Xodus Group News

After being very much on the margins of the offshore wind industry, floating offshore wind now appears to be ready to hit the mainstream. With gigawatt scale developments already on the horizon, what will the infrastructure needed to build and support them look like? Over the past 12 months, the floating offshore wind sector appears to have had a major dose of adrenaline. While the largest development, to date, is the relatively small-scale 50MW Kincardine project off northeast Scotland (which will be outdone by the 88MW Tampen project in Norway later next year [2022])…

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) future oil spill response plan will be informed by a new report that maps out possible threats to the UK's coastal areas, marine life, and traffic as a result of hydrocarbon releases from energy industry operation and shipping.The report on the review of the hydrocarbon release risk on the UKCS over the next decade was delivered for the MCA, by Xodus Group, in association with London Marine Consultants.The review evaluated the risk of a serious mineral oil release occurring in UK waters from vessels of more than 1…

International energy consultancy Xodus Group is working with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International (SDI) to showcase the expertise of Scottish supply chain companies in the global offshore wind sector.The aim of the collaboration is to create a directory and gap analysis which helps Scotland-based suppliers capture a greater share of the burgeoning offshore wind market — forecast to be worth an estimated GBP 30 billion per annum by 2030 — by advertising their experience and capabilities on the new Scottish Industries Directories platform.Due to launch later in 2019, it is hoped the website will become a one-stop…

The Scottish energy group Xodus Group has appointed Phil Cooper as a new corporate development director to support the continued growth of the company.The Aberdeen-based international energy consultancy said in a press release that Cooper has more than 35 years of experience and was most recently London general manager at Heerema Marine Contractors where he led a team of engineers engaged in heavy lift and subsea technical activities.Previously, he was the global technology director at INTECSEA and was responsible for defining and delivering its technology strategy.This new role will see Cooper strengthen the Xodus leadership team as the business enters a new phase of growth in the UK and beyond…

Leading global contractor in seabed-to-surface engineering, construction and services to the offshore energy industry Subsea 7 S.A. and Chiyoda Corporation announced that Subsea 7 has agreed to acquire a 60% holding in Xodus Group, a leading energy consultancy, from Chiyoda. Yokohama-based Chiyoda, which provides services in the fields of engineering, procurement and construction on a global basis for gas processing, will retain a 40% holding as a joint venture partner. This investment by Subsea 7 will help the future development and growth of Xodus and complements the existing support from Chiyoda. Xodus will continue to operate independently of its parent companies…

Xodus Group and Green Marine are partnering to provide an integrated service for the maintenance of offshore renewable assets. The partners will utilise Xodus’ integrity management software XAMIN to capture and monitor live data from offshore marine assets, while Green Marine will offer physical offshore inspection and repair services. The one-stop solution aims to streamline an asset’s performance, providing efficiencies and preventing downtime, in particular targeting offshore wind, tidal and wave energy devices, cabling and associated infrastructure. Zande added: "The renewables sector has the opportunity to learn lessons from the oil and gas industry where poor data management is causing problems when identifying component condition or proving life extension.

Wood Group has appointed three senior engineering specialists who will lead a new team of up to 20 people in the UK to further build Wood Group’s capability in vibration, dynamics and noise. This follows the acquisition of BETA Machinery Analysis, a Calgary-based engineering consultancy specializing in advanced vibration analysis, and will include the opening of a Southampton office in January 2016. Mark Hutchinson will become operations manager of Wood Group’s UK vibration team, Jonathon Baker joins as sales and business development manager and Rob Swindell will take on the role of R&D and technical authority. These appointments bolster Wood Group’s integrity management capability by adding subsea vibration and fatigue experience to its onshore expertise.

Italian oil service group Saipem said on Thursday it had set up a venture with energy consultant Xodus Group and Japanese engineering company Chiyoda to develop business in the subsea sector. Saipem, 43 percent controlled by Italian oil major Eni , said the new company called Xodus Subsea would provide services focusing on the early phase of projects. "We believe that the subsea sector is continuing to grow and through this partnership Saipem will gain an early understanding on how future projects are being developed," Saipem CEO Umberto Vergine said in a statement.

Xodus Group, Cathie Associates and UTEC Geomarine have formed an industry leading consortium to deliver a study which will aim to reduce the costs of generating electricity from offshore wind farms in U.K. waters. The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), which brings together nine offshore wind developers (DONG Energy, E.ON, Mainstream Renewable Power, RWE Innogy, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE Renewables, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall) in a joint industry project, is working towards reducing the cost of offshore wind by at least 10% by 2015. Technology challenges are identified and prioritized by the OWA members based on the likely savings and the potential for the OWA to influence the outcomes.

GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd awards a £1.4 million joint study to Xodus Group and Atkins for Concept Select work for the Austen (formerly Jacqui) field in the Central North Sea, with a further option to proceed into the Concept Definition phase. The studies will identify development and export options for the field. Aberdeen-based Xodus and Atkins will start work immediately with completion scheduled for Q1 2014. The contract follows the successful drilling of an appraisal well by GDF SUEZ E&P UK in 2012 and was bid against competition from other UK and European contractors. It is the start of several workscopes currently being planned by GDF SUEZ E&P UK to support its Central North Sea development portfolio.

International energy consultancy Xodus Group has appointed Alistair Porter as Operations Director for London to drive forward business across the company’s technical and commercial activities. Based in London, Mr Porter has been with Xodus since it was founded seven years ago and previously held the role of Global Process and Facilities Director where he managed a team of 130 engineers. As Operations Director for London, he will be responsible for growing the financial and operational performance of the London Business Unit.

A contract has been awarded to Kongsberg Maritime Ltd. to conduct underwater noise studies for an offshore renewables project which could eventually lead to 400MW being installed in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth. The contract, awarded by MeyGen Limited, will involve Kongsberg Maritime Ltd. conducting both baseline and operational noise measurements from prototype tidal devices to assess the potential effects of underwater noise on marine life. “This is a major contract for Kongsberg Maritime Ltd., as the MeyGen Tidal Stream Project is one of the most significant tidal initiatives in Europe,” said David Shand, General Manager Offshore at Kongsberg Maritime Ltd.

Less than six months after its launch, Xodus Group, an oil and gas consulting and engineering firm, has won more than $2.6 million worth of contracts. Xodus Group, which is aiming to secure a significant share of the oil and gas consulting market, has already been awarded work from major companies including BP, Talisman, Total, Shell, SGS, Marathon, Petro-Canada and Amerada Hess. The company, based in Aberdeen, started with three employees, and the contracts have created a further 32 jobs across the three divisions of the group – Xodus Technology, Xodus Oil & Gas and Xodus Subsea. By the company's first anniversary in September, it expects the payroll to have risen to 60. The group, which has attracted almost $3.5 million in investment, is supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland.