TOPICS OF INTEREST
OFFSHORE
ExxonMobil Delays FID on Rovuma LNG, Moves Forward With Coral FLNG in Mozambique
The Rovuma LNG project was expected to reach FID later this year, with startup in 2025.
Current Challenges for the UK and Norway in the Face of COVID-19
Westwood Global Energy’s analysis looks at production, cost, and revenue estimates in the UK and Norway, should oil prices remain low. The research group also provided an outlook on drilling activity.
InterMoor Recovers PowerBuoy After Successful North Sea Trial
InterMoor’s Marine Project team in Aberdeen successfully recovered the Ocean Power Technologies PowerBuoy after a 7-month trial in harsh North Sea winter conditions.
Norway Gives the Go Ahead for Equinor’s Hywind Tampen Wind Farm
The Norwegian wind farm is expected to start up in 2022. The wind farm is also expected to create spinoff effects during the project’s life.
Industry Has Little Room for Further Cost Cutting
Energy research groups Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy say improvements in operations costs since the last downturn 5–6 years ago have made it difficult for companies to make further reductions amid the current drop in demand.
McDermott Wins Pre-FEED Contract for Trion Project
McDermott was selected previously for a study of the FPU. Completion of the Trion project is expected in Q3.
Two Strategic Partnerships Emerge for Offshore Unmanned Systems
Fugro and SEA-KIT’s partnership will develop unmanned vessels, while HII and Kongsberg will market naval and maritime products.
PTAS Aker Solutions Secures Brownfield Services Contract Offshore China
The five-year contract is worth an estimated $400 and covers more than 200 offshore assets.
Aker Solutions To Provide Umbilicals for Chevron’s Gulf of Mexico Project
The umbilicals will be designed and manufactured at Aker Solutions’ facility in Alabama.
COVID-19 May Impact More Than Half of all Oil and Gas Projects Being Sanctioned
Revised estimates of project sanctioning total $61 billion in 2020, which is down from $192 billion forecast in 2019.
Leviathan Offshore Platform To Empty Natural Gas
A fault was identified at the Leviathan platform’s production system. This comes a month after a malfunction was discovered at the project’s subsea pipeline.
TechnipFMC Wins Integrated EPCI Contract for BP Platina Field in Angola
TechnipFMC will utilize its service base and umbilical factory in Angola for the EPCI contract.
Offshore Industry More Resilient Than Shale Amid COVID-19 Impact
Because offshore project lead times are longer than in shale, production is likely to come on line in 2–5 years when oil prices may be higher. But the number of FPSOs to be sanctioned this year may be cut by half.
Shell and Wood Unveil Smart Choke Technology Agreement
Wood is Shell’s exclusive partner for Shell’s Smart Choke technology, which suppresses riser-induced slugging.
Case Study Highlights Getting Project to Sanction in 3 Months
A small core team with the ability to make decisions was responsible for getting a subsea tie-back project up to sanction within a short-time frame.
Sandvik To Provide Steel Tube Umbilicals for Mero Oil Field Offshore Brazil
Sandvik said it received the first large-scale stainless steel umbilical tube order for Mero. The tubes will be encapsulated by Prysmian Group.
Liza Destiny FPSO
A VLCC converted to FPSO, Liza Destiny has a production capacity of 120,000 B/D of oil.
Subsea 7 Awarded Offshore Contracts in Australia and US Gulf of Mexico
The company announced both contract awards simultaneously. The new contract awards could be worth up to $800 million.
Phillips 66 and Trafigura Form JV To Build US Gulf Crude Terminal
Phillips and Trafigura JV expected to load VLCCs. The project is in the permitting stage with an FID expected this year.
Chevron Signs Wood To Deliver Engineering Design for Anchor Deepwater Project
Wood will provide the FEED and design for the offshore project. First oil is anticipated in 2024.
Ronald Yeung, Petrobras, and Total’s Nigeria Unit Awarded for Distinguished Achievement by OTC
OTC announces Distinguished Achievement Awards for 2020.
