Energy, Oil & Gas Issue 145 June 2017

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issue 145 JUNE

Efficiency

prevails

What can North Sea oil and gas companies do to deal with future volatility?

Stay safe Addressing the cyber security concerns of the energy sector

Ready or not LNG has now been exported from the Arctic – what are the implications?

News: Tidal energy project, Swarm Power, Decom contracts awarded

Editor Editors Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Assistant Editor Will Daynes Staff Writer Jo Cooper Editorial Administrator Emma Crane Art Editor Gérard Roadley-Battin Production Manager Fleur Daniels Advertising Designer Fiona Jolliffe Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove Operations Director Philip Monument Business Development Manager Mark Cawston Sales Tim Eakins Darren Jolliffe Jonas Junca Dave King Theresa McDonald Rob Wagner Research Managers Ben Richell Natalie Griffiths Kieran Shukri Editorial Researchers Jeff Johnson Wendy Russell Richard Saunders Mark Kafourous ­Office Manager/Advertisement Administrator Tracy Chynoweth

I am confident the oil and gas sector is resilient and able to steer a course forward in these uncertain times, helped by its determination to increase efficiency, decrease costs and embrace innovation

Following

the recent General Election in the UK, at a time when we were all looking for more stability and clear leadership for the Brexit negotiations, as I write this editor’s page I think it’s clear that hasn’t been achieved.

The saga of the Government leadership doesn’t look like it will be settled before this magazine is published – but I am confident the oil and gas sector is resilient and able to steer a course forward in these uncertain times, helped by its determination to increase efficiency, decrease costs and embrace innovation.

Looking further afield, the blockade of Qatar by its Gulf Arab neighbours is also something to watch – the information I am seeing indicates no immediate peril to regional energy security but it remains to be seen the longer-term effect on oil prices in a volatile market.

editor LIBBIE HAMMOND

Digital Subscriptions Iain Kidd digital @schofieldpublishing.co.uk Web Sales James Whiteley jwhiteley@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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@EOG_magazine 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, and correct at time of writing, 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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Contents

Regulars

4

Efficiency prevails

How can we prevent a return to the bad old days in the North Sea oil and gas sector?

8

Are you exempt?

The changing rules around energy intensive industry compensation

10 Ready or not

LNG from the Arctic is a reality – this raises a lot of interesting questions

12 News

Some of the recent developments within the oil and gas industry

14 Time for a review

Why health and safety must be on the agenda – new sentencing guidelines demand it

16 Stay safe

Cyber security has never been more important to energy companies

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56 Energy Drilling 58 Trelleborg Offshore 61 Swire Oilfield Services 66 LGO Energy 69 AHI Carrier 73 AFGlobal 76 Halliburton

Middle East and North Africa

4

Profiles 21 TANAP 30 Maersk Oil – The Culzean Gas Field 32 Global Pipe Company 42 ACWA Power International 44 ennox biogas technology GmbH 46 Broron Oil and Gas 48 MENCK GmbH 51 Parkwind 21 53 Overdick

78 Gulf Petrochem Group 81 RWG 83 Valmet Energy & Process Systems 87 LUKOIL 90 Hydra Arc Group 92 Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) 96 Combifloat 99 Ansaldo NES 101 Seismotekhnika OAO

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3

Efficiency

prevails The North Sea: life after cost cutting.

By Alan McCrae

T

he North Sea Oil & Gas industry has experienced a turbulent time in recent years - the well documented price crash of 2014 led to widespread redundancies, cost reduction and project deferral. But are those changes sustainable in the longer term? It’s certainly a concern for shareholders in oil & gas companies as equity prices took a battering, impacting the portfolios of individuals and pension funds alike.

So, if the worst is now behind us, what can companies do to ensure that there isn’t a swift return to the bad old days of escalating costs and inefficiency?

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During the downturn, many commentators predicted a wave of M&A activity as the saviour of the sector - little fish would be swallowed up and we’d see a new breed of integrated Oil Field Services (OFS) players and larger independents. That was more of a ripple than a wave.

In the OFS world, a few mergers have materialised such as Amec Foster Wheeler with the Wood Group, Technip and FMC, and GE’s merger with Baker Hughes.

But with many of these deals still to complete, we’ve yet to see what this could mean in terms of cost synergies and shareholder return.

In upstream, activity has focused on the asset side, for

Industry update

example, Siccar Point buying OMV’s North Sea assets in a deal worth $1bn, EnQuest’s acquiring an interest in BP’s Magnus field and Sullom Voe Terminal for $85m and, perhaps most strikingly, Chrysaor announcing a deal for a portfolio of Shell’s North Sea assets for $3.8bn. And hot off the press, Neptune Oil & Gas has acquired a majority stake in Engie’s E&P business for €4.7bn.

The Neptune, Siccar Point and Chrysaor deals not only represent a game changer for those companies, but represent a real step change in attitude of Private Equity towards the North Sea. In addition, we’ve started to see foreign investment in

the UKCS pick up such as the Delek acquisition of Ithaca, not long after it acquired a 20 per cent stake in Faroe Petroleum. Interestingly, the firm was also scouting for a share in Kraken from EnQuest at the time these deals were struck. A real demonstration of foreign interest in the North Sea. Beyond the traditional sources of capital, newer ideas are now coming to the fore - alongside the return of some older ones. Cairn Energy recently announced a $200m streaming deal with Flowstream for offtake from the Kraken and Catcher fields and Premier Oil signed a similar deal for Solan back in 2015. Interestingly, older models, such as project

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Moreover, the philosophy of 'marginal gains' is getting traction across some operators in the North Sea. Beyond cutting costs and selling stuff, companies need to reassess their business models and strategic responses in order to be able to deal with any future volatility

finance are once again being discussed as a way of breathing new capital life into the basin.

But the reality is that the majority of the significant players in the UKCS are much the same as they were pre-2014.

Future focus Major players are increasingly investing their efforts in West of Shetland and frontier plays further afield - we’ve already mentioned non-core assets being divested by Shell and BP - and this is true of many others with a large number of portfolios available at the right price.

The view is that, smaller independent players without the Corporate baggage and cost of capital, can get a bigger bang for their buck on these later-life assets. A great example of this was Serica’s acquisition of Erskine from BP - Serica has managed to significantly reduce operating costs and increase production on an asset that was basically noise level for BP - a win-win.

Companies also need to work on the assumption that oil prices will be lower - for a very long time, advancing projects on much lower breakeven points rather than assuming high oil prices will come to the rescue. Being able to cope with a period of sustained lower oil prices in the future is critical.

The clarion call for cost reduction and efficiency prevails.

Huge progress has been made by the industry but this ethos must also be embedded into corporate culture in perpetuity.

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Moreover, the philosophy of 'marginal gains' is getting traction across some operators in the North Sea. Beyond cutting costs and selling stuff, companies need to reassess their business models and strategic responses in order to be able to deal with any future volatility.

Other key focus areas include: Innovation is key to success. The application of technology and automation are fundamental to operating more cost effectively. Companies need to explore new ways of working to be successful and examine the role that digital technologies can play in improving their performance. New applications will certainly be developed to support backoffice and shared functions, where rewards are modest, but technology adoption shouldn’t be limited to this. Digitisation should be a lever for innovation that improves productivity and efficiency in the field. In some cases, technology will be acquired through partnerships.

Differentiated capability sets. In recent years, the oil and gas sector has been characterised by a diverse range of operating environments, including onshore unconventional reservoir production and frontier exploration in increasingly challenging and remote environments. While super majors have traditionally operated across the board, even they concede that they don’t have the skills - or corporate culture - to compete like this anymore. Specialisation is becoming

Industry update

commonplace and it is imperative that companies of all sizes identify those capabilities critical to profitable growth, and even survival, and allocate capital accordingly.

Recent M&A activity in the OFS sector reflects the emergence of operating models built around specific capabilities: GE’s recent acquisition of Baker Hughes to form a business focused on efficient well operations through automation, enhanced imaging, and data analysis while the combination of Technip and FMC Technologies creates a company whose core capabilities will be subsea engineering and equipment.The model of a single integrated company discovering and developing an oil or gas field, and operating it until it is depleted, is being replaced.

Collaboration, strategically and operationally, amongst exploration and production (E&P) companies - especially with the supply chain - is essential to keeping costs down.

The OGA recently issued guidance on collaborative working within joint ventures, and we can expect an increase in combinations where each party can rely on the others’ unique areas of specialism to extract maximum economic value from their investment. Back in the autumn, we mooted the idea of the Super Joint Venture - a vehicle which collates and operates late life or decommissioning assets for maximum benefit for the shareholders - and this theme is likely to develop both horizontally between operators and vertically along the supply chain.

Underpinning this urgency is the ongoing risk of commodity price and macroeconomic volatility. Geopolitical changes, international relations, isolationism, nationalism, shifting oil trade patterns and technology, to name but a few, could exacerbate this.

And, of course, in the longer term the offshore sector will be affected by how companies and consumers respond to the low carbon transition to electric vehicles and renewable heat and power.

So the roller coaster ride is set to continue and the industry needs to make sure it is in prime position to see it out or else it may become de-railed.

PwC Alan McCrae is UK energy leader, PwC. PwC is a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 208,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.

For further information please visit: pwc.com pwc.co.uk/industries.html pwc.co.uk/industries/oil-gas.html

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7

Are you

exempt?

Alexander Mann takes a look at the changing rules around energy intensive industry compensation

I

t comes as no surprise that different businesses consume varying amounts of energy not just by size but by the nature of their business. For example, a small office-based business will use far less energy per head compared to a global manufacturing giant using heat-intensive industrial processes. In order to address a cost differential between the UK and other countries the government is introducing an exemption for these energy intensive industries (EIIs), which could mean higher costs for those not captured under this.

EIIs are distinguished by their industry sector and electricity intensity, with the government using strict qualifying criteria - for example a business must manufacture a product within the UK in one of the eligible sectors, and must pass the electricity intensity test. Eligible sectors include (but are not limited to) steel, chemicals, engineering, and brick; those in which energy usage makes up a significant part of the product cost.

While the UK is committed to cutting greenhouse gases

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and helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint, this creates a cost differential on energy prices compared to other countries, such as with the ‘Renewables Obligation’ (RO) charge.

For EIIs this would result in significant costs but over recent years the government has run a compensation scheme whereby EIIs can reap back 85 per cent of their RO costs, and their Feed-in Tariff (FIT) costs, in a bid to encourage them to remain part of the UK economy.

However, in the 2015 Autumn Statement the government announced it intended to reduce the impact of renewables policies to the cost of electricity for EIIs. This proposal will see the compensation scheme replaced by an ‘exemption scheme’, and would see the 85 per cent reduction of costs automatically waived for businesses considered ‘eligible’.

While this may be good news for qualifying EIIs who will save a considerable amount of money, those considered not eligible are likely to incur higher costs. For these businesses, Cornwall has estimated that they’re likely to see an increase in both FIT and RO costs of up to six per cent annually,

Energy

to cover the 20 TWh of electricity included in the EII exemption scheme.

It’s imperative to know in advance whether your business is likely to qualify for the exemption scheme. The government’s website includes a list of requirements that your business will have to meet to be classed as an EII with a compulsory form to be completed.

The introduction of an EII exemption scheme towards RO and FIT was due to commence in April 2017, however with State Aid approval from the European Commission not being granted in time has resulted in the date being pushed back.

A revised date has not yet been provided by the Department of Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS). The two likely options are that it will be introduced part way through the current Obligation period; or it will be deferred until the start of the next Obligation period in April 2018.

Concerned EII businesses can speak with their energy provider to understand ways in which they could balance energy costs in other ways, for example planning energy consumption more closely, understanding how much energy

the business uses and what for, buying energy in advance and at times when prices are lower, and becoming more energy efficient.

While the new EII rules will benefit some businesses at the expense of others, all businesses concerned should plan ahead to understand and forecast the implications, whether positive or negative.

GAZPROM ENERGY Alexander Mann is Regulatory Advisor at Gazprom Energy.

Gazprom Energy, the retail arm of London-based Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd, is an award-winning business energy supplier with a passion for customer service and the backing of one of the world’s largest energy companies. In the UK, it focuses on being a reliable supplier that offers value for money and excellent customer support.

For further information please visit: gazprom-energy.co.uk

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9

not

Ready or

LNG in the Arctic and its implications.

By Shane De BeeR

A

lthough hardly noticed in the western business press, a very significant event in the (climate change inflected) development of the Arctic took place in March 2017.

The newly constructed LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie called at the port of Sabetta on the Russian Yamal Peninsula in the Barents Sea, in readiness to lift the first cargo of liquefied natural gas to be exported from the Russian Arctic.

As a technical matter alone, this is impressive. Whatever the long-term effects of climate change, the Yamal Peninsula has extremely harsh weather (at the writing of this article in May 2017, for example, the temperature in Sabetta was – 9 C today), and is ice-bound for much of the year. The tanker, named for the previous chairman of Total who tragically died in a plane crash when visiting Moscow and one of 15 Arc7 class vessels that have been ordered for the project, is roughly the size of the Eiffel Tower, and is capable of sailing through ice 2.1 metres thick. The ship is fuelled by re-gasifying a portion of its own cargo, and has a capacity of 172,600 cubic meters of liquefied gas.

The port is a joint venture between the primary gas

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exporter, Novatek, and the Russian government. Novatek, in turn, is a Russian company owned by Leonid Michelson, the Volga Group (chaired by Gennady Timchenko), Total and Gazprom (as well as publicly traded shares). The LNG liquefaction facility is joint venture called Yamal LNG, formed between Novatek, Total, the Chinese oil company CNPC and the Silk Road Fund. The gas is produced from the Yuzhno (Southern)-Tambeyskoye field, which has proven and probable reserves of 926 billion cubic metres.

Yamal LNG's impending entry in to the Arctic LNG market stands in contrast to the Shtokman project, in which Total was also a partner. The Shtokman project was

LNG

conceived in the mid-2000s, when both oil and natural gas prices were at cyclical if not historical highs, and the original concept was for the LNG to be shipped for regasification to North America (although the north eastern route to the Asia Pacific Region was certainly part of the long range planning).

In time, Gazprom, the majority owner of the Shtokman project, determined that the gas should be primarily exported by pipeline as the more ambitious LNG project was no longer economically feasible in the low price environment of the 2010s. And indeed by that time the Texas regasification plant that was the intended recipient of Shtokman LNG had been granted approval to refit and convert to a liquefaction plant, in order to export the newly abundant volumes of cheaper US shale gas.

For all the investment, technical prowess and international co-operation required to bring the project to this point (Yamal LNG is bringing the first of three planned trains on line this fall), the business model thus far is surprising. At least the first shipment of LNG loaded on the Christophe de Margerie will be sold on the spot market, and potentially many more, although according Novatek shareholder Michelson, 90 per cent of impending production is already

contracted long term, primarily to buyers in the Asia – Pacific region. It is worth reflecting that two pillars of Yamal LNG's strategy would have been considered fantastic even a decade ago: a spot market for natural gas, and the use of the north eastern route, north of Siberia and through the Barents Sea, east from Europe to the Pacific Ocean, as a shipping route. Given the low production costs for gas on the Yamal Peninsula, this business model appears viable even in the current low gas price environment. Another unpredictable factor, of course, is the climate, but advances in icebreaking technology and fit-outs for vessels have already made shipping possible in current or harsher conditions, and of course the global concern about climate change posits warmer Arctic temperatures in the future. Assuming continuing incremental improvements in the technology of both gas production and LNG tankers, both of these developments appear to be here to stay.

Indeed, the idea of a Pacific spot market for LNG received a further boost from the other side of the Pacific very recently, when language included in a preliminary bilateral trade agreement between China and the US set out next steps for US firms to export LNG to China. There is currently a liquefaction plant operating on the Pacific coast of Mexico (very near the US border), as well as in Peru, and one US liquefaction plant in Alaska, with two more liquefaction plants planned in Canada and two more in Oregon on the Pacific Coast of the US. In short, between the low cost gas in western Siberia and the increase in shale and tight gas production in the US, there are supplies on the horizon that could conceivably support a spot market in LNG in the Asia Pacific Region.

These developments raise a host of interesting questions.

With the expected increase in Arctic shipping, will the littoral states increase co-operation on environmental matters or on matters concerning indigenous peoples of the Arctic region?

Will gas prices decisively break away from oil prices in a new Pacific-wide spot market? These questions are all now much less theoretical since the question of if there will be LNG production exported from the Arctic has been answered yes.

FIELDFISHER Shane De Beer is a Partner at Fieldfisher, a European law firm with market leading practices in many of the world's most dynamic sectors. It is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation with a particular focus on technology, finance & financial services and energy & natural resources. Its growing European network of offices supports an international client base alongside its Silicon Valley and Beijing colleagues. Among its clients are social media sites and high street coffee chains as well as pharmaceutical, life sciences and medical devices companies, energy suppliers, banks and government departments.

For further information please visit: fieldfisher.com

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In Brief Two year contract extension CHC Group has signed a twoyear contract extension with Shell Aberdeen to provide helicopter services in support of its UK Continental Shelf operations. CHC has been Shell’s aviation partner for five years, initially serving Shell Central North Sea assets. As part of a joint initiative to improve supply chain efficiencies over the contract period, CHC service now also extends to Shell’s Northern North Sea activities.

Mark Abbey, CHC Regional Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “We will continue to evolve our services and embrace the latest technology to best meet customer needs, building on our decades of experience in UKCS oil and gas activity.”

“CHC is proud to continue to strive to provide safe and reliable transportation services to Shell in and around the North Sea as part of our global service for Shell,” added Karl Fessenden, President and CEO of CHC Helicopter.

First oil Following the announcement by Repsol Sinopec Resources UK that first oil has begun to flow from the Shaw field, Deirdre Michie, Chief Executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “This is a major redevelopment in an area of the North Sea that has been producing for many years.

It combines new and mature field activities that will extend the Montrose Area’s productive life and demonstrates the potential that can still flow from the UK Continental Shelf with the right investment.

“At the project’s inception, HM Treasury worked closely with the industry to begin to make the tax regime more competitive. Since then, the tax regime for this basin has improved substantially and is now one of the most fiscally competitive in the world.”

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Low velocity tidal energy project Xodus Group has delivered the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and licence application for Minesto’s Holyhead Deep project west of Anglesey for which consent has been confirmed by Natural Resources Wales. The in-depth EIA carried out by Xodus considered the potential impacts acts on fisheries, marine mammals, sea birds, marine archaeology and cultural heritage as well as shipping and navigation, which were concluded to be ‘not significant’.

The consent is for a 0.5 MW Deep Green device which will demonstrate and prove the technology ahead of plans for installing a 10 MW array at the site. The installation site is located in the southern corner of Holyhead Deep, 6.5 km off the coast of Anglesey and has been carefully selected to maintain separation from shipping lanes and to minimise the impact on other sea users. The first phase of the project will include a single Deep Green device unit, seabed foundation and a surfaced moored buoy, with installation planned in 2017.

Holyhead Deep marks the starting point of the industrialisation of the Deep Green technology.

It is the first low-velocity tidal energy project in the world. Holyhead Deep matches all the site requirements by providing low-flow tidal velocities (1.5–2 m/s mean peak flow) at a depth of 80–100 meters. Following successful deployment and testing of the first installed power plant, more Deep Green devices will be installed to form a tidal energy array.

Targeting discoveries Azinor Catalyst Limited has awarded a rig contract to Diamond Offshore Drilling (UK) Limited for the Ocean Guardian semisubmersible rig to drill two operated wells in Q3 2017. The first exploration well will target the Partridge Prospect which will be immediately followed by an appraisal well to test the Agar Discovery and Plantain Prospect.

Nick Terrell, Managing Director of Azinor Catalyst, commented: “This is an excellent time to be drilling exploration wells in the UK North Sea. A successful outcome at Partridge would not only generate huge value for the company, but also unlock significant upside potential in the exciting Lower Cretaceous play in nearby acreage which we secured access to through our recently awarded 29th Round Licences.

“We are also extremely pleased to announce our plans to appraise our highly material and low risk Agar Discovery and Plantain Prospect this summer. This follows our successful 2014 Agar exploration well, which encountered high quality oil bearing Eocene sands adjacent to the UK Beryl and Norwegian Alvheim Fields in block 9/14a.”

Henry Morris, Technical Director of Azinor Catalyst, added: “It’s great to be moving forward with these two opportunities. Both prospects and plays have huge potential which will be unlocked by these wells.”

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News

Relief Well technology Trendsetter Engineering and Add Energy have combined expertise to provide engineering and hardware support services to the industry’s most challenging problems in a nimble and responsive environment. The companies have recently been awarded a contract to supply engineering expertise and access to Trendsetter’s patented Relief Well Injection Spool (RWIS) in support of an operators’ drilling campaign on a newly sanctioned field development.

The RWIS has been designed and built to greatly increase the pumping capacity of a single relief well by enabling the ability to pump in excess of 200 bbl per minute of kill mud through a single relief well, utilising multiple vessels as opposed to the conventional method of multiple relief wells. The RWIS is installed on the relief well wellhead beneath the blowout preventer (BOP) to provide additional flow connections into the wellbore. Using high-pressure flex lines, the inlets enable pumping units from separate floating vessels, in addition to the relief well rig, to deliver a high-rate dynamic kill.

Morten Haug Emilsen, Senior Vice President at Add Energy noted: “The RWIS technology has a huge cost saving potential that enables larger completions and optimised casing design.”

Significant decom awards

Swarm power

which can lead to significant savings in

Proserv has been awarded three contracts worth a combined value of more than $2.5 million for decommissioning work in the Norwegian North Sea. The firm’s Stavanger facility will provide cutting services as part of a full severance

REAL COPY

package covering subsea and topside work. Compared to more traditional approaches, the cutting technology solutions deployed by Proserv can save hours in well severance and plugging, day rates over a campaign.

As part of the decommissioning workscopes, Proserv will provide

Swiss startup, Power-Blox, has developed a new technology that mimics complex systems in nature to create fully autonomous power grids anywhere in the world. Using a technology called Swarm Power, Power-Blox allows anyone to create a ‘plug and power’ energy grid that is completely autonomous, scalable, and decentralised, while requiring no management, configuration or maintenance. The system is regarded as a major breakthrough in energy technology because anyone can create a Swarm Grid to power a school, hospital or an entire town simply by adding additional Power-Blox to the system.

