Hamworthy Opens New Service Center in Brazil

- Hamworthy Opens New Service Center in Brazil

Monday, August 22, 2011
Hamworthy plc

Hamworthy is to open a new dedicated service center in Brazil.

The new service center represents a direct investment in a market that has offered sustained growth for the company's oil and gas handling systems and pump systems businesses in recent years.

With offices in Rio and planned workshops and warehousing operations in Macae it will support customers through easy access to spare parts from a domestic warehouse and qualified service personnel for all Hamworthy products, as well as related products and equipment installed onboard. The service center will also offer assistance to domestic yards during the installation and commission stages of construction.

The move, which highlights the company's commitment to Brazil's growing marine and offshore sectors, supports a string of recent orders won by the company.

Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems was recently awarded a major contract by Brazilian shipyard Estaleiro Promar SA for the design and supply of cargo handling systems for eight liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers destined for operation by Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobras. The vessels will be designed by Hamworthy's specialist naval architecture consultancy in Poland, Hamworthy Baltic Design Centre, along with the cargo tanks and cargo handling system.

Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems recently completed installation of its VIEC (vessel internal electrostatic coealescer) system in the oil separator on Petrobras' Siri offshore installation. Hamworthy was also contracted to supply a complete VIEC system for Brazilian FPSO operator OSX for the OSX-1 FPSO, which will be chartered by owner OGX Petróleo e Gás Ltda for redeployment on Waimea (Block BM-C-41) in the Campos Basin.

Gusto BV (the design, engineering, procurement, project management and consultancy services arm of SBM Offshore,) recently specified seawater lift pumps and electric fire pumps from Hamworthy Pump Systems for installation onboard the Cidade de Paraty floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, due for delivery in Brazilian waters in 2013. Gusto will operate the FPSO on behalf of Petrobras in the Santos Basin pre-salt area.

Meanwhile, Hamworthy has received an order covering electrically-driven cargo pump systems for eight FPSOs from Brazilian shipyard Engevix Construcões Oceânicas S.A. The equipment will be delivered between 2012 and 2014. These vessels, each with capacity to store 1,600,000 barrels of oil, will be assigned to various field developments in the pre-salt area of Santos Basin.

Hamworthy's deepwell cargo offloading pumps and fire water pump systems were ordered recently by Teekay Operation for an FPSO to be constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries. With capacity to store 800,000 barrels of crude oil, the newbuilding FPSO will enter operation during the first quarter of 2014 in the North Sea's Knarr oil and gas field.

The run of contracts for Brazilian customers has also seen Hamworthy selected to supply equipment for the Papa Terra FPSO for BW Offshore. The company will deliver cargo pump room systems, seawater lift and firewater pumps for the FPSO, which is under conversion at COSCO Dalian, for delivery towards the end of 2011.

"Brazil is a key market for technology companies involved in marine and offshore," said Hans Jakob Buvarp, Managing Director, Hamworthy Brazil. "It is why we are extending our capabilities in terms of local service support and increasing local content supply."

Hamworthy has been present in Brazil since the 1970s, offering products and services through its local partner Tridente. Its new dedicated service centre will provide essential assistance to ship and offshore operators including the provision of spares and service to the growing Brazilian market.

Hamworthy continues to develop its technologies and solutions for offshore applications with its strong marine background, and many of its products are already operating in harsh conditions around the world in mission-critical upstream conditions.

Last year, Hamworthy delivered a fuel gas system to the Statoil operated field, Peregrino, also operating in Brazilian waters. The company said it was also experiencing increased interest from oil companies operating in Brazilian waters for its flare gas recovery and ignition systems that result in reduced emissions

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BMT Secures 5-Year Service Contract for Cascade & Chinook Fields

- BMT Secures 5-Year Service Contract for Cascade & Chinook Fields

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
BMT Group Ltd.

BMT Scientific Marine Services (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has been contracted by Petrobras America Inc., a subsidiary of Petrobras, to provide support maintenance and repair for the Cascade and Chinook Free Standing Hybrid Riser Tower (FSHR) Monitoring System.

This agreement includes five years of operation to support maintenance and repair of the FSHR monitoring system, including equipment replacement, change-out of batteries, repair of equipment, preventative maintenance, equipment refurbishment, freight and transport.

The monitoring system was originally supplied by BMT with subsea installation completed in 2010. It was designed to monitor the stabilizing uplift forces on five Riser Towers and record Riser, Turret Buoy and FPSO position, motion and mooring data.

