Helix Energy Solutions Group will continue to provide well intervention services in the US Gulf of Mexico for Shell starting this year as part of a new multi-year contract.
Ranging throughout the well life cycle to plug and abandonment, the contract will cover integrated project management and engineering services including production enhancement.
The contract ensures services for an increased minimum number of days annually, including the availability of the Q5000 riser-based well intervention vessel, Intervention Riser Systems (IRSs), and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
Equipment from Subsea Services Alliance, a venture by SLB and Helix, will also be deployed for operations.
Scotty Sparks, Helix’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said, “We are pleased to announce that Helix has successfully executed a long-term contract with Shell, a valued customer we have safely worked with on numerous projects around the world and with whom we look forward to continuing our excellent relationship. The contract is reflective of improving market conditions and increased demand for Helix’s assets and services, as we continue executing on our strategy by providing best-in-class and global leading well intervention services.”
Case studies highlighted in the Offshore Energies UK Offshore Decommissioning Report 2024 have highlighted the importance of offshore engineering and preparatory work for safe and cost-effective outcomes in decommissioning projects.
OEUK cites AF Offshore Decom’s experiences with a bridge-linked flare stack, where extensive preparatory work, particularly from the platform complex, significantly reduced the time required for the heavy lift vessel (HLV) in the field. Additionally, by focusing the preparatory activities during the winter months, the team was able to optimise the use of the HLV for the summer, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
In another case highlighted in the report, extensive preparatory works facilitated a smooth and effective removal of a major platform. Comprehensive helicopter surveys and a thorough engineering phase were undertaken, minimising unexpected issues during the main offshore removal campaign. This was followed by an HLV campaign when a crew handled the topsides preparations along with smaller modular lifts. A second HLV campaign included a large integrated modularised steel frame lift and an efficient jacket lift. The structures were then transported onwards to AF's environmental base to be dismantled and recycled onshore.
The phased execution helped to mitigate risk and allowed for detailed engineering and interface management, which was an important part of the project.
Optimising offshore operations for decommissioning projects in this way can make a substantial contribution to keeping costs down. This is critical in the Gulf of Mexico, where operators face spiralling decommissioning costs. Findings from a recent study published in Nature Energy showed that there are around 14,000 unplugged oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico, with the process of plugging and decommissioning these wells estimated to cost around US$30bn.
Gulf of Mexico leads with 26 of the 56 case studies that have been conducted by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) before releasing a comprehensive benchmark on jacket decommissioning.
The benchmark has been calculated on the basis of the offshore execution cost that is proportional to the duration of offshore execution. Survey from companies such as AkerBP, bp, Chevron, Petrobras, and Repsol, to name a few, have backed the data that went into the making of the benchmark.
Starting from 2008 to 2023, the records include removed jacket weights that range from less than 250 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes, and jacket configurations from monopods to 8-legged jackets. For most cases, below 500-tonnes jackets have been removed by single lifts, while multiple lifts took less than five attempts. The removal of a single jacket usually takes up to 10 days.
The 56 jacket removals are predominantly multi-installation removals, with 40 occurrences. There were 13 cases of jacket and topside removals, while only three instances of standalone removals.
Chet Morrison Contractors, LLC (Morrison) was recently awarded the crucial pipeline decommissioning contract, which marked a pivotal step in addressing the longstanding issue of orphaned infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico.
With particular focus on eight pipelines in the Matagorda Island Area, the contract which was issued by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), will allow Morrison to conduct essential on-site pipeline decommissioning activities in the region.
Abandoned infrastructure often pose a threat to offshore safety and the environment. Decommissioning orphaned pipelines will therefore contribute to the long-term health of the Gulf ecosystem and open up areas for safer navigation and commercial activities.
“Morrison values its long-standing relationship with BSEE and appreciates their continued confidence in our team to deliver on this important decommissioning initiative,” said Chet Morrison, CEO and founder of Morrison. “BSEE recognises that Morrison is more than qualified to handle a scope of this magnitude. We will utilise our experienced people, our versatile fleet of barges and equipment, and the smart approach that we’ve become known for over the years.”
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is a leading federal agency appointed to improve safety and ensure environmental protection relating to the offshore energy industry. BSEE's regulations for the decommissioning of oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico are rooted in a combination of safety, environmental protection, and financial accountability. The regulatory framework is designed to ensure that operators properly manage the risks associated with the abandonment of wells and the removal of infrastructure. These regulations address several key aspects:
As a reflection of the energy transition, the offshore industry is ushering in a new age of optimisation to hit production targets rather than chasing after new discoveries.
Operators are hence increasingly looking at marginal fields or brownfield projects and collaborating with service providers to deploy the best digital advancements in the industry to boost production form these assets. The Director of Mature Assets Solutions at Baker Hughes, Guillaume Fauchille, notes that maximising production from existing assets have turned out to be cheaper than investing in new fields. The reason behind 70% of today's oil and gas production coming from mature fields is being attributed to faltering investment in greenfields, the Covid-19 hangover and geopolitical turmoil.
