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Published by
October 2011
Technology
Gazprom Erosion prevention
Angola Paxflor comes on stream
Integrated people, processes and assets for enhanced operational performance. To learn more go to www.lr.org/energy
Lloyd’s Register is a trading name of the Lloyd’s Register Group of entities. Services are provided by members of the Lloyd’s Register Group. For further details, please see our website www.lr.org/entities.
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Technology 4 News
20 Statoil
Key technical and contract news from the major oil and gas E&P provinces
Development plans for the Mariner heavy oil field
21 Safety 12 Drilling BP has revamped its drilling processes for the Gulf of Mexico
A look at drilling and safety offshore
24 Pipe-Pulse 14 Multiphase Multiphase volume of fluids simulations are useful in analysing liquid sloshing behaviour
Subsea blockages are a common industry challenge that can be very difficult and expensive to remediate
25 Total 16 Acoustics Understanding the physics of sound is now a must on every vessel with ROV and DP, and it is when you have a group of these vessels together that the problems arise, says Nautronix
19 Desalination The offshore provision of pure, fresh water is no longer the result of hot, noisy temperamental machinery but compact, reliable, low maintenance units
The French oil major has begun oil production from its giant Pazflor field development offshore Angola in West Africa.
26 Gazprom Prirazlomnoya readied for erosion contract
October 2011
EDITORIAL PANEL The vitality of any magazine depends on there being a twoway conversation between the people who produce it and the audience it hopes to please. In order to strengthen that relationship Offshore Technology has invited an informal editorial advisory panel of industry experts. Recently recruited to the role, their guidance and industry knowledge is warmly welcomed. While the panel's input will be invaluable, we still welcome comments, suggestions and story proposals from all our readers and encourage you to write to the editor at bruce.mcmichael@imarest.org
Alistair Birnie Chief Executive, Subsea UK Aberdeen, UK www.subseauk.org
30 Events & Book Review Conferences, seminars and events from the hectic oil and gas calendar
32 New Products
Dr Paul Jukes President of MCS Kenny Houston, Texas www.mcskenny.com
Carefully selected products recently launched with the aim of enhancing oil and gas production
34 Earthquakes A Canadian company and the search for earthquake predictions
Edward Jones Head of Strategic Services, Operations AMEC, Aberdeen, Scotland www.amec.com
36 Spotlight Clive Wilby, Principal Consultant, AVEVA, looks at the latest research into the ‘information gap’ in plant operations.
Leen Poldervaart Vice President, Marketing SBM, Monaco www.sbmoffshore.com
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Welcome to Brazil he Houston-based Offshore Technology Conference is, for the first time, holding an event in Brazil, signalling just how important this huge market has become to international suppliers and contractors. As Brazil increasingly welcomes foreign companies, growing numbers of companies are testing the water with supplies and contractors hiring local reps and enjoying the interaction with state oil-company engineers from Petrobras. Companies such as Sweden’s Trelleborg are taking exhibition stand space to launch new products, because as the company says: “with the oil and gas industry a key focus for Trelleborg, [we are] continually developing new and innovative solutions designed to seal, damp and protect in demanding offshore environments. “Brazil is a key region for our industry and as such, we have resumed manufacturing flexible hoses at our Sao Paulo factory, which we acquired in April 2011, says Elisabete Askinis Wilhelm, Technology and Quality Manager at Trelleborg Industrial Hoses. "This business will focus on specially designed
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oil hoses for surface and deepsea applications for the strongly growing offshore oil and gas extraction industry in Brazil, and represents an important step in our quest to strengthen our presence in this significant area." This is typical of the optimism and opportunity that has for long eluded the majority of companies hoping to work in the country. This issue of Offshore Technology will be widely distributed at the show, offering a wealth of information about how offshore technology challenges are being solved offshore Brazil and other, equally challengin offshore regions. Desalination, erosion, managing acoustics and ensuring safety throughout the operation are all subjects tackled in this issue. We hope you enjoy the read and overcoming your own technological challenges.
GL survey A new survey commissioned by international classification society GL Noble Denton suggests oil and gas industry professionals are concerned over the lack of industry spending on research and development. This is a perennial problem and one that bears continued inspection.
Nearly three quarters (74%) of participants in the GL survey agreed that a lack of investment into R&D activity by oil and gas companies would have a negative impact on the sector, while 26% thought that there would be few or no consequences if companies fail to act. Many factors have contributed to the decline in R&D expenditure including the ongoing consolidation of the industry and increase in sub-contracting, oil price volatility and a general downsizing of R&D departments and outsourcing of expertise. Ongoing investment is vital for any industry, particularly the offshore oil and gas sector. New areas such as exploring in the Arctic, pre-salt in Brazil, even onshore shale gas deposits, will be seen to driving a renewed interest in R&D expenditure. This is an exciting area for the industry and should be used as a carrot to attract graduates and experienced researchers from other, related disciplines to get involved. Bruce McMichael Editor, Offshore Technology bruce.mcmichael@imarest.org
An official journal of, and published by
Aldgate House, 33 Aldgate High Street, London. EC3N 1EN Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 2600 Fax:+44 (0)20 7382 2669 E-mail: publications@imarest.org Website: www.imarest.org
Editor: Bruce McMichael bruce.mcmichael@imarest.org
Advertising: Peter Marpuri peter.marpuri@imarest.org
Publisher: Derek Wood derek.wood@imarest.org
Offshore Technology October 2011
Graphic Designer: Jo Cooper Publication Sales & Subscriptions: Lorraine Jordan
Editor’s Letter
Cover Photo: BP staff and contractors discuss FPSO operations offshore Angola, which along with Brazil, presents huge technological challenges (Photo courtesy, BP)
© Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (2011). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, England, EC1N 8TS, website: www.cla.co.uk email: licence@cla.co.uk. Applications for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
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BOEMRE holds post-Macondo spill drill News he US-Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has completed the first unannounced spill drill to test the new requirements of sub-sea containment capabilities for deepwater wells. Led by BOEMRE, the table-top drill, which took place in September, was a joint exercise with the U.S. Coast Guard, the State of Louisiana, and Petrobras America. The preliminary results of the drill were positive; a final evaluation will follow when analysis of all documentation is completed. “We are using many diverse methods, techniques and tools to ensure that oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf are being conducted in the safest and most environmentally-responsible manner,” said BOEMRE director Michael R. Bromwich. “Testing an operator’s ability to activate its subsea containment resources is one very important tool. The Spill Drill Program can help us validate that operators are appropriate trained in effec-
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Topaz Khubayb, a cable ship of 1,400 dwt
tive containment deployment. It is a natural extension of our enhanced safety and environmental regulations and standards put in place following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.” The Unannounced Spill Drill Program, initiated by the then-Minerals Management Service in 1989, tests an operator’s ability to notify the appropriate entities and personnel, including federal regulatory agencies, affected state and local agencies, internal response coordinators and response contractors. It also tests an operator’s ability to make correct and timely decisions, respond properly, and take appropriate action. The drill tested Petrobras America, Inc., with a scenario that was premised on a hypothetical blowout experienced by one of its deepwater subsea wells. The table-top exercise specifically tested Petrobras’ ability to assess a subsea well control situation and mobilize the proper subsea containment/intervention equipment in a timely manner.
The selection of an operator to participate in an unannounced drill is based on such factors as the number of oil producing facilities, the volume of oil production, and proximity to sensitive areas. With an eye to the operator’s current activities, a location is chosen and a spill scenario is developed. Fictitious weather conditions provided to the operator during the drill are used to produce a hypothetical trajectory of the spill. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BOEMRE has launched the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability. These new safety measures include heightened drilling safety standards to reduce the chances that a loss of well control might occur in the first place, as well as a new focus on containment capabilities in the event of an oil spill.
sunscreens having been installed by the shipyard so that they can be sure they get the marine world’s leading SOLASOLV brand. Up to now Solar Solve Marine has directly supplied SOLASAFE screens to eleven vessels in the Topaz Marine fleet, mainly Offshore Supply Vessels but including Team Oman, an 86m long cable ship of 4,800 dwt, powered by 7,722HP diesel electric en-
gines, allowing a maximum speed of 10.9 knots. For this vessel 20 SOLASAFE screens from the SOLASOLV range were supplied using gold shade film. When in use they reject 93% of the glare, 87% of the heat and 99% of the uv light from the sun, all of which has a significant impact on improving the environment in which the vessel’s personnel carry out their duties.
