First Marine Solutions (FMS), an offshore moorings expert, awarded a seven-figure contract by well decommissioning specialist, Well-Safe Solutions.
The agreement will see FMS provide its full spectrum of marine consultancy services, including provision of equipment, marine services, and survey and marine engineering.
Earlier this year, Well-Safe Solutions announced it had secured the contract to execute all well decommissioning activity within Repsol Sinopec UK’s Buchan and Hannay fields. FMS’ contract will commence with this 14-well project.
Steven Brown, FMS Managing Director, said he is incredibly proud to be associated with such an innovative project. He remarked, “This well P&A campaign represents a shift in the offshore decommissioning commercial landscape for which we applaud Well-Safe Solutions. I believe its decision to award this contract to FMS firmly establishes our reputation as the North Sea’s leading integrated mooring and marine service provider.
“The agreement has been four years in the making – a period of time that has seen FMS evolve to an impressive extent through significant investment in personnel, technology and facilities. Since 2017, our workforce has increased fourfold and is now led by a management team of industry experts, allowing us to strengthen our position not only in the North Sea but across a number of international markets; we look forward to supporting Well-Safe as it expands its global business.”
Commenting on the contract award, Lou Duncan, Rig Manager at Well-Safe Solutions, noted, “As we prepare for the deployment of the Well-Safe Guardian, it’s vital to us that we utilise trusted partners to enable timely and safe fulfilment of our obligations.
“Key to our philosophy is the importance of collaboration in order to capture, retain and share knowledge for the benefit of our clients and future operations. We’re looking forward to working alongside FMS during a period of strong growth for Well-Safe Solutions.”
In an operational and financial update, Hurricane Energy has announced that it has successfully completed the plugging and final abandonment (P&A) of the Lancaster 205/21a-4z well.
The well is located in the Lancaster Field, West of Shetland in Scottish waters, which was discovered in 2009. The company is implementing a phased development of the field with the first phase of development, the Early Production System (EPS) coming on stream in June 2019.
During November 2021, the company plugged the 205/21a-4z well for a cost of c. US$1mn. Hurricane also disclosed that US$2.2mn of decommissioning security (previously classified as restricted cash) has now been released back to the company and has been used in part to fund the P&A activity.
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (Helix) has extended its well intervention charter and services contracts for the Siem Helix 2 offshore Brazil with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras).
This will extend the original four-year contract by one year at a reduced rate reflective of the current market. The Siem Helix 2 is now set to remain under contract with Petrobras until mid-December 2022 performing riser-based well intervention activities.
The Siem Helix 2 is a purpose-built, advanced well intervention vessel capable of performing a wide range of subsea services including production enhancement, well decommissioning, subsea installation work, offshore crane and ROV operations, offshore construction work and emergency response capabilities.
Scotty Sparks, Helix’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, remarked, “On the back of our recent accommodation and support contract for sister ship the Siem Helix 1 in Ghana for another customer, we are glad to finalise this process and look forward to continuing a long and productive working relationship with Petrobras.
“The Siem Helix 2 has consistently provided industry-leading well intervention services to Petrobras. This extension demonstrates the capacity for Helix to continuously provide innovative solutions to fit our clients’ needs backed by our experience and proven track record.”
Helix continues to make a global impact on the global stage with this announcement coming hot on the heels of its contract for the plugging and abandonment of wells in the Tui Oil Field, New Zealand. Click here for more details on this announcement.
On the second day of the Offshore Well Intervention Gulf of Mexico 2021 conference, attention turned to technology and operational excellence and plug and abandonment, before attendees were exposed to a number of in-depth case studies.
As chairman for the second day of the conference, Nathan Wolford, Project Manager at C-Innovation, opened the proceedings by noting that in this modern world it is easy to take energy for granted. “Covid-19 saw a collapse in demand for energy products, but it got better and in 2021 we are rebounding in our energy consumption and forecasts expect that we will meet or exceed the 2019 levels (highest historical levels to date). By 2040 the forecast the energy demand will increase by 30%.
