December 2014 and has already had a major impact on the country’s energy industry. “There were two primary reasons why the project was initiated,” LNG department director, Tadas Matulionis explains. “The need to ensure the security of gas supply, and to diversify the country’s sources of gas; to have an alternative.” Throughout Lithuania’s independent history up until the end of last year, the gas industry was monopolised

by Russian gas supplied from the east, and the country’s consumers were paying the highest prices in Europe despite being closer to the source than many. “Consumers in 2013 were paying 38 euros per megawatt hour,” says Tadas.

“Within a couple of months of the terminal’s operation we were already seeing deals in the gas

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market of just over 18 euros.” Beyond financial implications, Tadas notes: “Ultimately, in terms of security the terminal can supply as much as would be needed if supplies from the pipeline were stopped. Before the terminal a report showed that the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland were 100 per cent vulnerable to any supply disruptions, but now with the terminal Lithuania is fully secured, and the rest of the Baltic is significantly more secure.”

With construction of the terminal beginning in 2012, the state established a deadline of December 2014, a short time period that to the great extent determined the technology that could be used for the project. “Land based technology can take significantly longer to build, so FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit) technology was chosen,” explains Tadas.

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“The contract for the FSRU was signed in March 2012.” The 294 metre long FSRU vessel ‘Independence’ was supplied to Klaipedos Nafta

by Norwegian company Hoegh LNG, and was completed last year by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. It finally moored at Klaipeda port in October 2014. The vessel has a capacity of 170,000 cubic metres of LNG, can regasify four billion cubic metres of gas a year, and is the most northerly of all FSRU units in the world.

Amongst other reasons, Klaipeda was chosen as an ideal location for the project as it only ice free port on Northern Baltic coast. Operating in cold waters means that the unit has been specialised to operate within harsh temperatures with a dual cycle system, and a number of winterisation elements to ensure safe and efficient operations.

As a major commercial port, Klaipeda was

AB Klaipedos Nafta

already well suited in terms of economic activity to situate the terminal. The layout of the port also protects the terminal from one of the harshest sea climates in the world ensuring complete operation throughout the year. To accommodate the FSRU a marine jetty and transmission to the main grid had to be constructed. Despite the tight schedule all the workhad been carried out in such a short time frame. Not only did the choice of technology facilitate the speed of construction for the terminal, but the nature of the project in terms of national interest was also a factor. “The project was received as a strategic one for the country,” highlights Tadas. “There was great support on all governmental levels, even involving the Prime Minister’s supervision. This has helped significantly to streamline all permissions, consents and co-ordination of all activities.”

However, despite strong support from the government and the technology available, being the first LNG terminal in the country created a number of challenges that had to be overcome by Klaipedos Nafta. Tadas points out: “It is also the first in the broader region, so unlike in other countries where they have existing terminals, we had to very quickly attract and develop competencies for the project teams and future operators to make the project operational.” Existing infrastructure also posed a problem as the grid was only set up to receive gas supplies from the East, so the grid had to be reworked and strengthened to enable flow from two directions. Legal and administrative modifications were also needed so that from how customs deal with the new commodity, right down to the consistent use of energy units all had to be managed. “The biggest challenge for any project manager when all work streams are parallel is managing so many interfaces without making mistakes,” adds Tadas.

Implementation of the project was carried out with careful consideration of environmental impact. “We did a very thorough evaluation before starting construction both on the strategic environmental assessment level and on a detailed environmental impact assessment level,” assures Tadas. “We have recently had confirmation from UNESCO that the terminal has had no adverse impact on the world heritage landscape, the Curonian Spit, which is nearby.”

Now operating, the terminal at Klaipeda has been successful in opening up the gas market for Lithuania and the region. “One of the aspects from the commercial structure of the terminal

Below Tadas Matulionis, LNG department director

We are a completely open terminal and offer our capacities to every player on the market on exactly the same terms. This enables there to be alternatives and, critically, competition in the market

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is that Klaipedos Nafta is only an operator and is not involved in gas trading at all,” discusses Tadas. “We are a completely open terminal and offer our capacities to every player on the market on exactly the same terms. This enables there to be alternatives and, critically, competition in the market.” Its main customers at the moment are energy producers in Lithuania, who use the natural gas to produce heat, electricity or both for the consumer market. Alongside its regasification service, which is the primary purpose of the terminal, it is also able to provide an LNG reloading service and in the near future - a number of smaller scale LNG activities along the Baltic coast. Tadas notes: “We have seen a huge number of these smaller terminals, which have less than 30,000 cubic metres of storage capacity, and we feel that we are very well positioned for these terminals.”

Looking forward for the terminal, Tadas sees a positive future defined by further development and exploring new market opportunities.

“First of all we are looking to streamline our operations to become the most efficiently managed LNG terminal in the world, this was set by ourselves and our shareholders. Secondly, we are currently developing, and are due to start construction of an additional land based reloading station, the primary function of which will be to load LNG onto road tucks. We see a market in the broader region to supply a number of industrial customers and towns who are off grid or are willing to use an alternative source.

We are aiming towards the end of 2016 as an operational date for this project.”

A wider strategic vision is to become a regional hub for natural gas for grid and smallscale supply. The geographical position and open market attitude gives Klaipedos Nafta a strong starting point to achieve this. In terms of the applications of LNG, Tadas concludes: “We are also trying to look beyond the traditional services of regasifying or supplying LNG. We are looking at LNG as a potential source for broader applications where it can be more convenient and cost efficient than current methods. We are working in parallel with a number of potential customers in relation to this.”

Ultimately, the development of Klaipeda LNG terminal has had a major impact on the state of Lithuania’s energy industry. With significant benefits already emerging only months into operation, and high profile support from the government, the future of the

AB Klaipedos Nafta

terminal looks bright. The next few years look set to extend these benefits to neighbouring countries, and Klaipedos Nafta’s open approach to supply and efficient operations puts the terminal at the forefront of the whole region’s gas industry.

