North America

Chevron U.S.A. (Chevron) has awarded Worley, a global provider of professional project and asset services in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, an engineering and procurement services contract to provide brownfield modification services for one of its deepwater production facilities located in the Ballymore oil and gas field, Gulf of Mexico.

Ballymore is a large oil and gas field drilled by Chevron in 2018. It is located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico, in water depth of 6,536 feet. Chevron is the operator and holds a 60% working interest in the prospect, with Total owning the remaining 40%.

Worley will provide engineering and design services for the integration and subsea tieback of the Ballymore oil and gas field, support both the subsea and topsides designs and will also provide procurement services for topsides.

The topsides services and project management will be executed by Worley’s US Gulf Coast team, with Intecsea executing the subsea portion of the project. Intecsea is part of Worley’s Advisian consulting business and is a world leader in subsea systems, offshore pipelines, floating systems and overall field development. Support will also be provided by Worley’s Global Integrated Delivery office in India.

Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley, commented, “As a global professional services company headquartered in Australia, we look forward to helping Chevron meet the world’s changing energy needs and continuing Worley’s longstanding global relationship with Chevron.”

Halliburton Company (Halliburton) will offer Optime Subsea’s (Optime) innovative technologies as a service across its global portfolio as part of a new strategic alliance.

As part of the agreement, Optime’s innovative Remotely Operated Controls System (ROCS) will be applied to Halliburton’s completion landing string services. The companies will also collaborate to offer intervention and workover control system services leveraging Optime’s Subsea Controls and Intervention Light System (SCILS) technology, a remote digital enabled system that compliments Halliburton’s subsea intervention expertise.

The alliance will facilitate umbilical-less operations and subsea controls for deepwater completions and interventions delivering increased operational efficiencies while minimising safety risk through a smaller offshore footprint.

Daniel Casale, Vice-President of Testing and Subsea at Halliburton, commented, “We are excited to work with Optime and leverage their technologies within our existing subsea completions and intervention solutions. Our alliance advances remote capabilities and provides a capital efficient solution, allowing customers to reduce safety risk, operational footprint, setup and run-time.”

Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea, added, “We believe that strong mutual alliances across the vertical supply chain drives continuous improvements needed in our industry. By solidifying this relationship with Halliburton and combining their well-established, reputable service and technology capabilities with Optime’s innovative controls and intervention technology, more customers will have access to these cost-efficient subsea solutions.”

Another step forward for Subsea Optime

The collaboration with Halliburton marks another step in Optime’s short but impressive history, since its foundation in 2015, as an integrated system and service provider with the capability to optimise well interventions and completion operations. Recently the ROCS, perhaps their most successful offering, proved its worth when it was deployed during a completions operation for a production well for Aker BP on the Ærfugl-field on the Norwegian Contintental Shelf in late February. The operation was a success and optimised operations with noticeable reductions in HSE risks and overall cost. Now the ROCS (and the rest of Optime’s offerings) has the opportunity to perform on the global stage, and this partnership with Halliburton will help the company expose its services to a wider customer base.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (Helix) has announced that it has entered into a new agreement for response resources with HWCG LLC which was closely followed by Helix Robotics Solutions (HRS), a division of Helix, awarding Maritime Developments Ltd (MDL) a two-year frame agreement for project engineering services and equipment supply.

HWCG LLC

HWCG’s members, under the new agreement with Helix, will be given the opportunity to identify the Helix Fast Response System as a response resource in permit applications to U.S. federal and state agencies, and to deploy the Helix Fast Response System to respond to a well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The Helix Fast Response System consists of the Helix Producer I floating production unit, Q4000 or Q5000 vessels, subsea intervention systems, crude transfer systems and other well control equipment.

Under the terms of the agreement, HWCG will pay Helix an annual retention fee and HWCG’s members will receive a credit against this fee for every day that a member utilises the Q4000 or Q5000.

Owen Kratz, CEO of Helix, commented, “We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with HWCG, and are proud to stand on call as a first responder in the Gulf of Mexico. Helix’s industry expertise in offshore well intervention and well control is second to none, and we feel this agreement demonstrates the parties’ commitment to the continued safe planning, operation and execution of offshore oil and gas production. We embrace our role as a provider of sustainable solutions, are proud to offer the Helix Fast Response System to help mitigate and remediate the environmental risks associated with offshore drilling and production operations.”