“83% of energy worldwide is derived from fossil fuels and oil is the biggest of this. As oil producers and service companies, the good news is oil and gas is the dominant worldwide energy source and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Demand will increase by 30% over next three years, so in some ways we have an obligation to create more production and more energy.
“So we going to have to find more efficient ways to increase existing production through production enhancement mechanisms, and find safe and efficient ways to P&A ageing wells and fields and continue to develop technologies to gain efficiencies on these.”
Over the course of the day, this speakers and attendees demonstrated that they clearly had an intention to do so.
For example, one notable highlight was Zach Bruton’s presentation on the solutions that Baker Hughes has in their toolbox for use in the GOM. The Growth Lead for North America Subsea at Baker Hughes outlined the agnostic and modular tooling design programme that they have developed, introducing the Tree Retrieval Tool and the Tubing Hanger Retrieval Tool before discussing passive well monitoring technology and its possible applications in the region. The session, titled ‘Optimising Asset Retirement Through Agnostic Technologies’ was concluded with a case study from the UK and received a good reception from the audience - interest was demonstrated by the many questions that were directed towards Bruton.
Following this session with another equally engaging demonstration by Christopher Thompson, VP of Business Development at United Subsea Specialists. This young company is committed to delivering equipment to reduce critical path time, cost of operations and risk for operators. Thompson presented several innovative solutions his company has brought to the market, such as their 350t-750t Wire Line Frames, which is enabling them to achieve this commitment.
The plug and abandonment section of the day was kicked off with a panel discussion featuring representatives from Chevron, Schlumberger and Welltec. The experts explored the different types of P&A being executed within the GOM before focusing on the value that can be achieved from performing P&A from a dedicated well intervention vessel as opposed to a rig.
The last point of call was turning to case studies which, as the final section of the conference, were last but certainly not least. Highlights here included a presentation from Bruce Trader, President of MADCON Corporation, who reviewed the development and design of the Structural Composite Retrofit (SCR) Process which restores structural integrity and provides long term corrosion protection to severely corroded or damaged conductors and well casings. Trader presented a number of case studies on the SCR Process and noted that, to date, it has been used to restore the original design capacity and provide long term corrosion protection to hundreds of wells.
The final session of the conference was an engaging presentation from Welltec and Wellgrab AS on replacing conventional heavy fishing methods with light controllable intelligent tools. Garry Andrews, Senior Business Development Manager at Welltec described the solutions that Welltec provides for fishing operations, such as the Well Stoker and the Welltec’s Release Device (WRD), touched on why E-line is preferable over the convention heavy means, outlined some related case studies and finally discussed the Wellgrab AS and Welltec collaboration. Geir Magne Mo Johnsen, Founder and COO of Wellgrab AS followed this by demonstrated the capabilities of its digital well intervention robot which can be converted to fish anything inside or outside a well. The versatility and adaptability of this tool means that this is the only tool Wellgrab AS has in its tool suite.
Each session was sandwiched by networking drinks which allowed attendees, for one of the first times in nearly two years, to meet face-to-face, discuss and potentially formulate partnerships and business propositions for the future. The entertaining conference concluded with a view to returning again in the next year, hopefully when the world has made even more progress along the exhausting road to recovery.
Returning live and in-person, the Offshore Well Intervention Gulf of Mexico 2021 conference treated assembled industry stakeholders to an informative two-day exploration of the state of well intervention in the region and examined the technology and best practices which have the potential to shape campaigns of the future.
Jim Maher, President of Trendsetter Vulcan Offshore (TVO) who co-chaired day one of OWI GOM 2021, opened the conference by noting his delight at finally being able to speak to everyone in person and emphasised that “times of great dislocation, which these clearly have been, are often the times where most innovation comes to the fore.
“As the market recovers, the intervention technologies are among the most viable as they are the closest approximation to short cycle. As we start going again, intervention technologies are certainly going to be among the most competitive for the capital available.”
