Europe

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: Feb, 2023

Europe’s largest provider of well integrity solutions, Unity, is developing a new additive manufactured lightweight gate which can be retrofitted to Christmas Tree gate valves to remediate seal integrity issues in low-pressure wells.

The gate has been designed as a solution for late life, depleted and shut-in offshore wells, where the tubing head pressure is too low to effectively seat the gate and seal the well. The patented design reduces the weight of the gate by around 60%, while retaining its intrinsic strength and would save operators around UK£250,000 per well by replacing a single surface component rather than the complete well control package.

The new technology is a result of a collaborative research and development project with Net Zero Technology Centre and Spirit Energy.

Technical Sales Director at Unity, Stuart Slater, explained, “The use of metal additive manufacturing means that we can offer attractive cost-savings and efficiencies to the industry, reducing raw materials, waste and operator investment in stock holding. The delivery of single items is fast and more energy efficient than traditional forgings, with an impressive 90% average reduction in lead times.

“But the real saving in this case is achieved by approaching the problem from a different angle, so rather than replacing the whole surface well control package we can quickly replace just a single small component, which offers huge cost and efficiency benefits.”

According to the most recent ‘Wells Insight Report’ from the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority, the current active UKCS well stock comprises of 2,629 wellbores, 1,661 of which are producing, while the number of shut-in wells rose by 65 to 781 in 2021. Shut-in well stock is now at a historical high, with 30% of all wells being shut in as significant intervention on infrastructure is cited as one of the top three limiting factors.

Unity’s technology is entering the latter stages of development as prototype testing has already been completed on a 2-1/16” gate, with a 5-1/8” gate now in manufacture to qualify the product for commercialisation.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Jan, 2023

Oilenco Norge AS, sister company to well intervention and abandonment company Oilenco Ltd, has appointed Dean Reynolds as Business Development Manager for their Norway operation.

Reynolds will transfer from Oilenco to Oilenco Norge AS after four years with the market-leading company and will be responsible for the growth of the Oilenco brand in Norway.

Reynolds, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, commented, “Oilenco is an innovative company bringing together bespoke design engineering expertise and custom manufacturing services to support clients with the most demanding of challenges. In my new role as Business Development Manager for Oilenco Norge, I will be responsible for developing client relationships, raising awareness of Oilenco products and capabilities, whilst demonstrating our compliance with the latest industry standards and high-quality service the company provides.

“Over my career I have gained valuable knowledge and experience from the front end, working offshore, understanding the needs of engineers, as well as supporting oil companies to provide a superior service to their customers. I am sincerely grateful to work for a fast paced, forward thinking company like Oilenco and to be given this opportunity to showcase our evolving product range to the Norwegian market.”

Blair McCombie, Operations Director, Oilenco Ltd remarked, “Oilenco have been working alongside oil and gas companies in the Norwegian sector since 2008, and following the establishment of Oilenco Norge in 2021, it is critical we have a dedicated operation and technical support in region. This appointment strengthens our position and shows commitment to provide a more collaborative service to our clients. As a significant producer of oil and gas, we look forward to supporting the Norwegian sector, bringing efficiencies to their well intervention operations through our design, manufacturing and engineering capabilities. Dean is a great asset to the company and addition to the Oilenco Norge team, and with his technical knowledge and years of experience, is a talented resource to work alongside our client to supply the service they require.”

• Region: All
• Date: Jan, 2023

Archer Limited has announced the acquisition of P&A specialist company Romar-Abrado, increasing its growth within the well services sector.

The acquisition is based on an enterprise value of US$8mn, plus earn-out pending trading performance over the 2023-2025 period.

“We are pleased to announce the investment in Romar-Abrado, continuing out growth within our well services segment. The acquisition is another value creating investment which expands our capabilities within workover operations and well abandonment,” said CEO of Archer, Dag Skindlo.

“Romar-Abrado fits well with our strategy for brownfield and P&A. We expect activity to increase within these markets going forward as fundamentals and outlook remain strong. In addition, the transaction will contribute to the acceleration of our international expansion within the well services segment.”

Romar-Abrado offers advanced milling and SWARF handling services to the global P&A market, with its combined approach and operator knowledge providing innovative technologies to deliver permanent, emission-free barriers and alternative zonal isolation solutions.

Jason Broussard, CEO, Romar-Abrado, said, “We are happy to join forces with Archer to further develop and broaden our products and services in Romar-Abrado. Archer is a great fit for the Romar-Abrado business with their global footprint and service offering within workover and abandonment.”

Based on the acquisition and current trading levels, Archer’s financial guidance has increased for 2023, lifting to 20-25% above 2022 levels.

