Energy, Oil & Gas Issue 168 May 2019 by Finelight Media Group

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issue 168 MAY

The

complete package Energy Drilling Company has undergone an impressive transformation in order to address the needs of bigger operators and drill deeper wells

Immersive competency

Utilising state-of-the-art training tools can help attract fresh, new talent to the oil and gas sector

Giant ambitions

Mega projects are being lined up that could shift the landscape of global petrochemicals from 2025 and beyond

News: Expro recognised with an Order of Distinction for 15 consecutive RoSPA Gold safety awards

Editor Editors Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond - libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Assistant Editor Will Daynes Staff Writer Vladi Nikolov

In our article on page 8, Honeywell points out how state-of-the-art VR and AR technology can not only attract millennials, but also help to pass on the wisdom of the older workforce in an efficient way

Art Editor Fleur Daniels Advertising Designer Fiona Jolliffe Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove Operations Director Philip Monument Operations Manager Natalie Griffiths Sales Mark Cawston Theresa McDonald Gary Silk Sam Surrell Web Sales web@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Exclusive Features Darren Jolliffe - djolliffe@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Independent Sales Dave King - dking@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Research Managers Ben Richell Kieran Shukri Editorial Researchers Wendy Russell Richard Saunders Office Manager/Advertisement Administrator Tracy Chynoweth Digital Subscriptions Iain Kidd - digital @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.

The time is now The search for staff with the right skills is a constant, ongoing process across all of the businesses we talk to at Energy, Oil & Gas (as well as in our own business – and likely, yours!) But for the oil and gas sector, concerns over the skills gap are a serious barrier to growth and as the workforce gets older (baby boomers are now in their seventies) encouraging young people into the industry has never been more important. In our article on page 8, Honeywell points out how state-of-the-art VR and AR technology can not only attract millennials, but also help to pass on the wisdom of the older workforce in an efficient way. The younger generation has an affinity for digital technology and this sort of solution helps to create the sort of workplace that they are increasingly demanding. Honeywell points to survey results from this year revealing a skills crisis in the oil and gas sector – now is the time to act to make it a more attractive place to work.

editor LIBBIE HAMMOND

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Regulars

Refining

Translating Vision 2050 into practice will require Europe’s refiners to rethink and rebuild their long-term strategies

Technology

To meet the skills challenge in oil and gas, businesses need to consider immersive competency solutions

12 Olympus

To tackle complex inspection challenges, the latest generation of videoscopes is equipped with innovative features

14 Regulation

Guest contributor Michael Reader-Harris takes a look at the evolution of flow measurement standards

16 Renewables

There are several key considerations facing the renewable industry at the moment, including subsidies and ‘nimbyism’

18 Big oil

Middle Eastern oil companies have giant ambitions in petrochemicals, with plans to launch massive capacity in 2025

22 News

Some of the recent developments within the oil and gas industry

23 Hempel

Hempel’s Hempaline Defend 630 Solvent Free Phenolic Epoxy Lining has been chosen by a major United States oil refinery as an interior tank lining

25 DDDP

The Data Driven Drilling and Production Conference takes place 11-12 June in Houston, Texas

16 2

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Contents

Profiles

26 ORES 30 Tidewater Inc 34 Energy Drilling Company 38 Arcola Energy 42 Plexus plc 46 NEOT 30

50 DCN Diving

38 50 ENERGY,oil&gas

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European Refining

2050

Stephen George discusses how to turn the vision into reality

urope’s refiners, through their industry organisation Fuels Europe, have set out their long-term ambitions in a new program called Vision 2050. The outlook sees Europe’s refiners staking a claim to remain at the centre of transport fuels supply, the petrochemicals industry, renewable fuels and energy - even as Europe’s Energy Union strategy mobilises a low-carbon, sustainable energy transition.

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While Europe doesn’t speak for the rest of the world, its aspirations for greenhouse gas reduction, technology leadership and renewables focus will help to define the global direction of travel in the decades ahead. Just as European standards for higher fuel quality have spread throughout much of the world, Europe’s future embrace of green technologies and sustainable practices will drive energy efficiency and emissions reduction to help the

Refining

world achieve its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate change agreement (COP21). Vision 2050 starts with the premise that Europe and the world will continue to rely upon liquid transport fuels for the foreseeable future – they are the most energy-dense, cost-effective and in some cases (e.g. aviation) the only practical way to maintain affordable mobility. Electric and hybrid cars – alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) - will play a role in private transport, but they cannot meet the needs of the entire transport sector, much of which will continue to rely upon liquid fuels.

What does this mean for the refining industry? This longer-term dependence on refined products is not a radical view. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2017 World Energy Outlook ‘current policy scenario’ also anticipates a world where oil demand continues to grow for at least another two decades, as population growth and economic development outpace efficiency gains, the uptake of AFVs and other new technology. If Europe isn’t ready to part with fossil fuels, Vision 2050 suggests that these fuels can be made greener by introducing more renewable material into the mix, and by using renewable energy to produce and distribute them. By lowering the fossil-fuel density of these fuels, they argue, a broader and more immediate impact on CO2 emissions can be realised than by waiting while new AFV technology matures and propagates around the world, which will take decades. The vision also calls for the EU to maintain technological leadership in this area, developing and commercialising new processes and technologies. New process technologies and digitalisation will develop and sustain new highly skilled jobs in many sectors across the EU. Vision 2050 asks for a technology-neutral playing field, letting economics separate winners and losers so long as results are achieved, and it calls on European politicians to deliver a long-term stable investment climate to give investors the confidence they need to make the big-ticket investments that will be needed to deliver this vision.

could see refiners using more renewable electricity and biogas instead of fossil hydrocarbons to power refining processes. The refinery of 2050 could be fuelled solely by renewable energy. A role also remains for increasing biofuels in the transport fuel mix. As technology continues to evolve, sustainability, land use challenges and the food-vs-fuel debate will be resolved. Drop-in versions of nextgeneration biofuels from waste, agricultural by-products and algae sources will become more commonplace. Petrochemicals will also be transformed by renewable feedstocks, plastic recycling technology, and a broader embrace of the circular economy. Developments in new engine technology will also drive demand for higher quality transport fuels that could in turn reduce overall fuel demand by further improving fuel economy. Technology improvements in cars and in traffic management are also expected to improve the efficiency of vehicle use, delivering more personal mobility with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Digitalisation will also drive continued efficiencies in energy optimisation, workforce upskilling and plant reliability. Some of these technologies are in their infancy today but will start delivering real benefits through improvements in predictive maintenance, reduced downtime, operating cost reduction, stable operations and on-spec products, achieving maximum economic value from capital investment. The skills base needed in the refinery of 2050 will be considerably broader than it is today. Alongside evolving AFV use and the development of other renewable energy, these new technologies are expected to lower Europe’s share of global carbon emissions from around ten per cent today to nearer six per cent by 2050, with a long-term aspiration of completely decarbonising Europe’s energy needs. As this transition is happening, it can also position European companies as global leaders in low carbon technology that can be exported to the rest of the world as it catches up with Europe.

Preparing for the future New technologies will shape the future Europe’s refiners are quick to agree that there are no ‘silver bullet’ technologies that will deliver all of the benefits in one package. It’s not that simple. Rather, a broad framework of technologies in the refinery setting will be managed at an asset-specific level to deliver significant greenhouse gas reductions. New technologies such as green hydrogen, which incorporates renewable hydrogen into conventional transport fuels, are useful in upgrading technologies to continue the trend away from heavy fuel oil use and to remove more pollutant sulphur from the fuel mix. In addition, renewable refinery fuel

Vision 2050 is a roadmap for a viable future for Europe’s refineries, but it is not a simple way forward. The vision is ambitious, as Fuels Europe is quick to acknowledge. Yet it is vital to Europe’s energy independence, the environment and the economy. Delivered successfully, these will become a benchmark for refiners in many other markets. It can be difficult, looking at your organisation, to know if you are ready for these challenges. Refiners should be well positioned to manage the complex and expensive challenges required by the energy transition. If the EU comes to the table and fosters the investment and regulatory climate needed

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to stay the course, Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refiners will need to rise to that challenge and deliver the vision. This will require strategic insight, capital investment, technological evolution, organisational maturity, and Operational Excellence.

Turning Vision 2050 into reality To do this, refiners need to invest in robust technology solutions. Adopting an Operational Excellence framework integrates strategy, business processes, people and technology to address business, asset, organisation and applied technology challenges. Operational Excellence solutions are focused on delivering continuous improvement and sustainable competitive

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advantage through a program of discovering, delivering and sustaining operational benefits in all key areas of management control. Conducting a pre-investment analysis of new technology to ensure the new investment choices are robust and resilient will help manage the risks from adopting new technology. It may also identify if there are any synergies that can be realised with existing technologies. It is worth considering simulation software to simulate the impact of adopting new technologies and unconventional feedstocks both on refinery yield and financial performance. Refiners must also ensure that they are digitalisationready. To do so, refiners should not just look at the

Refining

new technologies they are putting in place but also their employees and their capability to cope with these new developments. The application of new digital technologies will change the way the organisation is managed, from remote control centres to operations, maintenance and contractor management. It is important to help guide the transition by delivering change management targeted at frontline employees to ensure they retain the right capabilities and develop the necessary future skills. Translating Vision 2050 into practice will require Europe’s refiners to rethink and rebuild their long-term strategies, along the way transforming their organisations into modern, flexible knowledge-based enterprises.

KBC – A Yokogawa Company Stephen George is Chief Economist – EMEA and APAC, KBC – A Yokogawa Company. KBC addresses challenges across upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas, chemicals and power. Located in 22 principal offices around the world, KBC understands the unique situation of your business and can tailor advice and solutions that consider your specific market conditions, regulations, resource constraints and practices. For further information please visit: www.kbc.global

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Immersive

competency Ensuring skills gaps don’t scupper growth

kills gaps continue to be the key problem for businesses in the oil and gas industry. Recent research by DNV GL shows confidence in the global oil and industry is high. Three quarters of the senior oil and gas professionals surveyed expect growth in the year ahead, and overall confidence is at levels last seen in 2011.

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As growth returns, however, concerns over skills gaps loom large, coming second only to competitive pressures in professionals’ lists of the barriers to growth. As the report noted, “For 2019, skills pressures are now firmly back on the agenda…” On the one hand, this is unsurprising. Over a decade ago, the World Petroleum Council Director General Dr

Technology

Pierce Riemer warned that the industry was on “the edge of a demographic cliff”. In the intervening years, the retiring baby boomers about which he worried have not got any younger. The eldest are now in their seventies. On the other hand, we do not live in a world with fewer people – far from it. In the US, millennials have

surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation in history. Together with the Generation Z workers following them, they will soon account for more than half the global workforce. It’s not primarily a question of people, but of skills. And it’s also a question of competing. As DNV GL’s research noted, skills gaps may be exacerbated by fewer

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young people joining the industry. Some are opting for green energy industries; others, particularly with the skills the digital oil field needs, are drawn to technology firms. Oil and gas has to work harder than ever to make itself an attractive proposition. The oil and gas industry does not have long to address the challenge. The Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) survey earlier this year found 40 per cent of oil and gas professionals felt they the industry was already in the midst of a skills crisis. A further 28 per cent expect a crisis to hit in the next five years. If businesses are to meet this challenge, immersive competency solutions are likely to be an increasing part of the answer. Augmented or virtual reality (AR or VR) training provides a powerful solution for capturing the expertise of the aging workforce and passing it on effectively and efficiently to younger workers.