Following this, over the course of the next two days, attendees were treated to a banquet of engaging sessions featuring presentations and discussions from the most influential service providers, operators, consultants, and more.
BP lead a panel discussion on how the company achieved optimal results on its ongoing RLWI campaign (which began two years ago) and the challenges it has faced and how they will continue to overcome them. Representatives from C-Innovation, Halliburton and JDR Cable Systems joined the discussion and together they explored the innovative tools, equipment and technology which could be deployed in order to achieve the most efficient intervention campaigns.
The implementation of new technology was one of the conference’s clear themes, which Charles Brooks, Technical Sales Representative from Interwell, heavily leaned into as he presented on the Interwell Barrier Verification System. This market-leading barrier assurance tool provides, as demonstrated by a case study from the GOM, time efficiency, confident and correct verification of well barrier and integrity, the ability to reduce tensile stress from pressure from pressure testing from surface (especially in fragile well constructions) and more. This solution was quoted as the most extensive downhole barrier verification the operator has performed in the region, proving its quality.
Maxim Volkov, Principal Domain Champion at TGT Diagnostics, followed closely on Brooks’ heels by introducing the Sand Flow product which precisely locates sand entry to the wellbore and provides a qualitative sand count, indentifying problem zones to help combat the serious issue of sand production. Through the use of case studies, Volkov demonstrated how the Sand Flow product, when used in tandem with Tendeka’s Filtrex solution, can localise target and fix sand issues affecting wellbores to ensure productivity is restored and integrity is maintained.
Not to be left out, Archer joined the party as Kevin Squyres, Sales and Service Delivery Manager, demonstrated the capabilities of the Stronghold Barricade, Defender and THOR solutions which can eliminate the need for milling, providing an effective alternative to traditional methods of plug and abandonment.
While new technology can bring value, it is also important to understand and asses the risk of incorporating it into intervention campaigns. This topic was covered in detail by industry experts from Schlumberger, United Subsea Specialists, Chevron and CRG Oilfield Abandonment LLC at the session focused on intervention technologies for existing field uplift.
In the following sessions on day one the sessions were dedicated to:
• Understanding the considerations when evaluating different intervention philosophies and technologies. A Baker Hughes presentation highlighted that light well intervention can achieve substantial benefits such as 55% total emissions reductions (when compared to a rig-based operation) as well as cost-saving incentives.
• The consolidation of well opportunities, where representatives from Trendsetter Engineering, BP, MADCON and TGT Diagnostics presented case studies of campaigns that have increased production and extended the profitable life span of wells as well as explored the future opportunities presented by LWI, HWO and coiled tubing technologies.
• Considering lifecycle completion. Shell, BP, PRT Offshore and Welltec associates discussed the completion design considerations; new completion and well technologies which could have an impact on the future well intervention scope; and how regional operating environment influences operations view’s on new well programmes.
• The successful application of real-time enabled coiled tubing for abandonment of a deviated well with complex anomalies. Ed Adams, Customer Engagement Coordinator at Schlumberger showcased a case study on a tricky well which was causing issues for the operator. Schlumberger deployed the ACTive CCL to detect tubing anomalies and implemented a number of solutions to return the well to safe state which was all done in days before hurricane Elsa entered the GOM.
The day was closed with a brief review of the enormous amount of material that was covered with topics such as marketing dynamics, creating value in well intervention and technology and operation considerations in particularly standing out. Before the attendees retired to the networking drinks, they looked ahead to day two and the exciting subjects that were yet to be explored.
Environment Quality Services (EQS) has successfully assisted in a decommissioning project offshore Angola. Dubai-based EQS deployed their Saab Seaeye Falcon to assess the integrity of the offshore structures via visual inspection and image gathering.
Carlos Rodrigues, CTO, of EQS, commented, The Falcon supports EQS in their aim to fulfil specific works in a safe and cost-effective manner by delivering accurate and relevant information.”
Rodrigues said that the Falcon is an ideal resource for specialist work as it can handle an array of cameras, sensors, tooling and complex data gathering systems that can easily be added or changed thanks to the Falcon iCON intelligent module- focused distributed control architecture.
