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USA: Helix Marks Strong Market Demand for Deepwater Well Intervention Services
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. announced that it has been awarded its initial customer contractual commitments for the Helix 534. The Helix 534 was acquired in August from Transocean and is undergoing modifications and upgrades necessary for conversion into a well intervention vessel at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.
The Helix 534 is scheduled to sail from Singapore during the first quarter of 2013 and after transit to the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to be placed into service in late second quarter 2013. Backlog for the Helix 534 involves work in the Gulf of Mexico and extends into 2016.
Meanwhile, the Q4000 has extended its strong contractual backlog through 2014, with strong customer interest into 2016.
Helix also announced that the Skandi Constructor has also received its initial contractual awards. The Skandi Constructor is a chartered vessel and is expected to enter the Helix well intervention fleet in the spring of 2013. Its initial contract involves work in the North Sea and follows with a project off the eastern Canadian coast.
Helix’s two existing North Sea based well intervention vessels, the Seawell and the Well Enhancer, have been awarded customer contracts into the fourth quarter of 2013.
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated, “The recent contract awards for our two new additions to the well intervention fleet, the Helix 534 and the Skandi Constructor, as well as the growing backlog for our existing fleet, reflects the strong market demand for deepwater well intervention services as well as Helix’s market leadership for these services. Furthermore, customer interest for our newbuild semisubmersible well intervention vessel, the Q5000, remains high. The Q5000 is currently under construction at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore and is scheduled to enter the fleet in early 2015.”
Subsea World News – USA: Helix Marks Strong Market Demand for Deepwater Well Intervention Services.
- Helix Updates Well Intervention Fleet Backlog (dailyfinance.com)
- A Day in the Life of Keith Schultz, Captain of Helix ESG’s Q4000 Well Intervention Rig (gcaptain.com)
Triton Diving Services Buys LOD’s Diving Assets (USA)
Triton Diving Services, LLC, an affiliate company of Grey Mountain Partners (“Grey Mountain”), has acquired the diving assets of Louisiana Oilfield Divers (“LOD”), including the Premier Explorer, a 208-foot, 4-point vessel.
Mark Jeansonne, CEO of Triton Diving Services, said, “The LOD acquisition strengthens Triton’s position as the dominant shallow water (0-300’) commercial diving contractor operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The additional capacity provided by this acquisition will allow us to better serve our customers.”
Beth Lesniak, Vice President of Grey Mountain, said, “With a 20-ton lift capacity, accommodations for 40 crew and a fully functioning machine shop, the Premier Explorer vessel is an excellent addition to Triton’s growing dive service vessel fleet. We look forward to serving customers that have already utilized the Premier Explorer and enhancing our ability to respond to our customers’ current needs in the Gulf of Mexico and abroad.”
Triton Diving Services Buys LOD’s Diving Assets (USA)| Offshore Energy Today.
Aker Bags Subsea Intervention Services Contract Offshore Angola
Aker Solutions’ subsidiary Aker Oilfield Services has received a contract from Total E&P Angola for providing subsea intervention services from the oil services company’s purpose-built intervention vessel, Skandi Aker. The agreement marks a breakthrough for vessel-based intervention services in deep and ultra-deep waters.
The agreement is valid for a period of two (2) years plus options for three further one-year (1+1+1) periods. The firm two-year part of the contract has an aggregated value of approximately USD 250 million. Start-up of operations is planned to take place offshore Angola in Q1 2013.
Skandi Aker is the first well service vessel of its kind capable of performing riser-based subsea well intervention in deep and ultra-deep waters. Traditionally subsea well intervention has been performed from drilling rigs. But the rigs’ high day rates have made such operations very expensive, while rig availability has been limited. The increasing water depths also mean that it has been necessary to develop alternative technology and more cost effective systems to access deepwater wells.
“Skandi Aker is able to perform deepwater well intervention services that oil companies previously needed drilling rigs to conduct. More importantly we do it quicker and more cost effectively, which will increase the frequency of intervention operations and enable our customers’ subsea wells to produce more oil and gas,” says Karl Erik Kjelstad, president of Aker Oilfield Services and head of the Oilfield Services & Marine Assets (OMA) business area in Aker Solutions.
“We are thrilled with this award and to be able to deliver on our vision of developing a cost effective technology for intervention activities at deepwater subsea fields. We are humble about the trust placed in us by Total E&P Angola and their license partners, and look forward to deliver high quality services with the ultimate aim of increasing oil recovery ratios,” adds Kjelstad.
