Latest News

• Region: Middle East
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Dec, 2020

Global energy company Eni has signed a concession agreement for the acquisition of a 70% stake in the Exploration Offshore Block 3, leading a consortium including a wholly owned subsidiary of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP).

Under the terms of the agreements, Eni will operate the concession to explore for oil and gas and appraise the existing discoveries in the block, which covers an area of approximately 11,660 sq km. The exploration phase of the agreement has a maximum period of up to 9 years. Subject to successful exploration, an overall concession term will extend to 35 years, from commencement of the exploration phase, for development and production phases in which ADNOC has the option to hold a 60% stake.

3D seismic data has already been acquired for a part of the block, which is in close proximity to existing large oil and gas producing and under development fields, and that is estimated to have a promising potential.

His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO, said, “This concession award reinforces ADNOC and Eni’s growing partnership across our value chain and deepens our relationship with Thailand’s PTTEP, one of the key markets for our crude oil and products. Despite volatile market conditions, we are making very good progress in delivering Abu Dhabi’s second competitive block bid round, underscoring our world-class resource potential and the UAE’s stable and reliable investment environment.”

Claudio Descalzi, Eni CEO, commented, “This award follows the one achieved by the same consortium in 2019 for offshore exploration Blocks 1 and 2 and represents a further important step towards the realisation of Eni’s strategy to become a leading actor in the development and production in Abu Dhabi. It also further strengthens our relationship with our valuable partner PTTEP. Offshore Block 3 represents a challenging opportunity that can unlock significant value thanks to exploration and appraisal of shallow and deep reservoirs.”

Eni has been present in Abu Dhabi since 2018 with a 10% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr Offshore concession plus a 5% stake in the Lower Zakum concession as well as 25% stake in Ghasha concession that is approaching final FID. Current equity production is around 50,000 bpd, in line with the current quotas agreed by OPEC+ members.

The acquisition of the Exploration Offshore Block 3 is the latest step in Eni’s 2017 strategy to geographically diversify its portfolio which has seen the company expand operations in several Middle Eastern countries with a focus on the Arabian Peninsula. This plan is aimed at strengthening the resilience of the business, and so far it appears to have paid off as the consolidated results from their Q3 2020 report reveal the company has exceeded market expectations. They have achieved production levels in line with predictions, maintained a steady cash flow of more than EU€5bn, and kept leverage below 30%.

• Region: All
• Date: Dec, 2020

Genoa Black connected with Wouter Mezger, Commercial Director at Barge Master, as they discussed the recent success of the Deep Water Floating Drill Operation after the project claimed Most Innovative Solution at the OWI Global Awards 2020.

The Barge Master Deep Water Floating Drill Operation uses motion capture to eliminate vessel motions, allowing the operation of machinery with the same precision as onshore even in adverse weather conditions By integrating their BM-T700 motion compensation platform and the reverse circulation drill rig from Large Diameter Drilling (LDD) Barge Master has completed the installation of seven anchor mooring piles for a Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Buoy as well as a world first: drilling operations from a diving support and construction vessel in water depths of more than 270m.

Behind the projects success:

Mezger opened by thanking the judging panel for their decision and commented, “We think it has been recognised because typically drilling of this kind is usually carried out by a Jack-up barge [which are typically expensive to mobilise, hard to manoeuvre and limited by water depth and soil conditions]. We are filling in the gap. By integrating the motion compensated platform with an existing well intervention drill unit or technology a new innovative safe solution was developed which can be implemented on many other projects, moving the whole industry forward.”

When asked about the value this holds for customers Mezger responded, “The method of operation and the combined approach of using the Barge Master motion compensated platform and existing drill rig or intervention unit will bring great value to the oil and gas market and opens up new possibilities to perform well intervention on offshore wells in a safe and efficient way.

“The set up is a big step not just for the oil and gas market but throughout the marine industry where typical well intervention methods used by jack-up barges are not feasible in these water depths and require the need for a more costly floating drilling solution. We can bring a new cost effective solution that achieves the same end result.”