Baker Hughes has also found that as less as 1% boost of the recovery factor of mature assets can make a difference by unlocking access to two to three years of additional worldwide consumption.
As market experts predict around 4-6% growth of the global well intervention industry, most agree that this growth will be led by North America, a region that would be responsible for a large part of future expansion. Intervention activities in the Gulf of Mexico will be primarily driven by technological advancements such as automated systems, data analytics, and advanced downhole tools to name a few.
Of the latest examples from the region, Subsea7 will be installing of a production flowline and related subsea infrastructure as part of engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for production optimisation from Shell's Phase 3 Silvertip Development.
The National Subsea Centre (NSC) a centre for subsea research and technology development, has received a grant to develop a subsea decommissioning optimisation software demonstrator with PlanSea in a move which could make waves across the global offshore sector.
The scale of the decommissioning challenge facing the global offshore oil and gas sector remains a formidable one, to say the least. While there are certainly more instances of such operations being conducted, this is largely outweighed by the number of new wells coming online, an action that will ultimately only serve to increase the size of the decommissioning bill that must be paid. This invoice has already reached eye-watering proportions; as of June 2023, there was an estimated US$40-70bn cost accrued in the Gulf of Mexico alone. As a result, any efforts to simplify the decommissioning process and potentially reduce the decommissioning bill are a welcome sight to those who will ultimately have to foot it.
In receiving the new grant, NSC will work with PlanSea and utilise its expertise in offering world-leading marine logistics AI technology. The two have already collaborated for many years but will now deploy their technology and skills to address the needs of the subsea decommissioning sector.
Specifically, the two are developing a robust task-based formalisation of offshore decommissioning activities that will extend the benefits of PlanSea marine-logistics AI. Decision-makers will have the ability to stimulate with a high degree of accuracy the cause-effect relationship between different strategies and KPIs of interest.
“The AI demonstrator is aimed at addressing both standalone and collaborative campaign optimisation of current and future decommissioning,” remarked Jim Cargill, CEO of PlanSea. “Additionally, as in marine logistics, we offer a digitalised process for users whilst at the same time enhancing visibility of operational activity.”
The robust AI tool that will be produced has been fast-tracked for initial trials in Q2 2025.
James Njuguna, NSC Director of Research & Innovation, added, “Our centre is uniquely positioned to address the subsea industry’s most pressing challenges. Our in-depth knowledge of marine operations offers a great opportunity to collaborate with PlanSea to provide operators with substantial savings and reduce emissions. I am confident that this collaborative project will harness our research expertise and PlanSea’s cutting-edge industrial knowledge to deliver a pioneering solution for the energy transition.”
Amidst the tightening up of decommissioning regulations, and the substantial amount of infrastructure coming to the end of its operational life, the Rigs-to-Reef programme has emerged as an attractive option in the Gulf of Mexico in the face of spiralling decommissioning costs.
Over the course of their lives, oil and gas structures in the marine environment become a haven for marine life. The Rigs-to-Reef programme, operated by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) provides an alternative to the obligation to onshore disposal by converting retired platforms into permanently submerged ‘artificial reefs’. Such a method (achieved through tow-and-place, topple-in-place, or partial removal) allows operators to save an estimated quarter of the cost of a full service removal and is something of a trademark of the region, with around 600 platforms turned into reefs since conception in 1984. According to an article in the Scientific American, of the 15 structures decommissioned in the Gulf of Mexico in depths greater than 400 feet, 14 have been “reefed.”
According to the BSEE, the benefits of such an approach include saving fuel emissions that otherwise would be expended transporting and disposing of obsolete structures; enriching the marine life in the area, given the natural bottom of the Gulf of Mexico offers very little natural hard bottom and reef habitat; attracting recreational and commercial fishing and diving; and promoting biodiversity. A typical eight-leg structure provides a home for 12,000 to14,000 fish, according to a study by the Coastal Marine Institute, while a typical four-leg structure provides two to three acres of habitat for hundreds of marine species. For the oil and gas companies themselves, repurposing obsolete structures saves them the costs of removing, transporting, and disposing of them onshore. BSEE regulations require that, within one year of a lease's expiration, the obsolete structure must be removed.
All five Gulf of Mexico coastal states have approved artificial reef plans and have incorporated decommissioned platforms into their artificial reef programmes. Converting into reefs entails meeting strict criteria and requirements, such as the structure being sound, stable, clean, and overall beneficial to the environment, while protecting the Gulf of Mexico's natural resources. The operator is required to make a donation to the state, which goes towards the management of the state’s artificial reef programme. Once the operator has received approval, converts the structure to a permanent artificial reef and has complied with all permits and donation agreements, the title and liability for the structure is transferred from the operator to the state.
