InnovOil Issue 46 October 2016

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Bringing you the latest innovations in exploration, production and refining Issue 46

SHAPE OF SHIPS TO COME

Rolls-Royce talks autonomous and remote vessels Page 16

SILVER LININGS

Swagelining polymers fight corrosion Page 28

TAKE YOUR PEEK Portable 3D printing Page 30

October 2016

InnovOil

October 2016

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Inside

Contacts: Media Director Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com Media Sales Director Charles Villiers Email: charlesv@newsbase.com

A note from the Editor

5

Enter the Dragon

6

On the Radar

8

UK recieves first shipment of US shale gas

Editor Andrew Dykes andrewd@newsbase.com

Technology innovation round-up

ROVs & AUVs 11

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

Return of the MAC

12

Phone: +44 (0)131 478 7000

FAA legislation

14

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

Autonomy and its bounties 16

All Oceans Engineering’s new pint-sized ROV

Way cleared for closer drone inspection

Rolls-Royce’s remote-controlled vessels

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

Under-water robots

subCULTron’s self-sustaining colony

Deep-ocean ROV sea trials 24 Schmidt Ocean Institute’s SuBastian

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ction ations in exploration, produ Bringing you the latest innov

22

Moblize’s good decisions 27 Speeding up the work of drilling engineers

and refining October 2016

Issue 46

Pipeline polymer lining

28

PEEK 3D printing

30

Swagelining’s corrosion-beating solutions

Discussing the latest materials

SHAPE OF SHIPS TO COME

Biodegradable lubricants 32

Rolls-Royce talks autonomous and remote vessels

ExxonMobil on EALs

Page 16

News in brief

SILVER LININGS rs fight corrosion Swagelining polyme Page 28

34

Contacts 41

TAKE YOUR PEEK g Portable 3D printin Page 30

NEWSBASE

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

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

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

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

FACILITATE COLLABORATE INNOVATE

www.itfenergy.com

October 2016

InnovOil

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A note from the Editor A LOT of my time this month has been spent looking at or talking about ships.

As you can see from our cover feature this month, Rolls-Royce firmly believes that the technology necessary to make remote and autonomous ships a reality is already here. In a situation which is remarkably common in the sphere of new technologies, these systems are now waiting for regulation to catch up. As the company’s Vice President of Innovation – Marine, Oskar Levander – whom we interview inside – recently remarked: “This is happening. It’s not if, it’s when.”

The company has been working with a number of academic and corporate partners to develop and perfect satellite communication, situational awareness and remote control systems as part of the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA). In addition, it has also drawn from its expertise in aerospace – another intriguing piece of technology transfer to the marine industry.

Levander explained more about the company’s involvement in the project, and how he sees the future of remote and autonomous ships developing.

Other shipping innovations were also brought to the fore this month. InnovOil attended the arrival of Ineos Group’s first delivery of US shale gas to the UK. The shipment of ethane arrived on board an Evergas Dragon Ship, a new class of carrier created specifically for the project.

Soundbites aside, it is hard not be impressed at the technical feat – a ship which not only carries ethane, but can be fuelled by it as well – and the remarkable pace at which the project was achieved. First initiated in 2010, designer and operator Evergas signed contracts for four carriers by mid-2013, and had two on the water by 2015; a considerable achievement.

You can learn more about the project, and the Dragon Ships, inside.

In addition to autonomous ships, our focus this month is on innovation in ROVs, AUVs and UAVs. In many ways the workhorse of the subsea oil and gas industry, new ROVs are constantly being redesigned, refined and new features developed, and it has remained a hive of activity even through tougher times. We hear from the Schmidt Ocean Institute about the development of its very own craft SuBastian, and from Aberdeen’s All Ocean’s Engineering about its latest creation: the MAC-ROV. Legal experts Van Ness Feldman also explain what impact the US FAA regulation will have on the drone inspection market, as well as from European research project SubCULTron, a scheme which will see a community of autonomous robots take to the canals of Venice.

All this by way of cloud-based data management, corrosion-beating polymer linings and desktop 3D printers.

We are pleased to present the October issue of InnovOil.

Andrew Dykes Editor

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InnovOil

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October 2016

Enter the Dragon The UK received its first shipment of US shale gas this month aboard one of eight new Dragon-class carriers, the JS Ineos Insight

T

HE arrival of the first shipment of US shale gas to the UK in September marked the culmination of a complex five-year engineering project that included several industry firsts.

The JS Ineos Insight delivered 27,500 cubic metres of ethane to Ineos’ petrochemical plant at Grangemouth near Edinburgh on September 28.

Ineos Insight is one of eight vessels that will transport ethane from the US across the Atlantic under a 15-year charter with Denmark’s Evergas in what Ineos calls a “virtual pipeline”, providing the raw materials that are essential to kick-start manufacturing at the Grangemouth site.

The ships, which are the first in the world to carry and run on ethane, will supply gas to the plant at a rate of around one delivery per week.

In a complex design process that brought together Ineos and Evergas with Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (SOE) and Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (SSG), an entirely new type of ship was created for the project: Dragon Class.

In a recent interview with LNG World Shipping, Evergas’ CEO Steffen Jacobsen noted that: “A typical round-trip voyage takes 24 days, including all margins. Each loading and discharge operation is carried out in approximately 24 hours while the combined sailing time of the eastbound and westbound voyages is about 21 days.”

Whilst the ships were being designed and built, a simultaneous project was under way at Grangemouth to construct a 60,000 cubic metre ethane tank will allow the plant’s ethane crackers at full capacity. The tank was built by Germany’s TGE Gas Engineering, which constructed a similar storage unit at Ineos’ facility at Rafnes in Norway that will also import ethane aboard Dragon Class ships.

Different class While LNG carriers are a mainstay of the shipping industry, ethane carriers are not – a fact made somewhat worse by an already risk-averse industry. Indeed, as Ineos Trading and Shipping CEO David Thompson NEWSBASE

told InnovOil: “One of the first comments was: ‘What do you mean you want to move ethane by ship? If you put it on a ship, it will sink.’”

However, in working with Evergas and other partners, that attitude appeared to change. “We came from real scepticism through to actually delivering something.

Pipelines were already in place and there has been a lot of investment in storage and facilities but it has been straightforward from an engineering point of view,” Thompson added.

Insight and her sisters are 180m long and weigh 20,900 dead weight tonnes. With a crew of 19, each of their dual-fuel Wärtsilä 6L50DF engines delivers a power output of 5,850kW, equating to a speed of 16 knots (20 knots maximum). These engines are also capable of using the ethane on board as fuel – in addition to LNG and diesel – making them highly efficient.

The building of these first vessels has also been initiated in fairly remarkable time. Evergas signed contracts with Ineos

October 2016

InnovOil

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for the first four vessels during Q1 2013, later expanding this to six vessels in Q3. Six months later, this grew again to eight ships.

Just over two years later, Evergas conducted its first sea trials with Intrepid and Insight during Q2 2015. Four carriers have now been delivered and four more are scheduled for commissioning in mid-2017.

Despite the technical achievements on board the Dragon carriers however, in the end they proved unable to overcome the Scottish weather. High winds forced a postponement of the final docking, with the ship waiting offshore overnight before it could deliver its cargo the following day.

Wind aside, Ineos’ virtual pipeline is now flowing and more firms are taking note.

In 2014 Evergas’ owner Jaccar Holdings created a new venture with Hartmann called United Ethane Carriers, and plans to build five 85,000 cubic metres very-large ethane carriers, as part of a contract with Oriental Energy.

With the dragons awoken, ethane shipping is now well and truly fired up. n

The Insight sailing under the new Queensferry Crossing on its way to Grangemouth

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InnovOil

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On the radar

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

Life magnetic A team at the Deutsches ElektronenSynchrotron (DESY) has developed a deposition method for custom-made magnetic sensors.

Magneto-resistive sensors are used extensively throughout many technologies, but the variety of these applications means that each sensor’s function needs to be individually tuned.

These sensors are made up of microscopic stacks of alternating magnetic and non-magnetic layers, each just a few nanometres thick. When an external magnetic field is applied to such a multilayer stack, the electrical resistance of the stack changes.

However, the magnetic field strength at which the resistor switches is largely fixed.

Now, researchers at DESY have developed a procedure which allows them, for the first time, to take control of the magneto-resistive properties of multilayer sensor systems. Their

method allows the field strength at which each individual magnetic layer in the minute stack switches to be precisely and flexibly adjusted.

In addition, the preferential direction for the magnetisation of the individual layers, the so-called “easy axis”, can be in any chosen orientation.

As a result, a multitude of new sensor properties can be achieved by straightforward means.

Sensors can now be tuned to their precise application, rather than the other way around.

The method uses a technique called oblique incidence deposition (OID).

It enables arbitrary magnetic materials to be magnetically shaped on arbitrary substrates.

According to the team, “This means that it is now possible to straightforwardly produce structured multilayer stacks having identical compositions of materials and thicknesses but exhibiting very different and novel sensor characteristics.” n

October 2016

Cutting edge The advent of 3D printers and laser cutters has opened up a wealth of new opportunities for workshop fabrication and prototyping.

However, the ability to produce more complex parts with tougher materials has stayed largely within the confines of larger CNC milling technology – until now.

This month saw the launch of Wazer, a Kickstarter project to bring affordable water jet cutting to desktops. While traditional water jet cutters have large footprints and are (typically) prohibitively expensive, Wazer is aimed at users with “a limited budget and minimal space.”

It also will not require a redesign of your workshop. The unit is powered by a standard electrical outlet and fed by a water source.

It uses 80 mesh garnet abrasive for cutting which is fed into the machine via an internal hopper, and cuts at a rate of 0.33 pounds per minute. This is a lower-pressure and slower cutting rate than might be found in larger industrial cutters, but should be enough for the desktop applications envisioned by the team.

According to the company, the unit will still cut through most material, including steel, granite (up to 9.5mm) and polycarbonate (up to 12.7mm).

The price is persuasive too. Wazer’s site suggests that a standard unit will retail at around US$6,000, with the first batches shipped in August 2017. n

Waterproof positive Researchers at the Australian National University have developed a new spray-on coating for waterproofing applications.

It is hoped that the coating could be used to prevent ice formation on aeroplanes or to protect boat hulls from corrosion.

The coating is based on the combination of two plastics, each with different characteristics.

Together they form a coating which is both tough and flexible.

The superhydrophobic coating is also transparent and extremely resistant to ultraviolet radiation.

PhD student William Wong, from the Nanotechnology Research Laboratory at the ANU Research School of Engineering, explained: “It’s like two interwoven fishing nets, made of different materials… The surface is a layer of nanoparticles, which water slides off as if it’s on a hot barbecue.”

Lead researcher and head of

the Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Associate Professor Antonio Tricoli added: “The key innovation is that this transparent coating is able to stabilise very fragile nanomaterials resulting in ultra-durable nanotextures with numerous real-world applications.”

In addition, the team refined two production methods, both of which they claim are cheaper and easier than current processes.

NEWSBASE

One method uses a flame to generate the nanoparticle constituents of the material. For lower-temperature applications, the team dissolved the two components into a sprayable form.

“A lot of the functional coatings today are very weak, but we will be able to apply the same principles to make robust coatings that are, for example, anti-corrosive, selfcleaning or oil-repellent,” Tricoli said. n

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The minivan for mini vans Mercedes-Benz Vans has announced a partnership with drone delivery start-up Starship Technologies.

The collaboration will see the automaker outfit a Sprinter van to be used as a “mothership” for eight autonomous delivery robots.

Starship intends to build a fleet of autonomous robots which can deliver goods in local areas in 15-30 minutes within a 2 to 3-mile (3.2 to 4.8-km) radius. The robots drive autonomously but are monitored by

humans who can take over control at any time.

