TOPICS OF INTEREST
Construction Begins at Cambodia’s First Offshore Platform
First steel has been cut for the minimum facilities wellhead platform for the Apsara field offshore Cambodia, the country’s maiden oil development. Operator KrisEnergy said production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2020.
Neodrill and InterMoor Sign Global Agreement
InterMoor will support Neodrill with project execution, installation services, and business development of its conductor anchor node technology.
Saudi Aramco Shipping Unit Expresses Interest in LNG Tankers
Bahri, Saudi Arabia's national shipping carrier, is looking into chartering as many as 12 LNG tankers starting in 2025, according to a new Reuters report. The EOI may be part of Saudi Aramco's expansion into LNG trading.
ISO Approves First Safety Standards for Commercial Drone Operation
The organization said the new standard, which focuses on air safety and data protection, is the first step in a wider move to promote the use of drones within a framework of approved regulatory compliance.
North Dakota, Texas Fuel Increase in US Natural Gas Venting and Flaring
According to a new report from the EIA, the volume of natural gas reported as flared reached its highest average annual level in 2018, 1.28 Bcf/D. With production soaring in the Bakken, Permian, and Eagle Ford plays, North Dakota and Texas accounted for more than 80% of that total.
First Deck Stacking Operation Completed for Coral FLNG Topsides Modules
The Eni-operated project will be the first FLNG vessel deployed in a deepwater field offshore the African continent upon its projected 2022 startup. Samsung Heavy Industries completed the operation at its shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.
Santos Plans FPSO, Wellhead Platform for Dorado
The Australian company upped its forecast of initial oil production out of the field from 50,000 B/D to somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 B/D. It expects to spend between $1.9 billion and $2.2 billion on the field's development.
Shell, Energy Transfer Issue Tender Package for Lake Charles Project
The tender invites EPC contractors to develop a commercial bid for the lump-sum turnkey contract based on a fully developed scope related to design, engineering, technical, and safety specifications for the project. Commerical bids are expected next year.
Woodside Submits Proposal for Senegal Offshore Field
One of the biggest discoveries in the past decade, Sangomar, moves closer to sanction as operator Woodside and its joint venture partners submit the plan for the field's development. First oil from Senegal's first offshore development is scheduled for 2023.
ALE Crane Expedites P-74 FPSO Lifts in Brazil
The company performed the heavy lifting and installation of 40 modules, including a 3,000-t module that it said was the largest commercial lift by a land-based crane.
Offshore Wind: The New Frontier in Powering Platforms?
Offshore wind makes up less than 1% of the current energy mix, but analysts have it pegged as a potential trillion-dollar business in the near future. That growth presents an opportunity for operators to reduce costs and their carbon footprint through the electrification of their offshore platforms.
Engineering Diagram Processing Featured in Worley and Arundo Global Hub for Advanced Analytics
Using deep-learning and computer-vision techniques, the software recognizes all instances of specific instruments, valves, lines, and other features in a P&I diagram in seconds.
ADNOC, Honeywell Team on Large-Scale Predictive Maintenance Project
ADNOC will utilize Honeywell’s asset monitoring and predictive analytics platform to improve asset efficiency and integrity across the operator’s upstream and downstream businesses.
DNV GL Issues New Recommended Practice for Subsea Welding
Aimed at streamlining manufacturing processes and significantly reducing costs, the practice provides standardized operator requirements that DNV GL says will ensure consistency in the fabrication of subsea pressure retaining equipment such as wellheads, manifolds, and jumpers.
Campos Basin-Bound Vessel Sets Sail From Texas
The BigRoll Bering was spotted leaving Corpus Christi, Texas, on 17 November, headed for the Peregrino heavy-oil field offshore Brazil. Drilling modules and a flare boom are being transported for the field’s Phase 2 development.
The Digital Transformation: Great Risk or Greater Opportunity?
The digital transformation is a risky proposition for oil and gas companies adapting to a rapidly changing business environment, but a failure to adapt could spell trouble for the industry.
Equinor's Peregrino Phase 2 Topside Heads to Brazil
The new platform will be installed in the Peregrino Phase 2 development in the Campos Basin, approximately 85 km offshore Brazil, sometime in December. It is expected to come on stream in late 2020.
