Baseload Capital, an investment entity dedicated to advancing geothermal energy deployment globally, has announced its second strategic investment from energy technology company Baker Hughes.
Together, the partners will look to expand global geothermal project development and position the resource as a high-impact, clean energy source for global markets; catalyse market growth by facilitating the implementation of new commercial and development models; and advance next-generation technologies from the pilot stage through to commercial scale.
Alexander Helling, Baseload Capital CEO, remarked, “Developing long-lasting, strategic and co-beneficial partnerships is vital to driving innovation and scaling up geothermal power. Baker Hughes' second round of investments exemplifies the importance of leveraging assets and expertise across the energy sector for a swift transition to a global renewable energy mix.”
Ajit Menon, Vice President of Geothermal Energy, Oilfield Services and Equipment at Baker Hughes, added, “Baker Hughes is dedicated to driving lower carbon solutions through strategic investments in key growth areas. Our collaboration with Baseload Capital represents a truly innovative alliance in the geothermal market, leveraging the unique strengths of both companies to rapidly expand installed geothermal capacity.”
TGT Diagnostics, a through-barrier diagnostics company for energy production and storage, has launched its latest acoustic platform, ChorusX, a new diagnostic resource specifically designed to locate and characterise flow in oil and gas wells.
This all-new acoustic array platform enables energy companies to find and map fluid flow throughout the well-reservoir system with greater ease and precision, helping them to keep wells safe, clean, and productive.
Ken Feather, TGT’s Chief Marketing Officer, commented, “Understanding flow dynamics in the well system is the key to unlocking better well and reservoir performance, and acoustic techniques have become an indispensable means of achieving that goal. ChorusX is the result of two decades of intensive research, innovation, and extensive field experience in applying the power of sound to flow diagnostics in thousands of wells. Eight high-definition array sensors, extreme dynamic range recording and a unique phase analysis engine work in concert to deliver uncompromising levels of clarity, precision, and certainty to analysts and well operators.”
At the heart of ChorusX is a compact array of eight nano-synchronised sensors that record high-resolution flow sounds across an extreme dynamic range of intensities and frequencies. A unique phase analysis workflow combines specialised acoustic field modelling with a sophisticated waveform-matching algorithm. This combination delivers an important new dimension to acoustics and flow diagnosis – radial distance. In combination, these advances underpin four new complementary answer products that enable TGT analysts to easily and accurately locate and map flow throughout the well system.
Ken added, “ChorusX has been redesigned from the ground up to excel in three important areas: extending spatial and audible reach to record the lightest, quietest, and furthest flows; recognising different types of flows; and pinpointing flow sources with unmatched accuracy in depth, and radially. Flow events are displayed more clearly in high definition, enabling operators to plan actions with greater confidence and implement them efficiently with precision.”
ChorusX is available to all TGT Diagnostics customers through a range of True Flow and True Integrity/Seal Integrity products.
THREE60 Energy, a leading independent energy service company offering complete asset life cycle expertise, has been awarded a multi-million dollar well decommissioning contract in Europe.
As announced on social media, the new contract will see THREE60 Energy plug and abandon 13 injection, production and observation wells in the UK and Europe.
The company will utilise its well decommissioning team to deliver the plug and abandonment designs, prepare operational planning and supervise the offshore execution, which includes the management of the jack-up rig and well abandonment subcontractors.
Nick Ford, Wells UK Managing Director at THREE60 Energy, commented, “With our strong track record of offshore delivery and well abandonment we bring almost 20 years of the technical skills, capabilities and experience needed to successfully deliver this significant well decommissioning project offshore Europe.
Walter Thain, CEO at THREE60 Energy, added, “This contract clearly demonstrates the opportunities available for supply chain companies globally, especially within decommissioning, and is a great example of transferring our competency and capability across multiple geographies.”
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director, Kevin Sligh, has announced a US$3mn investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help reduce the risk of pollution from orphaned infrastructure on the federal Outer Continental Shelf.
The funding will specifically support BSEE decommissioning service contracts in the Matagorda Island lease area in the Gulf of Mexico. The funds are part of a nearly US$64mn commitment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address orphaned oil and gas wells on public lands.
“The funding announced today under the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is critical for helping BSEE leverage available funds to tackle the backlog of decommissioning orphaned infrastructure offshore in the Gulf of Mexico,” commented Sligh. “If not properly decommissioned, offshore oil and gas infrastructure can become safety hazards, cause environmental harm, or interfere with navigation, fishing, or other uses of the Outer Continental Shelf.”