The BMT Service Team has provided service to platforms and vessels around the world that utilize its monitoring and control systems. BMT offers pro-active maintenance, unscheduled or emergency service visits, remote support, and both onsite and shore-based training.

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Swire Oilfield Service Names New Sales Director

- Swire Oilfield Service Names New Sales Director

Monday, August 15, 2011
Swire Group

Swire Oilfield Service has appointed David Rae as sales director in line with its significant investment plans.

Mr. Rae brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the company gained from holding a variety of senior commercial and finance roles in a career spent working in both the oil and gas and manufacturing industries. He was most recently business development director at helicopter operators CHC.

His role at Swire will see him plan and implement sales and marketing activities as well as contributing to the executive management of the company.

"I am delighted to join Swire at this dynamic time of investment and growth in the company and look forward to working with the sales and operations teams to ensure we continue to deliver a first class service to our clients," said Mr. Rae. "Our global offering is competitive with bespoke services in high demand and I look forward to the challenge of driving sales onwards and upwards with the support of my team."

Mr. Rae's appointment comes shortly after Swire's announcement of its £50 million investment in services with £20 million being injected in to its North Sea operations including the construction of new global headquarters in Aberdeen.

Roy Burrell, director and general manager for Swire Oilfield Services said, "We welcome David at an exciting time in Swire's progression. We strongly believe that the experience and knowledge that he brings to the team will enable us to continue our fast growth and success in the industry."

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OCS Group Bags Commissioning Service Contract for Drillship DDD

- OCS Group Bags Commissioning Service Contract for Drillship DDD

Friday, July 22, 2011
The OCS Group

The OCS Group has signed a definitive agreement with COSCO Dalian to supervise and manage the commissioning of the drillship Dalian Developer (DDD).

The Dalian Developer is a 6th Generation ultra-deepwater drillship and will be the world's largest drillship. With a maximum drilling depth of 30,000 ft, the drillship is designed to drill in the water depths up to 10,000 ft. The vessel will be upgradeable for enhanced well intervention capabilities, extended well testing and early field production with 1 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity.

"We are very pleased that COSCO shipyard decided to work with our company for their first drillship project," said Mr. Mark Tranfield, Managing Director of the OCS Group. "This is the third commissioning service contract we have signed in China within two years and we are very keen to continue working for shipyards and other clients in China."

The OCS Group will be assisting COSCO shipyard in giving technical advice as well as developing the commissioning procedures, schedule and philosophy, coordination and communication of the commissioning activities with the shipyard, mechanical completions and handover of documentation. Throughout the DDD project, OCS will also provide its in-house project management software (CMS), Project-TracTM, in order to assist the shipyard in facilitating the commissioning process of the project including planning, scheduling, cost control, reporting, and quality management.

The contract with COSCO shipyard became effective on 20th June 2011 and the vessel is expected to be delivered to the buyer in the third quarter of 2012, according to COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited.

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ConOps Service Launched to Reduce Integrated Control System Risk

- ConOps Service Launched to Reduce Integrated Control System Risk

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Rigzone Staff

Houston-based Athens Group, a provider of risk reduction services for control systems software on high-specification offshore assets, today unveiled its new Concept of Operations (ConOps) service.

Output from this service, a ConOps document, helps reduce integrated control system-related risks, such as non-productive time (NPT), health, safety and environmental incidents, from the very beginning of newbuild and refurbishment projects.

A ConOps document, or text document, defines from the owner's perspective performance, quality, health, safety and environmental (PQHSE) expectations; validation and verification requirements by project phase; and contractual requirements for the owner to sign by project phase.

Most offshore assets are now built or refurbished through turnkey, builder furnished equipment contracts. This procurement model makes it challenging for the asset owner to exercise the level of oversight and control needed to hold their vendors accountable for delivering a safe, reliable, and fit-for-purpose asset, the company said.

In Athens Group's recent industry survey, The State of NPT on High-Specification Offshore Assets: Third Annual Benchmarking Report, 89 percent of drilling contractors and operators identified the development of a software-specific risk mitigation plan as an opportunity the reduce NPT. Implementing a ConOps phase is the critical first step in mitigating software risk throughout the offset asset life-cycle, Athens Group said in a statement.

"Many of the project delays and much of the NPT we've seen could have been prevented if risk reduction planning had started earlier in the project life-cycle," said Athens Group CEO Mike Haney, noting that other industries that rely on large, one-of-a-kind systems integration projects have significantly reduced risk by starting each project with a Concept of Operations document.