Equinor Contracts Inspection Services for All Offshore Installations and Onshore Plants
Equinor has chosen four suppliers for inspection services on all offshore installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and onshore plants in Norway. The frame agreements, estimated at $383 million, are scheduled to be signed soon.
SwRI Develops Superhydrophobic Coating for Offshore Drilling Pipes
A newly developed superhydrophobic coating keeps offshore drilling pipes from being clogged by various substances. R&D Magazine recently recognized the coating and the unique process to apply it to pipes as one of the 100 most significant innovations of 2019.
Saipem Considering Merger With Subsea 7
Bloomberg reports that Saipem is seeking to bulk up and weather an industry downturn. A potential deal could create an oilfield service giant with more than $12.4 billion in revenue.
Offshore OFS Market Poised for Massive Boost in Southeast Asia
A fresh wave of offshore project sanctions across Southeast Asia could boost greenfield investments in the oilfield service space by almost 70% in 2020. The growth will be driven by a handful of new megaprojects across Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, according to recent project commitments.
BP, Total Sign Supply Deals With ADNOC LNG
ADNOC said the agreements will maximize its access to new markets, effectively booking out the majority of its LNG production through the start of 2022.
Slings Manufactured for Shell’s Dolphin Platform Module Lift
Lankhorst Ropes provided slings to Seaway 7 for a heavy-lift project on Shell’s Dolphin platform offshore Trinidad and Tobago. Shell contracted the installation of a permanent living quarter module on the facility, which it acquired from Chevron in 2017.
Ingu Raises Capital To Scale Miniature Pipeline Screening Tool
The funding from Chevron Technology Ventures and Energy Innovation Capital will help scale Ingu’s data collection platform and analysis for its Pipers technology, a pipeline screening tool launched last year.
Ithaca Completes $2-Billion Deal for Chevron’s North Sea Assets
The deal, first announced in May, gives the Delek subsidiary 10 additional producing field interests in the UK North Sea, boosting its 2019 production by 300%.
Woodside Reaches FID on Pluto-NWS Interconnector Pipeline
The pipeline is the first step in developing the infrastructure needed to transport gas between Pluto LNG and the Karratha Gas Plant in Western Australia. Woodside is targeting 2022 startup.
Partners Advance Newbuild FLNG Vessel Development for Gulf of Mexico Project
Delfin Midstream announced advancements in partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries and Black & Veatch. By re-purposing existing offshore pipelines and building the FLNG vessels at Asian shipyards, the total capital costs are projected to be around $500–550/tpa.
Will Faster Robots Improve Subsea Pipeline Inspections?
Sensors, robots, and artificial intelligence have made their way into a number of areas within the industry, including pipeline inspections. Shell has begun to examine the innovative technologies that could shift the inspection paradigm.
The Dawn of the Disruptive, Deepwater TCP Riser
Nonmetallic, thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) technology can now be found in every oil and gas region globally and can operate at pressures of up to 12,500 psi, and in water depths as low as 3000 m. The focus is now on developing and deploying TCP risers for extreme environments.
Abu Dhabi Investor Commits $50 Million to NextDecade
NextDecade and Mubadala Investment Co. have reached agreement for Mubadala to purchase $50 million of NextDecade’s common stock in a private placement. The capital buoys the development of the Rio Grande LNG export solution linking Permian Basin associated gas to the global LNG market.
TechnipFMC’s Newly Named E&C Player To Focus on LNG
Technip Energies will work on a backlog comprising more than 50% in LNG-related business. Retaining the TechnipFMC name, RemainCo will generate nearly 90% of its revenue outside the US and Canada.
ConocoPhillips Awards MODEC Contract To Supply Barossa Field FPSO Offshore Australia
The FPSO, MODEC's largest size of "gas FPSO" to date, will be the first application of the contractor’s M350 Hull, a next-generation newbuilt hull for FPSOs.
Equinor Makes FID for Offshore Wind Farm To Power Snorre and Gullfaks
Equinor and the Snorre and Gullfaks partners have made a final investment decision for the Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm development. By reducing the use of gas turbines, the project helps cut CO2 emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes/year.