Dubai order for South Shields outh Shields,UK based Solar Solve Marine have received a further order from Nico Middle East, one of Dubai's leading offshore vessel owners and operators and a subsidiary of Topaz Energy and Marine Ltd., one of the region’s leading oil field services companies. The urgent order was for 9 SOLASAFE screens to be dispatched to Dubai, UAE, for installation at the wheel-
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house windows of the 1,400dwt. Anchor Handling Tug / Offshore Supply Vessel Topaz Khubayb. The recently delivered vessel is powered by twin diesel engines of 5,150HP and has a maximum speed of 12.4 knots. Due to her busy schedule the screens were made and dispatched the same day. It is typical for this customer to take delivery of a new vessel without roller
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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Iain Light joins Applus RTD pplus+, a leader in the global testing, inspection and certification (TIC) market, has appointed well known energy sector director Iain Light as the new global leader of Applus RTD. Light has led business operations for major international organisations including DNV and Lloyds Register in a career spanning 35 years, and succeeds Rob Van Doorn as head of Applus RTD, part of the Barcelona-headquartered Applus+ group. He arrives following four years as energy director for Lloyds Register, based in London, where he oversaw sig-
nificant business growth including tripling turnover to more than £260m. Prior to this he worked for DNV. Light, 56, will be based in Applus RTD’s headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From this base he will lead the development of the business across the globe, with company operations currently expanding in North West and Central Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. He is supported by a worldwide network of regional business unit leaders. Light says: "It's an exciting time for the business – across
ontinued growth in oil and gas-related traffic at Aberdeen Harbour has further underlined the port’s critical importance to the energy sector in north-west Europe. More than 3,574 support vessels have visited the port so far this year, compared with 3,394 for the same period in 2010. In addition, the overall tonnage of traffic servicing the energy sector is up by almost two percent on the previous year, rising from 10.46 million tonnes to 10.65 million tonnes. These increases reflect the trend for larger vessels, such as multi-purpose supply, diving support and underwater examination, using the harbour and accommodating the rising volumes of consumables needed for deepwater developments. New drilling activity also accounts for greater traffic movements, from anchor handlers to more specialist crafts. Recent work at the port has enabled it to support growing traffic and vessels of increasing size. A succession of projects has seen a third of its 6.8 kilometres of quays completely
Aberdeen harbour remains critical hub
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transformed. Point Law peninsula alone has seen investment of more than £20million in recent years. The improved facilities have allowed greater efficiency of operations and have introduced sharing opportunities for the port’s customers. Redundant buildings have also been demolished and improvements have been made to road surfacing, providing more operational space. The first phase of Aberdeen Harbour’s £30million
Offshore Technology October 2011
the energy and utilities sectors, there is a focus on improving standards and ensuring compliance across production-intensive and high-risk assets such as upstream and downstream infrastructure, FPSOs and onshore plants. “There is a renewed global focus and rising demand for asset integrity as-
Torry Quay development remains on track for completion by the end of 2011. The initial stage of the largest civil engineering project to be undertaken at the port in recent years includes the demolition of the existing upstream quays, which are to be replaced with 300 metres of realigned, deepwater berthing. The development will provide stronger quays for heavy lifts and create more room in the River Dee for vessels to navigate. The overall
surance following incidents such as the Fukushima and Deepwater Horizon disasters. "My goal is to streamline Applus+ RTD's global regions, with our local business units operating as one team, supporting and complementing one another as we embark on a major three-year growth strategy."
programme will result in more than 500 metres of new deepwater berths and in excess of seven hectares of back up land on the south side of the River Dee. A £4million refurbishment project at Commercial Quay East has provided greater flexibility to support larger projects, with work including the reconstruction of the existing 170metre-long quay wall and the dredging of the berthing area to a depth of 7.5 metres.
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GE contract wins
GE Oil & Gas has scooped a major contract to supply subsea and surface equipment for OGX Campos Basin development projects using technology to boost initial production from Waimea and Waikiki Fields
John Krenicki, vice chairman, president and ceo, GE Energy
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Brazil work for GE from OGX E Oil & Gas has been awarded a major contract from OGX Petróleo e Gás Ltda. to supply drilling and production equipment for three offshore fixed production platforms to be deployed in the Waimea and Waikiki oil and gas fields of the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, where OGX plans to drill a significant number of production wells over the next four years. With a total potential estimated value of US$230 million over the next four years, of which US$32 million on formal orders has been already signed and booked as of today, this is the largest contract ever signed between GE Oil & Gas and OGX and the first one involving the supply of equipment specifically for development projects already in the production phase. As a key part of the agreement, GE will provide a subsea template/tieback design that will allow OGX to have full flexibility between wells predrilled with semi-submersible rigs and wells drilled directly from the fixed platforms. This capability will help OGX to boost initial production of the Waimea and Waikiki fields by maximizing the use of the predrilled wells. GE’s template design has been field-proven in similar projects in West Africa. “Our goal was to find a vi-
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able technology solution that gave us maximum flexibility in the development of the Waimea and Waikiki fields, and GE was able to meet that challenge,” said Reinaldo Belotti, production development director of OGX. “We are confident that GE’s continuing support and timely deliveries will be an important factor in the long-term success of this project,” reinforced Belotti.
Local content The Waimea and Waikiki fields are located 60 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, in water depths ranging from 120 to 140 meters. GE Oil & Gas is committing to 80 percent local content in fulfilling the contract, with most of the subsea equipment to be built at GE plants in Jandira and Macaé, Brazil. Surface equipment will be partially supplied from GE facilities in Houston, Texas. Shipments will begin in the first quarter of 2012 and continue until the end of 2015. “This is a major strategic win for GE Oil & Gas in Brazil, resulting from 13 months of outstanding teamwork among various GE business units and OGX,” said Calixto Deberaldini, Brazil oil and gas sales manager for GE. “The agreement builds upon our already strong relationship with OGX, which is one of our most im-
portant global customers,” emphasized Fernando Martins, Latin America vice president for GE Oil & Gas. This latest agreement with OGX reinforces GE’s role as a leading supplier of subsea drilling systems for offshore operators in Brazil. Since 2007, the GE drilling and production business has provided more than 300 subsea wellhead systems to 15 different operators for projects offshore Brazil. GE also has announced plans to invest US$500 million to expand its operations in the country, including the establishment of a multi-disciplinary research and development center in Rio de Janeiro. Among the focus areas for the new center will be advanced technologies for the oil and gas sector. In addition, GE’s recent acquisition of Wellstream, a leading producer of flexible pipe equipment, significantly expands GE’s capabilities to serve the Brazilian offshore market. OGX is responsible for the largest private sector exploratory campaign in Brazil. Since its inception in June 2007, OGX has established a leading position in the Brazilian oil and natural gas exploration and production sector by acquiring a diversified portfolio comprised of 34 exploratory blocks—22 offshore and 12 onshore.
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GE Energy contracts win nternational oil and gas service group GE today has signed more than $3 billion in new customer agreements spanning its Energy business. The orders include natural gas production technologies in subsea and liquefied natural gas sectors; natural gas technologies to produce power such as heavy-duty and aeroderivative gas turbines, gas engines and waste-heat recovery solutions; wind turbines; and water treatment, grid infrastructure and equipment optimization technologies. Together, they reflect the expanded set of capabilities GE offers to customers across multiple energy intensive industrial sectors.
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GE’s Fairfield campus
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“Energy technologies—from exploration to power generation— are in high demand by our customers, particularly in emerging markets,” said GE vice chairman John Krenicki. “Our investments in technology development and recent acquisitions are enabling us to bring advanced products to help our
customers improve their energy intensive processes.” The contracts include a number of “firsts” and key milestones for GE technology: GE secured more than $800 million in new commitments to supply wind and gas turbines for projects in Brazil that will produce 1.4 gigawatts of electricity—40 percent of the total amount awarded in energy auctions conducted recently by Brazil’s National Electric Power Agency. GE won commitments for GE’s 1.6 wind turbine technology that will provide at least 378 megawatts of power. As part of Brazil’s energy auction, which covers multiple types of power generation, GE also won 100 percent of the natural gas power generation opportunities with GE’s 7FA Gas Turbine combined-cycle technology to supply more than 1 gigawatt of power. The commitments announced today are in addition to wind commitments previously won by GE in Brazil in 2009 and 2010 auctions to supply more than 800 megawatts of power. Also in Brazil, GE has been awarded a major subsea and surface contract with a potential value of $230 million from OGX Petróleo e Gás Ltda., marking the largest contract ever signed between GE and OGX and the first one involving the supply of equipment for development projects already in the production phase. As of today, $32 million in formal orders have been signed and booked. The drilling and production equipment for three offshore fixed production platforms will be deployed in
Brazil’s Waimea and Waikiki oil and gas fields, where OGX plans to drill a significant number of production wells over the next four years. In the single largest order for GE power generation technology between GE and Egypt, GE Energy has signed two contracts for $300 million to supply six advanced F-Technology gas turbines and associated services for two new combined-cycle power plants near Cairo. The projects will add 2,250 megawatts, which is 10 percent of capacity, to the country’s power grid, supporting residents and businesses in Cairo. In Australia, GE technology has been selected for the world’s largest Floating Liquefied Natural Gas platform (FLNG). Marking a milestone for GE, the agreement is GE’s first order in the FLNG industry for main refrigerant trains, a vital element of the liquefaction process in which natural gas is cooled to a liquid status. The Shell Prelude project, which is about 200 kilometers off of Western Australia’s Kimberly Coast and will feature GE steam turbine-driven compressors, is a breakthrough for tapping into stranded gas reserves in remote sites. With this project, the total value of LNG contracts awarded globally to GE by different companies in the first nine months of 2011 reaches $1 billion, underscoring GE’s successful trend in supplying onshore, offshore and floating LNG projects. GE has earned more than $1.5 billion in new commitments for its new 1.6-100 wind
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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GE contract wins
GE OIL & Gas is supplying an innovative, integrated package of pumps, gas engines and additional equipment to BP IraqN.V. for produced water re-injection operations to increase production in the Rumaila oil field of southern Iraq. To fulfill the customer’s diverse technology requirements, GE Oil & Gas called upon other GE Energy resources including Waukesha gas engines and Bently Nevada’s condition monitoring product lines. “The innovative engineering approach used for this
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creased electrification, the new power plant—which will feature two GE 41-megawatt aeroderivative units—provides a catalyst for economic growth in the East Kalimantan region of Indonesia. In Canada, where oil sands are growing in importance as a source of fuel, Grizzly Oil Sands ULC’s Algar Lake project near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, is one of three recent projects to choose GE’s patented evaporative technology to treat and recycle its wastewater. GE’s produced water evaporation process will recycle 97 percent of the wastewater and is the only method that is commercially proven to achieve complete water recycling. It dramatically reduces freshwater requirements and also offers lower total capital and operating costs. The contracts follow GE’s launch of the new FlexAero LM6000-PH, a highly-efficient 50-megawatt (MW) gas turbine, unveiled in Houston in September. The launch of the FlexAero coincided with GE Energy having received more than $1 billion in orders and commitments for heavy duty and aeroderivative gas turbines for projects throughout North America since January 1, 2011, said the company.
