European Oil and Gas 102 early edition

issue 102 ď ˇ EARLY

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future Capturing the

Carbon capture and storage technology will be vital for meeting emissions targets

Critical communications Key considerations when installing radio and communications systems Ready, set, go UK shale gas projects can learn a lot from work ongoing in the US

this ISSUE: Achieving best practice in safety

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Editors Chairman Andrew Schofield Group Managing Director Mike Tulloch

Sales Director David Garner Corporate Advertising Sales David King dking@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Finlay Johnson Head of Research Philip Monument Business Development Manager Mark Cawston Research Managers Natalie Martin Ben Richell Editorial Researchers Ed Hipperson Kieran Shukri Jeff Johnson ­Office Manager Tracy Chynoweth

The global use

of fossil fuels is continuing to rise, and with that comes the inevitable increase in environmentally unfriendly CO2 emissions. The method in which we can continue to meet growing energy demand while ensuring that we, as an industry, do all we can to minimise our impact on the environment will become a key priority in the future.

Considering this point, in this issue we were fortunate to speak with Frank Ellingsen and Vegar Stokset from Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), the world’s largest facility for testing and improving carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS).

“Environmental issues are going to continue to be high on the agenda for all in the years to come and there is little doubt that it will be of huge benefit for the gas industry to be prepared to, and able to, implement CCS technology as soon as it is needed,” they explain from page four.

Of course, at present the development work that is ongoing at TCM is very much in its embryonic stages, particularly when there are challenging political hurdles that need to be overcome.

Whatever the obstacles, there is no doubt that the facility will play an enormous role in the future of environmentally friendly E&P. In fact, it is estimated that by 2050 CCS could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.6 billion tonnes in the EU and by nine to 16 billion tonnes worldwide. Figures this enormous can’t be ignored.

“In fact, it is estimated that by 2050 CCS could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.6 billion tonnes in the EU and by nine to 16 billion tonnes worldwide © 2013 Schofield Publishing Limited all rights reserved 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131 schofield-media.com please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

editors Libbie Hammond & matt high

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Art Editor Gérard Roadley-Battin Advertising Design Jenni Newman Production Manager Fleur Conway Production Administrator Vicky Howes

In fact, it is estimated that by 2050 CCS could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.6 billion tonnes in the EU and by nine to 16 billion tonnes worldwide

European oil & gas

Managing Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Editor Matt High mhigh@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Staff Writers Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs Jo Cooper Drew Dann Editorial Administrator Emma Harris

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Regulars

Lead feature

Carbon capture and storage technology will play a vital role in the future

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IT

Supporting E&P operations with IT is becoming essential for operators

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News

A look at some of the recent developments within the oil and gas industry

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Lead feature

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HSE

Discovering what UK shale gas projects can learn from developments in the US

The importance of ensuring best safety practices across an entire workforce

Key considerations for installing and maintaining radio and communication systems

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Technology

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Profiles

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20 Herkules Capital focus 22 PCT AS 25 Ocean Installer 31 Technip Benelux 25 33 Dale Power Solutions 37 Ramn채s Bruk 41 Seatrax 43 EAB Engineering 47 Tulip Oil 33

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Contents

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49 PV Drilling 52 Cyprus National

Hydrocarbons Company

55 Howden 58 Dafo Fomtec 61 Kongsberg Maritime 65 Det norske oljeselskap 68 Boskalis International 70 Skude Industri 73 Forsyths 77 ATPC 65 79 Isolated Systems

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82 Seagull Marine 84 Deep Sea Mooring 86 Cape Holland Group 88 Parsons Peebles Generation 90 Gulfsands Petroleum 92 Offshore Energy 2013 - Conbit 94 Breman Machinery 96 Gulf Petrochem 99 Coek Engineering

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Capturing the

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As the use of fossil fuels continues to grow, carbon capture and storage technology will play a Vital role in meeting emissions targets

T

he global use of fossil fuels is continuing to rise, with over 80 per cent of worldwide energy originating from oil, gas and coal.

The use of fossil fuels to make energy produces environmentally unfriendly CO2 emissions, which are becoming a key concern for producers and governments worldwide, particularly in light of the two degree limit in global warming targets for 2050 that was set at COP 16. In light of these emissions targets energy companies are recognising the importance of safeguarding future projects, as well as committing to minimising their impact on the environment by addressing methods of reducing or limiting their CO2 emissions.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be one of the most important tools in reducing CO2 emissions in the coming years, with some estimating that the technology could be responsible for as much as one fifth of the world’s total carbon reduction by 2050. CCS represents the only way to effectively decarbonise our gas supply as it can

effectively capture up to 90 per cent of CO2 emissions from gas power plants and heavy industry. In fact, it is estimated that by 2050 CCS could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.6 to 1.7 billion tonnes in the EU and by nine to 16 billion tonnes worldwide.

As a consequence, investment and development in the technology behind CCS remains critical, with many of the major companies such as Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil investing in CCS projects. One of the most important sites in the world for such developments is Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) in Norway. TCM is the largest test facility in the world for CCS, where vendors can test and prove technological developments and bring CCS solutions to life under conditions that can replicate real-life gas and coal power plants. European Oil and Gas recently spoke with Frank Ellingsen, managing director, and Vegar Stokset, head of communications, to find out more about the importance of CCS and the work being carried out by TCM. “TCM was established on the basis of a policy decision

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in Norway, where it was decided to not use gas for power generation without incorporating CCS technology,” Frank explained. “Today TCM has four owners; the Norwegian Government, with 75 per cent of the shares, Statoil, which has 20 per cent, and Shell and Sasol, each with 2.5 per cent. We are located next to a refinery, as well as a heat and power production unit, which means that we have available gas that contains 13 per cent CO2 and gas that contains approximately 3.5 per cent CO2 so that we can simulate both coal-fired and gas-fired power stations, which is very important.”

As Frank explained, having such comprehensive facilities on-site means that TCM is able to offer state-of-the-art testing for CCS technologies: “We have been operating the test facility for one year now with much success. The key issues and factors that we address are to reduce the environmental risks, reduce financial risks, and reduce the technical risks of implementing CCS - essentially, risk reduction across the spectrum is the mantra of TCM.”

This risk reduction has been well demonstrated by TCM during the first year of testing, as Vegar highlighted: “In the first 12 months we’ve been operating two test units, both with very high uptime, and vigorously measuring and monitoring the environmental emissions coming out of the plant. Importantly, we have demonstrated that the environmental effects of what is being released in our emissions, in terms of amine, is insignificant to the environment so it’s an excellent result.

“TCM has also been invaluable in a number of other areas related to CCS development. For example, we’ve been able to address the materials side of establishing test units and CCS plants, discovering improvements and innovations that can be made on the components side of the test units, which will be particularly important for the future development of CCS. This has been an area in which we’ve made considerable progress, and we see it being very important for the reduction of both technical and financial risks for operators. TCM has also allowed us to identify

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The work being carried out at TCM by the various vendors testing their technology is essential for the future of the energy industry, gas projects in particular building and construction principles that are commonly used in the industry and which will be applicable to the development of plants such as here in Mongstad, while allowing operation within the acceptable limits. Other areas that we are continuing to address include examining our flue gas output to understand and eventually minimise the environmental risks, as well as looking into key issues around waste production.”

The work being carried out at TCM by the various vendors testing their technology is essential for the future of the energy industry, gas projects in particular. As Frank explained, TCM was established as a direct result of encouraging gas power use accompanied by CCS. As this industry develops those at TCM are certain that CCS will continue to become invaluable. “If you look at the market today and the volumes of production, then CCS is insignificant,” he said. “However, environmental issues are going to continue to be high on the agenda for all in the years to come and there is little doubt that it will be of huge benefit for the gas industry to be prepared to, and able to, implement CCS technology as soon as it is needed. That’s why the work that we are doing at TCM is so important.

Looking at it right now it is fair to say that it is still a fledgling industry, so what we are doing at Mongstad is really forming an embryo of knowledge for that future industrial cluster. This is being done through collaboration between vendors, the supply and construction industries, and academia and so on.”

As Frank rightly highlighted, CCS is still a growing sector and for this reason TCM’s development work is important in a number of ways. Not only is the facility vital in proving the value of CCS, but also the outcome of the testing is highly important in encouraging industry and governments to become more proactive. “If you look at the coming years, CCS will prove to be a very important tool to maintain and safeguard the rapidly growing gas power industry,” Vegar commented.

“It is already very important that we look into ways of protecting the environment, but one of the big problems at the moment is that the politicians have not applied strict enough regulations on carbon emissions. As a result it is probable that we are not likely to reach the two degrees targets that have been set. For our part, we are working as hard as we can so that the technology will be ready any time that the politicians begin to tighten the regulations or put a higher price on carbon, that way there can never be the excuse that the technology isn’t ready.

“It is important to add however that while more could be done, it is highly encouraging to see some of the major energy companies worldwide involved in developing CCS and with the wider carbon debate,” he continued. “Shell for example, is taking a very proactive role in bringing important visitors to TCM to see the work that we are doing, in sending its teams from other projects around the world in order to share knowledge with us, and in generally positioning itself alongside an industry that it sees will be important

in the future. Again, it’s all about preparing so that we can implement the technology as soon as it is needed.”

While the onus may still be on governments to take a more proactive role in the carbon emissions issue, there is a general spirit of collaboration in the industry that is gaining significant momentum. “This really is a global challenge in terms of the climate issue and it will take a global effort and global collaboration to progress as quickly as is needed, especially when there are so few projects that are actually being developed,” Frank confirmed.

“For example, across Europe we have seen many similar projects stall because of the financial crisis, although the UK is in a leading position at present with the Peterhead development, which we have a link to due to the involvement of Shell. Elsewhere there are some full-scale projects in development in Canada, the US, China and Korea as well, all of which will be valuable to us in terms of the sharing of knowledge and experience.”

Indeed, if the world’s use of fossil fuels continues to grow as predicted in the future then collaboration, the sharing of knowledge and the continued development of CCS and other technologies will be vital. Over the coming years TCM will continue to be at the forefront of developments in the field as its testing programme draws to a close. “We have a number of ongoing programmes now that will be finalised during 2014, as well as further interest from major companies for the use of the facilities in the future so we believe that TCM will continue to play a leading role, and

that a lot of projects will be executed here in the years to come. The major companies have the ambition to be in this market and so there are a lot of signs that something significant will happen,” said Frank.

“The basic problem at present is that it is too cheap to emit CO2 as there is little regulation and no real push in the industry,” added Vegar. “The only full-scale projects going ahead today are the ones that have a commercial driver, so where the CO2 can be sold for enhanced oil recovery or other applications. Ultimately I think that the politicians should be bolder and attempt to put a higher price on CO2 emissions and then we’ll see the need for more projects start to emerge. Naturally we hope that will happen as soon as possible - the sooner the better for both the industry and the environment - but whenever it does, thanks to the work being carried out at TCM and other similar projects, the technology will be available as soon as it is needed.”

Technology Centre Mongstad AD Frank Ellingsen is managing director and Vegar Stokset is head of communications at Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), the world’s largest facility for testing and improving CO2 capture technologies, and a vital part of the CCS value chain.

For further information please visit: tcmda.com

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Strong

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support Friso Veenstra discusses the importance of supporting oil and gas exploration with IT

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he new exploration economy

In an environment of limited resources and increased competition, companies are turning to three broad options to ensure they have the best chance of making discoveries. First, re-visiting existing ‘brownfield’ sites to ensure they have extracted all possible value using the latest technology for identification and extraction of reserves.

Second, venturing into previously unexplored or inaccessible areas such as the Arctic or deepwater. And third, making greater use of unconventional resources that previously were not worth the cost of extraction or could not be reliably extracted and refined. Combined, this is resulting in a technological arms race; with all companies trying to make sure they are operating as efficiently as possible at all points in the value chain in order to produce results.

means of communication with the rest of the organisation and access to data, which can be provided at the most basic level with email and an Internet connection. Instead, IT tools should be focused on giving geoscientists the right information that is accessible in the right way, in order to make their jobs as productive as possible. Intelligently storing, accessing, combining and analysing information on geological formations, previous yields and other exploration when possible - in ways that fit with geoscientists’ working best practices - can make the difference between success and failure. Armed with this access to information geoscientists can, for example, investigate existing geological records and other data in order to perform risk assessments and decide which areas have the potential to hold new finds before ever leaving the office.

Digging into the data The uses of technology ‘Back-office’ IT plays a central role in supporting companies throughout the production and refinement of resources. For example, by identifying those locations with the highest yield, calculating supply chains to ensure resources are delivered to the right locations in the most efficient manner and monitoring refinement processes to ensure that waste is kept to a minimum. In particular, the greatest value of ‘back-office’ technology comes at the very earliest stages of exploration. Being able to swiftly identify and analyse potential new resource finds is crucial to any long-term success, therefore an investment in the correct IT tools at this stage can reap huge rewards.

This goes far beyond giving exploration geoscientists a

While the amount of information and functionality that an IT tool can provide is important, what is most crucial is that it suits the way in which geoscientists work. From email to exploration tools; if a tool has all the information and capabilities ever needed, yet demands that geoscientists learn new skills and adopt inefficient workflows to use it, the costs may well outweigh the benefits. This is even truer of tools that require a separate level of skilled users to actually work on the software and then feed their findings down to geoscientists and other workers: meaning extra layers of complexity with information being kept out of the hands of those who can make best use of it. The Internet has significantly increased the pace of business, with deals sometimes needing to be done in days not weeks and

Planning for the future Investing in the right technologies is also a vital part of future-proofing the business. Ever since the mid-1980s

the supply of new geoscientists for oil companies has been dwindling. From 1985 onwards, the number of students taking undergraduate and graduate degrees in geoscience fell, as the price of oil and so opportunities in the field dropped.

This has resulted in a generation of geoscientists that are within a decade of retirement without a comparable number of new arrivals waiting to take their place. Because of this, companies face a stark choice between having enough workers to perform the tasks they need, and having workers who are trained to the requisite standard.

With companies needing to expand into new areas, and National Oil Companies going beyond their borders, more organisations are trying to attract the same already limited pool of skilled workers. Furthermore, when moving into a new region a business will need to hire local personnel; due to political reasons and to make use of their local knowledge and expertise. However, local demographics and, again, competition can mean finding workers with the right combination of exploration experience and expertise is an uphill struggle.

By allowing workers to swiftly put best practices into action, as well as giving them immediate access to the knowledge they need, IT tools are a crucial part of companies’ efforts to bridge these skills gaps. Giving new workers access to technology allows them to contribute sooner and provides a consistent way to perform tasks from communication to analysis that can be shared across generations. Indeed, education programmes are already realising the value of giving students and workers early access to these tools so they can use them in the workplace. One such example is ExploHUB at Aberdeen University, which is giving geoscientists at exploration companies across the world an introduction to how beefing up back-office tools will help them keep resources flowing.

Over the next half-decade we expect the number of exploration wells and other initiatives to double, as the effects of increased competition and the need to explore new resources take hold. In order to support this, and reduce the risk of exploration ventures being fruitless exercises, geoscientists need to be sure that they are spending their time efficiently. Back-office tools that fit in with established practices, provide all of the information needed in one place and are easy to pick up will be increasingly vital.

ELSEVIER Friso Veenstra is director of market development at Elsevier, a world-leading provider of science and health information serving more than 30 million scientists, students and health and information professionals worldwide. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company employs more than 7000 people in 24 countries worldwide For further information please visit: elsevier.com

European oil & gas

geoscientists having to respond accordingly. The good news is using the right technology means that instead of pouring over paper maps, geoscientists can now access multiple maps from multiple sources online, potentially allowing them to make decisions more quickly and with more certainty.

However, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Geoscientists have access to a wide variety of information, from academic papers to oil well yields and other proprietary data, and too much data at once can easily overwhelm, rather than aid, geoscientists. They must not only have access to all the information they might need, but also be able to quickly filter out what is most useful to them.

Otherwise, they will be either too swamped in data to make efficient decisions, or make decisions based on an incomplete or inaccurate view of the situation. Either way, they will lose the benefits technology should provide. In order to ensure that geoscientists have access to this information, there are a number of tools they can use. At the most basic are consumer search engines such as Google. These options provide a very quick, high-level guide to the information that might be available on a particular area. However, given the nature of such tools the information provided will not be complete, accountable or targeted to suit geoscientists’ needs.

As a result, using more specialist tools will be vital.

There are a number of tools that geoscientists can use to improve their chances of success: from Schlumberger’s Petrel and Studio solutions; to Wood Mackenzie’s Exploration Service; to Elsevier’s own Geofacets. Each has its own strengths in supporting the exploration process from ensuring that geoscientists have access to commercial metrics and geologic characteristics, to enabling them to collaborate and share knowledge with colleagues and integrate external sources of information with their own intellectual property.

What is important is that geoscientists are using the tools that best suit them. If companies do beef up the back-office they should be sure to trial the available options and decide which best provides the capabilities they need in a way that supports their workers’ best practices. At the same time, when aiding exploration, such technology is only as good as the information it works with. For example, consumer search engines can be intuitive, accessible and low-cost to the organisation, but without careful attention the information provided will be at best irrelevant and at worst dangerously inaccurate. Any tool should be able to bolster geoscientists’ and their companies’ knowledge across the exploration, extraction and refinement process.

While the process of ensuring that a tool is suited to geoscientists’ needs is particularly important for analysis and investigation tools, the same should hold true across all back-office IT. From simple email to time management and archiving, geoscientists should never be fighting against technology, but instead using it as an extension of their own abilities.

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IT

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Above: John McDonald, newly appointed managing director at OPITO

Growing skills OPITO has appointed a new managing director to lead the UK

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arm of the organisation as the industry gears up for a major change in how it addresses its skills needs.

John McDonald has taken over the reins at OPITO from Larraine Boorman, who stood down in August. He brings a wealth of experience and an impressive track

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record in the skills, training and workforce development sector

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international workforce development

to the Aberdeen-headquartered organisation.

Former director of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Mr McDonald has been director of for OPITO for a year, working with a number of oil majors and leading on OPITO’s work in building agreements with governments and industry in places as far-ranging as Oman, Iraq, Malaysia and East Timor.

As managing director, Mr McDonald will oversee OPITO’s growth as it looks to build on its success to date in delivering against the industry’s identified skills needs across all sectors, both onshore and offshore, and ensuring the learning and training supply is in place to meet them. “The drive to better engage with industry and its stakeholders to address the skills issue in the UK is very close to my heart and I hope to be able to make a valuable contribution to ongoing and future projects in this area,” he said.

Transfer record Offshore Solutions BV (OSBV), the joint venture between AMEC and Cofely Nederland NV, has signed a North Sea contract with Maersk Oil UK to provide marine access support to the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Global Producer III. Located 185 miles north east of Aberdeen, Scotland, OSBV’s Offshore Access System (OAS) will support the shutdown operations for a minimum of 110 days, with options to extend.

The walk to work system is deployed on the REM Installer, a new-build offshore subsea construction vessel chartered by Canyon Offshore, the marine contracting business unit of Helix Energy Solutions. Sea trials for the project were completed in North Sea waters in July with operations starting later the same month.

Lindsay Young, managing director of OSBV, said: “OAS equipped vessels provide safe and cost effective marine transfer and offshore accommodation allowing for greater access to offshore installations than by crew vessels or helicopters. By using the OAS, additional offshore man-hours are made available, enhancing production whilst ensuring that workers are transported in a safe manner.”

The training game Petrofac has signed a $120 million agreement with Petronas, the Malaysian National Oil Company, for the operation and management of two high-specification training facilities that Petrofac is building to support Petronas’ workforce capability enhancement programme.

Petrofac is currently constructing two “live” upstream plant training facilities and a “live” downstream facility, which will supplement existing facilities at the Institut Teknologi Petroleum Petronas (INSTEP) training academy.

Under the latest phase of the agreement, Petrofac will undertake the ongoing management and operation of the two upstream facilities, which are capable of training 500 delegates each year for the next five years, with an option to extend for a further two years.

Andy Inglis, chief executive of Petrofac Integrated Energy Services, commented: “We are delighted that we are continuing to build on the existing relationship with our long-term customer Petronas to support its goal of enhancing Malaysian workforce capability in the oil and gas sector.

Training is a core part of the IES offer and the award of our biggest training contract to date demonstrates our growing scale in an area that international and national oil companies have high on their agendas. The creation of this regional centre of excellence will enable Petronas to ensure the development of a highly-skilled resource pool to meet its own and industry needs now and in the decades ahead.”

News

Hard work and dedication 3sun Group, a specialist provider of products and services to the energy industry, has been shortlisted in the Innovation category at the Energy Institute Awards 2013. The Group received recognition in the Innovation

More than cable

category for its groundbreaking,

DOF Subsea Norway, a specialist subsea solutions provider, has been awarded a contract by Teekay Petrojarl Production AS in Norway for a newbuild FPSO. The scope of work includes mooring pre-installation, tow-out and hook-up work for Teekay Petrojarl Production’s new FPSO, which will be installed on the BG-operated Knarr field in the Norwegian North Sea. DOF Subsea Norway will mobilise its Skandi Skolten vessel for this project, with six further vessels from its global fleet being utilised in support.

Jan-Kristian Haukeland, EVP DOF Subsea Atlantic Region, said: “We are delighted that Teekay has provided us this opportunity and has such confidence in our ability to provide the services they require. The award of this contract means we now have significant project work scopes from Teekay in the Norwegian and UK sectors of the North Sea. “We see this as an endorsement not only of our specialist vessels but also of the highly skilled project management and engineering team we have in place to support this type of project.”

The project will be completed in three phases, the first of which will see the pre-installation of the complete mooring system, consisting of 12 mooring lines, taking place in 2013.

safety critical plant and equipment on

Adding value Rapidly growing subsea services and technology products company Cortez Subsea has secured £1.5 million of contracts across its range of pipeline installation and decommissioning services following a successful start to Q3 of 2013.

The Aberdeen-based firm has completed the first phase of work on a North Sea FSPO reinforcement programme for contractor DOF Subsea. The £1 million contract, for the provision of a powered reel drive system, tensioner and personnel for umbilical and flexible riser installation, includes a second phase which is due to begin later this year.

The wins come at a time of expansion for Subsea Cortez. The company has made significant investment in new equipment and technologies in the last 12 months, in addition to a new office complex to facilitate the growth of its employee base from 20 to 40 this year.

Managing director Alasdair Cowie said: “Since our formation in 2010 we have steadily built a reputation for being a dynamic, diverse and value-adding company capable of bringing technical, operational and commercial innovation to the marketplace.

“These contracts not only demonstrate the breadth of our capabilities from production start-up to decommissioning, as significant pieces of work with new clients they also solidify growing status as subsea services and technology specialists.”

electronic 3D visually-based, handheld inspection system for managing legislative compliance, wind turbines.

The Radio Frequency Identification

at this year’s Energy Institute Awards.

European oil & gas

(RFID) tagging device has enhanced

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Above: Tekmar chief executive James Richie (right) welcomes new company chairman, Ally MacDonald

The Energy Institute is a highly

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safety by reducing offshore man hours, risk and costs. 3sun Group managing director Graham Hacon said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted in the Innovation category

respected industry body and having our device recognised on a national level is hugely encouraging.

“Our electronic 3D visually based inspection system was developed in collaboration with Scottish & Southern Energy and aims to improve legislative compliance and safety standards on wind turbines.

“The RFID tagging and Handheld Software technology delivers a complete solution for the identification and inspection of offshore wind turbine components.

It is proving very successful for our clients.

