Oceaneering International (Oceaneering) has announced that its Subsea Robotics (SSR) and Offshore Projects Group (OPG) have been awarded an integrated rig services contract for covering the Khaleesi/Mormont and Samurai fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
The work scope includes the provision of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with collocated ROV tooling and technicians, remote positioning and metrology survey resources, and installation and workover control system (IWOCS) equipment and technicians. Work is scheduled to begin in early 2021 and carry into 2022.
Earl Childress, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Oceaneering, commented, “The operator’s decision to contract our robotics and IWOCS services is a positive and anticipated response to our realigned segments, which allows us to deliver the integrated processes and products that enable consistent and efficient work scopes.”
Expanding operations in Khaleesi/Mormont and Samurai
This announcement closely follows a connector supply contract, awarded by TechnipFMC at the end of 2020, to provide 2-inch M5 connectors and chemical throttle valves (CTV) for the tieback project in the same fields.
The M5 connector provides an easy-to-install, fly-to-place connection solution that enables injection of gas or chemicals into subsea infrastructure and serves as an access point for future subsea field intervention activities such as gas lift, chemical injection, well stimulation, hydrate remediation, flooding and venting operations, acid injection and scale squeeze.
Oceaneering rotator CTVs regulate the flow of chemicals (such as scale, wax, and corrosion inhibitors) delivered to subsea production systems. Their functions are diverse, from flow control to metering and highly accurate dosing. CTVs effectively eliminate the need for topside injection and dedicated umbilical lines.
Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (Carnarvon) has announced that the Noble Tom Prosser jackup drilling rig has been contracted to drill the Pavo-1 and Apus-1 exploration wells in the Dorado Field in the Bedout basin offshore western Australia.
The drilling programme is expected to commence in late 2021 with the Pavo-1 well and will be immediately followed by Apus-1. Both prospects hold the potential to materially increase the aggregate development resource for the Dorado field if successful with the Pavo-1 well targeting 101mnboe and Apus-1 targeting 306mnboe.
Both of the exploration targets also have the potential to be tied back to existing infrastructure on the Dorado field which could provide significantly enhance economic outcomes, minimise additional capital investment requirements and shorten time periods to first production from the tie back fields.
With the drilling rig contracted, the operator will now proceed to secure the remaining equipment, services and approvals required to commence drilling operations
Managing Director and CEO of Carnarvon, Adrian Cook, said, “Given the potential resource size and development aggregation benefits, these two drilling targets provide very attractive and meaningful opportunities for Carnarvon. This news in locking in this rig is another clear point of progression in the advancement of the world class Bedout Basin. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead with multiple drilling operations progressing to plan as well as the advancement of our Dorado development pre-FEED and FEED activities.”
Repeating history?
The Noble Tom Prosser jack-up drilling rig was previously used by Carnarvon and its operating partner in 2019 on the Dorado-2 and Dorado-3 appraisal wells and the operators will no doubt be hoping for a repeat of fortunes; Dorado-2 operations encountered 85m of net reservoir, a discovery far more significant than original estimations, while Dorado-3 initially discovered confirmed hydrocarbons in three reservoirs and returned strong results in the subsequent flow tests with the Caley reservoir achieving a maximum measured rate of approximately 11,100bbl per day and 21mn cu ft of associated gas per day.
Aquaterra Energy, a company focused on delivering offshore engineering solutions, has secured a multi-million-dollar riser contract with a marine vessel owner and operator, for deeper water well intervention projects mainly in the Asia Pacific region.
Aquaterra Energy will deliver a large-bore (7 3/8”) AQC-CW completions and workover riser system with automated handling package that will operate in water depths of up to 1,500m. The system has been designed to withstand repeat make and breaks, whilst offering a gas tight metal-to-metal seal. The solution can be operated from a lightweight intervention vessel, a semisubmersible or from a jack-up rig as a surface riser, open water subsea riser or as a landing string.
The NACE compliant technology and unique pipe to connector attachment eliminates welding – making the riser lighter offering enhanced water depth deployment capacity. In addition, the ability to pressure test each connection upon make up provides enhanced environmental reassurance against well bore fluid discharge.
Aquaterra Energy will manage the entire project scope via its in-house engineering and project management teams. Throughout the project, Aquaterra Energy will provide fatigue utilisation and management through riser monitoring hardware to extend asset life, as well as automated hands-off connector makeup and umbilical handling equipment to improve safety and enhance offshore efficiency.
