Austrian fruit and vegetable producer and marketer, Frutura, has commissioned an energy module from Orcan Energy allowing the company to transfer excess heat from geothermal drilling into clean power.
The Orcan Energy module produces around 625MWh of electrical energy per year, enabling Frutura to save approx. 100 tons of CO2 annually.
In 2016, the company opened Frutura Thermal Vegetable World in Styria, Austria, marking a significant step for a new era of sustainable agriculture. Thermal water is used to heat greenhouses, and until recently the excess heat generated by geothermal drilling remained unused. Now, Futurua is converting the heat into clean energy with the help of Orcan Energy’s module and utilizing the geothermal borehole all year round, enhancing energy efficiency.
Manfred Hohensinner, Managing Partner for Frutura, said, “Now that we have become independent of fossil fuels for heat generation, it was a logical step to convert the excess heat from geothermal drilling into electricity. Orcan Energy was the ideal partner for us, providing all the flexibility we need to respond to any changes in the future thanks to their modular approach.”
Andreas Sichert, CEO of Orcan Energy, commented, “Together, we combine the direct use of geothermal heat with the production of electricity. With Orcan Energy, heat-to-power is also possible on a smaller scale thanks to our modular approach.
“In particular, the simple combination with our standardised modules has great potential: We can meet both the heat and electricity requirements of the building sector, commercial and industrial businesses with geothermal energy in a decentralised, CO2-free and attractively priced way.”
Plexus Holdings PLC, an AIM-quoted oil and gas engineering services business, and owner of the proprietary POS-GRIP friction-grip method of wellhead engineering, has won a contract valued in excess of £1mn to provide specialised equipment and services for multiple plug and abandonment (P&A) activities in the North Sea.
Under the terms of the contract, Plexus will provide Exact adjustable surface wellhead equipment, and specialised centric mudline system tooling and services for P&A operations on wells in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Operations are planned to commence in Q2 2024 for a period of nine months. Exact adjustable wellheads and centric mudline systems are part of the Plexus licence/collaboration agreement with SLB.
Commenting on the contract, Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "The number of wells that must be permanently plugged and abandoned is fast growing, particularly in mature offshore locations such as the North Sea, where the OEUK indicated that decommissioning would account for 25% of oil and gas expenditure in 2023, up from 12% in 2022, and encouragingly I believe this trend will continue. We are therefore delighted that Plexus' reputation is strengthening within this sector, and that our range of customers is broadening. Furthermore, this contract demonstrates the progress we are making in getting back into the adjustable wellhead and mudline equipment market as an established expert in this field and 'go-to' company for this type of equipment and service."
The Federal Government of Austria, through the Climate and Energy Fund (Klima und Energiefonds), has announced a new funding programme worth EUR10mn to support deep geothermal projects.
The ‘Deep Geothermal Energy’ programme will support feasibility and preliminary studies, exploration and investigation measures, pilot drillings and the preparation of projects for the economic use of deep geothermal energy.
The aim of the funding programme is to create the basis for the implementation of efficient and environmentally-friendly deep geothermal projects. The Climate and Energy Fund will support companies and public institutions in five modules:
• Module One – Basic preliminary studies
• Module Two – Feasibility studies
• Module Three – Exploration
• Module Four – Pilot drilling
• Module Five – Citizen participation and information events
Climate and Energy Fund Managing Director, Bernd Vogl, said, “Our new programme helps to develop and implement projects for deep geothermal energy in heating networks and in industrial processes.
“The entire spectrum extends from planning to exploration to pilot drilling. This is intended, among other things, to reduce the risks associated with geothermal drilling. We are excited about the projects that will emerge from this initiative.”
Energy services provider Expro has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Coretrax, a technology leader in well integrity and production optimisation solutions, from an investment group led by Buckthorn Partners.
The acquisition of Coretrax will enable Expro to expand its portfolio of cost-effective, technology-enabled well construction and well integrity solutions, particularly across the North and Latin American, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa. Building on Coretrax’s successful 15-year history, the acquisition will accelerate the availability of the company’s innovative tools by leveraging Expro’s global operating footprint.
Michael Jordan, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are thrilled to announce our proposed acquisition of Coretrax and look forward to welcoming John Fraser and his teammates to the Expro family.
“Coretrax has a complementary offering to Expro with little overlap and will bolster the portfolio of technology-enabled services and solutions offered through our Well Construction and Well Intervention & Integrity product lines, adding significant value to our clients from innovative technologies that reduce risk and cost, optimise drilling efficiency, extend the life of existing well stock, and optimise production.”