The Falcon is the top selling robot of its class and its success is attributed to it being a portable, metre-sized, intelligent, powerful highly mahneuverable, easy-to-use vehicle with a depth rated range to 1,000 metres.
It has a reliability record covering more than one million hours underwater, including deep tunnel work. The Falcon can remain stable in turbulent waters and strong currents whilst undertaking both robust and precision tasks.
The structures inspected on the platform offshore Angola included the platform (jacket), well head, protection dome, pipelines and umbilical. EQS helped the offshore energy clients navigate the complex environmental regulatory landscape to achieve compliance as well.
AKOFS Offshore has signed a three- year contract with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a broad scope of subsea services in Brazil.
The work will be performed by its Skandi Santos vessel which is designed to install and retrieve subsea trees and modules, including subsea structures and manifolds at water depths of up to 2,500 metres.
Currently, the vessel is completing its current contract with Petrobras which began on 1 March 2010.
The services for this contract will commence in Q4 20220. The total contract calue is about US$107mn. AKOFS Offshore will be performing the operations with its partners Bravente for marine services and IKM Subsea for ROV services.
Tony Branch, a former President of Weatherford’s Regional Operations, will lead Westerton Access, an industry leader and technical innovator in the provision of subsea and topside inspection solutions, and the recently-launched Westerton SplashZone Integrity Specialists (WSIS), a company specifically formed to tackle the highly corrosive and problematic area immediately above and below the water line.
The companies are part of the wider Westerton portfolio, which includes Westerton’s fishing and intervention service.
Robin Porter, Founder of Westerton, said, “We are pleased to have Tony on board, and look forward to working with him. He is experienced in executive leadership roles and has led companies through transitional periods, including the launch of new product lines, so his skillset is well-suited to the newly structured Westerton group of companies.
“He has a proven track record in merging different operations into one cohesive team and I am excited at the prospect of increased growth and collaboration we will see across our specialist companies.”
Branch, who has more than 30 years worth of experience in the industry, commented, “I am excited to be joining a talented, dynamic and client focused team with a strong technical offering. The business has a strong foundation, and I am looking forward to working with the team to help deliver results for our valued clients.
“Building on our recent and successful expansion into the Middle East, we have further growth aspirations, both in terms of geography and the size of the organisation, and I look forward to playing a part in that, along with the rest of the team. Our Access and WSIS services both solve significant problems, not only in our traditional industry of oil and gas, but also in other sectors such as offshore wind."
Branch added, "All structures that are in the ocean are subject to harsh operating conditions and need to be inspected and repaired, regardless of whether they are oil and gas platforms or a wind farm. These assets need to be inspected quickly, efficiently and more cost effectively than traditional vessel-based services currently offer, and with the skills, technology and experience we possess, that is something we are more than capable of doing, saving operators money.”
The appointment of Branch comes after the company has expanded its footprint in the Middle East with new offices in Dubai.
Kongsberg Digital has confirmed that Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has renewed its Long-Term System Support Program (LTSSP) contract with the company for another five years.
The LTSSP is in support of a K-Sim Offshore Crane simulation system, which features digital twins of HMC’s semi-submersible construction vessels, ships and barges.
Renewal of the LTSSP ensures Kongsberg Digital’s continued commitment to maintaining Heerema’s simulators at the leading edge of available technology. Installed in 2015 as one of the world’s most advanced offshore heavy lift crane simulators, its usage ranges from confirming feasibility of new methods and equipment to optimising efficiency and safety performance for current execution methods.
“By renewing this LTSSP we are ensuring that our clients, offshore crew and project teams continue to benefit from the most advanced simulation-based training and project preparation on the market, simulating real-world scenarios,” commented Jan Pieter de Vries, Manager Simulations and Visual Products, HMC Academy. “Kongsberg Digital have proved a competent partner, working in close collaboration with the team here at HMC to ensure that training and simulation needs are met. We are pleased to confirm our ongoing relationship.”
