InnovOil Issue 47 November 2016

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Bringing you the latest innovations in exploration, production and refining Issue 47

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Flare monitoring from LumaSense Page 17

November 2016

BOX CLEVER

Gas Techno’s Mini GTL Page 6

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Aker Solution’s Lean Semi™ design Page 8

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STRATEGIES FOR THE NEW ENERGY LANDSCAPE

TOP 5 REASONS TO VISIT DO BUSINESS ADIPEC represents a global opportunity for you to connect with over 2,000+ exhibiting companies within the complete Oil and Gas supply chain. Discover new technologies and solutions that optimise costs and drive efficiencies.

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NETWORK Meet with existing clients to protect your market share and network with new clients to drive new business growth and opportunities – ADIPEC attracts an audience of over 95,000 visitors from 120 countries.

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Inside A note from the Editor

5

Max value with Mini-GTL

6

Lean in

8

US-based Gas Technologies could transform the economics of stranded gas

Contacts:

Aker unveils new semi-sub design

Wireless charging on-the-fly 9

Media Director Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

Successful test of wireless airborne battery charging for drones

On the radar

Media Sales Director Charles Villiers Email: charlesv@newsbase.com

What caught our attention outside the world of oil and gas this month

SECURITY & MONITORING 13

Editor Andrew Dykes andrewd@newsbase.com

Spotting earthquakes

18

3D printing transforms how Siemens approaches innovation

NEWSBASE

in exploration, production

HPHT jack-ups

24

Wison leads the pack

26

Argentina’s rebound

28

Making the cut

30

Åsgard – one year on

31

News in brief

33

Aquaterra Energy and Plexus Holdings’ high-pressure riser

™

and refining

World’s first operational FLNG

November 2016

Issue 47

Page 17

17

Possibilities are endless 22

Design: Michael Gill michael@michaelgill.co.uk www.michaelgill.eu

Flare monitoring from LumaSense

Stacking up

Using satellite data to predict seismic events caused by wastewater injection

www.newsbase.com www.innovoil.co.uk

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Flare monitoring from LumaSense

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BOX CLEVER’s

Argentina is back on the radar for IOCs

Gas Techno Mini GTL

Page 6

SEMI, SKIMMED

Aker Solution’s Lean Semi™ design

Allspeeds’ ROV-mounted cut loop cutter

Page 8

Statoil announces impressive results

Contacts 39 NEWSBASE

ITF launches Innovation Network to shine a light on SME Technology Development for the Oil & Gas Industry

The aim of the ITF Innovation Network is to provide an effective mechanism for technology developers to promote their technology development efforts to ITF members and the wider industry.

This will be an active and evolving community where we will encourage discussion and engagement on technology qualification, field trials, joint industry projects and new technologies that can be quickly implemented on projects.

Please register to join our community of Technology Developers, https://network.itfenergy.com or contact a member of our team at innovate@itfenergy.com for more information.

FACILITATE COLLABORATE INNOVATE

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November 2016

InnovOil

page 5

A note from the Editor IN ADDITION to my regular duties at the helm of InnovOil, much of my time is now spent looking at electric vehicles (EVs).

In general, much of the oil industry considers the EV to be somewhere between a mortal enemy and a far-off dream. In reality, however, adoption rates are rising – Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reported that during H1 2016 global sales were 285,000, up 57% on the same period last year – technology is improving, costs are falling and EVs are no longer vanity projects or vapourware.

The effects of the uptake on future oil demand are debatable. BNEF’s most bullish forecast sees up to 47% of new cars being electric by 2040, though it reckons 35% is more likely. In either scenario, oil demand for transport fuels is likely to fall – but that should not mean the technology is anathema to industry progress.

What is most clear is the extent to which new vehicles will be digitally connected, intelligent machines. Technologies already deployed by EV firms and the conventional transport sector show that – as we saw last month with autonomous ships– self-driving cars are already here.

Such advances will transform logistics, transport and shipping. Self-driving trucks promise to deliver goods and parts faster and more efficiently than ever before, while improvements in electric motors and batteries will have knock-on effects in how operators outfit vessels, ROVs

and AUVs, influencing everything from DPS to UPS. Indeed, in this issue, we take a brief look at research which has successfully managed to charge a drone wirelessly, while in flight. The industry should not fear these advances, but should ensure it adopts useful technology as fast as possible if it is to stay innovative and competitive.

Elsewhere, the industry’s approach to monitoring is becoming more digital and more intelligent. One start-up we spoke to this month, Synaptec, has developed a system that can monitor voltage, current temperature and more, across hundreds of sensors, using only a single fibre optic.

On the cover this month you will see LumaSense’s flare monitoring system, which offers a leap ahead in terms of traditional thermocouples. Ros Davidson also speaks with Arizona State University researchers who have monitored the effects of wastewater injection in the US via satellite, with dramatic results.

All this as well as new rigs from Aker Solutions, a riser system designed to aid HPHT jack-up developments, delivery of the first FLNG barge, and much more.

A reminder too to look out for InnovOil staff doing the rounds of ADIPEC this month, where we will be looking to hear about the latest innovations in the Middle East. Do say hello!

For now, we are pleased to present the November issue of InnovOil.

Andrew Dykes Editor

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page 6

InnovOil

November 2016

Max value with Mini-GTL US-based Gas Technologies has developed technology which could transform the economics of stranded gas

D

ESPITE recent efforts, stranded gas remains a difficult issue for the industry. Legislation on carbon emissions, and a growing global movement against flaring, means that more associated gas will have to be used, converted or stored.

In many cases gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies, although increasing in prevalence, rely on large economies of scale – or severe remoteness – to be economic.

In most processes, natural gas is treated, reformed into syngas and then converted into methanol and other liquid chemicals or fuels, a complex process which requires high-maintenance catalysts. This means that most natural gas sources are too small to apply syngas GTL technologies.

A new system developed by Michigan, US-based firm Gas Technologies could change that. Its proprietary system – billed as Mini-GTL® – does not require an intermediate syngas stage or catalysts, instead converting methane into methanol in a single step using a process of direct noncatalytic partial oxidation.

Unreacted methane is scrubbed and fed back through the system, without additional energy input, until conversion is complete.

The efficiencies, the company has said, are comparable to rival processes, but with a 50%-70% reduction in capital costs and up to 20% lower operating costs, according to a study undertaken by Nexant ChemSystems.

Additionally, having been designed with “simple hardware, sophisticated software” in mind, the Mini-GTL® can be operated remotely and the process tuned for different gas compositions.

Mini and mobile The entry level Mini-GTL® plant is designed to convert between 125,000-300,000 cubic feet (3,500-8,500 cubic metres) per day and costs around US$1.6 million. According to Gas Technologies, the process will generate 4.8 gallons (18 litres) of methanol, 1.4 gallons (5.3 litres) of formalin and 0.4 gallons (1.5 litres)of ethanol per 1,000 cubic feet (28 cubic metres) of methane feedstock when processing 200 mcf (5,600 cubic metres) per day of natural gas. Raw liquids can then be stored and trucked out when convenient.

The standard 300 mcf-per-day-plant fits into a standard 40-foot shipping container, meaning it can easily be transported and deployed to more remote production sites.

This translates into rapid deployment, lower footprint and simpler logistics and thus eminently suited for extended well testing or early production systems. Unlike alternatives it is a direct from flare drop-in solution for emissions control.

GasTechno is focusing its commercial development on eliminating gas flares and has considered operating on highBtu associated natural gas. The costs of production are highly dependent on scale, however, for a nominal plant processing 1 mmcf (28,300 cubic metres) per day of associated gas from a typical well in North Dakota, producing NGLs, methanol, ethanol and formalin, the payback period is just under 1 year.

These numbers are based on associated gas with value of US$1.00 per mmBtu, typical project financing (8% interest) and product pricing considering the 20th percentile of 10-year historical prices (over 10 years the prices were higher than these during 80% of the time).

Reduced capital cost is one of GasTechno’s main drivers. Even at the small scale of 1 mmcf per day per day, the capital costs per barrel per stream day are about US$28,000. Despite slightly lower efficiencies owing to the reduced scale, the GasTechno process remains economically NEWSBASE

attractive. The company will therefore continue to focus on small-scale gas flares where, at present, no catalytic process is economically viable.

Because Mini-GTL® does not require catalysts, it can also handle off-spec gas with higher levels of impurities, including sour gas. Without modification the plant will accept up to 50% CO2 and 25% nitrogen.

That makes it suitable not only for flared natural gas, but for biogas and landfill gas as well.

For larger operations, the plant has been validated by third parties as scaling from 250 mcf (7,000 cubic metres) per day up to 30 mmcf (850,000 cubic metres) per day as a single production train. The advantage over LNG production is that multiple trains can be rapidly added to achieve greater economies of scale or removed to match the production decline curve.

Flare for innovation The company is currently building its first plant in Michigan, which will then be moved to a field in the Bakken shale. Beyond that, it hopes to acquire a Michigan gas storage facility and finance three further Mini-GTL® plants.

The company is hopeful that the current US gas glut will prompt more producers to adopt new technologies to improve returns. As Gas Technologies CEO Walter Breidenstein told Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East magazine this summer: “More and more companies that are producing gas

InnovOil

November 2016

page 7

Layout of the GasTechno Mini-GTLTM Plant

Oxygen feed

Purge

Feed Gas and selling it into the market for lower prices and even at a loss will look to us and become much more interested in a joint venture or some sort of co-operative licensing model that will allow us to implement the technology in their fields.”

The company also sees mediumterm expansion plans covering plants in Russia, Malaysia, India and Singapore as reference sites, and hopes to raise additional capital to begin these plants during next year. “We have had a lot of interest from

customers about working with us on new demonstration plants,” Breidenstein commented in a recent investor bulletin.

Gas Technologies now intends to deliver emissions control as a service to US shale operators, aiming to satisfy priority customers within months of signing a gas sales agreement, rather than years.

“The best method for our company to move forward quickly and efficiently is to own and operate these plants ourselves.

We have the confidence and know the

technology well, and have just invested US$2 million in the new plant going into commercial operations here in Michigan.

We understand the risks and can move much faster than large companies on making decisions where to invest our resources and time,” Breidenstein told InnovOil. n Contact: Walter Breidenstein

Tel: +1 231 535 2914 Email: walterb@gastechno.com Web: www.gastechno.com

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InnovOil

November 2016

Lean in: Aker unveils new semi-sub design Aker Solutions has unveiled a new, lowcost semi-submersible rig design for marginal field development

A

S marginal field development becomes a more serious concern for operators and engineers, new innovation in the rig market is beginning to reflect the changing concerns of the industry. With day rates and utilisation so low, many rigs, whether semi-submersible or jack-up, can be overdesigned and overequipped for the jobs they need to do. This has already been seen in the intervention market, where newer and more capable vessels are replacing costlier workover rigs.

