Companies in the news

Wave energy technology developer Ocean Power Technologies will trial its PB3 Power Buoy in the UK North Sea, representing a new approach to renewable offshore power generation. The PB3 PowerBuoy is a moored buoy that captures power from the motion of ocean waves to allow it to provide monitoring capabilities and protect subsea architecture. The buoy acts as an uninterruptable power supply that constantly recharges itself by harvesting energy from waves, operating in ocean depths from 20 m. Powering onboard or seabed sensors, it enables real-time data transfer and communication with remote facilities. The ability to store energy also allows the PB3 to operate during periods of calm seas. During its field trial, the PB3 will be deployed on Premier Oil’s Huntington field to support decommissioning operations. 

Hunting Energy Services said it has set a record for number of multiple-shot perforating guns pumped down into a horizontal well on wireline with its H-2 Perforating System. In a recent Delaware basin field trial with a major U.S. land operator, the H-2 Perforating System was utilized to successfully run 45 perforating guns, each with three shots on a single plane, in conjunction with a plug in a single run. On previous wells, the operator had to make two separate runs to complete a stage with 45 guns, due to length restrictions. At a length of 7.5 in., the H-2 system allows more than double the number of guns per run, compared to conventional perforating systems. The field trials were successful, with over 200 H-2 perforating guns run on multiple wells. Stimulation performance resulting from conventional perforating gun runs was compared to that of H-2 perforating gun runs on the same wells. In all cases, running H-2 with EQUAfrac consistent hole-shaped charges on the same plane resulted in equal fluid distribution through more entry holes per stage. This method reduced the required stimulation treatment pressure, compared to stages utilizing conventional perforating systems.

Rever Offshore has completed three stand-alone ROV construction support contracts for Total E&P UK in the North Sea. The contracts utilized Rever’s multi-purpose dive support and offshore construction vessel Rever Polaris, and ROV support vessel Rever Sapphire. Operating over 100 days across North Sea assets, the workscope included DSV construction services, inspection repair and maintenance (IRM) works and unique operations. The company’s safety behaviors and performance were nominated by the client for their annual Total E&P UK HSE Awards. 

Okeanus Science & Technology has acquired an additional Geometrics G-882 marine magnetometer and associated transverse gradiometer (TVG) array to complement its existing suite of marine scientific rental equipment. The marine magnetometer can be leased as a stand-alone unit, or it can be configured into the TVG array, with an additional G-882 marine magnetometer. Okeanus also offers winches, cable, A-Frames, and skid-mounted LARS to aide in the launch and recovery of its underwater equipment, such as the G-882 and TVG array. 

TGS and PGS are partnering on the Jeanne d’Arc High Density 3D (HD3D) multi-client project offshore Newfoundland, East Canada. The project will cover approximately 5,000 km² and encompass multiple exploration licenses, significant discovery licenses and sections of the open acreage included in the November 2019 bid round. Acquisition has commenced and is expected to complete in late third-quarter 2019. The Jeanne d’Arc HD3D survey borders Newfoundland’s prominent producing fields, such as Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose, North Amethyst and Hebron.

Siemens will provide MODEC with three 34-MW SGT-A35 gas turbine power generation packages that will power MODEC’s FPSO vessel, referred to as “Eni Mexico Area 1 FPSO.” MODEC is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilization, installation and operation of the FPSO approximately 6 mi. off the coast of Mexico at a water depth of approximately 105 ft. Once operating in 2021, the FPSO is expected to process 90,000 bpd of crude oil and have a storage capacity of 900,000 bbl of crude oil. The gas turbine generation packages are dry low emissions (DLE)-ready, allowing for conversion to DLE-type engines, if required for future upgrades.

Rockwell Automation joined the ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance — a coalition of industry, government agencies and others working to help secure industrial operations — as a founding member. ISA developed ISA/IEC 62443, the world’s only consensus-based cybersecurity standards for automation and control system applications. Rockwell Automation has earned ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 certification for its Security Development Lifecycle, which it uses to design security into the lifecycle of its products. The company also recently introduced the first industrial controller to obtain ISA/IEC 62443-4-2 certification.

Churchill Drilling Tools reports that an operator significantly improved its wellhead base jetting operations by deploying the DAV MX CircSub. The client, a major North Sea operator, having completed drilling operations, had to remove cuttings debris from its wellhead base prior to wellhead installation. The local sea currents were not enough to wash away the cuttings naturally, and the operator wanted to avoid the cost of a dedicated jetting assembly run. Working in partnership with the Churchill team, the decision was taken to run the DAV MX CircSub in the drillstring. Remaining dormant through the drilling phase, the tool was activated using a Churchill smart dart to achieve the desired jetting bypass of 1,200 gpm. This high-velocity stream of fluid jetting through the CircSub’s four angled ports was powerful enough to remove the cuttings from the wellhead base. Two 30-min. sweeps of the wellhead base cleared away all debris, enabling successful installation of the wellhead shortly afterwards.

Marine equipment fabrication and rental specialist Motive Offshore Group has launched its Motive Personnel division, created to provide offshore technicians to its global customer base. The group is able to mobilize up to 50 BOSIET and GWO (Global Wind Organization)-qualified Motive staff technicians, as well as additional Motive-trained sub-contractors. Motive Personnel plans to expand its global pool of technicians by 20% over the coming 12 months.