Its partnership with Mercedes is an expansion and refinement of this model.

The larger vans will drive to a designated locations based on delivery density and demand, and then drop off and pick up robots which will complete the door-to-door deliveries. They will then return to the host van for re-loading.

An in-built racking system within the Sprinter enables 400 packages to be

delivered every 9-hour shift, according to Starship. This compares with the 180 packages delivered using previously available methods, an increase of over 120%.

Mercedes-Benz Vans head Volker Mornhinweg commented: “We see a huge potential for robotic delivery systems in the future and by combining our vans and the robots – we call it the mothership concept. With this we are able to increase the efficiency of delivery by an order of magnitude.” n

Healing touch A joint team from the UK’s University of Birmingham and China’s Harbin Institute of Technology has developed a method of producing composites which can self-heal at temperatures below freezing.

Some composites – already mainstays in aerospace and power engineering and increasingly finding their way into oil and gas – have long had proven self-healing qualities.

In some more instances, these have shown healing efficiencies above 100%, indicating that the performance of the healed material can be even better than when it was first formed.

Yet these results have traditionally been achieved at higher temperatures, and healing had proved more difficult in below-freezing conditions.

Instead the team embedded threedimensional hollow vessels – in this case carbon nanotubes – into the composite, allowing them to deliver and releasing healing agents. A porous conductive element was also included to provide internal heating and to defrost the material where needed.

Using this method, they achieved a healing

efficiency of over 100% at temperatures of -60°C using a glass fibre-reinforced laminate.

According to their report, using a carbon nanotube sheet as the conductive layer the composite “was able to self-heal more effectively with an average recovery of 107.7% in fracture energy and 96.22% in peak load.”

They report that the technique could be applied across a majority of self-healing composites.

NEWSBASE

University of Birmingham PhD student Yongjing Wang added: “Fibre-reinforced composites are popular due to them being both strong and lightweight, ideal for aircraft or satellites, but the risk of internal microcracks can cause catastrophic failure. These cracks are not only hard to detect, but also to repair, hence the need for the ability to selfheal.” n

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October 2016

InnovOil

ROVs & AUVs SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Pages 12-25

SMALL MAC

Access All Oceans’ ROV for deep missions Page 12

CULT leaders

A look at the subCULTron project and its bioinspired AUVs Page 22

Near or FAA

How FAA regulation affects US drone inspections Page 14

NEWSBASE

page 11

page 12

InnovOil

October 2016

ROVS & AUVS

Return of the MAC Aberdeen’s All Oceans Engineering has developed a new ROV platform, offering exceptional depth and work capabilities in a package size never previously thought possible

R

OVS, as with many technologies, are becoming smaller, lighter and more capable. Driven by the offshore and marine industries v– shipping, oil and gas and renewables in particular – they are performing more tasks, more quickly than ever before thanks to a combination of technical improvement and falling costs.

Despite those advances, however, most manufacturers have stuck to the conventional definitions and capabilities of ROV classes – from micro and mini, through to general, light work and heavy work classes.. Yet a breakdown of the fundamental roles required from ROVs aimed at exploration and discovery led Aberdeen engineering firm All Oceans to rethink what such systems should be capable of.

The team identified that such a system must be able to: deploy; locate; observe; sample and recover.

Among other things, that means the system can record accurate positional reference data. To do that properly, they then questioned how large such a system needs to be to perform these functions at all required depths– or, reversing the problem, they wondered how small they could make it.

Smaller ROVs have innate benefits to the offshore industry. As Brian Abel of All Oceans points out: “Small systems don’t need big support vessels or bags of power.

Smaller also means lighter, so they’re easier and less expensive to move around the world. Going small also means reduced capital cost and ongoing operational costs.”

Building on the company’s existing ROVs, launch and recovery systems (LARS) and tether management systems (TMS), All Oceans undertook 3 years of development to fit those deepwater capabilities into a small package. The resultant innovations – the MAC-ROV combined with the company’s SHUTTLE concept for varying payload – are now heading towards commercial operation.

Deep dive The MAC-ROV is supplied for various depth ratings, from 300m to 6,000m for ultra-deepwater exploration. It is a 508mm cube (20”) and powered by 8 thrusters – 4 horizontal, 4 vertical – all brushless DC motors, which provides full 6 degrees of freedom with 23kg (50 lbf) fore, aft, port and starboard and 17kg (38 lbf) in the vertical.

As standard, the MAC-ROV is equipped with a forward-facing 4k camera, and 3 further 1080p HD cameras –2 forward and one rear-facing – with the telemetry to handle all feeds real time simultaneously from 6000m. Lighting is provided by pairs of 1,700-Lumen camera tracking and dimmable LEDs. For shallow water missions, the MACROV can be deployed on a 300m tether, in a system package with a package weight of around 150kg.

A separate LARS consisting of a winch and telescopic A-Frame is available for deeper system running the MAC-ROV with its TMS or a SHUTTLE package. This is load rated for 1.2Te payloads with a 3g dynamic factor, and 2Te with a 1.8g dynamic factor.

Both winch and A-Frame are the same for all systems to 6000m, the only difference being the length of the umbilical on the winch.

Yet the system is most flexible when on deeper operations. Conventional 6,000m ROV systems require a deck’s worth of extra equipment, and weigh in the region of 40 tonnes. Various specifications of winches, TMS and LARS, as well as control rooms and spares workshops – either skid-mounted or housed within the vessel itself – will take these packages to around 40 tonnes.

For work at 1500m - 6000m, the MACROV is supplied with all the required support infrastructure – TMS, winch, racked controls and interconnects etc. – as separates, which are configured and shipped in a one-trip 20-foot ISO container. These can be set up on-site as required.

Alternatively, the system can be NEWSBASE

shipped fully integrated into the container, including a 3m reach telescopic LARS, an air-conditioned 2-man control room with a window on the LARS and a small workshop.

Excluding the container, this entire system weighs 5 tonnes, and requires peak power of 25kW, a fraction of the 40-tonne and threefigure kW power required by 6000m systems that All Oceans have delivered LARS and TMS for in the past.

Abel told InnovOil that prices for systems would be available in Q4 2016, when orders will be taken against deliveries mid-2017.

The MAC-ROV will also be available packaged with a TMS as a fly-out package – an offering which the company expects to be of significant interest to industry users.

Flying out As with its existing range of ROVs – including the AC-ROV 100 and 3000 –the MAC-ROV will be available as a fly-out vehicle, as well as a standalone system, offering increased versatility. Deployed from the surface, the MAC-ROV can be used to survey and access a dive area before deploying a larger submersible, such as a trencher or mining machine. The ROV and TMS can then be attached to the larger submersible to operate as a fly-out or buddy, on a 100-300m tether.

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ROVS & AUVS No wider than a pencil, All Oceans’ smaller AC-ROV 3000 and its umbilical can be attached to a larger vehicle as a fly-out

Xxxxxx

This allows it to show further perspective on tool deployments and a more mobile overview of operations, reducing risk and increasing productivity. As a scout it can survey areas and situations where the larger host vehicle cannot go, or where risks are higher, for example examining pipe work, wreck inspection, thermal vents etc. It is understood that insurance cover for highrisk operations can be difficult to obtain or prohibitively expensive, so this is where a less expensive asset comes into its own.

SHUTTLE up The ability to use the MAC-ROV as a fly-out also leads to the company’s new subsea concept: a shuttle. “If you have an ROV and a TMS, then together they make up the submersible package. Our solution is to spread the functionality across these two elements to best advantage. Instead of a TMS, our solution is to use a shuttle,” explains Abel. “This is the key to getting around the need for a big ROV system and guessing what size and power of ROV relative to the tools that it may have to carry.”

This SHUTTLE, in its simplest form, is an open frame that can be loaded with payload items suited to the operation so that all of the work plan can be achieved in a single

dive. The frame can be fitted with thrusters, cameras and lights as required for increased capability such as controlled landing for heavier ground work. The MAC-ROV would then be deployed as a payload item and operate as a fly-out.

Mission-specific payloads could be for sampling, coring, bathymetric survey, load recovery etc. In this way, the Shuttle can be configured with as little or as much functionality as needed. It takes a long time to deploy and recover from depth and each dive adds running hours to handling equipment so the more that can be done on a dive the better.

The company foresees the concept being used in several operating modes: survey, observation or lander. The Shuttle would typically have powerful, downward-facing wide-scan and bathymetric sonars, allowing to it perform acoustic monitoring on the NEWSBASE

terrain from a safe height above the seabed.

Large areas could then be surveyed quickly, with further visual inspections being carried out by the fly-out MAC-ROV when required. When landed, the in-water weight of the shuttle would anchor and stabilise it for heavier duty tools to react off. These could be small rock corers or manipulator type sample and artefact recovery tools.

All Oceans qualified the concept for underwater operations early in 2016, two years into its development programme. Abel said that this year will see the first elements built, demonstrated and market-ready – meaning 2017 is likely to be a big year for the diminutive ROV. n Contact: Brian Abel, Managing Director Tel: +44 (0) 1224 790100 Email: info@ac-cess.com Web: www.ac-cess.com

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InnovOil

October 2016

ROVS & AUVS

FAA paves way for closer drone inspection

We discuss the impact of recent FAA legislation on drones for energy infrastructure inspection with Van Ness Feldman’s legal experts

T

HE US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a final rule to regulate the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft, or drones. Some of the requirements of the final rule could preclude the use of drones for the efficient monitoring and inspection of remote and linear energy facilities such as transmission lines, pipelines and hydropower facilities. Congress, however, has instructed the FAA to develop procedures to exempt from those requirements the use of drones for monitoring and inspection of critical infrastructure.

As part of requirements set out in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, on June 28, 2016 the FAA issued the “Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule” to allow for the routine civil operation of small drones for non-recreational purposes and to establish a comprehensive set of rules for those operations. This rule, which became effective on August 29, 2016, replaces existing FAA regulations related to airworthiness, airman certification and operating limits.

The rule promulgates a number of specific requirements that must be met by any person seeking to operate a drone for the purposes of monitoring, surveying and/or inspecting energy infrastructure facilities. Specifically, it states that they: l must be registered with the FAA, a process that can be completed online if the drone will only be used within the territorial United States

l may only be operated by a person with a remote pilot certification issued by the FAA l may not be operated over human beings not participating in the operation l may not be operated under a covered structure or inside a stationary vehicle l stay within 400 feet (122 metres) of ground level or a structure l remain within the visual line-of-sight of the remote pilot or visual observer l may be operated only during daylight or twilight (within 30 minutes of sunrise or sunset) hours Fast on the heels of this rulemaking, the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 was passed by Congress and signed into law on July 15. Section 2210 of this Act requires the FAA to establish an application process for the use of drones for monitoring, surveying and inspection of critical infrastructure facilities during the day or at night and beyond the line-of-sight of the individual operating the drone. Critical infrastructure facilities include oil and gas production, storage, transportation and delivery systems, as well as power generation and transmission, and telecoms networks.

Drone uses permitted under Section 2210 include activities to ensure compliance with Federal or State regulatory, permit, or other requirements; activities to inspect, repair, construct, maintain or protect critical infrastructure facilities, including for the purpose of responding to an incident; and activities in response to or in preparation for a natural disaster, manmade disaster, severe weather event or other incident beyond the control of the applicant. In addition, Section 2210 specifically authorises the use of drones at night and beyond the visual line of sight of the remote pilot.

Van Ness Feldman (VNF) explained to InnovOil that: “Prior to the Part 107 regulations, NEWSBASE

drones could not be operated in accordance with many of the FAA’s regulations governing the operation of aircraft because of their “unmanned” nature. Many of those regulations, initially adopted in 1958, required the pilot to be on board the aircraft.

