Latin America

• Region: All
• Date: Aug, 2021

C-Innovation, LLC (C-I), an affiliate of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and its family of companies, has been awarded a multi-year contract for Riserless Light Well Intervention (RLWI) services with a major operator in the Gulf of Mexico.

The contract is for the provision of RLWI services onboard the M/V Island Venture, C-I’s flagship intervention vessel commissioned in 2017. The 160 m, DP3 vessel is ideally suited to perform deepwater riserless interventions in the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to perform intervention activities on eight to ten wells per year, including wireline and stimulations.

C-I’s Vice-President David Sheetz said, “This new contract is a direct result of our accomplishments with the same operator over the last two years. I am extremely proud of our teams and partnerships with both Halliburton and Baker Hughes to deliver the kind of success that allows us to continue to be the leaders with our Single Source Solution for deepwater RLWI in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“These are exciting times for our industry,” commented Dino Chouest, President of C-I, “and the forward thinking and innovative ideas our teams have developed over the last two years are setting new standards in deepwater riserless well interventions. We look forward to expanding our offerings with additional vessels and advanced solutions in the near future.”

• Region: Latin America
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: July, 2021

Frank's International (Frank’s), a global oil services company that provides a broad and comprehensive range of highly engineered tubular running services, tubular fabrication, and specialty well construction and intervention solutions, has received the inaugural 2021 Most Valuable Partner (MVP) Award from a major operator in recognition of its work in Guyana.

This award recognises Frank's work in helping their customer meet important operational goals both safely and efficiently. Frank's Tubular Running Services, Cementing and Well Integrity teams developed a customised solution involving multiple casing technologies, which eliminated the need to alternate tools and accommodated different casing types.

The solution enabled faster run times and removed the need for personnel to enter the hazardous red zone. Frank's first-rate operational planning and execution led to a record-setting casing string run, with a total of five hours saved and zero rejected connections with a fully nationalised night crew.

Specifically, the MVP award recognises the following categories and achievements:

-Safety, Security, Health and Environment (SSHE) Excellence: recognised as strong leaders and contributors in pre-tour and rig-floor meetings

-Reliability: excellent Non-Productive Time (NPT) performance demonstrating 99.8% up time

-Adaptability and Proactivity: onshore personnel engaged early and effectively collaborated

-Truly Working as a Partner: offshore personnel consistently demonstrated commitment to supporting activities on the rig outside of their base work scope.

"Congratulations to our Tubular Running Services, Cementing, and Well Integrity teams, including local crew members in Guyana," said York McCauley, Frank’s Senior Operations Manager, Caribbean. "These talented and dedicated team members consistently demonstrate operational excellence both onshore and offshore. This award is a testament to their hard work and dedication to delivering superior value, safety, and efficiency to our partners. We appreciate their outstanding contributions to Frank's operations."

Michael Kearney, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "Innovating to help our customers and going above and beyond is what distinguishes our talented team at Frank's. Thank you to our employees for living our core values of Safety, Integrity, Innovation, Diversity and Excellence every day."

• Region: Latin America
• Date: June, 2021

Ocyan, one of the largest drilling contractors in Brazil with an offshore fleet in service for major operators in the area, has selected Kongsberg Digital’s SiteCom software to supply real-time drilling data from their rigs.

Ocyan’s rigs will be using Kongsberg Digital’s SiteCom solution to collect and convert data from different data sources making standard data available for Ocyan's main data platform Ocyan SMART. Besides the drilling control system, rigs are configured to receive marine data, data from dynamic positioning systems, ocean current meter systems and will be integrated with third parties for calculating drilling riser fatigue.

Kristian Hernes, SVP Digital Wells, Kongsberg Digital, commented, “As an operator, having access to complete, standard data in one system is a prerequisite to digitalise and automate processes in scale. Ocyan’s requirements for real-time data shows the robustness and versatility of SiteCom as a data collection software for the industry.”

The benefits of the SiteCom solution include safer and more efficient drilling due to a clear “bigger picture” of activities from data monitoring; accurate positioning provided by real-time information used in conjunction with historical and plan data; reduced risk of stuck pipe from the monitoring of casing runs; and confirmed cementing with the quality of cement placement monitored by integrated well-site data.

Rodrigo Chamusca Machado, Technology and Innovation Manager, Ocyan, added, “SiteCom is helping Ocyan to have a reliable and robust system onboard, connected to multiple sources and different protocols, converting data to WITSML standards in order to meet our client’s requirements.”