Successful spell continues for Aquaterra Energy
James Larnder, Managing Director of Aquaterra Energy said, “This project marks a key milestone in our Asia Pacific success story, whilst also diversifying our AQC riser offering into deeper water operations. All our systems are intelligently engineered to be efficient with no wasted materials and a focus on quick connection to reduce operational time whilst assuring integrity. Importantly, these efficiencies also support our own and our customers’ decarbonisation efforts.”
The company supports customers across the globe in the North Sea, South East Asia, the Caribbean, West Africa and Australia. While Covid-19 may have hindered much of the industry last year Aquaterra Energy continued its impressive workload with the award of several substantial contracts such as the front end engineering and design contract from DeNovo Energy for a second Sea Swift platform offshore Trinidad and Tobago and the commission to construct a platform for Chevron offshore Angola. The company has also continued investment in its product line such as the QuikDeck underdeck access system which, the company claimed, had already helped secure new work worth more than £1mn. With the penning of this new contract in Asia Pacific there appears to be no sign that the company is slowing down in 2021.
In their 2020 review Subsea 7 reported a net cost of US$70mn through dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and additional restructuring charges of US$86mn. Yet, despite this, the company suffered no contract cancellations and increased their backlog of work by 20% to US$6.2bn prompting calls of encouragement for the future, especially with the continuing market stabilisation of oil and gas and growth of the offshore renewables market.
In January, to cope with the Covid-induced difficulties and align with their strategic focus area ‘subsea field of the future – systems and delivery’, Subsea 7 streamlined their business by combining their SURF and conventional Life of Field units. The new Subsea and Conventional unit encompasses the full portfolio of services and products dedicated to the oil and gas industry that Subsea 7 has to offer including the integration of IRM and well intervention into the integrated field development solutions created by Subsea Integration Alliance to provide a holistic offering across the life cycle of client’s fields.
John Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Subsea 7, said, “In a challenging twelve months Subsea 7 responded well. The Covid-19 pandemic required radical changes to operations and had an adverse effect on the market for our oil and gas businesses. In response, we booked incremental operating costs, restructured our cost base, and recognised material impairments to goodwill and asset values. Yet, we continued to deliver projects to our clients, generated positive cash flow, reduced debt and increased our backlog. As a result of the efforts and dedication of our employees, we completed 20 projects in the year for 15 clients in 10 countries.”
These notable projects included continued work on BP’s Mad Dog 2 involving Seven Oceans and Seven Pacific; the completion of the Lape NE scope by Seven Seas in Brazil; several operations in the North Sea such as the completion of pipelay operations at Blythe; and the continued progress on the engineering and procurement phases of Sangomar in Senegal as well as Anchor, King’s Quay and Jack St Malo in the Gulf of Mexico.
Heading into 2021, with the pandemic in decline, Subsea 7 intends to continue progress on operations already underway and make up for the lost time suffered in 2020. In addition the company has been selected as the preferred supplier for several projects including Bacalhau, Scarborough, Pecan and Rovuma and was awarded a substantial contract by Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC) to construct and install the Lean Gas Platform (LGP) in Block-0 offshore Angola.
SBM Offshore has announced that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) together with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a 26 year and three month lease (as of the final acceptance of the unit in 2024) and operate contract for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Almirante Tamandaré, to be deployed at the Búzios field in the Santos Basin pre-salt area approximately 180km offshore Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
Under the contract, SBM Offshore will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and operation of the FPSO. SBM Offshore will design and construct the vessel using its Fast4Ward programme as it incorporates the company’s new build, multi-purpose floater (MPF) hull combined with several standardised topsides modules.
The Almirante Tamandaré
The FPSO vessel will be the largest oil producing unit operating offshore Brazil and one of the largest in the world, with a processing capacity of 225,000bbl and 12mn cu m of gas per day. Furthermore, the FPSO will have a water injection capacity of 250,000bbl per day and a minimum storage capacity of 1.4mnbbl. For the project, it is estimated that 15 wells will be connected to the FPSO including 6 oil producers, 6 water and gas injectors, 1 gas injector and 2 convertible wells through a subsea infrastructure composed of rigid production and injection pipelines and flexible service pipelines.
