asian oil and gas-january - february 2009

Port Klang’ssubsea superstore

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2009

A Bengal tigerearns it stripes

Call to arms forLNG advance

Technology keyto seismic success

AOGA S I A N O I L & G A S

Port Klang’ssubsea superstore

aog_M_4_Cover 19/1/09 2:21 pm

AOG_M_4_Hughe_Chris_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_Hughe_Chris_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 10:09:1919/1/09 10:09:19

Asian Oil & Gas1635 W Alabama, Houston,

Texas 77006-4101, USATel: +1 713 529 1616. Fax: +1 713 831 1778.

■ EditorialEditor-in-Chief: David MorganThe Arena, Stockley Park, Uxbridge,Middlesex UB11 1AA, UKTel: (+44) 20 8899 1765. Fax: (+44) 20 8534 5396.

Asia Pacific Editor: John [email protected]

Asia Pacific correspondents:June Jonet (Singapore) Tel: (+65) 8112 6884Rick Wilkinson (Australasia)R Sasankan (India)

European Editor: Darius SnieckusUS Editor: Jennifer PallanichSeismics Editor: Andrew McBarnet

Design/Production Editor: Ian McInnes

Publisher: Rob Garza

■ Display AdvertisingINTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVESAUSTRALIA: Kevin Smith, SKS Exhibition & Publishing Tel: (+61) 8 9443 9712, Fax: (+61) 8 9443 9345INDONESIA: Tuti SayogolTel: (+62) 21 582-5503. Fax: (+62) 21 582-5504ITALY: Fabio PotestaTel: (+39) 10 570 4948. Fax: (+39) 10 553 0088JAPAN: Hajime SaitoTel: (+81) 3 3661-8373. Fax: (+81) 3 3667-9646MALAYSIA: Koh Earn Soo, Market IntelligenceTel: (+603) 6280 4136. Fax: (+603) 6274 7660Mob: (+6012) 389 0675MIDDLE EAST: Aldrin Fernandes, Concept TodayTel: (+971) 4 390 3131. Fax: (+971) 4 390 8052NETHERLANDS / GERMANY: Arthur Schavemaker,

Kenter & CoTel: (+31) 547 275005. Fax: (+31) 547 271831NORWAY / DENMARK / SWEDEN / FINLAND:Lisbeth Lødner, Media CallTel: (+47) 67 124150. Fax: (+47) 67 538110SCOTLAND: Neil Levett, Alad LtdTel: (+44) 1732 459683. Fax: (+44) 1732 455837SINGAPORE: June JonetTel: (+65) 8112 6844 [email protected] / FRANCE: Neil Levett/Steve Powell, Alad LtdTel: (+44) 1732 459683. Fax: (+44) 1732 455837USA / CANADA / SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA:Michael J CoccioloneTel: (+1) 713 831 1772. Fax: (+1) 713 831 1778

■ Subscriptions / CirculationTo subscribe or note a change of address email: [email protected]; Fax: (+1) 713 831 1778Rate: US$105/yr.

■ Published by:Atlantic Communications LLC, also publishersof Offshore Engineer and the web-based industrynews service OilOnline (www.oilonline.com)

■ Repro by:Screaming Colour, London, UK■ Printed by:RR Donnelly & Sons, Senatobia, Mississippi, USA

7-12 NEWS UPDATE

AUSTRALIA

CASPIAN SEA

CHINA

GLOBAL

INDIA

INDONESIA

KAZAKHSTAN

MALAYSIA

MYANMAR

NEW ZEALAND

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

PHILIPPINES

SINGAPORE

THAILAND

Asia Pacific oil and gas news and views ata glance, including:

$1 billion Golden Lion roars . . . as SongDoc goes online; Van Gogh and Pyreneesbacked . . . as Cossack limbers up for newdance; BMG is interrupted . . . and Nexusis nixed; Browse gas find; Gippslandgamble

Kashagan oil bound for Baku

Sulige under scrutiny; Junggar startup

E&P pockets still deep for deepwater

100 blocks on the NELP VIII launchpad;Cairn connects with Raageshwari oil

Duri expands

Piping gas to China

Block A-18 gas ramped up

Shwe gas for China

Maari first oil expected soon; NorthIsland acreage on offer

Rift gas finds upgraded . . .. . . as Merlinpre-empts AGL

SC54 scores in the shallows

Peng Bo sets sail for Bohai

Bongkot North begins new development;PTTEP acquires Coogee . . . teams withMurphy; Green light for Songkhla

ASIAN OIL & GAS january/february 2009 3

contents

january/february 2009

www.oilonline.com/aog


COVER: A subsea tree comes off the production line at the $100 million, state-of-the-artsubsea manufacturing hub established by Aker Solutions in Malaysia’s Port Klang Free Zone (see page 18).

aog_M_4_p003_contents 19/1/09 3:18 pm

Reliance Industries’ deepwater MA-D6 oilfield was brought onstream in record-setting time through a fast-track,turnkey deal with Aker Solutions andAker Floating Production. DariusSnieckus hears from the Norwegiancontracting group about a developmentbelieved to herald a new ‘world-classhydrocarbon hub’ in the Bay of Bengal.

Reliance’s MA-D6 oilfield developmentpresented Aker’s new Malaysian subseamanufacturing hub with anotherdeepwater opportunity to demonstrate its‘one-stop-shop’ capabilities. DavidMorgan looks at a modern-day Vikinginvasion that has seen the Norwegiancompany commit $120 million to new orexpanded Asia Pacific facilities.

Technology may play a more crucial rolein winning marine seismic business in2009. That’s Andrew McBarnet’sprediction for what’s expected to be a yearwhen the going gets tougher.

Momentum is building in the offshoreLNG sector, FMC Technologies beingchosen to supply offshore loading armsystems for the world’s first floating LNGproduction vessels. Darius Snieckusreports.

Advancements in LNG production will bekey to unlocking the potential of strandedgas reserves throughout Asia and aroundthe world. TUV NEL’s Dr Asaad Kenbardiscusses flow metering’s crucial role inLNG’s expansion and the need for furtherdevelopment work.

Major offshore disasters have promptedserious re-evaluations of the industry’sapproach to safety management. ReflexMarine’s Duncan Cuthill calls for aholistic approach to Asia Pacific offshoreevacuation planning, and in particularthe inclusion of crane-based transferoptions – often overlooked – in theregion’s safety system mix.

Asian offshore vessel training enterednew technological territory recently with the inauguration in Singapore ofthe Bourbon Training Centre Asia withits state-of-the-art AHTS simulator.David Morgan gets an early look.

Shipyards roundup (38-41), Product review(42-44), Contracts/deliveries (46/47),Company news (48/49), Appointments(50/51), Events (51), Display advertisers’index (51), AOG Bookshop (53-55).

contents

14-17 BENGAL TIGER

18-23 NORSE NICHE

24-27 FIGHTING TOUGH

28-30 CALL TO ARMS

32/33 FOCUS ON FLOW

34/35 EVAC EVALUATION

37 BOURBON CREAM

REGULAR FEATURES

250

260

XX10

XX20

© 2

009

Schl

umbe

rger

. 0

9-DC

-001

4

Driven by data. Built on science.

Schlumberger Geomechanics 1D to 4D modeling

The right geomechanics model is driven by all available data (logs, seismic, rock physics, core testing, drilling and field measurements, and geological and geophysical data). It is built on a well-defined, fit-for-purpose mechanical earth model that can optimize your reservoir throughout the life of the field.

Schlumberger is the leader in providing integrated geomechanics technology and services, with an extensive track record of successful projects worldwide.

[email protected]/geomechanics

aog_M_4_p004_contents 19/1/09 3:19 pm

AOG_M_4_KTL.indd 1 19/1/09 10:11:58

GLOBAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR ENERGY R

Strategic meeting to understand the opportunities through collaboration between industry, academia and governments

How We Can Hold Our Nerve and Avoid the Mistakes of 1990s?“The low price environment of the 1990s saw an exodus of capable human capital from the industry, which was never adequately replaced… This critical shortage of human capital was felt many years afterwards, and should remind us of the need for long-term planning. In this regard, the industry should play a more active role in collaborating with academic institutions to shape the curriculum and produce qualified graduates who can meet the needs of the industry... The industry should expand its involvement in education sponsorship, to encourage the brightest and the best flock to the industry and, later, help the industry in the future.”

Prime Minister of Malaysia , Yab Dato’ Seri Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi (4 December 2008 - IPTC)

“With the present economic downturn we have a real need for oil and gas companies to invest in human capital to cope with the growing global energy demand.”

Qatar Petroleum International CEO, Mr. Nasser K. I. Al-Jaidah (4 December 2008 - IPTC)

To learn more about exhibiting in the Learning Arena, sponsorship opportunities and the programme, visit:

At Getenergy: E&P 2008. “We are not going for volume, we are going for quality, and you see that with the contacts you make and the relationships that you develop”. Amec Training & Development.

5th Annual Global Education and Training Event for Upstream Oil & Gas23rd - 25th March, 2009 LondonEXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Learning Arena Sponsors:

www.getenergyevent.com

PetroleumEngineering

EarthSciences

LearningTechnologies

New Technical

Programme

AOG_M_4_AD_Page5 19/1/09 12:58 pm Page 1

When it’s a question of acquisition services... ... Ask Fugro

Fugro-Geoteam’s seismic vessel fleet

is one of the most comprehensive in the industry.

Our fleet, consisting of new high class and recently upgraded vessels,

provides efficient 2D/ 3D/ 4D seismic data acquisition worldwide.

A strong HSE commitment combined with more than 30 years of

experience ensures safe, solid and smooth production with the

highest of quality standards.

We deliver your data!

M/V

Geo

Cel

tic Meet us at ASEG, Adelaide, South Australia22 - 25 February 2009

For details please contact Fugro-Geoteam.

Oslo +47 22 13 46 00 • Houston +1 713 369 5858 • Perth +61 8 9481 2043 www.fugro-geoteam.com

AOG_M_4_Furgo_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_Furgo_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 10:23:4819/1/09 10:23:48

■ THAILAND

Bongkot Northbegins newdevelopmentThe Bongkot North field in theGulf of Thailand is enteringanother development phasewith three exploration wellsdiscovering commercial gasand condensates quantities.

Two of these finds, Ton Sak 7and Ton Sak 8, have beensanctioned for development.

The Greater Bongkot Northfield currently produces around600mmcf/d of gas and 20,000b/dof condensates from 20wellhead platforms and acentral complex. Two furtherwellhead platforms are beingconstructed and should go intoproduction this year.

The newly sanctioned phasewill add a further threewellhead platforms, bringingthe total number to 25, plannedto enter production in 2010.

The third discovery, Ton Son2, will be included in a

subsequent development phase.In production since 1993,Bongkot is operated by PTTExploration & Production,which holds 44.45%. Fieldpartners are Total (33.33%) andBG Asia Pacific (22.22%).

■ CASPIAN SEA

Kashagan oilbound for BakuAzerbaijan’s state oil companySocar has reached agreementin principle with neighbouring

Kazakhstan counterpartKazMunaiGas on a project tobring 500,000b/d, rising to750,000b/d of Kazakh oil acrossthe Caspian Sea from 2013.

Involving new terminals andtankers, the $3 billion Trans-Caspian project would bringcrude primarily from theKashagan field – currentlyexpected to start production in2013 – by tanker to Baku, thenroute it through either theBaku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline tothe Turkish Mediterraneancoast or across to the Black Sea.

ASIAN OIL & GAS january/february 2009

news update

7

■ GLOBALThe sharp fall in crude prices over recentmonths is doing little to dampen capitalspending plans for deepwater E&P,according to energy analysts Douglas-Westwood, with expectations that the oiland gas industry will invest an average ofover $27 billion/yr between 2009 and 2013.

‘Although we expect some small declinein 2009, thereafter the deepwater oil andgas industry is set for renewed growth,with annual capital expenditure reachingnearly $31 billion in 2011,’ said Douglas-Westwood chairman John Westwood at theDeep Offshore Technology conference in

Perth, Western Australia, in December.The forecast growth represents a 45%

rise for the 2009-2013 period compared withthe previous five years, Westwoodunderlined, noting that while deepwatercurrently accounts for over 15% of totaloffshore oil production, over the next fewyears its relative share will grow to over20%.

Africa is foreseen to be the leadingdeepwater development area ‘by far’,accounting for nearly 40% of the globalspend; Latin America, led by the bullBrazilian market, is expected to accountfor nearly 20% of world deepwater

development spend between 2009 and 2013,reaching new heights beyond this period asrecently discovered giant ‘pre-salt’ fieldsare developed; and North America isexpected to attract a similar share to LatinAmerica, with the region’s extensiveoffshore infrastructure and the relativeproximity of supply and service centreshaving a ‘significant positive influence’ onE&P activity.

‘The Golden Triangle of Africa, Gulf ofMexico and Brazil will account for three-quarters of global deepwater expenditureover the forecast period,’ stated Westwood.‘However, the emergence of Asia as asignificant deepwater region should not beoverlooked. Indonesia, Malaysia and Indiaall have development prospects on screenfor the 2009-2013 period and the regionshould account for nearly 10% ofdeepwater capex.’

E&P pockets still deepfor deepwater

■ CHINABOUND FOR BOHAI: The giant Hai YangShi You 117 FPSO beginning the 4700kmtow from Singapore to China’s BohaiBay on 15 December. Also known asPeng Bo, the vessel – believed to havethe industry’s largest FPSO topsides withan operating weight of 40,000t – will bethe centrepiece of the ConocoPhillips-operated Peng Lai development.Once on station, the FPSO will besecured to a mooring tower by a softyoke mooring system, the largest of itskind yet built (AOG November/December 2008).

Meanwhile, project engineeringservices provider Fluor confirmed thesuccessful startup of production fromPeng Lai fixed platform B. Another twoplatforms, D and E, are due online in2009 to boost the field’s oildevelopment.

aog_M_4_p007_news 19/1/09 2:25 pm

■ CHINA

Sulige underscrutinyThe Sulige field, in InnerMongolia, northwestern Chinaand the nation’s largest provengas reserve estimated at morethan 18tcf, is reported to beunder consideration for majordevelopment, including apipeline, by Total andPetroChina.

According to a programmefor the Changqing oilfield, ofwhich the Sulige field is a part,in the year 2015 Sulige willreach a production rate of

around 1.2tcf of natural gas peryear, accounting for 70% of thetotal gas output of Changqing.

To date, 1145 wells have beendrilled at Sulige. Its 175bcf gasprocessing plant, the largest inChina, has produced some700bcf of gas and has anannual productive capacity of130bcf of gas in place.

■ PHILIPPINES

SC54 scores inthe shallowsAfter preliminary evaluation ofPhilippines service contract 54following the Yakal-1 and

Tindalo-1 discoveries andinterpretation of 3D seismicdata, Kairiki Energy and NidoPetroleum are now estimatingpotential oil in place of87 million barrels for 11 of theleading 12 prospects. It is alsobelieved that both Yakal andTindalo are full-to-spill withbetter than expected reservoirproperties due to their vuggyoil-filled porosity.

Resource evaluation is underway in tandem with planningfor first oil through an extendedwell test as early as 2010.

SC 54 covers an area of5418km2 in the North WestPalawan Basin off Palawan

Island in 30-1100m water depthsand is held by Kairiki, with40%, and operator Nido 60%. Apartner is being sought to assistin developing the shallow waterproject.

■ CHINA

Junggar startup The Kelameili gas fieldoperated by PetroChinaXinjiang Oilfield Company inthe Junggar Basin in theXinjiang region, northwesternChina, has commenced gasproduction at an initial rate of50mmcf/d from a provenreserve of 350bcf.

january/february 2009 ASIAN OIL & GAS

news update

8

■ VIETNAMProduction started recently at the CuuLong Joint Operating Company’s Su TuVang (Golden Lion) oilfield, Vietnam’sfourth largest, located in block 15-1southeast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provinceand 6km south of the Su Tu Den (BlackLion) South West development.

The $1billion project entailedinstallation of a central processingplatform (CPP) along with a floating,storage and offloading (FSO) vessel 2.4kmaway, several in-field pipelines andmodifications to the existing Su Tu DenSouth West wellhead platform.

The new CPP is designed to process100,000b/d, about 65,000b/d of which willcome from Su Tu Vang with the remainingcapacity allocated to production from theSu Tu Den North East oilfield, scheduled tostart up next year.

J Ray McDermott Asia Pacific wasawarded the engineering, procurement,construction and installation (EPCI)contract for the Su Tu Vang CPP, jacket andin-field pipelines, fabricating the 15,500tdeck in just over 22 months and

undertaking its floatover installation(pictured) using its Intermac 650 barge.