AG&P Breaks Ground on Karaikal Port LNG Facility in South India
AG&P breaks ground on Karaikal LNG.
Romanian Romgaz and Others To Make Offer for ExxonMobil’s Stake in Black Sea Project
Romgaz seeks 20% stake in ExxonMobil’s Neptun Deep project
Qatar Delays Western Partnerships for LNG Expansion Project
Qatar has reportedly delayed the selection of Western partners for its massive North Field LNG project.
Petrofac Unit Wins $1.65-Billion Contracts for ADNOC’s Dalma Gas Project
Petrofac continues working relationship with UAE following contract awards for Dalma Gas Development project.
Oil Majors Seek Sustainable Power for North Sea Projects
North Sea operators BP, Shell, and Total have begun an effort to fuel their platforms using sustainable power sources through a connection with Norway’s onshore power grid, which is driven almost wholly by renewable energy.
Extra-Long Tiebacks for Deepwater Development: A Review of Enabling Technologies
Eni conducted a research project to explore the maturity of new technologies to enable economical development of deepwater prospects with tieback distances longer than 50 km and 150 km, respectively, for oil and gas fields.
Pseudo Dry-Gas Technology Proves Feasible and Valuable for Ultralong Subsea Gas Condensate Tiebacks
This case study describes how gas condensates within a subsea tieback system behave very differently to condensed water from a wet-gas system and therefore a pseudo dry-gas system needs to be configured differently for gas-condensate developments.
Boosting Uncovers True Value of Subsea Assets
This paper identifies potentially significant hidden value of subsea multiphase boosting technology, or aspects of it that have not received adequate attention during the field-development decision-making process.
Deeper, Longer: The Olympics of Offshore Tiebacks
The motto of the Olympic Games is “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” Latin for “faster, higher, stronger,” which emphasizes the concept of pushing the limits. As an engineer, that approach really speaks to me—and offshore installations, and especially offshore tiebacks, illustrate that concept very well.
Fugro Wins Contest With Machine-Learning Model for Pile-Driving Prediction
Using the supplied data set of cone penetration test results, competing teams had to predict the number of hammer blows required to drive the pile a given unit of depth in the North Sea.
Newly Formed JV To Provide Data-Driven Drilling Riser Maintenance Program
The data-driven maintenance program incorporates riser condition, usage, and fatigue analysis with a risk-based inspection process.
Wood Sells Industrial Services Business
The company's industrial services business provides integrity and fabric maintenance for assets in the offshore oil and gas, process energy, marine, and infrastructure sectors across the UK and Ireland.
Equinor Awards Contracts for Bacalhau Project Offshore Brazil
Described as Brazil’s first-ever integrated SPS and SURF project, the development will include 19 wells, approximately 130 km of rigid risers and flowlines, and 35 km of umbilicals.
BW Offshore To Spin Off Its E&P Business BW Energy
BW Offshore plans to float its exploration and production unit BW Energy through an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2020.
On the Lighter Side: Moon(pool) Gazing in Peru
Take a look at these moonpool visitors.
A New Offshore Investment Cycle Is in the Making
The amount of oil and gas resources approved for development last year surpassed 20 billion BOE, the highest level seen since 2011. Telltale signs have emerged that we are entering a new offshore investment cycle.
Equinor Plans Extension of Statfjord Field
The plan will extend production of the largest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to 2040, while also deferring plans to decommission the Statfjord A platform. Statfjord A was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in 2022.
Senegal Approves Woodside’s Sangomar Project
The approval clears the way for final investment decision on the offshore project, which includes a standalone FPSO expected to have a production capacity of 100,000 B/D. First oil is targeted for 2023.
Petrofac Scores Deal To Establish North Sea Operation for Petrogas NEO UK
The deal comes months after the jointly owned Petrogas NEO UK acquired several UK North Sea assets, including a $635-million purchase of Total's stakes in various fields last July. The 2-year deal with Petrofac is valued around $50 million.