Bruno Chabas, Chief Executive Officer of SBM Offshore, commented, “SBM Offshore is proud to announce that Petrobras has awarded the Company the LOI for the 6th FPSO development in the world class Búzios field in Brazil. This award for one of the largest production units in the world demonstrates the trust placed in our ability to reliably deliver large-scale FPSOs and the agreement again confirms the significant value we bring to our clients with our industry leading Fast4Ward programme. SBM Offshore teams look forward to starting the execution phase in order to continue to deliver value to one of our key clients Petrobras.”
Petrobras’ strategy refocused
This agreement has finally arrived after a number of tentative reports last year and follows Petrobras’ new strategy of portfolio optimisation to concentrate its resources on world-class assets in deep and ultra-deep water. To emphasise this policy, the company has also announced the sale of its stake in nine onshore exploration and production fields, called the Miranga Cluster in the state of Bahia, to SPE Miranga S.A., for US$220.1mn. The sale and the FPSO contract is a clear signal of intent from Petrobras and it would be unsurprising if similar activities were announced in the near future as the company seeks to establish itself more rigidly as an offshore oil and gas producer.
3D at Depth, a company expert in commercial Subsea LiDAR (SL) laser technology has announced the launch of its Geophysical Survey Services division to provide optimised surveys to support both nearshore, inshore and offshore deepwater development activities.
The company has focuses on 3D data excellence through innovative technology solutions that enable cost savings across any survey initiative without sacrificing data quality. The new division is supported by a team of experienced LiDAR experts, 3D data specialists, geophysical, and hydrographic professionals providing a multi-disciplined approach to guide, identify and analyse data acquisition initiatives across survey campaigns.
3D at Depth’s offerings
The Geophysical Survey Services division will leverage 3D at Depth’s in-house electronics, system integration, and design capabilities as key differentiators. Subsea LiDAR 3D data sets will be merged with multibeam echosounder (MBES) multi-frequency, multi-spectral data acquisition and optical technologies which will enable more robust, higher quality output, maximising results for the end client. Deepwater offshore, inshore, and nearshore projects will also have a clear advantage with 3D at Depth’s integrated autonomous or tethered underwater vehicle and vessel mounted survey solution.
The fully integrated solution incorporates a hovering supervised autonomous AUV/ ROV package and takes full advantage of 3D at Depth’s Subsea LiDAR (SL) laser with remote sensing technology - inertial navigation coupled with a multibeam echosounder and pipeline and hydrocarbon leak detection sensors.
The application of 3D at Depth’s disruptive technology approach will enable it to expand into Geophysical survey services and is built around solving customer challenges in three areas: reducing environmental and human risks, lowering the project's overall carbon footprint, and providing more robust data acquisition solutions. Specifically, the technology was developed from best practices in deep water survey campaigns to tackle the challenges of shallow water survey data collection and acquisition projects. Shallow water projects have exposure to lengthy weather events; crew and ship standby costs, sea-state challenges for collection, etc. All of which impact the time, budget, and quality of the data.
Neil Manning, Chief Operating Officer of 3D at Depth, commented, “We pulled from our deep-water technology portfolio to fast-track a solution that meets the current requirements of the shallow water survey market. With over 600 offshore projects behind us and an increasing backlog, I am excited to push the flexible vehicle systems and in-house patented technology into the geophysical market. By moving the budget needle in the right direction for our customers' survey projects, we assist the offshore energy market in obtaining quality data for a reasonable price.”
3D at Depth’s geophysical survey services recently completed a major project for post-hurricane NTL surveys in the Gulf of Mexico for a large U.S. based pipeline company. The project continues with expanded requirements. 3D at Depth will partner and act as the prime contractor to ensure best practices, and unsurpassed technical expertise is always on hand. Geophysical and geotechnical capabilities for the projects will be available from vessel mounted or subsea vehicle-mounted methods to allow for both long and close-range inspections which enable a blend of efficient data collection and high data quality to meet and exceed the demands from the end-users.
Petronas has awarded Block SB405, offshore the coast of Sabah, Malaysia, to ConocoPhillips East Malaysia Limited (COPEM) a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips and Petronas Carigali (PCSB). The award of this exploration block, which has an area size of 5,857 sq km in water depth of up to 100m, is expected to bolster exploration activities off the coast of Sabah following the opening of more block investment opportunities in the country.