Pemex Nears Startup on Abkatun-A2 Platform
With McDermott announcing “substantial completion” of the production platform, operator Pemex is expected to begin commercial operations soon. Abkatun-A2 will produce up to 220,000 BOPD from shallow-water fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
Eni Starts Production at Niger Delta Onshore Field
Eni credits an integrated work model for the startup just 3 weeks after completion. Under the model, various disciplines worked in parallel from the exploration phase and synergies with existing production facilities were leveraged.
ExxonMobil Agrees To Supply Gas for Alaskan LNG Export Project
The deal sees ExxonMobil provide feed gas from its Point Thomson field to Qilak LNG’s proposed export project, which would use icebreaking carriers to export 4 mtpa of LNG to Asia directly from Alaska’s North Slope.
S-710 Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers Specification Launched for Review
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers-managed JIP 33 has issued specification S-170 for public review. The closing date for comments is 27 November.
People and Processes Define the Facility of the Future
Developing the facility of the future is a technological and infrastructural challenge, but the people behind the technology play just as critical of a role in actualizing complex, innovative asset designs. How will future facilities affect the way companies operate?
First Oil From Johan Sverdrup Delivered to Mongstad Plant
Equinor, the operator of the Johan Sverdrup field, said that Mongstad will receive more than 30% of the total oil from the Norwegian Continental Shelf when the field is operating at full capacity.
Leverage Risk-Based Inspection and Risk Assessment for Improved Profitability
Risk-based inspection is based on sophisticated risk analysis which significantly decreases overheads and helps to avoid equipment failures or unnecessary shutdowns.
Elba Island LNG To Be Fully Operational By Mid-2020
Kinder Morgan, the majority owner and operator of the Georgia export terminal, said the oft-delayed project should have all 10 trains running by the first half of next year.
SBM Offshore Completes Financing of Liza Unity FPSO
As construction continues, SBM Offshore secured the $1.14 billion needed to finance work on the vessel. Liza Unity is scheduled for deployment at ExxonMobil's Liza Phase 2 development offshore Guyana.
Drones Take Off in the Oil Field, but How High Will They Fly?
Unmanned aerial vehicles are creeping up on ubiquity in the oil and gas industry, but their potential still firmly outweighs the actuality. A panel at the 2019 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition took a close look at the benefits of drones and at the tethers still holding back their use.
Santos Acquires ConocoPhillips's Australian Assets for $1.39 Billion
The deal for ConocoPhillips’s northern Australian portfolio will help the Australian company boost its position in the country’s gas market, as it gains majority ownership in a set of key assets including Darwin LNG and the Barossa project.
Total Expands Partnership With Adani on India’s Gas Market
The agreement—in which Total will reportedly pay $600 million for a 37.4% stake in the Indian gas conglomerate—boosts the supermajor’s LNG market access in India and neighboring countries. It is the latest move in Total’s aggressive expansion of its LNG portfolio.
FERC Delays Jordan Cove Environmental Review
The US Forest Service, which is working with FERC to prepare the review of the export terminal off the Oregon coast, said it only recently received critical information needed to complete amendments to its land and resource management plans. First gas is scheduled for 2025.
Kongsberg To Build Digital Twin for Shell’s Nyhamna Gas Facility
As part of the $11-million deal, Kongsberg will establish a dynamic virtual representation of the plant, which serves as a gas processing and export hub for the Shell-operated Ormen Lange in the Norwegian North Sea.
ExxonMobil Eyes Sale of Malaysian Offshore Assets
A month after it got out of Norway, Bloomberg reports that the company is working with advisers on a potential Malaysian sale, which could raise as much as $3 billion. ExxonMobil plans to divest around $15 billion in nonstrategic assets by 2021.
Goodnight Midstream Lands Big Investment To Expand Water Operations
After a planned acquisition of Goodnight fell through, private equity firm Tailwater Capital is boosting its total investment in the water midstream company to more than $500 million. Goodnight recently signed five long-term contracts with producers in the Delaware Basin and the Bakken.