Operator CLJOC controls four oilfields,of which Black Lion and White Lion areoperational, with White Lion and BrownLion oil fields scheduled to beginproduction between 2011 and 2016.

Under the block 15-1 petroleum contract,CLJOC consists of PetroVietnamExploration & Production Corporation50%, ConocoPhillips (UK) Cuu Long23.25%, Korea National Oil Corporation14.25%, SK Energy 9% and GeopetrolVietnam 3.5%.

A $1 billion Golden Lion roars . . .

. . . as SongDoc goesonlineFirst oil from the Song Docfield was produced by theTruong Son JOC in block46/02, located about 170kmoff the south coast ofVietnam.

Production from theinitial five wells drilled wasexpected to rise from18,000b/d to around28,000b/d, with three moredevelopment wells underway. Song Doc facilities

comprise an FPSO andwellhead platform. Modecowned and operated, theFPSO Song Doc Pride MV19is a converted Panamaxtanker capable ofprocessing 30,000b/d ofliquids and storing 360,000

barrels of oil. The vessel isinstalled in 55m of water.

Block 46/02 JV partnersare PetroVietnam E&Pwith 40% and PetronasCarigali Overseas andTalisman (Vietnam 46/02),both with 30%.

aog_M_4_p008_news 19/1/09 2:25 pm

Global Reach: AFTER ALL,TAM International

IS OUR NAME

www.tamintl.com

The PackerSpecialists

Any Place, Any Time. For 40 years, TAM packer special-ists have been crisscrossing the globe to wellsites on almost every continent. TAM inflatable and swellable packers are solving gas migration, water shut-off, zonal isolation and reservoir enhancement problems in oil and gas basins in Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Middle East to name just a few.

So, wherever your drilling program takes you, TAM will be there bringing a wide range of packer technology and com-pletions expertise to solve your most complex well problems. Check our Passports, we’ve been there.

For more product information or specific case histories in your area of interest, contact your local TAM representative or visit our website at www.tamintl.com.

HATCH Packer

FREECAP™

TAMCAP

SlikPak™ Plus

AOG_M_4_TAM_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_TAM_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 10:27:5619/1/09 10:27:56

■ AUSTRALIA

BMG contractterminated . . .Participants in the Basker-Manta-Gummy (BMG) projectoffshore Victoria, southeastAustralia, have given notice tocontractor BW Offshore oftermination of the letter ofintent (LOI) signed last July for

the supply of an FPSO for theproposed BMG phase two project.

The move was attributed tofailure of the parties to reachagreement in relation to theFPSO contract. BW Offshorehas indicated it will endeavourto recover costs relating toterminating third party vendorcontracts, capped at $78.5 million under the LOI.These costs are disputed by the

BMG project participants, whoare in consequence reviewingother development proposalsincluding alternative FPSOs.

BMG operations arecontinuing using the CrystalOcean FPSO, currentlyproducing around 11,000b/d ofoil from the field. The projectpartners are Anzon Australia,operator with 40%, BeachPetroleum 30%, CIECO

Exploration & Production(Australia) 20% and SojitzEnergy Australia 10%.

. . . and NexusFPSO is nixedAlso terminated in Australiarecently was the memorandumof agreement Nexus EnergyWA had with Vanguard Oil &Gas International and VikingShipping for provision of anFPSO for the Crux liquidsproject, located in permitAC/P23, in the Browse Basin,offshore Western Australia.

The Crux joint venture said itwas unable to proceed to a finalinvestment decision withViking. It is negotiating analternative FPSO offer with theintention of maintaining adelivery schedule of firstliquids by mid-2011.

AC/P23 participants areNexus Energy 85% and OsakaGas Crux 15%.

■ MALAYSIA/THAILAND

Block A-18 gasramped up Natural gas sales havecommenced from the phase twodevelopment of block A-18 inthe Malaysia-Thailand JointDevelopment Area (MTJDA), inwhich Hess Corporation andPetronas Carigali each have a50% working interest.

The JDA facilities in the Gulfof Thailand have produced gasat an average gross rate of780mmcf/d since phase twosales commenced, up from anaverage of 457mmcf/d in 2008.Phase two has also raised grosscapacity of the JDA complex toapproximately 900mmcf/d ofgas, which is exported throughthe newly commissioned 42inpipeline running north to theBangkok market.

■ AUSTRALIA

Browse gas findShell Development (Australia),as joint venture operator, hasmade a potentially significant


news update

10

■ AUSTRALIAFinancing has been arranged for the Van Goghand Pyrenees oil developments offshore WesternAustralia, each to be produced from subseamanifolds to a floating, production, storage andoffloading (FPSO) vessel.

The Van Gogh project, located about 40kmnorth of Cape Range Peninsula, mostly in permitWA-155-P, is expected to commence production in2Q 2009. With an estimated field life of 12-15years, Van Gogh is operated by 52.5%stakeholder Apache in joint venture with InpexAlpha.

US independent Apache reports that is hasarranged $350 million in financing for Van Goghand the BHP Billiton-operated Pyrennees project, and expects its share of oil productionfrom each of these developments to be around20,000b/d.

The Pyrenees fields – Crosby, Ravensworth andStickle – were discovered in WA-12-R in waterdepths of 170-250m about 25km north of Cape

Range Peninsula. They have estimatedrecoverable reserves of between 80-120mmbo,producible over a projected 25 years.

The $1.7 billion Pyrennees development is dueto start up in early 2010. BHP Billiton has a71.43% stake in WA-12-R with Apache holding thebalance.

Van Gogh and Pyreneesbacked . . .

. . . as Cossacklimbers up fornew dancePartners in the Woodside-ledCossack Wanaea LambertHermes (CWLH) joint ventureoff Western Australia havecommitted to a A$1.8 billionredevelopment project thattargets extending the oilcomplex’s producing lifebeyond 2020. The project scopewill encompass conversion ofthe Okha floating storage andoffloading facility (pictured)into an FPSO to replace theCossack Pioneer in 2010, as well

as changing out the associatedsubsea infrastructure on thefields.

‘The CWLH project is one ofAustralia’s most enduring andreliable oil developments andthis redevelopment decisionwill ensure continued safe and

reliable production from thesefields for many years to come,’said Woodside executive vicepresident for the North WestShelf Eve Howell.

Located 135km northwest ofKarratha in 75-135m of water,the CWLH fields have produced395 million barrels of oil sinceproduction began in 1995. It isexpected the CWLHredevelopment project will becompleted and fullyoperational by early-2011.

Project partners are:Woodside (33.33%), BHP(16.67%); BP (16.67%), Chevron(16.67%), and Japan AustraliaLNG (16.67%).

aog_M_4_p010_news 19/1/09 2:26 pm

gas discovery in explorationpermit AC/P41 in the BrowseBasin, off Western Australia.

Libra-1, drilled to 3918m totalvertical depth subsea by thesemi-submersible Ocean Epoch,is reported to have encounteredgas in a series of thick sandlayers over a vertical section inexcess of 180m gross, based onlogging-while-drilling data andgas shows. Additional wirelinelogging and pressure data areneeded to determine reservoirquality, column height andhydrocarbon composition.

■ NEW ZEALAND

Maari first oilimminentFollowing weather delays, theMaari oil field in offshore southTaranaki Basin was in its finaldevelopment phase as AOGwent to press. Jackup Ensco 107is set to drill five oil producersand three water injection wellsfrom Maari’s 10,000t wellheadplatform, an innovative self-elevating ‘DrillACE’ structuredeveloped by Clough and Arupand installed by Clough lastyear in 105m of water in theTasman Sea.

The Maari field, located inPMP 38160 about 40km south ofthe Maui gas field, is expectedto start production mid-1Q 2009,when the first development wellis slated for completion.

The $600 million OMV-operated project is expected toproduce 50 million barrels ofcrude oil at up to 35,000b/d.Partners in the project are:OMV 69%, Todd Energy 16%,Horizon 10% and Cue EnergyResources 5%.

■ MAYANMAR

Shwe gas forChinaChina National United OilCorporation (CNUOC),Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise(MOGE), and a consortium ledby Daewoo International GroupCorporation, have concluded anexport sales agreement for

natural gas produced from theShwe field off Myanmar’sRakhine coast for a period of 30years, effective 2013.

The Shwe gas will be pipedover Myanmar territory, whereit can be partially tapped forregional economicdevelopment. Located in blockA-1 offshore the northwestcoast of Myanmar in the Bay ofBengal, the field has estimatedreserves of 4-6tcf. It has beendeveloped by the Daewooconsortium that includes SouthKorea Gas Corporation, ONGCVidesh and Gas Authority ofIndia.

■ THAILAND/AUSTRALIA

PTTEP acquiresCoogee . . . PTT Exploration & Production(PTTEP), through its wholly

owned Australian subsidiary,has signed a conditional sharesales agreement to acquire100% equity in WesternAustralia-based CoogeeResources for approximately$170 million.

CRL operates the producingJabiru and Challis offshore oilfields, holding a 70.94%interest, and has 100% of theMontara project, currentlyunder development, whichcomprises the Montara, Skua,and Swift/Swallow oil fields.These assets collectivelyprovide PTTEP with estimatednet 1P reserves of 32mmbo andnet 2P reserves of 45mmbo.

Additionally, CRL hassignificant contingentresources comprising workinginterests in production andexploration licences includingAC/L7, AC/RL7, AC/P34,AC/P32, and AC/P40 within the

surrounding, prospectivewaters of the Bonaparte Basin,off the northwest coast ofAustralia.

. . . teams withMurphyMurphy Australia Oil andPTTEP in a 70:30 joint venturehave secured petroleumexploration rights for blockWA-423-P offshore WesternAustralia.

Covering almost 4000km2, thepermit is situated in theBrowse Basin offshore thenorthwestern coast, close toblock AC/P36, where PTTEPhad earlier invested.

During the first three yearsthe consortium, with Murphyas operator, will conduct a 3Dseismic survey and drill at leastone exploration well.


news update

11

■ INDIAIndia will inaugurate its largest auction of oiland gas exploration areas in February, offeringover 100 blocks for international bidding andhoping to leverage lower rig rates and oilfieldservices in light of falling oil prices and globalrecession.

The blocks offered in the eighth NewExploration Licensing Policy (NELP VIII) willhave a combined area of approximately400,000km2, dwarfing previous record holderNELPVII’s 150,000km2 from which 44 blocks were

awarded. To-date, 206 blocks have been awardedunder seven rounds of NELP bidding.

Coinciding with NELP VIII is India’s fourthcoal bed methane auction round, under which 26CBM blocks are being offered for exploitation.● GeoGlobal Resources has been awarded 100%participating interest in two new onshoreexploration blocks in India under NELP-VII.Adjacent blocks VN-ONN-2005/1 and VN-ONN-2005/2 cover 3775km2 and 4900km2 respectively inthe eastern Vindhyan Basin in the northeast ofMadhya Pradesh state in central India.

100 blocks on the NELP VIIIlicensing launchpad . . .

Cairn Energy has discoveredoil in the first exploration wellof its 2008/2009 Rajasthandrilling programme in advanceof planned Mangaladevelopment drilling. TheRaageshwari East 1/1Z find isin the southern part of theMangala, AishwariyaRaageshwari and Saraswatidevelopment area.

The 1/1Z well flowed 500b/don test on the eastern flank of

the Raageshwari structure,adjacent to the Raageshwarifield which has an approveddevelopment plan.

In a related development,Aberdeen-based ProductionServices Network (PSN) hassecured an 18-month pre-operational support contractfrom Cairn India to develop amaintenance managementsystem and procedures for theoperator’s Rajasthan oilfield

development. PSN will focus onCairn India’s facilities at theMangala processing terminal,including all downstreamactivity from wellhead todelivery point. The three mainfields in Rajasthan – Mangala,Bhagyam and Aishwariya –are thought to have thepotential to produce more than20% of India’s domestic crudewhen they peak at anestimated 175,000b/d in 2010.

. . . as Cairn connects with Raageshwari oil

aog_M_4_p011_news 19/1/09 2:26 pm

■ THAILAND

Green light forSongkhlaCoastal Energy has receivedapproval from the Thaigovernment to proceed withdevelopment of the Songkhlafield in the shallow waters –less than 25m deep – of its 100%owned and operated, 8500km2

block G5/43 of the Gulf ofThailand.

The current developmentplan is to drill and completethree production wells and awater disposal well using thejackup Deep Driller 7, afterwhich a mobile offshoreproduction unit will beinstalled to start oil production– at an anticipated rate of9000b/d – from three wells.

■ AUSTRALIA

GippslandgambleBass Strait Oil Company, asoperator and 60% stakeholder,

has been awarded newexploration permit Vic/P66,offshore Victoria, southeastAustralia, committing to twoyears’ evaluation inpreparation for 2D seismicacquisition in the third year.

The permit covers 2160km2

from about 50km offshore in theeastern Gippsland Basin inwater depths ranging from200m to over 2000m.

Vic/P66 co-participantsStrategic Energy Resources(23%) and Oil Basins (17%) alsohave interests in Vic/P41,where similar geologicalconcepts are being pursued.

■ KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhs pipegas to ChinaCNPC and KazMunaiGas havesigned an agreement to expandnatural gas and gas pipeline co-operation.

KazMunaiGas is to ensurethe Aktobe field natural gasproduced by CNPC will betransported via phase two of

the Kazakhstan-China GasPipeline, in addition tosupplying 175bcf of natural gasto the pipeline as promised.Additionally, the Urikhtau gascondensate field is to bedeveloped and 175-350bcf ofproduced gas exported toChina.

■ INDONESIA

Duri expandsPT Chevron Pacific Indonesiahas started producing crude oilfrom the North Duri field area 12 onshore Sumatra, withthis year’s application ofsteamflooding expected to raiseoutput to 34,000b/d by 2012.Area 12 is the latest expansionof Duri field, which currentlyproduces nearly 200,000b/d andis Chevron’s largest producingfield in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, GeoPetroResources has receivedapproval for a one-yearextension under the Bengara-IIPSC to appraise and assessdevelopment of an apparent oildiscovery made on the

Seberaba prospect duringexploratory drilling in theBengara-II block, onshoreKalimantan.

■ NEW ZEALAND

North Islandacreage offerThe government of NewZealand has opened bidding foreight new petroleumexploration permits totallingover 66,000km2, spread over twolarge offshore North Islandareas, two in the Raukumara(East Cape) Basin, situated atthe northern end of the EastCoast Basin, and six within theNorthland Basin, off thenorthwest coast.

The Raukumara Basin hasyet to be explored forcommercial hydrocarbons.

The Northland Basin iscontiguous with thehydrocarbon producingTaranaki Basin, and over thelast three decades the regionhas had extensive seismicsurvey coverage.


news update

12

■ PAPUA NEW GUINEARift Oil reports that seismic data of highquality over onshore southwest Papua NewGuinea licence PPL 235 has resulted in anupgrade in the size of three gas discoveries– Puk Puk-1, Douglas-1 and Langia-1 – to769bcf, in the P50 case, from 688bcf.

The new mapping also confirms that fiveadjacent prospects in the permit all showexcellent gas effect and total an additionalunrisked prospective resource potential of772bcf (P50). Additional prospectivity inthe region of the border between Rift’s PPL 235 and PPL 261 licences is reported tohave further potential for 676bcf (P50) ofgas. In sum, Rift believes that the PPL 235

licence has demonstrated the potential tohold contingent resources of more than2tcf of gas. The tripling of potential P50resources from earlier estimates, togetherwith the unknown potential of theadjoining PPL261, has caused a re-evaluation of the commercialalternatives available. Consequently, Rifthas decided to concentrate onopportunities provided by LNG through afloating liquefaction plant as envisaged inthe heads of agreement with FlexLNGwhere potential annual offtakes of 100bcfof gas or greater are envisaged.

Rift said the results of a pipeline studyand further pre-feasibility studies

commissioned jointly with FlexLNG areexpected in February 2009.● In a separate development, PNGgovernment and Abu Dhabi’s state-ownedInternational Petroleum InvestmentCompany (IPIC) entered into an agreementwhereby IPIC will acquire $1.19 billionworth of exchangeable bonds over the PNGgovernment’s 17.6% shareholding in OilSearch.

This money will be used to fund the PNGgovernment’s equity share of capital costsfor the PNG LNG Project, estimated atabout 19.4%.

The project’s development cost isestimated at around $1 billion.

Three Rift gas finds upgraded . . .

. . . as Merlinpre-empts AGLMerlin Petroleum Company, anaffiliate of Nippon OilExploration, has exercised pre-emptive rights and acquiredAGL’s interests in PNG

production licences PDL 2 and4, the former located inSouthern Highlands Province550km northwest of PortMoresby and the latter in theGulf and Southern Highlandsprovinces 85km southeast ofthe Kutubu oil project.