turbine, the world’s most efficient wind turbine in its class. New deals for 750 turbines have been signed bringing the total number of units to 1,248 for the 1.6-100 wind turbine technology, which will be put into wind farms in North and South America over the next two years. Highlighting the increasing demand for GE’s latest technology, commitments for GE’s 1.6-100 have grown to nearly 2 gigawatts in September, bringing the total to-date to $2.7 billion. In Iraq, GE has been selected by BP Iraq-N.V.-British Petroleum for enhanced oil recovery operations to increase production in the Rumaila oil field of southern Iraq. In an innovative engineering approach for the more than $40 million project, GE teamed up to offer pumps, Waukesha gas engine technology recently acquired from Dresser Inc., gas systems, valves, air coolers and condition monitoring technology that is a major component of predictive maintenance as it monitors critical factors such as vibration and temperature. Also in Iraq, GE is reinforcing its commitment to support the country’s expanding energy infrastructure by signing a multi-million dollar, multi-year agreement with Mass Global In-
vestment Company, an independent power producer in Northern Iraq. Under the agreement, GE will provide technology and services to help Mass Global maintain the high reliability and overall performance of the 18 GE gas turbines installed at the Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk power plants, located in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. In GE’s first joint deployment of Waukesha engine technology and Jenbacher Gas Engines, GE will provide on-site power and water treatment solutions for Queensland Gas Company’s (QGC) major Australian coal seam gas-to-LNG project. The engines will generate reliable, on-site power for GE’s advanced membrane and thermal water treatment technologies that are being installed to desalinate water produced during the extraction of coal seam gas. QGC is developing the world’s first LNG project based on gas from coal seams and GE’s technology is helping QGC make Australia a new global source of LNG. In Indonesia, the Senipah Project marks the first installation of GE’s advanced aeroderivative gas turbine LM6000-PG technology in Asia and the second installation in the world. As Indonesia advances plans for in-
project featured the integration and packaging of several GE products, namely pumps, gas engines, gas systems, valves and air coolers. GE is proud to be able to offer our customers such an integrated solution for produced water re-injection as part of production enhancement plans for the Rumaila Field,” said Prady Iyyanki, president and CEO—turbomachinery equipment for GE Oil & Gas. The scope of GE’s contract, valued at more than $40 million, included 10 highpressure, axially split pumps for water injection driven by
Re-injected water in Iraq 10 gas engines, six booster pumps driven by electric motors, two gas system stations for feeding and conditioning and auxiliaries including air coolers, control valves and air starting systems. The equipment will be shipped during the second half of 2012. Other critical features of the GE agreement with BP Iraq include: a single contact point for the entire bundle of equipment, one manufacturer for the entire package to reduce technology alignment is-
sues, an optiIn Brief mized scope of work to reduce installation time and an integrated approach that allows the customer to save money and time in the project management phase. To date, about 50 productive oil and gas reservoirs have been identified across Iraq, with Rumaila being the most productive. After years of unrest, the country’s oil industry is showing strong signs of growth and promise.
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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Drilling
Post Macondo, BP is seeking new ways of working in the Gulf of Mexico
BP has revamped its drilling standards for the Gulf of Mexico (Courtesy, BP)
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BP USA seeks safety boost ouston-based BP Exploration & Production is to implement a new set of deepwater oil and gas drilling standards for its operations in the US Gulf of Mexico, “demonstrating the company’s commitment to safe and reliable operations” in the wake of the Macondo oil spill in 2010, said the company. The announcement was made in a letter to the director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regula-
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tion and Enforcement (BOEMRE), Michael Bromwich. The voluntary performance standards go beyond existing regulatory obligations and reflect the company’s determination to apply lessons it learned from the Deepwater Horizon accident and subsequent oil spill. “BP’s commitment in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident is not only to restore the economic and environmental conditions
among the affected areas of the Gulf Coast, but also to apply what we have learned to improve the way we operate,” said BP group chief executive Bob Dudley. “We believe the commitments we have outlined today will promote greater levels of safety and preparedness in deepwater drilling.” The foundations for these new voluntary standards for BP’s Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling operations have been developed since the Deepwater Horizon incident and through the lessons learned. BP is now making these standards public and isw now implementing them into its operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The new voluntary standards are: BPXP will use, and will require its contractors involved in drilling operations to use, subsea blowout preventers (BOPs) equipped with no fewer than two blind shear rams and a casing shear ram on all drilling rigs under contract to BPXP for deepwater service operating in dynamic position mode. With respect to moored drilling rigs under contract to BPXP for deepwater drilling service using subsea BOPs, the subsea BOP will be equipped with two shear rams, which will include at least one blind shear ram and either an additional blind shear ram or a casing shear ram. Each time a subsea BOP
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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from a moored or dynamically-positioned drilling rig is brought to the surface and testing and maintenance on the BOP are conducted, BPXP will require that a third party verify that the testing and maintenance of the BOP were performed in accordance with manufacturer recommendations and industry recommended practice (API RP 53). BPXP will require that laboratory testing of cement slurries for primary cementing of casing and exposed hydrocarbon-bearing zones relating to drilling operations of deepwater wells be conducted or witnessed by a BPXP engineer competent to evaluate such laboratory testing, or a competent third party independent of the cement
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provider. BPXP will provide laboratory results to the applicable BOEMRE field office within a reasonable period of time. BPXP’s Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) will include information about enhanced measures for responding to a spill in open water, near-shore response and shoreline spill response based on lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “BP is adopting these voluntary actions as part of its commitment to safe and reliable operations, and to help rebuild trust in the company following last year’s accident and oil spill,� said James Dupree, BP regional president, Gulf of Mexico. “BP is the largest lease holder in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and we intend to be a significant busi-
ness presence here for a long time to come. We look forward to implementing these best practices and sharing what we’ve learned.� In addition to these four voluntary performance standards, BP has also implemented several actions that demonstrate commitment to excellence within its operations. These include: Establishing a real-time drilling operations center in Houston. Assessing and increasing well control competencies. Collaboration with groups like Clean Gulf Associates and Marine Spill Response Corporation to augment and enhance industry response technology and capabilities. Support of the Marine Well Containment Company with containment knowl-
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edge, equipment and staff. Sharing the company’s experience in simultaneous operations, which incorporated the unprecedented use of remotely operated vehicles and close quarters management of marine response vessels and activities. Collaboration with BOEMRE, the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee, the Center for Offshore Safety and others in a joint technology program focusing on BOP systems. BP is focused on implementing these new voluntary standards in the Gulf of Mexico and expects to share information on these standards with regulators and operators in other countries as part of its ongoing sharing of lessons learned, said the company.
p -ECHANICAL p -ECHANICAL 3ERVICES 3ERVICES p 3URVEYS )NSPECTIONS p 3 3URVEYS )NSPECTIONS pp )NSTRUMENTATION Ă˜UTOMATION )NSTRUMENTATION Ă˜UTOMATION p % %LECTRICAL %NGINEERING p %LECTRICAL %NGINEERING p /UTĂžTTING Ă˜CCOMMODATION p / /UTĂžTTING Ă˜CCOMMODATION p #ONDENSER (EAT %XCHANGER p # #ONDENSER (EAT %XCHANGER
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www.harris-pye.com www w..harris-py ye.com Offshore Technology October 2011
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Multiphase Separation
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Separating the streams eparators are used throughout the oil and gas industry to split production fluids into components of oil, gas and water (as well as contaminants). On an offshore facility, the equipment is found in many parts of the overall process. The initial separator, usually referred to as first stage, separates the initial stream into distinct gas, oil and water streams. These streams are then individually processed. Poor separation performance can hinder overall production; in some cases, platforms produce only 50% of design capacity due to poor separation. The industry has used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) extensively to troubleshoot separation equipment performance with different methodologies. The most common is segregated single-phase simulation, in which gas and liquid phases are analysed separately. Multiphase volume of fluids (VoF) simulations are useful in analysing liquid slosh-
S
Multiphase separation is a key technology for developing subsea fields [Courtesy BP]
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ing behaviour in separators secured to moving platforms. This sloshing analysis is usually carried out in combination with a user-defined function that adjusts gravity and applies three inertial forces: coriolis, euler and centrifugal. Historically, fluids neither enter nor leave the vessel.