COPEM is the operator for Block SB405 PSC, with a participating interest of 85%, while PCSB holds the remaining 15%. SB405 is the new addition to COPEM’s existing interests in five production sharing contracts (PSC) in Malaysia, which are Block J, G and Kebabangan located off the coast of Sabah; and SK304 and WL4-00 located off the coast of Sarawak.
Mohamed Firouz Asnan, Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management, commented, “The entry of COPEM with its world class proprietary seismic technology into Block SB405 is expected to enhance the hydrocarbon resource potential off the coast of Sabah. This is an area that has a proven working petroleum system with previous discoveries such as Kuda Terbang and Nymphe fields. At the same time, the new investment of COPEM in Block SB405 represents enhanced confidence of foreign investors in the upstream sector in Malaysia.”
“The partnership with PCSB provides that winning combination to support the potential development of the resource within the North East Sabah basin area upon successful commercialisation of the discoveries. Under our right asset, right player strategy, we hope to unlock the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia towards successfully delivering clean and reliable energy to our customers in Malaysia and abroad,” he added.
More blocks on offer
Alongside signing the PSC with COPEM, Petronas has also announced that it will be offering 13 offshore exploration blocks offshore Malaysia at the upcoming Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 with six discovered fields included to incentivise investors.
Mohamed Firouz Asnan said, “MBR 2021 will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs. We will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the PSCs such as enhanced profitability (EPT) for the shallow water blocks, the late life assets (LLA) and small field assets (SFA) which are designed to match the risk and rewards of the investments with the type of assets available.”
“These terms have been formulated based on the feedback from industry players, taking into account market conditions, further strengthening Malaysia’s position as the oil and gas hub in a growing and thriving market of South East Asia. Besides improved fiscal terms, Malaysia offers good network connectivity by way of established world-class infrastructure which enables ease of monetisation,” he added.
In recent months Malaysia has shown high potential for future oil and gas development offshore with fresh discoveries, such as PTT Exploration & Production announcing its biggest find to date in the SK 410B block, set to boost already high production levels of natural gas and oil. The news distributions by Petronas will only serve to bolster and consolidate the country’s position as one of the highest producing countries in Asia.
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Schlumberger have announced the launch of the Egypt Upstream Gateway, an innovative national project for the digitalisation of subsurface information and enable global access to the country's subsurface data. This unique digital initiative will be used to unlock the potential of Egypt's petroleum sector and promote the country for international investment in exploration and production projects.
“Egypt is in the process of launching the Egypt Upstream Gateway, a digital subsurface platform that will act as an up-to-date repository of the country’s subsurface data,” commented H.E. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Egypt. “The Egypt Upstream Gateway will digitally promote Egypt’s oil and gas bid rounds through seamless online access to the sector’s data, as well as endorsing our exploration potential worldwide, it is a defining milestone in the country’s oil and gas digital transformation.”
The Egypt Upstream Gateway provides digital access to over 100 years' worth of accumulated national onshore and offshore seismic, non-seismic, well-log, production, and additional subsurface data under a single platform. This data, which empowers de-risked decisions through the ability to explore multiple basins and evergreen data, can be accessed virtually from anywhere using the platform’s online portal. In addition, the Egypt Upstream Gateway will host Egypt's upcoming bid round highlighting lease availability information to national and international investors.
Rajeev Sonthalia, President of Digital & Integration at Schlumberger, said, "The Egypt Upstream Gateway is the embodiment of the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum's vision, leveraging digitisation to modernise the country's petroleum sector. With the launch of this industry-first platform, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and its affiliates—EGPC, EGAS, GANOPE—can digitally showcase national assets to investors worldwide, in addition to leveraging the latest digital technology and solutions to accelerate discovery throughout the country."
Digitalisation has become a key issue for the offshore oil and gas industry (and indeed the entire energy sector). The importance of getting a firm grip on data and having the capacity to effectively use this is paramount and can lead to tangible benefits in areas such as production efficiency and lifetime of assets. This is clearly understood by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum with this announcement that marks a real sign of intent to get ahead of the curve. It is also noteworthy that the data will be opened up for international consideration with discussions on data sharing and partnerships around this intensifying in recent months.
On the last day of the Upstream Digital Transformation Conference (UDT) EU 2021, Stuart Broadley, CEO of the IEC, outlined that as a result of one of the most tumultuous years in living memory, combined with the growing pressure to decarbonise, there is a plethora of unanswered questions surrounding the energy industry, most especially focused on the need to digitalise and form partnerships to do so.