• Region: Latin America
• Date: June, 2021

Equinor (operator), ExxonMobil, Petrogal Brasil and Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) have agreed to develop phase one of the Bacalhau field located in the pre-salt Santros area offshore Brazil.

The Bacalhau field, situated across two licenses, BM-S-8 and Norte de Carcará, is a high-quality carbonate reservoir, containing light oil with minimal contaminants. The development will consist of 19 subsea wells tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) located at the field. This will be one of the largest FPSOs in Brazil with a production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day and two million barrels in storage capacity. Estimated recoverable reserves for the first phase are more than one billion barrels of oil.

“The development of the Bacalhau field is a strategic investment in our global portfolio and has the potential to bring high returns for ExxonMobil, our partners and the Brazilian people,” said Juan Lessmann, Lead Country Manager for ExxonMobil in Brazil. “This project has progressed due to the strong collaboration between ExxonMobil, Equinor, Petrogal and the government.”

Subsea Integration Alliance

For the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the subsea pipelines (SURF) and production systems (SPS), Equinor has awarded a contract to Subsea Integration Alliance, a nonincorporated strategic global alliance between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea.

The development will include 140 kilometres of rigid risers and flowlines, 40 kilometres of umbilicals and 19 trees, as well as associated subsea equipment, in water depths of approximately 2,050 metres.

Project management and detailed engineering will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with support from Subsea 7’s Global Project Centre in UK and France and various OneSubsea offices. Offshore activities will take place from 2022 to 2023 using Subsea 7’s reel-lay, flex-lay and light construction vessels.

Stuart Fitzgerald, CEO Subsea Integration Alliance, commented, “The award to Subsea Integration Alliance of the EPCI contract is a result of our strategy for early engagement and track record of major integrated projects. It underlines the strength and breadth of our global project management capabilities which underpin our delivery of large and complex integrated projects.”

Limiting climate impact

The development plan was approved by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) in March 2021.

Significant efforts have been made to reduce emissions from the production phase, including implementing a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine system to increase the energy efficiency of the power station.

Lifetime average CO2 intensity is expected to be less than 9 kg per barrel produced, significantly lower than the global average of 17 kg per barrel. Work will continue through the lifetime of the field to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency.

The entire investment for the development is approximately US$8bn, with first oil planned in 2024. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related uncertainties, project plans may be adjusted in response to health and safety restrictions.

• Region: Latin America
• Date: May, 2021

Baker Hughes has been awarded a subsea oilfield equipment contract from Petrobras as part of the Marlim and Voador field revitalisation plan in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.

The contract includes several key technologies from Baker Hughes’ Subsea Connect portfolio and will provide Petrobras with a connected suite of solutions to help drive efficiencies, reduce costs and improve execution speed.

Baker Hughes will supply up to five subsea production and injection manifold systems, which benefit from a lightweight and compact design for installation from smaller vessels and include integrated hydraulic connection systems and retrievable choke modules to realise life of field cost savings. The manifold systems will also include Baker Hughes’ field proven vertical mechanical clamp connection system which increases installation efficiencies.

In addition to the manifold systems, Baker Hughes will provide 32 modular, structured, subsea control modules (called Modpods) which are powered by SemStar5 technology, manufactured in the company’s Nailsea facility in Bristol, UK. The modules have extensive field deployment history with a mean time between failures of more than 150 years.

Neil Saunders, Executive Vice President of Oilfield Equipment at Baker Hughes, commented, “This order is an important example of how Subsea Connect is bringing structured technology to improve execution certainty. We are able to deliver world-class subsea solutions with a breadth of expertise and skills to bring flexibility, scalability and versatility to complex projects. We are proud to partner with Petrobras on the revitalisation of Marlim and Voador and offer our latest subsea technologies for Brazil.”

The contract will include a global team of experts delivering the subsea production and injection manifold systems, subsea control modules, subsea connection systems and field installation support. The manifold systems will be fabricated, tested and assembled in Baker Hughes’ Centre of Excellence facility in Jandira, Brazil.

Adyr Tourinho, Vice President of Brazil and Oilfield Equipment for Latin America at Baker Hughes, said, “This contract is a culmination of our multi-year engagement with Petrobras and builds on our history supplying subsea production systems to deepwater projects in Brazil. Our lightweight, compact technology is engineered to combat the most demanding conditions found in today’s deepwater environments.”