Heerema’s simulator platform was developed specifically by Kongsberg Digital to meet Heerema’s requirements as a leading marine contractor in offshore renewables and oil and gas, specialising in transporting, commissioning, and decommissioning offshore facilities.
The Simulation Centre is a real-time offshore environment where offshore crew and project teams examine all project aspects and associated risks. It includes two offshore crane operator domes and a bridge with K-Sim DP simulator, based on the same Kongsberg Maritime K-Pos DP systems used on HMC’s vessels. Detailed models of Heerema’s SSCVs, Heavy Lift Vessel, tugs and barges ensure realistic scenarios and enable detailed pre-mission training for heavy-lift projects.
“HMC’s renewal of this LTSSP is a clear endorsement of the capability and longevity of our maritime simulation solutions,” remarked Andreas Jagtøyen, Executive Vice President Digital Ocean, Kongsberg Digital. “Our commitment to supporting the maritime industry is not limited to providing the best technology, but also extends to ensuring that our customers gain value from their investment for years to come, through long product lifecycles and extensive service, provided by our 24/7 support network. Our LTSSP programme elevates our relationship with our customers beyond just being a vendor to rather act a trusted partner.”
Presenting at the Offshore Well Intervention West Africa 2021 virtual conference, Bhargava Ram Gundemoni, 3M Global Solutions Specialist, explained how better sand control can lead to better productivity and profitability.
Traditional practices used for the sand control selection (SCS) process are based on mature technologies and methodologies that fail to meet the key performance drivers. The metallic filter media has erosion limits that constrict the boundary condition of the traditional SCS practices which result in failing to meet the asset productivity demand and the performance drivers not being achieved in many cases.
An alternative to the traditional sand control approach
The solution is a change of metallic filter media to ceramic filter media of the screen. 3M’s solution is achieved by integrating a full-body ceramic part in the form of rings on a pre-perforated base pipe on to which ceramic rings are stacked and held with two end caps and with an external shroud on top. The stack of ceramic rings creates a slot opening which is designed for the application spec-in. The ceramic material at the inflow offers higher erosion resistance, therefore mitigating hotspotting potential. This allows the operator a wider operating window of productivity.
Erosion constraint on the metallic filter media limits the well operating limits, limiting the productivity potential and the application envelope of applying a standalone screen system.
Using a ceramic filter media operators have proven in green fields and brown fields to shift the boundary conditions of applying stand-alone screens as demonstrated in the below picture, and achieved reduced risk to erosion failure and increase productivity. 3M Ceramic Sand Screens offers operational simplicity, reduced HSE risk to unlock production potential with faster return on investment by enabling standalone screen deployment as a simple sand control tool to address in a wider range of reservoir conditions
Standardised field-wide approach
Ceramic Sand Screens unlocks the operator methodology to achieve a simplified and standardised sand control approach in wide range of reservoir conditions and well architecture as downhole sand control system in OH, cased hole on a rig or through tubing rigless applications. Ceramic Sand Screens have been deployed and delivered success in 120+ applications with homogenous, heterogeneous, well-sorted to poorly sorted, low to high fines reservoir of sand properties.
To emphasis the effectiveness of the solution Ram presented three case studies from different regions across the globe.
Remedial sand control in a subsea re-perforated well intervention vessel in the North Sea
Customer challenge: The oil well was not operational due to depletion with a gas cap identified shallower to main zone. The operator intended to cost-effectively exploit the gas cap using rigless deployment method to add additional revenue from the existing asset. The project also needed to run a stand-alone sand screen in the open sea and through a subsea lubricator and required sub-sea well (deviated) intervention in harsh deployment conditions. The well downhole environment was extremely erosional and a reliable, robust solution was required to prevent failure at a reasonable cost.
Solution: The operator opted for ceramic sand screen deployment on a light well intervention vessel and run the screen through an e-line wireline system with an expandable packer system through open sea into the sub-sea lubricator.