UK Leads Global Drop in Operational Production Costs
Global OPEX is falling, and the UK has emerged as a cost-cutting powerhouse among global offshore regions feeling the squeeze of uncertain oil prices. In pursuit of lower unit prices, Rystad Energy says that operators and contractors have begun nurturing operational improvements.
Premier Acquires North Sea Assets from BP, Dana
The company will shell out more than $800 million to acquire interests in the Andrew and Shearwater areas, as well as the Tolmount field, offshore Scotland.
New Innovations Enable Autonomous Pipeline Inspections
As companies look to reduce the time it takes to inspect a subsea pipeline, as well as the costs involved in the operation, autonomous systems have become a more desirable option. How close are they to becoming the norm?
Woodside Moves to Pre-FEED on Landmark Myanmar Gas Field
The Australian operator's A-6 offshore development, Myanmar's first ultradeepwater project, will supply gas to the country's domestic market, with some gas from Phase 1 also moving via pipeline to Thailand.
Israel Approves Gas Exports From Leviathan Project to Egypt
With production set to begin from the large Leviathan field by the end of this year, the Israeli government signed off on the final permits to allow for its first exports. Leviathan contains approximately two-thirds of all the gas resources discovered offshore Israel so far.
Wood To Modify Platforms for Equinor's Floating Wind Project
As part of the contract, Wood will provide the topside modifications needed for the Snorre A and Gullfaks A platforms to integrate the Hywind floating wind park with existing systems powering the facilities. The platforms will be the first to receive electric power from floating wind turbines.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
BP Completes North Sea Drone Methane Monitoring Pilot
The pilot used sensor technology originally deployed by NASA for the Mars Curiosity Rover to collect methane emissions data live-streamed from a drone. BP said it plans to deploy the technology to all of its North Sea assets, including ETAP and Glen Lyon, in 2020.
Natural Language Processing Enables Better Operational Risk Management
Equinor is working on a natural language processing tool that could combine data sources and help planners anticipate the issues that affect onsite operational safety.
Equinor Installs Templates for Troll, Other North Sea Fields
After seeing a significant increase in the price level for subsea equipment, Equinor says it is realizing the ways in which standardized subsea templates help build financial competitiveness. The new standard allowed for the installation of 14 templates in one month.
FPSO for Liza Phase 1 Arrives Offshore Guyana
Following a 42-day journey from Singapore, the Liza Destiny has arrived at the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where it is expected to produce up to 120,000 gross boe/D from the ExxonMobil-operated deepwater project upon startup.
Subsea Pipelines, Umbilicals Installed for Nova Field
The completion of the subsea installation marks another major step for one of several projects scheduled to tie back to the Gjøa platform in the Norwegian North Sea. Production for the Wintershall Dea-operated project is expected to start up in 2021.
Subsea Markets Face High Stakes if Oil Prices Slide
In a $60 to $70 oil environment, the subsea market is poised to grow around 7% annually up to 2025. But a significant portion of this activity is at risk if the price of Brent crude falls to $50 per barrel.
Swire Seabed Completes Autonomous Pipeline Inspection for Equinor
The subsea operations company said its most recent campaign is the first fully unmanned offshore pipeline inspection completed “over the horizon,” surveying up to 100 km from the shore.
Equinor Starts Up Mariner Field in North Sea
One of the largest industrial projects in the UK in recent years, Mariner marks Equinor’s first operated field on the UK Continental Shelf. It is expected to produce 70,000 BOPD at peak rates.
Equinor Gets Green Light To Start Up Utgard
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has given clearance to start up facilities at the North Sea field, which straddles the line between the UK and Norwegian sectors. Production is set to begin in September.
ALE Completes Record Lift for Total’s Egina FPSO
At nearly 3,000 tonnes, the company said its lift of an FPSO module was one of the heaviest land-based crane lifts ever performed. ALE was contracted to lift six modules for Total’s FPSO module integration project in Nigeria.
Shell Sanctions Deepwater PowerNap Project
The subsea tieback is expected to start up in 2021. This is Shell’s second major development on a tieback in the US Gulf of Mexico, following Kaikias’ startup in May.
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