While there are examples of rig-to-reef approaches in other regions of the world and interest is growing, there are as yet no international standards governing the reefing of rigs, and the Gulf of Mexico has the most developed and regulated system. While some stress the benefits of the initiative, and the environmental damage that could be caused by complete removal of a rig with the potential destruction of a rich aquatic ecosystem, many are less convinced, and public perception is often not in favour. Many oppose any oil infrastructure being permitted to stay in the ocean given it could be seen to let oil and gas companies off the hook financially, arguing that operators should be required to return the area to its original state.
In a bid to boost production from the Perdido platform that is operational for the Phase 3 Silvertip Development in the US Gulf of Mexico, Shell has onboarded Subsea7 for extensive engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) work that will run 3,000 metres deep into the Alaminos Canyon.
Subsea7's services will also include the installation of a production flowline and related subsea infrastructure. The company is currently tackling the project management and engineering of this contract at their office in Houston, Texas.
"This new award strengthens our diverse portfolio of deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Shell," said Craig Broussard, Senior Vice President for Subsea7 Gulf of Mexico.
Owned by Shell (40%) – who is also the operator – and Chevron (60%), the wells within the Silvertip Frio reservoir can achieve a combined yield of nearly 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. A final investment decision has hence been reached to advance production optimisation across two wells that comprise the Phase 3 Silvertip project. The companies are aiming first production in 2026.
"This investment at Perdido is another example of our focus on high margin, lower carbon intensity barrels," said Rich Howe, Shell's Executive Vice President for Deep Water. "As the largest operator in the US Gulf of Mexico, we prioritize opportunities nearby our existing assets in these advantaged corridors, where we are well-positioned to develop shorter-cycle, high value tieback opportunities."
Expro, an energy services provider with capabilities spanning well construction, well flow management, subsea well access, and well intervention and integrity solutions, has won a significant contract for the provision of a well decommissioning solution.
The company has agreed to provide a surface fluid management package and its market-leading 7-3/8” large-bore subsea test tree assembly (SSTTA) with surface tree and controls, providing dual barrier and disconnect capability to facilitate re-entry into the subsea wells.
The contract is reportedly valued at more than US$10mn and will see Expro plug and abandon 52 wells – many of which the company had previously been in the construction of.
“Having been involved in the development phase for many of these fields, we have gained a life of well experience that will be invaluable for this P&A campaign,” said Iain Farley, Expro’s Regional Vice President for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. “Our expertise and know how will help deliver key technical and commercial benefits for the client across the project.”
In receiving the contract, Expro drew attention to its unrivalled portfolio of standard and bespoke subsea solutions. The company offers subsea well access systems that interface with any Christmas tree type and can operate in open water or within a drilling riser with blow-out preventer. Expro’s surface well test systems equally provide industry-leading solutions that can be configured to specific well conditions and customer requirements.
“The contract reinforces our reputation as the leading provider of subsea safety systems and surface well test equipment, including within the P&A sector,” Farley added. “It demonstrates our commitment to delivering best-in-class equipment, allied with the highest standards of safety and service quality that Expro is renowned for.”
Halliburton has introduced the Intelli suite of diagnostic well intervention wireline logging services.
Whether integrated or used individually, this suite of services help in production optimisation by ensuring customised and improved well insights, supporting asset life expansion, and operational costs reduction.
"As customers look to maximise production and improve the efficiency of their wells, our Intelli suite helps improve downhole insights in a highly customisable way. Because each job is unique, we wanted to develop a suite of products that could be used individually, or as an integrated solution, ultimately, delivering a better experience and result for our customers," said Chris Tevis, Vice President of Wireline and Perforating.
A complete diagnostic well intervention package, the suite consists of IntelliSat, IntelliFlow, IntelliGuard and IntelliScope.
The IntelliSat pulsed-neutron logging service provides reservoir insights either in open hole or after a well is completed. This service helps improve recovery with the detection of bypassed pay, and provides spectroscopy and KUTh measurements.
The IntelliFlow array production logging service is co-located with fluid ID and flow rate sensors to ensure high accuracy of production profiles, precision phase analysis, and dynamic flow information.
The IntelliGuard corrosion evaluation service is the next generation high-definition casing inspection technology, quantifing metal loss in up to seven concentric casings, and pinpointing damage without the need for costly well intervention.
The IntelliScope leak and flow diagnostic service identifies precise leak sources and flow paths vertically and radially behind pipe in a single, continuous pass.
In a press conference last week, the Government of Alberta has committed CAD$50mn to establish the Alberta Drilling Accelerator (ADA), Canada’s first test site dedicated to advancing drilling technologies for geothermal, lithium and carbon capture industries.
ADA will offer an open-access site for testing innovative technologies in high-temperature subsurface conditions across an array of rock formations. Eavor Technologies, Halliburton and Tourmaline Oil Corp are among the top companies expressing an interest in becoming anchor tenants for the project.
Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schulz, said, “We are increasing production, reducing emissions, all while meeting those rising demands for energy for years to come. This is thanks to our geology, expertise and highly skilled workforce of Albertans.”
Eavor CEO, John Redfern, affirmed Alberta’s drilling legacy, stating, “By establishing this technology incubator, we’re ensuring Alberta remains an international leader in geothermal innovation.”
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