Results and value creation: The operator was able to achieve production rates of 45 MMSCFD of gas sand-free through the solution. The 3M ceramic sand screen for this project was deployed successfully in April 2016 and was replicated in other wells with the same scope of work.
Marginal gas fields in Indonesia with ceramic sand screens
Customer challenge: The operator had to deal with marginal reserves with stacked reservoirs and was a low-cost environment. High flux velocity expected at sand face due to shallow and low-pressure, short intervals and needed robust and rigless deployable solution to achieve economical sense with heterogenous sand properties being a challenge.
Solution: High erosion and hot spotting resistant ceramic screens enable the operator to set across the perforation zone which are deployed on slickline with one or two pup joints depending on the perforation length.
Value creation: The operator achieved cost savings of up to 70% compared to the previous sand control approach and was able to increase reservoir deliverability by more than 200% of the average cumulative gas produced. The operator can now complete more zones per year and achieving a sand-free higher cumulative production volume, extending as a standardised approach to multiple assets as a primary sand control method.
Ceramic sand screens in high rate oil wells in Azerbaijan
Customer challenge: The operator had no sand control in place. With reservoir maturing and downhole conditions changed over time, sand production increased to a level where production targets are not achieved leading to well shut-in to integrate downhole sand control. Key challenges in selection of sand control are achieving cost-effective sand control approach without needing a rig in well conditions of high Fines, poorly distributed reservoir sand PSD with fluid flow at high flux and impingement velocity
Solution: 3M ceramic sand screens length of 203 ft, were set across 9 ⅝ inch casing perforation using coil tubing deployment method.
Value creation: The operator achieved ROI within five days based on the current oil price and was able to clock a sand-free production rate of 8000 BOPD and 46 MMSCFD gas. The operator also recorded a production gain of 2500 BOPD sand-free. Significant improvement on the PI over time exceeding the expectation of a standalone screen in such reservoir sand distribution with a low cost of deployment at reduced carbon footprint installing sand control mitigating need of a rig.
Solutions to maximise profitability
As of Oct 31 2021, 3M has completed 125 installations for sand control with users consisting of 50% oil producers and 50% gas producers. For general intervention applications 3M has maintained a manufacturing time of 6-12 weeks with variables such as size, quantity and shipping time to location.
3M remarked that the solution can help operators meet future energy policies to reduce carbon intensity for deployment with rigless approach where feasible and reduce the sand control future repairs offering a robust solution. The simple stand-alone screen and faster deployment means reducing HSE, operational risk and mean time between failures.
3M added, “There are a lot of wells globally where operators can unlock production potential from their shut-in wells due to failed primary sand control or from thin-bed reservoirs or reservoirs which have not been exploited because they are deemed un-economic and left behind the casing. 3M’s ceramic sand-screens enables an operator to approach such cases using a rig-less method, without the removal of tubing and requirement of a complex rig sand control solution. 3M has proven this at multiple fields and assets globally.”
With a field track record of 125 successful application, operators in West Africa can find proven results from similar conditions to their reservoirs as reference case study.
To learn more about Ceramic Sand Screens, visit: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/oil-and-gas-us/ceramic-sand-screens/
If interested in such a simplified solution to unlock the production potential assets by addressing sand control challenges, contact Bhargava Ram Gundemoni:
Neptune Energy has awarded a decommissioning contract to Maersk Supply Service (MSS) for the Juliet field in the UK southern North Sea.
The decommissioning work, which will be carried out in early 2022, will utilise innovative technology to reduce the time and costs associated with the removal of the subsea infrastructure.
Piping spools and umbilicals will be removed using the Utility ROV Services system (UTROV), a remotely operated tool carrier equipped with multiple attachments for the recovery of subsea equipment, reducing the necessity for multiple vessels and equipment providers to carry out the complex work.
The UTROV system was previously used for work on the Juliet field in 2019 and will be deployed from the Maersk Forza Subsea Support Vessel.
Neptune Energy’s UK Managing Director, Alexandra Thomas, commented, “Work on decommissioning Juliet is progressing well and the activities undertaken by MSS will finalise the work on the pipelines and enable us to move forward with plugging and abandonment operations.