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Practice makes perfect Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve long recognised that hands-on learning is usually the most effective form of training. This is particularly true for millennials, who have a strong preference for active learning and experience, rather than typical classbased lectures, according to research. At the same time, oil and gas operators are, understandably, reluctant to let inexperienced trainees practice in live plants, where mistakes can cost lives. AR and VR training is an effective answer to this quandary. Headsets can either immerse users in a completely digital world (VR), such as a plant, or overlay graphics, such as an image of a device or equipment, on the real world (AR). Both provide opportunities for realistic practice of key and complex tasks, without any risks to safety. Crucially, immersive competency delivers on key requirements to meet the demands the change of

Technology

generations in the workplace is placing on the industry. Most importantly, it’s a fast, effective training method. Honeywell estimates the technology can reduce typical times to competency by a third: from six months to two. That’s important in three respects. First, it is efficient and enables businesses to make the most of the experienced workforce. Centrally located or remote experts can oversee the training of younger workers across the organisation with VR and AR learning modules delivered on demand, online. Second, it enables oil and gas businesses to cope with the speed of demographic transformation they face. According to a study by consultants Accenture Strategy, in 2015 baby boomers accounted for 19 per cent of the oil and gas workforce; by 2025 the figure is expected to be just seven per cent. Third, it also helps firms cope with the above average turnover in younger workers. Surveys show many millennials moving quickly from job to job. In one survey, close to half (44 per cent) were looking to leave their employer within two years. Reducing the time to competency, businesses can increase the period of productive work. In fact, though, the technology may not only help businesses cope with high staff turnover among younger workers; it may actually help reverse it, as well as enabling oil and gas businesses to compete for talent with other industries more effectively. The affinity of the younger generation for digital technologies is as well proven as it is obvious. These ‘digital natives’ rely on and enjoy technology in every

aspect of their lives. This makes the barriers to adoption among younger workers to immersive competency extremely low; a generation raised on 3D video gaming and basic AR apps and games such as the Pokémon Go has little problem getting to grips with these solutions. AR headsets such as Microsoft’s HoloLens just offer more sophisticated versions of technology they are already familiar with. More than this, however, these solutions – and others such as intelligent wearables that bring connectivity to the field – help to build the sort of digital workplaces that are attractive to millennials, and which they increasingly demand. If we can build these workplaces in the oil and gas industry, we will find the pool of available talent is more than enough to support the most optimistic expectations of for the future.

Honeywell Honeywell is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Its technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For further information please visit: www.honeywell.com

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Keep Quality Moving IPLEX GX/GT – The right tool for the job The right tool for the job should be versatile and able to perform multiple applications. With interchangeable insertion tubes and light sources, an 8 inch touch screen and advanced imaging features, the IPLEX GX/GT videoscope delivers an optimal balance in versatility, imaging capabilities and ease of use for faster more detailed inspections of heat exchangers, pipes and boiler tubes. Features include: · I nterchangeable scopes with 4 mm or 6 mm diameter and lengths of 2.0, 3.5, 7.5 or 10.0 metres · I nterchangeable white, UV and IR light sources to expand your inspection capabilities ·W ireless image sharing and video output allow multiple inspectors to collaborate

Learn more at: www.olympus-ims.com/en/rvi-products/iplex-gx/

KeyMed House, Stock Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 5QH, United Kingdom | Tel: +44 (0)1702 616333 | www.olympus-ims.com

29172 Ad_Iplex GX.indd 1

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Olympus

Looking ahead Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) is a key element of plant maintenance, preventing leaks or other accidents than can result in significant losses

lant shutdowns are expensive, which means that fast, efficient inspections that do not compromise on reliability are highly beneficial for plant profitability. Although other inspection technologies exist, RVI extends the reach of the human eye into areas that would otherwise be invisible or require dismantling to view, therefore RVI is the only method that provides instant true-tolife images for confident decision-making. Plants are interesting for RVI inspection due to the wide range of equipment that needs to be inspected. Each piece of plant equipment comes with its own specific inspection challenges. These challenges can relate to the shape of the component (small holes, tight spaces) or to its condition (damage, fouling). To tackle these complex inspection challenges, the latest generation of videoscopes is equipped with innovative features that are specifically designed to address these tasks. These videoscopes provide high return on investment due to faster inspections and better informed decision making.

CASE STUDY – In-service inspection of corrosion in trunnion supports A recent article from HSE in England and Wales raised a specific concern relating to the inspection of trunnions or trunnion supports. Trunnions are welded to the process pipe carrying oil, gas or chemicals in plant locations, power stations and oil and gas facilities and form the support structure for this network of pipes. There is a critical inspection requirement for trunnion reports, more critical following an HSE (Health and Safety Executive) report highlighting the condition of a number of inspected supports following failure due to corrosion. The Action required by the HSE at the time following Bulletin Number: HID1-2013 is as follows: “Operators of plant with pipework containing hazardous substances should ensure that their inspection regime includes suitable examination of supports. In particular, where tubular trunnions are installed with an end cap that prevents visual examination, other means should be employed to ensure the integrity of the system, where there is a possibility of moisture ingress. Note that permanent removal of the end cap is not recommended without further design work, as the cap may be required for additional stiffness.”

Historic inspection method and associated challenges Historically, based on this advice trunnion supports have been inspected using industrial radiography, a non-destructive inspection technique using radioactive isotopes that is both costly, time consuming and carries a number of critical safety challenges. Due to the nature of this type of inspection, there is generally a requirement to stop works at the specific plant location and evacuate personnel to a designated safety zone. Naturally, efforts have been made to look into new and innovative ways to inspect these trunnion supports.

A new method for inspection trunnion supports ‘in-service’ Remote visual inspection, by default, extends the reach of the human eye into areas otherwise unable to be seen without disassembly or sometimes destructive testing. As such this scenario is a truly ‘non-destructive’ technique where no disassembly or dismantling is required and inspections can take place in situ. During the trial, the access point for the videoscope was the weep holes found in the support structure of the trunnion. These weep-holes exist so as to allow pressure release during the high temperatures hit whilst welding. It is possible to pass a videoscope through this inspection port of 6mm or less and take both images to assess the condition, or to take measurements where necessary to map this corrosion if evident. A number of trunnion samples have been inspected in England and Scotland and in some trunnion samples, the level of corrosion was so high that it was deemed fruitless to take measurements. Equally, in other trunnion samples there was no evident corrosion and again, no measurements needed to be taken.

Conclusion and Olympus recommendation Regular trunnion inspections are a cost-effective way to ensure low downtime and potential catastrophic failure of these process pipe supports allowing operators to make informed decisions when minor faults are identified which left undetected would result in costly replacements. For more information on the equipment used, please visit: www.olympus-ims.com

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Go with the flow Michael Reader-Harris takes a look at the evolution of flow measurement standards

low measurement standards in the oil and gas industry are essential in ensuring that revenue and tax are correct; their impact is particularly visible where losses are being determined from differences in meter readings. UK natural gas demand is around ÂŁ16 billion (â&#x201A;Ź20 billion) annually, and most of this is measured at some stage using the ISO standard for flow measurement using differential-pressure meters, ISO 5167: this standard and its predecessors have been revised over years to avoid both inaccuracy through inadequate specification and excessive cost through over-specification. Standards give consistency. By the development and adoption of standards, there is wider industrial acceptance of new technologies, and barriers to trade are lowered, transaction costs are reduced and the operation of markets is improved through the smooth flow of goods and services. Standards enable compliance to be demonstrated, provide confidence in product performance, and help to eliminate or reduce disputes between companies and across borders, hence saving costs and time. They help smaller firms by transferring technology from larger ones. 2018 was the 75th Anniversary of the first British flow measurement standard, BS1042:1943: that early one covered differential-pressure meters; ISO differentialpressure-meter standards followed. Standards covering a very wide range of other technologies have also been developed, for example ISO 2714 PD meters, ISO 2715

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Turbine meters, ISO 17089 Gas ultrasonic meters, ISO 10790 Coriolis meters and ISO 12242 Liquid ultrasonic meters. Standardisation is not only important for economic reasons; accurate measurement of discharges, of produced water, for instance, is important to ensure a cleaner environment. The key standards will in practice be revised as required, probably on a similar frequency to that for the differential pressure meter standards, which is roughly every 14 years. Where technology is moving faster, standards revision will be more frequent. For differential-pressure meters there are supporting documents for ISO 5167: ISO 2186 on impulse lines and several Technical Reports (TRs), e.g., ISO/ TR 9464 Guidelines for using ISO 5167, ISO/TR 12767 Differential-pressure meters departing from ISO 5167 and ISO/TR 15377 Differential-pressure meters beyond the scope of ISO 5167. New application areas for flow measurement require new standards. Wet-gas TRs have already been published: ISO/TR 11583 Using Venturi tubes or orifice plates to measure wet gas and ISO/TR 12748 Measuring wet natural gas. ISO/TR 21354 Multiphase flow measurement will be published this year. ISO standards are produced by more than 200 technical committees (TCs) and their subcommittees (SCs). The members of these committees are the national standards bodies (NSBs), e.g. BSI. A TC covers a specific technical

Regulation

area, and its SCs are appointed to concentrate on specific areas within the remit of the TC. Under an SC (or under the TC directly) there are Working Groups (WGs), whose members are individual experts nominated by the NSBs. Documents (standards or TRs) are developed in WGs, with Working Drafts (WDs) being circulated by the WG convenor to the WG members and commented on until the WG is ready to send a draft to ISO. A draft standard from the WG is now sent out as a CD (Committee Draft) to the NSBs. The NSBs’ comments are resolved and a DIS (Draft International Standard) is circulated to the NSBs. If the DIS is approved and no technical changes are introduced in the draft, the project goes straight to publication. However, if technical changes are introduced, an FDIS (Final Draft International Standard) is prepared and voted on; no technical changes can be introduced at this stage. If a TR (rather than a standard) is being prepared then ISO sends it out to the NSBs for a single vote. From the above, to participate in standards-making it is necessary to be involved in a national standards body; then you can be put on a WG and report back to the NSB; alternatively, you can comment on the CD, DIS and FDIS as part of the NSB. Two thirds of the ISO standards that include reference to fluid flow measurement are produced by four technical committees: TC 28 Petroleum products and lubricants, TC 30 Measurement of fluid flow in closed conduits, TC 113 Hydrometry, and TC 131 Fluid power systems. Many standards on natural gas properties are produced by TC 193 Natural gas. TC 30’s remit is to produce standards on flow measurement in pipes for general use. As a result, standards produced by ISO/TC 30 are referred to by many other technical committees, and work undertaken by TC 30 affects a wide range of industries. The author of this article had 15 years as the Chairman of ISO/TC 30, and is now Chairman of ISO/TC 30/SC 2 Differential Pressure Meters. To avoid duplication of ISO standards, the ideal arrangement between ISO/TC 30 and any other ISO TC is that a flow-measurement standard will be produced by TC 30, and standards from other TCs will refer to it, adding instructions for specific applications where required. This article is written to encourage participation in making standards. Standards are not infallible: they include engineering judgment where data are not available; continuous improvement is always desirable. Standards are of great importance: according to DTI Economics Paper No 12 of 2005 standards contributed to about 13 per cent of the increase in labour productivity over the period 1948-2002 and contribute £2.5 billion annually to the UK economy. It is also worth noting that participation in standards-making is an opportunity not only to share knowledge but also to gain it.