This announcement is but further indication of the mounting interest around end-of-life practices as the global well stock continues to age and environmental concerns continue to build. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the North Sea where the well intervention market is looking increasingly strong for the years ahead.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Dec, 2022

Island Offshore, which owns an extensive fleet of offshore service vessels with a range of capacities, has indicated that their 2023 light well intervention work programme is filling up with several clients planning to increase the use of their service.

The company provided this information in a social media post where it suggested that utilisation is looking to improve further from 2022 levels. It added that the Island Wellserver vessel will be fully utilised in 2023 working on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and will, in December, be dry-docked at Ulstein Yard for class renewal.

The Island Constructor is currently trading outside the North Sea but will return to the region in February to undertake multi-client LWI work throughout 2023.

Continuing, the company explained that its riserless well intervention units are part of a cost-effective and flexible service alternative to rig-based interventions with a value proposition that has shown to be appealing to customers. The subsea well services include diagnostics, stimulation, monitoring, zonal isolation, and mechanical repairs.

Since 2005, Island Offshore has partnered with TechnipFMC and other alliance partners as first moves to complete more than 400 well interventions. The post concluded, “We are proud to be a small but significant player in the market.”

• Region: All
• Date: Nov, 2022

Celebrations rang through the night last week as the third annual OWI Awards 2022 brought industry giants together to highlight the very best in offshore well intervention.

This year the ceremony was hosted in Aberdeen on 25 November, 2022, and showcased a host of innovative technologies and solutions over the span of eight categories. The judging panel was made up of top operators from around the world ready to find the best of the best in well intervention.

Vaarst kicked off the night by taking home the Digital Transformation Leader trophy for its excellent work on the SubSLAM X2, a trailblazing digital solution which collects real-time intelligent data in order to deliver underwater live 3D point clouds with sub-millimetre precision.

Next up was Expro which was the big winner of the night, claiming victory in two award categories; Champion Integrated Well Service Company and Most Innovative Solution. The company’s integrated subsea intervention package and Octopoda system were recognised by the judging panel for their ingenuity and impact on the outer industry, thus earning the double win.

The award for the Best Example of Collaboration went to AKOFS Offshore in this hotly contested category, for its exemplary work with Equinor, offering the AKOFS Seafarer for integrated services utilising the company’s OneTeam model. The services are provided through four entities ­– AKOFS Offshore, IKM Subsea, Archer and Welltec – highlighting the integral prosperities of collaborative work within the industry.

Tendeka took to the top spot for the Best Project Outcome award, shining a light on the company’s remedial solution, Filtrex Conformable Sand Screen, which showed huge success restoring sand-free production across a three-well campaign in Indonesia. The remarkable performance earned Tendeka high recognition from the judging panel.

As sustainability is an incredibly hot topic within the industry at the minute, the award for Environmental Sustainability Innovation presented a very strong roster, but ultimately there could only be one winner, and Exceed pipped everyone else to the post. The company is on a mission to be the global leader of intergraded well management for energy transition, and was subsequently rewarded for its work on carbon neutral well operation.

SLB was awarded for its Plug and Abandonment Excellence thanks to its industry-first wireline service, Epilogue Isolation, wherein operators are no longer required to remove the inner pipe to evaluate well integrity, revolutionising conventional operations. The service reduces P&A rig days, minimising costs and reduces carbon footprint, all of which make the company a worthwhile winner in the eyes of the judges.

To end the ceremony, the final award was that of Significant Contribution to the Industry; an award which showcases the impressive portfolios accumulated by the finalists over the span of their respective company life cycles. The winner of the prestigious award was Weatherford for its rig-less framework approach to decommissioning pre-abandoned phase 3 wells.

Overall, the ceremony was a cause for celebration for not only the winners, but for all the finalists for all the hard work and dedication each operator has put into making the well intervention industry be the best it can be.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Dec, 2022

Energy services provider, Expro, has announced a US$50mn contract with North Sea operator, Apache Corporation.

The contract is for fully integrated well intervention and integrity services across all of Apache’s North Sea projects, including its Beryl and Forties assets, with a primary term of three years, and two one-year extension options.

Expro will provide services including slickline, e-line, cased hole, and pressure pumping across Apache’s assets, as well as several of the company’s own innovative technologies, including Octopoda, CoilHose and Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) Slickline.

Expro’s Regional Vice President of Europe and sub-Sahara Africa, Colin Mackenzie, said, “We are delighted to receive this award, which demonstrates the continuation of our longstanding relationship with Apache and long-term investment in the UK sector of the North Sea.”

