up/date
over/view
subsea school
lti milestone
st. john’s
aberdeen
who I am
travel/log
when in...
Issue 2 / 2010 The FMC Customer Support Eastern Region internal magazine
Work/Over United Nations of
Ågotnes It only has a population of about 1450 but during working hours, Ågotnes – the site of the FMC CS Bergen office – becomes an international hotbed. page 6
OF NORT HS ERA E W
8
A
DUCTION p O ag PR e
NE
start
up/date
subsea school
up /date Market Outlook
The market in 2010 seems to be picking up from the previous year, with tender activity for new subsea projects on the increase.
New Contracts
•Two new exploration wells in Sakhalin, Russia for Gazflot, with drilling to be performed between June and October • Exploration wells in Black Sea, Turkey for TPAO – FMC’s first subsea contract with the company • A frame agreement with BG Norge AS for the supply of subsea production systems and services at the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) • A frame agreement with Fairfield Energy for the supply of subsea trees and services at the UK Continental Shelf • A complete system delivery and services – including installation and life of field support of 9 wells – at the Tormore/ Laggan project west of Shetland in the UK • A contract for exploration drilling in Greenland for Cairns Energy • The Marulk project, with installation to take place through Eni – which CS will enter into a service contract with • The installation of one well, with a complete well access rental tools package, for the Eni Aquila project in Italy • Letter of intent received from Statoil for Pan Pandora project
• Potential new development projects in the clarifications phase include the SDAG Shtokman development project in Russia, Total’s Clov development in Angola, first call-off under frame agreement with Fairfield Energy in the UK and Eni’s Okono project in Nigeria. In total, there is a potential of 60–70 new wells to be installed • New potential development projects currently tendered or up for tender in the near future include ExxonMobil’s Hibernia project in Canada, Dana’s Barbara/Phyllis project in the UK, Eni’s Ibleo project south of Italy, BG’s Jordbær project at the NCS (a call-off frame agreement), and Lundin’s Nemo project at the NCS. A total of 35–40 new wells should be up for tender over the next 3–6 months • In the near future. FMC will also aim to secure service contracts with Gaz de France at Gjøa, Eni at Marulk, and Total at the NCS
New Clients
Over the next couple of years, FMC CS will get better acquainted with and work with many new oil companies both in the UK and the NCS, including BG, Gaz de France, Fairfield Energy, Gazflot and Cairns Energy.
The world has its eyes on the World Cup at the moment, and while we’re watching too, FMC Customer Support is also paying attention to sports closer to home. In addition to our sponsorship of top-division Norwegian football club Brann, we also have a focus on a broader spectrum of sports. These include the sponsorship of the BIK ice hockey team, the Ulriken Eagles (basketball), Sandviken and Tertnes (women’s football). Given that these are professional teams in areas that don’t receive as much funding as men’s football, we can truly make our presence felt. There are direct benefits for our employees as well. By showing their FMC ID cards at the door, they gain free attendence at home matches of the sides sponsored by FMC. We also try to have at least one “family day” per year for football, basketball, ice hockey and handball where children get a chance to play the sport and then meet some of the professional players. In addition to these types of
sponsorships, we also provide financial support to a number of youth sport teams. Why do we do all of this? Sure, some of it is about increasing FMC’s exposure to others in the communities we serve, but that’s far from all. We also want people to feel proud of working for FMC – and this can be helped along the way by everything from seeing their children’s sport team shirts with our logo on it to helping non-employees see the company in various arenas. We’ve become more visible in recent years, but we still have a ways to go to become a household name outside of the oil and gas industry. That’s exactly where we’d like to go, and why not? When you have a company as well-respected and successful as ours, you want as many people to know about it as possible….
Andreas Helgesen
Marketing and Communication Manager, CS Sales & Business Development
andreas.helgesen@fks.fmcti.com
A subsea classroom in Cairo Egyptian company ENPPI (Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries) invited FMC Customer Support Training Center to make a training offer for the company. When the center offered up its Subsea School concept, ENPPI didn’t hesitate to say ”yes”… ENPPI was interested in training from FMC due to the upcoming activity in the West Nile Delta, so Training Manager Jan Erik Ellefsen made his way down to Cairo in midMarch together with four Subsea School instructors – Harald Neerland, Egil Åsli, Lene Hæreid Henriksen and Oddmund Lervik. A total of twenty-five ENPPI employees started with “Subsea introduction and field development” and continued through the Subsea School modules for nine days.
H ne Le
New Potential Projects
start
ær eid He nrik sen
tie s.
2
ng chi tea a e s b taking a break from su
du
The feedback from ENPPI participants regarding the course was overwhelmingly positive. On a scale of 1 to 10, participants rated the modules as an 8.5 in total. Due to the success factor in Egypt, Paul Anderson – FMC’s Subsea Sales Manager for North Africa and the Caspian – is looking into the possibility of using the Subsea School in other marketing campaigns in the area. “Hopefully this will help FMC become even more active in the region,” says Lervik. /
Subsea school: Wellhead systems The third section of FMC Customer Support’s Subsea School program is dedicated to wellhead systems. Here’s an overview of the main themes by instructor Torbjørn Erdal. What is a subsea wellhead system? The objective of a subsea wellhead system is to provide safe and controlled access to the producing zone of a sub-surface reservoir. The wellhead provides the main interface with internal equipment – casing hangers and seal assemblies – as well as an interface to external equipment such as blowout preventers and subsea trees. What does FMC’s wellhead system consist of? The UWD-15 (Underwater Development 15,000 PSI) Subsea Wellhead System is FMC’s chosen supply of subsea wellheads for installation projects all over the world, and has proven itself reliable in all sorts of subsea environments – from the North Sea to West Africa to Gulf of Mexico – since the mid-1990s.