Under the contract Skandi Aker will perform subsea intervention activities related to:
– Well re-entry for testing operations
– Well re-entry for interventions using wireline, coil tubing and well stimulations
– Running/lifting subsea trees with cable or work-over riser
– Suspension or plug and abandonment of wells
Provision of the downhole well services, well test services and ROV services will be provided through separate contracts, outside Aker Solutions’ scope of services for Total E&P Angola.
“In recent years we have made significant investments in developing capabilities for vessel-based subsea intervention activities – both with regards to suitable deepwater technologies and services. We are pleased to see that these investments continue to materialise into contracts,” adds Karl Erik Kjelstad.
Aker Oilfield Services has built up significant resources for subsea intervention and subsea well intervention work. In addition to Skandi Aker, Skandi Santos has since March 2010 been operating very successfully on a 5+ year contract performing subsea intervention work offshore Brazil. Further, In April 2012 the company was awarded a long-term agreement with Statoil to provide a full range of heavy well intervention and light drilling services on the Norwegian continental shelf. The contract period is for eight years, with options for three further two-year periods (2+2+2). Work will be performed from a new build Category B well intervention rig owned and operated by Aker Oilfield Services.
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- WWCS, DOF Subsea Conduct Subsea Services in US Gulf Of Mexico (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Statoil Charters Light Well Intervention Vessels to Increase Recovery (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Houston, Texas: Deep Down Receives Multiple Services Contracts (mb50.wordpress.com)
Houston, Texas: Deep Down Receives Multiple Services Contracts
Deep Down, Inc., an oilfield services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services recently announced they have received multiple contracts from an international operator and a major international controls manufacturer for the manufacture of flying leads and associated services worth in excess of $2.3 million; pending finalization of engineering design for one of the projects.
The first contract is for additional flying leads, equipment and services in support of a project located offshore Ghana, West Africa with delivery scheduled in the third quarter 2012. The second contract, which is also scheduled for delivery in the third quarter 2012, is for installation on a project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The third contract is for a project on the Northwest coast of Australia, with delivery scheduled the first quarter 2013. The latter is a first-of-its-kind deployment with five electrical quads which integrate into the loose steel-tube flying lead (LSFL) bundle with end terminations serving as mini umbilical termination assemblies (UTAs). This configuration was chosen for its superior handling characteristics, as well as installation efficiency; a key advantage is that installation can be achieved with a single ROV assisted lay down instead of multiple lay downs.
Ron Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Deep Down, Inc. stated, “These awards reaffirm the efforts Deep Down has put into our flying leads to provide our customers with quality, affordability and most importantly, a more efficient and safer installation solution.”
Deep Down, Inc. is an oilfield services company serving the worldwide offshore exploration and production industry. Deep Down’s proven services and technological solutions include distribution system installation support and engineering services, umbilical terminations, loose-tube steel flying leads, distributed and drill riser buoyancy, ROVs and tooling, marine vessel automation, control, and ballast systems. Deep Down supports subsea engineering, installation, commissioning, and maintenance projects through specialized, highly experienced service teams and engineered technological solutions. The company’s primary focus is on more complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services and technologies, used between the platform and the wellhead.
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Aker Solutions to Provide Well Intervention Services to Statoil (Norway)
Aker Solutions has been awarded two contracts from Island Offshore to provide well intervention services for Statoil in the North Sea.
Scope of work is to deliver downhole well intervention services from Island Offshore’s two riserless well intervention vessels Island Frontier and Island Wellserver. These operations include running of mechanical wireline, electrical wireline and wireline tractor services.
The two contracts are valid for five years plus two optional two-year extensions (5+2+2). They will run from 2015, when the current contracts expire.
Aker Solutions has provided downhole services from Island Frontier since 2006 and Island Wellserver since 2009.
Aker Solutions estimates that the two contracts in total will generate revenues between NOK 400 and 500 million during the firm five-year period.
“Through our cooperation with Island Offshore, Aker Solutions has become the world’s most experienced provider of downhole services through riserless light well intervention. To date we have together completed close to 200 interventions on subsea wells. We are thrilled to be able to continue our partnership with them,” says Wolfgang Puennel, head of well intervention services in Aker Solutions.