Additionally, both MerlinPetroleum and PetroleumResources (Kutubu) haveelected to exercise their pre-emptive rights in respect ofPL 2, the Kutubu pipelinelicence, and acquirerespectively 6% and 5.9% of

the 11.9% AGL interest in thislicence. Commenting on thisdeal, Oil Search MD, PeterBotten said: ‘We believe this isa good outcome for the PNGLNG Project and it has beenwelcomed by the project jointventure partners.’

aog_M_4_p012_news 19/1/09 2:26 pm

SPE is what you need.

Society of Petroleum Engineers

For more information about these events or other SPE conferences, workshops, and forums visit www.spe.org/events.

Asia Pacifi c EventsMeet with other professionals to learn about and discuss the latest E&P technical advancements at these upcoming SPE events:

8–11 March Maximising the Value of Horizontal and Multilateral Wells: New Challenges, Technologies, and Approaches

Penang, Malaysia

22–25 March Formation Damage: Causes, Prevention, and Cures

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

22–25 March Continuous Reservoir Monitoring Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

30 March–2 April Production Management Best Practices for CBM Fields Workshop

Queensland, Australia

19–24 April Forum Series in Asia Pacifi c: Overcoming Barriers to Deliver 15 km Extended-Reach Wells and Beyond


24–27 May Reservoir Testing for Maximising Understanding and Recovery


AOG_M_4_SPE_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_SPE_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 17:50:2819/1/09 17:50:28

january/february 2009 ASIAN OIL & GAS 14

Bengal tigerearns its stripes Bengal tigerearns its stripes

Discovered in 2006during appraisal drillingon the giant gas-dominated KG-D6 blockin the Krishna GodavariBasin off eastern India,Reliance Industries’ deepwaterMA-D6 oil field was broughtonstream last autumn in record-setting time through a fast-track,turnkey deal with Aker Solutions andAker Floating Production. Darius Snieckus hears from the Norwegiancontracting group about a developmentthought likely to herald a new ‘world-classhydrocarbon hub’ in the Bay of Bengal.

Discovered in 2006during appraisal drillingon the giant gas-dominated KG-D6 blockin the Krishna GodavariBasin off eastern India,Reliance Industries’ deepwaterMA-D6 oil field was broughtonstream last autumn in record-setting time through a fast-track,turnkey deal with Aker Solutions andAker Floating Production. Darius Snieckus hears from the Norwegiancontracting group about a developmentthought likely to herald a new ‘world-classhydrocarbon hub’ in the Bay of Bengal.

aog_M_4_p014_Indian FPSO 19/1/09 2:35 pm

In the southern Norwegian port town ofBrevik, once a centre for exporting iceand timber from the region, a small

group of men and women sat in front of abank of computer screens in Aker FloatingProduction-affiliate Aker Borgestad’soperations room last autumn thinking notabout the chill in the air outside, but ratherconditions in the Bay of Bengal. Thecompany had been assigned the job ofremotely supervising operations on the 1.3 million barrel FPSO Dhirubhai 1, thevessel at the heart of India’s maidendeepwater development, RelianceIndustries’ MA-D6 field, and the projectteam in Brevik were monitoring the newfloating production vessel ‘down to theopening or closing of the tiniest valve’, asthe commissioning team offshore, morethan 6000km away, announced first oil on17 September 2008.

Start-up of integrated operations of anFPSO moored in 1200m of water half-a-world away might indeed be viewed as afitting finale to an inventive $2 billion fast-track development project that saw Akerpull together companies from across itsglobal group to manufacture, supply andmanage installation of a six-well subseaproduction system for the field, located50km off the eastern India state of AndraPradesh, while converting, installing and

bringing online a typhoon-ready newbreedFPSO capable of handling 60,000b/d of oiland 9 million m3/d of gas.

The development challenges presentedby phase one of the MA-D6 project weremany and manifold – to say nothing of thefact that the field was brought onstream ina record-setting 16 months after contractsigning with Reliance in mid-2007.‘Difficult ocean conditions, lack ofadequate subsea data, low seabedtemperatures, severe supply chainconstraints and shortage of technicalmanpower’ topped the priority listitemised by the Indian operator.

Aker had its work cut out and the answerit came back with has necessarily relied inequal parts on innovative design andtechnology, project timing and generaltenacity.

At the centre of the MA-D6 field,discovered during a 2006 appraisal drillingcampaign on the vast gas-rich KG-D6 block,is the Dhirubhai 1. Named after thefounder of Reliance and father of currentcompany chairman Mukesh Ambani, thevessel is the flagship of Aker’s ‘Smart’series of FPSOs, floaters designed by thecontractor for conversion in under 22 months using a ‘modular approach’ toconstruction to target ‘offshore fielddevelopments in the Gulf of Mexico, West

Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, thePersian Gulf and India which can benefitfrom using a flexible, cost effectiveproduction facility to reach first oil as earlyas possible’.

‘When we first launched the Smart FPSOconcept in 2006 we did so with cost andflexibility in mind and so we spent a lot oftime finding the most flexible andcompetitive design around typical FPSOcommon denominators. We designed anFPSO that could be scaled up from a moregeneric design to meet the demands of

different operators anddifferent fields,’explains Aker FloatingProduction chiefexecutive ArneTørnkvist (pictured).In this spirit, theSmart FPSO’s oil

production capacity could be doubled from60,000b/d to 120,000b/d, gas compressionrange up to 9 million m3/d and higher andwater injection from 50,000b/d to200,000b/d, while processing equipmentcould be tailored to wellfluids of ‘almostany API’ and riser balconies outfitted foranything between 12-30 risers andumbilicals.

‘Reliance came back to us and said “Allthe functionality you have prepared for, we


india

AL

LP

HO

TO

GR

AP

HS:R

OL

FE

ST

EN

SE

N


want”,’ he continues. ‘And this made ourfirst project bigger and more demandingthan we first imagined it would be. Theluxury in this was that it meant we coulddesign absolutely everything in our veryfirst [Smart FPSO] project, from which wenow get significant synergies goingforward.’

Originally a 282m-long Suezmax tankerbuilt for Conoco in 1979 at the NationalSteel & Shipbuilding Company in SanDiego, California, and christened the PolarAlaska, the 188,696dwt ‘mini VLCC’ wastransformed into the Dhirubhai 1 atSembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard inSingapore in a 16-month conversion projectthat included installation of adisconnectable internal turret, three 5MWsteam turbine generators, three 5MV gasturbine generators, HV/LV electricaldistribution modules and oil processfacilities, along with gas compressionmodules, and a new living quarters modulewhich together with the refurbishedexisting LQ, provides beds for 104.

Process equipment and a tandemmooring and offloading system for theFPSO were delivered by Aker ProcessSystems and Aker Pusnes, respectively. Aswell as the 10,000t topsides, the vessel wasfitted with an APL-supplied submergedturret production buoy and high-pressureFramo swivel, and a 90m high flare tower.

‘The vessel, interestingly, has beenclassified by DNV as having a 20-yearfatigue life – that is, more than simply adesign life, this is an infield service life,’underlines Aker Floating Production’s MA-D6 project manager Håvard Garseth

(pictured). ‘That is, the Dhirubhai 1 isdesigned and constructed to stay onlocation for 20 years without drydocking.’Able to operate unhindered in wave

heights of up to 8-10mand ‘typhoon-proofed’for monsoonconditions, the FPSOcan nonethelessdisconnect and sail offif necessary in theheaviest weather.

At a Smart paceAfter more than 5 million manhours – andwithout a single lost-time incident – theFPSO Dhirubhai 1 had its namingceremony on 29 June 2008 in the Jurongyard, in preparation for sail-out thefollowing month. BW Offshore acquisitionAPL was subcontracted to handleinstallation of a nine-point fibre mooringsystem outfitted with suction anchors forthe arriving FPSO, as well as the offloadingbuoy. Sailing via Kakinda on India’s eastcoast, the Dhirubhai 1 was on station atMA-D6 on 14 August with commissioningstarting three days later.

‘For every FPSO project there is a bigpressure to leave the yard on time, beingthat it is such a visible milestone,’ saysTørnkvist. ‘But you need to have real ice inyour belly to not leave the yard too early,because once you are at the fieldeverything that is left to do takes that muchlonger and is that much more complicatedthan it is to do it at the yard.’

Being the first of the Smart FPSOs –numbers two and three are scheduled to

follow Dhirubhai 1 into service in 2010 and2011, respectively – a great effort was madeto stay ‘loyal to the concept’ in order toreap the benefits of planned-for synergieson the flagship project and fine-tuning theconstruction process on the projects tocome. ‘Using the structured approach wehave, we do aim to use much of theengineering on the next FPSOs,’ statesGarseth. ‘Nor did our experience buildingDhirubhai 1 pollute our design or originalideals for the Smart FPSOs.’

Since coming onstream under a 10-yearcharter and operation contract, the FPSOhas been reinjecting produced gas to limitflaring as the processing facilities ramp uptoward expected plateau production ofgreater than 40,000b/d in April when phasetwo at MA-D6 kicks off. Uptime has beenexemplary: above 99.2% uptime ‘from thefirst bucket’ of oil, according Tørnkvist.‘This figure is something we are veryproud of because these facilities arecomplex, and a lot can happen before allthe gas compression facilities are fullytuned.’ he underlines.

‘When the FPSO is fully operational, theoffshore crew may also fit cameras on theirhardhats to relay images of differentaspects of operations offshore – dealingwith observation, maintenance,modifications – to Brevik,’ explainsGarseth. ‘The integrated operation is agood set-up. It is like having eyes over yourshoulder. And in these days it doesn’t costmuch extra to monitor ten thousandparameters if you want to.’

Tørnkvist adds: ‘For first oil we were allgathered in Brevik and had full-screenpictures of all the positioning of thevalves, the flow, the temperature and so on:we could see whatever they did offshore.We watched the gas plume coming up fromthe well and into the flexible risers,eventually arriving at the FPSO. We sawthe pressure rising in all the separationstages and saw with our own eyes that ourpeople offshore did a great job. It is awonderful tool.’

Oil is today flowing through a pair ofhorizontal producers, with a total of six


india

Towout of Dhirubhai 1 from Singapore’sJurong Shipyard.

The first MA-D6 subsea tree goes in.



india

wells expected online by April. Productionof the sweet 42°API crude is being exportedby shuttle tanker in typically 1 millionbarrel parcels, the first of which wasoffloaded on 17 November.

‘There should be tribute paid to Reliancefor how on their side they kept entirelyfocused on getting this project out there assoon as possible,’ underscores Tørnkvist.‘They were and are very hands on – andthat means keeping an eye on andcommenting on the almost 10,000documents and drawings related to theFPSO side of the project for starters. For afirst offshore development, they have donean extremely good job, technically andmanagerially.’

Family affairOn the seabed below the floater lies MA-D6proper, spread over a 15km2 area in waterdepths ranging down from 1000m to 1400m.To tap a reservoir made up of a 24m oillayer with a water aquifer below it and a160m gas cap above, Aker Solutions, undera $300 million contract with Reliance,delivered and oversaw installation of acomplete subsea production system thatencompassed an eight-slot oil productionmanifold, a gas export manifold, sixproduction trees, a subsea gas injectiontree, subsea control system, along with adynamic steel tube umbilical and eightinfield steel tube umbilicals.

Though project managed and engineeredin Aker Solutions’ Oslo headquarters, tomeet with fast-track project timelines, thecontractor manufactured the MA-D6 treesat its facilities in Port Klang, Malaysia (see

page 18), and Tranby, Norway, controlsystems at its Aberdeen, Scotland plant,and umbilicals in Moss, Norway.

‘This project combined a certain level oftechnical and technological complexity andneeded to be done at a certain speed, if youlike, being a fast-track project, but the keywas the system definition phase,’underlines Aker Solutions’ subsea systemssenior vice president Egil Boyum(pictured). ‘We brought the core teamtogether from wherever they were basedand we sat down for three months andnailed down all the engineering interfacesso that when we switched the focus to themanufacturing side there are not a large

number of interfacesunsolved.’

Challenging as thelogistics of supplyinga full scope of subseaequipment for MA-D6from facilities aroundthe world proved,

however, it turned out the installation ofthe SPS and associated infrastructurepresented the sternest test to Aker and itssubcontractors, Technip and APL.

Between January and May last year,Technip installed the riser anchors,dynamic umbilical and two 8in productionrisers, using its Constructor constructionvessel, and APL brought in the Far Scoutand Pegasus to install the subsea manifoldfoundation and 350t manifold structure,along with the anchor system and STLbuoy. Technip then carried out hook-up ofthe dynamic risers to the turret buoy, inadvance of the FPSO’s arrival at the field.

‘Currents were a key issue,’ statesBoyum. ‘We did plenty of work during ourpreparation for this assignment but I thinkit is fair to say there was quite a bit oflearning on the job for this one.’

‘Of course this is a fairly new region andthere wasn’t much data to start with,’ addsMA-D6 SPS project manager OddvarBryne, ‘so there were a few surprises. Wedid the geophysical surveys, thegeotechnical surveys, and this was good asfar as the subsea layout was concerned.

But there were some very strong currentswe had to deal with in the Bay of Bengal.’

‘It was quite a challenge,’ continuesBoyum. ‘And then there was the monsoonand associated high sea states whichrestricted our operations. All considered,in the end it all went extremely well.’

Post production start-up last year, theAker Borgestad operations team onboardthe vessel – and indeed their oppositenumbers linked-in by a real-time processmonitoring and decision support systemsin Brevik – faced their first significantdowntime after a rupture in a short pipespool connected to the floater's flare headerforced a shut-in to operations on 9 December.

The shutdown was expected to lastaround three weeks, a period which,Tørnkvist says, Aker Floating Productionwould use to ‘optimally prepare’ for phasetwo installation.

Operational teething pains aside, thenext phase at MA-D6, where gas productionwill be piped to an onshore receivingterminal rather than reinjected, is slated tostart in 2Q. In this stage of thedevelopment, the gas export manifold willbe installed along with the supportingflowlines, umbilicals and risers, as well asa second pair of 8in oil production risers,fed by four more wells, being broughtonline as MA-D6 takes up its place in thewider, gas-rich KG-D6 block development.

Reliance is moving ever-closer toopening the spigots on the giant D1 and D3gas fields, the first two of 18 discoveries onan 8100km2 licence estimated to holdreserves of more than 400bcm. The Indianoperator is reportedly planning to produce80 million m3/d from the fields by 2010,topped up by a further 9 million m3/dflowing in from MA-D6 in a move that issaid to have the potential to nearly doublegas production rates in the country.

To ratchet the MA-D6 development uptoward full production, Aker Solutions inDecember signed a change order to anexisting contract with Reliance fortransportation, installation andcommissioning of phase two, including gasexport system and production wells. Thecontractor then announced it would bringTechnip in again, this time to handle thetransport and installation of 18km offlexible production and gas export risersand flowlines, along with five umbilicalsand a gas export manifold supplied byAker, and construction, transport andinstallation of a 24in rigid spool.

Offshore installation is scheduled for thefirst half of this year, again using theConstructor. ■

Eight-slot manifold being installed.


The undoubted jewel in the crown ofAker Solutions’ regional expansionprogramme is the vast, high-tech

subsea manufacturing centre which nowdominates the Port Klang Free Zone(PKFZ) skyline in the Malaysian state ofSelangor. Occupying 17.6ha andestablished at a cost of around $100 million, the centre undertakes themachining, assembly and testing of thecompany’s entire subsea equipmentinventory: trees, control valves andcouplings, production control systems,manifolds, modules, marine drillingrisers and buoyancy packages.

Aside from its sheer size andmodernity, prominent among the newfacility’s attractions are: state-of-the-artmachining centres (eight of them)capable of honing subsea components tothe tightest of tolerances (0.001mm) forhigh pressure service; stringent ‘cleanroom’ conditions for the manufacture andassembly of control systems; highlysophisticated inventory control andmonitoring systems; a blasting chamberbig enough to accommodate sizeable

modules, and an impressive array offacilities for equipment checks and siteintegration testing. Uniquely among theregion’s main oilfield equipmentsuppliers, Port Klang enables Aker tofabricate subsea manifolds in-houserather than subcontracting them out, acapability Reliance Industries for one hasbeen taking full advantage of whileequipping its pioneering developments inthe Bay of Bengal’s KG-D6 block (seeseparate feature, page 14). Fourteensubsea manifolds have emerged from thePort Klang facility to-date.

Aker Solutions – or Aker Kvaerner as itwas then – became the first investor inthe PKFZ commercial and industrial zone when it signed a 20-year lease in2006.