While these provisions were suitable for their time, they did not contemplate the use of technology to substitute for the human vision of a pilot on board an aircraft or the ability to remotely operate an aircraft without being physically present within it.”

Section 2210 requires the FAA to certify to Congress by October 15 that it has established an application process for drone operations for the critical infrastructure activities described above. The FAA has not yet established such an application process and it is unclear if or when the agency will do so.

However, the FAA informally has advised that, in the absence of an application process to carry out Section 2210, it intends to enforce the Part 107 “certificate of waiver” process to waive any requirements that may limit or prevent the use of drones for those purposes. Under this process, the FAA may issue a waiver authorising deviation from some of the Part 107 requirements if it determines that a proposed drone operation “can safely be conducted under the terms of the waiver.”

Acquiring authorisation While the new FAA regulations provide for fairly non-intrusive oversight of drone use, an applicant seeking authorisation to operate a drone consistent with Part 107 and Section 2210 will need to: l register its drone with the FAA l ensure that its pilot has a remote pilot certification l apply for any necessary waivers from the requirements of Part 107 and demonstrate that the drone can be safely operated under the terms of the waiver l demonstrate that it is in compliance with the remainder of the requirements of Part 107

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ROVS & AUVS

These requirements include rules for aircraft maintenance and inspection; operating limitations relating to types of airspace, awareness of prohibited areas, speed, altitude, visibility and location of persons and property; emergency procedures, contingency procedures and consideration of potential hazards; and reporting requirements for deviation from the rules of Part 107 in the event of emergency.

VNF also explained that: “The aircraft, including its attached systems, payload and cargo must weigh less than 55 pounds [25 kg] total.” However, it does not impose any requirements on line of sight or require drones to have any specific technology equipage.

After acquiring authorisation to operate a

drone, the applicant will need to ensure that it has systems in place to ensure continuing compliance with these requirements.

Taking flight The likelihood is that with the firmer regulations in place, the US drone inspection market should now have healthy impetus for growth. VNF told InnovOil that: “Part 107 encourages the increased use of drones by specifically authorising the operation of small unmanned aircraft or drones where no such authorisation existed before... Section 2210 will only further encourage this use by setting out a clearly delineated and formal process for the use of drones for monitoring, surveying and inspection of critical infrastructure.”

The legislation does however, only extend NEWSBASE

to inspection land and the US’ territorial waters – up to 12nm offshore. VNF’s team told InnovOil that: “Drone operations in US flight information regions that [exceed that remit] are not currently allowed under Part 107. A drone that is used to inspect offshore structures located in foreign airspace will need to comply with the requirements of that country’s civil aviation authority (14 CFR 91.703).”

Future movement on this is expected, following agreements on drone operations reached between the US and other countries.

The International Civil Aviation Organization is also developing its own framework for drone operations, which will no doubt inform future policy as well.

The insurance industry is also adapting and innovating in light of the growing prevalence of drone inspection. VNF commented that: “A number of insurance companies have begun to offer coverage for general liability to unmanned aircraft operators by endorsing such coverage onto existing property and casualty policies.

However, insurers will need to resolve many liability and coverage issues specific to the use of unmanned aircraft before writing policies specifically for drones.”

This, VNF said, will likely include liability, property, personal injury, invasion of privacy and cyber risk for unmanned aircraft manufacturers, owners and operators, and companies that hire unmanned aircraft operators.” However, despite the rapid growth of the past few years, the disciple remains in its infancy. “Because the use of unmanned aircraft, particularly for commercial purposes, is such a new area,” the company added, “the insurance industry currently lacks the extensive industry data needed to determine risk and likely losses.”

Nevertheless, inspection firms have already launched a US offensive. Companies such as the UK’s Cyberhawk and Sky-Futures have already opened US branches, while others such as VDOS Global have already performed multiple inspections under a Section 333 Waiver.

As drone technology and capabilities improve even further, the industry has only begun to scratch the surface of what these machines can do. n Contact: Tom Roberts Tel: (+1) 202 298 1930 Email: tcr@vnf.com Web: www.vnf.com

InnovOil

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Rolls-Royce: Autonomy and its bounties

Rolls-Royce VP of Innovation for Marine, Oskar Levander, talks to InnovOil about the AAWA initiative and the company’s efforts to put a remote-controlled and autonomous vessel to work by 2020

W

HILE it may still sound futuristic, the age of autonomous ships is already upon us. Similar applications in robotics, consumer vehicles and even mining are, in many cases, accepted practice making shipping a ripe target for disruption. As Rolls-Royce Vice President of Innovation – Marine, Oskar Levander recently remarked: “This is happening. It’s not if, it’s when.

One research group, the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA), set out its vision for the future of the sector in a recent whitepaper. Launched at the Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium 2016 in Amsterdam, this report sets out the current state of autonomous shipping technology, the opportunities it raises and the challenges that must be overcome to make it a reality.

Specifically, the group outlined the business case for autonomous applications, the safety and security implications of designing and operating remotely operated ships, the legal NEWSBASE

and regulatory dimensions and the existence and readiness of a supply chain network to deliver commercial products.

AAWA links a number of Finnish universities as well as major players in the maritime industry. In addition to companies such as DNV GL and communications specialist Inmarsat, the project is led by Rolls-Royce. At the launch, Levander commented that: “The technologies needed to make remote and autonomous ships a reality exist. The AAWA project is testing sensor arrays in a range of operating and climatic conditions in Finland and has created a simulated autonomous ship control system which allows the behaviour of the complete communication system to be explored.”

In September, InnovOil sat down with Levander to discuss some of the finer details of the AAWA report, and where Rolls-Royce itself believes this new technological leap is likely to take us.

How it works Rolls-Royce’s plans for such vessels are clear and ambitious. “We have a roadmap for how we see these kinds of ships entering the scene. Before the decade is out we want

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to have the first [remote and autonomous] ship in commercial operation,” Levander affirmed. The nature of international regulations means that this first operation would likely be a smaller ship – potentially a tug or harbour boat – limited to work in the domestic waters of a nation which will grant them a flag. Given the Finnish backing for the AAWA, InnovOil believes that they may well play host.

Beyond 2020, the company is keen to press on to the technological horizon. “After that we are expanding out into international shipping as soon as regulation will allow.

First it will be short sea shipping and then we will go into bigger vessels and crossing oceans,” he said. From there, the future shipping landscape begins to look quite different.

Before we can arrive there however, Levander explained the basics of how these systems might work. First is his clarification that: “All these ships will be a hybrid of remote and autonomous operation. It might be more one than the other depending on application, but they will all have both.”

There are various degrees of possible vessel autonomy. As the AAWA report notes, these levels of autonomy (LOA) are

described in a scale developed by Thomas Sheridan, ranging from 1 (where the computer offers no assistance and a human remains fully in charge), through 5 (a human must approve the computer’s actions) to 10 (where a computer autonomously makes all decisions with no human input).

What is important is that there are very few scenarios in which ocean-going vessels would be expected to remain at the highest LOA. Throughout its analysis, AAWA anticipates what it calls a “dynamic” or “adjustable” LOA system – as referenced by Levander – meaning all ships would likely be capable of being controlled remotely and making decisions autonomously, depending on their application.

The AAWA authors also provide a basic overview of the systems used throughout a voyage. In the voyage planning stage, operators must determine which journey legs will be undertaken autonomously, remotely or otherwise – including set failsafe or fallback strategies if any of these routes should be disrupted. Prior to embarking, the ship will also require a system to verify sea readiness – from hull integrity to securing cargo. Again, several potential LOA options would be possible when a vessel leaves NEWSBASE

port or moors, but the report indicates that most would require some level of human oversight.

Once on the water, autonomous operation becomes more straightforward.

The ship proceeds along set legs and data transfer is “limited only to relevant status regarding ship’s location, heading, speed, ETA to next waypoint and key information from the ship’s situational awareness systems as well as critical ship systems,” the authors suggest. That would also enable ship operators to oversee multiple vessels at one time, providing their respective missions are proceeding as planned and further intervention is not required.

Although most situations should be navigable with a robust autonomous system – e.g. collision avoidance, evasion, or route re-planning – some may require additional intervention. In a complex navigational scenario, for example when the system must determine how to avoid a large number of other vessels, the authors anticipate that the ship will send a “pan-pan” message to an operator indicating that it requires assistance. A human user can then approve decisions or control the ship remotely. In the event that such a signal is not received by

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either party, the ship would be able to deploy another predetermined fallback strategy.

Applications The nature of risk in oil and gas means that the industry is unlikely to be at the forefront in the operation of unmanned vessels.

Instead, the first of these ships will be “big cargo vessels transporting non-dangerous cargo,” Levander noted, rather than new LNG carriers. But that does not mean that the oil and gas and other segments of the marine industry will not see benefits. “What we do say is that these ships will have exactly the same technology on board for improved efficiency, safety and performance,” he continued. “These tankers will opt to have the same technology but will also have a few people on board just in case.”

The routine addition of “situational awareness” technologies – networks of sensors, cameras, radars and lidar – necessary for the development of remote and autonomous ships will also improve operations and safety for those manned vessels. “Today you have radar and electronic charts and so on, but it is a very

crude way of operating,” he explained.

“Ships operate in fog and darkness today but there is very limited visibility. Captains rely on these kind of crude technologies, so we say that of course that an industry concerned about safety will adopt these new technologies, because it is so much better and safer than what is out there.”

Even with lower or mid-range LOA capabilities, these systems could enable hybrid scenarios, Levander added. “In certain situations you could steer a vessel, even a tanker remotely. For example, when the crew is sleeping the system can say: ‘OK we’re out in the middle of the ocean, I have as good a view here of what is happening around the ship so I can do it.’ Only if something needs attention do you wake up the crew, who remain on standby, as it were.”

As well as reducing risk, that can also help to reduce overall staffing on vessels, lowering operator costs.

Getting there Although Rolls-Royce is confident that the technology necessary to build and run these ships already exists, there are systemic NEWSBASE

improvements which could also benefit the industry. The routine use of more situational awareness technologies should improve operations overall, but the increased focus on reliability in particular – autonomous ships will need to be work more reliably than their manned counterparts if they are to be qualified – is likely to lead to much greater standardisation in an industry where few ships are identical.

There is little comparison in shipbuilding to say, aerospace or the automotive industry, where designs are made, validated and then produced. “Most ships out there today are prototypes,” he explained. “In shipping you design it, it is ordered and then it goes into use… Building these new vessels over longer periods [means that] we can afford to validate better.” That should mean vessels spend more time working and less time docked for repairs, all of which means more cost-effective operations.

In turn, smarter vessel systems also allows for better predictive maintenance. “Today we already have ‘health management’ or predictive maintenance on bigger equipment like engines and thrusters, but that is not

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October 2016

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enough for an unmanned ship. The entire system needs to be trended and reliable – so we are now going from equipment-level to system-level.” Coupled with the use of more standardised equipment, operators will be able to build a far more comprehensive image of reliability issues, and plan their maintenance accordingly.

Batten down the hatches The glaring question with regards to autonomous and remote vessels is their susceptibility to interference or indeed cyberattack. For an industry already concerned with piracy, Levander lamented that cybersecurity is “perhaps not at the level it should be” within the marine sector.

Although uncommon, the industry has seen instances where such attacks have affected vessels, even disabling bridges.

“A lot of people think that if something happens to their ship on the digital side they can always drive it manually – but that’s not always true anymore. If your bridge goes black on any vessel today, it’s not that easy to operate it manually anymore, you’re so dependent on electronic systems,” he noted.

Guarding against such attacks means building security into those systems from the ground up. “We have started incorporating this from the beginning of the entire system design and architecture, because cybersecurity is not something you can apply on top of existing things – it needs to be embedded in all parts of the operation, including the hardware side, the software side and the human aspect.”

