Canada has positioned itself as the 5th largest producer of natural gas in the world, averaging a 19.4 Bcf/day production rate in 2020. As such, the hope was that this would be an opportunity to advance LNG export developments when Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived for a three-day visit to Canada. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chancellor Scholz discussed matters relating to energy security for Germany, the two countries would collaborate to increase Canadian LNG exports to the European market – a move seen as mutually beneficial for both nations by simultaneously boosting the local Canadian economy while aiding Europe to ween off Russian gas for the winter months. Despite that, the two world leaders instead signed a hydrogen deal – a fuel that for the most part can’t be utilised to heat up regular homes or light up buildings. This article will look at the trend of LNG export projects from 2011 and will offer an explanation as to why PM Trudeau is hesitant about advancing LNG terminal projects and instead, why hydrogen projects are burgeoning in its place.
The graph illustrates the announced Canadian LNG projects which will enable exportation to an international market as well as hydrogen projects in the last 11 years from EICDataStream. The numbers on top of each marker represents the number of projects announced within that year and the y-axis denotes the estimated CAPEX of each project. While LNG developments have been relatively ambitious during 2011-2014 with investments peaking at US$81.8bn for 8 projects in 2014, only 3 of the 21 projects announced during 2011-2014 are still progressing today. 2 of which have advanced with construction works. These are the first phase of the Kitimat LNG Export Terminal (LNG Canada) project and the Woodfibre LNG Export Plant project. LNG Canada’s Kitimat project is especially heralded because when completed in 2025, it will be regarded as the first fully permitted North American LNG terminal on the west coast.
After 2014, investments in LNG export projects have started to dwindle and only increased slightly in 2020 with the introduction of the second phase of LNG Canada’s Kitimat LNG proposal which is valued at US$20bn. The vast majority (67%) of LNG export projects, however, have not made it past the early development stage despite efforts to take advantage of Canada’s 2.05 Tcf reserves. They have either been cancelled or shelved owing to a prolonged pause in the development that is attributed to the regulatory processes which are known to be one of the strictest and most time-consuming in the world. An example that is emblematic of this can be traced back to several projects such as Petronas’ US$27.2bn Pacific Northwest LNG Export Terminal project. The review process of the environmental assessment that Petronas submitted for the project in February 2014 had been a major point of contention and halted the project’s progress until its eventual termination in July 2017. Steelhead LNG’s US$30bn Kwispaa LNG Liquefaction Plant is a more recent example where the developers filed for an environmental assessment in January 2019, but its review has been put on hold indefinitely, a case not too dissimilar from Petronas’. In contrast, hydrogen projects, both blue and green, have been a relatively new and upcoming sector that Canada is advocating as part of its 2050 net-zero emissions target. The sector is projected to increase by 25GW in the period 2020-2025. Moreover, the Canadian government claims that US$50bn worth of hydrogen projects will be built by then. So far, EICDataStream has recorded the completion of Air Liquide’s 20MW green hydrogen project worth US$500m in December 2020. 17 additional green and blue hydrogen projects valued at around US$25bn are in the early stages of development and will be in service from 2023-2028. Though still in its infancy, there is still room for more hydrogen developments to be made in the next three years following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Chancellor Scholz and PM Trudeau which resulted in the proliferation of hydrogen projects this year such as the Project Lynx Green Hydrogen Plant and Point Tupper Clean Energy Project which are set to aid Europe in meeting its energy transition targets in 2025 and 2028 respectively. Though Canada is highly unlikely to be of help to fellow G7 members in the short-term, PM Trudeau has stated that LNG projects need to revamp their business case to be fiscally viable. Time will tell if a solution can be made soon, but in the meantime, it appears that more attention will be given to hydrogen fuel within the next few years.
Firdaus Azman Energy Analyst (North and Central America) firdaus.azman@the-eic.com
Returning as a physical format for the first time since the pandemic hit in 2020, this year’s EIC National Awards Dinner is just around the corner and we can’t wait to find out who the winners are.
Taking place on 6 October at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London, this highly anticipated evening will be hosted by Stephen Mangan and will award participants of the sixth edition of the EIC Survive & Thrive report. If you want to know more, go to www.the-eic.com/Events/EICAwards
This month’s edition of Inside Energy brings readers a study on LNG in Canada, AIS’s ContraTherm C55 and ContraTherm C25 thermal insulation systems, Oliver Hydcovalves’ hydrogen valves, an interview with Ashtead Technology, and much more.
Firdaus Azman, Energy Analyst for the North and Central America region here at the EIC, is the author of this issue’s sector analysis. The article delves into the prospects for liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments in Canada, with Azman pointing out that, instead of LNG, hydrogen is likely to be the focus of the Canadian government’s attention for the next few years.
The members’ services section features AIS, formerly known as Advanced Insulations Systems, and its thermal insulation systems ContraTherm C55 and ContraTherm C25. Specifically designed for subsea applications, the products have proved to be a trusted solution over 20 and 10 years of service respectively. Check out this section to find out some of the projects where the ContraTherm systems have been used.
Spotlight on technology, meanwhile, looks into the start of production for Oliver Valves’ new hydrogen double block and bleed and ball valves. The new equipment, which was recently approved and certified, was designed by the group’s newly established division for the hydrogen and carbon capture market, Oliver Hydcovalves.
We also have a one-to-one interview with Scott Stephen, Regional General Manager at Ashtead Technology. Among topics discussed, Stephen provides us with insightful information regarding Ashtead Technology’s growth in the Middle East and energy transition in offshore projects.
Last but not least, Inside Energy is filled with office notices a nd local market and project updates from our hubs in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the MENA region. As usual, business news from our me mbers worldwide is also included.
Léliam de Castro
Head of Marketing and Communications leliam.castro@the-eic.com
Sector analysis 2
Inside this issue... 3
EIC databases 4
Members’ services 6
Spotlight on technology 7
New EIC members 8
Member news 14
Social media round up 21
Events calendar 22
One-to-one 24
International trade 26
UK and Europe news 27
Middle East news 28
Asia Pacific news 29
North America news 30
South America news 31
Survive and Thrive VI 32
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Get in touch Share your news and views... Please contact leliam.castro@the-eic.com
Leliam de CastroOperator: Total Eren
Value: US$1bn
Development of a 1,000MW green hydrogen facility near Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The site will include an electrolyser that will enable the production of more than 80,000 tpa of green hydrogen.
For more information on these and the 12,000 other current and future projects we are tracking please visit EICDataStream
Operator: Eni
Value: US$781m
Saipem has secured an E&C contract for the transportation and installation of an offshore gas pipeline connecting the four wells of the Argo and Cassiopea fields to the Sicilian coast. Pipelay vessels Castorone and Castoro 10 will install the 60km-long 14” gas pipeline.
Operator: Hy2gen
Value: US$468m
Development of a facility processing 90,000 tonnes of biomass annually to produce SAF and biomethanol. To optimise conversion of biomass, the BioTfuel process will be combined with a 100MW electrolyser to produce hydrogen from renewable energy.
Operator: ExxonMobil
Value: US$500m
An EPCI contract for subsea risers and pipelines has been awarded to TechnipFMC. In addition, Subsea 7 and Van Oord have been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil for the project management, engineering and installation of the 190km gas pipeline.
Operator: Eramet Norway
Value: US$600m
Eramet Norway is planning to build a pilot carbon capture facility at its manganese smelter in Sauda, Norway. The pilot facility will test the suitability of Air Liquide’s CryocapTM technology for the preconcentration of ferromanganese flue gas. It is planned to be ready by 2024.
Operator: Corio Generation Value: US$1.5bn
Corio Generation and TotalEnergies have selected a consortium comprising Technip Energies, Subsea 7 and Samkang M&T to perform the FEED for the project. They will conduct engineering for the floating foundation, mooring and inter-array cable with a wind turbine supplier.
EICAssetMap, the EIC’s operations and maintenance (O&M) database, now maps all major facilities across all energy sectors in Africa, ASEAN, Asia and ISC, Australasia, Brazil, EMEA, Europe and CIS, GCC, Gulf of Mexico and UK
This fully interactive map database is updated daily with information about existing facilities and key contacts at these facilities so you can find out who to do business with and contact them.
EICAssetMap is the only O&M database to map major energy assets across all sectors in key markets, both onshore and offshore.
Search for operational assets in key energy markets around the world in all energy sectors to find new O&M business opportunities www.the-eic.com/MarketIntelligence/EICAssetMap
AIS’s thermal insulation systems ContraTherm® C55 and ContraTherm® C25 have reached significant milestones in 2022 and can now boast over 20 and 10 years of service respectively. Both are designed specifically for thermal insulation applications for subsea production equipment.
When relatively new to the market, ContraTherm® C55 was used on the ConocoPhillips Jade project in 2001 before its first major endeavour: Statoil Kristin in 2003 and has been a trusted solution on over 250 completed contracts ever since.
One of the most memorable projects is Akpo, which AIS started working on in 2009 and still supplies products for 13 years later.
In its 20-plus years of service, ContraTherm® C55 has been used in all major oil basins around the world. During this time, AIS has supplied over 2 million kg of material with large quantities used in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, offshore Brazil, West Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Canada.
It’s no secret that in our industry, longevity inspires confidence, making ContraTherm® C25’s track record equally impressive. No solution can pass a decade of use and boast a long list of successful contracts without building trust along the way.
Now one of the most tested materials in the world, it was developed to provide the market with a lightweight, flexible material suitable for dynamic applications and flow assurance for complex subsea equipment. These include jumpers, tie-in spools, risers, goosenecks, PLETs, PLEMs, Christmas trees and manifold structures.
Over the past decade, AIS has applied over 2.5 million kg of materials and used C25 on over 100 completed contracts, including notable projects such as Kaombo –the largest subsea development in Africa.
Over 900,000 kg of ContraTherm® C25 were applied on this project, which started in 2014 and is still ongoing to this day.
AIS, formerly Advanced Insulation Systems (incorporating Covertherm, Manuplas and Bardot) is an award-winning global supplier of insulation, passive fire protection, buoyancy, and cable protection systems. From design and build to installation and maintenance, its customers count on AIS to deliver best-in-class service advanced material products – off-the-shelf and bespoke – that perform in the world’s most challenging environments.
For more information visit www.aisltd.com
Orders have started to roll off the production line for Oliver’s new hydrogen double block & bleed and ball valves.
After months of research and development and meticulous testing at Oliver Valves’ purpose-built R&D facilities in the UK, the ball valve was passed and certified for hydrogen application by third party inspectors in July of this year.
Various DBB and single isolate ball valves with 14mm bore flange to flange have gone into full production having taken another order, this time from Rockfin.
Valves pictured above can be seen undergoing pressure testing on our recently installed state-of-the-art test rigs, and are scheduled for immediate dispatch to Poland.
The valves meet with stringent ISO 15848-1:2015 Tightness class B certification including ISO 5208:2015 zero seat leakage rate A. This has been achieved with precision engineering and providing a high-quality seal face finish.
Oliver Valves group is exhibiting in the EIC’s UK pavilion at Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe, 19-20 October.
Oliver Valves Ltd, Oliver Valvetek Ltd and Oliver Twinsafe Ltd are world leaders in instrumentation, subsea and pipeline valves, along with the newly established company for the hydrogen and carbon capture market, Oliver Hydcovalves Ltd.
The companies design and produce a range of precisionquality valve solutions. High-performance instrumentation valves, class-leading metal seated pipeline ball valves up to 16” and world-leading subsea needle, check, ball and gate valves form the foundation of the product range.
For more information on Oliver Hydcovalves’ range of hydrogen valves or to discover more about Oliver R&D capabilities, contact Nick Howard or Rob Porter: Tel +44 (0)1565 654 089 Email sales@valves.co.uk
Get in touch Any EIC members who wish to be profiled in this section please contact Léliam de Castro...
Oliver
© Oliver Valves Ltd
HYDROGEN VALVES GO INTO PRODUCTION AT OLIVER HYDCOVALVES
Level 33, Ilham Tower No 8, Jalan Binjai 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Contact BK Dash, Managing Director
Telephone +603 2117 5250
Email bk.dash@erthaenergy.com
Web www.erthaenergy.com
Ertha Energy is a niche consulting company providing services to the oil and gas, renewable energy and decarbonisation sectors. It is passionate about delivering business and technical solutions and finding the right balance between energy security, affordability and sustainability.
Ertha Energy believes no ideal solution yet exists and that the energy transition will be specific to each country or region’s journey towards net zero. The company is using its experience and expertise to support customers who believe in the growth story and have a passion for energy security, affordability and energy transition, thereby creating a sustainable world for future generations.
Lot 52-2, 2nd Foor Block F, Plaza 333 Kobusak Commercial Centre Jalan Pintas 88300 Penampang Sabah
Contact Gesiri Gambung, Chief Executive Officer
Telephone +0060 8873 8050
Email admin@eternitymode.com
Eternity Mode Sdn Bhd (EMSB) is a Sabahan oil and gas service provider. Its key activities are focused on engineering and construction works especially civil, structural, mechanical and electrical.
EMSB is a PETRONAS licensed company with more than 10 years project experience and has executed several projects especially in civil and structural works in the oil and gas industry. EMSB also offers site preparation works, pipeline maintenance and repair, mechanical and electrical works, building construction works, civil and ME, interior decoration and renovation works, project management services, cleaning works, building material supplies and manpower supply. EMSB has also embarked on its upstream expansion portfolio namely decommissioning, plug and abandonment, and maintenance and corrosion inspection as part of its long-term growth strategy.