The Power-Blox 200 series are individual, intelligent energy cubes with an integrated battery. Each cube provides 200 Watts of alternating current and can provide power for lighting, one refrigerator, a television and mobile phone / laptop charging. The cubes can be powered by an optionally provided solar unit or from any external source (such as solar, wind, hydrothermal, biomass, or a generator etc). Power-Blox acts as a universal energy interface and can be combined with any external energy source or storage device.

When a minimum of two Power-Blox are combined, proprietary algorithms enable the system to adapt and react with swarm intelligence, creating a Swarm Grid that can provide sustainable and regulated power for schools, hospitals, telecommunications infrastructure, agricultural equipment, remote tourist resorts, events / festivals, disaster relief, and up to entire villages and towns.

The scalability of Power-Blox is essentially limitless due to the modular architecture of the system.

Anyone can scale energy storage and production by simply incorporating additional units into the system as energy requirements increase. Additionally, the cubes are completely ‘Plug and Power’ and don’t require any special configuration, engineering, or expertise when adding additional modules to the system.

abrasive cutting, diamond wire cutting, grout removal and dredging services.

Henrik Johnson, region president for Norway, said: “To date, we have cut over 300 wells globally in a variety of challenging conditions and environments, so our track record and the reliability of our equipment was a key factor in securing these awards.

Another major attraction is the fact we can offer a wide range of integrated services all under one roof helping to cut costs, reduce complex supply chains and better manage risk through using a single source provider.

“One of the contracts requires specialist engineered solutions to deal with nonstandard sizes used in the structure.

The complex installation requires a custom technology solution rather than an ‘off-the-shelf’ package and this is at the core of Proserv’s expertise.”

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review Time for a

Since the introduction of the new Sentencing Guidelines just 12 months ago, prosecutions of company directors and senior managers for health & safety offences have escalated, along with fines. The message to UK Plc is clear; health & safety must now be firmly on the Board Room Agenda, says Bryan Lawrie

W

hen the new sentencing guidelines for health & safety, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences came into effect in February 2016 businesses were warned that the resulting rise in fines and prosecutions could have a serious impact on their bottom line. The new guidelines heralded a greater emphasis on fines being related to turnover rather than profit and a new focus on hypothetical risk of harm as well as actual harm, while also giving magistrates the power to impose unlimited fines.

The new approach The new guidelines are designed to give courts a more consistent means of passing sentences by taking a step by step approach which begins with determining the offence category by considering culpability and harm. Courts must now decide whether a defendant’s culpability was “very high”, “high”, “medium” or “low”. They must then establish a harm rating of between 1 and 4 (with 1 being the highest rating) depending on the scale and severity of potential harm. The next step is to apply the harm rating and culpability assessment to a series of tables with fine ranges that correlate to levels of annual turnover. The recommended fines range from between £50 to £450,000 for micro-organisations with a turnover of less than £2 million, to between £3000 to £10 million for large organisations with a turnover of £50 million and above (separate guidelines for corporate manslaughter offences apply). The subsequent

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steps involve close examination of the company’s finances, the defendant’s plea and consideration of other factors that affect the individual case.

Fines in the millions, with or without actual harm Prior to the publication of the guidelines, a breach of health & safety regulations which did not result in injury was likely to have resulted in a fine in the tens of thousands. Now organisations are regularly receiving fines in the millions.

The first large organisation to be convicted and sentenced under the new guidelines was ConocoPhillips (UK) Limited, one of the world’s largest oil and gas exploration and production companies, which received a fine of £3 million on the 8th February 2016. ConocoPhillips admitted serious safety failings after two uncontrolled and one controlled but unexpected gas releases.

Although no-one was hurt in the incidents, crucially the scale of the fine reflected the risk of death and serious injury with the Judge highlighting that despite the company having procedures and safeguards in place, they had failed to properly identify and control risks. It is also worth noting that the £3 million fine was awarded even though Conoco Phillips Limited, which had a turnover of £4.8 billion, had reported a pre-tax loss of £85 million.

Cases such as that of Conoco Phillips clearly illustrate the courts’ new confidence in awarding significant fines even in the absence of injury and are a strong reminder to businesses that health & safety procedures and safeguards must be stringent and up-to-date. Such cases are also attracting a

Health & Safety

rate of 95 per cent. HSE and COPFS prosecutions led to fines totaling £38.3 million in 2015/16, compared to just £18.1 million in fines from 2014/15.

Director prosecutions treble Meanwhile, research last year by law firm Clyde & Co identified that the number of company directors prosecuted for safety and health offences more than tripled in one year.

Data obtained directly from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that 46 company directors and senior managers were prosecuted by the HSE in the year to 31 March 2016, compared to 15 in the previous year, demonstrating a rise of over 206 per cent. During the same period the number of employees prosecuted fell, with just one individual employee prosecuted by the HSE in 2015/16, compared to ten in the previous year.

What does this mean for businesses?

significant amount of media attention showing there is nowhere to hide for businesses that are falling short on their health & safety obligations.

Fines & prosecutions rise Analysis of data, made available following a Freedom of Information Act request by Osborne Clarke and published in a joint report produced with IOSH: Health and safety sentencing guidelines one year on (http://www.iosh.co.uk/ Books-and-resources/Health-and-safety-sentencing-guidelines. aspx), highlighted a sharp upward trend in terms of both fines and prosecutions over the last year, with the following observations: SS The largest fine in 2016 was two-and-a-half times the size of the largest fine in 2015 and almost ten times larger than the largest fine in 2014.

SS Nineteen companies received fines of a million pounds or more in 2016 (the largest being £5 million), compared to only three in 2015 and none in 2014.

SS Total income from the highest 20 fines in 2016 (£38.58 million) was higher than the total fine income for the 660 prosecutions successfully brought by the HSE in its reporting year of 2015/2016 (£38.3 million).

In addition to these trends, latest figures for 2015/16 show that prosecutions were up six per cent overall, with HSE and COPFS prosecuting 696 cases resulting in at least one conviction in 660 of these cases, giving a conviction

The steep rise in fines and prosecutions over the past year clearly demonstrates that health and safety is a businesscritical issue and must be managed as such. Thankfully for most businesses, health and safety will not be new to the boardroom agenda, but it may be time to raise its profile.

In light of the recent upturn in fines and prosecutions, businesses that haven’t done so already would be wise to review their health and safety policies.

If a review highlights any areas of concern, particularly in terms of correct competency training it may be necessary and/or prudent to enlist outside help. Employers are obliged to appoint someone competent to help them meet their health and safety duties which could be a combination of themselves and/or one or more of their workers, or someone from outside their business.

The costs of failing to effectively manage health and safety may be rising fast, but the benefits of getting it right are wide reaching and, with the right, support businesses can realise these benefits and protect both their workforce and their bottom line.

ARCO Bryan Lawrie is sales and marketing director at Arco. Arco is the UK’s leading safety company. It distributes quality products and training and provides expert advice, helping to shape the safety world and make work a safer place. Founded in 1884 and with a heritage spanning four generations, Arco integrates traditional family values with pioneering innovation to offer a world-class range of over 170,000 quality assured, branded and own brand products, including personal protective equipment, clothing, footwear, gloves, workplace safety and hygiene products.

For further information please visit: arco.co.uk

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safe Stay

Edgard Capdevielle addresses the cyber security concerns of the energy sector

T

he nation’s critical infrastructure is of vital importance to our society and economy as it provides essential services for industries – from manufacturing to transportation, energy, oil and gas.

When looking at Energy particularly, any deficiency or disruption to the power supply will have an enormous impact on society.

The rise of smart grids and devices has seen the sector become increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. The Ukraine

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power grid outage in 2015, which affected 225,000 people, serves as an example of the potential impact of cyberattacks to the electricity subsector. However, it’s not just malicious individuals that cause outages as many cyber threats, from weak passwords to open ports, whether caused intentionally or as the result of unintentional mistakes, can all negatively impact reliability.

To protect reliability, energy providers need to stay up-todate with both cybersecurity challenges and the methods available to monitor and mitigate threats.

IT

Increase in cybersecurity concerns There are very real concerns that the damage from cyber threats could cross over to the physical world resulting in equipment failure, power outages or even causing fires and perhaps explosions within affected plants. According to the World Energy Council, energy companies have seen a massive increase in the number of successful cyberattacks over the past few years. It urges its members to consider cyber risks beyond energy security alone and to address the need to maintain resilient states and economies.

It’s not alone as, according to the SANS 2016 State of ICS Security Survey, companies feel that their control systems are more threatened than a year ago. Twenty four per cent of respondents had moved from a moderate or low threat-level perception to high or even severe/critical levels.

Looking at the top three threat vectors respondents felt the greatest was from external threats (61 per cent), with internal or unintentional threats second (42 per cent), and third from malware spreading across the infrastructure indiscriminately (41 per cent).

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According to the World Energy Council, energy companies have seen a massive increase in the number of successful cyberattacks over the past few years. It urges its members to consider cyber risks beyond energy security alone and to address the need to maintain resilient states and economies Rather worryingly, the SANS survey also found that security for ICS had not improved in many areas and, instead, many problems identified as high-priority concerns in past surveys remain as prevalent as ever.

There is a real need for critical infrastructure owners, hardware vendors, information security experts and government officials to work together to create industry security programs that improve cyber resiliency and ultimately keep everyone safe.

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Creating cyber resilient systems To truly ensure reliability, cybersecurity teams need to consider how new advanced technologies can help them take a step toward safer and more reliable critical infrastructure.

For example, solutions are now available that use Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to quickly learn and model the large, heterogenous Industrial Control Systems (ICS) used to run energy systems. This overcomes the challenges of dealing with the complexities of these systems, which make

IT

SS This is then supplemented with advanced learning capabilities (AI) to develop process and security profiles, mapping relationships and changes The powerful combination of ML and AI offers operational efficiency benefits by consolidating high volumes of alerts into context-aware incidents. To do this manually, if it were even possible, would require many highly trained individuals, something the security sector doesn’t have with the current skills shortage.

By baselining the devices on the network, and how they impact process behaviour, any malfunctions, misconfigurations and irregularities can be quickly spotted, preventing frustrating service disruptions and even expensive repairs or loss of revenue.

This intelligence can also speed up investigations of incidents to contain attacks before significant damage can occur, without needing to add additional skilled staff.

While it’s true to say that the energy industry has been more progressive and proactive about cyber security than some other sectors, there is always room for improvements and innovation.

The critical role that the energy, oil and gas sectors play in the functioning of today’s economy and the rise of digitalisations of those sectors means leaving them exposed is not an option. Innovations, such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, can enhance cyber-attack detection and help companies leverage technologies to gain efficiencies in their industrial process cybersecurity programmes, as well as speeding the investigation of incidents to contain attacks before significant damage can occur.

This must be the goal for everyone concerned.

Nozomi Networks it virtually impossible for humans to track manually and identify the signs of compromise or irregularities that cyber attackers or unintentional threats leave.

These powerful solutions can monitor networks, in real-time, and rapidly detect any changes from baseline behaviour: SS Machine Learning is used to automatically discover, in real-time, the industrial network including its components, connections and topology.

Edgard Capdevielle is CEO of Nozomi Networks. Nozomi Networks has been revolutionising ICS cybersecurity and enabling operational visibility for industrial control systems (ICS) since 2013. Deployed in some of the world’s largest industrial installations, its solution delivers industrial network visualisation, asset management, vulnerability assessment and both process anomaly and intrusion detection. The results are simple: enhanced cybersecurity, maximised uptime and real ROI. Nozomi Networks is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and Mendrisio, Switzerland.

For further information please visit: nozominetworks.com

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PROFILE

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

Bold plans in the

Building the bonds

of brotherhood in the modern world with the promise of ‘one nation, two states’, Turkey and Azerbaijan are extending the success of previous projects in the energy sector with the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP). Bonding the countries together with a mission of huge importance, the TANAP project will establish a voice in the world energy markets by focusing on meeting the natural gas needs of both ENERGY,oil&gas

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IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW LONG THE JOURNEY IS!

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project Lot 1 / Spread 2

• 60 years of experience in steel pipe manufacturing • Integrated Logistics Experiences (railway, barge transportation, IACS class vessels, truck & trailers, containers) • Ability to produce, coat and ship up to 24.5 meter joint lengths from our 2-step SAWH facility; nearby “Borusan Port” in Gemlik • Major oil and gas pipe supply references in Europe and North America

Head Office: Meclisi Mebusan Caddesi 35-37, Salıpazarı 34427 İstanbul / TURKEY Phone: +90 212 393 58 00 Fax: +90 212 293 69 60 email: mannesmann@borusan.com

PROFILE

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

Europe and Turkey while also offering diversity in gas products.

Developed to meet the growing demand for natural gas in Turkey while also contributing to the socio-economic development of the country, the TANAP project officially started following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) within the framework of the TANAP Natural Gas Transmission Company in June 2012. With the TANAP project established, the design, construction and subsequent operation of the project was authorised too.

Following this, the Intergovernmental Agreement ENERGY,oil&gas

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BORUSAN MANNESMANN

BORUSAN Established in 1958 as theMANNESMANN first industrial enterprise of the Borusan Group, Borusan Mannesmann has accumulated 60 years of expertise and experience within the steel pipe industry. Today it is a leading European and global manufacturer, possessing an excellent brand reputation, a production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per annum and a rich range of 4000 products.

Established in 1958 as the first range industrial enterprise of the Borusan Group,purpose Borusanpipes, Mannesmann has and accumulated years of Borusan Mannesmann’ s product comprises of gas, water and general construction industrial60 pipes, expertise experience steelinfrastructure pipe industry.projects, Today itincluding is a leading European manufacturer, possessing and line andand drilling pipes within used inthe major water, gas andand oil global pipelines.

Foremost among its an excellentarebrand reputation, a production capacityspiral of 1.4 milliontechnology, tonnes perused annum and a rich range ofand 4000 products. gas products the pipes it produces to incorporate welding primarily in national international pipelines.

Borusan Mannesmann’s product range comprises of gas, water and general purpose pipes, construction and industrial pipes, and lineMannesmann and drilling pipes in major infrastructure projects, including water,ingas oil pipelines.

Foremost among its Borusan is the used principle company behind the winning consortium theand tender for the 1800 kilometre TransproductsNatural are the Gas pipesPipeline it produces to (TANAP), incorporatewhich spiralwill welding technology, used in via national and gas Anatolian Project connect Azerbaijan gasprimarily to Europe, Turkey.

“Tointernational date, we have pipelines.213 kilometres of pipe,” explains Ugur Onbasi, Vice President of Borusan Mannesmann. “Due to the prompt and fast delivered delivery of our commitments, and our high-quality performance, Borusan Mannesmann became the first Turkish company to Borusan is the principle companyfrom behind the winning consortium in the tender for the 1800 kilometre Transobtain localMannesmann production and delivery permission TANAP.” Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), which will connect Azerbaijan gas to Europe, via Turkey. “To date, we have delivered 213 kilometres of pipe,” explains Ugur Onbasi, Vice Spiral President Borusan Mannesmann.

“Due to the prompt and fast Key to the company’ s success has been its $100 million Gemlik Pipeofplant.

“Thanks to this state-of-the-art manufacturing delivery of ourMannesmann commitments,isand performance, Borusan Mannesmann theline firstpipes Turkish company facility, Borusan the our onlyhigh-quality authorised spiral pipe manufacturer from Turkey became providing to projects in to obtainand localtoproduction and delivery from TANAP.” Europe the North American oil permission and gas pipeline market,” Ugur continues. “In addition, we are also able to utilise the Borusan Port adjacent to our plant, which provides us with logistical and operational flexibility.”

Key to the company’s success has been its $100 million Gemlik Spiral Pipe plant. “Thanks to this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility,the Borusan the only authorised pipe has manufacturer frompipes Turkey line pipesNGL to projects Among major Mannesmann projects in theisUnited States that thespiral company supplied with areproviding the 449 kilometre Pipelinein Europe to the North oil andand gasPennsylvania pipeline market,” Ugur continues.

“In addition, also able to utilise the and a 321and kilometre project,American built in Texas respectively.

The total value of thesewe twoareprojects alone amounts Port adjacent to ourtoplant, provides with“last logistical and operational flexibility.” toBorusan $282 million.

“In addition thesewhich projects,” Ugur us states, year, pipes were also supplied to the Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline Project in Mexico, which was built by a leading, Canada-based energy giant. As part of this $33 million contract, each pipe has Among the major to projects in the United that the company has supplied with pipes are the 449 kilometre NGL Pipelines been manufactured the customer’ s exactStates specifications at the Gemlik Spiral Pipe plant.

These were then delivered to Mexico’ and a 321 project, in Texasofand Pennsylvania Thefrom totalan value of these two projects alone amounts Tuxpan Port,kilometre marking the first built ever landing 24.5 metre pipesrespectively. in the country overseas supplier.” to $282 million. “In addition to these projects,” Ugur states, “last year, pipes were also supplied to the Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline Project in Mexico, which was built by a leading, Canada-based energy giant. As part of this $33 million contract, each pipe has been manufactured to the customer’s exact specifications at the Gemlik Spiral Pipe plant. These were then delivered to Mexico’s Tuxpan Port, marking the first ever landing of 24.5 metre pipes in the country from an overseas supplier.”

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TEKFEN CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION TEKFEN CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION Tekfen Construction and Installation Co., Inc., today a leading organisation in the challenging fields of contracting activities and also a studious environmentalist, traces its roots to an engineering consulting company established in 1956. An uncompromising dedication to global quality standards in its business conduct has underscored the company's consistent growth and stability for six decades.

Tekfen Construction and Installation Co., Inc., today a leading organisation in the challenging fields of contracting activities and alsoTekfen a studious environmentalist, tracesofitsTekfen roots toHolding an engineering company established in 1956. Anwith major Presently, Construction, as an affiliate Co., Inc.,consulting is respected as an international contractor uncompromisingindedication global quality standards its business has underscored theofcompany's consistent accomplishments Turkey, thetoMiddle East, North Africa,inCaucasia andconduct Central Asia.

Its wide span activities range from growth stability for six decades. heavy civiland works to refineries and petrochemical plants; from high rise buildings to major industrial processing plants; from pipelines and marine structures to power plants, electrical and communication works.

Presently, Tekfen Construction, as an partnerships, affiliate of Tekfen Holding Co., Inc., is respected as an international contractor with major With its sister companies and strategic Tekfen is capable of extending its services to a large range of clients, accomplishments in Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasia and Central Asia. Its wide span of activities range from worldwide. heavy civil works to refineries and petrochemical plants; from high rise buildings to major industrial processing plants; from and marine ISO structures to power electrical and communication works.

Aspipelines an ISO 9001:2008, 14001:2004 andplants, OHSAS 18001:2007 certified company, Tekfen is dedicated to higher quality With its sister companies strategic partnerships, Tekfen is and capable of extending its services toThat a large range of clients, standards, aiming excellenceand through "continual improvement" a strict belief in "teamwork". uncompromising worldwide. to people is evidenced by its outstanding accident-free record on projects throughout the world. commitment As an Tekfen’ ISO 9001:2008, 14001:2004 18001:2007 company, Tekfen is dedicated to higherTANAP quality Within s ongoing ISO projects, TANAP’sand Lot OHSAS 3, the Sivas Eskisehircertified section of the approximately 1900-metre-long standards, aiming excellence throughof"continual improvement" and a strict beliefand in "teamwork".

Thatofuncompromising line, stretching through the provinces Sivas, Yozgat, Kırsehir, Kırıkkale, Ankara Eskisehir, is one the most important. commitment to people is has evidenced by with its outstanding accident-free record projects throughout the world.

This 509 kilometre section been laid 56 inch pipes and includes 14 on valve stations and two piging stations. In addition to the Lot 3 of TANAP’s main line, construction of three compressors and four metering stations are also within Tekfen’s scope Within Tekfen’contract. s ongoing projects, TANAP’s Lot 3, the Sivas Eskisehir section of the approximately 1900-metre-long TANAP within another line, stretching through the provinces of Sivas, Yozgat, Kırsehir, Kırıkkale, Ankara and Eskisehir, is one of the most important.

This 509 kilometre section has been laid with 56 inch pipes and includes 14 valve stations and two piging stations. In addition to the Lot 3 of TANAP’s main line, construction of three compressors and four metering stations are also within Tekfen’s scope within another contract.

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PROFILE

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

concerning the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline System between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as the Host Government Agreement, which constitute the legal basis of the project, were signed in Istanbul on June 26th 2012.

Amended and signed on May 26 2014, the revised Host Government Agreement was , ratified by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 10th September 2014. Since then, TANAP has focused on its policy to ship Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and Europe through natural gas pipeline systems that use the best practices and exceed industry standards. While conducting such activities, TANAP will achieve sustainable development objectives such as ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

following all national laws and regulations, applicable international standards, best practices within the natural gas industry and carrying out all work within the project in full compliance with the requirements of national health, safety and environmental regulations.

Involving the construction of a 1850 km long pipeline to supply gas from Azerbaijan, a country with gas reserves that exceed

three million cubic metres, to Turkey and Europe, the construction of TANAP project began in March 2015. Shareholders of the project is SOCAR, BOTAS and BP, with 58 per cent, 30 per cent and 12 per cent shares respectively.

Traversing 20 provinces, 67 districts, 600 villages and running for 19 km below the Sea of Mamara, the 56 inch and 48 inch pipeline ENERGY,oil&gas

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www.ilf.com

50 years ILF

Strategic decisions require a profound basis 50 years of experience and innovation in providing world-class project management, engineering and consultancy services shaped ILF into your trusted adviser all over the world.

