IRO News 01

DECEMBER 2005

NEWSletter 01 ASSOCIATION OF DUTCH SUPPLIERS IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

This is the first issue of IRO NEWSletter which will be published twice a year to inform our international relations about the Dutch upstream oil and gas industry and about the most noticeable activities of our members.

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Fugro highly active in LNG market

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Important role for IRO members in GDF projects

IRO is the Association of Dutch Suppliers in the Oil and Gas Industry.

about developments in this part of the industry and as a result the

The association furthers the interests of its 300 member companies

IRO Gas Group was formed. The goal is to support members to

in the field of politics, economics and technical affairs on a regional,

anticipate to new developments in the industry, but also to join forces

national and international level. IRO is continuously looking for

in the field of promotion /marketing, innovative technology, supply

opportunities for its members to enter new markets or develop existing

chain management and branding.

markets, stimulate co-operation in the field of innovative technology and further expand the vast national and international network.

Other working groups have been formed with the same purpose but

Since its foundation in 1971, the number of members still grows.

in other parts of the sector. The goal of the IRO Offshore Wind Energy Group is to promote and market offshore technology and experience

Although the Dutch oil and gas market is a mature area, new fields are

from the offshore oil and gas industry to the offshore wind energy

still discovered and existing fields are produced with smart technology.

industry. The IRO Safety and Training Group unifies all major Dutch

The Netherlands has had a key role in the West European market

training institutions in order to increase safety regulations in the oil and

thanks to the large gas reservoir discovered in 1959 in the Groningen

gas industry. A lobby group for well services companies is the IRO

field and the development of the industry since then. The Dutch

Well Services Group and addresses non commercial issues on subjects

government wants to safeguard this position and aims to turn into

like labour and safety. The IRO Export Group exchanges information

the ‘gas hub of Europe’. The existing infrastructure for transport per

on international business related subjects like projects, trade fairs etc.

pipeline and storage of gas is extensive. Europe imports fifty per cent of its gas consumption and the prediction is that this will increase to

To promote the qualities of Dutch suppliers in the oil and gas industry,

seventy per cent in 2020. The infrastructure, storage facilities and

in 2006 IRO will organise participation in a number of oil and gas

innovative technology of the Dutch companies will contribute to a

exhibitions worldwide:

continuous flow of energy supply for Western Europe.

European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition (EWEC) Athens, Greece / 27 February - 2 March

Of all fossil fuels the production and consumption of gas has the

Iran Oil Show

least effects on the environment per energy-unit. Gas is the so called

Teheran, Iran / 20 - 23 April

transition energy to the renewables. The technology for renewables

Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)

is under development and the new energy is already used. However,

Houston, USA / 1 - 4 May

with the growing demand for energy, oil and mainly gas will remain

World Gas Conference (WGC)

of great importance for coming decades.

Amsterdam, Netherlands / 5 - 9 June Offshore Northern Seas (ONS)

As new gas reserves are found far away from the markets, the impor-

Stavanger, Norway / 22 - 25 August

tance of LNG will increase in future and The Netherlands is preparing

Rio Oil and Gas

for this new and very important development. Plans are made to

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / 11 - 14 September

build LNG terminals in Rotterdam and Groningen, to ensure that The

Kazakhstan International Oil and Gas Exhibition (KIOGE)

Netherlands will maintain its key role as a gas distribution country.

Almaty, Kazakhstan / 3 - 6 October Adipec

The association monitors technological developments, opportunities

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates / 5 - 8 November

in the market and emerging markets. Gas is gaining importance and amongst the IRO members there are a lot of companies with

Other activities include trade missions, market research, seminars and

expertise in his field. A seminar was organised to inform members

information services.