“The nomination is a great achievement for the Group, recognising the hard work and dedication of the whole team, our rapid expansion and our absolute commitment to developing safety standards in the renewables industry.”

go

As the UK races towards a shale gas revolution are there important lessons to be learnt from developments in the US?

European oil & gas

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Ready, set

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A

ll indications are that the UK is racing towards a shale gas revolution. Every week brings more news of incentives, new plans and new discoveries. The recently completed British Geological Survey (in association with the Department of Energy and Climate Change) identified a range of between 822 and 2281 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place resource in the area of northwest

England that it surveyed. For many, this was seen as the final confirmation that large-scale shale gas fracking in the UK would be going ahead – just as soon as the relevant political hoops had been jumped through.

The news is not to everyone’s liking, with a series of local protests organised around the UK by groups concerned about a range of potential environmental factors, including air pollution, flooding, water/soil contamination and

landslides. However, with a number of coal and gas-fired power stations nearing the end of their usable life, and the risk of blackouts across the UK doubling in the past year alone, it seems almost inevitable that a shale gas revolution is just around the corner.

With the incredible wealth that oil fracking has begun to generate for the US, particularly as a result of the phenomenal reserves found in the Bakken Formation, all

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eyes are now turning to the largely rural state of North Dakota, to see what lessons the UK can learn from progress in the US. The headline items are immediately apparent. North Dakota has had the lowest unemployment rate in the US since 2009, when the oil boom reduced it to just 4.1 per cent. Since then, it has dropped further still, settling at a rate of around 3.1 per cent since 2012. In the towns such as Williston, at the centre of the oil boom, this figure drops to below one per cent.

According to recent data from the North Dakota State University’s Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, some 40,856 direct and 18,700 indirect jobs have been created in the state since 2011 by the oil and gas industry. Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics back up the data, showing a rise in employment in Bakken Formation drilling counties of 35.9 per cent from 2007 to 2011.

Wage rates are going up hand in hand with employment levels. The average weekly wage across the US in the third quarter 2012 was $906. In Williams County, at the heart of the boom, it was $1473: an impressive wage to earn in the country’s third least populated state.

State-wide, oil fracking has meant serious income. For the 2011-2013 budgeting cycle, North Dakota has predicted a state surplus of $1.6 billion. In addition, the state land board was able to award $71 million of Energy Impact Grants in June 2013. A total of $240 million of Energy Impact Grants is expected to be awarded by North Dakota in the next two years alone.

It is the awarding of these grants, designed to support the growth of communities impacted by the oil boom, that the UK would do well to pay careful attention to as it considers where and how to develop shale gas fracking. An energy boom brings a lot more than just money when it comes to town.

As we’ve learned from North Dakota’s experience, migrant workers will flock to the area, placing significant demands on accommodation. Robert Gavin, the British CEO of specialist commercial and residential developer, North Dakota Developments LLC, has first-hand experience of the accommodation crisis that the state has experienced: “Energy workers in North Dakota have been forced to sleep in tents or in their cars. They were cash-rich but it didn’t matter – there simply wasn’t anywhere for them to live. The local Walmart parking lot was jam-packed with trucks and

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motorhomes, with workers having to rely on the store’s bathroom in order to perform their daily ablutions.”

North Dakota is now building houses at a faster rate than any other state in the US, with a housing development growth rate of 2.3 per cent against a national average of 0.3 per cent. North Dakota Developments, which has bases in the UK and North Dakota, is well underway with building serviced executive hotel suites for the single oil workers in Williston, but demand is such that Mr Gavin is already considering further projects in order to keep up. According to the recently published North Dakota Communities Acutely Impacted by Oil and Gas Development: Housing Demand Analysis, some 8900 additional housing units will be needed across the footprint for the projected 2030 population.

The influx of energy workers’ families has put pressure on local nurseries and schools, with some counties predicting student numbers will more than double within the next three years. Additional buildings, staff and other resources will be required to cope with the demand.

Water and sewerage projects are also underway, thanks in large part to the infrastructure-focused Energy Impact Grants. New highway projects are also under development, to reroute the trucks and other heavy traffic that the energy boom has brought to the area. Interestingly, despite the

increase in traffic, the town of Williston has seen a decrease in road traffic accidents from June 2012 (151 accidents) to June 2013 (113 accidents); thanks in large part to a road safety campaign introduced at the time the oil patch traffic began to build.

With workers pouring in from across the world, North Dakota’s regional airports have also felt the strain.

Demand at some jumped by as much as 80 per cent during 2011 and by a further 25 per cent during 2012. Williston’s Sloulin Field airport is undergoing a fast-track development, with the $100-150 million construction of the new terminus (either a rebuild or a relocation of the existing site) scheduled for completion in the next five to six years, rather than the Federal Aviation Administration’s usual ten to 15 year process. Passenger enplanements at the site, which are

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will the expansion of schools and colleges in affected areas.

The true long-term legacy effects are hard to anticipate, given the early stage of shale gas fracking discussions in the UK. In North Dakota, specific legacy funds have already been set up to provide for the day when the energy boom finally comes to an end. Given some 33,000 new oil wells are planned within the state over the next 15 or so years, this is unlikely to happen any time soon, but this kind of conservative forward planning ensures that the oil legacy will be there as and when it’s needed.

So while politicians and environmentalists publicly debate the pros and cons of shale gas fracking, it is the behind-the-scenes preparation which really requires the UK’s focus right now: the town planners, the developers and the road-builders who can make the difference between a disorganised scramble and well-run, long-lasting benefits to the communities in which fracking takes place. It is these oftunsung heroes who will have the power to lead an organised charge when it comes to controlled and appropriate infrastructure expansion. Let’s hope they’re keeping an eye on North Dakota, learning what they can from it and getting ready to step up when we need them!

AB Property Marketing Louise Taylor is AB Property Marketing's oil and fracking expert. She is particularly passionate about the constantly developing situation in North Dakota. AB Property Marketing provides targeted public relations for the UK and overseas property industry, bridging the gap between agents, developers and the ever-changing property media.

For further information on North Dakota Developments, call +001 (605)-610-0310, Visit: northdakotadevelopments.com Or email: info@northdakotadevelopments.com or: usa@northdakotadevelopments.com

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anticipated to reach 85,000 this year, have been forecast to increase to between 150,000 and 300,000 in the years ahead.

So what can the UK learn from North Dakota’s experience? Certainly, shale gas fracking is likely to generate both income and employment, which will be welcome news in light of an unemployment rate that has sat stubbornly at between seven per cent and eight per cent since early 2009.

While this big picture is positive, particularly given the news that the UK’s fossil fuel imports reached an all-time high in 2011 while domestic extraction dropped to the lowest level since records began, it is the local impact that Britain needs to seriously consider.

Shale gas fracking towns are likely to see their resources stretched to the limit, as hotels and campsites fill up, rents rocket and property sale prices steadily increase. While affected locations are set to receive “community benefits” from fracking income, they would also do well to consider the viability of fast-track planning processes for new housing developments and highways.

New styles of house-building will also be beneficial. In North Dakota, a number of developers have struggled to keep their staff on-site, as the lure of the higher-paying jobs in the nearby oilfields has led to considerable staff attrition and the stalling of several building projects. North Dakota Developments’ use of modular construction for their executive hotel suites has cleverly addressed the issue, but is the UK geared up to do the same?

We do still have time – as UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently summarised: “Whereas they are digging 10,000 wells a year [in America], so far in Europe we’ve dug just 100. So we are way behind.”

This means the country has time to plan, to prepare and to brace its fracking towns for the likely impact on their communities. The building of new housing resources and the undertaking of infrastructure projects will no doubt cause disruption, but they will also lead to lasting improvements, as

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Shale gas fracking towns are likely to see their resources stretched to the limit, as hotels and campsites fill up, rents rocket and property sale prices steadily increase

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practice Achieving best

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Christophe Chausse of Capital Safety on ensuring best safety practice across an entire workforce

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O

ver the last 20 years we’ve seen increasing globalisation, which poses significant opportunities and challenges for anyone with a global workforce. How should companies ensure all their employees, teams and subcontractors are properly trained, following all the processes set out and complying with the various local regulations? In an environment where rules and regulations are endlessly changing and norms are evolving, safety becomes complex to manage. Couple this with different continents and languages, and interpretation can add another layer of complexity. Finally, true integration is often held back by different practices and mindsets, as well as each company bringing their own culture, rules and regulations.

In spite of all of the above, worker safety remains a top priority and fall protection needs to be permanently on their radar. For Capital Safety this is our entire focus as a business – our goal is for every worker to make it home safely. Managers with responsibility for this within their organisation need to understand all the challenges in order to find the appropriate solutions.

Understanding and adhering to best practice The risks that need to be managed are constant, so best practice is vital within a workforce. Embedding adequate procedures in all your locations is key to this, as well as being certain that your workers understand and have the time and skills to operate safely following norms and the company’s procedure.

What is accepted as best practice or ‘normal’ practice is unfortunately not as straightforward as it should be and can vary dramatically from company to company and country to country; norms CA - CSA – CE - Ansi Osha – Gost – ANZ, as example load capacity on harness, energy absorption load, anchor point, have their own specificities, which make even more complex the adaptation of the company’s safety rules; but all have common sense bringing workers back home safely. Indeed, the work environment also plays a part as rigs are not identical; offshore platforms have their own specifics including specific access, specific master points, particular rescues and so on.

Training It is crucial that high levels of training are maintained by giving workers frequent technical refreshers to ensure that best practice is not forgotten and that they understand the importance to why they are in place. Managers have even more of a responsibility to maintain high standards of training in situations where they need to apply knowledge in different locations with various nationalities.

Remote working conditions Risks are even greatly amplified by remote working conditions, which might have limited access to emergency services and help when needed. In these situations it’s a case of 100 per cent trust; 100 per cent trust in the work location, 100 per cent trust in the material and 100 per cent trust in the workers themselves. In a remote location there can be no place for error and even the smallest mistakes can be fatal.

Procedure must be tuned and perfect, the workers should be skilled and healthy, with the structure and machines remaining well maintained. In the event of emergencies rescue must be fast and remote sites must be equipped, with all the essential safety equipment and as well as those who are well trained and prepared to use them.

Language Language is one of the biggest human barriers existing with an international workforce. Using pictograms and posters are simple ways to remind workers of risks and to illustrate the best practices in a universal visual language. Having regular meetings and safety sessions with visual support of accident

analysis, audit debriefs, and correct actions are a few of the ways to keep safety standards high and to refresh a team’s knowledge on risks and local changes.

The best equipment Selecting simple tools that are easy to use and harnesses that are easy to adjust, and in the correct size, will reduce the effect of fatigue on the worker as will harnesses that are adapted for self-rescue to avoid putting others’ lives at risk.

Equipment is there to reduce the hazard not to create more danger and confusion.

Self-rescue In fall protection, self-rescue is definitely the best option as it does not require any others to endanger themselves at height or in a confined space. One of the best solutions is to reduce the fall distance i.e. using self-retracting lifeline instead of lanyard, vertical permanent lifeline or just limiting the use of the rope as working suspended is a specialist skill which requires a high level of training. Selecting equipment that is certified with all norms will reduce confusion when working across boarders by ensuring that training is adequate for all and use of the equipment will remain the same.

Training is without a doubt the most important part of the safety package and needs regular revisiting and investment. Employees will work the way that they think is best. This way will not necessarily be the safest, and may not be the right approach for the task that they are trying to complete.

Training must be a reiteration of risks in the working

environment, specificity of the tasks and procedures that workers must follow. There must be a proper analysis with the worker of their day-to-day risks ‘in situ’ and practice with appropriate equipment and demonstrations. There should be taught best practice and the ability to identify bad practice and resulting risks. Workers should be receiving training to practice self-rescue and taught to understand the risks for human physiology including suspension trauma, choc effect and impact effect.

For managers, foremen and workers, installing a culture of safety is a process that requires equal involvement for all parties involved. Each individual, no matter their level, needs to be concerned for themselves and others, and must be willing to improve safety standards for the benefit of all.

Getting back home safely needs to be the main focus for all, not just for themselves but also for their colleagues.

Capital Safety Christophe Chausse is regional director, emerging markets EMEA, at Capital Safety, the global leader in fall protection with 22 operating sites worldwide. Capital Safety is home to the DBI-SALA and PROTECTA brands of fall protection equipment. Both of these brands have invested decades in the science of fall protection to ensure that workers are safe and employers have confidence they are providing their employees with the best protection possible.

For further information please visit: en.capitalsafety.us

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Critical European oil & gas

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communications

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Mark Yates explores what operators need to think about when installing and managing radio and communication systems in the energy sector

I

n the remote and potentially hazardous environments that oil and gas related companies operate in, communication systems are not just about ensuring that things run smoothly; they are central to the safety of the workplace and those working in it.

System Integrators servicing this industry have specialist knowledge of the exacting requirements involved in deploying resilient mission critical systems. Expertise and experience is vital to making sure that communication systems function to high levels in ‘business as usual’ circumstances, as well as being able to respond to emergency situations when an incident occurs.

There are three main elements that need to be addressed in meeting the particular challenges of maintaining critical communications in hazardous environments: reliability and resilience, system design, and integration with mission critical business processes.

Reliable infrastructure One of the main aspects that set oil and gas communication systems apart from those of other industries is the oftenremote nature of operational locations, whether these are offshore or isolated and remote onshore pipelines. There is no such thing as routine maintenance in these types of locations and this needs to be factored into the system specification and network design. Communication systems must be inherently reliable to minimise maintenance and the risk of operational downtime.

Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) systems perform a critical role in ensuring safe and reliable workforce communications in oil and gas environments. In order to achieve the exacting requirements of reliability, highly resilient radio systems, which do not have a single point of failure, must be deployed. This calls for redundancy in the

over air interfaces and at the network level, i.e. at the base station, antenna and, in some cases, the physical site itself.

Redundancy is also required in the switching functions, and finally, for multi-site systems, redundancy is a requirement in the links between sites.

Both Simoco Xfin (based on the ETSI MPT1327 standard) and Simoco Xd (based on the ETSI DMR standard in Tier II and Tier III) use a distributed database architecture so that any base station in a network can provide the functionality of switch and site controller with no additional hardware required. Switching functions, to route calls and site control, are embedded within the software of each base station, enabling any base station in a network to take control in the event of failure. Fallback plans in the event of failure of a base station are fully configurable and can be reconfigured remotely should the need arise.

As this approach allows any single base station to be configured to any number of roles within a network, there are additional cost and resource benefits to network owners in the form of reduced spares holding, as only a single hardware unit is required, and a reduction in staff training as there is only one physical infrastructure hardware element to consider.

Additional resilience can also be achieved by geographical redundancy, i.e. siting base stations across multiple locations.

The locations are connected over IP links, and therefore the final element of network resilience is the provision of redundant links between sites.

Reliability by design Given that the technology selected supports the required level of resilience and redundancy, as described above, the next requirement is for a system design that makes full use of these features. In a PMR system, radio base stations (repeaters) are deployed to provide coverage, and whilst the Radio Frequency (RF) from radio base stations does not in itself present a major hazard, the proximity to large amounts of steel work could produce an arc to ground, which does have the potential to cause a spark. With this in mind, radio base stations should be installed in ‘low risk’ areas.

The base stations can be distributed across multiple locations while maintaining coverage from each base station across the entire operational area. This requires careful planning of antenna design and transmitter levels in order to ensure over air redundancy should any base station fail.

The diagram below illustrates how a UK North Sea drilling complex achieves resilient radio coverage across three platforms.

Technology

Each complex has its own radio system resilience built in, for Complex 1 this is as described above. For Complex 2, which has a single radio base station, resilience is provided by the addition of a fall back fixed mobile. Further resilience is provided as each of the platform complexes is able to provide limited radio frequency coverage to the other in the event of a major failure.

Integrated operations The benefits of open standards The oil and gas market is a melting pot of different multinational organisations and this is where communications systems operating to open standards come to the fore. Radio system solutions available include conventional analogue PMR, analogue trunked systems (MPT1327), along with digital technologies such as DMR and TETRA, all of which operate to open ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) standards.

Employing radio systems that adhere to global standards addresses the need to integrate a wide range of systems into a unified communications (UC) network.

This means that radio technologies can be part of a UC system that incorporates functionality, including emergency and priority calling, pre-configured responses, voice logging as well as data services including telemetry and automated location reporting and monitoring.

Communications play a central role in any emergency situation, and this is particularly true within the oil and gas sector. Business as usual communications need to be effective and not compromised by systems that also take hazardous environments into account.

An experienced system designer will be able to architect solutions that allow radio broadcasts to continue when levels of RF are reduced, as well as perform bespoke tasks such as the emergency closure of pumps controlling oil flow.

In an emergency situation, the radio system cannot be simply shut down. Maintaining communication during an incident can minimise risk as well as help to address and resolve the situation. Therefore, in an Emergency Shut Down (ESD) situation, the radio system should remain in operation, however actions are taken to minimise any risk that may be presented by radio transmission.

An example of this could involve the detection of flammable gas. The radio system should be connected to the gas leak detection system and be switched to operate on reduced power, thus addressing the risk of ignition while keeping communication channels open.

As with many technologies designed for potentially dangerous environments, there is a requirement that equipment is designed to minimise risk. In the field of radio communications, intrinsic safety (IS) requirements are addressed through adherence to a number of international standards, such as ATEX, that specify the performance and design of hardware such as battery cells, PCBs and casings.

Experience counts Combining the safe design of radio infrastructure and hardware with a communications system that can cope with the demands of remote working in inhospitable locations and conditions requires specialist knowledge and experience from the system integrator and radio manufacturer. The right systems design will not only enhance the quality and coverage of radio communications but can be the determining factor in ensuring safer working conditions in critical situations and a high performing unified communications architecture.

Simoco Mark Yates is senior systems engineer at Simoco, a leading manufacturer and distributor of PMR products throughout the UK, Europe, Middle East and African regions. The business has over 70 years of heritage and the longest track record of delivering reliable and cost-effective radio systems worldwide.

For further information please visit: simocogroup.com/emea

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Keeping communications open

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Within a typical complex, workers are often located in spectific areas arround the complex depending upon their role. Radio users are often configured into groups aligned to the roles they perform and assigned to specific radio channels. The distribution of the base stations across the complex has the advantage of placing channels in the areas most populated by the assigned users, further improving coverage and channel availability.

One or more control rooms may be required to manage the business operations, and these may be on or offshore.

The IP nature of a distributed network architecture lends itself perfectly to this scenario, as control room equipment can be connected from any location via IP. For legacy control rooms without IP connectivity, converters are available to access the IP network. This means that, in the event of an emergency, operational control can be managed remotely, providing full flexibility for communications management as well as a contingency measure should local operations be compromised.

In the example shown below two complexes located a mile apart, although operationally separate, are able to provide an element of resilience for each other.

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idea

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A capital

Herkules Capital is the leading private

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Below Morten Blix, senior partner at Herkules Capital

equity firm in Norway, with a total fund base of NOK 12.25 billion in committed capital from Norwegian and international investors. The company targets acquisitions located in the Nordic region, primarily in Norway, and focuses on established companies with strong growth potential, either through organic growth or addon acquisitions.

What sets Herkules apart in the market is its respect for the company’s history, and its industrial approach with a focus on long-term value creation. The business generally acquires the majority share in companies and has positive experiences from partnerships with existing shareholders.

It has the financial strength to adopt this position, as it is the exclusive advisor/manager of three private equity funds. Morten Blix, senior partner, gave a bit more detail about Herkules’ funds: “Herkules Private Equity Fund (HPEF) I was established in 2004 with a capital base of NOK two billion. HPEF II was established in 2006 with a capital base of NOK 4.25 billion and HPEF III was established in 2008 with a capital base of NOK six billion. In HPEF III two thirds of the capital is from international investors and the rest from Norwegians.”

He continued by explaining how Herkules operates in the market: “We buy companies

beyond the venture phase,” he said. “These are businesses with a positive cash flow that need a partner or new owner with capital and competence to grow further. We buy companies on behalf of the funds with a horizon of four to six years. In this period we are focusing on both organic and acquisitive growth to build a leading player in its niche.

We have bought 26 platform companies through the funds and have sold nine, so we now have 17 companies. In addition we have done approximately 60 add-on acquisitions through the platform companies.

“Our main focus is on Norwegian companies with strong growth potential, but we also follow the global market closely and buy companies outside of Norway - the add-ons are often international companies. Our funds aren’t industry specific, but our main industry focuses are energy, healthcare, consumer goods/retail and services. We organise our work in industry groups, but each fund has a balanced portfolio of companies in different industries. The oil service sector is particularly interesting in Norway.”

Indeed, recent transactions for Herkules highlights its activities in the oil and gas sector – in June 2013 the company signed an agreement to acquire a majority of the shares in PTC. “PTC has developed a unique portfolio of strong products which help oil companies

Herkules Capital

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Herkules now holds a leading position in the Norwegian market and foresees a continuous strong flow of new deals going forward. For the rest of 2013 our main focus is to look for new investment opportunities and develop the existing portfolio companies

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to lower cost, increase production and increase safety. We expect strong growth in sales over the coming years. At the same time we will focus on developing even better products for the future,” explained Morten.

“We are particularly impressed with the fact that PTC's product portfolio is perceived as market leading from a technological perspective, and we look forward to working together with management to realise the potential of the existing product portfolio while ensuring that PTC will be the leading player in its segments going forward,” he added.

Also in June, Herkules acquired Umoe SchatHarding AS and Noreq AS – together, the two companies will be the world's leading supplier of maritime life-saving equipment. “We see strong synergies between the companies and the market outlook is promising. With the combination we will be able to offer a more complete and cost efficient service to customers,” said Morten.

There is also an interesting market development that makes this particular transaction even more appealing – currently in Norway there is a process underway to introduce new regulations for existing offshore lifeboats on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. These are expected to enter into force from 2015. “The new regulations for lifeboats on the Norwegian Continental Shelf will be an important growth

driver for Schat-Harding as market leader. At the same time, Schat-Harding and Noreq combined will have solid positions internationally in relation to the offshore, cruise and merchant fleet segments. As a leading private equity fund in Norway, we are in an excellent position to create a global market leader with a base in the country,” highlighted Morten.

Although very significant to the success of Herkules, these two transactions are only part of its business activities in 2013. In April the Bandak Group (of which Herkules Private Equity Fund III is a majority shareholder, with an ownership above 80 per cent) signed an agreement that implies that Bandak Group acquired 100 per cent of the shares in I O S Tubular Management AS (ITM). “Herkules bought the majority of Bandak in January 2010,” said Morten. “We have grown the company from revenues in the region of NOK 300 million to more than NOK 800 million in 2013, and we expect to make more acquisitions to grow the company even further.” Bandak Group has adopted a strategy for strong growth over the coming years. The acquisition of ITM is an important step in strengthening the group towards maintenance and aftermarket on the Norwegian continental shelf.

ITM has a strong presence on three of the leading offshore bases onshore Norway,” Morten continued. “This acquisition strengthens the position of Bandak Group in the operational phase of an oil field, not only the development phase.”

It is clear that 2013 has been a particularly busy year for Herkules, with not just new acquisitions but also the sale of portfolio companies. “We have attracted strong industrial interest for our companies; BASF bought Pronova Biopharma in 2012, Bertelsmann Group bought Gothia Financial Group and Barco bought Projectiondesign,” said Morten. “This proves that we have been able to successfully create attractive companies.”

