edge cutting
WINTER 2017 / Issue 12
NEWS FOR THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY FROM TWMA
News
TWMA launches Regional Services Centre in UAE Insight
Interview with Ben Coutts, TWMA Engineering Director Case Study
ZADCO artificial islands, UAE
WELCOME Welcome to this issue of Cutting Edge. Every quarter we bring you TWMA’s latest news from around the globe and exciting updates on our operations, solutions and people. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and look forward to keeping you informed in the coming year.
in this issue 3 – Foreword 4 – Monthly Safety Awards 5 – CSR Young Footballers Benefit from TWMA Sponsored Coaching Stephanie Donates Hair to Little Princess Trust
6-7 Employee Focus Career Development – Interview with Duncan Bailey, TWMA Placement Student Insight – Interview with Ben Coutts, TWMA Engineering Director
8-9 Case Study ZADCO Artificial Islands
10 – 15 Other News TWMA Accelerates Growth Regional Services Centre Launched in UAE TWMA to Present at ADIPEC TWMA Recognised for Commitment to Research and Development TWMA Shortlisted for Scottish Environment Business Awards (VIBES) Key Account Manager, Abu Dhabi, Climbs Island Peak Team TWMA go Beach Ballistic TWMA Welcomes ZADCO to West Island
GET INVOLVED Your Feedback We are always interested to hear your feedback, please send any comments or ideas for future issues to: sales@twma.co.uk 2
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER FOREWORD
Welcome to the latest edition of Cutting Edge I’m pleased to say that 2017 has been a successful and exciting year for TWMA. In May, we secured an important investment from Buckthorn Partners which is allowing us to drive forward our ambitious plans for global growth. Part of this will include investing more into research and development to ensure we continue delivering exceptional service quality and world class solutions to our customers. To implement our growth plans, I’m delighted to welcome Tony Branch as Group Director, John Verling as Group BD Director, Kath Cable as HR Director, Ben Coutts as Engineering Director and Mark Beveridge as European Regional Director. In addition, Neil Thomson, previously TWMA’s Global Operations Director, has been appointed to the new role of Technical Sales Director. These appointments bring significant experience to our team and further strengthen our position in the market place. We were delighted to have won the Commitment to Innovative Use of R&D award at the Northern Star Business Awards in October. We were also shortlisted in the Excellence in HSE category which is a huge achievement for the team. I’d like to thank everyone at TWMA who has worked hard to achieve this recognition in health and safety and innovation. Ronnie Garrick Chief Executive Officer
This month, we’re looking forward to exhibiting at ADIPEC for the fourth time. The Middle East is an important region for us, and this year we have been selected to present our flagship project in Abu Dhabi at the conference. This project has seen TWMA design, manufacture, commission and operate the world’s first solids control and fluid recovery system in the UAE. Our solutions have saved the operator more than $12m since 2012, whilst also achieving more than one million man hours LTI-free. We’re extremely proud of this project, and would be delighted to see those of you attending the show come along to our presentation. We’ll also be on stand 8520 in Hall 8 if you’d like to visit our team. As we draw closer to the end of the year, I’d like to thank everyone at TWMA for their commitment and hard work which has seen us remain resilient through another challenging year for the industry.
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I’d like to thank everyone at TWMA who has worked hard to achieve this recognition in health and safety and innovation.
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HSEQ
Monthly Safety Awards Our safety award scheme recognises and rewards exceptional safety behaviour and we’d like to congratulate each winner who has demonstrated commitment to TWMA’s strong safety culture. Well done!
Safety Card Award Winners April ZADCO Central Island – Surrendra Poojari ZADCO North Island – Dor John Besa Mongstad – Inge-Håkon Sleire Peterhead – Melanie Foreman ZADCO South Island – Anwar Shadab Alexandria – Sameer Abu Wafia Tullos – Billy Mathieson May ZADCO North Island – Hailegebrail Gizaw Mongstad – Daniel Haugen Prospector 5 – Ian Bain Alexandria – Attia Abou Daif Peterhead – Alan McFarlane June ZADCO Central Island – Richard Romano ZADCO North Island – Kashif Kondkari 4 ZADCO South Island – Mark Wilson
Mongstad – Gunnar Fenne Peterhead – Kyle Jernslett Alexandria – Hamady Abdel Hamid Prospector 5 – Barry Davidson July Mongstad – Kenneth Carlsen ZADCO North Island – Mohammad Wahid ZADCO South Island – Ajmal Miya Peterhead – Stuart Smart Alexandria – Yasser Aly August ZADCO West Island – Steven John Jasangas Divinagracia Peterhead – James Barrack Vatster – Dan Ewan Abu Dhabi Warehouse – Girish Sankar Alexandria – Mohamed Fadel and Attia Abou Daif UK Offshore operations – Billy Mathieson and Craig Mackie
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER CSR
Young footballers benefit from TWMA sponsored coaching Over 100 children from Peterhead and the surrounding area took part in free football coaching sessions, hosted by Peterhead FC and sponsored by TWMA. The two day programme, which was open to children ages 6-17, offered coaching from Jim McInally, former Scotland international player, and Peterhead FC’s qualified SFA coaches and players. John Morgan, TWMA Peterhead Site Manager said: “We were delighted to see more than 100 local children from in and around Peterhead take part in the free coaching sessions. As a company, we take pride in supporting the local communities in which we work, and it’s been fantastic to see so many children improve their football skills and gain confidence in a fun and safe environment.”
