Subsea Well Equipment News

Subsea services company DeepOcean has chartered Hornbeck Offshore's HOS Warland multi-purpose service vessel supporting the US Gulf of Mexico operations."The HOS Warland will extend DeepOcean’s capabilities in the larger construction end of the market through higher specification equipment installed onboard the vessel. The vessel has been part of DeepOcean’s offering for some time, but will now be secured through a time charter," DeepOcean said.DeepOcean said the firm charter would help it provide even better support to the fast-paced requirements of the IMR market, and to construction and installation projects that are managed, engineered, and executed by DeepOcean’s in-house team.

ABS has published the Guide for Subsea Mining, detailing class requirements for the design, construction, installation and survey of mobile offshore mining units.The publication, which ABS is calling an industry-first, comes as global interest in resources on the seafloor grows to support the emerging low carbon economy.“The world demand for metals required for new forms of transportation and electrical storage is increasing. Metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese exist on land, but are increasingly difficult to extract sustainably.

The Norwegian Continental Shelf’s journey from the very first basic marinized subsea trees to today’s complex and sophisticated subsea processing equipment has been a rapid, at times turbulent, but always remarkable.There are many engineers who have seen through that journey, from the first exploration wells using Norwegian rigs in the mid-1970s to today. One has now written the history of subsea technology in Norway and this year’s Underwater Technology Conference (UTC) has been chosen for its launch…

Norway-based subsea operations specialist Swire Seabed and compatriot provider of comprehensive ocean bottom seismic (OBS) solutions to the global oil and gas industry Seabed Solutions have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement for the provision of subsea dredging services worldwide.A joint press release said that the expertise of the two companies is complementary, with Swire Seabed providing the Seabed Excavator, a state-of-the-art tracked subsea dredging vehicle with numerous capabilities, and Seabed Solutions years of dredging competence and experience.The Seabed Excavator system is the safest and most powerful system of its kind…

Subsea Innovation, the supplier engineered equipment and technology used in the installation of subsea equipment for the offshore oil and gas, has announced two high profile contract wins with Royal IHC, as part of a collaborative framework agreement.A press release from the  offshore energy engineering compmany said that  will be supporting their client Royal IHC Limited on the design, development, manufacture and supply of back deck equipment on two projects to be completed throughout 2018 and 2019."For both projects, which include a reel lay project and a J lay project, Subsea Innovation will be producing a range of back deck equipment including Pipeline End Termination (PLET) manipulators…

The subsea cables and engineering services provider Tekmar Energy announced that international marine contractor Van Oord has selected the patented Tekmar Cable Protection System (CPS) TekLink Mechanical Latch for the Borssele 2 (site III and IV) offshore wind farm.According to a press release from the offshore wind cable protection systems company, Borssele 2 consisting of 77 turbines and a total of 731.5 MW, will go into construction off the coast of Zeeland, the Netherlands in 2020.James Ritchie, CEO of Tekmar Group plc, said: “We are delighted that Van Oord has chosen Tekmar for Borssele 2. This continues our trusted relationship together following the successful award from Van Oord for Deutsche Bucht and BorWin3 earlier in 2018…

Norway-based digital technology innovator FutureOn announced a multi-license contract for its Field Activity Planner (FieldAP) software with Subsea 7, a leading global contractor providing engineering, construction and services to the offshore energy industry.“FieldAP brings all the data about the field into one centralized digital environment to help our customers see more about their assets from every vantage point and collaborate meaningfully, which makes it possible for them to make economically prudent planning decisions,” explained Olav Sylthe, Chief Technology Officer of FutureOn.Olav added: “FieldAP can be used in conjunction with other tools, such as flow assurance simulation software.