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Datacom Opens Service Center in Eagle Ford Region

- Datacom Opens Service Center in Eagle Ford Region

Thursday, June 16, 2011
Datacom

Datacom has opened a service center in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas.

According to a recent independent report, the surge in new wells in the region is an indicator that Eagle Ford could become the largest shale play in the US. To better serve this rapidly growing area, the new Datacom office in Corpus Christi will enable quicker response time by qualified experts at lower costs. All 22 counties in the formation will enjoy local support for broadband wireless, satellite, microwave, and other communications services.

"We have always maintained a core focus on world-class service," said John Poindexter, CEO of Datacom. "With that in mind, we felt opening this center was the logical next step, and the response from customers has been fantastic."

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Petrobras Awards GE O&G Subsea Service Contract in Campos Basin

- Petrobras Awards GE O&G Subsea Service Contract in Campos Basin

Thursday, June 16, 2011
GE O&G

Petrobras has awarded GE Oil & Gas a four-year service agreement to deliver repairs, maintenance and retrofits on Petrobras' fleet of subsea equipment installed in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The scope of the agreement, valued at approximately $120M, includes service and repairs on over 300 exploration and 250 production tools, as well as retrofitting six subsea production trees each year with GE advanced technology.

GE will conduct the service program from its Macaé Service Center, located in Rio de Janeiro state, which is currently undergoing a $30M investment refurbishment and expansion. The 91,000 sq. meter facility, which employs over 200 highly skilled employees, will be capable of state-of-the-art inspection, maintenance, repair, spares parts, rental tools and field services for capital drilling, subsea wellhead systems, and subsea production and controls equipment.

Fernando Martins, vice president—Latin America, GE Oil & Gas said, "GE will apply its latest high-tech subsea equipment service and repair technologies across much of Petrobras' Campos Basin installed fleet to help minimize downtime and optimize production output. We will deliver this important assignment from our Macaé Service Center which is currently under expansion and delivers critical offshore production servicing projects for customers including Petrobras, Transocean, OGX and Brasdrill and all the IOC's currently operating in Brazil."

The frame service agreement builds on the announcement this week that Petrobras has awarded GE's Wellstream business a long-term, $200M-plus flexible pipe and subsea equipment logistics services contract to be supported from a dedicated new 55,000 sq. meter, $90M investment Logistics Base that GE will build adjacent to Wellstream's existing manufacturing site in Niterói, 14 kms outside Rio de Janeiro.

In February GE Oil & Gas received $50M in contracts to supply subsea wellhead and installation tooling systems to Petrobras for deployment in Campos and Santos basin projects, bringing to over 1,400 GE's tally of mission-critical subsea wellhead systems installed in Brazilian waters.

GE Oil & Gas has an established presence in Brazil and serves its deepwater segment with integrated drilling & production subsea equipment and services, as well as high-tech unit and modular gas turbines and compressors solutions for fixed & FPSO applications.

GE will open a new $100M investment Global Research Center in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

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Trinidad Drilling Sells Service Rigs

- Trinidad Drilling Sells Service Rigs

Thursday, June 09, 201
Trinidad Drilling Ltd.

Trinidad Drilling has entered into an agreement to sell its well servicing rigs and related equipment (TWS) to Central Alberta Well Services Corp. (CWC) for $38 million in cash, excluding positive working capital.

Well servicing has been an important part of Trinidad's operations for more than ten years and has provided a level of diversification as the Company has grown its contract drilling business. Trinidad now operates more than 120 drilling rigs across North America, providing broad geographic diversification and reducing the need for the diversification added by the well servicing division.

"As well servicing has become a less significant part of our overall business, we needed to invest capital to grow this division or to narrow our focus more tightly towards contract drilling," said Lyle Whitmarsh, Trinidad's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our growth over past few years has largely been through adding deep, technically advanced drilling rigs and we have developed a reputation as an industry leader in this area. Our decision to sell our well servicing assets reflects our strategy to focus on the deep, modern contract drilling market where returns are generally stronger and where we see opportunities for future growth."

Trinidad's well servicing division has 22 well servicing rigs operating from three centers in Alberta. The well service fleet is made up of:

• Two skid doubles
• Six mobile free standing class III singles
• Five mobile class III doubles
• Two mobile class III free standing doubles
• Seven mobile free standing class II singles

CWC has agreed to purchase all 22 of TWS's service rigs and anticipates that they will retain the vast majority of employees currently working for TWS. The sale is expected to close on June 15, 2011. Trinidad expects to use the proceeds from the sale to fund the growth of its deep, technically advanced drilling fleet or to reduce overall corporate indebtedness.

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