John Fraser, CEO at Coretrax, commented, “The synergies between our respective technology portfolios will enable us to grow our market share while significantly increasing our capabilities to tackle the most complex well challenges. We are proud of the innovation-led approach, strong customer base and performance history that we developed over the last 15 years, and we look forward to joining forces with Expro to create greater value for our customers globally.”
UK-based, closed-loop geothermal energy developer, CeraPhi Energy, has acquired the business of Third Energy Limited, a former shale gas development company with plans to repurpose the existing wells into clean geothermal energy centres.
The acquisition includes the subsidiaries, namely Third Energy Trading Limited, Wolfland Renewables Limited, Wolfland Utilities Limited, Third Energy UK Gas Limited, and the 50% holding in West Heslerton Renewables Limited.
The assets located in North Yorkshire, UK, include eight well sites consisting of 12 former gas wells in a suspended state, 22.4 km of 6-inch and 16.6 km of 3-inch subterranean pipelines and a further 22.4 km of buried fibre optic comms lines.
CeraPhi completed a commercial demonstration of its CeraPhiWell system earlier in the summer using the Third Energy KMA site. CeraPhi’s strategy is to de-risk the scaling and commercialisation of large-scale heat networks using boreholes down to a depth of 2km, reducing the space required for deployment of large-scale systems and increasing the extraction of thermal energy available for network connections. By both drilling new wells and repurposing end-of-life and non-producing oil and gas wells, the CeraPhi solution will provide 'huge commercial potential' for the scaling of geothermal heat networks in the UK and globally.
CeraPhi Energy CEO Karl Farrow said, “The decarbonisation of heat represents a huge UK and global challenge in meeting our net zero targets. Combined with the continued insecurity customers face with volatility and seasonal cost of fossil fuels, we have to move geothermal energy to scale to reduce the cost of deploying direct use heat, which is an endless resource not subject to price fluctuation, enabling a move away from our dependency on fossil fuels within our day to day energy mix.
"By using the inexhaustible resource beneath our feet using closed-loop technology we can access this energy anywhere with zero environmental risk, requiring no hydraulic fracturing, no use of water and providing enough energy within the next 15 years to solve our energy crisis indefinitely."
Third Energy Managing Director Russell Hoare said, “At Third Energy we’ve been pursuing a transition strategy for several years now with geothermal energy at the centre of that strategy and in CeraPhi we have found a capable and accomplished partner, as proven by the successful geothermal demonstrator project at our KMA site this summer. Bringing together the expertise of CeraPhi with the assets of Third Energy is a natural progression and I look forward to working with Karl and his team to continue the story.”
Siem Offshore has secured long-term contracts with Helix Energy Solutions for two of its Siem Helix well intervention vessels.
The two contracts for Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2, valued at US$682mn, will come into effect from 1 January, 2025, and 1 January, 2026, respectively and will replace existing agreements to ensure firm utilisation for these vessels until at least 2030.
Each vessel will have a duration period of six years, with an optional extension period of up to five years, the contracts provide a solid foundation for future endeavors and growth for Siem Offshore. Siem Helix vessels have played a crucial role in the well intervention segment, and the longstanding partnership between Siem and Helix is a testament to the success both companies have endured.
Oilenco Ltd has been awarded a contract for the provision of engineering and manufacturing services for a major North Sea operator.
The contract will see Oilenco provide well intervention and downhole equipment throughout a 52-well subsea plug and abandonment campaign, as well as its range of services including engineering, CNC machining, assembly, and maintenance services.
Blair McCombie, Operations Director at Oilenco, commented, “This contract award is an outstanding achievement for Oilenco. Not only does it demonstrate our capability to provide high-quality P&A solutions, but our clients will benefit from our breadth of knowledge and experience in this market.
“As Oilenco celebrates turning 15 this year, securing this contract and being part of this significant P&A campaign is a fantastic way to kick-start our celebrations.”
Oilenco has been providing P&A tooling solutions to the UKCS for more than six years, accounting for a significant growth area within the company through the provision of hybrid plugs, remote opening devices, and scale remedial solutions in its extensive fleet.
As part of a North Sea project this year, subsea engineering company Interventek will be supplying a newly developed, compact and lightweight bore selector technology to decommissioning services provider, Well-Safe Solutions.
Interventek will also provide life of tool support including training, services and critical spares.