AB Klaipedos Nafta www.sgd.lt

Services LNG Terminal

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partner A secure

Below Leif Larsson, CEO of Scandinavian Tank Storage

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Founded in 1993

, Scandinavian Tank Storage (STS) is Sweden’s largest independent storage company offering storage in both caverns and tanks. Through its six international ports, including a 600,000 m3 crude storage facility in Gothenburg, STS is able to offer flexible and innovative 24-hour solutions to its clients’ storage needs. Its flexibility allows STS to store a range of products and quantities across its facilities located in Arendal, Gothenburg, Malmö, Karlshamn, Norrköping and Gävle.

Furthermore through its subsidiary company, Atlantic Tank Storage (ATS), STS is able to offer the storage of clean products in Iceland at its Helguvik, Hvalfjordur – Litli Sandur and

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Hvalfjordur – Midsandur facilities.

Through both acquisitions and long-term disposition agreements STS is able to offer large storage capacity for a host of products at competitive prices. Within Sweden and Norway for example, it offers storage solutions for bitumen, fuel oil, vacuum gas oil (VGO), gas oil, kerosene, jet A1, naphtha, gasoline and crude oil. Its Icelandic operation on the other hand encompasses 250,000 cubic metres of storage and is focused on clean products such as gas oil, kerosene, jet A1, naphtha and gasoline. “Originally STS was operated as transit storage company,” explains CEO, Leif Larsson. “As time went on we changed the

PROFILE

Scandinavian Tank Storage

Its flexibility allows STS to store a range of products and quantities across its facilities located in Arendal, Gothenburg, Malmö, Karlshamn, Norrköping and Gävle overall strategy so that today we have a good mix of regular deliveries. While some of our business is still in transit storage, we also have distribution, arbitrage and strategic storage.”

Throughout it history STS has worked with both clients and local authorities to ensure that it is able to deliver the right solutions for its customers’ needs. On the 1st January 2015 the EU’s sulphur directive came into force requiring all vessels within the sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), which includes the North Sea, Baltic Sea and English Channel, to use lowsulphur marine diesel. According to the new regulations the maximum permitted amount of sulphur in marine fuel is now as low as 0.1

per cent by weight. To assist vessel operators to bunker in the area Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) and STS have jointly invested in the port of Malmö to create a dedicated bunkering quay with an associated terminal facility. Furthermore, Statoil will act as the fuel supplier for the new venture. “Malmö is strategically located for this type of activity, since more than 40,000 vessels a year pass through Öresund. We are naturally delighted that Statoil has chosen Malmö and ourselves as the strategic location and partner for fuel distribution,” Leif says.

Scandinavian Tank Storage places great importance on undertaking all of its operations in a safe and sustainable manner, while ensuring ENERGY,oil&gas

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that its facilities are equally environmentally responsible. The conditions through which STS governs its operations are determined through a permit granting system in accordance with current legislation. Further to this the company continuously adapts its working methods in tandem with the latest findings within the

environmental sciences. As such STS maintains a philosophy of corporate responsibility and a holistic view encompassing best practice, environmentally responsibility and basic trust between all parties, which represents one of the company’s core values.

This dedication to responsible operation was recognised in 2013 when STS was awarded the prestigious Gothenburg environmental award, which was presented at the annual Energy Port Day. Each year the Port of Gothenburg hands out the Energy Port’s environmental award, with STS being awarded the accolade, among other things, because of its ability to work proactively with improvements based on customer needs.

“It is one of the company’s main focuses to be

Scandinavian Tank Storage

environmentally responsible and to comply with all the rules and regulations,” Leif elaborates. “In Sweden as well as the other Nordic countries, there are very strict environmental regulations and we are at the forefront of those. In Malmö for example we do work that is not yet necessary to comply with regulations as well as some cleaning up of the local area. We also carry out a lot of research to stay ahead of the curve regarding these issues and have regular contact with environmental authorities.”

Presently STS controls a total of around three million cubic metres of storage capacity across Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Through a broad range of flexible storage solutions and a dedicated focus on environmentally responsible and sustainable operation the company has earned a trusted reputation among its clients.

These include the major operators and trade houses within the oil and gas industry and beyond. As the company continues to grow it will reply on its dedicated workforce to enable it to seek new opportunities throughout Europe, as Leif concludes: “We are a well known company in the market and we have a good reputation, because our staff are dedicated and very professional and have a personal attitude to the market. Traders and businesses like to do business with STS, because we take a personal approach where we care about customers and take care of them. Within the coming year we will do a lot of upgrading in our current terminals and over the next two to three years we will look at further expansion through the acquisition of new companies and terminals in Sweden and its neighbouring countries.”

Scandinavian Tank Storage places great importance on undertaking all of its operations in a safe and sustainable manner, while ensuring that its facilities are equally environmentally responsible. The conditions through which STS governs its operations are determined through a permit granting system in accordance with current legislation

KSB In close co-operation with KSB Sweden and KSB’s German experts, STS designed the pumping systems for large oil storage in Gothenburg, Sweden.

KSB’s solid know-how in the area of oil cavern pumps, with hundreds of installations worldwide, together with a local presence, were essential when STS appointed their partner for pumping equipment in their storage systems.

KSB’s local service was responsible for the installation of both crude oil cavern pumps as well as the booster pumps.