In another example of technology transfer, Rolls-Royce brought in technologies and expertise from its aerospace division where, Levander added, thousands of jet engines have been monitored remotely and securely for years. Confidence in that technology suggests that Rolls-Royce is comfortable with the level of protection it can offer more connected vessels. Instead, Levander said that: “My concern in the future is the existing ships out there today that might not have it.

They are easier targets.”

Whatever the security measures implemented, the shape and pace of future progress now largely rests with maritime regulators. With Rolls-Royce’s eyes firmly fixed on putting a remote and autonomous NEWSBASE

vessel to work by 2020, it has plenty to be getting on with. While some say it could take the International Maritime Organization (IMO) a decade to agree on governing legislation, optimists claim it could be done in four. Levander would not be drawn on a timeline beyond 2020, but said that the issuing of preliminary guidelines would offer the industry a solid platform to start from while international rules were being drafted.

What is clear is that this technology is already here, and the industry is already listening. “Since we started talking about this subject around three years ago, the interest in the marine industry has changed completely,” Levander said. “In the beginning there were a lot of sceptical voices, but during the last year everyone is talking about it. More people are sure that it is coming, more companies are working on it and more of our customers are coming to us and saying that they want it.” With any luck, they will not have to wait very long. n The AAWA Report “Remote and Autonomous Ships – The next steps” is available here. www.rol s-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/customers/marine/ship-intel/aawa-whitepaper-210616.pdf

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Joining the sub-CULT Andrew Dykes explores subCULTron, a pan-European research project established with the aim of developing an autonomous, self-sustaining colony of underwater robots

D

ESPITE its relative proximity, we do not know as much about the seabed environment as we might like. Even with the latest technologies, many areas remain difficult to map and monitor in detail – a task made even more complex given the vastness of the territory and the water depth at some of the ocean’s most remote points of interest. It makes sense, then, to turn to robots for a helping hand.

Yet while ROVs and manned submarines are capable of reaching great depths – and sending communications when they get there – they are almost always tethered to surface vessels. Even the best autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have limited range and capabilities, given that they are typically forced to resurface in order to receive position information, transmit data and recharge. This makes searching and scanning the deep-sea floor for specific objects or features difficult and expensive.

The answer, as the subCULTron project has proposed, may lie in a swarm of self-powered, autonomous robots. These machines would source, communicate, store and relay data to the surface as a swarm, enabling the exploration and mapping of large areas with no human control. aFish called Wander In the shallow waters of the Venice Lagoon, three alien species are lurking. The first of these, artificial fish or aFish, are agile information-gatherers. These robots can explore and monitor their environment and act as information couriers, relaying data to other parts of the system. Electrodes on the surface of these craft project an electric field around the robot, enabling them to sense information about its surroundings. Such a method is prudent, in part because it enables communication even in shallow and dirty waters.

On the seafloor, artificial mussels (aMussels) are the “collective long-term memory of the system.” After their deployment, these pod-like craft can collect and store data transmitted by the aFish. At the same time, sensor packages can monitor

Xxxxx A robot swarm developed as part of the earlier CoCoRo project at University of Graz

their surroundings over long periods, collecting information on, for example, fish activity or algal growth.

The aMussels’ storage capability is central to the concept, in that it allows data to be kept and transferred beyond the lifetime of individual units. Moreover, the team intend for the units to be manoeuvrable – using water currents, they system could then move and reconfigure itself as a group, if necessary.

The third component, artificial lilypads (aPads) then act as floating communications hubs. With a solar panel topside and docking mechanism below, both aFish and aMussels can recharge at these pads, as well as transmit data. The docking system is actuated, and contains a small waterresistant motor that provides the “grabbing” motion and also keeps firm hold of the robot. The data can then be sent to other units, or back to a topside receiver nearby.

The team also says that aPads will be capable of sourcing information from other sources, such as ship traffic or satellite data.

NEWSBASE

Together, these robots would be controlled by “bio-inspired algorithms.”

Mirroring natural functional communities such as bee colonies or flocks of birds, the systems work without a central unit of control but are capable of making decisions collectively. These swarm control algorithms are the work of the Austrian University of Graz Artificial Life Lab – based on work by Lab’s CoCoRo project, an earlier foray into swarm algorithms and which also produced the working design for aFish– and would enable each unit to be aware of the status of every other unit. However, the colony would still be fully operational even if a single unit failed. Current plans envision a fleet consisting of around 150 robots.

This nod towards resilience and disposability is also crucial to the design of the subCULTron system. In large oceans and at great depths, the risk of lost or damaged vehicles is high – prohibitively so in the case of large ROVs, where millions of dollars can be put at risk. Designing and building robots that are cheap enough to be treated

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Preparing the aPad robot for launch during the subCULTron workshop in Venice

as disposable means that subCULTron can be deployed to collect more data in more remote areas with fewer risks.

“If you lose 20 % of your swarm robots, it means 80 % of your swarm is still collecting data and is still doing some work,” project co-ordinator Dr Thomas Schmickl of the Artificial Life Lab told the EC’s Horizon Magazine . “If you lose your one field robot, then game over.”

Teach a robot to fish…

Venice, too, is a worthy proving ground for the project. According to the team’s initial plans, the swarm will investigate the channels of Venice itself, as well as the surrounding salt marshes and nearby a mussel farm. In addition to being an ecologically diverse area, it provides practical challenges for the units to navigate – e.g. varying infrastructure, investigating burst pipes and assessing the general impact of transport and tourism on the aquatic environment.

Some problems remain. Wireless

communication in particular poses a challenge for researchers – the highfrequency radio signals preferred topside are quickly lost in water. Sonar is useful, but the potential to lose signals among an ocean of noises is high, so other options need to be explored. In addition to the electromagnetic spheres mentioned above, blue LEDs may also allow the robots to transmit information – blue specifically because blue light will travel the furthest in water.

According to an April update from the project team, the docking mechanism between the aMussel and aPad has also been a key focus during the project’s first year. For charging and data transfer to work properly, autonomous docking must be repeatable and reliable, and must be achievable without using vast amounts of energy. Tests this year have succeeded in docking an autonomous aMussel with a radio-controlled aPad, but the team have stated that: “One of the next steps in the second project year will be to make the aPad platform and the docking [fully] autonomous.”

NEWSBASE

Powering the fleet also raises particular challenges. Although solar may be ideal for the 2m depths of Venice, in deeper waters, where a trip back to surface for solar power may be kilometres, other options will have to be considered. Schmickl has opined that a bacterial fuel cell could be a potential avenue of exploration. This would serve a dual purpose, in that the bacteria digest pollutants in the water to produce energy output, meaning the robots might even clean up the oceans as they go.

The project is still in its early days. The team will work together until April 2019, meaning there should be plenty of time to expand and improve the systems they currently have. But the implications could be significant, and the AUV fleets of the future may owe a great debt to the tiny robots currently exploring the depths of Venice. n Contact: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmickl Tel: +43 316 380 8759 Email: thomas.schmickl@uni-graz.at Web: http://www.subcultron.eu/

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Sea trials for Schmidt’s deepocean ROV Tim Skelton learns more about SuBastian, the latest ROV being developed by the Schmidt Ocean Institute

R

OVS come in all shapes and sizes.

Hundreds of companies supply thousands of vehicle variants to users across the world, outfitted with all sorts of standard and bespoke equipment depending on the mission at hand. Yet when you have the technical capability and drive for innovation of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, nothing beats doing it yourself.

Schmidt’s 272-foot (83-metre) oceangoing research vessel Falkor has successfully operated a Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV equipped with high-definition cameras for some time.

Yet this “off-the-shelf ” model is only suitable for use in relatively shallow water depths of up to 300 metres. Based on its experience with the Falcon, the Palo Alto, Californiabased Institute has now gone on to create its own ROV – the first submersible vehicle it has designed and built completely from scratch. Moreover, it also raises the Falcon’s operational depth range by an entire order of magnitude.

The deep-rated ROV “SuBastian” was built by the Institute’s engineering team with the express intention of making it able to withstand high pressures and to remain fully functional down to depths of up to 4,500 metres. Such a range would make it easily capable of reaching the seabed at the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas development, currently Shell’s 50,000 bpd Stones project in the Gulf of Mexico, which lies in 2,900 metres of water.

Ready for the seafloor SuBastian is intended to be used for highresolution seafloor mapping, the production

Xxxxx

of large-area photographic mosaics, video and image gathering, and for the collection of samples of subsea rocks and other materials. The ROV’s state-of-theart equipment includes a reconfigurable payload skid for sample collection, a 4K camera capable of streaming real-time video to the surface, as well as a range of scientific sensors for data collection.

Additional power and data interfaces also add flexibility by enabling a range of other deep-sea instruments to be added as and when needed.

The vehicle is connected to the ship via an umbilical cable tether that provides it with power from the surface and transfers data collected in the opposite direction. This tether gives the ROV the freedom potentially to remain submerged for several days, whilst still transmitting pictures and other data to a surface-based control room.

SuBastian is controlled, positioned and navigated using an integrated system which can track and guide equipment and provide NEWSBASE

accurate, fast-update data down to depths in excess of 5,000 metres. The system was supplied by and developed in co-operation with the Houston-based marine engineers Sonardyne, and incorporates Sonardyne’s SPRINT Subsea Inertial Navigation System (INS).

Other key parts of the system include a 600 kHz Doppler Velocity Log, and a Wideband Mini Transponder – a high-power sixth-generation (6G) ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning transponder.

Schmidt says all these new systems are fully compatible with Falkor’s existing ship-based hardware.

One unique feature of SPRINT is that it is able to operate simultaneously in dual INS and gyrocompass modes. This effectively means that both the pilots controlling the vehicle and the science teams collecting information from it can make use of SuBastian’s data output at the same time. The system’s compact and lightweight titanium housing also saves on both space and weight.

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Tests and trials Having undergone and completed its Factory Acceptance Tests in April this year, SuBastian underwent its Sea Acceptance Tests in August with a series of dives at the Santa Rosa Reef, off the coast of Guam in the western Pacific.

The aim on the latter occasion was primarily to test and demonstrate the functionality of the ROV’s manipulator arm. Like its shallowwater predecessor Falcon, SuBastian was also deployed from the deck of the Falkor. The 25day trials involved a rigorous workout in openocean conditions that comprised a total of 22 dives and more than 100 hours under water.

Now that the vehicle’s reliability tests have been completed successfully, the team is confident that SuBastian is nearly ready for full operations. “We plan to hold a week-long science verification cruise in November. The first scientific expedition will then take place in late November and December,” Schmidt’s Carlie Wiener told InnovOil. Until then, the team remains busy working on making small adjustments and

improvements so that SuBastian will be ready for its first full-scale mission at the end of the year.

The objective of November’s verification cruise will be to perform tests in real-world conditions to demonstrate and confirm SuBastian’s capability as a deep-sea vehicle.

While it remains out at sea, a rigorous new series of tests and exercises will ensure it can meet the demands expected of it by any future potential users. All the vehicle’s basic functions will come under scrutiny, including the smooth running of all winching operations, acoustic mapping facilities, lighting and video functionality at the seabed, and sampling collection capability.

All high-resolution video footage collected during the tests will be made openly available to any interested parties.

What next?

Schmidt says that once the SuBastian ROV has been fully developed, its next planned step will be to design and produce an even NEWSBASE

more advanced Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle (HROV). This will be developed sequentially and will build on the work already carried out in creating the SuBastian ROV. In so doing it will be able to work at gradually increasing water depths and with enhanced capabilities that will support its operation in all ocean conditions.

As Schmidt is a private non-profit operating foundation, Wiener admits that the company has no current plans to work directly with the oil and gas sector.

