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My life as an entrepreneur—it couldn’t be better or more challenging. Entrepreneur; noun, [ahn-truh-pruh-nur,-noo rz; a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Yes, I am once again a small business owner, hoping to do something significant. A short case study of my most recent start-up will hopefully provide insights into whether entrepreneurship is for you.
A long-time friend and business associate, Jim Chitwood, and I recently formed Safe Marine Transfer, LLC (SMT), with a mission to “deliver subsea chemical treatment as a service.” Onshore, treating wells chemically is pretty straight-forward—the supplier pulls up the truck to a location and fills up a tank that has manifold, metering, controls and pumps all connected, immediately adjacent to the well. Offshore and subsea, it is an entirely different story. Chemicals are delivered by supply boat to a platform, where they are stored on expensive real estate, and then delivered to the subsea well via complex umbilicals, which can cost in excess of $1 million/mile.
SMT’s solution utilizes a local subsea storage and pumping system, with short jumpers installed via a traditional ROV, to deliver the chemicals directly to point-of-need. Potential applications include:
- Supplement existing umbilical solutions, which may be undersized.
- Enable development of smaller satellite fields that cannot bear the complexity, cost (OPEX & CAPEX) and associated operational and environmental risks of traditional systems.
- All electric subsea systems that do not require hydraulic fluid for controls.
- Early production systems, whereby umbilical purchase and installation could be delayed until field assessment/development is complete.
- Chemical support services for subsea construction, commissioning and decommissioning.
SMT’s system design philosophies include safety in all phases of operations, with dual-barrier storage containment, ensuring high reliability and on-line availability. This will be accomplished by maximizing the use of COTS (Commercially Available Technologies off the Shelf) for meters, pumps, controls and other required components. An added benefit is that spare parts are readily available, and distribution is already in place. Our job will be to design and qualify the components into a system handling the exact same chemicals, albeit a different delivery mechanism—subsea versus topsides. Our long-run, cost-efficient strategy is to exploit proven onshore concepts with novel applications offshore. This will be assisted further by employing innovative marine operations.
An important ingredient for success is assembling the right team. Stress Engineering Services is assisting with design and testing of the storage and delivery system. Alan C. McClure Associates is providing naval architecture and foundation design for the chemical shuttle barge, and Canyon Offshore/Helix is analyzing and modelling marine operations. We have a 28-month schedule to develop a design for a functional, qualified, subsea chemical storage and injection system, with an effective 3,000-bbl storage volume to safely service deepwater, long-offset subsea wells. From that point, we will partner with others to migrate into an operational mode.
Of course, it takes money, and plenty of it, to hire the best people and accomplish project goals. This is where a knowledgeable, well-versed entrepreneur and the novice part company. In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Bush signed, into law the Energy Policy Act 2005. A portion of that law called for royalty income from existing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) operations to help fund development of new technologies. The U.S. Department of Energy under its National Energy Technology Labs unit, via Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, provided $4 million-plus in cost-reimbursable funds. Generous contributions from industry technology leader DeepStar, Fugro, GRI Simulations, Inc., the University of Houston, and a world-class team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) serving on the SMT Advisory Board are helping to bridge the gap. The SMEs broadly represent several potential operating company customers, as well as supply-chain partners. We also are in discussions with other firms to supply additional resources to round out our needs.
Having worked previously with multiple dozens of startup/early-stage companies, I am well-aware that great technology is necessary, although not sufficient for survival, much less success. So, we have also retained best-in-class legal (intellectual property, corporate and contract), back-office accounting and support, tax, insurance and banking partners.
So, as many readers start to assess what’s next for them as the big crew change unfolds, they may be considering “stage II” of their careers, as entrepreneurs, exploring those great ideas that were never funded within their large companies. I encourage you to utilize the crawl, walk, run model— with big plans, start small; gather and excite a strong team; and then work together under a strong project management plan to reach your goals. Participate in one of the many organizations supporting entrepreneurship; and spend some time mentoring before jumping with both feet. And, by the way—good luck! 
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