Keen to catch the widely anticipatedwave of new subsea business in comingyears, Aker fast-tracked construction andhad the facility ready for gradual startupof operations in January 2007 and full-blown official launch in June that year –just 14 months after building workstarted.

Egil Martinussen, Aker Solutions’senior vice president, Asia Pacific, andthe company’s country manager forMalaysia, says the potential of Port Klangwas plain to see when reviewing thevarious regional site options. Eventssince have amply justified this choice, hesays, even though the facility’ssurrounding PKFZ infrastructure has nottaken shape as quickly as first envisaged.‘That has been a bit slow comingtogether,’ he admits. ‘We were hoping tosee a lot of small mechanical and otherindustries join us here by now, so wecould have our vendors close by and thefacility could serve as a hub for localindustry. That was the dream and it canstill come true.’

Subsea surgeDespite the current global financialgloom, Martinussen believes the marketfundamentals – the ‘golden trend’ as heputs it – that persuaded Aker to bolster itsinvestment in the subsea sector and in theAsia Pacific region in particular remainsound. Pre-credit crunch forecasts from


contracting

Subsea leads Asia Pacificinvestment pushReliance’s MA-D6 oilfield development in India presented Aker Solutions’ newMalaysian subsea manufacturing hub with another high-profile, deepwater opportunityto demonstrate its ‘one-stop-shop’ capabilities, having earlier cuts its teeth on Murphy’sKikeh field in Malaysian waters. David Morgan looks at a modern-day Viking invasionthat has seen the Norwegian company commit $120 million to new or expanded AsiaPacific facilities to meet growing demand for its subsea and surface products.

Aker Solutions’ $100 million subsea manufacturing hub.

aog_M_4_p018_Aker 19/1/09 1:50 pm

Quest Offshore indicated that subseamarket capex was heading toward $10billion by 2010 and that Asia Pacific’sshare of the world’s installed subsea wellswould rise from 10% to 17% over theperiod 2008-2012. ‘This is possibly a truepicture, give or take a year,’ saysMartinussen. ‘It’s very hard to say howthe current financial situation will affectsubsea growth scenarios for this region.The message from most oil companies isthat they are now reconsidering theirportfolios, so we may see some delay inkey developments. But I think the long-term trend remains more or less aspredicted. It’s a good market coming.

‘We see Asia Pacific increasing inimportance, with Malaysia, Australia andIndonesia leading the region’s subseamarkets, followed by Vietnam and China,and with India definitely one of the mostpromising areas,’ adds Martinussen.‘Shallow water is mature in the AsiaPacific region; it has to go to deep water.That’s why it’s important to be here andwhy we have invested. Also, from here inMalaysia we can not only serve the localmarkets but also Africa, the Gulf ofMexico and Brazil. The deeper the water,the stronger we are in terms oftechnology.’

The Port Klang facility’s first deliveries– four production wells, 12 water injectionwells and a gas injector for the Kikeh fieldoff Sabah in 2007 – established a newregional deepwater developmentbenchmark of 1350m, the previous record(750m) having been held by Shell’sMalampaya development off thePhilippines. Offshore eastern India, theeight-slot production manifold – deliveredin just eight months – and six subseatrees Port Klang provided for the MA-D6


contracting

The base builder His Viking forebears may have done theirshare of marauding and pillaging in theirtime, but the Egil Martinussen approach toforeign conquest is a rather moregentlemanly one.

An offshore industry veteran, he hasseen quite a bit of the world since startingout in the North Sea with Elf Aquitaine (nowTotal) in the early days of the Frigg field. Hismove to Malaysia came three years agowhen the decision was made to investthere but the Port Klang facility, albeit on agrander scale, is not the first offshoreservice base Martinussen hasbuilt from scratch.

Having joined Aker ten yearsago following offshore installationstints with Stolt (now Acergy) andTechnip, he was tasked withgrowing the company’s businessin Africa. As well as establishingthe Aker base in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, heworked on a number of frontier projectsincluding Total Dalia offshore Angola.

Martinussen (pictured) credits ‘stagedtechnology transfer’ with getting the PortKlang subsea manufacturing hub up andrunning quickly and efficiently.

The company already had a smallfabrication shop in the region, sorelocating its staff to Port Klang helpedease the training requirement on that side.But for the new facility’s myriad other jobfunctions Aker needed to recruit and trainan initial batch of around 150 local peopleand ensure they hit the ground running atstart-up.

Six, nine or 12 months ahead of time,depending on the skills requirement, thecompany took all of the new-hires to

Europe to gain experience in its variousfacilities there. In turn, seasoned Aker stafffrom these facilities arrived in Malaysia,providing vital specialist input to helpoptimise the new workshops’ design,acting as supervisors for the returningtrainees and grooming the more able onesfor supervisory roles.

‘There was a lot of scepticism from oilcompanies initially over the effectivenessof this process, but it is fading away andwhat we are seeing now is that our peoplein Malaysia are able to do the same goodjob as we are doing back home,’ enthusesMartinussen. ‘This has been very interesting

and I am very proud every time Iam able to promote one of ourpeople – it means we havesucceeded in our project.’ Andwith zero lost time incidents atPort Klang in the 1.1 million hourssince the workshops came intouse the project seems to be

paying off in HSE as well as QA/QC terms.Some expats remain in key positions but

when the technology transfer process iscomplete Martinussen expects the cost-efficiency of the Port Klang operation tocompare very favourably with that of itsEuropean counterparts.

He sees certain parallels between whatis happening in Southeast Asia today andhis experiences growing up in Norwaymany years ago. ‘I can remember in thosedays hearing the news that a local shoefactory had closed because they weremoving production to China,’ he explains.‘What we and the offshore industry aredoing here is what a lot of other industrieshave done over the years – we are just thelatest industry to discover this part of theworld.’ ■

aog_M_4_p019_Aker 19/1/09 1:51 pm

development are installed in water depthsranging from 1100-1400m.

So far, Aker has delivered 20 wells forthe Krishna-Godavari Basin’s KG-D6 gasfield development, due onstream later thisyear, and this Indian basin’s gasprospectivity is such as to inspire inMartinussen hopes of further fieldexpansion to ‘as many as 80 wells’. That’sthe kind of business he’s looking for tounderpin future production levels at PortKlang. ‘There are big plans for the areaand the huge Indian market is not faraway, so I think this will be a veryexciting area for the oil & gas industry,’he declares.

Export jobs, mainly to the US and WestAfrica, account for more than 50% of thefacility’s output to-date and that trend islikely to continue for the foreseeablefuture. Martinussen’s ‘dream scenario’ isto have ‘one maybe two’ large subseaprojects in the 15-30 tree class on the go,serving as ‘a nice base’ for all the one-to-four-well developments that typify theAsia Pacific hydrocarbon sector.

‘There are some interesting big projectscoming up in Australia, possibly in 2010or 2011, but until then I think we may

have to look to Africa and India tohopefully secure the bigger jobs,’ he adds.

When ‘the big one’ does come along,there will be no shortage of space for it inPort Klang’s workshops and assemblyhalls, Aker having built in plenty of extracapacity. The facility’s design assumedjust 50% space utilisation initially,building up over time as markets develop.

Inside there may be plenty of growingroom but outside, at least on the evidenceof AOG’s tour of the Port Klang facility

last December, the yards were full tooverflowing with marine drilling riserand associated buoyancy units awaitingtransport to some deepwater destinationor other. ‘Drilling in 3000m of waterrequires an awful lot of riser,’ wasMartinussen’s wry observation. This notaltogether unhappy scene is likely to be arecurring one, however. With Aker’s time-saving ‘make and break’ riser connectiontechnique gaining in popularity amongdeepwater drillers, Atwood Oceanics


contracting

Port Klang’s XMT workshop.

Asia Pacific SVP Egil Martinussendemonstrates some of the Malaysianfacility’s recent handiwork.

John Christadasan Doraisamy, AkerSolutions Malaysia’s general manager,fabrication, in the piping workshop.

aog_M_4_p020_Aker 19/1/09 1:51 pm

AOG_M_4_OGA_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_OGA_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 10:39:0219/1/09 10:39:02

recently confirmed a $50 million order fora semisubmersible’s 10,000ft drilling risersystem, to be delivered by Port Klang in2012.

Well aware that the competition arealso sharpening their presence in thearea and building more capacity,Martinussen nonetheless remainsconvinced that his company now has ‘thebest facilities to deal with future subseamarket growth’.

He includes in that assessment thecompany’s established presence in theumbilicals market and the subseaaftermarket and other support servicesprovided by Aker Solutions’ Perthoperation in Western Australia, another

recent beneficiary ofsubstantialinvestment funding.As well asundertaking somemanufacture of itsown for Australianprojects, the Perth

team, headed by former Kvaerner ProcessSystems hand Greg Ross (pictured),supports clients across the region with arange of equipment installation,overhaul, rebuild and maintenanceservices.

The new Perth service base officiallyopened in June last year boasts, amongother things, a 6m x 6m x 6m test pit forchecking the gas-tightness of trees andother subsea components followingassembly or repair.

Port Klang has multiple test pitfacilities with dimensions ranging up to9m x 9m x 9m – and an adjacent sitealready earmarked for excavating an even

larger pit some day capable of handlingan entire subsea pumping or boostingsystem – but the Perth test pit is currentlythe only one of its kind in Australia, Rosspoints out.

‘Testing, and an awful lot it, is key tosubsea,’ says Martinussen. ‘Fabrication isonly half of the equation. We put oursubsea equipment through extremelyrigorous site integration tests – checking,double checking, triple checking, andonly then sending it offshore, because assoon as it’s down on the seabed it costs afortune to recover.’

Martinussen adds: ‘One of the keys toworking in this region is to do it at thelowest cost possible. Price is veryimportant here.’ Establishing a strongMalaysian presence has not only helpedkeep costs ‘real’ but is also now makingan important contribution to thecompany’s global design and engineeringwork, he says. ‘Rather than invest in high-cost Europe, we chose to bring work to alow-cost area. It’s not just the workforcebut also the vendor industry. We are nottrying to convert our US or Europeanvendor base into a Malaysian orSoutheast Asian vendor base. Qualifyingand developing vendors in this part of theworld normally bring a 20% pricereduction and that’s a very importantpart of the total picture, plus it’s hard torecruit in Norway, Houston or Aberdeenright now – there just isn’t enough talentaround.’

Scratching the surfaceIt’s not all about subsea in AkerSolutions’ current round of Asia Pacificoil & gas sector investment. With the

business outlook for surface products alsobuoyant, the company is now putting thefinishing touches to a major $17 millionfacelift and plant expansion programmeat the Batam Island, Indonesia, facilitythat makes all its surface wellheads andtrees for land and platform drillingapplications.

Aker lays claim to regional marketleadership in the surface equipmentsector, with a 25% Asia Pacific marketshare bolstered by major inroads into thehuge Chinese market and long-standinglinks with operators like Chevron inThailand and BG in India. But CrawfordTennant (pictured), vice president of theSingapore-headquartered Aker Solutions

Surface businessstream, sees plenty ofpotential growthgoing forward, citingThailand, Vietnam,Indonesia andAustralia among hiskey target areas.

Over the last couple of years, Tennantsays he has been greatly encouraged byhis team’s success in gaining newregional customers for its trees andwellheads while keeping old ones. Ahighlight of 2007, he says, was landing anongoing ‘potentially huge’ offshorecontract for Vietnam’s Cuu Longdevelopment. Then last year came newsthat in quick succession the company hadsecured further orders from BGExploration & Production India for itsPanna-Mukta and Mid and South Taptifields off India’s west coast and abreakthrough contract from ChevronIndonesia for onshore field developments


contracting

Subsea control module assembly (left) and work under way in the riser workshop.

aog_M_4_p022_Aker 19/1/09 1:52 pm

in Sumatra. Tennant says the three-yearIndonesian contract, split with two otherfirms and requiring the simplest ofwellheads and trees – ‘but hundreds andhundreds of them’ – gave him particularpleasure since it represents a brand newmarket for the company.

‘But Chevron Thailand, with itsbrownfields redevelopment campaignnow including the former Unocal assets,remains our biggest customer by far,’ headds. ‘That is a huge programme, the kindthat tends to generate more and morework as development moves forward.’

In support of these and other contracts,some of which spread beyond the regionto the Middle East and West Africa,Aker’s surface business has steadilyexpanded its regional infrastructure. Thebusiness has four main regional offices,in Bangkok, Jakarta, Dubai and Nigeria,and late last year added a new base inVung Tau, Vietnam, to its existing servicebases in Songhkla and Port Harcourt.

But it’s the root-and-branchredevelopment of the Batammanufacturing plant that is occupyingmuch of Tennant’s thoughts and timeright now. A native of Aberdeen andformer manager within Weatherford, hewas the Batam facility’s general managerbefore stepping up to his current post inSingapore a year ago. The new-look plant,doubled in size to 19,500m2 and with 11 brand new CNC machines added to the20 already in use, is expected to bringsubstantial improvements in efficiency,productivity and information flow.

According to Tennant, raising thenumber of machines to 31 and makingBatam the biggest machine shop in Aker

Solutions is a demonstration of the faiththe company has in its Indonesianworkforce, which is due to expand from200 to over 300 – operating a three-shiftsystem – by 2010. ‘I cannot praise theworkforce highly enough for the way theyhave coped during this transitionalphase,’ he says. ‘Effectively workingacross three Batam sites, they continuedto meet the huge production targets wehad last year and maintained productquality to the highest standards –including API and the recently obtainedPSL4 – while we were also introducingSAP systems.’

Tennant is hoping to have the majorityof the new machines installed in time toarrange an official opening around theend of Q1 or the beginning of Q2 2009.

Splitting the costThe Batam product portfolio includes avariety of wellhead types and solid blockor horizontal trees along with a range of

gate valves, connectors and actuators, butTennant rates the company’s splitter andunitized wellhead systems as the big-ticket items for the Asia Pacific region.He sees the splitter technology, with dualand triple conductor sharing wellheadsand trees, as a particularly strongoffering for the region. As with a greatmany oil patch innovations, though,initial take-up was slow.

‘But we’ve driven the splittertechnology through the marketplace; it’sthere now and it’s being utilised more andmore,’ says Tennant.

‘The key is getting people in the regionto understand that they can do this,’ hesays, admitting frankly that he too had‘taken a little time’ to fully appreciatesplitter technology when he joined thecompany. ‘I was used to one hole, onewellhead, one tree! Obviously with triplesthe tubing string is smaller and you arereducing the size of the tubing hangerand so on, but the same principle applies,’he explains. ‘You can get two or threesmaller trees operating in one hole. Thehole gets bigger, but you are able keepyour rig in place and continue drilling.’

As well as helping to reduce platformsize, which means reduction of materialused and less utilisation of resources,Aker calculates that adopting splittertechnology has the potential to trimdrilling costs by as much as $1 million perwell. ‘But we ideally need to be involvedin the FEED stage to help operators getthe most out of this technology andexplore the various options available tothem,’ says Tennant.

‘We can help them push theirengineering boundaries.’ ■


contracting

‘Wall-to-wall’ deepwater drilling riser at Port Klang last December.

Splitter technology is a key Batam offering.

aog_M_4_p023_Aker 19/1/09 1:52 pm

Geophysical service companiesalways insist that when marketconditions get tough, those with

the superior technology will have acompetitive edge. This conviction is dueto be put to the test in the very nearfuture.

There’s not much doubting that as weenter 2009 demand for marine seismicsurveys is beginning to look vulnerable.In general terms this was confirmed bySchlumberger boss Andrew Gould in arecent advisory statement on thecompany’s fiscal profit expectations for2008, lower than analysts’ consensusestimates. He said: ‘We have beenconsistent in our view that our resultswould be affected in the event of a severeglobal economic downturn, which we arenow facing.’ Happily, Gould qualified thegloom saying: ‘We still maintain that inthe longer term, the fundamentals of ourindustry are sound.’

Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) isprobably as reliable an index of thecurrent mood as any. In December itlisted a raft of precautionary measures itwas taking in response to the ‘uncertainmarket outlook’. It said a general costreduction had been implemented. Inaddition, capex levels beyond newbuildcommitments have been reduced. Thoseobligations include finishing off a secondSuper Ramform, the mammoth seismicharvesting machine able to tow up to 22 recording cables spaced 50m apart, acapability that dwarfs anything offered bythe competition. The company also has tocomplete the building projects it assumedwith the purchase of Arrow Seismic, theNorwegian GC Rieber Shippingsubsidiary. The programme included twonew vessels for the PGS fleet, and twoordered by WesternGeco.