BSEE plans to award contracts to address nine orphan wells and associated pipelines and platforms in the Matagorda Island lease area, approximately 12 miles off the Texas coast. The initial contract will address the most immediate and urgent needs to reduce the risk of safety incidents and pollution in preparation for well-plugging operations.
An important part of BSEE’s responsibilities is to ensure that infrastructure used in exploration, development, and production activities undertaken according to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is properly decommissioned to provide the long-term protection of the resource and the surrounding environment.
Oilenco Ltd has announced the appointment of David Nicoll who has joined the company as Business Development Manager for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in order to reinforce Oilenco’s focus on overseas well intervention markets.
David, known to his network as Davie, will bring 25 years’ worth of experience to the company, with more than 16 years working across a variety of downhole intervention roles. He commented, “I’ve spent the last nine years travelling all over SSA learning about this market. As a leader in well intervention and abandonment within the UK, Oilenco are uniquely positioned to deliver best-in-class solutions that are ideally suited to the SSA market.”
In his role, Davie will be responsible for bringing Oilenco products and solutions to this evolving market, developing the Oilenco brand in the sub-Saharan region and establishing the company as the provider of choice for downhole tool solutions.
Davis will make his debut as Business Development Manager next week at the Offshore Network Well Intervention West Africa Conference on 20 and 21 June.
“I am delighted to be joining such an innovative team, at an exciting time for the company. With a real focus on growth not only in Africa, but in other regions, I look forward to bringing Oilenco’s reputation as a first-class downhole tooling provider to the market,” Davie said.
Petrofac, a leading provider of services to the global energy industry, has added a third Gulf of Mexico field, and extended the scope of its existing contract to decommission two fields, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Following this contract expansion, the legacy offshore fields and assets now include 12 platforms, 211 wells and 32 pipeline segments, as well as operations and logistics services. The scope includes the safe, efficient, and assured decommissioning of the fields and operation of the fields during the execution of the decommissioning work.
Petrofac will use its proven decommissioning programme management systems, tools, and processes to deliver the project. Its integrated local team, wider global decommissioning organisation and supply chain partners, have collectively plugged and abandoned more than 2,300 wells and decommissioned over 250 facilities.
Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer for Petrofac’s Asset Solutions business, remarked, “This sizable contract expansion recognises our industry-leading decommissioning programme management experience and our differentiated in-house capability to manage all well and asset decommissioning phases.
“Through this and other decommissioning projects, Petrofac is actively and sustainably contributing to the energy transition globally.”
Odfjell Technology, an integrated supplier of offshore drilling, well and engineering services, has achieved an industry-first for cleaning blowout preventers (BOPs) by reaching a 50% time reduction during a successful trial.
Odfjell Technology, over a test period of six months, revised the procedure for cleaning the BOP on the Johan Sverdrup platform in Norway by increasing the pump rate to allow more water flow into the BOP cavities to aid debris removal.
The annular and variable rams were flushed with two passes at the new recommended flow rates to remove debris, then the BOP stack was flushed at the same rate using Odfjell Technology’s RizeRdillo Advanced Jetting Tool. The flow rates went from 1,500 litres per minute (LPM) to 5,500LPM while flushing the annular and from 3,000LPM to 5,500LPM while flushing the BOP.
Results from the successful test period proved that no damage occurred to the BOP and annular with the recommended pump rates, and between six and 12 hours of time could be saved using this new procedure.
The RizeRdillo Advanced Jetting Tool allows for higher pump flow rates, enabling a larger volume of fluid with less pump pressure. This maximises riser cleaning efficiency to reduce operating costs and non-productive time.
Ian Low, Global Product Line Manager, Well Intervention at Odfjell Technology, commented, “By focusing on delivering world class expertise and technology which enables more efficient operations without compromise on safety, Odfjell Technology proves it is the partner of choice for customers time and again.
“Our ethos has been demonstrated by our expert teams achieving this impressive industry-first result for cleaning BOPs. BOPs are essential for safe and efficient well operations, and we are proud to deliver leading solutions to our customers to ensure BOPs are operating at optimal levels.”
The Norwegian oil and gas operator, DNO ASA, has reported that the wellhead platform production facilities have been removed from the Schooner field offshore the UK, signifying the last major offshore operation under DNO’s multi-year North Sea decommissioning campaign.
DNO’s Chief Operating Officer, Chris Spencer, said, “We have conducted these operations in a safe, cost-efficient and environmentally responsible manner, coordinating five tier-one contractors and displaying our capabilities as a full life-cycle offshore operator.”
