InnovOil Issue 49 February 2017

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Bringing you the latest innovations in exploration, production and refining Issue 49

The new normal Diving and thriving at Subsea Expo 2017 Page 13-21

Bird in the hand Danish Space Agency explores drone surveys Page 26

On the FLI

Well-SENSE makes progress with DAS deployment Page 6

February 2017

Europe’s largest annual Subsea Exhibition and Conference Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) 01-03 February 2017 ORGANISED BY

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InnovOil

February 2017

page 3

Inside Contacts: Media Director Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

6

Petra Nova CCS goes live

9

On the radar

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

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SUBSEA EXPO 2017 13

NewsBase Limited Centrum House, 108-114 Dundas Street Edinburgh EH3 5DQ

Adapt and survive

InnovOil interviews SubseaUK Chief Executive Neil Gordon

Phone: +44 (0)131 478 7000

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Unlocking marginal fields 16 A priority for the NSRI

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

Out of the blue

18

Subsea 3D modelling

20

Pipeline inspection

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Bluefin Robotics’ newest micro-AUV

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

InnovateUK backs ROVCO ™

A collaboration between N-Sea and the University of Strathclyde

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in exploration, production

Learning to FLI

The Texas plant is now operational

Editor Andrew Dykes andrewd@newsbase.com

ations Bringing you the latest innov

5

Well-SENSE Technologies discusses recent field trials of its disposable FibreLine Intervention tool

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

Published by

A note from the Editor

and refining

ITF Technology Showcase 24

February 2017

Issue 49

the new nOrmaL

Opportunities to adopt

Diving and thriving at Subsea Expo 2017

Denmark’s new drone

26

Working in the lab

28

Ichthys presses on

31

News in brief

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A collaboration between the Royal Danish Navy and the space research agency

Page 13-21

Inside ExxonMobil’s used oil analysis laboratory

hand Bird in the Agency Danish Space explores drone surveys Page 26

On the FLi makes progress Well-SENSE with DAS deployment

Subsea equipment installation has been completed at the Australian field

Page 6

Cover image is Stanford University’s OceanOne ROV diver.

Photograph: Frederic Osada and Teddy Seguin/DRASSM

Contacts 37 NEWSBASE

Wednesday 1st March, 2017 AECC, Aberdeen

The ITF Technology Showcase is a collaborative, innovation and technology focused exhibition and conference.

“Technology In Action” Opportunity to Adopt The 2017 ITF Technology Showcase is the industry event that innovators and operators alike can’t afford to miss. The conference and exhibition brings together some of the brightest minds from inside and outside of oil and gas to challenge current thinking and bring fresh focus on progressing new solutions.

Still not convinced?

Here are our top five reasons why you should attend: • Leading plenary speakers from oil and gas and other technology industries sharing insights and debating the challenges of the day.

• Q&A sessions which don’t shy away from stimulating controversial discussion around technology needs, investment and support.

• Innovation hall dedicated to supporting the innovator community and showcasing the very best in new thinking, products, solutions and services with a new pricing structure to suit all budgets and sizes of organisations.

• All day, high quality networking with a targeted audience with a shared goal around progressing technology development.

• Credible, themed tech presentations facilitated by oil and gas operators with a keen interest on getting technology to market through the most effective and efficient routes possible.

To register now or book space in the Innovation Hall, please visit showcase.itfenergy.com

FACILITATE COLLABORATE INNOVATE

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February 2017

InnovOil

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A note from the Editor A very Happy New Year to all of our InnovOil readers!

January and February tend to be busy months for most in the sector. Although poor weather may limit work in some of the tougher northern regions, many will bunker down in workshops and offices across the globe as plans for the year are unveiled and implemented. Indeed, the time is ripe for new resolutions and new thinking, and should be a heartening period for innovators.

It is for those reasons that we have great expectations about this year’s annual Subsea Expo conference in Aberdeen. This will be InnovOil’s fifth year in attendance, and the expertise and technology on show never fails to impress.

Building on last year’s theme of “Time for Transformation,” which pressed the importance of overhauling the subsea and wider industries to adapt to a new price environment, this year’s conference explores “Adapting to the New Norm.” In some areas, much progress has been made – new vessel-sharing agreements, for example, are making subsea deployments far more efficient and cost-effective, and we have also seen the emergence of new service contracts based on working uptime, ensuring operators are getting value from functional equipment.

As SubseaUK chief executive Neil Gordon explains inside, “We cannot ignore the real changes that are happening in the

world. It is time to step up to the plate, adapt to the new environment and adopt a fundamentally different mind-set. It is vital that the industry takes a long-term approach – it is about making things simpler, safer and more efficient today to deliver lasting results.”

The subsea industry is also now looking to concentrate on what it does best. In focusing on better techniques for asset integrity management, maintenance regimes and condition monitoring, subsea companies can push further technological progress – and their innovation will pay off.

Elsewhere of course, innovation ploughs on. In addition to a raft of subsea technologies in this issue – think micro-AUVs, 3D modelling and automated pipeline inspection – we also explore a new VTOL drone design which could revolutionise both mine clearing and offshore geoscience surveys, the start-up of a pioneering CCS-EOR project and hear from downhole technology firm Well-SENSE on its progress with Fibre Line Intervention (FLI).

We also feature a quick look ahead to the ITF Technology Showcase in March – another excellent event for incorporating both networking and new ideas and which will highly benefit innovators who make the trip.

For now, however, we wish you all the best with your business in the year to come, and are very pleased to present the February issue of InnovOil.

Andrew Dykes Editor

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InnovOil

Learning to FLI

February 2017

Well-SENSE Technologies discusses recent field trials of its disposable FibreLine Intervention tool, aimed at improving the scope and reducing the cost of DAS surveys

O

ne of the stand-out innovations we saw last year was the FibreLine Intervention (FLI) concept, developed by Aberdeen-based Well-SENSE Technologies. Its inventor, Dan Purkis, was evangelical with regard to the possibilities – and cost reduction – it offered in performing well inspection and intervention.

FLI is a range of dissolvable intervention tools, deployed into the well on a single fibre-optic cable. Its housing is based on a biodegradable polymer and water-soluble metal alloys, meaning it can be used and abandoned in the well, where it dissolves in a matter of days. Its deployment into the well via a surface-connected fibre-optic line allows it to freefall into the well and dissolve, avoiding one of the biggest risks in standard intervention jobs – tools becoming stuck in hole – and preventing costly down time and fishing operations.

When InnovOil spoke with Purkis in spring 2016, the concept had been realised and the team was about to embark on a new phase of testing and development.

Now according to Well-SENSE, the past six months have seen the system “exceed expectations” during field trials in a test well in Montrose, which have proved that fibre optics can be repeatedly and reliably retrofitted into a well using the FLI system.

The company’s solutions and support director Paul Higginson explained to InnovOil: “We have performed various workshop tests to understand the performance of fibre optics when being spooled and de-spooled and have a design which is very robust and reliable in terms of deployment of the fibre into oil and gas wells.” The result has been some fine tuning of the design, and qualification of the FLI’s most pressing use.

In particular, these tests have qualified the use of FLI for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) surveys using the installed fibre-optic line, and produced “extremely promising results” Higginson said.

Currently DAS is either installed as a permanent system as part of the well completion, or temporarily installed and

retrieved by a truck-mounted spooling system (similar to coil tubing and electric line). Both are expensive, largely because of installation time and/or capital equipment costs. The company says that a dissolvable NEWSBASE

FLI system would slash both, enabling DAS to be economical in a far greater number of wells.

Active FLI – another side to the concept, where the system will contain active

February 2017

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An early concept design for FLI

payloads such as cameras or sensors – has also been refined, he added. “Sensors are placed within the body of the tool and used to perform discrete, rather than distributed, measurements. Some very exciting workshop testing has been performed on our Active FLI system but unfortunately I cannot divulge any details about that. For now, I can say they illustrate the adaptability and levels of performance that a system like FLI can provide.”

Testing, testing Commenting on the success of last year’s trials, Purkis said: “We are positive that the technology will offer vast benefits to operators; not least because it’s costeffective and disposable, allowing for it to be utilised on wells where other methods of

installing fibre optics may have been deemed economically unviable.”

That said, working with disruptive technologies also presents its fair share of hurdles in a notoriously conservative industry.

Paul explained: “There is a lot of interest, talk and good will, [but] it has to be said we waste a lot of time going down dead ends in organisations which can’t seem to decide if they are on board with new technology or not. We are not the only ones saying this: all small to medium technology developers in oil and gas are finding it very difficult to get the right type of assistance from industry.”

Nevertheless, 2017 will certainly be another busy – and hopefully fruitful – year for Well-SENSE. The team is now aiming to commercialise the technology and move it forward by working with key industry

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players in the well intervention market.

Higginson also promised “other technology developments” which have yet to be detailed – watch this space.

To do that, however, more partners are needed. Well-SENSE is still looking for new opportunities and applications for the technology, Purkis commented, stating: “To realise the full benefits of FLI, collaboration with other technology providers will be key to its ongoing development – we’re keen to ensure the best technology is implemented from the start.” Interested technology developers should get in touch. n Contact: Well-SENSE Technologies Tel: +44(0)1224 937600 Email: dpurkis@well-sense.co.uk Web: www.well-sense.co.uk

InnovOil

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February 2017

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InnovOil

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Super Nova: Texas CCSEOR project goes live The Petra Nova CCS plant is now operational, highlighting the advantages of a combined approach to CCS and EOR

C

arbon capture and storage (CCS) has often been touted as something of a silver bullet for reducing emissions.

