Acteon News

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design, developed to offer a stable platform for survey and inspection operations…

In a recent interview with Offshore Engineer TV, to be published in the September/October edition of Offshore Engineer, Carl Trowell, CEO, Acteon Group, discusses how his company is balancing the transition to 'new energy,' putting in perspective the future he sees:“There's going to be more infrastructure going into the sea in the next decade from offshore wind than went in throughout the whole lifetime of oil and gas. If you just look at the number of units, the number of installations, when you start moving to floating wind, it's going to be off the scale of the number of moorings.

TerraSond announced plans to invest in a new base in Massachusetts as part of its commitment to support the Vineyard Wind 1 project and wider US offshore wind developments. The company, which already has facilities in Alaska and Texas, has been confirmed as a preferred supplier for the subsea balance of plant inspection and survey services for the Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The wind farm will be situated 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.

InterMoor, a provider of mooring services, foundation solutions and offshore installations in subsea services group Acteon, has announced the acquisition of all intellectual property of the BEL Grapnel & Chaser (BEL) company, including drawings, designs, and cast patterns for its complete range of anchor and chain handling equipment (chasers and grapnels).Based in the North East of England, with a heritage dating back to the mid-1970s, BEL was the first manufacturer of successful grapnel and chaser products.

UTEC, a global surveying company in subsea services group Acteon, recently commissioned its new launch and recovery system (LARS) for the fleet of seven autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) it uses for seabed surveys in the oil and renewables industries.UTEC’s new LARS is a floating garage that enables an AUV to be launched and recovered without needing a small boat, thereby simplifying operations and improving safety. It also increases efficiency and reduces costs by enabling AUV surveys in parallel with construction or laying activities, as the LARS can be deployed from the same work vessel.The LARS will see its first use on a pipeline…

The first phase of the DNV GL’s Joint Industry Project (JIP) which focuses on the development of a new design and certification standard for equipment for pipeline and cable offshore operations has been completed. "The JIP, focussing on the development of a new design and certification standard for equipment for pipeline and cable offshore operations, aims to reduce uncertainty, cost, increase efficiency and safety throughout the lifecycle of the equipment," said a press release. Pipeline and cable operations is a dynamic field of technology, with multiple players, leading to a level of complexity and lack of standardisation in the most common terms used within the oil and gas industry. The building blocks and functional groups in the pipeline and cable operation deck spread.

Cutting through piles made from concrete and steel and spending a long time under water isn’t a job for the faint hearted. So what kind of ‘rough diamond’ would be up to such a tough job? In a recent demolition project in Australia, the star performer was a diamond wire saw manufactured by Mirage Machines, an Acteon company, which was chosen by OPEC Systems to assist in the demolition of wharf structures located at Northshore Hamilton, Brisbane. Three full time dive crews were deployed…

InterMoor completed its involvement in the Shell Malikai Tension Leg Platform (TLP) float-off operations. The TLP was loaded onto the Dockwise Heavy Lift Vessel White Marlin at Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) shipyard in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and transported to a float-off location in the Singapore Straits. Contracted by TMJV, a joint venture between Technip and MMHE Shipyard, InterMoor Pte was responsible for the marine aspects of the float-off and tow of Shell’s…

InterMoor, an Acteon company, has appointed Cleiver Moulin as managing director in Brazil. Moulin will be responsible for overseeing InterMoor do Brasil’s business in the region. Moulin joined InterMoor do Brazil in 2010 as a Senior Project Manager and has since played management roles in projects, operations and business areas. Prior to joining InterMoor do Brazil, Moulin worked in engineering, certification and management functions at Bureau Veritas and RBNA. He worked six years as a project and contract manager for Tecnitas do Brasil.

InterMoor said it has completed the final tensioning and chain cutting operations on the FPSO Turritella for the Shell Stones project, located in the Walker Ridge protraction area in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The FPSO Turritella will connect to subsea infrastructure located beneath approximately 9,500 ft (2,896 m) of water, breaking the existing water depth record for an oil and gas production facility. This ultra-deepwater project marks the first FPSO for Shell in the GoM, and the second FPSO in the GoM.

Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, has marked 1 million working hours without a single Lost Time Incident (LTI). This milestone follows on from Aquatic’s achievement of 1000 days without an LTI in December 2014. The improvement level in FPAL scoring since 2013 and successful accreditation to BizSafe3 in Singapore demonstrate that Aquatic is continually improving standards and providing training opportunities across HSEQ. David Tibbetts, vice president technology, Aquatic, and accountable for the health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) function, said, “This achievement is due to the commitment of the Aquatic team to maintain the culture of safety promoted globally by Acteon.

Seatronics Ltd, an Acteon company and part of its survey, monitoring and data business, has promoted Derek Donaldson from vice president Asia Pacific to vice president global operations. Donaldson enters into a new position within the Seatronics Group management structure, reporting directly to the Seatronics Group managing director, Phil Middleton. Donaldson and Middleton will together support regional vice presidents in managing and developing the global Seatronics business. Donaldson will be based in Singapore and will continue to manage the regional office, whilst maintaining a global presence. Donaldson said, “I joined Seatronics because of the quality of the team.