A bright future ahead

Baker Hughes’ recent Q1 2021 results show that the company had faced a challenging year, suffering year on year declines in areas such as orders and revenue. However this is a squeeze being felt unanimously across the energy industry and Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes, noted that he envisioned a bright future for the company, which will no doubt be aided by the recent agreements with Petrobras and other major players such as Saudi Aramco.

Simonelli commented, “We are pleased with our first quarter results as we generated strong free cash flow, continued to drive forward our cost-out efforts, and took further meaningful steps in the execution of our strategy. During the quarter, TPS delivered solid orders and operating income while OFS continued to execute cost-out programmes to help drive another strong quarter of margin performance. We also advanced our position in the energy transition, investing in strategic areas for growth and entering important partnerships to advance new energy frontiers including hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.”

“As we look ahead to the rest of 2021, we remain cautiously optimistic that the global economy and oil demand will recover from the impact of the global pandemic. We expect spending and activity levels to gain momentum through the year as the macro environment improves, likely setting up the industry for stronger growth in 2022.”

• Region: Latin America
• Date: Apr, 2021

Karoon Energy Ltd has contracted the Maersk Developer rig, operated by Maersk Drilling, for the 2022 Baúna workover campaign with the option to retain the rig for the potential development of the Patola field, located adjacent to Baúna within the BMS-40 Production Licence, and drilling of a control well on the nearby Neon light oil discovery.

The rig, currently located in the Caribbean, will mobilise to Baúna following the completion of its present drilling programme and is expected to arrive in Brazil in the first half of 2022. The value of the contract is approximately US$34mn, including rig modifications and a mobilisation fee.

Baúna

For the Baúna well workover campaign, the rig will target an increase in production of 5-10kbopd by replacing the downhole pumps in two wells, installing a gas lift in one well and re-opening an oil zone in one final well.

Patola

The development of the Patola Field, which is located adjacent to the Baúna Field, involves the drilling and completion of two vertical wells which would be tied back to the Baúna floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Cidade de Itajaí. This development has the potential to produce more than 10kbopd and add incremental reserves to the Baúna asset. A final investment decision on Patola is expected to be taken in Q2 2021.

Neon

Karoon also holds the option to extend its contract with Maersk Drilling to drill a control well on the Neon light oil discovery, located approximately 60km North-East of Baúna. Subsurface and engineering studies are currently underway to assess whether this is a viable option.

Maersk Drilling in demand

Karoon Energy’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Julian Fowles, commented, “We are delighted to have signed this contract with Maersk Drilling, a global leader in offshore drilling, with one of the youngest and most advanced rig fleets in the industry. The contract marks another significant milestone in the evolution of Karoon into a substantial production and development company with material near term growth potential.”

“The arrival of the Maersk Developer rig will enable Karoon to implement a workover programme at Baúna, which is expected to add materially to our production, and is an important step in getting to a final investment decision (FID) for the Patola Development. Karoon also retains flexibility under the contracts with Maersk Drilling to drill the Neon control well.”

“The Karoon team looks forward to working closely with Maersk Drilling to deliver the Baúna workover campaign safely and efficiently. The programme is expected to commence in the first half of 2022 and, subject to FID, activities on the potential Patola development would follow immediately after the workover campaign is complete,” concluded Fowles.

It appears that the services of Maersk Drilling are in high demand with the company receiving a number of high-profile contracts including an exploration contract for Aker BP offshore Norway, a similar contract offshore Gabon awarded by PC Gabon Upstream, and an agreement for a long term drilling campaign offshore Ghana with Tullow Oil. 

• Region: All
• Date: Apr, 2021

Ashtead Technology, an integrated subsea technology and services provider, has penned a deal with Zetechtics, a leader in subsea control systems for ROV tooling intervention, to offer customers a range of new ROV tooling technologies.

The deal gives both organisations the scope to add further specialist equipment based on demand and will allow Ashtead Technology’s nine customer service hubs to offer an array of torque tools, control systems and associated peripherals from the subsea control systems specialist.

Ashtead Technology noted this was part of their strategy to continually develop and expand their capability to meet the diverse needs of their customers around the world, who operate in all areas of the global energy industry.

David Mair, Business Development Director for Ashtead Technology commented, “These new technologies offer improved performance, reliability and efficiency, as well as a greater level of user-friendliness. Zetechtics has 27 years of experience for us to draw on and this collaboration is set to add undeniable value to our customer’s operations.”

Alan Duncan, Commercial Director of Zetechtics, added, “Customers prefer to use modern, easily-supported equipment, with the type of technical features they would have access to if buying new. We are excited to collaborate with Ashtead Technology and by introducing a wide range of new equipment to the market in this way will enable their customers to unlock the potential of our market-leading solutions.”