Interventek’s CEO, Alan Duncan, explained, “This type of compact and lightweight technology is currently limited in market availability, so the provision of our new solution to tier one service companies will help to enhance industry efficiency and cost-competitiveness, particularly in the decommissioning sector. We’re delighted to have been selected by Well-Safe as a new equipment supplier and are dedicated to supporting them in delivering optimum results to operators.”
Steven Chalmers, Wells Subsea Manager at Well-Safe Solutions, said, “Well-Safe Solutions is committed to realising safe, smart and efficient well decommissioning operations. New technology plays a vital role in making operations as efficient as possible and Interventek’s Bore Selector will help to boost efficiency when deployed from the Well-Safe Guardian.”
The design of the bore selector supports the industry’s move towards more compact and lighter weight systems with improved deck handling and deployment efficiency. The tool’s function allows a monobore riser or riserless system to be used for intervention on a dual bore Xmas tree. This means that dual bore interventions can be carried out without returning the system to surface to realign the riser for annulus bore access, enabling access to a large number of wells in a shorter period of time, with increased operational efficiency. It is positioned between the tree running tool and the lower riser package and uses an actuated flapper which can be moved manually via a standard ROV interface or hydraulic surface controls. The flapper position directs the wireline toolstring into either the production bore or the annulus. A bi-directional ball valve is also integrated into the annulus access route to enable circulation of fluids during operations.
Aquaterra Energy, a leader in global offshore energy engineering solutions, has won a three-year contract with a leading UK exploration and production company to provide analysis services across the company’s offshore operations.
As per the contract, Aquaterra Energy will provide a range of offshore analysis services to deliver vital insights for the operator, enabling it to optimise its operational performance. This will include riser and conductor analysis for jack-ups and semi-submersibles alongside integrity management, decommissioning and late-life analysis.
“We’re delighted to strengthen our partnership with this customer by signing this contract,” remarked James Larnder, Managing Director of Aquaterra Energy. “We have dedicated significant time and resources to winning these long-term analysis contracts, and the success we’ve seen in this area is a testament to the first-class service delivered by our expert in-house team. To support this growth, we have doubled our analysis team over the last few years, with a focus on recruiting graduates through our award-winning graduate programme.”
Aquaterra Energy will support the operator with recommendations to manage risks and optimise offshore designs for its global portfolio across the full offshore project lifecycle, from extending or decommissioning late-life wells, to early-stage planning. In doing so, it aims to enhance performance, lower costs and support the reduction of carbon emissions from the company’s operations.
Martin Harrop, Analysis Manager at Aquaterra Energy, added, “We’re an agile, solutions-driven partner, and through these long-term agreements can provide customers with assurances and recommendations from the earliest stages of their projects – where we can provide the most value to project delivery and identifying efficiency gains. We work closely with our in-house project engineers to ensure the solutions we suggest to clients are not just what’s best from an analytical perspective, but also an engineering one, and the growth we’ve seen in this area speaks to the quality of our service.”
Independent wells expert, Elemental Energies, has announced the senior appointment of Willem Boon von Ochssee as Head of Wells.
The key appointment comes as the company charts a course for continued expansion in the coming year.
In his global role, Boon von Ochssee will be responsible for managing the business’ well engineering and wider technical strategy, providing expertise and oversight to projects across oil and gas, decommissioning and low carbon. With over thirty years’ industry experience, he joins Elemental Energies from Spirit Energy, where he worked as the operator’s Wells Technical Authority. He is a specialist in well engineering, project management, drilling management systems and well integrity assurance.
Mike Adams, CEO of Elemental Energies said, “Willem is recognised across the industry as a leading technical authority and is a highly respected member of the wells community. We are passionate about the role wells play in the future of the energy sector, and building a uniquely capable technical organisation is critical to that. Willem brings perspective from both the operator and supply chain viewpoint and will help to foster a strong technical culture across the business.”
Willem is a Co-Chair of the Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) licence to operate well group and is an active member on a number of cross industry committees, including the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and North Sea Transition Authority. He also plays a key role in the Net Zero Transition Centre’s Alternative Barrier Collaboration forum.
Adams continued, “Willem brings a unique commitment to supporting the wider engineering community through close links with OEUK and SPE. This dedication to supporting professional development, innovation in technology, and cross industry collaboration makes him a perfect cultural fit for us.”
Commenting on his new role, Boon von Ochssee said, “The opportunity to support, develop and manage the outstanding team here is hugely appealing. Fostering collaboration across the whole energy industry is extremely important to me and I will bring that ethos into this new role – working closely with customers to deliver a first class well management service whether for oil and gas, decommissioning or low carbon projects.”