Nevertheless, the lessons the institute learns and the experience it gains from testing and developing ROV technology could prove invaluable to those who do work in the field.

The potential applications that could benefit include remote-sensing and seafloor mapping for exploration purposes.

Moreover, similar vehicles could be used for maintenance operations and monitoring work on subsea installations, even helping to protect the marine environment by minimising the risk of oil spills. n

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October 2016

InnovOil

page 27

Making good decisions Houston-based Moblize has created a decision-making platform which speeds up the work of drilling engineers

D

ESPITE millions of dollars spent on software tools and applications during well planning and construction by E&P companies, the time between data acquisition and decisions is at a record high. Users are frustrated by how many application touchpoints exist in these workflows, stymieing access to answers and insights.

This causes significant productivity losses.

A recent study by CIO Perspectives shows that only 50% of knowledge workers find information from corporate sources to be in a usable format. As the volume of available data expands, this problem is only likely to worsen, while engineers struggle even harder to make sense of it.

Houston-based Moblize is tackling the issue head-on. The company, which is partfunded by Chevron’s Technology Ventures unit, has taken a holistic approach and has begun with big-picture problems.

During typical well planning and construction phases, it can take engineers weeks to find the desired answers. For example, during the planning phase, key points such as determining a good rate of penetration (ROP) for surface holes in the area, the likely time required to case the well, how long a trip to the desired depth will take, and the estimation of any nonproductive time (NPT) are all time-intensive tasks. Determining the ROP across different zones and which bottom hole assembly (BHA) motor would minimise the number

of runs are also time-intensive tasks.

To do this, engineering teams must visit many data lakes of disparate applications, ensure that their data can be trusted and then prepare it in a format which offers answers and insights. After the well has been drilled, wider analytics can then offer information on time and cost, average spud times and even more granular insight. Yet all these devour time (in weeks), money and use a multitude of applications.

The solution Moblize’s cloud-based ProACT platform aims to reduce the entire data-todecision process during the planning and construction phases, by offering a single source of reliable information in a simple and easy-to-access format.

ProACT aggregates real-time machine sensor data directly from field devices, unstructured data from emails, instant messengers and historical data from thirdparty vendor office hubs. The data are then available to access via computer, tablet or smartphone from any location.

The platform consists of three primary processing components. First is a data quality layer, where machine data are aggregated, prepared to be trustworthy – it screens data quality issues which could result in the wrong rig states for well operations – before being assembled and vetted by petroleum engineers, as well as more than 700 data quality rules.

Second is a workflow-based analytics layer. Here, data are prepared as information by machine learning and advanced statistical models. This ensures that the information is directly relevant and useful to business decisions, does not require modification and helps engineers exploit it to answer questions such as those above.

Finally a visualisation layer enables a highly intuitive publishing and delivery mechanism, allowing the results to be made available anytime and anywhere.

ProACT enables engineers to compare historical and active wells on the fly, screening a multitude of factors. For example, ProACT can automatically stitch historical wells (called preparation) nearby to identify optimum ROP and how active well ROP performs against it.

With all engineers working from the same data sources, ProACT serves as a single point of information for decision-making with timely, up-to-date, precise and accurate information to support major judgments and decision-making. The interface also has built-in self-learning tools which ensure higher user engagement from day one.

This all-in-one platform provides the ability to find and analyse relevant information, drive actions and decisions and boost performance. Having been fieldproven on more than 7,500 unconventional wells in the US, “It’s the engineer’s new best friend,” comments Moblize CEO Amit Mehta. n Contact: Amit Mehta, CEO

Tel: (+1) 713 900 4639 Email: amit@moblize.com Web: www.moblize.com

NEWSBASE

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page 28

Internal corrosion: a silver lining?

October 2016

Swagelining highlights its corrosion-beating solutions, and explains why every pipe should have a polymer lining

I

NTERNAL corrosion is one of the most common causes of problems in pipeline operations. Conventional carbon steel pipelines in particular can suffer from severe corrosion when used for water injection. In cases where insufficient corrosion allowance has been factored into the original design, this can result in a drastic reduction in their life expectancy.

Owing to the current industry climate of the oil and gas industry, pipelines are one area in which operators and service companies demand cost-saving solutions to improve efficiency. Polymer lining technology for pipelines has proved to be one technology which mitigates corrosion and lengthens asset life.

UK firm Swagelining designs, manufactures and installs polymer lining systems for strategic pipeline and riser systems. The Swagelining® process works by using liners to form a protective barrier between transported fluids and the bore of the carbon steel host pipe. The technique involves pulling an extruded polymer pipe through a reduction die to reduce its diameter temporarily. This is done whilst maintaining the tension under load during installation through the host pipe. Upon release of the tension, the natural elasticity of the polymer enables the liner to form a tight compressive

fit on the steel bore by axial retraction and radial expansion.

Offshore Norway In one recent case, Swagelining was awarded the EPC lining contract for an offshore project in Norway, which was successfully completed on-site in June 2016. The project entailed a solution for 46.5 km of 12-inch (305-mm) water injection/ sweet service pipeline, with a design life of 25 years, maximum operating temperature of 29°C and ability to withstand reel-lay installation.

The project’s spoolbase installation involved fabricating 1,500m High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) stalks from 20m pipes employing butt fusion welding. Following completion, the 1,500m polymer stalks were installed into carbon steel (CS) stalks, which were in turn terminated with flangeless WeldLink® connector fittings. This integrated lining system offered continuous corrosion protection along the full length of the pipeline after completed tie-in welds.

The polyethylene (PE) liner system was designed to withstand the pipeline operating conditions whilst also accommodating installation forces during insertion into the CS stalks and reel-lay installation loadings.

At the spoolbase, PE stalks were fabricated from the bespoke butt fusion welding

30 tonne constant tension winch with Dyneema® rope NEWSBASE

container, utilising two welding stations working on a day shift and back shift basis (operational for 18hr of every 24hr period).

Destructive tensile testing along with rigorous quality control processes for the duration of the project confirmed that welding machines and selected parameters produced welds which met the pre-requisite requirements in the conditions.

Owing to the stresses and strain imposed on the HDPE by the die reduction process, the quality of the butt fusion welds is paramount to Swagelining’s operations.

A horseshoe roller arrangement was successfully utilised on this project, which was a first at this particular spoolbase. The arrangement allowed for the direction of the PE stalks to be reversed for installation into the CS host stalk of similar length, situated alongside the PE stalk. This reduced the stalk handling workload in preparation for the liner insertion and also helped to limit any liner surface damage which can occur from excessive handling. This improvement also eliminated the requirement for working space equivalent to twice the stalk length to be available at the spoolbase for installation.

A 12-strand braided Lankoforce Dyneema® rope fitted to a 30-tonne OMAC constant tension twin capstan winch was the selected pulling arrangement. This innovative solution proved beneficial throughout the design and installation phases of the project.

The Dyneema ropes selected for the project offered maximum strength for minimum weight and had the advantage of reducing installation loading, shipping weights and greatly improved the installation times.

The newly manufactured 30-tonne winches were designed with a quick release system incorporated on the rope drums,

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Horseshoe roller arrangement was successfully utilised

allowing for an efficient alternative to winch swap-out in the event of a breakdown or stalk recovery scenario. The winch and rope selection resulted in a highly versatile and manoeuvrable system, quick to install and set up on site and reduce risk.

The combination of the lightweight

polymer winch rope and the versatility of the HDPE liner to cope with novel installation techniques resulted in consistent lining of one stalk per available day. With stalk lengths of 1,500m, this is considered to be a significant achievement.

The service is available to clients

worldwide, and while suitable to be employed on new projects – constructed on-site, or at a fabrication location for transportation to the final location, it can also be considered as a rehabilitation solution for existing in-situ assets.

New innovations are also in development.

Swagelining is now looking at the deploying the technology in elevated temperature service for Water Injection systems and the use of engineered polymers to service the hydrocarbon sector, providing a cost-effective alternative to CRA systems. Connector technology – LinerBridge® – now allows for quicker, less complicated jointing construction and opens the technology to new installation methods, such as off an s-lay barge for large-diameter and shallow-water subsea projects. n Contact: David Whittle

Tel: +44 (0)141 404 8012 Email: david.whittle@swagelining.com Web: www.swagelining.com

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NEWSBASE

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A PEEK at the latest 3D printing materials Sophie Davies discusses PEEK 3D printing with Indmatec CTO Professor Brando Okolo

G

ERMAN industrial manufacturer Indmatec has designed a new generation of 3D printers that can process the material known as PEEK, as the capabilities of the revolutionary technology continue to grow at a rapid pace.

The firm offers the first commercially available fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer capable of processing PEEK, known as the Indmatec HPP 155.

Polyether ether ketone, or PEEK, is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer. It is suitable for use in a number of applications that require equipment that can withstand extreme temperatures, corrosive fluids and gases and high pressures. These qualities make it an ideal choice for oil and gas equipment. According to Indmatec, PEEK could offer numerous benefits for antenna sleeves, valve seats, electrical connectors, primary seals, impellers and other system components.

The material – produced by step-growing polymers from bisphenolate salts – can remain stable in temperatures ranging from -196°C to +260°C, the firm claims.

The Karlsruhe-based company, which has pioneered the use of several highperformance polymeric materials, says that the material is not only capable of withstanding high temperatures but it also has good strength and stiffness, frictional behaviour and inherent low flammability.

PEEK exhibits properties that “make it attractive for various kinds of industrial applications” Professor Brando Okolo, chief technical officer and founder of Indmatec, told InnovOil. PEEK occupies a “unique position” in the polymer hierarchy, he added, and its characteristics make it suitable for use in the medical, aerospace and mechanical sectors.

Moreover, it already has a history of usage in the oil and gas sector for its various attributes. There are a lot of oil and gas companies that already employ PEEK in sealing systems and casings for cables and instruments used in harsh environments, Okolo said.

Specifically, the properties that make it suitable for extremely demanding operating environments include its chemical inertness, corrosion resistance and its ability to withstand high operating temperature and pressure. That makes PEEK a “value added” material in the oil and gas sector, he said.

Additive technology The new 3D printer has been designed so as to facilitate use onshore, offshore and at remote locations where oil and gas operations are highly time-critical, the firm said. It is also portable and has easyto-operate features. “Most of the FFF 3D printers are easily portable compared to other 3D printing technology facilities,” Okolo added.

NEWSBASE

The time oil and gas firms spend on maintenance work could be significantly shortened by use of the printer, Indmatec claims, particularly where it would replace operations that depend on deployment of parts from warehouses that are located some distance away. It is also useful in situations where it is necessary to maintain production without interruption.

In this way, Indmatec claims that a 3D printer on-site can enable location-based crew to manufacture replacement parts or supplementary parts rapidly so as to maintain operating and production levels.

Another feature that makes FFF 3D printing attractive for the oil and gas industry is its low operating costs in comparison to other 3D printing technology, said Okolo. The feedstock – mainly theromoplastics in pure or composite form – is more affordable than for other 3D printers.

There is also another efficiency-related advantage to the printer, he noted. “The time needed to actually set up and execute a print job using a FFF 3D printer is impressively short,” Okolo added.

One company that already uses 3D printing for a number of applications is industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE), including for the manufacture of parts in compressor systems used in the oil and gas industry, he said. In May, the company inaugurated a new additive manufacturing

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Above: A selection of the parts which can be manufactured with Indmatec’s 3D printer Left: Indmatec HPP 155 Pictures: © Indmatec

line at the GE Oil & Gas plant in Talamona, Italy.

The new component production line will use laser technology to 3D print end burners for gas turbine combustion chambers. It will offer greater speed and accuracy in component production, GE has stated.

The New York-headquartered company has described additive technology as “the next frontier for energy manufacturing.”