The company’s leadership team is well represented by local Sabahan talent with highly dedicated, experienced, qualified, and professional individuals who have spent more than 20 years working in several oil and gas companies including the national oil and gas company.
Union Point 11th Floor Aberdeen AB11 5PW
Contact Des Hart, Director Telephone +44 (0)1224 044 430
Email des@hagland.com
Web https://hagland-shipbrokers.com/
Hagland Shipbrokers is highly active in offshore oil and gas, renewables, short sea tank and bulk, fishing and aquaculture.
Since 1872, Hagland has built a global network and reputation for providing highly professional shipbroking services for its clients.
With offices in Haugesund, Esbjerg, Hamburg and Aberdeen Hagland offers expertise within spot and term chartering as well as sale and purchase worldwide.
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Lot 1860, Jalan Prunus 5 Piasau Utara, Piasau Industrial Estate 98000 Miri Sarawak Malaysia
Contact Chong Yi Yao, General Manager
Telephone +608 5665 998
Email chong.yy@skelite.com.my
Web www.skelite.com.my
KEJURUTERAAN SK ELITE Sdn Bhd was incorporated in Malaysia on 11 December 2015 as a private limited company.
SK ELITE is confident that with its competitive pricing and qualified workforce many of its clients prefer it as their one-stop supplier. It treasures its business relationship with clients, be it existing or new customers, and strives to maintain and improve long-term mutual growth.
The company covers a broad range of products and services in oil and gas, plantation, general industry, marine, construction and petrochemicals. It holds stocks for pipes, fittings, flanges and structural steel products and has comprehensive stocks in various type of material grades and dimensions. On the service side, SK ELITE provides equipment rental, hydrotesting, blasting and painting, fabrication, gangway rental and installation, topside structural maintenance and manpower supply.
Rua do Torrista, S/N Lote 3 Parte Zona Zen Rio Das Ostras RJ 28899-016
Brazil
Contact Salomao de Almeida Neto, Executive Director
Telephone +55 22 98266 8034
Email san@metalcoating.com.br
Web www.metalcoating.com.br
Metalcoating specialises in custom coating, adapting the process and products to customer needs by using engineering resins.
Its goal is to supply customised products; pipes, connections, bends, spools, valves, pumps etc, to industries such as oil and gas, biofuel, water treatment, chemical and petrochemical, pulp and paper, pharma, automotive and others.
3600 Brittmoore Road Suite 120 Houston TX 77043
Contact Kaylee Kinzie, Marketing Manager
Telephone +1 888 470 2444
Email kaylee@tec-sales.com Web www.tec-sales.com
TEC Sales is an authorised representative for some of the most trusted names in the industrial electrical industry.
As a manufacturer’s representative, it is dedicated to growing its client’s strategic market segments, and providing technical expertise for the products it represents.
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91 Waterloo Road London SE1 8RT
Contact Stephen Redmond, Group Marketing & Operations Director
Telephone +44 (0)203 640 2130
Email stephen@ greenrecruitmentcompany.com
Web www.greenrecruitmentcompany.com
The Green Recruitment Company is a leading provider of recruitment solutions to the green energy, technology, finance and sustainability space.
It has offices in the US, UK, Netherlands, China, South Africa and Australia.
No 2, Jalan Mega 1/7 Taman Perindustrian Nusa Cemerlang 79200 Gelang Patah Nusajaya
Johor
Malaysia
Contact Elaine Tham, General Manager
Telephone +607 2265 734
Email elaine@traverse.sg
Web www.traverse.sg
Traverse International Pte Ltd was incorporated in Singapore in 2006 and has grown to be a one-step partner for all thermal insulation material needs such as metal jacketing, insulation material, accessories, mastics, sealants and custom designed pipe section and slabs. It has fully stocked warehouses close to clients in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, UAE and India. The company represents various international brands in these markets.
The division has also ventured into fabricating customised pipe sectionals, slabs, curved segments, elbows, tees and pipe supports for various sizes of polyurethane (PU), polyisocyanurate (PIR), phenolic, cellular glass and mineral wool.
The H Dubai Officer Tower Level 17 Dubai UAE
Contact Ahmed Alaa, Sales Director Email aalaa@voovio.com
Web www.voovio.com
Voovio is a global deep tech company, headquartered in Houston (US) and Madrid (Spain). Founded by a group of experts in machine vision, industrial R&D and automation, Voovio was created to make the process industry more efficient, more profitable, environmentally friendly and safer.
Voovio’s enhanced reality technology enables process industry leaders to dramatically increase the ROI of operating assets and equipment, capturing digital replicas and operating procedures simulators to boost workforce preparedness.
Its clients are leaders in innovation in petrochemicals and the process industries, striving for the highest standards of safety in their operational procedures and prioritising the development of their staff through digital transformation. Plant managers, unit managers, operations and L&D professionals rely on Voovio to increase operator competency, save money on training and avoid incidents/downtime.
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If they join, you will receive four Global Digital Support packages as a thank you for your efforts. Worth over £1,000, these packages can be used alongside either online or live events and are a great way to raise the profile of your company. They include:
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International law firm Addleshaw Goddard (AG) has advised the Facility for Energy Inclusion’s Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF), managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners Asset Management, on its provision of a US$5m debt facility to African fintech start-up, Yellow.
The funding will help support Yellow’s ambition to help make renewable energy more accessible to low-income households across Africa and follows several successful funding rounds, bringing its overall debt facility to US$20m.
Yellow is quickly emerging as one of Africa’s most promising start-ups, providing widespread accessibility to the offgrid solar market, which has historically failed to get off the ground because of lack of consumer financing and last-mile distribution.
The product, which has already brought electricity for the first time to over 240,000 households across the continent, enables a distributed network of sales agents to serve rural communities with affordable financing for renewable energy.
Yellow has reported revenue growth of 350% per annum.
The deal was led through AG’s Africa Business Group, which has over 26 years’ experience of working on the continent, often advising large global corporates including Diageo and bp.
The AG team was led by Paul Jones, with support from Inga Aryanova, Matthew Barnes and Bill Downer.
AEG Power Solutions, a global provider of power supply systems and solutions for all types of critical and demanding applications, will deliver eight Thyrobox DC-3 systems to Siemens Energy. The DC systems will provide the power supply for the hydrogen production process of the CEOG (Centrale Électrique de l’Ouest Guyanais) power plant project.
The world’s largest power plant CEOG project which combines photovoltaic with green hydrogen energy storage, is located in Western French Guiana and stores up to 128MWh. The hydrogen yield of 860 tons per year will be produced by a 16MW electrolysis platform, stored under pressure in hydrogen storage tanks and then provide secure and 24/7 available electricity via high-power fuel cells in a reverse electrolysis process –enough to power 10,000 households in French Guiana at a competitive price compared to local thermal power plants.
AEG PS will deliver eight Thyrobox power supply systems to Siemens Energy as EPC of the project. Each system consists of four Thyrobox DC-3 power modules to increase reliability and efficiency in partial load and to support container integration. The B12 thyristor rectifiers have an IGBT bridge for the DC/DC conversion and will be delivered in eight transformer rectifier units (TRU) forming a 21.5MVA/18.6MW power supply solution to power the electrolyser system. The rectifier modules will be provided on power frames to allow forklift and crane handling for easy installation and decreased handling costs and support the required Safety Integrity Level (SIL).
After completion of the construction work and the subsequent test operation, the power plant should be feeding into the grid in the second quarter of 2024.
AEG Power Solutions ensures continuous power availability and the safe operation of critical applications thanks to a wide portfolio of power supply systems and services: AC and DC UPS, battery chargers, rectifier systems, service and maintenance on a 24/7 basis, as well as fully customised UPS systems to customer specifications.
Leading end-to-end integrated solutions provider Alderley has announced the launch of a new CompEx training centre at its Wickwar headquarters near Bristol, UK, in partnership with ExVeritas, the Safety Specialists. The new centre enables Alderley to deliver world-leading training to the internationally recognised CompEx standard applicable to all businesses and industries that have hazardous area operations.
Alderley’s partnership with ExVeritas enables CompEx training courses to be accessed easily in the South, West and Midlands of the UK, and is aimed at electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and inspectors who install, operate, maintain, inspect and/or design electrical equipment that is used in hazardous areas.
CompEx was originally devised to ensure competency and safety in the highly regulated energy sector. It is now the recognised standard for personnel working across a wide range of industries including pharmaceutical, industrial, agriculture and food production.
The opening of the new training centre coincides with growing demand in the UK for qualified support on strategic projects of national significance such as Hinkley Point C in north Somerset, South West England. Alderley can now deliver training that assesses candidates to the CompEx standard for units ExF, F+, Ex12, Ex14 (with Ex01-04 to be added to the training schedule soon).
For more information: www.alderley.com
Electrical engineering company BPE Engineering & Services Sdn Bhd has secured a three-year contract with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of PETRONAS, for the provision of supply, install and maintenance of heater bundles and control panels.
PETRONAS is a global energy and solutions partner and ranked as one of the largest corporations in Fortune Global 500®. The contract commenced on 18 March 2022 and will complete by 17 March 2025.
BPE Engineering & Services Sdn Bhd is a registered electrical engineering company recognised by Suruhanjaya Tenaga, with a valid PETRONAS license.
BPE remains focused on positioning ourselves as a strong candidate that offers clients reliable access to local expertise for any electrical servicing needs. BPE remains committed to deliver our contract responsibilities to their full potential based on the agreed package and commensurable timeline.
Mohd Isnari Idris, Managing Director, BPE Engineering & Services
The company has grown its offering not just in its products and services, but also in its proficiency to approach clients’ key concerns through value-added experiences. The company is backed by decades-worth of mastery in the electrical engineering discipline since its establishment in 1994.
For more information: www.bpe.com.my
Mitsubishi Power Americas has selected Emerson, a global software and engineering leader, to automate a green hydrogen production and storage facility, pictured right.
The industry-leading hub will help integrate renewable energy by producing and storing green hydrogen for long-duration energy storage. Mitsubishi Power will leverage Emerson’s hydrogen production experience and automation software expertise to increase safety, decrease costs and simplify maintenance across the lifecycle of the facility.
The Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub will convert renewable energy through the 220MW electrolyser bank to produce up to 100 tons of green hydrogen per day. The facility will have storage for 300GWh of energy in two salt caverns. In comparison, the battery storage capacity across the US is 2GWh via lithium-ion batteries. The Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub has space for up to 100 caverns.
Mitsubishi Power will use Emerson’s Ovation™ integrated control and safety platform to optimise the Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub’s production efficiency and help ensure safe operations. The Ovation platform will provide reliable control and monitoring of the renewable hydrogen production process and emergency shutdown, fire and gas protection.
Emerson’s PACSystems™ RSTiEP I/O will provide easier field connectivity and help facilitate project changes without extending timelines or increasing cost, while AMS Device Manager will help monitor the health of plant assets to improve safety, reliability, efficiency and sustainability.
3t EnerMech has signed a fouryear exclusivity agreement with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) to become the sole provider of its licensed training in Angola and Guyana.
The strategic alliance between 3t Energy Group and EnerMech, will deliver unique ECITB accredited skills programmes through its learning solutions in each region. The agreement with the global arm of the UK-based skills organisation is set until 2026, with an aim to expand its offering within Guyana and Angola through the collaboration with 3t EnerMech.
Working with almost 200 licensed training providers in more than 25 countries, the ECITB delivers training and qualifications in skills for the engineering construction industry.
In February this year, 3t EnerMech announced its venture with Orinduik Development Incorporated Training Centre to develop Guyana’s first oil and gas training facility – following more than US$20m of investment.
Delivering training in-country to support the region’s growing oil and gas industry, the centre will become the first and only ECITB internationally accredited training provider in Guyana.
The 3t EnerMech alliance opened its first dedicated training facility in Angola’s industrial hub of Luanda last year. Since its launch, 3t EnerMech has secured several contracts delivering its in-country service training to Angolan nationals and will now exclusively offer ECITB courses such as its mechanical joint integrity and confined space range to support and upskill the region’s workforce.
3t EnerMech offers its globally recognised, quality assured training capability, along-side fully customisable learning solutions that draw on a range of software and technology tools including simulation, e-learning, VR-learning, R3 spaced-repetition learning and augmented reality.
For more information: www.enermech.com
Mitsubishi Power will use Emerson’s digitally connected Ovation architecture to optimise the industry-leading Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub’s production efficiency and help ensure safe operations © Mitsubishi PowerFulkrum, a leading provider of inspection, expediting, auditing and technical staffing to the energy industry, has received certifications of its management systems by two industry leading standards. The first, ISO 45001:2018 certifies Fulkrum’s management system for Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S), and the second, ISO 14001:2015, certifies Fulkrum’s Environmental Management System (EMS).
The ISO 45001:2018 standard was developed by a committee of occupational health and safety experts – the international standard focuses on reducing workplace risks and improving employee safety, providing a framework for health and safety processes within the workplace and allowing the businesses to demonstrate their best-practice examples.
Setting a criteria for an effective environmental management system, the ISO 14001:2015 standard helps businesses take responsibility for their impact on the environment and improve overall performance.