Scandinavian Tank Storage AB scandinaviantankstorage.com

Services Independent tank storage

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future

Ready for the

Founded in 1978 by Ron Waite, Altec Engineering Ltd originally began operations as tool makers, but quickly progressed into the design, manufacture and build of special purpose equipment. Elaborating on the company’s history, a spokesman for Altec begins: “Out of the strong links he had developed with Durham University, Ron Waite began two companies: Altec Engineering and Bead Scientfic. After a number of years the two successful companies went their separate ways and Altec Engineering has continued to develop positively since then. Today our majority shareholder is Ron’s son, Alistair Waite, and our work revolves around the delivery of total solutions. For example, if a company required a machine for its production line, we will design it, create all of the parts, buy other parts, put the machine together, ensure it works and put the newly built equipment on our client’s line. Every piece of equipment we make is unique; this is how we grew.”

Offering a comprehensive range of engineering support services that are tailored to suit the unique needs of each client within its broad customer base, Altec Engineering’s six departments consist of engineering support, CNC precision machining, special purpose equipment, toolmaking, specialist coatings and system integrators & partners. “It was approximately seven years ago that we decided to put more effort into the CNC side of the

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business, which has proven highly fruitful. Ten years ago we had one or two small machines, but in 2014 CNC was the biggest segment of Altec Engineering. To further strengthen our success in this area we have invested a huge amount over the last six months,” he adds.

Having witnessed growth in all areas of the businesss, Altec Engineering invested £105 million on expanding its two factories, with factory one receiving a 30 per cent extension for clean building and factory two getting a 150 per cent extension to allow for new machines and all CNC operations to go under one roof. Today Altec’s CNC department is renowned for world-class capability, quality and cost effectiveness as its engineers focus on delivering solutions to complex customer specifications. As a provider of a full contract machining service, the department is approved to AS9100 Rev C and boasts a range of innovative machinery; this includes three axis high speed turning, multi-axis high speed milling, spark and wire erosion and surface and cylindrical grinding.

“The extension took six months and also involved the purchase of two new machines for specific contracts and clients. On the milling side, we have a Mazak VCT 800/30 SR5, which is a five axis milling machine that is used for highly detailed work. This equipment is used a lot for our customers in the oil and gas industry and cost approximately £340,000 when bought

PROFILE

in November 2014. Meanwhile, on the branding side, we brought a Studa S33 Universal Grinder; this is a flagship machine and we are the only subcontractor to own one. It will grind right down to two micrones and that includes thread grinding as well, which makes the grinder highly suitable for customers operating in the arctic or colder, deeper locations. As rubber seals can perish quickly in these areas, with threads we can offer the best finish possible for metal to metal sealing. This piece of equipment cost £500,000 and was bought in December.”

This ability to provide complete engineering support to industries such as oil and gas, nuclear and renewable, energy, aerospace, space science, automotive, medical science and defence has resulted in significant growth for the company, most notably within the oil and gas industry, as Altec’s spokesman highlights: “We specialise in low volume, high

Altec Engineering

level tends to be quieter.”

Despite the current challenges in the oil and gas industry, the future looks positive for Altec Engineering as the subsea sector is anticipated to be a core investment areas over the next five years: “Around 75 per cent of the work we do in the oil and gas market is within the subsea sector, so we will continue operating in the subsea market as it is where we have previously been successful and also anticipate ongoing growth. If those in the industry are going to build less rigs on the surface and more underwater, we have the experience to work with them and help bring new products to the market.

“Ultimately Altec Engineering is looking to grow; we had a turnover of £8 million in 2014 and we aim to grow to £25 million over the next five years. Our intention is to continue building a secure company that is the cutting edge of new technology through design, research and development and working with our diverse client base,” he concludes.

We specialise in low volume, high complexity components such as chassis that goes in the middle of a control system for subsea electronic modules

Altec Engineering Ltd alteceng.co.uk

Products General tools and special purpose equipment

complexity components such as chassis that goes in the middle of a control system for subsea electronic modules. We also produce blow off preventers, which are also difficult components; these are created in Durham where we work with designers and help them produce a component that is suitable for manufacture. Oil and gas is the largest market that we operate in currently, however, it is also a market that we are keeping a close eye on. Although we still have a strong client base and can offer a high quality, innovative and competitive service, without investment for putting new wells in our work ENERGY,oil&gas

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An array of

competencies Embodying over 120 years of combined offshore and onshore experience, Array Training Ltd (formerly Rigmar Training Centre) was founded to provide the North East of Scotland with a leading facility dedicated to non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) rope access training and consultancy.

Rigmar Training Centre was established in August 2012 and in just under three years the company has grown rapidly and enjoyed significant success. By December 2012 for example, £500,000 had been invested into the facility to provide state-of-the art NDE and Rope Access Training facility covering capabilities at all levels. The facility presently covers some 7000 sq ft and has been furnished the latest apparatus and technologies to create the best possible learning experience for all candidates. Today the centre’s array of accredited courses have developed to cover areas in NDT familiarisation and awareness; Magnetic particle inspection; Liquid Penetrant Inspection; Ultrasonic Testing; Radiation Safety; Eddy Current Testing and many others including Rope Access that are delivered to clients across 27 countries.

The company recorded an equally positive year during 2014 and has further distinguished itself as an industry leader through the gradual implementation of its ground breaking In-Service Inspection training courses. “The

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in-service inspection side of the oil and gas business has been one of the biggest developments for Array Training Ltd and one of the most exciting areas for the company to expand into,” elaborates managing director, Ray Wilson. “Of course everything else is great and exciting, but the oil and gas industry has been trying for the past 30 to 40 years to get in-service inspection training programmes, examinations and so on put into place.

“This is a training course that will be available within accredited establishment shortly through the British Institute of NDT (BINDT) to provide personal certification in NDT, specific to the Oil & Gas sector soon to be made available.