A subsea production well is drilled in a number of sections: • 36” opening hole for 30” conductor • 26” hole for 20” casing • 17-1/2” hole for 13-3/8” casing. • 12-1/4” hole for 10-3/4” or 9-5/8” casing • 8-1/2” hole for 7” production tubing. The standard UWD-15 system consists of: Installable Equipments • 30 “Conductor Housing • 20” Wellhead Housing • 13-3/8” Casing Hanger • 10-3/4” or 9-5/8” Casing Hanger • Metal-to-metal seal assembly Running Tools • Conductor Housing Running Tool • Wellhead Housing Running Tool • Single Trip Tool • Spring Loaded Tool
Has FMC had any wellhead system advances in recent years? Due to oil and gas production from ever-greater sea depths, equipment must be designed to withstand the added weight and pressure that this brings about. FMC therefore had to design a new type of wellhead to counter this – the Rigid Lock Seal Assembly system. The main difference between the standard wellhead system and the rigid lock system is that the rigid lock system seal assembly makes the conductor housing and wellhead housing a great deal more rigid than a standard system. The UWD-15 Rigid Lock System – which uses the same casing hangers, seal assemblies and running tools as the standard UWD-15 system – will be FMC’s recommendation for all future production wells. /
in-house choke
Chokes that don’t choke production Chokes have always been among the items that have been most often retrieved and returned to FMC for maintenance and overhaul by customers. However, they provide one of the greatest maintenance lead time challenges – with overhauls sometimes taking up to 12–15 months. Therefore FMC decided to take matters into its own hands – and looked to produce an in-house manufactured choke. “For the majority of the chokes installed in the North Sea we’ve relied on the choke manufacturer for service. This can sometimes be a challenge, and the turnaround times don’t correspond very well with the dynamic needs of our clients,” says Project Manager Eskild Toft. “The FMC choke is gaining an impressive track record as we speak, and can now be called field proven.” The first FMC in-house manufactured choke was developed and installed on the Norne field in the North Sea a few years back. Afterwards, FMC’s choke development team in Houston and choke product personnel in Kongsberg worked together in order to figure out the potential for retrofits on all of the flow control modules that Customer Support struggled to turn around in its workshops.
The engineering is done by the CS base in Ågotnes, which works in cooperation with the overhaul team and the product responsible in Kongsberg. “It’s an good example of how top-notch collaboration pays off,” Toft says. “We maintain this product regardless of the number of chokes we have in service. We continue to have personnel trained
and make orders for tools to ensure that we’re ready when a maintenance need occurs.” The FMC choke is now promoted in a number of areas, mainly for new sales. But after a January 2010 meeting, FMC has been given the opportunity to retrofit its chock on flow control modules for Statoil at their Gullfaks field. “In this instance we’ll reduce lead time significantly by using our choke. If everything goes as planned, we’ll have replacement chokes prepared for these modules and therefore will be able to avoid overhaul lead time,” says Toft. “Choke repairs and maintenance will then run on a parallel service line – a well-controlled environment with a focus on quality products and service, and undisturbed by operational concerns.” /
A lighthouse for the aftermarket
aftermarket
over/view
3
over/view FMC support helps Kristiansund Opera to thrive
FMC CS’ sponsorship for the Kristiansund Opera in Norway has helped the opera host more guests than ever before in 2009. “FMC is one of a number of loyal sponsors that has helped us produce new Norwegian operas on a scale that no one else imagined or was able to do before us. We’ve undergone a tremendous development in recent years,” says Kristiansund Opera marketing and production manager Rune Svendsen. In addition to providing a solid amount of sponsorship money every year, FMC also helps ensure that the opera gets to put on a spectacular opera event at the West Base in February every year in a subsea hall with over 300 guests. In 2009, the Kristiansund Opera had 31,500 visitors at its over 120 performances, shows and concerts, and also rented out costumes, sets, lighting, supplies, and technical, artistic and administrative personnel to more than 60 teams, organisations, institutions and schools over the course of the year. “At present we are possibly Norway’s most effective music theatre, and we plan on keeping this level of activity. Our sponsorship from FMC goes a long way towards helping us attain this goal,” says Svendsen.
One of the biggest challenges in FMC Customer Support at present is a full overview of ongoing engineering tasks. The current reorganisation of resources through the establishment of a new aftermarket system and delivery department should go a long way towards creating transparent, streamlined operations that utilise pre-existing synergies. “We note that customer expectations for rapid engineering response by qualified personnel is continuously on the rise,” says Yngve Ekerhovd, FMC CS’ Manager of Offshore Operations in Norway – and the new head of the Operations and Aftermarket Engineering department. “Customers expect and demand improvements in these areas at all times, and we are putting a great deal of resources at work to remain one step ahead of their needs.” The new organisation will help coordinate the various CS engineering functions, better utilise the resources already present, and simultaneously strengthen the aftermarket engineering environment through the introduction of new positions. Where it is today / At present a number of departments are carrying out engineering tasks – including technical support leads in the workshop (3 positions), technical operational support (3 positions), maintenance engineering (2 positions), operational engineering (3 engineers) and the engineering department (10 engineers). “All of these positions are fully utilised at present, and are being evaluated for possible usage by or transfer to the en-
gineering department,” says Ekerhovd. “What we’re lacking with this setup is twofold – not only do we not have the full capacity we desire for rapid response, but it’s also extremely difficult to have an overview of ongoing engineering tasks with this formation.”
Operations and Aftermarket Engineering department vision To be the “lighthouse” and a visible recourse and competence centre for engineering activities in the aftermarket by having supreme technical know-how related to: • Offshore operations • Fields in operations • Customer needs and requirements • Maintenance performance • Maintenance management • Standards • Regulations • Improvements
How it will change / The new proposal calls for the utilisation of the synergy and power behind operational engineering, the engineering department, and technical operational support; the
transfer of FMC CS resources that are typical engineering resources into the engineering department, and an increase in resources through the utilisation of the Poland office. “Our goal is to get these steps into place, and then establish a new department that will serve as the coordination link of all activities related to engineering and delivery needs,” Ekerhovd says. The new Operational and Aftermarket Engineering department will be broken down into three disciplines – Operations (managed by Ekerhovd), System & Delivery (manager to be named later), and Engineering (managed by Jan Ove Liland). A number of actions have now been taken to get the department up and running, including the establishment of job descriptions for the new positions, the establishment of recruitment forms, preparation of information packages and the publishing of new positions. “The next steps in the process are an initiative on engineering tool startup training, and the tracking of ongoing engineering work and gathering of data in order to establish a department database with access to all vital job data. These steps are prioritised to be carried out as soon as possible, and the work is already underway,” says Ekerhovd. /
TSP safety delegates increases tenfold
After a proactive recruitment campaign from the HSE and TSP departments, FMC CS Bergen has expanded the number of safety delegates for its service personnel from one to 10. Each discipline has its own safety delegates – consisting of completion (Arild Henneli and Freddy Sundsbakk), wellheads (Bjørn Ove Skår and Lennart Strøm), intervention (Ole Christian Nøttveit and Kjartan Dale), surface topsides (Raymond Gjerde and Ove Andersen) and controls (Raymond Bertelsen and Arne Handegård). “The whole idea behind this expansion is two sided. First of all, we’d like to put the HSE issues from the service personnel on the agenda internally in our department, and not only related to the projects. Secondly, we believe that it will be easier to discuss discipline-related issues with someone in the same discipline rather than a person that you have never met. We also expect that a safety delegate forum will help the delegates stay motivated and updated,” says TSP Resource Manager Liv Rønningen, Ågotnes.