TÜV SÜD Group Michael Reader-Harris is Principal Consultant at TUV SUD NEL. TUV SUD NEL is a world-class provider of technical consultancy, research, testing and programme management services. Part of the TÜV SÜD Group, TUV SUD NEL is also a global centre of excellence for flow measurement and fluid flow systems and is the UK’s National Measurement Institute for Flow Measurement. For further information please visit: www.tuv-sud.co.uk TUV SUD NEL is a global centre of excellence for flow measurement and fluid flow systems and is the National Measurement Institute responsible for the UK’s National Flow Measurement Standards. As an international technology services organisation and provider of pipeline fluid management services to the global petroleum industry, the company has an impressive track record in the development, design and application of new technologies. TUV SUD NEL is a trading name of TUV SUD Ltd, a company of the TÜV SÜD Group, an international service organisation with more than 24,000 employees and over 1000 locations in around 50 countries. For further information please visit: www.tuvnel.com

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Room with a view Danielle Tile explains some of key considerations facing the renewable energy industry at present

n February, BP claimed that renewable energy will be the world’s main power source by 2040. So, as the UK strives to achieve its own clean power targets, the question remains as to why the nation appears to be lagging behind. Considering the realities of climate change, research has shown that most people support investment in wind and solar power, however in practice it can often be a case of ‘not in my backyard’. The EU Energy Directive in 2009 saw the UK Government commit to generating 15 per cent of its energy using renewable sources by 2020. While it’s widely-accepted that the country needs longer to deliver on its promise, the shared end-goal of a more sustainable future is a significant driver for continued growth in cleaner generation models.

The future looks bright Historically, one of the main barriers for the adoption of renewable technology was the upfront setup cost of clean energy vs. that of fossil fuels. However, in recent years, the initial outlay associated with utility-scale wind, solar and battery storage facilities has declined significantly. The falling price of equipment, co-location of

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technologies, and investments by wind farms to upgrade from nominal power outputs to a greater, more efficient generator, are all helping the sector to flourish. As the cost of the engineering equipment itself – such as photovoltaic panels and steel – is starting to come down, progress towards a cleaner future will inevitably continue. Although there’s no denying that England still has a way to go to match some of its EU cousins, Scotland and Wales are already ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing clean energy. The nature of our climate and successful adoption by our closest neighbours makes it abundantly clear the demand is there.

Changes to government subsidies The reduction in government subsidies has made the industry rethink how to encourage the growth of renewable technologies and sector implementation. In order to generate the required income for developers to take the step into an unsubsidised future, consideration must be given to the routes to market. By removing government-mandated support and introducing cross-subsidisation of subsidy-free schemes – where new projects co-locate with those already connected

Renewables

to the grid or battery storage sites – there’s a much clearer path towards achieving grid parity.

Community investments In England, renewable development applications must first be approved by the local communities – unlike in Wales or Scotland. As a result, developers work hard to create community cohesion around projects. Often, schemes which go ahead are backed by further investment directly into the community – through fixing buildings or landscaping parks – in order to compensate for any disruption caused to local residents. In addition, when working on a renewables project ourselves, Smith Brothers tries – wherever possible – to utilise local workmen on the site. Whether that’s through offering additional employment for labourers and farmhands, or paying land owners to use their property and outbuildings to store equipment and materials.

Green energy? Yes, but not in my back garden One problem the industry continues to face – which shows no sign of abating – is the notorious not-in-my-backyard culture, also known as ‘nimbyism’. The latest turbine technology means the vast structures are ghostly quiet and governed by strict planning regulations which keep them a good distance from the nearest dwelling. While objection can often be down to genuine concerns – such as disruption to local wildlife or unsuitable cable route proposals – more-often-than-not it comes down to visual impact. While many agree that a solar farm or group of turbines are more aesthetically pleasing than a nuclear or fossil-fuel power plant, objections from people complaining about changes to their view does have serious implications to the UK achieving its sustainability targets. Roy Harrison, owner at Roy Harrison Architects explained: “Of course, no one ‘owns’ the view from their living room window. However, most of the opposition to new developments – be it renewable energy infrastructure or otherwise – is the change in the visual landscape. “In my opinion, a wind turbine is quite a beautiful feature. Their sculpture-like design promotes sustainable energy in an elegant yet simplistic way – by depicting movement and energy – which is something the population needs to support in order to provide the best possible future for generations to come.” This is not the first time that ‘nimbyism’ has reared its head in the world of renewables, as Marcus Brew, managing director of Waste to Energy shredding specialist UNTHA UK explains. “For years, prospective resource projects have been met with resistance in the UK. Of course, planning concerns are sometimes understandable, and it is important that people can have their voice as new renewables infrastructure is

commissioned. But there have been many cases when the nimbyism largely stems from a lack of knowledge about the subject matter. “Some people may perceive state-of-the-art recycling facilities or Waste to Energy plants to be dealing with nothing other than ‘smelly rubbish’ for example, and there have been damning headlines about ‘dirty incineration’ too. But technologies have advanced which means many such facilities are in fact extremely clean. The industry has therefore had a job on its hands to better engage with communities so that they are armed with the facts, not misconceptions. It hasn’t been easy, and efforts must remain ongoing. “What I’m trying to say is that nimbyism is not a new problem and it’s not always down to what people can see out of their windows – sometimes they don’t want these projects anywhere near their homes! But with communication and dialogue, this can change. In some parts of continental Europe, Waste to Energy plants are at the heart of the community and something to be proud of!”

What’s next? The amount of wind bestowed on the UK makes it the ideal site for turbine-generated-power – you only need to consider the old windmills farmers utilised to grind their flour not so long ago. These traditional wooden structures supported a vital industry prior to the development of new, more efficient technology. In that same vein, renewable energy solutions offer a natural progression in our power resources as a nation and are replacing the old, inefficient coal plants which are having a detrimental effect on the atmosphere. Since 2009, the UK has decarbonised its electricity grid more than any other country. Although much of this is as a result of coal being replaced by gas – with only a modest contribution coming from the renewable energy sector – the framework is in place to progress to a cleaner future. Watch this space.

Smith Brothers Contracting Ltd Danielle Tile is business development manager at Smith Brothers Contracting Ltd. Smith Brothers Ltd is a large, turnkey electrical contractor with 20 years’ experience. The firm has worked on a vast portfolio of projects throughout the UK and overseas – both as an ICP and EPC contractor – and offers ongoing preventative maintenance, ensuring your equipment continues to run smoothly. For further information please visit: www.smithbrothersltd.co.uk

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Giant ambitions

Joseph Chang examines how Middle East ‘Big Oil’ is to boost THE global petrochemicals footprint

hile the US cracker wave on the back of the shale gas boom is getting much of the attention, big oil and gas players in the Middle East are lining up mega projects that could shift the landscape of global petrochemicals from 2025 and beyond. Driving this push from oil companies is the growing realisation that oil demand for transportation fuel will plateau with the electrification of vehicles and improving fuel efficiency. Thus, the future for hydrocarbons is not in gasoline and diesel, but in chemicals, where demand should continue to climb alongside GDP growth. And it’s clear that ‘Big Oil’ is no longer satisfied simply providing feedstock for the downstream chemical sector.

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ADNOC’S $45bn investment plan Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) wants to ‘stretch the dollar’ from the barrel of oil to the maximum through producing chemicals, said CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber. ADNOC is embarking on a $45bn investment plan with a goal to more than triple petrochemicals capacity at its Ruwais site from a 2016 base of 4.5m tonnes/year to 14.4m tonnes/year by 2025, and adding new downstream product chains in construction chemicals, oilfield chemicals, surfactants and detergents. In February 2019, its 50/50 joint venture company Borouge awarded front-end engineering and design (FEED) contracts for the 4th phase of its expansion in Ruwais which will include a 1.8m tonne/year mixed feed cracker and add a

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total of 3.3m tonnes/year of olefins and aromatics capacity. The cracker will be the first in the country to use mixed feeds. The feedstock slate will be ethane, butane and naphtha. “The Middle East is running out of cheap natural gas. All new projects are mixed feed, with a typical mix of about 35 per cent ethane, and 65 per cent propane, butane and naphtha which is not as advantaged as ethane,” said Hassan Ahmed, analyst at US-based investment research firm Alembic Global Advisors. While ADNOC and JV partner Borealis plan to finalise the downstream configuration within three months of the FEED contract awards, it should include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Aramco's COTC and $100bn plan Saudi Aramco’s planned crude oil to chemicals (COTC) complex with SABIC in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most watched project on the planet as it could have stunning implications for the petrochemicals sector. In late March, Aramco agreed to buy a 70 per cent stake in SABIC from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a $69.1bn deal, taking control and effectively merging the kingdom’s energy and chemical giants into an integrated, international powerhouse.

Featuring a budget of around $30bn and a process to convert 400,000 bbl/day of crude oil to 9m tonnes of chemicals and base oils, the Aramco/SABIC COTC mega complex is expected to start operations in 2025. The initial plan was to convert 45 per cent of each oil barrel to petrochemicals. However, Aramco aims to boost that figure significantly by advancing its proprietary process technology. Aramco believes it can convert between 60-70 per cent of the oil barrel into petrochemicals using this technology. Petrochemicals are averaging about 10-15 per cent of global refinery output, with wide differences between integrated complexes. “In recent years, refiners have increasingly raised their share of petrochemical output at the expense of traditional fuels. Some of the new refineries in China can convert up to 40 per cent,” according to Stefano Zehnder, vice president of consulting at ICIS. “In Saudi Arabia the original base concept is rapidly evolving. It’s clear Aramco is looking to scale up to commercial size its crude-to-chemicals technologies,” said Zehnder. “With the potential for further increase from the base 45 per cent yield, this points to even higher petrochemicals and base oils capacities than the 9m tonnes/year base. The

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final configuration will be a function of the desired balance between petrochemicals, base oil and fuel products,” he added. Ahmed from Alembic Global Advisors notes that crude oil-to-chemicals is all about “integration and trying to be more efficient both upstream and downstream”. That’s because “every new facility in the Middle East puts them higher on the cost curve”, a function of the mixed feedstock slate. Aramco plans to invest an eye popping $100bn in petrochemicals over the next ten years, CEO Amin Nasser said at the Gulf Petrochemicals Association (GPCA) annual meeting in Dubai in November 2018. In October 2018, Aramco and France-based Total signed a joint development agreement for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of their planned joint venture petrochemicals complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The $5bn project, slated for start-up in 2024, will comprise a mixed-feed (50 per cent ethane, 50 per cent refinery off-gases) cracker with 1.5m tonnes/year of ethylene capacity and downstream units. The petrochemical complex will be downstream of Aramco and Total’s joint venture SATORP refinery and the companies expect an additional $4bn in investments

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in petrochemicals and specialty chemicals capacity from third-party investors. Aramco is also in the process of merging with Saudi Arabia-based petrochemicals and polymers giant SABIC.