The BINDT have worked closely together with various established trainers throughout UK, especially with a committee formed in Aberdeen for the oil and gas industry who shared an approach and invested interest to establish this new sector within the BINDT with the intention of putting an examination and qualification into the market tailored to the in-service inspection operations. The aim is to get technicians trained, examined and qualified, and thereafter be deemed competent on detecting and interpreting results from in-service conditions inspection, especially corrosion and erosion in onshore and offshore modules, assets and refineries and so on.”

Presently Array Training Ltd is working

PROFILE

in close collaboration with the BINDT as well as other training organisations around the UK to discuss the parameters, goals and objectives of getting the programme and new sector for in-service inspection training in place. This will include looking at examination requirements, timescales, the arrangement of modular examinations, as well as the necessary training materials. As such the investment in capital as well as in industry experience into the establishment of in-service training courses has been significant, as Ray explains: “There is a huge amount that we have contributed to the programme in terms of research and development. I have counted between £100,000 and £150,000 of investment into this new sector as well as the investment of staff member’s time. Our own principle consultant Bernie Steel in particular has a wealth of experience in the field of In-Service Inspection in particular with corrosion and erosion where he has been developing the training materials as well as the course presentations and notes, with a huge support from colleagues such as Bill Brown, Malcolm Miller and various others within and out with the BINDT North East Scottish Branch in Aberdeen and BINDT head office in Northampton, which without, would not allow us to move with this very important and long awaited development.”

In addition to working to increase its portfolio of courses to better suit the needs of the oil and gas industry and beyond since it was last profiled during October 2014, Array Training Ltd has also undergone a significant transition in separating from the umbrella of the Rigmar Group. “During the past six months we have broken away from the Rigmar Group and looked at rebranding and establishing a new identity for the company. We are currently going through the final stages of that process and have changed from Rigmar Training Centre to Array Training Limited, so that will give us a unique name and identity as a training organisation,” Ray says. “The rebrand has opened up some opportunities to get our own unique name and brand out there as a specialist training services provider and on that basis we have taken steps in finding a name and a logo, registering through Companies House, arranging the banking side and the separation from that group structure, which has now been completed.”

With the introduction of highly sought after training courses and a new lease of life as an independent training centre in its own right,

Array Training

Array Training Ltd will embody its new brand moving forward and continue to expend to cater to national and international clients. “We want to push competency training and put more in place, as such we are setting patents for competency training that are been used by major companies,” Ray adds. “We started with three members of staff and have since grown to 11 employees - we have just taken on another admin person as well as another tutor and we are still looking for a trainer. We are also looking at material following the rebrand that really demonstrates the move from Rigmar Training Centre to Array Training Limited.”

Ray concludes: “In addition to the above exciting news, we have also secured projects around the UK on providing training and certification at a variety of customer’s locations and in addition to that, overseas work in Norway, Angola, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Houston have promising contracts with a favourable award.”

Array Training Ltd (formerly Rigmar Training Centre)

rigmartraining.com

Services NDT and rope access training

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forward Driving

With roots reaching back to 1947 Lamons has established itself as the world’s largest gasket and bolt supplier, with a unique business model that incorporates direct interface with the end user as well as an active role in assisting customers with a personalised, local service. The development of strong relationships with end user clients allows them to work closely with Lamons engineering, purchasing, reliability and maintenance personnel at their own facility. This has led to Lamons extending its global reach to some 32 locations across the US, Canada, South America, the UK, Europe, India, China and the Far East, through a network of manufacturing facilities and sales offices. Presently Lamons is headquartered in

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Houston, Texas with a turnover of around $220 million. The business is part of the $1.6 billion TriMas Corporation, currently trading as TRS on the NASDAQ stock market.

Lamons currently operates two locations within the UK located in Grimsby, which opened in March 2010 and Lamons Wulfrun Specialised Fasteners in Wolverhampton. During March 2013 it was announced that TriMas and Lamons had purchased the specialist bolting systems and CNC machined parts manufacturer Wulfrun Specialised Fasteners for the sum of $9.6 million.

Since that time operating as part of Lamons, the company has enjoyed continued investment and development, as general manager Peter Uttering reveals: “Following the purchase of Wulfrun

PROFILE

Lamons UK

the oil and gas industry as well as gaskets and ring joint gaskets. We have branched into the power generation market, where we supply Alstom Power, which is one of the major power suppliers in the UK. We also supply Magnox - a leading UK nuclear power company.”

As the company has continued to expand it has incorporated new equipment into its facilities, which enables it to provide a truly

Specialised Fasteners the business was moved to a 64,000 square foot facility close to junction two of the M54. Today we produce high integrity fasteners for the oil and gas industry and we are looking to further diversify into European standard nuts and bolts and thread rolling.

We want to take Lamons Wulfrun Specialised Fasteners from a turnover of £7 million to a £20 million turnover over the next four years.”

Presently Lamons UK predominantly, although not exclusively, produces components for both the subsea and topside oil and gas market, as European QHSE manager, Brad Collins further explains: “We currently supply bespoke manufactured bolting and fasteners and we also supply engineered components to predominantly

unique range of machine products at an exceptional level of quality. “We have bought a number of state-of-the-art CNC machines at an investment of around half a million pounds over the past two years,” Peter says. “These include two sliding head machines, three new CNC machines and a 120 tonne thread rolling machine. We have also invested in 5S and lean manufacturing processes.”

“The new thread rolling machine gives us the capacity to thread three inch Inconel components and we are the only company in the UK that has that ability that we know of,” Brad adds. “That is why we purchased this machine, as it gives us a huge range of capability to thread roll compared to other companies.”

Delivering to the oil and gas and power generation markets places great demands on suppliers to ensure the highest levels of quality and service, which is something that Lamons treats with the upmost importance, as Brad details: “This is something that is integral. It’s part of our business and is mandatory. The quality requirements in our business and the quality controls that we have include a robust quality review process that is embedded into every employee and every system that we operate.