Lastly the company is slowing down theroll out of its marine electromagnetic(EM) services offering. There is a little bitmore going on here than meets the eye.The company raised some eyebrows bypaying over $250 million for theEdinburgh-based company MTEM during

the frenzy among marine seismiccontractors to ensure that they had apiece of the EM action. PGS let it beknown that it was hoping to leverage theMTEM technology – significantlydifferent from the controlled source EM(CSEM) method offered by the marketleaders Norwegian companyElectromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) andthe UK-based Offshore HydrocarbonsMapping (OHM) – to develop a towedcable package of seismic and EM. Such aservice would be very attractive becauseCSEM requires measurements made byrecording devices on the seabed, a morecumbersome and expensive process.

Competitor scepticism about thefeasibility of this technology combinationseems to have at least a grain of truthbecause no product has appeared to date,suggesting that PGS still has somechallenging issues to overcome. Anotherinescapable factor is that the marine EMcontractors appear to have hit the wall in

terms of achieving wider adoption oftheir technology despite its early promise.EMGS, for example, has cut back sharplyon its winter fleet capacity in the absenceof demand.

By scaling down its efforts, therefore,PGS is in some senses simply bowing tothe unfavourable wind gusting againstEM in the E&P industry, which iscurrently watching its pennies andreluctant to fork out on what is stillperceived as risky innovation.

Operationally PGS is cutting back onmulti-client investment which by its verynature is speculative. It is reducing itsnumber of chartered 2D/source vesselsfrom five to one by the end of the firstquarter this year; and is dumping some ofits low-end capacity vessels, by definitionless competitive in a tightening market.

It is safe to assume that othercompanies are ‘in the same boat’ as PGSand are taking equally stringentmeasures to pare their vessel capacity to


seismics

Technology is the key to surviving tough timesTechnology may play a more crucial role in winning marine seismicbusiness in 2009. That’s Andrew McBarnet’s prediction for what’s expectedto be a year when the going gets tougher.

PGS vessel Atlantic Explorer willcarry out the first 3D seismicsurvey with new dual sensorproprietary streamer.

aog_M_4_p024_seismic 19/1/09 3:33 pm

better match prevailing conditions, and ifthey are not, they probably should be. Thefeeling in the industry is that there willbe casualties. One ominous early sign oftrouble on the horizon has been thedifficulty experienced by the small butambitious Norwegian marine seismiccompany Scan Geophysical in finding adeal to finance three newbuild seismicvessels ordered and nearly completed inan Indian shipyard.

Challenge to adjustIt is certainly going to be challenging forthe marine seismic community to adjustto the emerging economic conditionsafter a period of sustained demand whichwill carry through into at least part of2009 if the record backlogs reported bythe bigger companies hold up. But there’sno escaping that the price of oil hasdropped like a stone. That alone is signalenough for many oil companies to turn offthe exploration expenditure tap, such istheir notoriously short-term thinkingframed by how the next quarter’s resultswill look to the shareholders. There is nodenying that the general squeeze oncredit and scarce investment capital is apretty lethal combination. Any oilcompany which is leveraged – and thereare plenty to choose from in the E&Pbusiness – will have a tough timepersuading fund managers that anexploration project of uncertain outcomeis a good idea right now.

You have to wonder, for example, at theviability of the exploration plansproposed in better times by all thoseLondon Alternative Investment Market(AIM) listed companies which havesprung up in recent years. Smallerindependents have been the mostproactive licence holders in recent UKoffshore licensing rounds, but when theresults of the very big 25th round wasannounced at the end of last year, therewere immediate fears expressed about theability of some companies to find themoney to fund their commitments. Thelatest Faroes licensing round found veryfew takers, suggesting reluctant oilcompany investors, and you can bet thatthe newly announced Irish PorcupineBasin offerings will be hard pushed towin many applicants.

Problems beyond their control aremounting for the seismic companies onthe oil company demand side. These arelikely to be compounded on the supplyside. After all, this was hardly themoment for a slate of new seismic vesselsordered when the market was at its zenith

to be entering the global fleet. In thiscontext the unexpected, successful bid byCGGVeritas for Wavefield Inseis could bea fascinating bellwether of where thingsare heading. The all-share offer valuingWavefield at $310 million was rated at thelow end by independent assessors. TheWavefield board still recommended thebid to shareholders. In doing so it chose toignore the objections of the company’semployees expressed by their boardrepresentative. It has to be rememberedthat a number of the employees,particularly at management level, leftMultiwave Geophysical when it was takenover by CGGVeritas three years ago, sofelt strongly about the proposed merger.

There also seems to be some sense ofbeing sold down the river so soon afterthe company’s rejection of last year’stakeover bid from TGS-Nopec. As muchas anything that action was aboutWavefield’s pride in its rapid growth on a‘go-it-alone’ strategy. This time Wavefieldstaff tried to persuade the board andshareholders that the company was beingsold cheap and that greater long termvalue could be realised if it continued tobe independent, but to no avail.

There are some special circumstancessurrounding the CGGVeritas purchase ofWavefield. Chairman and CEO RobertBrunck and his management team areclearly in unchartered waters facingsomething of a PR exercise to win overthe staff. Even so, the economic rationaleseems counter-intuitive. On news ofenough offer acceptances to win controlof Wavefield, Brunck spoke of thecombined enterprises as ‘an even morerobust company . . . better positioned toprovide a clear benefit to allshareholders, employees and customers’.The reality is that CGGVeritas picks upeight seismic vessels, not entirelycompatible with its own fleet in terms ofequipment and not top of the line new. Italso takes control of Octoplan, thecompany which is one of the leaders inthe niche field of developing fibre opticsolutions for permanent seabed seismicmonitoring of producing reservoirs.Arguably this could be a hidden jewelwhich will accelerate the R&D efforts ofSercel, the CGGVeritas seismicacquisition equipment manufacturer.

The question is whether adding vesselcapacity at this critical moment in theseismic cycle was the right move. Wewon’t know the answer for a while but theWavefield initiative may provide a readon how CGGVeritas views the seismicmarket over the next several years. The

offer does seem inspired by the type ofconsolidation which Brunck hasadvocated in the past to reduce overallcapacity to cope with the lean times. Thatlimits the rationale to commercialopportunism, ie taking advantage of thehistorical low in Wavefield’s share price,or interestingly, to a more robust view ofdemand than other companies believingthat there will be work for its bigger fleet,once again indisputably the largest in thebusiness.

Quality will prevailThe contrast with PGS and by implicationSchlumberger marine seismic companyWesternGeco is striking. By the measuresit has taken PGS has clearly seen somekind of writing on the wall. However,both companies do subscribe to themantra that, when market conditionsdeteriorate, quality products and serviceswill prevail. It is also pertinent that wehave entered the era of ‘hard oil’, in otherwords reserves are technically morechallenging to find and over time this willbenefit the better equipped companies.PGS will not be alone in ditching its lowerend vessels. It is the first line of defenceto be more competitive. The company willrely more on its core fleet of Ramformdesign vessels which in terms ofproductivity for larger scale seismicsurveys have not been seriouslychallenged over the last decade or so.

But PGS also implicitly acknowledgesthat if the company can offer something alittle bit extra to differentiate it from thecompetition at the right price, then it willbe able to preserve its market share. Thisis why you find that PGS has excludedfrom its budget review any reduction inspending on the roll-out of the dualsensor GeoStreamer, which promised a lotwhen it was launched a year or so ago butstill has to deliver. The technology ispromoted as being about as close to oceanbottom survey seismic as is possible froma towed streamer. It allows the recordingof both pressure and velocity fields


seismics

Deploying GeoStreamer.

aog_M_4_p025_seismic 19/1/09 3:34 pm

during marine seismic acquisition andoperates in the quieter and operationallymore efficient environment of a deepertow than conventional towed seismic –15m compared with 4-5m. PGS says itsprocessing of these wavefields thenallows the separation of upgoing anddowngoing signals and removal of thereceiver ghost. The result is broadbandseismic data capable of imaging deeperand more complex structures, andsignificantly reducing the uncertainty inexploration and development decisions.

Early results from 2D seismic surveysin several regions are said to haveproduced significantly improvedresolution. In November the companylaunched its first 3D seismic survey usingthe Atlantic Explorer, newly outfittedwith six GeoStreamers. This multi-clientsurvey in the DeSoto Canyon area in theGulf of Mexico covering 250 deepwaterOCS blocks with a 2010 lease sale in mindwill be watched with interest by the

industry. BP America is one of theunderwriters for the survey and is slatedto collaborate technically on the project.

WesternGeco already has a solution fordeghosting in the market. Its over/undertechnique involves towing streamers inpairs at two different depths with aseparation of 5-10m. The company saysthat the depths of the pairs can be deeperthan conventional towing depths, and thatthe results can be processed to providethe prized ghost-free data. Although partof the repertoire, over/under does notseem to be the technology thatWesternGeco will be primarily focusedupon if and when the market getstougher. The company is firmly convincedthat its Q-Marine technology will enablethe company to maintain or grow itsshare of the marine seismic marketbecause of the improved resolutionpossible with single sensor recording andsteerable streamers.

To date WesternGeco has managed a fullorder book for Q-Marine and is in theprocess of converting more of its fleet. Ithas also been able to command a premiumrate for the ‘Q’ service. The benefit ofsteerable streamer technology hasdefinitely caught the attention of thecompetition because of the ability to towstreamers with closer separation whichprovides better sampling and thus higherresolution images. The steerablestreamers are also operationally moreefficient and reduce the amount of infill

coverage required during a survey, plusthere are advantages in 4D work whereaccurate positioning of surveys is critical.

Technology agreementsThis provides a clue to why companiessuch as PGS, Fugro and the new seismiccompany Polarcus, which is bringing sixnew vessels to market, have all recentlyconsolidated their relationships with IONGeophysical in long term technologyagreements.

ION is enjoying a bit of a resurgence inthe conventional tow streamer-relatedmarket after losing its way a few yearsago and ceding serious market share tothe likes of rival Sercel. It has broughtout DigiSTREAMER, a solid cablerecording system which is what themarket now prefers. Fugro has been anearly taker but most of the majorcontractors are already committed toother systems and new streamer demandis likely to be sparse. However, it’s been astep in the right direction. A morecompetitive product in the mainstream,however, is coming from ION’s DigiFINsystem for steering streamers. The firstcommercial version was deployed by PGSin 2007, and ION believes this is a winner.

ION wants DigiSTREAMER andDigiFIN to be considered part of anintegrated offering which it is calling theIntelligent Acquisition (IA) system, agreat marketing brand if nothing else.The ‘brain’ of IA comes from Orca which


seismics

ION’s DigiFIN(above) andgraphic (right) ofstreamerperformancesailing closer to anobstruction (right)than is possiblewith a conventionalarray (far right).

GeoStreamer in the water.

Perfect formation: DigiFIN isdesigned to take care ofocean variables.

aog_M_4_p026_seismic 19/1/09 3:34 pm


seismics

provides sophisticated command andcontrol for navigation, positioning andother operational issues during a towed-streamer operation. Orca is the successorto the highly regarded Spectra, Reflex andSprint products produced by ConceptSystems, ION’s subsidiary since 2004,which have dominated in marine seismic

vessel operations for nearly two decades.PGS, Fugro and Polarcus are among thosealready buying into Orca and others willdoubtless follow, so continued leadershipin this segment seems assured. Down theroad, ION can visualise its ocean bottomseismic acquisition system VectorSeisOcean and even its data processing

division GX Technology beingincorporated into a ‘pick and choose’ orintegrated IA package.

For those contractors that can affordthem, adopting technology advancesseems a smart choice. Any marketingedge could be critical in winning businessas the recessionary clouds gather. ■

■ SEISMIC UPDATENZ surveysThe CGG Veritas seismic survey shipPacific Titan has begun acquisition of 2Dseismic for several clients offshore bothNorth and South Islands, New Zealand.

In the deepwater Taranaki Basin,3000km of 2D seismic survey has beencontracted by Colorado-based operatorGlobal Resource Holdings over PEP 38451,gathered in two parts. In the southernthird of the permit 1000km will beacquired using 6km streamers and in thenorthern portion 2000km will be obtainedemploying high resolution, long offset10km seismic streamers to infill existingdata. Australian Worldwide Exploration(AWE), by partly funding the PEP 38451survey, will earn a 10% stake.

AWE is also acquiring seismic in fouroffshore Taranaki permits which itoperates: PEP 38483, a large area where theHector-1 well was drilled; PEP 381202,containing the Paua prospect 70km northof Tui; PEP 3848, containing the Tikatiprospect; and PEP 38524, off D'UrvilleIsland, where 406km of 2D infill seismichas been acquired to advance the Malvernprospect to drill ready status. PEP 38524 isinterpreted to form an extension of theSouth Taranaki Basin which includes theKupe South and Maari oil and gas fields.

Nearer to shore in the Taranaki Basin,Greymouth Petroleum will acquire 210kmof 2D seismic in PEP 38775, east of thePohokura gas condensate field.

Later, Greymouth will gather 400km of2D seismic data from PEP 50122 in theGreat South Basin off the southeast coastof South Island.

Origin Energy will acquire 1000km of 2Din PEP 38264 in the Canterbury Basin, a23,800km2 permit that extends intodeepwater east of the Otago Peninsula.

Lishui plansPrimeline Energy, in joint venture withCNOOC, has completed re-processing3673km of regional 2D seismic data withinthe 7006km2 block 25/34 in the East China

Sea about 110km offshore from themainland of China and 800km north ofTaipei in water depths of 75-95m, andstarted a new round of regionalevaluation.

Primeline, while preparing an overalldevelopment plan for the Lishui 36-1discovery that will involve piping gas to themainland, is planning a step outexploration well in a nearby prospect in theLishui gas play, and further regionalevaluation of the remainder of block 25/34.

ION on a roll ION Geophysical has clinched a series ofoil and gas industry accords.

Fugro-Geoteam has entered into a multi-year, multi-vessel agreement coveringmarine acquisition technology in order tocontinue developing and improvingsteerable streamer technology using ION’snext generation Orca command andcontrol system and DigiFIN lateralstreamer control. The accord also outlinesthe terms under which Fugro will furtherdevelop these technologies on its high end,3D streamer-vessel fleet.

Petroleum Geo-Services has signed afive-year agreement with ION’s ConceptSystems software group that specifiesphased upgrade of all PGS’ 2D and 3Dtowed streamer vessels to Orca commandand control, including outfitting allnewbuild PGS vessels uponcommissioning.

Hess Corporation has concluded a multi-year technology collaboration agreementfor the provision of imaging services andseismic data libraries from ION’s GXTechnology subsidiary. The pact alsoincludes reverse time migration, anapproach that propagates acoustic wavefields through complex velocity regimes,including sub-salt.

Onshore Brunei prelimTap Oil subsidiary Tap Energy (Borneo)has completed an airborne geophysicalsurvey over onshore block M, BruneiDarussalam, acquired by Canadian

contractor Sander Geophysics.Block M covers an area of approximately

3000km2 in the Baram Delta Basin. Thelargest onshore permit in the country, itincludes the Belait oil and gas field and isunder-explored with no concertedexploration effort made over the past 20years.

The survey, inclusive of 3617 flight kmsin a 1km by 4km grid across the entirepermit involving both gravity andmagnetic data, is the first phase of anexploration programme which will see 2Dand 3D seismic acquisition commence inearly 2009 with at least two appraisal wellsdrilled on the Belait structure in 2009.

EMGS ranks Malaysia Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) hasbeen awarded a $7.5 million contract toemploy its Clearplay Test service to rankseveral, unidentified, hydrocarbonprospects offshore Malaysia.

The 3D wide azimuth electromagneticsurveys will target the prospects by towingan EM source over receivers placed 1-2kmapart in a grid, then processed to createresistivity maps and volumes.

EMGS has also launched the world's firstpurpose-built EM survey vessel for globaldeployment, the BOA Thalassa, built byBergen Group Fosen and leased from theowner to BOA Offshore on long-termcharter.

The vessel, which carries 100 receiversand can accommodate double that, has afully integrated spare equipment set andon-board processing system.

Tajik targetedTethys Petroleum, through its 100% ownedsubsidiary Kulob Petroleum, holder of theBokhtar PSC, the first production sharingcontract in Tajikistan, has signed acontract with Kazakh Geophysical(KazGeo) to acquire up to 1000km of 2Dseismic within the southwestern Tajikprospect. KazGeo is to begin seismicactivities in 1Q 2009, focused on existingdiscoveries and exploration targets.

aog_M_4_p027_seismic 19/1/09 3:35 pm


LNG technology

Offshore LNG loading armed and readyMomentum is building in the offshore LNG sector, spurred on most recentlyby news that FMC Technologies had been chosen to supply offshoreloading arm systems for the world’s first floating LNG production vessels.Darius Snieckus reports from the contractor’s R&D facility in Sens, France.

aog_M_4_p028_LNG 19/1/09 3:13 pm

More than 50 years after the first all-metal Chiksan marine loadingarms were commissioned at a

loading terminal in Long Beach,California, FMC Technologies last yearmarked the latest in a long line ofdevelopment milestones for its MLAtechnology with an order from SamsungHeavy industries for four liquid naturalgas offloading systems to be installed onthe world’s first floating LNG productionvessels, currently under construction atthe shipbuilder’s Geoje yard in SouthKorea for Flex LNG.