4
lti milestone
cs global manager meeting
10-year lti milestone A series of systematic steps and procedures carried out by the FMC CS workshop in Kristiansund have led to the base’s recent celebration of a most impressive milestone – 10 years without a Lost Time Incident (LTI). control identified risk factors during the preparation and execution of work activities and operations. “The sum of these actions is that we have a strong HSE awareness in the workshop. Not only does it help everyone build a tighter relationship with their workplace, but it also makes for greater motivation among employees,” Stene says. “HSE isn’t just about keeping the workshop clean – it has just as much, if not more, to do with caring and daring to speak up when you see that something can be improved.” Stene also stresses that customer cooperation – and with Statoil in particular – has been another contributing factor in achieving this result. The 10-year milestone was marked on April 7 with a ceremony in front of customers and employees in the workshop and a dinner for employees and their guests in the evening. Congratulations were sent from customers and former employees, along with the mayor of Kristiansund. /
The methodical work has been carried out for a number of years now, and includes weekly (at the Statoil building) and bimonthly (at FMC’s building) HSE rounds in the workshops. “We also hold weekly workshop meetings – where finds from the HSE rounds are a theme, and actions from these rounds are divided up – in addition to monthly HSE meetings. Here we have a dedicated theme we cover every month, along with other relevant topics,” says Kristiansund Workshop Manager Arve Stene.
“HSE isn’t just about keeping the workshop clean – it has just as much to do with speaking up when you see that something can be improved.” The Kristiansund base has also been very mindful over its usage of the Safe Job Analysis (SJA), which is a systematic and stepwise review of all risk factors prior to a given work activity or operation. The SJA makes it so that steps may be taken to eliminate or
Paving the way forward The fifth-annual Global Customer Support Manager Meeting was held in London from April 23–25, and consisted of managers from the Eastern and Western Regions, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Brazil. In addition to addressing the most prominent and pressing topics for the CS business, plans were also put in place to help fast track from thought and theory to concrete action. Tore Halvorsen, FMC’s Senior Vice President of Global Subsea Production Systems, served as the keynote speaker this time around and made suggestions to the agenda. Halvorsen shared his vision and expectations for the future of the after-market business with the
group, which provided valuable input and guidelines for the following discussions and break-out sessions. Other guests at the manager meeting this time around included: • Joe Kretz and Erni Soplantila, who shared concerns on security issues at CS locations • Sanjay Bhatia, who presented a market and competitor outlook and facilitated the last day • Scott Hamilton, who gave a status report on the
ongoing Landing String development as well as how product development for CS could be organised in the future • Steinar Gregersen from Kongsberg Business Development, who promoted a business model for capturing sales leads for MPM, the latest FMC acquisition On the meeting’s opening day, the regional managers each presented their organisation, opportunities and challenges. The day closed with a view on the ongoing Quality Transformation initiative, and what it may mean for CS. On the following day, six groups were formed to discuss topics – which ranged from sales and marketing strategies to engineering and technical support to finance and quality management for CS, to name a few. Each group presented their findings and potential action points at the end of the day. The meeting’s final day included discussions of longer-term strategies for the aftermarket. A comprehensive list of action points was made, with the next step now of each group forming a global peer-to-peer network and presenting results. The four regional managers – Nils-Petter Sivertsen, Shelagh Osborn, Neil McGregor and Jose Renato – will form a steering committee, which approves and releases the actions points. Results will be presented at a follow-up meeting in late 2010. /
Nils-petter sivertsen
5
Tomorrow is always a better day FMC CS’ continued improvements on the Ormen Lange project in the Norwegian Sea – Europe’s deepest subsea development – provide Shell with more effective and safe operations for every day that passes. According to Stephen Smith, FMC CS operations manager for special projects, the six operational improvements listed below “reduce risk, rig time and unnecessary testing offshore.” 1) Well clean-up / Shell was looking to get a lighter fluid in the tubing that can be accepted by the pipeline flow assurance and process engineering with the least impact on the existing completion design. The drivers for change from Shell’s side were: • Minimising pipeline depressurisation • De-risking the well delivery schedule • No usage of lower riser packages (LRP)/emergency disconnect packages (EDP) • A rig time reduction of 10 days for each well “Shell presented this to FMC in November 2009, and wanted it delivered by May 2010. Therefore, we put a fast-track project together at Kongsberg in order to be able to deliver,” Smith says. FMC’s output included the following: • Two SLS systems with full-bore access • Two slick joints, X-over and extension joints • 2000 metres of 8 5/8” casing with Hydril 563 connection • A casing riser handling study • Global riser analyses • Casing riser qualification In order to deliver the solution in that short timeframe, weekly face-to-face meetings were held in Kongsberg with Shell to close the design and solve any issues regarding the interface. 2) Tubing hanger installation / Due to a water depth of 850 metres and a strong current, Ormen Lange operations have experienced some challenges with the use of the XT umbilical and umbilical disconnect frame. “The umbilical has experienced some wear and tear, and also risks further damage,” Smith says. Together with Shell, FMC CS managed to find a solution for installing the tubing without the usage of a workover control system and XT umbilical. The solution consisted of: • Two remotely operable vehicle (ROV) operable panels with remote control unit and hydraulic jumpers • Two multi-quick adapters with hot stab receptacle
3) Tree on wire (TOW) improvements / After the successful TOW project in 2009, Shell wanted to improve the installation method, and asked FMC for a solution that could run enhanced horizontal subsea trees through a moonpool with the use of a cursor frame. FMC has now modified a subsea tree running tool with bolted-on bumpers that can be utilised for tree on wire work, and made a Brayco SV/B subsea hydraulic power unit for mounting underneath any work ROV. “These modifications will expand the weather window for operations, thereby reducing waiting time. The usage of the cursor system also opens up for pulling the horizontal subsea tree, which wasn’t an option with the last system. The savings in rig time due to these changes should be seven days per well,” Smith says. 4) Improved procedures and fluid knowledge / Major improvements and combining individual equipment testing to stack-ups have reduced overall offshore testing. FMC also recently held a major course together with CS TSPs, operation personnel, Shell, and suppliers Castrol, Pall and FMC Engineering Kongsberg to improve flushing and drying methods.
