Latest News

• Region: Australia
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: Aug, 2023

C-Kore Systems has announced the successful completion of a decommissioning campaign offshore Western Australia.  

The campaign was completed using C-Kore Sensor Monitor units to interrogate the wellhead pressure and temperature sensors on the oilfield. With their automated test routine, the Sensor Monitor units repeatedly tested and data-logged the information, allowing the operator to complete the campaign swiftly and safely.

Cynthia Pikaar, Sales & Marketing Manager for C-Kore, said, “It is fantastic to be working on this project in Australia. With an increasing number of orders for our Sensor Monitor tools, operators understand the value of our testing tools offer, automating and data-logging results. We look forward to working in Australia again on the next campaign.”

C-Kore Systems has a range of subsea testing tools used globally for decommissioning, fault-finding and new installation campaigns. The tools can be operated without the need for C-Kore personnel to be present, providing rapid feedback. The systems offer significant operational savings to testing campaign with the simple, accurate and reliable deployment. 

• Region: All
• Date: July, 2023

WSG has announced it has sold its well intervention division and will use the funds to lay the foundation for a period of international expansion for the rebranded WSG Energy Services (WSGES).

WSGES has diverted its traditional well intervention offerings and will now primarily focus on growing its market share in Process, Pipeline & Industrial Services (PPIS). The business will retain its global footprint with a strong presence in the UK, mainland Europe, Asia and Australia, with its next objective to establish a permanent position in the North American market to capitalise on the success of recent projects.

Proceeds of the well intervention division, which was sold to Excellence Logging (Exlog), a provider of oilfield services, will be used to fund further acquisitions and maintain R&D for refining the company’s emissions management processes and technologies, which are currently in high demand.

Founder Geert Prins will remain an integral part of WSGES’ C-suite as Chairman, while Andrew Burrell continues in the role of CEO.

“Under Geert Prins’ stewardship, WSG’s well intervention division evolved into a successful international well services provider to the energy sector and we are confident that business will thrive under its new ownership,” said Burrel.

“WSGES’ wide range of skills sets and our well established commitment to R&D opens up significant opportunities in energy transition, and we know there is industry-wide interest in our innovative emissions management capabilities, which is an area in which we will continue to invest.”

Chairman Geert Prins continued, “This is part of the natural evolution of the business I set up in 2005, and Phase Two of our success story is in the very capable hands of Andrew Burrell and a highly experienced international management team.”

“Diversification into alternative sectors and developing new products which address emissions management – something the energy sector is committed to – will drive future growth and we have some very exciting developments in the pipeline.”

• Region: All
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: July, 2023

Global well integrity specialist Coretrax is planning for future growth following a slew of recent project wins, with company headcounts rising by 20% to 300 people over the last year.

The business has expanded operational bases in the US, Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with further growth in the pipeline for the Asia Pacific region with the first senior appointments in Australia. The company expects to recruit a further 50 people this year to meet the demand of projects.

Coretrax has also supported carbon capture (CCS) and geothermal campaigns, seeing significant potential to bring its technological expertise to the lower carbon sector.

John Fraser, CEO of Coretrax, said, “We have experienced growth across our operations and are currently running live projects on 250 rigs in the Middle East, with support provided from our teams in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

“In the US, our unique expandable technology is being used to bring wells well on stream, delivering cost savings and efficiencies with international orders mounting up for this technology that can add value in one run.

“In the UK, the majority of our work is in wellbore clean up and plugging and abandonment as we help operators to safely decommission their assets.”

Coretrax continues to invest in research and developments, and currently bolsters more than 50 technologies across its four product lines. With a strong engineering focus, the company brings together a range of solutions into an integrated package to provide a full well lifecycle solution.

• Region: All
• Date: July, 2023

SLB, a global technology company, has released its Q2 2023 results revealing the part intervention and stimulation activities are playing in the business growth.