Delivering to the oil and gas and power generation markets places great demands on suppliers to ensure the highest levels of quality and service, which is something that Lamons treats with the upmost importance

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I would say that one of our biggest strengths is that we are used to this type of intensive industry and we have highly skilled people in various positions within the business, for example I have been in fasteners for 17 years, while Peter has been in engineering for 28 years. He actually comes from an aerospace background and so has quality engineering embodied into his mindset when he is running the business. Really the biggest strengths of our business are its systems and procedures and over the course of the last two to three years we have had zero major nonconformities and only one minor non-conformity.

We have been audited over 120 times to gain these figures and as a result we can be confident in our exemplary quality.”

In recent months the oil and gas sector has proven to be an uncertain market, however despite the current low price of oil and the impact this has had on the development of new projects, Lamons UK remains confident that it retains the level of quality necessary to earmark

it as the supplier of choice for bespoke fastening components. “We provide both topside and subsea clients and most of our products are integral fasteners,” Brad says. “There are only certain companies our clients can approach to obtain these fasteners because of the quality requirements within the oil and gas market.

With our quality being so good, we are able to drive our business, because customers are coming to us due to the level of quality and service that we supply.”

“I think that we have gained an increased market share, especially last year through better service and better delivery performance. We set ourselves quality and business objectives for every year,” Peter concludes. “The first for this year being to halve the number of customer concerns that we received from 2014.

Furthermore we intend to maintain 95 per cent on-time delivery perforce in 2015 and increase sales by 20 per cent. As a business we are always trying to be more efficient at what we do.”

Lamons UK

INTOCO Special steels and alloys stockholder INTOCO based in Cheltenham, UK, has announced additions to its comprehensive oil and gas based product range.

From July 2015, the business will stock highly certified Nickel Alloy 718 round bar in both API and AMS specifications.

API material will be from diameter 12.70 to 355.60 mm (1/2” to 14”) and AMS 5663 from diameter 101.60 to 254.00 mm (4” to 10”).

Lamons UK lamons.com

Services Gasket and bolt supplier

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regulation Rapid

Since its formation

in November 2000, Pressure Tech has developed an extensive range of high quality stainless steel pressure regulators for use on gas and liquid applications.

“Having started the business 15 years ago as a one man operation, we have expanded to a 30-strong team that is well positioned for future growth,” says managing director, Steve YorkeRobinson, adding: “The ability to work closely with our customers, and listen to their specific needs, has helped ensure we design products that provide accurate control, with long term reliability in service.”

Growing recognition as a market leader ensures its range of quality pressure regulators, predominately for the oil and gas market, occupies a share equivalent to 80 per cent of its business. “We have developed products that have unique features designed to make them not only last longer in the field, but also easier to service, effectively reducing down time,” points out Steve. As the first company in the market to incorporate ceramic seats into hydraulic regulators, its innovative thinking highlights its commitment to not simply re-engineer products, but actively evaluate customer application and product design to create a better-suited product.

“The ceramic material itself is designed to withstand wear and tear and cavitation issues, which are often encountered, particularly on water – glycol systems,” adds Steve.

With a large investment in CNC machinery

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in 2008, its in-house machining ensures control over production to maintain flexibility with minimal lead times, and a business model that is able to provide a rapid response to develop unique product designs. Having been involved in the market for much of his career, Steve was able to call upon a core understanding of mechanical principles and an aptitude for sales, establishing a successful combination of working with the customer and designing the products around them. Demonstrable of this commitment to customer-focused designs, Pressure Tech has worked closely with numerous clients to developing products. “We have a subsea pressure regulator, capable of being used down to 3000 metres as a pressure control device, and whilst still in the development stage, we also have a high-flow pressure regulator, which is unique in that it fits, as a unit, inside the pipework. It is a lot more compact than other products on the market, with fewer working components and a simpler design, and is therefore less likely to have any kind of failure issues,” says Steve, whose regulators are manufactured within the UK and covered by ISO-9001 accreditation.

Another product; the new flow control valve has been designed as a manifold concept, providing the option of filtration and block and bleed valves built into the assembly, as Steve continues: “We have incorporated all these features into a manifold block that can be connected up to the flow control valve itself.

PROFILE

With an emphasis on engineered solutions; our core range of products each have unique selling points, and importantly from design to final product, everything is manufactured in-house.”

The expansion into a new 5000sqft facility, coinciding with the investment in another four CNC machines, bringing its total to 11, allowed the business to not only increase the volume of production, but also reduced the need for subcontracting components, effectively minimising lead times. “One of these machines holds 90 tools, which is sufficient to manufacture several of the pressure regulator bodies eliminating the requirement for using a range of other machines. We identified that 40 per cent of the time spent on the machines was setting-up, so we have improved our throughput by eliminating that inefficiency,” explains Steve.

With a quarter of its customer base within the UK, and an additional 40 per cent from within Europe, the business also holds a strong export customer base with panel and system builders for hydraulic control units, ultimately used by companies such as FMC, Aker Solutions and OneSubsea. Commenting on the market, Steve highlights: “We have enjoyed continual expansion, but it is an uncertain period ahead, particularly with concerns over oil pricing.

However, this does create opportunities for us with end users looking for cost reductions up to 25 per cent. As a smaller company with a proven and accepted product we are able to attract the attention of major players as they look for competitive alternative options.”

It is the flexibility and the size of the business

that equips Pressure Tech with an added strength, capable of delivering contracts valued at €500,000, whilst being flexible, responsive, and quicker to react to customer requests. Moving forward, Steve provides an insight into the direction of the business as it faces a potentially challenging phase: “We are looking at a direct sales approach to the market, simultaneously launching an e-commerce website that will allow customers to receive quotations and pricing information as well as placing orders directly via the website, which we believe will open up the door and accessibility to our products, internationally. As part of this sales drive, the business recently recruited a sales engineer based in Aberdeen to solely focus on the markets in Scotland, Norway and Holland. We want to double our turnover in the next two to three years, as well as extend the product range into offering a complete solution, diversifying into new areas outside the pressure regulators, through internal development and acquisition.”