Mega projects worldwide Aramco and Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC are not only plowing investment dollars in their backyards but setting up mega complexes around the world. The most ambitious among these is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June 2018 between Aramco, ADNOC and a consortium of Indian oil companies (Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum) to build a $44bn refining and petrochemicals complex in India with 18m tonnes/year of petrochemicals capacity. Aramco and ADNOC would jointly own 50 per cent of the project, with the Indian consortium owning the other half. The Indian government expects construction to start in 2020 in Raigad, India with completion of the project by 2025. Alembic Global Advisors’ Ahmed cautions on raising expectations from MoUs. “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia went on a tour across Asia and many MoUs were signed. But MoUs sometimes don’t materialise. Until we

Big Oil

see steel in the ground, we typically don’t take them too seriously,” said Ahmed. China is another target for Middle East oil companies. In February 2019, Aramco signed an agreement with China’s NORINCO Group and Panjin Sincen to develop a $10bnplus fully integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Liaoning, China with start-up expected in 2024. The partners will create a new company, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical (Aramco 35 per cent, NORINCO 36 per cent, Panjin Sincen 29 per cent), as part of a project that will include a 300,000 bbl/day refinery with a 1.5m tonne/ year cracker and a 1.3 tonne/year paraxylene (PX) unit. Aramco will supply up to 70 per cent of the crude oil feedstock for the complex.

“The devil’s in the details in terms of what gets built, delayed and cancelled. We all know the game of companies throwing down big numbers to prevent competitors from overbuilding,” said Ahmed.

SABIC merger to bring projects And Aramco is inheriting two additional mega projects in its planned merger with SABIC. SABIC and China’s Fuhaichuang Petrochemical are planning to jointly build a petrochemical complex in Fujian, China, a source from Fuhaichuang said in late February. The project to be located at Gulei in Zhangzhou would include a 1.8m tonne/year cracker, a 600,000 tonne/ year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and derivatives units, according to the Fuhaichuang source. An official deal has yet to be finalised. However, one SABIC mega project is already underway. On the US Gulf Coast, SABIC and ExxonMobil are building a 1.8m tonne/year ethane cracker in San Patricio County, Texas, with a monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant and two PE units downstream. Project completion is expected by the fourth quarter of 2021 and start-up in the first half of 2022. Beyond the potential merger between Aramco and SABIC, Middle East oil companies could seek to acquire Western petrochemical assets. Aramco acquired Germany-based LANXESS’ synthetic rubber business by buying out the latter’s 50 per cent stake in their ARLANXEO joint venture in December 2018, while SABIC took a nearly 25 per cent stake in Switzerland-based specialty chemicals and catalysts company Clariant in September 2018. Earlier major deals included SABIC’s acquisition of US-based GE Plastics in 2007 and Abu Dhabi’s IPIC (now Mubadala) buying Canada’s NOVA Chemicals in 2009. “They would be still be interested but we would not expect them to go too far from their comfort zone in olefins and polyolefins, and possibly in polyurethanes. We think they would look to the US rather than Europe,” said Ahmed from Alembic Global Advisors. It’s clear Middle East oil companies have giant ambitions in petrochemicals with plans to bring on massive amounts of capacity in 2025. However, it remains to be seen what projects actually start up and in what timeframe.

ICIS Chemicals Business Joseph Chang is Global Editor, ICIS Chemicals Business. Additional contribution also made by ICIS editors Nigel Davis, Nurluqman Suratman, Niall Swan and Fanny Zhang. ICIS is the world’s largest petrochemical market information provider with divisions spanning energy and fertilizers. With a global staff of more than 600 and more than 30 years’ experience in providing pricing intelligence and news, forecast data, market analytics and independent consulting to buyers, sellers and analysts, ICIS is fully committed to upholding the highest journalistic principles of verification, corroboration and authentication. For further information please visit: www.icis.com

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News

In Brief Close partnership DNV GL has awarded Arkona Offshore Wind Farm wih its project certificate. The certification was carried out according to the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH – Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie) standard BSH7005 and covers all stages of the project development from design planning over construction to commissioning. The project certificate confirms all

Energy centre deal

relevant safety features of the wind farm and validates the technical and quality compliance with the BSH standard requirements, to ensure a safe and reliable power supply.

Photovoltaic partners DuPont Electronics & Imaging’s Photovoltaic Solutions business has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems to optimise accelerated testing protocols for crystalline silicon solar panels. Fraunhofer ISE will validate and accelerate solar panel sequential testing methods developed by DuPont, to enable service life

Fortum Glasgow, a joint venture between Fortum Oyj and Verus Energy, has purchased the South Clyde Energy Centre from Peel Environmental for an undisclosed sum. The site, which has planning permission for an energy recovery centre that could treat up to 350,000 tonnes of waste a year, is located on Bogmoor Road near the Hillington Industrial Estate and next to the M8. Commenting on the deal, Richard Barker, Development Manager at Peel Environmental, said: “The Peel Land and Property Group is committed to delivering significant investment across its portfolio in the Clyde Estuary Gateway and has several key projects including the Glasgow Harbour Lifestyle Outlet in the pipeline. “The Peel Environmental team is proud to have played its part by delivering the South Clyde Energy Centre to this important milestone, securing this investment from such an experienced operator, and bringing new inward investment to Scotland. “Fortum and Verus Energy are leading sustainable energy companies with a strong track record across Europe and we’re delighted to see the project come forward.” Originally granted consent in 2012 by Glasgow City Council, the energy centre will divert waste from landfill and use it to generate electricity and heat. Peel Environmental, part of Peel L&P, has been working closely with Fortum Glasgow to bring forward the energy centre with plans for work to start on site early in 2020. The construction will support around 350 jobs.

estimation calculations. The tests aim to address the most common types of panel degradation observed in the

Order of distinction

field at the backsheet level, by type of material used.

Vulnerable to attack The energy industry is vulnerable to increased cyber espionage and sabotage attacks, according to a new report from F-Secure. The data highlights that threat actors are advanced and persistent, but companies are using outdated systems and technology to save money. Poor security posture, prioritisation, and awareness are also gifts to attackers. “Espionage and sabotage attacks against CNI organisations have increased over the years and I don’t think we have seen it all yet,” says Sami Ruohonen, Labs Threat Researcher at Finnish cyber security company F-Secure.

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Leading international oilfield services company, Expro, has been recognised with an Order of Distinction for 15 consecutive Gold awards in the RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Health and Safety Awards. The prestigious award is presented to organisations that sustain the highest standards of health and safety management and innovation over consecutive years. It recognises Expro’s continued success in safety, as well as a range of new safety initiatives carried out during the past year. Ian Robb, HSE and Service Quality Director, commented: “Safety is our critical priority at Expro. We pride ourselves on having a strong safety culture and we encourage our employees to champion safety at every opportunity while we work towards being recognised as the benchmark for safety in our industry.” Expro launched a company-wide internal safety climate survey, focused on gathering employee opinions and perceptions around a series of safety specific matters; the results of which are being used to shape the future direction of health and safety in the company. The company also focused on HSEQ management reviews, embedding of global audit systems, and lessons learned 30 years on from the Piper Alpha disaster, highlighting the importance of individually championing safety.

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Hempel makes the grade with refinery crude storage tank lining A major United States oil refinery has chosen Hempelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hempaline Defend 630 Solvent Free Phenolic Epoxy Lining as an interior tank lining for a 200 foot / 61 metre tank diameter sour crude oil storage tank. Hempaline epoxies are 100 per cent solid materials that can often be applied in a single coat and have rapid curing properties. This saves the customers time and money in application costs and completion times. Faster project completion allows them to return a unit to service quickly producing revenue. Hempaline Defend 630 was chosen for this application because of its ability to resist acid conditions of the tankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cargo, high sulphur crude oil. Hempaline will provide long lasting protection to the tank, minimising future maintenance and repainting costs. With rapid curing, Hempaline Defend 630 returned the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tank back to service, generating revenue that would otherwise have been lost due to longer downtime. Hempaline can be trusted to develop chemical resistance quickly whilst producing corrosion protection that lasts.

Hempaline lining - Trusted lining solutions

The challenge A major US refinery was in need of a long-lasting, low-maintenance interior tank lining for its 200 foot / 61 metre diameter sour crude oil storage tank. The solution Hempaline Defend 630 is a fast cure, highly chemical-resistant internal coating designed specifically for severe service environments, such as those found in the oil and gas industry. The Hempel Group Head Office Hempel A/S, Lundtoftegaardsvej 91, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark T: +45 4593 3800 | E: hempaline@hempel.com | hempaline.hempel.com

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News Local integration Jan De Nul Group recently reached an important milestone on the Formosa 1 Phase 2 OWF project: all 20 foundation monopiles have left the EEW SPC yard in Germany on board of two heavy load transport vessels. Both vessels set sail to Taichung port, the marshalling harbour for the OWF project in Taiwan. The Formosa 1 offshore wind farm is located three kilometres

Cleaner and cheaper solution

off the coast of Miaoli. Formosa 1 Phase 1 OWF contains two Siemens 4MW demonstration turbines, the very first offshore turbines installed off Taiwan. Formosa 1 Phase 2, the contract awarded to Jan De Nul Group, concerns the extension of the existing Formosa Phase 1 OWF adding 20 6MW turbines with a total output of 120MW. Apart from the overseas procurement and services, Jan De Nul Group has finalised various service and subcontract agreements with local entities in Taiwan. Philippe Hutse,

A new form of cleaner and cheaper temporary power, utilising the latest gas microturbine technology from California, is being launched by SSE Enterprise and Pure World Energy. The semi-permanent power solution will help developers cut costs and emissions - thanks to its modular gas micro-turbine technology capable of providing onsite temporary or medium-term power that is ultra-low in NOx (Nitrogen oxides) and SOx (Sulphur oxides) emissions - especially compared with diesel generation. The technology comes from US company Capstone, which is a leading manufacturer of clean micro turbine systems which has deployed over 9000 such units globally. Capstone’s microturbines have been developed to pass strict California emissions levels, and have already provided power in varied locations such as remote oil fields and mines. Neil Kirkby, Managing Director of SSE Enterprise, said the units would offer ‘total flexibility’ to the user, in terms of modular load matching and financial proposition for power requirements from 30kVa to 30MVa. Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Pure World Energy (PWE), added: “Given the amount of focus we are seeing in the UK & Ireland on reducing pollution in our cities we think this is a very timely market intervention. We hope that many businesses will be able to benefit from these units - especially when they face constrained grid issues.”