Stephanie donates hair to Little Princess Trust Stephanie Adamczyk, Accounts Assistant based in Aberdeen, donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children across the UK and Ireland who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other illnesses. Stephanie said: “I’d heard about the Little Princess Trust in the past and thought it was a fantastic charity that benefits so many sick children. I wanted to donate my hair because it felt like the right thing to do.”
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EMPLOYEE FOCUS
Career development interview with Duncan Bailey, TWMA summer placement student Mechanical Engineering student, Duncan Bailey, joined TWMA for three months this summer. We caught up with him to find out how he enjoyed his time. What attracted you to a summer job at TWMA? I liked the prospect of working on systems that reduce the environmental impact of drilling operations in the oil and gas industry. There will be demand for oil for decades to come, so it was of interest to me to see how the waste fluids and solids are managed in an industrial setting. What has your role involved? My first task was to develop an understanding of the TCC RotoMill, to give an indication as to each TCC RotoMill’s maximum throughput. I performed finite element analysis (FEA) simulations and analytical calculations. Additionally, I designed a control system for a series of vacuum pumps such that the system could recognise when a pump is being overloaded and react accordingly to any given load. I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with electronics and programming, so it has been great to get hands on experience with industrial equipment. I was initially apprehensive getting let loose on such powerful machines, but it has been exciting to gain an insight into the design process of large-scale control systems. What new skills and knowledge have you gained since joining the company? Whilst designing the vacuum pump control system, I learned how to use block diagrams and flowcharts to ensure the control system would achieve its desired function. I also learned how to utilise VBA programs to obtain large quantities of data from historical data logs.
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Anything else you’d like to add? The most valuable thing I’ve taken from this placement is the importance of people in business. This is the first time I’ve worked for a large company and, whilst a little terrifying at first to meet so many new people, it’s been fantastic to be part of a team in which everyone is treated with mutual respect. My communication skills are often affected by spending long hours alone during my studies at university, so the opportunity to work at TWMA has greatly helped to improve my confidence.
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER EMPLOYEE FOCUS
INSIGHT We caught up with Ben Coutts, Group Engineering Director, to find out what his role involves at TWMA and what he thinks sets TWMA apart from the competition. What does your role involve at TWMA? I’m responsible for all engineering projects across our global locations including Aberdeen, Peterhead, Egypt and Abu Dhabi. These activities include design, build, installation, fabrication, maintenance and research and development. What are your objectives for this role? As a technology centric service business my primary objective is to ensure that we have the right technology available, at the right time, to meet the needs and requirements of the business. In practice, this means Engineering works closely with all departments to ensure we are able to meet not only the short to medium term demand, but to have one eye focussed on the technologies of the future. This forward-looking approach is essential to ensure we continuously enhance and improve our existing equipment, and also to bring new engineered solutions to the industries we serve. How has your previous experience prepared you for this role? As someone who has had a wide range of experience in various positions, including apprentice Blacksmith/ Welder, Aircraft Technician, Design Engineer and Engineering Director in my last role, I think I have a good understanding of what we need to do as a department to meet and exceed the needs of the business.
What attracted you to TWMA and what do you think sets the company apart from the competition? Developing our technology in-house was a key factor - we have a real sense of ownership, and we know our technology inside out. This allows us to tailor our equipment depending on the requirements of a specific project, and provide solutions for even the most complex of drilling operations. We are also good at incorporating feedback and ideas from our staff and clients, which has contributed to the continued development of our technology and growth of our product lines. This was proven in October when we were awarded the Northern Star Business Award for Commitment to Innovative Use of R&D. This is testament to the entire team at TWMA, and I want to thank everyone again for their hard work and dedication. I was also attracted to this role as the engineering department here encapsulates the entire engineering process from cradle to grave. Often in these roles, you’re only involved in one or two aspects of the process, but at TWMA, I’m involved in all stages of the engineering life cycle. Away from the office, what do you like to do in your spare time? Apart from spending time with my family, I enjoy road cycling and take part in an 80 mile cycle three or four times per year. I also enjoy music and play in a folk band when I can.