Since the Herkules Private Equity Fund was established as Ferd Private Equity Fund back in 2003 (with Ferd AS as the cornerstone investor), the company has gone from strength to strength. As Morten summed up: “Herkules now holds a leading position in the Norwegian market and foresees a continuous strong flow of new deals going forward. For the rest of 2013 our main focus is to look for new investment opportunities and develop the existing portfolio companies.”

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Herkules Capital herkulescapital.no

Services Private equity firm

package

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Established in Norway in 2002, Petroleum Technology Company (PTC) has grown through the development of innovative well completion equipment, which gives greater reliability, integrity and productivity to its customers. Almost all of the company’s equipment has been conceived in response to requirements from clients to address the shortcomings in the equipment they were already using. These innovations have then been commercialised for the wider market.

“Our equipment can mainly be divided into two camps – safety improvement products and production enhancing systems,” highlights SVP technology/interim CEO, Erling Kleppa. “There is also often a lot of overlap between these two aspects as an increase in safety can also result in greater uptime and therefore more productivity.

“Our greatest strengths are our ability to understand the customer’s needs and our innovation record,” he continues. “We bring the two of these together to create a solution that fully addresses the challenges being faced in the market. Each product is fully designed in-house, patented and protected, and analysed and tested through our own global facilities.”

PTC primarily offers high integrity equipment from downhole products such as gas lift (GL) and chemical injection (CL) to wellhead systems including wellhead annulus safety valves, intervention tools and sensors. In particular the market for artificial lift is increasing as basins mature. As such, high to medium rate wells are focusing on gas lift equipment, and there is a trend towards pre-installing such systems in new well developments.

Approximately 30 per cent of global oil production is on gas lift, and there is a move towards this type of equipment for the more challenging reservoirs and deeper water where the accelerated recovery and higher production rates offered are of benefit. PTC continues to stretch this technology further through its game-changing development to allow for high gas injection pressures and volumes, and to counteract high intervention costs. These products are tested and qualified with major, national and independent oil companies throughout the world, with many employed on current field developments.

PTC first entered into the gas lift market in 2005 on the invitation of Statoil to participate in a test of challenging conditions. With this programme having already defeated several of the big names on the market, PTC worked intensively for two months to model gas flow dynamics through the valve to prevent seal area erosion impacts. Having succeeded in this task, the SafeLift GLV has since been a part of PTC’s portfolio where it addresses the

PROFILE

most commonly observed failure modes and provides better economics.

As well as offering a complete spectrum of gas lift products for all manner of downhole applications, PTC has also developed a line in wellhead integrity assurance solutions. This is in recognition of the fact that when a well changes over to gas lift, it becomes much more dangerous, so the use of safety valves and sensors helps to ensure ongoing well integrity.

Completing the company’s main areas of operation is its chemical injection solutions, which are activities, as well as finding new ones along the way. Right now we have a couple of new innovations that are undergoing prototyping and testing that we are very excited about and believe will have a very strong future, so we have high hopes for when we start rolling those out,” he concludes.

PTC AS ptc.as

Services Well completion equipment

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PTC continues to stretch this technology further through its game-changing development to allow for high gas injection pressures and volumes, and to counteract high intervention costs

European oil & gas

derivatives of the gas lift well and wellhead offerings for chemical dosing applications. Other developments are the hydraulic jet pump system, water injection valves, completion and circulation products, and other engineered tools.

PTC is now entering the next phase of its development having seen its majority stake acquired by Herkules, a leading Norwegian private equity firm, earlier in the year. Describing what this brings to the business Erling says: “The acquisition gives us the strategic capability to grow on a broader scale internationally, and to further development contracts for equipment that we currently have in-house. Being a relatively small company that has developed over time, we are also gaining in terms of a more professional organisation.

“Since the acquisition, Herkules have been working closely with us offering guidance and assistance in growth. We already have room to grow significantly within our existing limits in terms of facilities, but this gives us a foundation on which to build the organisation and meet the expectations of the market,” he continues.

As a dominant player in the North Sea market in particular, PTC’s strategy is split between maximising opportunities with its existing customers, and growing internationally in upcoming areas such as the Middle East, West Africa, and Brazil. “We see that there is a very large market for the type of equipment that we offer so our aim is to build on that,” outlines Erling.

“Where we are working with a customer in one area of the world we hope to build on that relationship to support them in their other

PTC

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Ocean Installer

Ambitious

momentum Since it was last featured in European Oil and Gas Magazine in June 2013 Ocean Installer AS has continued to display its characteristic ambition and maintained its growth within the subsea market. Established on the 1st of January 2011, Ocean Installer is a relatively new company operating within the subsea structures, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) segment. However, despite its youth the business is far from inexperienced in the field and maintains a dynamic approach in servicing the subsea industry. Its technical staff boast an average of ten years experience meaning that whatever the requirement, Ocean Installer has the right professional people to meet its customers’ needs.

As well as its SURF operations Ocean Installer provides effective turnkey solutions for inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), survey, diving and trenching and rock dumping.

“The business is based upon extremely qualified and experienced people coming together,” begins Steinar Riise, chief executive officer for Ocean Installer. “All of the success that Ocean Installer has achieved since January 2011 is based upon the individuals we have on board, many of whom have long track-records and expertise in running major SURF and engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) projects across the globe.”

At present the company is based at its headquarters in Stavanger, Norway and has additional offices in Aberdeen, Scotland and Houston, US, and has grown to incorporate three fully equipped vessels designed to service the subsea industry. The origins of Ocean Installer’s fleet expansion can be traced back to its original charter party agreement with Solstad Offshore ASA for the Construction Support Vessel (CSV) Normand Clipper and the Light Construction Support Vessel (LCSV) Normand Mermaid. These agreements both run for a fixed duration of five years with options to further extend, with the first contract beginning in quarter two of 2012 and the second starting in quarter one 2013. As of 2013 the company is awaiting delivery of a cutting-edge large CSV, which is set for delivery in 2014. Ocean Installer will operate the new ship (Normand Vision) in joint ownership with Solstad. “We have been very happy to work in partnership with Solstad and expect to continue to work with them well into the future,” comments Steinar.

The company’s asset expansion is reflective of its continued success in the subsea sector. Since January 2011 Ocean Installer has consistently displayed its professional caliber and secured significant projects that mark it as a respected provider of EPCI and SURF services. Its earliest contracts were within the UK sector and its

Oceaneering Oceaneering is a world-class provider of ROV services to the oil and gas industry with more than 290 reliable and well-proven ROV systems in operation worldwide.

Both work ROVs and observation ROVs are in our portfolio. We have extensive expertise for all kinds of ROV-related work, including but not limited to:  Drill support and completion  Vessel-based IMR and construction  Intervention  Surveying and inspection work  Ad-hoc problem solving

Below Steinar Riise, chief executive officer for Ocean Installer

European oil & gas

PROFILE

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Nautronix

native market of Norway. Awarded to the business by Xcite Energy Resources Ltd, the UK project called for the installation of two oil export pipelines from the Rowan Norway production jack-up to a shuttle tanker for the Bentley field. The project commenced in quarter two 2012. At the same time Ocean Installer was awarded a significant two-year contract with A/S Norske Shell covering EPCI services in the Draugen oil field, which is planned for completion in 2014 at a total value of around $180 million, including exercised options and variation orders.

Throughout 2013 Ocean Installer has

continued to secure important contracts from globally recognised names like Statoil, Total and Talisman. In a landslide month for the organisation, in March 2013 it won contracts with both Shell UK and Talisman Sinopec Energy as well as a major EPCI contract with Statoil valued at $100 million, including exercised options and variation orders. In the latter half of the year, it has lost none of its momentum gaining a contract with Total E&P UK Ltd for the recovery of casing at the Tomintoul location, west of the Shetland Islands. In a major endorsement of Ocean Installer’s capability, as of September 2013 it

At Nautronix we strive to provide our customers with the best service possible; now including the supply of a range of survey services to the offshore construction industry.

In early 2012 Nautronix launched a Survey Services division focussed on supporting the offshore construction industry. With an experienced team of offshore and onshore personnel, we aim to provide a consistently excellent service, with commitment, competence and quality being central to our performance. We have a strong and demonstrable focus on constant review and improvement.

Håvard Strand, COO of Ocean Installer explains: “Nautronix have provided Survey Services to all of our projects over the last 18 months, both onshore and on board our vessels. Through their knowledge and commitment the Nautronix Survey team have provided us with consistently responsive and high quality solutions to our survey requirements.”

Our team possess a comprehensive range of survey knowledge and capabilities; ranging from survey consultancy, through onshore project planning and offshore operations on client vessels, to supply of final survey and positioning deliverables and on-going data management.

We use a range of survey and positioning systems, including both our own cutting-edge subsea acoustic systems, such as NASNet®, and industry standard third party positioning and survey systems.

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Ocean Installer

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won a second contract with Statoil, this time in SURF operations, valued at $55 million plus options in excess of $95 million. “We are very pleased to announce our second contract with Statoil within six months,” Steiner begins.

“This is technically demanding work and the award demonstrates that the market has confidence in our project management and engineering capabilities and in our ability to execute challenging projects in a safe manner,” he concludes. The project takes place on the Norwegian continental shelf and will be executed offshore during the summer season of 2014, 2015, 2016 and potentially 2017. Once delivered, the CSV Normand Vision will play a key role in the contract’s operation.

Although a relatively new player in the subsea sector, Ocean Installer has relied on a number of key strengths to power its spirited entry into the market. With Subsea 7 and Technip previously the only major SURF companies operating in the North Sea area, Ocean Installer saw an

In many ways, the company’s small size reflects a significant bonus rather then a hindrance. It is able to maintain shorter lines of communication and make decisions relatively quickly when compared to larger organisations with more lumbering decision-making structures. Crucially, Ocean Installer has also been able to essentially handpick its personnel to ensure it has the best possible people for the job. “What is important for us is that we have the right people. What is recognised by our clients is that we have the right people with experience and track record in subsea markets,” explains Steinar. “We enjoy the attention from these people because we are a small organisation, there are efficient communication lines from engineering level to top management level so people can be part of the final decisions that are made. All of our people feel that they are part of and can make a difference in the organisation.”

Ocean Installer is majority owned by HitecVision, which is a major investor in the oil and gas industry. Drawing on the support from HitecVision, Ocean Installer has proven that it is more than able to compete with larger competitors in the subsea market.

Its commitment to excellent standards of quality and client satisfaction has marked the company as a trusted partner in the provision of subsea solutions.

Wood Group Kenny Norge Wood Group Kenny Norge has existed since 2006 and currently consists of about 65 employees.

The main office is in Stavanger, but the company also has a branch office in Oslo, which now employs ten people. The company has been working together with Ocean Installer since the spring of 2012 when they won the Draugen Infill Contract for Shell. This contract will go on for about two years and Wood Group Kenny Norge is delivering the in-place detail design for the project.

Ocean Installer AS oceaninstaller.com

Services Subsea construction

European oil & gas

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With its core of highly skilled personnel and solid experience base the company has demonstrated that it is not only able to compete with larger companies in the area, but also that it is able to do so without compromising on quality

opportunity to become a third considerable SURF operator in the market. With its core of highly skilled personnel and solid experience base the company has demonstrated that it is not only able to compete with larger companies in the area, but also that it is able to do so without compromising on quality. Core to this are its values, which are to remain reliable, collaborative, competent and demanding with itself in terms of the standard of work it provides.

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market Cracking the

Technip Benelux operates as part of

Steder Group B.V. The Steder Group B.V. is a renowned and dynamic logistic service provider with experience in a number of territories: global project logistics, agencies, chartering, forwarding and liner agency. The Steder Group B.V. arranges comprehensive logistics for all sorts of cargo transportation, worldwide.

The Steder Group B.V. is based in Rhoon, located directly on the arterial road leading to Rotterdam port. It is therefore easily accessible and facilitates all the advantages of one of the largest ports in the world. Steder Group B.V. employs about 140 staff members and has offices in Rhoon, Antwerp, Dubai, Djibouti and recently opened in Constanta.

its parent company the Technip Group. Based in the Netherlands the firm has recently become part of a newly organised division within the group. Founded in the third quarter of 2012, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology (TSWPT) amalgamates several companies into a single group centered around a core business focused on plant process design. Technip Benelux traces its roots back to 1963 when the company was founded as Kinetics Technology International (KTI) before becoming part of the Technip Group in 1999. During its history the company developed a critical understanding of the hydrogen generation and ethylene cracking technology, which made it a logical inclusion in the formation of the new process technology division.

“I don’t think it is too modest to say that we are world leaders in these fields,” exclaims Hans T.H. Brasker, vice president execution for Technip Benelux. “In hydrogen, we have 35 per cent of the global market share, which I think justifies our position as being world leaders in that area.”

The company’s proficiency in these fields has enabled it to operate on a truly global scale and

led to impressive technical innovations that have helped differentiate the company from other players in the same markets. Within the ethylene-cracking sector, Technip Benelux has designed a cracking tube that is designed to be installed in an ethylene plant’s furnace. This Swirl Flow Tube® achieves longer running time for the furnace and critically, a higher capacity. This is of particular importance in the ethylene industry, which as a base product is fundamental in the formation of plastics. It is a volatile sector that is hugely dependent on the ebb and flow of global economic conditions, with many countries still recovering from the global recession efficiency is of paramount importance. However, rather then being an obstacle for Technip Benelux, the downturn in demand for the ethylene and plastic consumer products has actually provided the company with an opportunity to showcase the benefits of its services, as Hans elaborates: “The clients for ethylene are in the petrochemical industry, you will understand that in the countries that are suffering from the recession now, ethylene demand has been quite low. Although this trend

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Technip Benelux

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Technip Benelux

also affected Technip, the company has been fortunate in that over the years it has had a constant base in ethylene, thanks to its creativity in modernising and upgrading existing plants.

“Since the founding of the company we have developed and applied various methods for revamping existing ethylene plants, thus enabling clients to introduce new technologies in their existing plants. We have created a particular market in this fashion, which has been very successful. Especially in periods of downturn, it puts an extra challenge on us to introduce innovations into existing plants in a cost-effective manner.”

In addition to that, Technip Benelux has developed a special software package for plant operation analysis, named SPYRO®.

The package enables clients to simulate the performance of a cracking furnace to accurately predict the yield of the cracking process, thus enabling clients to optimise the operation of their plants to the ultimate limit. With the latest version of the software package, SPYRO® Suite 7, users are offered the state-of-the-art simulation technology for ethylene processes with a wide range of applications.

The hydrogen market is slightly different from the ethylene sector in that is it further upstream in terms of production process. The majority of Technip Benelux’s clients in the hydrogen sector are oil refineries, in which hydrogen is an increasingly utilised element.

The gas is vital in the production of clearer fuels, which in the current environmentally aware age is increasingly important. This coupled with a global interest in increasing efficiency, has spurred a greater demand in the supply of hydrogen, as Hans explains: “For the worldwide interest in producing what are called clean fuels, the demand for hydrogen in refineries goes up.

Hydrogen is useful in producing cleaner fuels and while the standards of clean fuels are not yet consistent all over the world, some countries make steeper progress on this than others, but all over the world hydrogen demand is increasing.

So the client finds that they need to either invest in a new hydrogen plant or an expansion of their existing hydrogen plant.”

The company has been incredibly successful in helping customers realise greater production potential, helping it to maintain its 35 per cent market share has been a host of innovations and new products. Within the hydrogen sector one example of this is its Technip Parallel Reformer

(TPR®), which can increase the capacity of an existing hydrogen plant by 30 per cent.

The implementation of the TPR® is relatively simple and can be completed in a single plant shutdown, which can be scheduled around routine plant maintenance to eliminate costly delays during installation.

Technip Benelux is not limited to its core services within hydrogen generation and ethylene cracking; through its years of experience it is able to provide world-class expertise as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. This means that if it sells a client a piece of technology it is able to offer a comprehensive package of detailed engineering, procurement, construction, startup and aftermarket services, extending the company’s relationship with its customers and generating future business.

Recently, Technip also celebrated a 20-year milestone in its alliance with Air Products. The alliance was formed in 1992 to address a global demand for hydrogen generation and cleaner fuels, regarding the partnership Thierry Pilenko, Technip’s chairman and CEO, states: “Technip is proud to be a member of this alliance. The valuable feedback we have received from the plants designed for Air Products, coupled with Technip’s high standards in design and engineering, have improved long-term operations, where reliability over the years is the main focus.

In the end, the refining industry benefits by receiving a reliable and cost-effective source of hydrogen. In addition, our global footprint ensures that Technip can accompany its clients around the world, on their projects of tomorrow.”

The company has been incredibly successful in helping customers realise greater production potential, helping it to maintain its 35 per cent market share has been a host of innovations and new products

Technip Benelux technip.com

Services Process plant implementation

PROFILE

Dale Power Solutions

Powerful

Since the buyout, Dale Power Solutions has achieved a planned 25 per cent increase in profit for the first half of 2013 compared to last year; keeping it well on course with a full order book to achieve sales of over £32 million.

This achievement continues a historical trend as Dale Power Solutions has expanded from sales of £4 million in 2004, employing 40 people to sales of £31 million in 2012, employing 230 people. It now has offices throughout the UK and Dubai and is looking for further geographical expansion.

The company has achieved its investment targets by increasing its range of secure power products, by introducing new generator and UPS systems as well as offering brand new services to customers. It is also in the process of implementing a new state-of-the-art IT system and completely revamping its organisation, including

European oil & gas

Only two years away

from celebrating 80 years in business, Dale Power Solutions has, over its history, evolved to become a global leader in the design and manufacture of specialist secure power solutions including diesel generators, gas turbines, uninterruptible power supplies and battery based chargers, under the renowned Dale and Erskine brands.

The company’s strength lies in delivering flexible service and maintenance support tailored to the specific needs of clients for the lifetime of their diesel generator, gas turbine, DC, UPS, and battery equipment. Whether customers require planned preventative maintenance cover, a one off service visit, a breakdown call out, or a total power solution management service, Dale Power Solutions has the experience and technical excellence to provide a cost effective solution to deliver exactly what they need.

Furthermore, in addition to its renowned service and maintenance contracts for generators, battery based chargers and UPS systems, it is able to provide a variety of additional services, adding more value to its unrivalled spectrum of services and ensuring clients’ standby power is there when they need it.

In August 2012, Dale underwent a management buy-out, backed by a leading private equity investor, LDC. In the year since this event, Dale Power Solutions has gone from strength to strength, continuing to expand even in a very difficult economic climate, by offering new services and products to its UK and overseas customer base.

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Dale appreciates that it must continue to move forward, and one of the ways it highlights its capabilities and products to the market is by having a presence at major exhibitions, such as the recent Offshore Europe event.

Amongst the technology that was on display in 2013 was the UP7000 UPS system with regen capabilities. This newly released product raises the standard for the oil and gas industry standby power solutions for supporting critical controls and safety systems. The UP7000 design includes, as standard, the key features demanded by high-end marine, and oil and gas specifications for uninterruptible power supplies. However, what really differentiates this product from competition is the regenerativeenabled IGBT rectifier technology; the superior input power factor and harmonic performance is welcomed but the ability to regenerate battery energy for capacity testing is a game changer for offshore maintenance.

Instead of the complex, manually intensive and potentially hazardous process of switching the system offline to discharge test the battery into a temporary load bank, regenerative battery testing achieves the same results with a simple operation via the touch screen. Load banks, trailing cables, live working and load switching are avoided while the UPS remains online, supporting the critical load. Inherent safety therefore significantly improves, not only for offshore maintenance personnel but also the offshore asset, which critical loads it supports.

The UP7000 is not Dale’s only product release for 2013. It also launched the E300 series – an innovative generation of high frequency, on-line double conversion Uninterruptible Power Supplies. Full DSP controlled inverter technology ensures continuous, clean, true sinusoidal power to critical applications under a wide range of conditions, available in output power capacities from 160 to 300kVA, all with three phase input and output.

Dale Power Solutions stands today as a global leader – an expert in bringing technology and engineering together and creating innovative solutions for customers. With an annual turnover in excess of £30 million, it is the company's commitment to excellence, combined with its mission to deliver outstanding client service, which has earned Dale Power Solutions the prestigious reputation it enjoys today as one of the world’s most trusted providers of standby power solutions.

Dale Power Solutions stands today as a global leader – an expert in bringing technology and engineering together and creating innovative solutions for customers

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a major change to the sales structure to better service its growing number of customers. In addition to this it is also invested in marketing, expanding the team and increasing expenditure in brand development and customer communication.

Much of the current expansion can also be attributed to Dale’s historical investment in the training and development of its employees. For many years the company has actively invested and grown its apprenticeship scheme, which was recognised nationally in 2012, when it was presented with a Top 100 UK Apprenticeship Employer award.

In fact, as recently as September 2013 one of Dale’s employees was recognised with honours - Natasha Pitts won the highly prestigious Higher Apprentice of the Year Award for the region of Yorkshire & the Humber. The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their tenth year, celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and apprenticeship employers.

Mark Carter, business support manager at Dale, who is responsible for training and apprenticeships stated: “Natasha has been a role model for all apprentices. She has taken on a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassador role for Dale and her contribution to the company has seen her establish a rewarding career as an electrical engineer. Natasha completed her 48-month apprenticeship in just 26 months and received a full permanent contract containing a higher apprenticeship. Natasha’s determination to progress within our business has led to a foundation degree and achieving the highest standards possible.”

Awards such as this fall under the purview of Dale’s corporate and social responsibility strategy.

As Tim Wilkins, chief executive of Dale Power Solutions noted: "We are committed to making a sustainable positive impact on the communities in which we operate.” As a result, the company actively promotes and motivates young people into engineering, which it regards as key for the future of the business.

Further reflecting Dale’s focus on excellence, the company has received additional recognition – it has also twice won the Queen's Award for Export, as well as a recent second accolade from the Sunday Times Fast Track 200 for its International Sales figures for the last two years. The company has also been shortlisted for this year’s Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards.

To maintain these high levels of success,

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Dale Power Solutions dalepowersolutions.com

Products Primary and back up emergency power products

Ovako is trusted to deliver steel for the most demanding oil and gas applications worldwide The high purity of our steel, and the precise formulation of our alloys, ensures consistently outstanding fatigue strength and wear resistance.

OVA-Oil&gas_A4_130918.indd 1

Steel from Ovako makes an important contribution to the safety records of several major oil and gas suppliers. We are the main provider to Ramn채s mooring chains and for 30 years the results of our collaboration have been challenged by the elements all around the world. When it comes to steel for demanding applications, Ovako can offer a customized solution to improve your competitive edge. To find out more, visit us at ovako.com

2013-09-19 14.23

Ramnäs Bruk

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PROFILE

Headquartered in Sweden, Above Ramnäs Bruk ultrasonic method Phased Array Below New furnace with 30 per cent increase in heat treatment capacity

Ramnäs Bruk AB began forging stud link anchor chains in 1876 and entered the offshore oil chain business since its inception over 50 years ago.

Today the company is a leading manufacturer of quality chains and is the only business in the market to offer a five-year quality warranty for all chain. Such confidence in its products stems from 45 years experience in the offshore sector and more than 25 years without a customer complaint due to mooring line failure.

Providing offshore safety through top quality anchor chains for mooring systems utilised in the offshore industry around the world, Ramnäs Bruk fully understands the importance of safety and ensures quality is a core value at the heart of its every day operations. Manufacturing to the international quality assurance standard ISO 9001: 2008, the company guarantees its customers the best possible service and end product throughout the whole purchasing, fabrication and supplying phase of each individual offshore project.