Offshore Director at Jan De Nul Group: “Our local integration has been ongoing for years

Multi-million investment

thanks to our various marine activities throughout the past years in the region. In the past months, we have signed several agreements with local suppliers for this project in Taiwan. These engagements fit perfectly in our philosophy of involving the local supply chain as much as possible.”

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Well-Safe Solutions has agreed to acquire the Ocean Guardian semi-submersible drilling unit, sparking another jobs boost for the company. The asset, currently owned by Diamond Offshore, has been a stalwart in the North Sea, drilling hundreds of wells since entering service in 1985. Upon delivery, Well-Safe will start work immediately on an upgrade of the semi-submersible, which will be renamed the ‘Well-Safe Guardian’, converting the asset into a bespoke plug and abandonment (P&A) unit. Well-Safe will invest in the region of $100 million dollars on upgrades to deliver a truly bespoke P&A unit. This will include installing a dive system and the capability to deploy a SIL (subsea intervention lubricator) - which is nearing completion of the design and engineering phase, supported by the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC). This is the first time a privately owned, Scottish business will own and operate this type of unit. Well-Safe is already progressing conversations to add a second semisubmersible to their business. This will be followed by a Jack-Up, mono-hull vessel and land-based P&A units. Mark Patterson, Executive Director, who heads up the asset purchase programme, said: “This is a major milestone in Well-Safe’s journey and one that is in-line with our strategy. It’s great to have The Ocean Guardian, which has a great reputation on which we will build, as our first asset.”

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Exhibition DDDP

Delivering data The Data-Driven Drilling and Production Conference (DDDP) is the world’s largest data-driven oil & gas event, bringing together over 70 operators with digital giants, top service providers, and ground-breaking gamechangers. This is where the future direction of the industry is forged says Tom Glover

he oil & gas industry is evolving. Slow to the uptake of the ‘digital age’ and industry 4.0, the industry is finally entering its digital adolescence, standing on the brink of a true transformation. The theoretical implications of digitalisation, AI, Automation, the Edge and the Cloud for the industry have been well documented. The path to their practical deployment, however, has not. That’s why Upstream Intelligence created Data-Driven Drilling and Production (DDDP). To cut through the digital hype and reveal clear examples of the strides taken towards this new digitalindustrial synthesis. Attendees at this conference don’t hear about the hypothetical imaginings of what could be. They see the industry’s future. Returning for its 5th year, DDDP cements its place as the greatest data-driven event in the O&G calendar. You’ll not only hear from senior decision makers - Shell’s GM Emerging Digital Technologies and VP IT Innovation, Chesapeake’s C.D.O, Equinor’s VP of Operational excellence – but you’ll see first hand through operator live demonstrations how they are leveraging data to optimise production, reduce downtime, and save millions. You’ll see all the best gamechangers across, not one, but two shark-tank technology showcases. You’ll have access to five workshops, over 60 exhibitors, and three tracks dedicated to data-driven production, data-driven drilling, and, new this year, the digital subsurface. In the latter, you’ll see how data and new technology are changing subsurface oil & gas. You’ll learn how Repsol are empowering geoscientists with quantitative interpretation through the Cloud, how one operator has used AI to slash the time taken to interpret seismic data, the first live demonstration of the

Open Subsurface Data Universe, and the latest in achieving the ultimate synergy of data and physics – a breakthrough in reservoir understanding. On our drilling track you’ll get the inside scoop on Anadarko’s real-time drilling journey and see, first-hand, a live demonstration of their online user interface. You’ll hear about how service companies are leveraging Edge computing as they lay out their road map to automated drilling. In our production track, you’ll get the latest on digital technology, IoT implementation, the latest case studies in AI & machine learning in production optimisation, and how companies are enacting that all important culture change to deliver the digital transformation. We have the biggest companies in oil. We have the biggest companies in tech. We have the E&P independents, the giant service providers, the game-changing start-ups, and the data-driven specialists. We have all the key decision makers and the future of the industry, all under one roof. The question is, are you going to be a part of it? I hope to see you in Houston. Tom Glover is a Senior Industry Analyst at Upstream Intelligence. For further information please visit: https://www.upstreamintel.com/data/ 11-12 June 2019 Data-Driven Drilling and Production 2019 750 attendees, 60+ exhibitors June 11-12, 2019, Royal Sonesta Hotel, Houston, TX

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PROFILE

ORES

Transformation and digitalisation Created in 2009, ORES is

Fernand Grifnée

ORES has already begun converting part of its own vehicle fleet to CNG and is positioning itself as a facilitator to help all stakeholders, whether public or private, who wish to install CNG stations 26

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the first E&G distribution system operator in the region of Wallonia, which accounts for 55 per cent of Belgium’s territory. The company is operating in 75 per cent of all Walloon municipalities. “Our staff of approximately 2350 people, from managers to technicians and administrative staff, delivers services to customers in 200 municipalities and to the society at large,” explains ORES CEO, Fernand Grifnée. “We distribute energy to more than 1.3 million households and businesses, which accounts for more than 2.5 million people.” ORES is in charge of the daily operation of electricity, natural gas and municipal public lighting distribution grids, including interactions with other energy market players. “Our dispatching and control services oversee these distribution grids 24/7,” Fernand Grifnée continues. “We are responsible for reading the energy meters of our 1.3 million customers; this means lots of data, which we validate, manage and transfer to the appropriate energy suppliers under the strictest of confidentiality conditions. We also have emergency repair teams on duty day and night, 365 days a year, to repair breakdowns,

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technical failures, outages and gas leaks on the networks.” Being in charge of the electricity and gas distribution grids for respectively 199 and 112 municipalities, it goes without saying that a great deal of time, effort and capital goes into maintaining the infrastructure and enhancing its performance. “In 2018 alone, we invested 192 million euros in our electricity grids,” Fernand Grifnée reveals. “This include new connections, kiosk substations and stations, the burying of overhead lines, and the replacement, modernisation and digitisation of the grids themselves. These renovations have been motivated by the will to optimise operations and operational costs, and to further improve safety and environmental conditions.” When it comes to its natural gas activities, ORES invested in total 80 million euros in 2018. Most of these investments were for the replacement or refurbishment of pipes, connections or meters. The replacement of old cast-iron, PVC or fibrocement lowpressure networks is continuing, with more than 20 km being removed in 2018 and replaced by polyethylene pipes, which are better suited to the current usage and operational conditions. “ORES also

consulting

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pursues its policy aiming to maximise the use of existing natural gas networks, by promoting the advantages of gas as a cooking and heating energy. More than 10,000 new customers were gained over the last three years thanks to a specific marketing campaign,” Fernand Grifnée states.

Smart change Like many distribution system operators, ORES has been making a concerted effort in recent years to improve its systems through the widespread adoption of smart technology. The concept of the ‘smart grid’ entails communicative connection between all actors in the energy supply system, encompassing power generation, transmission, storage and distribution, through to consumption of electricity. The result is an integrated, ‘smartised’ energy grid that relies upon precise (big) data and innovative information technology to facilitate the energy transition. “ORES is integrating more and more IT and telecommunication systems into the grids in order to produce a more accurate, instantaneous view and control of the system. This involved the use of new tools for voltage adjustment, remote monitoring, remote metering and remote control, while relying on a suitably integrated IT and telecommunication base,” Fernand Grifnée says. “The transition to smart metering is also an important element in the implementation of smart grids, as the

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recording of energy consumption data can help ORES to better manage its networks. Smart meters could also help consumers to optimise their consumption, based on accurate information and new pricing concepts. Over the last few years, ORES has tested several smart metering systems.” Mid 2018, the Walloon government adopted framework legislation that changed the approach taken previously. From an earlier expected generalised deployment of smart meters for all customers in Wallonia as from 2020, the government rather chose a segmented approach (big residential consumers, prosumers, social customers, new connections…) as from 2023 and on a tenyear time frame. This led to a change in the strategy of ORES as regarding smart metering implementation. The company decided to switch from a power-line communication (G3 PLC-based) approach to a wirelessbased approach. ORES now harnesses this ten-year program in close collaboration with RESA, the other main DSO in Wallonia, and with a new focus. Smart meters will replace the existing meters over time and should empower concerned consumers to better manage their energy bill.

Improved customer service More than ever, consumers have come to expect fair pricing of energy distribution and a high-quality, tailored and fast service through both traditional and digital channels. In response to this demand ORES has been developing its digital offer by introducing new services. For example, interactive online forms and self-service portal for consumers asking connection to the grid, internet tools informing the customers on network outages, or instructional videos and blogs that provide practical advice on issues such as energy efficiency. The aim is definitely on better service and value for the customer.

PROFILE

As far as company social responsibility is concerned, Fernand Grifnée points out that as well as efforts in the areas of smart grids and smart metering as energy transition tools, the company will also play a role in the promotion of green mobility options, particularly the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel. “CNG is not only eco-friendly, it is also based on mature technology and is already available across parts of the region through the distribution network. ORES has already begun converting part of its own vehicle fleet to CNG and is positioning itself as a facilitator to help all stakeholders, whether public or private, who wish to install CNG stations,” he states.

Transformation The energy transition process represents a major change in the electricity sector. The level of installed intermittent renewable capacity connected to the distribution grid increases. Locally-connected generation, storage facilities and flexible demand bring new opportunities – and risks – to distributors. “Within this context, and also to be able to answer to new customers’ needs,

ORES is transforming itself. We have set our roadmap in 2018 and are pursuing our transformation policy according to our 2019-2025 strategic business plan. It is focused on modernising our processes and systems in line with the best practice, so as to fully embrace the transition to a smarter grid and to a low carbon society. Our vision is one of responsibility: we want to facilitate energy and facilitate life for all citizens and stakeholders of the company,” Fernand Grifnée concludes.

ORES

ORES www.ores.be ............................................ Services: Electricity and natural gas distributor / Distribution system operator

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Turning the tide 30

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PROFILE

Tidewater Inc.

Founded in 1955, Tidewater is credited by many as being responsible for the creation of the ‘work boat’ industry and is recognised as being the pioneer behind the Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) market. The latter commendation comes as a result of its successful development of the world’s first purpose-built supply vessel, designed to support the offshore oil and gas industry, the Ebb Tide. Shortly after its founding, the company commenced international operations, and ever since it has grown organically and substantially through M&A globally, with its fleet working in more than 60 countries. In these, it provides supply and rig positioning vessel services in support of production and drilling operations for National Oil Companies (NOCs), Independent and International Oil Companies (IOCs). “Today, we operate in every major oil and gas region in the world, leveraging the reputation we have earned among our customers as one of the most trusted service providers when it comes to supporting offshore oil and gas exploration and production in emerging markets, as well as remote locations with limited infrastructure,” begins John Rynd, CEO of Tidewater.