5) Onshore/offshore crews / Crew continuity has been highlighted by Shell as an advantage, as it leads to less downtime and safer operations. “During drilling campaigns the TSP personnel (completions crew) have been in Kristiansund together with workshop technicians testing and preparing equipment for upcoming operations, which helps achieve experience sharing. The combination of crew on the vessel, on the rig, and at Aukra has helped ensure good communications and all-around knowledge,” Smith says. 6) Pre-stackup onshore / Shell is always looking for improvements that can both reduce rig time and cut HSE exposure. Now they can sail into Kristiansund and lift onboard LRP/EDP assy and surface flow tree/swivel/slick joint assy that have been tested and are ready to be deployed when arriving offshore. “By doing this Shell saves offshore handling/stacking of heavy equipment and pressure testing. This is an HMS advantage that is not dependant on weather, and reduces risk significantly,” concludes Smith. /
6
the united nations of Ågotnes
The United Nations of Ågotnes Located about 20 kilometres outside of Bergen on the island of Sotra, the town of Ågotnes only has a population of about 1450. However, during working hours, the area becomes an international hotbed. At this FMC CS’s office alone, there are staffers from a full 14 different nations. The variety of viewpoints and competences gathered from around the world make the organisation more innovative, dynamic – and simply a more interesting place to work and be. Here’s a closer look at some of them, focusing on what Norway has given them and what they’ve given Norway – both in the material and spiritual senses…
Betty Ceballos
Ronald Varner
Ekaterina Varnavykaya
Workshop Technician / South Africa
Project Planner / Russia
What I bring from home to Norway: The main things that I bring to Norway from the Philippines are my skills and my belief that knowledge is power.
What I bring from home to Norway: Rugby on the sports field, as well as my cooking skills. This, namely, consists of my South African barbeque – which is known as a braaivleis.
What I bring from home to Norway: While Norway isn’t my first experience of staying away from home for a continuous period of time, there were certain things I missed – such as my family and friends, the sense of humour, and Russian soup. So I’ve brought my traditions with me, and Bergen – being the international place that it is – provided me with an opportunity to continue my traditions even though I was thousands of miles away from home. I joined a Russian-speaking community (consisting of about 25 different nationalities) and share many traditional celebrations during the year with them.
Accountant / Philippines
What I bring back from Norway to my home country: A breadth of knowledge and experiences – I keep picking up ideas, which stem from questions such as “How did they do it?” I look forward to inspiring through the sharing of these experiences and ideas with my people when travelling back to my home country.
Jamie MacDonough
Technical Support Engineer / Scotland What I bring from home to Norway: I’m from Glasgow – I brought my kilt. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Cross-country skis. Very few people in Scotland have them.
What I bring back from Norway to my home country: The concept of dugnad – in which voluntary work is carried out together with other people – along with the ability to motivate people collectively in order to achieve goals.
What I bring back from Norway to my home country: While I knew common facts about the country from beforehand like the Vikings, the troll mythical characters and the composer Edvard Grieg, what really overwhelmed me when I started living here were the people, attitudes and lifestyle. It wasn’t possible to get this sort of information from a book. In general, I find Norwegians to be people of high integrity and morals with a strong commitment to family and traditional values. Not only would I miss the Norwegian attitude, but I would also like to adopt it myself when I have a family.
Xinming Chen
Technical Support Engineer / China What I bring from home to Norway: A number of material items – such as an exclusive type of Chinese green tea, dried flowers (a food, not a decoration flower), Chinese pepper (different than the pepper sorts sold in Norwegian supermarkets), various preserved foods, clothes (such as Chinese wool and silk), Chinese wine and so on. However, I think that the biggest thing that I bring to Norway is a shortening of the distance between the East and the West. People then recognise China through a person rather than just the country’s name. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Again, it’s the shortening of the distance between the East and the West. When I go back to China, I tell friends about the great people of Norway and the fantastic nature there.
Melvin Bangura
Krzysztof Beda
Technical Support Engineer / Poland What I bring from home to Norway: My enthusiasm, ambition and the will to learn new things. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: I will bring back memories about Norwegian nature with the amazing fjords and the beautiful landscape.
Workshop Technician / Sierra Leone What I bring from home to Norway: Hope and determination. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Knowledge and happiness.
Jan Eskildsen
Service Engineer / Denmark
Patrick Jesella
Workshop Supervisor / Germany What I bring from home to Norway: Good food such as bratwurst and other German specialities, and, of course, German beer. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Salmon from Sotra.
What I bring from home to Norway: Like a number of others travelling from Denmark, I bring with me beer, wine, various meats and sausages. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: In the beginning I would bring home traditional Norwegian sweaters (lusekofter) and party/celebration outfits (festdrakt). I don’t bring a great deal home anymore, however, as I’ve lived in Bergen for the last 11 years.
Lauren Smith
Bid Price Estimator / Australia What I bring from home to Norway: Vegemite – it’s a type of spread made from yeast extract that you put on toast. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: The cheese slicer – we don’t have that in Australia.
st. john’s
aberdeen
7
Revving up once more After a slower start to 2010, a new Suncor Energy rig agreement means that FMC CS’ base in St. John’s, Canada will soon kick into high gear yet again.