Both of these certifications cover the provision of the recruitment of quality and inspection personnel and associated services to the energy sector – Fulkrum’s core business.
Combined with Fulkrum’s existing ISO 9001:2015 certification which sets out principles for a quality management system, these three certifications provide accreditation of Fulkrum’s Integrated Management System (IMS) covering all aspects of health, safety, environment and quality.
Established in 2010 in Corby, Fulkrum has grown to a global company with a wide international footprint. Operating in the four key regions –the Americas, Europe and Africa, APAC and the Middle East – Fulkrum has a sustainable track record in the oil and gas, petrochemicals and renewables sectors.
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Fulkrum provides comprehensive expertise in the provision of inspection, expediting, auditing and technical staffing services across the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas and renewables markets.
i
For more information: https://fulkrum.com/
L&T-MHI Power Turbine Generators Private Limited has upgraded its test bench with GE Power Conversion’s cyber-secured MV7000 drive remote monitoring. This is the first drives KPI and Motor KPIs keeping the MV drive as a sensor.
This solution met our demands for cyber security while adding additional remote monitoring and control capabilities through the software, and this could be done with minimal hardware upgrade in one package. We have enhanced our predictive maintenance using machine learning for better early warning capability, minimised our unplanned maintenance costs and reduced production losses from downtime.
Rajneesh Bajaj, GM & Head-Operations, L&T-MHI
The drive acts as the sensor for GE Power Conversion’s Asset Performance Management (APM) digital solution, eliminating the need for a separate hardware sensor. The energyefficient and cost-saving solution was recommended by GE as an upgrade for an obsolete third-party controller.
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The upgrade at L&T-MHI’s stateof-the-art manufacturing facility at Hazira, a suburb of Surat city in the Gujarat state of India, also included an advanced software upgrade to enable the digital drive prognostic feature (key performance indicators and rotating machine prognostic). The scalable RXi-142 features flexible architecture, a future-proof HPCi platform and high reliability computing. It also addresses the customer’s cyber security concerns.
With more than 100 years of experience engineering motors, generators and control equipment, GE Power Conversion’s APM solution can provide early warning of potential failures. This tool evaluates equipment health by analysing data from key systems. It can monitor assets for performance degradation, providing an early warning and helping operators reduce unplanned downtime.
GE drives are fitted with a software module enabling simple, secure collation of data for trending key performance indicators and performing analytics. In addition, high frequency measurements can be used to perform electrical signature analysis to evaluate performance.
Also included in the L&T-MHI solution is GE’s visor connect box, which provides a gateway for remote support and cloud connectivity. Featuring a powerful data historian, Visor is GE Power Conversion’s cyber-secure remote access solution.
GE Power Conversion’s digital suite is built on GE’s industry-wide expertise in IT, operating technology (OT) and the industrial internet of things (IIoT).
GE Power Conversion applies the science and systems of power conversion to help drive the electric transformation of the world’s energy infrastructure: designing and delivering advanced motor, drive and control technologies that evolve today’s industrial processes for a cleaner, more productive future.
For more information: www.gepowerconversion.com
Council)
Hitachi Energy has started testing on the world’s most powerful 24-MVA subsea transformer, above, which will be supplied to OneSubsea®, the subsea technologies, production and processing systems business of Schlumberger.
The tests will involve submerging the 55 tonne subsea transformer into the harbour basin to monitor its thermal behaviour and pressure compensation system, as well as ensure its reliability in subsea conditions.
The transformers form part of a large contract awarded to Hitachi Energy for the supply of two subsea OceaniQTM transformers, two input transformers, two stepup transformers, and a common step-down distribution transformer. Once tested the subsea transformers will be submerged off the Norwegian coast in waters to a depth of about 850m and will power the OneSubsea multiphase compression system for the Shell Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea.
Hitachi Energy has collaborated closely with ABB on the project. ABB is supplying its INSUBSEA® Long Step-out solution to deliver power to the OneSubsea® compressors and has overall system responsibility for the power scope of the project.
The OneSubsea compression system will be powered and controlled from the Nyhamna onshore gas processing plant, which is 120km from the subsea location. This power stepout distance sets a world record for transmitting variable frequency power from an onshore facility to equipment on the seabed. The system will lower backpressure on the reservoir, helping increase recovery and extend the life of the field.
Hitachi Energy is a pioneer and world leading manufacturer of subsea transformers. In total, the company has supplied more than 40 subsea transformers. The world’s most powerful subsea transformers have been a 20MVA transformer for a pilot project at the Nyhamna gas field in Norway and two 19MVA subsea transformers that are in production at the Åsgard field in Norway.
i
For more information:
www.hitachienergy.com
In May VMC hit an important sales milestone by placing orders for Howden bare shaft screw compressors, taking the total to over 1000 compressor units sold within South America.
Scottish based firm Howden, a world leader and pioneer of screw compression technology, continues to support its package partner VMC within the region. During the past two decades VMC has grown steadily in the Latin American industrial refrigeration market, and for the last ten years in the oil and gas sector.
Both teams celebrate this achievement as the result of excellent work from the VMC sales force, by selling units into a wide range of applications. The success and the high volume of units sold is underpinned by the robust Howden screw compressor technology combined with the provision of engineering, equipment, service and aftermarket support provided by VMC.
For more information: www.howden.com
Ltd
Inmarsat, Global Beam Telecom and Cobham Satcom have launched a new Push-To-Talk (PTT) offering, BGAN PRISM PTT+, in partnership with Hytera. This complete satelliteenhanced connectivity solution, now available through Hytera mobile radios, will help businesses overcome coverage redundancy and operational downtime associated with traditional radio systems.
This new unified network solution combines leading expertise in satellite connectivity, radio systems (LMR/DMR) and cellular devices (3G/ LTE) to create a unique PTT offering that will accelerate advanced connectivity adoption among businesses in the Middle East.
Supported by Inmarsat’s BGAN service – powered by the company’s unparalleled, global ELERA (L-band) satellite network – the solution provides industry-leading reliability of 99.9%+ uptime and enables seamless radio over internet protocol (IP) capabilities. It will ensure businesses have access to real-time communications and telemetry capabilities, increasing their visibility of operations and the safety of remote workers and assets.
The sophisticated solution will transform customer experience across three key areas: coverage, interoperability, and capability. Incorporating satellite coverage provides exceptional network resilience, enabling seamless switching between radio and satellite while sustaining constant coverage anywhere in the world.
Inmarsat’s ELERA network is the world’s most reliable satellite network for IoT and secure narrowband connectivity. ELERA offers more global spectrum than any L-band provider, with its recently launched I-6 F1 satellite (and I-6 F2 launching in Q1 2023) making the best use of the available spectrum and providing 50% more capacity per beam.
more information:
Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, is building an £80m gigafactory at its existing site in Royston, UK, to scale up the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cell components.
The gigafactory will initially be capable of manufacturing 3GW of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell components annually for hydrogen vehicles and is supported by the UK Government through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF). The APC forecasts that the UK will need 14GW of fuel cell stack production and 400,000 high pressure carbon fibre tanks annually to meet local vehicle production demands by 2035 while the market expects that there could be as many as three million fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) on the road globally by 2030.
The investment will safeguard highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the UK. The site is expected to be in operation by H1, 2024.
The new facility at Royston will deploy state-of-the-art manufacturing processes to scale up production of fuel cell components and to meet customer demand. The site could be expanded in the future, almost tripling potential capacity by using the decommissioned Clean Air production facility, to produce both fuel cell and green hydrogen components.
For more information: www.matthey.com
Specialist energy talent acquisition group Petroplan has expanded into Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, as the business strengthens its presence in North America.
The move is an important strategic decision for Petroplan, with Newfoundland being a large, mineral-rich province with a sparse population. With the abundance of resources across Eastern Canada, there are multiple opportunities for growth in mining and energy, particularly hydroelectric, hydrogen and wind power.
Howden’s bare shaft screw compressorsLeading the company’s expansion into Newfoundland is David Jerrett, a newly appointed Business Consultant in Canada. David’s role is to address immediate business requirements and provide talent expertise to support the fast-growing energy market.
This strategic business expansion aligns with Petroplan’s recent developments in the US, with a series of new appointments and promotions in Houston, Texas. The growth in Canada is supported by global expertise from Petroplan’s technology team in the US.
The Group provides expertise to support and supply international energy and infrastructure companies and EPCs by providing whitecollar, intermediate, contract and permanent engineering jobs to plug the gap with global contractors.
For more information: www.petroplan.com
Siemens Energy has been selected as the single solution supplier for the all-electric Woodfibre LNG project in British Columbia, Canada.
The environmentally friendly LNG facility will be located at the site of a former pulp and paper operation. It will be sized for 2.1m tonnes per annum and utilise clean, renewable hydroelectricity, reducing its emissions by more than 80%.
Siemens Energy’s scope includes all equipment associated with the main refrigeration trains, including compressors, synchronous motors, variable speed drives, converter transformers, harmonic filters and numerous powerhouses.
The main refrigeration compressor trains are one of the components of the liquefaction process that produces the LNG that will eventually be stored in tanks and then transported to LNG tankers for shipping abroad.
The project is expected to reach substantial completion in 2027 and begin commercial operation by September of that year.
i For more information: www.siemens.co.uk
TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory is calling on businesses within the clean energy industry to take advantage of funding offered by Innovate UK as part of its Analysis for Innovators (A4I) programme. The next competition for grant funding opened in August 2022, with a second opportunity expected in November.
A4I gives UK companies of any size access to the UK’s top scientists and most advanced facilities, techniques and technologies in the world.
It aims to boost productivity by helping companies to solve problems in innovative ways.
TÜV SÜD is one of nine partners providing their expertise as part of the A4I programme. It has already helped hundreds of UK companies solve major measurement challenges affecting their business.
This has included testing hydrogen flow measurement systems and components under realistic field conditions, as well as using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to improve the performance and integrity of a wide array of technologies.
TÜV SÜD’s Data Science team has also been instrumental in helping many companies integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities into products.
For more information: www.tuvsud.com
© TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory
TÜV SÜD NEL’s advanced multiphase facility
Woodfibre LNG will be powered by clean, renewable hydroelectric power
Venterra Group Plc, the offshore wind energy services business, has acquired INSPIRE Environmental, a leading marine environmental consultancy with expertise in the interpretation of data that determines the health of the seabed and the resources that rely on ocean habitats.
Founded in 2015 by Drew Carey and Joe Germano, INSPIRE services clients in the offshore wind, ports and marine construction sectors.
Venterra was formed to create a global services champion supporting the offshore wind industry’s rapid expansion and leading role in the energy transition. It is building a service offering across the wind farm lifecycle, comprising services through the engineer, build and support phases of an offshore wind farm lifecycle. This is being achieved through a combination of acquisition and investment, assembling urgently needed capabilities to help the offshore wind industry meet its potential.
For more information: www.venterra-group.com
We want to use every opportunity to connect with our members, so please follow us on Twitter (@TheEICEnergy) and connect with us on LinkedIn – EIC (Energy Industries Council)
Below you’ll find a selection of some of the exciting EIC activities and useful industry information we’ve shared through our social media channels.
The EIC @TheEICEnergy Want to see webinars that you couldn’t attend? Go to EICTV and check out the webinars we have available. Watch EICTV at: bit.ly/3RbPyn8
The EIC
@TheEICEnergy
A new digital service from ABB will enable industrial operators to maximise energy efficiency and boost sustainability by identifying motor-driven equipment in their facilities with the best energy-saving potential. The ABB Ability Digital Powertrain Energy Appraisal service will draw on data measured from fleets of digitally connected electric motors and variable speed drives (VSDs) to show where and how much energy can be saved by upgrading to the latest high-efficiency technologies. Industrial operators can then make data-driven decisions when prioritising investments.
If an EIC member refers another company to us that joins, you will receive 4 Global Digital Support packages as a thank you. More information at: bit.ly/3QVte0j
EIC (Energy Industries Council)
Upgrading to energy efficient technology is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to lower energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Across the world’s 300m industrial motor-driven systems, there is potential to cut global electricity demand by up to 10% by switching to high-efficiency systems.
Our EIC roundtable series continues, sponsored by ACE 54 in Cape Town, South Africa: ‘How Africa is Embracing the Energy Transition’. #energy #roundtable #Africa #renewables
@TheEICEnergy
EIC (Energy Industries Council)
EIC membership referrals
6 October Business Presentation
South America EICDataStream Online
6 October Corporate Entertainment
EIC National Awards Dinner 2022 De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London
7 October LIVE e-vents
EIC Members – Speedy Networking
Webinar
11 October Business Presentation
Breakfast in Rio with Wood Rio Othon Palace Hotel, Rio de Janeiro
12 October Regional Showcase
Mott MacDonald: Nuclear Showcase Prince Philip House, London
12 October Business Presentation
North America EICDataStream Online
13 October Business Presentation
UKEF – How to Grow an SME GotoWebinar
13 October Business Presentation
Bechtel Business Briefing
EIC Houston
13 October Business Presentation
Diversity in the Energy Sector Radisson Blu, The Corniche, Abu Dhabi
17 October Business Presentation
EIC Middle East ADIPEC Energiser The Club, Abu Dhabi
19 October Business Presentation
Low-Carbon Energy Technologies EIC Rio de Janeiro
19 October Overseas Exhibition
Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe Messe Bremen, Germany
19 October Business Presentation
Business Opportunities with KEZAD Webinar
19 October Management Course
EICDataStream/AssetMap training Online
19 October Business Presentation
North America EICDataStream Online
25 October Business Presentation
South America EICDataStream Online
26 October Regional Showcase
Networking Lunch with Drax Drax Power Station
27 October Business Presentation
Breakfast in Rio with Acelen Rio de Janeiro
27 October Corporate Entertainment
EIC Energy Luncheon
The Club, Abu Dhabi
31 October Overseas Exhibition
ADIPEC 2022 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre
Ashtead Technology is a leading international subsea equipment rental and solutions provider for the global offshore energy sector
QTell us about your business and how you view the Middle East market currently for your products and services?