Each of the four ship-classed units,which will have nameplate liquefactioncapacity of 1.7million t/yr, will be outfittedwith three of FMC’s 70ft doublecounterweighted marine arm (DCMA-S)systems, integrating 16in offshore LNGoffloading arms, a proprietary targetingsystem, and a control module. Expectationsare that the flagship FLNG unit, the FlexLNG Producer, will be ready for first gasoffshore in 2011.

The Samsung contract follows on from aclutch of other recent orders that involveusing the same technology for floatingregasification vessels and loadingterminals in exposed locations, amongthem ExxonMobil’s Adriatic LNG terminaland the Offshore Livorno Toscana-operatedFSRU Golar Frost conversion project, bothsited off Italy, and CB&I’s Camisea PeruLNG development, where four DCMAswere recently installed on a breakwater-less jetty 170km south of Lima.

‘There are large limitations in usingconventional loading arms offshore,’ statesFMC Loading Systems vice president ofsales and marketing Laurent Poidevin. ‘Inthe dynamic tests we ran usingconventional arms with even 0.5m verticalmovement it was next to impossiblebecause of the hydraulic control systemreaction time as well as the operatorreaction time when it comes toanticipating vessel and manifold motion.’

‘With our newest DCMA-Ss, theoffloading system is now no longer alimiting factor in offshore LNG transferoperations,’ he underscores.

Historically, the key component ofFMC’s LNG loading arms has been theChiksan swivel joint, which allows thefully-articulated pipe system to be moremanoeuvrable and rotate freely withoutpotential for leakage. The ante has beenupped, however, by the demands ofoffshore operations. FMC’s answer to therelative wave-induced motions betweenoffshore LNG terminals and docked shuttlecarriers is a ‘constant motion’ version of

this technology, which was designed andtested to 5 million cycles in 2003 handlingtemperatures down to –190°C for cryogenicproducts such as LNG, coupled with an‘enhanced connection’ cable-and-conetargeting system.

The loading arm, a DCMA-S model thatuses separate counterweights to balancethe inboard and outboard sections of thearm, is designed with the product line andsupport structure connected together atthe end of the outboard arm through ahorizontal rotation and at the base riserthrough two coaxial rotations, meaningthat during loading operations otherhorizontal articulations remain parallelbut can displace independently in thevertical plane.

By maintaining constant tension in thetargeting cable, at the heart of a systemunder development since 1999, theconnection places maximum mechanicalloads of 5t vertical, 2t lateral and 5t axialon the shuttle carrier’s manifold. Toprevent damage of the flange seal duringthe approach of the arm and itsconnection, FMC has incorporated a pre-energised protective mechanical ringinto the coupler’s design.

‘You need to power up to make the initialcable connection, but then there is no needfor active control after the connection hasbeen made, the arm is just freewheeling,’explains FMC Loading Systems R&Dmanager Renaud Le Dévéhat. ‘This is the

major difference between this system andconventional loading arms.’

The arm is also outfitted with anemergency release system that uses twoisolating valves positioned on either side ofa customised powered emergency releasecoupler, he notes. A multi-stage alarm set-up linked to the logic control systemensures that the product pumps arestopped and that the two valves are shutprior to the opening of the coupler and thearm automatically manoeuvred away fromthe tanker manifold flange.

‘During an emergency disconnect thequantity of product trapped between thetwo valves – being a very small amount –vaporises, so there is no chance of a spill,’offers Le Dévéhat.

Italian jobLast month the 188m long gravity basestructure for the Adriatic LNGdevelopment made its way in tow to itssited location 15km off Porto Levante, Italy.The ‘shoebox’-style terminal, designed tostore up to 250,000m3 of LNG and vaporisesome 8bcm/yr, has been outfitted with fourof FMC’s 16in DCMA-Ss featuringautomatic emergency release system,hydraulic coupler, constant-motion swiveljoints, positioning monitoring system andtargeting systems.

Because the Adriatic LNG GBS will bepermanently positioned in 28m of water onthe seabed, the range of motions foreseen


LNG technology

Adriatic LNG’s GBSstructure, outfittedwith four DCMA-Ssystems, en route toItaly (above), and anartist’s impression ofthe LNG Producer(left).

aog_M_4_p029_LNG 19/1/09 3:14 pm

between terminal and LNG shuttle tankerwill be less than between two offshorevessels, notes Poidevin. However, as thecarriers will still be exposed to the force ofwind, waves and current during loadingoperations, the 90t arms have beendesigned by FMC to handle differentials of2m surge, 4m sway and 2.4m heave betweenvessel and GBS.

Start-up of the ExxonMobil-operatedterminal is scheduled for 2009.

Four 16in DCMA-Ss are also to beinstalled, via a contract with Saipem, aspart of Offshore Livorno Toscana’s FSRUGolar Frost conversion project. For ship-to-ship LNG transfer operations, theloading arms are designed to handle ratesof 10,000m-18,000m3/h. Once converted, the137,000m3 FSRU will be stationed 35kmoffshore western Italy, where it isscheduled to be brought online in the latterhalf of 2010.

There has also been an order for four16in DCMA-Ss for the Camisea Peru LNGfacility. Though not strictly an offshoredevelopment, the CB&I project has itstanker berths at the end of an exposed5km-long jetty that links back to a plant atPampa Melchorita, which will have anominal capacity of 4.45 million t/yr andpipe some 18 million m3/d into thePeruvian onshore gas transport network.

FLNG, as represented for the time beingby the Flex LNG orders, is the next – fastapproaching – horizon for FMC’s latest

loading arms. ‘The technology is adaptableto both the Moss-design [spherical] shuttletankers and flat-top floating LNG vessel[such as the Flex LNG Producer],’ remarksPoidevin. ‘The loading arm is essentiallycustomised – we can adapt the length andcounterweight beam and the othercomponents to a very specific case. One ofthe strengths of the design is itscompactness, he notes, with a bank ofthree 16in arms having a deck footprint of10m x 5m and a counterweight swing space

of 19m x 7m x 9m, and a standard controlsystem measuring 3m x 2m x 2m.

Being able to ‘play’ with the dimensionsof the loading arm, adds Le Dévéhat, isanother ‘key advantage’ of the design. ‘Itmeans we can ensure there is nointerference with any of the LNG shuttlecarriers’ tank-types,’ he says. ‘And whenyou compare the limited footprint of thearms when folded to their reach-range –more than 30m – you can see part of theattraction of this technology.’

The offshore LNG landscape continues toevolve, with the 2.5m significant waveheight that has stood as a design yardstickfor side-by-side transfer for many yearsnow being replaced by one that uses 3-3.5mas a key. ‘A few years ago everyone waslooking at these sorts of numbers for ship-to-ship operations. But we are moving theboundaries further out all the time,’ saysLe Dévéhat.

First to measure up will be Flex LNG’smaiden projects, the FLNG developmentwith Rift Oil off Papua New Guinea nowunder way (see ‘News Update’, page 12),and Peak Petroleum’s Bilabri and OrobiriLNG development, off Nigeria. Firstproduction is expected from these projectsin 2011.

‘An offshore LNG loading arm is now areality – it is not on the drawing board, it isnot just a prototype,’ concludes Poidevin.

‘We have concrete projects, the first ofwhich will be online in 2008/09.’ ■


LNG technology

Emergency disconnection of the DCMA-S arm.

aog_M_4_p030_LNG 19/1/09 3:15 pm

AOG_M_4_OTC_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_OTC_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 10:35:3619/1/09 10:35:36

LNG consumption in the Asia Pacificregion alone has been predicted toreach 150 million tonnes, a growth of

nearly 100% in ten years. Part of thisgrowth will be met by the introduction ofsmall-scale LNG plants incorporated intofloating, production, storage andoffloading vessels.

This new approach to LNG productionwill make it more akin to crude oilproduction than ever before, with LNGproduction being directly associated tospecific fields.

LNG has traditionally been bought andsold on the basis of long-term contracts,with the amount of energy transferredderived from measurements of tankvolumes.

However, as the contribution of LNG toglobal gas sales increases and the sourcesof supply increase, it is likely that it willbe more often traded on the basis ofshort-term (spot) prices in a similar wayto crude oil. In such circumstances theuse of flowmeters, the accepted method ofmeasuring oil, becomes attractive forcustody transfer measurement includingthe offloading of the new generation ofLNG FPSOs.

The nature of LNG, however, presentssome very real challenges for flowmetertechnology, the biggest of which is thecryogenic temperature at which LNGexists (approximately –160°C).

Flowmeters are usually calibratedusing water at ambient temperatures anddue to the international scarcity of

cryogenic test facilities, combined withthe complexities of testing under suchlow temperature conditions, littleresearch has been done to establish ifflowmeters remain accurate under theextremely cold conditions that LNG existsat. TUV NEL, an internationallyrecognised authority on flowmetertechnology and calibration, is currentlyaddressing this challenge, undertakingresearch to establish a framework of LNGmeasurement standards and flowmetercapabilities.

The company aims to establish astandardised calibration concept forflowmeters operated under cryogenicconditions.

Two flow-metering technology groupsalready proven in the oil and gas arenaare currently being researched for LNGapplication by TUV NEL: coriolis massflow metering and ultrasonic metering.

Accuracy of coriolisflowmeters undercryogenic conditionsCoriolis flowmeters are one of the mostestablished and widely used flowmeteringtechnologies, with applications in the oil

and gas industry and in many othersectors.

Previous research had indicated thatoperating coriolis meters at lowtemperatures causes a non-lineartemperature dependent calibration shift.

To prove the suitability of coriolismeters for LNG application, TUV NELsought to confirm that factorycalibrations of the flowmeters at ambienttemperature could be transferred tocryogenic operating conditions byapplying an adjusting factor – Young’sModulus for the elasticity of stainlesssteel, which makes an allowance for thephysical contraction of the metal used inthe meter tubes at low temperatures.

By combining TUV NEL’s own large-scale water calibration facilities andflowmeter testing experience with third-party liquid nitrogen based cryogenictesting, the research team was able todevise a testing programme for LNGcoriolis flowmetering.

The testing programme used a 2inCoriolis meter, provided by a well-established flowmeter manufacturer. Totest the flowmeter, TUV NEL firstconfirmed the meter’s accuracy at


LNG technology

Flow metering: an essential area of development Advancements in LNG production will be key to unlocking the potential of stranded gasreserves throughout Asia and around the world, as well as helping meet the growingdemands of developing nations. TUV NEL’s Dr Asaad Kenbar discusses flow metering’scrucial role in LNG’s expansion and the need for further development work.

Asaad Kenbar is a seniorconsultant at TUV NEL currentlyleading projects on LNGmetering technologies andother projects in thermal

engineering. He has an MSc and PhD inmechanical engineering from GlasgowUniversity.● [email protected]

About the author

SBM/Linde concept for aLNG FPSO, currently beingreviewed by ABS.

aog_M_4_p032_LNG 19/1/09 4:57 pm

ambient temperature. It then calibratedthe meter operating with liquid nitrogen,typically at around –193°C.

Water testing demonstrated that thecoriolis flowmeter performed well withinits specified accuracy of ±0.2% for bothmass flowrate and density.

Liquid nitrogen tests showed that theflowmeter gave a consistent error ofabout 2% throughout the test range, thusindicating a calibration shift. When theYoung’s Modulus dependence ontemperature was taken intoconsideration, the test results indicatedthat the flowmeter produced ameasurement very close to its claimedaccuracy. However, the density wasmeasured within 0.5% accuracy.

The testing programme allowed TUVNEL to conclude that water calibration ofcoriolis flowmeters can be successfullytransferred to cryogenic conditions, andthus LNG, if Young’s Modulus ofelasticity of stainless steel is taken inconsideration. This conclusion applies tothe 2in test flowmeter; however, this mayapply to a larger flowmeter which hassame material construction, the sameshape and is calibrated with water in thesame way, but this can only be confirmedby further tests.

Ultrasonic flowmeters and LNG Ultrasonic meters (USMs) are now widelyutilised for custody transfer andallocation measurements in the oil andgas industry, with meters regularlydelivering measurement uncertainties ofbetter than 0.25% over a significantfraction of their flow range.

The technology is regarded as reliableand accurate; however, one flow propertythat is known to strongly influence theperformance of ultrasonic meters is thevariation in velocity profile, which canoccur with changes in fluid viscosity.

TUV NEL has previously establishedthat variations of velocity profile due tochanges in viscosity can have asignificant impact on the accuracy and

suitability of ultrasonic meters inemerging applications such as themetering of high-viscosity/heavy oilflows. If ultrasonic meters are going to besuitable for use in LNG flow metering, itis important to establish if lowtemperatures also have a significantimpact on velocity profile.

To prove the potential of ultrasonicflowmeters with LNG, TUV NEL tested anew prototype meter from an establishedmanufacturer. The meter is a fivebeam,4in transit-time ultrasonic meter, whichis being developed specifically with theLNG market in mind.

For Newtonian fluids, themanufacturer of the flowmeter that wastested asserted that the accuracy of themeter depends only on the pipe Reynoldsnumber. It therefore follows that a watercalibration for an ultrasonic metershould cover the same range of Reynoldsnumber as encountered in the LNGapplication. However, due to the lowviscosity of LNG, this is often difficult toachieve, especially for large flowmeters.One approach is to apply a linearextrapolation of the curve of measurederror against the Reynolds number.However, the uncertainty arising fromthis extrapolation adds to theuncertainties from operating at cryogenicconditions and reinforces therequirement to verify the applicability ofwater calibrations.

To test the meter’s suitability for LNGapplication, TUV NEL first had to verifyits accuracy with water at ambienttemperature. After this had beensuccessfully done, the meter was thentaken to a cryogenic test facility fortesting with liquid nitrogen to simulateLNG application.

In view of the importance of thevelocity profile in ultrasonic flowmetermeasurement, a computational fluiddynamics (CFD) study was also used toexplore the flow conditions (swirl andvelocity profile) in the liquid nitrogentest rig and assist in understanding thetest results.

The results of the testing programmeindicated that a calibration taken at roomtemperatures with water can, with someloss of accuracy, be transferred to liquidnitrogen at cryogenic conditions. The lossof accuracy under cryogenic conditionsis attributed to significant deviationsfrom the ideal fully developed velocityprofile. These are likely caused byambient heat leakage though theinsulation jacket into the flowmeter body.Since the viscosities of liquid nitrogen

and LNG, and hence the Reynolds numberfor a given flowrate, are very similar, theupstream flow profiles are likely to alsobe very similar.

The stable performance of the meterand the repeatability of themeasurements are evidence of thegeneral suitability of ultrasonic flowmeasurement technology for cryogenicapplications. However, the cryogenic testsand CFD study highlighted some issueswhich require further research. Carefulaccount should be taken of the sub-cooling and insulation required to avoidbubble nucleation in the meter due toheat leakage.

The indications are promising thatultrasonic meters will ultimately besuitable for the metering of LNG flows.However, further research is requiredspecifically to investigate the trend of themeasurement error over higher flowratesand further CFD analysis of the effects ofambient heat leak to assess its effect onthe velocity profile.

The importance offlowmetersThe current research programmeprovides a strong indication thatestablished flowmeter technologies in theoil and gas industry, such as coriolis andultrasonic metering, will find wideapplications in the LNG industry as itdevelops over the next few years.

With simple and reliable metering, thesmaller scale LNG projects that areenvisaged to release stranded gasreserves will become increasinglypractical. With trusted off-the-shelf metersolutions, trading of LNG will be easier,making the fuel more accessible andattractive.

However, there are still some issues tobe researched, particularly with regard toultrasonic meters. Progress on TUV NEL’sLNG flow metering research will be atopic specifically addressed at the eighthSouth East Asia Hydrocarbon FlowMeasurement Workshop which takesplace in Kuala Lumpur this March. ■


LNG technology

Flowmeter under cryogenic conditions. TUV NEL test facilities.

aog_M_4_p033_LNG 19/1/09 3:17 pm


safety

Emergency situations areunpredictable and unique in natureand preventing a minor incident

from escalating into a major disaster ishighly dependent on the planning,implementation, and effectiveness of theemergency response.