Gunnlaugur Gunnlaugsson Senior MA-Coordinator / Iceland
What I bring from home to Norway: Icelandic specialties such as lamb meat (hangikjøt) and Lindu chocolate. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Goat cheese.
Julien Dubruille
Procurement Manager / France What I bring from home to Norway: Two bottles of white wine from Alsace (Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris) – which is the area I come from in France. I also like to bring back with me some “real” French cheeses like Comté, Roquefort, Reblochon and Raclette. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: Norway has very strong and beautiful Christmas traditions. I try to bring these traditions back to France with me and celebrate Christmas “Norwegian style”! I also always bring some brown cheese (brunost) back with me so that my friends have the opportunity to try it.
Michael Edwards
Project Engineer – Maintenance / USA What I bring from home to Norway: Trans-national family ties are certainly worth hanging on to. Otherwise, while I brought my cowboy boots and hat with me, I still don’t have the courage to wear them outside the house. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: I share the Norwegian culture with my family back home – mainly the types of food, traditional clothing like lusekoftes and the many beautiful photos of places I have been while I have been here in Norway.
Harry Citrine
Technical Support Engineer / England What I bring from home to Norway: Traditional English recipes to remind me of home. What I bring back from Norway to my home country: My newly found interest in sports like climbing and kayaking.
Since 2007, the St. John’s base has worked under a life of field agreement for primary customer Suncor Energy (previously Petro-Canada before the company merged with Suncor in 2009). This contract has provided the base with numerous onshore and offshore work activities, and has allowed FMC to maintain an ongoing presence in St. John’s. While 2010 began a bit slower than usual, the base used this opportunity to place some of its service personnal on short-term international assignments. “We loaned out some of our technical service personnel (TSPs) on short-term assignments in the UK and West Africa. These opportunities allow the TSPs to expand their level of competence and will be a significant asset to the base in the years to come,” says St. John’s Base Manager Gerry Mayo. The next act / In May 2010 Suncor Energy signed a new, three-year rig agreement with Husky Energy and Statoil, with the option to extend up to five years in total. As a result, the base will have a high work level again as of the autumn, when offshore rig activity starts up. “We’re currently in discussions with Suncor regarding field expansion, and there are a number of ongoing studies with the field development group regarding various expansion alternatives. Suncor has already placed an order for three additional subsea tree systems to be delivered in late 2010, and additional equipment orders are set to come over the next few months,” Mayo says. The St. John’s base is also in the midst of ten-
dering new work with ExxonMobil for the Hibernia South Expansion. This is an expansion of the first-ever offshore oil project on Canada’s east coast and will involve a subsea tieback to an existing fixed platform. “We are hoping for a contract award in the fourth quarter of 2010,” says Mayo. In June the base had an offshore campaign to change out annulus choke valves from a diver support vessel. According to Mayo “the campaign utilised many of our resources as well as the field support group in Dunfermline, and we also worked closely with Suncor and Acergy.”
What the future holds / St. John’s has a number of plans in place for the rest of 2010 and the near future to help guarantee that the base’s strong level of service will only improve in the years to come. “We’ll be carrying out a full SAP implementation later in 2010, which will be a huge step forward and will allow us to fully align our business processes with other Customer Support locations,” says Mayo. “We’re also looking to expand our current facilities. By increasing our level of infrastructure and support capabilities, we’ll be able to meet and exceed customer expectations both now and in the future.” /
An update on the upgrades FMC CS Aberdeen is in the midst of upgrading its system integration testing (SIT) areas, extending its yard, and improving the test pit at its workshop. The changes should provide new revenue streams to the Aberdeen base, allow large customer-owned equipment to be stored onsite, and make for safer and more streamlined operations. As of this writing, the project is at week 6 of a 16-week program. And despite a couple of setbacks – including the drainage of the site – work remains on schedule. “Our main contractor has shown very good control over the site during these early stages. There was a high potential for neighbour complaints due to the amount of material excavated from the site, but careful planning and the proactive use of road sweepers by our contractor eliminated any potential problems and the work has progressed free of any negative impact,” says FMC CS Aberdeen Supply Chain Manager Owen Clark. When finished, the SIT areas will have power and water run out to them and accommodations for both client and FMC personnel will be located
nearby. The area will be protected by a security fence and 24-hour CCTV. Test pit improvements are also running according to schedule, with progress on the main objectives – removing the uneven floor surface, improving personnel access, and improving the protective barrier – well underway. / Some of the work carried out here so far includes: • The removal of trip hazards • Usage of a concrete mix reinforced with metal filling to allow for loads to be positioned anywhere within the pit – providing workshop personnel more flexibility in the placement of subsea trees • Single-span ladder replaced with ship’s stairs to provide better access • A protective barrier replaced with an upgraded structure to provide greater protection from dropped objects and projectiles • Hose fittings fit and lighting relocated to maximise efficiency
8
gjøa tie in
New era of North Sea production FMC Customer Support is playing a major role in helping to open up a new area of the North Sea for oil and gas production with its work at the Gjøa oil and gas field. Located at blocks 35/9 and 36/7 in the northern part of the North Sea, Gjøa is about 600 km away from Florø, Norway. But not only does the field stand out for its pioneering location – Gjøa is estimated to have reserves of 82 million barrels of oil and condensate and 40 billion cubic metres of gas, making it one of the largest projects under development by Statoil.