Adding to this, HWCG’s Managing Director, Craig T. Castille said, “HWCG and its membership are pleased to have Helix continue as a business partner and core contractor for its source control and containment response in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.”

The agreement replaces the parties’ prior agreement and is effective April 1, 2021 for an initial two-year term.

Maritime Developments Limited

Closely following this, Helix Robotics Solutions, announced that it has awarded MDL a two-year frame agreement covering the provision of MDL Project Management and Engineering services, as well as personnel and equipment, to optimise HRS’ offshore campaigns.

HRS will now be able to draw on MDL’s in-house expertise for storyboard development, visualisations and procedures/task plans for offshore execution, deck layout optimisation, sea-fastening design and verification, drawings and calculation packages and crane lift requirement assessments.

For the project execution phase, HRS will also have access to MDL’s expert personnel and market-leading rental fleet and look to optimise the costs and timescales in mob/demob stages with MDL’s portable technology.
MDL will also provide field engineering support to act as the interface between vessel management team, end client and pipelay equipment spread during mobilisation, offshore execution and demobilisation.

For bespoke projects, MDL has offered its 21-year track record in mechanical handling design and manufacture, to deliver newbuild solutions, as well as equipment maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

Oceaneering International (Oceaneering) has announced that its Subsea Robotics (SSR) and Offshore Projects Group (OPG) have been awarded an integrated rig services contract for covering the Khaleesi/Mormont and Samurai fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

The work scope includes the provision of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with collocated ROV tooling and technicians, remote positioning and metrology survey resources, and installation and workover control system (IWOCS) equipment and technicians. Work is scheduled to begin in early 2021 and carry into 2022.

Earl Childress, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Oceaneering, commented, “The operator’s decision to contract our robotics and IWOCS services is a positive and anticipated response to our realigned segments, which allows us to deliver the integrated processes and products that enable consistent and efficient work scopes.”

Expanding operations in Khaleesi/Mormont and Samurai

This announcement closely follows a connector supply contract, awarded by TechnipFMC at the end of 2020, to provide 2-inch M5 connectors and chemical throttle valves (CTV) for the tieback project in the same fields.

The M5 connector provides an easy-to-install, fly-to-place connection solution that enables injection of gas or chemicals into subsea infrastructure and serves as an access point for future subsea field intervention activities such as gas lift, chemical injection, well stimulation, hydrate remediation, flooding and venting operations, acid injection and scale squeeze.

Oceaneering rotator CTVs regulate the flow of chemicals (such as scale, wax, and corrosion inhibitors) delivered to subsea production systems. Their functions are diverse, from flow control to metering and highly accurate dosing. CTVs effectively eliminate the need for topside injection and dedicated umbilical lines.

3D at Depth, a company expert in commercial Subsea LiDAR (SL) laser technology has announced the launch of its Geophysical Survey Services division to provide optimised surveys to support both nearshore, inshore and offshore deepwater development activities.

The company has focuses on 3D data excellence through innovative technology solutions that enable cost savings across any survey initiative without sacrificing data quality. The new division is supported by a team of experienced LiDAR experts, 3D data specialists, geophysical, and hydrographic professionals providing a multi-disciplined approach to guide, identify and analyse data acquisition initiatives across survey campaigns.

3D at Depth’s offerings

The Geophysical Survey Services division will leverage 3D at Depth’s in-house electronics, system integration, and design capabilities as key differentiators. Subsea LiDAR 3D data sets will be merged with multibeam echosounder (MBES) multi-frequency, multi-spectral data acquisition and optical technologies which will enable more robust, higher quality output, maximising results for the end client. Deepwater offshore, inshore, and nearshore projects will also have a clear advantage with 3D at Depth’s integrated autonomous or tethered underwater vehicle and vessel mounted survey solution.