Benefits As new separation equipment becomes smaller and flow rates exceed the design capacity of existing equipment, end users are questioning the accuracy of both the segregated single-phase approach and VoF for sloshing. Extended use of multiphase simulation is now possible as a result of enhancements to computer power and ANSYS FlueNt capabilities. Software improvements have led to reduced run times; multiphase and turbulence models have a greater ability to handle primary and secondary phases. The multiphase method overcomes the limitations of segregated single-phase
and VoF approaches. It also allows for detailed analysis of interphase interactions, providing more realistic results. Swift Technology Group has studied two types of separation devices that use the multiphase method. Droplet separation is fundamental to good separation. The most common equipment for droplet separation is vertical or horizontal vessels that use gravity as the driving force. More compact separation equipment often uses cyclones. By spinning the flow, employing a standard tangential inlet, or using more-elaborate swirl elements, cyclones can generate accelerations many times that of gravity to potentially provide more efficient separation in a smaller amount of space. However, many other considerations must be investigated. Traditionally, cyclonic equipment required exhaustive prototyping and testing to ensure that the many negative consequences were designed out of the final product — a lengthy and costly exercise. In a recent R&D program for cyclone development, Swift researchers found that the time for each design change cycle was approximately eight weeks at a cost of around £45,000 ($72,000) per cycle, with seven changes required. By using CFD, each change can be modelled in two weeks, requiring only one actual test — saving a total of more than £300,000. Note, however, that it is difficult to quantify the exact benefits of simulation in every case.
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THERE ARE many examples in which the mixture multiphase model has been used to analyse separation within cyclonic equipment. The model is applicable for dilute-to-moderately dense volume loading, for low-to moderate particulate loading, and for cases in which the Stokes number is less than 1. The simplified model can be used for hydrocyclones — equipment whose main function is to separate final oil droplets from water prior to disposal at sea. The comprehensive eulerian multiphase model is applicable to the complex flows that are found in the most common types of separation equipment designed to remove bulk phases as well as re-entrained droplets. users can enhance their analysis of cyclonic flows by applying the reynolds stress turbulence model without limitation for all primary and secondary phases. One important part of separator analysis is commonly overlooked: the impact
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Separation simulation sults. The main function of a horizontal three-phase separator is to split a feed stream into discrete gas, oil and water streams. Normally, gas is the primary phase, and the two liquid phases are secondary. These liquid phases form droplets that are entrained in the gas phase, and they produce a film on the pipe walls leading to the separator. The first component in the separator is the inlet device, whose primary function is to provide a coarse separation of gas and liquid phases. The gas phase continues along the top of the vessel, while the liquids drop to the bottom of the separator. At the bottom of the vessel, the two liquid phases separate, with the water at the bottom and the oil forming a layer between the water and gas phases. In most cases, perforated baffles are used along the length of the horizontal vessel
of upstream piping. This system has a large effect on the distribution of fluids within the vessel. The simulation examples provided —horizontal and vertical gravity-driven separators as well as cyclone-based separators —incorporate the impact of up-stream piping. It is difficult to accurately validate the simulation results of the installed vertical cyclone and separator. Simulation has been shown to accurately capture both flow field and separation performance in lab and pilot test rigs. Using these modelling strategies as well as exhaustive testing performed over many years, all the critical aspects of the flow are correctly resolved and indicate the key performance characteristics. As a result, Swift is changing out the internal components of many vessels based upon simulation re-
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to control liquid phase flows and to distribute them evenly across the available cross-sectional area of the vessel, minimising axial velocity and maximising separation. The eulerian model is required in this type of simulation because of the number of fluid regime changes. In a vertical production separator with a vane-type inlet device example, gas and liquid are introduced at the start of the pipe run to the separator vessel. The pipe routing causes the liquid to be biased to one side of the vessel — which does not produce optimal separation and, in some cases, can lead to the gross carryover of liquid though the vessel’s gas outlet. In conclusion, Swift researchers have found that ANSYS FlueNt software can model — to a high degree of accuracy — many combinations and permutations of separators available within the industry.
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Offshore Technology October 2011
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Acoustics With its advanced Acoustic Digital Spread Spectrum Signalling (branded ADS²) technology and operating from bases in Australia, the US and UK, Nautronix targeted subsea acoustics applications in both the defence and oil & gas sectors in its early days.
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Subsea acoustics on the upgrade n early 2000, Royal Australian Navy submarines equipped with Nautronix NASHAIL through-water communications were able to outmanoeuvre the opposition in exercises, says ceo Patterson. “The company then won a twoyear FCT (Foreign Comparative Testing) trial programme from the US Navy which resulted in a proposed fleet wide fit of the technology to US nuclear submarine fleet. In the critical area of silent, undetectable operations, submarine test ranges equipped with NASPAR (Nautronix Portable Acoustic Range) were recognised as amongst the best in the world, with projects in Japan, Australia and the UK, he adds. In 2006 the Nautronix defence business was sold to a leading US defence contractor, L3 Communications, a move which would allow the technology to be used in top secret US Navy work where a Scottish company would be unable to operate. Following this sale, Nautronix relocated its headquarters to the current prem-
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ises in Aberdeen to concentrate on the development and production of subsea acoustics for the oil & gas industry. Its systems are today deployed globally and right across the water depth spectrum from shallow to ultra-deep.
NASNet developments Recognising the need for a multi-user, fast update rate, deepwater acoustics network for both positioning and communications offshore, Patterson elected to focus development activity on the two products he saw as “very exciting” – NASNet and NASBOP. In his view, had NASNet, with its unlimited multi-user capability, been in operation in the Macondo field at the time of last year”s Deepwater Horizon disaster “much more could have been achieved much faster” in the aftermath. Undeterred by potential accusations of “20:20 hindsight”, notes Patterson: “It has been accepted that one of the major limitations of subsea activity, following this tragic event, was the lack of acoustic channel
Where the acoustics problem lie
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availability using traditional acoustic systems.v vThe oldest of these systems are analogue and, worryingly, it is estimated that over 80% of offshore vessels of various types are still operating with analogue acoustic back-up systems in 2011. These need to change to digital as soon as possible. Even then, most systems are limited by the fundamental concept employed for signalling. They may perform better than when they were analogue but there are still limits to the number of systems which can operate in close proximity, and using “two way” signals they still have much slower update rates than a passive, truly multi-user system such as NASNet.
Challenge of Macondo “The positioning challenges at Macondo were posed by the number of close proximity simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) due to the number of vessels, subsea vehicles and assets,” adds Patterson. “Acoustics are now a must on every vessel with ROV and DP, and it is when you have a group of these vessels together that the problems arise. Traditional LBL systems are severely limited by the amount of frequencies that can operate simultaneously in the same area. One ROV support vessel could easily use all the available channels. Therefore, with traditional technology – analogue or digital – there is a tremendous amount of field management required and in busy situations that can mean a lot
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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of vessel and asset downtime. This can waste a great deal of money, but in the case of an emergency, such as Macondo, the losses can extend far beyond that. “In the past, decisions to not install NASNet have in the main been financially based, but in the future we anticipate that the value of having such a system in place, for normal operations and emergency planning, will now be fully recognised,” says Patterson. Another area outwith normal field operations where he sees NASNet providing “truly outstanding” service in future is in handling the disruption to GPS satellite signals caused by “scintillation” during periods of solar activity. “This cyclical phenomenon occurs every 11 years and we are now in year nine and nearing the peak of the cycle,” explains Patterson. “The last time it happened there were only around five vessels with DP in Brazil which could have lost position. There are now 35 vessels, and in three years this could be 50 vessels potentially affected by the loss of GPS signals during scintillation. At the height of the next new cycle (2025) there could be hundreds of DP vessels affected if Petrobras achieve their ambitions for all the newbuilds they are planning. “Rigs and vessels which are equipped with NASNet DPR deployed will be able to continue working seamlessly through scintillation because the information update rate of every second is fast enough for DP systems to recognise as reliable positioning data and therefore to continue operating. Without such a system there is a high risk of having to suspend operations during scintillation, with the resultant cost impact.”
Life-of-field requirements According to Alan Nicol, Di-
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Nautronix gear being deployed
rector of Operations at Nautronix, NASNet is “at its best” during field installation/development when multiple vessels are operating in close proximity. “In this scenario, both operational and financial benefits of NASNet are significant,” he says, citing the following examples of potential multi-vessel requirements: Fast track projects to achieve first oil Simultaneous drilling and construction operations Any simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) requiring vessels – for drilling, construction support, pipelay, heavy lifting and the like - that command high day rates while waiting on basic frequency management. “It seems clear that a true unlimited multi-user subsea positioning system offers real benefits over traditional systems in normal field operations – especially in deepwater,” he adds. Alan says it would be ideal if a complete NASNet network were deployed at the start of field development, but in reality this is normally achieved in stages. “NASNet stations can be set out where the first activities are to take place, and then stations can be added as the field expands,” he explains. “It is important to recognise that NASNet is much more than a positioning system. It is a through-water communications system which enables a wide range of data to be transmitted across large
Offshore Technology October 2011
fields,” says Alan. “For example, well condition, riser, and environmental monitoring can be measured and sent to the host platform. This can offer potentially huge benefits in field management as well as safety and redundancy scenarios.” Patterson adds: “Macondo has taught the industry a lot of lessons, not least of which is to review some of the parameters on which investment decisions are based. A NASNet MkII network might cost a little more to install initially, but the life-of-field benefits and potential savings greatly outweigh installation costs.”
Cascade-Chinook A 2009/2010 contract from Petrobras Americas Inc saw Nautronix deploy a NASNet network for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico Cascade-Chinook development which, in just under 3000m of water, is the world”s deepest production subsea field development yet. The initial scope of supply was 14 NASNet stations and 22 NASNet MS (Mini Station) units with all the associated vessel equipment for a twoyear period. Petrobras installed the system and then made the positioning signals available free of charge to the field installation contractors. The system was used by multiple contractors simultaneously to great success,” says Patterson quoting the following observations on NASNet performance
from the survey and ROV crews on a Cascade-Chinook support vessel: “Positioning has been excellent throughout the project” and “Time saved during umbilical lay due to having good positioning throughout project”. Offshore ROV team “Far superior to LBL for large field positional coverage to <1m accuracy during tracking”; “far simpler to use for vehicle tracking and sub-meter accuracy at depth” and “once the array is installed it has a longer lifespan subsea in comparison to a constantly interrogated Sonardyne Mk 5 LBL array”. Offshore Survey team The company received similarly impressive feedback following earlier large-scale deployments of NASNet in the Agbami field, offshore West Africa, and Frade, offshore Brazil, reports Patterson. “Significant cost savings have been achieved through each deployment,” he adds.