Marginal field development has, so far, been restricted to subsea tie-backs to nearby existing infrastructure. However, as these marginal fields are beginning to take priority – in the UK and Norwegian continental shelves especially – operators are after efficient solutions for field development, which can maximise production at minimal cost. A number of initiatives have already been introduced for fixed platforms such as subsea on Slim Legs (Statoil), Subsea on a Stick (Kværner), and STEP (Det norske and Aker Solutions).

However, a new approach has been suggested by Aker Solutions. Its latest Lean Semi™ design is intended to help bring fields of up to 300 million barrels of oil equivalent on stream. Suitable for water depths of 100-400m, it is lighter, cheaper and faster to produce than other semi-subs on the market.

Lean if you want to go faster Aker embarked on the rig design tasked with achieving a 60,000 bpd production capacity with reduced investment and hire costs.

The topside itself weighs around 6,000 metric tonnes – making the Lean Semi up to 30% lighter than comparable rigs – and has a displacement of 22,500 tonnes. The platform design uses a combination of elements from two proven designs for the North Sea and

the Gulf of Mexico and is the result, the company says, of “a painstaking review of every single platform item.”

It features an unmanned hull combined with a single flat top deck to ensure its structural integrity. The hull is designed without manned spaces and without connection between the pump rooms in the four quadrants. Ballasting and de-ballasting is performed by two caisson pumps in each column.

The deck is then integrated with the hull via a wet truss, which allows for wave impact with the lower part of the structure.

This design also allows for more flexibility in the rig’s production schedule, as well as in deployment. The streamlined setup means that platform delivery time has also been reduced to around 29 months.

“We envisage these platforms will be ideal in developing marginal resources that are located next to bigger fields with excess processing capacity,” said Valborg Lundegaard, head of Aker Solutions’ NEWSBASE

engineering business. “The concept combines lean design philosophy with the highest levels of safety.”

The topside is also designed to use standardised equipment, meaning equipment skids and small modules can be placed easily and directly on the deck. In this case, skid-based topside equipment is provided

by Fjords Processing and covers separation, electrostatic dehydration, water treatment and sand treatment.

Aker explained to InnovOil that its design philosophy in approaching the rig was to focus on “need-to-have, instead of nice-tohave.” This thinking will be vital as marginal development plans continue to contend with price pressures, but with a stripped-down approach, new ideas like the Lean Semi™ could ensure these plans are possible. n Contact: Aker –

Floating Production Solutions Tel: +47 67 51 30 00 Web: http://akersolutions.com/

November 2016

InnovOil

page 9

Wireless charging on-the-fly Researchers at Imperial College London successfully test wireless airborne battery charging for drones

S

CIENTISTS have demonstrated a highly efficient method for wirelessly transferring power to a drone while it is flying.

The breakthrough could, in theory, allow flying drones to stay airborne indefinitely - simply hovering over a ground support vehicle to recharge - opening up new potential industrial applications.

Although inductive charging has been feasible for decades, it has not yet been able to wirelessly power flying technology.

In the field Researchers at Imperial College London removed the battery from an off-theshelf mini quadcopter drone, around 12 centimetres in diameter. They made a copper foil ring, which is a receiving antennae that encircles the drone’s casing. On the ground, a transmitter device made out of a circuit board is connected to electronics and a power source, creating a magnetic field.

The drone’s electronics are tuned or calibrated at the frequency of the magnetic field. As with wireless charging of EVs, when the drone enters the magnetic field an alternating current (AC) voltage is induced in the receiving antenna and the drone’s electronics convert it efficiently into a direct current (DC) voltage to power it.

The team believes that the demonstration is the first to show how this wireless charging method can be done efficiently with a flying object like a drone, potentially paving the way for wider use of the technology.

The technology is still experimental. The drone can only currently fly ten centimetres above the magnetic field transmission source, and the team estimates that they are one year away from a commercially available product.

When commercialised however, they believe their breakthrough could have a range of advantages in the development of commercial drone technology and other devices.

Improving access While the use of small drones for commercial purposes and in surveillance is growing, there are a number of technical limits. The distance that a drone can travel

and the duration it can stay in the air are affected by the availability of power and recharging requirements –issues which could be addressed with wireless power transfer, according to the team.

Dr Samer Aldhaher, a researcher from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London, said that: “There are a number of scenarios NEWSBASE

where wirelessly transferring power could improve drone technology. One option could see a ground support vehicle being used as a mobile charging station, where drones could hover over it and recharge, never having to leave the air.”

Professor Paul Mitcheson, also from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial, explains: “Imagine using a drone to wirelessly transmit power to sensors on things such as bridges to monitor their structural integrity. This would cut out humans having to reach these difficult to access places to re-charge them.”

Another application could include implantable miniature diagnostic medical devices, wirelessly powered from a source external to the body.

This could enable new types of medical implants to be safely recharged, and reduce the battery size to make these implants less invasive,” he suggested.

The next stage will see team exploring collaborations with potential industrial partners. n

page 10

InnovOil

On the radar

What caught our attention outside the world of oil and gas this month

Sweaty robot stays cool A paper presented at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) this month outlined a system for efficient robot cooling – pumping cold water through their porous bone structures.

Kengoro, a humanoid robot developed by the University of Tokyo’s JSK Lab, is designed to be able to replicate the human body in a number of energy-intensive tasks.

In examining ways to keep the system cool, researchers decided to experiment by using the frame of the robot itself as a delivery mechanism for coolant.

Kengoro’s main skeletal structure is built from laser-sintered aluminium powder. By adjusting the density of the laser during the fabrication process, the team could make different pieces of the structure more or less permeable to liquids, allowing water to be directed through the skeleton.

Further adjustments of density enabled the water to seep through into more porous sections on the outer surface of the components. As it reaches these areas, it evaporates, mimicking the cooling effect of sweat in the human body.

More porous components are then used in motor sections which require the most cooling – e.g. arm or knee joints.

Currently, Kengoro requires about a cup of deionised water per day to maintain efficiency, or more if it is performing particularly intensive tasks. However, tests have suggested that the system is better than traditional water cooling, and three times better than air cooling alone – although not quite as efficient as a radiator.

Nevertheless, the concept opens up new possibilities for mechanical cooling in other sectors – provided operators can handle sweaty machines. n NEWSBASE

November 2016

Graphene glass Not a day goes by without news of a new application for wonder-material graphene.

This month, researchers at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), part of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), published a study examining how coating glass with graphene can help protect it from corrosion.

Because glass has a high degree of both corrosion and chemical resistance, it is the primary packaging material for preserving medicines and chemicals. However, over time at high humidity and pH, some glass types corrode. Corroded glass loses its transparency and its strength is reduced.

Although there are different types of glass, ordinary glazing and containers are made of silicon dioxide (SiO2), sodium oxide (Na2O) along with minor additives. Glass corrosion begins with the adsorption of water on the glass surface. Hydrogen ions from water then diffuse into the glass and exchange with the sodium ions present on the glass surface.

The pH of the water near the glass surface increases, allowing the silicate structure to dissolve.

Graphene’s chemical inertness, thinness, and high transparency make it a promising coating material. Its also provides a chemical barrier, in that it blocks helium atoms from penetrating through the material.

IBS scientists grew graphene on copper using a technique previously invented by Professor Rodney S. Ruoff and collaborators, and transferred either one or two atomthick layers of graphene onto both sides of rectangular pieces of glass. The effectiveness of the coating was then tested by water immersion.

After 120 days of immersion in water at 60°C, uncoated samples had “significantly increased in surface roughness and defects, and reduced in fracture strength.” Yet both the single and double-layer graphene-coated glass had essentially no change in both fracture strength and surface roughness.

Professor Ruoff, director of the CMCM and Professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), commented: “In the future, when it is possible to produce larger and yet higher-quality graphene sheets and to optimise the transfer on glass, it seems reasonably likely that graphene coating on glass will be used on an industrial scale.”

The use of graphene coating is also being explored as a protective layer for other materials requiring resistance to corrosion, oxidation, friction, bacterial infection and electromagnetic radiation. n

InnovOil

November 2016

page 11

What fur?

MIT researchers have been experimenting with synthetic rubber “fur” which could be used to create wetsuits that keep divers warmer for longer.

Mimicking the fur of beavers, otters and other mammals, the rubber fabric uses tiny individual “hairs” to trap warm bubbles of air when plunged into liquids.

“We are particularly interested in wetsuits for surfing, where the athlete moves frequently between air and water environments,” says Anette (Peko) Hosoi, a professor of mechanical engineering and associate head of the department at MIT. “We can control the length, spacing and arrangement of hairs, which allows us to

design textures to match certain dive speeds and maximise the wetsuit’s dry region.”

The pelts were created by graduate student Alice Nasto, who created several moulds by laser-cutting thousands of tiny holes in acrylic blocks. With each mould, she used a software programme to alter the size and spacing of individual hairs. These were then filled with a soft casting rubber (polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS), and were removed once they had cured.

In their experiments, the researchers mounted each hairy surface on to a vertical,

motorised stage, with the hairs facing outward. These surfaces were then dunked in silicone oil, allowing Nasto and her colleagues to observe the air pockets which formed.

MIT noted: “The researchers could see within the hairs a clear boundary between liquid and air, with air forming a thicker layer in hairs closer to the surface, and progressively thinning out with depth.

Among the various surfaces, they found that those with denser fur that were plunged at higher speeds generally retained a thicker layer of air within their hairs.”

This also allowed the creation of a mathematical model which could predict each fur’s ability to trap air.

“We found that the weight of the water is pushing air in, but the viscosity of the liquid is resisting flow (through the tubes),” Hosoi added. “The water sticks to these hairs, which prevents water from penetrating all the way to their base.”

In addition to diver’s wetsuits, these materials – and the mathematical model behind them – could have a number of applications in industrial coatings and fabrication techniques” n

Low-power transistors could replace batteries Engineers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new type of ultralow power transistor which could function for months – even years – without a battery by “scavenging” energy from its environment.

Using a similar principle to a computer’s sleep mode, the new transistor harnesses a tiny “leakage” of electrical current, known as a near-off-state current, for its operations. This leak is a characteristic of all transistors, but this is the first time that it has been effectively captured and used functionally.

The results, reported in the journal Science, open up new avenues for system design for the Internet of Things, wearable tech and other devices.

The transistors can be produced at low temperatures and can be printed on almost any material, from glass and plastic to polyester and paper. They are based on a unique geometry which uses a ‘non-desirable’

characteristic, namely the point of contact between the metal and semiconducting components of a transistor, a so-called ‘Schottky barrier.’

Professor Arokia Nathan of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, the paper’s coauthor, commented: “We’ve found that these Schottky barriers, which most engineers try to avoid, actually have the ideal characteristics for the type of ultralow power applications.”

NEWSBASE

The design also achieves a very high level of gain, or signal amplification. The transistor’s operating voltage is less than a volt, with power consumption below a billionth of a watt.