Well intervention services are carried out in an oil or gas well, with the objective of maximising production and increasing the recovery rate of oil and gas. Well intervention has traditionally been performed from fixed platforms. In more recent years, specially equipped ships have been developed to undertake the same type of service on subsea wells, where recovery rates have been much lower.
500 million Norwegian kroner = 82.4 million U.S. dollars
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- Norway: FMC to Provide LWI Services to Statoil (mb50.wordpress.com)
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 (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Norway: Statoil Charters New Light Well Intervention Vessels (worldmaritimenews.com)
- Norway: Statoil, Aker Solutions Enter USD 1.9 bln Cat B Well Intervention Deal (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Norway: PSA Conducts Audit of Major Accident Risk in Connection with Light Well Intervention (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Norway: NPD Supports Statoil’s New Rig Concept for Subsea Wells (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Enhanced recovery through subsea compression at Gullfaks (mb50.wordpress.com)
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Port Corpus Christi Gets New Director of Engineering Services (USA)
Port Corpus Christi announced yesterday the promotion of David Krams to Director of Engineering Services under the supervision of the Deputy Port Director of Engineering, Finance and Administration.
Krams’ experience at the Port and in private practice made him well qualified for the responsibilities as the new head of the Port’s Engineering Department. Krams will replace Greg W. Brubeck, who officially retires July 31, 2012 after 23 years of service to the Port. “I am looking forward to working with David during this two month transition period. David is most qualified to become the next Director of Engineering Services.” said Brubeck.
David Krams joined the port in 1994, after first working as a consulting engineer in the Corpus Christi area for ten years, specializing in underwater engineering related to marine and waterfront facilities. Prior to his promotion as Director of Engineering Services, Krams was the port’s Senior Project Engineer, who in 2009, was promoted to Manager of Channel Development responsible for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel – Channel Improvement Project, a Federal navigation planning project to widen and deepen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from -45 feet to -52 feet and to extend the La Quinta Ship Channel. Krams also serves as the project manager for the La Quinta Multi-purpose/Container Project to be served by the La Quinta Ship Channel Improvements.
David Krams is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from Texas A&M University – College Station. Krams is a resident of Corpus Christi since 1972, active in the local community, serving on various local executive and regular boards and committees.
Greg W. Brubeck joined the staff of the Port in 1989 as an Engineer Planner and was subsequently promoted to Deputy Director of Engineering and later to Director of Engineering Services. A Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, Brubeck received his BSME from the United States Naval academy in 1969 and MSCE from Texas A&M University in 1980. A retired Commander, Mr. Brubeck proudly served twenty years in the United States Navy as both a Naval Aviator and Civil Engineer Corps Officer.
Mr. Brubeck has been a resident of Corpus Christi since 1986. In addition to several work related professional organizations, Mr. Brubeck is active in the local community and is a graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi Class XX, a Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Corpus Christi, a Past President of the Coastal Bend Post of the Society of American Military Engineers, and Past Board Member of the Navy–Army Federal Credit Union. Mr. Brubeck was born in Indiana and was raised in several States and in the Far East and Europe in the family of a career United States Army Corps of Engineers officer prior to becoming a Texan.
UK: Wellbore Clean Up Specialist Eyes Turnover Increase
Aberdeen-based oilfield services firm Coretrax Technology Limited has secured over £1.2million of contracts since the start of the year and expanded its team to 12 people.
Coretrax specialises in innovative oilfield services to the completion, cementing, abandonment and wellbore clean up sectors both in the North Sea and globally. The contract wins are for projects in the North Sea utilising Coretrax’s innovative wellbore clean up tools and chemicals.
The team in Aberdeen has also expanded with the appointment of a new business development manager and offshore supervisor both bringing many years of oil industry experience to the company. Coretrax plans to recruit a further 6-8 new staff in 2012 including a second graduate in design engineering.
Kenny Murray, director and founder of Coretrax, said: “We have had a really promising start to the year and I’m delighted with the new members who have joined the Coretrax team. Our focus this year is continual R&D to expand our range of products and services to provide solutions to operators with our team of engineers globally.
“Our innovative approach to wellbore clean up has also led to successful projects globally and we are completing successful contracts in Africa, Middle East and Asia. We will continue to expand both internationally and in the North Sea with on-going recruitment and new premises this year.”
Formed in 2008, Coretrax is a finalist in the ‘new idea’ category of SPE’s Offshore Achievement Awards taking place in Aberdeen this month. The company forecasts a turnover of £3million this year.
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