AEstablished in 1985, Ashtead Technology has grown organically and through strategic acquisitions to become a leading provider of equipment rental solutions, advanced underwater technologies and support services to the global offshore energy sector. Through our three service lines – survey and robotics, mechanical solutions and asset integrity –we support the installation, IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair), and decommissioning of offshore energy infrastructure.
Ashtead Technology has an established presence in the Middle East and we strengthened our position with the acquisition of Abu Dhabi based TES Survey Equipment Services in 2016. In 2019, we invested in a new facility in Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, to expand our footprint and increase the range of equipment and services offered to customers in the region.
The Middle East survey and robotics rental market is extremely buoyant with access to highquality, project-ready equipment in high demand. At Ashtead Technology, we boast the largest independent rental fleet in the industry with over 17,000 assets and continue to invest to ensure we can offer the broadest and most technologically advanced equipment available.
Our mechanical solutions capabilities continues to grow in the region with increased demand for our subsea cutting, dredging and coating removal technology solutions to support various IMR and decommissioning work scopes. We have made some quite substantial investment in developing and mobilising equipment spreads to support customer projects in the region and ensure we have equipment ready to deploy locally, demonstrating our commitment to growth in the Middle East.
QHow are you planning to develop your business further in the region?
AAs well as my appointment this year, we have strengthened our local team, including relocating some of our expertise to support our growth in the region. This enhanced capability is helping us to increase our visibility and use our enhanced knowledge and expertise to solve a wider range of customer challenges.
We are also bringing new technologies to the market in the Middle East and recently signed a multi-year agreement with Norway-based NORBIT Subsea, to serve as the exclusive reseller for the sale of their multibeam sonar survey systems across the region. These systems are industryrenowned for their exceptional performance, innovation and reliability and are in high demand with our customers.
Qthe energy transition and sustainability in the offshore sector?
AAs a market leader in subsea technology rental and solutions, Ashtead Technology’s offering sits firmly at the heart of the energy transition providing critical late life and decommissioning support to the oil and gas industry and supporting the extensive growth in offshore wind globally.
Through continued investment in our equipment rental fleet, advanced technologies and people, we are continually improving the sustainability performance of our business to meet the current and future needs of our customers and help achieve cleaner and sustainable energy production.
The energy transition is rapidly impacting the adoption of remote operations to help reduce carbon footprint, increase operational flexibility and lower HSE risk and costs. Through our remote operations centres in the UK and Canada, we are seeing significant uptake for our remote inspection services for the integrity management of subsea infrastructure.
Offshore renewable energy has become an important part of our business now accounting for a significant proportion of our Group revenue. We have a growing track record in the delivery of offshore wind projects utilising our skilled
people and their wealth of subsea operations expertise together with our equipment and facilities to deliver best in class, cost effective offshore wind farm installation and operations solutions.
QHow important is innovation and continuous improvement to your business?
AAs a progressive, technologydriven business innovation is at the heart of what we do and integral to our growth strategy. We are continuing to invest in the latest subsea equipment from leading manufacturers, while also working with industry partners and the supply chain to support the development of new technologies and methodologies, playing our part in the global drive to improve efficiency, reduce cost and safety risk and minimise carbon impact.
Furthermore, we develop our own in-house technology solutions across our three service lines to help meet our customers’ operational challenges and ensure we remain at the forefront of what we do.
Our commitment to continuous improvement has allowed us to strengthen our asset integrity service offering through advances in our data management, analysis and reporting capability, while our mechanical solutions team has implemented a number of enhancements across our shear cutting, diamond wire cutting and water abrasive cutting solutions portfolio.
QWhat differentiates Ashtead Technology?
AAshtead Technology has a 37-year track record and strong international footprint, serving customers from our nine service centres in key offshore energy hubs.
With the largest independent fleet of rental equipment in the industry we pride ourselves on our responsiveness and the quality of our service offering so customers can rely on us to deliver fast-turnaround technology solutions to meet and exceed their expectations.
Our people are experts in their field and are fundamental to our success. Therefore mentorship and on-the-job training is a critical part of our business to ensure that essential expertise is nurtured within and passed on to the next generation of talent enabling them to excel and thrive in a fast-growing environment.
In line with our core values of agility, collaboration and excellence, this commitment to people development and continuous improvement allows us to work together as a global team to achieve more, upholding the highest standards in all we do.
QLooking ahead, what’s next for Ashtead Technology in the Middle East?
AThe Middle East represents a significant growth opportunity for our business and we
are committed to ongoing investment in our facilities, equipment and people to meet the anticipated increase in demand for our specialist technologies and services in the region.
While the global focus on energy transition remains critical and is among the highest policy priorities for the Middle East’s oil producers, offshore oil and gas production has increased in recent months driven by energy security and affordability concerns. For regions like the Middle East, significant investment is still required to arrest production decline from existing fields and continual IMR of infrastructure is required to maintain and extend the life of producing fields.
Based on the fungibility of Ashtead Technology’s equipment and solutions across the offshore wind and oil and gas markets, we are ideally placed to support our customers’ evolving subsea technology requirements across both these adjacent markets.
Through our three service lines – survey and robotics, mechanical solutions and asset integrity – we provide specialist equipment, advancedtechnologies and services to support our customers’ renewable energy and later-life oil and gas projects.
For more information visit www.ashtead-technology.com
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EIC (Energy Industries Council)
I can’t believe it’s October. The UK and Europe events team was incredibly busy throughout September travelling up and down the UK delivering a range of energy events, and a few webinars too.
Our webinar alongside Introhive, Strategic Growth Services and Spendkey kick started our September events with our host companies detailing how they are helping businesses sustain growth by providing business leaders with never-before-seen internal insights and enabling sales leaders to win more business. If you missed the live webinar you can view it via the newly launched EICTV channel.
We then headed to Manchester for two events, a members update and our energy from waste event with Mott MacDonald before rushing up to Aberdeen to deliver the Vysus Group business breakfast – navigating through the energy trilemma in uncertain times.
Down in London we also held the first in a new series of engage and exchange events to help our London members network and catch up with our analysts. It was then over to Newcastle for the cross-sector decommissioning showcase which addressed the key energy markets of the decommissioning industry and highlighted specific new business opportunities in the oil and gas, nuclear and wind sectors with an amazing line up of speakers including EDF, bp and Xodus.
Now with the leaves falling and summer well and truly behind us, the UK and Europe events team is ready for the autumn event of the year: The EIC National Awards Dinner. On 6 October our finalists will gather for the first time in two years, in person, to find out who has won each of the sixteen categories up for grabs. A huge thank you to our sponsors who without their support we couldn’t hold such an amazing evening – Bureau Veritas, Kent, Howden, Restrata, Halliburton and Roxtec. We wish all of our 2022 finalists the very best of luck.
We are also looking forward to welcoming the Houston delegation to London with DIT and hosting an evening reception on 10 October to meet our UK members, as well as a half day event the following day to discuss further UK opportunities in the carbon capture market.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year we have a number of dates for your diaries:
Why new nuclear must work this time 12 October 2022, London
Join us as we discuss the importance of the anticipated new round of investment in nuclear power generation and development of new nuclear technologies – and seek to answer why it is so important to act now for energy security, energy prices, and positive social outcomes for businesses and local communities.
Networking Lunch with Drax 26 October 2022, Drax Power Plant, Selby This is a member only networking lunch at Drax power station in Selby, which will include a tour of the site and market sector update from EIC’s research analyst Nabil Ahmed on biomass energy.
Breakfast Networking with Gurobi 8 November 2022, Aberdeen
Leading companies across numerous industries use Gurobi’s algorithm to help solve complex business questions including planning, decision making and operations to keep supply and demand in balance. Come along to network with other energy professionals over breakfast and learn more about the Gurobi optimisation tool and how it can help maximise your business growth.
The Celtic Sea
Floating into a new energy era 13 December 2022, Cardiff
Hear more about the Celtic Sea Industrial Cluster, discuss its development plans for a sustainable long-term international industry base to deliver sustainable jobs and growth for the region, and discover the major players and partnerships that are already involved, and a host of supply chain opportunities the cluster will undoubtedly bring.
Keep an eye on the website for more events that we will be adding to the calendar and please drop us an email if you have any queries.
Jo Campbell, Regional Director, UK & Europe jo.campbell@the-eic.com
Jo Campbell
It is hard to believe that the final quarter of the year is upon us, with so many events taking place during this time I often find this the quickest three months of the year, and we will be in 2023 before we know it.
Ryan McPhersonUnfortunately last month witnessed our Events CoOrdinator Baqhtawar Shaikh, move onto pastures new. Baqs was an invaluable member of our team and had no doubt become familiar to many of you through our various webinars and events over the years. We wish Baqs all the best in her new role. On a brighter note our Business Development Manager, Dina Abieva got married over the summer and we send her and her new husband our very best wishes as they start off married life together.
This month will see us partner with our friends at SPE Abu Dhabi Section to deliver a ‘Diversity in the Energy Sector – ESG to SDG for a sustainable future’ event to be held in Abu Dhabi on 13 October. This event will include speakers from ADNOC, ExxonMobil, Mubadala and Wood, to discuss what measures have been implemented in the energy sector to reduce carbon footprint, what corporate strategy approach is required to achieve these goals, and how diversity and inclusion play a key part in ESG.
For the first time ever, October will see the start of ADIPEC, taking place from 31 October – 3 November 2022. The award winning UK pavilion is now sold out with a fantastic programme of events on offer over the course of the week for our exhibitors. I hope that everyone attending has a great week in what I consider to be the premium event in the energy calendar, please feel free to stop past and visit us in Hall 8. COP27 will then take place in Egypt later on that month where we look forward to building on the success of last years event in Glasgow.
Our EIC roundtable series continues to gather a great following with many of you contacting us to participate. Having now ventured into Africa during Africa Oil Week/Green Energy Africa Summit we will venture back into Oman in the coming months. With recent topics looking at the impact of inflation and the energy transition I am interested to hear what pertinent topics we will discuss next. For those of you not yet attending our roundtables our monthly EIC luncheons provide a great opportunity to network and catch up on current industry trends. Full details can be found on our website.
With so many events taking place I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible over the next few months. In the interim the team here is always on hand to assist with any queries you may have and how we can help you to maximise the opportunities on offer as the year begins to draw to a close.
Ryan McPherson Regional Director, Middle East, Africa, Russia & CIS ryan.mcpherson@the-eic.comOman recorded a budget surplus of 784 million rials (US$2bn) in the first half of this year, compared with a 457m rial deficit in the same period a year earlier, as revenue grew on the back of higher oil and gas prices. This increase is attributed to net oil revenues going up by the end of the first half of 2022 by ~40% coupled with the rise in the average oil price to US$87 per barrel compared to US$53 per barrel in the first half of last year. Oil production also rose to 1,037,000 barrels per day from 952,000 bpd in the same period in 2021, pushing the Sultanate’s oil revenues higher.
ACWA Power has signed agreements worth US$12bn to develop three new energy projects in Uzbekistan, as the Saudi-based utility continues to expand its portfolio. The deals include a heads of terms agreement to develop the largest single onshore wind project in the world in the Karakalpakstan region of Uzbekistan with a total capacity of 1.5GW, and a US$10bn investment co-operation agreement to jointly develop gas-to-power, renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in Uzbekistan. The Karakalpakstan project is expected to achieve a financial close by the end of 2023 and will be fully commissioned by the first quarter of 2026.
Please go to page 22 to see upcoming events around the world
In September we organised and managed the UK pavilion at the Oil and Gas Asia conference (OGA) in Kuala Lumpur, and continued hosting networking events in KL and Indonesia with the aim of engaging with existing member companies and recruiting new members within the region.
OGA 2022 was held from 13-15 September 2022 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The OGA series, the region’s number one oil and gas event, is one of the biggest and most comprehensive events in Asia and hosts exhibitors from the oil and gas industry across the globe. This year the companies that the EIC hosted in the UK pavilion included Hi-Force, Vulcanic, Inov8, Shipham Valves, OHS/CTS and Digital Edge Subsea. This is the first time OGA was organised in its normal format after an absence of two years. In conjunction with OGA, EIC APAC co-hosted a cocktail networking reception with Scottish Development International (SDI) on 13 September 2022. The event was dedicated to connecting EIC members and industry peers to regional and global energy players that visited/participated in the OGA 2022 exhibition and conference. The evening also saw several of EIC APAC’s members receiving EIC awards. Companies that received awards included Oceancare Corporation for the Collaboration category, Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering for the Culture category, EXS Synergy for the Innovation category, and Petrolec Resources for the Service & Support category. The overall Company of the Year award was bagged by Oceancare Corporation.