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CASE STUDY
TWMA saves operator more than $12m with world first solids control and fluid recovery system CHALLENGES • Drilling in the Upper Zakum field is performed with the commitment from ADNOC of ‘Zero Discharge’ to sea of any drilling returns, therefore a solution to collect, transfer, store and treat the drilling returns prior to disposal was needed. • Given the remote location of the islands (84km offshore from Abu Dhabi in the Arabian Gulf), a solution which did not involve the transportation of drill cuttings for treatment and/or disposal onshore was required. • The islands are approximately one mile wide and designed to be self-contained, therefore a self-sufficient solution at site was required. • Disposal at site was preferred via cuttings reinjection (CRI) – this was the first project in the world whereby thermally treated NAF cuttings recovered solids and water were re-injected, making it fully self-contained. • The climate in the UAE makes working conditions challenging for employees – in the summer months temperatures reach more than 50°C with 100% humidity
SOLUTION At source drilling waste processing utilising EfficientC® system of collection, handling and storage and TCC RotoMill® for non-aqueous fluid drill cuttings treatment. PROJECT OVERVIEW
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
The volume of drill cuttings produced per island would be too large and costly to transport onshore for treatment and disposal. To overcome this challenge, TWMA designed, manufactured, commissioned and operated an advanced solids control and fluid recovery system, at source, to collect, segregate and store all forms of drilling waste including drill cuttings, slops, cement and excess fluids onsite. The NAF drill cuttings were then required to be processed and treated in accordance with legislation.
Due to the environmental and operational requirements of the project, TWMA recommended its cuttings handling and containment solution, EfficientC, with its TCC RotoMill thermal processing unit.
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EfficientC allows for the collection and transportation of drilling wastes. The TCC RotoMill uses a process of thermal desorption to separate NAF drill cuttings and associated materials into their three constituent parts of oil, water and solids. Base oil is recovered at such high quality that is it returned for reuse in the active mud system. Recovered water and solids are mixed together for reinjection.
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER CASE STUDY
RESULTS (2012 – 2017)
Over the past five years, TWMA has invested more than £20 million in the UAE market, incuding the launch of a new Regional Services Centre in Abu Dhabi.
• Estimated value of base oil recovered to date – more than $12m • More than 1 million man hours have passed during this operation with no lost time incidents, • Total volume of recovered oil to date – 94,701bbl • Total volume of drill cuttings treated to date – 95,278MT • Total volume of material reinjected to date – 3,070,395bbl • Eliminated the requirement to transport approximately 1,443,029 bbl of drilling returns onshore for processing and ultimately to landfill • Travel distance saved: 184,181 km • Total volume of powder reinjected instead of being diverted to landfill: 47,080MT • ‘Zero’ rig days lost/down time attributable to TWMA’s drilling waste services.
TWMA recruited within the local labour market and now employs around 280 staff in the UAE to support the ZADCO contract, as well as other contracts subsequently won. TWMA is committed to employing within the local labour market as far as possible and as such, we now have a low dependency on western expatriates to man these projects. Recruitment and robust training is performed in-country to ensure our operators and engineers are well equipped to deliver a first class service.
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OTHER NEWS
TWMA accelerates growth TWMA has secured an important strategic partnership and substantial investment from Buckthorn Partners. The investment from Buckthorn, a specialist oilfield services investment firm, allows TWMA to accelerate our plans for global growth, product and service expansion and to invest further into research and development. Ronnie Garrick continues as Chief Executive Officer of TWMA, whilst Tony Branch has joined the management team to support the planned growth. Prior to joining TWMA, Tony was President of Regional Operations at Weatherford where he was also an Officer of the company. Nicholas Gee from Buckthorn Partners also joins the company as Chairman. Ronnie said: “We are very pleased to welcome Buckthorn as investors, which allows us to embark upon the next stage of our global growth plans. Our commitment to product and service R&D is key to our success and this investment ensures TWMA will continue to provide revolutionary technologies and industry leading solutions. We are delighted to have Tony join our team and are really looking forward to working with him to further build the TWMA business.” Tony added: “This initial investment, together with access to further capital, will allow TWMA to expand our expertise and geographical footprint, ensuring we continue to offer the safest and most effective drilling waste solutions to the industry. Our international expansion plans in new and existing regions are crucial for long-term sustainable growth, and we look forward to driving these ambitions.” Commenting on the investment, Nicholas Gee, Partner at Buckthorn added: “Our objective is to further develop the business both organically and through M&A, so TWMA can expand geographically, and develop new products and services that will add further value for our customers.”