“Expro have worked with Apache for two decades. We are committed to providing safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible services. We look forward to adding further value to Apache with the introduction of our latest well intervention technologies.”

The project is due to commence in Q4 2022.

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: Decommissioning
• Date: Nov, 2022

Argeo Robotics AS, a fully owned subsidiary of Argeo AS which develops robotic and digital solutions for the ocean space, has been granted a patent from the Norwegian Industrial Patent Office for a subsea electromagnetic remote-sensing system.

The company has developed a portfolio of electromagnetic source and receiver systems for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), Underwater Intervention Drones (UID) and ROVs. This patent protects Argeo’s exclusive services with the products Argeo Whisper and Argeo Discover.

Argeo Whisper is an AUV and ROV system developed for localising and tracking buried pipelines as well as detecting buried objects in a decommissioning survey. It can also be used for detecting unexploded ordnances.

Argeo Discover is an application or detecting, delineating, and characterising deep sea mineral deposits or other conductive objects below the seafloor utilising an electromagnetic source integrated in an AUV or ROV.

The company has developed an electromagnetic source that is designed to operate down to 6,000 m water depth. This technology enables ultra-high resolution characterisation of minerals that has previously not been possible. With Argeo Discover added to Argeo’s AUV and ROV sensor portfolio, Argeo is in a position to provide effective ultra-high resolution data acquisition for both larger regional and detailed local exploration over large areas with deposits utilising its fleet its AUVs rated to 6,000 m water depth.

Thorbjørn Rekdal, CTO in Argeo, commented, “We are very pleased with the electromagnetic source and sensor technologies that are developed by Argeo Robotics, and protecting our inventions is something we consider of utmost importance.”

The project for Argeo Searcher and both of the SeaRaptors is scheduled to commence directly after completing the vessel conversion project in January 2023 with a duration of 3-4 weeks and an estimated completion in February. The project has good possibility for extension further into Q1 2023.

The company will provide high resolution environmental and potential marine mineral resource assessment in addition to an advanced dual-AUV operation. Argeo will retain show and marketing rights for the data and present the results using its digital visualisation platform, Argeo SCOPE.

• Region: North Sea
• Topics: Integrity
• Date: Nov, 2022

Treating and removing scale build-up within a tubing retrievable subsurface safety valve (TRSSSV) can be problematic, costly, and timely. For scale dissolvers to work effectively, they require extended soak periods to penetrate the scale.

To meet this problem, Oilenco has introduced the Oilenco Bullheading Jetting Sleeve which combines traditional soaking methods with a ‘jetting’ action, targeting scale dissolvers directly at critical components of the downhole safety valve, agitating the scale as well as soaking it?

Combining two tried and tested technologies, the new tool delivers optimum scale treatment results by using a repeated method of scale soak and targeted jetting.

Requiring minimal well intervention, this innovative product is designed to precisely target critical areas within the TRSSSV using a ‘jetting’ action to optimise distribution and efficacy of scale treatment. Designed with a minimum of two jet subs, the system is preconfigured to target key mechanical components within the TRSSSV before being deployed into the well on slickline.

Unique to the Bullheading Jetting Sleeve is the multi jet sub system. Each jet sub consists of an array of micro nozzles that create a 360⁰ jetting pattern. By positioning two or more jet subs at key locations within the safety valve (i.e. flow tube, exercise profile, flapper, etc.), scale dissolver can be precisely targeted at these critical areas.

Between each jet sub there is a flowrate sensing valve that directs fluid to either the upper or lower jet sub depending on the velocity of the fluid passing through it. When pumping stops, the jetting stops. When not jetting, the Bullheading Jetting Sleeve reverts to a conventional soak arrangement allowing the scale dissolver to soak into the scale. As soon as surface pumping is reintroduced, the jet subs become active and intense fluid agitation can recommence.

With constant replenishment of fluid, the system maximises performance of the scale dissolver in the most efficient time frame. Every drop of dissolver can be targeted at any critical area of the TRSSSV where scale build up could be affecting the functionality of the valve.

An ideal dual technology solution when scale build-up is identified as the likely cause of a TRSSSV not functioning, the Bullheading Jetting Sleeve (patent pending) is an innovative addition to the Oilenco safety valve management portfolio, re-establishing the integrity of a well and allowing operations to continue.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Nov, 2022

With an ever-increasing demand and healthy oil price appearing to reach relative stability, much of the oil and gas industry has thrived across 2022, despite the tumultuous geopolitical environment threatening to upset Covid-19 recovery efforts.

As supply from Russia continues to reduce, European countries are preparing to fill the gap by boosting production while balancing their environmental commitments. To help walk this tightrope, there are calls for operators in the North Sea to invest more into offshore well intervention an opportunity which could see it emerge as a cornerstone of the North Sea industry.