But while numerous plans have been proposed for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, transport, storage and re-use across the globe, few have come to fruition – and those have faced an uphill battle.

Those plants and applications which have been successful are largely confined to the US and Canada. In the former, demand for CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects has led to a number of transport pipelines being built – a demand that certainly until recently has tended to exceed supply.

The latest project to be brought online is the Petra Nova development at the WA Parish coal-fired thermal power plant (TPP), southwest of Houston, Texas. The Petra Nova CCS plant captures 90% of the CO2 from a 240-MW slipstream of flue gas, and at full operation is expected to capture more than around 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per day, totalling around 1.6 million tonnes over the year.

Construction began in 2014, and was completed last year, with the first tranche of gas captured in September 2016. Final tests were completed in December, and the plant will be officially opened later this year.

The project itself is a 50:50 joint venture between NRG Energy and JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, with additional funds from the US Department of Energy (DoE) providing up to US$190 million in grants.

Project loans were also secured from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) and Mizuho Bank, backed by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) – and as a result the site leverages Japanese technology in the CCS process. The Kansai Mitsubishi carbon dioxide recovery process (KM CDR Process) uses an advanced hindered amine solvent (KS-1) for absorption and desorption, in conjunction with a line of “special proprietary equipment.”

Production gains The CO2 is then transported via an 80-mile (130-km) pipeline and injected at the West

Ranch oilfield, operated by Hilcorp Energy and co-owned by it, JX Nippon and NRG. The company expects that oil production here will be raised from present rates of around 300 bpd to a peak of up to 15,000 bpd. This field is currently estimated to hold approximately 60 million barrels of recoverable reserves if EOR operations are in place.

According to NRG, the produced CO2-oil mixture is separated at the surface and the gas can be recompressed and re-injected again for additional production and sequestration.

Hilcorp and the University Of Texas Bureau Of Economic Geology will monitor the movement of CO2 in the oil reservoir. “To date we have drilled nearly 100 new wells in the West Ranch field and have implemented a robust CO2 and groundwater monitoring programme,” said Hilcorp chairman and CEO Jeffery D. Hildebrand. “We are excited about this project, and expect to see a meaningful increase in oil production at West Ranch in the near future.”

While the project’s completion does not NEWSBASE

signal a new future for CCS – the US and Canada remain fairly unique markets in terms of their demand for CO2-EOR – Petra Nova does prove that the technology can be developed on time and on budget.

By contrast, in nearby Mississippi the Kemper County IGCC plant – also equipped with CCS – is now expected online by the end of January 2017 (almost three years after its intended start-up date). The project, part of a 582-MW coal-fired power plant, was conceived in 2004 and at the time was estimated to cost US$2.2 billion; its cost now is calculated as being in the region of US$6.9 billion. CO2 captured here will also be sequestered in a nearby oil field, operated by Denbury Resources.

Kemper serves to illustrate that while CO2 may be needed for EOR operations in a number of regions, it is not always as simple as connecting supply with areas of demand – perhaps the success of Petra Nova may contain valuable lessons for future developments. n

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On the radar

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

Better in 3D MIT researchers have successfully engineered a porous, 3D shape made from graphene.

The new sponge-like material has a density of just 5%, but possesses strength ten times that of steel in certain configurations.

Graphene is already thought to be one of the strongest known materials in its 2D form, but transferring that into a 3D structure has proved tricky. However, by analysing its behaviour and developing a mathematical framework, the group came up with a strategy.

In a press release, MIT stated: “The team was able to compress small flakes of graphene using a combination of heat and pressure.

This process produced a strong, stable structure

whose form resembles that of some corals and microscopic creatures called diatoms.” These shapes have a large surface area in proportion to their volume and are remarkably strong.

Once this was achieved, more computations determined what shapes could be made, and how strong they might be, with some being 3D-printed and tested mechanically.

Because the shape is riddled with very tiny pore spaces, the material might also find applications in some filtration systems, for either water or chemical processing. The mathematical descriptions derived by this group have enabled the development of a number of applications, the researchers said. n

February 2017

Nickel and dime The same scale which plagues pipes in areas of calcium-rich water could rid contaminated seawater of toxic metals, according to a new study by a research group led by Charlotte Carré of the University of New Caledonia in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia and published the Environmental Chemistry Letters journal.

Researchers dipped electrodes made from galvanised steel into contaminated seawater and ran a weak current through it. Within seven days, up to 24% of the nickel it initially contained was trapped in a calcareous build-up of limestone.

Nickel mining activities in New Caledonia itself are causing the subsequent pollution of local coastal waters. The remediation of metals brings considerable challenges, since these elements, given their chemical properties, can never be degraded but only stabilised.

According to Carré, the method is relatively inexpensive and easy to use and requires no regular monitoring. “Metal contaminants are attracted and trapped inside a calcareous deposit as long as the structure is connected to a power source,” she said.

The method did not significantly deplete the levels of calcium and magnesium in the water.

After seven days, macroscopic pictures were also taken of the deposit that formed at the surface of the galvanised steel wire.

These indicated that the presence of nickel in the solution does not inhibit the formation of the deposit, as its thickness remains the same. n

MESMER-ise Companies and industries worried about the potential threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may now have a solution.

US-based firm Department 13 has developed MESMER™, a counter-drone software platform which it claims can detect and divert radio-controlled drones from designated areas, without the need for attacks, kinetic barriers or signal jamming.

According to D13, the system provides automated detection of such vehicles using the software’s

“cognitive techniques” which also allow it to determine whether the drone poses a threat by examining its payload and capabilities. Then it can use “mitigation strategies” – either automatically or with human guidance – to remove the threat.

It is based on a technique which the firm calls protocol manipulation. According to the company, the platform uses “signal features and metadata to select and apply strategies in order to curtail threats.”

In an interview with R&D Magazine,D13’s chairman and CEO Jonathan Hunter explained: “What happens is MESMER detects the drone, identifies the type of drone, we use certain capabilities to kind of guess intent, but I can actually push the drone out of my area of

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operations two or three times,” he said. “But if you keep coming back in after I’m pushing you out then at that point in time I’m going to take you down.”

The system could be used by police and military organisations, but could also make its way into the commercial sphere to protect infrastructure or activities such as sport and film shoots.

“We think it is cutting edge, it is going to be a game-changer,” Hunter added. n

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Sane in the membrane For the first time, a team at the UK’s University of Bath has been exploring the application of 3D printing techniques to the design and manufacture of membranes.

Membranes are a semi-permeable selective barrier that separate the molecules in a mixture within a gas or liquid into two streams, a key example of this being the separation of salt from water for desalination using reverse osmosis membranes.

Current manufacturing processes mean that they are at present restricted to tubular/hollow fibre and flat surface shapes, reducing the amount of functions that membranes could potentially perform.

Using techniques developed for 3D printing, new shapes, types and designs could be made.

Researchers from the University’s Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE) recently published a paper evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of various printing methods. Director of the Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering at the University of Bath Dr Darrell Patterson explained: “Although 3D printing technology is not quite well enough developed to yet produce large-scale

membranes that will be cost competitive with existing products, this work does signal what the future possibilities are with 3D printing, to produce membranes beyond that which are currently available, including controlled complex pore structures, integrated surface patterns and membranes based on nature.”

For example, new membranes with “designer pores” and surface shapes which

enhance micro-mixing and shear flow across the membrane surface could be used to reduce the energy and down-time associated with cleaning blockages and membrane fouling.

The paper ‘Perspective on 3D printing of separation membranes and comparison to related unconventional fabrication techniques’ was published in the Journal of Membrane Science. n

Sand papers Sand gets inside everything – and if that everything is military equipment worth millions of dollars, that is a larger problem than most.

As a result, the US Army Research Laboratory is investigating coatings which can survive in high-temperature environments with the goal of creating something -- anything -- that will cause sand to slide off the inside of a turbine engine, in the same manner as a non-stick cooking pan.

“We are going through a very methodical process to understand the underpinning science and then use the science to predict the materials, what we call the engineered or tailored materials, that will lead to the right solution,” commented Dr Anindya Ghoshal, chief scientist for the laboratory’s Vehicle Technology Directorate.

These “sandphobic” coatings are aimed at mitigating or preventing the damage done to engines and turbines by dust and particulates.

“Our goal is to have the particles strike the blades or vanes [inside a gas turbine engine] and then flake off,” he said. “When we started looking into this problem, we found that in

order to look at a very basic research level we want to understand the physical chemical behaviour. Once we can do that, then our idea is to take that model and then predict the type of material that would enable us to develop this sandphobic coating,” Ghoshal said.

Helicopters have filtration systems that attempt to filter out larger particles, but Ghoshal said micron-sized particles go through the turbine’s combustor and adhere to the blades. This chokes the airflow and can lead to engine loss.

“We have a unique rig here,” said Dr Michael Walock, a physicist on the NEWSBASE

sandphobic coatings team. “The hot particulate ingestion rig allows us to shoot sand into the hot-gas flow at small level components and rapidly prototype new coating materials. With this system we’ve done a world-first: We used high-speed imaging to confirm the molten state of the sand particles impacting onto these thermal barrier coatings.”