“If we were to draw energy from a typical AA battery based on this design, it would last for a billion years,” explained the paper’s first author Dr Sungsik Lee, also of the Department of Engineering. n

“It is the second consecutive OPO I’ve attended and the overall level of presentation has improved year on year“ Ricardo Melo, Production Enhancement Advisor, Repsol

December 7-8 | Hilton Treetops Hotel, Aberdeen

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InnovOil

November 2016

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SECURITY& MONITORING SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Pages 14-20

SYN OF THE TIMES Synaptecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fibre optic monitoring technology Page 14

DISTANCE OVER TIME

Monitoring earthquakes and wastewater injection via satellite Page 18

NEWSBASE

InnovOil

page 14

November 2016

SECURITY & MONITORING

High in fibre: Synaptec’s new approach to monitoring

Scottish university spin-out Synaptec has developed new monitoring technology, allowing operators to measure hundreds of data points miles apart, using a single fibre-optic cable

T

HE humble fibre-optic has transformed the way that systems capture and transmit information.

Yet even with the dramatic advances of recent years, innovators are only really scratching the surface of what the medium can do. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and its temperature-related sibling DTS are beginning to make waves in oil and gas.

InnovOil has already explored some of the related technologies (such as Well-Sense’s FLI system) as a means of delivery. On the whole, however, much of the industry’s approach to asset monitoring and sensing applications remains rather analogue.

That may be about to change, thanks to a new innovation from a Scottish start-up.

Technology from Synaptec allows operators to read and record multiple sensor measurements from up to 100 km of fibre-optic cable. Having already borne results in the power sector, it could potentially simplify the monitoring of oil platforms, subsea systems, offshore renewables, ships and much more.

Glasgow-based Synaptec was formed as a spin-out from research undertaken at the University of Strathclyde’s Institute for Energy and Environment. Founded in 2014, the company is the result of University research and staff expertise in photonics, electronics, power and instrumentation, all of which has culminated in the development of some intriguing IP. InnovOil sat down with the company’s co-founder and co-inventor of the technology, Philip Orr, to learn more.

Current affairs The company’s main offering lies in the ability to measure electrical current, voltage and other properties directly. Its IP uses optical interrogation systems that gather and characterise the measurements taken from fibre-optic networks to provide simultaneous readings along its length – even at distances up to 100 km. Orr outlines that “if you have a long fibre, we can install our sensors at discrete points or in machines and so on along the line, and then gather in multiple measurements from multiple locations on a range of parameters, including voltage, current, temperature and vibration, all in a single line.”

“The core innovation here is the ability to use optical fibre to gather lots of measurements of electrical parameters over very long distances and in a very efficient manner. Nobody else can do distributed measurements of voltage and current in that way,” he explains.

The sensors themselves are relatively small – about 2cm across for those measuring voltage, and about the size of a fist for those measuring current – neither of which should prove disruptive or unwieldy on a rig, or a piece of subsea equipment.

Because Synaptec’s system is passive – and only requires a single cable – it does not require extra power supplies or communications links, reducing the cost of installation and ideally making monitoring simpler and more efficient.

NEWSBASE

That also means users can display multiple feeds on each of their measurements. “You’ve got one fibre and it snakes between different assets and areas on a platform. You’ve then got a string of measurements along that – some temperature, some voltage etc. – and you can gather that all at once,” Orr adds. Moreover, the high data transfer rate of fibre-optic cable means that these results are returned in realtime. All that is required to process the data is a standard rack-mount unit, about the size of an average computer server.

Dark fibre One of the main drivers behind the company’s success in the power sector is that its monitoring can be done without additional infrastructure. All new power cables – or indeed subsea umbilicals – contain fibreoptic cores as standard, which are used for communications, and those which do not can be retrofitted via a winding machine. Most will also contain multiple lengths of unused or “dark” fibre, for redundancy, any of which can be used for monitoring – “If they have single-mode fibre in them, we can use them,” assures Orr. Even in cases where there are single fibres, Synaptec’s system can operate on a different signal wavelength, running both sensors and communications on a single fibre, without any disruption or interference.

The example use of such a system in subsea umbilicals offers a clue to the technology’s pedigree. “The reason the

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SECURITY & MONITORING

“If you look at it holistically, this is a costeffective, unified, single measurement system for everything” Philip Orr, Co-Founder, Synaptec technology was originally developed was actually for subsea pumps,” Orr explains, “largely because it’s so difficult to get measurements of pump performance – voltage, current, power consumption etc. – over very long distances in that environment.”

Initial research at Strathclyde was backed

by Wood Group’s Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP) division, but was shelved when GE bought the unit in 2011. Synaptec’s technology has clearly taken the long way round to reach its original audience.

The company has so far been involved in innovation projects with network operators SSE and Scottish Power, and as part of the Ofgem-backed FITNESS project working with ABB and GE. Here, as with many oil and gas operators, there is a move away from set instrumentation architecture towards a more centralised, “smart” approach.

Previous monitoring systems used systems placed at disparate locations, each of which required a sensor, power supply and a computer, placed in buildings and connected with point-to-point communications links.

These systems are costly to use and maintain.

“What we offer,” Orr says, “is an architecture whereby you have a central substation and you have transmission lines with fibres fanning out from it, so you have a centralised gathering of new data on the system.” Such an approach is increasingly popular as remote monitoring becomes the norm, and as the oil industry moves towards more unmanned operations.

Aside from the promise of better and faster measurement, cost-effectiveness is Synaptec’s greatest business driver. Using existing fibre cuts down spending and interruption, but the system’s main benefit is to eliminate duplication of results and media for gathering data, Orr says. By deploying low-cost sensors and centralising the monitoring platform into one system, he adds: “You’re eliminating a whole lot of capex from what you’d normally spend for the equivalent number of data points… If you look at it holistically, at instrumenting a ship or platform as a whole, this is [a] much more cost-effective, unified, single measurement system for everything.”

Cable ties Other ongoing research projects could lead to further efficiencies, he adds. Recent work with the UK’s Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics has yielded some exciting results for applications in subsea cabling.

“What we’ve been looking at is putting our technology into the same fibre as DAS, so one cable could provide you with vibration and temperature response along the cable, but also at discrete points it could tell you voltage and current,” he says. It is certainly a gamechanging proposition for the field of subsea electronics, and with the feasibility studies concluded, the next steps of the project should prove exciting. Watch this space.

Although Synaptec is confident in the enormous potential of its IP, it is only taking its first, tentative steps into oil and gas. The NEWSBASE

company is most interested in understanding more about how its technology could assist, or be included within new cable development.

“We’re interested in where we have room in the cable or in the splices to put in our small sensors that pick up the voltage or current,” he continues. “We’ve been looking at termination points and splice joints between cables to see how spacious they are, and how many sensors we can fit in that location.”

Orr’s intention is that Synaptec sensors could be included in these splice points, providing a measurement of all 3 phaseto-phase voltages and all 3 currents at each joint. That requires extra know-how and expertise, leading the company to look for new partners and potential collaborators. “We’re really keen to speak to anyone involved in subsea technologies, cable manufacturing and contractors that deal with specifications of electrical systems design on platforms,” he says.

Beyond cabling, Synaptec’s potential snakes out into multiple disciplines and sectors, from well monitoring and telemetry in oil and gas, to maritime systems and offshore renewables – and plenty to keep Orr and his team busy. But wherever these potential applications take the company, InnovOil is sure there are a lot of bright lights at the end of this fibre. n Contact: Philip Orr

Tel: +44 (0)141 548 4841 Email: philip.orr@synapt.ec Web: www.synapt.ec

InnovOil

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Stacking up: flare monitoring from LumaSense Lenny Shaver, LumaSense Technologies’ director of product management, explains the company’s IR and pyrometer technologies

F

LARING systems are common in many industries to burn gases before they enter the atmosphere. The safe operation of a flaring system requires the continuous monitoring of pilot flames and flared gases to ensure that vented gases are ignited.

As regulatory pressure to monitor flares has increased, reliable pilot monitoring signals are often required to ensure reliable flare status records. Imaging systems can provide pilot status recording and flaring event record recordings, and as such have become critical reporting tools for flaring systems.

Traditionally, flare monitoring is performed using thermocouples for pilot flame verification. Extreme conditions caused by the associated heat can cause failures, leaving operators unable to monitor until the next scheduled maintenance service. In addition, flame movement and changing weather conditions can add more obstacles to reliable long-term monitoring.

Thermal imaging with FlareSpection One particular challenge is that flare tips in close proximity can cause interference, as interposing flames disrupt readings.

The LumaSense FlareSpection system is designed to provide the clearest flare image and pilot flame monitoring for applications with multiple flare tips in close proximity.

With the LumaSense-designed software, reliable pyrometers, and an imaging camera, both pilots and flaring can be monitored effectively, irrespective of weather conditions.

The flare monitoring thermal imaging system enables users to confirm flare operation remotely and automatically, detecting differences in heat signatures of the flare stack. Designed with reference to specific spectral ranges, calibrations and optics, this system is able to focus clearly through moisture, heavy rain and fog at even great distances.

With an adjustable mount and base, the powerful lens and high resolution camera offer a clear view of flare details from a

Combination thermal imaging and pyrometer flare monitoring technologies provide a monitoring solution for multiple flare tip flares

E2T Quasar

convenient ground-mounted location.

The camera is protected in a stainless steel enclosure with an integrated site tube to prevent dust and dirt on the window, allowing for use in rugged industrial locations.

In addition, the system includes the capability to log performance for audits, record video for reviewing of historical events and set up alerts for measurements that may fall outside user-defined limits. The software also easily connects to the plant DCS via protocols such as Modbus, OPC-enabling closed loop integration.

Quasar flare stack monitoring LumaSense’s E2T Quasar M8100 series has also been used by the petrochemical industry for more than 16 years, to provide continuous duty monitoring of pilot flames, including hydrocarbon and hydrogen flames. With a sight-through optical system and swivel mount, the Quasar M8100 can be located up to a quarter of a mile (400 m) away from the stack.

The output of the Quasar M8100 pyrometer system provides a 4mA or 20mA switched output for pilot flame detection. In this case, 4mA represents a flame, and 20mA means “No Flame” (triggering an alarm).

Custom electronics will adapt to target NEWSBASE

FlareSoection

movement, varying luminosity and most climate conditions. The alarm delay circuit can be adjusted for a specific location or application, eliminating the risk of false alarms from temporary loss of signal as a result of intermittent flames, adverse weather and wind.

Using the LumaSense FlareSpection and E2T Quasar flare monitoring systems in tandem – combining both a pyrometer-based flare monitoring system and an imaging system – enables a reliable and safe flare monitoring system. This provides pilot and flaring status signals and imaging display in real-time, all of which can be scaled to the customer requirements.