With more capital available for spending on such activities and a plethora of shut-ins, experts have highlighted how the industry is also presented with a blank canvas in the North Sea for testing new technologies. The eventual implementation of these could really help tip the balance in the risk versus reward scale and take down a potential barrier preventing future interventions.

While stimulating production is the most pressing concern at this time, increasingly influential regulators are ensuring that the decommissioning wave on the horizon is not removed from gaze. As climate concerns continue to mount and the ageing region advances in its maturity, there is growing pressure for the industry to expand their attention on end of life activity. This is work that will not simply disappear and, with soaring profits rolling in from high demand and healthy oil price, there are calls for operators to take advantage of this boom and get ahead of their liabilities – a trend which could open up the market for companies offering project management, engineering analysis, data collection, downhole tools, etc within this workscope.

Download the full, free-to-read report on these trends and more here.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Oct, 2022

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), in its latest Wells Insight Report, has recommended a series of measures to bolster oil and gas production in the North Sea.

The report found that drilling activity had remained low in 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19 with drilling operations falling from 141 wells in 2019 to 66 in 2020. It added that, as a result of this production totalled 480 million barrels in 2021 which was down from 600 million in 2019.

The NSTA report suggested that drilling will most likely pick up in the medium term, spurred by the 33rd offshore oil and gas licensing round (the first since 2019).

However, a pivotal component of bringing production rates back up is the implementation of more well interventions – a policy which the NSTA wishes to see more of. It noted that due to a reduction in well maintenance in 2021, the performance of the existing wellstock has further declined, with 34% of total active wells on the UKCS now shut-in or plugged.

Many types of intervention cost just UK£5-10 per barrel, which should make it an attractive option for industry, particularly when oil and gas prices are high.

Disappointingly, the NSTA added, intervention work was carried out on just 15% of wells in 2021, down from 17% in 2020, resulting in the addition of only 36.2 million barrels of production, well below the average of 50 million added in previous years.

Some operators are facing logistical constraints on their platforms and/or with supply chain availability. In addition, subsea well intervention remains stubbornly low, as fewer than 10% of subsea wells are being surveyed and/or receiving maintenance work each year.

To sustain domestic production and bolster the UK’s energy security, the NSTA is actively working with operators on ways to accelerate exploration and development plans and perform more maintenance and intervention work on the existing well stock.

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Oct, 2022

Dana Petroleum has selected leading service provider, Petrofac, to provide well management services for all of its UK North Sea operated assets.

The two-year contract, which will include providing services to both the Triton FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) and the Western Isles FPSO vessels, continues on the back of an existing five-year relationship between the two companies. Petrofac previously provided outsourced well engineering services to Dana’s 11 operated and 18 non-operated Licenses in the UK North Sea.

The contract includes full life cycle well engineering, from initial concept through detailed design and planning, supporting well construction, intervention, and decommissioning activities. The contract is valued at approximately US$60mn.

“I’m proud of the value we have been delivering to Dana for the last five years, but there is no better validation of our delivery than our customers decision to retain our services. We look forward to supporting their delivery of value for their shareholders through continued safe, reliable and efficient operations,” said Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer, Petrofac’s Asset Solutions.

Chief Operating Officer at Dana Petroleum, Andy Duncanson, said, “We are really pleased to award this new contract to Petrofac. Dana is committed to doing all we can to support the supply chain and nurture the specialist skills that are so important for both our business and the wider sector.”

• Region: North Sea
• Date: Sept 2022

Leading energy services provider, Expro, has successfully completed the plug and abandonment of Ireland’s first indigenous gas wells.

Expro provided the delivery of integrated subsea and well test services over an eight-month period to intervene, plug and abandon subsea wells from a mobile offshore drilling unit located in the Celtic Sea.

The intervention scope utilised Expro’s ELSA (Expro Landing String Assemblies) system, supported by a complete backup system and direct hydraulic topside and subsea controls package.

Achieving more than 3,000 successful operations globally, ELSA is Expro’s industry-leading subsea well access technology, providing clients with a safe and environmentally secure operating system for commissioning and decommissioning subsea wells.

Expro’s Vice President of Subsea Well Access, Graham Cheyne, said, “With ten wells successfully intervened and abandoned one after another in a short timeframe, the reliability of the system was proven with 100% operational uptime and zero NPT, improving the efficiency of Expro and our client’s subsea operations over the extended operational period.

“This project not only enhances our already established subsea well access experience and track record, but it also demonstrates our strong position to deliver value and extraordinary performance in the integrated decommissioning and plug and abandonment market.”