Emergency response arrangements arerequired and industry watchdogs such asIndonesia’s BP Migas and Australia’sNOPSA ensure they are in place.Sufficient resources must be in place toensure the safe evacuation of personnelto a place of safety and, in caseevacuation arrangements fail, a means ofescape for personnel and their subsequentrecovery and rescue.

Evacuation, escape and recoveryanalysis (EERA) having been recognisedas an important part of the safety case,the question is which mix of the variousmethods should be used to provideoptimum safety for each of the numeroustypes of offshore installations. Themethods available include, but are notlimited to, helicopters, lifeboats andliferafts.

It is important to evaluate thecharacteristics of each evacuationmethod, in order to develop anunderstanding of their efficacy andlimitations. Key considerations willinclude:● speed of implementation – ie can

evacuation commence with immediateeffect?;● capacity of evacuation, ie personsevacuated per hour;● availability – limitation imposed byweather, visibility and other factors● level of risk associated with the meansof evacuation;● reversibility – in case the emergency isbrought under control, is a false alarm orin the event of a precautionaryevacuation; and● fit with other methods – manyevacuations have historically relied onseveral (complementary) means.

Helicopters can travel at high speedsbut, generally, they are not immediatelyavailable and their personnel capacity islow. Multiple aircraft or multiple flightswould normally be required forevacuation of a drilling rig or a largeproduction facility. They are alsovulnerable to installation hazards (forexample, fire or listing due to loss ofstability) and they have weatherlimitations such as high winds and fog.Although the evacuation is reversible,helicopters may not be capable oftransferring a high number of people

within a short period of time as this isdependent upon aircraft availability andthe installation location.

Reversibility is an importantconsideration as a precautionaryevacuation may be considered prudentunder certain scenarios such as wellcontrol problems, installation stabilityproblems or instances of potential shipcollision. An installation manager maycommence down-manning in response toa threat, but is less likely to do this if themethod of evacuation is considered to bevery risky and not easily reversible.Liferafts and lifeboats are immediatelyavailable and have capacity for allpersonnel. However, launching inanything other than fair sea conditionscan be hazardous – there is a history ofinjuries and fatalities during both lifeboatand liferaft evacuations. Also, due tolimited manoeuvrability and otherdifficulties, evacuation by lifeboat orliferaft is not considered to be reversible.

One option which is often overlooked iscrane-based evacuations. These havemany advantages and when performedproperly they are very safe. It is a flexibleand immediately available means of

Evacuation by crane: the forgotten option?Major disasters such as Piper Alpha (1988, North Sea), P36 Campos Basin (2001, Brazil)and Mumbai High (2005, India) have resulted in a considerably enhanced safetyregime offshore. Reflex Marine’s Duncan Cuthill calls for a holistic approach to AsiaPacific evacuation planning, in particular the inclusion of crane-based transfer options.

Duncan Cuthill is operationsdirector of Reflex Marine andhas recently been responsiblefor project delivery of newincreased-capacity personnel

transfer products. He is a master marinerwith operational experience of allaspects of marine operations related tothe offshore energy sector, havingpreviously held senior managementpositions in marine consulting, logisticsand project management companies.

About the author

Serious offshore incidents have prompted major re-evaluations of the Asia Pacific oil &gas sector’s approach to safety management.

aog_M_4_p034_Safety 19/1/09 3:28 pm


safety

evacuation with the potential to transfer50 to 100 personnel prior to the arrival ofthe first helicopter and the method iscompletely under the control of theinstallation. In the Asia Pacific region,where historically a high percentage ofcrew transfers are carried out by boat, acrew, supply, support or other suitablevessel is usually in close proximity toprovide a suitable operating platform andsafe refuge from any threatenedinstallation. The operation is fullyreversible, making the decision to initiateprecautionary down-manning mucheasier.

It is surprising, then, that cranetransfers by personnel carrier arefrequently not considered withinemergency evacuation plans. Onepossible reason is the unfoundedperception of a high level of risk whichhas led some operators to set aside thismainstream evacuation option. This hasbeen a loss to the industry as many liveshave been saved worldwide by crane-based transfer during emergencyoperations. Recent industry focus onemergency evacuation provisionssuggests it may be time to take a freshlook at the evacuation options.

The safety of personnel carriers hasadvanced greatly in recent years, withnew designs considerably reducing riskssuch as falls, hard landings, lateralimpacts and immersion. Theseimprovements also mean that evacuationscan now be performed in weatherconditions that would previously havebeen viewed as unsafe. Personnelcapacities have also increased andcarriers are available for passengercapacities of six or nine persons for rigidcapsule devices, and up to 12 persons forthe more traditional basket derivatives,allowing for faster transfer of personnelin emergency situations. Asia inparticular has embraced this newtechnology, a number of its majoroperators having adopted a policy to useonly the rigid capsules for marinetransfers in this region.

Improved designs of personnel carrierdevices are, however, just one element ofwhat should be viewed as a crane transfersystem. The key elements of such asystem are the operational controls andprocedures, the transfer equipment(including both crane and transferdevice), the transfer vessel specificationand personnel experience and training.The increased focus on selection andmaintenance of all of these elements hasconsiderably reduced the risk in crane

transfer operations in the region andwhen properly planned the safety ofcrane transfer evacuations compares veryfavourably with other means.

Like all other methods of evacuation,crane transfer should not be consideredas a stand-alone solution. It could not beused in isolation for a completeevacuation in the event of anabandonment, as clearly the safeevacuation of the crane operator must betaken into consideration. However, earlydown-manning of an installation cangreatly reduce the risks to all personnel.For example, an evacuation could belargely completed by crane, allowing thefew remaining personnel to be evacuatedby a single helicopter flight or lifeboatlaunch, before the threat escalates to adangerous level.

Evacuation planning requires a holisticapproach. All evacuation methods have

limitations and carry risks and so shouldbe viewed as complementary to eachother rather than competing with eachother. There is no ‘best method’ ofevacuation, as this depends very much onthe specific emergency scenario.

Crane transfer of personnel offers ahighly valuable and flexible tool for themanagement of a wide range of offshoreemergencies. It fits very well into anoverall offshore evacuation strategy andin numerous scenarios could be used togreat advantage with the potential to savemany lives.

Developments in the industry meanthat the time is now ripe for operators toseriously review their evacuation options.The good news is that improvedcapabilities should significantly enhancethe industry’s emergency responsecapability and reduce the risks foroffshore personnel. ■

The safety of personnel carriers has advanced greatly in recent years, with new designsconsiderably reducing risks such as falls, hard landings, lateral impacts and immersion.

aog_M_4_p035_Safety 19/1/09 3:29 pm

www.iir.com.au/csm/aog

TO REGISTER CALL NOW!

BOOKINGS HOTLINE: (02) 9080 4090 EMAIL: [email protected]

CSM – CMM(Coal Seam Methane) (Coal Mine Methane)

C o n f e r e n c e & E x h i b i t i o n

IIR’s 7th Annual National

25 – 27 May 2009 | Sofitel, Brisbane

Now in its 7th year, the CSM – CMM Conference and Exhibition is Australia’s largest and most comprehensive gathering of senior CSG professionals

This is the perfect event to meet and network with all the key decision makers in the CSG sector

Part of IIR’s Gas Series www.gasevents.com.au

Event Partner

AOG_D_S_CSM_IRR.indd 1 19/1/09 12:18:23

AOG_M_4_Cosmo.indd 1 19/1/09 11:10:10

AOG_M_4_AD_Page36 19/1/09 1:04 pm Page 1

Paris-headquartered Bourbon, whichin October 2007 also opened atraining centre in Manila, the

Philippines, dedicated to dynamicpositioning (DP), believes the new

DNV-certifiedtraining facilitywithin its Ubi Road,Singapore, premiseswill help raiseoperational, safetyand quality standardsfor the Asian marine

and offshore industries as a whole.‘Training is key to our success – there

are no shortcuts,’ says Farid Khan(pictured), managing director of BourbonOffshore Asia. ‘Getting someone to thelevel where they can captain one of ourvessels can take five years, and peoplecoming from conventional vessels to ourelectric-driven newbuilds find there’squite a difference. That’s why in our newanchor handling tug supply vessel(AHTS) simulator we will be paying a lotof attention to how trainees react tooffshore situations, especially underpressure.’

Practical training in anchor handling

operations under real conditions is a keyfeature of the centre, which has a fullyequipped bridge, the deck portion of avessel and classrooms for theoreticalcourses and debriefing. The simulator isdesigned to ensure acquisition of theskills required of new employees, thosealready working on vessels, as well asemployees promoted to AHTS vessels inAsia. The following command stationsare reproduced down to the last detail:controls of the officer in charge ofmanoeuvring the vessel (rear bridgesection); controls of the officer operatingthe anchor lifting winch; two simulationstations for deck crews; simulation of theoffshore rig or platform withmanoeuvring of the anchor line winchand crane transfers from facility tovessel.

This programme is then validated by atraining period at sea, following whichanyone who still does not measure up toBourbon’s operating standards and safetyrules returns for further, concentratedtraining.

Once the Singapore facility’scertification formalities are complete –they were made more complex by the fact

it will also be open to the public – Khanexpects the first batch of in-house AHTScrew trainees to arrive around February/March time.

In line with the objectives defined in itsambitious ‘Horizon 2012’ strategic plan,training is a clear priority for Bourbon tohandle the current substantial growth inits fleet numbers (AOG September/October 2008). Globally, the company islooking to recruit some 5000 employees by2012. In the Asian region, with newvessels being built in series and added tothe regional fleet at a rate of eight or ninea year, Khan is tasked with more thandoubling his workforce – to over 1000 – inthe next three years. ‘That’s my biggestchallenge now, finding quality people,’says Khan, who clearly will be relyingheavily on the new facility to meet hissteeper training targets both for newrecruits and existing crews.

A major component of the company’sgrowing Asian fleet will be the new diesel-electric DP2 Bourbon Liberty 200 Seriesanchor handling towing supply vessels,the first of which arrived recently andpromptly went into service offshoreMalaysia. Khan expects these vessels –adaptable to deep and shallow waterassignments, very economical to run,highly manoeuvrable and offering biggercargo capacities – to give the regionalcompetition, notably Tidewater andSwire, something to think about in themonths and years ahead.

The new AHTS simulator is thecompany’s second after the one opened inMarseilles, France, in November 2007.

Both were developedby Norway’s OffshoreSimulator Center(OSC), but theSingapore simulatoris a new versionincluding parametersbased on Liberty 200

vessel characteristics.Bourbon chief executive Jacques de

Chateauvieux (pictured) says the newfacilities in Manila, Marseille and nowSingapore are part of a strategy to‘industrialise’ maintenance operationsand training in order to bring costs downas far as possible. ‘These facilities,’ headds, ‘will give both our oldest and newestemployees quality training, in completesafety, under real conditions, so that theyare imbued every day with the company’shigh operational, quality and safetystandards and the values whichdetermine and will determine the successof Bourbon.’ ■


training

Bourbon eyes the creamAsian offshore vessel training entered new technologicalterritory recently with the inauguration in Singapore of theBourbon Training Centre Asia and its state-of-the-art AHTSsimulator. David Morgan gets an early look.

aog_M_4_p037_Bourbon 19/1/09 3:37 pm

Even though shipyard orderbooks continue to fill, andinnovative projects – such

as SeaMetric’s TML heavy lifttransport vessels concept –move ahead, clients areincreasingly showing areluctance to commit toadditional newbuilds and, in atleast one case, cancelling, asScorpion Deepwater has donefor a semisubmersible drillingrig.

JackupsChina Offshore OilEngineering Company willconstruct three offshore jackupdrilling rigs for China OilfieldServices for a total of$277 million. The Friede &Goldman L780 MII design rigs,to be named COSL 922, 923 and924, are designed for waterdepths of 200ft and capable ofdrilling to 20,000ft.

Maritime Industrial Services(MIS) has completed the jackupdrilling rig SeaWolfOritsetimeyin at their yard inSharjah, UAE for SeaWolfOilfield Services, a Nigeriandrilling company. Costing $254 million, the newbuild isthe first Friede & GoldmanSuper Mod 2 to be built, capableof drilling to 30,000ft in waterdepths up to 300ft.

SeaWolf Onome, a secondjackup rig of the same design,is scheduled for delivery toSeaWolf in February 2009.

Virtue Drilling, an associatecompany of India’s JindalDrilling & Industries, has takendelivery of the jackup drillingrig Virtue I from Keppel Fels inSingapore, a KFels B Classdesign, contracted by Oil &Natural Gas Corporation for

Indian Ocean operations forfive years.

PetroJack ASA, a Larsen Oil& Gas Group subsidiary, hastaken delivery of the jackupdrilling rig Petrojack IV(pictured above) from JurongShipyard, in Singapore, a BakerMarine Pacific Class 375 design.The rig is scheduled to start afive-year charter in lateJanuary with PTTEP foroperations in the Gulf ofThailand.

Ensco Oceanics Internationalhas awarded Lamprell a $15 million contract to upgradeand refurbish the Ensco 53jackup at their Sharjah, UAE,facility. Workscope over a fivemonth period is to include hullsteel and piping renewals,living quarter refurbishmentand leg repair.

SemisubmersiblesSeadrill has taken delivery ofWest Taurus (pictured belowleft), the second of a series offour identical sixth generationdynamic positioning ultra-deepwater semisubmersibledrilling rigs, built on a turnkeybasis by Jurong Shipyard (JSL)in Singapore.

The Friede & GoldmanMillennium Class Ex-D designsemi is capable of drilling to37,500ft in waters depths of upto 10,000ft.

West Taurus, the first semi tobe built using the JSL’sproprietary transverseskidding method incombination with the load-outand mating-in-dock technique,has been chartered for six yearsto Petrobras.

Moreover, Seadrill has madean agreement with ShipFinance International for acombined sale and leasebackwhereby Seadrill sells the ultra-deepwater semisubmersiblerigs West Hercules and WestTaurus for a total considerationof $1.7 billion and then leasesthe units for a 15-year period.

COSL has assembled the deckmodule to the ship hull of itsGlobal Maritime designeddeepwater 4000 tonsemisubmersible rig COSL Pioneer in Yantai RafflesShipyard, considered amilestone in shipbuilding, thedeck module simultaneouslybeing constructed alongside thefloating platform, a moreefficient and safety enhancingprocess.

Scorpion Deepwater, asubsidiary of ScorpionOffshore, which had enteredinto an accord with KFels forthe construction of a DSS-38class semisubmersible drilling

rig and delivery in December2011, has terminated the $405 million contract onmutually acceptable terms afterpaying $74 million preparatoryto start of fabrication in 2Q2009 as financing proveddifficult in the currenteconomic climate.

Scorpion Offshore is workingclosely with KFels asexploratory discussions areheld with interested thirdparties to take over building ofthe semisubmersible, theoutcome of which KFelscautions ‘are highly uncertain’.

DrillshipsSamsung Heavy Industries(SHI) of South Korea hasreported that it has beenawarded a contract to build twodrillships at a combined valueof $1.4 billion from a customeronly identified by SHI as a ‘shipowner in Europe’. The client isspeculated to be Delba.

Seadrill has taken deliveryfrom SHI of the ultra-deepwater drillship WestCapella, to be deployed offNigeria for Total, the sixth suchunit out of eight newbuildsSeadrill had ordered. The tworemaining newbuilds WestAquarius and West Eminenceare expected to be delivered in1Q 2010.

Floating production SBM Offshore is to have KeppelShipyard convert and upgradea floating, storage andoffloading (FSO) vessel into anFPSO. When coverted, Okhawill be deployed in 4Q 2010 tothe Cossack/Wanaea/Lambert/Hermes oil fields, offshoreWestern Australia (see ‘NewsUpdate’, page 10).

Modec has engaged JurongShipyard to convert the VLCCtanker MV PSVM into anexternal turret moored FPSOvessel able to process150,000bopd and store 1.6mmboat a cost of $130 million fordelivery in 1Q 2011 to BP foroperations in Angola.

M3nergy JDA will have aPanamax tanker converted intoan external turret FSO vessel


shipyards

38

Is the partyending?Demand is still strong for exploration andproduction rigs and a variety of supportvessels, but market caution is on the rise.John Mueller looks at recent activity.

aog_M_4_p038_fabrication 19/1/09 2:49 pm

able to produce 20,000 barrels ofcondensate and store 546,000barrels of oil by KeppelShipyard, to be delivered in 3Q2009 for deployment to theJoint Development Area off theeast coast of peninsularMalaysia for Carigali-PTTEPI’sblock B-17 field developmentproject.

SBM Offshore has takendelivery of the FPSO EspiritoSanto (pictured above) fromKeppel Shipyard. To bedeployed offshore Brazil, thevessel is capable of processing100,000bopd and storing2mmbo, and is operated by ajoint venture of SBM Offshoreand MISC.