The week of OGA 2022, EIC APAC also held our inaugural regional committee meeting. The committee represents the voice of EIC APAC members and is tasked with providing some insight and direction in terms of our offerings to members. The committee is chaired by Mr Fairuz Yahya from EXS Synergy Sdn Bhd, and is joined by representatives from COOEC-Fluor in China, Proficient Inspection in Thailand, Vietranstimex in Vietnam, PT Meindo Elang in Indonesia, HellermannTyton in Singapore and Essem Group in Malaysia.
Towards the end of September, EIC APAC continued our Meet the Energy Players roadshow in Indonesia. EIC APAC organised a networking dinner for EIC members to engage with energy players in the region. This event was dedicated to connecting members and international delegates with key contacts, in conjunction with the Indonesian Petroleum Association Conference & Exhibition (IPA Convex) 2022, which took place from 21-23 September 2022 in Jakarta. Azman Nasir, Head of Asia Pacific azman.nasir@the-eic.com
SKK Migas and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) are accelerating the Indonesian Deepwater Development (IDD) oil and gas project. The government appears to be in the midst of negotiating with Eni as a replacement. It has been reported that the new operator for the IDD project, replacing PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), will be announced in Q4 2022.
Mongolia Green Finance Corporation is planning to support Elixir Energy in the development of a green hydrogen facility in the Gobi region of Mongolia. The facility would be capable of producing 500,000 tpa of green hydrogen and be powered by 11.3GW of wind and solar energy. Fulcrum3D has been gathering wind data from the Mongolian Gobi Desert using its Sodar remote sensing equipment.
Wood has been appointed as owner’s engineer for the delivery of Project Haber in Western Australia, Strike Energy’s US$3bn 1.4 mtpa urea fertiliser production facility. Wood will provide technical and engineering oversight services for the duration of the project to monitor and assess the work in progress, ensuring the engineering, procurement and construction contractor delivers work consistent with the project’s requirements.
membership@the-eic.com
Azman Nasir
Keeping you up to date with energy news from around the world
Although the North and Central America team has enjoyed bringing back face-to-face events since our office re-opening, we were delighted to host a webinar with EIC members in August with our very own Neil Golding, Director of Market Intelligence. Neil discussed strategic uses of EICDataStream; which now tracks over 12,000 active and future global projects. Beyond tracking the full life-cycle of a project, Neil showcased how EICDataStream can be used as a powerful business planning tool. To learn more about EICDataStream, and how it may help you, please reach out to our regions’ business development managers, monique.aceves@the-eic.com or nicholas.glenn@the-eic.com
As a friendly reminder to our EIC community, do not miss the opportunity to hear from Bechtel this upcoming 13 October and 6 December for presentations taking place as part of our North and Central America 2022-2023 business briefing series. This member only series will allow the audience to network and hear from Bechtel as it discusses its procurement process, major contracts coming up for tender and much more. Seats for this event are limited so book your place and register today. If anyone has any further questions concerning this event, or requires registration aid, please reach out to adriana.romo@the-eic.com
Regional Director, North & Central America amanda.duhon@the-eic.com
Bechtel Business Briefings
Thursday 13 October & Tuesday 6 December 2022
Join the EIC’s North and Central America in-person members only business briefing series as Bechtel provides presentations covering:
• Procurement process: pre-qualification, registration
• Major contracts coming out for tender and/or identifying product groups open for new suppliers
• Framework/master service agreements/warranty periods coming up for renewal
• Key messages to vendors: standardisation, local content, improved operating practices, and more…
To register for the October briefing, please visit: www.the-eic.com/EventDetail?dateid=3522
To register for the December briefing please visit: www.the-eic.com/EventDetail?dateid=3530
One of the highlights of the Biden administration so far, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law in August. A scaled-down version of the Build Back Better Act, the IRA provides US$369bn in the form of spending as well as tax credits for the development of clean energy technologies to mitigate climate change. This investment is expected to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the country by up to 44% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
A key measure includes the 10-year renewal of the production tax credit (PTC) and the investment tax credit (ITC). The PTC provides US$26 per megawatthour generated over a 10-year period, while the ITC provides a 30% credit for capital investments at the start of the project.
More importantly, however, are the tax credits for the emerging green hydrogen segment. The IRA provides a subsidy of US$3/kg of renewable hydrogen for ten years, which is poised to make the US a leader in the segment. Indeed, according to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, this subsidy will make green hydrogen produced in the US cheaper than its grey variation, immediately stimulating demand for green hydrogen in various industries.
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Amanda Duhon Amanda DuhonOn 10 August the Rio office hosted another Breakfast in Rio. We heard from Trident Energy and 3R Petroleum. Brazil has been witnessing considerable growth in mature fields redevelopment as rising independent players, such as 3R Petroleum and Trident Energy, play a bigger role in the national oil and gas market.
José Mauro Ferreira, 3R Petroleum’s supply chain strategy advisor told the attendees about the Fazenda Belém clusters (onshore oil across two fields in Ceará) and Peroá (offshore gas across two fields off Espírito Santo), that were formerly owned by Petrobras, and are now operated by 3R. The company is also preparing to take over the operatorship of the Potiguar Clara Camarão refinery (RPCC), part of the Potiguar cluster (RN), in 2023. Trident Energy’s presentation was given by Olivier Jahan, supply chain and logistics manager.
Redevelopment work at the Pampo-Enchova cluster will include the decommissioning of multiple wells with the provision of plug and abandonment (P&A) services by Subsea Services Alliance (a global partnership between Schlumberger and Helix Energy Solutions), with work starting in 2023. The speaker also talked about plans to drill one well at Pampo in Q4 2024, to be followed by three additional wells at Pampo, Badejo and Linguado in early 2025. Both companies need long-term partnerships with qualified field redevelopment suppliers.
Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) will carry out the country’s first ever Cycle of the Permanent Offer of areas under the production sharing regime on 16 December 2022. ANP will offer 12 exploratory blocks located throughout the Campos (Água Marinha, Norte de Brava, Itaimbezinho and Turmalina) and Santos (Ágata, Ametista, Bumerangue, Cruzeiro do Sul, Esmeralda, Jade and Sudoeste Sagitário) pre-salt basins. Eight companies, considered A+ operators by the ANP, have been permitted to take part so far.
On 11 October, Wood will present on ‘Bridging the energy transition gap: diversification opportunities for the supply chain’. Wood is a global company with 40,000 professionals, across 60 countries, one of the world’s leading consulting and engineering companies operating across energy and the built environment. At the time of writing, the confirmed speaker is Corrignan Hugues, Wood’s managing director.
On 19 October we are hosting the Fundamentals of LowCarbon Energy Technologies at the Rio office, in partnership with H2Helium Energy Projects. Topics covered will include: hydrogen – source of energy’s decarbonisation –opportunities and challenges; low-carbon energy generation and technologies; energy transition; and primary and secondary sources of energy: generation, uses and impacts. Our trainer will be Sayonara Eliziario, Professor at the Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, a researcher at the Federal University of Paraíba, and researcher at GESEL.
Clarisse Rocha, Director – Americas clarisse.rocha@the-eic.com
Suriname’s midstream segment will receive an initiative called Firebird LNG, an integrated pipeline and LNG export project near Nickerie. It will include a 30 inch, 145175km offshore gas pipeline and, at first, a 4 mtpa LNG terminal. The future enterprise, to be a new option for E&P players in the Guyana-Suriname basin, is expected to startup in Q4 2024 and will consider the production of hydrogen as well.
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Keeping you up to date with energy news from around the world
Clarisse Rocha
Breakfast in Rio with Trident Energy and 3R Petroleum
Having been acquired by its Swedish parent firm and rebranded in July 2020, the new leadership at Firenor quickly realised that the traditional business model in the UAE was broken. The contract structure for onshore EPC projects in the UAE made it nearly impossible to operate profitably, meaning a step change away from this type of work was needed to reduce risk and build a more secure future. Having exited EPC projects that have significant site construction scopes, the company is now concentrating on E&P, supporting installation, commissioning, and providing long term asset maintenance, maximising value from their key strengths as a high-end fire protection solutions provider.
Firenor, which was formally known as Consulium Middle East, has been on something of a rollercoaster journey over the past couple of years.
It was operating against an extremely challenging backdrop. In the UAE, onshore EPC projects (organised through FIDIC contracts) were suffering from a lack of sufficient financing as well as damaging delays, with the COVID-19 pandemic adding to these difficulties. Negative cashflow was stifling the business, which was only staying afloat in 2020 becasue of the strong financial position of its new parent company.
With the Firenor Norwegian Headquarters assuming control of the business, the decision was made to hire a new Regional Managing Director, Gavin Appleby, and provide new business support with the introduction of Iain Hill as the Global Business Development Director. Faced with a number of underlying issues to resolve, the decision was taken to pursue a new direction for 2022 and beyond.
Underpinning this strategic shift was a fact-finding mission that took place last year, an investigation which gathered enough data to highlight what the business needed to focus on to make the most of future opportunities.
Indeed, this approach is typical of the Firenor Scandinavian success culture. Over the years, it has focused strongly on building an organisation that delivers to its customers using the PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) principles in all it does. This enables the company to set targets, create plans, execute these plans and measure the performance accordingly – if expectations are not met, Firenor can take action and adjust.
In the UAE, the investigation confirmed the need to move away from onshore EPC contracts involving third party scope execution, such as civil groundworks, and focus upon high-end engineered solutions, systems and associated products.
Traditionally, the EPC project supply model is to break up the provision of fire protection systems across different subgroups of packages such as deluge systems, foam systems, fire blankets, hydrants and more. However, Firenor is able to offer a ‘’platform-wide’’ protection solution and is promoting their capability to offer such a service to clients operating onshore facilities or offshore assets.
The proposition is a compelling one. By working with a single fire protection system provider, clients can save notable project costs, dealing with a single interface point of contact, reduce documentation and ensure consistency of a quality delivery across the breadth of the asset. The key objective for the Firenor management team is to
position and promote themselves as that specialist, which can provide asset wide fire protection solutions.
With the new focus adopted, Firenor is instilling a form of a cultural transformation.
Firenor is seeking to ‘’kick start’’ the business and operate with an agile start-up mentality, led by a strong management team with formidable experience in many areas of the energy markets. The company is also looking to maximise its wide geographical reach, leveraging the expertise of its people from around the world in a new ‘’One Firenor’’ approach to business. Here, Firenor shall maximize the potential of its engineering expertise in Norway and China, but in a way that blends with client-facing local engineers in the Middle East – a dynamic that will significantly help to reduce the overall cost of engineering.
While the early signs are promising, Firenor is in a transitionary phase as it ‘’resets’’ the old business and kickstarts the new ‘’One Firenor””. Detailed plans and targets are in place for the Middle East and International target markets, with achievements being measured as monthly and quarterly segments in the sort of detail that shall enable the company to succeed as it has done in the past. Operating with a fresh impetus and purpose, there is no reason why that success cannot be replicated once again within Firenor.
Firenor is a Norwegian based company with international presence, mitigating risks by delivering high end engineered fire safety systems since 2001. The company designs, engineers, and supplies fire safety solutions to international projects in the energy, oil and gas, and renewables sectors. Firenor customers are supplied with turnkey solutions, ranging from fire protection and safety systems to electrical and instrumentation systems, for conceptual design stage to on time delivery of pretested equipment. Firenor currently has operating hubs in Norway, Middle East, India, and China.
#transformation (main category)
#culture
• Successful cultural and restructuring process, laying the groundwork for new business opportunities
• Focus on facts and data, not assumptions – quality, not quantity in the market
• Apply PDCA principles to all activities
• Have a deep knowledge of your core business
• Engage in actual planning and development of green energy projects
• Establish an export finance package to support energy transition
The company has received export financing, R&D tax credits and grants by the Norwegian government.
Key products and services: Provision of advanced fire suppression systems for safety critical industries and for greenfield, brownfield and aftersales services.
• Oil & gas – 90%
• Renewables – 5%
• Others (hospital, IT) – 5%
Headquarters: Kristiansand, Norway
Year established: 2001
Number of employees: 140 Revenue: £14.5m
Revenue from exports: 10% (UAE division)
How is HKA thriving?
As part of its strategy to provide a more holistic dispute service for energy sector clients, HKA is increasingly involving itself earlier in project lifecycles. Appreciative that this requires a highly bespoke and tailored approach, HKA worked closely with a key client in Malaysia in 2018, when a natural gas-fired power plant project commenced. After encountering delays and disruption during its various phases, the plant has already been in successful operations since completion. HKA was at hand playing a key role in resolving these disputes in collaboration with the client.
As a firm renowned for resolving difficult disputes on complex construction and engineering projects, HKA broke away as a separate entity from Hill International in 2017 and has progressed since to be the world leading consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution.
Today, a central part of its business objective is to operate reactively to dispute resolution, as a facilitator and a proactive dispute mitigation partner; a company that clients can turn to on complex projects, no matter where in the development cycle it is.