With a production capacity of 15,000 mega

European oil & gas

Strong

37 tonnes a year, the company has continuously looked for opportunities to improve the production process to meet new customer requirements; it has also focused on technical developments for automation and inspection as well as cost-cutting methods. Furthermore, co-operating with selected and certified steel works such as Ovako, has led to steel quality improvements and new high-strength steel for larger chain dimensions and higher grades being developed. Both Ovako and Ramnäs Bruk work together to constantly improve steel properties, which ensures ongoing quality enhancement in line with the rigorous quality control system that means every single bar is traceable.

In order to manufacture the best stud link anchor chain on the market, Ramnäs Bruk has developed a unique manufacturing method of controlled stud expansion. The stud expansion fixes the stud and creates a spring effect that improves the fatigue life of the chain. Also, the asymmetrical design of the stud gives equal stud footprints and contributes to a symmetric stressdistribution in the link. This design, combined

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on a monitor. The technique offers tangible benefits such as shorter inspection periods, clear documentation and investigation of most materials. Today, major oil companies such as Statoil and Total use phased array technology as a way to meet regulatory requirements for testing equipment.

As the offshore industry moves into deeper waters and harsher environments, Ramnäs Bruk has been refocusing its product development to meet the evolving needs of its customers.

Through developing a new supersonic procedure to perfect an anti-corrosion surface coating, the innovative company can offer its customers products with an increased life span in the most challenging of environments. The supersonic cathodic protection does not require 100 per cent coverage, for example, effective coverage can be obtained even if only 70 per cent of the surface is covered.

As part of its standard range, Ramnäs Bruk offers its customers the option of having an RFID chip installed in stud link chains to provide instant traceability. Utilising RFID technology, customers can scan designated factory expanded studs with chips safely embedded below the surface to obtain information about the chain’s origin, certificate and current status.

Always looking at enhancing its products, the company also invests in its equipment and facilities to ensure customers are offered market-leading solutions. One of its most recent investments was a new furnace in May 2013, which has a 30 per cent increase in heat treatment capacity compared to the company’s prior furnace. These ongoing developments and the company’s dedication to quality enabled it to remain busy throughout the recession and are certain to ensure its success in the future.

Left The asymmetrical design of the stud gives equal stud footprints and contributes to a symmetric stressdistribution in the link Above Forging of stud link chain

Ovako Ovako is a leading European producer of engineering steel with production facilities in Sweden and Finland.

As a supplier to the bearing, general engineering, transport and oil and gas industries worldwide, Ovako´s extensive range of clean steels is used in demanding applications throughout the world including offshore and marine.

All Ovako´s steel grades have excellent yield, tensile and high impact strength along with uniform mechanical properties and are available in a wide range of forms.

Ovako is proud of its long association as a quality steel supplier to Ramnäs Bruk for the manufacture of mooring and anchor chain systems.

Ramnäs Bruk AB ramnas.com

Services Manufacturer of anchor chains

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with Ramnäs Bruk’s controlled stud expansion, has been the standard method in Ramnäs Bruk’s production process since 1991. The studs stay in place, resulting in a superior quality chain.

On top of its stud link mooring chain, the company also offers studless links that can deliver the same performance in terms of static strength while also saving approximately nine per cent in weight. This is particularly beneficial for deepwater applications, where there is a potential reduction in weight, which offers cost savings. With all material thoroughly inspected upon arrival, Ramnäs Bruk welds the link using linear production and micro process controls are applied to record every individual flash butt weld.

Finally, during the heat treatment process, the company continuously records furnace temperature, water temperature, pressure and chain speed so any non-conformance can be resolved with corrective action.

Benefitting from a vast amount of experience, the company has developed unique routines, invested in modern equipment and has trained its skilled staff to perform manual inspection and automatic testing.

A pioneer in the development of production, chain grades and quality, Ramnäs Bruk has three ongoing projects: phased array, supersonic corrosion protection and RFID instant traceability. The phased array is a state-of-the-art UT method for offshore chain that guarantees 100 percent inspection of the whole weld volume. First launched in 2010 and approved by all major classification societies, the product uses ultrasonic waves containing a large amount of vibration sources that produce ultrasonic pulses. The phased array method scans the whole diameter of the link from top to bottom, inside and out, with any defects displayed

Ramnäs Bruk

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Great Yarmouth

based designer and manufacturer of offshore cranes Seatrax (UK) Limited has had a successful, productive and busy year since it was last featured in European Oil and Gas in June 2012. “We have continued to maintain and secure a level of business that will see us all the way through to mid 2015; and in relation to our steady growth we have taken on a number of new employees bringing our workforce to the 100 mark,” said Graham Manning, sales and marketing manager of Seatrax.

“During the last 12 months most of our contracts have come from China, where many shipyards are actively engaged in the building of new jack-up drilling rigs. But other contracts have also been secured from UK and Middle Eastern clients. The continued search for new oil and gas reserves is fuelling the jack-up rig building boom, as the drilling contractors look to expand their fleets or upgrade/improve their older units, and with three cranes usually installed on each rig there continues to be a high demand for equipment such as cranes,” Graham continued. “While the market is very tough, we see that the industry in general is really quite buoyant, this is further evidenced by the fact that our suppliers and competitors are also busy, meaning that money is being spent - ensuring

the industry and manufacturing sector we are in, looks to be in a very healthy position indeed.”

From its advantageous position in Great Yarmouth on the East Anglian coast, and with direct access to both the North Sea and international waterways, Seatrax UK has been independently operating as the European arm of Seatrax Inc. since 1996.

Today the company is internationally recognised as a pioneer in the supply of kingpost cranes and is known for its dedicated focus on crane safety through design: ‘instead of depending on gadgets and add-ons!’ according to Graham. A number of patents have been established over the years for these designs.

Seatrax cranes are based on proven design principles and components that can be configured to each client’s unique specifications, resulting in them being widely recognised and respected for their high standards of operational safety, design robustness, cost-effectiveness and ease of maintenance.

Working with many major oil and gas companies over the years such as Shell, BP, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Seatrax now has hundreds of cranes in service worldwide and although it has a wide range of models available, the most popular machine being produced at the moment seems to be the model S7232. “This machine is fast becoming the ‘benchmark’ crane for drilling jack-ups with its useable capacity of around 83 tonnes easily covering the larger offshore service lifts,” confirmed Graham.

Away from manufacture, he went on to highlight other new areas of development: “We have also seen a significant increase in the need for technical services, support and spare parts around the world and in this regard are looking to expand our Great Yarmouth facilities to ensure that we can continue to react accurately and promptly 24 hours a day.

“To assist with this Seatrax has introduced a range of ‘in depth’ training programmes covering the operation and maintenance of its cranes which were put together by its team of service engineers,” states Graham.

The company has also noticed a trend over the last three years in which clients were requiring increasingly larger cranes; this was proven when Seatrax manufactured what was considered to be the largest kingpost crane ever built in the UK, which weighed in at over 350 tonnes and was destined for a constructionbased offshore company in the UAE. Taking these developments into account, the

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Seatrax (UK)

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Seatrax (UK)

company began an investment and recruitment drive in 2012 which shows no sign of stopping, as Graham highlights: “We have and are continually improving the facility, which is now definitely bearing fruit, for example, we have enhanced our workshops, are currently revamping our road frontage and also have plans to extend the workshops to cater for the larger machines. On the labour front, we have taken on a number of local apprentices as well as semiskilled or partly trained staff who can further develop their skills with us - enabling them to become fully trained members of our workforce.”

As a pioneer in deepwater lifting, Seatrax has maintained this position in the marine industry with the introduction of its modern fleet of portable rental cranes. Designed in 2008 and manufactured from 2009, each portable rental crane provides exceptional safety, reliability, proven modular assemblies and simple maintenance procedures. “These cranes can be configured to meet customers’ specific needs, are easily deployed and quick to assemble, while

in full compliance with API 2C design and manufacturing standards,” says Graham. “For the most part, the standard offshore rental cranes currently in use were mainly re-configured, long serving platform style cranes, some perhaps up to 30 to 40 years old, and as a rental machine they weren’t built to any recognised international specification. This prompted our engineers to design a modern, state-of-the-art portable rental crane fleet, presenting the market with cranes that can be shipped, lifted and built on any platform, drilling rig or vessel around the world.”

Looking ahead, Seatrax will be focusing on the successful completion of its current projects, the promotion of its burgeoning portable rental crane fleet within the UK and European offshore sectors and solid growth in its service and support activities.

By continuing to improve safety through design, the company is confident it will achieve and maintain growth, underpinned with periods of consolidation to ensure future performance and a continued ability to deliver.

As a pioneer in deepwater lifting, Seatrax has maintained this position in the marine industry with the introduction of its modern fleet of portable rental cranes

Seatrax (UK) Ltd seatrax.co.uk

Services Crane designer and manufacturer

EAB Engineering

Subsea innovation

EAB Engineering AS

Above TEE Manifold for Rogn South, weighing 165 tons. Recent EAB delivery to OceanInstaller and Shell Below TEE Manifold for Rogn South.

Installation by OceanInstaller, September 2013

is a second generation, family run business that has been in operation for the last 61 years. It was founded

by Even Andreas Bakke in 1952 working with ropeways and transportation systems and is currently overseen by managing director Harald Bakke, who took the reins of the company in 1981. Under his stewardship EAB became involved in the subsea sector in 1989 and has since garnered a reputation for making big waves in the industry. So much so in fact that recently the company became part of OneSubsea, which is a prestigious reflection of the high level of expertise and regard EAB has earned over the years. The company is currently based in Norway where it is considered a leading name in subsea development.

Prior to becoming part of OneSubsea the company operated throughout the 90s, developing close working relationships with three of Norway’s main subsea and offshore operators, Kongsberg (now FMC Kongsberg), ABB Offshore Systems (now GE Oil and Gas) and Aker Kvearner (now Aker Solutions).

During its time EAB was focused mainly on supplying tooling to Norway’s subsea

operators, however it quickly developed a sound knowledge base within the industry through consultancy work and its effective tooling solutions. Before long the company became involved in the development and delivery of tools for subsea intervention and connection.

With its growing confidence these areas would go on to become key market areas for EAB and help to define it as a relatively small but tenaciously driven company. “We participated in developing various connecting tools that came on the market in the 90s,” Harald begins.

“That includes spool connection systems, subsea winches, hub cleaning and inspection tools, seal replacement tools as well as tools for installation of Flowlines and Risers (FLT’s). We also developed and delivered the Flexconnect system to Technip, which was the beginning of a longterm relationship with the company.”

This early involvement within the subsea sector proved to be a significant advantage for EAB. Not only was it able to enter the market on the ‘ground level’, but it was also crucially able to identify itself among larger contemporaries as a highly skilled and innovative operator within the sector. Today this has culminated

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will have a very large impact on the turnover for our company. The connector market is I think worth around two billion dollars so to even gain a small portion of that will mean substantial growth for EAB.” ECS is a clamp connection system for horizontal and vertical connections with a range from 6” to 24”.

Moving into the future EAB will continue to draw on its strengths as it develops its relationship with the OneSubsea family and readies itself for larger projects. “I think one reason we are where we are is that we have shown ourselves to be trustworthy,” Harald says. “We have gained trust in the market place through years of success. What I mean is that the consequences of faulty products or bad design are tremendous in the subsea industry.

For one thing, installation vessels are expensive so if you make a mistake or if the module is difficult to install you could be losing millions of dollars a week. Likewise, if you have a spillage or problem with the structures then that could be catastrophic. We feel our customers value our track record and our capabilities.

“We have also shown that we are able to act discreetly, which is important when you consider that we have often provided solutions for competing service suppliers and installation companies, so in this respect being trustworthy has been vital.”

One of the most exciting challenges EAB anticipates over the coming years is in getting acquainted with the OneSubsea family. “We have to market ourselves to an organisation of 6500 employees, so getting to know the rest of the group will be a focus for us,” Harald explains.

“We are also very focused on developing EAB in a sustainable way, while trying to avoid the problems that can be associated with growth.

The next few years will be very exciting.”

Above From Factory Acceptance Testing of EAB Connection System

Destec Engineering Destec Engineering now has many years of experience supplying subsea single bolt connectors in a very wide range of sizes, materials and pressure ratings. By using the range of Destec’s proven conical metal seal rings, the units are reliable, leak free, compact, cost effective and have significant advantages to minimise mass and space envelope, providing greater operational efficiency and first time connection.

Most of Destec’s subsea single bolt connectors have many customers’ unique special requirements that can be incorporated in the designs.

Applications include subsea choke valves, multiphase flow meters, subsea tie-in connection systems, flowline/jumper connections and tree connections all engineered for remote operation subsea.

EAB Engineering AS eabeng.no

Services Expert subsea solutions

europeanoilandgas.co.uk

in a number of important benchmarks for the business. Firstly as its confidence has grown, EAB has diversified its product range to include permanent subsea infrastructure in conjunction to its extensive range of subsea tools. Its permanent subsea structures include pipeline end manifolds (PLEM’s), pipeline end termination (PLET), riser bases, pigging stations, TEE’s and Manifolds. As such, serving known companies like Technip and Subsea 7 the company now attributes around 70 per cent of its business to permanent equipment sales, while the remaining 30 per cent is still centered on tooling. Within its scope of equipment provision EAB has delivered its own products that have demonstrated great value for the subsea market, as Harald elaborates: “We supply our Flowline Lifting Tool – FLT’s, which is close to being the industry standard, and even more so we supply our patented soft landing cylinders.

These are delivered to provide a controlled and damped landing for almost any structure that is designed to be placed on top of another piece of equipment. These structures can be large, with weights up to 1500 tons or more, and of course operators are very concerned about a potential crash landing. These structures can cost several hundred million dollars so protecting them is very important. The EAB soft landing system is becoming firmly engraved as an industry standard and most of the larger players are using it as part of their standard equipment. More than 600 cylinders with braking capacity from a few tons to 450 tons have been delivered.”

Another major boon for the company has been its inclusion within the OneSubsea Group. Built on the strong reputation EAB has earned and on its unique subsea experience the partnership offers the company massive potential growth, as Harald explains: “For us to become part of the OneSubsea family has been quite a nice experience actually. We are a small company of 50 employees with a turnover of 35 million to 40 million dollars, but we were very well received by the top management of OneSubsea and we have already benefitted from this. We have been given responsibility for certain areas within the group’s subsea activities, one of which is that we service the installation companies as we are the only unit with the expertise in what installation companies really need.”

Elaborating on the technical impact of becoming part of OneSubsea Harald reveals: “It looks like the EAB connection system (ECS) will be part of the portfolio for the group and that

EAB Engineering

European oil & gas

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46 European oil & gas

europeanoilandgas.co.uk

In

bloom Founded by Platenkamp and Steenken

Below Erik Steenken, CEO Tulip Oil

in 2010, Tulip Oil was born with a specific focus on developing stranded assets, where discoveries had previously been deemed too difficult or non-commercial at the time, and redeveloping formerly abandoned oil and gas fields. The company is active in the upstream oil and gas business where it has expanded into Germany and Holland, as part of its initial focus on Western Europe.

The rapidity of this growth has been down to both the partnerships and acquisitions that Tulip Oil has made since its formation. Notably the company gained a strong financial partner in Barclays Natural Resource Investments at the beginning of 2011, which saw the private equity business take responsibility for the funding side.

Tulip Oil then acquired an initial 75 per cent stake in German company Rhein Petroleum, followed by another 15 per cent later on, which held a portfolio of licences in the Rhine Valley.

“These covered a hydrocarbon area that had been abandoned throughout the 1960s to 1980s as the industry withdrew, and this fit our business concept exactly in terms of having the potential for stranded assets and redevelopment potential of oil fields,” explains Erik Steenken, CEO. “In total there were around nine oil fields there that had been abandoned, but using the technologies and the cost efficiency of today we believe can revitalise the oil business in the area.

“To that end we started with one of the largest 3D seismic campaigns in the history of

Germany, which was completed smoothly and in record time. This was the first instance where we could demonstrate our strong stakeholder management concept, which is based on full transparency, early engagement, clarification, and bringing the stakeholder into the discussion.

The data has confirmed the business model we set out as the early seismic interpretation results indicate an interesting portfolio of at least 50 prospects in our licenses,” he continues.

With a strong foothold in Germany, Tulip Oil then made a significant acquisition in Holland with the purchase of Smart Energy Solutions B.V. This entity held interests in ten hydrocarbon licences in the Netherlands, including onshore and offshore discoveries. The viability of these assets was quickly proven, with Tulip Oil discovering a new gas field with its first drilling project in July 2012. The well was drilled from an existing location in Donkerbroek, leading to the new field being named Donkerbroek-West, where it sits adjacent to the Donkerbroek-Main gas field.

Subsequent to this success, Tulip Oil has discovered another gas field within its Dutch assets, this time in Hemrik. “We now have three small fields in Donkerbroek, Donkerbroek-West and close by in Hemrik, so what we are looking to do is combine these developments into one that will go on-stream towards the end of 2014,” explains Erik. “This is a typical example of our way of working as some of these discoveries may themselves not be large enough for development,

europeanoilandgas.co.uk © Rhein Petroleum GmbH, all photography by permission

Tulip Oil

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PROFILE

Tulip Oil

European oil & gas

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With the 2014 drilling campaign of a total of 13 wells we want to prove the resource base that we have presently identified in Germany, which we currently believe to be in excess of 100 million barrels of oil

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but when you combine them together into one development with cost efficient facilities and pipeline solutions the total development becomes commercially viable.”

Earlier this year Tulip Oil added even further to its Netherlands portfolio with the purchase of exploration licences M10a/M11 and Terschelling from Ascent Resources. Again, these fitted with the company’s business model being that they contain stranded assets where wells were drilled and hydrocarbons found, but never developed because of technical or commercial reasons.

Whilst Tulip Oil has undoubtedly benefited from the strength of its portfolio, Erik outlines how the experiences and expertise of its people have also been a deciding factor in its success: “Between our four managers we have more than 100 years of experience in oil and gas, with specific skills that fit our business concept such as mature field development, subsurface expertise, EOR and very strong networks. We are grateful to be able to attract outstanding and experienced staff that like our entrepreneurial spirit, our focus on core business and the way we work. We have very low overheads as we are a small company (45 FTE’s and two offices in The Hague and Heidelberg), and short decision lines, which make us more efficient and able to react faster.

“We’ve also been focussed on implementing HSE in an efficient, impactful and pragmatic way. As such we are very pleased that after our drilling campaign in Holland, and having acquired so much seismic data, we can report outstanding safety statistics. This is a priority for the business. To minimise the impact of our operations on our neighbours we have been using a brand new modern rig for drilling the wells, which has a particularly small footprint and is more silent than previously used drilling

rigs,” he continues.

As a relatively young business Tulip Oil has worked hard to prove not only the effectiveness of its business model, but also its ability to deliver that as a small company. With impressive early results, Erik highlights how the business is pushing ahead with the next phase of its strategy: “We want to show that we can successfully develop these stranded assets, or re-develop abandoned assets, in a cost efficient way such that the industry will wake up to these possibilities and we might become the partner of choice when we talk of future work and co-operation.

“For the Dutch gas discoveries we have made so far it is important that we initiate first production as soon as possible. In addition we are preparing the field development plan for our offshore Q7/ Q10 gas assets, which we want to develop during 2014 /2015. In Germany we have started drilling operations and we are hopeful of initiating production before year-end and growing that substantially over the course of 2014, as we will continue to drill throughout 2014. With the 2014 drilling campaign of a total of 13 wells we want to prove the resource base that we have presently identified in Germany, which we currently believe to be in excess of 100 million barrels of oil. We want to do this through deployment of existing technologies in a cost effective way such that we create a step-change improvement in the commercial viability of stranded or technically difficult hydrocarbon assets.

“Finally our aim is clearly to use our strengths to further grow our asset portfolio, within the parameters of our business model, and we are in discussions regarding additional acquisitions and joint ventures. Many companies have assets that will always remain “below the line” and we can help in developing them,” he concludes.

Well Engineering Partners Well Engineering Partners (WEP) proudly provided the overall engineering, total project management and well site supervision for the projects of Tulip Oil; Donkerbroek-04 well (2012), Hemrik-01 well (2013).

WEP is an experienced, growing project management and well engineering firm with a strong client focus delivering results in all aspects of well engineering, from operational support to desktop studies. From its main office in the Netherlands and a second office in Oman, clients from all over the world are being served.

Tulip Oil tulipoil.com

Services Oil and gas production

PROFILE

PV Drilling

Drilling

operates as a subsidiary of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and member of the International Association of Drilling Contractors. The company was formed with a clear desire to become the leading drilling contractor in the region as well as offering prestigious services to the global market. The company provides a wide range of services in oil and gas exploration and production activities but broadly speaking is able to divide its operations into two main areas. The first of these is the management and operation of onshore and offshore drilling rigs, which is an area that plays a vital role in yielding revenue and profit for the company. During 2012 PV Drilling gained over $300 million through the safe operation of its rigs as well as the chartering of three other jack-up rigs through strategic partners Transocean, ENSCO and Diamond Offshore to meet demand in the domestic market.

At present the company owns and operates a fleet of three jack-up rigs, one land rig operating in Algeria and one semi-submersible tender assist-drilling (TAD) rig. All of its rigs are the latest generation of their kind including its jackup rigs, which are Keppel Fels MOD V B Class models able to operate at 400ft water depth and capable of drilling at a depth of up to 30,000ft.

Its state-of-the-art semi-submersible TAD drilling rig is a Keppel Fels SSDT 3600E HP design with a max drill depth of 30,000ft while its land rig is of 2700 HP design and able to drill to a maximum depth of 18,000ft. With these assets

PV Drilling currently occupies almost 50 per cent of the drilling market in Vietnam and in the coming years is committed to adding several advanced jack-up rigs to its fleet, as well as an additional semi-submersible rig. The acquisition of further assets reflects an ongoing response to the rapidly moving market and the company’s intention to realise a strategy of expansion in the near future. Included within this strategy is the delivery of a new 400ft jack-up rig from Keppel Fels, which is due for completion in February 2015. The rig, named PV Drilling VI, will be furnished with the most advanced technology in its field and primarily serve the global market operating from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico.

Complimenting its offshore and onshore rig operations, a key second strand for PV Drilling is its ability to deliver both traditional and hightech well and drilling related services. These include, but are not limited to mechanical services, fabrication, tool rental, tubular running, well testing, mud logging, wireline logging, well completion, cementing and directional drilling. In conjunction with its fleet expansion operations, the further development of these services is a key priority for PV Drilling. To ensure that it is able to offer a comprehensive package of services the company is in close co-operation with its reputable partners worldwide to develop all-inclusive integrated solutions, which are unprecedented in Vietnam’s domestic market.

European oil & gas

Established in 2001, PV Drilling

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ambition

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of service it is able to offer. Furthermore, the company has a firm financial foundation and a dedicated management board who, along with the support of its parent business PetroVietnam, are able to expertly guide the company through challenging times.

PV Drilling enjoys a diverse customer base with which it seeks to maintain close professional relationships to encourage successful current and future business. The core of its business is divided between subsidiaries of PetroVietnam and well known global operators in the oil and gas industry. Subsidiaries of PetroVietnam include PVEP, PVEP POC, and Bien Dong POC, while some of PV Drilling’s global customers include Chevron, Gazprom, Petronas, Premier Oil, Salamander, Talisman, Idemitsu, Soco, Perenco, JX Nippon Oil, Sonatrach. To consolidate its relationships with all of its valuable clients, PV Drilling has implemented a customer relation management programme to ensure that it is able to match up to its customers’ expectations and respond to their requests in a timely fashion.