Qatar Petroleum Takes Over Pair of Offshore Fields from Oxy
As Oxy looks to divest billions in assets and focus more on its prime US shale fields, it sheds itself of the ISND and ISSD fields off the eastern coast of Doha. In announcing the lease loss last year, Oxy said the fields need significant infrastructural investment.
Production Starts From Johan Sverdrup
Phase 1 of the North Sea megaproject—Norway’s largest offshore development since the 1980s—has come on stream. Johan Sverdrup is expected to produce 660,000 BOPD at its peak.
Bandwidth of Nanotechnology in the Oil Field Widens
Nanotechnology has great potential to reduce cost, increase production, and even improve the sustainability of E&P operations. But, where do we stand in terms of potential vs. reality? And, is the industry ready and willing to use the technology?
German LNG Terminal Narrows List of Potential EPC Contractors
Four companies are now under consideration for the EPC deal, which will include the building of a jetty with two berths for LNG carriers. Located near the Port of Hamburg, Germany's first LNG terminal is scheduled to start up by the end of 2022.
Equinor Awards Milestone Wireless Subsea Drone Contract
The $43-million deal with Saipem will utilize a wireless underwater intervention drone and an ROV for intervention work on the Njord field in the Norwegian North Sea. Equinor said the contract is the first ever from an operator for advanced wireless drone services.
Norway Approves Valhall West Flank Startup for Aker
Aker BP expects the unmanned facility, a further development of the Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea, to recover 60 million BOE. Startup is expected sometime this fall.
NGL Acquires Hillstone, Adds to Delaware Water Infrastructure
The $600-million deal sees NGL net around 580,000 B/D in disposal capacity and 680,000 B/D in transportation capacity via 19 saltwater disposal wells and a network of produced water pipelines. Hillstone also holds an aggregate of more than 110,000 acres in the Delaware Basin.
Var Energi Seeks NCS Portfolio Boost From ExxonMobil Sale
With its $4.5-billion acquisition of ExxonMobil’s remaining portfolio on the Norwegian Continental Shelf now official, Var Energi says it hopes to realize its ambitious growth plans.
Department of Energy Invests $4.6 Million in Produced Water Treatment
The projects are intended to accelerate the development and commercialization of treatment technologies to reduce waste water that is being injected into disposal wells and increase water supplies for reuse.
Work Continues on Liza Unity FPSO
SBM Offshore began construction on the vessel following ExxonMobil’s sanction of the Liza Phase 2 development offshore Guyana in May. It is designed to produce 220,000 BOPD after it starts up in 2022.
Japan Pledges $10 Billion in LNG Infrastructure
The decision follows a previous $10-billion investment in LNG the country made in 2017. While that investment focused on outside energy supply sources, this one will be used to develop infrastructure in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Excelerate Energy Approved for Philippines Project
Located offshore the city of Batangas, approximately 2 hours south of Manila, the Luzon LNG project will include a fully integrated turnkey FLNG terminal, arranging the necessary supply of LNG and distribution of natural gas across the island of Luzon.
TechnipFMC, DNV GL Partner on Digital Twin Integrity Benchmark
The service company and independent verifier are aiming to develop a methodology for qualifying the integrity of digital twins, which they say will help level the industry’s varying technical definitions of, and expectations towards, the technology.
How Do Companies Find the Best Strategy for Integrating IoT?
The industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way the oil and gas industry operates, but are companies leveraging it to its full potential? What strategies are being employed to handle the obstacles to implementation? Finding value in people plays a role in integrating IoT into operations.
ModuSpec Divests From Lloyd’s Register, Becomes Independent Service Organization
ModuSpec, a drilling rig inspection, auditing, and training services company, re-emerges as an independent operating company following a strategic restructure of Lloyd’s Register. It will focus on the Middle East and Asia, as well as Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya.
Tellurian Signs $7.5-Billion Deal With India’s Petronet LNG
India’s Petronet LNG Ltd. signed a $7.5-billion agreement to buy into Tellurian Inc.’s proposed LNG terminal in Louisiana in what is described as potentially one of the largest foreign investments in the US to ship shale gas abroad.
