PHOTOS: Express installing subsea manifolds « Helix Currents

Photos courtesy of Helix Subsea Construction Field Engineers Robert Bailey & Matt Gonzales.

Taken on board Helix ESG’s pipelay vessel, Express, these photos show two Pipeline End Terminal manifolds (PLETS) as they are hoisted off an adjacent supply boat and lowered down to the seabed.

A PLET is used on one, or both ends of pipelines to provide connection point from the pipeline to existing subsea structures in place.  The existing structure may be a subsea tree, another PLET or a manifold and are connected by a jumper.  The PLETs and other subsea structures have upward looking connectors while the jumpers have downward looking connectors.  This configuration allows the jumpers to be installed using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

Helix Subsea Construction, a business unit of Helix ESG, is installing this PLET as part of the overall scope of Subsea Umbilical, Riser and Flowline (SURF) work for Noble Energy at the Noa Field, offshore Israel. The field is in approximately 2,556ft of water (779m) and is being developed for natural gas.

Source: PHOTOS: Express installing subsea manifolds « Helix Currents.

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Norway: FMC to Provide LWI Services to Statoil

FMC Technologies, Inc., a global provider of technology solutions for the energy industry, has signed two five-year contracts with Island Offshore Management AS to supply Light Well Intervention (LWI) services for use by Statoil in the North Sea, contingent on approval from Statoil’s partners. Each contract contains options for two, two-year extensions.

FMC’s LWI services enable cost effective intervention and maintenance operations to be performed on existing subsea wells, resulting in higher recovery rates and accelerated production volumes in mature subsea oil fields. The contracts will commence when the existing LWI contracts between the companies expire in 2015. The well intervention activities will be conducted from two Island Offshore vessels, the Island Frontier and the Island Wellserver.

“Reducing the cost of operations and increasing oil recovery are two key benefits of the LWI system,” said Tore Halvorsen, FMC’s Senior Vice President of Subsea Technologies. “Demand for these services will continue to grow as the number of subsea wells increase, and we are pleased to continue to support Statoil with our LWI services.”

Norrway’s oil giant Statoil yesterday awarded contracts for new light well intervention (LWI) vessels. These “category A” units will contribute to increased recovery from Statoil’s approximately 500 operated subsea wells on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Statoil has awarded contracts to Island Offshore Management and Eide Marine Services for the charter of a total of three LWI vessels.

“These contracts prove that Light Well Intervention will also in the future be a common part of oil and gas recovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Island Offshore is proud to announce another milestone as a validation of our efforts and investments in this market segment,” commented Robert Friedberg of Island Offshore.

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Statoil Charters Light Well Intervention Vessels to Increase Recovery

Statoil has awarded contracts for new light well intervention (LWI) vessels. These “category A” units will contribute to increased recovery from Statoil’s approximately 500 operated subsea wells on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Statoil has on behalf of relevant licensees awarded a contract to Island Offshore Management and Eide Marine Services for the charter of a total of three LWI vessels.

These purpose-built vessels are used for performing light well interventions, well operations and well maintenance without a riser-based system. Statoil can reduce well intervention costs by about 60% by utilizing a LWI vessel instead of a conventional rig.

“Performing these types of conventional jobs on subsea wells with low volumes of oil in place is expensive. The LWI vessels ensure both cost-efficient and safe operations,” says Statoil’s head of drilling and well Øystein Arvid Håland.

“Having more and new vessels of this category also helps increase recovery from fields on stream by opening new zones in the well, and stopping water production downhole.”

The contracts are worth a total of NOK 9.4 billion (USD 1.57 billion).

Island Offshore vessels Island Frontier and Island Wellserver, which already have contracts with Statoil, have been awarded new five-year contracts. Eide Well Intervention, a new supplier in this segment for Statoil, has been awarded an eight-year contract for their new build, which employs a completely new technology.

The contracts with both companies come into effect in the spring of 2015, and include two options to extend for another two years.

A growing number of discoveries are developed via subsea wells, and it is important both to have equipment capable of maintaining these and to avoid using conventional drilling rigs for this type of work.

The rig market on the NCS is characterized by an aging rig fleet, and it is necessary to ensure sufficient and adequate rig capacity at sustainable rates. To address this, Statoil has put light LWI vessels – category A units – into service on a large scale.

“We have great ambitions and a long-term perspective on the NCS. Using purpose-built rigs and vessels in our operations is an important part of Statoil’s rig strategy. The high number of subsea wells in the future will require maintenance, and we are securing capacity in order to meet this need,” says Statoil’s chief procurement officer Jon Arnt Jacobsen.

“Island Offshore has delivered solid services and we expect the same going forward. At the same time we are pleased to have increased the number of suppliers in this market, and through the Eide Well Intervention newbuild we are also employing the latest available technology. Together these three vessels will provide us with an efficient service fleet for light well intervention services.”

Statoil has been pursuing riserless well intervention in subsea wells since 2000, and the technology has steadily improved.

