Thistle News

Data sharing and better understanding of how marine life interacts with manmade structures is the target for the next phase of the Insite program.What to do with offshore structures is a sticky problem for oil companies, regulators and policy makers alike, as many structures are starting to cease production in the North Sea, where some fields have been producing oil and gas since the early 1970s.Regulations, which include the OSPAR (Oslo Paris convention) state that a clear seabed should be left behind, once production has ceased, with some exceptions (platforms over a certain age and weight).

Swiss offshore services firm Allseas is planning to build a vessel big enough to be able to remove the world's largest oil and gas platforms when they reach the end of their production lives, its chief executive said. The vessel, to be called Amazing Grace, is designed to remove the heaviest platforms in a single lift and could reduce decommissioning costs for global oil and gas producers, the firm said. It would be a bigger version of Allseas' existing Pioneering Spirit ship…

Pupils at an Aberdeen primary school were given a rare insight into the depths of the oil and gas industry’s subsea sector after getting to sit in the driving seat of a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) simulator. The Tullos Primary visit to i-Tech was organised by EnQuest as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to encouraging youngsters to consider a career in the oil and gas industry. Around 20 primary five pupils were shown why ROVs are increasingly becoming pivotal to the critical path of subsea operations during the tour at i-Tech, which is a division of Subsea 7 and a global-leading supplier of ROV and intervention tooling solutions.

KCA Deutag has won significant subsea drilling operation & maintenance contracts from core clients Total E&P UK, EnQuest & CNR International (CNRI). The company was awarded a contract with Total E&P UK to provide drilling operations and maintenance services on the Alwyn North and Dunbar platforms. Both contracts have already commenced and have a firm two year commitment with options for an extension of up to two years. Secondly, EnQuest has also signed a significant contract with KCA Deutag for a four year extension of its drilling operations and maintenance contract for both the Heather and Thistle platforms. Lastly, a substantial contract extension was awarded by CNRI.

EnQuest PLC, UK North Sea oil producer, has secured a brownfield tax allowance to fully exploit its Thistle oilfield. David Heslop, general manager for EnQuest in Aberdeen, explained: “Before EnQuest acquired Thistle in 2010, production was declining and, coupled with ageing infrastructure, it was approaching the point where production may have stopped. As a result of our investment so far, which has included facilities and safety systems upgrades, a major rig reactivation programme and drilling of five new wells, production has significantly increased.

EnQuest PLC, the largest UK independent production company in the UK North Sea, has reached a new North Sea safety milestone by recording five years free of Lost Time Incidents (LTIs) on drilling operations in the Thistle field. The LTI achievement covers a period of major operational activity which saw EnQuest bring Thistle drilling back online to drill its first new wells in 20 years. EnQuest’s drilling team, supported by a KCA Deutag drill crew, an Aker well services crew and a range of other offshore contractors have taken Thistle from a rig upgrade through to rig start up…

Newcastle-based facilities engineering company, Fabricom Offshore Services, announced that it has been awarded a major contract valued at more than £1million by EnQuest Britain Ltd, one of the UK’s leading independent oil and gas players. Fabricom is to support Aberdeen-based EnQuest in undertaking a significant programme of modifications and upgrades as part of a project to extend the operating life of the Thistle Alpha platform, which is located 275 miles north-north east of Aberdeen. The work is part of EnQuest’s Late Life Extension (LLX) strategy. To execute this work, Fabricom will use a team of engineers from its engineering office in Newcastle.

Colin McMurray, Managing Director of Clyde Marine Training, celebrated success at the Glasgow Business Awards as he was presented with the award for Young Business Person of the Year. The award ceremony, which was held on Thursday 7th October 2010 at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow, was a prestigious event that allowed organisations from all over Glasgow to come together to promote achievement and celebrate success. Colin had an impressive career at sea for ten years before joining Clyde Marine Training in 2004.

Helicopters flew to the rescue of offshore oil workers on Sunday after a large blaze broke out on a remote oil platform in the North Sea between Britain and Norway. The Swedish company which owns the Thistle Alpha platform, Lundin Petroleum, said the fire had been extinguished in under three hours and that no one had been injured. Around 117 personnel were airlifted to safety, while 42 staff remained on board, a coastguard spokesperson said. Five British and two Norwegian helicopters were involved in the rescue operation, which also included a Nimrod plane from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Kinloss in northeast Scotland. The rig employs 159 people and is based 120 miles northeast of the Shetland Islands, off the coast of northern Scotland.

A small fire broke out on Shell's North Cormorant platform, which was quickly extinguished. Reports indicated that there was no need for any of the 106 staff to be evacuated from the North Sea facility. The blaze in the turbine hood of a water injection pipe comes just three days after 113 staff had to be taken off the Petrofac-run Thistle Alpha platform, which suffered a three level fire on Sunday morning. Problems arose on North Cormorant, which is 109 miles northeast of Shetland but the platform's fire protection system sprung into action, and normal service resumed just 15 minutes later. Reports said that Shell will send a team out to probe the incident, and the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will investigate. Source: Energy Current

A fire on a North Sea oil platform led to the evacuation of 118 workers. The fire broke out on the Thistle Alpha platform, 325 miles north of Aberdeen and only five miles inside the UK search and rescue area. Seven helicopters, including two from Norway, and a Nimrod from RAF Kinloss were sent to the rig. The majority of the workers were airlifted to other facilities nearby, but 41 essential staff were left on the platform while firefighters tackled the blaze. The fire in the turbine area of the rig caused a full-scale emergency in poor weather conditions but was quickly brought under control. The workers who were flown to the Murchison and Dunlin platforms as a precautionary measure were later taken back to the facility. There were no casualties.