Moving into the future PV Drilling has a wealth of determination, proven track record of success and technical knowhow to carry it forward. The company offers an energetic outlook and is keen to demonstrate its talents to new customers as Pham Tien Dung explains: “We are building an image of PV Drilling as a young and dynamic drilling contractor, differentiating our corporation from competitors by optimising the operational cost and diversifying our scope of services. PV Drilling aims to define itself as a one-stop drilling services provider with unique bundled services that facilitate oil and gas operators in deploying their drilling campaigns by better synchronising workflows and reducing overlapped processes and procedures.”

europeanoilandgas.co.uk

To help it pursue its goal of promoting its reputation as a leading contractor in the region, PV Drilling relies on a number of strengths that give the company the means to achieve its strategic vision. The skill and dedication of its workforce is of paramount importance to the company’s operations. According to PV Drilling’s president & CEO, Pham Tien Dung: “Starting the business with very limited resources, in both financial terms and in infrastructure, PV Drilling relied on nothing but the persistence and competence of its own initial staff. Today we have a staff of approximately 2000 and are proud to possess a crew of highly skilled engineers and experts at all functional and managerial levels.

Thanks to them, the rig fleet has been operated with excellent efficiencies, absolute safety and greatly appreciated by our clients.”

Likewise, the company’s fleet remains an integral ingredient in its ongoing success. Its advanced rig fleet is supported by reliable machinery and intelligent integrated control systems supplied by respected manufacturers such as NOV, Cameron, Hydril VAM Drilling, Siemens etc. The fleet is also put under a strict reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) programme to ensure the maximum performance and eliminate downtime. The overall aim of the company’s focus on the performance of its fleet is to maintain a market edge and offer a level of service that is unparalleled in the region.

Moreover, PV Drilling can rely on the support of a large number of strategic partnerships and joint ventures worldwide with renowned oil and gas companies including Baker Hughes, BJ, Expro, Marubeni Itochu and Oil States Industries. These joint ventures have allowed it to expand its scope of high-tech services, gain access to the latest advances in technology and absorb valuable experience allowing PV Drilling to further develop and refine the high level

PV Drilling

European oil & gas

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PV Drilling pvdrilling.com.vn

Services Professional drilling solutions

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European oil & gas

52

blocks Building “

PwC At PwC we strive to offer our clients the value they are looking for. We ask questions. We listen.

We learn what they want to do and where they want to go. We work in close collaboration with you to provide a single point of contact and help you to minimise time and costs while we engage you in conversations on wider business issues.

Our 3100 energy specialists in 158 countries aim to provide you with local insight and understanding, as well as draw from our global experiences.

We work with every segment of the industry, providing business solutions tailored to your needs.

In Cyprus, where the recent discovery of a potentially world class gas finding has brought hope for the development of a local hydrocarbons industry, we have a dedicated energy team drawn from various disciplines from our almost 1000 professionals in the island, aiming to assist you in facing the challenges of your industry in Cyprus and beyond.

When hydrocarbons were

discovered in 2011, the Cyprus government decided to set up a wholly owned state and private company to deal with the exploration and exploitation of the Cypriot hydrocarbon resources. The Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) officially began operating on 1st January 2013, which is when I also began working at the company; there has been a lot of discussions on the best way to exploit our resources and it was agreed that an LNG plant would offer the most market flexibility and best results. We have only just started operations and have a long way to go in bringing our plans to fruition,” explains Charles Ellinas, introducing the Aphrodite gas field, situated in Block 12, which has the potential to shoot Cyprus out of its present economic difficulties.

With estimates of approximately 1.7 trillion cubic metres of natural gas in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), CNHC and its Block 12 partners signed an MOU to develop the LNG plant in Vasiliko in July and intend to reach final agreements for the LNG project by the end of 2013. The Block 12 licensors include Israeli firm Delek, which has confirmed interest in taking part in the construction of the plant; it holds a 30 per cent stake in block 12 alongside subsidiary Avner Oil. The majority share of 70 per cent is held by the operator of Aphrodite,

Noble Energy, which announced it had begun an A-2 appraisal of the block in June 2013.

The first well A-1 was drilled in 2011 and the resource size for the natural gas discovery was estimated to be between five tcf to eight tcf; the results of A-2 are key in deciding the next steps in developments.

“We have leased six blocks; Noble operates block 12, ENI and its partner Kogas are the operators of blocks two, three and nine and Total operates ten and eleven. It is anticipated that Total, following analysis of results, will start exploration drilling in the final quarter of 2014 or early 2015, while ENI aims to begin exploration drilling in the second half of 2014 and 2015,” says Charles. “Noble is the first to proceed with plans to construct the offshore facility and take responsibility of train one of the LNG Plant.” With Cyprus in the early stages of planning the building of an LNG terminal, Noble contracted Technip, which conducted a design study on the potential LNG terminal in Cyprus. Following this both CNHC and Noble Energy aim to enter into a joint venture LNG project agreement in 2014, consisting of three main components: shared facilities, an LNG train and marketing and sales.

“Initially we will start with one train for Aphrodite, but once we get this project off the ground we will expand the facilities to include the likes of Total and ENI, depending of course on their gas finds; each train will have a capacity for five million tonnes of LNG per year. We are ensuring there is enough available land for up to eight LNG trains, which could then also accommodate gas from Lebanon and Israel. Cyprus is a great base to act as a hub for the region as it is aligned with the European Union’s legal and regulatory systems and offers security and stability,” says Charles. Once the joint venture between the two companies is fully established, both Noble Energy and CNHC will begin seeking appropriate finance, with various international parties already expressing interest in playing a role in these plans and in Cypriot gas exports. It is expected that an LNG terminal, along with the required offshore installations could reach costs of up to $9-10 billion.

Although the company’s plans are in the early stages, Charles believes the role of the natural gas market will play an integral part in the growth of Cyprus over the coming decades; with an expected 10,000 jobs to be created in a country that has struggled in a weak economy; there will also be a boost in construction and

Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC)

Charles believes the role of the natural gas market will play an integral part in the growth of Cyprus over the coming decades; with an expected 10,000 jobs to be created in a country that has struggled in a weak economy Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) cnhc.com

Services National oil company

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support activities within the gas sector. “If we are successful by 2016 we will start construction and expect to create jobs for up to 10,000 people; so we are starting to train people now through special courses for this industry to make sure we have the manpower in place.

Following this milestone, the next major step is when we allow gas to Cyprus in 2019 and achieve autonomy for electricity generation and domestic consumption. At the moment 98 per cent of the country’s electricity comes from the burning of oil fuel. This is very expensive, but if we manage to bring our own gas in the cost of electricity will fall by about 40 per cent and immediately save Cyprus 400 million euros per

year. This will be a tremendous boost for our people and industry as the costs saved will be massive,” highlights Charles.

With the results of block 12 due in October 2013, and the LNG project agreement concluded by the end of the year, a final investment decision between Noble Energy and its partners, and CNHC on the LNG installation will be made in 2016, leading the way for construction to begin. On top of this, Noble Energy anticipates further exploration in block 12 in 2014, which will result in further business opportunities as the companies prepare for the first exports in 2020. “There are many challenges ahead but we have big plans and are working hard to make this massive opportunity a reality. From 2020 we will start selling LNG to the markets; initial profits will be used to repay original investments and significant profits will start coming by 2023. Our government is in the process of implementing the right policies to enable these developments; if we get this right, the potential for Cyprus is enormous,” concludes Charles.

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www.baobabadv.it

Designing and manufacturing Process Coolers since 1909

BOLDROCCHI Group Headquarter • Viale Trento e Trieste 93 • 20853 Biassono (MILAN) • ITALY • T. +39 039 2202.1 • F. +39 039 2754200 • E-mail: boldrocchi@boldrocchi.eu • www.boldrocchi.eu

PROFILE

Howden

MILLBROOK PRECISION ENGINEERING LTD Millbrook, formally Bryan Donkin (Howden) Machine Shop, has machined components for Howden for over 15 years and there are very close ties between the two companies, with staff having come from the same parent company. Millbrook has a very highly skilled workforce with over 30 years’ experience manufacturing components for centrifugal/reciprocating compressors. Millbrook specialises in horizontal and vertical boring, subcontract machining for the oil, gas, aerospace and mining industries with a variety of machines that can handle diameters and lengths from 50mm up to 3000mm and up to ten tonnes. In addition Millbrook supplies new and used machine tools along with spares, service and repairs.

An air of

excellence

Dating back

as far as 1857, Howden and its many subsidiaries have a long history of innovation in the air and gas handling field.

The company is perhaps best known for its custom designed variable flow fans and its compressor technology though, having been the first in the world to commercialise the screw compressor back in the 1930s. Now a worldwide organisation with over 4200 employees and a presence in 17 countries, Howden equipment can be found in virtually every industry, particularly oil and gas, power generation, mining, steelmaking and cement manufacture.

These sectors are often where the most arduous air and gas handling duties are to be found. In oil and gas for example, equipment has to deal with a wide range of challenges such as extremes of temperature, high humidity, remote locations, and a saline atmosphere.

Typical products include screw compressor packages for gas handling on offshore platforms and FPSOs, gas gathering and flare gas recovery, and gas turbine fuel compression; cooling and ventilation fans; turbo-compressors and fans for sulphur recovery; and piston compressors for various gas applications.

Howden’s extensive experience has allowed it to accumulate an in-depth knowledge of the markets in which it operates. By understanding the varying needs of each, the company can provide the best possible solution from both a technical and economic perspective.

“Compressors remain core to the Howden business,” states Jim Fairbairn, executive

director. “These are high integrity, process critical pieces of equipment that go into refineries or offshore oil rigs. As such they have to be very robust and reliable because of the arduous duties they undertake, and require minimal maintenance. We work at the very top end of oil and gas specifications, supplying to American Petroleum Institute (API) standards, which are the highest in the world. On top of this some of our customers also apply their own specifications that we have to meet.

“Most recently we have been working to broaden our compressor range so that it is the widest in the market and we can offer the best customised solution to the client. We work hard to continuously improve our understanding of our customers’ applications and the way that our products interact with their processes to give them the best possible results. I’m really proud of the fact that we have hundreds of engineers who are always thinking about how we can improve our offering to the customer. We believe this is a big differentiator in the market.”

On a more personal level Jim has recently been made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This follows his award of an OBE a few years earlier. Describing what that accolade means to him, Jim says: “It’s an organisation that tries to promote engineering, and I was nominated by industry leaders in Scotland, so it was quite nice to know that some of your peers think you can contribute to the wider engineering community. Of a membership of around 1500 of the top engineers in the UK,

European oil & gas

Boldrocchi Group, headquartered in Italy since 1909, designs and manufactures industrial equipment with excellent site services and assistance worldwide.

The Group has five product lines:  Fans and blowers: for industrial, offshore, oil and gas and process applications;  Heat exchange: for oil and gas, power generation, electrical machine and compressor;  Ecologia: for air and gas pollution control plants;  Aeroto: for heavy duty noise protection and gas turbine ancillaries;  Dampers: for heavy duty use and by-pass diverters; For over 100 years Boldrocchi has manufactured finned tubes and thanks to its 11 different finning machines can supply different types of finned tubes in a variety of materials. The tube bundles are mechanical and thermal designed for high pressure (up to 350 bar) in special materials such as Superduplex, Hastelloy and Titanium, for heavy service as Wet H2S, Hydrogen and Fluor. A strong co-operation with Howden Compressor has brought a deep confidence and mutual benefits for many years.

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56 European oil & gas

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PROFILE

The company’s goal is always to deliver some level of differentiation in its products from, for example, expanding the types of seals that can be used on compressors to its overall reliability, and this is for both new and existing developments Howden howden.com

Products High integrity compression equipment

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higher concentration of nasties like sulphides. So processes have to be changed and improved to deal with this, and that is a good market driver for some of the compressors we supply.”

Closer to home Howden is also finding itself carrying out more work within the North Sea, where the market appears to be undergoing something of a renaissance with large volumes of modernisation work. With good opportunities in all of its markets, Jim describes how Howden is preparing itself for the future: “There are two facets to our vision for the business.

“Internally we will continue to become more effective at what we do, in terms of quality, delivery and how we interact with customers.

Getting that right is crucial to being the best in the industry. The other aspect is around looking to further understand growth markets and how we can compete effectively in these markets. This may be in niches such as unconventional gas or gas to liquids, or through the environmental legislation and the changes there, which create a market for our products,” he concludes.

European oil & gas

I am one of the youngest to be elected a Fellow, and that is only possible because of the type and quality of company I work for.”

At the core of the business is Howden Technology in the UK, which works at the forefront of engineering with unique expertise in aerodynamics, acoustics, stress and vibration analysis, and rotor dynamics. Each of the company’s technology entities within Europe maintains their own design departments, which are focused on improving Howden’s product range and enhancing its competitiveness in the market.

The company’s goal is always to deliver some level of differentiation in its products from, for example, expanding the types of seals that can be used on compressors to its overall reliability, and this is for both new and existing developments.

“It’s always the markets and applications that come first, and then we look at the possibilities of what we can supply and adapt systems accordingly,” explains Jim. “Our aftersales services are also a very critical element of our business, as we strive to support the customer for the lifetime of our products. Particularly within the process critical sector, clients demand instant response and technical back-up, and we are to be structured to deliver that.”

In order to branch into new areas and offer the best possible equipment, over the years Howden has made a number of acquisitions of well-known brands and technologies.

Most recently this has included Thomassen Compression Systems (now Howden Thomassen Compressors), which is a high specification producer of piston compressors.

In particular Howden Thomassen excels in hydrogen compression for refineries, which gave Howden a foothold in this market. Both companies’ sales and service networks have now been fully integrated, delivering benefits to both the Thomassen range and the rest of Howden.

“Howden Thomassen has just sold the largest API 618 piston compressor in the world to Russia with a power rating of 16 megawatts,” highlights Jim. “This is for use in Russia’s upgrade of its refineries to comply with EU standards and emission controls. A lot of the demand for equipment at present is off the back of environmental specifications becoming more stringent, which means plants have to be modernised and retrofitted with different processes to allow them to reach those standards. One of the key elements of this is the desulphurisation of fuels, because as oil and gas becomes harder to extract so we find there is a

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solutions europeanoilandgas.co.uk

Surefire

European oil & gas

Life has become increasingly

58

Albany Engineering Co Ltd Foam Concentrate Pumps Albany’s pumps are used off and onshore for foam concentrate pumping. Flows up to 2400 l/m and above are supplied at pressures up to 20 bars. Compact water driven foam pumps offer a robust solution and versatile design, even at the highest viscosity.

Albany holds ISO 9001 QA and several models are VdS approved.

challenging for the foam concentrate manufacturers during the past decade. Beginning with the discovery of PFOS-related medical issues in 2000, the decade saw increasing focus on environmental issues that were driven by government agencies and not by the foam users themselves. Alongside that, several international approval standards have been revised including EN 1568, IMO SOLAS and ICAO. This has placed increased demands on the technical expertise and resources of the foam producers. Not all producers have the capability to adapt to the new demands and those that cannot will lose market share as their products become no longer acceptable.

Dafo Fomtec is one company riding the wave of change with confidence. Its steep growth in recent years and focus on the high quality profitable sectors has provided the business with the means to recruit new technical expertise and also invest in a very intensive research and development programme. As sales manager Mike Taylor puts it: “We are ready, willing and able to meet all the challenges we face in the industry. Fomtec is fit for purpose, like all of our products.”

Fomtec manufactures a complete range of products from regular protein, Fluoroprotein, FFFP AR, AFFF, AFFF AR, as well as the synthetic non-fluorinated foams. It already holds an impressive portfolio of approvals, with certifications to EN 1568, UL 162, FM, IMO SOLAS, ICAO, UK-Def, Lastfire and many others.

Over the years Fomtec has seen some major steps to enhance its position in the market, including:

Low temperature AFFFs In 2010 Fomtec launched a new range of low temperature (-18 °C) AFFF one per cent, three per cent and six per cent products, which were recently UL listed and also hold both EN 1568 and ICAO level B approvals.

Inside air high expansion foam During spring of 2010 Fomtec tested a new high expansion foam in a series of tough largescale inside air applications, showing that the foam concentrate Fomtec LS EXP works well against both hydrocarbon, polar solvent and class A fires in an inside air environment.

Fomtec MD John Olav Ottesen commented at the time: “A whole new system is being

New chemistry and new standards – hand in hand There are always many changes going on in Fomtec’s industry, on the one hand there are new formulations due to the change of chemistry, and on the other hand there are regulations changes, such as the new version of EN 1568, as well as the new IMO 1312 that will be faced in shortly.

Fomtec is always able to deal with industry changes quickly and efficiently, a good example being when ICAO level C was published by 2012. Fomtec was ready for all these changes with new all-C6 formulations. As John Olav Ottesen explained: “What some competitors saw as a major problem, we perceived as a great opportunity to strengthen our market position.”

More recently, Fomtec has announced its latest four exciting foam concentrates that have passed Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) rigorous fire and performance-testing criteria, adding to its already comprehensive UL listed product portfolio. These new products are: 66 Fomtec ARC 1x3 Ultra AR-AFFF 66 Fomtec ARC 3x3 Ultra AR-AFFF 66 Fomtec ARC 3x6 Ultra AR-AFFF 66 Fomtec ARC 3x3 NV Avalanche AR-FFFP Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is one of the most renowned and widely accepted approvals in the fire industry. It not only tests the foam concentrate with tough fire testing, but also verifies that the concentrate can be proportioned accurately through proprietary inductors and fixed proportioner systems across a wide ambient temperature range, while also

What some competitors saw as a major problem, we perceived as a great opportunity to strengthen our market position

Dafo Fomtec fomtec.com

Services Firefighting foams and equipment

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launched in 2011 incorporating concentrate, proportioning and high expansion generators for inside air. We have also tested Fomtec LS EXP against LNG fires and the results are very satisfying for both medium and high expansion.

Customers will enjoy stiffer competition in these application segments as we launch these concepts next year.”

proving to deliver effective foam quality through portable foam making equipment and fixed foam systems.

These latest concentrates represent a significant milestone as they are all C6 fluorotelomer surfactant based formulations, which are considered environmentally responsible. They are non-toxic, not bioaccumulative, not developmental toxins and cannot breakdown to PFOA. These products utilise the latest cutting edge chemistry combining leading fire performance and environmentally responsible C6 formulations.

All four of these concentrates are listed for use at 4.1L/min/m2 for hydrocarbon fuels, and 6.15L/ min/m2 for alcohol type polar solvent chemicals.

Furthermore, the NV Avalanche AR-FFFP has a low viscosity, enabling minimum storage and proportioning at -6.7°C. The products are an excellent and competitive addition to the company’s portfolio and represent a new chapter in Dafo Fomtec’s comprehensive foam concentrate line-up to meet clients’ future needs.

Dafo Fomtec

European oil & gas

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The Leading Sensor Technology for DP Manufacturers Reliable, expert positioning technologies for a variety of marine applications

Our customers recommend CyScan and RadaScan for great functionality, reliability and excellent positioning data.

RadaScan: Microwave based technology

Guidance Navigation Ltd Leicester UK LE19 1RP

CyScan: Laser based technology

Tel: +44 116 229 2600 Email: sales@guidance.eu.com Web: www.guidance.eu.com

PROFILE

era

Kongsberg Maritime

Guidance Marine is a leading international developer and supplier of position reference sensors for Dynamic Positioning (DP). Our laser and radar CyScan, RadaScan and Mini RadaScan sensors can be integrated by all major DP manufacturers and are used on a daily basis by all OSV and PSV operators for DP1, DP2 and DP3 class vessels. They provide high accuracy range and bearing measurements for a diverse range of vessel operations in close proximity to mobile and fixed structures. CyScan, the guidance laser reference sensor has been designed to specifically meet the needs of Kongsberg maritime and its customers. As a result CyScan has become Kongsberg’s laser position reference sensor of choice with over three years of success in the field. Our continued commitment to quality and safety has put our sensor at the heart of the Kongsberg DP systems.

Above Hugin AUV Right Thermopylae House, Aberdeen Below Dave Shand beside test tank

Kongsberg Maritime

is renowned for delivering innovative systems in the offshore, subsea and merchant marine markets. “Our division of Kongsberg Maritime provides sales, project support and customer services such as training and field support in the UK,” says David Shand, general manager of Kongsberg Maritime’s Offshore Division in the UK. “We live and breathe our core values, which are determination, reliability, collaboration and innovation, all of which enable us to provide state-of-the-art, reliable technology and excellent support to our diverse range of customers that range from offshore renewable developers to offshore production companies.”

Providing global support from local service and support facilities at strategic locations around the world such as Aberdeen, New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Dubai, Kongsberg Maritime has enjoyed an increase in demand over recent years. This has resulted in the continued recruitment of a significant number of engineers and support staff at the group’s UK based offshore division since early 2012 as well as expansion into new business areas. “Due to further growth in several areas of our business we plan to continue to recruit more staff, particularly project support and field support,” says David. “One area where we have recruited engineering staff is in offshore production automation and safety systems, where we are supporting a number of installations in the UK sector; we have also been recruiting engineers in this business area in preparation for the build up of the Statoil Mariner project and will continue with further recruitment for the project and support phase.”

For the Statoil Mariner project, the largest new offshore development in the UK in more than a decade, Kongsberg Maritime will supply

integrated automation, safety and information management systems for both the production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform and the floating storage unit (FSU), the latter also having positioning and marine systems.

Kongsberg Maritime’s UK division will provide project-engineering resource, along with colleagues in Norway and Korea, and support the installation during production. “Participating in potentially the largest development in the UKCS is a great achievement for us,” enthuses David. “This project will allow us to further develop our project and support capability in offshore production automation and safety systems in the UK, which, combined with our Kongsberg Maritime Engineering Division in the Far East, will enable us to deliver further greenfield and brownfield projects in the UKCS.

Another area we will continue to recruit for in the UK is the support of our AUV (autonomous underwater vehicles) product lines.”

Following the group’s acquisition of Hydroid a number of years ago, it has become a world leader in the field of AUVs, a technology that is finding increasing application in offshore inspection for both oil and gas and renewable markets. The company offers an AUV rental service to its customers and will be announcing new developments in its AUV technology later this year.

In response to the offshore division’s

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Hatteland Display

Inset KM customer support Below Kongsberg employees

continuing success and unprecedented growth, Kongsberg Maritime announced an investment of £2 million in the long-term lease of new premises in Westhill, Aberdeen in February 2012. The purpose-built property includes a bespoke 45 metre cubed test tank, the first of its kind in Aberdeen, and the most technologically advanced dynamic positioning simulator on the market. Moreover, the Kongsberg Maritime Training and Simulation Centre takes up an entire floor at the new building, increasing its original floor space by 60 per cent and enabling the group to train more individuals.

Scheduled training courses at the division’s Aberdeen premises include an overview of planned automation systems, dynamic positioning and subsea positioning systems.

Courses are designed to give participants an enhanced understanding and detailed product

knowledge and may include both operational and technical training. “We plan to further develop our training centre to support our systems, and this will require additional training staff to support the improvements in our course offerings in DP operations and further develop training in subsea systems, such as AUVs and also in offshore production systems,” explains David.