How NASNet works “The operating principles of NASNet are easy to understand, hence the analogy to “underwater GPS,” says Patterson. “NASNet stations are laid in a grid on the seabed across a whole field or in a specific area. Set at distances of up to 4km apart, depending on the topography of the seabed, they form a network from a minimum of three stations. These stations are constantly broadcasting ADS² acoustic signals and any vessel or asset fitted with a NASNet receiver and the topside equipment is able to accurately measure its position - irrespective of how many other vessels or assets may be operating in proximity. “Therefore not only does NASNet offer this genuine multi-user capability, its update times are so much faster than traditional LBL. Speed of sound in water is approximately 1500m/sec, therefore in
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a water depth of 4500m a traditional two-way signal takes a minimum of six seconds to update. A lot can happen in that time. With a NASNet MkII passive system the rapid, onesecond update rate can be beneficial to ROVs and even a drilling vessel if the GPS signal were to fail.” NASNet MkII was launched late last year when, as Nautronix chief surveyor Sam Hanton puts it, “we reached a stage when there were so many real improvements we had developed from the original system”. Key upgrades cited by Hanton include:
Development of the GeoLine planning software, allowing maximum optimisation of the NASNet station layout and improving array performance and efficiency. NASNet MS (Mini Stations) and NASNet stations can now operate together in combined arrays, providing much more flexibility NASNet DPR, a new facility for drilling rig DP input providing the same NASNet MkII benefits, can be used either with an existing large NASNet array or a small Mini Station array accompanying the rig wherever it operates. Field management is now
fully automatic with information on NASNet Station buoy positions, timing etc all being automatically by the seabed array itself. MkII stations have a battery life now extending up to four years” continuous use, regardless of how many users are operating in the area. According to Hanton, the NASNet MkII user interface has also been significantly enhanced and is more user friendly thanks in large part to customer feedback. “It is now extremely comprehensive, but much easier to use and more intuitive in operation.” www.nautronix.com
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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Pure and simple hile the ability to produce potable water offshore has long been an option, it may be less well-known (particularly among those who disregard the process as a necessary evil) that technological advances have made the provision of fresh water at sea far less painful than it once was. For decades, offshore operations – as well as large military and commercial vessels – have been able to pump out their own supplies of potable water with thermal desalination units. These simple units boil sea water and collect the desalinated steam vapour but, despite their simplicity, are not pleasant to be around, thanks (or rather no thanks) to the heat and noise that they produce. The huge demand that these thermal desalinators make on energy - a significant portion of which is lost as heat - constitutes one of many reasons why such units have been largely replaced by watermakers that operate under the principle of reverse osmosis (RO). RO units pressurise seawater above the osmotic pressure with a high-pressure pump and propel it across a semi-permeable membrane that removes the impurities. The result is a level of water purity close on 100% delivered by a process that can be performed by units of many shapes and sizes, some of them modular, enabling a range of customer choice to suit different applications. RO units also require low levels of maintenance, thanks to robust parts, self-regulating components and a series of reliable and convenient condition moni-
W
Parker Racor’s Pure Water Series
toring options. Titanium pumps with ceramic pistons that are harmonically balanced are providing an impressively robust defence against corrosion and enable smoother running. Automatic regulating valves reduce the need for constant hands-on compensation of system flows and pressures. Membrane filters, such as those provided by Parker Racor’s Village Marine range, use innovative, high efficiency spiral-wound membranes, made from the highest grade polyamide thin film composite materials, along with pleated polypropylene sediment prefilters, which ensure an extremely high level of performance. Overall, RO units today are capable of producing a high level of purity with little assistance and, in the highly unlikely event of a failure that causes the quality of the water to drop below an acceptable standard, back-up systems will divert supplies overboard. RO units enable offshore engineers to spend less time attending to desalination and more time on the many other duties they have to perform. It is now even possible for crew members to monitor their systems via remote controllers with
Offshore Technology October 2011
LCD colour touchscreens. These controllers enable the easy monitoring and control of water purity, salinity and temperature and also offer the option to receive alerts when water pressure is low, when salinity levels are beyond the set range and when regular services are scheduled. The ability to provide clean fresh water is essential for the health and wellbeing of all offshore personnel. The water used for drinking, ice-making, showers, dishwashing and laundry washing must be completely free from impurities such as salts, other minerals and organic matter, which is why reverse osmosis watermakers have been welcomed by offshore operators. Thanks to the many innovations that continue to enhance them, reverse osmosis desalination systems are providing a convenient and reliable method of providing fresh water at sea. Their popularity has created a healthy marketplace for watermakers, which in turn has enabled manufacturers to provide them at increasingly affordable prices. The resilience of components and the range of laboursaving features in the latest desalination systems have done much to make life easier offshore, bringing engineers peace of mind and bringing owners a premium product at less than a premium price.
Desalination
The offshore provision of pure, fresh water is no longer the result of hot, noisy temperamental machinery but compact, reliable, low maintenance units, says Andy Pay of Parker Hannifin’s Racor Filter Division Europe
www.parker.com
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Mariner heavy oil plans orwegian oil giant Statoil and its development partners ENI of Italy and Nautical Petroleum have chosen the concept for the Mariner heavy oil project on the UK continental shelf. The partnership has selected a production, drilling and quarter (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket, with a ship-shaped floating storage unit (FSU). Statoil expects a final investment decision in late 2012 and first oil in late 2016. The Bressay heavy oil project on the UK continental shelf is also progressing according to plan, one year behind Mariner, to ensure transfer of learning and synergies. At Mariner, the partners plan to install a 25,000 tonne PDQ platform based on a steel jacket in 110 m (361 ft) water depth. The Mariner and Bressay projects were presented by Statoil’s executive vice president for Development and Production International, Peter Mellbye, at SPE Offshore Europe 2011 in Aberdeen. “After a period of uncertainty, I am proud to be able to say that we are back on track with the landmark Mariner and Bressay developments. To be able to once again move these projects forward is important for Statoil and its partners, as well as for the UK and for the Aberdeen region,” says Mellbye. The ultra-heavy oil projects will require pioneering technol-
N Peter Mellbye, Statoil’s executive vice president for Development and Production International
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Artist’s impression of the Mariner concept
ogy in order to be developed, he said. Statoil estimates Mariner’s recoverable reserves at 300-500 million barrels. However, the oil is ultra-heavy and viscous, with API gravities of 12.1°-14.6° and viscosities ranging from 67 cp in the field’s Maureen reservoir to 508 cp in the Heimdal reservoir. The platform will have 50 integrated well slots – Statoil has drawn up 145 reservoir targets for production or injection, but this figure should be achieved through use of multi-branch wells, side tracks, and reuse of slots. The installation is based on a 25,000 tonne production, drilling, and quarters (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket in 110 m (361 ft) water depth. It will have a capacity of 850,000 bbl moored 2.5 km (1.55 mi) away from the platform. The platform will import fuel gas via a connection to an existing gas pipeline. Since its discovery thirty years ago, the Mariner field has been subject to a number of development studies by different operators. Statoil is the first company ready to put forward a development concept that will fully ad-
dress the complexities of this field, in particular related to reservoir management, recovery rates and project execution. The company is bringing in its extensive heavy oil experience, including the successful development of the Grane field in Norway and the Peregrino field in Brazil. Because of the low well flow rates and early water breakthrough there is a need for many wells, artificial lift, and a process designed to handle large liquid rates and oil-water emulsions. A total of 145 reservoir targets for production or injection are planned for Mariner. While the number of well slots at the platforms is less, this will be solved through use of multibranch technology, sidetracks and reuse of slots. The Mariner and Bressay projects will entail a gross investment of roughly £6 billion. Statoil estimates lasting employment of at least 700 people mainly locals, directly involved in its operations, and the establishment of a new operations centre in Aberdeen. The indirect employment of numerous others in the supply and service sectors comes in addition to this.
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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Protocol for Gulf of Mexico new safety and emergency protocol has been named the Helix Fast Response System (HFRS) and ensures that there will be a quick response to any rig that may experience problems in the Gulf. In the case of Deepwater Horizon, precious time was wasted as there was no official protocol team in place in case of an emergency. The other main issue that added to the lengthy recovery operation is that the majority of oil drilling and production in the Mexican Gulf is conducted from fixed rig platforms as opposed to flexible and movable FPSOs or FPUs. When the spill occurred last year, the Helix Producer 1 was one of the only mobilised FPUs with a fully mounted disconnecteble transfer turret (DTS), designed by FES, which was capable of moving location and transferring fluid from the leak. In the event of an emergency, the Helix Producer 1 will stop all oil production and move to any area where there is a spill in order to minimise environmental damage in the future. “The FES disconnectable transfer turret system, which is currently aboard the Helix Producer 1, played a crucial role in
Safety
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Riser connector on Helix Producer 1
the recovery operation for Deepwater Horizon last year.” Says Rob Anderson, MD of FES International. “We are very proud to be a part of the official safety protocol in the Mexican Gulf and to continue working with Helix Energy on such a worthwhile project.” Earlier this year FES International and Helix Energy presented the MMS with a preliminary emergency procedure called the Helix Fast Response System (HFRS) that would cover the Gulf of Mexico in case of any future disasters helping to minimise risk in
the region. While this has been currently being adopted as the initial precaution safeguarding the gulf, FES has been working closely with Helix Energy to develop the permanent safety procedure which is set to be introduced in October 2011. The key to the HFRS well capping and containment system is the offshore construction and intervention Q4000 Platform and the dynamically positioned Helix Producer 1. The Q4000 effectively capture’s the oil spill and brings it to the surface, then this reclaimed oil is offloaded to the FPU Helix Producer 1 using a dynamic flexible pipe catenary.