The company reported a revenue of US$8.1bn, representing a 20% increase year-on-year. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch commented, “I am very pleased with our second-quarter results, which reflect significant growth in the international markets, particularly in the Middle East & Asia, and offshore. North America revenue also grew sequentially benefiting from our agility across the most resilient basins and market segments, although the rig count in the area declined. As the upcycle continues to unfold, we are excited about the opportunities for our business, with international- and offshore-led growth fueling strong pretax segment operating margin expansion and cash flows as highlighted in this quarter’s results.

“Compared to the same period a year ago, international revenue grew 21%, outpacing North America which increased 14%. Year on year, revenue grew 20% and pretax segment operating margin expanded 240 basis points (bps), representing the tenth straight quarter that we have increased our pretax segment operating margin year on year. This was driven by the international markets, where we posted our highest year-on-year incremental margin in the last three years, demonstrating the earnings power of our operations in these markets.”

Breaking this down, the company noted that reservoir performance revenue grew 9% sequentially due, primarily, to increased intervention, stimulation and evaluation activity internationally. Profitability improved mainly due to higher activity and improved operating leverage across intervention and stimulation with new technology deployment contributing to margin expansion, particularly in Saudia Arabia, Qatar, Europe & Africa and Mexico.

The Middle East & Asia was a particularly strong-performing region for the company with a 10% increase sequentially driven by double-digit revenue growth in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, China and India. SLB attributed to higher drilling, intervention, stimulation and evaluation activity here, both on land and offshore. Saudi Arabia was a particular hotspot for higher stimulation and intervention activity. Reservoir Performance grew 23% year-on-year, primarily down to higher intervention and stimulation activity led by the Middle East & Asia.

The company also highlighted how it had experienced increased intervention and stimulation activity in Argentina which helped offset the lower revenue recorded in Mexico.

• Region: UK
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: July, 2023

Exergy International and Geothermal Engineering Ltd. (GEL) have signed a contract for the supply of a 3MWe gross capacity Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant in Cornwall.

The United Downs project represents the first integrated deep geothermal project in the UK, poised to produce 3MWe of baseload power and up to 10MWth of zero-carbon heat for the large housing development at Langarth Garden Village.

The turnkey EPC contract awarded to Exergy covers the design and engineering to the ORC system, the manufacturing of the equipment and the overall build of the power plant. As the system will be a closed loop cycle, the plant will not release any vapour into the atmosphere and will boast a small footprint with a minimal visual impact.

The system will be delivered over 18 months, with the commissioning process expected by late 2024. Once in operation, the installation is predicted to save more than 6,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Luca Pozzoni, General Manager of Exergy International, said, “We are excited to embark on this journey with GEL. The United Downs project will be a milestone in the development of the geothermal industry in the UK and will give us the valuable opportunity to contribute with our technology and expertise to kick-starting geothermal power generation in the country.”

CEO of GEL, Ryan Law, commented, “Geothermal heat is an untapped renewable resource with the potential to provide huge amounts of energy-efficient and carbon-free electricity and heat. Exergy is well known globally for their competence in the binary geothermal power sector and we are very pleased to be working with them on this landmark project in Cornwall.”

The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project will be home to the first deep geothermal power plant in the UK. Two directional wells have already successfully been drilled for purpose, with production well being measured to a depth of 5,275 m – the deepest onshore well in the UK – and the injection well to 2,939 m.

• Region: Asia Pacific
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: July, 2023

International well plug and abandonment specialists, Well-Safe Solutions, are expanding into the Asia Pacific region with the appointment of Massimo Delia as General Manager of the newly created Well-Safe Solutions Pty Ltd.

Based in Perth, Australia, Massimo joins the company with more than 20 years of subsea commercial and engineering experience.

Commenting on his appointment, Massimo said, “I have watched Well-Safe Solutions go from strength to strength in Europe, with the growth of its Subsurface and Well Engineering team capabilities and the mobilisation of all three well plug and abandonment assets for the first time in the company’s history being just some of the recent highlights.