The fully integrated solution incorporates a hovering supervised autonomous AUV/ ROV package and takes full advantage of 3D at Depth’s Subsea LiDAR (SL) laser with remote sensing technology - inertial navigation coupled with a multibeam echosounder and pipeline and hydrocarbon leak detection sensors.

The application of 3D at Depth’s disruptive technology approach will enable it to expand into Geophysical survey services and is built around solving customer challenges in three areas: reducing environmental and human risks, lowering the project's overall carbon footprint, and providing more robust data acquisition solutions. Specifically, the technology was developed from best practices in deep water survey campaigns to tackle the challenges of shallow water survey data collection and acquisition projects. Shallow water projects have exposure to lengthy weather events; crew and ship standby costs, sea-state challenges for collection, etc. All of which impact the time, budget, and quality of the data.

Neil Manning, Chief Operating Officer of 3D at Depth, commented, “We pulled from our deep-water technology portfolio to fast-track a solution that meets the current requirements of the shallow water survey market. With over 600 offshore projects behind us and an increasing backlog, I am excited to push the flexible vehicle systems and in-house patented technology into the geophysical market. By moving the budget needle in the right direction for our customers' survey projects, we assist the offshore energy market in obtaining quality data for a reasonable price.”

3D at Depth’s geophysical survey services recently completed a major project for post-hurricane NTL surveys in the Gulf of Mexico for a large U.S. based pipeline company. The project continues with expanded requirements. 3D at Depth will partner and act as the prime contractor to ensure best practices, and unsurpassed technical expertise is always on hand. Geophysical and geotechnical capabilities for the projects will be available from vessel mounted or subsea vehicle-mounted methods to allow for both long and close-range inspections which enable a blend of efficient data collection and high data quality to meet and exceed the demands from the end-users.

Logan Industries, a hydraulic repair, manufacturing and rental company, has manufactured and delivered the second set of a new and innovative design of small-footprint coiled tubing (CT) reelers.

The new CT reelers, the largest reeler Logan has manufactured, are suitable for storing and deploying 10,000ft of 2 3/8in tubing and enable operators to perform open water well interventions without bringing in a full drilling rig; boosting efficiency and reducing costs.

Dean Carey, Technical Director at Logan Industries, said, “One of our most valued customers trusted our expertise to deliver them with a unique solution when nothing on the market met their needs. Our new CT reelers are truly innovative designs and game changers for the offshore intervention market because they feature such a small footprint. This enables customers to take on more well stimulant fluid load, meaning they can perform a bigger job for longer. Logan has become the industry leader and the preferred option in CT deployment for open water intervention service providers.”

Logan pioneered new ways of assembling drive systems on large drums, and new methods of ensuring the CT lays and stays on the drum and wraps. Prior to Logan’s development of this solution, no fatigue models existed for CT performance. Since Logan’s development of these types of reelers, distinguished professors have investigated new methods of evaluating CT and have published their findings. Now, Logan’s CT reelers are specified in several of these papers and Logan has helped introduce a new requirement for CT fatigue evaluation. 

Logan maintain the mantra, ‘if you can describe it, we can bring it to life; make it safe; and make it work for you’ and the CT reeler set is the latest from their extensive catalogue (alongside products such as winches, hydraulic machinery, spools and handling equipment) that aims to prove it.

According to a recent PwC survey 90% of upstream companies have begun investing in digital initiatives and research by McKinsey suggests that 70% consider digital operations at the top of their operations strategy agenda. LTI and Offshore Network hosted a webinar entitled ‘Simplifying the Journey to Industry 4.0 through "Connected X as a Service”’, as Kartik Raman Iyer Head of Delivery of Indusrial IoT at LTI, and Frode Støldal, Chief Digital Officer at Tampnet, discussed the benefits of digitalisation that the upstream oil and gas industry has begun to recognise and identified connectivity as crucial step along this journey.

Connectivity as the key

Raman began by outlining that with new advances in technology the potential to transform and optimise business within the upstream oil and gas industry is enormous and one fundamental enabling factor has been the advancements made in communication technology.