50 YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

ILF Consulting Engineers Werner-Eckert-Strasse 7 81829 Munich, Germany Tel. +49 (89) 25 55 94 - 0 Fax +49 (89) 25 55 94 - 144 E-Mail postmaster@ilf.com

PROFILE

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project

ILF Consulting Engineers ILF Consulting Engineers is a 100 per cent independent, fully privately owned engineering and consulting company with 50 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. ILF assisted TANAP with project management and owners engineer services from 2012 until 2014, covering the development of the feasibility study into a ‘Basis of Design and Final Route’ report, development of deliverables for the FID, development of tenders and technical evaluation of the tenders for the selection of the FEED and EPCM contractors, the main line pipe and the pipeline construction contractors. ILF also provided engineering support in managing the FEED contractor and assistance in the development of ESIA deliverables. ILF continues to support TANAP under a framework agreement with engineering and contract management.

system is to stretch from the Turkish village of Türkgözü in the Posof district of Ardahan province; it will then connect to the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and will culminate at the Ipsala district of Edirne province on the Turkish-Greek border. From here it will then be linked to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and connect to convey natural gas to European nations. Two off-take stations are located within Turkey for national natural gas transmission, one located in Eskisehir and the other in Thrace.

Alongside the pipeline, a number of off-take stations and underground installations are to be constructed; this includes seven compressor stations, four measuring stations, 11 pigging stations, 49 block valve stations and two take-off stations that will supply Turkey’s national natural gas network. In addition to these aboveground installations, temporary camps to accommodate workers, pipe storage areas and access roads will also be built during the construction phase.

Sourcing gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea, the new pipeline was scheduled to start in 2018 and will supply ten billion cubic metres of gas annually to Europe as well as six billion cubic metres of

gas per year to Turkey. The pipeline’s capacity will have been increased to 31 billion cubic metres. However, with TANAP General Director Saltuk Düzyol pointing out that 80 per cent of the section of the phase zero TANAP line has been completed in April 2017, it is anticipated that the first delivery of gas will be delivered in June 2018.

Described by BP as the global oil and gas industry’s ‘most significant and ambitious undertaking yet’, the TANAP project, which involves seven countries and 11 companies, will be regionally integral when it comes to meeting the future gas demands of both Turkey and the EU. Furthermore, the project will ensure Azerbaijan’s integration with the world as an important and strategic natural gas exporter as Turkey and Azerbaijan emerge together into the European market for energy transportation. However, above all else, those involved in TANAP remain committed to their mission of building and operating a secure and reliable gas transmission pipeline system of the highest quality, while also ensuring health and safety and high social and environmental standards are maintained.

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project tanap.com Services: Meeting the gas needs of Europe and Turkey

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production Productive

Discovered in 2008

by Maersk Oil and its co-venturers, JX Nippon and BP, the Culzean gas condensate field is one of the most significant of its kind and is estimated to hold up to 250m-300m boe. Located 260km east of the coast of Aberdeen in the UK North Sea, the field is made up of two deep reservoirs at a depth of 15,000 feet. Development of the field was approved by the UK Oil and Gas Authority in August 2015 with first gas set to be drawn in 2019 and peak production of an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 boepd reached in 2020.

Production will run for at least 13 years and, in line with the UK’s commitment to bringing increased gas-fired electricity generation capacity online, is expected to contribute five per cent of the UK’s total demand.

The largest gas field sanctioned since East Brae in 1990, the Culzean Field aligns with the UK’s commitment to increase gas-fired electricity generation and benefits from the ultra-high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) cluster allowance that was introduced by the UK Government as part of the 2015 Budget.

This allowance supports the development of high pressure, high temperature projects, which typically have considerable higher capital costs; it also encourages the exploration and appraisal activity in the surrounding area. This allowance came at a time when

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the oil and gas industry was undergoing a slump caused by the decline in global oil prices, which in turn led to difficult operating conditions. Although this slump has continued, the Culzean discovery and work that continues is positive news for the UK’s oil & gas market as it will support economic growth in the country and further increase knowledge on HPHT development. The project also sends a clear signal that the North Sea is open for business.

Representing a total investment value of $4.5 billion from Maersk Oil and its co-venturers, the project over its lifetime will result in an anticipated $3.3 billion in operating expenditure being spent directly into the UK domestic market. Additionally, 400 jobs will be created directly, with a further 6000 jobs set to be added during the development and ongoing operation of the Culzean Gas Field.

Located beneath a traditional reservoir depth and a large chalk package, the hydrocarbons within the field are present in some harsh conditions; for example, temperatures are as high as 175 Celsius and pressures reach 13,500 PSI. This presents a number of complex challenges for those working in the HPHT environment, particularly when it comes to drilling works. Indeed, it will take approximately nine months to drill one well, and with three

PROFILE

wells required to meet the necessary capacity, the company needs to start drilling two years in advance of the topside being installed.

In September 2016 drilling operations got underway on the first production well, with six production wells planned by Maersk Oil at the Culzean field. The company used the Maersk Highlander rig for the well, which was acquired from a competitor in May 2016; the newbuild harsh environment jack-up rig was officially named in August 2016 and was designed by Friede & Goldman JU2000E. The rig is categorised as a 400 ft rig with 30,000 ft drilling depth and has HPHT capabilities; it also has accommodation capacity for up to 150 personnel.

In advance of drilling, the company’s employees practiced on a digital ‘virtual well’ via the utilisation of a specialised simulator at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. By preparing in this manner the company was able to experience, in a life-like environment, the drilling campaign, which will further contribute to efficient and safe drilling operations. Following three months in operation, Maersk Oil announced that it had significantly reduced capital costs at the HPHT field by around $500 million compared to the estimate of $4.5 billion. This improvement in project capex was achieved in close collaboration with suppliers, the authorities and partners, with the breakeven estimate for the project standing at $33 boe in December 2016. This cost reduction of 11 per cent during project maturation shows Maersk Oil’s and it co-venturers’ ability to provide greater value for stakeholders and investors through effective project delivery. This includes higher drilling

efficiency, robust upfront design and project planning, supportive foreign exchange movements and supply chain deflation.

Following these major milestones in the development of the largest new field to be discovered in the UK North Sea for over a decade, Maersk Oil is set to deliver continuous drilling activity over the next five years, with first gas on schedule to be produced from Culzean in 2019.

With Maersk Oil’s landmark North Sea project on schedule and contracts for hook-up and commissioning anticipated to be awarded over the coming months, the Culzean field project is at a critical phase. To stay abreast of operations, the company will continue to pay close attention to the supply chain by ensuring strong supply partners are chosen over the coming years.

As this hugely significant project progresses, Maersk Oil, together with its co-venturers, is demonstrating a key commitment to delivering the spoils of the Culzean field in a safe and efficient way as possible.

Maersk Oil

Following three months in operation, Maersk Oil announced that it had significantly reduced capital costs at the HPHT field by around $500 million

Maersk Oil – The Culzean Gas Field www.maerskoil.com Services: The largest field discovered in the UK North Sea for more than a decade

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Connecting

Saudi Arabia The Global Pipe Company is a combined business enterprise between Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG (EEW), a highly concentrated and experienced German manufacturer of submerged-arc welded (SAW) pipes and three shareholders based in Saudi Arabia; Saudi Steel Pipe Company (SSP), Pan Gulf Holding (PGH) and Mr Ahmed Hamad Al-Khonaini.

All shareholders have a vast amount of experience in both the oil and gas sectors.

Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Company is a global LSAW pipe production company founded in 1974, specialising in carbon, low alloy, stainless steel and clad pipes as well as the pre-fabrication of piping associated components. The Saudi Steel Pipe Company is Saudi Arabia’s premier manufacturer of welded steel pipes for both the oil and gas industries since 1980. It’s the first steel pipes manufacturer in the country and the largest producer of welded steel pipes manufactured by high-frequency induction welding for the oil and gas, water and construction sectors in the region. Founded in 1978 the Pan Gulf Holding Company provides steel and building materials, steel fabrication, valves and piping systems, welding solutions and fabrication of steel grating for Saudi Arabia and Mr Ahmed Hamad Al-Khonaini is a leading businessman in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia specialising in oil, gas and petrochemicals. He also owns Global Anti Corrosion Techniques Company Limited (Globetech) that provides anti corrosion coating services to industry throughout the Arabian Gulf region.

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PROFILE

Global Pipe Company

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PROFILE

The Global Pipe Company was founded in late 2010 in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, with an investment of SAR 660 million, to manufacture thick-walled steel pipes for Saudi Arabia and The Cooperation for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) markets. A year later, in 2011 the company started plant construction and commenced operations from its manufacturing facility in late 2012. The company that was originally set up to serve the oil and gas sector has grown quickly and now also manufactures pipes for the water, petrochemical, drilling and offshore industries. It specialises in the production of large-diameter and heavy wall thick longitudinal submerged-arc welded (LSAW) line pipes with outside diameters ranging from 16 to 62 inches and thicknesses ranging between of 8 and 51mm, and structural tubular large-diameter pipes of up to 200 inches with thicknesses of up to 130mm.

In a short space of time it seems as if there’s no holding the Global Pipe Company back. In 2013 it has reached an impressive number of milestones. It took its first pipe delivery, gained approval from the American Petroleum Institute (API), was awarded ISO 9001 2008 accreditation for its Integrated Management System (IMS) and gained official supplier status by Saudi Aramco for non-sour pipes and structural tubular.

Saudi Aramco is the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the world’s largest crude oil exporter, producing an extraordinary one in every eight drums of the world’s oil supply. It has a robust international presence in the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China. Currently Saudi Aramco is investing billions of dollars in increasing its gas production for domestic usage.

The Global Pipe Company received its first order from Saudi Aramco in August 2014 to provide 150 kilometres for pipes for the Shedgum gas project for the East West Gas and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) pipeline in Saudi Arabia. It was responsible for producing up to 84,000 metric tonnes of steel pipes for the contract.

The first Saudi Aramco project was shortly followed by a second, supplying 27 kilometres of pipeline for the Fadhili Gas Project. When it’s completed in 2019 Fadhili will become a key player in the Saudi Arabian Master Gas System, processing gas from the Fadhili Gas Plant. It will add more than 2.5 billion standard cubic feet (SCFD) from onshore and offshore fields of non-associated gas processing capacity.

Global Pipe Company

It is expected that the increase in the supply of natural gas from the Fadhili Gas System will grow above 17 billion SCFD by 2020 and enhanced the capabilities of Saudi Arabia’s steel, aluminum and crude oil industries. The project provided the Global Pipe Company with excellent training for what was to follow and in doing so it has earned its status as a preferred supplier to Saudi Aramco.

Today the Global Pipe Company is delivering pipeline to expand the second phase of the Master Gas System (MGS-II) across the Eastern, Western and Central regions of Saudi Arabia.

The increased gas production will result in more raw materials for industries to expand, and new ones to appear that will help to create jobs, which is a key goal of the Saudi Vision 2030.

Work originally started on the Master Gas System network in 1975 to process associated gas to produce sales gas, ethane for feedstock, Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), sulphur and the delivery of the finished products to customers.

As a result of the ever-increasing domestic demand it become imperative to add additional facilities. “For the last year we have been working on the Master Gas System extension major project for Saudi Aramco. We’ve been commissioned to manufacture a total of about 550 kilometres of pipelines and so far we’ve supplied about 350 kilometres of that quantity.

Due to the considerable size of the project, when I talk to plate mills and other parties in our sector, I get the impression that they are thinking that the Global Pipe Company will be busy with MGS II for an unforeseeable time.

However, we’ve managed to increase our output and optimise our manufacturing line and expect to be completed by June 2017. We are very ready to start new projects,” said Mr. Ahmed Hamad Al-Khonaini, Shareholder and Managing Director at the Global Pipe Company.

Saudi Aramco has required to deliver 550 kilometers of pipeline, which is a significant amount and on a much larger scale than the Global Pipe Company has previously manufactured. “The project was quite a challenge in terms of quantity, 550 kilometers is a significant amount of pipeline. Also in terms of dimensions, the pipes need to be 56 inch with a thickness range of between 14 to 25 mm. The manufacturing of these sizes as Longitudinal Welded Pipes is a very challenging task. During the planning phase for this project, we have developed an action plan to adjust our

We have developed an action plan to adjust our equipment to the challenging sizes required for MGS II targeting a higher output

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equipment to the challenging size targeting a higher output. We have added new conveyer systems to our manufacturing line to improve plate and pipe logistic before, during and after the manufacturing process. For the same purpose, we have also added new overhead cranes with vacuum extensions for transfer of steel plates during the receiving and inspection process. We have also added a new X-Ray bunker to speed up the NDT inspection that used to be a bottleneck during the execution of other projects in the past. It was also necessary to have a look at our forming process and speed up this manufacturing step. The forming of a plate to a pipe with the press bending machine has been identified as a bottleneck during the first days of the project. For the manufacturing of 56” diameter pipes a plate width of about 4.5 metres is required. For the bending of such a plate, with the original setting for the bending machine, more than 59 strokes have been required. With support of our machine suppliers GRAEBENER and WELDEC from Germany, we have developed a new forming procedure based on a wide shoe for the bending sward. After this change, the number of strokes required is reduced to 39 and the output was increased by about 40 to 50 per cent,” explains Maher Fkaier, General Manager of Global Pipe Company.

“As we started the project, in June 2016 we managed to complete 90 pipes per day and on the rare occasion when we managed 100 pipes a day we considered ourselves to be very lucky.

Nowadays we average between 140 and 160 pipes per day. We have increased productivity by about 50 per cent, which has had a big influence on the project’s timeframe. That is a huge increase,” adds Maher.

“The improvement that we achieved in our internal manufacturing processes shifted the bottleneck out of our facilities to other entities in the supply chain. Procurement had to work out a way to get the plates ready on time for the manufacturing line and logistics didn’t have enough room in the pipe yard to accommodate the increased number of pipes.

We had no choice, but to move quickly and build an additional storage area for the project with the extra total storage capacity of about 10,000 pipes. A new reach-stacker was also sourced to secure logistic activities in the new pipe storage yard. Now, we can guarantee the supply of bare pipes for the project even if we experience unexpected machine break down at

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plant or a technical issue with the manufacturing line,” he continues. “After increasing the storage capacity for the raw material, it was necessary to speed up the supply for steel plates. With support of Baosteel, our steel plate supplier for Master Gas Project, our logistic department increased the quantity of plates on monthly basis and hired charted vessels targeting the port of Dammam directly.” The fast moving plan of action and investments delivered by the Global Pipe Company has established it as a major pipe supplier to Saudi Aramco.

Maher also elaborates on another major development at the Global Pipe Company, this time in the form of technology: “One of the main achievements during the start phase of the Master Gas Project is the installation of our Manufacturing Execution Software System.

Indeed it was our plan from the beginning of the company to put an MES software in place covering all main processes in our company. We are dealing with a complicated manufacturing process with at least 15 manufacturing steps for each pipe and a complicated supply chain with sourcing of steel plate material, welding consumables and release of manufacturing orders for production. The inspection and release process of the final product, pipe, is also complicated and involves not only the manufacturing process but also the lab testing activity. We have evaluated several systems and realised that most of them were designed as ERP systems covering basically the commercial aspects of the business but neglecting our specific manufacturing processes for longitudinal welded pipes. For this reason we decided to buy a standard software and adapt it to our needs. We have selected the SMS system from the company Smart Management Software GmbH in Germany. This system is covering the main commercial processes in our company providing extendable interfaces for implementation of the manufacturing processes.

The programme code was also provided as part of the package. The customisation and adaptation was done by our own team as an internal in-house project. This helped us to save time and reduce cost for the whole project.

“The installed software covers the whole work flow in our company starting from the offer and order management to the purchase request and purchase order. But the main focus is on the manufacturing activity and the supporting processes like the technical specification, the

PROFILE

Global Pipe Company

We have increased productivity by about 50 per cent, which has had a big influence on the project’s timeframe. That is a huge increase

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PROFILE

planning and scheduling of the manufacturing orders, the work instruction development for each manufacturing step of our manufacturing orders, the maintenance activity for preventive and breakdown maintenance and the QC reports with the related records from the Lab Testing and the pipe release activity.

“The traceability is one of the major requirements for our manufacturing process.

The complete chain of evidence for the steel plate and welding consumables used for the manufacturing of a particular pipe is absolutely required for each pipe produced in our yard.

Even years after the pipes are delivered this information has to be available to us. This requirement is not easy to implement using the manual paper process. With our MES software this feature not only covers the material used for each pipe but also the name of the operator and the execution date for each manufacturing step.

“The data collection module in the shop floor as one of the major features of the MES software allowed us to establish a paperless process in the manufacturing. Using barcodes on the pipes and on the Route Card allows us to collect manufacturing data based on simple scans. The work instructions, like Material Data Specification, Welding Procedure Specification, NDT Instruction, and Hydro Testing Instruction are available on the terminal in the shop floor.

Paper distribution is not required anymore.

“The Lab Testing activity as per API requirements is also integrated in the MES Software. The definition of Test Units and Sample selection can be monitored by the system. The results of the Lab Tests can be collected by the system through software interfaces to the lab testing machines. This feature reduces the manual work during the data collection and reduces the risk of typing mistakes.

“The pipe release activity is also one of the major features in our MES Software. Since all manufacturing activities and all lab results are reflected in the systems, it is easier for our QC team to release pipes through the MES Software.

Pipes ‘On Hold’ or subject of a Defect Memo will be blocked during the pipe release process.

The release documents are also generated automatically through the MES Software. The manual documentation work was blocking a lot of resources in our QC department. With the implementation of the release process in the system it is possible for us to allocate these resources for other productive tasks instead of the less productive documentation work.

Global Pipe Company

“The system is also providing other smart features like the manufacturing activity monitor for the real time visualisation of all manufacturing activities at all machines and working stations. The monitor shows the quantity achieved for each working station vs. the targeted quantity. The monitor also shows the machine status in real time: ready for operation, under breakdown, under maintenance. Another interesting feature is the email notification service sending emails to notify dedicated persons about important events in our manufacturing process such as the creation of defect memos, breakdowns of machines and jams on the manufacturing line.

“The installed MES Software optimises the communication between all involved departments in our company and reduces the manual internal reporting. In a second stage we are considering extending the coverage of the system and including our main suppliers. We currently spend a long time evaluating offers for steel plates. Submitting these offers online through the system will help us to speed up the commercial and technical evaluation and reduce the long email communication with our suppliers to evaluate the technical deviations.”

It is clear that this major IT implementation is bringing substantial efficiency gains to the Global Pipe Company and it is able to build on these in order to continue to develop its operations.

Saudi Arabia is a great location for the Global Pipe Company to build a name for itself as a key player. Both Saudi Aramco and other companies in the oil and gas markets have adopted a very localised view to business. “In line with this localisation policy, major parts of the supply chain are done locally. To meet demand we are going through a diversification program of our products. We would like to provide not only commodity products for pipe line development, but also high-end pipes with heavy thickness and pipes for sour material applications as well as well casings for drilling strings that only a small number of limited providers can supply worldwide,” says Mr. Al-Khonaini.

The innovative nature of the Global Pipe Company is what is pushing it forward. “We want to expand our activities to members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf,” adds Mr. Al-Khonaini. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia are all members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Even though the price downturn of

The installed MES Software optimises the communication between all involved departments in our company and reduces the manual internal reporting

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the oil and gas industries is something that is expected to affect members for the foreseeable future, the markets remain massive contributors to its members. Although Bahrain’s oil sector has declined since its peak in the 1970s, it still accounts for a staggering two thirds of the government’s total revenue. Kuwait holds the fifth largest oil reserves in the world, amounting to an estimated total of 101.5 billion barrels according to the 2015 BP statistical review and Oman’s oil and gas industry is the largest economy in the country. Oil and natural gas account for about 55 per cent of Qatar’s domestic product and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a major oil producing and exporting country.

Another area that the Global Pipe Company aims to expand into is the mining sector. It is the right time to start building up relationships in the sector in Saudi Arabia as the country is investing into mining infrastructure, licensing, funding and international relationships as part of Saudi Vision 2030. The government believes that the industry should contribute an annual turnover of SAR 97 billion by 2020. “We are watching both the oil and gas and the mining industries very closely at this time,” says Maher.

“We would like to serve the Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) sector by providing well casings based on LSAW pipes,” he adds. Oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consist of drill pipes, casing pipelines and tubing that is subjected to heavy loading conditions, according to its specific application. The drill pipe is a heavy tube that rotates the drill bit and circulates drilling fluid, the casing pipeline relies on axial tension from its weight and internal and external pressure by surrounding rock formations and tubing is used to transport oil and gas through the pipe.

The company is already making progress with its ambitious plans. “These pipes are complicated products, that contains not only the mother pipe, but also pin and box connectors at the end of the pipe to connect joints together and build the drilling string. We have recently established a new manufacturing line on our plant for the welding of threaded connectors on the mother pipe. For the sourcing of pin and box connectors, business cooperation agreements have been put in place with qualified and approved suppliers. The line received Saudi Aramco’s approval in February 2016. The first trail order is under execution right now, ” elaborated Mr. Al-Khonaini.

To further highlight the Global Pipe Company’s presence it has received recent

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PROFILE

Global Pipe Company

approval and accreditation from The Abu Dhabi Company Limited (ADCO), Abu Dhabi’s longest running oil and gas operator, with 75 years history of achievements. ADCO is a market leader when it comes to the development of Abu Dhabi. “We think that accreditation from ADCO will make it easier for us to get approval from other oil and gas companies in Abu Dhabi,” Mr. Al-Khonaini noted. The company also expects to announce approval from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is an independent oil and gas company engaged in its exploration, development and the production of hydrocarbons. Established in 2005, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) goes beyond its country of origin. It has built a diversified portfolio of oil and gas assets in the Middle East and North Africa in Yemen, Oman, Iraq and Egypt.

Petroleum Development Oman accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s crude oil production and the entirety of its natural gas supply. The primary objective of Petroleum Development Oman is to engage efficiently, responsibly and safely in the exploration, production, development, storage and transportation of hydrocarbons in Oman.

“We think that new opportunities in UAE, Kuwait and Oman will lead us to international recognition and that is what we are concentrating on for the foreseeable future,” highlights Mr. Al-Khonaini. “GPC is well-established on the Saudi Market. In the near future, we will concentrate on the implementation of our diversification strategy there and roll out the same concept with KOC and PDO and other customers in the GCC area,” he concluded.