• Region: Latin America
• Date: Mar, 2021

Equinor, together with license partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil and Petrobras, have approved the development concept for BM-C-33, a gas/condensate field located in the Campos Basin pre-salt in Brazil.

“BM-C-33 is a key project in our portfolio and concept select is an important milestone in our effort to mature the project. It is important to further optimise and improve the project business case to make it more robust for the future market,” said Geir Tungesvik, Senior Vice President for Projects at Equinor.

The well streams will be sent to a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) located at the field, which will process both gas and oil/condensate to sales specifications and then exported. Crude will be offloaded by shuttle tankers and shipped to the international market after ship-to-ship transfer. A new-build hull has been selected to accommodate for 30 years lifetime of the field.

The gas export solution is based on an integrated offshore gas pipeline from the FPSO to a new dedicated onshore gas receiving facility inside the Petrobras TECAB site at Cabiúnas, before connecting to the domestic gas transmission network.

"BM-C-33 holds substantial volumes of gas. A completion of the ongoing liberalisation of the natural gas market in Brazil in line with the current plan, is key for the further development of the project. BM-C-33 is an asset that can generate value for the society, both through the creation of direct and indirect jobs, ripple effects, and through a gas supply that can induce industrial growth, as has happened in other countries,” commented Veronica Coelho, Equinor’s Country Manager in Brazil.

Gas export capacity is planned for 16mn cu/m per day with average exports expected to be 14mn cu/m per day, which represents a significant volume based on current Brazilian gas demand. Daily oil processing capacity is of 20,000 cu/m.

The concept select is a conclusion of a technical and commercial assessment of various developing concepts and landfalls. The chosen concept provides the most robust solution to develop the BM- C-33 project and gas value chain.

Details on project timeline towards next decision gates and start of production are still to be concluded.

• Region: Latin America
• Date: Feb, 2021

SBM Offshore has announced that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) together with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a 26 year and three month lease (as of the final acceptance of the unit in 2024) and operate contract for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Almirante Tamandaré, to be deployed at the Búzios field in the Santos Basin pre-salt area approximately 180km offshore Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Under the contract, SBM Offshore will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and operation of the FPSO. SBM Offshore will design and construct the vessel using its Fast4Ward programme as it incorporates the company’s new build, multi-purpose floater (MPF) hull combined with several standardised topsides modules.

The Almirante Tamandaré

The FPSO vessel will be the largest oil producing unit operating offshore Brazil and one of the largest in the world, with a processing capacity of 225,000bbl and 12mn cu m of gas per day. Furthermore, the FPSO will have a water injection capacity of 250,000bbl per day and a minimum storage capacity of 1.4mnbbl. For the project, it is estimated that 15 wells will be connected to the FPSO including 6 oil producers, 6 water and gas injectors, 1 gas injector and 2 convertible wells through a subsea infrastructure composed of rigid production and injection pipelines and flexible service pipelines.

Bruno Chabas, Chief Executive Officer of SBM Offshore, commented, “SBM Offshore is proud to announce that Petrobras has awarded the Company the LOI for the 6th FPSO development in the world class Búzios field in Brazil. This award for one of the largest production units in the world demonstrates the trust placed in our ability to reliably deliver large-scale FPSOs and the agreement again confirms the significant value we bring to our clients with our industry leading Fast4Ward programme. SBM Offshore teams look forward to starting the execution phase in order to continue to deliver value to one of our key clients Petrobras.”

Petrobras’ strategy refocused

This agreement has finally arrived after a number of tentative reports last year and follows Petrobras’ new strategy of portfolio optimisation to concentrate its resources on world-class assets in deep and ultra-deep water. To emphasise this policy, the company has also announced the sale of its stake in nine onshore exploration and production fields, called the Miranga Cluster in the state of Bahia, to SPE Miranga S.A., for US$220.1mn. The sale and the FPSO contract is a clear signal of intent from Petrobras and it would be unsurprising if similar activities were announced in the near future as the company seeks to establish itself more rigidly as an offshore oil and gas producer.

• Region: Latin America
• Date: Feb, 2021

Wärtsilä has revealed that in December 2020 it signed five year Optimised Maintenance agreement for two offshore well intervention vessels owned by Siem Offshore. Under the agreement Wärtsilä will provide real-time monitoring and support, using the latest digital technology, to reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of two well intervention vessels (the Siem Helix 1 and the Siem Helix 2) operating in Brazil’s offshore oil fields. The agreement also covers the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions-abatement systems installed with the engines.