GE said that the new production line was already working but would be fully operational by the start of 2017.

The firm is also providing financial support to other developers. Earlier this month, GE and several other investors including BMW awarded US$81 million in funding to a Silicon Valley start-up that is developing 3D printers. Californiaheadquartered Carbon, which was founded

in 2013 and primarily develops 3D printers for the medical and automotive industries, claims that it can print up to 100 times faster than its competitors.

Material gains Looking ahead, with regards to any as-yet untested materials that might replace PEEK’s role in 3D printing in future, Okolo said that there were possibilities – but they may not share as many of the characteristics that make PEEK especially suitable.

“Materials which share similar mechanical properties with PEEK may not have other key attributes of PEEK such as corrosion resistance properties or similar thermal stability at relatively high temperatures or bio-compatibility or the wear resistance properties,” he said.

There are competitors to Indmatec that NEWSBASE

are developing similar products to its FFF 3D printer, but they are adopting different print strategies, Okolo added. “The fact that we have fundamentally considered the governing scientific rules of the material in the printer design makes Indmatec’s PEEK 3D printer unique,” he said.

“This means the printer is designed to regulate the interplay between the full range of chemical and physical changes associated with the melting of the material and its cooling from the melt to the solid state,” he added.

Through the application of expertise borrowed from different fields – including materials science, engineering, mechatronics engineering and computer science – Indmatec has designed the print-head in such a way that it is loaded with devices that moderate the printing process.

Furthermore, the printer’s mechanical system has been designed in such a way as to ensure that the machine works uninterrupted at the required printing temperature. The software design enables control of the parameters needed for printing the best PEEK part possible, Okolo said.

Indmatec’s experiments with PEEK in the world of 3D printing represent another step forward in a fast-growing, competitive industry. The oil and gas industry, as well as many other sectors, will be watching with interest. n

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COMMENTARY

Biodegradable lubricants: a changing market Ayman Ali, ExxonMobil EAME Industrial Marketing Advisor for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, outlines the current state of the environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) market

T

HE biodegradable lubricants market has evolved over the past three decades, with everything from rapeseed to sea water used to lubricate ships and hydraulic systems. A myriad of tests and definitions have been put forward by bodies in a bid to harmonise certification and encourage uptake. Yet the advantages, disadvantages and technical considerations of switching to these products are often ill understood.

Lubricants exist to optimise and protect a vast range of applications in exploration and production machinery. From gas engine, hydraulic, turbine, compressor and gear oils through to synthetic greases and diesel engine oils, they are used in almost every variety of severe applications.

Despite significant recent technological advances in these oil and gas applications, there are a number of challenges operators often face. Leaks in connectors, hoses and seals can still result from misapplication, improper assembly and simple wear and tear of the equipment. Even a small leak of one drop per second could lead to the release of up to 200 litre of lubricant in a month . As environmental impact rises up the agenda of policymakers and regulators, regulatory bodies are increasingly introducing fines and penalties to control spills, coupled with incentives to encourage the use of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALS). This in turn is generating a gradual shift towards what had previously represented a small share of lubricant sales.

This has in turn led to a tighter definition of what constitutes biodegradable and environmentally acceptable lubricants, stricter labelling and higher sales, particularly in Europe. A further significant trend in the biodegradable lubricants arena is the increased research and development (R&D) effort that has gone into developing these specialised oils. Such advances have given rise

to a new breed of environmentally acceptable and biodegradable lubricant that does not compromise on efficiency and performance compared to conventional lubricants in the way that many predecessors did.

Biodegradation: what actually is it?

Biodegradation is one of three processes that transform or break down materials that enter the environment (the other two being chemical or photoxidation and weathering).

The biodegradation process relies on micro-organisms (or their enzymes) such as bacteria, yeast, protozoans and fungi in the environment and typically releases carbon dioxide and water. There are two main types of biodegradability: “inherently” and “readily” biodegradable. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based body of developed economies, defines these as: l Inherently biodegradable – classification for a product that has a biodegradation better than 20% in 28 days, which includes most mineral oil lubricants; l Readily biodegradable – classification for a product that has a biodegradation of more than 60% within 28 days, which eliminates most, if not all, mineral oils.

Another widely used industry standard to measure biodegradation is the 21-day test of the Co-ordinating European Council (CEC), the trade body that develops performance tests for fuels and lubricants. The CEC L-33-93 test measures the loss of oil and oilsoluble metabolites in a nature-like aqueous environment. The benchmark for qualifying a lubricant as biodegradable is biodegradability of more than 80% by the CEC L-33-93 method or more than 60% by the OECD 301B method.

Lubes that break down: the basics Although biodegradables and NEWSBASE

environmentally acceptable lubricants have been in commercial production for decades, they comprise a small portion of the total lubricant market and are still regarded as niche.

Biodegradable lubricants can be classified in four categories. These are vegetable oils, polyalkylene glycols, synthetic esters and saltwater. The different lubricants types have different qualities and drawbacks, enjoying differing levels of popularity in industry.

Vegetable oils are made up mostly of natural esters (triglycerides), although the exact chemical nature varies according to plant species – e.g. rapeseed, sunflowers, canola and soybeans. Their most common commercial application is in hydraulic fluids.

In addition to high biodegradability and low aquatic toxicity vegetable oils have a higher viscosity index (resistance to thinning at high temperatures) than mineral oils and high lubricity and high flash point (combustion temperature). They perform well at extreme pressures, and do not react with paints or varnishes but have various disadvantages, which have limited their popularity.

Changing from a mineral to a vegetable oil lubricant is simple, as the two types of oils are compatible and vegetable oil lubricants will perform properly if some mineral oil residue remains. Disposal costs are also generally lower because of their non-toxic overall formulation. However, they perform poorly and thicken quickly at the sorts of low temperatures that are common in the oil and gas industry and exhibit poor oxidative instability at high temperatures, necessitating more frequent oil changes and making them poorly compatible with the growing technical requirements of modern hydraulic systems.

Lubricants based on synthetic esters are actually the oldest class of bio-degradable lubricant, hailing from the 1950s, when they were first used for jet engine lubrication.

They are created from the esterification of

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COMMENTARY

Mobil assistance

Industrial piston pump

bio-based materials (modified animal fat and vegetable oil) and can be specifically adapted for their intended application.

Generally synthetic esters have a high viscosity index and high lubricity, perform well across a wide range of temperatures, boast high oxidative stability (meaning long lubricant life) and provide corrosion protection. Their bio-based formation means they generally satisfy testing requirements for biodegradability and aquatic toxicity, albeit they are recognised as less easily and readily biodegradable than pure vegetable oil-based lubricants, and they occasionally exhibit incompatibility with certain paints and seal materials. EALs based on synthetic esters are also, in general, compatible with mineral oils, provided that no more than 2% of the previous oil charge remains (as per ISO 15380 requirements). It is recommended to drain down the system as far as possible to

maximise the benefits of the new product’s technology.

The third type of biodegradable lubricant is one made up of polyalkylene glycols (PAG). These are synthetic lubricant base oils, typically made by the polymerisation of the hydrocarbon ethylene, a natural plant hormone, or propylene oxide. They can be soluble in either oil or water and exhibit highly biodegradable qualities (notably the water-soluble PAGs). The major disadvantage of PAG-based products is poor compatibility with seals, gaskets and linings and poor miscibility with standard mineral oils.

Some reports have indicated that a growing number of companies are turning to the fourth type of biodegradable lubricant.

Seawater is used in ship stern tube systems that use non-metallic bearings in place of metal bearings.

NEWSBASE

In 2016, ExxonMobil launched a new, readily biodegradable, synthetic hydraulic oil that protects equipment and can help improve energy efficiency of hydraulic equipment by up to 3.6% when compared to a conventional hydraulic oil. The new lubricant, Mobil SHC Hydraulic Environmentally Acceptable Lubricant EAL, also has low toxicity according to a range of OECD tests, meaning it is suitable for equipment used in the particularly sensitive environments in which offshore oil and gas applications operate.

In addition to its biodegradability and hydraulic efficiency qualities, Mobil SHC Hydraulic EAL meets Blue Angel, Swedish Standard and EU Ecolabel standards and is non bio-accumulating. It also features properties that can increase equipment durability and extend oil life, meaning it can even protect offshore hydraulic equipment environments where deposit build-up can be an issue. The lubricant’s filterability and its ability to tolerate water contamination can help to extend a machine’s oil filter life, leading to longer drain intervals.

With a number of factors contributing to trouble-free operation, Mobil SHC Hydraulic EAL can help to reduce the need for maintenance, limiting the potentially hazardous interaction between personnel and machine.

While only accounting for a small proportion of the total maintenance spend, advanced lubricants such as Mobil SHC Hydraulic EAL have the potential to increase company productivity by reducing maintenance issues and equipment downtime.

What next?

Biodegradable lubricants are experiencing substantial growth in Europe, with more robust and harmonised certification becoming increasingly widespread. To help operators comply with environmental legislation and optimise the performance of their equipment, a switchover to biodegradable lubricants should be considered. Although that process can be straightforward, it is important to note that not all biodegradable lubricants are the same and that newly developed synthetic ester products are becoming available that offer protection and long oil drain intervals and reach new heights of hydraulic efficiency levels. . n For more information on Mobil’s range of industrial lubricants, please visit www.mobilindustrial.com

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NEWS IN BRIEF

IEA: Currency impact on African spending The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its first ever investment report on September 14, noting that global spending on energy had fallen by 8% in 2015, from 2014, to US$1.8 trillion. Oil and gas remained the largest component, at 45%.

Of particular note to investments in sub-Saharan Africa were fluctuations in local currencies. These have weakened against the US dollar, making the cost of locally source materials and service cheaper. The IEA noted the weaker currencies of Russia, Kazakhstan, Angola and Brazil. While these fluctuations have helped protect Russia’s oil industry,

making US dollars go further, Angola has suffered, it said. “In Angola, several projects are under scrutiny [owing] to depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar, making imported components expensive and keeping costs high.”

Sub-Saharan Africa saw a “strong upswing” in investments since the early 2000s, it said, driven by “rising prices, growing domestic demand and technological progress that has rendered offshore developments technically and commercially viable”.

The slowdown in spending since 2014 has led to a “wave of cuts” in Nigeria and Angola, with a number of projects in the pre-final investment decision (FID) stage suffering. In particular, the report noted Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to defer its Bonga South West project earlier this year as part of the super-major’s focus on cost cuts. The US$12 billion project

may be approved by the company in 2018, it suggested.

The IEA went on to note plans for East African developments had also suffered as a result of the global slowdown. LNG projects are on the drawing board in Tanzania and Mozambique but these have been largely deferred as a result of the low price environment.

Onshore projects have seen costs fall faster than offshore, it said, although this varies from region to region. Offshore developments have longer lead times, requiring “significant upfront capital” and with “investment decisions [being] heavily influenced by expectations on commodity prices”.

The conclusion that may be drawn from the IEA’s take on Angola’s import needs is that the country has failed to achieve its ambitious local content aspirations – although given the country’s broad state of import reliance this touches on a broader economic issue for Luanda, rather than being a specific hydrocarbon industry problem. Angola is hindered by its reliance on technologically advanced production from the deepwater.

Nigeria, on the other hand, at least has a degree of onshore production that may be more easily supported through local content strictures.

Edited by Ed Reed edreed@newsbase.com

Study: Eagle Ford to see thousands more wells Scientists at the University of Texas (UT) have projected that at least 80,000 more wells will be drilled in the Eagle Ford shale and that explorers could recover 10 billion barrels of oil from the formation at today’s prices. According to UT Bureau of Economic Geology director and energy economist, Scott Tinker and Svetlana Ikonnikova respectively, the South Texas play has to date achieved only a fraction of its potential development.