Plant managers, as well as regulatory bodies, expect immediate notification and automated monitoring of critical safety systems such as flares. With continuous, online monitoring and corresponding software, operators can get an accurate picture of the flare 24/7 and receive alerts when out of acceptable range, allowing them to operate safely and with full compliance. n Contact: Joerg Roessler,

Sales Manager Oil & Gas APAC Tel: +49 69 973 730 Email: j.roessler@lumasenseinc.com Web: www.lumasenseinc.com

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Spotting earthquakes from inner space Using satellite data and computer modelling, geoscientists may now be able to analyse and predict seismic events caused by wastewater injection, writes Ros Davidson

I

NCREASINGLY, the US is feeling the effects of earthquakes linked to wastewater injection by oil and gas operators. In the central US, in states such as Texas and Oklahoma, between 1973 and 2008 there was an average of 24 earthquakes a year in the US with a magnitude of 3.0 or larger on the Richter scale. But from 2009 to 2015, there were 318 yearly, an increase of more than thirteen times.

While some are unconvinced, the United States Geological Society (USGS) has unequivocally stated on its website: “Wastewater disposal is the primary cause of the recent increase in earthquakes in the central United States.” Fracking can also cause induced quakes, but because the volume of liquid is much smaller, the number of quakes is much smaller.

Wastewater comes from a variety of sources, whether as a by-product of extraction, or left over from high-volume fracking. Whatever its origins, about 2 billion gallons (7.5 billion litres) of it are injected daily into an estimated 180,000 wells in the US, mostly in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and California.

The accelerating seismicity means that an estimated 7 million of people and their communities are at risk, the USGS warned in its annual seismic outlook published in March. Insurance rates are higher for the oil and gas sector in the affected areas, and in some cases operators are being sued for quake damage. The publicity is also tainting the industry: the current popular buzz is that only fracking causes quakes, even although wastewater injection has been identified as the most frequent culprit.

But a new way to look at the issue is now emerging. A team of scientists led

by Arizona State University has devised a method which could be used to predict or prevent induced quakes. Combining satellite radar measurements and a new computer model which predicts underground “pore

elasticity,” the tools could prove useful in aiding operators and state or federal agencies to minimise the danger.

Uplifting results The research, conducted by geophysicist Manoochehr Shirzaei of Arizona State University and colleagues, is more than ground-breaking, so to speak. Co-authored between William Ellsworth of Stanford University, Kristy Tiampo of the University of Colorado Boulder, Pablo González of the University of Liverpool and Michael Manga of UC Berkeley, and published in the respected journal Science, the work is among the first to measure – definitively – uplift on the ground above wastewater wells.

Their model also shows how water pressure in pores in underground rock can radiate out from wastewater wells to reach fault zones, where it could trigger small or moderate quakes. Even small quakes can lead to larger seismic events as they destabilise a region’s once finely balanced geology. The implication, as Shirazei told InnovOil, is that better monitoring would enable safer injections: “We could minimise the probability of large quakes – that’s a huge thing,” he said.

The research could guide where wastewater wells should be located – such as in what sort of geology and at what depth – and when injection should be slowed or halted. It is crucial to exactly how slowly injection should be tapered off.

In September, Oklahoma regulators ordered the shut-down of 37 wastewater wells connected to the Arbuckle formation after a tremor that tied as the state’s worst ever. The closures were ordered over a period of 7 to 10 days, for fear of causing more earthquakes if the volume of wastewater injected along a faultline were suddenly reduced. The regulators‘ move was based on current knowledge, but Shirazei and his co-authors have found that there NEWSBASE

could be greater pore pressure underground even after injection was halted for some time.

So SAR, so good To achieve these results, the researchers analysed more than three years of radar data from the Japanese Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), which contains interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), a remote satellite-based sensing technique.

Synthetic aperture radar uses pulsed radio waves which are transmitted over a target area. The echoes of these pulses are

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SECURITY & MONITORING JAXA’s Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)

then received and recorded, and the process is repeated. Multiple signals are sent from a single moving antenna and the successive signals, when processed, offer more detailed, higher-resolution images than with a single pulse. InSAR uses two or more of these images, using the differences in wave phases to measure surface deformation in millimetre-detail.

Using this technology, researchers looked at the highly accurate measurements of the ground from May 2007 to November 2010 in and around Timpson, Texas, an area which also contained four high-volume disposal wells.

They chose that location in large part because they were able to access continuous satellite readings, as well data from the state on injection volumes. There were wells at different depths, and there was variable geology.

They found that the earth’s surface around two of the wells bulged by as much as 3mm a year. Uplift was detected up to 8 km from the wells. “For this Timpson study area we got lucky and could see the deformation,” Shirazei said. Many previous studies have found that ground can subside when oil, gas or water is extracted, but this research is among the first pieces of research NEWSBASE

to find uplift after fluid is pumped into the ground.

The wells in Timpson where there was more deformation were shallower, he told InnovOil, and the surrounding rocks were more compliant and softer, suggesting they may have deformed more. The other wells nearby were in denser rock, and pore pressure could thus have been prevented from reaching crystalline basement rock and triggering quakes, he added.

The researchers also plugged the radar data into their new poro-elastic model, along with histories of injected water using data from operators that must be submitted to

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November 2016

SECURITY & MONITORING Satellite view of Timpson, TX. Source: NOAA

the Texas Railroad Commission. They found that a front of pore pressure – starting at the injection site – had moved underground, eventually affecting faults and possibly triggering quakes between depths of 3.5 and 4.5 km, depending upon the specific geology of a location. The model uses geological and hydrogeological information.

Indeed, two years or more after the data were gathered, in 2012 and 2013, a swarm of small quakes hit the Timpson area, including a moderate one of 4.8 magnitude, the largest ever recorded in east Texas. While it would support the team’s theory, the results are not definitive: the quakes were adjacent to the wells where there was less bulging in the earth’s surface, and about 25 km from the wells where there was more.

One of their findings – that seismic activity can still increase even after a cessation of injection operations – could be because it takes time for the wastewater to travel underground, or because there could be new stresses arising if injection is suddenly stopped. “If you stop injection today, it’s possible that earthquake activity goes on for the next decade or so,” Shirzaei commented, drawing on the Timpson study in particular.

Of wastewater wells in general, he told InnovOil that ideally injection should not be shut down suddenly, as it may cause a sudden reduction of normal stress on optimally oriented faults and could even trigger earthquakes. He also said that, in general, pore pressure in wastewater wells can remain high for a “long time after shut-down, thus the probability of the large earthquakes remains high in the region for a long period of time.” Equally, quite often the pressure can return to normal relatively quickly and injection can resume.

Model for monitoring The research has been well received, especially for successfully extracting the earth’s “crustal strain” from the complex InSAR data, which also picks up factors that can change year-round, such as vegetation.

Neither are the results fully conclusive.

Some scientists have noted, for example, that rock stiffness can mean there is more pressure, not less. Others have also commented that the example studied

might have been more satisfying had more deformation been detected above the deeper wells specifically.

Nevertheless, if the research can be replicated, its applications could be wideranging. Not only could the location of wells be fine-tuned, but the injection itself could also be customised, based on the findings of real-time monitoring, so that a critical stage of deformity is never reached.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Shirazei has meetings set up with oil and gas operators and government agencies so far in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado and has begun speaking to the US Department of Energy (DoE) regarding additional funding to NEWSBASE

expand the team’s research.

He says the monitoring itself not expensive. For example, some space agencies may even offer similar satellite data for free.

States also collect injection data – daily in the case of Oklahoma, monthly in Texas – meaning most of the raw information should be readily available. The researchers, in addition, have made their poro-elastic model public (although it does require a supercomputer to handle it).

With further work, and hopefully increased co-operation between regulators, data providers and the industry, techniques like InSAR could become a powerful new tool in the monitoring and safety arsenal. n

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November 2016

Possibilities are endless

Mike Scott visits Siemens’ Distributed Generation Plant in Finspang, Sweden to see how 3D printing is transforming how the company approaches innovation

M

OST of readers will be no strangers to the revolutionary implications of 3D printing.

Even oil and gas, typically a slow adopter, is beginning to catch on in light of its ability to improve maintenance schedules and component inventories. It is also having a profound effect on mechanical design, in everything from tiny components to turbomachinery.

One example of this can be seen at the Sweden-based gas turbine unit of the German industrial conglomerate Siemens.

The company has started using 3D printing to manufacture components for its products, which are widely used in the oil and gas sector as a power source for compressors and pumps, as well as for power generation.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), creates products by depositing layers of ground metal or plastic to a template, lasering that material into place and repeating the process to build the required product. Much of the focus on AM has been on the consumer side but real benefits are being seen in industry.

Siemens has described the technology as a “game-changer.” Although it lists multiple benefits, one of the most startling is that, in some cases, the technology has enabled a 75% reduction in the time taken to bring some products to market. Parts which used to take a couple of years to bring to market can now be made available within months, even weeks.

In addition, 3D printing offers increased design flexibility, quality and efficiency.

There are environmental benefits, too, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reportedly cut by 30% and resource use by 63%.

3-Dream One of the main benefits of AM is that new

Xxxxxx

designs can be visualised, produced and tested quickly and cheaply, leading to a surge in engineering innovation. “At least 30% of the design of many components is determined by the restrictions of the manufacturing process,” said Dr Vladimir Navrotsky, chief technology officer for Siemens’ Distributed Generation Service based in the small town of Finspang, Sweden. “AM opens up new design possibilities. Simply by designing specifically for Additive Manufacturing automatically creates more innovation.”

In part this is because designers now have the freedom to try something, fail and have another go without costing the company any money, whereas previously the cost and time of bringing a component to production led to an innate conservatism among designers. It used to take a year to develop a gas turbine blade, and if it was not right it would take another year to correct.

NEWSBASE

It is also because AM opens up possibilities that traditional manufacturing could not offer.

Now, says Thorbjoern Fors, CEO of Siemens’ Distributed Generation Service, “if you can dream it, you can print it”.

For example, Siemens has also been able to cut the weight of its gas turbine blades by replacing solid turbine blades with 3D-printed ones. These use a lattice design that was simply not possible to make using traditional manufacturing techniques. The lattice structure uses less material (and so takes less time to print) while maintaining strength.

This means that less energy is required to turn the blades but it also aids cooling, which dramatically increases the lifetime of the blade. “If you can cool the metal by 10°C, you increase its life by half,” Navrotsky pointed out.

Meanwhile, the burners for its turbines, which used to be made up of 13 different parts that had to be welded together, can now

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Additive Manufacturing allows the company to prototype faster and make more complex shapes

be 3D-printed as one component, saving considerable amounts of time, energy and resources.

Moreover, changes to the design of the burner nozzle that 3D printing makes possible mean the turbines are now capable of burning up to 60% hydrogen, allowing customers that produce a lot of hydrogen as a by-product, such as refiners and chemical plants, to use it to produce energy rather than waste it.

With the prospect of hydrogen becoming a more important part of the gas network in future, this could be a beneficial and Siemens

is aiming to tweak the design so that it can burn 100% hydrogen.