Wärtsilä will supply its Expert Insight predictive maintenance solution for use on the two vessels, an innovative service that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems and enable rapid reaction. Also included is Wärtsilä’s Date Driven Maintenance concept which will enable the ship’s crew to conduct condition inspections using borescope optical instruments. These images can then be sent to Wärtsilä’s technical experts for evaluation, and in most cases will lengthen the time required between engine overhauls.

Finally, Wärtsilä will provide the vessels with the Lloyd class-approved connectivity solution with enhanced cyber security - an enabler for onshore digital tools providing cloud based services such as remote monitoring, remote optimisation and support.

Henrik Wilhelms, Director of Agreement Sales at Wärtsilä Marine Power, commented, “Lifecycle support is a key element of our strategy, and our advanced digital and data-based maintenance solutions are central to enabling optimal operational performance. The benefit of being able to efficiently monitor the equipment and support customers remotely is enhanced even more today, since due to Corona-related travel restrictions, in-person visits by service engineers can be difficult to arrange. Since our engineers need to travel less, their carbon footprint is reduced, while at the same time we can optimise the performance of the asset, so it is really a double win.”

Full steam ahead in 2021

Presently, Wärtsilä’s is enjoying a spell in the sun as services are in high demand. So far, in February alone, the company has also revealed agreements to provide Western Pacific Marine Ltd with the advanced hybrid solution for the new Ro-Ro ferry; to supply Norwegian based Solvang with digital Operational Performance Improvement & Monitoring (OPERIM) solution to support the operational efficiency of its fleet; to equip new under construction Isle of Man ferry with a range of comprehensive solutions; and sealed a strategic partnership with SAACKE, to strengthen the companies’ ability to offer a comprehensive range of leading technology solutions to shipyards and ship owners. While in their 2020 annual report Wärtsilä may have reported a contraction in financial performance, it appears they are full steam ahead to reconcile this lost ground in 2021.

• Region: All
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: Feb, 2021

A pioneering design for a Floating Normally Unattended Installation (NUI), that has the potential to unlock smaller and deepwater oil and gas reservoirs, is one step closer to commercialisation following an announcement of a collaboration agreement between the engineering consultancy behind the design, Buoyant Production Technologies (BPT), and Subsea 7, a subsea engineering, construction and services company.

The BPT Floating NUI

BPT’s patented proprietary design is a compact single column offshore facility, designed and equipped specifically for unmanned operations. The unit’s low OPEX and low CAPEX deliver optimised lifecycle costs to offshore developments.

With increasing focus on the environmental impact of oil and gas projects, as well as uncertainty surrounding commodity prices, Floating NUIs can offer a robust development solution for a wide range of future projects. BPT has developed Floating NUI into several configurations:

-Utility buoys powered using renewable sources, that can replace subsea umbilicals for well control and management
-Normally unattended production units
-Offshore substation units for use in offshore wind farms and for power import/export to oil and gas infrastructure

Central to the patented design, which is scalable for different field requirements, are several features:

-Slender “hull” structure and integrated (buoyant) “deck box”
-Open deck for topside process equipment and personnel access
-Deck box housing power generation and utilities
-Minimal motions, enabling deployment in harsh environments
-Minimal offshore installation cost

The Floating NUI series includes:

-Production Buoy: A standalone production facility for smaller deep-water developments
-Power & Control Buoy: Providing well-site services to enable subsea developments such as long-range /complex gas and oil tiebacks
-Floating substation: Supporting offshore substations for use on offshore wind developments and power import/export applications

The NUI conecept was developed and tested with multiple industry partners including the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, Premier Oil, Total E&P UK, Lloyds Register, Siemens, Wärtsilä, Ampelmann and BW Offshore.

The Subsea 7 and BPT collaboration agreement

BPT will bring their proprietary Floating NUI designs, configured for a range of offshore developments while Subsea 7 will provide field development and delivery expertise, supporting the integration of Floating NUIs into offshore energy developments and the engineering, construction, procurement, and installation phases of the project.

Duncan Peace, Managing Director at Buoyant Production Technologies, said, “By entering into this collaboration agreement with Subsea 7, we have developed a robust delivery model for Floating NUI projects, which we believe will enable us to successfully deliver projects to our global customer base.”

Thomas Sunde, Vice President Strategy at Subsea 7 added: “We believe BPT’s Floating NUI technology is well placed to help us support clients to improve lifecycle development economics of their offshore energy projects. By working together, we believe both parties will be able to better support our clients’ ambitions.”