The category A units will perform services for Statoil and the partners on the Åsgard, Norne, Gullfaks, Oseberg, Heidrun, Snøhvit, Tyrihans, Tordis/Vigdis, Snorre, Statfjord and Sleipner fields.

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Enhanced recovery through subsea compression at Gullfaks

Statoil and partner Petoro have agreed to apply subsea gas compression on the Gullfaks South field. This technological leap forward represents an important milestone in the efforts to improve recovery from this and other gas fields.

This technology adds 22 million barrels of oil equivalent to the production from the Gullfaks South Brent reservoir. The partners will invest some NOK three billion in the technology project scheduled to be completed in the autumn of 2015.

“Innovation and technology development are essential to improved oil and gas recovery and extended life for the fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. The development of subsea compression and processing is a central part of Statoil’s technology strategy for long-term production growth,” says Statoil’s executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling, Margareth Øvrum.

The Gullfaks project is the second large subsea gas compression project planned by Statoil. In April this year the plan for development and operation for Åsgard subsea compression was approved by the Norwegian Parliament.

Both projects are scheduled to be compled in 2015. Furthermore Statoil is responsible for the technology qualification for Shell for a third not yet decided project, the Ormen Lange pilot. There are good synergies between the different projects.

Subsea gas compression is an important step on the road towards Statoil’s ambition of installing the elements for a ”subsea factory”. Subsea processing is key to getting access to resources in Artic areas and deepwater assets.

Read more:  Enhanced recovery through subsea compression at Gullfaks.

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Successful final commissioning of Expro’s AX-S subsea well intervention innovation

Published: May 21, 2012

Leading international oilfield services company Expro is celebrating the successful commissioning of its ground-breaking AX-S™ well intervention system.

The AX-S system, on board the Havila Phoenix vessel, completed its final commissioning successfully on a subsea well in a fjord (Onarheimsfjorden), in Norway, in April. Many major milestones were achieved and preparations are now under way for its first commercial well intervention job in the North Sea.

All operations during the commissioning were carried out safely without any incidents. All the subsea packages were fully deployed twice in a complete stack-up and 34 tools runs were performed on the well deploying a variety of down hole equipment including callipers, production logging, CCL, gamma ray, deep set plug, crown plugs and wireline tractor.

More than 40 potential customers attended the commissioning and witnessed the successful demonstrations.

Dave Shand, AX-S Managing Director, said: “After more than seven years of development and innovation and $200million investment in technology, it is testament to the hard work of our AX-S team and the backing of Expro that the AX-S system is now ready for business.

“The final commissioning of this innovative well intervention system is an epic milestone and we are delighted that we have delivered a leading edge solution to the oil and gas industry which will significantly change how operators approach well intervention globally.

“The feedback we have received from this major milestone shows that AX-S has been recognised as a novel, safe, cost efficient and efficient way of performing well intervention.”

With its industry experience and innovative technology, Expro offers tailor-made solutions for its customers across the lifecycle of their wells.

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Noble Energy Linking Noa and Pinnacles to Mari B Platform

Noble Energy and Delek Group have started linking Noa and Pinnacles offshore natural gas fields to the Mari B production platform, according to the Israel’s financial newspaper Globes.

Helix ESG’s reeled pipelay vessel, Express, which in April arrived at the port city of Haifa, Israel has started SURF (Subsea Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines) work.

According to the data on Noble Energy’s website, Noa will, once developed, provide 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of production by September 2012.

Development of the Noa field is geared to allow for additional supplies of natural gas to the Israeli market, until the start of natural gas supplies from the Tamar project.

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Norway: STX OSV Strengthens Specialist Technology with New Acquisitions

STX OSV Holdings Limited (“STX OSV”), one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of offshore and specialized vessels, announces that it is strengthening its technology and engineering competence through two separate transactions.

Seaonics AS (“Seaonics”), a subsidiary of STX OSV, is in the process of acquiring a shareholding interest in Castor Drilling Solution AS (“CDS”). Based in Kristiansand, Norway, CDS is a newly established company with specialist competence in offshore drilling technology.

The investment is expected to give STX OSV new insight into this segment of the offshore market, and give opportunities for development of integrated solutions primarily related to the growing market of Offshore Subsea Construction Vessels (“OSCV”). The investment, to be completed in two tranches by the end of the year, will give Seaonics a 34% stake in CDS.

Separately, STX OSV has entered into an agreement to acquire 70% shareholding interest in Brevik Partners AS (“Brevik Partners”). Established in 2010, Brevik Partners is an engineering company specializing in offshore technology and equipment. The investment in the company, to be renamed STX OSV Engineering Brevik, is expected to strengthen STX OSV’s ability to develop new concepts and integrated solutions for offshore and specialized vessels. The proposed transaction is expected to be closed by the end of May.

Both investments are in line with STX OSV’s strategy of increasing its technology and engineering competence in select parts of the offshore value chain. Through focused investments, STX OSV aims to strengthen its ability to develop and introduce vessels equipped with cutting-edge innovation and technology.

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