With computational dynamics and modelling, the team members are hopeful that they can understand how sand interacts with the engine, and how they can prevent damage. n

InnovOil

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Subsea expo 2017 Special supplement Pages 13-21

Inside the Expo

SubseaUK’s Neil Gordon sets out the industry agenda Page 14-17

Fin tech

The Bluefin Sandshark AUV Page 18

Photorealism Rovco on innovative 3D modelling Page 20

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InnovOil

February 2017

Adapt and survive Subsea expo 2017

SubseaUK Chief Executive Neil Gordon charts the sector’s performance, and what challenges lie ahead in 2017 What has been your experience of the sector in 2016?

This has been the worst global downturn in our history and the environment in which we operate has changed for us all. In 2016, the subsea sector had to adjust, reduce costs, tighten its belts and continue to make some tough decisions.

Despite the drop in sales and confidence in the industry throughout 2016, the subsea sector in this country is maintaining high levels of investment in technology. In our recent snapshot survey of members, almost 80% of respondents reported that they were still investing in new technology to secure long-term future growth.

Alongside collaboration; transformation and behavioural change have been key phrases of the last 12 months. For many, the latter is about changing the way we do things and working smarter. But it’s also about the way in which we behave towards each other, both on the client side and on the supply side. Thankfully, the majority of companies in the supply chain are working much more collaboratively with relationships centred on driving value and efficiency.

How would you characterise this year’s theme – “Adapting to The New Norm” – and what does it mean for subsea firms?

This is the ‘new norm’ and we need to deal with the current price, rather than waiting for oil prices to rise if we are to prosper.

We can’t ignore the real changes that are happening in the world. It’s time to step up to the plate, adapt to the new environment and adopt a fundamentally different mindset. It’s vital that the industry takes a longterm approach - it’s about making things

simpler, safer, and more efficient today to deliver lasting results for decades to come.

Although there are still tough times ahead, I do believe the UK subsea industry is now in a strong position to embrace the new norm due to the focus on innovation and technology.

That’s why the theme for Subsea Expo will focus on the behavioural changes the industry must make to deliver the cost efficiencies needed to sustain the sector for decades to come.

In terms of innovation, what technologies are subsea firms looking to now?

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An example of the type of innovation needed is in condition-based monitoring, specifically tools which can monitor the health and integrity of subsea systems and calculate when it requires attention, instead of carrying out regular and often costly inspection campaigns. This allows operators to carry out planned, risk-based maintenance and repair programmes when it’s required, rather than reacting when something gets to a critical state which can lead to unplanned interventions and higher costs.

Last year we saw the launch of a new innovative vessel share initiative, which

February 2017

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Subsea expo 2017 Crowds at Subsea Expo 2016, which tackled the topic of “Time for Transformation”

has the potential to provide the subsea industry with significant savings through encouraging collaboration, cost-efficiencies, and ultimately increased productivity. The concept focuses on a vessel share agreement, with collaboration from several clients, to deliver a single linked campaign workscope that addresses each client’s individual demands.

The model is aimed at reducing the costs associated with mobilisation and demobilisation periods whilst also distributing further cost savings for individual clients, helping to ensure a reduction in non-productive time and an

increase in overall work time - a cohesive approach to project delivery.

In recent comments you’ve said the sector “needs to do more” to remain competitive – what do you mean by this?

There has been a remarkable amount of great work by industry, government and regulators in increasing production, particularly from ageing assets, and in reducing lifting costs. However, there’s still a huge amount to be done, particularly around stimulating investment to create new capital expenditure to replace the big projects that will close out in 2018. But we are much NEWSBASE

better positioned than we were a year ago.

Smart collaboration and smarter applications of existing technologies, along with new innovations will secure the subsea sector’s future and the sustainability of our industry in the new norm.

Innovation and continuous improvement will be the driving force of our future – it’s how we will increase the productivity of our sector by improving efficiency and adding real value to operations but no matter what the future holds, we can’t afford to be complacent and slip back into old habits. The changes must be embedded into everything we do.

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February 2017

Subsea expo 2017

Underwater technology, systems, and processes made in the UK have been helping North Sea operators recover hydrocarbons since the 1980s. There is no doubt that the industry has become much more receptive to new ways of working and new technologies, and we are starting to see the benefits of real collaboration towards reducing costs and driving efficiencies.

However, with fewer discoveries and ageing fields, the focus is very much on working with the existing assets to extend “life-of-field” without running up

unnecessary high costs. Operators are increasing production by using existing, less mainstream technologies that can be readily implemented to enhance and upgrade ageing subsea systems.

What sessions/areas of discussion are you most looking forward to at the conference?

Subsea Expo is a platform that brings together leading figures from our industry to discuss how we can transform and lay solid foundations for a brighter future.

The 2017 programme is packed with high profile industry speakers from a number of companies including Aker Solutions, Xodus Group, Wood Group and Shell UK. Their presentations will cover global opportunities for the sector, fields of the future, diversification, integrity management, life extension and unlocking marginal fields.

I am particularly looking forward to hosting the plenary session where we will set the scene for the week and stimulate debate with presentations from a number of high profile industry figures. David Lamont of

NSRI - unlocking marginal fields remains priority at Subsea Expo 2017 With increasing pressure on the industry to find economically viable ways to develop marginal oil fields in the UK North Sea and further afield, NSRI (National Subsea Research Initiative) is looking to help the industry adopt a collaborative and integrated approach to exploit the potential of untapped small pools.

NSRI, the research arm of Subsea UK, will be hosting a workshop at Subsea Expo 2017 on Thursday February 2 to highlight the work that has been done to maximise economic recovery from small pool developments across the UKCS. The event will welcome a

host of industry experts to the stage to showcase their involvement and provide a platform to discuss the next steps, looking at what is required to unlock reserves that have previously been deemed uneconomic.

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) recently announced that approximately 350 unsanctioned discoveries containing more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) remain in the UKCS. It was discovered that the majority of small pools are in close proximity to existing infrastructure, however some are stranded and will require novel, standalone facilities.

NSRI chairman, Peter

Blake commented that: “These discoveries, while economically challenged, represent a significant potential to extend the economic life of the basin. The challenges are myriad; stranded pools distant from infrastructure, fluids incompatible with potential hosts, complex ownership structures. However, what is common to them all is that they need new ways of thinking, application of new technologies and greater collaboration to develop economic solutions.

“To keep our industry alive we need to kick-start these developments. Following an extensive mapping exercise, we now know exactly where these

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small pools are located and we are working to change the existing industry paradigms to unlock their potential.

“Often conventional solutions prove too costly or unsuitable for marginal fields, so smarter engineering combined with better ways to manage technical and economic risk is required.

“If the subsea industry can rise to this challenge of economically tapping into these pools, the North Sea could have a whole new lease of life.”

The session which will be chaired by Mr Blake, will welcome speakers from the OGA, Oil and Gas UK, EnQuest, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, Technip and Subsea 7.

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Subsea expo 2017

Proserv will discuss adapting to the current market and make a case for using innovative approaches, technologies and methodologies to help drive efficiency and productivity in the offshore sector. Mark Richardson of Apache will also give an operator’s perspective on the current industry situation and Andrew Reid from Douglas Westwood will be looking the market outlook for the subsea industry. The session will also welcome Phil Simons from Subsea 7 who will focus on the current market from a SURF contractor’s view point. n

The presentations will look at activity currently underway to effectively unlock the potential value of small pools, as well as highlight the approach and mind-set required to progress economically viable marginal fields.

“We need the industry to embrace the size of the prize and come up with modern cost-effective approaches to safely exploit marginal and stranded fields. We hope the session will help to break down some of the barriers and identify ways to help speed up the development of fit-forpurpose solutions which will go some way in securing the long-term future of the North Sea industry,” added Mr Blake.

Neil Gordon addresses delegates at the plenary session

The Unlocking Marginal Fields session will take place on Thursday 2nd February at Subsea Expo, which takes place at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre from 1-3 February 2017.

With around 150 exhibitors expected, Subsea Expo is an opportunity for those in the industry to showcase new technology and services. The 2017 programme is packed with high profile industry speakers from a number of companies including Aker Solutions, Xodus, Wood Group and Shell UK. Their presentations will cover global opportunities, fields of the future, diversification, integrity management, life extension and unlocking marginal fields. n

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Out of the blue

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February 2017

Subsea expo 2017

Bluefin Robotics’ newest “micro”-AUV – the SandShark – is now available, offering superior surveying from a package that fits in a backpack

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maller, quicker, capable of working for longer, all at a lower cost – such are the demands of the subsea industry of its ROVs and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

Luckily, plenty of innovators and their innovations are up to the challenge.

One of the latest to hit the market is the Bluefin SandShark. The diminutive vehicle is more portable than its siblings in the existing Bluefin range, and makes full use of the advances in miniaturised sensors and control systems. Its tail section weighs just 5 kg (11 lbs) and measures about 500 mm (20 inches), with a diameter of just over 120 mm, meaning the whole craft should fit in the average backpack.

Matt Graziano, business segment director for Autonomous Undersea Systems, Maritime and Strategic Systems line of business within General Dynamics Mission Systems – the firm which acquired Massachusetts-based Bluefin around a year ago – told InnovOil: “SandShark was born out of a DARPA programme called ADAPT. The initiative of the DARPA ADAPT program was to create multiple platform reference designs, including an AUV, a quadcopter and a fixed-wing UAV, with the goal of encouraging and aiding in

the rapid development of new technology.