The need for partnerships
Focusing on the North Sea, Stephen Ashley, Digital Solutions Centre Manager at
OGTC, discussed his company’s dream to eliminate emissions from existing facilities and unleash the full potential an integrated energy system could yield. He commented, “Partnerships are absolutely key to transforming the North Sea for this. The last few months companies have set out net zero strategies, regulators have set out visions – the scene is set but we need action. We need rapid and focused investment to close some technology gaps that exist, such as how to develop a fully offshore power grid or around the production and use of blue and green hydrogen. The key thing is that no single company can do it alone. Partnerships will be required to deliver on these technology challenges.”
Stephanie Díaz, Digital Industry Analyst at BloombergNEF, suggested she had noticed some positive signs from the sector, she said, “We have seen the oil industry move toward digitalisation to reduce costs, extend the lifetime of assets and reduce uncertainty. The sector as a whole has loads of data particularly in exploration just from seismic surveys. The challenge that remains is using this, whether for data management, integration across upstream workflows or advanced analytics. As companies have tried to grapple with this they have moved more towards partnerships than collaborations on the assumption that no one wants to solve the same problem five times.”
However Díaz noted that it can be difficult for IOCs to take the plunge and commit to digitalisation and partnerships as, while this can clearly enhance workflows, it is not necessarily directly revenue generating. Díaz added, “We are still in the early stages of figuring out how the oil energy industry incentivises itself to partner on some of less exciting but very necessary stuff; data management is one of those ‘eat your vegetables’ types of initiatives - you have to do it. Some of that might mean working more with start ups or technology firms who have more experience in this. We have seen, for example, some companies partner with theBlueai, a start-up specifically for developing a file system for seismic data so that it can be processed faster than the cloud. This is something an oil company could not do by itself as it does not have the technological background but a start up could do it, and oil companies could bring their technical expertise with subsurface data to make sure it is useful. Finding a partner is about identifying your strings and recognising where it makes sense to partner with someone else for the strings that they bring.”
Digital Platforms
Benjamin Sokolowski, Internal Transformation Specialist at Wintershall Dea, drew attention to the extraordinary potential of the Open Subsurface Data Universe (OSDU), he commented, “The OSDU is essentially an open data storage lake hub where every subsurface data you produce can be put in there, then with machine learning utilisation you can reap the benefit of this data. The future will be on such platforms like this - not just having this an open data platform to give access to partners. There is no need to rebuild the data warehouses that each company owns but its having this externally with a full set of OPIs with a community around it. With this we can provide solutions even if not big part more open sources, this would make a big impact in the future.”
Explaining this further, Ashley said, “Open platforms (such as the OSDU) enable that platform for collaboration to happen and present an opportunity to build an ecosystem around data so multiple companies can solve problems with the same sets of data. A lot of work we do is to answer how to create not only the tech but also the legal controls that get over the philosophical challenge to let go of your own data, as you will often find the immediate industry response is to hold onto your own data.”
Díaz also added, “One of the things that will drive the adoption of big digital platforms is the increased pressure to move to net zero. Companies are moving away from frontier exploration which will mean they will have to rely on data from existing oil fields to determine what more they can get out of existing assets. This will be a drive towards more unified platforms to use across the entire upstream value chain.”
Digitalisation and partnerships in the future
Concluding the session, Broadley invited each participant to envision the sector one year from now and the progress in partnerships and digitalisation that will be made.
Ashley commented, “What we will see is more pressure on majors to demonstrate they are taking action, we are already beginning to see that and it coming to fruition with BP, for example beginning to invest heavily in CCS and wind. I think we will see more partnerships coming to fruition. On data specifically, there are some key areas where people are being psychologically challenged to share data. The regulators have a key role here to support and insist they should be sharing data. Areas where progress might be made is in robotics and autonomous systems in scale, how we do P&A and how can we get this done quickly. Sharing data will be key for these and the tech to support how that data will be pooled also.”
Providing her final thoughts, Díaz, said, “A year from now, I see some of the European IOCs make more progress in terms of tying digitalisation and decarbonisation together. Already we have seen some of this with BP and Shell (separately) announcing deals with Microsoft focusing on tying these two together. BP and Shell will provide renewable energy for Microsoft and Microsoft will supply its cloud analytics to the oil companies. I think we will see more of those types of partnerships. But it remains to be seen how successful they will be.”