Repair or replace 3D printing is not only being used to manufacture tailor-made products; it can also be used to enhance mass-produced articles by adding specific, personalised components. And spare parts can be produced when and where they are needed, eliminating the inventory costs of keeping supplies on hand and cutting logistics costs. Not only that, but AM also allows for niche repairs. Parts can be printed to

replace only the part or component that needs replacing, again saving cost and resources.

For example, in Siemens’ turbine blades, the tips are subject to the biggest stresses and therefore need more frequent replacing, while the rest of the blade is still fit for use.

Instead of replacing the entire component, the company can now cut off the tip and print a replacement on to the old blade.

Siemens is looking to ramp up its use of AM significantly, although it acknowledges that it is not suitable for all components.

“There are components where traditional manufacture is still competitive,” Fors explained. “For now, AM works best for complicated structures, particularly where weight is important.” Nonetheless, Navrotsky adds: “Over the next five years, I believe this technology will allow us to cut costs by 50%. Designing for Additive Manufacturing automatically creates more innovation. We are not working with AM because it is sexy but because it is an extra tool to multiply the knowledge we have in component design.” n

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InnovOil

November 2016

New collaboration supports HPHT jack-ups Aquaterra Energy and Plexus Holdings have devised a high-pressure riser, enabling safer HPHT developments using jack-up rigs

A

S costs continue to be pressured, operators have attempted to do more with less. That might be achieving greater production with smaller budgets, or use older equipment to tackle new problems. With regards to the latter, the humble jack-up rig may be next in line for an upgrade.

In an interesting technical collaboration, offshore engineering firm Aquaterra Energy and wellhead systems designer Plexus have developed a new light weight, dual barrier, high-pressure/high-temperature (HPHT) riser system for deployment by jack-up rigs.

The technology enables an inner liner to be installed inside a conventional high-pressure riser, up to 20,000 psi. Their hope is that the system will radically change the risk and economics of performing HPHT operations with such rigs.

At present, the industry’s default position is to opt for semi-submersible rigs when installing wells and infrastructure. In part, this issue may be based on experience; many operators assign subsea engineers to these programmes and their backgrounds are based on the use of semi-subs, and the extra effort needed to examine and achieve the technical and commercial benefits of jack-up use is rarely considered.

This advance should enable the use of heavy duty jack-ups for HPHT operations in depths of up to 150m – allowing access to around 60% of the world’s subsea developments.

With global rates for semi-submersible rigs averaging around US$250,000 per day in 2016, jack-ups in Europe and Asia remain considerably cheaper. Most have remained well below US$100,000 per day, dropping to around US$60,000 over the summer, in many cases making them as much as 75% cheaper.

That can have a major impact on well costs. According to Aquaterra, anecdotal customer evidence suggests that the average jack-up HPHT well costs GBP50 million (US$61 million), but will be far higher when using a semi-sub.

Tech tie-up The high-pressure riser system combines two existing technologies: Aquaterra’s HPHT riser system and Plexus’ POS-GRIP wellhead technology. The latter uses friction to flex and grip pipes and connectors, replacing the conventional load shoulder or slips to create a high-load hanger support mechanism. This mechanism is adjustable, full-bore, fully elastic and provides instant lockdown.

This combination system allows an inner casing liner to be temporarily installed, meaning full HPHT capacity between a dry surface BOP and a wet subsea tree. A surface blow-out preventer is connected to an Aquaterra riser via a POS-GRIP surface wellhead system. Subsea, this riser can connect to another optional POS-GRIP spool before reaching the subsea wellhead.

The combination system provides 20,000psi capability and uses all metal-to-metal gas tight “HG” seals on the internal riser string.

The system also eliminates the perceived risk of elastomeric seals, particularly those located between the mudline and surface, many of which have not been rated or proven in real-world subsea developments.

Using top-tensioned risers and lower jack-up rig offsets also puts reduced load onto the wellhead and other subsea infrastructure. The system should therefore result in less fatigue damage, extending the life of equipment and increasing safety.

Safer, more secure In addition to the reduced costs of HPHT well development, the wider use of jack-ups also carries inherent safety and risk benefits.

First, jack-ups are not constrained by the same weather and heavy loading restrictions as semi-submersibles, meaning safer operations and wider weather windows.

Moreover, high-pressure risers are designed to withstand 50-year storm conditions under a well control situation; using a jack-up rig removes the need to disconnect from the well in heavy weather, meaning substantially reduced downtime.

NEWSBASE

Aquaterra product line manager for riser and conductor solutions Ben Cannell commented: “The innovation carries with it the potential to change the industry’s default position of selecting semisubmersible rigs for developments in water depths up to 150 metres. It renders the use of jack-up rigs in such scenarios both feasible and attractive in both a technical and commercial context.”

Plexus technical director Craig Hendrie also added: “This is a new, technology-led drilling proposition to the international market and is one that directly addresses the industry’s cost-reduction agenda. Amid the ever-increasing industry focus on HPHT operations, this methodology represents an innovative and cost-effective alternative while maintaining safety, integrity and operational performance.”

Aquaterra also referenced some specific applications in which the technology would aid operators. A representative explained to InnovOil: “The biggest benefit to the operator is the ability to convert exploration or appraisal well into a keeper.

The UK government has identified this as a key issue and in AE’s view this is one that is directly addressed by this solution.”

Many operators such as Maersk Oil Culzean and Total Solaris have opted for jack-up based exploration with a dry tree.

“As current mudline suspension hanger technology does not provide a means of safely suspending HPHT wells, all these wells to date cannot be re-entered or tied back to existing platform-based/FPSO developments.

“Using a subsea wellhead allows such wells to be converted to keepers, when combined with HPR and a jack-up, the cost base during the exploration phase – when compared with a semi-sub – can be reduced,” the company added. n Contact: Alison Cowie, The BIG Partnership Tel: +44 (0) 1224 253819 Email: alison.cowie@bigpartnership.co.uk Web: www.aquaterraenergy.com

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Surface BOP

POS-GRIP Surface wellhead system

Top tensioned riser

POS-GRIP Riser spool (Optional) Subsea wellhead system

NEWSBASE

InnovOil

Wison leads the FLNG pack page 26

November 2016

Wison Offshore & Marine has delivered the world’s first operational FLNG unit – albeit with a much smaller capacity than those its rivals are developing, writes Graham Lees

A

T a time when the upstream industry is in the doldrums, plunging China’s offshore service shipyards into crisis, a Chinese marine engineering company has pipped the rest of the world with the first floating LNG (FLNG) unit.

A number of companies are developing FLNGs, which are intended to cut the time taken from extracting the gas to processing it into LNG for long distance transportation.

Yet it was Wison Offshore & Marine that won the race at its Nantong shipyard on the Yangtze River estuary near Shanghai.

The FLNG, which successfully completed performance tests at the end of September, was commissioned by Belgian offshore services company and bulk fuel shipper Exmar and is destined for the Caribbean, where it will be moored 3 km off the coast of Tolu in northern Colombia.

China is often accused of playing catchup in terms of technology development – a general issue that the country’s offshore services sector will have to overcome when the upstream industry gets back to business as prices begin to stabilise. It does however raise the question of how Wison achieved its world first, and how it managed to do so ahead of it competitors.

Development partnership Wison won the engineering, procurement,

construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract from Exmar in 2014, but in truth, the venture has drawn heavily on technology provided by US engineering giant Black & Veatch, which has been engaged in LNG work since the 1960s.

The Wison liquefaction barge, named the Caribbean FLNG, is using the US firm’s proprietary technology and Black & Veatch has been involved in onsite construction support. The latter’s topside design and engineering dovetailed with Wison’s hull fabrication design, the two sides said in a joint statement. Black & Veatch project director Bob Germinder added that the success of the venture was “based on longstanding trusted relationships”.

Another key lies in its size. Caribbean FLNG is small-scale, as senior vice president An Wenxin noted in a statement heralding the company’s achievement. It is capable of processing natural gas into 500,000 tonnes per year of LNG. For Exmar however, the victory may be somewhat Pyrrhic. Wison’s unit was originally intended for use in converting gas from Columbia’s onshore La Creciente field, operated by a subsidiary of Pacific Exploration and Production (PEP). However, a collapse in gas prices at home and abroad led to the cancellation of Exmar’s contract in March 2016. In a statement, Exmar said NEWSBASE

that: “the domestic natural gas market in Colombia and international LNG market have changed substantially, making the liquefaction of LNG in Colombia no longer economic for PEP.” The company said it would be pursuing other partners and potential destinations for the vessel, although a date for it to leave the shipyard has not yet been announced.

Small and nimble Antwerp-based Exmar said that FLNGs “will drastically reduce time-to-market by providing floating liquefaction and storage in a cost-efficient and flexible way to gas fields located onshore and offshore, eliminating the need for large infrastructure on land.”

It is an emerging sector with large potential, An said, and that fact will certainly bring hefty competition into play to meet demand. Much bigger units than Caribbean will follow elsewhere; FLNGs are planned or under construction by Shell, Total, Petronas, Eni, Keppel and Statoil. Yet there has been a slowdown in some project developments owing to the slide in LNG prices caused by a supply glut.

The biggest of all is Shell’s Prelude FLNG, which has been in the planning and development phases since 2011. The slow progress derives in part from the sheer size of the project. Once operational it is planned to produce 3.6 million tonnes per year of

November 2016

LNG, 1.3 million tonnes of condensate and 400,000 tonnes of LPG. Shell has not confirmed when its FLNG will be operational. Media reports have suggested it could be in the middle of 2017, with the final cost estimated at between US$10 billion and US$12 billion.

But small or large, the Exmar commission has cemented Wison’s position in the FLNG turnkey projects business, An believes. “[F]LNG production, storage and transportation facilities are emerging markets with large potential,” he said. “The small-scale FLNG being delivered by Wison has design advantages with lowcost and compact features, providing the market with more economical and efficient solutions. By playing a key role in the LNG midstream supply chain, Wison is dedicated to provide clients with innovative solutions to monetise their gas field assets.”

InnovOil

Advantages The key advantage of an FLNG facility is that it can be positioned above an offshore gas field far from land and eliminate the need for expensive undersea pipelines. This will be especially beneficial to China as it bids to tap into South China Sea resources.

The 780-km pipeline running between China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) Yacheng field off Hainan Island to Hong Kong was damaged recently by a ship’s anchor dragging. Specialised engineers from STATS Group had to be brought in to raise the damaged section to the surface for repairs.

Analysts Douglas-Westwood forecast that despite continuing challenging upstream market conditions, global capital expenditure on FLNG facilities in 2017-22 would rise to US$41.6 billion compared with about US$11 billion in 2011-15.

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“The protracted oil price downturn has impacted the sanctioning of capital-intensive liquefaction units over the last 24 months,” Douglas-Westwood said in its latest market study.