Presenting new research at Hart Energy’s recent DUG Eagle Ford Conference in San Antonio on September 13, the two scientists said that UT conservatively expected 100,000 wells to be drilled in the Eagle Ford, compared with the 17,000 wells that the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) says have been drilled so far.

The full results of the study – which follows a period when the Eagle Ford, like other shale plays, has experienced reduced drilling activity NEWSBASE

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Geir Glømmi (Aker Solutions), Monica Th. Bjørkmann (Subsea 7) and Olav Henriksen (Det norske)

– will be published in various peer-reviewed papers over the next six months. UT had been studying shale gas production and reserves across the US, but during this latest phase of research it turned its attention to two oil plays – the Eagle Ford and the Bakken. The study reportedly considered the regions in question in detail, analysing factors including energy prices, the cost of drilling and completing a well and the impact of regulations.

The study has estimated that the Eagle Ford holds around 230 billion barrels of oil, of which only 10 billion barrels can currently be recovered. It was also estimated that the play has about 462 tcf (13.1 tcm) of gas, of which 34 tcf (962.9 bcm) is currently recoverable.

However, the Eagle Ford has yet to see a recovery in drilling. The RRC’s oil and gas division reported this month that from January to August 2016, it had issued 4,830 original drilling permits throughout the State of Texas.

Only 642 of those permits are for operations in the Eagle Ford. If the trend continues, the Eagle Ford will have fewer permits issued by the end of the year than it has seen since 2010.

Edited by Anna Kachkova annak@newsbase.com

Aker Solutions, Det norske and Subsea 7 Form Development Alliance in Norway Aker Solutions, Det norske oljeselskap and Subsea 7 have agreed on a “one for all, all for one” collaboration model that marks a major shift in how an operator and its suppliers can work together on oil and gas developments offshore Norway.

The alliance combines Det norske’s exploration and production know-how with Aker Solutions’ expertise in front end engineering, brownfield modifications and subsea systems and Subsea 7’s capabilities in the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF).

It will enable the operator and suppliers to work as one integrated team to find the most cost-effective solutions for developing Det norske’s Norwegian subsea field portfolio.

Before now, field developments have typically been managed on a project-by-project basis that curtails reuse of technology and solutions.

“Our industry needs to find new, more sustainable ways of working on oil and gas developments,” said Karl Johnny Hersvik, chief NEWSBASE

executive officer of Det norske. “This alliance enables a holistic approach to our subsea developments that will promote an effective reuse of solutions and best practices across the portfolio to significantly save time and reduce costs.”

The companies will form an integrated project management team with experts from each. This will enable continuity from one field development to another and facilitate a reuse of solutions and technology that will lower costs, reduce development time and promote safe and more efficient work methods amid a focus on continuous improvement. All parties share both risks and rewards.

“We see this as a new and exciting way of working together as operator and suppliers with many potential benefits, not only for us individually as companies but also for the entire industry as we find more effective collaboration methods,” said Luis Araujo, chief executive officer of Aker Solutions.

The alliance accord comes after Det norske in June announced a four-year framework agreement with Aker Solutions to provide subsea production systems and services for the operator’s oil and gas developments in Norway and with Subsea 7 for SURF services. The scope of these framework contracts has a total potential value of about NOK 2.8 billion, of which approximately NOK 800 million is Aker Solutions’ share and NOK 2 billion is Subsea 7’s portion. These values may change depending on how much work the operator calls for under the contracts. Aker Solutions will book individual orders under the contract as they come in.

DET NORSKE

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Maersk Oil awards North Sea decom contracts to subsidiary Maersk Oil has kept the decommissioning business for its Janice oilfield in the UK North Sea in-house by awarding the contract for up to ten offshore vessels to sister unit Maersk Supply Service (MSS).

MSS will take charge of engineering, project planning and management at Janice, which is situated 282 km southeast of Aberdeen in Block 30/17a.

It will serve as lead contractor and has already signed three subcontractors to support engineering, ROV work and waste management, MSS announced last week.

Janice is the second decommissioning job Maersk has handed to a subsidiary in recent months as the Danish company bids for a foothold in the lucrative North Sea decommissioning sector.

Earlier this month, Maersk Drilling’s Gallant jack-up rig was awarded a contract for plugging and abandonment at the end-of-life Leadon and James fields, under a contract that is projected to generate US$24 million over 230 days. Leadon was developed in 2001 at water depths of around 120 metres.

Maersk’s decommissioning submission drafted in 2013 suggested it would take until 2017-19 to complete all associated plugging and abandonment work.

The project’s FPSO has already been relocated to the Donan field.

Janice, meanwhile, was forecast to reach 50,000 bpd of crude output after launch in 1999, from nine producer wells plus four water injection wells. It is connected to James’ two production wells via a 5.5-km subsea flowline.

Janice sparked outrage from UK trade unions in August when Maersk decided to award a decommissioning contract for the project’s floating production unit (FPU) to the AF Gruppen port in Norway.

Maersk’s decision came at a sensitive time after the company confirmed 200 possible redundancies at its UK business last year.

The RMT union’s regional organiser, Jake Molloy, warned the UK risked missing the economic benefits associated with the decommissioning process.

More than 250 fixed installations on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) are awaiting

deconstruction, plus around 250 subsea production systems, and 5,000 wells.

Decom spend topped GBP1 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2014, and the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has said investment will total around 49 billion (US$63.47 billion) by 2050.

Edited by Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

Shell starts production at Stones in the Gulf of Mexico Shell announces today that production has started from the Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico. Stones is expected to produce around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) when fully ramped up at the end of 2017.

The host facility for the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project is a floating

production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. It is the thirteenth FPSO in Shell’s global deep-water portfolio and produces through subsea infrastructure beneath 9,500 feet (2,900 meters) of water. Stones underscores Shell’s long-standing leadership in using FPSOs to safely and responsibly unlock energy resources from deep-water assets around the world.

“Stones is the latest example of our leadership, capability, and knowledge which are key to profitably developing our global deep-water resources,” said Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. “Our growing expertise in using such technologies in innovative ways will help us unlock more deepwater resources around the world.”

Stones, which is 100% owned and operated

by Shell, is the company’s second producing field from the Lower Tertiary geologic frontier in the Gulf of Mexico, following the start-up of Perdido in 2010.

The project demonstrates Shell’s commitment to realizing significant cost savings through innovation. It features a more cost-effective well design, which requires fewer materials and lowers installation costs; this is expected to deliver up to US$1 billion reduction in well costs once all the producers are completed.

The FPSO is also specially designed to operate safely during storms. In the event of a severe storm or hurricane, it can disconnect and sail away from the field. Once the weather event has passed, the vessel would return and safely resume production.

Shell’s global deep water business is a growth priority for the company and currently produces 600,000 boe/d. Deep-water production is expected to increase to more than 900,000 boe/d by the early 2020s from already discovered, established reservoirs. Three other Shell-operated projects are currently under construction or undergoing pre-production commissioning: Coulomb Phase 2 and Appomattox in the Gulf of Mexico and Malikai in Malaysia.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Petrobras terminates Diamond Offshore contract Petrobras has unexpectedly terminated its contract with drilling company Diamond NEWSBASE

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NEWS IN BRIEF Aerial view of the existing McMurray oil sands project in Alberta

Offshore for the Ocean Valor rig, which was due to run until October 2018.

Diamond’s shares plummeted on the news and the company lashed out, saying that Petrobras had no legal basis for rescinding the contract and that it would defend its rights.

The cancellation could save Petrobras up to US$360 million. But the company now faces a legal battle with Diamond, which has another long-term contract with the state-run Brazilian driller. Petrobras is desperately seeking ways to hoard cash as it battles with its US$125 billion debt pile.

In an SEC filing Diamond said: “The drilling contract, which was extended in 2014, was estimated to conclude in accordance with its terms in October 2018.

The company does not believe that Petrobras had a valid or lawful basis for terminating the contract, and the company intends to defend the rights of its subsidiary under the contract.”

The sudden cancellation was the latest in a series of blows that Diamond has suffered at the hands of Petrobras, which has already negotiated down the number of rigs it had leased from the US company from six to two.

The Ocean Valor was on a lucrative rate of US$455,000 per day, meaning the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig was responsible for 10% of Diamond’s entire remaining backlog. Shares reflected the decision by dropping 10% at one point.

Edited by Ryan Stevenson ryans@newsbase.com

Alberta approves oil sands projects The provincial government of Alberta approved three oil sands projects last week. The capital cost involved will amount to roughly a combined C$4 billion (US$3 billion) if the projects are built to their design capacity. The province’s oil industry welcomed the news, which comes after the Alberta government set a 100-megatonne per year cap on emissions from oil sands projects earlier this year. The government is still working out the details of how it will implement the emissions cap.

The government approved BlackPearl Resources’s Blackrod project, Husky Energy’s Saleski and Surmont Energy’s Wildwood venture. Combined, the projects hold around 95,000 barrels of potential production.

According to Alberta Energy, the provincial energy ministry, they would produce 2.5 megatonnes per year of emissions compared with the 70 megatonnes per year of emissions currently produced by the oil sands.

Opponents, however, criticised the approvals. The head of Greenpeace Canada’s climate and energy campaign, Keith Stewart, said it made no sense to add to the “already extremely long queue” of proposed oil sands projects.

“The low price of oil has put all these projects on hold, but the accelerating transition to renewable energy will keep them there,” he added.

A spokesman for Alberta Energy, Brad NEWSBASE

Hartle, said the three projects “are not the first to be approved by the government, but they are the first under the Climate Leadership Plan.”

Before a decision was made, recommendations were given by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) that the projects be approved, several environmental assessments were carried out and discussions were held with local indigenous and non-indigenous communities.

Surmont’s CEO, Mark Smith, said the approval of the projects was a “major step that’s been several years in the making”. He added that Surmont had submitted an application in October 2012 and faced a number of obstacles including regulatory changes and a new government. “It took a lot longer than we imagined it would,” Smith said.

Surmont, BlackPearl and Husky have yet to make final investment decisions (FIDs) on the projects.

Edited by Anna Kachkova annak@newsbase.com

Gazprom Neft reaches Russian shale drilling milestone Gazprom Neft has become the first Russian company to apply shale oil drilling technologies, by drilling a 1,000-metre horizontal well in the

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NEWS IN BRIEF Chayandinskoye field in Eastern Siberia

Bazhenov formation in West Siberia. The oil production arm of Russia’s state-run Gazprom announced that it had completed a nine-stage horizontal well in the Palyanovsky deposit at the Krasnoleninsky field, targeting the Bazhenov.

This makes it is the first Russian company to have applied the full cycle of technology required to complete a hydraulically fractured well.

A company statement said the well was drilled to a depth of 2,300 metres and 1,000 metres horizontally. Gazprom reported a flow rate of 45 tonnes per day (330 bpd) with zero water cut. “The drilling of 1,000-metre horizontal wells and the performance of multi-stage hydraulic fracking under current foreign economic restrictions is a unique breakthrough not only for the company, but for the whole of Russia’s oil and gas industry,” said Gazprom Neft’s first deputy director-general, Vadim Yakovlev. “The success of the operation can be regarded as a huge step forward in the exploration of shale oil,” he added.

Gazprom Neft said the results indicated potential for full-scale exploration of the Bazhenov in the future. It acknowledged, however, that the methods required for commercial exploitation of the formation had yet to be established, at a time when sanctions have stopped Russian oil companies from using Western equipment.