For the updated membership list, please visit our website: www.iro.nl IRO P.O. Box 7261, 2701 AG Zoetermeer, The Netherlands T +31 79 3411981 F +31 79 3419764 E info@iro.nl

Fugro highly active in LNG market Unique project in Nigeria On behalf of Brass LNG Ltd, Fugro successfully executed a highly

the expertise available at the company’s two own offices in Nigeria.”

unique project in the Brass River area of Nigeria. The project comprised

For the geophysical offshore survey work, the multipurpose offshore

onshore and offshore geophysical and geotechnical soil surveys for the

support vessel Inspector operated by SeaMar Shipping was deployed,

design and construction of a 10 MTPA LNG & LPG production plant and

in combination with a small workboat. Using the Inspector, the seabed

shipping facilities for liquid gas, and for the construction of a navigation

was charted out, and all debris identified. “One particularly important

channel and turning basin for LNG tankers. According to commercial

aspect was the tracing of cabling and wiring, including a number of

manager Peter Aarts of Fugro Survey and senior project manager

fibre optic cables. For this purpose, we had built a sled with a pipe

Leo Roos of Fugro Offshore Geotechnics from Leidschendam, this

tracker, which enabled us to successfully locate all the cables, even

was one of Fugro’s largest and most logistically challenging projects.

those laid well out to sea. In addition, we also charted out the soil strata. The information obtained was then used for determining the

The LNG market is in a state of flux. The increased demand for gas

locations for core drillings and sounding work. For this geotechnical

means that major LNG projects are being implemented at various

work, we had equipped two jackup working platforms with drilling

locations around the world. The central focus is Western Africa, in

gear and sounding equipment. Along the planned route for the jetty,

particular Nigeria. One of the most well known is the Nigeria LNG

a large number of core drillings and soundings were subsequently

project on Bonny Island, operated by Shell. However, over the next

made, with the holes drilled to a maximum depth of 60 metres.”

few years, more similarly ambitious LNG projects are set to be carried out in the country, including the Brass LNG project. As explained by

Onshore activities

Leo Roos, “Brass LNG Ltd is a joint venture of Nigerian National

As explained by Leo Roos, the large-scale offshore work represented

Petroleum Corporation (49%), ChevronTexaco (17%), ConocoPhillips

only half of the overall project. “A great deal also had to be done

(17%) and ENI International (17%).

onshore, in the jungle. The starting point was for us to trace any abandoned pipelines or other underground facilities, by means of

At the start of 2005, this joint venture awarded Fugro the contract

a soil survey. The next stage was a whole series of core drillings

to carry out a geophysical and geotechnical soil survey, close to the

and soundings at the planned location for the LNG plant. A total of

existing terminal of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company. At this location,

10.5 kilometres of access tracks was hacked out from this almost

Brass LNG intends to build a two-train liquefied gas plant, set to go

impenetrable terrain, consisting of heavily forested tropical woodland

on line in 2009. In addition to the onshore portion of the LNG plant,

and marshland, so that easy access could be gained to the sounding

a loading facility jetty for the tankers will also have to be constructed.

and drilling installations. A further 14.5 kilometres of passages were

Because the seabed off the coast shelves very gradually, the planned

also cut, to allow the geophysical survey to be undertaken. Finally,

jetty will have to be eight kilometres long. A navigation channel will

in one swampy area, emergency bridges had to be built covering a

lead to the jetty, in combination with a turning basin to allow the

total span of 360 metres. The fieldwork phase lasted from March to

tankers to turn around.”

October 2005, and this will be followed up by laboratory studies and the final reporting. We hope to have completed the entire project by

Offshore work

mid-December of this year. A total of seven of our worldwide offices

“Because the project award was for geophysical and geotechnical soil

will have been involved in this project, including the two main offices

survey work, both onshore and offshore, this proved to be a highly

in Nigeria. The entire operation is being managed from our head

complex integrated project”, added Peter Aarts. “Fugro is able to offer

offices in Leidschendam.”

both types of soil survey, and in this case, intensive use was made of Based on the information from Fugro, Brass LNG intends to start building work on the eight kilometre-long jetty, in 2008. For Fugro, the Brass LNG project, with a total value of 14 million US dollars, is not the first LNG project undertaken. As Peter Aarts explained, “We were previously involved in the Shell LNG project on Bonny Island.

I personally expect to be able to attract more work from this sector.

However, the Brass LNG project was so large and so complex that without the efforts of our offices in Nigeria, we would never have been able to finish, so quickly.” Leo Roos added, “The strength of Fugro lies not only in the fact that we have a large network of offices throughout the world, but by utilizing and managing our global knowledge and experience, we are able to take on the most complex and challenging geotechnical projects in some of the remotest locations in the world.

The Brass LNG project is the latest example.”

For the offshore geotechnical work, jackup working platforms were deployed, with drilling gear and sounding equipment.

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IRO NEWSletter DECEMBER 2005 published twice a year

GDF projects Important role for IRO members A considerable number of IRO members have been closely involved in a series of projects whereby operator GDF Production Nederland simultaneously put five gas fields into production in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. To achieve this objective, new platforms were designed and fabricated, and existing platforms reused. In addition, a further subsea completion was implemented.

It is almost unique for an operator to succeed in putting several gas fields into production at the same time. In this case, the fields were located in GDF blocks K2b, G14, G16a and G17d and the L6d block

Both the jacket and the topsides of the G17d-AP processing/compressor platform (left)

operated by ATP Oil & Gas Nederland. All these blocks are located

were built at Dutch yards. (Photo: Flying Focus)

on the Dutch Continental Shelf. GDF Production Nederland started preparations for the first four projects way back in September 2003.

whether it would be possible to connect the L6d gas field, which was

The detailed design for the jackets and topsides was outsourced to

also due to be put into production with a subsea completion, to the

the engineering firm Iv-Oil & Gas, who subsequently also supplied the

G17d-AP production platform. Just in time, the necessary modifications

documents for the fabrication of these constructions. Various yards from

could be made to the topsides of this platform, at the HSM yard.

the Netherlands and abroad submitted tenders for the fabrication of the

GDF contracted out the laying of all the necessary pipelines to Allseas

jackets and topsides. In the end, for fabrication of the topsides for the

Marine Contractors, who deployed the pipe-laying vessel Lorelay for

K2b-A production platform and the G17d-AP processing/compressor

the actual pipe-laying work, and for trenching the pipes at sea, the

platform, GDF opted for HSM Steel Structures. This yard produced

just commissioned Calamity Jane. Noordhoek Offshore, using the

both topsides concurrently at its huge construction hall in Schiedam.

Noordhoek Singapore, then took on the connection of the pipes to the

The fabrication of the accompanying jackets was outsourced to the

platform risers. For the drilling and complementing of all necessary gas

Heerema yard in Flushing. Both jackets were installed offshore in

production wells, the jackup drilling rigs Noble George Sauvageau

May 2005 by the crane vessel Stanislav Yudin operated by Seaway

and Noble Piet van Ede of Noble Drilling were deployed. Even this

Heavy Lifting. Shortly thereafter, the topsides for both platforms were

long list does not mention all the IRO members who have played a

also installed. The G17d-AP processing/compressor platform was

role in these projects. Mammoet, for example was responsible at the

positioned next to the G17d-A production platform, which had been

HSM yard for the loadout of the topsides for G17d-AP and K2b-A,

installed at sea several years previously. Subsequently, the two plat-

whilst CKT supplied a ten-person accommodation module for the K2b-A

forms were linked together by a bridge manufactured at the HSM yard.

topsides. Nonetheless, all in all, a clear picture is provided of how Dutch suppliers have all the skills and capacity to perform effectively

Reuse of platforms

and efficiently, when an operator decides to simultaneously undertake

For developing the gas fields in the G14 and G16a blocks, GDF

multiple offshore projects.

decided to reuse the topsides from two existing well protector platforms from the blocks K11 and K12. Both topsides were removed at sea by the Stanislav Yudin, and transported to the Keppel Verolme yard in Rotterdam. The jackets were subsequently also removed from the platforms at sea, but as planned were then scrapped. At the Keppel Verolme yard, the topsides from the K12-E platform underwent major renovation. Here, too, the engineering firm Iv-Oil & Gas played a key role. Multimetaal, based in Den Helder, took on the construction and pipe work. The topsides of the K11-B platform simply underwent the necessary maintenance. New jackets were built for both platforms at the NAMI yard in Ridderkerk, and installed in June in the blocks G14 and G16a, by the Stanislav Yudin. This work was followed in July and August by the installation of the two topsides. For the development of the gas field in the G17 block, the decision was taken to use a subsea completion, the protection frame of which was fabricated by OMF Services based in Den Oever. This frame was subsequently placed over the subsea completion on the seabed by the diving support vessel Noordhoek Singapore operated by the Zierikzee-based Noordhoek Offshore. In December 2004, GDF were asked by ATP Oil & Gas

For the G14-A well protector platform, the topsides from the K11-B platform were reused. (Photo: Flying Focus)

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