Lifting and marine product specialist Rigmarine has opened its fourth global facility in the rural village of Insch, 30 miles to the northwest of Aberdeen, Scotland. The site, strategically positioned to serve the offshore oil and gas, renewables, construction, break bulk, shipping and marine industries, joins other Rigmarine locations in Baku, Azerbaijan; Aktau, Kazakhstan; and Sharjah, UAE. As part of the Gaylin Group, this is the 10th international hub alongside others in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

OSV@Vivo has been taken to the heart of the Singapore public with an anticipated 4,000 visitors, expected to throng the two state-of-the-art Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) “Pacific Legacy” and “VOS Prince” moored at local shopping mall Vivocity Waterfront Promenade from 21 to 23 April 2016. Local institutes of higher learning are lending their support to this inaugural event with some 600 students from the Institute of Technical Education and Ngee Ann Polytechnic already registered to attend. This industry-led project, spearheaded by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and held in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week, is designed to create awareness of the offshore marine sector – a key sector in the Singapore maritime industry.

On 1 February a European consortium launched a new Horizon 2020 project: Blue Nodules. This project addresses the challenge of creating a viable and sustainable value chain to retrieve polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor. It will develop and test new highly-automated and sustainable technologies for deep-sea mining with minimal environmental pressures. The technical side of the project is dedicated to subsea harvesting equipment in addition to the in-situ seafloor and sea surface processing of polymetallic nodules. The operational aspect focuses on sea operations and logistics, including compliance with, and development of, rules and regulations, and the business case.

As part of the next step in creating its global marine services network, Ardent, the newly created company between Svitzer and Crowley, is launching a joint venture with Southern African diving and marine services company, Subtech. Subtech brings a Sub-Saharan African presence through an infrastructure network with facilities and activities that cover both East and West Africa in additional to its home territory of South Africa. Subtech’s experienced marine and subsea personnel, equipment resources, entrepreneurial business model and the support of James Fisher Group will help the joint venture to evolve and grow. The joint venture will…

Because of the long timelines associated with Gulf of Mexico (GOM) projects, the recent downturn in oil prices is expected to have minimal direct impact on GOM crude oil production through 2016. EIA projects GOM production to reach 1.52 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2015 and 1.61 million bbl/d in 2016, or about 16% and 17% of total U.S. crude oil production in those two years, respectively. The forecasted production growth is driven both by new projects and the redevelopment and expansion of older producing fields.

Aker Solutions' subsidiary Aker Oilfield Services (AKOFS) has won a contract worth USD 465 million over five years from Petrobras to provide subsea intervention services offshore Brazil from the Aker Wayfarer vessel. The contract will start within the fourth quarter of 2016 and has a five-year option extension. AKOFS will at the end of September become part of Akastor, an oilfield services investment company that will be one of two companies formed as part of the announced separation of Aker Solutions. The Aker Wayfarer vessel will be outfitted at a yard in Norway to become a deepwater subsea equipment support vessel (SESV). It will have a fibre-rope deployment system…

Aker Solutions' subsidiary Aker Oilfield Services (AKOFS) says it has won a contract worth US$465-million over five years from Petrobras to provide subsea intervention services offshore Brazil from the Aker Wayfarer vessel. The contract will start within the fourth quarter of 2016 and has a five-year option extension. AKOFS will at the end of September become part of Akastor, an oilfield services investment company that will be one of two companies formed as part of the announced separation of Aker Solutions. The Aker Wayfarer vessel will be outfitted at a yard in Norway to become a deepwater subsea equipment support vessel (SESV). It will have a fibre-rope deployment system…

Bibby Offshore Singapore (BOS) said it has successfully completed a call out contract with PTT Exploration & Production Co Ltd (PTTEP). The project involved a short notice mobilization, and saw the BOS-operated DP2 ROV Support Vessel, the Bibby Spring perform subsea inspection services to PTTEP’s Bongkot Field assets in the Gulf of Thailand. The work was successfully completed within PTTEP’s restricted timeframe. Darren Morgan, Managing Director of Bibby Offshore Singapore,said, “The team work tirelessly to ensure we deliver on time and within budget.