Liquefaction vessels will account for approximately 59% of the forecast expenditure, with the remaining 41% allocated to import and regasification terminals. Near-term growth in expenditure will be predominantly driven by a number of flagship liquefaction projects sanctioned prior to the oil price downturn, DouglasWestwood said.

“Despite near-term concerns, the long-term viability of FLNG technology is clear. In the decades ahead, natural gas will continue to play an increasingly important role in meeting global energy demand.

Furthermore, the rising cost of onshore development terminals and the shorter lead times of floating units make the technology a viable option in the current market environment.”

Wison Offshore & Marine is one of three subsidiaries of the privately owned Wison Group of Shanghai. Despite its Caribbeanbound liquefaction barge looking set to be overshadowed by giant floating facilities, its involvement with Exmar and Black &Veatch may mean it has found a leading edge niche market for the boutique end of the emerging FLNG industry. n

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November 2016

COMMENTARY

Argentina ready for a rebound

After more than a decade of dwindling energy production Argentina is back on the radar for IOCs, though lower costs and long-term political stability are necessary catalysts for investment, Charles Newbery reports from Buenos Aires

A

President Mauricio Macri of Argentina.

T a conference in Buenos Aires last month, some of the most used words among participants were “opportunity” and “Vaca Muerta”.

The government of President Mauricio Macri organised the Argentina Investment and Business Conference to drum up interest in the economy. In his opening address, the president said he wanted to convince corporate leaders that “you are in the right place at the perfect moment”.

He was speaking to CEOs invited to speak at the event, including BP’s Bob Dudley, Coca-Cola’s Muhtar Kent, Dow Chemical’s Andrew Liveris and Siemens’ Joe Kaeser.

These industry leaders will now decide whether now really is the time to take a punt on Argentina. After 12 years of populist rule, investment has sagged. The previous governments of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, intervened in private business with price caps, tax hikes, export restrictions and other measures that crimped profits and made it hard to plan business.

The result in the oil industry was that about 750 wells had been drilled in Vaca Muerta since its discovery in 2010, far less than the annual 1,400 that were drilled in US shale plays over much of the past decade.

The scale of what is on offer is clear. “This is an opportunity,” said Paolo Rocca, CEO of Techint Group, a steel giant and leading oil and gas producer in Argentina. “A country that is underinvested is an opportunity because you can get in and unleash the potential.”

NEWSBASE

Improving business conditions Since taking office in December, Macri has ended capital and currency controls, trimmed the tax burden and devalued the local currency. He has also widened access to capital by wrapping up a 15-year debt default.

The reforms are starting to show signs of slowing 40% inflation and returning the economy to growth after nearly five years of stagnation.

Macri’s administration is focused on doing policies, not getting re-elected. “That’s unusual,” Dow’s Liveris said. “That’s a tipping point moment.”

He noted that Argentina not only had unconventional resources but also talented workers to put them into production.

This was a driver for Dow to enter into a partnership with Argentina’s state-run YPF in 2013 to develop shale gas in Vaca Muerta with a US$350 million spending commitment. The company has since agreed to plough another US$500 million into the El Orejano project in 2016-17, with plans to invest a total of US$2.5 billion to put it into mass production.

The block will feed gas supplies into the company’s polyethylene plants in Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, where it is considering an outlay of US$5.5 billion to expand capacity.

Others firms are following suit. BP’s Dudley said more testing would be done at a field in October to determine what Pan American Energy’s (PAE) next steps are. BP owns 60% of PAE. ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and other companies are also in the pilot production phase to test potential.

Teofilo Lacroze, the president of Shell Argentina, said he was optimistic about the prospects on its five blocks in Vaca Muerta.

“The development of unconventional resources is going to bring a surplus in oil

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COMMENTARY Xxxxxxx

and natural gas production to Argentina in the future,” he told the conference.

Vaca Muerta holds an estimated 300 tcf (8.5 tcm) of gas resources, three times that of the Eagle Ford shale in the US. In addition, it is in a region that has good water supply, infrastructure to process gas and move it to market and is sparsely populated. “There are not many constraints on the surface,” said Techint’s Rocca.

Challenges There still are challenges, though. On the operational side, oil executives highlighted the need to bring down drilling and completion costs.

YPF, working in partnership with Chevron, is on track to push these down to US$10 million per well by the end of 2016.

The cost per well was US$11 million in the second quarter of this year and US$17 million three years ago, YPF’s chairman, Miguel Gutierrez, said at the event.

The reduction has come by sourcing its own sand as proppant, as well as through batch drilling and other techniques, he said.

More can be done with improvements in labour efficiency and productivity, he added.

With its first pilot, Shell is learning how

to drill more efficiently, while at the same time assessing how new technologies can help to drive down costs, Lacroze said.

However, he said that to speed up the learning curve, companies must work closer together, as well as with the government and unions. “The multiplying effect of all of this is giant,” he noted.

With estimated investment of US$20-25 billion per year needed to put Vaca Muerta into the mass production phase over the ten-year period, more than 60,000 jobs will be created and growth of three to four percentage points of GDP, Lacroze said.

Argentine Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren also called for more collaboration and the entry of more companies to develop the play.

To attract the next wave of players, his department is preparing projects to improve infrastructure capacity to cut costs. A dedicated highway is planned for handling the oil traffic between the port of Bahia Blanca and the heart of the Vaca Muerta play in Neuquen, a southwestern province. A freight railway is also planned.

Aranguren said the goal was to cut drilling costs to US$7-7.5 million per well, quickening the development pace.

NEWSBASE

The Vaca Muerta

Political concerns The pedigree of attendees at last week’s conference suggests there is strong investor interest in Argentina, though this is contingent on a stable political outlook.

Macri and his Cambiemos coalition, led by his own Republican Proposal (PRO) party, have so far been able to hold out against the Peronist movement, which has been hobbled by several corruption cases and is struggling to find a charismatic leader to take the place of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. But the ruling coalition is still under pressure.

In a recent note to clients, Walter Molano, head of research at US-based BCP Securities, warned that Macri must move quickly.

While Argentina has huge natural resources and the financial markets are betting on the government’s success, the president has so far failed adequately to communicate his vision to the population, and his popularity is starting to wane.

“The population is demanding results from those they elected to office,” Molano said. “The midterm elections are only a year away, and at the current pace, Macri’s PRO movement will be trounced.” n

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November 2016

Allspeeds makes the cut

Main image: The WCO22CL Inset: The SL135 softline cutter

Allspeeds launches ROV-mounted cut loop cutter for BOPs

W

ORKING with blow-out preventers (BOPs), reliability and redundancy tend to be the watchwords. But in the event of failure or emergency, back-up solutions have to be even more robust.

One such option is subsea intervention.

This uses remotely operated tools to prevent a blowout once all control or topside solutions have failed to work. In many instances, that redundancy is a cut loop which, when severed, prevents pressure lock in the hydraulic system needed to activate the BOP. As a result, these loop cutters need to be robust and reliable. One such device has recently been produced by hydraulic cutters and systems specialist Allspeeds. Its newest ROV-mounted Webtool cut loop cutter – the smallest hydraulic guillotine cutter in the range – is designed to sever the cutting loop and activate the BOP in the event other measures have failed.

Worldwide Webtools During intervention, the Webtool cutter is held in position over the cut loop by an ROV in case of an emergency situation. The wide mouth and open-sided design of the Webtool cutter should allow for the tool to be positioned on the stainless steel, hydraulic cut loop pipe with ease.

The blade has been optimised for cutting stainless steel tube and developed so the cut loop will fully release pressure immediately after the cutter is activated. The unit is built with a corrosion-resistant stainless steel body and cylinder.

The Webtool cutter can be used at any water depth, with pressure compensation on the hydraulic supply. Weighing 7kg in water, the cutter uses 700bar maximum input pressure, although an optional hydraulic intensifier is available.

Allspeed’s Webtool range includes a number of cable, rope and line cutters, for

mounting in various locations, including ROVs. As the smallest tool in the range, this design is particularly useful for operation in confined spaces.

Line out Fittingly, the company’s smallest cut loop cutter follows the production of its largest rope cutter, unveiled in August 2016.

The Webtool SL165 softline ROV tool is capable of cutting soft and fibre ropes up to 165mm diameter. It can be deployed either on the manipulator arm of a workclass ROV or integrated within a maritime handling system, with both working at any water depth.

Fibre rope is widely used in subsea anchoring, equipment deployment and construction as an alternative to steel wire. The need to handle higher loads has prompted the use of larger diameter ropes. In the event that these ropes need to be cut, the Webtool guillotine will sever softline within a few seconds.

Made from lightweight aluminium, the Webtool SL165 weighs 49.8 kg in air (33.5 kg in water) and uses 690 bar maximum input pressure.

The SL165’s corrosionresistant aluminium body and cylinder and long blade and anvil life ensures tool maintenance is kept to a minimum. In addition to the standard tool design, the company can also supply the softline cutter in bespoke and custom designs to suit special applications, with the possibility of cutting softlines up to 350mm and more. n NEWSBASE

Contact:

Tel: +44 (0)1254 615100 Email: info@allspeeds.co.uk Web: www.allspeeds.co.uk

November 2016

InnovOil

Åsgard – one year on

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One year on, Statoil announces impressive results from its Åsgard subsea compression system, while project partners intend to take the technology to the next level

J

UST over a year ago, in September 2015, Statoil and a number of engineering collaborators began production from the world’s first subsea gas compression system at the Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea. In the interim, the system has run “like a Swiss clock with practically no stops or interruptions,” the operator recently stated.

Requiring a template the size of a football pitch (75m x 45m x 20m), two 11.5-MW HOFIM™ motor-compressor-units are expected to boost recovery from the Mikkel and Midgard reservoirs by 306 million boe, and extend their life until 2032. The wellstream from both fields, built as subsea installations and located 50 and 70 km away respectively, will be sent from the compressor in the same pipeline to the Åsgard B platform.

Working with engineers and suppliers Aker Solutions, MAN and Technip, Statoil qualified more than 40 new technologies during the project, many of which it now intends to re-use in other projects.

“We have built test facilities at K-lab, storage and maintenance capacity at Vestbase, and we have access to ships that are capable of handling installation of large subsea modules. By reusing this technology, we have great opportunities for simplification and efficiency improvements, and for reducing

carbon footprints of future gas compression systems,” commented vice president for Åsgard operations Halvor Engebretsen.

Adding to the company’s claims of Swiss clock-like accuracy, Engebretsen said: “Quality in all sections of the project and also during operation has contributed to maintain a system regularity of close to 100% through its first year of operation.”

“During the first year we have raised production by an excess of 16 million boe.

Based on today’s prices the value added amounts to more than 5 billion kroner (US$600 million),” says Engebretsen. The recovery rates from the Midgard and Mikkel reservoirs on Åsgard have been raised from 67% to 87% and from 59% to 84% respectively.