In order to keep pace with the demand of the market and cover quantities for different types of LSAW pipes required by the customers, the Global Pipe Company has signed recently a contract for the construction, erection and commissioning of a Pre-Bending machine to be added to its facility in Jubail. “This new machine is part of GPC’s plan to diversify its product portfolio and to reinforce its position as supplier of heavy walled LSAW pipes in the region,” highlights Mr. Al-Khonaini.

“In our GCC region and especially in Saudi Arabia activities are completely different, there is no sign of a downturn here. The business with Saudi Aramco is going well, we don’t get any delay on projects or even worse cancellation of projects. We are happy to work with such a strong customer and will continue working for Saudi Aramco,” explains Mr. Al-Khonaini.

We think that new opportunities in UAE, Kuwait and Oman will lead us to international recognition

Above Mr. Ahmed Hamad Al-Khonaini, Shareholder and Managing Director, Global Pipe Company

Above Mr. Maher Fkaier, General Manager, Global Pipe Company

Global Pipe Company www.globalpipe.com.sa Services: Manufactures pipes for the oil and gas, water and construction sectors

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A reliable, renewables

partner In 2002, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made the decision to increase the role played by the private sector in the country’s economy, opening up several key services to privatisation, including the production of electricity and desalinated water. This significant shift in policy created with it a wealth of opportunities and prompted the establishing of a joint venture in 2004 between ACWA Holding, representing the Abunayyan Trading Company and Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib & Sons Co., and the MADA Group for Industrial and Commercial Development, dubbed ACWA Power Projects.

This company was the forerunner of ACWA Power, which was founded in 2008.

Today, ACWA Power is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants, with a presence in 11 countries located across the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Africa and South East Asia. Recognised for its innovative plant configurations, high levels of fuel consumption efficiency and competitive tariffs, the company’s involvement in groundbreaking projects in other countries has allowed it to return new expertise to its home market.

One of ACWA Power’s particularly strong characteristics comes in the form of its wholly owned subsidiary, the First National Operations

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and Maintenance Company (NOMAC).

Established in 2005, NOMAC is an independent operations and maintenance specialist, and the region’s leading service provider to the power and water desalination industries.

In total, the company has 35 active assets, ten of which are based in Saudi Arabia. These include the Shuaibah Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP), the first of its kind to be developed following the decision to open the market to private investment, the landmark Rabigh IPP, which is an integral part of the strategic and economic relationship forged between Saudi Arabia and China, and the Bowarege IWP, the world’s only commercially operational, self-contained solution mounted on transportable barges. Saudi Arabia is also home to Marafiq IWPP, the world’s largest power and desalination plant. Split into four operational blocks, the plant consists of 16 units of gas fired GE turbines and 27 desalination units,

PROFILE

manufactured by SIDEM and producing 800,000 cubic metres of desalinated water per day.

Of the company’s 15 active international assets, examples include the Barka 1 IWPP, the Hassyan Energy project and the Kitikkale CCGT IPP. Barka 1 is the first IWPP developed as part of a privatisation programme initiated by the Sultanate of Oman. It was also the first dual purpose power generation and desalination plant in the country to be 100 per cent owned by international and local investors. ACWA Power acquired a majority stake in Barka 1 in 2010, and it now contributes six per cent of the electricity and 24 per cent of the desalinated water in Oman.

The Hassyan clean coal power plant is the first clean coal fired power plant in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Utilising Ultra Supercritical Technology, the plant is designed to be the best-in-class in terms of efficiency, minimising fuel consumption and fuel gas emissions, while also adhering to the most stringent of environmental impact mitigation standards ever adopted for a power plant of its

ACWA Power International

its presence in Jordan to a total of eight assets with an aggregate capacity of 1665 megawatts, which represents almost 40 per cent of the total installed capacity of electricity in the country.

This reinforces the company’s position as the largest IPP operator in Jordan.

“This landmark project in Risha is a significant step forward in achieving Jordan’s renewable energy targets and providing stable and economical electricity supply in Jordan. Once completed in 2019, the plant will save 79,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, demonstrating Jordan’s commitment to renewable energy,” said Abdel Fattah Al-Daradkeh, Managing Director of NEPCO. Commenting on the deal, ACWA Power Chairman, Mohammad Abunayyan, said: “The kingdom of Jordan has long recognised that renewable energy can offer safe, reliable power to the public. Together with our consortium, ACWA Power has facilitated the kingdom’s latest investment by applying our cost leadership and renewables expertise to the Risha facility. Once complete, the project will deliver solar energy at the lowest possible cost to 12,000 households.”

ACWA Power is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants, with a presence in 11 countries

ACWA Power International www.acwapower.com Services: Power generation and desalinated water production

kind. The specification of the plant requires it to be carbon capture ready and the project is to be an anchor of the Emirate of Dubai’s Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 for ensuring the security of energy supply, reducing dependence on imported natural gas by diversifying the fuel mix. In addition to the aforementioned projects, ACWA Power has also made its first foray into the merchant market with the Kitikkale CCGT IPP project in Turkey. Located 50 kilometres from Ankara, the plant will be constructed under a turnkey project financeable EPC contract.

In March 2017, the company announced that it had expanded its portfolio of international assets with the commissioning of a new photovoltaic (PV) plant in Risha, Jordan. Under a Power Purchase Agreement signed between ACWA Power and National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), the company will sell electricity to NEPCO for a record-low tariff.

With the Risha PV IPP, ACWA Power expands ENERGY,oil&gas

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A flare for “

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We have more than

16 years of experience within the biogas sector. We are small, fast and we have no fear when it comes to taking on difficult projects,” stressed ennox biogas technology founder and Managing Director, Falk Russow, when he spoke to Energy, Oil & Gas back in October 2016. At the time, Falk emphasised the importance of the company’s international team to its aims of stabilising and growing its presence in the European biogas industry, and all the signs are that they are succeeding.

Founded in 2011, ennox biogas technology specialises in gas flare technology and serves all the associated aspects of biogas, sewage gas and landfill gas technologies. Experts in the design, planning and manufacturing of all the components that make up the gas lines of biogas plants and wastewater treatment plants, including biogas upgrading, services offered by the company include gas extraction from digesters, gas treatment, gas storage and flaring.

A quick glance at ennox biogas technology’s map of previous projects reveals a veritable feast of examples located throughout Europe in Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria and the UK, to name just a few, with contracts also won in Iran, China and Indonesia.

energy-oil-gas.com

One particular example that Falk and the company are very keen to discuss is its contract with the Austrian company 11er Nahrungsmittel. A traditional family business, founded in 1941 by Wilhelm Grabher and based in the west of the country, 11er Nahrungsmittel is responsible for producing more than 80,000 tonnes of the finest potato products the continent has to offer. These potatoes are sourced from plentiful growing regions found along the Danube, the March and the southern Bavarian area. From these potatoes 11er Nahrungsmittel produces its range of fries, croquettes, potato rostis and its unique stuffed rosti pockets.

In addition to the quality and taste of its potatoes, 11er Nahrungsmittel takes great pride in being recognised as, what it calls, a 100 per cent carbon neutral business. Acutely aware that its own success relies upon a combination of fertile soil, pure water and clean air, the company makes a concerted effort to combat climate change and support environmental protection.

An integral part of 11er Nahrungsmittel achieving its carbon neutral goal is its integrated biogas plant, which is responsible for taking 23,000 tonnes of organic residuals, from potato peelings to starch and cooking oil, from the

PROFILE

company’s potato processing operation and transferring this into biogas. With the old plant having been in operation for more than 20 years, in 2016 building a new biogas plant started. ennox biogas technology was contracted by 11er Nahrungsmittel to carry out the complex gas system for new plant including gas treatment, storage, booster station and flare.

“11er Nahrungsmittel’s philosophy of creating a small ecological footprint from its operations requires, amongst other things, an integrated biogas plant delivering the highest possible technical standards,” Falk explains. “This complex project requires ennox biogas technology to perfect the 100 per cent cleaning of the produced biogas from sulphur, gas drying, storage and installation of emergency flare. Special demand was 100 per cent availability of gas treatment system and hand over of cleaned gas to upgrading station and finally gas fuelling station.

A project of this nature and scale brought about its own unique challenges, which ennox

ennox biogas technology

“From a technical perspective,” Falk says, “one of the biggest challenges comes after the initial gas treatment process, when the gas is then upgraded, so to speak, to the levels of purity required from all natural gas. The gas needs to be treated as thoroughly as possible and when you are undertaking biological desulphurisation this requires the use of an O2 generator, rather than simply using air in the process.”

From the 23,000 tonnes of organic residuals processed by the plant per year the plant produces 400 normal cubic metres per hour (Nm3/h) of raw biogas and finally 250 Nm3/h of concentrated methane. Just as importantly, the plant’s gas production has contributed to the replacing of 2,630,000 litres of diesel per year and the saving of 5500 tonnes of carbon dioxide. With the generator installed and startup of 11er Nahrungsmittel’s integrated biogas plant complete, the company’s 100 per cent carbon neutral approach has clearly only gained further traction.

ennox biogas technology specialises in gas flare technology and serves all the associated aspects of biogas, sewage gas and landfill gas technologies ennox biogas technology GmbH www.ennox.at Services: Technical components for bio, sewage and landfill gas plants

biogas technology have had to overcome. Some of these challenges were the sole result of the actual location of the plant, situated as it is among the Austrian Alps. The site of the plant itself required the company to employ all of logistical expertise, while the climate of the region regularly brings with it temperatures as low as minus 20 Degrees Celsius in the depths of winter and regular deluges of snow. Fortunately for 11er Nahrungsmittel, ennox biogas technology is able to call upon extensive knowledge and experience acquired from operating in such conditions in similar European countries.

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Diamond of the

Delta

There was a time

when the delta located across nine of Nigeria’s southern coastal states was known commonly as the Oil Rivers for being a major source of the production of palm oil. While the old name may not be used as widely in 2017, the Niger Delta, as it is now almost universally referred to, is today synonymous with oil of a different kind.

One of the world’s most petroleum-rich locations, eight of the nine states that make up the Niger Delta are oil-producing. The first oil operations in the region began in the 1950s and since 1975 it has accounted for more than 75 per cent of Nigeria’s export earnings. It is estimated that around two million barrels of oil are extracted per day from the area, while modest estimates suggest that some 38 billion barrels of crude still lay untapped.

Natural gas is also found in abundance in the Niger Delta. It is thought that approximately 70 million cubic metres of natural gas is burned

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per day, a figure that is the equivalent of 41 per cent of Africa’s total natural gas consumption.

Tallied together, oil and natural gas extraction is believed to comprise 97 per cent of Nigeria’s total foreign exchange revenues.

With such a high concentration of natural resources in one geographic area it will come as no surprise that this has resulted in the congregation of countless oil and gas operators and service companies vying for business.

Incorporated in 2002 and commencing operations in 2007, Broron Oil and Gas Limited (BOGL) is an indigenous offshore services provider supporting international oil companies, and independent upstream operators based in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. BOGL is a part of the wider Broron Group, which includes Broron Energy Limited, a company that exists in partnership with AB AXIS Industries, which specialises in power plant projects.

BOGL prides itself in its ability to provide a

PROFILE

broad spectrum of seamless subsea and marine support services, combining these to guarantee optimum service quality at every stage of the oil and gas value chain. Services provided by the company include expertise in subsea engineering, diving, project-management, logistics and procurement support. BOGL is a recognised specialist when it comes to well hook-ups, the design, construction and installation of umbilical, flow-lines and risers, and ROV and survey services.

The company also possesses a comprehensive range of marine vessel support services for exploration, development and production operations in deepwater areas. The fleet of vessels it can offer include diving support, field maintenance, anchor handling tug supply, platform supply, construction support and survey vessels.

BOGL’s mission is to create and innovate business opportunities that benefit all of its stakeholders and it achieves this through the constant upgrade of its processes, procedures, skills and technologies, thus enhancing its client’s value. BOGL’s core values are summarised by the acronym D.I.C.T.A.M., which stands for discipline, integrity, commitment, team work, accountability and mutual respect.

BOGL leverages the complementary technical experience and financial strengths of its sister companies that make up the larger Broron Group to perfect its long-term objective of shipping domestic gas from the Niger Delta to a network of independent power plants across Nigeria. This is further enhancing the long-term success of the business and the wider group.

The company’s reputation for being a source of world class project execution is well established and has been earned through its work with a number of internationally recognised industry leaders. Among these projects, BOGL has been responsible for subsea structural inspections, carrying out subsea imaging of the operational areas of Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited, the provision of multifunctional field support services and the supply of the diving support vessel, DSV AVIANNA for ExxonMobil. This same vessel has also been used in operations for Total and Shell. In the latter instance the company was tasked with the provision of a sedimentary sampling vessel for the environmental evaluation and biological monitoring of the Bonga Field.

Another example of a repeat beneficiary

Broron Oil and Gas

of BOGL’s services is Addax Petroleum. A subsidiary of Sinopec Group, Addax Petroleum has become one of the largest oil producers present in West Africa. It has utilised BOGL’s services on numerous projects, sourcing the company for its expertise in fields such as well tie backs, well re-connections, and transporting and offloading.

BOGL is fully committed to helping to facilitate the development of key energy systems within Nigeria and Africa at large, while also maintaining its blossoming relationships with international operators. In order to achieve this the company is working towards the installation of modular oil refineries in strategic locations across the region. These refineries are skid mounted crude distillation units and it is the belief of many of the leading players in the market that these units will ultimately become extremely complementary to the refining industry in Nigeria and in getting the most of the country’s vast uptapped reserves.

One of the world’s most petroleumrich locations, eight of the nine states that make up the Niger Delta are oilproducing

Broron Oil and Gas www.broronoilandgas.com Services: Subsea oil and gas services

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Driving

collaboration Since first appearing through the formation of MENCK & Hambrock in 1868, MENCK GmbH has become known for its outstanding levels of quality and reliability. During the early days of the business the company was primarily involved in the manufacture of large construction and excavation equipment and although MENCK has since left this market, some of this equipment continues to operate within the global construction arena. During the 1960s the company developed into the offshore environment, where it has developed a strong specialisation in pile driving equipment across several applications.

Throughout its history MENCK has established over four decades of proven capability relating to operation within the offshore market, which includes unprecedented

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engineering and project management knowledge coupled with an extensive service portfolio and supported by strong experience in pile driving.

The company today operates as part of the Acteon group of companies, which is currently comprised of 25 individual businesses that link the seabed to surface across a broad range of disciplines. Within the foundations cluster of Acteon, the cluster companies including CIS, Core Grouting, LDD, LM Handling and MENCK collaborate to provide integrated shared services to clients within the civil, marine, renewable energy and oil & gas industry. This enables the business to offer an extensive and varied suite of subsea foundation services fully integrated within a single contract interface and managed through a single point of contact.

“This represents a relatively unique approach to the market where we take on greater risk directly and provide a single point of interface that is very efficient and much easier for the end user to employ. This modus operandi allows clients to work with several operating and service companies within a single framework rather than managing several separate contracts and sets of terms,” elaborates MENCK Managing Director, Fabian Hippe. “This is a highlystreamlined mode of operating that we have used across several projects in the past and one that we are keen to further develop while we do adopt and consider any of our client’s needs.”

MENCK was previously featured in Energy, Oil & Gas in July 2016, during which time Fabian discussed the company’s evolution from the production of excavation equipment to a business that provides specialist pile driving systems. These systems presently include hydraulic hammers that range from between 100kJ to 3500kJ in capacity. Indeed, during the company’s last appearance within the magazine Fabian elaborated on the successful delivery of the first of its MHU 3500S hydraulic hammers. This unit was used back in 2015 to assist Bilfinger Marine & Offshore Systems with the installation of monopile foundations for Vattenfall’s Project ‘Sandbank’, a new 72 strong turbine wind farm located in the North Sea. During the past year MENCK has continued to develop its product portfolio and engage with clients across several applications, which has proven to be vital strategy while operating within the changing offshore and civil engineering environments. “In additional to retail units we also maintain a rental fleet of 28 pile driving hammers that are available in a range of

PROFILE

capacities across the globe. We presently work out of our headquarters in Germany as well as from a workshop facility situated in Singapore,” Fabian says. “We enjoyed a very positive year during 2016 with large proportions of our business coming from within both the offshore and civil engineering markets. Our engagement in a variety of different markets supports us well despite the current downturn in the global oil and gas market. Indeed, some of the markets in which we operate are highly cyclical and can be extraordinarily busy during one year and much slower throughout the next.”

Despite the challenges that presently exist within the offshore market, MENCK continues to remain highly active through its activities within the arena of civil engineering where the company has completed several high-profile piling works. These works have included vital pile driving operations for the bridge pier foundations of the Padma bridge development in Bangladesh. “This project is supporting the construction of a multipurpose bridge across the Padma River in Bangladesh. Our client is a major Chinese installation contractor that has secured the main construction work for the project,” Fabian explains. “We are currently working on site with a single 2400kJ hydraulic pile driving system quite successfully, and have recently secured the supply for supplement equipment systems including our MHU 1900S and MHU 3500S pile driving spreads. The MHU 3500S is currently our most powerful hydraulic hammer which we do entertain multiple units of in our rental fleet.”

MENCK, together with its sister companies within the Acteon foundations cluster, jointly exhibited at the Offshore Wind Energy 2017 exhibition held in the ExCel London between June 06 and ´08 2017. Events such as these allow us to directly interact with new and existing, Fabian says, while promoting our highly collaborative problem solving solutions.

“We offer upfront consultancy for our client’s foundation challenges not only relating to MENCK equipment, but focus on the overall techno-commercial viability for any foundation challenge. Through our collaboration and with the wider Acteon Group of companies supporting us as well we can offer the most intriguing solution to our clients while taking into account the challenges along the way.

This helps us identify bottlenecks and the realisation of potential cost-savings that we can incorporate into the project. Naturally we

MENCK WIND ENERGY FOCUS

prefer to work with clients to devise a solution before going on to execute the project, but we are also able to work according to pre-existing plans as required,” Fabian concludes. “We are continuously trying to improve our technology because we are working within an industry that faces ever new challenges. Particularly the impact on health and safety as well as environmental aspects is on the forefront of our attention. We are trying to minimise this impact to the largest extend possible. MENCK and LDD as part of the foundation cluster alongside with the Acteon Group company UTEC worked successfully on the ‘Wikinger’ wind farm in 2016 This was a very significant success in terms of services delivered as well as for our business internally. It is something that we will continue to expand on and would like to do more of in the future.”

MENCK and its sister companies of Acteon’s Foundations Cluster are looking forward to seeing clients in London.

We offer upfront consultancy for our client’s foundation challenges not only relating to MENCK equipment, but focus on the overall techno-commercial viability for any foundation challenge

MENCK GmbH www.menck.com Services: Global pile driving services

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DESIGN BUILD CONNECT Jan De Nul Group is a leading expert in dredging and marine construction activities, and provides services related to the installation of offshore wind farms and related subsea export cables and umbilicals.

The combination of design and detailed engineering and all aspects of civil works, dredging and rock and marine installation enable Jan De Nul Group to offer a total package on an EPC basis.

www.jandenul.com

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05/04/2017 09:55:01

PROFILE

PARKWIND WIND ENERGY FOCUS

A noble

endeavour

In March 2007, leaders and representatives of the major European nations gathered to ratify and sign one of the most important packages of climate and energy legislation in recent memory. Given the moniker “20-20-20”, the targets are designed to complete the transformation of Europe into an energy-efficient, low carbon economy. This is to be achieved by committing to a 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from those levels recorded in 1990, by increasing renewable energy consumption to 20 per cent and achieving a 20 per cent improvement in overall energy efficiency.

In the decade since the aforementioned legislation was written into European law, companies operating throughout the energy, oil and gas sectors in particular have strived to make a telling and lasting contribution to the continent’s climate targets. One such company, Parkwind, is a perfect embodiment of this commitment.

Founded in 2012 as a result of the amalgamation of the offshore wind investments and development resources of its Flemish shareholders, Colruyt Group, PMV and Korys,

Belgian company Parkwind is recognised today as one of the North Sea’s premier developers, builders, operators and financers of offshore wind farms.

As per Europe’s 2020 targets, 13 per cent of Belgium’s total energy usage is to be generated through clean, sustainable means by the turn of the decade. Wind energy is undoubtedly at the forefront of driving the country towards this goal, a fact emphasised when you realise that this industry is currently responsible for providing more than 200,000 jobs across the continent.

Today, Parkwind’s reach and its influence on the region’s embrace of clean energy extends across three significant offshore wind projects, Belwind, Northwind and Nobelwind.

Located 46 kilometres off the Belgian coast on the Bligh Bank, the Belwind wind farm has been in operation since December 2010.

Comprised of 55 wind turbines, each generating three megawatts of clean power, Belwind boasts a total capacity of 165 megawatts, supplying clean energy for approximately 160,000 Belgian households. It is estimated that Phase 1 of Belwind alone has helped displace 270,000 ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

PARKWIND WIND ENERGY FOCUS

tonnes of carbon dioxide and that for an investment totalling 614 million euros the Belwind project alone contributes towards 4.7 per cent of the Belgian government’s targets under the 20-20-20 programme.

On a larger scale is the Northwind wind farm. Phase 1 of this project, which involved the construction of 72, three megawatt turbines on the Lodewijkbank, has been in operation since May 2014. Today the farm’s turbines possess a total capacity of 216 megawatts, providing enough energy to power some 250,000 Belgian homes and is estimated to contribute towards saving around 255,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Parkwind’s latest undertaking began to take shape in March 2016. A separate legal entity managed by Parkwind, Nobelwind was created with the mission statement of designing, building and operating the fourth largest offshore wind farm, within the extensive Belwind concession. In charge of the coordination of the construction works of the farm, Parkwind holds a majority 41.08 per cent share of the project’s partnership and is joined within a shareholder consortium with Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo, which holds a 39.02 per cent stake and the Dutch investment company Meewind, which holds a 19.9 per cent share.

Found some 47 kilometres off the coast of Zeebrugge and stretching across an expansive area of 19.8 square kilometres at an average sea depth of 33 metres, Nobelwind’s offshore grid is connected to the Zeebrugge sub-station of Elia via an export cable. An offshore high-voltage substation was commissioned and constructed for the purpose of converting the voltage provided by the wind turbines.