FES International, a global provider of fluid transfer systems is to partner with Helix Energy to provide the official emergency protocol procedure in the Gulf of Mexico in case of another Deepwater Horizon disaster
The mobilized FPU, the Helix Producer 1
Offshore Technology October 2011
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Pipe-pulse
Subsea blockages are a common industry challenge that can be very difficult and expensive to remediate, resulting in many flowlines remaining blocked for years, writes Rob Bain, managing director of Aberdeenshirebased Paradigm Flow Solutions
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Separating the streams Complex contributing factors can make it difficult to diagnose the cause of a subsea blockage, exact location and the best way to treat it. Challenging flow assurance conditions play a role with water depth, tie back distance and temperature all having an effect. Some blockages are simply down to unreliable and ageing equipment or human error. A build-up of wax, scale, asphaltene or hydrates can severely affect production leading to a significant loss of revenue. Remediation methods have historically been costly such as deploying a coiled tubing system from a rig into the pipeline or undertaking subsea interventions using an ROV or sat-
S
uration divers. The requirement for a rig or vessel to undertake the work can also significantly delay the time to implement a solution, further contributing towards making these options economically unviable. Paradigm Flow Solutions developed Pipe-Pulse for the non-intrusive removal of subsea blockages in direct response to this far reaching industry challenge. It effectively takes the treatment to the topside and following a number of successful trials for operators, the technology was recently deployed to a North Sea field to clear a pipeline and a chemical injection umbilical line for a supermajor which had been blocked for more than a decade.
[Rob Bain, md at Paradigm Flow Solutions
Chemical umbilicals In less than a week the PipePulse system had cleared the flowline as well as the subsea wax inhibitor chemical umbilical and, as a result, enabling production in the field to increase by more than 3,000 barrels of oil per day and critical wax inhibiter injection to be re-established. The operator had tried a number of other conventional methods to tackle the issue, but due to the remote location of the blockages from the host platform (15 miles), access to the pipelines and subsea infrastructure proved difficult. Pipe-Pulse is a remote, nonintrusive method of locating
Pipe-pulse undergoing onshore testing
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and removing blockages in long distance pipelines of up to 30 miles. The system is designed to be connected on the topsides of the host platform through either the pig launcher or the umbilical termination unit. Operated by Paradigm engineers, persistent blockages can be completely removed in a matter of days by sending high frequency low amplitude pressure pulses into the flowline, whilst controlling the length, volume and pressure of the pulse. The system operates using a complex series of control valves, which are contained within the main body of the Pipe-Pulse unit which are operated through a touch screen control panel.
Maersk success Proprietary algorithms determine the optimum wave structure for each pulse, of which there are potentially
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millions generated for each particular job. The Pipe-Pulse unit then physically creates and transmits the manufactured pulse into the pipeline or umbilical, which is then transmitted to the front face of the blockage. These controlled pulses allow energy to be transferred into the pipeline or umbilical in a safe and manageable way, which is far more effective than just applying pressure. During field tests the system successfully cleared a 4” multi-phase flowline for Shell UK which had been blocked with sand and wax for 11 years. Pipe-Pulse also accurately detected a blockage for Maersk on the North Sea Janice subsea development which turned out to be a collapsed flexibile jumper 10km into the gas lift line of an umbilical. This knowledge saved the client an estimated £400,000 by not hav-
ing to mobilise a DSV to investigate the blockage. For Talisman Energy’s Hannay Subsea Development, Pipe-Pulse cleared three blocked chemical injection lines in a 13.7km tie back to the Buchan Alpha. The operation took place within six hours on each line over two days. It is not uncommon for Pigs to get stuck, particularly if there are large quantities of paraffin or wax in the pipeline, and significant changes in pipeline topography or multiple bends. Pipe-Pulse contributed towards clearing a Pig stuck 17km into an 8” flowline in the Gulf of Mexico, enabling the client to re-establish production. Paradigm will be showcasing new technology solutions to subsea and topside blockage problems at Offshore Europe 2011 stand 4/A174. www.paradigmflow solutuions.com
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Pazflor comes on stream for Total rench oil major Total, operator of Block 17, has bought the giant Pazflor field offshore Angola has come on stream ahead of the initial schedule. The Pazflor field lies 150 kilometres off Luanda in water depths ranging from 600 to 1,200 metres and has estimated proved and probable reserves of 590 million barrels. The field will gradually ramp up to its full production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day over the coming months. “Pazflor’s start-up, several weeks ahead of schedule and within budget, is a remarkable achievement of the teams involved. The support and trust of Sonangol, our concession holder and partner, also made an invaluable contribution to our efficiency” says Yves-Louis Darricarrère, President Exploration & Production at Total. “Pazflor required a development effort on the same scale as the field. Paving a way with new technologies, the project showcases Total’s expertise in highly complex environments. The project facilities have been designed and thoroughly tested in accordance with the strictest health, safety and environmental standards. This is another step in the ongoing saga of our deep offshore feats, begun right here in Angola. Deepwater developments are a core driver of our future production growth.” Pazflor comprises a vast subsea gathering network, the most complex ever built in Angola: 180 kilometres of lines tying in 49 subsea wells, 10,000 metric
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tons of subsea equipment and the giant Pazflor floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Held in position by 16 subsea mooring connectors, with its 325 metres long, 62 metres wide and a weight of more than 120,000 metric tons, the FPSO is the largest in the world. It can store up to 1.9 million barrels of oil that is then exported to tankers via an offloading buoy. The associated gas is reinjected into the reservoir, but could also be exported to the Angola LNG plant once the latter becomes operational.
Deepwater developments are a core driver of our future production growth
Total in Angola Total has been present in Angola since 1953. In 2010, the Group’s operated production in Angola averaged 460,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and its SEC equity production amounted to 163,000 boe/d. Most of this production comes from blocks 17, 0 and 14. Total's main asset in Angola is deepwater Block 17, which it operates with a 40% interest. The deep offshore block contains four major hubs.
Different grades A key technical challenge was producing two very different grades of oil from four separate reservoirs. Producing the heavy, viscous oil from the three Miocene reservoirs, which account for two-thirds of the reserves, and the related flow assurance constraints, represented a major challenge. The gas has to be separated from the liquids on the seabed so that the viscous liquids can then be pumped to the surface. The design and installation of subsea gas-liquid separation units and pumps are a world first on this scale. The pumps were purpose designed and tested for Pazflor. Total’s wholly owned subsidiary Total E&P Angola operates Block 17, with a 40% interest, while Sonangol is the concession holder. The other partners are Statoil ASA (23.3%), Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited (20%) and BP Exploration (Angola) Ltd (16.67%).
Offshore Technology October 2011
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www.whatflowmeter.com 25
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Erosion protection An erosion protection system has been carried out in the Barents Sea
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Ice protection ideway, the Dutchbased offshore contractor, has started an erosion protection system at the Prirazlomnoya rig in the north of Russia. The contract involved a stone fill of 100,000 tonnes over a period of more than forty days is involved. The work has been commissioned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom Neftshelf. The activities are carried
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Prirazlomnoya readied for erosion contract
out to the south-west of Nova Zembla, in the Barents Sea. Tideway works in extreme circumstances at this location. The stones are loaded in Murmansk. The overall contract value of the project amounts to Euro50 million. The Prirazlomnoya Project takes place in the Arctic area below Nova Zembla. The project entails the stone fill of approximately 100,000 tonnes of
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Erosion effects ice-bound structures [Courtesy BP]
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quarry stone to protect a new offshore rig against erosion. The rig has been built by J.S.C. Sevmash for the account of Gazprom Neftshelf and is towed from Severodvinsk to the Prirazlomnoya oil field near Varandey in the Kara Sea, south-west of Nova Zembla. There, it will be permanently installed on the sea bed and provided with the necessary protection by Tideway. The Prirazlomnoya oil rig in the Barents Sea has to be able to withstand extremely low temperatures and considerable formation of ice. The location is only free from ice 110 days per year, the average annual temperature amounts to 4 degrees Celsius whereby the temperature may drop to -50 degrees Celsius in the winter. Work is only possible in the area four months a year.