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We entered 2019 on a strong financial and operational footing, with considerable opportunities for additional value creation as a result of exceeding our cost targets, incremental improvements in fleet utilisation, organic growth through vessel reactivations, and potential additional M&A

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Tidewater’s fleet of Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) are designed to carry a wide variety of cargo. These vessels can transport substantial amounts of fuel, water, drilling fluids, cement or mud in below-deck tanks, while their large, open decks can carry significant quantities of material, such as casing, drill pipe, tubing and deck cargo. Its other class of vessels – Anchor Handling Towing Supply (AHTS) vessels – are capable of positioning and mooring drilling rigs in virtually any location and water depth. With a range of power, sizes and capacities, these vessels are also well-suited for general offshore support services, drilling rig support functions and cargo transport assignments. “At present, we have around 165 active vessels, with the rest of our fleet stacked,” John states. “As the market continues to improve, we will reactivate the highestspecification, recent vintage tonnage from the stacked fleet, giving us the opportunity to grow organically using existing assets.” In July 2017, and in the wake of a wellpublicised industry downturn, Tidewater would emerge from restructuring with an

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even stronger balance sheet and substantial cash position, which allowed it to seek out additional opportunities for growth. Then, in November 2018, the company successfully completed a merger with one of its most respected peers, GulfMark Offshore, which itself had recently completed a restructuring process that left its balance sheet in excellence shape. “The merger with GulfMark positioned Tidewater as the largest OSV owner, and the most geographically diverse operator, in the world,” John details. “The all-equity combination has significantly scaled up our presence in key strategic markets, including the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and we remain well-positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities as the rest of the OSV sector recovers. “Another key benefit of the merger was the opportunity for both companies to realise operational and cost synergies associated with running a larger fleet of vessels utilising an existing, broad geographical footprint. Within only a few short months of being a combined company, we have made swift and significant progress towards our targets, including reducing our duplicate shore base around the world. To date, five facilities have been consolidated, including our corporate headquarters in Houston, and looking forward, a larger global footprint, high-specification OSV fleet and a healthy balance sheet places us in a strong position to grow through asset acquisitions and additional corporate M&A.” While 2018 was another challenging year overall for the OSV sector, Tidewater did see improvements in activity across several regions. In the case of the North Sea, there was a notable improvement in activity, while the Middle East remained an active area for the company, albeit one that also continued to face constant rate pressure. Meanwhile, its fleet in Mexico was very well-utilised, and West Africa – which remains the largest part of its business – showed continued signs of growth, with Tidewater’s local vessel fleet expanding as a result. “We entered 2019 on a strong financial and operational footing, with considerable opportunities for additional value creation as a result of exceeding our cost targets, incremental improvements in fleet utilisation, organic growth through vessel reactivations, and potential additional M&A,” John says. “Much like our peers

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Tidewater Inc.

in the drilling contractor sector, we have a constructive view of the offshore market as we progress through 2019. We may not have seen the last of the market volatility we have been experiencing for five or six years now, but we are hopeful that we will see it reduce, and we are confident that we have the stamina to withstand it where many of our peers have not. “While the market does develop, we will continue to create value through our mergerrelated synergies and maintaining safe, highquality operations for our clients globally. With all of the aforementioned benefits in place, Tidewater is clearly positioned to act swiftly to meet customer needs anywhere in the world, anytime in the cycle!” G Travel International LLC G Travel International LLC is a travel solutions company for the offshore oil and gas industry. Its vast experience across the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, India & Africa gives the company the ideal platform from which to design and deliver full, tailor-made, end-to-end travel solutions for international clients. G Travel International’s excellent knowledge of the industry gives it insight into the business and cultural differences across regions, and thanks to this expertise it has delivered solutions for local, regional and global travel programmes. It can also deliver fully customised client solutions and, together with partners it has created bespoke products that enabled its customers to directly improve their bottom line. Thanks to its approach, G Travel International is able to help the offshore industry to optimise both costs and processes.

Tidewater Inc. www.tdw.com ............................................ Services: The world’s largest fleet of Offshore Support Vessels

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The complete package

In March 2019, the privately -owned land drilling contractor, Energy Drilling Company (EDC) officially celebrated its 40th birthday. Based in Natchez, Mississippi, it was formed at a time when the shallow land drilling industry in and around the southern US states was struggling. Beginning life with a single rig, the company grew steadily, increasing its fleet and extending its reach into the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas, where it specialised in drilling wells

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on a turnkey, footage and daywork basis, predominantly on behalf of independent operators. Moving into the 21st century, EDC adopted more modern technology and found itself increasingly involved in a greater number of complex, high risk drilling operations. Today, it operates eight drilling rigs, including three trailer mounted mechanical rigs, one 1000 HP box on box mechanical rig, one 1000 HP box on box SCR electrical rig with a walking system and a top drive, one 1200 hp box

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on box SCR electric rig with a top drive, one 1500 hp box on box SCR electrical rig with walking system and top drive and one 2000 hp box on box SCR/AC electrical rig with a walking system and top drive. Able to tackle shallow, vertical, and directional wells to double pipe setters and extended reach horizontal wells, all of the company’s rigs come equipped with digital instrumentation, satellite communications with real time capability, electronic data management and IADC reports.

Energy Drilling Company

For EDC’s General Manager, Jody Helbling, his introduction to the company came in 2003, but, as he explains to Energy, Oil & Gas, it was in 2014 – when he was made the company’s first partner from outside the founding families – that the most recent significant development in its history occurred. “At that time, the US land market was increasingly moving to horizontal drilling and it was clear that EDC needed to modernise in order to meet the changing demands of its clients. Our response was ENERGY,oil&gas

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Leveraging our combined experience – the Operations team has over 130 years in the business – we are able to offer a number of value added services and a complete package of offerings, from engineering to operations

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to carry out upgrades to several of our rigs, placing the company back into the electrical rig arena, and introducing a walking, horizontal, high pressure rig capable of delivering services to the ‘factory drill’ market where clients are producing lots of wells rapidly. Then, in September 2018, we went on to unveil our 2000 HP rig, which is one of only a handful of 2000 hp highly specialised rigs currently operational in the company’s market area.”

Complete package The above-mentioned fleet of assets places EDC in a unique position, in that it finds itself in exclusive company for being able to drill virtually any depth of well on land in the US, whether said well requires a small, trailer mounted double rig or the efforts of its 2000

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HP triple rig. This flexibility and adaptability – together with the company’s long established model of providing excellent value for money to its clients – means that it can target work with industry players of all sizes. “Traditionally, we have worked with the smaller scale, often family-owned operators present in the US, of which there remains thousands in play today, which are typically looking for turnkey solutions,” Jody continues. “In recent years, we have also started to target work from the medium-sized entities in the market, which require help in developing their well portfolios, and in the last six months we have begun to reach out to the bigger players out there. This has coincided with the introduction of our 2000 HP rig, which allows us to drill targets at a depth which we previously could not tackle

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– one well that we are currently active on reaches depths of 20,000 feet for example – and we are already seeing this capability open new doors for EDC.” Jody and his team’s face-to-face discussions with the larger operators currently active in the region are also being supported by a revamp of EDC’s website, an increased focus on communication through its social media and email channels, and various other activities designed to publicise the increased capabilities of the company. EDC is also keen to stress how its four decades of experience in the industry allows it to today provide complete drilling operations support to its clients. “Leveraging our combined experience – the Operations team has over 130 years in the business – we are able to offer a number of value added services and a complete package of offerings, from engineering to operations,” Jody adds. Although commodity prices have steadily increased in recent months, the US land market for oil and gas activities remains a challenging one, with operators becoming

Energy Drilling Company

more and more financially prudent, and working within their cash flows. In spite of this, EDC still sees opportunities for itself to expand its customer base, its geographic reach and the type of work it can carry out, hence its drive to make contact with as many potential clients as possible. When educating potential clients on the type of drilling contractor EDC is today, Jody and his team have every right to reflect upon the impressive transformation the company has made in the last few years in particular and, as he states, it is this that Jody finds a particular source of professional pride. “We have truly worked hard to transform the scope of EDC, especially since 2014, and that is something I am immensely proud of,” he declares. “As far as what drives me forward, it is all about the next steps we take, whether that be building bigger rigs, consolidating our fleet, or seeking external investment. Whatever direction we go in, I am determined that it leads to higher profits from which our employees can benefit and coincides with retaining the best environment for them to work in.”

McCartney Oil Company McCartney Oil Company is proud of its ongoing relationship with Energy Drilling Company. For decades, we have been a fullservice provider for its fuel and lubricant needs as they have become one of the premier drilling contractors in the region. We look forward to the continued growth and profitability of both our companies as we work together in the future.

Energy Drilling Company www.energydrilling.com ............................................ Services: Land drilling contractor

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Thinking clean “We are currently in a position where we can either spend the next 20 years playing around in R&D and retire, having achieved what, in our view, would be very little, or we can push really hard for the promotion of clean technology to drive a very tangible positive change across an entire society.” In one sentence, Dr Ben Todd – the visionary founder and CEO of Arcola Energy, outlines the ambitious, almost larger-than-life, task ahead of the systems engineering company and Tier 1 supplier, which specialises in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Formally founded in 2010, Arcola Energy has been running fuel cells since the installation of its first system in 2007; and has always focused on bridging the gap between the companies developing clean energy technologies and the end users wanting to put them into use. “I have been part of the

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fuel cell industry for about 20 years, first as a technology scholar looking at extracting hydrogen from diesel, and later in my PhD in Cambridge, working on the Rolls-Royce solid oxide fuel cell system, which is designed to be combined with a gas turbine,” Ben says. “After my PhD, working in consultancy, I saw for myself how difficult it was for a company to get its clean-tech product into the market. Technology companies would rely on generalist consulting firms to deploy their products, but often the products did not fit the application requirements and the consultancies did not have the relevant expertise to get the best from the technology. So, I decided I would set up my own business with the simple idea of being genuinely useful – neither seeking the glory of technology invention, nor aspiring to be high paid consultants, just relentlessly doing whatever it takes to get hydrogen and fuel cells into the market.”