The Bluefin SandShark™ was developed [through] the ADAPT programme to be an open-source, low-logistics, mission-flexible AUV platform.”

Ready for launch The low weight of the Sandshark means that, unlike its larger kin, it is launchable by one person – ideal for smaller inspections or survey areas where larger craft might not be cost-effective. It is rated to a depth of 200 metres (650 feet), at a speed of 2-5 knots.

The standard tail section houses all the vehicle systems, including an in-built 266Wh, UN38.3-certified li-ion battery.

The modular payload section is fully customisable depending on application.

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A variety of sensor packages can be used, taking the section from the standard 23 inches (580 mm) up to a maximum of 60 inches (1,520 mm). Graziano added: “A side scan payload and a Doppler Velocity Logger are slated for design/integration in the Bluefin SandShark™ in the first half of 2017. Other payloads will be developed as customer needs arise, and the ease of sensor integration into an empty payload section puts virtually any sensor in the industry within reach.”

Bluefin also notes that changing and reconfiguring the payload section can be performed without specialised tools, meaning users can create and test other small, low-power sensors and other capabilities as needed.

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Subsea expo 2017

In addition to active roll control, the AUV navigates via in-built GPS, a 9-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), depth sensor and altimeter with the option of a Doppler velocity log (DVL).

Meanwhile, the Bluefin autonomy software behind it is designed for ease of use in mind, integrating with suites such as ROS, MOAA, JAUS, MOOS and LCM, as well as others.

Increased autonomy Bluefin has also looked at new methods of deployment that increased autonomy offers – most notably the ability to deploy a Sandshark from larger vehicles. Graziano explained: “Rather than one or more operators per vehicle, advances in autonomy

are enabling systems of multiple platforms to solve complex missions, with greater and greater separation from the operator. GDMS demonstrated this at the Annual Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) in August 2016, when a 21-inch [533-mm] Bluefin AUV was launched from a host vessel and ingressed to another location representing a mission theatre. Four Bluefin SandSharks were launched from the Bluefin 21, surfaced, and communicated status and image snippets to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV relayed the data to a shore station simulating a US Navy submarine, and then relayed commands from the shore station back to the Bluefin SandShark.”

The release of the Sandshark would also appear to cement GDMS’ strategy in NEWSBASE

acquiring Bluefin, as it seeks to add new options to its unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) provision, especially for military applications. At the time GDMS president Chris Marzilli president stated: “We have long specialised in many of the technologies that are making UUVs increasingly effective, and have strong credentials integrating UUVs into naval platforms. With the added capability to design and manufacture UUVs, combined with our commitment to speeding innovation to our customers, this acquisition positions us well to further support our US Navy customers.” n Contact: Carol Smith, GDMS

Email: Carol.Smith@gd-ms.com Web: www.bluefinrobotics.com/

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February 2017

Subsea expo 2017

InnovateUK backs ROVCO 3D modelling ROV services firm wins support for the development of pioneering subsea-modelling project

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espite the extensive array of subsea imaging techniques, there is always demand for greater detail, improved resolution and more flexibility – at a lower cost. Pairing these new techniques with the capabilities of ROVs can be particularly advantageous.

This is what UK-based ROV services company Rovco set out to do when it was launched in Septenber 2016. The company provides ROV support to oil and gas, renewables and other industries, including hydrographic surveys, metocean and environmental surveys, using techniques such as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and digital modelling.

However, its newest and most interesting offering is set to bring the process of 3D photogrammetry, also known as imagebased modelling (IBM), to the subsea industry. This involves using high-resolution photos of a static object or site area taken from multiple angles and processed to generate a 3D vector model from point cloud data.

Doing so allows the system to recreate models of any size or area with very high accuracy, precision and detail, as well as in true colour. Although IBM has been used in a number of other applications – architecture and archaeology being fields of early uptake – it has so far seen less interest from the subsea industry.

Because measurements are taken throughout the collection process, surveyors are able to constrain the model to real-world

dimensions. This feature allows a number of additional metrics such as distance measurements between structure points, surface area and volume calculations, the ability to overlay CAD drawings or other

“As the subsea industry enters this new norm of a lower, for longer, oil price, the need for innovative, costreducing solutions that provide more meaningful data increases.”

Brian Allen, chief executive, Rovco

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survey data and the ability to compare past and present models to determine areas of change.

Rovco chief executive and founder Brian Allen told InnovOil that the firm had done side-by-side studies of TLS and 3D photogrammetry, and that if calibrated correctly, the latter could be as accurate as TLS, while remaining more cost effective.

Even complex shapes, such as chain moorings, can be rendered with very high accuracy, he added.

The technique is particularly useful when assessing the structural integrity and condition of small or medium-sized pieces of equipment. Unlike an ROV survey,

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Subsea expo 2017

ROVCO’s Hydrographic Survey Services 3D model of a sunken shipwreck

where engineers must pore over many hours of video footage and compare lowresolution images over several surveys, 3D photogrammetry is capable of capturing minute changes. Millimetre movements in equipment such as a subsea valves for example, can be identified and tracked over time using multiple surveys and models, greatly enhancing the quality of data available to asset managers.

Current surveys are conducted via a custom camera set up twinned with a survey-class SubAtlantic Mojave ROV. Bright future While many applications exist for such

modelling, Rovco expects that its clients will typically use it for evaluating their subsea assets for damage, corrosion or determining levels of marine growth.

Once developed into a turnkey inspection system, the technology’s developers believe it has the potential to revolutionise the way energy companies manage and inspect their subsea assets, potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds in subsea inspection costs each year.

In December 2016 the company secured funding from Innovate UK as part of the department’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems competition. This backing will allow it to carry out extensive research and development, conduct a full feasibility study of the 3D modelling technique, and take it to the point of being useful as part of a commercial survey.

This phase will be 70% supported by Innovate UK and 30% funded by Rovco, and will take place over the next six months. Allen told InnovOil that this would involve feasibility studies and industrial NEWSBASE

research, with a view to determining whether the industry is ready to adopt the technology.

In a statement, Allen commented: “The feasibility study will allow us to begin the process of further developing our underwater modelling systems which can be deployed by ROVs or AUVs. As the subsea industry enters this new norm of a lower, for longer, oil price, the need for innovative, cost-reducing solutions that provide more meaningful data increases. At the same time vessel size and staff numbers can be reduced, thereby saving costs and lowering associated risks.”

The company will then be seeking further equity investment of around GBP1 million (US$1.2 million) in Q2 2017 as it looks to engage with subsea companies, software developers and universities to become partners in the venture. So far, feedback from the subsea industry for this combined service and hardware package has been “extremely positive.”

With the offer of cheaper surveys at a lower cost, Rovco is rightfully optimistic that its technology can have a major impact, and that even the notoriously risk-averse oil and gas industry may be able to accept a bold new survey method. n Contact: Brian Allen Tel: 00 44 (0)117 230 0001 Email: info@rovco.com Web: www.rovco.com

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February 2017

Subsea expo 2017

Deeper learning in pipeline inspection A new collaboration between N-Sea and the University of Strathclyde will research the potential of deep learning in automating subsea pipeline inspection

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ubsea inspection services have been transformed by the advent of cheaper, more accurate sensors and higher-resolution imaging equipment. The ease with which operators can view their assets and the measurements that can be taken mean that installations are being examined and tracked in greater detail than ever before.

Yet some elements of this process remain manual. The annotation and interpretation of the images and data recorded are done by ROV pilots and engineers, limiting the speed at which the results can be compiled and passed on to the client.

A new tie-up between a Netherlandsheadquartered subsea services firm and a Scottish university hopes that the application of deep learning could provide a breakthrough.

Services provider N-Sea and the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Sensors, Signals and Communications have been awarded new funding from the Data Lab Innovation Centre as part of a project to explore methods of automating subsea pipeline inspection.

N-Sea is known for its work as an independent offshore subsea contractor, specialising in IMR services for the oil and gas, renewables and telecoms industries.

Combining its experience in IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair) and analysis with the university’s data analytics capabilities, N-Sea’s hope is that computer systems will be able to process images and footage, spot patterns and report on pipeline integrity without human operators poring over the material.

Sea here Although deep learning has been applied to subsea operations before – BP’s use of GE’s Predix software, for example, to enable communication and datagathering between hundreds of subsea wells – the project backers have affirmed that the approaches and techniques they are exploring have “never before been attempted in the subsea environment.”

N-Sea survey and inspection data centre manager, David Murray, explains: “We NEWSBASE

hope [the project] will transform pipeline inspection operations… By working closely together, we aim to automate the inspection process and operate ROVs at previously impossible speeds.”

Commenting on the university’s partnership with N-Sea, Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, Dr Christos Tachtatzis, said: “Our research group is excited to partner with N-Sea in this innovative project for the hostile and extreme subsea environment. Deep learning approaches have great potential to speed up the inspection processes which remain manual and labour-intensive.”

“We have a long tradition of conducting industrially relevant research with high economic, environmental and societal impacts and this is a prime example of the challenges we seek to provide solutions for.

Owing to the support of the Data Lab, we are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration with N-Sea.” n Web: www.n-sea.com/en

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February 2017

Technology in action: Opportunities to adopt CEO of the UK’s Industry Technology Facilitator, Dr Patrick O’Brien, looks ahead to the upcoming ITF Technology Showcase

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ow in our fourth year, ITF’s Technology Showcase has become a key fixture in the oil and gas events calendar in Aberdeen.