Why recognition was significant:

Mezger continued by commenting that receiving the award was recognition for the project and the team that had worked so hard on innovative solutions and confirmed the company’s belief in the product.

Reflecting on 2020 and looking to the future:

The Commercial Director considered the lessons learnt across 2020 and how the company is preparing for 2021, he stated, “Our priority is always safety first. It is embedded in the culture of our organisation both in the office and operations offshore. In 2020 we faced some challenges. Implementing a new technology, we felt the ability to travel and showcase the product to the customers, with the ongoing activities, has made bringing this new solution to the market rather hard. For 2021 we have learnt to focus and target specific markets for our applications.”

There are no suggestions that the success of the Water Floating Drill Operation will dry up any time soon, with the OWI Awards judges noting that it is a ‘world’s first that is flexible for a wide range of operations’. Certainly Mezger believes the future is bright as he concluded, “With the award we have received industry recognition that will help us reach out to a broader spectrum of clients and help them open up even more to this new innovative solution.”

• Region: All
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: Dec, 2020

At the OWI Global Awards 2020, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) claimed Best Example of Collaboration for the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP) and so Genoa Black sat down with Andy Myers, SWIS Director at OSRL, to discuss the enterprise in more detail.

The SWRP was established in 2011 as a non-profit joint initiative between several major oil and gas corporations to improve the industry’s ability to respond to sub-sea well control incidents. The four objectives of the project were to; develop a capping toolbox to allow wells to be shut in; produce the Subsea Incident Response Toolkit (SIRT) for site survey, debris clearance, BOP intervention and subsea dispersant; collaborate on an international deployment mechanism so equipment could be readily available to the wider industry; and determine the feasibility of a global containment system.

Oil Spill Response Limited has collaborated with the SWRP since its conception and today offers subscribers access to equipment, planning support, exercise assistance and training services as well as facilitating the Global Subsea Response Network (GSRN) to enhance well response capabilities for the industry.

Behind the project's success:

Speculating why the project was chosen by the judges, Myers commented, “This award recognised delivery of SWIS equipment and quite rightly so. That was a huge milestone for the industry. But there is a journey that everyone is on in order to ensure that they are maintaining the response readiness. We are collaborating not only with those members and subscribers but also more widely with companies that we work closely with to help provide a comprehensive service for the subscribers.

“We helped to facilitate the Global Subsea Response Network and participants in that help to provide the comprehensive service. Some of the key participants are; Wild Well Control, the OEMs of the equipment such as Trendsetter Engineering and Oceaneering; and other companies such as Wood - all recognisable names. But we helped to facilitate access to all of those resources to ensure; a comprehensive integrated planning service; to be prepared; but also, in a response, the access to the resources that would be needed.

Why recognition was significant:

When asked what the recognition meant to OSRL, Myers said, “Collaboration is at the core of the company’s business. We are a member owned company and consortium. It really is part of our basis and part of our premise. We are not a traditional commercial organisation. It is good to be recognised as it re-iterates the purpose of our company and why we exist which is to help facilitate that collaboration and ensure everyone is ready to respond if required.

Lessons learned from 2020:

2020 has been difficult for everyone and has thrown up challenges that simply could not have been foreseen this time last year. Myers acknowledged a similar story within his company but preferred to look at the positives, noting that such times opens opportunities and there is now a chance to use the tools that have been developed to embark on a more positive approach moving forward.

Looking ahead to 2021:

A postiive outlook is at the heart of OSRL’s plan for 2021, and Myers concluded, “Into 2021 the key focus area for our subsea business is really related to the global subsea response network and we want to do more to formalise that. We want to do more work to promote it so the industry understands its capability and we hope to grow it in specific areas. We want to look at how that network delivers integrated planning services and a comprehensive response for the industry.”