Sokolowski finished the session by commenting, “I think one year from now we will be exactly were need to be to kick off decarbonisation from the digital area. But already I have heard many parts of organisations are still anaolog and still rolling with new ways of working. We really have to prepare organisations to really kick off such topics, which is more important than just optimising.”
As Stuart alluded to, a year is not a long time but it feels like there is a lot that will happen, and it will be interesting to see where the industry does end up, especially with COP 26 in November in which many are expecting a global carbon pricing rate to be set. Additionally, while IOCs begin moving into the broader energy sector it does appear they are open for collaboration and partnerships presently, but when they become more established, have a broader knowledge base and have more of the technology in-house this could turn more cut-throat which could result in the partnerships drying up once again.
Deep Casing Tools (DCT), a technology development company for the global energy sector, has secured investment of UK£1.6mn from EV Private Equity and Scottish Enterprise enabling the company to develop and commercialise new innovations that will transform operations across well completion, well construction, well abandonment and slot recovery. In a bid to capitalise on this, the company has made a series of senior appointments and created a new role in its global team.
David Charles
Armed with extensive well and extended reach drilling (ERD) knowledge, derived from 34 years working in the energy sector, David Charles has been appointed as Well Engineer and has been identified as instrumental in helping DCT’s customers maximise return on investment. Prior to joining DCT, David was an ERD Drilling Engineer with ADNOC, delivering ERD wells on a world class projects before becoming a self-employed ERD well specialist consultant. The creation of David’s Well Engineer role demonstrates DCT’s dedication to project performance, with his involvement enabling the expert design, construction and maintenance of wells. Collaborating with well teams onsite, David will lead technical delivery to ensure optimal emissions savings, time savings and cost efficiencies.
Edward Kerr
Edward Kerr joins DCT as Global Sales Manager from Ardyne Technologies where he held the role of regional Vice President, leading Middle East and Asia Pacific operations and global business development activities. At DCT, Edward will focus on driving tool sales, including the firm’s well established TurboCaser and TurboRunner. He will lead business development activities across target international regions, which will increase awareness of the economic and environmental efficiency gains DCT’s suite of well life cycle tools can deliver to major operators.
Compared to conventional technologies, DCT’s TurboCaser and TurboRunner tools are 75% quicker by ensuring casings and completions reach target depth on the first attempt, saving around three days in even the most complex wells. In a typical offshore well, this time saving translates to a saving of around US$600,000. Edward will also introduce new innovations to global markets, such as the highly anticipated Casing Cement Breaker and recently patented MechLOK Drill Pipe Swivel, enabling industry to revolutionise well operations.
Kevin Robertson
Completing the set is Kevin Robertson, who has been appointed Middle East Regional Manager. Having acquired over 20 years’ industry experience, specifically within tubulars, drilling and completions, Kevin Robertson will focus on DCT’s strong presence in the Middle East, which has been a key market for the firm for over a decade. He will further develop current relationships in the region with partners and the world’s largest operators, and identify new opportunities for revenue growth.
Speaking on his appointment, Robertson said, “As a small but global independent company, Deep Casing Tools is very agile and allows its employees to have a creative say in the business, letting all voices be heard. I was excited by its fantastic portfolio of innovative tools that are helping industry achieve remarkable efficiencies and overcome the complex well challenges that drilling teams face today.”
Commenting on the new additions to DCT, David Stephenson, CEO of DCT, said, “We’re pleased to welcome Edward, Kevin and David to the Deep Casing Tools team, their expertise and experience adding a new dimension to our global offering. I am certain they will prove invaluable to client operations and projects, and will play a crucial role in our ambitious growth strategy for 2021 and beyond. Strengthening the expertise and experience within our team, coupled with the recent investment from EV Private Equity and Scottish Enterprise, will ensure we meet growing industry demand for our technologies, helping our customers optimise performance, increase efficiency and ultimately, reduce carbon footprint.”
Wärtsilä has revealed that in December 2020 it signed five year Optimised Maintenance agreement for two offshore well intervention vessels owned by Siem Offshore. Under the agreement Wärtsilä will provide real-time monitoring and support, using the latest digital technology, to reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of two well intervention vessels (the Siem Helix 1 and the Siem Helix 2) operating in Brazil’s offshore oil fields. The agreement also covers the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions-abatement systems installed with the engines.