Eagle LNG Receives FERC Approval for Jacksonville Facility
The small-scale facility in northern Florida will support the export of LNG to markets that cannot be served by large LNG carriers, including a number of ports in Caribbean nations. Up to 100 LNG carriers are expected to run through the Jacksonville LNG export terminal each year.
Chevron Sanctions St. Malo Waterflood Project
The project aims to contribute an estimated ultimate recovery of more than 175 MMboe from one of the company’s signature deepwater projects in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Corrosion Will Occur, Whether You Like It or Not
Just like Houston’s summer heat, corrosion of metal surfaces will occur—whether you like it or not. To help you better understand corrosion, these papers describe using water surveys in a production/injection plant, testing the effectiveness of mitigation, and data evaluation using machine learning.
Artificial Pipeline Model Enables Comparison of Biocides in a Dynamic System
To facilitate testing and comparison of products that attenuate microbially influenced corrosion under field conditions, a method using microorganisms from a low-tide, anoxic North Sea sample was developed that allows corrosion measurements to be made for corroding biofilms grown on steel surfaces.
ExxonMobil Looking To Exit Key Australian Basin
As the operator seeks to raise $15 billion from asset sales through 2021, it sees a viable opportunity in its Gippsland Basin upstream portfolio, which could fetch up to $3 billion in a sale. Wood Mackenzie anticipates strong interest, but the age of the field may prove problematic.
HDPE Liner in Carbon Steel Pipe Manages Flowline Corrosion in Giant Onshore Field
Internal corrosion has caused ADNOC to suffer loss of containment in oil flowlines in a giant onshore field. This paper describes the successful 5-year field trial program and confirmation that HDPE liner application in carbon steel pipe can be a cost-efficient way to mitigate internal corrosion.
Machine Learning Enhances Evaluation of Oil and Gas Assets
Using machine learning (ML), image recognition, and object detection, the use of ML on algorithms to recognize objects and describe their condition were investigated—offering new possibilities for performing inspection and data gathering to evaluate the technical condition of oil and gas assets.
Oil Price Spike Could Send Service Company Margins Higher
The recent jump in oil price could create additional momentum for margins in the service sector. With shale euphoria wearing off, service company margins are still showing some resiliance. If the price hike persists into 4Q 2019, increased activity could improve pricing further.
Water Survey Assesses Souring and Corrosion at Production/Injection Plant
At a water treatment plant for an onshore oil field in northern Germany, formaldehyde injection was started in 2015 as a biocide. The goal of this study was to understand the chemical parameters and microbial distribution in the water system and whether formaldehyde injection was effective.
Freeport LNG Launches Private Cargo Trading Storefront
The virtual storefront will allow Freeport LNG to match physical, bilateral transactions with potential offtakers in a variety of trading formats. It is expected to launch this November.
Yinson Loses $1-Billion FPSO Charter for Vietnam Project
Amidst a conflict between Vietnam and China over the South China Sea, the Malaysian company’s 10-year deal to supply an FPSO for the Ca Rong Do offshore field is now history. Repsol, the operator of Ca Rong Do, suspended the project last year in the wake of government pressure.
Energy Transfer Agrees To Acquire SemGroup for $5.1 Billion
The deal sees Energy Transfer gain, among other assets, various crude and natural gas liquids pipelines running from the Denver-Julesburg and Anadarko Basins.
GE Closes Sale of Baker Hughes Shares
As part of a deal that could net up to $3 billion, GE will lose majority control of Baker Hughes just two years after it acquired the oilfield service company.
Kvaerner Eyes Boost in FPSO Construction Contracts
As part of a plan to increase revenue to more than $1 billion by 2023, the engineering and construction company is moving away from large offshore platforms with fixed substructures, saying that it expects to win and execute a series of FPSO projects in the future.
Main Topsides Lifted Onto Leviathan Platform
One of the largest deepwater gas discoveries of the past decade moves closer to its expected startup at the end of the year, as 24,500 tonnes of topside units have been installed on the Leviathan platform offshore Israel. Operator Noble Energy expects to produce up to 1.2 Bcf/D from 4 subsea wells.
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