Following HKA’s successful service collaboration with a Malaysian stakeholder in a major first-of-a-kind IWPP in Saudi Arabia, HKA was invited to tender for a contract involving a natural gas-fired power plant in South Malaysia developed by Southern Power Generation (SPG). The $1.1 billion, 1.44 GW plant is equipped with advanced power technologies, including the world’s first GE 9HA.02 gas turbines. The project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was executed between a
Taiwanese and American contractor consortium with SPG, with commercial operations having started in January 2021.
The challenge? To support SPG, in ensuring minimal disruption from claims and disputes as much as possible. This was done through anticipating, investigating and resolving potential disputes, which can only be effectively achieved when working collaboratively with the client team.
HKA was selected as a project partner to SPG in March 2018 to provide advisory expertise on the EPC contract. HKA’s scope mirrored the various power projects it completed, both locally and abroad, where HKA facilitated the avoidance of claims and disputes by monitoring risk and providing real-time progress reviews and strategic advice to help mitigate delays and costs.
A bespoke, tailored approach was needed, one based on HKA’s formidable combination of in-house technical, risk, contractual and commercial competence. Extensive support was provided: regular reviews of the contractor’s programme updates, identification of any misreporting, analysis of possible delay events, assessment of variation and other cost claims for accuracy and robustness, and generally strategy advice in defending SPG’s position.
The first two years were relatively straightforward, except for technical issues which leveraged on HKA’s forensic team to resolve engineering disputes. In March 2020, the first significant delays to the EPC work were reported due to planning, workmanship and other defects. The simultaneous untimely onset of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Malaysian government exacerbated the
situation. This prompted HKA to investigate a series of claims for costs as well as extension of time. Its analysis showed the claims presented were not entirely substantiated as a direct consequence of an excusable event, including force majeure. Indeed, with HKA’s assistance, several claims around commissioning defects, unreadiness for integration with grid, and significant loss of productivity not linked to COVID-19 management were rebutted.
With further claims made in 2021 eventually resolved amicably with HKA’s support, HKA continued to be critical in devising appropriate mitigation measures. The plant is operating profitably with SPG more than satisfied with the facilitating role HKA has played throughout.
The project’s success is all the more impressive given the element of risk involved. The plant’s use of cutting-edge technology, which is by no means widely adopted, meant there was little to no track record of implementation to predict how the process would play out. However, the fact that HKA was involved early certainly paid dividends in avoiding large disputes towards the end of the EPC contract, not least because of the unforeseen pandemic impact.
With over 1,000 professionals operating across 18 countries around the world, this is just one leading example of the company’s 45-plus years of experience helping to push the power sector forward.
HKA is the leading global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution, using its multi-disciplinary expertise to provide a comprehensive set of specialist services: Expert, Claims and Advisory services for the capital projects and infrastructure sector; Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages services for all types of contracts, including commercial and investment treaty disputes; Cybersecurity & Privacy services and training to protect critical systems and data, and comply with legal and contractual standards; and Consulting services to support companies working on US Federal Government contracts.
HKA brings a proud record of excellent service and high achievement to bear on today’s challenges. As trusted independent consultants, experts and advisers, HKA helps clients manage disputes, risk and uncertainty on complex contracts and challenging projects across a wide range of industries.
The company works with government agencies, local authorities, contractors, legal firms and other professional service providers, as well as owners and operators, financial institutions and insurers.
#service & solutions (main category)
#collaboration
• Successful advisory project
• Client avoided large disputes
• Unpredictable risks from COVID-19 pandemic mitigated
• Leaders need to have a grasp of processes and not only be technical
• Deliveries and presentations are a good way to go beyond expectations
• Pay attention to environmental and social aspects of projects, not only its commerciality
The company has not received any type of government support.
Key products and services: Consulting, expert and advisory dispute services for the engineering and construction industry
Main industries served:
• Oil & gas – 7%
• Renewables – 5%
• Conventional power – 5%
• Nuclear – 2%
• Others – 81%
Headquarters: Warrington, UK
Year established: 2017
Number of employees: 1000+
Revenue: £191m
Revenue from exports: N/A
How is Howden thriving?
A world leader in air and gas handling technologies, Howden is accelerating the energy transition efforts of its client base across the energy sector. Underpinned by a clear vision centred on sustainability and impressive business acumen, the firm continues to secure repeat business among some of the sector’s biggest players in the world’s foremost energy transition projects, establishing itself as a go-to in the sphere of application engineering for hydrogen compression.
Originally founded in 1854, Howden has a strong heritage of innovation in the air and gas handling field, the company having reached numerous milestones throughout its long and illustrious history. The organisation is cemented in its values, recognising the role of its people and innovation in striving for excellence, all while delivering value to wider society.
Such is reflected in its shifting priorities. Given the growing climate crisis, Howden has recognised the need to support energy customers, as well as customers across all other industries Howden serves, in their move away from fossil fuels and reduction of CO2 footprint. Resultantly, the firm has recently established a reputation as an energy transition specialist, focused on enhancing its customers’ vital processes so that they may contribute to a more sustainable world.
This change has been relatively recent in the grand scheme of the enterprise’s 168-year history. Indeed, it became a clear strategic focus in 2020 when the firm became acquired by KPS Capital Partners and Ross Shuster was appointed as its new CEO.
Its aims were simple: to reapply expertise and redeploy existing products and solutions to support its customers’ energy transition goals. Yet this shift in direction was by no means a walk in the park. To be effective in these ambitions, Howden needed to undergo widespread transformation. The right values and capabilities were there, but needed to be refocused.
In 2020, Howden developed and defined a clear vision about what it wanted to achieve in the energy transition space. The firm began to reprioritise its actions to support those goals, identifying key markets and developing a view of target verticals segments. At the same time, the firm developed a clear view of robust processes with a core focus on execution to enable consistency in operations and delivery.
Such extensive change has culminated in a huge amount of work over the course of the past two and a half years. Yet Howden’s profit has grown significantly in the last three years – indicators that its clear strategy is being executed effectively.
The firm’s success is equally reflected in several projects, a case in point being the work completed for HYBRIT – a consortium in Scandinavia and led by SSAB focused on producing steel without emitting CO2. Here, Howden provided a vital hydrogen compression solution for the world’s first pilot plant for fossil-free steel that will help reduce emissions from iron and steel production globally. The firm deployed its high-pressure diaphragm compression package to seamlessly integrate the storage cycle of the hydrogen production.
Similar successes can be seen in Howden’s delivery of
its hydrogen compression solution to the world’s first e-methanol plant designed to harness energy from the wind, located in Chile. Working directly with both project lead Johnson Matthey and Siemens as the plant manufacturer, the company uses air-captured CO2 as a means of generating green hydrogen to produce methanol, which is then deployed as a zero-carbon fuel.
With this initial contract, the firm has subsequently secured a new contract in 2022. It will contribute to decarbonise the marine industry, with Maersk having recently decided to leverage e-methanol for its fleet.
Thirdly, Howden has also recently supported Shell’s Red II Green Project after it was tasked by the Dutch government to reduce its carbon footprint. To do so, it decided to focus on repurposing an existing plant to process vegetable oil, therefore producing biofuel instead of traditional hydrocarbon-based fuels, as a greener alternative to energy demand.
Again, Howden was mandated to provide hydrogen compression solutions. In doing so, it also worked closely with Shell to design units that are more sustainable, smarter, more efficient and of lower cost.
The project has resultantly delivered immense value. Not only has the repurposing saved Shell significant investment versus an ulterior project that would have to have been built from scratch, but it has also helped the company to accelerate its energy transition, progressing its carbon footprint reduction efforts more quickly to catch up to COP26 commitments.
Howden is a leading global provider of mission critical air and gas handling products. The company supports customers across a broad and diverse range of industries, enabling their vital processes to achieve environmental and operational compliance and efficiencies including decarbonisation of operations. Howden has over 160 years of heritage as a world-class application engineering and manufacturing company with a presence in 35 countries. It manufactures highly engineered fans, compressors, rotary heat exchangers, steam turbines, other air and gas handling products, services and solutions.
#energy transition (main category)
#innovation, #optimization, #resilience, #service & solutions, #sustainability, #technology
• Supporting the energy transition and help reduce customers’ CO2 footprint
• Revenues of approximately $1.6bn in 2021
• Support the energy transition and decarbonisation targets of the industry to achieve net zero emission objectives
• Be a life-long learner able to adapt to society needs
• Have multi-generational plan for your products and services that go beyond financial cycles and immediate financial results
• Embrace different energy scenarios in new and traditional sectors
The company has received support through the UK’s Apprenticeship Levy programme, financing for export (not UKEF), grants (including from the European Commission’s GreenSkills4H2 fund) and R&D tax credits.
Howden at a glance:
Key products and services: air and gas handling products and technologies.
Main industries served:
• Conventional power – 19%
• Energy & Renewables – 26%
• Others – 55%
Headquarters: Renfrew, UK
Year established: 1854
Number of employees: 6,400
Revenue: £1.3bn
Revenue from exports: 85%
Internal corrosion and erosion monitoring specialist Inductosense brings a unique start-up success story to the table. Having developed a streamlined, battery-free and maintenance-free wall thickness monitoring sensor for oil and gas operators, it has been successful in saving huge sums for its customers, breaking into the market with the reputation, backing and client satisfaction rates to suggest it’s a company that will be here for the long haul.
Launching a start-up is no simple undertaking, yet Inductosense immediately had all the makings of a sound enterprise upon its formation in 2015.
A spin-out from the Ultrasonics and Non-Destructive Testing Group at the University of Bristol in the UK, the firm quickly captured attention, becoming one of the first entities to secure funding through a new programme from Innovate UK aimed at bringing cutting-edge university ideas into the marketplace.
A team of ultrasonics experts with a unique concept of designing, developing and manufacturing repeatable, embeddable, wall thickness sensor technology for internal corrosion and erosion monitoring, the start-up immediately had two things that all new entities desire –credibility and financial backing.
However, promise on paper offers no guarantee of success. Faced with a volatile market impacted by the oil price crash of 2014-16 and the pandemic from 2020
onwards, the company launched in the midst of extreme global adversity, having to navigate several challenging external factors in its inaugural years.
In many ways, Inductosense looked to use this uncertain climate to its advantage, working tirelessly to ensure its offering was straightforward, streamlined and cost effective to attract attention in the market. With many oil and gas players under pressure to reduce spending wherever possible, Inductosense identified an opportunity.
The firm set about trying to understand customer problems in corrosion monitoring, quickly finding a consensus among sector players that solutions available at that time were either viewed as being too capital intensive or highly labour-intensive maintenance that produced inaccurate and unreliable data.
Inductosense reacted, positioning itself as the solution to these problems. By adopting a modular approach, the firm ensures that every sensor would be compatible and upgradeable, offering a variety of products to suit customers at various points in their digital journeys.
Having received feedback from the market that the risks are often too high with new technologies, Inductosense again worked to address pain points, offering its products via a subscription-based model to remove worries over warranty and obsolescence that had been breeding caution in customer adoption.
To be successful with its subscription-based model, the
firm needed to ensure that its products were not only costeffective, but equally easy to maintain. Here, Co-founder and CTO Dr Cheng-Huan Zhong (nicknamed Bamboo) developed a robust battery-free solution capable of providing accurate and reliable measurements – a critical maintenance-free competitive advantage that many firms have come to enjoy.
Australian energy firm Santos stands as a prime example. Having trialled three different NDT technologies on its CO2 absorber tower in 2021, the results proved to be favourable towards Inductosense’s solution. Not only was the corrosion rate reliably and accurately calculated, but Inductosense was also recognised as the cheapest of the three solutions and estimated to have double the lifespan given its lack of need for a battery.
Indeed, the company has faced several difficulties along the way, the pandemic having made it tricky to demo its system with clients. Yet in no uncertain terms, the venture can so far be considered as a resounding success.
Since securing the Innovate UK funding, the enterprise has also received a grant from the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) to develop a large area coverage sensor. Meanwhile, the firm’s product has taken the market by storm, now represented by over 10 partners and selling throughout 15 countries.
Inductosense is an ultrasonic sensor technology company made up of a dynamic team of industry specialists. The company designs, develops and manufactures in-house permanently installed, semi-automated internal corrosion and erosion monitoring systems for asset integrity. Inductosense stemmed from an innovative idea called WAND: the solution was developed and patented back in 2014 at the Ultrasonics and Non-Destructive Testing Group in the University of Bristol. Since then, Inductosense has only grown, having had sensors deployed in volume across the globe.
#innovation (main category)
#collaboration, #digital, #optimization, #technology
• Award of grant from the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC)
• Product validated by 8 major operators
• Open doors for new markets and milestones, including first year of profit
• Listen to customer problems and invest in their support
• Encourage big operators to approach new technologies
The company has received financial support from the UK’s Innovation Funding Service and NZTC.
Key products and services: Design, development and manufacturing of sensor technology for internal corrosion and erosion monitoring.
• Oil & gas – 100%
Headquarters: Bristol, UK
Year established: 2015
Number of employees: 20
Revenue: £1m
Revenue from exports: 50%
Having only started trading in 2018, Integrity ISS’s relatively short journey hit the buffers when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. Having shown promising signs of growth in its first two years thanks to its one-stop shop Integrated Service offering, revenues almost entirely dried up due to UK offshore oil and gas activity being put on hold.