Gjøa is the largest RovCon operation in FMC history. The project is noteworthy for FMC CS as well – the company’s 56 tie-ins at the field make it the largest RovCon (remotely operated vehicle-based tie-in and connection system) operation in FMC history, and the massive operation has been carried out without a single leak. A total of 13 wells will be installed at the field, including 9 oil wells and 4 gas wells. FMC CS has been in charge of installing 4 four-slot production templates – including foundation and protection –
4 manifolds for the four-slot templates, and 1 oneslot template. All of the work has gone off without a hitch. “I would like to give a huge round of thanks to all of the FMC CS personnel working on the operation. They’ve been extremely professional and flexible in their execution of the operations and have had a good dialogue with Statoil and Technip,” says FMC CS Gjøa project manager Somboon Keedklang. “The land-based personnel also deserve praise for the work carried out there.” Keedklang reserved a individual round of praise for one of the major point people on the project, who has held a special role in tying FMC CS and the client together. “Trond Angelsen has been based at Statoil premises, and has had the main responsibility for interface activities with Statoil regarding our equipment. He’s received a great deal of praise from everyone at Statoil – including the top leadership there – so we’re all grateful for his contribution,” says Keedklang. /
Gjøa facts
Location: Norwegian North Sea Proven: 1989 Reserves: 82 million barrels of oil and condensate, 40 billion cubic metres of gas Development Costs: NOK 29.3 billion Wells: 13 Production Start-Up: Late 2010 Distribution: Gas will be sent in the UK Flags pipeline to St Fergus in Scotland, while the oil will be piped to the Troll II pipeline and on to the Statoil-operated Mongstad refinery near Bergen. Operations: Statoil is currently the development operator for the Gjøa field, while GDF SUEZ E&P Norway will take over as operator at the start of production. (Sources: Upstream Online, offshore-technology.com)
aberdeen
9
It pays to be proactive No fools’ day On April 1, FMC was awarded a $210 million subsea production systems contract for Total’s Laggan-Tormore gas fields being built out 140km west of Shetland. Installation activities shall be supported from the Aberdeen Customer Support base.
QHSE Manager Allan Mills presenting the “Best UAC” award to Robert Scott (right) at the Aberdeen base All Hands Meeting.
After identifying and reporting a deficiency in the automatic operation of a roller door in the Building 1 workshop, Workshop Technician Robert Scott was recognised and rewarded at the Aberdeen base’s most recent All Hands Meeting. “The door had not been fitted with an infrared sensor required to prevent the door from closing when a vehicle was directly under it,” says FMC CS Aberdeen QHSE Manager Allan Mills. “Not only did Robert report the deficiency, but he was also proactive and informed others to operate the door
manually until the infrared sensor was fitted.” For his alertness and steadfast work in informing fellow employees, Scott received a certificate for the best unwanted act or condition (UAC) submitted in the first quarter of 2010. /
The overall development concept of the fields is a long-distance tieback of subsea wells connected to a new gas processing terminal at Sullom Voe on Shetland, with onward export of the processed gas to the Total-operated St Fergus Gas Terminal near Peterhead, via the Frigg UK (FUKA) pipeline system in the North Sea. “This project provides the Aberdeen base with the opportunity to utilise the upgraded facility to its full potential, and for a focused workforce to demonstrate its ability to manage a major project. It also allows the CS organisation to demonstrate its ability to cooperate in supporting Total’s offshore requirements through operations support technology,” says FMC Aberdeen Customer Support Manager Peter Walton. /
A picture of health Laggan - 600m depth
Tormore - 610m depth
Laggan-Tormore
Depth: Located in 600m of water Size: Estimated reserves of around 230 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) Environment: Extreme environmental conditions, including strong winds, huge waves and low temperatures
FMC CS Aberdeen employees on a recent walk at Glen Muick, Deeside.
FMC CS Aberdeen’s commitment to its employees’ well-being has been honoured with a Bronze award in the Healthy Working Lives programme administered by the NHS Grampian Health Board. The Healthy Working Lives programme is available to all of FMC CS’ marketing, engineering and FKSL employees in Aberdeen. The effort is supported by the base’s occupational health nurse from Capita and health board experts to ensure that all information and advice given is accurate and authorised by the medical authorities. “The programme’s portfolio covers various topics – including cancer, healthy eating, drugs, alcohol and stress awareness. The awards promote these topics and involve a mix of indoor/outdoor activities and
information campaigns,” says FMC CS Aberdeen HR Advisor Kevin Taylor. “Through the use of leaflets, posters, intranet and various event days, the base continues to involve as many employees as possible and highlight the importance of healthy living as well as the long-term benefits.” While Taylor is pleased with the programme’s achievements so far, he’d like to go one better in 2010. “We’re now aiming to achieve the Silver award through our 2010 initiatives,” he says. /
The Aberdeen base shall have responsibility for the following activities: • Assistance and supervision relative to installation, commissioning and operation/intervention of the subsea production system • Head office support services and administration to manage and control services • Provision of rental tooling as applicable Onshore services to be performed for the project include: • Project management • Site receipt inspection, testing of equipment and tools • Mobilisation of tooling and equipment packages • Demobilisation of tooling and equipment packages • Testing of wellheads, subsea trees, controls and associated workover packages • Preventative and corrective maintenance • Storage of tooling, equipment and spare parts
10
who I am
mile/stones
mile/stones
Who I am
New faces Hans Petter Alm
Josh Knight
3D-designer FMC CS ER Bergen
Francesca Craig
Personnel Coordinator FMC CS ER Aberdeen
Gemma Gordon Finance FMC CS ER Aberdeen
John Kerr
Facilities Supervisor FMC CS ER Aberdeen
Ørjan Klingen
Workshop Technician FMC CS ER Bergen
Greig Masson
Materials Coordinator FMC CS ER Aberdeen
Jennifer Morrice Materials Coordinator FMC CS ER Aberdeen
Stein Olav Talgø Workshop Technician FMC CS ER Bergen
Ole Emil Skotheimsvik Workshop Technician FMC CS ER Bergen
Work anniversaries
10 YEARS Lasse Askeland (Bergen) Øystein Fonneland (Bergen) Alexander Grevstad (Bergen) Unni Knutsen (Bergen) Kurt Arne Langeland (Bergen) Renate Kismul Mæhle (Bergen) Martin Monsen (Bergen) Marith Oen (Bergen) Kim Christian Pedersen (Bergen) Jarle Rabben (Bergen) Hans Torsvik (Bergen) Arne Finn Wetting (Bergen) 15 YEARS Kai Bråthen (Bergen) Kevin Clark (Bergen) Raymond Donald (Aberdeen) Arne Handegård (Bergen) Per Johan Haugro (Bergen) Gunnar Knutsen (Bergen) Erik Larssen (Bergen) Per Nordgaard (Bergen) Kim Rene Schutz (Bergen) Roger Spilde (Bergen) Anna Karin Stensnes (Bergen) Bjørn-Ove Storesund (Bergen) Jan Erik Strand (Bergen) Asbjørn Tautra (Bergen) Vidar Virkesdal (Bergen) 20 YEARS Bjørn Riis (Bergen)
Births
Bergen employee Malin Nesje Svendsen gave birth to a girl on March 11. Bergen employee Neti Phongsuchart had a girl on April 13. Bergen employee Krzysztof Beda became father to a baby girl on April 25.