This is an exciting time for technology development as there is a realisation that demand-led innovation can transform our industry and safely cut costs. We have had a number of excellent speakers at our previous conferences and delegates can expect the same calibre of discussion at this year’s event on March 1, with an added focus on digital technology.

The Showcase brings together the enduser operator audience with the innovator community to focus on finding and funding new technologies. Like previous events, we will have a range of speakers from outside oil and gas as there is a growing feeling that we need to adopt ideas from other industries to solve some of the most pressing challenges.

Data analytics, alongside efficient processes for using results, is one of the main digital drivers to reduce costs and streamline operations. Unlocking and using new information has the potential to improve operational performance, enhance decisionmaking and create value for oil and gas companies.

Pushing boundaries ITF works across the whole oil and gas technology space from subsurface to drilling and wells, through to topsides and subsea facilities, and we are also exploring the options for asset integrity and low cost well construction. As a global organisation, we are in a unique and powerful position to facilitate dialogue between our operator and supply company members with technology developers around the world. Innovation which meets industry requirements is nurtured and funded through collective working and has the potential to transition from concept to commercialisation.

Many innovation programmes have been started over the last 20 years or so, achieving

varying degrees of impact and effectiveness.

Obviously, various government-backed initiatives were created to benefit a specific country or region, and in that respect, many technologies have been developed that may otherwise not have seen the light of day or may have taken longer to reach the market.

However, the limitation of a model of many organisations working in similar spaces in different geographical areas is that the benefit for the entire global industry may not be as widespread as desired, with the potential existing for inefficient duplication of effort and an overlap of focus.

There are fresh opportunities for technology developers, as the pursuit to cut costs and increase efficiency is pushing a traditionally risk-averse industry out of its comfort zone. The current industry position of low oil price and greater scrutiny on costs means there is now a much stronger emphasis placed on stimulating, sourcing and delivering technology that has a quicker industry impact and return on investment.

Although there is still a clear need for the longer-term research and development work that has traditionally brought the technology NEWSBASE

solutions to market, most projects will currently be faced with the same challenges of delivering solutions quickly, at low cost and in most cases with global rather than specific application.

Historically, the burden on R&D spend was always on operators to develop and implement technology as an enabler for programmes they have. Over the last 15 years or so there has been some swing towards supply chain companies being looked upon to lead R&D projects. During this downturn it appears that collaboration on technology for large projects has enabled these projects to go ahead with shared knowledge, risk and costs.

Though there are still tough times ahead for the industry, there is now a determined push to move things forward. We have heard operators say that their procurement is not working and it is stifling innovation.

We need to do something different. It is an exciting time for technology development as demand-led innovation can transform our industry and safely cut costs, in the same way as the automation and aerospace industries have in recent years.

February 2017

It is clear that opportunities for new technology need to be shared more openly on the end-user side so we can increase the speed of technology deployment in the industry. ITF launched as many projects in 2016 as it has done in recent years, and the range of technologies and solutions addressed would seem to indicate the right projects are still of interest to the industry and that any R&D investment can be justified.

(Inter) Face-to-face networking Our global online Innovation Network is

InnovOil

now live and proving to be a valuable tool for ITF and the industry as a whole.

Available at network.itfenergy.com/, the online community enables oil and gas SMEs to promote technologies and services direct to end-users and also keep up to date with the latest technology issues and needs of the industry. It is an integral part of ITF’s strategy to enhance our service offering in facilitating collaborative engagement between technology developers, members and the global industry as a whole.

However, there is still an appetite for face-to-face networking as proved by our NEWSBASE

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Technology Showcase. The Showcase on March 1st 2017 in Aberdeen – Technology in Action – brings together some of the brightest minds from inside and outside oil and gas to challenge current thinking and bring fresh focus on progressing new solutions.

It will feature leading plenary speakers from oil and gas and other technology industries sharing insights and debating the challenges of the day with lively Q&A sessions stimulating discussion around technology needs, investment and support.

This year there will also be an Innovation hall which will be dedicated to supporting the innovator community and showcasing the very best in new thinking, products, solutions and services.

We have always had strong engagement from right across the industry, including operators and major service companies. It is all about making connections to accelerate action and we have the ability to bring likeminded developers and operators together if we see a potential opportunity. As one of our speakers said last year, “The industry is facing a crisis but it’s a great time for technology deployment. So don’t waste a good crisis!” n For more information, or to attend the ITF Technology Showcase, visit www.showcase.itfenergy.com

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February 2017

Denmark to develop new drone survey technology A new drone developed in collaboration with the Royal Danish Navy and the country’s space research agency could mean safer demining and cheaper mineral surveys

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he ground-breaking nature of military technologies means that many may find their way into equally ground-breaking industrial applications. It is with great interest then, that InnovOil views a new Danish project to use drone-mounted magnetometers to map leftover mines in former war zones.

The plan would use a so-called Smart unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), in combination with an underhanging frame outfitted with magnetometers capable of identifying and locating the magnetic steel used in some marine and land-based mines. Beyond ordnance, however, the same technology could be invaluable to future mineral and resource surveys.

The scheme involves a number of prominent Danish innovators, including national space research centre DTU Space, Center for Energy Resources Engineering (DTU CERE), the Royal Danish Navy, drone developer Sky-Watch, utility and upstream firm DONG Energy and geotechnology firm Geo, and thanks to a recent award of 11 million kroner (US$1.6 million) in backing from Innovation Fund Denmark, it will soon be ready for take-off.

Flipping the bird “The plan is for our drone and its unique magnetometer module to make demining more precise than the current method of using off-road vehicles on land and special divers in coastal areas. It will also minimise the risk of injuries for the people involved, as the drone can be operated from a safe position outside the mined areas,” explains DTU Space senior researcher Arne Døssing, who heads the project.

It was Døssing who originally came up with the concept of a drone-mounted magnetometer array. Having worked on processing gravity and magnetic airborne surveys in Greenland, he was aware of the limitations of the current methods, especially in remote areas such as the northern Greenland Shelf. In areas like

Smart UAV

Optical 3D positioning of the bird

Mirrors for 3D positioning of the bird

Magnetometer bird Magnetometers

these, simply transporting enough fuel for a survey can be up to 90% of the total cost, he says. Even then, high resolution surveys are extremely difficult, as the areas of investigation may be too far from land for a small plane or helicopter to fly over in detail during a single mission.

The future, as Døssing saw it, would be to conduct these surveys using hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wind drones, which can fly further and longer and do not have to be deployed from a conventional airstrip.

However, the magnetometers and associated instruments required for these surveys – batteries, GPS, sensor arrays and altimeters – have previously been too heavy to be deployed by anything other than a plane or helicopter. Døssing’s idea was to use a very light underslung frame – a so called “magnetometer bird” – which would be carried well below the drone and would only be equipped with the magnetic sensors and their electronics. The weight of additional equipment (GPS, altimeter, etc.) is removed by using the systems already in place in the UAV. The magnetic sensors (Caesium or Potassium-type) are embedded within the NEWSBASE

lightweight “bird” frame – Døssing says he expects a frame of about 1.5 m, weighing only 2 kg in total – which is suspended about 5 m below the UAV. Magnetometer readings from the bird are recorded and communicated back to the drone, which also logs position, attitude and altitude of the UAV using its onboard GPS and flight systems. By projecting the UAV positional information onto the bird using 3D tracking of retroreflective mirrors placed on top of the bird, the team can reduce its weight significantly compared with the traditional frames towed by a helicopter. With processing, this enables surveyors to build up an accurate map of the location of mines and/or minerals.

“It will be the first drone in the world to fly with a lightweight ‘bird’ underneath it.

The bird construction is absolutely necessary to ensure the ultra-sensitive magnetometers are as close to the surface as possible, at the same time as minimising exposure to magnetic disturbances from other instruments and from the flying drone,” says Døssing.

Mines and minerals The space agency will oversee the development of the frame, while Sky-Watch will work on refining its Smart UAV design and extending its flight range – itself a relatively pioneering piece of kit. With a 4.5m wingspan, it is sizable, but is still able to be dismantled and transported in two containers. Although the aircraft has a fixed wing, rotors within the main body of the drone also allow it to perform vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). That means it can be deployed from difficult-to-access or remote locations, or even from offshore vessels, for example, in relation to surveys in hydrocarbon exploration areas or for marine surveillance.

As its name may suggests, the Smart UAV can also be tasked with flying missions autonomously, following a series of set waypoints. The difficulty of launch from

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The Sky-Watch Muninn-VX1 drone with VTOL capabilities, which will be used in the survey project.

Picture: Sky-Watch

rough terrain or a vessel means that VTOL take-off is likely to remain manual, but the possibility of even partially unmanned missions, perhaps even using multiple UAVs, could dramatically change the time expected to conduct a full survey.

Døssing has said that such a system could more than halve the cost and time of mapping these mined or remote areas.

As the team sees it, initial research and

deployment will be focused on locating and clearing WWII mines in the North Sea, ahead of the laying of power cables for a new offshore wind farm developed by project partner DONG. It is estimated that there are still more than 5,000 unexploded mines from this period remaining in Danish waters and on land, and encountering just one can slow the development of new power or oil and gas sites by months.

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The drone will also be tested in West Greenland, where the team hopes to improve the surveying of mineral deposits and military waste. It will also undergo a test deployment from a vessel, in order to qualify the detection of larger mines in deeper waters and the flexibility of the aircraft’s VTOL capabilities.