As the oil and gas industry struggles to mitigate the economic damage caused by COVID-19, voices across the sector have suggested that increased collaboration will be vital for recovery in 2021. Receiving the OWI Award for Best Example of Collaboration has therefore come at a significant time, with the judges labelling the SWRP project as ‘huge for the industry’, and hopefully this will set a precedent that will lead to more cooperation in the future.

• Region: All
• Date: Dec, 2020

After claiming the prize for HSE Innovation at the OWI Global Awards 2020, Kristell Nygård, Operations Manager at TIOS, spoke with Genoa Black to discuss the resounding success of their Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit and their plans to build on this in 2021.

In combination with a Stimulation Vessel the Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit has proven to enhance safety, efficiency and operability during Riserless Light Well Intervention operations. Nygård noted how the new hanger system, in action this year, had eliminated a whole range of problems that were experienced on previous campaigns. These include; the use of crane operations (which required time); human presence on the hose hanger system (where previously engineers had to climb up the hanger system); and repeated connection and disconnecting of pumping lines (now just one connection is needed with testing only required each time the vessel arrives onto the site).

The system also allowed control of operation from a safe distance (with the option to use the control panel so people do not have to be close to the equipment); increased distance between the two vessels; and it also significantly extended the weather operating windows for operations resulting in a saving of approximately 18 hours per well.

On what separates the unit from the rest of the market, Nygård commented, “It is the manual handling that is reduced to a minimum. It is also a great wholesale unit that you can replace anywhere. As it has a small footprint, you can put it on a fixed platform on any vessel you like.”

Nygård also spoke on the importance of recognition, “It is good that all the teamwork we are doing is getting recognised as TIOS is a small company. We are trying to come up with new great ideas to make well intervention jobs more achievable in days instead of weeks. We like to do things faster, better and with increased operational ability.”

“We had a challenge when oil prices dropped. Well intervention is more about contract to contract, when the price goes down sometimes companies pull out of contracts and the jobs stop. It was a challenging year but we have achieved more and more,” Nygård added and thanked the continued support from companies within the sector.

Concluding, Nygård looked ahead to 2021, “We have now gone into business with the same oil company and the same equipment to perform one more acid job this year. We are going to stimulate two more wells for the same company. Also, this time we will be able to pump balls through the system for the first time enabling us to do more with the new hosing system. The same company would like us to perform more of the same job next year so actually this gives us more jobs. For the hose hanger system there are other companies who want to use it as well.”

The Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit was a worthy winner of the OWI 2020 HSE Innovation prize, marking a notable advancement in safety and operability for the industry, and it appears that TIOS has every intention to build on this success as it heads into 2021.

• Region: All
• Date: Dec, 2020

The Helix Intervention Tension Frame (ITF) was implemented after Helix Energy Solutions approached OSBIT with a well intervention problem; how to deploy tools safely from a vessel.

OSBIT responded with a tension frame that is constrained onto a vessel so that it slides only vertically with the craft allowing them to establish a walk-to-work system and allowing a relatively large ITF compared to the vessel. The ITF has three platform levels, is accessible via a telescopic gangway and removes the need for engineers to use rope access systems. This means that from a relatively small vessel, a suite of tools can be exchanged without having to come off the well in addition to the swift manoeuvring of personnel.

With the ITF, Helix vessels productivity is greatly enhanced, with crews able to quickly access the wells, use the tools they have, and move from well to well and tooling suite to tooling suite safely and effectively. This ensures that the right people are at the right equipment at the right time, and that maintenance can be carried out as swiftly as possible.

In use on Helix Siem vessels in Brazil the integrated system is field tested, with noticeable benefits such as reducing the time taken to switch between wireline and coil tubing operations (and back again) from days to just a few hours. It has also had a marked improvement on safety with the Siem Helix 2 recently completing 500 days without an LTI.

David Carr, Senior Vice-President of International Development at Helix Energy Solutions commented, “The three ITFs that were built for us by OSBIT have had an outsize effect on increasing the safety and efficiency of our most recent three vessels. Just being able to switch operational modes to go from wireline to coil tubing in a manner of hours is saving our customers significant rig time. More importantly they provide a safe compensated platform for our crews to work at height and because of that we have been able to completely eliminate man riding from these vessels. We are extremely happy with the safe working environment that the ITF brings to Helix.”