Retired
Hans Jørgen Foss-Iversen turned 67 on March 29 and retired from FMC CS Bergen. Hans Jørgen had been an FMC employee since 1998. He began as a mechanic, but since 2007 had served as a caretaker at the facility. He was also well known around the base for dressing up every Christmas as Santa Claus and distributing gifts to the employees. Hans Jørgen has done a wonderful job at FMC. We would like to thank him for all of his years of service, and we wish him all of the best for the future.
What I do / I’m 19 years old, and I’m in the third year of a fouryear apprenticeship in the workshop. In fact, I’m FMC CS Aberdeen’s firstever workshop apprentice. I started off my apprenticeship with 9 months of technical college my first year, and then I was back in the workshop full-time until last September. Now I’m also doing a certificate in mechanical engineering at Aberdeen College and am there one day a week. This summer the workshop manager is planning on sending me over to Bergen for two months to work in a workshop there to gain experience on equipment that hasn’t arrived in Aberdeen as of yet, but will be in place for future projects.
Professional / Previously, I think it was when I worked a bicycle shop when I was 15 or 16 years old. When the manager went on holiday, I was left in charge of the shop for a week. So I was punching in orders, dealing with customers, and just taking care of everything that needed to be done at the shop. That was quite a challenge – I was My favourite film / The Butterfly Effect. quite proud of myself after that. Now, of course, it’s being the first-ever It’s about a guy who used to forget apprentice for the Aberdeen workshop. things, so therefore he would write down what he did. Later on in life, My biggest inspiration / I’ve always he reads over his memories and goes been interested in how things work, and back in and changes what happened. I hate not knowing why something is the By changing what happened, though, way that it is. I can’t accept an answer of when he wakes up everything else “That’s just what it does”. I always have around him has changed as well. I a drive to ask and find out how and why like films that confuse you a bit and things do what they do. I think this prob- make you think. Again, maybe it has ably has a lot to say regarding why I’ve something to do with my interest in getting to the bottom of things. chosen to become an engineer. My earliest memory / I had this pedal-powered digger, and whenever my mom or dad were doing the gardening, I would pile all of the stuff that they’d removed from the garden in a trailer and drive down the street with it. It would create an utter mess.
The best thing about my job / I was keen to do an apprenticeship because there’s an opportunity to see the engineering while you’re learning about it. I always felt that if you went to university you would only learn about engineering in theory. I tend to learn much better when I get to see how things work and go together. The workshop is a fantastic opportunity to do that. The guys in the workshop also have a large wealth of knowledge, which they pass The worst job I’ve ever had/done / I worked for this little cafe when I was on to me on a daily basis. 13 or 14, and I just hated it. I had to dry My greatest professional and per- dishes, clean out soup pots, and clean sonal achievement / Personal / I’m out the kitchen. It just wasn’t me. It part of the Braemar Mountain Res- was hot, humid...and horrible. But I accue Team at the Cairngorm mountain tually lasted there for about a year, just range, which is about 50 miles west of because I needed the money. here. I’ve been part of the call-out list now for the last 1 ½ years. While I’m My most cherished possession / My by no means a fantastic mountaineer, Volkswagen Polo GTI. I’m quite obsesI’m quite proud of being on the team sive about cleaning my car, both inside and have already been on a few rescue and out. missions.
My favourite musicians / I’ve got a wide taste in music – it all depends on my mood at the time. I can go from anything from old country and western to new pop, dance, rock, punk or indie. It just depends on what I’m doing. But, if I had to choose one band, I’m a big fan of Oasis. How I like to relax / I like going out to clubs and bars with my friends over the weekend, and going out for meals with my girlfriend. Going walking in the hills with the mountain rescue team is also quite relaxing. We train twice a month on various areas – such as first aid training, technical rescues, etc. We get on well – and that’s important if you’re carrying out the sort of work that we do in crazy weather and difficult conditions. It’s important to be able to work as a team. The person I would most like to have dinner with is… / Italian motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi. I’ve read his biography, and he seems like the sort of person that’s never happy with how he’s doing – he always has to overcome new challenges and be better. At the same time, he’s quite a laid-back person. I don’t understand how he manages to be both laid back and driven, but it’s quite inspiring. /
travel/log
11
A bittersweet journey travel / log
TSP Lennart Strøm, who started up at FMC three years ago, made two trips to offshore Sakhalin last year of four weeks each to work on a exploratory well. The travels made quite an impression on him – maybe even as much as the Norwegian chocolate made on the other rig workers…
The rig
1. On our first trip over to Sakhalin, we had to go to the harbour first. We travelled to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – the largest city there – and then were transported by car to Kholmsk, Sakhalin’s main offshore port. Since they didn’t have the immigration customs in place, we weren’t allowed to take the helicopter to the rig, which would have only taken 15 minutes. Instead we had to take a boat out to the rig, and it went the long way. It took 62 hours to get there, as it travelled all the way around the island and way up north.
3. The work we carried out offshore Sakhalin is pretty similar to working in the North Sea. As for our cooperation with the others out there, the toolpushers were from Australia and New Zealand, so it was easy to communicate with them. Most of the drill ship staff, however, was Korean and Burmese, so their English wasn’t very good. It was a good mood out on the rig. The Australians and the New Zealanders loved the Norwegian chocolate, so we had to bring that with us each time we came out. The food out on the rig was excellent. The catering was Korean, which meant that there was a lot of duck and chicken – and I found it very tasty.
2. The crew change boat Pelic an Venture takes about 20-30 hours to go betw een the rig and Sakhalin Island, depending on the weather. Given that the vessel isn’t real ly built for heavy weather, it can be a bum py ride. While it doesn’t have sleeping accommo dations and it isn’t the newest boat on the water, it’s alright. You mainly spend your time read ing, talking or listening to music.