However, after holding discussions with its majority shareholder, a management buyout was enacted that allowed founding partners Stuart Charles Sinclair and Peter Fraser to execute their vision, one which has encapsulated an admirable amount of resilience in the face of adversity and enabled the firm to resume its growth journey. Indeed, 2021 marked a record year thanks to a string of contact renewals and wins.
Stuart and Peter have always wanted to be their own boss. Having worked with large organizations in the past, the duo approached XL Group to acquire the working capital needed to kickstart Integrity ISS – a deal was agreed with XL assuming a 60% stake in the venture which initially began as a newly formed subsidiary named Integrity XL. After breaking even in its first year (no mean feat), the company was headed in a positive direction – ISO
accreditations were in place, and the company was making its way onto approved vendor lists. Meanwhile, 2019 saw the first profits being made on the back of turning over £1.9 million.
Unfortunately, the pandemic struck just when momentum was building up. Thanks to domestic offshore activity nearly completely drying up, 2020’s income plummeted. The impact was disastrous, the firm becoming forced to rely on furlough pay-outs in order to survive.
Indeed, the dire situation that developed in 2020 prompted XL’s desire to exit the business. This was contrary to the aims and ambitions of Stuart and Peter who were determined to keep going, not least because they saw an ongoing demand for the company’s service.
A management buyout was brokered with the help of an Enterprise Scotland Loan, a move which granted the founding duo full control of the business (which has also been renamed to Integrity ISS). Since then, the story has been all about resilience and staying true to its values and approach. The company has always prided itself on taking a solutions stance, operating as a one-stop shop designed to solve clients’ problems by leveraging a formidable inhouse pool of knowledge on all things UKCS oil and gas. This includes vast experience and knowhow on specific
assets, a key USP which clients have found necessary to fill their own knowledge gaps.
The popularity of the Integrity ISS approach has been proven throughout the course of 2021, which saw the company yield record revenues of £2.3 million in what was a clear vindication of Stuart and Peter’s instincts to persevere with the business.
Some of this business came from current and existing clients since incorporation of the company in 2017. Here, Integrity ISS is responsible for providing a mixture of services to various sites throughout the UK, the clients selecting the firm as a key partner thanks to its all-encompassing offering, competitive cost structures and direct access to leadership which enables an agile, bespoke relationship between the two parties. Indeed, the renewal of the contract in 2021 is a major sign of confidence that bodes well for the future.
And that future involves an immediate target to achieve a £3.5 million turnover in 2022. Although admittedly optimistic, the fact the company is looking to apply its expertise to a wider range of subsectors such as renewables suggests that new lines of business will be opening up soon. Having adsorbed the shock of the pandemic, Integrity ISS can now look ahead with far more optimism than it did just two years ago.
Based in Aberdeen and established in 2017, Integrity ISS is a specialist Integrated Service Solutions provider for plant turnarounds, operations and maintenance, plant integrity (find and fix), construction, commissioning and decommissioning projects. The business focusses on safe and efficient delivery of services to support clients to increase plant uptime, improve asset performance and optimise operating expenditure. The company has an extensive track record of projects completed to date, offering a diverse yet complimentary range of services across multiple industry sectors and operates to ISO 9001:2015, 14001 and 45001 accredited management systems.
#resilience (main category)
#service & solutions
• Company overcame the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Revenue of £2.3 in 2021, with a turnover target of £3.5 in 2022
• Be aware that your business’ journey will be very different from your expectations
• Stick to your game plan despite challenges
• Don’t be abrupt on energy transition policies, support oil & gas
The company has received government support by the Furlough scheme and funding from Scottish Enterprise.
Key products and services: Integrated service solutions.
Main industries served:
• Oil & gas – 95%
• Renewables – 5%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 2018
Number of employees: 8
Revenue: £2.3m
Revenue from exports: 0%
By responding to both their own situation and changing client needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, KBC is on an upward trajectory, its transformed business model now seeing it offer product-based technological solutions alongside its traditional consultancy work for companies in the energy sector. A process which has not been without challenge at times, the early signs are the shift in strategy is starting to prove its worth, as the industry demand for energy solutions increases.
Even before the pandemic, margins were tight for consulitng companies like KBC. Pre-pandemic, approxmiately half of the company’s revenue derived from traditional consulting work, an arm of the business that was well established over many years. Experts routinely travelled to different parts of the world to provide a face-to-face service built on trust and deep knowledge of the workings and challenges of operating in the sector.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought this ability to travel to a halt. Consultants were either no longer able to travel or became severely disrupted depending on regional and national restrictions, which had a knock on affect to revenues in the sector. The traditional delivery model had become unsustainable, especially as client demands were also changing in light of the pandemic disruption.
KBC therefore needed a change of approach, one which would place its technology arm at the front and centre of a product-driven business model.
Indeed, what started as a pandemic crisis has evolved into a positive new way of working.
One of the first undertakings was a practical transition to a digitally driven workplace. The firm had already switched to Microsoft Teams before the pandemic struck and invested further resources into remote networks, ensuring its 350+ staff felt safe and secure by adapting to each individual’s home situation.
Once these internal basics had been instilled, focus turned to how best to serve clients and remodel the company’s offering in alignment with their needs.
In fact, something of a strategic shift had already been in the offing since the business was acquired by Yokogawa in 2016, the new owners seeking to transform globally to a more solution-based offering moving forwards.
Come 2020, client priorities shifted dramatically. In response, KBC began developing and delivering virtual workshops to demonstrate how its various technological solutions – chiefly Digital Twins (Petro-SIM) and supply chain and energy management software (Visual MESA) –could address some of the market opportunities.
Pivoting towards a technology-led solution approach backed by Subject Matter Expert (SME) consulting knowledge required decisive action from top to bottom. KBC’s leadership set the direction of travel early and soon decided that the pivot should evolve into a permanent change, with R&D investment at the long-term core of the future revenue pipeline.
Meanwhile, KBC employees adapted to the world of
virtual meetings, rising to the challenge of building rapport without being able to connect face to face and overcoming issues related to travel and the pandemic situation. Most KBC employees were positive on the company’s handling of the pandemic and engagement levels are on the increase according to recently completed company surveys. While KBC recognises that there are still challenges to overcome in relation to hybrid and remote working cultures, signs are that employees have taken the changes on board and are actively embracing the new normal. Indeed, operations are still largely remote, but performance is now past prepandemic levels once again. There has been a significant shift in revenue performance to Technology-led solutions which has also spurred an increase in Consulting and advisory work.
New projects such as those recently completed for a Spanish oil company are contributing to these promising trends. Using its Petro-SIM Digital Twin software and a local AI technology, together with consulting knowhow, KBC was able to optimise the operation of crude distillation units on various different crude slates. The optimisation considered both the energy to process the crude as well as the CO2 impact and health of the asset. A crucial detail here was that the customer wanted to use local AI as opposed to the system KBC had internally, feedback which the company acted upon and delivered.
Meanwhile, R&D spend is up by significantly versus 2019 levels, a sign that KBC is backing its technology and solution led strategy coupled with SME Consulting. A unique approach in the energy industry today.
KBC is a consulting company for clients in the energy and chemical industries. Founded in London in 1979, the company is nowadays part of the Yokogawa group with 20 offices across the globe, including locations in UK, Argentina, Singapore, the United States and Japan.
To deliver with excellence its business and technical consulting services, the company provides technologybased solutions for the simulation and optimization of operations, production planning, supply chain scheduling and other activities of interest. One of KBC’s leading products is Petro-SIM, a software designed for the simulation of hydrocarbon processes throughout the oil and gas production chain.
#transformation (main category)
#digital, #resilience
• Contract margins have improved as a result of the transition to ‘productised consulting’
• R&D investment increased significantly compared to 2019 levels
• Technology revenues above pre-pandemic levels
• Know your business purpose and align it with your activity
• Trust clients, actively listen and engage with them
• Educate young people to set them up for skills of the future
KBC has not received any type of government support.
Key products and services: technology-based consultancy company
• Oil and gas – 90%
• Renewables – 5%
• Others – 5%
Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 1979 Number of employees: 300 Revenue: N/A
Revenue from exports: 90%
How is Kent thriving?
Launching last year as a merger of several entities, Kent is looking to be at the forefront of energy transition over the coming decades. With formidable expertise across the whole spectrum of the sector (from oil and gas to renewables), it is in a position to support and provision sustainable enhancements of energy facilities around the world. But painting a culture and purpose onto a blank canvas from several large companies with their own previous identities and strengths was always going to be a challenge, one which appears to have been overcome just 10 months from its formation.
Since forming out of several company mergers in 2021, Kent (previously Kentech) has been on a mission to place energy transition front and centre of everything it does. It has set it’s purpose to “Courageously tackle the greatest challenge of our time, to bring our world the energy it needs in the most responsible way ever imagined”. In order to do this, it is drawing on the expertise contained within its new constituent parts – Kentech, and the oil and gas divisions of SNC-Lavalin and Atkins, as well as the latter’s new energy business.
Crucially, for Kent the issue of energy transition cannot be ignored in oil and gas circles, hence the decision to acquire the O&G businesses that SNC-Lavalin and Atkins were seeking to offload. Energy transition away from hydrocarbons will take time, and Kent sees a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of that process by enacting sustainable change from within. Indeed, the decision was taken not to carry over the core values of any of the original businesses, instead starting with a blank canvas.
But this is no conventional start-up business. The new company comprises around 12,000 employees with a turnover of more than $1.2 billion and 100 years of experience operating in various parts of the energy sector. In order to reposition successfully as a new brand, Kent needed to culturally align into one cohesive unit if it was to make its mark in the industry.
One of the first major undertakings of the new Kent business was a cultural listening project. The plan was to hear as many voices as possible from the new business about the impact they wanted to have. Around 10% of the entire global workforce had their voice heard through workshops and surveys conducted over a 12-week period. After this they held a comprehensive strategy session among key stakeholders. Critically, this included not only the executive management team, but colleagues in multiple expertise areas from multiple regions and of multiple generations
It was from this listening tour that the energy transition as a core mantra surfaced, meaning it had organisational buy-in from the start. What does this mean in practice? For Kent, its purpose would be all about looking at how it can design and build facilities with lower carbon footprints, as well as support clients in decarbonising their existing facilities – right across the spectrum from oil and gas to renewable energy.
Technology will play a key part in delivering on this purpose. Here, Kent is making enhancements to its CIRT Decarbonisation software program (originally made in 2019) to make it more user friendly and better serve its purpose as a tool to lift the operational performance of plants. Key features include plotting carbon emissions
of the plant, developing roadmaps to improve emissions performance, and costing profiles for each option presented.
Although it is still early days, Kent has enjoyed ongoing involvement on some landmark projects. For example, it is working on Hynet UK, a blue hydrogen development that seeks to use traditional fuels to generate a lower carbon output with pre-combustion carbon capture technology. Kent has been involved in the concept development, with the project now going through funding phases with the UK government, this having been recognised as a leading global project in 2021 by the Institute of Chemical Engineers. They are also leaders in offshore wind, having had involvement in over 70% of the UK’s entire offshore wind portfolio.
Moreover, success can also be measured from a cultural perspective. Such has been the effectiveness of the new Kent approach, its employees feel that they are part of a unified team with a common purpose, with employee turnover less than 1% since the merger took place.
Looking ahead, the company is seeking to grow its energy transition revenues to a point where it assumes an equal portion of revenue within the next five years. With the cultural and technological grounding in place, there is little reason to doubt this target will be met.
With over 100 years of experience, Kent designs, builds, and maintains assets around the world through engineering and consultancy; project execution, commissioning, completion, and start-up; and operation and maintenance of a variety of projects. Having begun as a small electrical and instrumentation business known as MF Kent in rural Ireland, 1919, Kent is now engaged with projects in conventional power (including decarbonisation initiatives of this sector), low carbon and renewable energies, and process and chemicals. Kent has a worldwide presence, with projects ranging from Australia to Iraq, from Canada to Kazakhstan, to name a few.
#transformation (main category)
#culture, #digital, #energy transition, #innovation
• Employee attrition below 1% since the merger took place
• Global milestone with the award of 2021 leading global project by the Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Be bold, but always consider and understand all risks
• Congratulate organisations that took energy transition seriously
• Support growth of new technologies such as hydrogen, as did before with offshore wind
• Implement carbon tax globally
The company has received government support through the Furlough scheme in a selection number of regions.
Key products and services: Engineering services (design, build, maintain) with focus on energy transition.
• Oil – 50%
• Low carbon & renewables – 20%
• Process and chemical – 30%
Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
Year established: 1919
Number of employees: 12,000
Revenue: £1.6bn
Revenue from exports: 90%
How is Koil Energy thriving?
A well-renowned entity in the offshore oil and gas space, Deep Down took the bold decision to rebrand as Koil Energy in order to more effectively pursue a new strategy of energy transition-related opportunities without losing sight of its traditional business. With a renewed focus on core competencies rather than just core products and services, the company is futureproofing itself through the expansion of core competences in diversified markets and has realized successes in quayside, shallow water and hydrogen projects, and is actively involved in discussions for wind and other renewable projects.
Koil Energy is still a relatively new name in the energy sector, yet the organisation behind it has been operational for more than a quarter of a century. In February 2022, Deep Down – an international leader and provider of full cycle subsea technology solutions – took the decision to change its name in line with a shift in strategic direction, grounding itself in a series of new solutions and core competencies beyond just oil and gas and more closely aligned with energy transition.