For the ITF project, OSBIT was shortlisted for Most Innovative Solution at the OWI Global Awards 2020, capping a positive year for the company despite the pandemic. At the start of the year, OSBIT was awarded a contract by FTAI Ocean, a subsidiary of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC, to develop and construct a new well intervention tower system and has also recently appointed Robbie Blakeman as joint managing director to reflect the ambitions of the company as it seeks to continue its success and growth into 2021.

• Region: All
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Dec, 2020

The chicken or the egg? Which comes first in the path to digitalisation; people, technology or process?

Vaseem Khan, Global Vice President of Digital & Analytics and Head of Innovation at McDermott International, hosted the webinar entitled ‘Digital Transformation: The Challenge of Change’ as panellists discussed the most appropriate path for digitalisation within the energy sector.

Khan began by outlining that over the past two decades digitalisation has grown in every facet of life. From retail, telecommunications, manufacturing, etc, every industry is embracing the digital revolution and yet the energy sector is holding back. The host sought to explore this issue, and draw from the expertise and experience of his fellow panellists to help businesses undertake their own digitalisation journey.

Esther Diederen, People and Process Transformation Team Lead at Spirit Energy, pointed at the importance of people and processes that, in many ways, supersedes the technology. The Spirit Energy representative commented, “You need a lot more than just having technology, you need people onside and correct processes in place. Without optimising processes you are not going to get value from the technology. The most important thing is you have to get people who want to use the technology; you need to train them, have them understand why they are using it, and make them see the benefit. Just putting technology out there and thinking the world is going to change is not going to work.”

In agreement with this, Jaco Fok, Chief of Innovation at OMV Petrom, stated, “To me it starts with the people. 70% of digital success is the people. In our case we installed a refinery dashboard which was well set up, but only a handful of people could actually use it. There was a whole data warehouse with valuable data barely used.” Fok continued to outline his company’s approach to digitalisation where employees were given the tools for their own installation and education in new technology, with supporting networks. After undertaking this, they now have hundreds of people able to consume data made available by new technology. But Fok warned that the process was difficult, and he was taken aback by the amount of people who had dropped out of the course.

“It is easy to spend a lot of money [on technology] without defining what the value is,” commented Steve Johnson, Digital Vice-President at Petrofac. “You need to take people on the journey. Ask yourself; transformation for what aim? Where are you going? From Petrofac’s perspective, transformation has several different dynamics. We could transform to go into a different market, enhance services or drive down costs. Make sure your starting point is clear about the transformation goals, it provides the ability to bring everything together with a clear target and common objectives. What’s been most successful for us is we had a clear process from corporate right through to individual service lines.”

James Elgenes, Leading Advisor for Exploration and Digitalisation at Equinor, noted, “Now more than ever digital technology is the catalyst for change, and this is only partly about technology. It is about the people and the culture. Too often there is a focus on the technology side and communications, with flash products like virtual reality and drones, but that is a tiny part of what digitalisation is all about.”

Advising on how to start the digitalisation programme Elgenes stated, “You need to start small and gain momentum. Show concrete examples and quick wins and then scale the project to incentivise people more and more. We are starting to see bottom line value in the industry but to get more we need cultural momentum, high energy, enthusiasm and excitement. We want to be a part of this.”

Concluding the session, Kham summarised, “People. Collaboration. Processes. Technology. I don’t think there is an alternative to digitalisation and the industry is moving in that direction. Collaboration is the key; we mustn’t build islands of digitalisation but all of us - owners, operators and service providers - need to work together to deliver. The challenge is that we need to go into this with eyes wide open.”

• Region: West Africa
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Dec, 2020

• Region: All
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Dec, 2020

Hosted by Claire Kinloch, CEO of Genoa Black, and her colleague Rob Potter, Strategy Director, the winners of the prestigious OWI Global Awards 2020 were announced at a virtual ceremony on the 3 December.