The severe climate and the restrictions imposed by the considerable formation of ice, impose the highest requirements on the technology to be used. The Prirazlomnoya rig has been built especially for the exploitation of the oil field and is the first oil production project in the Russian Arctic Sea region. The oil field was discovered in 1989 and is situated 60 km off the coast on the continental terrace in the Pechora Sea. The Prirazlomnoya ice-resistant fixed oil rig is crucial to the exploitation of the oil field. Production capacity amounts to 18,000 tonnes of crude oil a day. The bulk of the work will be done using the Tideway fall pipe vessel Seahorse. The fall pipe vessel Seahorse is especially withdrawn from the Barents Sea where it has been
carrying out protection activities on the Nordstream gas pipeline project, also for Gazprom. The DP2 fall pipe vessel Seahorse can take 17,000 tonnes of quarry stone on board and place it with great precision up to depths of 1,000 m. The sorted quarry stone is stored in the hold of the Seahorse. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fall pipeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that is suspended underneath the vessel, ensures that the quarry stone ends up on the exact spot above pipelines or directly on the sea bed. The bottom end of the pipe is equipped with a remote operated vehicle (ROV). This ROV is operated from the deck and controls the laying of the quarry stone in three dimensions and allows for precision work. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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An essential course providing a greater understanding of metocean and its implications for offshore design and operations
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Learn why meteorology and oceanography (metocean) is important to the offshore oil & gas and marine renewables industries
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Explore how the regional metocean conditions around the world impact operations and engineering design
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Diary dates OTC Brazil 2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 4 – 6
Floating production developments are a popular discussion topic (Courtesy Shell)
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For the first time ever, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is expanding to Brazil to create the OTC Brasil 2011 Conference and Exhibition. OTC Brasil is expanding its exhibition space because of strong company interest in participating in the inaugural event, which will address the deepwater offshore sector in Brazil and around the world. The event is being held at Riocentro and already more than 210 companies representing 17 countries have taken space at OTC Brasil, including long-time OTC exhibitors as well as companies new to OTC. National pavilions from China, USA, Korea, Norway, Denmark, and Finland are confirmed, and more than 50 Brazilian companies are exhibiting. “The large number of Brazilian companies that are exhibiting at OTC Brasil combined with high interest from around the world have led to this expansion of space. Many exhibitors have said that they feel that OTC Brasil will be a truly global show that offers unique opportunities. We are also getting a great response to the call for papers for the event, which underscores that this technology-focused conference on Brazil and other deepwater regions meets an important industry need,” says Susan Cunningham, 2011 Chairman of the OTC Board of Directors. OTC Brasil is a new event that will present technical pre-
sentations, plenary sessions, a young professional event and an exhibition, sponsored by the Offshore Technology Conference --one of the most important technical events in the E&P world. The conference is being developed with the same collaboration of 12 sponsoring societies that has worked so well for OTC, plus four Brazilian supporting organizations. www.otcbrasil.org
IMarEST Arctic Shipping and Offshore Technology Forum 2011 5 – 6 October, 2011 London, UK The Arctic is changing. Fast. And the world is hungry for what it has to offer, from new shipping routes to oil and gas reserves and seabed mining. It is set against this background that the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and publisher of Offshore Technology will stage the IMarEST Arctic Shipping and Offshore Technology Forum 2011, including the 1st Annual IMarEST ClassNK Lecture. Professor John Carlton FREng, Professor of Marine Engineering, City University London and the 109th President of IMarEST will chair the first day of the conference when such topics as ‘Prospects for safe shipping in harsh environments’; ‘Material and construction for low temperatures’; ‘Special research into hull forms for ice breakers’; and ‘Technology and design challenges for offshore vessels’ come under the con-
ference spotlight in the opening session. www.imarest.org
Lloyd’s Register Energy Conference Houston, Texas November 9, 2011 Reserve your seat at the 2011 Lloyd's Register Energy Conference, November 9, in Houston, Texas. The event addresses oil and gas operations in the new regulatory environment and discusses the optimal regulatory framework for managing safety and environmental risks. Bud Danenberger, former chief, offshore regulatory programs, U.S. Department of the Interior and Mark Briggs, OSHA area director, Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (OSHA), are the keynote speakers at the event. The Lloyd's Register Energy Conference offers two tracks and is designed to give you full access to the extensive experience of Lloyd's Register subject matter experts. Hear first-hand from the experts on how to effectively adjust to the new operating environment. www.lrenergy.org/events/default. aspx
IMCA Annual Seminar – ‘The future of marine and subsea ops’ November 9 - 10, 2011 New Orleans, USA The highly topical theme of this year’s International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Annual Seminar – the future of marine and subsea operations – has resulted in the publication of a highly
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Conferences tackle complex subjects including deploying deepwater spars
AUV technology and safety performance. www.subseauk.com
(Courtesy Shell)
Oceanology International 2012 March 13 -15, 2012 ExCeL London
relevant and thought provoking programme. “The Seminar represents the interests of all four of our technical divisions – marine, diving, remote systems & ROVs, and offshore survey. It is an important event for our close on 800 member companies in nearly 60 countries, as well as their clients and others actively involved with marine contracting,” said Hugh Williams, Chief Executive of IMCA. www.imca-int.com
OPITO Safety and Competency Conference – OSCC 2011 Tuesday 22 November, 2011 Rotana Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi A forum for improving standards of safety and competency in the global workplace. This year's theme is 'Competence vs Compliance - how do we ensure a competent workforce that significantly improves safety as opposed to one which simply ticks the necessary boxes?'. Keynote speaker at the conference will be Lord Douglas Cullen, one of the senior members of the Scottish judiciary. From 1988 to 1990 he conducted the public enquiry into
the Piper Alpha disaster and many other such enquiries. Lord Cullen will provide insight into common threads which emerge in major incidents. www.opito-oscc.com
Subsea 2012 February 8 – 9 Aberdeen With the recent challenges in
the global economic climate, the subsea industry has still been able to perform well. How has the industry managed to “buck the trend” and where should the subsea industry be looking to for areas of future opportunity? Speakers will present on a range of issues including marine construction vessels; offshore renewables;
The global forum where industry, academia and government share knowledge and connect with the marine technology and ocean science community with the aim of improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting and operating in the world’s oceans. New pavilions include the RenewableUK pavilion highlighting exhibitors who have a particular focus on the offshore renewable sector; the Marine Security pavilion run partnership with SMI – this pavilion will also host SMI and AMSI’s stand and the ADC UK Dive pavilion providing opportunities to companies involved in commercial diving. www.oceanologyinternational.com
Offshore Engineering and Production DO YOU know your gamma fraction meter from your Ram BOPs or how the future looks rosy for radioactive isotopes and nuclear magnetic resonance? If not or you’re unsure, then you might well need a quick, readable guide to the fundamentals of offshore production. If so, then this third-edition book is an ideal companion. Within its 320 pages, there are hundreds of photographs, illustrations and maps adding life and colour to the fascinating, thoroughly researched and readable text. Offshore Engineering and Production includes every aspect of today’s offshore exploration and production: virtually every element of equipment used and each phase of the procedures, various specifications and relevant regulations, are covered in understandable terms. It should be a permanent part of every engineer's baggage, and it will be as valuable to the experienced engineer as to the new recruit. The sector encompasses a considerable number of very specialized and often completely unrelated disciplines. They can be categorised into three core activities: construction, production and reservoir engineering. This book has been written, not as a definitive manual, but to provide the reader with a basic explanation of them all. Author Angus Mather, ex-Kvaerner Oil and Gas Services and with classification society experience, has aimed his book at the new recruit to the industry with a Title: Offshore Engineering and Production basic appreciation of what is a relaCost: £95.00 (Excludes any applicable taxes) tively complex subject, while at the Number of Pages: 320 same time providing the more experiISBN 13: 978-1-905331-98-7 (9781905331987) enced individual appreciation of activ- eBook ISBN 978-1-85609-510-5 ities outside their own particular Published: November 2011 specialty. www.witherbyseamanship.com
Offshore Technology October 2011
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Clamp for diver safety relleborg Offshore has released a new diverfriendly piggyback clamp designed to improve safety during installation. Trelleborg developed the clamp at the request of leading offshore construction company, McDermott in collaboration with Trelleborg Offshore UAE distributor, Unique Maritime Group. The Trelleborg system includes the use of edge treated banding and a new fastening system which eliminates sharp edges, reducing the risk of cuts to the diver. The innovative design, which negates the need to pass the band around the carrier pipe to secure the piggyback line, reduces handling and improves installation efficiency and time, enabling significant cost savings while increasing diver safety.
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Trelleborgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new safety clamp
Manufactured from marine-grade polypropylene, the piggyback saddle can fit carrier pipelines from 20" â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 42" and line sizes from 1.25" to 3.5". The one-size-fits-all design of the clamp can streamline purchasing, enabling zero-waste bulk ordering. www.trelleborg.com
Paradigm launches Raptor drilling range aradigm Oilfield Services has launched its Raptor range of tools in response to an industry need for drilling equipment that delivers improved rate of penetration (ROP) in high angle and horizontal wells, said the company. Under the new Raptor brand, the Aberdeenshirebased company showcased three bespoke new tools developed by its team of design engineers at Offshore Europe 2011 in Aberdeen. The Raptor Reamer operates on the industry standard 'drop-ball' to activate method. The fully supported cam-arm
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expansion method and fail safe closure mechanism give reliable performance and peace of mind. The ability to ream and back-ream gives maxi-
mum operational flexibility. Fraser Innes, chairman of Paradigm Oilfield Services, said: "Wells are becoming more complex and challenging as operators look to
maximize the potential of existing reserves and explore more unconventional sources and these new tools are designed to increase the rate of penetration to achieve greater efficiencies.â&#x20AC;? www.paradigmoilfield.com
Raptor hole opener
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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VENOC chutes for higher level iking Life-Saving Equipment has developed a new high capacity evacuation system for ship-shaped offshore installations. Designed to automate a key aspect of the disembarkation procedure, the VENOC system has also been developed to simplify installation and maintenance, and to speed up the transfer of evacuees to life rafts, even in heavy seas. Current evacuation procedures that involve high capacity life rafts require a member of the crew to descend the es-
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cape chute before passengers can disembark, in order to trigger the inflation of the first life raft. They also involve an intermediary loading platform, used by evacuees to transfer from the chute to the life raft. Both procedures slow down evacuation. The VENOC system is an active chute and life raft designed to evacuate up to 100 people from installation heights of 15m, 30m or 45m. Where competing chutebased systems use bowsing wire connections to the ship’s
side to maintain stability, Viking has identified this solution as problematic, particularly as vessel widths increase. The approach adopted with VENOC is to dispense with bowsing lines and instead attach a stabiliser weight, suspended from the bottom of the chute. The result is that the chute itself is neutral, even when the vessel is in extreme trim and list conditions. The solution has undergone full heavy sea weather trials in the North Sea.