With the support from the Danish Innovation Fund, the project is now set to begin in earnest in April 2017. Døssing expects to have a prototype system by late Autumn this year, before the first test campaign planned for Spring 2018.

“The global market for flexible, efficient, and precise mapping of, for instance, mines, military waste, and minerals is big. So the project will allow Danish technology companies to take a strong position in this area,” Døssing added. n Contact: Arne Døssing Tel: +45 45 25 97 73 Email: ards@space.dtu.dk Web: www.dtu.dk

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ExxonMobil: Working in the lab

February 2017

InnovOil takes a look inside ExxonMobil’s oil analysis laboratory in Pernis, where used oil is unlocking new advances in condition monitoring and predictive maintenance

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ngine oils and lubricants may not always be the first destination when attempting to improve equipment efficiency. Yet these used materials can offer a vast array of useful information for the operator willing to take a closer look, helping to improve equipment efficiency and significant cost savings Used oils and lubricants may contain metal or element particulates, water or acids – all of which are valuable diagnostic tools for equipment health and efficiency.

Determining what they contain – and how those substances got there – can enable operators to improve operations dramatically, often across hundreds or thousands of pieces of machinery.

ExxonMobil has long held that using this strategy to approach both condition monitoring and predictive maintenance can help keep equipment running better, for longer and at a lower cost.

The company uses a neat analogy for how this works. ExxonMobil industrial marketing adviser for EMEA, Ayman Ali, explained: “If you want to extend the oil drain interval “If you want to extend the oil drain interval, the only medium you can check is oil. It’s very similar to a blood sample – as you take blood and look at it for signs of what’s going on in the body, the oil shows you what is going on in the equipment.”

Such was the beginning of ExxonMobil’s used oil analysis service. Having performed such tests for its customers for over 40 years, a dedicated lab and management system was created in 2006, later becoming the SignumSM Oil Analysis service in 2008.

Its main goal has been to help operators avoid unscheduled downtime and improve equipment reliability, as well as extending

the intervals between oil drains.

InnovOil visited ExxonMobil’s Pernis refinery, the site of one such oil analysis lab, to learn more.

Mobile results In the time since Signum’s creation, the service has been overhauled and expanded to improve access, turnaround and analysis.

The new service, Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis (MSLA), was launched officially in early 2016 and has now been rolled out to well over half of the company’s customers.

The MSLA service seeks to streamline and expedite the analysis and data management process. As with Signum, users send bottled samples of used oil to their nearest laboratory – there are five, located in Rotterdam, Bogota, Kansas City, Shanghai and Alexandria – for testing, before receiving a report within a few days. Samples are subject to different tiers of analysis depending on the depth of information required.

Once received by the lab, samples are subject to up to 25 tests, including procedures for water ingress, viscosity, oxidation, particle count, total acid number (TAN) and an in-house ultra-centrifuge rating (UC) to identify fine particulates. Ali says that the company’s commitment is to test and give feedback on a sample within 48 hours of receipt, however, some tests take 48 hours in themselves, meaning some results can take longer.

Improvements in a number of other stages of the process have multiple benefits.

MSLA now employs a scan-and-go QR code system for sample recording. Rather than manually created labels – previously numbered and recorded by hand – QR codes NEWSBASE

eliminate additional paperwork and the time spent filling it out, a method which the company says is on average 66% faster. Even the sample bottles have been redesigned to a flatter shape, making them easier to post and stack.

Once processed, data and reports are accessible via email links, and through a new cloud application for desktop, mobile and tablet. This platform too has been expanded from the original Signum blueprint, now allowing users to manage their own equipment, add new assets or enable access to other partners, allowing for a much freer exchange of data.

Analytics tools within the platform enable years of results to be tracked and compared. Users can compare hundreds of pieces of machinery across multiple sites and regional operations, meaning any insight into performance trends and improvements (or indeed losses) can be identified and researched. For example, Ali noted, if an engine model using the same oils and lubricants performs better in one country than another, are local conditions, parts or

February 2017

maintenance regimes affecting productivity?

A relatively simple change in maintenance regimes, for example, could enable millions of dollars of savings across the world.

“We have single customers running tens of thousands of engines, so any saving or successful improvement makes a big difference for them,” he added.

“Equipment builders and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can so prepare examples for a specific study of one turbine or engine model – everything is at your fingertips. Having access to detailed reports [of their equipment] is of great value to us and to our customers - they can identify issues and manage technical problems.”

Users with any pressing or particularly challenging results can even post queries to a larger ExxonMobil social media network, where other customers can share their perspectives and advice.

Sensing the future Ali is emphatic about the importance of technology partners in refining the MSLA offering, especially in the case of OEMs.

InnovOil

“An OEM needs equipment that delivers the best output, works longer and stays in good shape so that productivity is at its highest.

For the owner-operator reliable operation is key…and at ExxonMobil we want to stay ahead of the market and new trends so we can offer solutions before they become challenges,” he explained.

In one case study, he said, better analysis allowed the user to increase their oil change interval from 250 hours to 1,000 hours per change. “We have plenty of examples like this,” Ali added, “It just requires you to invest some time with the customer, looking at their engines and maintenance routines and implementing an oil analysis program to help track data and extend oil drain intervals. That’s not only a great cost saving but it’s less waste and better for the environment because you have less oil infiltrating the soil or the sea.”

In another case, an Argentine oil and gas producer was able to make estimated savings of US$350,000 per year using a combination of new lubricants and the MSLA service for its fleet of over 300 pieces of equipment.

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Although the roll-out of MSLA is now well under way, future additions to the system are already in development. As data gathering becomes even more important for operators looking to optimise maintenance schedules and increase efficiency, sensors could now be the next big target for the programme. “MSLA was designed and developed to interface with sensors,” Ali told InnovOil. “They have always been on our radar, and we have dedicated people researching their development. We don’t have much to share at this point, but we are also working closely with some of the OEMS because they have great interest in this area too.”

Long term, he is even more bullish. “It’s coming… Sensors are there already but in the future, builders will embed them in the design – and the future is not 20-30 years down the line, it’s happening now.”

Perhaps the next generation of sampling and analysis may even take place without any oil leaving the machinery at all? n Web: www.mobilserv.mobil.com/en

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Subsea installation completed as Ichthys presses on Subsea equipment installation has been completed at the Australian field, and new contracts have been issued ahead of the final push to begin production in September

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anuary marked a series of milestones for Australia’s Ichthys LNG megaproject, bringing the development ever closer to expected production in September this year. Located in the Broswe Basin, 220 km offshore Western Australia, the gas and condensate field is the largest liquids discovery made in the country for 40 years. It is being developed as part of a joint venture between Japanese operator Inpex and partners Total, CPC from Taiwan and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, JERA and Toho Gas. At its peak it is anticipated to produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per year, alongside 100,000 barrels of condensate per day.

In Inpex’s latest update, on January 13, the company announced that installation of subsea infrastructure and equipment had been completed successfully. January 12 saw the laying of the last of the 49 km of umbilicals and flying leads, as part of a subsea network covering the 400 square km of the Ichthys Field.

Inpex added that this network included a 110-metre high riser support structure, five manifolds, 139 km of flowlines, 49 km of umbilicals and flying leads, 2,640 tonnes of production and MEG spools, five subsea distribution units and a subsea distribution hub.

The network also links to the 890-km export pipeline which will carry gas and condensate to onshore facilities near Darwin. As part of a US$2 billion EPCI contract issued in 2012, this involved engineering firm McDermott developing what it claimed was the world’s largest forged body speciality valves to link with the 42-inch (1,067-mm) pipeline. McDermott senior project director Jonathan Parkes explained in 2014: “This meant that six 42-inch valves had to be specially designed and fabricated to meet the 40-year design criteria. To our knowledge, these are the world’s largest, single-piece forged, top entry ball valves.”

Each valve is around 9m in length and 7m high, and weighs more than 100 tonnes.

Two were installed at water depth of 270m at NEWSBASE

the Ichthys Field, while the remainder will be set onshore at landfall and at the processing facility.

With subsea installation complete, the project is now awaiting the central processing facility (CPF) and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, which are currently being commissioned in South Korea.

Contract wins However, the completion of the subsea installation does not signal the end of new Ichthys contracts; January 13 also saw Fugro announce that it had secured an inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) and field operations support contract for the subsea network.

Meanwhile, Solstad Offshore was awarded a subcontract by McDermott covering light construction vessel services ahead of the installation and commissioning of the field’s FPSO. The Normand Reach will support engineers in FPSO hook-up, subsea activities, pre-commissioning and survey scopes during 2017, for an undisclosed sum. n

page 32

InnovOil

February 2017

News in brief

Norway’s OSV industry ready for more restructuring Norway’s offshore supply shipping industry will undergo even more restructuring this year as markets remain extremely demanding for vessel owners, the head of Nordea Bank said last week.

Several restructurings will likely be completed in the sector during 2017, and these could be followed by second or even third rounds of restructuring if the market fails to improve, Thorodd Bakken predicted. He expressed optimism, however, that Nordea’s loan impairments from the oil industry and related subsectors had already peaked in 2016.

His comments came as Farstad Shipping

announced on January 5 that a planned restructuring deal with Siem Oil Service Invest had been terminated by creditors.