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Since day one of its existence, Arcola Energy has consciously been looking to foster long-term relationships with everyone the company was set to work with. “We are not backed by investors and do not take on unrelated commercial work, so in order to build the business, we had to develop strong partnerships within the industry, based on being immediately useful. We are proud to work with leading suppliers like Ballard, ITM Power, and BOC, as well as with Symbio FCell, who we represent in the UK. In fact, the Renault-approved Kangoo ZE H2 fitted with a Symbio hydrogen fuel cell is presently the only commercially available fuel cell electric commercial vehicle in the country,” Ben points out. He goes on to discuss the wide range of benefits hydrogen and fuel cell technologies offer: “A hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is similar to a battery electric

Arcola Energy

vehicle (BEV) – fuel cells and batteries are ‘sister’ electrochemical technologies. But the technology is more suited to bigger vehicles, to uses where you need to stay on the road longer before having to refill, and where you need the practicality of refuelling quickly. The greater range comes from the higher energy storage density of hydrogen fuel compared to batteries. Filling takes a just a few minutes from distributed hydrogen in the same way you fill your car with petrol. “Using this type of vehicle helps take the pressure on the electrical grid, too. If we were all to switch to BEVs the grid, particularly the local grid, would not cope. There is a long way to go yet, but we believe that using hydrogen as an energy vector, in parallel to electricity, will be extremely useful in the future. To give you an example, if you want to make several buses zero-emission, then converting them to battery electric is the simplest solution. However, if a whole depot of, say, 100 buses was to be turned into zero-emission, it can be very challenging to rely entirely on battery electric. This is where we can step up and reassure people that we can create and distribute hydrogen fuel as a viable, and complementary, alternative,” Ben explains. In recognition of the rapid ongoing expansion in both the BEV and FCEV markets, Arcola Energy recently acquired 15,000-square foot newly-built premises in Knowsley, Liverpool City Region, which will house the company’s manufacturing, installation, and maintenance facility. Ben comments: “The new site will allow us to build, install, and service hundreds, and soon thousands, of zero-emission vehicle powertrain systems, making us unique in this respect among Tier 1 suppliers in the UK. It is strategically located in an area where we have aspirations to grow the fleet of buses we are looking after, as we have now entered a partnership with Alexander Dennis – the world’s largest double-deck bus manufacturer – to produce and install hydrogen fuel cell systems for a new fleet of buses that will be deployed in Liverpool City Region. “Our in-house engineers collaborate closely with our vehicle partners’ engineers to put the whole package together, so that the bus is safe, compliant, easy to maintain, has the longest possible lifetime, and the lowest total cost of operation. I think it is important to clarify that our job is not to invent the latest hydrogen production method or fuel cell technology, but rather to do the critical power

Climate change is an enormous and very real issue, but it is difficult to get action on it. But we are seeing the development of massive awareness of topics like air pollution. People understand that if efforts are made to ensure cleaner air, the improvement will be noticed immediately and this is what will drive the market. Our job is to make sure that the solutions we develop to solve that airquality problem also provide a route to low carbon, so there is no compromise between the short and long-term aims

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Luxfer EOG Ad.pdf

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29/04/2019

09:57

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management system optimisation and vehicle integration details necessary to keep FCEVs on the road for as long as possible, driven by our goal of contributing to a zero-emission future,” he adds. Returning to the significance of Arcola Energy’s new facility, Ben also emphasises the new capability it enables - to be a single point of contact for both the OEM and the operator for vehicle maintenance. “We will be able to offer a holistic powertrain support within hours, because we are based 25 minutes away from the depot. What is crucial about the service, is that the moment there is an issue with a vehicle, someone with the same level of capability to design and develop it will be there to diagnose the problem and fix it. Our target is to achieve >98.5 per cent availability, with the aim that whenever the operator wants to use a particular vehicle, they will be able to do so with greater confidence than for an equivalent diesel vehicle.” In conclusion, Ben advocates passionately the wider deployment of any type of clean technology, particularly those that show a route to zero emissions, such as battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles. This links the need for more cleaner transport to address air quality to the constantly growing concerns over climate change and out-ofcontrol CO2 emissions. “Climate change is an enormous and very real issue, but it is difficult to get action on it. But we are seeing the development of massive awareness of topics like air pollution. People understand that if efforts are made to ensure cleaner air, the improvement will be noticed immediately and this is what will drive the market. Our job is to make sure that the solutions we develop to solve that air-quality problem also provide a route to low carbon, so there is no compromise between the short and long-term aims. And that’s where hydrogen FCEVs sit alongside BEVs as part of the future fleet. “My view is that if we make the most of the opportunity, this can lead to concrete global benefits and we hope that, over time,

Arcola Energy

we will grow into a position that will enable us to turn the entire industry. Right now, our outlook is very positive. We have some significant contracts in place already and there are a lot more coming through. Even though we are still relatively small, we see a path to expanding into a huge company in a few years. The market will decide whether we will actually achieve that, but the ambition is there and we are determined to do everything in our power to have the impact we want to see on our environmental goals,” Ben concludes, reiterating his resolution to make clean technology the rule, rather than the exception, in the foreseeable future.

Luxfer Luxfer is proud to work with Arcola in the development of ground-breaking hydrogen systems that are leading the way in the delivery of zero emissions automotive and transport solutions. Hydrogen storage is often a key challenge facing OEMs and Luxfer has the innovative, market-leading expertise and experience that OEMs require to safely integrate systems within alternative fuel vehicles, including hydrogen powered buses. Luxfer is a global company, manufacturing products for a wide range of applications around the world. As well as creating hydrogen systems for buses, Luxfer works with OEMs to provide solutions that reduce emissions in other vehicles too: these include drones, trains, road sweepers, boats and refuge vehicles. Currently, more than 18,000 commercial vehicles in Europe are fitted with a Luxfer alternative fuel system and Luxfer will continue to work with OEMs around the world to evolve and deliver systems that meet their needs.

Arcola Energy https://www.arcolaenergy.com ............................................ Services: Systems engineering company and Tier 1 supplier specialised in hydrogen, fuel cells, and batteries

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Making a strategic move Above: A POS-GRIP® ‘HG’ Wellhead system installed offshore

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The oil and gas industry has undergone substantive change in recent years, as any industry pundit will know. What can sometimes be less well documented are the major strategic changes that some companies within the sector have implemented to adapt, and in some cases, thrive. Take for example the efforts of Plexus, an established oil and gas engineering and service business, well known for its patented POS-GRIP® energy-oil-gas.com

Wellhead System, which has been used on more than 300 wells worldwide to date. Plexus’ POS-GRIP technology offers enhanced safety and operational features, time savings, and delivers a true metalto-metal gas-proof seal based on real and verifiable science. “Following the oil and gas price crash of 2015, our business underwent something of a transformation. This was led by the fact that at the time, we were completely

PROFILE

to the purchase of this business unit which was completed in February 2018. This transaction significantly enhanced the profile of Plexus and our proprietary technology.” Since then, Plexus has turned its attention towards opening up new markets, in particular the surface production wellhead and subsea sectors. “There have been a number of silver linings that have arisen from our arrangement with TechnipFMC, with one of the main ones being that it has allowed us to move away from serving a niche market sector measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars into a much larger global market measured in the billions,” Ben continues. “Importantly for Plexus, the world has been moving away from coal and oil, to natural gas as the emergent hydrocarbon of choice. At the same time, there is now a much greater focus on technology and performance requirements for a whole range of equipment, including production wellheads. This is driven by ever growing environmental concerns related to emissions and their impact on climate change. This has a direct impact on the approach to drilling for and supply of gas, as the containment of natural gas leaks and in particular methane, which is approximately 87 times more damaging to the environment to CO2 is crucial.” Plexus’ special POS-GRIP, HG® metalto-metal, seal technology is scientifically proven to be such a ‘gas proof’ solution for gas wellheads. ‘HG’ (Hot-Gas) seals consist of integral radiused seal bumps, that interact directly with the wellhead bore, minimising leak paths by eliminating the need for separate sealing components.

Plexus plc

With our products, what the end user gets is a completely rigid, secure seal solution which, if left undisturbed, we are willing to guarantee to be gas proof for the life of the field in question. This is a promise that few, if any, other companies can make

Below: POS-GRIP Cost Model – The Higher the Specification: The Lower the Relative Cost

focused on delivering POS-GRIP wellheads and equipment for high pressure/high temperature applications for the jack-up exploration rental market, which effectively came to a screeching halt,” explains Plexus’ founder and Chief Executive, Ben van Bilderbeek. “With a need to reinvent ourselves, we began to engage with one of our competitors, TechnipFMC, and after a number of months of them assessing our rental business and technology, they agreed ENERGY,oil&gas

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Below: POS-GRIP Technology Embraces ‘HST’ Requirements

A high amount of preload, delivered by external squeezing of the wellhead housing, achieves simultaneous horizontal actuation of multiple metal annular seals, which act over a long interface area to calibrated levels of stress, incorporating elements of Hertzian Stress Theory. Once energised, POS-GRIP load-rings eliminate axial movement at the seal interface, rendering POS-GRIP wellheads ‘gas-proof’ and ‘maintenance-free’, over the life-cycle of a well. The option to match materials at the seal interface can prevent bi-metallic corrosion, and the use of multiple seals allows management of chemical degradation. Designed to raise wellhead standards to the level of premium tubular couplings, POS-GRIP seals overcome the shortcomings associated with conventional sealing technologies, which often lead to the need for expensive life-cycle maintenance fixes, which themselves are not guaranteed to last for long. “With our products, what the end user gets is a completely rigid, secure seal solution which, if left undisturbed, we are willing to guarantee to be gas proof for the life of the field in question. This is a promise that few, if any, other companies can make,” Ben proclaims. “We are also confident that when it comes to any application where long life is critical – such as geothermal or gas storage, our POS-GRIP technology offers a better longterm solution than anything else available.” Plexus has also taken the opportunity to qualify its technology to a higher standard than that required by API, which is a move Plexus is confident will appeal to the major oil and gas operators that are under increasing pressure from a number of activists, including shareholders to adopt the highest of standards. “We are most definitely

POS-GRIP Open 44

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seeing a trend emerging where the industry is seeking out the best possible solutions for many of the higher profile projects in the pipeline,” Ben confirms. “As a result, Plexus is finding itself included in major tenders which puts it in competition with multibillion dollar oil services corporations, and that is not only an excellent barometer of the amazing technology we have at our disposal, but also gives us an excellent platform on which to penetrate the market further.” Another measure of the company’s progress came in early March 2019, when it announced that its Russian licensee Gusar – which has permission to manufacture and rent Plexus’ exploration wellhead equipment for jack-up exploration in Russia and the CIS region – had secured its first major contract to supply Plexus’ gas exploration equipment to Gazprom, the world’s largest gas company. “The contract covers the first year of a jackup exploration drilling campaign in the shallow water Kara Sea Shelf in the Arctic, an area of high environmental sensitivity,” Ben details. “We are very pleased that our technology has been proven to all parties to be the best for use in such an environment, and we believe that this is the least that the Arctic deserves in this regard! “We also know that Gazprom has plans for many more major projects beyond that involving Arctic shallow water drilling, and that they consume a huge amount of surface production wellheads. We are confident that this contract will prove to be a means of building even greater confidence between Gusar and Gazprom, forged on the superior technology that Plexus has developed, and that means the sky really is the limit as far as where this relationship could go.” Looking to the medium-to-long-term

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future, Ben has a strong desire to see the business trading as a strong, profitable entity within the next two-to-three years, supplying production wellhead equipment and in due course Christmas trees using POS-GRIP technology on a global scale. “We have already begun to make our mark on the industry, and we look forward to working with more and more companies that are seeking a different approach to metal sealing technology which is gas proof, maintenance free and guaranteed to perform throughout the total life cycle of a well,” Ben enthuses. “We believe we have some real magic to contribute when it comes to our technology, and we have designs on offering this technology across the board, whether it be for surface, subsea, shallow water or deep water applications in the years to come!”