The move was a logical one. While the firm had begun actively working on new products for wind energy projects, the brand was proving to be a stumbling block.
Deep Down was indeed an established presence, yet its name was linked too heavily with deep water oil and gas, leading to a series of questions being raised as the firm began to pursue more projects in wind and shallow water.
To pivot effectively into new markets, the rebrand was
launched – a move that was accompanied by a relocation which saw the establishment of a smaller footprint in Houston, Texas with much greater potential for future expansion. Not only has this allowed the business to segregate more readily, but costs have also been reduced by as much as $50,000 monthly, in addition to its new premises further helping to improve convenience by being in close proximity to George Bush International Airport in Houston.
Such efforts have also provided renewed foundations. The firm has been able to diversify more readily, repositioning for a variety of markets such as renewables, shallow water and hydrogen, while also consolidating its deep-water oil and gas services.
Albeit a significant transformation, the company’s existing expertise has provided the grounds from this to be achieved. Indeed, Koil Energy is comprised of world-class experts in engineering and manufacturing who provide innovative solutions to complex customer challenges – individuals who don’t shy away from the prospect of change or innovation.
Resultantly, the firm is now in a position to begin acquiring new work, demonstrated by a recent contract win for a leading global energy producer. While the initial value is less than $100,000, it will be looking to support the energy producer’s ambitions of establishing HRS infrastructure (automotive hydrogen refuelling stations) that will begin with the rollout of tens of units across the West Coast of the United States. Here, Koil Energy is looking to support the client with its tube bending and alloy welding capabilities, potentially building out the units on site and potentially performing or supporting the commissioning of the systems. Where the producer has completed the FEED and concept work, Koil is also
looking to offer its support through validation and proof of concept verification.
Indeed, the two companies have already worked together previously, with this project hoping to expand on this already proven relationship further in new vertical segments.
This was followed closely by a contract award to provide cable management services for a military project in the northern half of the United States.
The project will require Koil Energy to provide equipment and personnel for installation and recovery activities for fiber-optic cables and accessories, which will be used for military exercises in inland waterways.
At the same time, Koil Energy has also recently appointed Felipe Lunardini as its new Director of Projects & Engineering – an individual with significant experience in traditional oil and gas as well as the energy transition. Lunardini will be overall responsible for the execution of all Koil Energy projects, as well as serving as the technical leader for R&D efforts and strategic partnerships moving forward.
Indeed, his appointment signifies the firm placing the final pieces of its new, exciting puzzle, gearing up to excel in new markets geared more closely towards energy transition moving forward. Between its ongoing transformation and diversification, the firm is well on its way to successfully futureproofing for years to come.
Houston-based Koil Energy, founded in 1997, is a leading energy services company offering subsea equipment and support services to the world’s energy and offshore industries. The company provides innovative solutions to complex customer challenges presented between the production facility and the energy sources. Formerly Deep Down, Inc., its core services and technological solutions include distribution system installation support and engineering services, umbilical terminations, loose-tube steel flying leads, and related services. Additionally, the company’s experienced and resourceful team works with unmatched flexibility, making Koil Energy a key resource for offshore projects anywhere in the world.
#transformation (main category)
#diversification, #energy transition
• Savings of $50,000 per month
• Diversification process advancing successfully
• A $100,000 contract award by Shell
• Be authentic
• Do not be afraid to make decisions
• Traditional versus renewable energy doesn’t need to be an “either/or” proposition, but an “all of the above” one
• US government should dedicate resources to help companies make progress in countries with local content requirements
The company has received R&D tax credits.
Koil Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: subsea equipment and support services to the energy industry.
Main industries served:
• Oil & gas – 100%
Headquarters: Houston, USA
Year established: 1997
Number of employees: 47
Revenue: £13.6m
Revenue from exports: 25%
Localising and diversifying to secure a brighter future
How is McMenon Engineering Services thriving?
Celebrating 75 years of manufacturing heritage in 2022, Cumbria based McMenon (previously under ABB and Fischer and Porter ownership) is on a mission to strengthen its local roots and brand recognition. On top of this, the company is also seeking to diversify its client base to include a greater representation from the renewable and nuclear energy sectors. A key breakthrough arrived in early 2022 in the form of a first nuclear framework win at nearby Sellafield, a development which should not only pave the way for securing more work in this category, but also cement McMenon’s name as a proud local employer and provider of opportunities.
For 75 years, the Workington business has been designing and manufacturing various instrumentation solutions, most notably flow and temperature measurement instrumentation. Now continuing under the name of McMenon, following an acquisition in 2018 from global corporation ABB, the company’s new leadership has outlined two major priorities.
The first is to reconnect with the local community. Based in Workington, Cumbria, the company was well-known to locals when it was under Fischer and Porter ownership, with current CEO Anand Puthran eager to make McMenon just as recognisable on the regional map.
Anand also saw the need to reduce the firm’s reliance on clients in the oil and gas sector, which in 2019 accounted for over 90% of its revenue. With Sellafield nuclear power station just down the road in Cumbria, McMenon could help to achieve both priorities by securing work at one of the region’s most prestigious industrial sites.
The inspiration to better ingrain McMenon into the local community came in 2019 during a company presentation to staff. Here, an employee, who had been with the firm since 1976, suggested changing the name back to Fischer and Porter – taking note, the organisation’s leadership was determined to make McMenon as well known as its forebears in the community.
Partnering with local educational institutions has been one such way McMenon is going about this. The company is proud to support the local engineering college Energy Coast UTC, Workington, as a member of the board. Since then, McMenon has pioneered a ‘Girls in Engineering Day’ to encourage more females into the sector, engages in regular activities with many of the primary and secondary schools in the area and is also offering students short placements and the opportunity to pursue apprenticeships.
Local ties have also been strengthened as part of the company’s diversification drive.
Kicking off in 2020, McMenon set out to qualify as nuclear capable, not only in terms of products but also capabilitywise, a move which would also fill spare operating capacity within the firm. Anand and his leadership team knew it was too good an opportunity to ignore, both from a diversification strategy and local reputation building perspective.
McMenon joined forces with fellow SME TIS Cumbria to create an unincorporated joint venture, named the North West Energy Coast (NWEC) Alliance. The two parties had enjoyed a long history of collaboration, with TIS also being a valued supplier to McMenon.
In 2022, the NWEC Alliance was named as part of a programme and projects partnership (PPP) framework along with a select few other companies to deliver fabricated and manufactured equipment packages for Sellafield, agreed for an initial three years and worth up to £20m.
The breakthrough, which has seen NWEC already quote multi-million pound projects, helps to fulfil a promise made by McMenon’s owners to its Cumbrian workforce – that its future growth would include diversification into nuclear and renewable sectors. Indeed, nuclear is targeted to account for 10% of the firm’s revenue in 2022. Also, since the acquisition by ABB, between 20 to 25 per cent of McMenon’s revenue now comes from non-oil and gas sectors, including water.
Furthermore, the company’s ambition is to be involved in various works at the site over the next 18 years as part of the wider package consisting of various goods and service agreements to be awarded by PPP.
Within four years of acquiring the business, Anand and McMenon have already made great strides towards their chief objectives of re-establishing local ties and diversifying its revenue base.
McMenon Engineering Services is a premium manufacturer and global distributor of differential pressure (DP) flow meters and temperature measurement products as well as a trusted partner for complete contract engineering and manufacturing services. The company’s main sector is oil and gas with increasing supply into other sectors, including water, food & beverage, nuclear and renewables. McMenon’s Workington site has a 75-year track record of manufacturing industrial instrumentation. Starting out as a greenfield site owned by Fischer & Porter, the location was later transformed by ABB into a world-class facility for the design and manufacture of flow and temperature measurement products supplying products globally.
#diversification (main category)
#collaboration
• Ties with local community strengthened
• Nuclear to account for 10% of total revenues in 2022
• 20-25% of revenue now coming from non-oil & gas
• Focus on what your company is good at and work towards optimising these strengths in new areas.
• Prioritise support for UK manufacturing, particularly for SMEs.
• Help UK SMEs to invest more.
• Current government policies are making export finance to O&G companies into a major challenge.
• Energy transition should involve a viable and phased plan for businesses.
The company has received an Analysis for Innovators (A4I) grant for product development. The company has also benefited from R&D tax credits.
Key products and services: Design and manufacture and fabrication of DP (differential pressure) flow measurement and temperature measurement instrumentation
Main industries served:
• Oil and gas – 80%
• Water – 15%
• Renewables – 1%
• Nuclear – 1%
• Others – 3%
Headquarters: Workington, UK Year established: 2017
Number of employees: 70 Revenue: N/A
Revenue from exports: 90%
Rather than insulate itself and make cuts to expenditure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (MHB) has been building up its capabilities by investing in people, processes and equipment, as well as exploring opportunities in new markets. Armed with a can-do and collective culture, the firm looks well set to thrive over the next five years and deliver on its bold 2022-2026 business plan.
As a globally trusted energy and marine solutions provider for a wide range of heavy engineering facilities and vessels, MHB has more than 45 years of track record in delivering integrated and complex solutions to international oil and gas clients. Indeed, during this time, it has seen the highs and lows associated with fluctuating market fortunes, with few periods more disruptive than the 2014-2016 oil price collapse.
As a result, oil and gas majors slashed their capital spending significantly, creating stiff competition between MHB and peers in securing limited numbers of projects in the market. Add in the global COVID-19 pandemic, and MHB has been faced with a huge test of its resilience to sustain business growth.
Indeed, the pandemic caused losses that would have forced the closure of many other companies.
Survival has been the order of the day for the past two years, and the firm’s healthy cash position has enabled it to not merely stay afloat, but crucially keep hold of its entire workforce.
Understandably, MHB’s employees were concerned about losing their jobs. In response, the company held a townhall to reassure colleagues and set out their plan for remaining resilient through the pandemic – central to this plan was retaining experience, something it could not afford to lose for when opportunities picked up again. Moreover, a clear message was relayed that everyone was in the struggle together, a value which remains at the heart of MHB’s culture.
Indeed, far from making cuts to investment, the organisation continued to upgrade equipment, buy new machines and even a new workshop during the course of 2021, using the pandemic slowdown period wisely to make optimisations and prepare for the rebound. Notably, this has involved shifting tact from renting large amounts of equipment to buying it outright in a bid to make longterm cost savings and, ultimately, create better value for clients. Meanwhile, training, digitisation of processes such as tendering, and sharpening up of service execution have also been prioritised. And the company also established a core team to develop a full in-house engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) capability.
All of this is not to suggest that MHB’s external focus has been lost over the past two years. Far from it.
In 2021, the company strengthened its resolve to expand its international market presence by signing memorandums of understanding (MoU) with Kellogg Brown & Root Asia Pacific and Axens South East Asia (Axens SEA), moves which have better positioned MHB to explore opportunities and ventures within the energy transition space. In this sense, MHB stepped up on its sustainability agenda by drawing up a comprehensive strategy, which will be executed through a robust governance framework.
MHB strongly believes that addressing sustainability issues through a strategy driven by Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, business priorities and targets is crucial to ensure their long-term business viability.
Last year, the company also secured a contract for the provision of technical manpower to assist in the execution of a wind farm project in Taiwan. This initiative was possible through a partnership with Smulders Group formed in 2019. Furthermore, the firm’s Plant Turnaround & Shutdown Maintenance segment continues to develop its capability building journey. In 2021, it secured and delivered a turnaround contract for the Idemitsu plant owned by Idemitsu Kosan, clocking a total of 144,000 man-hours for the project.
Looking ahead, MHB is anticipating to build up a pipeline of work in the light engineering space, applying and fine tuning its existing skills to suit smaller projects that will help to balance its portfolio of work. Here, it will be specifically targeting plant maintenance and turnaround opportunities outside of oil and gas.
This is part of a five-year business plan from 2022 to 2026 that covers a range of other priorities, including the continued building of heavy engineering fabrication capabilities, improving its marine repair and conversion value proposition, and securing onshore module, offshore windfarm projects and other opportunities of serial fabrication.
Having ridden out the COVID-19 storm, MHB is ready to bounce back stronger.
MHB is a globally trusted marine and heavy engineering solutions provider for a wide range of offshore & onshore facilities and vessels. MHB has over 45 years of track record of delivering integrated and complex solutions, including deepwater support services to international oil & gas clients. MHB provides six major solutions, which are offshore, onshore, conversion, marine repair & refurbishment, plant maintenance & turnaround and other services. Prior to being a public listed company, MHB is mostly known as Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd (MMHE), which is its subsidiary that runs most of the operations for MHB.
#resilience (main category) #culture, #optimization
• Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were controlled
• Presence in the international market growing with new contracts
• Plans for diversification outside of the oil & gas sector advancing
• Find a unique formula for your business, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution
• Establish a mutual relationship with regulators, contractors, and others
• Make room for balanced opportunities between industry players
The company has received government supports by the PROTÉGÉ-Ready-to-Work (RTW) apprenticeship programme, tax deduction and grants.
Key products and services: Solutions provider for a wide range of heavy engineering facilities and vessels.
• Heavy engineering – 83%
• Marine – 17%
Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Operation yard: Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia
Year established: 1973
Number of employees: 2,649 Revenue: £257m
Revenue from exports: 2%