Although estimates vary, it is believed that the Bazhenov formation – most of which is located within the Khanty Mansiysk autonomous region – contains one of the world’s biggest reserves of tight oil. Wood Mackenzie has estimated that it could hold 2

trillion barrels of oil, though only a fraction of this would be recoverable. In 2012, the Russian government agency Rosnedra estimated that Bazhenov contained 180-360 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in June 2013 that the Bazhenov’s risked, technically recoverable shale oil reserves totalled 74.6 billion barrels. It also estimated that the Bazhenov held 1.92 quadrillion cubic feet (54.4 tcm) of risked shale gas in place, with 285 tcf (8.1 tcm) of this technically recoverable.

Edited by Joe Murphy josephm@newsbase.com

Wison completes performance test for world’s first FLNG unit Wison Offshore & Marine has announced that the first natural gas floating liquefaction unit (FLNG), for which the company provided turnkey services for Exmar, has successfully completed its performance test at the Wison yard in Nantong, China. This marks the first time in history that LNG has been produced onboard a floating facility. The performance test was carried out in the presence of classification societies, EXMAR and all the relevant parties.

During the 72-hour performance test, the excellent performance of the FLNG ensured all key design requirements and production NEWSBASE

capacities (guaranteed performance) were achieved for the unit’s operational effectiveness.

The FLNG project is being delivered by Wison under an engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract with Exmar. Both gas trial and performance test were completed at Wison’s Nantong Yard in China.

It is the world’s first gas trial for a floating liquefaction unit before sail-out. All systems on the FLNG have been commissioned and tested without leaving the shipyard by using LNG to supply gas without connection to a pipeline.

Edited by Andrew Kemp andrew.kemp@newsbase.com

ITF launches new JIP to increase speed and cut costs of reservoir characterisation The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF), together with Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), has launched a joint industry project (JIP) which will reduce time and costs for oil producers to determine whether gas fields are economically viable.

The PETGAS III (Petrophysics of Tight Gas Sandstones) project sees the continuation of the successful work being conducted by University

October 2016

InnovOil

page 39

NEWS IN BRIEF

of Leeds in examining the petrophysical properties of tight gas sandstones. A robust database of key petrophysical properties has been formed to make rapid estimates of the properties of unknown samples based on their microstructure. Its specialist software, PETMiner, has been developed to visualise this and other petrophysical properties data.

The database of the petrophysical properties of tight gas sandstones will be used to improve the interpretation of wire-line log data for the characterisation of tight reservoirs during exploration, appraisal and production.

The project partners, EBN and PDO, are contributing £321K in total and the project, now in its third phase, will run for a period of three years. The project remains open to late participants.

ITF

ADCO evaluates tie-in project bids Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations (ADCO) is evaluating technical proposals for the second two packages of tie-in work at its so-called South East Asset (SEA) – covering five fields in the remote south east of the emirate. ADCO is the main onshore operating subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC).

Progress on the scheme, costing several hundred million dollars, comes as a relief to contractors after a spate of cancellations and suspensions of major upstream developments across ADNOC’s on- and offshore slate over the past year –with the onshore operator

made especially exposed by the still-uncertain composition of its foreign shareholding.

However, movement on the tie-in project coheres with the parastatal’s wider preference under current conditions of global crude oversupply and decimated revenues for focussing on smaller schemes – aimed at optimising and maintaining production from existing facilities – rather than large-scale oilfield expansions.

The two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, labelled packages C and D, cover work across the Asab, Mender, Qusahwira, Sahil and Shah fields that comprise ADCO’s SEA operational zone – which accounts for around 33% of the emirate’s total onshore output of 1.6 million barrels per day and spreads across around 7,525 square km.

The fields have been undergoing major expansion – the bulk of the work on which was fortunately awarded just before the onset of the oil price downturn in mid-2014 and resultant project reviews. Package C encompasses work at the Asab and Sahil fields and includes facilities relating to 30 wells at Asab, ADCO’s largest oil producing location with output of around 600,000 bpd.

Tellingly, the scope of package D has been revised to absorb the second-phase expansion of the Mender field – previously envisaged as a stand-alone project – and thus coheres with ADNOC’s wider cost-cutting and efficiency drive. The contract now covers 62 wellheads, 20 water injectors and associated facilities across the Mender, Qusahwira and Shah fields.

Technical bids are understood to have been submitted for either one or both packages

by Al-Asab General Contracting Co., Alsa Engineering & Construction Co., Matrix Construction and Robt Stone, all locally-based, Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Contracting,

China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp. (CPECC) and Pakistan’s Descon Engineering.

The bid submission date was postponed several times and invitation of commercial offers is expected to be some way off as a result of the need for considerable technical clarifications.

The focus of package D on the Mender field would appear to put CPECC in a strong position: the Chinese firm was awarded the US$330 million EPC contract to carry out the field’s first-phase development, calling for the production of 20,000 bpd, in May 2015.

Asab and Descon are also already engaged at SEA under the first two portions of the tie-ins project. Asab won the US$175 million EPC contract in July 2015 on package A, covering tieins at 54 wells at Asab and four at Sahil, while in October Descon was awarded the US$170 million package B, covering 60 wells at Mender, Qusahwira and Shah. The firm said it would cover the tie-ins of new wells to the existing system which will lead to increased production from older wells by means of technologies such as gas-lift and electrical submersible pumps.

Work to improve recovery rates from fields already in production is a theme across ADNOC’s operations – predating but cemented by the prolonged oil price slump, which has focussed minds across Gulf state oil companies on maintaining production at, and prolonging the life of, maturing fields rather than delivering immediate capacity increases.

ADCO’s two major ongoing oilfield expansion projects have both fallen victim to the changed oil market environment: the EPC tender on an estimated US$3 billion expansion of the Bab field – to increase output by around 10% to 450,000 bpd – was cancelled in late 2015.

Commercial bid submission remains pending on the planned US$500-700 million expansion of Qusahwira – by 30,000 bpd to 53,000 bpd – more than a year after receipt of technical proposals.

Projects at SEA benefit from the greater degree of certainty induced by having an assigned foreign operator. The agreement in January 2015 for France’s Total to take a 10% stake in the reconstituted ADCO concession – alongside ADNOC’s 60% and the subsequentlyallocated smaller shares of Japan’s Inpex and South Korea’s GS Energy – included a prized role as lead operator on the SEA and Bu Hasa assets. The remaining two assets – North East Bab and Bab itself – remain unallocated, as do 22% of the shares in ADCO intended to be apportioned to international oil companies.

Edited by Ian Simm ians@newsbase.com

NEWSBASE

page 40

InnovOil

October 2016

NEWS IN BRIEF

KOC floats Burgan EOR tender State-owned Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) has floated a tender for a major expansion of water injection facilities at the supergiant onshore Burgan field in the southeast of the country. The contract is the latest in a trio of important deals for work at the stalwart field – source of more than half of national output and maintenance of production levels at which is crucial to Kuwait’s ability to meet its long-term targets.

The other main facet of KOC’s expansion strategy – to develop difficult reserves in the remote north of the country – has also accelerated this year, spurred by the loss of output from the fields shared with Saudi Arabia and by a period of relative political calm after years when hostility between executive and legislature stymied progress on major strategic projects across the board.

Bids are due by December 13 for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to add a third train of effluent water treatment and injection facilities at the topmost Wara reservoir of the Burgan field in order to maintain pressure and production.

A long list of heavyweight firms have been prequalified for the job – comprising Norway’s Aker Kvaerner, China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp., Chiyoda Corp. and JGC Corp., both of Japan, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Co., Daelim Industrial, Daewoo Engineering & Construction (E&C), GS E&C, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering and SK E&C, all of South Korea, the US’ KBR, India’s Larsen & Toubro, Germany’s Lurgi, the UK’s Petrofac, Italy’s Saipem, Canada’s SNC Lavalin and Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for September 26.

An increasing lack of water is a problem across Kuwait’s maturing fields. Burgan has been in production for almost 70 years and recent KOC documents relating to a separate project at the asset forecast a gradual increase in the water cut to around 70% over the remaining 30 years of its envisaged plateau, during which the operator is aiming to maintain production at around 1.7 million barrels per day.

The field was pumping 2.4 million bpd in the early 1970s before global political considerations and reservoir management induced a pragmatic reduction.

Production at Wara was temporarily suspended in 2006/07 in order for the US’ Schlumberger to carry out detailed studies on

Kuwait City with the Burgan oil field to the south

reservoir pressure – the upshot of which was the launch of the water injection project. Following a pilot, GS was awarded the US$550 million EPC contract in 2011 for the original so-called Wara Pressure Maintenance Project, designed to handle 667,000 bpd of water and including 10 water treatment units, 20 tanks, 60 pumps and around 700 km of pipelines.

Completion of the facilities last year NEWSBASE

naturally spurred movement to install the third train – but the latest contract also follows two other major deals signalling KOC’s intensified attention to Burgan. Earlier this year, a new five-year enhanced technical services agreement (ETSA) was signed with the UK’s BP for technical assistance at the field, including oversight of the water injection project.

The British heavyweight has been involved with Burgan – which holds reserves estimated at 70 billion barrels and is the world’s second largest conventional oilfield after Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar – since its discovery in 1938.

In July, the state operator released a longawaited tender for a new gathering centre, designated GC32, at the acreage – designed to handle the increasing quantities of sourer crude with a higher water cut now being produced.

Bids are due by November 1 for the EPC contract, which is estimated to be worth nearly US$2 billion and covers a facility processing 120,000 bpd of oil, 95.4 million cubic feet (2.7 million cubic metres) per day of gas and 280,000 bpd of water.

The second strand of KOC’s expansion strategy, calling for increasing production at the northern fields, has also shown increased movement of late.

Two of the three contracts to develop the Jurassic fields, worth a combined total of around US$850 million, were awarded in January and July to Schlumberger and the local Safwan Petroleum Technologies Co. respectively.

Meanwhile, two ETSAs were signed with Royal Dutch Shell at around the same time as that with BP calling for work on water management across fields in the northern production zone and for oversight of the heavy oil project under way at the Ratqa field close to the Iraqi border. This is envisaged as producing around 270,000 bpd by the end of next decade and where Petrofac is engaged in the project to install the first 60,000 bpd of output.

Immediate impetus for upstream development work has been provided by the closure since May last year of the Partitioned Neutral Zone shared with Saudi Arabia, resulting in a loss to Kuwait of 250,000 bpd.

KOC’s target of increasing its own production from sovereign fields to 3.65 million bpd by 2020 from a stated level of 3 million bpd at present was also looking increasingly unrealistic without a more determined effort to move forward with major projects long languishing on the drawing board and often held back in the past by the state’s interminable political disputes – which have eased somewhat over the past three years.

Edited by Ian Simm ians@newsbase.com

October 2016

InnovOil

What next …?

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

For more in formation on the SubCULTron project, contact Assoc. ProfDr. Thomas Schmickl at the Univeristy of Graz, Austria, via +43 316 380 8759 or email thomas.schmickl@uni-graz.at For more advice from Van Ness Feldman about the impact of FAA regulations on drone inspection, contact Tom Roberts on (+1) 202 298 1930, or email tcr@vnf.com.

If All Oceans Engineering’s MAC-ROV or ROV Shuttle concept could be of use to your business, contact Brian Abel, Managing Director on +44 (0) 1224 790100 or email info@ac-cess.com For more information on Swagelining’s polymer linings, speak to David Whittle on +44 (0)141 404 8012 or via david.whittle@swagelining.com To learn more about the work of the Schmidt Ocean Institute or the SuBastian ROV projecvt, visit http://schmidtocean.org If Exxon Mobil’s environmentally acceptable lubricants could be of use in your operations, visit www.mobilindustrial.com To make an enquiry about Moblize’s cloud-based ProACT platform, contact CEO Amit Mehta on (+1) 713 622 1082 or email amit@moblize.com For more information on 3D printing or PEEK materials, visit http://www.indmatec.com/

NEWSBASE

page 41

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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.

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