Wärtsilä will supply its Expert Insight predictive maintenance solution for use on the two vessels, an innovative service that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems and enable rapid reaction. Also included is Wärtsilä’s Date Driven Maintenance concept which will enable the ship’s crew to conduct condition inspections using borescope optical instruments. These images can then be sent to Wärtsilä’s technical experts for evaluation, and in most cases will lengthen the time required between engine overhauls.
Finally, Wärtsilä will provide the vessels with the Lloyd class-approved connectivity solution with enhanced cyber security - an enabler for onshore digital tools providing cloud based services such as remote monitoring, remote optimisation and support.
Henrik Wilhelms, Director of Agreement Sales at Wärtsilä Marine Power, commented, “Lifecycle support is a key element of our strategy, and our advanced digital and data-based maintenance solutions are central to enabling optimal operational performance. The benefit of being able to efficiently monitor the equipment and support customers remotely is enhanced even more today, since due to Corona-related travel restrictions, in-person visits by service engineers can be difficult to arrange. Since our engineers need to travel less, their carbon footprint is reduced, while at the same time we can optimise the performance of the asset, so it is really a double win.”
Full steam ahead in 2021
Presently, Wärtsilä’s is enjoying a spell in the sun as services are in high demand. So far, in February alone, the company has also revealed agreements to provide Western Pacific Marine Ltd with the advanced hybrid solution for the new Ro-Ro ferry; to supply Norwegian based Solvang with digital Operational Performance Improvement & Monitoring (OPERIM) solution to support the operational efficiency of its fleet; to equip new under construction Isle of Man ferry with a range of comprehensive solutions; and sealed a strategic partnership with SAACKE, to strengthen the companies’ ability to offer a comprehensive range of leading technology solutions to shipyards and ship owners. While in their 2020 annual report Wärtsilä may have reported a contraction in financial performance, it appears they are full steam ahead to reconcile this lost ground in 2021.
Panoro Energy ASA has announced that it has entered into agreements with Tullow Oil plc and its subsidiaries to acquire high-quality oil producing assets offshore Equatorial Guinea and Gabon for an initial aggregate cash consideration of up to US$140mn and aggregate contingent consideration of up to US$40mn, based on an effective date of 1 July 2020.
The assets in detail
The acquisitions represents a 14.25% working interest in Block G offshore Equatorial Guinea and a 10% working interest in Dussafu Marin Permit offshore Gabon. Panoro will therefore increase its net interest in its core asset Dussafu from 7.5% to 17.5% and achieves significant diversification through the entry into Block G, offshore Equatorial Guinea, which comprises six producing offshore fields through the Ceiba and Okume Complex assets.
The assets have excellent operators, low operating costs and have a reserve life of an estimated 13 years. They will add an estimated 6,900bpd net production, 25mnbbl net 2P reserves and hold a significant upside potential with 2C resources of 29mnbbl. The acquisitions will be financed through a contemplated US$70mn equity private placement and an up to US$90mn underwritten debt facility by a company within the Trafigura group.
John Hamilton, CEO of Panoro, commented, “These truly transformational acquisitions will establish Panoro as one of the world’s leading independent E&P companies focussed on Africa. We are purchasing high-quality, low operating cost assets, substantial production and material reserves in West Africa. These are highly accretive assets that deliver a major change in our operational and financial profile, and position the company well to generate sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.”
“We welcome the opportunity to increase our exposure in Dussafu, offshore Gabon, where Panoro has been an integral part of its success since 2007. In Equatorial Guinea we are new entrants and look forward to excellent cooperation and working with the field partners and the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons to grow further in the country. We look forward to realising the significant upside potential that we see in these assets through an active and fully funded work programme,” Hamilton added.
Panoro's increasing presence in West Africa
With these acquisitions Panoro will hold assets in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Nigeria (prior to completion of the sale of its interests in Aje to PetroNor) and South Africa and will quadruple its 2021e production and triple its 2P reserves. This marks another step for Panoro as it seeks to establish itself as one of the leading independent E&P companies focussed on Africa.
Julien Balkany, Chairman of Panoro said, "These two very attractive and highly value accretive acquisitions perfectly complement our existing upstream E&P portfolio in West Africa and represent a major step in the execution of Panoro’s ambitious growth strategy to continue building a balanced full-cycle E&P company focused on Africa. We are proud and excited to strengthen our position in Gabon and to enter Equatorial Guinea and intend to deliver strong returns for all the stakeholders involved."
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