Compacting compressors With the first year of the project having been declared a success, Aker Solutions and MAN Diesel & Turbo are now aiming to reduce the size and weight of the same compression systems by at least 50%.

Aker Solutions chief technology officer Hervé Valla said: “We’re proud to have played a leading part in developing this ground-breaking technology, which is proving its value as we now mark one year of strong operations since going on NEWSBASE

stream… We’re taking this technology further to deliver slimmer and lower-cost compression systems without compromising on effectiveness.”

The intention is that a reduction in the size and weight of the compression system should result in lower overall investment and installation costs. However, MAN said to InnovOil that there were no plans to retrofit the existing template with smaller equipment, as far as it was aware.

MAN Diesel & Turbo’s oil and gas upstream head at Zurich, Basil Zweifel, said: “The next-generation of subsea compression systems will be based on proven technology and contribute to major improvements in both the recovery rate and lifetime for a number of gasfields. Aker Solutions and MAN will provide reliable compression systems for use at small subsea fields, as well as large deposits such as Åsgard.”

MAN remained vague on the details of when the tie-up would be available commercially, but did state: “The technology is so far developed that it will be applied to future subsea projects… The entire oil and gas industry has closely monitored the subsea technology progress in the past years. There is great interest and our subsea compression technology is being evaluated for current projects.” n

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November 2016

InnovOil

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NEWS IN BRIEF

UK’s largest marine robot fleet completes mission A FLEET of ten marine robots has successfully completed an ambitious twoweek mission off northwest Scotland, despite being hit by a succession of Atlantic storms with winds gusting up to 60 mph and waves up to 7 m high. The mission comprised the largest simultaneous deployment of marine robots yet attempted in UK waters, with seven submarine gliders and three surface Wave Gliders operating in challenging waters around the Outer Hebrides.

The robot fleet was collecting a variety of marine environmental data including ocean temperature, salinity, oxygen, turbidity, tidal currents, and surface weather and wave conditions. While the robots were taking a battering from the weather, the mission pilots and scientists were safe and warm operating the fleet via satellite from the comfort of dedicated operations rooms.

The submarine gliders surveyed an area

of over 5000 km2 during the two-week deployment, venturing up to 125 km offshore of the island of Barra into waters over 1000 m deep. The Wave Gliders ventured up to 150 km north of the island of Lewis, each covering a distance of more than 300 km.

The ability of the Wave Gliders to accurately target features such as oceanic fronts, visible on satellite images provided by Plymouth Marine Laboratory, was a particular success given the combination of strong winds, waves and tides.

The mission was co-ordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in partnership with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), and involved over 20 industry and government partners.

The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) was the primary sponsor of the mission, which was in support of the Royal Navy’s ‘Unmanned Warrior’ programme, and all of the collected data will be archived at the British Oceanographic Data Centre and made available for future scientific research.

Professor Russell Wynn of NOC, who was Chief Scientist of the mission, said: “This mission benefitted hugely from the local knowledge at SAMS and the offshore

NEWSBASE

expertise provided by the Royal Navy, which enabled us to safely deploy and recover the ten vehicles in difficult conditions; it also highlighted the ability of marine robots to continue collecting high quality data in sea states that would have hampered or even terminated traditional vessel-based observations.

Fraser Macdonald, who co-ordinated the SAMS contribution, added: “SAMS has a long history of working in this region, and the unique glider data collected during this mission will contribute to our ongoing research into the complex oceanographic processes that influence changes in global climate, including how increasing ocean temperatures are affecting the northeast Atlantic and adjacent regions including the Arctic”.

The deployment was the third in the ‘Exploring Ocean Fronts’ programme, which started in 2014. The programme seeks to inform the scientific and environmental community, as well as industry, of the benefits of these new technologies as an alternative to manned vessels, which are relatively expensive to operate and have a larger environmental impact. n NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Sasol completes 3D seismic in Mozambique SASOL last week said that it had completed the first ever 3D onshore seismic programme in Mozambique, covering a 115 square km area on Inhassoro, which forms part of its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) licence area in Mozambique’s Inhambane Province.

The findings were described as “encouraging” by Sasol Exploration and Production International’s senior vice president, John Sichinga, without giving further details.

“The acquisition of the 3D seismic data in the Inhassoro field will significantly enhance our understanding of the structure of the oil accumulations through better resolution and more defined characterisation of the reservoir,” he said. The new seismic work was carried out by Geofizyka Torun of Poland.

The South African company plans to develop the PSA licence area in phases. The first stage proposes an integrated oil, LPG and gas project adjacent to Sasol’s existing Petroleum Production Agreement (PPA) area.

For the past decade, the company has processed gas from the Pande and Temane fields via a Central Processing Facility (CPF) for transport to markets in South Africa and Mozambique.

Previously, Sasol has only conducted 3D seismic offshore, with almost 4,000 square km of data taken across the M10 Sofala area and Blocks 16/19.

The data acquisition programme now moves to the Pande field, within the PPA

licence area, where a further 42 square km of 3D seismic is to be acquired.

The latest seismic work complements recent drilling in the PSA area, which kicked off earlier this year.

Sichinga said the drilling of the first two wells has now been completed, which he again described as “encouraging”. He went on to say that, while drilling the second well, the company had “encountered previously unknown accumulations of hydrocarbons within the development and production area, which indicate the presence of both gas and oil.” n Edited by Ed Reed edreed@newsbase.com

Impact and Unique launch new flooded member detection system A NEW underwater Flooded Member Detection (FMD) system has been launched NEWSBASE

today by Impact Subsea in collaboration with Unique Group.

The ISFMD offers a significant advancement in flooded member detection, providing a new level of clarity in nondestructive testing for the presence of water in underwater structures.

For use by divers or ROVs, water level, depth of reading, position of the sensor probe and temperature of water are all monitored and recorded. With 1mm accuracy and a range in excess of 100m, the ISFMD system provides an exceptionally high accuracy reading.

An advanced software suite provides a visual indication of all sample points along the underwater member or structure being surveyed. Upon completion of the survey, the software automatically generates a survey report with all recorded readings.

Following collaboration in the development of the system, Unique Group has been appointed as exclusive rental partner for the ISFMD system.

Commenting on the launch of the new system, Andy Doggett, Survey Equipment Divisional Director, Unique Group, stated, “We are delighted to collaborate with Impact Subsea on this exciting new FMD system.

Following significant investment in Impact Subsea Altimeters, Depth Sensors and FMD systems we are able to meet customer demand for the latest underwater technology.” n IMPACT SUBSEA

Eni names Armada FPSO ENI held a naming ceremony on October 14 for the Armada Olombendo FPSO, which will be deployed to Angola to begin production at Block 15/06 in the second quarter of 2017.

A ceremony was held in Singapore for the unit. The vessel will be ready to set sail soon, the company said, ahead of mooring and hook-up operations.

The FPSO will be working on the East Hub project, in Block 15/06. This will consist of nine subsea wells, including five producers and four water injectors, in water depths of 450-500 metres.

Production to the East Hub will come from the Cabaca North find, in addition to the Cabaca SE-ST1 and Cabaca SE2. Eni is the operator of Block 15/06 with a 36.84% stake. Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao also has 36.84% stake and SSI Fifteen owns a 26.32% stake.

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The Italian company has been working in Angola since 1980 and is currently producing 135,000 boepd. This is up from 101,000 boepd in 2015. According to an Eni report in July, Block 15/06 is one of the company’s most valuable assets, holding more than 3 billion barrels in place and 850 million barrels of reserves. Production at that point was 90,000 boepd, via the West Hub. The West Hub began producing oil in November 2014, only 44 months after notice of commercial discovery was given. Between starting production and the end of 2015, it had yielded 18 million barrels of oil. West Hub involves 26 subsea wells in 1,250 metres of water, in the Sangos area. The Ochigufu discovery, which came in 2014, will be integrated into the West Hub development in order to maintain the production plateau.

The addition of the East Hub should bring total output to a plateau of 180,000 boepd. n Edited by Ed Reed edreed@newsbase.com

Hibiscus buys into EOR project MALAYSIA’S Hibiscus Petroleum has signed an agreement to acquire Royal Dutch Shell’s 50% stake in, and operatorship of, the 2011 North Sabah enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

PSC offshore Sabah. Shell and Hibiscus announced the agreement in separate statements on October 12.

SEA Hibiscus, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hibiscus, will acquire a 50% stake in the 2011 North Sabah EOR PSC from two Shell subsidiaries for US$25 million, excluding post completion adjustments and reimbursements to Shell. The two Shell subsidiaries are Sabah Shell Petroleum and Shell Sabah Selatan, which each own 25% stakes in the licence at present. Petronas Carigali holds the remaining 50%.

SEA Hibiscus will also take over the operatorship of the licence from Sabah Shell Petroleum.

The transaction, which is still subject to approval from state-owned Petronas, is expected to be completed in 2017, Shell and Hibiscus said.

The 2011 North Sabah EOR PSC contains the Labuan crude oil terminal (LCOT) and the St Joseph, South Furious, SF30 and Barton offshore fields. The block’s total oil production averaged 18,000 bpd in 2015.

Shell said: “This transaction is part of Shell’s review of its upstream portfolio, to focus on acreage positions that hold or can reach the scale required by Shell.”

Hibiscus commented: “The PSC provides long-term production rights until 2040 with identified future development opportunities.”

Hibiscus’s managing director, Kenneth

Pereira, said the acquisition was in line with the group’s growth strategy of investing in profitable developments and producing business operations in its “identified core geographical areas of interest”. He added that the deal gave the company immediate access to proven and probable reserves with future potential upside. n Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

NEA unveils coal-conversion plan CHINA’S National Energy Administration (NEA) has announced a comprehensive development programme for coal-toliquids (CTL), coal-togas (CTG) and coal-petrochemicals projects as part of the country’s five-year plan.

The programme follows the end of a yearlong suspension on such projects in May, which was imposed because of environmental concerns, including water shortages.

However, official media reports suggest the government is scaling back on earlier production targets for coal conversions.

The new five-year development plan is for 14 projects, with another 25 on the drawing

Coal transport on the Yangtze

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NEWS IN BRIEF

board, the official news agency Xinhua quoted NEA Supervision Department’s chief, Li Ye, as saying.

Annual production targets by 2020 under the new five-year plan are for 8-10 million tonnes of CTL capacity, 20 bcm for CTG, 16 million tonnes for coal-to-olefins, and 6 million tonnes of coal-to-ethylene glycol, Xinhua said.

The CTG target is much smaller than proposed in the previous five-year plan, when the target set for 2020 was 50 bcm.

Development of the sector and operation of existing plants has slowed in the last two years, owing to concerns about the high volume of water consumption and the global oil price slump that made coal-to-chemical projects in particular uneconomical, Xinhua quoted the head of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Planning Institute, Gua Zongqin, as saying.

“Currently, China’s modern coal-chemical industry is facing bland development with redundant plans for [some] projects, and feels great pressure in water resources restraint and environmental protection,” Xinhua said.