Failure to reach a deal over the proposed financial restructuring – which was first outlined in late November – calls into question the future operations of Farstad.

The agreement was designed to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and liquidity, helping it to ride out the continuing downturn in the region’s offshore supply vessel market.

In order to preserve its liquidity, Farstad and its subsidiaries will maintain a suspension of their servicing of financial debt that has been in place since December 20.

“The Farstad Shipping group will otherwise maintain operations as a going concern,” the company said in a statement. “All suppliers and trade creditors will be paid in their ordinary course.”Farstad said it would continue to seek other alternatives for financial restructuring.

NEWSBASE

Other key players to watch in Norway’s offshore supply industry include Solstad Offshore and Havila Shipping.

Bondholders of Havila Shipping approved in mid-December a restructuring deal proposed by the company, which earlier that month narrowly avoided bankruptcy.

Solstad is in somewhat better shape, celebrating in recent week a number of contract wins, including last week’s deal with CUEL in Thailand to provide transportation and installation for Phase 4 of JDA Block B-17-01 in the Malaysia-Thailand joint development area (JDA).

It will use the DLB Norce Endeavour derrick lay barge to install three new wellhead platforms, three subsea pipelines and host tieins, with offshore work set to start in the third quarter of this year.

Edited by Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

February 2017

InnovOil

page 33

News in brief

China extends upstream equipment tax waivers China’s Ministry of Finance has extended tax waivers for drilling and production equipment imported for oil and gas projects.

In a January 6 statement, the ministry said the waivers would apply to both import tariffs and VAT. The exemptions will remain in force throughout the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

According to the ministry, the tax waivers will help Chinese companies import the equipment they need for certain projects. At present, it explained, these firms cannot obtain high-tech equipment such as semi-submersible drilling platforms capable of operating in waters

more than 1,000 feet (305 metres) deep or robots that can be deployed at depths of more than 500 metres.

The statement did not offer any details on the likely financial impact of the new policy. Earlier this month, the ministry also unveiled plans to grant tax waivers for other upstream initiatives.

Specifically, it said it would exempt imports of drilling equipment slated for use at onshore oil and gas fields in several of the country’s western regions, including Qinghai Province and the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang. These exemptions are designed to help increase production levels at 20 individual fields, it said.

The ministry also reported that a partial tax waiver had been granted for onshore oilfields that are being developed by joint ventures.

More than 100 types of equipment used for such projects will now be exempt from VAT payments, it said.

As of mid-2014, China was manufacturing about 85% of the drilling and production equipment used to explore and develop domestic oil and gas fields. Large state-owned companies were supplying around 66% of all such equipment, while small and mediumprivate firms were providing another 19%.

Foreign enterprises, meanwhile, accounted for the remaining 15%.

Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

Dresser-Rand commissions its first micro-scale LNG production

xxxxxxx

Dresser-Rand, part of Siemens Power and Gas, has commissioned its first micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system at the Ten Man liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Pennsylvania, U.S. The modular, portable LNGo technology enables distributed production of LNG and can be installed in a short period of time to meet local demand.

This allows the operator, Frontier Natural Resources, to monetize stranded gas assets at Tenaska Resources’ Mainesburg field, located in the Marcellus shale play. Frontier Natural Resources is an independent natural gas producer focused on developing conventional and unconventional resources.

The scope of supply included a standardized LNGo solution consisting of four different modules, each handling one step of the NEWSBASE

liquefaction process. The whole LNGo system can be transported on eight trucks. It is deployed directly at the gas field and has a footprint of approximately 508 square meters, roughly the size of a basketball court. The Ten Man facility commenced production just four months from contract signing, and has produced approximately half a million litres of LNG in the first 20 days.

The micro-scale LNGo solution can be deployed in rough terrain or remote regions, eliminating the need to establish an expensive gas pipeline infrastructure or arrange for longdistance trucking of LNG from centralized plants to point of use. It can function as a decentralized solution where the requisite pipeline infrastructure is lacking, or as an onsite transformation solution to reduce or eliminate flaring of petroleum gas at, for example, oil rigs or producing gas fields.

SIEMENS

Shell signs raft of Prelude support contracts Royal Dutch Shell has signed a raft of new agreements with contractors to support its Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) facility offshore Western Australia.

Oxair Gas Systems is one of the latest to bag a deal, winning a contract to maintain the nitrogen generator plant at the facility, which is currently under construction in South Korea and is expected to arrive on site later this year.

KT Maritime Services also announced last week that it had taken delivery of three big tugs – the RT Beagle Bay, RT Roebuck Bay and RT Kuri Bay – which will provide a raft of services at Prelude.

The infield support vessels combine Robert Allan’s RAstar style hull and Rotortug propulsion technology with the 100tbp ART 100-42 design and were described as “modern high-performance tugs custom designed to meet Shell’s demanding requirements”. The vessels were built by ASL Shipyards Singapore.

Technip revealed in mid-December 2016 that it had won a multi-disciplinary engineering and project management services contract to support Prelude.

Under the contract, Technip’s services will include: concept, front-end engineering and design (FEED), plus detailed and follow-on engineering services; procurement services; precommissioning, commissioning and handover services; operational testing support; scope and

InnovOil

page 34

February 2017

News in brief

portfolio management services, and specialist engineering support to supplement Shell Australia’s team.

CHC Group also said last month that it would provide an extra three S-92 helicopters to serve Prelude from its base in Broome, Western Australia. The new aircraft will join one S-92 already in use under an existing contract, which Shell has also expanded by two years.

Prelude will have a production capacity of around 3.6 million tonnes per year of LNG and will enable continuous production of the fuel over the next 25 years. It will be 488 metres long and 74 metres wide and is designed to withstand a category five cyclone.

Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

McDermott awarded offshore EPCI contract from Saudi Aramco McDermott International announced that a contract award from Saudi Aramco for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of four jackets and three gas observation platforms offshore Saudi Arabia.

The total weight of all structures combined is 11,595 tons.

“As the third fast-track jacket contract from Saudi Aramco in the last 18 months, this award is a testament to McDermott’s successful performance on previous fast-track projects for Saudi Aramco,” said Linh Austin, McDermott’s Vice President, Middle East & Caspian.

“McDermott’s fully-integrated EPCI solution provides Saudi Aramco schedule certainty, one of their key drivers, while helping them meet their aggressive schedule.”

In 2015, McDermott was awarded a project

by Saudi Aramco for the EPCI of twelve jackets; a project successfully completed in 2016.

McDermott is currently executing EPCI work for Saudi Aramco on nine jackets offshore Saudi Arabia, which are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2017.

The contract award will be reflected in McDermott’s fourth quarter 2016 backlog.

Work on the contract is expected to be executed through the fourth quarter of 2017.

McDermott plans to use its Engineering teams in Dubai, Chennai, India and Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia with construction taking place

at McDermott’s fabrication facilities in Dubai and Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Vessels from McDermott’s global fleet are scheduled to perform the installation work.

MCDERMOTT

SBM wins FPSO contract for Guyana’s Liza field ExxonMobil has awarded SBM Offshore a FPSO contract for its Liza field in Guyana.

The contract covers the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the vessel. A decision on which company will build and operate the FPSO will be made when ExxonMobil presents its final investment plan, which is due this year.

SBM won the contract ahead of Japanese rival Modec. BW Offshore, Bluewater and Saipem were also shortlisted. It is thought that the Dutch offshore specialist beat Modec to the contract owing to its strong relationship with

McDermott awarded SaudiAramco epci contract

NEWSBASE

ExxonMobil from previous collaborations.

SBM’s CEO Bruno Chabas said the contract underlined “the fact that experience matters across the entire FPSO life-cycle”.

The FPSO is likely to be spread-moored with Singapore’s Keppel expected to be brought in to help on the project. It is thought that ExxonMobil is also considering having a second FPSO for the Liza field.

Estimates of reserves at the Stabroek block, which the Liza wells are a part of, exceeded 1 billion boe in October following successful drilling at Liza 3. One of ExxonMobil’s partners at the block, Hess, said that Liza 3 showed that reserves at the site would be at the upper end of early evaluations which estimated reserves to be between 800 million boe and 1.4 billion boe. The company’s CEO, John Hess, said the results were confirmation that the Stabroek block was a “world-class oil discovery”.

Following the success at Liza 3, exploration drilling has moved 10 miles (16 km) northeast to a site called Payara. The joint venture has forecast production from the Liza wells to begin in 2020. ExxonMobil submitted an application for a production licence and its

February 2017

InnovOil

page 35

News in brief

initial development plan for the Liza field to the Guyana Ministry of Natural Resources in December.

ExxonMobil has a 45% stake in the block, with Hess and Chinese state-run CNOOC holding 30% and 25% stakes respectively.

ExxonMobil first discovered oil in the 27,000-square km block, which is located in the Essequibo region close to Guyana’s maritime border with Venezuela, in 2015.

SBM has provided several FPSO studies for ExxonMobil in Africa and has supplied the oil giant with FPSOs in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. In Latin America, SBM Offshore has partnered Petrobras on several projects in Brazil. The FPSO specialist had agreed a US$328.2million settlement for its part in the Petrobras corruption scandal but federal prosecutors in Brazil rejected the “leniency” deal in September.

Despite the allegations, SBM Offshore is one of four companies competing for a FPSO contract at Petrobras’ Libra pre-salt field.

Bidding was due to take place in December but a decision on the contract has been delayed.