Housed in a container of approximately 3300mm x 2500mm x 2500mm on the open deck or between decks, on launch the VENOC system uses an electrical winch to lower the chute, a buoyancy device and a deflated self-righting life raft in a speed controlled manner. On contact with the water, the life raft inflates automatically, negating the need for any member of personnel to enter the equipment before it is fully functional. www.viking-life.com
Expro BOP/riser inspection service ilfield services company Expro has launched a service to provide subsea operators with a firsthand view of some of their most critical underwater assets. The service uses Expro’s Multi-Finger Caliper and ViewMax Down Hole Camera systems to provide images and data to view and monitor the integrity of
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BOPs, casing and risers. “Now more than ever the integrity of marine risers and BOPs is top-of-mind for subsea asset operators,” said Geoff Magie, VP North America Offshore Region, Expro. “Expro has packaged some of its most successful wireline intervention technologies to provide a robust BOP/riser in-
spection service that can provide unprecedented visibility into the integrity of the assets. This visibility equates to peace of mind for our subsea customers,” he said. The first component of the BOP/riser inspection service, the Expro Multi-Finger Caliper, can provide data to accurately monitor the integrity of casing
or marine risers in varying sizes in diameter. It is the only caliper on the market with fully mechanical, simultaneous, independent and continuous readings from all of the feelers. The Multi-Finger Caliper also includes applications for deformation analysis, casing wear, and corrosion assessment. www.exprogroup.com
Electric-driven station ontiTech Beattie, the number one seller of high pressure hoses to the North Sea oil and gas sector, has launched the latest extension to its product range at Offshore Europe 2011. The new electric-driven station complements ContiTech Beattie’s existing systems, which are powered with either hydraulics or pneumatics. Shahid Qamar, sales and marketing manager at ContiTech Beattie, which is based in Ashington, Northumberland and Aberdeen, said: “We listened to our clients and as a
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Offshore Technology October 2011
Shahid Qamar, sales and marketing manager with Lord Provost of Aberdeen
result of what they told us, the electric-driven hose loading station was developed to give customers a greater choice. “ContiTech Beattie’s hose loading stations are already in use around the world, installed on FPSO’s, Platforms and Rigs,including the North Sea market, and by adding an additional option to the range we are convinced that we can build upon that success. www.contitechbeattie.co.uk
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Earthquake Canadian companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earthquake early warning system designed for offshore facilities, write Iain WeirJones and Anton Zaicenco of WeirJones Engineering Consultants Ltd
Landside testing of early warning systems
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Early warning any of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offshore platforms, floating production and other systems around the world, many of which were located in areas with high seismic hazard. While structural design of the platform might be adequate from a seismic-resistant design viewpoint, there are multiple critical processes associated with the production activities on the platform that are sensitive to the strong ground shaking. Potential downtime is extremely expensive and associated environmental costs high. Is there a way to minimize the risks to the critical processes running on the offshore platform that are related to earthquakes? Fortunately a technology now exists that, in the event of an earthquake of a magnitude great enough to cause damage to processing equipment, can provide operators with
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enough time to bring equipment to rest before the onset of the seismic event. In this way, the forces due to the accelerations associated with the earthquake do not combine with the normal operating loads to cause irreparable damage to the equipment. The technology that provides the advice warning of an impending earthquake is the Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) developed by Weir-Jones Engineering Consultants Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada.
Real time detection EEWS monitors ground motion in real time to detect the presence of P-wave signatures of a remote strong earthquake. The equipment consists of a set of triaxial vibration sensors. Mechanical vibration is converted into a fluctuating voltage signal that is digitized using 24-bit analogue-todigital converter. Multi-channel data streams are merged by the data acquisition equipment and sent to the central processing computer. Time synchronization is achieved using the GPS technology. The central computer runs the seismic detection and proprietary classification software, which continuously analyzes data streams and triggers only when a set of multiple criteria is met. These features enhance the reliability of the hardware/software system and guarantee accuracy of the issued alarms. Due to the multiple redundancies built into the system, a failure of individual components has no effect on the overall performance. For example, if a
subset of the sensors fails, the software parameters will be adjusted to work with the remaining ones. Only high-reliability components were used to build the system, which has been operating continuously for two years without a failure or a false alarm. The output of the EEWS is a binary signal, i.e. yes/no, reporting the absence or presence of a precursor of the strong ground motion associated with the S-waves. If the early warning system reports a positive state, meaning a target P-wave is detected, the central computer will generate a visual and audio alarm, and will close the electric circuit connected to the external alarm sub-system. This autonomous decision-making takes less than a second.
Reducing risk The ultimate success of EEWS is measured in terms of reducing the risk to human lives and valuable assets due to seismic hazard. The benefits are obvious: it provides an early warning in terms of a few seconds to up to dozens of seconds allowing operators to stop critical processes; it informs people about the coming destructive ground shaking; it reduces potential damage to vulnerable components and sub-systems and it records the strong vibration for further post-processing and engineering investigations. In our experience, the cost of the EEWS is a small fraction of the damages that might result from a severe earthquake in the oil and gas sector, including offshore facilities. www.weir-jones.com
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Technology Look out for the next issue of Offshore Technology magazine which will include the following in-depth special reports and geographical features Offshore Brazil
This region continues to grow in importance by finding and developing huge new fields, many in the exciting pre-salt regions Heavy Lift Next issue FPSOs January 2012 Environment & Renewables News…….profiles ……..new product listings …….and much more Offshore Technology is published by IMarEST, and is dedicated to professionals working in today’s oil & gas industry. For editorial enquiries contact Bruce McMichael at bruce.mcmichael@imarest.org For advertising enquiries contact Peter Marpuri at peter.marpuri@imarest.org
www.imarest.org
Name ...............................................Company....................................................... Address: .................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................ Telephone: .......................................Email address: ............................................. Nature of Business:................................................................................................ Please return this form to: Lorraine Jordan, IMarEST, Aldgate House, 33 Aldgate High Street, London. EC3N 1EN
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Mind the Gap necdotal evidence has suggested for some time that the sheer quantity and variety of information involved in plant operational safety has itself become a problem, not a solution. To better understand the health & safety issues that our customers’ struggle with on a daily basis, AVEVA commissioned research by the Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University (RGU). Improving information management plays a key role in meeting health & safety requirements for the Oil & Gas industry and we believe that the research from RGU contributes to this important debate. Among the more surprising findings were: 40% of industry professionals find it hard to access safety information In an emergency, people tend to rely more on information from colleagues and the internet than from their own information systems
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Clive Wilby, Principal Consultant, AVEVA, looks at the latest research into the ‘information gap’ in plant operations
The findings The research report is entitled ‘The Health & Safety Information Gap’, which aptly describes the core of the problem. The gap exists between information and the people who need to use it. Almost all those surveyed (92%) claimed to have an information system in their organisation to support Health & Safety (H&S), but deeper analysis revealed serious shortcomings, either in the systems themselves or in the ability to use them effectively. Over 30% had never been trained to access safety information, over
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40% found it difficult to search for relevant information, and around 25% listed specific problems including: Systems failures Inadequate procedures Overly complex systems Restricted access One respondent summed up their frustration: “…there’s too much information; we’ve got to condense all of this stuff down and find some way of providing a management system where you can put in a few key words, like ‘permit to work’ and it will show you all these relevant things.” Often, issues identified as deficiencies in skills or knowledge – not knowing where to find information, not closing out tasks by updating records, vfor example – can be related to deficiencies in the information systems. If these were to be intuitive and effective, users would need less training and be more willing to use them. Information sharing was identified as an important area for improvement. Interestingly, while most respondents believed that they themselves shared information, 24% felt that information was not being shared with them, and 45% were aware of information not being shared with others.
Finding information Nothing highlights problems so clearly as an emergency. When dealing with an incident, people commonly turn to informal information sources, such as colleagues and the internet, rather than their information system. So even where information systems exist, few seem
prepared to rely on them in an emergency.
The way forward It’s always reassuring to be proved right and this research has confirmed the need for far more powerful, accessible and dependable information management systems than are commonly still used. H&S is just the tip of the iceberg; effective information systems can improve H&S by enabling more efficient performance in all aspects of plant operation. Technologies available now address the underlying issues identified in this research: Information integration – the breaking down of isolated ‘silos’ of incompatible information Accessibility – the provision of highly intuitive methods for navigating, s e a r c h i n g and aggregating information for the user’s immediate needs, wherever required across an entire site Dependability – ensuring that information is valid and complete by automatically verifying cross-references, highlighting inconsistencies, and controlling workflows Fulfilling these enables the improvement of many of the people-related issues: training, knowledge, information sharing, and so on. The challenge now is less in solving the technical problems, but in raising awareness of the considerable business value which today’s information management technologies can deliver. www.acteon.com
October 2011 Offshore Technology
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