Once operational the projects’ 50 V112 3.3 megawatt MHI Vestas wind turbines will possess an installed capacity of 165 megawatts and will be expected to supply green power to 186,000 Belgian properties on an annual basis. Each turbine reaches a height of 135 metres, with a hub height of 79 metres and a rotor diameter of 112 metres. Topping these turbines are 55-metrelong blades, each weighing a not inconsiderable 12.5 tonnes. The project was initially conceived with an estimated investment of approximately 655 million euros.

As per the company’s established commitment towards reducing the environmental impact of its operations, the Nobelwind wind farm project shares the traits of Parkwind’s two other

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venues in that it is located in an area of ocean closed to shipping and fishing operations.

The hope for the company is that, like in the areas surrounding the Belwind and Northwind projects, the surrounding waters will ultimately become important biodiversity centres where numerous marine animal and plant species can flourish in relative peace.

The first foundation components for the Nobelwind wind farm project arrived at the harbour of Oostende in late March 2016. A month later work on the installation of scour protection around the foundations began, thus firing the starting pistol on the project’s offshore activities. Consisting of a light filter layer and a heavier coating layer, specifically designed to withstand conditions experienced at various water depths, these initial offshore works provided the necessary erosion protection and stabilising of sea cables to support the project’s structures for the next 25 years. On 9th June 2016, the company announced the completion of the installation of scour protection around the 51 foundations of the Nobelwind project.

With work continuing at pace, the last ten foundation components for the project arrived at the port of Oostende on 7th July 2016. Two months later, on 22nd September 2016, Parkwind announced the successful installation of the last foundation for the Nobelwind wind farm.

On 9th January 2017, Parkwind proudly reported via social media that the first MHI Vestas wind turbine at the Nobelwind offshore wind farm had been recorded as producing power.

With this hugely significant milestone Parkwind will be more than confident that it will meet its expected timescale of bringing the Nobelwind project to completion in December 2017.

Jan De Nul Group Jan De Nul Group is a leading expert in dredging and marine construction activities, and provides services related to the installation of offshore wind farms and related subsea export cables and umbilicals. The combination of design and detailed engineering and all aspects of civil works, dredging and rock and marine installation enable Jan De Nul Group to offer a total package on an EPC basis.

Parkwind NV parkwind.eu Services: The development, building and operating of North Sea wind farms

PROFILE

Overdick WIND ENERGY FOCUS

Optimised Design of large diameter monopile wind turbine foundation structures Introduction Decreasing subsidies and increasing competition in the offshore wind sector require cost and time efficient engineering approaches. The ability to combine several engineering disciplines and create an integrated design of wind turbine foundation and transition piece structures in every design stage is considered as a major benefit for project schedule, cost monitoring and quality management.

Engineering requirements Offshore wind turbine support and foundation structures require highest engineering standards with keeping the project costs on a low level at the same time. The design process combines different engineering disciplines such as structural, geotechnical, electrical, hydrodynamic, fabrication planning, transport and installation. With know-how and state-of-the-art engineering tools in all of these disciplines Overdick is working in

interdisciplinary project teams to provide an integrated design and finding the best solutions from tender to detail design.

A sound understanding of all relevant parameters and their interaction is essential to efficiently optimise the entire system. Large diameter monopiles wind turbine foundations are of special interest since these structures have shown to be the most cost efficient foundation types for the majority of the currently planned wind farms located in medium water depth.

Large diameter monopiles The foundation pile diameters are currently reaching up to 8.5 m. With these large diameters, the traditional design toolbox is reaching its limits. This requires a re-thinking of the applicable tools to create a safe and reliable, yet economical and efficient monopile design.

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engineers to address challenges linked with hydrodynamic loads in extreme waves, cyclic loading effects, fatigue assessment, pile driving and pile handling.

The general design optimisation of large monopile foundations results in constantly changing geometry during the design cycle. For an efficient and reliable handling of monopile and location data Overdick uses a database system, ensuring all analysis models are generated according to the latest design stage.

The design process is highly automated, ranging from database driven primary steel model generation, cluster study or site specific model set-ups up to post-processing.

Additionally, design details, such as flange connections and the loadings on the monopile appendices, have a significant influence on the overall performance of monopiles. Two selected design details with the chosen engineering approach using advanced simulation methods to establish an optimised design are presented within this article.

Pile driving assessment including flange design The combined function of a monopile flange as a support for the driving hammer and as a connection to the wind turbine tower for the entire life of the structure sets high demands on the analysis of the fatigue strength and verification. Both, the flange and the hammer anvil are built with tight but existing tolerances, which can impair the fatigue life significantly.

Therefore, the fatigue life of the flange has to be analysed with a nonlinear finite element (FE) approach by using advanced finite element simulations.

The tolerances are small compared to the overall dimension of the structure and therefore an accurate and rather fine FE mesh configuration needs to be used.

To account properly for the vertical pile displacement during the impact of the hammer anvil, the support condition of the pile in the soil needs to be reflected in a proper way. Using of nonlinear elastic-plastic material law derived from an accompanying driving analysis and included in the FEM simulation with springdamper elements is state of the art and leading to good results.

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The fatigue damage of a single hammer stroke can be obtained by reading out the resulting stress history and performing a rainflow counting. Detailed fatigue damage assessments are finally conducted for the hot spot regions showing high peak stresses.

With certain experience, also two-dimensional approaches can be conducted in the early concept phase for determining appropriate flange designs at the beginning of a project.

Load Assessment on Monopile appendices Due to maintenance and access requirements the monopiles are equipped with several appendages like boat landings or service platforms. Service platforms are usually located above the highest expected wave crest. However, very large waves approaching the monopile will run-up the pile and create comparatively high loads on the appendages. These loads may further become the governing criteria for the structural design of the appendages.

PROFILE

Overdick WIND ENERGY FOCUS

Usually these wave run-up loads are determined based on empiric formulations which, due to their approximate nature, yield rather high loads. As an alternative, loads on these structures can also be determined using first principle methods, in this case viscous 3D multiphase CFD simulations (see figures).

Due to the constantly-developing computational power and software tools, the effort for such a simulation today has become rather small and should be considered as standard load determination for deriving optimised design loads. Experience at Overdick has shown that by the use of such methods the resulting design can be significantly optimised.

Advanced engineering as key for optimisation and cost savings Large diameter monopile design may require new approaches on engineering tools and verification methods. Advanced simulation technologies allow a direct load simulation and offer optimisation and associated cost saving potential for this new type of offshore foundation structures.

Overdick is capable of covering all relevant disciplines for the design of large monopile foundations, using the latest and advanced design methods in combination with more than 17 years of offshore structural design experience.

Overdick overdick-offshore.com Services: Offshore engineers and naval architects

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last Built to

“

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The genesis of

Energy Drilling stems from the success of a heritage tender rigs business, a journey that our core management team participated in,” begins Lyle Ewashen, Vice President of Operations for Energy Drilling.

“Our present management group directed a fleet renewal program that added ten units to a heritage fleet from 1999 to 2012 and secured numerous contracts with premium clients until shortly before the business was sold in 2013 for approximately $2.9 billion dollars. It was this success story that founders of Energy Drilling wanted to replicate independently.”

Having secured venture capital and private equity funding, said management team went on to approach several shipyards in China, one of which was chosen to undertake construction of two new generation tender assist barge rigs, EDrill-1 and EDrill-2. This was later followed by the construction of the high specification semitender EDrill-3.

“The tender and semi-tender assist barge rigs are infield development drilling units,” Lyle explains. “The tender rigs are often referred to

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as ‘Factory Drillers’ since they are so well suited to development drilling by virtue of their ability to carry vast amounts of materials, people and have the ability to simultaneously perform multiple activities required for well construction.

Historically, these rigs have been dedicated to shallower water depths offshore West Africa and Southeast Asia. At present EDrill-1 is chartered for a long-term development drilling campaign in the Gulf of Thailand, while EDrill-2 is stationed in the Gulf of Mottoma, Myanmar.”

Energy Drilling entered into a three-year contract with PTT Thailand in October 2014 for the use of EDrill-1. In December 2016, talks began to extend this contract, discussions which proved to be very fruitful and which will see EDrill-1 remain in use into 3Q 2019. The performance of the units, together with excellent safety records, has also placed the company in a strong position as it enters negotiations with PTTEPI Myanmar to extend the 18-month firm term contract for EDrill-2 by up to 26 months.

“The quality of the units and their uptime performance levels to date have been well above industry averages,” Lyle continues. “Both EDrill-1 and EDrill-2 have delivered Technical Utilisation figures of 99.5 per cent and 96 per cent respectively. In addition to this, the units are consistently helping the Client to achieve significant budget savings, to beat their predicted project timeline and to maintain an enviable safety record. This is a point of pride for a young company that has transitioned Energy Drilling from concept to success story.”

Turning to the company’s third asset, EDrill-3, Lyle is keen to highlight the unique nature of

PROFILE

this custom unit. “EDrill-3 is ‘Best in Class’ as the world’s largest semi-tender assist rig. The four column, Gusto Ocean class rig is based on a deep-water exploration hull design and is excellent for specialised service coupled to floating Spar or Tension Leg Platform installations in harsher environments with up to 6500 feet water depths.”

EDrill-3 opens new tender assist markets that previously would have been inaccessible.

One example is Western Australia, which is susceptible to highly unpredictable cyclonic events. No previously built tender assist rig can survive a cyclone and must be disconnected from their drilling package, de-anchored and towed to shelter. Western Australian cyclones can spin up quickly and are therefore highly unpredictable necessitating units that can withstand severe environmental forces seen only once every 50 years.

“EDrill-3 is the only rig of its type purpose built to withstand these cyclonic conditions,” Lyle says. “Reason being is that EDrill-3’s pedigree is vastly improved over typical heritage tender assist rigs. It is an exploration semisubmersible unit designed by the Gusto with a large stable geometry, deep draft, high vessel displacement and robust mooring system and proven to safely withstand some of the most severe environmental forces. This allows Energy Drilling to pursue new tender assist markets with challenging environments such as offshore New Zealand or the southern North Sea and to present cost effective development drilling solutions in existing hurricane environments such as Central America.”

When asked about the future, Lyle is cautiously optimistic that market conditions will continue to gradually improve. “There’s still an ongoing hydrocarbon over supply phenomenon

Energy Drilling

in the form of unconventional light oil and gas.

We understand US shale exploitation successes and see further technological advances and cost reductions that continue to make established players viable. These successes are also repeatable in South America, Australia and even China.”

With oil prices expected to hover around the $50 to $60 mark for the next couple years, at least, Energy Drilling is doing what all sensible companies are doing and that is increasing cost effectiveness, minimising waste, maximising efficiencies and marketing the business to new clients. “We’re in a strong position to grow the business and will look to buy or build new assets at attractive valuations,” Lyle concludes.

“However, we are Drillers above all else and this means a never-ending pursuit of Operational Excellence, building track records we’re proud of, transitioning client relationships into true partnerships, advancing the tender assist concept and continuing to win contracts.”

EDrill-3 is ‘Best in Class’ as the world’s largest semi-tender assist rig

Energy Drilling www.edrill.com Services: Self-erecting tender rigs

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A buoyant

approach As part of Trelleborg Group,

Below Global Finite Element Analysis of Drilling Riser

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a world leader in engineered polymer solutions, Trelleborg’s offshore operation takes performance to a new level as a specialist in the production of polymers and syntactic foam for all levels of the offshore industry.

Trelleborg Group’s roots date back to 1905 and its offshore operation was established in 2009 with the goal of performing at every level to deliver innovative and reliable offshore solutions that maximise business performance and meet customer requirements.

“Trelleborg started life in Sweden in 1905 as a rubber company and over the next few decades it became one of the leading suppliers of rubber products in Scandinavia, then Europe.

During the 1980s the company underwent a period of conglomeration and moved into a number of different industries, however since the mid-2000s it has consolidated its operations

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to focus on engineered polymers in demanding environments. As such, the offshore segment of the business was developed through a series of acquisitions and consolidations in the late 2000s, with the offshore operation being established in 2009,” explains Antony Croston, Business Group Director of Trelleborg’s offshore operation based in Houston, Texas.

Following a 20-year period of market consolidation of well-known brands such as Emerson and Cuming, CRP, Balmoral Marine and Wood Corp to name a few, Trelleborg’s offshore operation was the leading solutions provider of buoyancy, insulation and asset protection. Moreover, the offshore operation benefits from the long-term expertise and financial strength of its parent company, which has around 23,000 personnel in 50 countries across the globe and leads the way in delivering reliable and high quality engineered polymer

PROFILE

Trelleborg Offshore

is our technology; we have always had a focus on demanding environments that require highly engineered solutions. In fact, the company was essentially built on syntactic foam more than 50 years ago. Today our attention is on investment in product development and innovation as well as material development. This is supported by a strong team that is focused on delivering high quality solutions for customers, whether that is

solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments.

The Houston-based offshore operation has proven syntactic experience and expertise in solving its customer’s challenging requests; focusing on design, project management and manufacturing solutions, the company provides products that seal, damp and protect in demanding environments to customers that principally operate subsea. “Our solutions include cable protection, buoyancy products, thermal installation, fire protection and other engineering polymers,” says Antony. “While we can’t be specific on the clients we provide these services to, it is generally to original equipment manufacturers, such as first-tier contractors, installation and drilling contractors and so on, while the operators we work with tend to be major and independent firms.”

He continues: “The reason people come to us

the development of a new product or material.

We also partner with various industry bodies such as universities and clients with intellectual property that they are looking to commercialise.

Ultimately we have a technology-driven approach to business that is fed by the needs of our customers.”

Notable products within the company’s enviable portfolio include Drill Riser Buoyancy, which provides critical support to the riser; a conduit for the drill string and drilling fluids from the ocean floor to the rig. This product has significant weight that must be supported by its own structure and by the drilling vessel. In order to reduce this weight in water to a more manageable amount, discreet buoyancy units are fitted along the length of the riser. There is also the RiserGuard, which provides complete protection of bare riser joints and external lines during handling, storage and drilling operations.

This abrasion resistant product is designed to protect the drilling riser from impact damage during running or retrieving through the moon pool area.

As a company that is committed to strategically aligning with market developments,

Below Eddy Shedding on Conventional Buoyancy

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PROFILE

Trelleborg Offshore

the Houston operation’s current core activities are centered on revolutionising deepwater drilling operations through the utilisation of software analysis. “In Houston the deepwater drilling market is a major focus for us as it is a huge challenge for companies in this sector to reduce the cost of drilling the well. In order to lower costs, they need to expand usability of assets in harsh environments, so what we are looking at doing is reducing the impact of the environment on these vessels by changing the profile and performance characteristics of our products. This will include incorporating specific features to reduce vibration, Helical Buoyancy is one example of this,” highlights Antony.

Developed alongside Diamond Offshore Drilling, the Helical Buoyancy riser technology is a patented riser buoyancy design that reduces riser drag and mitigates vortex-induced vibration in offshore applications, while also enabling enhanced operational efficiency. An alternative to adding fairings or strakes to the drilling riser, this solution can reduce deployment time and expenses during operations; it also improves safety as it eliminates the need for employees to work below the drill floor to attach the separate apparatus. Thanks to its innovative features, Helical Buoyancy not only improves the economics of offshore drilling for operators, but will also boost efficiencies in high-current environments.

“We need to partner with our customers to

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ensure we are all working together to reduce the break-even costs of a barrel of oil; that is the goal for everybody. So while we are revolutionising deepwater drilling and increasing performance we are also actively engaging with our customers to understand what their challenges are and to try and alleviate these. In terms of innovation, this means we are looking to push materials for harsh environments even further, whether that means significant reductions in the density of the material or at the same time maintaining or even increasing its strength,” says Antony.

“We have already seen huge benefits from a life cycle cost point of view when we have reduced the size of components, while still providing the same performance, as this saves our clients a significant amount in storage and installation charges. In fact, we have seen that the higher performing materials add a significant amount of overall value to our clients.”

With the oil price remaining a challenge for those in the oil and gas industry, Trelleborg’s offshore operation is keen to become a leader in the segments that it operates in through the development and delivery of new technology that will benefit customers and complement its existing product line. “We want these products to become the industry standard over the next three to five years,” says Antony. “During this period we also want to consolidate our position as a market leader and enhance the technological relationships that we have with our partners.”

Top VIV suppression with Inverted Helical Strakes ISO view Bottom VIV suppression with Inverted Helical strakes side view

Trelleborg Offshore trelleborg.com/en/offshore Services: Specialist in the production of polymers and syntactic foam

PROFILE

Swire Oilfield Services

load Carrying the

Established in 1979

From a technological perspective, one of the company’s most exciting recent developments has been the creation of its OverVu asset/ equipment life cycle management solution

, Swire Oilfield Services forms part of the John Swire and Sons Limited conglomerate, a highly diversified, global powerhouse that celebrated its twohundredth anniversary in 2016. Today, Swire Oilfield Services (SOS) is the world’s largest supplier of specialist offshore cargo carrying units to customers operating in the global energy industry. Also at the forefront of the supply of offshore workspaces, testing and helifuel & chemical management, the company has 500 employees working in 28 different countries.

“In everything we do, our mission is to provide safe and highly cost-efficient services and solutions to the cargo handling and logistics industries, with a particular focus on the oil and gas sector and its supply chain,” notes Manfred Vonlanthen, CEO of Swire Oilfield Services.

Headquartered in Aberdeen, Swire Oilfield Services’ initial focus centred on servicing customers predominantly based in the UK and Norway. “We have our roots in the North Sea,” agreed Manfred, “but over the last decade we have extended our operation on a global basis.

From our 58 locations, we are now present across all of the key global regions, including the United States, Brazil, Africa, the North Sea, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and are able to

supply our customers with what is the largest fleet of DNV certified offshore cargo carrying units and containers in the industry.”

As the oil and gas industry has evolved over the years, so too has Swire Oilfield Services.

“We have successfully extended our service offering to include other parts of our customer’s value chain and in the area of Asset life cycle management,” Manfred states. “As a result of this diversification, we are able to provide a complete turnkey solution, embracing everything from design and fabrication to certification, offshore workspaces, testing & inspection and chemical management.”

Swire Oilfield Services’ team of in-house engineering staff assist the company in providing standard, specialised and tailored products that are certified to DNV 2.7-1 or EN 12079. Its extensive hire fleet of approximately 55,000 units allows for immediate, 24-hour-a-day access to a comprehensive range of products. By developing a diverse range of services, a proven reputation and an ability to exceed its customers’ requirements, Swire Oilfield Services has seen consistent and healthy interest from the market.

“Alongside our offering of DNV certified container rentals, we are also witnessing increased demand for our inspection services ENERGY,oil&gas

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and maintenance offerings,” Manfred adds. “This comes at a time when our customers are looking to optimise their supply chains to achieve the appropriate cost savings and efficiencies.”

The company has also invested heavily in recent years in its fleet, facilities and technology.

“In 2016, we opened our new, modern, environmentally friendly washing facility in Norway,” Manfred enthuses. “Here we are able to

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wash both our own and third party equipment and chemical tanks, while recycling 97 per cent of the by product, including spill water.

This is just one of the advances we have made towards being an ever more energy-efficient and environmentally -friendly business.”

From a technological perspective, one of the company’s most exciting recent developments has been the creation of its OverVu asset/

PROFILE

Swire Oilfield Services

In everything we do, our mission is to provide safe and highly costefficient services and solutions to the cargo handling and logistics industries, with a particular focus on the oil and gas sector and its supply chain

Groundwater Lift Trucks Ltd Groundwater Lift Trucks Ltd has been providing Swire Oilfield Services Ltd with materials handling equipment for over ten years.

We supply Toyota and Kalmar forklifts with capacities ranging from 2.5T up to 15T. We also repair and service their large fleet of forklifts across all four of Swire Oilfield’s UK locations.

With service being at the top of Swire’s principles, Groundwater Lift Trucks of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, share this by supplying the right machine for the job, and providing the service back up to match the expectations of the customer so that quality and efficiency are at the heart of its business.

equipment life cycle management solution.

With this, Swire Oilfield Services is able to offer track and trace, certification management and other associated services that support its own turnkey approach. “We have also invested in our own procedures and developed an operational excellence programme,” Manfred points out.

“This process began in 2014 and has since been introduced across the business, with

accreditation offered to silver, gold and platinum standards. We roll out best practice operational and HSEQ approaches throughout the globe so that our customers have the peace of mind of knowing that when they deal with Swire Oilfield Services they can expect the same level of high quality service, whether they are based in Africa, Asia or Norway.

“Before the oil and gas downturn Swire ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

Swire Oilfield Services

Alongside our offering of DNV certified container rentals, we are also witnessing increased demand for our inspection services and maintenance offerings

Oilfield Services biggest growth areas had been South East Asia, Africa and Brazil, however with the recent steady rise in the oil price we have started to witness an increase of activities in the land business, particularly in the United States.

In response to this Swire Oilfield Services is

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making encouraging moves towards becoming more involved in this area of the industry to capitalise on the demand for its services.”

Having transitioned into an all-in-one provider of services, and one with a keen eye on market developments and opportunities, Swire Oilfield Services’ focus on performance, quality, efficiency and best practice HSEQ has proven to be a winning combination. “In the months and years to come we will continue to shape our company in order to ensure our customers remain part of an ever-more efficient value chain,” Manfred concludes. “We will continue to develop our own service offering, expanding and evolving in different aspects of the value chain, while also investing in our people, our facilities and technology. By doing so we will remain an easy, attractive company to do business with and that is exactly what we want to achieve.”

Swire Oilfield Services swireos.com Services: Offshore Containers & Equipment, Inspection & Maintenance, Chemical & Helifuel Services, Fabrication & Modifications, Asset Tracking

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Licence to

drill Listed on AIM in March 2007, LGO Energy plc began developing a portfolio of oil and gas assets in Europe and North America; following three years in operation the company decided to concentrate on Trinidad as this was a country with a century of history in onshore production, large, under-exploited reserves and a favourable service sector. As such, the legacy asset of the Ayoluengo Field in Spain was retained, while all other assets in Hungary, Malta and the US were divested.