Raman commented, “If you look at the oil and gas vertical, especially with operations whether onshore or offshore, connectivity has been a challenge all along. But with advancements in connectivity there lots of possibilities opening up in terms of digital interventions. All these used cases and innovations help bring in operational efficiency and also bring in efficiency from a workforce standpoint. This helps in accelerating the entire digital transformation journey. In terms of technology trends connectivity is the backbone but beyond that you have AI, automation and analytics as well.”

Due to demand fluctuation, a current industry dynamic as a result of the pandemic, operators are increasingly seeking to strike the correct balance between production and demand, making visibility and quick action vital.

Raman continued, “Organisations need to be agile, nimble and flexible to really adapt to the changing market dynamics. Providing real time visibility of an entire operation allows necessary interventions based on insights you are getting in real time. Because of the advancement on the connectivity side there are lots of used cases emerging around convergence as well because now you have access to the right working data on the enterprise side and analytics is possible. Many of these insights you are getting will help you take decisions very fast.”

Tampnet Infrastructure

For Tampnet, connectivity is everything, and Støldal outlined his company’s role as planners, builders and operators of fiber that connects offshore assets. They have also now implemented mobile infrastructure that can extend around 50-60 km from each asset, which allows complete coverage of the entire value chain and enables faster communication along it.

He commented, “Latency is core of what we do at Tampnet, one of the reasons for this is we also have a carrier business where some of the most advanced customers in financial industry are customers of Tampnet. If you are doing trading you are obsessed with latency. So we try and assign the entire infrastructure to minimise latency.”

Støldal added that the company also provides services to introduce complete coverage over the whole of an asset, regardless of size and complexity, so that there is a connection between different use cases, be them sensors, tablets or service containers. Together with DNV GL, Tampnet conducted a complete quality assurance test of the infrastructure at a Dutch site. Støldal said, “Feedback was very very good. The survey concluded that there was less safety exposure, no helicopter flight needed, no real travel needed, no offshore presence of a surveyor needed, smaller environmental footprint, efficient time and cost, and kept company assets compliant, safe and reliable. For business cases the improvements are quite significant.”

Connected X as a Service

For a quick, simple and cost effective way to make the most of new connectivity technology and embark on the journey to Industry 4.0 Støldal and Raman recommended the Connect X as a Service. This has been developed to evaluate the range of new digital technologies on the market, provide comprehensive a assessment to identify where digital advancements can be made, and guide and maintain businesses along the path to digitalisation. To listen to the webinar recording exploring this service in more detail, click here.

Corvus Energy has received an order from Wärtsilä for four Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for the offshore support vessel fleet operated by Harvey Gulf.

Wärtsilä will integrate the battery-based ESSs, each with a capacity of 745kWh, into their LNG-fueled hybrid-electric propulsion system. The ESS and Wärtsilä Energy Management System (EMS) will allow the vessels to operate in dynamic position mode on a single engine augmented by battery power, to operate more efficiently in transit and other operational modes, and to operate on battery-power only when stationary.

Harvey Gulf CEO, Shane Guidry, commented, “This fleet of vessels will be crucial in assisting our clients’ efforts to achieve net carbon zero, and we will continue to listen to them and invest in technology that will assist with their goals.”

Its robust design, high C-rate and proven performance makes Corvus Energy’s Orcas Energy ESS the ideal fit for the critical role it serves meeting demanding load profiles on the offshore platform supply vessels.

“We are very proud and pleased to be selected again by Harvey Gulf and Wärtsilä,” said Sveinung Odegard, Vice President Sales North America and President of Corvus Energy, USA. “Our technology, understanding of customer needs and commitments towards lifecycle support is again being acknowledged by receiving this order. We look forward to continuing serve the integrator and vessel owner in the years to come.”

The four LNG-battery hybrid vessels will be fitted with the 1100VDC – 745kWh ESSs in 2021 and are expected to go into service in early 2022.

With the energy industry suffering a shock in 2020, many sectors are still reeling and full economic recovery looks a long way off. However, last year revealed an increasing emphasis on clean energy, with governments, industry and investors doubling down on their commitments to curb climate change. In such times optimising energy efficiency and reducing emissions is paramount and currently more than 50% of the world’s hybrid and zero-emission vessels are equipped with Corvus ESSs.