The heavy lift was conducted using the Heerema Marine Contractors’ Thialf semi-submersible crane vessel. The 1,200 tonne platform deck was lifted aboard the vessel on 17 May, while the jacket was removed on 23 May after the piles had been cut three metres below the seabed. The deck and jacket have been transported to the Hoondert Yard in the Netherlands for dismantlement and recycling.
Energy services provider, Expro, has announced a five-year well intervention and integrity contract with TotalEnergies EP Uganda for the multi-well Tilenga project.
Expro’s ability to provide an innovative environmental solution was a key component for securing the contract worth more than US$30mn for slickline services. The solution supported the client’s carbon reduction objectives, as well as coincided with Expro’s commitment to national recruitment in line with a local development plan set up in collaboration with TotalEnergies and the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU).
Work will begin in Q2 2023, with Expro initially supporting drilling activity followed by production optimisation, integrity and well workover support. The company has designed four well intervention units to deliver a single operational solution for slickline and braided line in a cased hole environment across the life of the well. The solution is designed to reduce equipment footprint and equivalent CO2 emissions, while delivering improved efficiency.
Iain Farley, Expro’s Regional Vice President for Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, said, “We are delighted to further develop our relationship with TotalEnergies through work on this key project, which reinforces Expro’s ability to partner in frontier field developments in support of energy security.
“Expro’s solution was designed and engineered with the specific needs of this project in mind, taking into account the environmental sensitivities of the location and the need to support the project’s overall environmental and social objectives. It builds on our current operations in East Africa and on many years of successful delivery on key projects in locations such as Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique and Egypt.”
Helix Alliance, the Louisiana-based subsidiary of Helix Energy Solutions Group, has been awarded a 39-well decommissioning contract for the Gulf of Mexico shelf.
Owen Kratz, Helix’s President and Chief Executive Office, said, “This award demonstrates Helix’s position as the preeminent company for full-field decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, along with our other services supporting the full life cycle of offshore fields, following the expansion of our industry-leading decommissioning services with our acquisition of Alliance last year.”
The scope of work includes the plug and abandonment of 39 wells, 15 pipelines and seven structures. Helix Alliance plans to utilise the EPIC Hedron heavy lift derrick barge for structure removals, lifeboats for P&A activities, the Triton Explorer dive support vessel for pipeline abandonments and multiple Helix Alliance OSVs throughout the campaign.
BiSN, a global provider of Wel-lok sealing solutions, has achieved a remarkable milestone by reaching 400 commercial deployments of its Wel-lok technology, a patented technology enabling bismuth-based seals that are more reliable, durable, and cost-effective than traditional sealing methods.
It was only 13 months ago that BiSN reached 300 commercial deployments of Wel-lok technology. According to the company, the rise in deployment since then has been part of a wider, exponential demand growth over the past three years among operators for both plug and abandonment and well intervention. As a result, 2022 represented the busiest commercial year for BiSN and Q1 of 2023 has already been record setting.
BiSN has now deployed into major areas such as North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Within these regions, the company has run commercial deployments in 17 countries, most recently in Mozambique. Building on this success, BiSN now harbours plans to continue its global reach while continuing to foster productive and collaborative relations with global operators.
Currently, Wel-lok technology has been commercially applied to 11 different applications, including water shut off, cement repair, packer repair, and plug and abandonment. The company has stated that it will continue to refine and develop Wel-lok technology for a variety of well intervention, completion, and plug and abandonment applications.
Paul Carragher, CEO and Founder of BiSN, remarked, “We are thrilled to have achieved this important milestone of 400 commercial deployments. It is a testament to the value and effectiveness of Wel-lok technology and could not be achieved without the commitment of the full BiSN team. As demand continues to rise across all active regions, BiSN is expanding to meet that demand by opening facilities now in Australia and Brazil.”
Archer has announced the award of a five-year contract for the provision of coiled tubing and pumping services with Perenco UK Limited in the United Kingdom.
The contract, with an estimated value of up to US$50mn, contains two options of one year each and commenced 3 May 2023 in direct continuation of company's previous contract with Perenco.
Dag Skindlo, CEO of Archer, commented, “We are extremely proud to announce this long-term coiled tubing and pumping contract. This commitment reflects our client’s confidence in our ability to maintain safe operations and continue our strong service delivery performance.
“Archer announced the acquisition of the Baker Hughes UK Coiled Tubing business early in 2023 and assumed operations from 4 April. We have successfully transitioned the business and have a dedicated Archer Coiled Tubing team of 50 experienced and skilled employees performing safe and efficient services in the UK.
“We look forward to continuing growing the Archer service offering in the UK and bringing value to our clients’ P&A, workover, and intervention programmes.”
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