Pressure Tech

With an emphasis on engineered solutions; our core range of products each have unique selling points, and importantly from design to final product, everything is manufactured in-house

Pressure Tech pressure-tech.com

Services Manufacturer of stainless steel pressure regulators

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A flexible

approach

Founded in 1998, and becoming part of international Velosi Group (now Applus Velosi) in 2007, K2 Specialist Services has grown to become a leading supplier of inspection, repair and maintenance services throughout the oil and gas industry. The company provides asset life cycle services including periodical inspection and survey repair and maintenance, upgrade services and engineering. However, with the drop in oil prices across the global market, K2 has been forced to shift its focus and demonstrate its flexibility in order to remain successful.

“As a measure, we are pleased to report that our revenues haven’t dropped at nearly the same percentage as the price of oil,” highlights Managing Director, David Griffin. “The bread and butter contracts will continue to carry us through and support our baseline.

However, we have had some projects taken off the table in areas that we were expecting to see more revenue.

We have had to respond in a number of ways, we have had to reduce our headcount, push a number of full time employees into freelance roles, whilst at the same time ramping

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up areas where we have had some slow projects ongoing for supporting infield services. We’ve also taken some product development off the table, and shored those projects until we think the time is right for them.”

It is the company’s flexibility that gives it the strength to adapt to challenging market conditions successfully. One thing that facilitates this is the breadth of services K2 has in its offerings. “By being focused on the lifecycle of the assets we can move our area of focus and influence within the offshore industry to different parts of the cycle when demand requires it,” explains David. “For instance, significant capex investment has driven construction demand in the industry. Where K2 have had a heavy focus on construction in the last five years or so, as this declines we have the ability to re-focus our personnel and capabilities in the construction sector and push them into infield service support roles, and we’ve been very successful at this.”

The other strength is the level of scale the company has built up in order to compete on international contracts. With areas of growth within West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, K2 has been able to positively react. As David says: “In preparation for supporting more of

PROFILE

the infield services, we set up a US office last year to focus on the Gulf of Mexico, which was set up at the right time and we have seen a pleasing increase in opportunities there. We have also been able to develop our capability with our sibling companies from the parent company in Africa, which again is allowing us to tap into opportunities there.”

This relationship with the parent company, Applus Velosi, is something David points out is becoming increasingly important to K2 as a growth initiative. Being spread across five continents in every major oil and gas hub it gives K2 access to local manpower, finance and office support wherever it needs to operate. “It gives us much faster access to establishing opportunities and gives us more capability on the ground so we can be up and running faster,” adds David.

The shift in focus at the moment has been very much refocused on the training part of K2. The company’s training services broadly encompass a breadth of safety focused courses including working at height, confined space, first aid, DROPS and rigging and lifting training, amongst many others. “One of the real positives we’ve seen in the Gulf of Mexico is a focus on offshore safety and competency,” expresses David. “There are a number of opportunities driven by majors like Shell, BP and Chevron who are continuing to drive a very proactive line in terms of requiring safety standards from suppliers. So we are seeing an increased opportunity in terms of supplying competency training, safety training and delivering more safety orientated periodical safety surveys offshore. The ongoing commitment to offshore safety is a very positive sign in these tough times.”

Looking forward, K2 is very much focused on positioning itself to take advantage as soon as the

K2 Specialist Services

market picks up again, and its flexible range of services allows it to do this. “Our key objective that we are pushing at the moment is to keep our eyes open for any opportunities. Now is also the time to be looking at the quality of service, and how we are looking after our clients in a time when we are all vulnerable and can’t afford to make mistakes,” David concludes. “In the longer term, it’s really about being really focused on delivering the safety and quality services we claim to stand by, and delivering those standards through our staff. Now, more than ever, is a great time to consolidate our position in the industry ready for the upturn.” The oil and gas industry is going through a particularly challenging period at the moment and success within it depends on a company’s ability to find opportunities within it. K2’s breadth of services, and large geographical footprint has put it in a good position to do this, and a continue commitment to safety and the quality of service it provides will help ensure it is not only able to survive, but come out the other side a strong player.

In the longer term, it’s really about being really focused on delivering the safety and quality services we claim to stand by, and delivering those standards through our staff K2 Specialist Services k2velosi.com

Services Inspection, repair, maintenance and training services for offshore oil and gas industry

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explorer Modern

Established in 2001

, PV Drilling has worked tirelessly to develop the position it holds in the market today. Originating from the formation of PTSC Offshore – a division of PTSC, the establishment of PV Drilling was based on the strategy of building and developing oil technology.

Formed with a clear strategy of becoming the leading drilling contractor in Vietnam, as well as serving the global market, the ISO 9001:2008, OHSAS 18001: 2007, ISO 14001: 2006 certified company has diversified its portfolio to provide customers with a wide range of services.

At present, the main role of PV Drilling is the management and operation of onshore and offshore drilling rigs, which yield significant income for the corporation, contributing to 60 per cent of its total revenue and 70 per cent of its net profit. In 2004, the business successfully began implementing high-tech services such as mud logging, slickline and well testing, contributing to the common goal of its strategy. With its vision to be an internationally reputable and reliable drilling contractor and drilling-related services provider in the oil and gas industry, it continues to create value added opportunities for clients by delivering premium services at competitive prices. To ensure the provision of integrated, optimum solutions, PV Drilling acts both independently and via its reputable partners such as Baker Hughes and BJ Services.