LM Handling, an Acteon company, has provided handling expertise and equipment to support Acteon sister company, InterMoor, in the successful mooring installation of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) operated Enping 24-2 oilfield in the South China Sea. With LM Handling’s lifting and handling expertise and equipment, a 12-pile anchor mooring system, consisting of three clusters of four mooring lines, was installed. LM Handling provided its StabFrame-S in its extended configuration, pre-loaded with additional ballast to achieve a stable and safe install for the long mooring piles, and 84 and 60 in. internal lift tools.

Claxton, an Acteon company, has released an infographic guide to well abandonment costs in the North Sea. Released on the eve of the Oil and Gas UK Offshore Decommissioning Conference, held annually in St Andrews, Scotland, to discuss decommissioning in the region, the infographic highlights the costs operators are facing as they plan future campaigns. Abandonment cost reduction is an area where Claxton helps operators in the North Sea and beyond, via a proven suite of rigless technology. Claxton has experience in platform well abandonment and conductor recovery, having completed the world’s first rigless platform well abandonment in 2003. More recently, Claxton carried out the first rigless recovery of a stuck BHA for Maersk on the Tyra East field.

InterMoor UK Operations, part of Acteon’s foundations and moorings business, says it has completed seven years and more than 2,300 projects without a single lost-time incident (LTI). The safety record includes the companies comprising InterMoor UK Operations – InterMoor Ltd, InterMoor Marine Services Ltd and ChainCo – and operations at three bases, five storage yards and numerous quayside locations where operations have been both in the UK and globally. Alan Duncan, managing director of InterMoor UK Operations, said, “Providing safe working environments and high-quality training for employees are vital for InterMoor. This milestone highlights the extent of our commitment to safety and the professionalism of our staff.

NCS Survey, an Acteon company, has been awarded a five year contract for positioning services with SURF Company, Ceona. Mobilization has been completed on the first vessel, Ceona’s DP3 multi-purpose vessel, the Normand Pacific. Succeeding its initial work in the Gulf of Mexico, NCS Survey will be supporting Ceona with further subsea work in Nigeria at the ABO and OYO fields.

Claxton, an Acteon company, has been awarded a multiyear contract with Det norske oljeselskap ASA of Norway: the largest single riser contract in Claxton’s history. Running from January 2014 until June 2020 (with optional periods of 1+1 year), the contract includes high- and low-pressure risers, auxiliary equipment and services offshore Norway. The scope of work includes the procurement of high and low-pressure surface risers for the lvar Aasen field development; the rental of a Claxton 18.3/4”…

KKR invests in growth companies servicing the global offshore energy sector, including investments in Acteon, RigNet, Avincis (Bond Aviation) and Weststar. OEG is headquartered in Aberdeen, UK with regional hubs in the main offshore oil and gas regions including Singapore, Australia, and USA and 20 further diversified stocking locations worldwide. OEG explains that it manufactures and leases specialist Cargo Carrying Units which are essential items used by oil and gas operators and their service providers to transport equipment and supplies to and from rigs and platforms as part of their day-to-day offshore operations. In addition, OEG…

2H Offshore, an Acteon company, has joined an international European consortium comprising nineteen industry and research organizations to develop deepwater mining solutions. Over the next four years, the European Commission funded project, known as Blue Mining, is developing seabed mining practices by creating new cost-effective solutions for environmentally friendly mining and processing in challenging and extreme environments. The Blue Mining project aims to unlock the huge potential of raw materials in untapped areas of the oceans.

Acteon company InterMoor completed decommissioning operations of the Innovator platform in the Gulf of Mexico’s Gomez field, Mississippi Canyon Block 711. Conducted in water depths of 910 meters, the scope of work involved disconnecting 10 risers/umbilicals; disconnecting 12 mooring lines and then towing the Innovator to Ingleside, Texas. InterMoor said it developed special procedures for disconnection and towing, procured rigging and tow equipment for all vessels including the Anchor Handling Vessel (AHV)…

Aquatic Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd, an Acteon company and subsidiary of Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd, inform it has successfully completed its new carousel, the AQCS-01-1500 maiden project. Aquatic partnered with integrated subsea services provider Kreuz Subsea on the project. The carousel was successfully used to install 9.7km of 218mm diameter umbilical in the South Belut field offshore Indonesia for ConocoPhillips. As the installation contractor, Kreuz Subsea, engaged…

NCS Survey, an Acteon company, has appointed Simon Goldsworthy as business development manager in its Aberdeen office. Goldsworthy will be responsible for building relationships with existing and potential clients and growing NCS Survey’s presence in the offshore industry globally. Having been active in the offshore industry for more than 18 years, he has already demonstrated a successful track record in new business development. Before joining NCS Survey, Goldsworthy was in global commercial roles within both Sonardyne International and Teledyne TSS.

Claxton Engineering Services Ltd, an Acteon company, launched the latest version for its ATEX and safe-area crane boom cameras to improve operational safety through substantial upgrades in camera performance and its user interface. Enhancements to the camera, which according to Claxton is one in a range of best-in-class subsea and surface cameras, include state-of-the-art charge-coupled device (CCD) modules; a best-in-class 324-1 digital zoom (compared with 312-1 digital zoom on previous systems); and a 28× optical zoom lens (compared with a 26× on previous systems).