“I am eager to play my part in the next chapter of the company’s growth and look forward to collaborating with my colleagues, clients and stakeholders in the UK and Australia.”

Phil Milton, Chief Executive Officer of Well-Safe Solutions, said, “Working in tandem with the wider Well-Safe Solutions team, Massimo will be instrumental in leveraging our capabilities and track record to partner with operations and stakeholders throughout Australia and Asia.

“We’re looking forward to undertaking offshore and onshore well decommissioning projects with the input of the highly experiences engineering sector and supply chain already present within the region.”

In the initial assessment of Australia’s offshore oil and gas decommissioning liabilities, the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) has identified more than US$50bn worth of work ahead ­– with well P&A and pipeline removal the majority of the estimated spend. This includes the abandonment of more than 1,000 offshore wells, in addition to a significant onshore market.

With more than 400 wells worldwide featuring Well-Safe Solutions’ engineering expertise and more than 70 wells either decommissioned or to be decommissioned by the business in the North Sea alone, the company is well-placed to deliver on its mission to provide safe, efficient and collaborative well plug and abandonment operations in the Asia Pacific region.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: July, 2023

Fervo Energy, one of the leaders in next-generation geothermal technology, has announced the successful completion of its well test at its full-scale commercial pilot project, Project Red, in Nevada.

The successful test confirmed the commercial viability of Fervo’s drilling technology and further established Project Red as one of the most productive enhanced geothermal systems (ESG) to date. The 30-day well test achieved a flow rate of 63 litres per second at high temperature, which enabled 3.5MW of electric production, setting new records for both flow and power output from an EGS.

Fervo is the first company to successfully drill a horizontal well pair for commercial geothermal production, achieving lateral lengths of 3,250 ft, and reaching temperatures of 191°C. Data collected through the course of this pilot prohject will enable rapid advancement in geothermal deployment, with Fervo’s next horizontal well pair planned to achieve more than double the power output of the pilot design.

Tim Latimer, Fervo Energy CEO and Co-Founder, said, “By applying drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we have proven that we can produce 24/7 carbon-free energy resources in new geographies across the world. The incredible results we share today are the product of many years of dedicated work and commitment from Fervo employees and industry partners, especially Google.”

Fervo and Google signed the world’s first corporate agreement in 2021 to develop next-generation geothermal power. The end goal for the partnership is to power Google’s Cloud region in Las Vegas with an ‘always-on’, carbon-free resource that will reduce the company’s hourly reliance on fossil fuels.

Results from Project Red indicate that geothermal energy could supply more than 20% of US power needs and compliment wind and solar in order to reach a fully decarbonised grid.  

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: July, 2023

Allseas has awarded Modern American Recycling Services Europe (MARS) with the contract for project management and engineering, receipt with load-in assistance, dismantling and disposal of EnQuest’s Heather Alpha topsides.

The contract was announced on MARS’ social media platforms, and will provide the chance for the company to participate in the decommissioning of the 13,000 t topsides.

As part of the project, EnQuest will make use of Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, a 48,000t offshore construction vessel that is designed for single-lift installation and removal of offshore platforms as well as the installation of record-weight pipelines. The ship has proven its ability to lift entire topsides of up to 48,000 t and jackets up to 20,000 t in a single piece.

The vessel will be used to remove the Heather topsides in a single lift operation. Preparations for the lift will begin next year, with the lift itself scheduled for 2025.

Following this work, in subsequent years, M.A.R.S. will recycle the platform in compliance with international, national and local rules and regulations.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: July, 2023

As operators are racing to keep their heads above water as the energy transition continues to grow in momentum, instability in energy security is adding fuel to the fire and putting Europe’s energy market in jeopardy. Following the turbulent oil market over the past three years and the sanctions issued against Russia, heads are beginning to turn to geothermal to meet the rising demand for heating systems across the continent.