Launching a new era for Kongsberg Maritime in the UK, the new facilities cement the group’s commitment to invest in its personnel, customers and future; it also offers a high quality working environment, a huge advantage in a competitive market, as David concludes: “In today’s environment, particularly in Aberdeen, resourcing new staff can be difficult. However, we believe that we offer an excellent working environment, great career opportunities and challenging roles. Many of our engineering positions are for electronics or software graduates, both of which are in short supply due to the relatively small number of graduates in each of these disciplines. To address this issue we have established scholarships at several universities in the UK, including the local universities. Our scholarships give much needed funding for the ‘Kongsberg scholars’ as well as summer placements, which offer industry experience. We have already recruited excellent graduates from our scholarship scheme.”

Hatteland Display is the leading technology provider of specialised display and computer products, delivering high quality, unique and customised solutions to the international maritime and industrial markets. Hatteland Display has delivered more than 175,000 products to the maritime industry since 1989, and is a significant supplier to Kongsberg Maritime and other leading international customers, who require high quality customised solutions at competitive price levels.

Hatteland Display represents innovation and quality to the system integrators worldwide.

Effective quality assurance and investment in sophisticated in-house manufacturing methods and facilities enables Hatteland to deliver Type Approved and Mil tested products. Its customer oriented approach, technical knowledge and dedication to R&D, make it a trusted and preferred supplier of approved solutions, which are backed up by a strong service network. As the market leader in the commercial marine segment, Hatteland Display is setting the standard in the industry.

Kongsberg Maritime Ltd km.kongsberg.com

Services Turnkey solutions within the oil and gas industry

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Kongsberg Maritime

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People, Ideas, Energy.

 The Saipem corporate policy for Health, Safety and Environment defines the corporate philosophy to achieve Zero Harm to people and the environment.

Saipem conducts its business in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy work environment for employees, clients, contractors, visitors and the general public as well as protection of the environment.

All main fabrication, assembly and erection work of the four leg Jacket (8,500 Te) and 12no. skirt piles x 96” Dia. (Total 5,400 Te) to be performed at Infab (Saipem owned Fabrication yard), Arbatax, Italy.

Saipem Limited has been contracted by Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA in March 2013 for Engineering, Procurement and Construction of the Ivar Aasen Jacket and in November 2012 for the Transportation of the Jacket and Topsides from the fabrication yards to the installation site in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Saipem will install the Jacket in 2015 with the Topsides scheduled to be installed in 2016 and presently remains on schedule to meet these milestones.

All installation activities will be undertaken utilising the Semi-submersible Crane Vessel Saipem 7000 operating in Dynamic Positioning Mode.

To fulfill the project objectives, the expertise and resources of the Saipem offices in London, Milano and Arbatax (Italy) are being utilised:

The transportation of the Jacket will be on the Saipem Barge S600, with the offshore lift, upend and setdown of the Jacket by Saipem 7000 during 2nd Qtr. 2015.

London: Overall Project Management, detailed engineering, transport and installation engineering and major/critical material procurement including Special items.

Milano: Procurement services for bulk materials.

Arbatax: Fabrication drawings, construction, Jacket load-out and sea-fastening.

The design is in full compliance with NORSOK standards and Norwegian Regulatory requirements.

With the acquisition of these two contracts, Saipem considers itself as a player in the EPCI Market for North Sea Area of operations.

The Topsides with a total weight of about 13,400 Te, comprise Main Module, Process Module, Living Quarters and Flare Structure. Installation of the Topsides will be done by Saipem 7000 during either 2nd or 3rd Qtr. 2016.

www.saipem.com

PROFILE

Det norske oljeselskap

attitude

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Det norske oljeselskap (Det

Below Oyvind Bratsberg, chief operating officer at Det norske oljeselskap

norske/Detnor) is a leading Norwegian company operating within the oil and gas industry on the Norwegian continental shelf. Its roots date back to 1971 when Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO) was founded. It received its first revenues in 1974 through a shareholding in the British Heathfield and began its first Norwegian license in 1984. For a long period DNO was not active on the NCS. But from 2001 DNO was back on the scene. In 2007 the company merged with Pertra to establish Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Det norske). In 2009 Det norske merged with Aker Exploration, and Aker ASA became the new major shareholder in the company. Since then Det norske has continued to expand and remains energetically active within the industry.

The company head office is based in Trondheim, with offices in Oslo and Harstad. Today Det norske has over 230 employees and is currently listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with the ticker DETNOR. Today Det norske is pursuing an aggressive

exploration programme concentrating on its work with new exploration models in mature areas on the Norwegian shelf. Det norske has been involved in a number of fields and significant discoveries. The company is active in a number of oil fields including Atla, Varg, Jotun, Jette, Ivar Aasen and Johan Sverdrup.

In fact, its involvement with the Ivar Aasen project is a key development for the company, as this field is Det norske’s first major development project as operator and is a project that represents a cost of 25 billion NOK. During the first quarter of 2013 the Norwegian Council of State recommended the development of the North Sea field and the Norwegian Parliament approved permission to develop the area on 31st May. The site is expected to deliver 16,000 boepd net to Det norske by 2016 with production set to increase to 23,000 boepd by 2019. Det norske as operator has signed a preunitisation agreement to work in partnership with production license 457. The agreement allows for a co-ordinated development of oil

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Det norske oljeselskap

field discoveries and sets out principles for the work process towards an initial unitisation split.

The unitisation agreement is set to be finalised

by June 2014 and once completed, the Ivar Aasen facilities are expected to improve project economics and extend the life of the field.

The Ivar Aasen field is situated west of the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea - Johan Sverdrup is Det norske’s largest asset. The Johan Sverdrup field is not only vast in size; the quality of the reservoir is also world class. The porosity is high, often exceeding 30 per cent. What sets the reservoir on Johan Sverdrup apart from many others is the coarse grain size. This entails large pores and exceptional flow properties. The properties of the reservoir have been thoroughly documented through production tests in several of the wells. The most recent production test was performed in well 16/2-17S, located in the central part of the field. The well 16/2-17S (Fault Margin) confirmed an 82-metre thick oil column, of which 49 metres were of very high quality.

Statoil is heading the joint work on the Johan Sverdrup field leading up to an investment decision and submittal of Plan for Development and Operation (PDO). The partners are to decide on the development concept in the fourth quarter of 2013, the PDO is scheduled to be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2014, and the field is due to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The field is expected to produce at least until the year 2050 and the recovery rate of the field is expected to be high. As the field extends across several licences, the field will be unitised during 2014. The distribution of ownership interests in the field will be resolved by negotiation.

Moving into the future Det norske is currently set to maintain is current momentum and further develop its holdings on the Norwegian shelf. It is a dynamic company capable of fluid and adaptable expansion with a programme of optimised portfolio development based on strategic relinquishment and farming in and out of licenses. This allows it to remain active in the areas where fields are most cost-effective and offer optimal future returns. An extensive exploration programme to discover new fields as well as to further develop drill potential for current projects supports its keen eye for market development. During 2013 Det norske plans to spend NOK 1500 million on exploration and intends to participate in up to ten wells.

The company is proud of its reputation as the fastest growing and most ambitious oil company on the Norwegian shelf. It believes

Apply Leirvik

in smart solutions and maintains a culture of an enthusiastic, entrepreneurial spirit amongst its staff. Equally, Det norske is keen to work closely with contractors to encourage cuttingedge technology to create new approaches and solutions. This energetic approach to the oil and gas market sets Det norske oljeselskap apart as a truly engaging business with an ever-expanding portfolio of discoveries.

For more than 35 years, Apply has been the leading provider of living quarters and helidecks for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Apply develops and delivers steeland aluminium living quarters complete with helidecks, all in accordance with clients’overall specifications.

Apply can provide tailor-made accommodation modules that fulfill every specifications and need a client might have.

In addition, it also delivers accommodation modules that are designed and fabricated using its Modular Section Principle.

Det norske oljeselskap detnor.no

Services Oil field exploration and management

People, Ideas, Energy.

Saipem is a leader in the provision of engineering, procurement, project management and construction services with distinctive capabilities in the design and execution of large-scale offshore and onshore projects and technological competences such as gas monetisation and heavy oil exploitation.

Saipem is organised into two Business Units: Engineering & Construction and Drilling, with a strong bias towards oil & gas related activities in remote areas and deepwater.

Pursuing satisfaction of our clients in the energy industry, we tackle each challenge with safe, reliable and innovative solutions. www.saipem.com

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Boskalis International

(S) Pte Ltd is the Singaporean branch of Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., a market leading global business that provides marine and maritime services. In Singapore, Boskalis International (S) Pte Ltd has been operational for three decades, completing a range of projects for clients in a wide array of fields.

“Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global maritime services company operating in the dredging, offshore energy and inland infrastructure sectors. Through SMIT it is also active in towage and salvage services. We deliver innovative one-stop solutions to major maritime challenges,” said Pranab Choudhury, regional business manager in Singapore. “Boskalis has more than 11,000 employees, including a share in partner companies. It operates in over 75 countries across six continents, and its versatile fleet consists of over 1100 vessels and a variety of equipment.

“Boskalis Singapore was established in 1983 to execute projects in Singapore and the region,” he continued. “Over the years we have completed several very large projects such as the land reclamation works in the Tuas and Jurong areas of Singapore and the phase 2 expansion of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.”

As Pranab explained, in Singapore and the surrounding region Boskalis carries out a wide range of activities and in its history has completed major projects for government agencies, oil companies and port operators. On a wider level, internationally Boskalis is active in projects in the energy, port and infrastructure markets working with clients that include oil and energy companies, port operators,

governments, shipping companies, international project developers, insurance companies, and mining businesses.

“Regardless of region, we always place a very primary and high emphasis on customer service,” he added. “This encompasses understanding the client’s needs and developing innovative and competitive all-round solutions for the customer.

In most cases, this also means walking the value creation path together with the client and coming up with solutions that create real value for them.

Our growth based strategic framework is built on the four pillars of ‘Focus, Optimise, Reinforce and Expand’, which provides us the strategic competitive advantage in the market. We are also the only one among our peers that has the in-house capabilities to provide a complete integrated service to our customers - we are rightly seen as the one-stop solution provider for complex and large projects.”

This approach means that the company invariably works with many of the leading names in the industry such as Shell, Petrofac, Petronas, and Daewoo. “The work on the Shell Bukom Single Point Mooring Pipeline Replacement project is ongoing at the moment,” Pranab highlighted. “The scope of works include dredging, removal, replacement and protection of the Single Point Mooring (SPM) 48” subsea pipeline. This project is located within close proximity to the Shell Bukom refinery and also in the vicinity of a coral reserve.

“In 2012 we completed two very challenging projects for Petrofac and Petronas in their offshore fields. The locations were some 140km offshore and subject to high swells meaning that the work required precise dredging to replace soft materials near one of the foundations of the platform. Our vessel, ‘The Queen of the Netherlands’, carried out the work very smoothly - she is only one of the handful of

Fairway’ in Singapore. This mega Trailer has a hopper capacity of 35,508 m3 and total installed power of 27,550 KW. Not only is this very powerful and large equipment, it is also very environmentally friendly due to the environmental-valve installed in the hopper that significantly reduces the sediment plume in the dredging areas.”

Considering the projects and contracts highlighted, as well as the favourable market conditions at present, Pranab concluded on a positive note for the future: “Singapore and South East Asia is expected to enjoy a robust market for our services for the remaining part of 2013. Singapore has already announced several large land reclamation projects in the next three to five years and we are keen to participate and add value in these projects. Similarly, the other countries in the region have national plans for expanding their infrastructures in the energy and port sectors. Our strategic vision is to be the leading service provider in the field of innovative and competitive all-round solutions to our customers in this region.”

Singapore and South East Asia is expected to enjoy a robust market for our services for the remaining part of 2013

Boskalis International Pte Ltd boskalis.com

Services Maritime services

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TSHDs that’s capable of dredging at that water depth.” Successfully completing complex projects such as these ensures Boskalis remains busy. In fact, recently the company has been awarded a contract by Shell Philippines Exploration BV for the installation of an offshore Depletion Compression Platform for its Malampaya Project.

In addition, the company has been awarded a contract to dredge the approach channel of a refinery project in Vietnam.

Boskalis’ dredging work is carried out using the latest, state-of-the-art equipment, as Pranab explained: “All the dredgers in Boskalis’ fleet are equipped with the latest available technologies in the field of navigation, communication and survey equipment. We have an in-house built software called dredge-view, which provides us with accurate dredging depths and mininises the dredging tolerances. In Singapore we have the fall pipe vessel ‘Zinkoon 6’, which is equipped with scrader® concept to install rock within centimetres accuracy.

“We are also refitting our mega sized Trailer Suction Hopper Dregder (TSHD) ‘The WD

Boskalis International Pte

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growth

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Delivering all types

of fabrication for offshore, subsea, maritime and onshore industries, Skude Industri began as a ship repair yard in Skudeneshavn in 1963 under the name Hakonsen Mekaniske. Wholly owned by Solstad Invest AS since 1997, the company changed its focus to the oil and gas industry and offshore sectors in 2000 following years of decreasing activity in the shipping market. In 2013 the company changed its name to Skude Industri and today has 85 full time employees with an 80 per cent focus on the offshore and subsea market.

Boasting 50 years of expertise in maintenance and construction, Skude Industri has gained a strong customer portfolio that includes major oil and gas companies such as Statoil, BP Norge, Aker Solutions, FMC, Technip Norge and GE Oil & Gas, and has gained ongoing framework agreements that reach well into the future.

Offering experience and competence in the delivery of fabrication services such as modules/ skids, aluminium, PLET, PLEM and riser bases, subsea spools, piping systems, dry docking facilities, pressure testing, cladding/machining of caps/flanges, ship classifications and surface treatment, the company manufactures from three sites, Skudeneshavn, Husoy, which was established in 2006, and Hydro Aluminium, Karmoy.

Skudenshavn’s facilities include an outdoor area of 50,000 square metres, three piping production halls, one of which was recently built for stainless steel pipes with a separate section for aluminium fabrications, four structure production halls, a painting hall

and a mechanical testing hall. There is also a dry dock with a 93 metre length, 15 metre width and 4.7 metre depth that has a crane capacity of 12 tonnes, an assembly hall with a 90 tonne overhead crane, two overhead cranes of 25 tonnes, an administration office, surface treatment hall, a CNC cutting table, a CNC operated saw, and automatic welding machines.

Meanwhile, approximately 20 employees work at Husoy division’s 1500 square metre fabrication facilities, which include a welding procedure archive with more than 200 different welding procedures, a 20 tonne overhead crane, a 325 square metre separate section for white materials, a deep water quay of 120 metres, a CNC operated cutting table, CNC operated saw, and automatic welding machines.

With its production facilities in close proximity to the quay, Skude Industri can offer efficient load off and transport of subseapipeline and large structures for operations. The company’s product catalogue includes manifold structures, termination heads, subsea tie in spools, tow heads, cladding-weld on hub and equipment modules. Qualified in Achilles, and certified in ISO:9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 as well as SN-BS OHSAS 18001:2OO7, Skude Industri is fully compliant to the stringent regulations within the oil and gas industry.

With a team of highly experienced welding instructors, Skude Industri offers expertise in the production and testing of equipment in the subsea and offshore sector and the fabrication of a range of structure and piping systems for

for all ships as needed. Through its sub-unit Sveiservice, which is located at Steiningsholmen, Skudeneshavn, the company offers various types of products for its customers. These include various types of pot pullers, railing winches and rail rollers such as pot pullers with davit, pot pullers installed on roll or railing, rail rollers for pot pullers, rail rollers, a hydraulic net winch for railings with cork line stackers and mini winch with turn wheel. Sveiservice also offers a large selection of hydraulic equipment, which includes UTM pump with magnetic coupling, UTM-pump, SAEA coupling with sockets, clutch coupling, twist slide, winch for boom and oil filter; it also has capstans in sizes ranging from 350 kilogrammes to 7000 kilogrammes and offers equipment from RAPP. Dedicated to continuously investing in equipment to ensure ongoing improvements of already excellent services to the offshore and subsea, onshore and maritime industries, the forward thinking and innovative Skude Industri has fabricated a positive future for itself.

With a team of highly experienced welding instructors, Skude Industri offers expertise in the production and testing of equipment in the subsea and offshore sector and the fabrication of a range of structure and piping systems for both topside and subsea projects Skude Industri skudeindustri.no/en

Services Production and testing of offshore and subsea equipment

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both topside and subsea projects. The company’s product catalogue includes, but is not limited to, manifold structures, subsea protection structures, termination heads, tow heads, equipment modules and aluminium structures.

For its onshore activities, Skude Industri has its own workshop on Hydro Karmoy where eight to 12 personnel are permanently located to perform maintenance on mechanical, structure, piping and building and facade projects. There are another three people permanently stationed in its branch at the Statoil owned Karsto processing plant, where the company offers maintenance services to mechanical, structure and piping. On top of this, it provides solutions for a comprehensive range of onshore facilities, both private and municipal; these include mechanical, structure, piping, building and façade.

Originally focused on the shipping industry, Skude Industri offers full-scale services for fishing boats, offshore vessels and cargo ships, repairing and producing spare parts

Skude Industri

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PROFILE

Forsyths

A trusted

Operating out of its two facilities in Buckie and Rothes, Forsyths weathered the challenges brought about by the global economic downturn and today remains a trusted supplier of steelwork and piping solutions to the beverage and oil and gas industries. Since it was last featured in European Oil and Gas Magazine the company has continued to grow, spurred by an increasingly buoyant oil and gas market and continued repeat contracts within the alcoholic beverages sector.

Carrying on the momentum it has gained in recent years the firm is currently keenly interested in expanding its operations in Buckie to enable it to remain in a prime position to co-operate with the areas expanding renewable and offshore industries. Furthermore over the past three years Forsyths has invested £5 million in its facilities, primarily in its Rothes site and is looking to continue to expand in a similar vein throughout the rest of 2013 and into 2014. During 2009 the company undertook a significant project for Statoil for the fabrication and assembly of a 320 tonne MEG re-generation skid unit. This was constructed at the company’s own quayside facility in Buckie and shipped to Statoil in Norway. Subsequently Forsyths has

been the recipient of a number of accolades from Statoil.

At present the company is involved in the largest contract it has ever undertaken, supplying Petrofac and Cameron on the Laggan Tormore field. Now in double figures, the project started some 18 months ago and is currently near its conclusion, with Forsyths’ involvement set to end around the end of 2013. However, the firm recently won an important project with BP to fabricate equipment for the Quad 204 project on the Schiehallion field. “We are very active with the BP Quad 204 project,” begins Richard Forsyth, chairman. “As usual this is through third party design houses. We’re making pump frames for SPX and are fabricating very high tech pressure vessels through MI Swaco/ Cyclotech,” he explains.

The company’s momentum continues to grow throughout 2013. It has just won another major contract with MI Swaco on the Hebron Field in Norway. Again, the project calls for Forsyths’ industry recognised standard in duplex and super duplex pressure vessels. “This is where our investment into new facilities has really come into its own,” elaborates Richard. “It has made this investment very worth while and the

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by extremely strict practices and comes as a result of a comprehensive training programme that all apprentices entering the business are expected to participate in to gain fundamental knowledge and understanding. The company has become a specialist in many exotic metals including duplex and super duplex. The offshore industry is increasing its use of these relatively new materials as they are very resistant to saline water. Forsyths has invested heavily in acquiring the knowledge and skills required in the manufacture of products in these metals, alongside the more traditional stainless steel, copper and titanium materials.

Recent moves made by a large number of oil and gas companies venturing into increasingly deeper waters have seen a growing requirement for flexi-pipe and umbilical products. This has resulted in an increased demand for operational and storage reel structures, and Forsyths has again invested heavily in developing its own designs for these to meet the ever more onerous client and certifying authority specifications and requirements. This has led to the largest reels designed and fabricated by Forsyths to date being 11.4m diameter, weighing 80 tonnes and capable of holding 400 tonnes of product.

By remaining flexible and able to adjust to the needs of the oil and gas industry, Forsyths has earned a reputation as a reliable specialist able to provide tested solutions to a variety of applications. Moving forward, the future for the company looks very buoyant indeed.

The company has become a specialist in many exotic metals including duplex and super duplex. The offshore industry is increasing its use of these relatively new materials as they are very resistant to saline water

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facility is catering for these contracts very well,” he concludes. Underpinning the company’s continued growth and acquisition of prestigious contracts is the firm’s solid reputation for supplying high quality results, which enables it to reply on repeat customers. One example of this is the firm’s continued work with GE Wellstream to provide flexi pipe reels, which it has been making for over 15 years and maintained an excellent level of customer satisfaction.

Looking to the rest of 2013 and beyond Forsyths remains optimistic about the road ahead and expects the oil and gas industry to remain buoyant, so much so that it is actively looking to purchase further holdings and land in Buckie to accommodate for future business.

Similarly, the company has hired more than 30 new members of staff across its business with 75 per cent of them focusing on oil and gas operations. This is to allow greater focus on the Laggan project, but also in anticipation of future projects. Its two main areas of business remain to be oil & gas and distillery work and for at least the next three years the company expects to continue to grow as both its whisky and offshore partnerships continue to expand.

Forsyths dynamic growth is powered by its commitment to providing a quality service and its dedicated investment in to its fabrication infrastructure. Time and time again the company has been on the receiving end of high praise for its skilled workmanship and on time deliveries.

The company’s quality control regime is defined

Forsyths

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Forsyths forsyths.com

Services Steelwork, piping, pressure vessels and tanks

76 European oil & gas

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PROFILE

ATPC

European oil & gas

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Since it was last featured

in European Oil and Gas in August 2011, Antwerp Terminal and Processing Company (ATPC) has continued to enjoy a frenetic period of sustained growth and development. The company was acquired by the VTTI group in 2010, which opted to redirect the business from refining only to becoming a more commercial storage and processing provider. This saw the group make investments in the company and its infrastructure valued at 150 million euros. This investment, backed by many years of experience, makes ATPC an obvious choice for world-class storage and logistical solutions.

Located within the ARA (Antwerp-RotterdamAmsterdam) region ATPC represents the heart of Antwerp’s comprehensive harbor infrastructure.

Today the company owns one of Europe’s largest tank storage facilities as well as one of the largest bitumen processing plants. In addition to these assets ATPC has recently completed

the development of full loading and unloading facilities for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which are fully operational. These investments and upgrades are representative within ATPC and its parent company VTTI, founded in 2006. VTTI is one of the world’s fastest-growing independent energy storage companies. Offering 8.6 million cubic meters of combined storage capacity in 14 countries, across five continents, VTTI’s role is to provide safe and environmentally sound storage and to sharpen the competitive edge of its customers through strategically located advanced terminals around the world.

ATPC gives excellent solutions to its customer’s logistical needs, the facility can be accessed via sea, road, rail and pipeline ensuring that the facility remains a vital hub within the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. Located in the centre of Antwerp’s harbor infrastructure and connected to an extensive pipeline network, supported by ICE, CDI-T and the ability to

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ATPC

supply aviation fuel (certified Jet A1), it is in a strong position to attract new businesses.

ATPC is at the doorstep of several of the world’s premier energy and petrochemical suppliers including, BASF, Total, ExxonMobil, Ineos, Bayer, Degussa and Borealis. The most recent example of its robust growth strategy is the investment of an LPG storage and handling facility. At the waterfront barges and seagoing vessels can handle LPG where, via an unique privately owned rail infrastructure with six rail track shunting facilities, RTC’s can be loaded and unloaded. This state-of-the-art facility will set a new standard in safety, reliability and flexibility. The launching customer for this installation is one of the world’s leading petrochemical companies located in the south of the Netherlands.