Lloyd’s Register’s was awarded the EIC Supply Chain Excellence Award 2013, at the annual Energy Industries Council (EIC) award summit, held at The Natural History Museum in London, U.K., on October 10. The EIC award recognizes companies in the energy industry that have demonstrated superiority within the supply chain, and there is only one winner every year. The award was presented to Lloyd’s Register for its Blow-Out Preventer (BOP) Risk Model program. Lloyd’s Register’s BOP…

The subsea vessel operations market is poised to see an increase in demand in the near term with day rates for some vessels set to increase. Between 2013 and 2017, Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecast $106 billion of expenditure on subsea vessel operations – an increase of 54% over the preceding five-year period. Global demand is expected to increase 23% compared to the previous five years. The rate of increase in expenditure is expected to be higher than the growth in vessel days,…

Acteon has completed the acquisition of J2 Engineering Services Ltd, which is based in Aberdeen, U.K. J2 Engineering is involved in the rental, maintenance and repair of ROV manipulator arms and associated tooling and equipment. Over the past five years, the company has forged a reputation within the ROV and underwater survey industries for outstanding service quality, fast turnaround times and the ability to deliver highly reliable customized engineering solutions. J2 Engineering’s service offering runs along very similar lines to that of well-established Acteon company Seatronics…

UK-based Ensco has ordered an additional advanced-capability DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, ENSCO DS-10, will be the eighth Samsung DP3 drillship in the Ensco fleet, further extending the benefits of Ensco’s fleet standardization strategy. It will be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd. (SHI) shipyard in South Korea, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2015. The agreement includes an option for an additional drillship of the same design. Ensco Chairman, President and CEO Dan Rabun said, “We continue to see very strong demand for rigs in existing deepwater markets, along with growing demand from emerging exploration areas.

Chukar Waterjet, Inc. has released a new brochure highlighting its subsea waterjet equipment. The brochure outlines Chukar’s deepwater subsea waterjet skid capabilities and highlights the many applications and advantages of subsea waterjet technology. It also includes Chukar Waterjet’s topside waterjet equipment and its advantages. Chukar Waterjet’s Deepwater Subsea Waterjet Skid is operable to 3000 meters and powers a variety of ultra-high pressure waterjet cutting and blasting tools. It can cut steel as thick as 8” (203 mm) or quickly blast away hydrate ice crystals. Its many applications include decommissioning, salvage, inspection, cleaning, and hydrate remediation. Chukar Waterjet also recommends this equipment as an emergency response preparedness asset.

MAN Diesel & Turbo, Switzerland, signs to provide Norway's Statoil with new subsea compressor equipment & maintenance services. The Zurich-based MAN Diesel & Turbo Schweiz AG and Statoil have followed a joint subsea compressor qualification programme since 2005. In early 2011 Aker Solutions ASA, Statoil’s main contractor for the Asgard subsea project, awarded a contract to MAN to build the world's first subsea compressors for gas production on the sea floor. "The currently signed framework agreement is another milestone in our partnership with Statoil," said Dr. Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo Schweiz AG and Head of the Oil & Gas Business Unit. "The previous joint development of subsea compression technology was built on trust and mutual respect.

Chukar Waterjet manufactures underwater ultra-high pressure waterjet cutting and blasting equipment capable of operating at depths in excess of 3,000 meters. Effective at cutting steel up to 250 mm thick or waterjet blasting at pressures up to 3,800 bar, Chukar’s subsea waterjet equipment has numerous applications for deep water emergency response operations, salvage operations and rapid de-mobilization operations. It can be used to blast away coatings and marine growth to inspect welds, or as a cutting tool in emergency response and salvage operations.

Aker Solutions secures a NOK 650 million (GBP 70 million) contract with BP to help redevelop one of the largest oil fields in the UK sector. The Aberdeen operation of Aker Solutions will manufacture and supply all subsea controls equipment for the Quad 204 project, the redevelopment of the Schiehallion and Loyal fields located approximately 100 miles west of the Shetland Islands. The scope of work includes subsea controls equipment for subsea trees, manifolds and subsea safety isolation valves as well as controls distribution assemblies.