Edited by Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

US company wins Uganda pipeline FEED Houston-based Gulf Interstate Engineering has reportedly won the contract to design a crude oil pipeline that will run from western Uganda to Tanzania’s Tanga port.

Under the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract, the US engineering firm will be responsible for assisting with project construction specifications, a plan for project execution, producing an implementation schedule and writing bid documents for a process to choose a contractor to develop the pipeline. The company has experience of working in Africa, having previously carried out work on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline.

It is expected to take eight months for Gulf to complete the work, paving the way for the start of construction of the pipeline. The link will stretch 1,445 km from Uganda’s landlocked western region, where crude reserves were discovered in 2006, and finish at Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga. FEED work may take eight months. Construction of the link may take 36 months.

Uganda, Tanzania and the project’s lead joint venture partner France’s Total E&P are also considering hiring an advisor to help them identify a lead investor and source the US$3.55 billion required to finance the pipeline, it emerged last week.

“We will have to go to the international markets to raise capital, because as countries we don’t have this money,” said Tanzanian Minister of Energy Sospeter Muhongo.

Talks are under way to create a special purpose vehicle – to be called PipeCo – to build, own and operate the so-called East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and to negotiate the shareholders’ and project finance agreements and the transportation agreement between shippers of oil from Tanga to the international market.

PipeCo shareholders will fund EACOP through a mix of equity and project financing, which includes a plan for external debt to account for around 60% to 70% of the funding. Pipe Co will repay lenders from the project’s revenues.

This loose financing plan could yet change, once the funding advisor is on board and the FEED contract has been completed. Total has in the past expressed a willingness to fund the project but has not stated whether it wants to fully or partially NEWSBASE

own it. Uganda has estimated its total crude resources at around 6 billion barrels, with recoverable volumes of 1.4-1.7 billion barrels.

Production is intended to begin in 2020.

The EACOP link will need to be heated, in order to allow the waxy crude to flow.

According to a briefing note on the project, the pipeline tariff has been estimated at US$12.2 per barrel.

Edited by Ed Reed edreed@newsbase.com

Xodus wins subsea contract with Apache Xodus Group has won a contract with North Sea operator Apache to deliver subsea engineering services for two new infill well developments at the Nevis and Skene fields in the Northern North Sea. The project includes a novel idea of designing and fabricating spools with no requirement for metrology focusing on time and effort savings. The latest win follows a number of projects delivered for the operator over the last 18 months, including the concept, Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and detailed design studies for the Beryl field’s Far North Triassic (FNT) subsea tie-back, which was 4km in length.

This consisted of a production flexible, gas lift flexible and an electro-hydraulic controls (EHC) umbilical tied back to the Beryl Bravo platform. In addition to performing the detailed design, Xodus also package managed the delivery of the production flexible on behalf of Apache and helped the operator to achieve first oil just 11 months after drilling the well.

Andrew Wylie, Scotland Subsea & Pipelines Manager at Xodus believes the strong working relationship with Apache is delivering results.

He said: “We are looking forward to supporting the Nevis and Skene developments. The new approach to the design of spools is one example of how we are challenging the norm and doing things differently. We are involved with Apache in the very early stages of a project and they give us the freedom to think about the challenge so that we can focus on finding the best and most efficient solution. Apache and Xodus have similar cultures embedded within their teams, which allows us to add technical value and deliver cost savings.”

XODUS GROUP

page 36

InnovOil

February 2017

News in brief

New rules boost US pipeline safety for crude, refined products The US government has passed a set of rules that boost the safety requirements for US crude and refined product pipelines.

The package of rules “makes critical safety improvements for hazardous liquid pipelines”, said the US Department of Transportation’s (DoT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) administrator, Marie Therese Dominguez.

“As the use of hazardous liquid pipelines to transport the nation’s energy supply grows, communities around the country have demanded regulatory certainty around the safe operation of these lines and facilities,” said US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx in a statement.

The new rules give operators a “clear direction” on the design, construction and operation of hazardous liquids pipelines, he added. The rules hold the operators themselves accountable for the safety of the communities their pipelines run through, he said.

The rules also extend leak detection requirements to onshore, hazardous liquid pipelines in non-high consequence areas, according to the PHMSA statement. They also strengthen the standards for repairing ageing and high-risk infrastructure, including raising the quality and frequency of testing to assess the condition of the pipelines, the PHMSA said.

There have been calls for clearer rules on pipeline safety in recent months, following mass protests over the planned Dakota Access Pipeline.

The pipeline, which is being built by Energy Transfer Partners, has raised fears over the possibility of contaminated water supply in the event of a leak.

In the US, there are a total of nearly 200,000 miles (321,869 km) of hazardous liquids pipelines that operate near local communities and natural landscapes or cross major bodies of water, the PHMSA said.

“The changing energy environment in the United States requires that we all become increasingly anticipatory, predictive and prepared for emerging risks,” said Dominguez.

The new rules will also encourage operators to employ larger data resources,

including information on the operating environment, pipeline condition, and known manufacturing and construction defects.

They require operators to have a system for detecting leaks as well as establishing a schedule for inspecting affected pipelines in the case of extreme weather or a natural disaster.

The package of rules has been submitted to the Federal Register for publication, the PHMSA said.

Edited by Anna Kachkova annak@newsbase.com

Takreer awards aromatics scheme deals ABU Dhabi Oil Refining Co. (Takreer) has awarded two key contracts on the project to add gasoline and aromatics capacity at its flagship Ruwais refinery. The move delivers swiftly on intentions of major downstream expansion publicly set out in November as part of the parent company subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s (ADNOC) strategy.

Plans to move into liquids-based petrochemicals production have been on the drawing board for around a decade but have been galvanised in recent years by a confluence of supportive domestic and international factors – including local gas shortages, global crude oversupply and a regional trend towards closer integration of refining and chemicals assets.

The drive for a holistic strategy maximising the value of both upstream and downstream output is also behind the second major project on Takreer’s current slate – to process additional offshore crude at Ruwais in order to preserve more-valuable streams for export.

The UK’s Amec Foster Wheeler was selected for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract on the project to add 4.2 million tonnes per year of gasoline and 1.6 million tpy of aromatics capacity at the Ruwais refinery, an expansion of which was completed in 2015 to take capacity to around 820,000 barrels per day.

France’s Axens was awarded the technology supply contract on the scheme, which is due to enter a four-year engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase on completion of the FEED in January 2018 and is scheduled for completion in 2022.

NEWSBASE

Takreer’s total gasoline output will thereby increase to 9.4 million tpy – ensuring local self-sufficiency – while the addition of an aromatics extraction unit feeding paraxylene and benzene production units will accomplish a long-planned move into aromatics as part of wider petrochemicals sector development.

ADNOC’s five-year business plan and 2030 Strategy, approved by the Supreme Petroleum Council in early November, calls for the emirate’s petrochemicals production to more than double by the end of next decade to 11.4 million tpy from the 4.5 million tpy currently delivered by Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. (Borouge) from its ethanebased complex close to Ruwais.

Edited by Ian Simm ians@newsbase.com

Schlumberger acquires Peak Well Systems Schlumberger announced the acquisition of Peak Well Systems (Peak), a specialist in the design and development of advanced downhole tools for flow control, well intervention and well integrity.

The addition of Peak’s mechanical and remedial solutions for cased-hole well intervention strengthens the Schlumberger Production Services portfolio with a broader offering of mechanical services to its global customers.

“In the past few years, Peak has developed a portfolio of flow control technologies that are recognized as some of the leading products in the industry largely due to their simplicity, performance, reliability and ease of retrievability,” said Hinda Gharbi, president, Wireline, Schlumberger. “Bringing Peak technologies into our existing Production Services portfolio will give us the opportunity to offer our customers fully integrated well intervention solutions on electric line, mechanical slickline or digital slickline.”

Peak Well Systems designs and manufactures advanced downhole tools that isolate, extend well life, restore well integrity and enhance well performance with SIM retrievable bridge plugs and disruptive technologies such as the SIMULTRA plug, which is a high performance retrievable bridge plug capable of providing HPHT and gas tight (ISO 14310:2008 – Grade V0) zonal isolation, even in sour gas conditions.

SCHLUMBERGER

February 2017

InnovOil

What next …?

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

To register to attend the free Subsea Expo 2017, visit www.subseaexpo.com/register-now/ If you would like to learn more about the Danish Space Agency-led project to develop drone-based magnetometer surveys, contact lead researcher Arne Døssing on +45 45 25 97 73 or email ards@space.dtu.dk To learn more about Rovco’s 3D modelling project and how 3D photogrammetry could help you manage your assets, speak with chairman Brian Allen on +44 (0) 117 230 0001 or contact info@rovco.com For enquiries regarding the Bluefin Sandshark AUV, contact Carol Smith at GDMS via Carol.Smith@gd-ms.com, or visit www.bluefinrobotics.com For information about N-Sea’s collaboration with the University of Strathclyde to investigate deep learning and pipeline inspection, visit www.n-sea.com/en If Well-SENSE Technologies FLI device could help you perform DAS surveys cheaper and more efficiently – or to discuss Active FLI technologies – contact the team on +44(0)1224 937600 or email www.dpurkis@well-sense.co.uk To discover more about the Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis service, visit www.mobilserv.mobil.com/en For more information on the Industry Technology Facilitator, or to attend the ITF Technology Showcase, visit www.showcase.itfenergy.com

NEWSBASE

page 37

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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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