The AGSM AIM Group has invested in a specialised geothermal energy project in Verona, Italy, which will see the construction of geothermal wells capable of providing clean thermal energy to those connected to the district heating network.
The project process, which began in December 2023 with the approval by the Board of Directors of AGSM AIM as part of the industrial and economic plan of the ‘Geothermal Project’, will continue over the coming weeks with the establishment of a company to lead the project.
The project will provide geothermal energy to five cogeneration plants in Verona located in Borgo Trento, Forte Procolo, Golosine, City Center and Banks, as well as the Vicenza district heating plants in the future. Utilising geothermal energy is a key part of the objectives and actions envisaged by AGSM AIM’s industrial and strategic plan which places sustainability among the main pillars of growth for the group.
Federico Testa, President of AGSM AIM, said, “Thanks to this important technology our Group confirms that it faces the challenges of the energy sector with a new vocation of values, always directed towards sustainable development and cost containment for citizens and businesses.”
The project aims to bring economic benefits to district heating customers due to the strong reduction of methane gas that will be compensated by geothermal resources. The thermal source is expected to save more than 40% of the gas consumed by the region, thus reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 30,000 tons.
A UK£1mn investment in developing its largest subsea Chopsaw to date has paid off for Decom Engineering (Decom) following impressive results on its first deployment.
The C1-46 Chopsaw played a pivotal role in a subsea infrastructure decommissioning project on behalf of DeepOcean in the northern region of the North Sea.
This ambitious project involved the removal of pipelines, control umbilicals, and various subsea structures from the seabed in water depths of up to 180 metres, each requiring precise and efficient cutting.
The Decom team was tasked with cutting a wide range of pipe sizes, from 1,042 mm OD concrete-coated carbon steel pipes to 220 mm OD super duplex pipes. These subsea pipelines needed to be segmented into 9.5 metre sections for efficient recovery to the vessel deck.
Powered from topside and ROV using a Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU), reeler, hot stabs and control panel, the C1-46 exceeded all expectations, proving its worth in the harshest of subsea environments. The smaller C1-24 chopsaw was utilised for certain tasks and also operated with a mix of topside and ROV controls.
The C1-46 averaged 15 cuts before requiring a blade change, significantly reducing the need for recovery to the surface and impressively completed 79 cuts on its first deployment, showcasing a remarkable 100% success rate.
Substantial time savings of almost 300% were achieved compared to using traditional diamond wire saws which typically have longer cut times, carry a risk of wires breaking, and require multiple trips to the surface vessel for blade replacement. Using customised insertable and replaceable tips voided the need for blade changes, reducing costs and increasing efficiency by minimising vessel time.
In contrast, the C1-46 completed some cuts in as little as 20 minutes, while the C1-24 saw excelled in cutting super duplex and flexible risers - materials that traditional shears can’t handle.
Furthermore, Decom’s innovative approach to reducing seabed dredging time by modifying the saw’s clamps reduced dredge time from 3.5 hours to just 30 minutes.
Established in the United Kingdom in 2011, Decom is an R&D specialist focusing on the design and fabrication of cutting solutions and innovative decommissioning equipment, with a growing reputation for providing complex deep water project solutions.
Decom Engineering Managing Director, Sean Conway, said, “The C1-46 Chopsaw is a remarkable piece of subsea engineering which was designed, developed, and deployed in under six months, specifically for this North Sea decommissioning campaign.
“This project underlined our commitment to engineering innovation and underlined our credentials for pushing the limits of what’s achievable in subsea decommissioning. To efficiently cut through a submerged 1,042mm reinforced concrete coated pipe is not without its challenges, but the C1-46 was more than up to this difficult task.
“It’s been a valuable learning experience and the performance of the C1-46 Chopsaw sets the benchmark for going on to roll out our technologies which offer multiple benefits to contractors and operators engaged in complex subsea decommissioning projects.”
The C1-46 Chopsaw has been designed to cut tubulars and other materials up to 46” diameter and is able to cut a wide range of materials, including inconel alloys, duplex and concrete.
It can be operated in water depths of up to 2,000 metres, has the ability to cut in any orientation, and is capable of multiple cuts per blade (20-100), resulting in large cost savings and increased efficiency. Blade changes are efficient and safe and the chopsaw can be supplied set up in a number of configurations and settings to suit project requirements.
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