ATPC places great importance on having a well-trained and motivated workforce and central to this is its embedded culture of responsibility that extends to health and safety and to the environment. Recently the company achieved 1150 days worked without lost-time or injury, which represents approximately two million hours of safe work carried out by its workforce and contractors. Commenting on this safety performance, Gert Quint, general manager of the company, comments: “This is truly a remarkable achievement, made possible only through the conscious effort each person put forth every day to work safely. This milestone could not have been possible without the superior dedication and teamwork demonstrated by all personnel and contractors. Of course we must continue with our safe working awareness as safety has no end.” In addition to this ATPC has taken part in one of the biggest soil remediation projects in Flanders since being part of VTTI; more than 150,000 tonnes of historically polluted soil has already been removed, representing an investment of more

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than 12 million euros.

Martine Borghs, project manager says: “ATPC provides first-rate storage solutions and is keen to impress future customers with its world class technology and dedication to service and efficiency. Together, with our own facilities and well trained educated and experienced workforce, many potential projects are initiated to do what we do best in class: provide the customers with the best possible logistical services in storage, handling, blending, and processing of feedstock, compounds and finished products.

“We love to debottleneck and optimise customers’ logistical challenges, not only in providing existing infrastructure but also to set up partnerships, long-term agreements and investing in customised solutions. Our differentiator compared to business colleagues is not only our combined installations (as mentioned refinery, gas and oil storage handling) or our extensive pipeline and rail connections, truck handling and marine infrastructure, but the most important reason that makes the difference is our strong belief in the qualities and competences of our people.” To summarise ATPC’s ethos regarding future innovation Gert comments that: “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Kroch Equipment Selected for Jasmine Project, Kroch Equipment offers full range of products and tailored solutions for the LPG industry thanks to its experienced staff and quality partners since 1931.

Pragmatic and efficient communication allowed Kroch’s technical department to study, design and manufacture three entire compression units for LPG loading and unloading (200 m³/h capacity).

Fulfilling ATPC’s high requirements in terms of lead time, technical assistance and training, Kroch is proud of its contribution to this project.

ATPC vtti.com

Services Commercial storage and processing

PROFILE

Isolated Systems

accelerated and its reputation as an innovative solutions provider has soared.

“We used to be a very small company and limited in resources and capabilities, but our forward thinking chairman, David Colebrook looked for every potential opportunity out there that we could say yes to. This enabled us to take advantage of our then place in the market and take on bigger and more challenging jobs,” says Barry Bend, sales manager at ISL. Having joined

the company 15 months ago, Barry has been involved in major projects such as commercial building services/HVAC for the Olympic Village and the Shard.

“There were ten tower blocks built for the Olympic Village and each of these required ISL to supply pumping skids the size of a family saloon to service the air conditioning, water supply and so on. With some of our key suppliers, and in conjunction with major construction companies working on the project, we were able to deliver this product to support the development of the Olympic Village, as well as anti-vibration equipment, acoustic enclosures, pipework and design services to support the success of the ‘Village’,” highlights Barry. “Similarly, we have participated in the development of the most prestigious building in London by manufacturing isolated pumping skids, which are situated in the pump and services room to support all water and air conditioning services within the building.”

With a wide product range, the company has developed a very broad customer base, particularly in the commercial building sector and the offshore oil and gas industry, which ISL offers its services and products on a global scale.

“We supply everywhere from the North Sea to Australia, Brazil and the Scandinavian oil fields and are currently working in Korea. It is very typical for us to support products and companies on the other side of the world now,” says Barry.

“Because we have been around since 1970 we are finding that we might well be in the second or third cycle, whether that is replacement,

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It has been an eventful

, productive and highly successful few years for Isolated Systems (ISL), the manufacturer, designer and supplier of bespoke engineering solutions. Established in 1970, the company focused on anti-vibration equipment for the HVAC industry, before expanding into thermal insulation systems, acoustic enclosures, packaged skid units and thermal expansion compensators. The evolution of Isolated Systems’ services and product range was steady, until the mid 2000s when Gary Peet joined as managing director. Since then the company’s growth has

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Forward

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Mott MacDonald

Offshore concept specialists We have extensive experience in offshore facility concept identification, screening and selection.

Our bespoke analysis provides efficient and transparent solutions attuned to our clients’ key development criteria.

We have successfully completed the concept selection for the Barryroe oil and gas field in the Celtic Sea and we are continuing to work with Providence Resources and their partners, Lansdowne Oil & Gas, to further define and evaluate the development. We’re delighted to be involved in the development of Ireland’s first major offshore oilfield.

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PROFILE

Isolated Systems

design team is nothing without a sales team that offers excellent customer service, ISL is dedicated to the ongoing resourcing and training of its experienced sales engineering team, as Barry highlights: “I came into ISL from outside of this industry around 15 months ago, but I have a sales and marketing background and what was evident to me when I arrived at ISL was that we were extremely competent but lacked the ability to market what we do and tell people how good we are. It was a matter of turning this very skilled sales engineering team, which then comprised of five people, into a more proactive, innovative sales team that focuses on dialogue to see if there is any other aspect of the clients business we can help with.

This increase in customer service has led to our record sales year and continued success.”

To further enhance customer satisfaction, and in response to the increase in demand for its products and services, ISL recently extended its offering to include comprehensive site surveys, global support of its products, which includes full installation and commissioning of its systems from its qualified team of site engineers; this service extends to offshore facilities.

In anticipation of increased demand, the company has increased its sales team by more than 50 per cent and is currently training its new personnel to learn new skill sets. On top of this, the business is looking to move into new sectors such as food and beverage, as Barry concludes: “We are proactively looking for new opportunities in new sectors to keep the cash register going in the right direction. One area we are interested in is the food and beverage sector, and we are working on a project related to that at present. It is still at the R&D stage but we aim to talk to some key players with a view to launching this new product range.”

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refurbishment or repair. This means that not only are we acquiring new customers, we are also servicing customers that may have been with us in our earlier days.”

The incredible success the company has enjoyed recently has helped in its ongoing development of new and innovative products, as Barry explains: “At the end of our financial year, May 2013, we recorded our record sales year for the company. Also significant is the fact that we exceeded our first ever £1 million month in July 2013 and this month we will be processing business with our first ever £1 million plus order. However, the more sales we start to put through the business the more pressure goes on the in-house design team, which is why we have a very energetic and dynamic group of people.

We are very proud to have recently launched a product range of low, medium and high thermal pipe insulation, specifically for the offshore oil and gas sector that can handle temperatures up to 1000 degrees centigrade.”

ISL’s Calcium Silicate High Temperature Pipe Insulation provides high quality pre-formed insulation for pipe assemblies in hot process applications, where fire protection and personal protection is required. Manufactured from non-combustible calcium silicate, this has an upper temperature limit of 1000 degrees centigrade and outer weather protection of anti-static silicone coated glass fibre fabric that is both waterproof and UV resistant. The pipe insulation also offers environmentally friendly insulation, manufactured from a unique blend of mineral components that have no toxic ingredients, asbestos, formaldehyde or ammonia. Furthermore, the product requires no maintenance after installation and can be easily removed for inspection and re-fitted.

Aware that innovative products and a dynamic

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With a wide product range, the company has developed a very broad customer base, particularly in the commercial building sector and the offshore oil and gas industry, which ISL offers its services and products on a global scale

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Isolated Systems isolatedsystems.com

Services Bespoke engineering solutions

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Flying

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Above PLEM (Pipe Line End Manifold) Below Barge Crane Load out

Seagull Marine Pte Ltd is a Singapore based company offering steel pipe repair and fabrication works, marine machineries and electrical equipment overhauling for marine and offshore going vessels. The firm was established in November 2003 and carries ISO 9001 certification, which is representative of the company’s dedication to exceeding its customer’s requirements.

The company offers an extensive range of services and has a specialisation in the fabrication of steel structures including hang off platforms, topside offshore grillage, ROV grillage structure, riser clamps, lifting clamps, jumper clamps, tensioner frame and layover arches, gang ways, spreader bars, spreader frames, heavy lifting trunnion, topside barge bumper structure and gas buster tanks and chutes. It also boasts a strong portfolio of hydraulic services including hydraulic power units, lifting and transfer devices, open and closed loop winches, piston, vane, gear and gerotor type pumps and motors, cylinders, control valves and accumulators, ROV units, steering gear, control consoles, servo motors, grabs, jack up systems and pneumatic systems. To ensure that the highest level of quality is achieved, full hydraulic performance and function testing is carried out in accordance with manufacturer and industry standards and the relevant certification packages are issued at the close out of each project.

Seagull Marine is also able to provide an extensive package of CNC machining services,

steel repair and fabrication, pipe repairs and fabrication, mechanical solutions, electrical equipment servicing, afloat repairs, voyages repairs, tank cleaning services and shipyard representation. Currently the company is the resident contractors of Keppel Shipyard and Keppel FELS. It also tenders services to Yu Lain Shipyard in China and Desan Shipyard in Istanbul. The company emphasises the quality of its work and its welders and welding procedures are class approved and able to comfortably undertake duplex steel avesta, aluminum low temperature (up to minus 101° Celsius), SUS 304, SUS 316L, high tensile and hardox welding. All of the firms steel fitters, welders and supervisors possess valid seaman books, which enable them to travel and sail with vessels, which allows them to carry out steel renewal work during a voyage. Repairs range from installation of bilge tanks, steel renewal in water ballast tanks and general outfitting works.

To ensure that its services are delivered conscientiously, throughout its business Seagull Marine places the utmost importance on health and safety and as an ISO 9001:2008 certified company it upholds and practices contemporary standards. It operates a dedicated safety department with a full time workplace safety and health officer and has been awarded Ministry of Manpower recognition and the Singapore administered Bizsafe Star Standard.

It also operates to Occupational Health and Safety Management System Standard (OHSAS

feedback programme to enable it to track its progress and better address it customers’ needs.

Every project undertaken by the company is rated by management of the project, schedule, quality of work from respective trade (hull/steel, mechanical, piping, electrical, cleaning, staging and general fitting) and customer service. Based on all feedback gathered from projects in 2010 and 2011, almost all projects were given either good or very good ratings for services rendered.

Surajit Chanda, fleet manager comments that: “Seagull Marine is an exemplary ship repair vendor who thrives on their farsighted management team policies, hardworking and customer friendly workforce.”

Seagull Marine has worked tirelessly to ensure that its works are carried out to the highest possible standard and has been rewarded with a wealth of loyal customers and vital repeat business. As the company heads into the future its impressive product portfolio and client base will undoubtedly see the company increase its market share and global profile.

Left Mid Span Bracing & Subsea Template , Dimension : 8mtr W x 5.7mtr H x 12mtr Long, Weight : 60Ton

Seagull Marine Pte Ltd seagullgroup.com.sg

Services Marine engineering solutions

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18000). The safety standards and regulations are constantly instilled into the company’s workforce to encourage a culture of responsible, sustainable practice and a healthy working environment.

Complementing its wide range of products and services Seagull Marine cultivates a growing equipment portfolio and has recently multiplied its fabrication activities especially in offshore structures and installation. The firm’s steel and pipe fabrication workshop currently accounts for 30,000 sq ft in area, and the company is equipped with lathe machines, drilling machines, milling machines, one each of ten and 20 ton overhead crane, welding machines and lifting hoists and equipment. Continuing to expand grow its capabilities, the company has recently acquired a hydraulic plate-rolling machine. A fleet of trucks, forklifts and cranes ensures that it has full logistical support in executing its compliment of services.

Through its years of experience and continual focus on excellent customer service Seagull Marine has developed an impressive collection of partners and clients operating all over the world. The company has been regularly serving established clients like BW Fleet Management, Frontline Tankers Norway, Saipem Singapore, Bergebulk, Sapura Acergy, FMC Technologies, EMAS Offshore, DOF Subsea, Anglo Eastern Ship Management, Maersk Tankers, LDD UK, Coastal Energy and V Ships UK among others and the firms clientele base is steadily growing year after year.

Customers and customer service are at the heart of Seagull Marine’s operation. It is keen to ensure that it is hitting and exceeding its clients’ targets and implements a customer

Seagull Marine Pte

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Established in 2008, Deep Sea Mooring is a leading service company with a dedication to providing the highest quality services and solutions to meet its clients’ needs.

The company, which was previously part of Odfjell Well Services, and is now part of the HitechVision portfolio, is a leading provider of mooring rental equipment, pre-lay mooring solutions and ancillary services to E&P companies and drilling operators of offshore rigs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Deep Sea Mooring is ideally placed to serve clients in the region through its offices in the Bergen area and warehouses/equipment bases in Mongstad and Kristiansund. This gives close proximity to the main operators and short delivery times of products. This approach goes hand in hand with the company’s vision, which is to always provide the best possible service to meet even the most demanding customer’s needs.

Throughout its operations its key words remain ‘zero faults and continuous improvement’.

Deep Sea Mooring aims to be the leading North Sea/North Atlantic mooring service contractor and to deliver the safest and most efficient services through the use of remote-operated technology.

Deep Sea Mooring focuses on growth opportunities through strong client relationships,

and continuously developing its range of equipment and solutions while evaluating opportunities to expand its portfolio.

In fact, innovation is a key factor in Deep Sea Mooring’s success, with the company having a high focus on the ongoing development of solutions and the use of innovation to provide safer and faster rig move operations for its clients. One notable innovation from the company is the ADAPS, or Advanced Distance and Positioning System, which has been developed to lower costs for the operator by enabling the movement of rigs in shorter weather windows. ADAPS can eliminate the need for ROV verification and enable movement in more extreme weather conditions.

It involves placing specially developed transponders on the anchors of the rig and using the standard transducer on the anchor handling vessel for receiving signals about co-ordinates, anchor tilt angle and depth.

The product has been tested on several occasions and the feedback from the customers is very positive. The product is already fully operational and offered to Deep Sea Mooring’s main clients. Furthermore, the prototype of a new product, the SDH40 – a hydro acoustic releasable hook is undergoing a test programme.

The hook is mounted with a transponder, which communicates with the vessel and can release on command from the bridge. Managing director, Åge Straume, states that this product will reduce operational time during pre-lay operations and rig moves. The initial tests have so far been very successful.

While innovation consistently brings new products to the company’s portfolio, Deep Sea Mooring is already widely known for its larger range of high quality mooring equipment for use in harsh environments. All this equipment is sourced from well-known suppliers in the industry and is manufactured according to the most stringent specifications for use in the North Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelf. Reliability is a key issue in these types of environments, and in this area it is important to note that all of Deep Sea Mooring’s equipment is no older than 2008, and thus is still of high quality and the latest design.

When it comes to anchors the company offers the Stevpris Mk6 drag anchor. Drag anchors are the most commonly used type of anchor in the mobile offshore drilling unit market throughout the industry, and Deep Sea Mooring is able to provide examples of both 15MT and 18MT.

offshore supervision, inspection services, spooling services, logistics, storage and handling, service and maintenance, repair, re-certification, consultation, and engineering solutions.

As its employees work in some of the harshest environments in the North Sea, Deep Sea Mooring naturally places considerable emphasis on QHSE, nurturing a culture that extends across all of its operations. The company strives to be a leader within quality, health and safety and works continuously to reduce risk and hazards to employees, clients and the environment and works in adherence to ISO 9001-2008.

When its comes to mooring solutions and services, operators in the North Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelf need look no further than Deep Sea Mooring. The company has worked tirelessly to develop and provide the most advanced solutions to the highest possible standards. With this key aim as its foundation there is little doubt that the business will remain a leading player in the market for many years.

Deep Sea Mooring AS deepseamooring.com

Services Mooring equipment and technology

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Deep Sea Mooring also provides a wide range of surface and subsurface buoyancy solutions for offshore mooring applications, all of which are produced by the leading suppliers in the offshore sector. Accompanying these solutions, the company has a broad portfolio of chain and fibre ropes capable of meeting even the most demanding specifications. For the former, Deep Sea Mooring provides chains in accordance with DNV-OS-E302, which can be used for the mooring of offshore drilling units, and for the latter the company holds a portfolio of the latest polyester mooring ropes and provides various types and dimensions upon request. The company also has in stock a large selection of mooring connectors, steel wire ropes, swivels, and associated mooring equipment.

Of course, placing such an emphasis on customer services means that Deep Sea Mooring does not just provide products, but rather high competence that can carry out a range of services. From its manned base locations in Mongstad and Vestbase the company offers

Deep Sea Mooring

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APE Holland

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Piles of

success CAPE Holland Group focuses on the continuous development of foundation equipment for offshore and onshore applications.

The CAPE Holland Group comprises of three different companies - CAPE Holland, APE Holland and HILLCON. Each company takes advantage of the facilities of the Group, such as engineering, coating, service and sales.

CAPE Holland Construction and Piling Equipment Holland BV (CAPE Holland), an independent company, was established in the Netherlands in January 2002. CAPE Holland represents a wide range of internationally recognised products used in the construction, industrial and offshore sectors. In addition to rental, sales and service, which form CAPE Holland’s core business, the company can also provide many other related services.

Supported by its principles, CAPE Holland is able to provide innovative solutions to its clients’ problems and also offer the technical and manpower support required to successfully supervise the implementation of the solution.

The company’s management team was appointed from personnel who have accrued experience through being active in the areas of construction, foundation and piling equipment for many years. The combination of these great skills and a large network has helped CAPE Holland to create a quality reputation worldwide.

APE Holland BV is also an independent company, operating as the exclusive European importer for APE equipment. APE is a leading US company, which manufactures a wide range of vibro hammers and diesel hammers, as well as drills and Bottom Drive Wick Drain machines.

APE Holland uses the latest techniques to build power units especially for the European market. Through the new development process, these power units comply with the latest EC standards and use less fuel than the standard units. All APE Holland power units are suitable for driving vibratory hammers and hydraulic hammers, but they can easily be equipped with a manifold for driving rotary heads. The controls of the power unit make them suitable to drive a variety of equipment, which can be programmed and selected quite simply.

All the products APE Holland offers can be offered both for sale and for rent, and all its products are in compliance with EC regulations, and therefore meet all health and safety regulations. In addition, because of the short lines of communication between the contractor and APE, it learns first hand about any problems that need to be addressed in a particular job before going to the engineering table to solve them. The company is proud of its ability to transform a good idea into a job site reality.

In fact, APE describes itself as ‘the best in the industry’ when it comes to supporting its customers by means of innovative technology. One of the cornerstones of this is APE's successful research and development programme, which make it the industry leader in patents issued worldwide.

Located in The Netherlands, APE Holland operates both domestically and internationally and has earned experience in pile driving projects all over the world.

HILLCON HILLCON Piling Equipment BV is an independent company that also operates under the wings of CAPE Holding Holland.

HILLCON Piling Equipment specialises in building hydraulic piling machines with integrated leading construction. HILLCON Piling Equipment offers a good alternative to the trusted ‘GLS’ concept. The base machine is a Hitachi.

HILLCON Piling Equipment has its own engineering department, where the most

quieter, faster and easier to control so is overall a more efficient installation method.

The co-operation between CAPE Holland and Seaway Heavy Lifting started by installing jacket piles in Egypt with a single APE 600, 60 metres under water, but got a boost after the successful installation of 30 mono piles on the German North Sea for the Riffgat Wind Farm.

An APE Super Quad Kong, consisting of four APE 600 vibratory hammers, was used to install the heaviest 30 piles ever driven with a vibratory hammer. This environmentally friendly way of driving mono piles is a fast and quiet installation method, which proved its potential for future offshore projects.

With several new projects for offshore installation of large diameter piles, the purchase of the Tandem Super Kong took the co-operation between Seaway Heavy Lifting and CAPE Holland Group to the next level of developing faster and more quiet solutions for installation of large diameter piles offshore.

CAPE Holland Group cape-holland.com

Products Foundation equipment for on- and offshore applications

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accurate drawings and calculations are made with the latest software and the newest hardware. It also has its own service department, which is staffed with skilled mechanics, and here it can also offer repairs on equipment created by alternative manufacturers. Production also takes place at the HILLCON Piling Equipment facility in Beilen.

By operating through these three divisions, the Group can provide complete solutions, not those that are dependent on particular issues.

This is always done in close co-operation with the customer.

A good example of how CAPE Holland works with customers is on the Helwin Alpha and BorWin Beta Project. BorWin Beta is a high voltage platform, located in the North Sea, approximately 125 km from the German shore, and HelWin alpha is almost identical in design to BorWin Beta.

CAPE Holland was awarded a purchase contract for an APE Model 600 Tandem vibratory hammer set (Tandem Super Kong) for the installation of the Helwin 1 and BorWin 2 base frames by Seaway Heavy Lifting. Seaway used the Tandem Super Kong to install a total of 16 piles with diameters varying between two metres and 3.2 metres with weights up to 300 tons.

The Tandem Super Kong consists of two APE 600 vibratory hammers, providing a total centrifugal force of 9.895 kN. The set is powered by two 1180VH power packs, providing a total maximum hydraulic flow of 3.000 l/min. The unique multifunctional power packs will be able to drive a variety of equipment on board.

Vibratory pile driving makes pile installation

CAPE Holland Group

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excellence

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Enhancing

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A trusted partner with 115 years of

high voltage machine expertise, Parsons Peebles is headquartered in Rosyth, Scotland. Established as a specialist electrical machine manufacturer and service partner of choice to its customers, Parsons Peebles provides superior solutions through the leveraging of its IP, proprietary processes and specifications, product quality through reliability, compliance and availability; it also offers knowledge and focuses on delivering value and responsiveness.

With a rich history of motor and generation production, the company has developed a reputation for excellence and today stands as a market leader in the service and manufacture of bespoke electrical machines for customers in the oil and gas, petrochemical and power industries.

Specialising in bespoke, made to specification motors and generators that are low noise level machines, low starting current motors, hazardous areas machines such as Ex, nA, Ex p and Ex e, as well as specialist and unusual applications, Parsons Peebles’ designs are robust and proven in the industry. The company offers induction motors up to 25 megawatts with cage, horizontal and slip-ring, synchronous motors up to 50 megawatts with salient-pole, synchronous generators up to 80 mega volt ampere with diesel, gas turbine, steam driven and salient pole, induction generators up to 80 mega volt ampere, and motor/generator frequency changer sets The company’s current service offering includes worldwide spares and service for Parsons Peebles equipment, and it is equally comfortable utilising its engineering depth on similar (OEM) motors/generator manufacturers, reverse engineering services, replacement core and re-wind services, onshore and offshore

maintenance and troubleshooting, AEMT qualified personnel and HV full load testing up to 13.8kV and 60Hz. “For the past six to seven years Parsons Peebles was owned by a Scottish businessman who kept the business small, profitable and retained investment, but ultimately kept it a static business. We at Clyde Blowers Capital, an investment company that was born out of an engineering company and invests in mission critical equipment, saw an opportunity to acquire this organisation and use it as a cornerstone for us to engage in the electrical machinery market,” explains Frank Barrett, chief executive officer of Parsons Peebles.

“The company has the largest installed base of any HV motor manufacturer in the North Sea, it has one of the most reliable products in the market place and has an extremely good reputation for engineering problem solving and customer resolutions; we see this acquisition as a huge opportunity.”

With headquarters that cover an area of 8300 square metres, including manufacture, assembly and testing as well as offices for all support functions such as design and engineering, Parsons Peebles is in a unique position in having the only test facility that can conduct full testing of units prior to installation. “This gives us a significant advantage that has never been exploited, and although it is the best test facility in the market we are investing heavily in our testing and methods of electronic data capture.

We are upgrading how we test and enhancing the information we give our customers, as well as the speed of response within the facility.