TWMA launches Regional Services Centre in UAE TWMA has expanded operations in the Middle East with the launch of a Regional Services Centre in Abu Dhabi. The move brings TWMA’s ongoing investment in the United Arab Emirates to approximately 95 million AED {£20m} over the last five years. The new facility, which includes office space, workshop, service centre and warehouse, covers more than 2,250 sq m and consolidates TWMA’s existing two bases in the country. Its size will allow us to scale up regional operations in line with increasing demand for safe and environmentally-conscious solutions, which support mounting pressure to reduce operational expenditure. 10
22 members of TWMA’s onshore staff will move to this new flagship facility, which will also act as a base for a further 240 personnel working offshore in the region. One of TWMA’s main focuses is to recruit locally and support upskilling in the United Arab Emirates, which the new base will assist with. Ronnie Garrick, CEO at TWMA said: “This new facility signifies many years of commitment and development in-country, and we are very proud of our success in Abu Dhabi. We strive to build upon this to become a supplier and employer of choice in the MENA region, and a critical part of that is ensuring we are well-resourced to support clients both now and in the future.”
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER OTHER NEWS
TWMA to present at ADIPEC TWMA will present a technical paper at a session hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), during this year’s ADIPEC. The paper, which was co-authored with ZADCO, will discuss the handling, processing and recycling of drill cuttings at source, using TWMA technology which complies with zero discharge legislation. The talk will focus specifically on ZADCO’s operational and situational challenges, and the company’s reasoning for selecting TWMA’s TCC RotoMill® to process drill cuttings on the four UZ750k artificial islands in Abu Dhabi. The TCC RotoMill, TWMA’s proprietary and worldleading thermal technology, is used to treat nonaqueous based fluid (NAF) drill cuttings into three constituent parts - recovered oil, solids and water. The recovered oil is recycled and reused back into the drilling fluid system, whilst the recovered solids and water can be reused in certain applications or disposed of in line with local legislation. The presentation will highlight why the TCC RotoMill was selected after considering the drilling programme, well profiles and volume of material to be generated throughout the long-term drilling campaign. The presentation will also explain how this solution allowed ZADCO to optimise its drilling programme whilst meeting and exceeding the Environmental Impact Assessment guidelines and regulations set by ZADCO and ADNOC. Details of the case study will also be discussed, outlining how TWMA’s services and commitment to treating the drilling returns at source, resulted in ZADCO eliminating the requirement to ship material a cumulative distance of 184,181km back to land, whilst recovering $12.7million in recovered oil across the four islands.
Delivering the presentation will be Robbie Pond, TWMA’s Sales and Business Development Director, Middle East. He said: “This is a great opportunity to share with the drilling community details on this flagship project and how, with the correct planning and the right support, operators recover significant costs whilst optimising their drilling programme.
“The ZADCO project is a high-profile campaign with complex operations, and I am looking forward to meeting our peers in the industry and explaining how our solutions have supported ZADCO’s ambitious drilling activities because it is a fantastic case study.” TWMA and ZADCO’s presentation, ‘Processing and Recycling Drilling Cuttings at Source – Technology and Services Adhering to Zero Discharge Legislation’, will be delivered as part of the Drilling and Completion Technology Technical Session on Thursday 16 November. The presentation will be part of a series running from 9.30-11am in Capital Suite 14 at ADNEC.
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CASE STUDY
TWMA Recognised for Commitment to Research & Development TWMA has been named as winner of the Northern Star Business Awards’ “Commitment to Innovative Use of Research & Development” category. The black tie ceremony took place in Aberdeen on 5 October, where TWMA was recognised for its ongoing investment in research and development. Whilst the entire team ensures innovation is at the front of mind every day, approximately 10% of TWMA’s staff is focused on R&D activity to fulfil the needs of clients and the wider industry. In the last 12 months, a number of international projects have showcased how TWMA innovates to address its clients’ well returns requirements. This includes developing operational and cost effective solutions for the management, treatment and processing of drill cuttings, slops and other materials generated from drilling operations. Neil Potter, Chief Operating Officer at TWMA, said: “This award really does go a long way towards recognising the market-leading services TWMA provides to international companies. Innovation is inherent in all that we do, and the drive for that has always been our desire to provide our clients with the safest, most efficient and cost-effective service. “We’ve worked hard to ensure we’re responding to the industry’s needs by providing an integrated service approach to deliver operational and cost efficiencies, whilst reducing risks - and winning this award highlights TWMA’s success in doing so.”