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After more than a decade of development, PV Drilling is in a phase of expansion across areas that include drilling services, the provision of professional human resources, oil and gas wells and pipeline inspection. It is the delivery of these important services for the industry that the company credits for much of its development.

While many sectors have been faced with the economic woes brought on by the financial crisis, the global drilling market has until recently been resilient thanks to strong exploration and production (E&P) activities, which has resulted in a number of medium and long-term contracts for rig operators.

Simultaneously, numerous older-generation rigs are being gradually replaced due to stricter safety requirements. The construction capacity for new and high-tech rigs is currently limited to meet both replacement and higher drilling demand, which has led to increased competition in the search for high-spec rigs, creating opportunities for prestigious and capable drilling contractors.

Furthermore, through its professional competence and long experience in the field of drilling and wells, PV Drilling is one of the leading suppliers to be able to take on the oil spill treatment services levels one to three.

Not only is the company operational as an effective business unit, it is also playing a role in contributing to the protection of the marine environment in Vietnam. Taking advantage of its position and the promising activities still available in the market, the business looks to expand its operations overseas. Developing both steadily and sustainably, PV Drilling is strongly aware of the importance of effective risk management; integrating management systems to ensure each operation’s safety; the importance of financial management and human resource development; and in building a working environment which encourages employee commitment. Furthermore, ensuring transparency between the corporation, shareholders and the public is essential.

As its vision suggests, the corporation is keen on developing drilling services as its core business, as well as encouraging its competitiveness in drilling-related services, distinguishing itself a first-class provider of full-scale packages for upstream activities.

Accompanying the company’s services is its fleet of three high quality jack-up rigs, one land rig in operation in Algeria and one semi-submersible tender assist-drilling (TAD) rig.

Through providing five of its assets on hire

PROFILE

to international drillers in offshore Vietnam, PV Drilling currently occupies more than 50 per cent of the local drilling market; this percentage is likely to grow in the coming years as the company looks to add several advanced jack-up rigs to its fleet, as well as an additional semi-submersible rig. The acquisition of further assets reflects an ongoing response to the rapidly moving market and the company’s intention to realise a strategy of expansion in the near future. Included within this strategy was the delivery of a new 400 ft jack-up rig from Keppel Fels, received in March 2015. The unit is based on Keppel’s standard B class jackup rig design, able to operate in water depths of 400ft and drill down to a maximum depth of 30,000ft. In January 2015, PV Drilling announced that the unit has been contracted for two years by PetroVietnam Exploration Production Company (PVEP) to carry out drilling operations in Vietnam. A prime example of the company’s commitment to continuous investment and improvement

of its assets, the rig, named PV Drilling VI, is furnished with the most advanced technology in its field, primarily serving the global market operating from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite the current climate, the business looks set to continue flourishing in a market with strong exploration and production (E&P) activities, and as older-generation rigs are gradually replaced following stricter safety regulations coming into effect, the quality conscious company is in an enviable position as the market searches for high-spec rigs.

Supported by a wealth of determination, proven track record of success and technical knowhow to carry it forward, PV Drilling moves into the future offering an energetic outlook and is keen to demonstrate its talents to new customers.

Whilst building an image of PV Drilling as a young and dynamic drilling contractor, the corporation differentiates itself from competitors by optimising the operational cost and diversifying its scope of services.

PV Drilling

Drilling Services Drilling Services Ltd is proud to have been associated with PV Drilling and Well Services Corporation for over ten years, sourcing, procuring and distributing a wide range of essential equipment and consumables, from OEM and alternate sources of the highest quality.

Utilising many years of knowledge in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, Drilling Services has a proven ability to meet customer requirements, including tailor-made supply packages from single items to full projects, worldwide.

PV Drilling pvdrilling.com.vn

Services Drilling and well services

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More brownfield In taking advantage

of the surge in oil and gas project activity in the Middle East, Loops Automation LLC was formed in 2000, establishing itself as a leader in the supply of specialised engineering packages, metering skids, and process controls.

Early in the company’s history it considered Iraq a strategic market and developed a

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strong reputation through several projects in collaboration with Iraqi oil and gas companies and refineries establishing itself as a reliable partner in the ‘Rebuilding Iraq’ programme between 2005 and 2009. The company now is a major supplier of metering skids and control systems to the projects of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil. “Despite our regional growth in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, we still view Iraq as a strategic and important market,” says Nidal Sabbah, business development manager.

Whilst maintaining its commitment to the Middle East oil and gas market, the business has had to diversify its interests over the last 12 months as a result of regional politics, particularly in Iraq and in Syria, as well as the drop in oil prices. “It is situations such as this that have led us to targeting more brownfield projects in Abu Dhabi, as well as pushing for more business in Saudi Arabia. Under a vendor agreement with Aramco we are also opening a

PROFILE

new branch in Nigeria.” explains Nidal.

“However, one of the main challenges we are facing this year as a result of the drop in oil price is that it has changed the way our customers are doing business. Some customers are not replacing whole metering skids, instead looking for maintenance or repair solutions, as well as looking for improvement on the electronics side in the metering process,” he adds. Not only trading as suppliers of skids but integrators too, Loops Automation is highly capable of interfacing on existing control systems.

“This has resulted in us being more heavily involved in projects where we are working on metering control panels, as well as the repair of the mechanical parts. Such ‘brownfield’ work improving existing facilities is really the growing area for us at present, and we have been successfully undertaking this type of work in Abu Dhabi, updating old assets by adding new technologies on the electronic side. Our experience in both the metering side and the control side makes us attractive to operators,” continues Nidal.

From its Dubai base the company is able to serve clients throughout the Middle East, and as such Loops Automation is ambitiously working to establish itself as the premier supplier of turnkey engineered solutions to the oil and gas industry based in the region, despite certain challenges. “New technologies are now available, and we are always required to keep up with the increasing complexities of engineering and integration work needed for specific scenarios in brownfield projects,” according to Nidal.