Office capability has been doubled in size and we are recruiting extensively in both the engineering and the commercial recruitment and sales departments. On top of this, we are looking at our intention to use Parsons Peebles as a cornerstone for the wider capability of the electro-machinery groups and are in the process of some complimentary acquisitions in Europe, Asia and the Americas,” says Frank.

Notwithstanding the existing capability and reputation, Parsons Peebles is focused on providing services and solutions that add value to its customers by eliminating operational challenges and by enhancing unit reliability and availability.

The company will progressively provide innovative contractual solutions that align with key customer operational drivers through partnerships and longterm relationships.

Having developed an excellent reputation with a niche group of customers in the oil and

of Parsons Peebles have been enthusiastic at the ongoing developments of the company, as Frank explains: “We have had the customers down to the facility and have shown them our plans that are being put into action; its not just talk, every time they come in they see a new building or piece of equipment. Customers see continuous growth and improvement of a service they were already happy with; a big part of our route to market is bringing customers in and running some training and development by them, we engage with them and offer some value in what we do.”

Over the next 18 months to three years, investment is a major focus for Clyde Blowers Capital as it aims to quadruple Parsons Peebles’ business to £250 million by 2017. “Moving away from just service or supplying the equipment, we are looking to understand the true needs of the customer so we can offer a total package.

To do this our aim is to invest in our people by recruiting the highest caliber of staff and also working on the training and development of our people,” concludes Frank.

Preformed Windings Limited Preformed Windings is a global specialist in high voltage motor and generator coil manufacturing and is proud to have been associated with Parsons Peebles for more than 15 years. We believe in building long term customer relationships and tailoring this to the customer’s needs. Our products will last more than 20 years in service, have proven to reduce winding times by at least 15 per cent, delivering 100% on time and we can deliver within two weeks.

Parsons Peebles Generation Ltd parsons-peebles.com

Services Manufacturer of bespoke motors and generators

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gas industry, Frank anticipates a vast growth in demand over the next few years once the firm has generated market awareness: “A major challenge over the last six months has stemmed from actually getting the name back into the wider market place. Parsons Peebles has a great reputation with a small niche group of customers but for the last eight years the organisation didn’t employ a single sales person and never marketed itself. The business was very much built on reputation and capability. To enhance market awareness we have rebranded the company, improved the website and all related literature and carried out a launch event in Aberdeen; on top of this we were at Offshore Europe recently.”

Following the acquisition existing customers

Parsons Peebles Generation

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Adaptable

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Gulfsands Petroleum PLC

is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, incorporated in the United Kingdom. Its main focus is on the Middle Eastern and North African markets, although the company also has exploration activities in the US, Colombia and Italy.

Since it was last featured in European Oil and Gas Magazine in 2010 the company has faced a tumultuous three years, having to remain both robust and adaptable to weather the storm caused by the civil unrest in Syria. Prior to sanctions being imposed on Syria and some of its officials by the European Union in 2011, Gulfsands was operating production of 25,500 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) of which half was to Gulfsands’ account. When the EU’s sanctions finally forced Gulfsands to issue a notice of force majeure to the Syrian government indicating that it was ceasing exploration and production activities in the country, it had been working to increase its rate of production to 35,000 BOPD per day and had also made two further discoveries during the latter half of 2011. Unfortunately, the unrest within Syria meant that the latest discoveries remain to be appraised for development.

However, before operations ceased Gulfsands was able to increase its reserves to 76 million barrels (mmbbls) proved plus probable (2P) for exploration with further reserves estimated at 11 mmbbls before appraisal.

“Obviously everyone has seen the unrest in Syria,” comments Ken Judge, Gulfsands’ commercial director. “I suppose if there is any silver lining it is that our assets in the North East of the country remain intact and the reserves

we have identified remain largely untouched.

We have maintained an open dialogue with regulatory authorities and with the Syrian government, as have all the other international oil companies previously operating in the country, and we all expect to be able to return to our contractor roles once the EU sanctions are modified to allow us to do so.”

Fortunately Gulfsands’ hard work in Syria prior to the country’s slide into civil unrest has paved the way for its dynamic programme of diversification, which was designed as both a logical progression for the company into new markets as well as a mechanism for maintaining the business before it eventually returns to its Syrian operations. “We were very fortunate that when these sanctions hit us we were well cashed up and debt free and we had just over $125 million dollars in the bank, which was the product of our hard work in Syria,” Ken elaborates. “We spent the last 18 months since early 2012, actively pursuing a diversification strategy, principally in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region that culminated in January this year with the acquisition of a substantial portfolio of development and exploration assets in Morocco.

“That acquisition took place in mid January and we have moved very swiftly, with the great help of many of our team from Syria, to commence two seismic programmes, a 2D and a 3D seismic programme and to bring a drill rig into the country to begin the first of a nine well programme that will commence next month. We are optimistic that by the beginning of 2014 we should be producing gas from the wells drilled

sudden shift in the market. Complimenting its expansion into Morocco the company is active in Tunisia, where it has a 70 per cent interest in the Chorbane joint venture and also has operations in Colombia and Italy. “We have gone back to our roots as the company originally commenced with some assets in Colombia,” Ken explains. “It is an area that is well known for its petroleum prospectivity and for having very good fiscal terms. We are gently looking to build another leg of the business in Columbia,” he confirms.

While the past three years have proven to be the most challenging in the company’s history they also represent something of a triumph for Gulfsands. It has not only managed to emerge from the potentially devastating break in its operations in Syria in a highly robust financial position but has demonstrated an intrepid ability to discover new opportunities and turn adversity into a launch pad for new markets.

Moving into the future it appears that Gulfsands will one day return to Syria and other markets stronger than ever.

Morocco has become very fashionable and appealing to oil and gas contractors in recent years and Gulfsands is fortunate in that in identifying the country as a possible market the company has proven to be slightly ahead of its competitors within the industry Gulfsands Petroleum PLC gulfsands.com

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during this programme,” he reveals.

Morocco has become very fashionable and appealing to oil and gas contractors in recent years and Gulfsands is fortunate in that in identifying the country as a possible market the company has proven to be slightly ahead of its competitors within the industry. The early entry into this market has had a number of positive effects for Gulfsands, firstly the company has again displayed a tenacious ability to hit the ground running and further develop its reputation as a professional and skilled operator in oil and gas exploration and production.

Secondly, Gulfsands’ savvy in entering the Moroccan market early has allowed it to leverage a key market position at a substantially lower cost than that faced by other companies looking to follow suit.

Elaborating on the importance of this to the company and wider industry in general Ken says: “We have put the business in a position where we should generate near term revenues that should sustain it and with a little bit of

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luck, make an oil exploration discovery that would be transformational for Gulfsands.

The fiscal terms in Morocco are generous and obviously it’s an energy deficient country, which is what is encouraging many in the industry to go look at it.”

While Morocco represents an exciting development and potentially very lucrative opportunity for the company, Gulfsands has learned important lessons from the Syrian crisis and from the fate of other companies that were less robust and able to recover from the

Installing

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Founded in 1993 as a structural engineering company, Conbit has grown significantly and expanded into new services and markets to earn a reputation as a leading brand in offering exceptional turnkey solutions within the field of offshore brownfield modification projects. Today the company employs 45 engineers from its main office in Best, the Netherlands. It is active in a diverse range of industries globally including offshore oil and gas, energy, petrochemical, infrastructure, and logistics. Key to its success has been the professionalism of its committed team who are divided into structural engineers, draftsmen, project managers, transport and installation technicians and other supporting staff. Conbit is proud of the high level of co-operation within its organisation and of the personal and informal relationships that have characterised the company as an approachable and professional business partner.

Conbit has identified itself as a trusted expert in the field of complex and often challenging transport and installation projects. The installation of huge structures or manoeuvres under extreme conditions requires dedicated analysis and competent professional knowledge to be executed efficiently and safely. This is especially true when transport over sea is required, where acceleration forces due to ship motions act on the transported structure.

Similarly, the offshore environment can create hazards to installation during even relatively calm weather, meaning that such work

should always be carried out with the highest professional proficiency.

With an excellent track record of successfully carrying out such demanding installations, Conbit has won successive contracts from wellestablished and globally recognised operators like Total, Gaz de France, ExxonMobil and others. The company has been prevalent in helideck services, including supply and installation of perimeter netting installation, flare tip exchange, installation of offshore modules, the lifting of offshore living quarters and lifetime extension services.

During 2012 Conbit completed a prestigious project of lifting two offshore accommodation units for the K6-P platform in the Dutch North Sea. The work was carried out for Total E&P Nederland BV. The project was a significantly complex one, involving engineering and method statement, load testing and inspection, the provision of lifting equipment, supply of rigging and rope access crew, co-ordination of third party activities and the provision of vessel support crew. Installation of the living quarters was compounded by the weight of the structures, coming in at 44 MT and the difficult location of the units, which were to be located just below the rig’s helideck. The rig’s own deck crane was not able to provide neither the capacity nor the dexterity to position the units and other lifting devices such as crane vessels were similarly disadvantaged. This, in part was what convinced the rig’s owners to employ the expert installation services that Conbit is able to offer.

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Conbit remains dedicated to its mission to deliver the most efficient, safe and reliable services and aims to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions globally

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requirement of the crew to be able to demobilise within 20 minutes to allow for helicopter activity to continue and bad weather that meant that installation work had to be stopped for two days.

While the project was in its preparation stage, several meetings took place to ensure that all parties involved were clear on their part in the operation and once the crew arrived all of the necessary tools and equipment had been supplied ready for the job to commence. The nets were provided by Finnish company Frictape as one of Conbit’s carefully selected suppliers and are the only nets on the market with a third party type approval certificate stating that the nets comply with CAP437 and UK oil and gas guidance.

Conbit remains dedicated to its mission to deliver the most efficient, safe and reliable services and aims to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions globally. By encouraging teamwork, operating in multiple disciplines and prioritising safe and efficient working conditions the company is well place to act as a market leader in transport and installation solutions.

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The lift was successfully achieved through the combination of the team’s expert engineering skills and the creation of several strategic lifting points to facilitate the lift. The lifting system ultimately consisted of a lifting boom with a height of approximately eight metres and another lifting point, which was created to hold a lift line that ran through the helideck.

Each of these lines was connected to a 15 MT lifting winch. Prior to the lift the hoist system was tested several times and full safety briefings were issued. Once the lift was started a 0700 on 10th June the lift was completed and the unit connected in less than 24 hours.

During June this year Conbit won a repeat contract from Dana Petroleum after successfully completing a previous contract for the company.

Tasked with helideck net fitting on the F2-A Hanze Platform, located in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, 200 km northwest of Den Helder, a dedicated crew was flown offshore on the 20th June and was able to finish the installation six days later. This was achieved despite the

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Engineering the

impossible With almost 150 years of experience behind it, Breman Machinery has extensive knowledge of working with metal. The grounding for the company was laid by Harm Breman in 1864 as a forge, and then following the Second World War moved into making weaving machinery. As the stock of machinery slowly expanded, so the focus shifted to the supply of spare parts, and particularly workpieces with unusual dimensions.

“Today we’re a specialist in the supply of large components to the offshore and heavy machinery industries,” describes Henk Breman, managing director. As the fifth generation of the Breman family to take the helm, Henk has maintained Breman Machinery’s reputation for taking on challenging projects. This includes everything from simple structures to complex mechanical components that weigh tens or hundreds of tonnes, and other extremes of dimension. Yet each is made to a precision of a hundredth of a millimetre.

“Our core strength is our people and their workmanship,” Henk continues. “We currently deliver a lot of heavy components for drill ships,

crane equipment, and handling equipment for the installation of offshore wind turbines. In fact at present we are working on a wind turbine handling system that weighs over 300 tonnes in total to a very short lead time of just six months.” The company also has clients within military, aerospace, and general industry such as machine builders and mechanical engineers.

What is somewhat unique is that Breman Machinery can fabricate these components and structures entirely in-house. The company’s 25-metre high workshops are home to all the necessary equipment for machining and nonmachining processing of materials including rolling, boring and milling, welding, corrosion protection, assembly and fitting. Its location beside open water also means that it has a direct connection to international ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

“Often the first question we get is ‘can you make this kind of unusual product’,” notes Henk. “We are very strong in making extreme components and work in a niche market fabricating parts that are often far from the norm. A lot of the design and development work

industry as being a key growth area, both from the oil and gas and renewable energy perspective, this facility represents a major strategic decision.

“Our aim is to be able to provide even larger components in the future,” concludes Henk.

“We also want to not only be able to provide the steel work, but also hydraulic and electrical competences for a more complete component that customers can just plug and play. This will remove some of the challenges of production because the client can just subcontract a complete system from Breman Machinery.”

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is done by the customer so our aim is to try and realise those dreams.”

Breman Machinery prides itself on the scope of its facilities, which include a wide range of CNC-controlled machines. These are essential to enabling the company to form its large pieces with the greatest precision to conform to the accepted tolerances. Although the structures themselves may be complex, many of the manufacturing processes performed by Breman Machinery are quite typical such as cutting and angle bending. It also means that the company is more flexible by not having to rely on third parties. In fact it is Breman Machinery that often gets certain processing operations outsourced to it by mechanical engineers and plant manufacturers that regard the company as a subcontractor.

Earlier in the year Breman Machinery brought a new RX18 machine from Reiden Swiss for use in milling, turning and boring. This investment is expected to be delivered at the end of the year.

“We have an in-house policy that we don’t have to get bigger as a company, but we do invest to be a better company. This type of machine is very sophisticated and much faster so it presents a lot of possibilities, and we feel will gives us a better position on the market,” elaborates Henk.

“We have also invested in a whole new factory at IJmuiden, which will be home to our new sister company – Breman Offshore,” he continues. “The site is positioned right on the sea enabling us to supply large ships, and to create heavy and large projects which can then be more easily transported.”

With the company viewing the offshore

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vision Guiding

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Leistritz Pumpen Leistritz Pumpen GmbH is specialised in the development and manufacturing of tailor-made pump solutions acc. API 676 and VDMA 24284 standards.

Based on the worldwide largest product range of twin, triple and even five screw pumps, Leistritz is serving the oil and gas industry both upstream and downstream.

Today, Leistritz pumps and systems are charging the pulsebeat of the most modern oil and gas processes.

At the moment, Leistritz and Audex Pte Ltd are realising a project in U.A.E with Leistritz Screw Pumps, series L2 and L4.

of Mr Ashok Goel and Mr Sudhir Goyel, Gulf Petrochem Group has become a leading player in oil space in the decade and a half since its inception in 1998. This was sparked by the commissioning of a refinery in Sharjah’s Hamriyah Freezone, where Gulf Petrochem is also headquartered, and just a few years on the group has established itself into six strategic business units; oil trading and bunkering, oil refining, grease manufacturing, oil storage terminals, bitumen manufacturing, and shipping and logistics.

All of the units work together and support one another. In addition Gulf Petrochem maintains refining and storage facilities elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and trading offices in Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Singapore.

Completing the global presence is a range of subsidiaries including Gulf Petrochem PTE Ltd in Singapore, Gulf Petrochem (I) Pvt Ltd in India, and Gulf Petrochem SA in Geneva. Each of these elements contributes to the company’s vision to be an integrated multinational energy organisation driving international growth.

Petroleum is at the heart of all these activities, and over time Gulf Petrochem has expanded into the various verticals of oil including fuel

oil, base oil, bitumen, naphtha, and grease.

The ongoing success of the company has been secured through the commissioning of a state-of-the-art PLC-based condensate splitter, expansions in the oil trading and bunkering sides, and its strategic position in the storage industry to handle different feedstock and finished products. This supported the new Fujairah Oil Terminal development. Likewise Gulf Petrochem continues to invest in its technological base and equipment to ensure the quality of its products.

The first stepping stone though was the Hamriyah-Sharjah refinery, which firmly established Gulf Petrochem in oil production. This is currently working at capacity with plans being drawn up for an extension to the facilities. The company also had plans to set-up similar refineries in Tanzania and Saudi Arabia. Connected to this is the oil storage terminal, also situated in the Hamriyah Free Zone, which has separate pipelines to the harbour berth for white and black oil products, and a dedicated line for bitumen.

The terminal acts as a central point in Gulf Petrochem’s manufacturing process by supporting the storage of vessel loads of feedstock, and enabling the addition of new elements such as blending products to create customer-specific grades. In total the Hamriyah facility has 14 tanks with capacities ranging from 600 to 3700 cbm, adding up to 35,000 cbm. Gulf Petrochem has aspirations to enhance this storage capacity by another 200,000 cbm, whilst an upcoming new pipeline from the main Port of Hamriyah to the terminal will change the current logistics scope at Gulf Petrochem significantly.

Also operating out of the same site is Gulf Petrochem’s bitumen division, which focuses on the manufacture, storage and international supply of such products. The company maintains two 3000 MT bulk storage tanks for this purpose. The products are supplied according to different grades, including penetration and viscosity for a variety of different purposes. Bitumen is one of the traded products, alongside base oils and other clean petroleum products like gas oil, that Gulf Petrochem transports on its in-house fleet of tankers.

Owning its own vessels gives the company much better control over its entire supply chain and this translates into cost savings.

Lubricating grease is yet another area where Gulf Petrochem intends to lead the way as a first choice supplier of customised solutions.

The company lives up to this role through close

Completing the terminal portfolio is the Pipavav oil terminal in Gujarat, India. The port itself is managed and operated by APM Terminals, and its proximity to robust rail and road networks provides a logistical advantage, connecting it to the critical markets of the hinterland, northwest and central India.

Operated by the Group’s subsidiary Gulf Petrochem India Pvt Ltd, the Pipavav oil terminal has been created as a modern facility for liquid cargo storage. This consists of 318,000 cbm capacity for fuel oil, gas oil, base oil, edible oil, bitumen and RPO. Looking to the future it seems that Gulf Petrochem is continuing its rapid expansion having secured a large plot of land at Port Klang in Malaysia for the construction of another oil terminal. Each of these milestones sees the company widen its global presence by positioning itself within the areas of prime activity. In this way Gulf Petrochem will continue to move up the industry value chain, as it works to meet the guiding vision of its founders.

Looking to the future it seems that Gulf Petrochem is continuing its rapid expansion having secured a large plot of land at Port Klang in Malaysia for the construction of another oil terminal

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customer relationships and a proactive marketfocused portfolio of products and services.

Production takes place in Gulf Petrochem’s ultra-modern, fully-automated state-of-the-art facility which has a monthly capacity of 1800 MT. The company also boasts a technical tie-up with Lubrizol USA, world leader in additives, for support and access to its worldwide laboratories.

This enables Gulf Petrochem to offer specialised formulations to meet the niche requirements of its customers.

Earlier this year, the company opened phase one of its new terminal facility at Fujairah with the aim of spearheading the next period of growth. With Fujairah being the third largest bunkering centre in the world, and on an international shipping route almost 40,000 ships a year pass to and from the gulf making it an attractive storage location. Initial capacity is 412,000 cbm but with the terminal having been very successful since its opening, Gulf Petrochem is already tendering for the next phase of expansion.

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Coek Engineering

input CerecAntonius Cerec-Antonius is a leading producer of complex shapes in exotic and special materials - for example, Ti-clad material for Coek. From two production plants the company produces next to vessel heads, cones and compensators, special products like decompression tanks for divers and exhaust systems for gas turbines.

Cerec-Antonius’ own harbour at the river Maas has the ability to load and to transport very large items to all destinations worldwide.

The huge knowledge and expertise of Cerec-Antonius is the main reason for customers, like Coek and several engineering firms, involving Cerec-Antonius in the development and production of their high tech products.

has also put particular focus on quality control.

This is demonstrated in its ASME U and U2, ISO 9001, and PED (97/23/EC) certificates.

In practice, it means the company has a long experience of executing every job in a way that ensures the highest levels of quality. Each piece of equipment passes through strict controls in-house including x-ray or TOFD examination, hardness tests, and penetrant and magnetic particle examination, with other processes being delivered by an independent third party.

Given the high investment levels in the petrochemical industry, and particularly in coal-to-gas and coal-to-liquid projects in China, Coek Engineering has been able to secure a substantial number of orders. For these types of project the company has worked to expand its scope of supply from not just pressure related equipment, but the provision of complete reactor sections including drive systems, seals, valves, and instrumentation.

“This gives us control over the whole process, and keeps all of the expertise in hand,” notes Patrick. “We see this type of package mainly being purchased by Asian engineering companies as it gives them that European competence, and in turn enables Coek to secure a larger share of a project. As some exotic materials, such as titanium, become cheaper we’ve also seen a change in the types of materials being used in certain applications, which can generate new markets for us in the future.”

At around 80 per cent, the greatest proportion of Coek Engineering’s turnover is today being generated on the Asian market. Whilst this shift has clearly proved profitable for the business, it

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Based out of Belgium

, Coek Engineering N.V. has almost 50 years of experience in the design and fabrication of process equipment. Having begun life producing automated flour silos for industrial bakeries, since the 1980s the company has focused on the petrochemical, oil and gas, chemical, and metallurgical industries. It is also one of the key players globally for the fabrication of equipment in exotic materials such as titanium, zirconium and hastelloy, combined with large dimensions and heavy weight.

“We mainly work in niche markets,” highlights sales director Patrick Van Roy. “Our core business is focused on equipment used in critical chemical processes, where safety and corrosion resistance are primary issues. This includes pressure vessels, columns, reactors, and heat exchangers. Most of this equipment is sold under licence agreements to protect the technology and know-how.”

As a smaller company of around 140 people, Coek Engineering prides itself most on the level of experience housed within. “In this way we tend to focus on projects or equipment that present a technological challenge,” explains Patrick. “When it comes to normal standard pressure vessels it is much harder to compete on price, but when it becomes more complicated or risky to implement this equipment we have a good chance of being involved. Many customers, or licensing holders know that when a project or specific equipment isn’t straightforward they can count on Coek for technical support, even when a project is still in the development phase.

Since its very beginning Coek Engineering

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Coek Engineering

has also presented challenges as the company comes up against lower-priced vendors in these markets. “In the last few years, most of the EPC work and detailed engineering work for large chemical and petrochemical plants has moved from Europe towards Asian countries like India, Korea and China,” clarifies Patrick.

“As a consequence, it becomes more complicated for European vendors to get involved in these large projects, especially if they are being erected in their home country.

Therefore, the added value that we deliver needs to be higher and more sophisticated if we do not want to lose our market share.”

As an example in 2007 Coek Engineering saw the price differences between Europe and Korea being between five and ten per cent.

Following the financial crisis though this gap has doubled or even tripled, suggesting that those manufacturers may be being supported through the local government. Coupled with this is the issue of technologies being copied and then sold at a lower price.

“We believe that the industry in Europe still

has the potential to compete on a global market, mainly through its technological advantage and high level of quality. Unfortunately, technology is copied at a high rate, even by government driven companies, which could see Europe’s industry at risk and ending up with only a service economy, which has no added value in the long run,” describes Patrick.

“We believe it is time that both private companies and official authorities combine forces to strengthen and protect their values. We are in need of solid European partners that can support our business, rather than having to buy materials and services from low cost suppliers with uncertain quality levels in order to reduce costs. We see prices and cost levels in Asia now increasing much faster than in Europe, which brings that price gap to a more reasonable proportion. As such our goal now should be to keep costs under control, and assure our advantages in technology and reliability, rather than try to start up production in Asia, but this can only be achieved with the correct support,” he concludes.

Each piece of equipment passes through strict controls in-house including x-ray or TOFD examination, hardness tests, and penetrant and magnetic particle examination, with other processes being delivered by an independent third party Coek Engineering N.V. coek.be

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