For BPT, a wholly owned subsidiary that was formed in 2018, this announcement is a step along their journey to create novel designs to reduce HSSE risks and minimise lifecycle costs with a clear route to the market for the Floating NUI now established.

• Region: All
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Jan, 2021

Following on from the OWI Global Awards hosted at the end of 2020, Rob Potter, Strategy Director at Genoa Black, and Claire Kinloch, CEO of Genoa Black, caught up with some of the winners as they hosted the webinar entitled ‘Turning 2020 lessons and achievements into 2021 opportunities’.

2020 blockers to agility

Potter began the webinar by asking what the key blockers were to agility in 2020, and how the panellists had each worked around this in their respective company. David Carr, Senior VP of International Business at Helix Energy Solutions, noted that the biggest challenges his company faced primarily revolved around travel restrictions and the migration to online working . However, Carr was quick to note the positives, outlining that actually the biggest effect of these was the acceleration of trends that had already been building within the industry. At Helix, Carr had noticed an increased efficiency and agility from working from home (suggesting they had actually signed more contracts than previous years) and that the switch to online had levelled the playing field when it came to operator to service company negotiations as the tradition of travelling to their office had been shattered. Carr said, “No one is doubting that it was a terrible year but there was an acceleration of a lot of the changes we were expecting to see and needing to see that perhaps would not have happened otherwise”.

Echoing Carr’s sentiments on the levelled playing field, Daniele Petrone, Life of Field Solutions Manager at OneSubsea, also pointed to his company’s budgets and plans, which were suddenly thrown awry last March. The manager suggested that suddenly there was a dramatic need to be extremely flexible, adaptable and patient to work around the fluctuating circumstances. As well as thanking his customers for their continued understanding throughout the pandemic, he highlighted the heroic effort of his staff, some of whom had remained mobilised offshore for more than a year without coming home. For Petrone, 2020 had revealed the importance of collaboration, both within the company and at an industrial level, as key to success.

Positive initiatives from 2020

Kinloch introduced the next question, enquiring what the best initiatives put into place in 2020 were and how these can be taken forward and replicated. For Andy Myers, Subsea Director of Oil Spill Response Limited, the most important steps taken in 2020 for his company were all around digitalisation. For a response company, it was paramount to demonstrate that they had the capabilities to respond as quickly as possible, even in the disrupted circumstances, and this prompted a real look into the digital tools that could offer optimal performance, prioritising fast communication above all. Through developments such as a dashboard on their website and investments into user interfaces the company sought to enhance interactions with their clients and ensure people were fully aware how they could respond to any incident. Myers commented, “A lot of this stuff was a reaction but will continue as there is a lot of positives to be taken from them. A lot of the tools will be maintained because they are cost-effective”

Carr admitted that the majority of the initiatives that came to fruition last year for his company, such as the decision to move some business to offshore renewables, were actually started prior to the pandemic, but they paid dividends and meant that much of their business was still utilised. The VP did however pick out that COVID brought into sharp focus the need to stay on top of the safety of his crews, and that it prompted a drive to monitor not only the physical health (with a new biological mindset) but also the mental health of employees.

Benefits of collaboration

For the third and final question, Potter asked what benefits were found in the increased collaboration that each panellist had witnessed within their company. In his line of work, Myers stated that no single company can provide a full oil spill response on their own, it is therefore more efficient and makes fiscal sense to work in collaboration with others, and this was a lesson that nearly all of the offshore industry had taken on board in 2020. He claimed that the shared experience of switching to online working, and the ease of communication that this has opened up, has made people far more open to collaboration than perhaps they have been in the past.

Petrone added to this as he said, “Collaboration has been key to any projects actually happening - even the operation for which we won the award wouldn’t have been possible without collaboration within our company and with our partner Helix. Some jobs would just simply not fly from an economic standpoint. That has been the key”.

Concluding the session, Kinloch identified that collaboration, which will open up companies to new ideas and pull in more diverse teams; digitalisation, which has given many companies the ability to reach more markets and re-balanced some of the relationships within the industry; and diversification, which can be used as a tool to cover all bases and give businesses the resilience to survive; were the key lessons to embrace and take into 2021. She said, “There has been an immense amount of change over the last 12 months. The biggest question moving forward is around managing this change and understanding what this has done to our culture, not just at an industry level but also how we operate within our own business. It is something that we will all have to catch up on and ask ourselves how can we use the pandemic now to our advantage”.