Approvals by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in May of three new CTG projects with a combined capacity of 4 bcm effectively ended a year-long moratorium, following unfavourable publicity about high costs and environmental damage, especially to water tables.

The three new plants will be in Shanxi, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. The Shanxi project is a joint venture by state-owned CNOOC and the Datong Coal Mine and has a price tag of almost US$4 billion, according to Reuters. n

archipelago to handle rising production from offshore fields like Vega Pleyade. This and other offshore fields are part of the Austral Basin, the country’s second biggest source of gas. The basin has seen production rise 16% to 30 mcm per day this year compared with 2015, which was helped by Vega Pleyade coming on line. It is operated by France’s Total.

With the rise in production, the main pipeline that delivers gas supplies to the north has become over-supplied, posing the risk of stalling any projects to increase production.

The bottleneck has spurred plans for the liquefaction terminal.

According to the bill, the terminal would liquefy gas for delivery by tanker to two floating regasification terminals in Buenos Aires.

At first, the supplies from the south will replace all the around 25 mcm per day of LNG imports to these terminals. Eventually, Total and other producers will be able to use the liquefaction terminal to export gas.

The national government has said it wants to hold an offshore licensing round to bring in investors to develop more acreage, beginning in 2017 with the Austral Basin.

With a liquefaction terminal in place, this will guarantee an outlet for production from any new discoveries.

The bill must still be approved in Congress, and will likely be signed into law

by President Mauricio Macri given that Roma is a member of his conservative party. Macri has said he wants to eliminate LNG imports by 2021 primarily by developing the country’s

Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

Argentine province mulls LNG terminal ARGENTINA might build its first liquefaction terminal to increase deliveries of natural gas from the southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego, helping to reduce imports of costlier LNG. The project is the brainchild of Carlos Roma, a national congressman for the province. He submitted a bill for authorising the project to the lower house last week.

A draft of the bill shows how the liquefaction terminal would be built on the NEWSBASE

huge shale and tight gas resources, as well as any offshore potential. n Edited by Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

Unsanctioned discoveries (small pools) highlight significant remaining potential in UKCS MORE than three billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) remain in approximately 350 unsanctioned discoveries across the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), according to information released by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).

Of the three billion, the majority are ‘small pools’, defined as less than 50 million boe technically recoverable, and are located within potential tieback and/or extended reach drilling distance to existing infrastructure. However, a number of these small pools lie further away from existing infrastructure and therefore could require stand-alone type solutions to recover hydrocarbons.

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NEWS IN BRIEF ECONOMIC REPORT 2016

ECONOMIC REPORT 2016

This analysis, completed by detailed maps of the discoveries, was developed by the OGA as part of the Technology Leadership Board’s (TLB) Small Pools Work Group, supported

by The National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI), Centrica, EnQuest and The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF).

Carlo Procaccini, OGA Head of Technology, said: “We recognise the challenges operators are facing to develop these marginal oil and gas accumulations.

Small pools represent a very significant opportunity to maximise economic recovery (MER) from the UKCS. “Technology has an important role to play to reduce the cost of development wells, design optimised subsea infrastructure to existing host facilities and develop efficient standalone concepts.

“We are committed to working together with the industry, the TLB and the new Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) which

has dedicated one of their Solution Centres to unlock the small pools potential.”

The publication of the Information Pack by the OGA follows a series of small pool themed ‘hackathons’, facilitated by the NSRI, which took place last year with around 100 companies participating. From these, more than 100 outputs (ideas, technologies and efficiency measures), were generated that could assist with unlocking the small pools.

Among technologies short-listed for further screening were those that could reduce subsea tieback costs, including mechanical hot taps, mechanically connected pipelines and spooled pipeline products, as well as novel concepts for efficient standalone solutions such as subsea storage, unmanned production buoys and small, versatile floating facilities. In parallel, Oil & Gas UK’s Efficiency Task Force looked at near-term efficiencies in subsea installations, achievable through simplified design and standardised equipment. n OGA

Russneft to ramp up production of hard-to-recover crude MID-sized Russian producer Russneft has announced plans to increase extraction

of hard-to-recover oil reserves so that it counts for 10% of the company’s production portfolio.

The firm, which operates primarily in Western Siberia and the Volga region, has been battling with production decline as its existing fields mature. “Development of stranded oil will compensate for a reduction in the rate of production in traditional regions where we are present,” a statement said.

Russneft said it intended to extract 50 million tonnes (367 million barrels) of hard-to-recover oil between now and 2021.

The bulk of this volume will come from the Sredne-Shapshinskoye oilfield, where the company aims to spud seven wells next year.

The privately owned producer will then lift an additional 20 million tonnes (146.5 million barrels) of hard-to-recover reserves over a 20-year period.

Sredne-Shapshinskoye is one of three fields in the Shapshinskoye cluster, situated in Western Siberia’s Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. Russia’s biggest shale oil and gas formation, Bazhenov, is located at depths of 2,000-3,000 metres under SredneShapshinskoye.

The Shapshinskoye licence area is operated

by Aki-Otyer, a small production unit that was taken over by Russneft in 2005.

The subsidiary also controls the nearby Peschanoye, Ovalnoye and Arzhanovskoye fields.

It produced 1.8 million tonnes (36,000 barrels per day) of oil last year and hopes

Russneft’s Vankor oilfield

NEWSBASE

page 38

InnovOil

November 2016

NEWS IN BRIEF

On September 30, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore closed its first invitation for requests for proposal (RFP) applications for an LNG bunkering licence.

Successful candidates are anticipated to begin bunkering in early 2017.

The Maritime Innovation & Technology Fund intends to spend up to S$12 million (US$8.72 million) on six LNG-fuelled vessels, and the country launched its first LNG derivatives contract on January 25.

Since July, the MPA has also granted LNGfuelled vessels a 25% discount on port duties. n Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

to expand production by a further 200,000 tonnes (4,000 bpd) in 2016. The enterprise’s recoverable reserves are estimated to exceed 100 million tonnes (733 million barrels).

Russneft’s output has continued to diminish this year, although the producer has succeeded in slowing down the rate of decline. Oil production was down 2.9% year on year in August, compared with 5.2% in July and 13.2% in January. Overall, the firm produced 4.57 million tonnes (137,000 bpd) in the first eight month of the year, down 9.2% from the corresponding period of 2015.

In related news, Russneft is reportedly planning an initial public offering (IPO) for 10-15% of its shares next month, sources close to the placement told Russia’s RBK last week. One source valued the company as a whole at US$4-5 billion.

Until recently, the family of Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev held 54% of Russneft, while trading multinational Glencore owned 46%. Gutseriev managed to reduce Glencore’s stake to 25% plus one share following a debt conversion in August, according to Vedomosti. One of the RBK sources said that Glencore’s share had since risen to just above 30%. n Edited by Joe Murphy josephm@newsbase.com

Keppel signs dual-fuel tug deal KEPPEL Offshore & Marine has secured contracts from subsidiaries Keppel Smit

Towage and Maju Maritime to build two dual-fuel harbour tugs.

Wholly owned Keppel Singmarine shipyard will build the diesel and LNG-fired tugs, which are a first for Keppel. Both Keppel Smit and Maju Maritime are joint ventures with Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary Royal Boskalis Westminster and were merged operationally in 2000.

The tugs, slated for delivery by 2018, are to use bunkering services provided by FueLNG, a 50:50 venture between Keppel and Shell that was set up July.

The tug project will receive a S$2 million (US$1.45 million) grant from Singapore’s LNG Bunkering Pilot Programme, contingent on the operators only using LNG to power the vessels. Keppel has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shell Eastern Petroleum, under which the pair will consider other opportunities in the LNG sector.

Shell strengthened its position in the Singaporean LNG sector in February after completing its takeover of BG Group. BG delivered 72 LNG cargoes to Singapore between May 2013 and January 2016 and secured an LNG bunkering licence alongside Keppel earlier this year.

Last week’s announcement comes as Singapore invests in LNG bunkering to cement its status as a fuel trading hub in Southeast Asia.

Singapore wants to be capable of handling all types of LNG-fuelled vessels by 2020, potentially switching a substantial share of the 3.5 million tonnes per month of marine fuel it currently sells.

NEWSBASE

ITF launches call for abstracts for Technology Showcase 2017 APPLYING digital technology to improve operational efficiency and performance is set to be a major talking point as the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) launches its call for abstracts for Technology Showcase 2017.

Technology in action – Opportunity to adopt is the overarching theme for the fourth annual conference and exhibition which takes place in Aberdeen on March 1, 2017.

The event will give researchers and technology developers the opportunity to hear authoritative presentations from global operators and service companies on pertinent issues and be part of discussions on the solutions needed to address technology challenges facing the UKCS and around the world.

The conference will open with two plenary sessions that combine senior industry speaker insights with presentations on leading edge technology implementations and successful industry technology initiatives. The second session will be a moderated panel session with a number of key figures in the oil and gas industry.

The call for abstracts is now open and gives developers the opportunity to present to an oil and gas audience. Presentations should last three to five minutes with a Q&A at the end of each session. The deadline for submissions is December 16, 2016. n ITF

November 2016

InnovOil

What next …?

To make enquiries about any of the products or technologies featured in this edition, use this list of vital connections

For more information on LumaSense flare monitoring technologies, get in touch with Joerg Roessler, Sales Manager Oil & Gas APAC on +49 69 973 730, or email j.roessler@lumasenseinc.com Synaptec’s fibre optic monitoring technology is a potential game-changer for the marine, renewables and subsea sectors. For more information, or to discuss cabling technology with managing director Philip Orr, call +44 (0)141 548 4841 or email philip.orr@synapt.ec To find out how Aquaterra Energy and Plexus Holdings’ new riser solution could increase safety and reduce the cost of jack-up HPHT developments, speak to Alison Cowie, The BIG Partnership, +44 (0) 1224 253819 or email alison.cowie@bigpartnership.co.uk The Mini-GTL system from the US’ Gas Technologies could transform how operators look at flaring and associated gas use. For more information on the system, contact Walter Breidenstein on +1 231 535 2914 or via email at walterb@gastechno.com Aker Solutions’ Lean Semi design is a lightweight and low-cost option when considering semisubmersible developments. Contact the company’s Floating Production Solutions division on +47 67 51 30 00 or visit www.akersolutions.com Allspeeds designs and builds a range of Webtool cutters, for use with ROVs and topside. For further details, call +44 (0)1254 615100 or email info@allspeeds.co.uk

NEWSBASE

page 39

An asset to energy professionals

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InnovOil, from the NewsBase group, is a technology-driven, monthly magazine which aims Andy Hill, Group Marketing Manager to provide a platform for innovators and engineers to share to share their ideas and expertise.

IPU Group Our publication remains a trusted, solicited information source for technology news across the complete spectrum of the upstream, midstream and downtream oil and gas sectors.

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