“Following these developments, LGO acquired 100 per cent rights and operatorship of the Goudron Field in eastern onshore Trinidad in 2012. In the period of October 2012 to April 2014 LGO reactivated 70 old wells on the field and repaired or replaced all of the necessary oil field infrastructure and services. In 2014 LGO, through its local subsidiary Goudron E&P Limited (GEPL), drilled eight new production wells; this was followed by a further seven new wells in 2015. In February 2017 LGO announced it had successfully recommenced drilling operations with its 16th new well, which is the first of a campaign of infill drilling at the shallow reservoir Mayaro Sandstone,” explains Neil Ritson, Chairman and CEO of LGO Energy plc.

He continues: “We have drilled 16 new wells in the Goudron Field and have also developed a major land position in the under-explored plays in the southwest of Trinidad – the SW Peninsula.

In early 2017 the 50-year concession to the Ayoluengo Field ended and LGO now derives all

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of its oil production and revenues from Trinidad where it has three fields: Goudron, Icacos and Bonasse. It is anticipated that five to ten further wells will be drilled in the new campaign in the Mayaro Sandstone at Goudron in 2017, with drilling continuing into 2018 and beyond.”

LGO, through its local subsidiary GEPL, has environmental approval for a further 44 new wells in the Goudron Field and has selected up to 70 possible infill well locations that are designed to boost production. With that in mind the company has hired UK-based Bedrock Drilling Ltd to provide supervisory support to the programme.

Discussing the reasons behind hiring Bedrock Drilling, Neil comments: “LGO has always prided itself in meeting or exceeding international standards of safety and technical integrity in its operations while also keeping costs as low as possible. To ensure that objective is achieved we have engaged Bedrock Drilling to design the new wells and to supervise in their construction; by working in this manner we will get the very best expertise as and when we need it.”

The wells at the Goudron Field are estimated to cost $500,000 per completed well, with initial production targets conservatively set at an average of 45 barrels of oil per day per well. However, based on the large body of historic data, some wells are predicted to have higher production capacity than others. So far the company has announced that its first development well GY-682 in the new drilling campaign reached total depth at 1145 feet on

PROFILE

undiscovered oil at depths of 10,000 to 15,000 feet. LGO already has interests in the two existing shallow fields Icacos and Bonasse and holds a large number of land leases from which it plans to explore the deeper target.”

With a solid track record in Trinidad for exceeding work obligations and paying all its creditors in full even in times of hardship, LGO is set for further growth and success as it continues to focus exclusively on onshore oil developments in the country. “We will be focused solely on Trinidad and the three aspects of our business there, the Goudron Field and both primary and secondary EOR production; the progression of the SW Peninsular to ensure shallow production is optimised and that the deep prospects are drill ready; and to secure, at low cost, any additional opportunities that will be accretive to value in the portfolio there.

Our goal is to become the first or second-placed foreign production company onshore in Trinidad over the next five years,” Neil concludes.

LGO Energy

Once the pilot is completed a larger scheme designed to recover approximately 25 million - 60 million barrels of oil will be planned

LGO Energy Plc www.lgo-energy.com Services: Oil & gas exploration and production

8th March 2017. With electric log interpretation of the Mayaro Sandstone target interval confirming oil presence over an estimated net reservoir thickness of 408 feet, it was decided that the company would perforate and place on production 273 feet of the best net oil pay within the reservoir. The GY-682 well came on production in mid-March at an initial stabile rate of 55 barrels per day, so quite a bit ahead of the expected 45 averages.

In addition to this programme, the company has also has two other high value projects’ the Goudron Field waterflood and the SW Peninsula. “In keeping with most oil fields onshore in Trinidad, Goudron has low reservoir energy and no active aquifer drive. Consequently primary production is estimated to be limited to less than ten per cent of the oil in place and an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project is needed to recover more of the oil in the field. In the case of Goudron, which has very light, good quality oil (37-38 degree API), a waterflood is the most likely EOR method and a pilot project is to be started in 2017. Once the pilot is completed a larger scheme designed to recover approximately 25 million - 60 million barrels of oil will be planned,” says Neil.

“Meanwhile, the SW Peninsula of Trinidad is an underexplored onshore area close to the Venezuelan coast, which LGO believes has a high probability to have substantial amounts of ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

AHI Carrier

Cool

runnings

Formed in December 2008

Below Iain Hill Head of Operations Oil & Gas Projects Division AHI Carrier Fzc

between Carrier Corporation, a United Technologies company, and Air conditioning & Heating International (AHI), a Carrier distributor in Russia, CIS and East Africa since 1997, the joint venture has established itself as a developer and provider of comprehensive and efficient building systems.

AHI Carrier is a provider of full project management, design, supply and distribution of heating, ventilating and air conditioning products as well as associated electrical power supply, control and instrumentation systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications. AHI Carrier has become one of the largest Carrier joint venture HVAC distribution companies outside the US. Since it was formed, the joint venture has expanded its areas of responsibility and now distributes Carrier products in 71 countries and Toshiba products in 98 countries throughout the Middle East, Europe, Australasia and Africa to a wide variety of segments including shopping

malls, office complexes, hotels, airports, hospitals and data centres.

Another key segment is oil and gas. AHI Carrier has established a dedicated oil and gas projects division to meet the needs of customers in sectors such as oil and gas, petrochemical, mining and power. Developed from the recent successes within the energy industry, the Oil and Gas Projects Division provides engineered solutions for HVAC and associated electrical, instrumentation and controls systems that can operate in challenging environments such as extreme temperatures, corrosive conditions and explosion-proof zones.

In total, services within this division include HVAC engineering and design validation, customisation, electrical and instrumentation services and project delivery; commissioning assistance, completion and after-sales support are also offered to customers and have included major blue chip Tier 1 oil & gas companies.

In 2015, the Yamgaz consortium of Technip, JGC, and Chioyda awarded AHI Carrier for the ENERGY,oil&gas

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Yamal LNG (liquid natural gas) project. The Yamal is located deep in the Russian Arctic, a location that is ice-bound for seven to nine months of the year, and is one of the most complex LNG projects ever to be undertaken.

The site is isolated from major cities and any infrastructure, and is in a region that has temperatures as low as -57 degrees Celsius.

“The Yamal LNG is a massive project with many technical and logistical challenges,” says Iain Hill, Head of Operations, Oil & Gas Projects Division at AHI Carrier. “The site can be ice bound for nine months in a year, and due to unfavorable working conditions at site, the majority of the buildings have a modular construction design with modules pre-installed and commissioned at the construction yards in the Far East and then transported to the Yamal site using, when needed, specialised ice-breaker class vessels and ice class or non-ice class transportation vessels.”

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AHI Carrier’s scope of work includes the HVAC design, supply, installation and commissioning support of equipment for 55 process and utility modules with full detailed design and engineering, including 3-D modeling in PDMS, and Russian CU-TR certification compliance.

“At AHI Carrier, the customer relationship is core to our business and the company is built on a strong foundation of listening to clients and providing the products they require. We build a relationship with the customer to ensure that the delivery of the project is a pleasant experience while also achieving a successful outcome. In this way, repeat business is achieved,” said Hill.

“We are passionate and proud of our expertise and we are capable of more than just selecting and supplying HVAC component parts. We will project manage and deliver the full HVAC scope, from process design to installation and commissioning support.”

PROFILE

The major HVAC equipment comprises of air handling units with a total air volume in excess of ten million cubic meters per hour - Zone 1 certified, ventilation fans – Zone 2 certified explosion proof with full stainless steel construction, condensing Units – Zone 2 certified, pneumatic dampers – fire and gas, shut off and balancing type, of stainless steel construction, moisture eliminators of stainless steel construction, motor control centers – Eex de certified, and HVAC Control Panels – PLC based.

AHI Carrier is supporting Yamgaz to mobilise a specialist team to assist with the site installation and commissioning, once the modules are transported to the Yamal LNG site location in Russia.

“Over the longer term, we wish to be the partner of choice for HVAC solutions within

AHI Carrier

the oil and gas industry and the wider energy markets, where customers are sensitive to the reliability and efficiency of their HVAC systems within their overall project asset,” Hill concluded.

AHI Carrier Oil & Gas Projects Division provides full system documentation to ensure seamless integration within the overall project plan.

These include: SS Heat load calculations SS Project management SS Functional design – HVAC and E&I. P&IDs, D&IDs and flow diagrams SS Customisation of standard Carrier units to meet project specification and HVAC optimisation SS Providing witness performance tests with operator/contractor representatives SS HVAC, E&I, F&G and Security system design with DDC / PLC based control systems and Philosophy SS Supervision during installation, pre-commissioning & commissioning services SS Post warranty inspection & maintenance and Training personnel.

AHI Carrier www.ahi-carrier.com Services One of the largest Carrier joint venture HVAC distributors outside the US

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PROFILE

Engineering

innovation

An oil and gas original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specialising in technology, products, and services with fully-integrated manufacturing capabilities, AFGlobal Corporation supplies it services to clients around the world. The sectors served by the organisation include the general industrial, aerospace and power generation industries, and to these markets AFGlobal provides a broad range of both highly-engineered and general forged products, as well as complementary aftermarket services. It combines well-established precision engineering with industry-leading innovation, and delivers value through more than 20 facilities worldwide.

When it comes to manufacturing, AFGlobal’s extensive experience across multiple industries is second to none. For decades, the companies that formed AFGlobal have provided superior forging, welding, machining, heat treating, fabrication and assembly, testing, and inspection capabilities. Today the company is able to align well-established precision engineering with evolutionary innovation. Its unique approach combines conventional OEM processes and technology with unconventional

AFGlobal

thinking, providing reliable answers and establishing quicker ways to find the best solutions for its clients.

From world-class manufacturing capabilities across the globe, supported by its headquarters in Houston, Texas, the company designs, builds and delivers quality products and turnkey solutions, including engineered connections, integrated subsea systems, production buoyancy, crushable foam, subsea fabrication, insulation, pressure pumping, compression and forged connectors & components. This portfolio of engineered products and integrated systems is backed by a service team that supports everyday needs, as well as having the expertise and knowledge to be able to address innovative challenges.

AFGlobal applies its capabilities across the Petrochemical and Refining, Power Generation, Industrial and Aerospace sectors, as well as Oil & Gas. In this latter area, the business’ wellestablished precision engineering and modern approach are able to provide reliable solutions for some of the most difficult challenges in the oil and gas industry. As an integrated supplier, its unique approach combines conventional OEM processes and technology with the ability to ‘think out of the box’, bringing customers dependable answers and establishing faster ways to find the best solutions.

AFGlobal has created technologies and products that only reduce downtime but mitigate risk, providing a series of cost-effective solutions that enable return-on-investment (ROI) more quickly than expected. These are supplied to clients packaged intelligently and delivered alongside truly involved customer service.

Look in more detail on the range of systems and technologies for the onshore and offshore segments of the industry available from AFGlobal and it is clear that the company prioritises efficiency and is keen to harness the use of technology to make clients operations more effective, as well as safer and more reliable.

For example, its next-generation Active Pressure Drilling systems increase safety, efficiency and flexibility in the dynamic offshore environment.

In fact, decades of manufacturing experience combined with AFGlobal’s deep understanding of pressure management drilling technology has positioned it at the centre of the managed pressure drilling (MPD) evolution. Working ENERGY,oil&gas

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closely with all the stakeholders, it has designed, built, and installed the industry-leading equipment that is enabling a global fleet of MPDready rigs. But safe, efficient MPD is much more than innovative iron. The business’ scope of expertise and technology integrates engineering and design, manufacturing service and training.

Alongside Driving Active Pressure Management, in the Drilling area AFGlobal is also able to provide: SS Integrated Management for Riser Systems SS Comprehensive Riser Management Solutions SS Subsea Insulation and Buoyancy Solutions Furthermore, its proprietary engineered connections and subsea fabrication technologies provide connectivity from the topside to subsea, while for land-based operations, it offers a range of pressure pumping, gas compression and infrastructure products, backed by superior service support.

Overall, AFGlobal supports the offshore drilling segment of the oil and gas industry with flexible, uncomplicated systems and components that improve efficiency, mitigate risk and ensure safety in the harshest environments. One of the reasons that AFGlobal is able to provide such an array of expertise to the oil and gas sector is through its history of strategic development, which included the acquisition of several complementary businesses. The most recent of these occurred in July 2016, when AFGlobal acquired Managed Pressure Operations (MPO), a subsidiary of MHWirth.

As a vertically integrated supplier, this acquisition further solidified AFGlobal’s position as a specialised OEM. The resulting combination of companies created the most complete deepwater MPD offering currently available in the market, with technology covering both onshore and offshore applications.

“Over the last several years, we’ve established ourselves as a premier provider of oil and gas products and services, including land-based pressure pumping equipment, deepwater riser gas handling systems and subsea solutions. This acquisition will further support our strategy to create an increasingly differentiated business designed to support our clients’ drilling, stimulation and production needs both today and in the next phase of our industry’s journey,” commented Curtis Samford, President and CEO of AFGlobal Corporation.

The new business group within AFGlobal’s

oil and gas segment will be known as Advanced Drilling Systems. The complete portfolio will include riser gas management systems, early kick/loss detection, managed pressure drilling, dual gradient drilling and continuous circulation.

“Providing the industry with a flexible yet standardised solution for MPD mandates that all equipment works together in an intentional and holistic manner. Simply put, our systems are designed to remove complexity on the rig and streamline operations while providing reliable, best-in-class equipment, service and support,” added Mark Mitchell, President of Oil & Gas for AFGlobal. He continued: “The changes coming to our industry will be transformational, not transitional and our Advanced Drilling Systems will bring a new level of fit-for-purpose, modular technology to the market.”

One primary benefit to clients is the company’s premium in-house design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilitiesall managed by a single provider. Blending world-class products and manufacturing with transformational drilling technology will create a new family of the next generation well construction products and services. The new combined offering will create value across a broad client spectrum, targeting both the offshore and land markets.

“As a result of an exhaustive search, AFGlobal was determined to be the best fit for our MPO business, given their market-leading position and experience in the MPD space. We are pleased to hand over the technology to AFGlobal with confidence that they are the right partner to take the business to the next level,” commented Finn Amund Norbye, CEO of MHWirth.

AFGlobal

Providing the industry with a flexible yet standardised solution for MPD mandates that all equipment works together in an intentional and holistic manner.

Simply put, our systems are designed to remove complexity on the rig and streamline operations while providing reliable, best-in-class equipment, service and support

E/M Coating Services E/M Coating Services and Everlube Products have provided highly engineered coating solutions for a range of markets including oil and gas, aerospace, off-road, marine, subsea and power generation for over 40 years.

From its central UK operation based in Evesham, Worcestershire, E/M can provide application and product support worldwide. A pioneer in the original use of dry film lubricant coating products, E/M has remained at the forefront of this vital technology, utilising solid lubricant materials including molybdenum-disulphide, graphite, PTFE and others.

E/M is a business unit of CurtissWright Surface Technologies (CWST), providers of highly engineered processes including controlled shot peening and laser peening, engineered coatings and analytical services.

AFGlobal www.afglobalcorp.com Services: Oil and gas original equipment manufacturer

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Unlocking

potential Founded in 1919, today the name Halliburton is recognised across the globe for its work within the energy sector. Operating in 70 countries and employing some 50,000 people, it is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the upstream oil and gas industry. Halliburton boasts dual headquarters, one located in Houston and the other in Dubai. The latter falls within the region overseen by Halliburton Middle East and North Africa (MENA). “Halliburton has been active within the Middle East and North Africa region for more than 75 years,” states Colby Fuser, Vice President of Business Development.

Halliburton’s global focus is divided into three areas, unconventionals, deepwater and mature fields, the latter proving to be a particularly promising growth driver, and one that the company is well-positioned to lead. “Mature fields account for more than 70 per cent of the world’s oil and gas production,” Colby continues. “The recovery potential from these fields is enormous and with approximately 80 per cent of mature fields located within the Middle East and North Africa region it is a major focus for Halliburton. Our mission is simple and that is to unlock the economic potential of these assets through extended production and improved recovery, while at the same time focusing on bringing our experience with unconventional projects to the region.”

Throughout its almost 90 years of existence Halliburton has remained steadfast in its belief that its unrivalled competitive advantage

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stems from having the right people in place to develop ground-breaking technologies and bring innovative solutions to market. The same ethos exists within Halliburton MENA, where its continued success is credited to the knowledge of its employees, along with its proven record of successful collaboration with its customers’ own geology, reservoir, completion and drilling teams.

At the same time, Halliburton continues to develop more efficient and economical ways to produce hydrocarbons and breathe new life into mature fields through the modernisation of its facilities, identifying bypassed pay zones and providing well recovery services, including intervention and conformance.

Halliburton’s commitment towards innovation is exemplified in some of its recent service based and technological introductions. These include its UpLift® Mature Fields Service, a collaborative approach that identifies and delivers the right combination of well intervention and fieldcentric solutions to help operators optimise well production and improve asset recovery.

Meanwhile, its ACX™ Acoustic Conformance Xaminer® Service helps operators to identify and pinpoint costly wellbore leaks through the analysing of sound waves that describe flow patterns in the formation and casing.

“Additionally,” Colby goes on, “we have launched the EquiFlow® Autonomous Inflow Control device, which utilises innovative and dynamic fluid technology in order to differentiate between fluids to maximise oil production, and Halliburton’s SPECTRUMSM

PROFILE

Halliburton Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

real-time coiled tubing services combine intervention and diagnostic services to help operators monitor and optimise job performance in real-time.”

Few businesses thrive in new geographic locations unless they are able to adapt and overcome the unique challenges they face.

Fortunately, Halliburton is well versed in this department. “Due to the need for long horizontal drilling in the region, and the unique challenges this presents, we have also introduced two of our directional drilling services,” Colby says. “The Geo-Pilot Duro Rotary Steerable System increases drilling efficiency with higher rate of penetration and provides accurate well placement, along with reducing formation damage, while our Endure Motor Technology enhances motor reliability by preventing chunking, allowing for longer drilling runs and reduced non-productive time.”

Equally as important is the company’s ability to offer integrated project management services tailored to its clients’ needs. “Our Consulting and Project Management (CPM) business is not only unique to the industry, but also allows for innovative technologies to be applied at very low risk,” Colby enthuses. “CPM allows us to bring together solutions that incorporate all of our robust product service lines and today we have integrated project management activities in countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Algeria, and in each case we have shown improved efficiencies, better HSE statistics and/ or a reduction in costs.”

Halliburton’s readiness to introduce technology and services like the aforementioned has brought it countless contracts throughout the region. In January 2017, it was announced that Halliburton MENA had signed a contract with Shell Iraq Petroleum Development to provide drilling services for sustained production at its Majnoon Oil Field in Southern Iraq.

Having provided drilling services on this project for the preceding six years, the company has now been tasked with mobilising three rigs to drill up to 30 development wells and carry out work over activities over the next two years.

Halliburton MENA has also identified enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as being extremely important for the future growth of the industry within the region. “The oilfield services provider that understands EOR will prove to be a winner in this market,” Colby says. “Halliburton has introduced customised chemistry that is particularly beneficial in the field of EOR and

our local teams are working with operators in multiple countries to improve the recovery process by integrating capabilities across our product service lines.”

While market conditions have contributed to changes in the landscape of the industry in recent years, Halliburton’s focus on delivering optimum solutions for its customers’ needs remains undiminished. “We are at our best when we collaborate and engineer solutions that maximise asset value for our customers,” Colby concludes. “Our principal focus in the Middle East and North Africa is on mature fields, which requires strong project management and dedicated intervention focus. We believe that the ever-increasing demand for project management to optimise the mature fields and the untapped unconventionals will enable continued leadership and expansion.”

Halliburton Middle East and North Africa (MENA) halliburton.com Services: Oil field services

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player

Leading oil space

The Gulf Petrochem Group

Below Prerit Goel, Group Director at Gulf Petrochem

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is a market leader in the oil sector. It aims to be an integrated multinational energy organisation, by driving international growth and worldwide development projects. The group’s head office is located in the Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a global presence at several locations in the Indian sub continent, South East Asia, Africa, Europe and South America.

It all began in the early 1990’s, when two brothers Ashok Goel and Sudhir Goyel started trading petrochemical products in Delhi and Gujarat in India. In 1998, the pair expanded the business activities into the United Arab Emirates and Gulf Petrochem was founded. In a short space of time the group commissioned a refinery and now established itself into four business units; refining & manufacturing, trading, storage terminals and shipping & logistics, under the Gulf Petrochem Group. energy-oil-gas.com

In October 2016 the company announced that it was providing physical bunker supplies to the port of Antwerp. The deal was set up to give its global customers a better choice of marine fuel products such as RMG 380 and LSGO. It uses two freight carriers, the Valsinni and the Chardonnay chartered from the Gulf Petrochem Group’s barge partner, Dari BV. At the time of the development Gulf Petrochem Group said in a press release: “Entering the Antwerp market only serves to reaffirm the group’s commitment to grow the business off the back of a very successful start in Rotterdam. Further to this, our latest expansion now allows us to supply our customers with consistently high quality products and customer service to match with a fully-fledged, first class ARA service. Our operations in Antwerp will be handled from our established office in Rotterdam which also undertakes worldwide back-to-back bunker and cargo trading, as well as housing the group’s West Africa desk supplying the Ports of Tema and Takoradi respectively.”

It is also playing a major role in supplying India’s IPOL brand of lubricants to the United Arab Emirates. After some strategic negotiations the company agreed on a five-year deal with two companies, NGC Energy and the National Gas Company SAOG. Operations started in 2016, with all partners in agreement on targets of 100 MT per month of lubricant volumes.

The Gulf Petrochem Group Director, Prerit Goel said in a press release: “This partnership seems like a natural step for all concerned and will only serve to enhance the availability of quality products on the market in the UAE and Oman. We believe there is a huge market in the region for IPOL, which is specifically tailored for industries, and in partnering with National Gas Company SAOG and NGC Energy, we have secured business with trusted firms who share our ambition and drive.”