Scaling geothermal heating sources in Europe could fundamentally provide not only a big stepping stone for meeting environmental targets, but also implement a more established level of energy security regionally. For the first time, policymakers are integrating geothermal movements into frameworks and governments across the continent are increasing funding for pilot projects.

The geothermal scene is hotting up, however, a number of challenges are still holding the industry back from reaching its full potential. High financial barriers appear too big to scale with the current resources available, with international players hesitant to invest in the European market. Collaboration between geothermal experts and the oil and gas community is key to bridging the gaps presented in the market and could be the key component to utilising geothermal energy to ensure energy security.

Read Offshore Network’s full report here to understand the current state of play within the European geothermal industry and hear from experts as they share their insights into how the market can receive the boost it needs to ensure regional environmental targets are met and that energy security is assured.

• Region: Australia
• Date: July, 2023

Relatively stable oil prices and a growing global oil demand is creating favourable dynamics for the oil and gas community in the near-future, however uncertainty is rife over how long this will last as the race to meet the Paris Agreement 2050 target intensifies.

While this is raising questions over further drilling activity offshore Australia, it is suggesting a promising future for the country’s well intervention market as operators seek to squeeze the last drops of oil out of existing assets and perform end-of-life work in preparation for the substantial decommissioning task ahead. At the same time, the offshore carbon capture and storage space is garnering significant interest and marks another tantalising frontier that is receiving Government backing.

Read Offshore Network’s full report to understand the background and nuances of Australia’s offshore well intervention market as well as the potential challenges (such as labour shortages and vessel availability) which threatens to stifle it.

• Region: Australia
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: July, 2023

McDermott has been awarded an engineering, procurement and removal contract for offshore decommissioning work by Woodside Energy.

The award is for the full removal of the Stybarrow disconnectable turret mooring (DTM) buoy, as part of the decommissioning of the Stybarrow field located in the north-western Cape of Western Australia.

Under the contract scope, McDermott will provide project management and engineering services for the recovery, transportation and offloading of the DTM buoy to an onshore yard for dismantling and disposal.

Mahesh Swaminathan, Senior Vice President, Subsea and Floating Facilities, McDermott, said, “This award not only demonstrates McDermott’s proven track record in undertaking deepwater projects of diverse scopes, but it also highlights the critical importance of decommissioning in the offshore industry.

“With our seamless integration of engineering, fabrication, and offshore mobilisation expertise, we believe we are well-equipped to execute this project efficiently and responsibly, ensuring the safe recovery and removal of the Stybarrow DTM buoy.”

The DTM buoy will be removed utilising McDermott’s DLV2000 vessel, with the Perth-based team overseeing project management while engineering and fabrication support will be provided by the team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Batam, Indonesia.

• Region: Australia
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: July, 2023

Global energy consultancy Xodus has been awarded a contract to provide technical and project support services for Phase One of the decommissioning of the Northern Endeavour FPSO.

Phase One covers activities to facilitate the disconnection and removal of the FPSO including topsides and subsea flushing and well suspension.

Xodus will be working on behalf of the Australian Government, providing advice and project coordination, regulatory and environment, health and safety, technical, quality assurance, and contract management as part of the agreement.

Alasdair Gray, Late Life and Decommissioning Lead at Xodus, said, “We have a highly experienced local team with several of our colleagues having extensive experience of the Northern Endeavour either from the early design and installation phase of the project or during production operations. This means that whilst being able to bring a fresh approach, the facility is already familiar to much of the team.

“We understand environmental sensitivities and the impact these can have on any proposed activity or execution plan. Expert technical advice and careful planning will be critical to the successful decommissioning of the offshore field in a safe and responsible manner. We are pleased to provide the necessary support to ensure that the decommissioning strategy is robust and ultimately compliant with regulatory expectations.”

The Northern Endeavour is a 274 m long FPOS which is permanently moored between the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields in the Timor Sea. The now redundant production system comprises a network of subsea wells tied back to the permanently moored vessel unit through a system of subsea manifolds, flowlines, umbilicals, and dynamic risers.