Kinloch and Potter welcomed everyone in attendance by first acknowledging all the work that was put in behind the scenes from the organisers, who were able to orchestrate the event despite the disruptions of Covid-19, through to the expert panel of judges who put in many hours to painstakingly separate the winners from the fierce competition.

For each category the judges guided attendees through the submissions, demonstrating the quality, ingenuity and in many examples the courage that was displayed in each shortlist before announcing the winners. The projects exhibited were beyond commendable and highlighted the resilience that the industry had shown in the face of an incredibly difficult year, but for each category there could only be one winner:

HSE Innovation:
Winner: Tios
Submission: Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit
Judges comments: “HSE is obviously in their corporate culture.”

Most Impactful Technology:
Winner: Well-SENSE
Submission: FiberLine Intervention- Next Generation Well Surveillance
Judges comments: “Giving operators new options.”
Craig Feherty, FLI Director: “For us, we see a challenge environmentally every day in terms of logistics and costs. We needed to come up with solutions for customers to collect the data they needed and so we invented the new intervention system to simplify how to collect data.”

Best Example of Collaboration:
Winner: Oil Spill Response Limited
Project: Subsea Well Response Project
Judges comments: “Huge for the industry and shows brilliant initiative.”
Andy Myers, SWIS Director: “We are very proud to be custodians of this equipment and associated services on behalf of our subscribers and we look forward to facilitating continued collaboration between our subscribers to help ensure response readiness for subsea oil response.”

Best Project Outcome:
Winner: Helix Energy Solutions Group
Project: Interventions on Nigeria’s Erha field with their Q7000 and Schlumberger
Judges comments: “Integration at its best.”
David Carr, Senior Vice-President of International Development at Helix Well Ops: “Quite timely we completed that project at the start of this year, Covid meant the vessel had to retreat to Tenerife. But I am glad to say that this week the vessel will return to Nigeria. We have further projects with Total, Chevron, Shell to complete next year. I would like to give a shout out to our partners, Schlumberger, for their excellent performance on the job and especially to our Nigerian partners without whom the job would not have been possible at all.”

Significant Contribution to the Industry:
Winner: OneSubsea
Project: Subsea Field Production Enhancement Solution
Judges comments: “This technology could be applied to all subsea wells”
Mike Avery, Sales Engineer: “Thank you to our customers for the opportunity to collaborate with and work alongside on this exciting project, the Schlumberger team, the management for the vision and guidance, the sales teams for nurturing the opportunity, the projects and engineers for developing the technologies, field service  for implementing them offshore and all the support functions for helping deliver a safe service. This was truly a massive team effort.”

Most Innovative Solution:
Winner: Barge Master
Project: Deep Water Floating Drill Operation using motion compensation
Judges comments: “Their Compensation platform performs a lot of flexibility for a wide range of operations.”

Kinloch and Potter concluded the ceremony by extending their personal congratulations to each winner and applauding each and every submission which contributed to such a fantastic and competitive competition. Successful events such as the OWI Awards are a testament to the offshore industry’s strength, cohesion and resourcefulness, as Kinloch noted; without the extensive support from within the industry events like this could not go ahead. Such a celebration of the best in well intervention in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic is a promising sign for the future of the industry.

To hear further details on the award entries submitted for the competition, the Technical Webinar hosted by Offshore Network is being held on the 3 February 2021. Register here: https://offsnet.com/owi-awards/technical

• Region: Australia
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Nov, 2020

• Region: Australia
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: Dec, 2020

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: July, 2020

See the latest well intervention training from Seaflo and understand how this can increase your project efficiency

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: All Topics
• Date: May, 2020

The TITAN RS System - Combining our field proven BHA Systems with a Ardyne developed resonance tool to aid casing recovery by reducing the pulling force required to free stuck casing. Successful trial wells have been completed recovering casing encased settled solids.

View our introduction video below - To find out more about the TITAN RS System please contact us.