“The use of such innovative technologies is enabling operators to reduce the time, costs and environmental impacts associated with such operations, and ensures the safe and efficient removal of decommissioned subsea infrastructure.”
Olivier Trouvé, Maersk Supply Service’s Head of Integrated Solutions, remarked, “We are looking forward to mobilising our engineering capabilities and specialised assets to provide safe and efficient operations.”
The Juliet subsea assets were installed in 2013. Production ceased in 2017 and formal cessation of production was approved in December 2018 by the OGA. The Juliet facilities comprise two subsea wells tied back to the Pickerill ‘A’ Platform, which is owned and operated by Perenco (PUK).
Neil Greig, Sales Manager Helix well Ops (UK) Ltd, presented at the Offshore Well Intervention Mediterranean 2021 conference to highlight the capabilities of the Subsea Services Alliance and how these could be utilised in the Mediterranean.
Greig started the session by giving a detailed explanation on how intervention operations are performed from riser based vessels using dynamic positioning before adding that Helix has various intervention assets around the world capable of performing such work.
In areas such as the Gulf of Mexico the company tends to have heavier assets whereas closer to the Mediterranean in the North Sea the backbone of the fleet is made up of Light Well Intervention (LWI) vessels. These include:
Seawell ‒ A pioneered LWI vessel which provides platform for open water interventions, hydraulic, DSV and P&A services and is perfectly suited to pre-abandonment activities on old, weak well systems that require divers with the benefit of being agile in the field.
Well Enhancer ‒ Primarily an LWI and DSV asset but it is also the world’s first monohull vessel capable of coiled tubing intervention and, to date, has completed six successful campaigns with more planned.
Both vessels can perform LWI and DSV activities simultaneously bringing safety and efficiency as well as commercial advantages.
In terms of riser-based assets, Helix has a capable fleet made up of the Q4000, Q5000, Q7000, Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2.
With the help of these vessels, Greig continued, Helix is able to perform operations on the full lifecycle of a field although the majority of their work is carried out in mid to later term life. They ensure maximum output of a reservoir throughout its life while avoiding damage. There is also opportunity to maximise the output of a well in ultra late life in order to offset decommissioning costs.
On the Mediterranean, Greig remarked that access to LWI in the region has been limited over the years whereas in the Gulf of Mexico, UK, Africa and Brazil there is always access to two-three LWI vessels at any one time.
Greig said, “When you want to start transporting assets to where there are not permanent vessels, this is where collaboration comes in. It is important for everyone to collaborate to make an agreement viable and get the asset in the region – you need all countries and operators to come together to create enough work. This happened in Africa and now we have some vessels down there which have scheduled work for the next few years. Once you start, there is every likelihood the work can be kept going.”
An example of excellence in Africa
Helix’s newest vessel, the Q7000, has continued its impressive streak of successful operations in West Africa where it has performed a variety of scopes including data acquisition, water shutoffs, milling, flaring, and more. It has already covered the majority of types of activities the company is looking to do with her.
Going through its advantages, Greig noted that being a DP asset it can transition at 10-11 knots (providing a significant ability to position itself without anchor handlers); its IRS single deployment means that hole trips are completed in hours not days; the Intervention Tension Frame (provided by Osbit) provides a safe working environment from which coiled tubing and wireline operations can be conducted; and the crew size has been reduced by 11 for coiled tubing and wireline and slickline operations.
Solving any problem
Greig remarked that throughout its history Helix has encountered every worst-case scenario that can be imagined and has used the full suite of tools to navigate them. Helix has, to date, performed more than 128 tree recoveries just from the UK and has conducted plug and abandonment on 155 suspended E&A wells. It has now worked on more than 1500 wells, including recently hitting 1000 wells in the UK as of August 2021.
Greig finished by noting that they have no intention of letting up but want to continue their expansion including into other parts of the Mediterranean. “There is an opportunity in the Mediterranean; it is just a case of starting the dialogue.”
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