Nalin Chandna, General Manager of National Gas Company SAOG said in the same press release: “Since we signed the agreement in September 2015, we have been working together to put all the necessary infrastructure in place, in order to meet our expected demand levels when operations begin. In this time we have seen similarities in the way we both work and believe our partnership can only be fruitful for all concerned. IPOL is a quality product, which suits the market in the UAE, and Oman and we are delighted to be able to distribute the product there.”

PROFILE

A combination of these and many other deals indicates that the company is heading in the right direction. It is currently worth US $3.2 billion thanks to its abilities to make good business decisions and build partnerships within the oil sector.

The success of the company is further highlighted by its values and beliefs that growth comes with community accountability. As part of its corporate social responsibility the ASPAM foundation (set up by the Gulf Petrochem Group) is making a difference to the lives of the underprivileged. Most recently it opened the Smt. Reshma Devi Goyal Eye and Dental Care Centre in Hishar, a 12 bed hospital and operation theatre. The out patient department (OPD) has already provided services for 20,816 eye care patients, 6108 dental care patients and a total of 3219 eye surgeries and 107 gynae deliveries as of February 2017.

Over the coming months the Gulf Petrochem Group will focus on further development and expansion and seek to increase its

Gulf Petrochem Group

VKVC VKVC manufactures and services pipeline equipment and products. Creating value since 1969, VKVC has an expansive product range including pigs, surge relief valves, floats and buoys. VKVC is well equipped to provide fast product deliveries & services on urgent basis. VKVC has rapidly expanded its product range from elastomer-oil well drilling-products to specialty products like quick opening closures, clamps, couplings, flow tees, pig – launcher/receiver/handlers/signals, isolation/insulation joints, pressure safety valves etcetera. VKVC is certified by ASME U & UM stamp, National boiler and pressure NB & R stamp, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 140001:2004, API 6D and PPSA UK member since 2002.

investments into new products to intensify its service offering. The company is set to grow considerably with the US $50 million expansion of the group’s Fujairah terminal. The group is also in the process of setting up a new refinery in Tanzania and open new trading offices in London, Lagos and Kuala Lumpur to increase global presence of the brand even further.

Gulf Petrochem Group www.gulfpetrochem.com Services: Refining, manufacturing, shipping, trading and storing oil products

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PROFILE

RWG

market Overhauling the

Embodying more than a quarter of a century of industry experience, turbine overhaul and repair business, RWG (Repair & Overhauls) Limited was established in 1990 as a joint venture between Wood Group and RollsRoyce and has since grown to employ more than 500 employees internationally. The business traded under the name of Rolls Wood Group (Repairs & Overhauls Limited) until December 2014, when the company was rebranded to its current name of RWG, following Siemens acquisition of the Rolls-Royce Energy business.

Throughout its history the company has developed a strong global reputation with clients by combining its strong industry expertise with the management of several centres of excellence, located in the UK, US and Asia.

The company’s commitment to providing the highest levels of service has allowed RWG to emerge as an OEM-approved business that provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for equipment. This includes Siemens industrial aero-derivative gas generators, which are used within power generation and oil and gas applications, as well as Rolls-Royce marine gas turbines that are employed in the operation of marine propulsion systems. RWG’s Industrial & Marine Business Director, Mark Forsyth explains: “We are predominantly a gas turbine repair and overhaul business and we focus on a specific range of gas turbines that is currently owned by Siemens and was formerly designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce. We repair

industrial equipment, which is comprised of Industrial RB211, Industrial Avon, Industrial 501K and Olympus gas generators and marine Spey, Tyne, Olympus and WR21 gas turbines.

The main services provided by the business are workshop repair and overhaul operations relating to gas turbine engines, where we strip units down to clean and inspect the generators.

We then rebuild the equipment using fully overhauled or new parts and then test each unit, which means that the turbines go through an extremely rigorous process before they are shipped back out to the client.”

In support of its repair and overhaul operations, RWG also maintains a comprehensive component repair capability, which is further supported by a wealth of industry experience that enables the company to offer a fully in-house service package. “One of our key differentiators is that we have developed our own dedicated workshop capability. This means that we have an extensive component repair division within the business that allows us to keep around 90 per cent of our component repair works fully within RWG. This is important because it allows us to closely manage considerations such as costing, quality and turn-around, enabling us to reduce the amount of replacement parts that go into the engines,” Mark elaborates. “Across everything that we do we see ourselves as a high-performing company in terms of the quality of the work that we undertake, the expediency of our services and ENERGY,oil&gas

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RWG

the knowledge and depth of experience that resides within our organisation. We also offer other complementary operations such as field service support and we have our own in-house engineering team and laboratory, which makes us very self sufficient in the field of equipment overhaul.”

During July 2016 it was announced that RWG had been awarded a three-year support agreement, with an option for a one-year extension, by the Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA OPCO). This will enable RWG to maintain the company’s operational fleet of Siemens Industrial RB211 gas generators.

“We were delighted to secure this latest contract from ADMA OPCO which provides continuity of service and underpins the strong relationship between our companies.” Mark added: “A key element of the contract which is currently in the execution phase, is the provision of support engines to allow the client’s operation to continue whilst their own engines are undergoing overhaul.”

Commenting on another recent award, Mark said: “National Grid has awarded RWG a

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framework agreement to maintain their fleet of Siemens aero-derivative gas generators. This five year agreement provides continuity of support for scheduled maintenance and field services for National Grid’s Industrial Avon and Industrial RB211 gas generators. RWG and National Grid have a well-established and successful maintenance partnership spanning many years.

National Grid’s decision to renew our framework agreement recognises the value derived from our long term relationship. National Grid has a large fleet of Siemens aero-derivative industrial gas generators including 30 Industrial Avon and 13 Industrial RB211 engines. This equipment, located at transmission stations across the length and breadth of the UK, provides essential mechanical drive capacity to ensure the energy needs of industrial, commercial and domestic users is met. RWG has provided on-site field support and workshop based major maintenance activity to National Grid for over 20 years.”

RWG’s focus is working in close collaboration with its customers to provide effective costsaving solutions, while seeking to deliver its services to new markets. “We are committed to developing solutions that help our clients to maintain their equipment efficiently and that is particularly pertinent in challenging times.

We operate within a market in which there is not a large amount of new turbine equipment coming into service, so we need to work with current operators to help them maintain their existing fleets,” Mark concludes. “One area that we are looking to develop is the extension of our component repair capability, which could also lead us into new markets beyond industrial gas generator component repair.”

RWG’s focus is working in close collaboration with its customers to provide effective cost-saving solutions, while seeking to deliver its services to new markets. “We are committed to developing solutions that help our clients to maintain their equipment efficiently and that is particularly pertinent in challenging times

DONCASTERS GROUP Doncasters Aerospace Components is part of Doncasters Group and is a leading source for the manufacture of performance-critical components for industrial gas turbine (IGT) and aerospace engines. Capabilities include manufacture of complex fabricated assemblies, precision machined components, seal segments, compressor blades, turbine vanes, combustion liners and full engine assemblies.

With over 240 years of experience, Doncasters Group is constantly developing its broad range of products and processes to best serve the aerospace, industrial gas turbine, specialist automotive, petrochemical, construction, industrial and transportation markets.

RWG (Repair & Overhauls) Limited rwgroup.com Services: Leading gas turbine overhaul and repair business

PROFILE

Valmet Energy & Process Systems

Forward

together

With roots stretching back

Below Esa Jokiniemi, Director of Automation Systems for the Energy Market

over more than 250 years to the early 1750s, Valmet represents a leading Finnish business and a proven supplier of innovative technologies, automation solutions and dedicated services for clients operating within the global pulp, paper and energy industries. The company’s comprehensive service package covers everything from maintenance outsourcing to plant improvements and the delivery and installation of spare parts. Valmet also supports a strong technological offering, which includes equipment for pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as the installation of efficient plants for bio-energy production.

These capabilities further incorporate advanced automation solutions that range from the introduction of single components to plant-wide turnkey automation projects.

Valmet operates from its head office located in Espoo, Finland while its shares are presently listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.

The company currently employs around 12,000 professional members of staff and achieved net sales of approximately €2.9 billion during 2016. Throughout all of its operations Valmet works in accordance with its vision to become a global champion in serving its clients across a variety of markets, which the company achieves by maintaining a strong global presence that enables the business to remain in close contact with its customers. Valmet predominantly targets the pulping and fibre; board and paper; tissue;

energy; and biofuels and biomaterials industries, while the company additionally provides solutions to clients operating within the marine, LNG, oil and gas, food, pharmaceutical, waste water and chemical industries. Valmet reached a significant operational milestone during April 2015, through the acquisition of Metso Process Automation Systems. This event enabled the company to add automation solutions to its expansive service offering, which has since grown into an important business line within the wider Valmet Corporation.

Energy, Oil & Gas previously profiled Valmet in October 2015, during which time the company’s Director of Automation Systems for the Energy Market, Esa Jokiniemi discussed the strength of the business across the entire life cycle of industrial processes, including new machines and plants, rebuilds, process control and services. Over the course of the proceeding years Valmet has continued to develop its service offering, while continuing to attract new business with both new and existing clients. “Valmet has continued to make strong investments in the development of both its technology and operations, as well as the training of its personnel,” Esa says. “The integration of the automation business line has also been completed and this successful project has delivered a strong competitive advantage that extends to not only the day-to-day running of the business, but also to the development of new products and services.”

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By successfully integrating Process Automation Systems into its wider business, Valmet has positioned itself as an industry leader in the delivery of turnkey technology and services for converting fuel into energy.

Within the energy, oil and gas markets the company has agreed several contracts with clients that are engaged with providing turbine retrofitting services. This includes the supply of distributed control systems (DCS) and controls to partners that can subsequently deliver a full scope of turbine retrofit operations to the end user. Indeed, Valmet has recently signed a value-added reseller (VAR) agreement for gas turbine automation with Mechanical Field Support B.V. (MFS) – a leading Dutch company specialising in providing gas turbine services globally. Within this new partnership the role of Valmet is to supply its Valmet DNA automation system for gas turbine controls, whereas MFS is responsible for the complete gas turbine retrofit projects including automation system renewal.

“We have been developing our capabilities and services relating to turbine automation systems for several years,” explains Director, Partner Business, Automation, Kari S. Heikkilä. “The partnership with MFS will boost our automation business in the execution of gas turbine retrofit projects, since MFS will include the Valmet automation system as part of its overall gas turbine renewal and relocation projects.”

The company is also presently involved in an agreement with Babcock and Wilcox Vølund A/S to supply automation technology for the new Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility (EFR) location within East Lothian, Scotland. Valmet has supplied advanced automation solutions to the facility that make it possible for operators to effectively control the renewable energy recovery process and to further manage plant operations.

The order was received during Q2 2016 and represents part of the company’s net sales for the year. Typical projects within this environment are valued at between €1 million and €3 million and the delivery of equipment from Valmet to the client began in March 2017. “This is the second project that Babcock and Wilcox has ordered from Valmet,” observes Sales Director, UK, Neil Buckland. “Our earlier delivery relating to the Peterborough waste-to-energy plant was highly successful and went into operation during 2015.”

While the world’s energy market continues to evolve and develop, Valmet will continue to produce innovative solutions that will enable the

Valmet Energy & Process Systems

CEF – CONTROL EXPRESS FINLAND

business to remain at the forefront of delivering turnkey solutions to a dynamic and demanding environment. “The power generation market is going through a period of huge transition due to an increased focus on green energy production, including solar, wind and bio fuel sources.

Electricity price levels are also currently at a very low level, which creates its own challenges.

Valmet has subsequently further invested into the development of renewable energy solutions.

Within the field of thermal power plant solutions for example, we are emphasising flexibility in relation to high loads versus ultra-low loads and fuel flexibility. This consideration is executed while remaining compliant with best available techniques (BAT) emission management,” Esa concludes. “We are also working to develop novel industrial Internet-based solutions to provide our customers with better tools with which to monitor process performance and availability. Within the company’s services portfolio, we have recently launched a new service called ‘Shared Journey Forward’, which ties together the life cycle services of the entire Valmet group to help bring the customers’ performance forward.”

Control Express Finland (CEF) is a reliable partner for Valmet. CEF has been invaluable partner to the Valmet Company for more than a decade.

CEF has designed and manufactured four generations of industrial PCs and automation controllers for Valmet. This has boosted the reliability, usability, performance and other features, enabling Valmet to improve its own automation system to meet customer needs. CEF also provides excellent support and follow-up services for Valmet.

Valmet Energy & Process Systems valmet.com Services: Leading developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries

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Creating a Safe and Secure Environment

SECURITY SOLUTIONS • Leading security provider in Iraq since 2003 •S pecializing in risk mitigation, security consulting and a wide range of security services • Erinys

Iraq employs over 600 local and international personnel • Onshore and offshore expertise •C ommitted to maintaining the highest ethical standards • Offices in Baghdad and Basra

www.erinysiraq.com

PROFILE

LUKOIL

Ambitious

With over 25 years of proven operational history, LUKOIL is major international oil company that today operates within more than 30 countries around the world. LUKOIL is a leading business that performs within the full energy cycle of the oil and gas market by performing exploration, production, refining, trading and sales activities as well as undertaking power generation services. Although the main operations of the business are situated within Russia, LUKOIL also maintains a significant downstream presence within Europe, where it manages four refineries and a vast chain of petrol stations. In terms of its upstream business outside of Russia, the company is presently engaged in several exciting exploration and production projects across the Middle East and Central Asia.

“LUKOIL started its global expansion during 1995 when the company made its first acquisitions in Egypt and Kazakhstan. In 1996 the business began operations within Azerbaijan and in 2004 LUKOIL further entered into Saudi Arabia. In 2010 the company entered into Iraq, which is a region that today represents the cornerstone of its Middle Eastern operations.

In 2012 LUKOIL expanded its presence in Iraq through the development of Block 10 and the business recently announced very positive findings as a result of these exploration operations,” reveals Gati Al-Jebouri, VP of LUKOIL & Head of Upstream Middle East.

“Today the company is divided into hubs that

are situated across three different regions. A regional office in Dubai looks after the Middle East and North Africa, whereas its Houston office oversees projects in West Africa, North and South America and Europe. The European and West African operations are all focused on offshore exploration activities, which is why these concerns are managed from the company’s Houston office. Inside of West Africa LUKOIL undertakes projects in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana in addition to wider activities in Romania and Norway within Europe and Mexico in the Americas. The company’s third regional office manages operations within central Asia, with projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. These combined holdings have allowed LUKOIL to emerge as a truly global international oil company.”

Within the Middle East LUKOIL is presently the largest investor into the oil and gas market in Iraq, where the company manages several on-going projects in addition to dedicated activities to identify further potentially commercial ventures. “LUKOIL has invested more than $7.5 billion into Iraq during the past seven years, which has allowed the company to achieve its current production level of circa 400,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). This impressive retrieval is achieved from a single field and represents only slightly less than the total daily production of the entire nation of Libya. West Qurna-2 alone produces more oil than 85 per cent of the world’s private oil ENERGY,oil&gas

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1 ERINYS IRAQ ESTABLISHED EXPERIENCE Erinys Iraq is a fully certified risk management company that has been successfully operating in Iraq since 2003 The business specialises in the provision of Mobile and Static Security, Risk Consulting, Safety & Security Training, Risk Mitigation and Remote Site Support in harsh, hostile, remote environments. “Our continuous operations in Iraq have allowed us to acquire a deep understanding of the country. We have provided an extensive range of security services across many sectors and locations over this period, stretching across the north, central and southern regions of the country. We understand the most effective and affordable way to deliver mobile and static security, as well as liaison and support services, in an ever-changing and always challenging environment,” explained Tim Miller, Iraq Country Director at Erinys Iraq.

“We manage and deliver security solutions, working in places where operating risks represent a material threat. Such threats include road traffic accidents, physical harm to client personnel through IEDs and other explosives from terrorist activities, kidnapping and extortion, among others. Erinys’ experience in Iraq includes over 12 million man days worked and delivery of some of the largest and most demanding security and support projects throughout post-conflict Iraq.”

By maintaining 24-hour operation rooms in the regions of Baghdad, Nasariya and Basra, Erinys is able to ensure the safety of multinational oil and gas clients, such as LUKOIL. “We currently provide Mobile and Static security to LUKOIL in the West Qurna 2 concession,” said Tim. “Mobile teams provide secure movement both within the oilfield concession to allow LUKOIL staff to operate effectively and also outside the concession for moves to/from Basra airport and for various meetings at important Ministries and locations within Basra itself. Our teams also provide secure movement for LUKOIL personnel operating in Baghdad from the LUKOIL villa. With regard to static security, we provide physical security to all LUKOIL infrastructure and operational locations within West Qurna 2. This includes their main camp locations as well as the Central Processing Facility and other key locations,” he added.

“Over the four year period that we have been supporting LUKOIL, a close working relationship has developed at both operational and corporate levels, where we have developed an understanding of their methodology and ultimate aims, which is all important.”

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executed on budget and nearly on time - just three months ahead of schedule. This has given LUKOIL the ability to show host governments that the company has the technical expertise and financial capability to execute complex and financially intensive projects. This would not be possible without the company’s trusted partners, which include state oil companies such as Iraqi North and South Oil Companies and contractors including Siemens, Samsung, Technip, Weir Group, Baker Huges, Bonatti and many more.”

With the relative stability of the price of oil when compared to previous years, LUKOIL is confident that it will be able to secure additional backing to enter into new projects and further companies are able to extract individually, with 100 per cent of this oil coming from the Mishrif reservoir. LUKOIL is today preparing to realise the second phase of this project, which will enable the company to increase production from the Mishrif reservoir to 550,000 barrels of oil.

This will involve the drilling of new production wells, increasing the generation capacity of the company’s power station and the building of additional pipelines. Block 10 in Southern Iraq is the other project that LUKOIL manages within the country and the company has just announced the potential commerciality of this operation. During February 2017 LUKOIL and its partner INPEX successfully completed the testing of the site’s first exploratory well. Eridu 1 recorded a daily flow rate of more than 1000 cubic metres of sweet oil from Mishrif horizon, confirming geological expectations of a large hydrocarbon field presence within the Block 10 contract area. LUKOIL and its partners plan to drill an additional two wells to enable further appraisal work and to determine the reservoir’s reserves ahead of finally creating a development plan,” Al-Jebouri says.

“Of course the ‘jewel in the LUKOIL crown’ within Iraq is the West Qurna-2 project. The company completed an Independent Project Analysis (IPA) review of the project, which marked it as one of the top ten projects in the world in terms of its execution and results.

The IPA also noted that West Qurna-2 is a relatively risky project and that LUKOIL has been aggressive in how it has executed its operations,” he adds. “To bring about 400,000 barrels of oil, which added to overall production represents much more of an achievement than simply maintaining existing brownfield projects. The development of West Qurna-2 was

expand its BOPD throughout the Middle East during the coming months. “The current oil price is close to the levels that are acceptable to consumers and also sufficient for backers to invest. Higher prices would naturally be preferable in the near future but it is important that prices rise in a way that would enable the stable development of the oil and gas industry, while also promoting strong economic growth,” Al-Jebouri concludes. “During the coming 12 months the main objective of LUKOIL is to develop its Iraqi projects to set the stage for the next phase of increased production on the West Qurna-2 oilfield and to also undertake appraisal drilling at Block 10. The company is also keen to negotiate of new contracts within both Iran and UAE, while it continues to search for the new investment opportunities in the Middle East. This is core to an overall ambition to increase the Middle Eastern share in LUKOIL hydrocarbon production from five per cent to 20 per cent and to double the company’s reserves from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.”

LUKOIL

The current oil price is close to the levels that are acceptable to consumers and also sufficient for backers to invest.

Higher prices would naturally be preferable in the near future but it is important that prices rise in a way that would enable the stable development of the oil and gas industry, while also promoting strong economic growth

LUKOIL lukoil.com/en Services: Vertically integrated oil and gas company

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Safety, quality & Established in 1987

, Hydra Arc has grown from a supplier of specialised welders into a leading refinery maintenance, turnaround specialist, steel fabrication and construction company, operating in the petrochemical, construction, mining and power generation industries.

The companies that make up the Hydra Arc Group are all united by the mission to become the best in all that they do, while delivering long term value to shareholders and employees. The Group operates in a variety of sectors, but overall it prides itself on being a world leader in the welding field,

Piping Fabrication, Refinery Maintenance, Supply of Specialised Labour & Training, and Tooling & Equipment Supply, plus it also works in Construction.

Pressure Vessel & Piping Fabrication The organisation houses its pressure vessel and piping fabrication business in its Sky Hill workshop complex in Secunda, South Africa.

The Group is justifiably proud of this state-ofthe-art workshop complex which covers 75,000 sqm and includes Specialised Work Areas, Fabrication Facilities, Cranes & Equipment, PWHT Ovens and Other Equipment (this includes the following: a double column horizontal boring mill, which it believes may be the world’s largest, a vertical machining centre and a bridge-type machine centre.)

Refinery Maintenance

combining over 25 years of specialised experience with innovation and a willingness to embrace and develop new technologies.

There are four areas where Hydra Arc particularly has a focus - Pressure Vessel &

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The Hydra Arc Group of Companies is a leading provider of maintenance services in the petrochemical industry. Its services allow clients to optimise the use of assets and enhance their facilities profitably while maintaining the highest levels of safety and quality.

The development of the Sky Hill fabrication facility described above has enhanced Hydra Arc’s ability to deliver an efficient, reliable and cost effective maintenance service and its

PROFILE

dependability, expertise and operational safety has established the organisation as a leader in this industry. The Group’s services include: SS Overall shutdown management and execution SS Vessel repair, piping replacement, mechanical overhauls and high pressure cleaning SS On-going plant and equipment maintenance in complex facilities

Supply of Specialised Labour & Training Having recognised the global shortage of properly skilled and competent artisans the Hydra Arc Group established a labour supply business, Jomele Training and Placements, which both recruits and trains artisans for placement within the group and to customers.