One trend that has been growing is the number of projects where metering skids are being supplied for pipelines feeding power stations. In this case, adding pressure reduction & metering stations has been increasingly occupying the company’s time. Another trend is the increased use of green energy by oil and gas companies. Loops Automation is now working on a couple of projects where solar energy and wind turbines are involved.

Heavily involved in enterprise resource planning (ERP), Loops Automation is well aware of the importance of streamlining its business when faced with uncertain times. “The ERP provides information that allows us to simulate and implement processes that will improve efficiency and save time and labour. Each project is handled through the ERP, including finances, scheduling and resource allocations,” says Nidal.

In summary, Nidal looks to the future adding:

Loops Automation

“We want our company to be viewed as a local business with local knowledge when customers are looking for solutions in automation and flow metering. We have gone a long way to establish a good name for Loops Automation, and I think it is now working. Our plan is to continue the good work, as well as to expand a little more regionally in other countries.”

Loops Automation loopsautomation.com

Manufacturing & Services Engineering packages, metering skids, and process controls

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service A bespoke

Founded by

international and European welding engineer Alan Robinson in 1994, Arc Energy Resources began its first year of trading with four staff and resulted in a turnover of £1,148. Since then the highly efficient and quality conscious firm has developed into a multi-million pound organisation with 70 competent and knowledgeable staff and regular contracts with blue chip companies across the globe. Having achieved its ISO 9002 accreditation in 1995, Arc Energy witnessed rapid growth over the coming years, which resulted in a relocation to new 15,000 sq ft premises in Eastington, Gloucestershire, in 1999. With more capacity to grow, the company continued its trend for success, achieving ISO 9001 and ISO 3834-2 certification in 2002 and hitting sales in excess of £2 million for the first time in 2004. In 2008 turnover exceeded £5 million and the environmental standard ISO 14001 was achieved in 2010, followed by OHSAS 18001 accreditation in 2012; one year later, the company achieved the Investors in People Bronze award and became one of only seven UK firms to offer ASME U2 services.

Today recognised as specialists in the supply of corrosion resistant weld overlay cladding and the manufacture of specialist fabrications for industries including oil and gas, nuclear, renewable, water & waste water and naval, Arc Energy is renowned for its expertise and bespoke attitude towards customer requirements, as Andrew Robinson, director at Arc Energy, notes: “The core of our business is weld overlay cladding, a process that deposits a layer

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of corrosion resistant alloy onto traditional carbon steels and other steels. It can be used on the inside of pipelines, valves and seals of various components. It is a niche market, with approximately six other companies offering the same service in the UK, but we are well recognised and do a great deal of work in the oil and gas industry.

“As quality is no longer a competitive edge, but more of a standard expectation, we no longer use our focus on quality as a differentiator and instead deliver a bespoke service to our customers. Because contract specifications are becoming increasingly stringent, we treat every order as a new order and go through it with a fine tooth comb to ensure we do exactly what the customer wants. This is integral to allowing our clients to serve their clients properly.”

Although 80 per cent of its market share is within oil and gas, Arc Energy is keen to further diversify its customer base and take advantage of the estimated £60 billion investment in the UK’s next generation of nuclear power plants, becoming one of the first SME manufacturing firms in the south west to earn ready-to-supply status via the Fit for Nuclear programme. Having received guidance from the Manufacturing Advisory Service and Nuclear AMRC on meeting standards within the nuclear sector, the company has boosted production efficiency and created a code of continuous improvement in advance of EDF Energy’s plans to build two new reactors at Hinkley Point, Somerset.

“Being in close proximity to Hinkley Point is a major bonus for us; our closest competitor

PROFILE

is in Middlesbrough and they want to use a local supplier where possible. Because the UK hasn’t built a power plant for more than 20 years there is confusion with regards to where companies will fit in the supply chain at the moment, however we believe there is going to be quite a lot of cladding and pipework involved; we view this as a massive potential growth area, right on our doorstep.

Furthermore, Hinkley Point is supposed to be a template for a further 11 plants in the UK, so we anticipate there will be an additional growth market there,” highlights Andrew.

Celebrating its 20 year anniversary in 2014, Arc Energy looks set to continue thriving as it maintains a diverse customer base and focuses on significant investments in machinery, premises and people, as Andrew notes: “We are currently looking to further expand our premises in response to how full our order books are, which puts us in a strange position considering the oil price has plummeted and the oil and gas industry has slowed down with projects.

However, we are absolutely rammed with work

Arc Energy Resources

and expect to be until the end of 2015 so we decided this was the prime time to expand as the space we have is full. A planning document is being worked through for new premises, which will be a new building on the site we currently operate on; it is anticipated to be up and running by the end of this year.”

The additional space is certain to come in handy as Andrew, who is set to take over as managing director when his father steps down in 2015, has created a five-year plan that is targeting 15 per cent growth year-on-year. “It is an exciting time for Arc Energy and I am looking forward to implementing my plans over the coming years. It will be a challenge, but we have a number of strings to our bow that will make this possible, such as diversity in the market and a new focus on nuclear, defence and power generation. With these industries in our sights we are investing in new machinery, which will allow us to implement the next generation of welding technology and stay ahead of the game with regards to quality, fast turnaround and efficiency,” concludes Andrew.

The core of our business is weld overlay cladding, a process that deposits a layer of corrosion resistant alloy onto traditional carbon steels and other steels. It can be used on the inside of pipelines, valves and seals of various components

Arc Energy Resources arcenergy.co.uk

Services Corrosion weld overlay cladding and specialist fabrications

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Schofield Publishing Ltd 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131 Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Manager Joe Woolsgrove jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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