TWMA shortlisted for Scottish Environment Business Awards (VIBES) TWMA has been shortlisted in this year’s VIBES Scottish Environment Business Awards - alongside 28 other Scottish companies, and is one of just five finalists to hail from Aberdeen City and Shire. We have been shortlisted in the Environmental Product or Service category, which recognises businesses which have developed a product or service which brings both environmental and business benefits. Judges selected TWMA as a finalist due to our overall approach to environmentally conscious drilling waste solutions, and specifically our recently launched 12
offshore slops treatment unit. This technology offers a highly safe, efficient and cost-effective way to treat oil slop containing a potentially hazardous mixture of oil, rainwater, chemicals and solids, at source. Neil Potter, Chief Operating Officer at TWMA said: “Developing environmental solutions to overcome some of the oil and gas industry’s biggest challenges is at the core of our business, and has been so for almost two decades. We are thrilled for this to be recognised by the VIBES, reflecting the hard work of our team who continue to innovate and provide the highest level of customer service.”
CUTTING EDGE : WINTER NEWS
Key account manager, Abu Dhabi, climbs Island Peak
Pierre-Marie Hinden, Key Account Manager – Abu Dhabi reached the summit of Island Peak in the Himalayas, Nepal earlier this year. The expedition, which also included an Everest Base Camp trek, took 16 days to complete. TWMA was delighted to support Pierre on his expedition and sponsored his trekking equipment.
night as we were sleeping in tea houses which are simple wooden cabins with no heating. Again, eating the same meal of rice and noodles wasn’t enjoyable, and by the end of the trip I didn’t want to even see or eat this ever again!
How did you feel during the hike?
Summit day was really difficult as we started just after midnight in minus 10 degrees. We reached the summit (6,189m) by 9.30am after using proper climbing gear with ropes, ascenders and ice crampons. Reaching the summit was a huge relief after continuous hard work for eight hours! The feeling of achievement was unbelievable, and I felt a wave of relief as all the pressure disappeared - I felt so light!
It was very tough and tiring, especially over the last few days. The lack of sleep, lack of food variety (same meal without any meat), and cold nights were the hardest parts. The way back was physically demanding as we were always ascending and descending, rather than continuing along level terrain. It took us four days to go up, but we had just two days to cover the same distance going down. What were the biggest challenges? Altitude sickness is really awful, and we saw a few people evacuated by helicopter as they became too ill to continue. The only sign of altitude sickness that I had was a constant headache which started right at the back of my head towards my neck. The temperature was fine when walking due to the exercise and the sun, but it was tougher during the
How did you feel at the top?
Although the hardest part was over, the descent was not easy. My whole body started feeling tired and weak, and the weather turned really poor with heavy snow storms. I finally reached the camp at 3pm. Despite the challenges, it was a fantastic experience and I’d like to thank everyone at TWMA who supported me throughout the expedition.
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NEWS
Team TWMA go beach ballistic
Ten TWMA employees took on Scotland’s first ever beach obstacle course race in August at Balmedie Beach, Aberdeen. Hosted by Military Fitness Training, the day offered two races; 13-15km and 5-7km. TWMA had a team entered in each race where participants faced more than 20 obstacles including 20ft shipping containers, hurdles in the North Sea and carrying sand bags up the dunes. TWMA sponsored the t-shirts at the event which saw more than 150 people take part.
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CUTTING EDGE : WINTER NEWS
TWMA welcomes ZADCO to West Island
TWMA’s Abu Dhabi team was delighted to welcome Sultan Al Mansoori, VP Drilling, ZADCO, to West Island in October. The visit, organised by ZADCO, saw senior managers from both ADNOC and ZADCO meet the teams working on the island. TWMA showcased its HSEQ achievements on West Island and received great feedback from attendees. Simon Tyldsley, Regional Director – MENA, said: “We were delighted to welcome ZADCO to West Island and introduce them to the team. Once again, our team here in Abu Dhabi has made TWMA very proud with an outstanding HSE and operational track record. Our goal is still and always will be; to lead by example and set the benchmark for others to follow.”
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