Today Jomele boasts an extensive database of skilled artisans and houses the Mshiniwami Training Academy which trains up to 1000 artisans each year. This highly successful business enables the Group to: SS Access relevant skills as and when required SS Enhance its competitive advantage SS Meet customer demand on short notice SS Rapidly mobilise manpower on any given project SS Retain relevant skills in sufficient numbers to meet its growth objectives

Hydra Arc Group

Otherways recognises and highlights outstanding business results, best practices, quality awareness and achievements by companies in regional & global markets through its recognition programmes and awards.

Mr. Mohamed Pahad represented Hydra Arc at the gala dinner hosted in Berlin, Germany on 9 April 2017. Hydra Arc was only one of eight African companies, and one of two South African companies to receive an award.

This latest award is just one of several that Hydra Arc has received and recognises its continuous dedication to growing skills and jobs in the South African welding, steel fabrication and construction industries, and its overarching aim to be the best in all that it undertakes.

By emphasising the importance of training, embracing innovation, willingly accepting new technologies and adopting an uncompromising approach to quality and safety, Hydra Arc looks set to grow its business both locally and internationally well into the future.

The Group operates in a variety of sectors, but overall it prides itself on being a world leader in the welding field

Hydra Arc Group hydra-arc.com Services: Associated companies which operate primarily in the petro-chemical, construction, mining and power generation industries

Tooling & Equipment Supply On-time access to relevant equipment, tools, vehicles, consumables and PPE is crucial to the success of any construction, fabrication and maintenance project. For this reason the Hydra Arc Group of Companies developed its own tooling and equipment supply business, WeldMech, which incorporates vast stores of welding and mechanical equipment, tools and consumables, as well as managing a vast fleet of vehicles including heavy transport, yellow metal and mobile lifting. WeldMech ensures the supply of tooling, equipment and consumables on any project, immediately replaces any damaged or defective equipment and guarantees zero project delays arising from the supply of tooling, equipment and consumables.

The common vision of the Hydra Arc Group is to become a global leader in the steel construction and fabrication industries, whilst ensuring sustainable profitability and the inclusion of all its people in its success. Its dedication to quality was recognised in April 2017 when it was awarded the Golden Europe Award for Quality & Commercial Prestige by Otherways Research & Consulting.

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An international

adventure Selected by Shah Deniz Consortium as the preferred transportation option for natural gas volumes from the Shah Deniz II field to Europe in June 2013, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is a major project that represents the European leg of the Southern Gas Corridor. The project was previously covered by Energy, Oil & Gas in January 2016, during which time the project was in its implementation phase, with all of the required engineering procurement and construction (EPC) service contracts expected to be awarded by early 2016. The project has since progressed well into its construction phase and once completed will transport ten billion cubic

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metres of natural gas per year (bcm/a) from a new source of gas to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

“I am pleased to report that the TAP project has registered very good progress since January 2016 and the pipeline is now well into its construction phase, with over ten million safe man hours worked towards the completion of the project,” says Managing Director Ian Bradshaw. “As of early April 2017, we have graded and cleared more than 45 per cent of our route across Greece and Albania (approximately 360 km out of 765 km) and welded over 30 per cent of the required steel line pipes - 17 per cent of which pipes are already in the ground.”

Indeed, within Greece over 260 km of the project’s intended route has been cleared, while 217 km line pipes have been strung with approximately 184 km of pipeline welded.

A further 97 km have been back-filled and approximately 18 km are in the process of being reinstated. Line pipes continue to arrive into Kavala, Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis and at present circa 65 per cent of the 32,000 line pipes needed to build the 550 km Greek section of the TAP project have been delivered in a relatively short period of time.

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Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline continues to represent a vast engineering operation that requires expert capabilities and close co-operation between contractors, government bodies and community leaders TERNA

The project also continues to run well within Albania, where approximately 98 km of the route has been cleared and graded. Around 84 km of the region’s pipelines have been strung, with 71 km of line welded and approximately 50 km of pipes back-filled. “At the end of 2016 TAP completed the first phase of Albanian road infrastructure rehabilitation, comprising the upgrade of approximately 58 km of access roads, construction of two new bridges and the refurbishment of 40 bridges. This will allow heavy machinery and equipment, including a 60 tonne pipe-bending machine and over 1000 18-metre pipes weighing up to 16 tonnes to access remote areas along the pipeline route safely,” Ian adds. “Following the conclusion of construction activities, these upgraded and new access roads and bridges will have the added benefit of being left for local communities to utilise for decades to come. A second phase of road upgrades, consisting of approximately 120 km is also planned to go into construction and this will be built by Spiecapag as a contractor acting on behalf of TAP. In terms of logistics since April 2016, line pipes continue to arrive at our Durrës main marshalling yard (MMY) via the Durrës port and up to now approximately 85 per cent of the 13,000 line pipes needed to build the 215km Albanian section have been delivered.”

Within Italy the TAP project has been awarded a Single Authorisation permit, which was granted by the country’s Ministry of Economy on 20th May 2015 and the TAP team is currently involved in secondary permitting activities. “Construction operations within Italy began during May 2016 and over the summer of that year TAP teams carried out unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance and archaeological surveys as well as phytosanitary treatment, which involved spraying of olive trees along TAP’s route in preparation to be moved,” Ian explains. “Several surveys have been conducted along the San Foca beach throughout early October and in December 2016, while all geological studies for a micro-tunnel construction project have also been concluded.”

The construction of this micro-tunnel further includes the removal, storing and replanting of olive trees across the project’s

TERNA has a total EPC experience of 2500 MW in thermal power projects, with approximately 1700 MW of installed capacity already completed and 800 MW under construction.

The power plant types of TERNA’s EPC portfolio cover the range of single/ dual fuel capability Open Cycle Gas Turbine Plants, Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Plants in single/multi-shaft arrangements Diesel Engine Plants, and Supercritical lignite steam power plants.

Additionally, in the Oil & Gas Sector the EPC experience of TERNA covers LNG facilities, Gas Compressor Stations, Pipelines, etc.

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Italian route. To avoid any impact on the San Foca beach in southern Italy, TAP will build a 1.5km micro-tunnel that represents a state-ofthe-art engineering project that minimises the environmental impact of TAP and renders the pipeline invisible in the operating phase. “To successfully complete the development of the micro-tunnel – at a site approximately 800m inland from the beach – TAP needs to move and store 231 olive trees as a first step, which will later be replanted at the same location,” Ian details. “TAP has now removed all olive trees in the micro-tunnel area. The majority of trees were moved to a nursery where they will be stored and meticulously cared for over the next two years, until they can be replanted at the site once works have finished.”

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline continues to represent a vast engineering operation that requires expert capabilities and close co-operation between contractors, government bodies and community leaders. Indeed, TAP is committed to investing circa €55 million into supporting the local communities along the route of the pipeline. So far TAP has

Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)

implemented several social and environmental investment projects and plans to continue to roll out further social projects over the coming months.

In terms of project implementation the team will continue to focus on prioritising safety, while achieving solid progress in the completion of the construction phase. “Safety remains TAP’s number one priority. We have been blessed with superb safety performance so far, with over 10 million man-hours safely worked and over 20 million kms safely driven, and we will do everything in our power to ensure this performance is maintained - especially as we move into more difficult terrain in the mountainous regions of Greece and Albania.”

Ian concludes: “We are looking at considerable progress with regards to our onshore construction. With the continuous support of host Governments and local communities, by the end of 2017 we expect approximately 60 per cent of the route in Greece and Albania (765km in total) to be graded and cleared and around 50 per cent of the project’s welded steel pipes to be in the ground.”

Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) tap-ag.com Services: Complex value chain energy project

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Elevating

business Combifloat Systems B.V. is the exclusive supplier of modular Combifloat pontoons, a flexible modular floating and elevating construction system, eminently suitable for coastal and inland waters. By means of a special but simple coupling and locking system, the units can be assembled to any projectspecific configuration. The unique coupling system is easy to handle and strong enough to be used in Self Elevating Platforms with deck loads up to 1000 MT.

The fleet at Combifloat currently stands at 14 units, which are graded as C5, C7 or C9. “We have four C5 Self Elevating Platforms, which are

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predominantly used in the geotechnical arena, as well as eight C7 class platforms and two C9 platforms,” explained Bas de Jong, Managing Director of Combifloat. “In addition, some time ago we completed the design of a new selfelevating platform, which is dedicated to the oil and gas industry. We also have a vast number of modules that we can turn into floating elements such as barges, jetties and bridges.”

Combifloat has another four C7 Self Elevating Platforms under construction, plus it is considering building another two C9 class units as well. “We usually build our fleet on speculation,” added Bas. “We recognise that short delivery times are giving us an additional edge we need to stay ahead of our competition.

We see the marine construction market growing as a result of economic growth and so we took the decision to build another four units in preparation for the future.”

In fact, since Energy, Oil & Gas last featured Combifloat in 2015 the company has upgraded various features of its platforms and designed new spud wells and other equipment. “With the spud wells we have increased the stroke of the cylinders so the actual jacking speed is faster, which is a serious benefit when operating the platforms. We have also completed and upgraded

PROFILE

the design of the C1500/C2000 Self Elevating Platforms, which are suitable to operate in water depths up to about 65-70 metres.”

He continued: “We are now looking at supplying a new modular Self Elevating Platform in between the C7 and C9 class, in around a 600-ton deckload range. We have completed the design already so it’s just a matter of pushing the button and off we go – I anticipate this will happen before the end of the year.”

Many of the improvements and new product developments were made in consultation with clients and this sort of customer feedback is imperative to Combifloat – as Bas noted the company can’t exist without its clients: “It’s obviously very important that we listen to them.

We do consult with a number of potential clients so we can make sure we address their needs. As ours is a modular system we can adjust elements to meet project specific requirements, but if they require something really special then we are happy to help.”

Combifloat will also assist clients with jacking engineers if required, and is able to develop or to render services in operating the units. “Quite often our customers are repeat customers, which means they just need the technology as they are already familiar with how it operates,” added Bas. All of the platforms already supplied by Combifloat are in operation across the world, with the company exporting more than 95 per cent of its products. “We have rental units operating right now in Europe, the Mediterranean, Israel, the Caribbean, the Caspian, South America and the Middle East and we have sold units to clients all over the world, including Australia,” Bas highlighted.

“We have actually recently been quite busy in South America and the Caribbean, and we see business picking up in the Med and West Africa as well as India.

“Oil and gas has been down for obvious reasons over the last couple of years and we don’t predict a serious pick up in the next 12-18 months as a result of the continuous low oil prices. But subsequently we have seen an increase in economic growth resulting in a number of big infrastructure projects such as harbour developments, bridges and tunnels where we can play our role and be of assistance with our flexible and cost effective products.”

Illustrating this point, one of Combifloat’s C9 platforms is currently operating in the Falkland Islands on a harbour development for services related to oil and gas. “We have another C9 operating in Bahrain for a very major marine

construction company,” added Bas. “The marine construction market is positive, and we continue to see opportunities in that particular market segment.”

While the past two years may have been busy for Combifloat in terms of product development, it has also implemented a new ERP system. “We developed this from scratch, as we had a lot of existing procedures that we had to integrate into the system, and while it’s still a bit too early to quantify the effect it will have I am confident it will certainly have a positive impact on our performance. We have simultaneously upgraded all our internal processes eventually resulting in further increased service level towards our clients,” concluded Bas. “2017 is looking good - we will probably be back at pre-2016 business levels. Going forward we want to focus on our continuous natural growth. We will continue to look at the right acquisitions or adding existing jack ups to our fleet. We have the means available to grow and we are certainly planning to make use of those.”

Combifloat

Combifloat combifloat.com Products: Combifloat pontoons

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Helander Precision Engineering Helander Precision Engineering specialises in the machining of complex critical components to the world’s leading OEMs and sub-tiers across the energy, aerospace, defence and nuclear sectors.

With dedicated nuclear facilities and process know-how, Helander has many years of experience machining critical parts for nuclear applications including decommissioning, lifetime extension and fuel handling systems, all with required Life Time Quality Records (LTQRs).

Housing 30+ state-of-the art CNC machine tools, Helander works with its customers to minimise lead-times and reduce unit cost through concurrent manufacturing engineering support and continuous improvement programmes, and works at all levels; from strategic tier one through to tactical one-off product development.

Since 2007, the company has been part of the Calder Group a specialist-engineering group with a significant presence in the nuclear sector. With a turnover of circa `200 million, Calder has nine operating subsidiaries across Europe with circa 740 employees and head-office in Chester, UK.

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PROFILE

Ansaldo NES

Reactive

Formerly operating as Nuclear Engineering Services (NES), Ansaldo NES has roots within the nuclear energy market that date back to the mid-1950s and operating under the name John Thompson Engineering. The overall origins of the business however, can be traced back to the 1800s through the company’s formation within the boiler manufacturing industry. Today the company represents a leading player in the provision of design and manufacturing solutions for the nuclear energy market, having won its first contract within the sector to supply the reactor housing for the UK’s Dounreay nuclear site in 1955. The successful implementation of this project allowed the business to continue to establish its presence within the nuclear industry through the execution of a number of specialist activities.

These have included the provision of critical equipment such as components for applications including fuel routes, remote handling, inspection, encapsulation, waste handling, glove boxes, shielded containment and reprocessing for most of the UK’s nuclear power stations.

During May 2014 the Italian nuclear engineering specialist Ansaldo Nuclear officially incorporated Ansaldo NES following the formal purchase of NES. This company represents a subsidiary of Ansaldo Energia (AEN) – an international expert in power generation operating with over 3300 employees worldwide.

The acquisition was valued at around €36 million and enabled the newly rebranded Ansaldo NES to offer an extended range of specialist services that today continues to meet the evolving needs of the international nuclear industry. This is particularly true within the UK where there is a potentially lucrative market for decommissioning and the construction of new build power plants.

Indeed, Ansaldo NES represents a longterm partner for the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning site, situated close to the village of Seascale, Cumbria. By combining the operational strengths of Ansaldo Nuclear with several decades of industry ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

Ansaldo NES

experience, Ansaldo NES is able to supply a wealth of specialist knowledge, engineering capability and key skills to support UK nuclear programmes across several applications. Its highly efficient activities within Sellafield and beyond are comprised of a broad range of services that include: SS Engineering from concept through to detailed design for manufacture SS Manufacture, assembly, test and commissioning services SS Both installation and post-installation support SS Remote lifting, mechanical and manual handling equipment and operations SS Fuel route, fuel handling and inspection equipment SS Protective equipment, such as shield doors, glove boxes, bogies, gamma gates and containments SS Waste management equipment SS Bespoke special purpose equipment SS Process equipment SS Control, electrical and instrumentation systems (EC&I) and hardware SS Steel structures SS Generic machining and fabrication SS Expert engineering support and consultancy In March 2016 it was further announced that Ansaldo NES had signed a ten-year project to supply cranes to Sellafield, in an £88 million joint venture contract with the French crane manufacturer Réel. This collaboration will provide specialist cranes that are intended to speed up the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) 100-year programme to clean up the site. The contract calls for the delivery of 34 nuclear in-cell cranes, which will be partly manufactured at an Ansaldo NES site in Wolverhampton. In-cell cranes are overhead crane units that are specially designed for use within highly active sites around Sellafield, where human entry is strictly prohibited.

Once the crane units have been manufactured Ansaldo NES will use its facility at Haile, near Egremont in Cumbria, for crane testing that will also generate new jobs at the site. The ‘flatpack’ approach adopted by Sellafield for purchasing new cranes represents an important opportunity for both Réel and Ansaldo NES. The strategy is also set to save UK taxpayers approximately £53 million, as well as contributing to the cleanup of what is currently Europe’s most complex nuclear site.

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While the company maintains an impressive portfolio of completed projects within the fields of nuclear decommissioning and construction, Ansaldo NES is equally well represented in the defence industry. Within this sector it has two decades of experience in successfully developing innovative and bespoke solutions and has built an excellent reputation and a loyal customer base that has enabled Ansaldo NES to emerge as an approved vendor for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which further holds original equipment manufacturer (OEM) status for the delivery of various assemblies and spares.

When working with these demanding clients, the company deploys its comprehensive in-house capabilities in conjunction with carefully selected specialist sub-contractors, while working in accordance to defence standards 2781. This has allowed Ansaldo NES to participate in the design, servicing and repair of heat exchangers and associated pipe-work for all serving HMS Royal Navy Nuclear Submarines as a trusted OEM supplier. While working within the scope of this project, the company has further established important environmental agreements with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), the Environmental Agency, Natural England, and Marine Scotland for the safe disposal of waste items generated whilst working in-situ. This highlights both the professionalism of Ansaldo NES and its commitment to working both safely and responsibly within the nuclear sector as a whole.

With a proven track record and a highly skilled and experienced workforce within the nuclear industry, Ansaldo NES remains in a strong position to deliver technically demanding projects to clients throughout its core industry sectors. Its current activities at Sellafield and on behalf of the MoD continue to be highly successful and will serve as first-class case studies for the company as it continues to tender for new projects throughout 2017 and beyond.

Ansaldo NES is able to supply a wealth of specialist knowledge, engineering capability and key skills to support UK nuclear programmes across several applications

Ansaldo NES ansaldo-nes.com Services: Design and engineering solutions

PROFILE

Seismotekhnika OAO

Groundbreaking

developments The roots of Seismotekhnika OAO reach as far back as 1973, when the Ministry of Oil industry of the former USSR made the strategic decision to found a specialised organisation that was tasked with the advancement and manufacture of non-explosive seismic sources within Gomel, Belarus. Discussing the development of the company, Marco Tozzi, Managing Director of Seismotekhnika OAO comments: “We were founded in 1973 as a design office of seismic equipment under the will and control of the USSR government; over the following years the company began manufacturing several models and types of

surface sources of seismic signal units. In fact, for 20 years Seismotekhnika led R&D and manufacturing of vibrating machines, equipment and vibrating source for geophysical research on the USSR market.

“From 1990, we began developing and producing some work over and drilling mobile rigs for the oil & gas market; after this we did the same for all related ancillaries systems as mud treatment systems, pump systems and so on. In 2004, according to the state programme, we were reorganised into the open joint stock company Seismotekhnika; thanks to successful co-operation with the state-oil company, Seismotekhnika was able to quickly master the manufacture of a wide range of oilfield equipment that meets all modern requirements.”

Further developments took place in recent years, with the company becoming certified as compliant to international systems ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 during 2008 and 2010.

Following this achievement, the company had 19 per cent of its shares purchased by Drillmec SpA, the world leader in the manufacture of oilfield equipment. This milestone in the company’s history resulted in the company beginning assembly, testing and the commission of drilling rig units of more than 400 tonnes, as well as land rig and echelon systems ENERGY,oil&gas

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PROFILE

for cluster drilling. In 2013, Drillmec SpA went on to become the major shareholder of JSC Seismotekhnika, with 51 per cent. This take-over resulted in improvements at the company as well as new arrangements in production to ensure Seismotekhnika become a lean manufacturing plant; as part of this development, the company achieved API certification Q1 and API license 4F, which brought Seismotekhnika to European production levels and standards.

Elaborating further on the benefits of being a joint venture comprised of OAO Seismotekhnika and Drillmec SpA, Marco highlights: “There is a great strength in having the experience of Drillmec SpA as well as the specific knowledge of the Russian market that we have acquired over the years. The major benefit is that we actively belong to the ex-CIS area and have a resulting knowledge of standards and technical requirements that are relevant to this type of market. Using the combined expertise of the mother company and of the local company, new technology and improved solutions have been developed.”

Alongside enhancements in manufacture efficiency, Drillmec SpA also invested a huge amount in the manufacturing plant’s facilities when it became major shareholder.

“This investment include controlled painting chambers, the arrangement of a large assembly and testing yard, a semi-automatic welding machine and several new IT tools. However, the main tasks undertake over the last period are represented by actions for lean system production aimed at performance improvement,” says Marco.

Today the company develops, manufactures and sells products such as mobile drilling rigs, mobile units for repair and the drilling of wells, drilling mud cleaning systems, mobile power plants, blocks of fuels and lubricants, technology platforms and other accessories for oilfield application at its cutting edge plant.

The mobile units have capacities ranging from

Seismotekhnika OAO

80 tonnes to 200 tonnes, while land rigs have capacity of 345 tonnes. This equipment is highly requested for operation in areas such as the north of the Russian Federation, Venezuela, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, as Marco notes: “We recently completed a large order with Surgutneftegaz in Russia for the oil & gas market and also provided seismic equipment to various customers on ex-CIS territory such as Ukrgeogizika, Ukraine, SC Turkmengeologiya, Turkmenistan, JSC Krasnodarneftegeofizika, Russia, JSC Saratovneftegeofizika, Russia, and OAO Yakutskgeofizika, Russia.”

With a strong customer base and an enviable reputation in the market, the future looks positive for Seismotekhnika OAO over the coming years despite the challenges in the present market. By continuing to improve and adapt with the needs of customers as well as market trends, the company will remain a name synonymous with high quality rigs in locations such as Russia and the ex-CIS area, while also becoming well known in locations such as Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. “At present we are working on finalising a major project in Russia with a strategic customer; meanwhile, within the Eastern European and Russian market, we are focusing on developing rigs and equipment that closer meets our customers’ requirements. To do this, we will develop new technological solutions and service on the oil-field,” says Marco. “I consider the satisfaction and service offered to customers a key factor in this time of business.

“Although the oil & gas market is challenging, through facing these challenges we can improve performances and services to customers. Over the coming years the key is to offer flexibility of products and services offered and to anticipate customer needs by using our experience and know-how in the oil & gas and drilling sector,” he concludes.

F.LLI REGAZZON F.lli Regazzon is a brand that represents 50 years of experience and technical knowledge in the manufacturing of high precision gears. It specialises in the subcontracting of small and medium sized gears ranging from module 0,75(Ø20) up to 25(Ø2000); milling and tooth cutting of special racks; tooth grinding from gear module 2 to 25 (max size Ø1200); as well as CNC turning with horizontal and vertical lathes up to a diameter of 2100mm and CNC milling and boring up to 8000x3000x2500mm. It is also specialised in the manufacturing of special reduction gear boxes realised on customers drawings.

Seismotekhnika OAO drillmec.com Services: Manufacture oilfield equipment

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

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