regulatory approvals from relevant government authorities.
NEL has started construction of its
£16-million ($19.7-million) Centre of Excellence (CoE) for subsea development in
central Scotland. The company says that
the new high-pressure multiphase flow
test facility will have the largest test range
in the world. The testing range includes
single-phase, multiphase and dry gas, at
operating pressures up to 150 bar ( 2,176
psi) - doubling current existing capabilities
to replicate subsea production conditions.
The new CoE building will span 1,600 sq m
( 17,222 sq ft), and contain a £ 1.45-million
($1.9-million), full production scale separator, with an operating weight of 270 metric
tons. It will facilitate company-led industrial
projects and product development, SME
support, hands-on industry training, and
academic research. The center will also
create at least 17 new jobs and safeguarding a further 82.
Total has awarded Sparrows Group
a three-year contract to supply crane
maintenance and engineering services
at four of its fields in Angola’s deepwater
block 17. Sparrows will implement planned
maintenance routines and provide all major
preventative maintenance, and associated
engineering for the associated Girassol,
Dalia, Pazflor, and CLOV FPSOs, servicing
a total of 14 cranes. Its bases in Aberdeen
and Talatona and Malonga in Angola will
collaborate on the new contract.
ADV Integrity Inc. (ADV) recently
launched to work with technology
companies serving the gas and liquid
transmission pipeline market. By understanding market needs and using advanced
engineering methods, ADV evaluates
technology and technology-oriented services to reduce risks for an industry where
reliability is critical.
Anadarko Petroleum has contracted
Matrix Risk Control to provide training
for its staff in Mozambique. Matrix will
develop and deliver incident investigation
training for up to 90 staff members over the
remainder of this year, tailored to Anadarko’s requirements. The operator is seeking
to implement consistent incident investigation standards throughout its African
operations. Matrix’s incident investigation
courses are IOSH-approved and delivered
by IOSH-certified instructors. The company, established in 2009 by former senior
police officers, devises training programs
and support services to help organizations
manage their operational risk.
Fugro has announced plans to establish
a Hydrography Centre of Excellence in
Houston. The center will handle a wide
range of hydrographic project types,
including nautical charting, cable routing,
and Law of the Sea boundary claims.
Qinterra Group’s North Sea well
intervention subsidiary Altus Intervention and its international division Qinterra
Technologies have been combined into a
new well services provider. The new entity,
based in Stavanger, will be known as Altus
Intervention, and employs 1,000 staff
across the UK and West Africa, Nor way and
Denmark, the Americas, Middle East, and
Asia/Pacific. It will offer an enhanced range
of emerging and field-proven well intervention technologies, tools, and services to the
oil and gas industry, with established innovation centers in Stavanger and Houston.
LQT Industries LLC has finished the
construction and outfitting of two single-lift
accommodations projects for two oil and
gas companies. The first project completed
is a three-story newbuild single-lift accommodations facility for a company in South
America. The second project completed is
a refurbishment of a two-story single-lift
accommodations facility for a platform
in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said
both projects were completed on schedule
and on budget and were built at topsides
facilities in Louisiana and Texas. LQT’s
work scope included project management,
procurement, and execution of outfitting
the entire interior of the accommodations
facilities, including insulation, walls, flooring, plumbing, joinery, HVAC, and electrical installation and integration.
ROV services provider M2 Subsea has
opened a new purpose-built test tank at its
base west of Aberdeen. The indoor fresh
water tank, which can hold 73,600 liters
( 19,443 gallons) of water, has been created
for testing ROVs and ancillary equipment,
allowing the company to have total control
from planning to completion of testing.
However, the facility is also available for
subsea manufacturers and service providers to rent, with or without M2 Subsea’s
ROV fleet. One user to date for product
testing is Acteon Group. The test tank,
which is within an existing workshop, is 8
x 4 x 2. 3 m ( 26 x 13 x 7. 5 ft) and can accommodate both work-class and observation
ROVs. Other features are a gantry crane
with an S. W.L of 15 tons, and an independent 415-V three phase 200-A power supply
for testing equipment, along with forklifts
for unloading/loading requirements.
Swedish-based Dellner Brakes has
acquired US brake and clutch company
Gummi USA. This acquisition, the first
in Dellner Brakes’ 50-year history, will
enable the company to expand its product
offering worldwide and also strengthen the
company’s distribution in North and South
America.
Lundin Nor way has contracted ASCO
Norge to provide comprehensive supply
base services for all the operator’s activities
in the Barents Sea. ASCO’s Hammerfest
base in northern Nor way will handle the
program, which could run for eight years.
Acteon Group Ltd. has signed a
definitive agreement to purchase Viking
Seatech from Actuant Corp. Viking
Seatech is a temporary and permanent
mooring services provider. The acquisition
broadens Acteon’s existing mooring business with a local presence in both Australia
and Indonesia. Acteon has also agreed to
sell Mirage Machines, a manufacturer of
portable machine tools, to Actuant. The
two transactions will close simultaneously
and are subject to customary regulatory
approvals and closing conditions.
Statoil has commissioned Survitec to
provide leased lifejackets and immersion
suits for offshore personnel on the Mariner
oil field development in the UK’s East
Shetland basin. Survitec will kit operatives
in 1000 Series passenger suits and MK50
lifejackets. The suits are said to feature a
lightweight design for optimum fit – the
company will in addition provide integrated
air supply systems and survival items such
as a light and whistle.
Eni has signed a cooperation agreement
with China National Petroleum Corp.
The two companies plan to collaborate in
oil and gas exploration and production, gas
and LNG, trading and logistics opportunities, refining and petrochemicals, both in
China and overseas.
Eni Norge and Statoil have jointly
contracted Bristow Nor way to provide
helicopter services in the Barents Sea over
a five-year period, starting next September.
The contract scope includes one helicop-
ter for crew changes and one search and
rescue helicopter, both of the Sikorsky S92
type, plus services related to crew changes.
Bristow will supply these from a base in
Hammerfest, northern Nor way.
Electromagnetic Geoser vices has
entered licensing agreements related to 3D
controlled source EM multi-client data in
the Norwegian Barents Sea. The combined
revenues are around $1.5 million.
Unique Group has executed a dealer
agreement with Norwegian-based Kongs-
berg Maritime AS. As part of the agree-
ment, Unique Group’s Cape Town office
will offer Kongsberg Maritime’s underwa-
ter mapping and navigation solutions to
customers in Nigeria and Kenya.
Inspection group Bluestream and
unmanned aerial vehicle operator Skeye
are teaming up to provide visual inspection
services and geographic data acquisition
for offshore assets using UAVs.