4. I spent some days both in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kholmsk. The first time over we were at the Santa Resort Hotel, which is pictured here. Afterwards, some Norwegians from ADR told us about the Pacific Plaza hotel in the middle of the city. There was quite a good bar/café where a lot of the international guys met up. Surprisingly, given its location, there were some really good shopping opportunities in Sakhalin – but it’s expensive. Andrey
Svein
Lennart (Me)
5. There are a lot of statues of soldiers and war memorials around has been a lot of geographic placement, there Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Given its ownership of the ng ardi reg sia Rus and een Japan conflict over the years betw t, but Russia has poin one een the two of them at island. It was even split betw II. r Wa of World had control ever since the end
MORE ABOUT ME:
• I live in Fusa, which is a small town about an hour outside of Bergen. I’m based out of Ågotnes, but mostly work offshore. I am located in the workshop at the moment, however.
• I have a two-year-old girl and a fiveyear-old boy. When I have time off, I like to chill out and relax with my family.
6. That’s me on the right, while my coworker Svein from FMC is in the middle. The guy on the left is Andrey. He was a logistics coordinator on the project, but since he was the Russian on the rig that spoke the best English, he ended out doing all of the translation. He was a great guy as well. Not only am I friends with him on Facebook now, but also with quite a few others of the rig crew.
time/out
when in...
By land & by sea
time/out
FMC CS Bergen Training and Resource Coordinator Jan Oddvar Braadland has two outdoor interests that he devotes a good amount of time to – horse riding and fishing. The common link between the two? Nothing, Braadland says… except for the fact that they can be perfectly combined with one another.
The first time / Horse riding: In fishing as mental hygiene. While I’m 1999 – when I was 34. / Fishing: normally quite a social person, when When I was six. I fish I like as few people around me as possible. The appeal is being alone How I became interested / Horse rid- in nature, free from the hustle and busing: I used to work as a teacher, and tle. Only the fishing rod and I in an atlead a project for students that had tempt to fool the fish, and the dream of problems in traditional school. In this the big one lurking below and the poscontext, I became acquainted with a sibility of one day catching it. farmer who raised horses. We rode with the students several times a week, and since then I’ve been hooked. Riding a horse is like experiencing my boyhood dreams of being a cowboy again. / Fishing: I’m not really sure – I just remember that my friends and I would always go with our rod, line and worms, and fish in the small ponds we found. How often I participate / Horse riding: I still ride horses, but not so much as before I started at FMC. There just isn’t enough time. Now it’s about once a month. Before I started at FMC I would ride once a week, along with take long weekend trips over several days. / Fishing: I fish as often as I can throughout the season – usually at least once a week, with the trips lasting 5 to 6 hours. On the weekends I’m gone from morning to evening. What I like best about… / Horse riding: The interaction between horse and human, and being able to enjoy the scenery from a totally different perspective. The speed and excitement play a role, too. / Fishing: I think of
“There were some dramatic moments during the trip. During a crossing, one of the horses along with her rider were taken by the river and carried several hundred metres.” Though I enjoy the solitude of fishing and like fishing with only a few fishing buddies at most, that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy action out there. That’s actually why I fish for trout instead of salmon. With salmon you can work for days without catching any fish, while with trout I catch an average of five to ten fish each time. In other words, I’m an impatient soul – without action, I can get a bit bored.
when in... Stavanger Kongsberg
Stavanger was founded in 1125, but noteworthy history in the region goes back much further. The area is known for its fantastic beaches, strong culinary ties, status as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, and its present-day standing as Europe’s oil and energy capital.
A memorable experience / Horse riding: A couple of years ago, some of my friends and I rode from Oslo to Hemsedal, which is about a 400-kilometre trip. It took 12 days and it was fantastic – sleeping in tents and in the open air. But there were some dramatic moments during the trip as well. During the crossing of a major river in Vassfaret National Park, one of the horses – along with her rider and her pack – were taken by the river and and carried several hundred metres downriver. Both the rider and the horse were underwater for long periods. Though we worried that things had gone very wrong, luckily the horse pack was waterproof and was sturdy enough that it helped them make it to land. At that point I was the only one who had crossed the river. Since we saw that it was too dangerous to cross the river, I couldn’t cross back and no one could come over to me. Therefore I had to continue to ride along for a day through the park while the others took a 12-hour detour. Riding along through the wilderness, miles from the nearest person, was a fantastic experience. The horse enjoyed it less, though. They like being around other horses. / Fishing: I’ve had several family holidays on Hardangervidda, and one of my best trips was down to Sysendammen. There was lots of trout and beautiful scenery. /
FOOD & DRINK The Stavanger Region is renowned for its culinary diversity, and hosts both Norway’s Gastronomic Institute and the “Forum for Food and Drink” industry group. Recommended restaurants include Flor & Fjære, NB Sørensen, Straen Fiskerestaurant, Salsa Steakhouse & Bar, Bevaremegvel and Timbuktu. NIGHTLIFE/BARS Stavanger has a wide selection of nightlife options – here you can find everything from trendy nightclubs like Hall Toll to a more relaxing atmosphere at Resept and Sting to establishments like Holmen Bar that are known for their great cocktails. SIGHTS TO SEE/THINGS TO DO Stavanger is known for its festivals. In June Stavanger will host the Beach Volleyball World Tour, and Gordon Ramsey will visit the “Gladmat” food and wine festival in July.
One of the must sees while in Stavanger is Prekestolen (The Pulpit Rock). You can see Prekestolen from a boat tour in Lysefjorden, or take an approximately two-hour hike to the top. A massive, 600-metre vertical cliff that sits on the edge of Lysefjorden, Prekestolen is the region’s main attraction and one of Norway’s landmarks. Other attractions of note include the oil museum, the canning museum, Old Stavanger, the Rogaland Art Museum and the “three swords in the mountain” (Sverd i fjell) monument.
Work/Over No.2/2010 Publisher: FMC Technologies Customer Support ER P.O.Box 103, 5346 Ågotnes, Norway Phone: +47 5632 3232 Fax +47 5632 3235 e-mail: andreas.helgesen@fks.fmcti.com
24
ØMERKE ILJ T Editor in Chief: Andreas Helgesen M Editorial Content and Art Direction: Say PR & Communications 1 www.say.biz 6 Trykksak Editor: Scott LaHart Graphic Designer: Daniel Barradas Photos: All pictures property of FMC Technologies, unless otherwise stated. Print: Grafisk Trykk AS
45
12