Plexus plc

Left: JIP Developed Python Subsea Wellheads up to 20ksi

LEDINGHAM CHALMERS Scottish law firm Ledingham Chalmers has provided an unbroken service to the Plexus Holdings group since 1989, when Ben van Bilderbeek instructed the firm to incorporate the first Plexus company, and embarked on his mission to improve the safety and efficiency of drilling operations through the development of groundbreaking technology. Since then, Ledingham Chalmers has advised the group on a wide range of business matters – from joint ventures and corporate acquisitions to intellectual property and major contract issues – and continues to support Plexus in the promotion of its POS-GRIP® technology to the oil and gas sector.

Plexus plc www.plexusplc.com ............................................ Services: Engineering wellhead solutions

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Fuelling change

Being actively supported by its two owners – SOK (51 per cent) and St1 Nordic Oy (49 per cent), NEOT has been able to increase the volume of fuel solutions it delivers to the Nordic countries in the past few years. The supply company, headquartered in Helsinki, is a specialist in oil and bioproducts wholesale, whose turnover bordered the 5.5 billion-euro mark in 2018, as the business continues to implement its vision of becoming the most innovative and cost-efficient in the market. “The financial stability provided by our owners ensures that we face steady demand and allows us to be agile in our operations,” maintains NEOT’s Sustainability Director, Timo Huhtisaari. “We take pride in having a very smooth decision-making process, with everybody knowing who to ask for support. However, we are trying to let a decision

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emerge almost organically by trying to instil a ‘best argument wins’ mentality across the group. To us, this is the only way we can stay ahead of the competition – we have to encourage our people to look for the most effective solution, which creates hunger for development and keeps them interested and motivated. The most significant aspect of our company culture is that everybody realises that they have a key role to play and the responsibility they bear gives true purpose to their everyday work.”

Core capabilities Solidarity among members of staff also manifests itself on occasions when not everything goes according to plan. Timo explains: “It is important for our people to know that should they encounter a difficulty, they have to immediately raise their hand, so

PROFILE

serve their customers. “Our solutions find a variety of different applications – hundreds of thousands of Nordic homes and companies are heated by oil delivered by NEOT, but we also supply significant fuel amounts to be used in seagoing vessels and the aviation industry,” Timo points out. It is St1’s oil refinery in Gothenburg that is NEOT’s central hub when it comes to the business’ blending operations. There, all of the products are sourced and optimised before being sent out for distribution all over the Nordics. “We certainly benefit from the central location of the Gothenburg refinery and I think that, as a whole, our home markets are very well-positioned, enabling us to make efficient decisions upon the routes our vessels take. As a result, we can optimise their movement, in order to potentially deliver products to several terminals at one go, thus making our supply more flexible,” Timo discusses.

Sustainability dialogue

that we can try to sort things out together, as a team. Our desire is to solve problems, rather than find blame. “Furthermore, to give you a clearer picture of why the company is operating so well, I need to establish that we tend to focus only on our core capabilities and outsource all the functions we do not feel confident enough to carry out ourselves,” he adds. “A good example of this approach would be the partnership we have with Terntank Rederi for five time-chartered vessels used for transportation in the Baltic Sea. As a fairly small company, we are more than eager to develop solid and fruitful business relationships and putting these in place is a necessary condition for our future success.” Since owned by SOK and St1, NEOT tailor-makes its products to meet the two organisations’ demands and effectively

Moving onto his remit of action, he insists that, nowadays, it is almost impossible to justify the existence of a company if it does not demonstrate clear strategic focus on sustainability. “Today, you can either remain part of the problem, or become part of the solution. NEOT’s vision is that we should take an active role in facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable future. Led by this notion, we have started the integration of some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals into our operations and we hope to drive improvements to the areas we are targeting. “We aim to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) for bunkering whenever possible and we are also the first Finnish company to successfully test liquefied biogas (LBG),” Timo mentions some of the activities NEOT has undertaken in its shipping operations to advance its sustainability efforts. “There is no doubt that we will continue trying to find new ways of utilising renewable energy in our fleet. In recent years, we have also put efforts to taking human rights impacts more thoroughly into account in our operations. Having said that, it is crucial to raise awareness within the industry of the risks that could harm our supply chains.” He continues: “In my view, we have to start from somewhere and see if we can identify these risks and understand what can be done to prevent them. We need to be courageous and bravely take part in

NEOT

There is no doubt that we will continue trying to find new ways of utilising renewable energy in our fleet. In recent years, we have also put efforts to taking human rights impacts more thoroughly into account in our operations. Having said that, it is crucial to raise awareness within the industry of the risks that could harm our supply chains

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NEOT

NEOT www.neot.fi/en/ ............................................ Services: Oil and bioproducts wholesale

the sustainability dialogue. Admittedly, the journey will be a long one and many times based on a trial and error approach, but we are willing to learn and keen on working with people whose expertise and knowledge are greater than ours. Positive change can be brought about only when everybody understands that there will always be someone with better understanding than theirs on a given topic. Accepting and embracing this fact is key to improvement.” Gazing into the remaining months of 2019 Timo describes the year as ‘interesting’, as he awaits legislation changes in Sweden regarding biofuels, with the latter being an integral part of NEOT’s supply. “Generally speaking, in the Nordics, we place strong emphasis on the development of climate policies and I can only hope that these will prove to everyone that they really make a difference and are worth replicating in other regions of the world,” Timo notes. “One of the areas we would like to see grow in importance on European level is binding CO2 and reducing it from the atmosphere. We feel that this topic has, more or less, been neglected by the EU so far. Other than that, in the long term, we want to continue fulfilling our main purpose, which is providing sustainable fuel solutions to our owners,” he concludes. ENERGY,oil&gas

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The pick of the bunch Above: Front View of DCN’s Hyperbaric Centre

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Realising that most subsea contractors offer a similar service package, Patrick Feeleus, Manager Offshore of DCN Diving, felt that the company had to find a way to differentiate itself from the rest. As a result, the Dutch solutions provider started to expand its competence in the hyperbaric pipeline repair niche by investing in a dedicated hyperbaric test centre in 2014. “It is a facility that allows us to perform a variety of activities, such as simulation of hyperbaric welding environments at pressures of up to 200 metres, testing of equipment under pressure (e.g. subsea valves), welder coding, procedure qualification, and even training for divers and welders,” Patrick begins. “The centre is only the second of its kind in Europe and the decision to build it just for ourselves has continually paid off as we now have full control of our operations in the area. Furthermore, it enables us to be more competitive in our projects.” Another notable development for DCN that has helped the company to distinguish itself was the creation of its second welding habitat system last year. According to Patrick, alongside the hyperbaric testing centre, the habitat is a key element of the business’ offering, giving DCN a competitive edge over its peers. “In a sense, the new system is even more crucial, because it can be used in both shallow and deep zones, energy-oil-gas.com

sandy and muddy environments and is also allowing us to operate on pipes of different sizes. Traditionally, our competitors specialise in serving larger pipelines in deeper areas, but we are fully prepared to cover pipes as narrow as two-inch in diameter,” he discusses, adding that the Habitat 2.0 system is currently stationed in Singapore, whence it is deployed in projects in South East Asia, the UAE, and the Red Sea. There is no better way to illustrate DCN’s capabilities than taking a look at some of the works the company has completed in recent years. Patrick draws our attention to two particular projects, which he regards as veritable case studies demonstrating in full DCN’s skilfulness. “The more recent of the two was a hyperbaric pipeline repair for a client in Japan, where we had to work on a pipeline that was originally laid in 1969, meaning that we had to deal with a very challenging pipeline material. First of all, we performed the necessary procedures for weld qualification, during which phase, we discovered that due to the properties of the material, we had to employ an alternative welding process. Then, when the actual execution of the repair started, we mobilised a habitat on-site and sent a team to Japan, which completed the job in under 20 days. In fact, with this project, we helped our client establish new legislation, because prior to the programme, hyperbaric welding activities were not allowed in Japan.”

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DCN Diving

Left: DCNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Habitat in action in Tokyo Bay

In what Patrick considers an even more complicated project than the one he just presented, DCN did hyperbaric repair on a live pipeline in Jakarta in 2015. He elaborates: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The

customer could not shut down the pipeline, lest the supply of energy to the island country of Indonesia was disrupted. Consequently, we had to qualify a process, which had to involve

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DCN Diving

Right: DCN Diving in action in the Gulf of Mexico Bottom: DCN revamped premises

various contingencies to address potential leakages while we were welding. “I believe that this is the project that really put us in the spotlight of the whole subsea industry,” Patrick posits. “It was a scheme that really proved our fearlessness in pushing the boundaries and thinking outside the box. Many other contractors would have said: ‘Sorry, it is impossible to get this job done’, but not us. We are always looking to come up with truly innovative solutions to overcome complicated issues.” Being a family company (established in 1957 as Vriens Diving making it the oldest diving company in the Netherlands), DCN reinvests every penny it makes to continuously improve its proposition. “Projects in the hyperbaric repair niche market are less competitive and therefore allow us to run such operations with more healthy budgets than e.g. in the highly competitive IRM market segment and better margins give us more opportunities to grow the business,” Patrick explains. “Whether we build a new dive system, invest in the hyperbaric test centre and habitats, or invest in supporting, developing and empowering our staff such is all very instrumental to the type of service we wish to provide, the idea of constantly adding value to our offering is deeply rooted in the way we operate.” As an example, he reveals that, not long ago, DCN revamped its premises in Bergen op Zoom, in the south of the Netherlands – an undertaking that included an investment in new Work Shops, Storage Areas and a number of apartments where the company’s clients can now stay during their business trips. “We want to make the access to our facilities as convenient as possible for our customers and, in my opinion, providing them with accommodation enhances our overall proposition immensely.”

DCN Diving https://www.dcndiving.com ............................................ Services: Engineering, diving services, hyperbaric welding, ROV support, vessel supply, dry space creation, underwater concreting

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The period of active investment from DCN coincides nicely with the gradual increase of the number of projects in pipeline construction and installation all over the world. “Everyone is getting busier,” Patrick remarks. “We are working on several greenfield projects in the North Sea, but as a real global player, we see a lot of developments in the Gulf of Mexico, South East Asia, and the UAE, too.

“What we will really try to do in the future, is evolve from a project-executing contractor to a company that regularly sets up retainer agreements with operators based primarily in the North Sea,” he opens up on DCN’s business development vision. “When following the approach of tendering for separate contracts, there will inevitably be ups and downs in the amount of work we pick up. Therefore, we want to get in a position where we have our equipment and personnel on standby for our clients, guaranteeing swift and efficient response to any emerging issue. If we achieve that, it could be a game-changer for the company, because the fee our clients will be paying us, will allow us to invest further into our capabilities and take the business to a higher level,” Patrick concludes.

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