Nexus Floating Productionand SHI have deferredcompletion of the Nexus #2FPSO project for up to 18months due to the adversedevelopments in financialmarkets, with the option toterminate the contract whichhas accrued an exposure of$67 million.

Heavy lift/transportNordic Heavy Lift has had thekeel laid for its heavy lift DP3construction vessel Borealis, amonohull 5000t lift capacityvessel with deepwaterinstallation capabilities, beingbuilt by Sembawang at NantongYahua shipyard in Nantong,China.

Clough is having its derrickpipelay barge Java Constructorupgraded by ST Marine withcompletion set for 1H 2009.Workscope involves adding a

15m mid-section module thatincorporates a new engineroom power managementsystem, upgrading the heavylift crane, pipelay and mooringsystems, and hullstrengthening.

Dockwise Transport hastaken delivery of MV Triumph,a heavy transport vesselconverted from a tanker byCOSCO Shipyard atGuangzhou, China, able totransport cargo in excess of35,000 tons, such as jackupdrilling rigs.

SeaMetric is having to put upwith a three to six monthholdup in construction of itstwo TML heavy lift transportvessels, being built in parallelat China Petroleum LiaoheEquipment’s shipyard inPanjin, China, due to delays inthe yard’s development. Theoriginal completion date was in3Q 2009.

The SeaMetric Twin MarineLifter system (pictured right)consists of two TML vesselswith eight lifting arms, four oneach vessel, able install andremove platform topsides andjackets weighing up to 20,000t.Contractors have bid forconstruction of the TML liftingarm systems, which will notstart until financing is in place.

Also, SeaMetric has securedproduction slots for engines,generators and thrusters forfour additional vessels; twofurther 140m long heavytransport vessels for a secondTML system as well as two180m long transport vessels.

Support vessels Seaways International is tohave Keppel Singmarine buildtwo RAampage 5500 Z-M DP2multi tasking anchor handlingtugs (AHT) (pictured right) by1H 2011.

Keppel Cebu Shipyard in thePhilippines has three tugboatorders, two from Keppel SmitTowage and one from the Portof Salalah, Oman.

Mermaid Marine Australiahas taken delivery of its latestnewbuild, a multi-purposesupport vessel (MPSV),

Mermaid Searcher, built atGuangzhou Panyu Lingshanshipyard in southern Chinawith assistance from CheoyLee, a Hong Kong-basedshipbuilder, to a modifiedConan Wu design, foroperations off the North WestShelf of Australia.

Deep Sea Supply has takendelivery of the newbuild SeaWitch, a UT 755L platformsupply vessel (PSV) built byCochin Shipyard in India, theeighth and final PSV for thecompany from the Cochinyard.

Swire Pacific OffshoreOperations has placed a $20 million order withSingapore Technologies Marineto provide detailed design,construction and outfitting of a68m seismic survey vessel, to bedelivered 2H 2010.

Lewek Shipping, a subsidiaryif Ezra Holdings, afterreviewing its orderbook of fivemultifunctional support vessels(MFSV) with KeppelSingmarine, is workingtowards an amicable mutual

termination of their contract,expected to be finalised early inthe 1Q.

ShipyardsAlthough KFels has had amajor semisubmersiblebooking cancelled and KeppelSingmarine is about to lose animportant newbuild supportvessel contract, Keppel O&Mreports that Seadrill, formerlyreconsidering construction oftwo jackups, has decided to goahead, albeit on revised terms,with the combined $420 milliondual rig award. There is furthercause for optimism as newbusiness arrangements andyard improvements continue.

International GasTransportation has designatedSembCorp Marine anevergreen favoured customerfor the provision of repairs,upgrades and other marineservices for its fleet of LNGships which are operated byNorth West Shelf ShippingService on behalf of the NorthWest Shelf Ventureparticipants in Australia.

Strategic Marine, a westernAustralian shipbuilder, hasdelivered the 4400t basepontoon of a technologicallyadvanced floating dry dock,constructed at theirVietnamese facility at DongXuyen Industrial Zone, to theAustralian Marine Complex(AMC), south of Perth.

Dockwise submersible vesselMV Teal transported the $44 million, 99m long and 53mwide steel structure to AMC’scommon user facility atHenderson, where StrategicMarine will fit 840t ofsuperstructure to the dock’sbase, as well as computerequipment and cranes. ■


shipyards

39


Competition for offshorework among Middle Eastshipyards further

intensified late last year withthe announcement that ASRY– the Arab Ship Building andRepair Yard – in Bahrain wasestablishing an operatingcompany focused purely onoffshore business.

An early vindication of thisdecision came with theannouncement of a contractfrom Hercules Offshore for theupgrading of its Hercules 170jackup drilling rig – the firstmajor contract landed byASRY Offshore Services’(AOS) in its own right and onethat typifies the newcompany’s chosen targetmarket.

The OAPEC-owned Bahrainyard had been making steadyinroads into the regional rigrepair market in recent years,for example landing work onSaudi Aramco’s ARB1 and theNational Drilling Company ofAbu Dhabi’s Al Bzoom (ex AlMariyah) jackup. It was alsopicking up more and moreconversion and upgradingwork for FSOs and FSUs aswell as repair work on derrickbarges, anchor handlers,diving support vessels and

offshore supply boats. Withlast summer’s completion oftwo new 510m-long slipways –hailed as the Middle East’slargest – at a cost of$25 million, the stage was setfor a new and dedicatedbusiness unit to push furtherinto this market.

‘There is no doubt thatASRY has the necessaryexperience to succeed in thismarket,’ says group chairmanShaikh Daij Bin Salman BinDaij Al-Khalifa. ‘We have inASRY a facility second to nonein the Arabian Gulf, and areconfident that we can becomea major service provider forrepairs and maintenance ofrigs to the oil & gasindustries.’ Speaking at therecent official opening of thenew slipways, Shaikh Daij saidhis board had already rubber-stamped plans for a further$188 million investment in new

facilities, much of it targetingthe offshore market. The newinvestment would be financed,he added, ‘totally by theshipyard itself ’.

At the helm of AOS are twoEnglishmen. CEO Chris Potterhas spent his entire workinglife in ship repair, havingworked for yards in the UK,

Singapore,Bahrain andGibraltar beforejoining ASRY in1992. Sales &marketing

director Peter Thornton(pictured) brings oil & gasindustry nous to the mix,having spent some 25 yearsworking in the offshoreindustry with the likes ofComex, Amerada Hess, Agip,Lasmo and Texaco beforejoining London-based ASRYMar in 2000.

Among specialist offshorestaff housed in AOS’ newpurpose-built offices at theyard are Palitha Jagathpriya,the company’s Sri Lankan-born project engineeringmanager, and Rob Bryant, whoheads up the operations of theKvasir Group, AOS’ recentlyappointed agents in Qatar.Headquartered in Doha,Kvasir is run by former TotalAberdeen hand John Barber.

The work package for


shipyards

40

Mid-East eyes on the offshore prizeWith slots increasingly hard to find among the moretraditional rig building and repair facilities further east,Middle East shipyards are today casting their netswider for offshore business. David Morgan reports.

The contract to upgrade thejackup Hercules 170 was thefirst secured by AOS in its ownright.

Following the recent openingof two slipways, the Bahrainfacility is planning to add a1.2km repair quay and200,000m2 offshorefabrication area.


Hercules 170, built inSingapore in 1981 andcurrently operated in theArabian Gulf region byHercules Offshore’s Dohacompany, includes a number ofupgrades to increase the rig’sperformance and drillingcapabilities. The workincludes installing a new andlarger portside crane,additional generators andmodifications to the lifeboatsas well as upgrading thedrilling systems, with work onthe mud pumps, and blastingand painting of the hull andlegs.

With AOS focusing itsattention initially on rigmarket opportunities, PeterThornton is confident thatmore rig life extensionprogrammes as well as theoverhaul and maintenance ofspecialist systems andequipment will feature in thecompany’s work pipelineshortly. ‘Most of the USdrillers who have visited ouryard have been extremelysurprised by the quality of thefacility in their midst,’ he says.With its proximity to majoroffshore projects taking shapein the region, for exampleMaersk’s Al Shaheendevelopment, Thornton alsosees ‘a big opportunity’ forAOS in the area of manpowerservices.

He also expects the newslipways – each with a dryberth length of 255m andequipped with some 360t ofpulling capacity – to be amagnet for offshore supportvessel repair, maintenance andconversion work. ‘Now fully

operational, they are capableof accommodating vessel sizesup to a maximum 140m x 20m.Among the first visitors to thenew slipway facility wasRising Flag Worldwide’s 2008-built OSV Tag Blue Hawk.Other vessels to have dockedthere since include the AtcoSharifa, Atco Taibah, Huta 35,CCC Pioneer, Farouk andMartec 250.’

AOS says it is in discussionwith a major, multinationaloperator of pipelay, trenchingand ROV vessels with a view toestablishing a base in ASRY’sBahrain facility. Thepossibility of establishing apipe spooling facility there hasalso been mentioned in earlydespatches. Longer term, AOSsees itself becoming a hub forspecialist service companieswishing to operate in theArabian Gulf and a ‘centre ofexcellence’ for oil and gascompanies operating in theregion.

Also very much on the AOSagenda is the provision offabrication support servicesfor offshore contractors,although Thornton concedesthe company’s work horizonswill for the time being beconfined to secondaryconstruction tasks in the formof flare towers, conductorguides, J-tube bundles andsuchlike. ‘We have thenecessary workshops, skillsand manpower resources toundertake such contracts, butwe are not ready yet to take onthe big boys like McDermott –before we can run, we must beable to walk properly,’ he says.

‘But we know what we aregood at and, unlike some ofour competitors, want toremain purely an ArabianGulf company,’ addsThornton.

‘Ultimately, I see usbecoming a major fabricatorin the Gulf. As well as beingable to call on the expertiseand experience of a seasoned,5000-strong ASRY workforce,we also have plenty of spaceand that’s at a premiumamong yards worldwide thesedays.’

At present, AOS has some

10,000m2 of fabrication areaavailable at the yard as well asstrengthened quays forplatform load-out operations.The next investment phasejust announced will see theaddition of a 1.2km repairquay with an alongside waterdepth of 12m, a 200,000m2

offshore fabrication area withloadout quay, and four new22m, 45t bollard pull tugswhich ASRY will build itself.The new facilities are expectedto be in service within two anda half years. ■


Rising Flag’s new offshore support vessel Tag Blue Hawk wasamong the first visitors to the new slipway facility.

Eastern expansionWhile AOS sees plenty of offshore opportunity in the Arabian Gulfarea, another of the region’s shipyards, Dubai-based DrydocksWorld, has been aggressively expanding its easterly geographicalspread.

With dredging under way at its 430-acre Batam Island site inIndonesia, Drydocks World expects to start operations at PT Maritime Centre – its fifth yard in Southeast Asia – early in 2010.The yard, which will operate as an 80:20 joint venture betweenDrydocks, the shipbuilding and repair arm of Dubai World, andFabtech, an offshore engineering company and land rig builder,is specifically targeting the fabrication of offshore modules,mooring components and systems for FPSOs.

Drydocks World-SE Asia, formed last year to manage thesmaller, niche shipyards acquired by the group in Asia – primarilyin Singapore and Batam – now operates four yards following thepurchase of Pan-United Marine and Labroy Marine.

Pan-United now comes under Drydocks World Singapore,focusing on shipbuilding and repair work including FPSOconversions.

The 120-acre Batam Island shipyard that was previouslyLabroy’s is now known as Drydocks World-Graha, specialising inrig building work, under managing director Mark Biggs. The planhere is to upgrade the facility to accommodate up to eightjackups in the shortterm andpotentially 12 in thelonger term. In Julythe yard launchedits first mobileoffshore drilling unit,Naga 2 (pictured),a new-generationMSC CJ46 X110D rigowned jointly byNorway’s StandardDrilling andMalaysia’s UMWNaga Two.Capable of drillingin 350ft of waterand to a depth of 30,000ft, it is the first of four identical jackupsordered from the yard by Standard Drilling. Also currently underconstruction there are two MSC-designed ‘Sea Jacks’ for MasterMarine.

Drydocks World has two other yards in Batam – Drydocks-Nanindah and Drydocks-Pertama – undertakingoffshore construction and support vessel work and is looking toacquire more yard space in China, India and South America.


Pile drivingwinnerMenck, an Acteon company,has won the first Ben CGerwick award for innovationin design and construction ofmarine works for its MUP(Menck underwater powerpack) deepwater pile drivingsystem, which has set recordsfor depth in foundation piledriving, used to date to drivepiles as deep as 1929m.

Utilising a Menck MHUhydraulic piledriving hammer,the MUP system includes apower pack attached directlyto the hammer and a custom-made umbilical system.Delivering electric power atthe hammer reduces the sizeand weight of the umbilicalcable connecting the hammerto the surface.

Sensing spreadSensorTran recentlyannounced that its fibre optics-based distributed temperaturesensing (DTS) technology isnow deployed in six regionsspanning five continents.

The latest projects includethe deployment of a high speed,high intensity DTS system forflow analysis and waterbreakthrough monitoring in along reach horizontal well inthe North Sea.

The firm also has an LNGtank monitoring system inplace near a large offshorenatural gas field in northwestAustralia, and provided a DTSsystem for productionmonitoring, includingdownhole cables and surfaceequipment, for a Malaysianoffshore platform.

Well testingexpedited Schlumberger has introducedits new CleanPhase well testseparator, a three-phasesystem that enables optimumretention of fluids, allowingfor cleaner phases and bettermeasurements. The company

says this rejuvenated approachto phase isolation during theseparation process limits theuncertainty inherent duringreservoir characterisation andsignificantly aids efficientdisposal of individual phases.

The separator hasSmartWeir technology thatuses radar to monitor liquidlevels and adjust the weir toaccommodate challenging welleffluents, and also allows

online separation for theentire job, from cleanup startuntil well test end.

First reservoir fluids areidentified sooner than withtraditional methods, and fastercleanups are facilitated byflowing the well to a higher-pressure vessel than ispossible with conventionalsetups.

The separator handles highwater cut and fluctuating flow

rates without slowing downthe process, leading toefficient isolation andmeasurement of purer single-phase fluids, operable as astand-alone unit or incombination with thePhaseTester multiphaseflowmeter.

An operator in North Africatested 22 wells using theseparator, which accuratelymeasured flow rates fromwells producing gas,condensate and water.

SIMPL subseaapproachThe Sonsub division ofSaipem UK has developedSonsub IntegratedManagement of ProjectLifecycle (SIMPL), theimplementation of a widerange of complementary next-generation 3D visualisationand advanced dynamicanalysis tools to achieve astreamlined approach tomanaging the lifecycle ofsubsea projects.

Sonsub says the SIMPLprocess emphasises continuityin all project phases, frommarketing and tenders,through detailed design andoffshore operations with 3DHAZID familiarisation andrisk assessments, to reviewand analysis, using the sametools to evolve the project fromthe virtual world to reality.

Through the use of rapidcomputer visualisation andanalysis tools, the goal ofSIMPL is to arrive as directlyas possible at a workablesolution to any subseainstallation and constructionproblem.

Remote wirelessviewing RigNet has added SOILRemoteView EX, a hand-held,ruggedised, explosion-proofwireless camera, to its lineupof SOIL (Secure OilInformation Link) Meeting


product review

42

Real time downhole fluid analysisRelease of the ‘InSitu Family’ of reservoir fluid

measurement services was announced by Schlumberger in

Kuala Lumpur in December.

These measurements are acquired with the company’s

next-generation real-time downhole fluid analysis (DFA)

system, the InSitu Fluid Analyzer. A portfolio of seven

services is currently offered, each bearing the InSitu

prefix and covering hydrocarbon fluid composition

measurement and reservoir fluid GOR, CO2 , density, color,

fluorescence and pH measurement.

According to Schlumberger, quantitative fluid

measurements that were previously unachievable from

wireline technology are now possible downhole and in

real-time. ‘Operators no longer have to wait for samples to

be returned to the surface for analysis,’ said Zied Ben

Hamad, marketing and technology manager, Schlumberger

Wireline. ‘This real-time information helps operators

confirm assumptions on reservoir compartmentalization

and make informed decisions on completion and surface

facility design.’

Fluid profiling analysis with InSitu Family

measurements gives further insight to reservoir fluid

distribution and variation. Schlumberger said this is made

possible with its Quicksilver Probe focused fluid extraction

tool that acquires reservoir fluid with ultra-low or no

contamination for DFA. Characterization of the reservoir

fluid system is extended from a single well to multiple-well

(field-based) applications, such as quantifying

compositional gradients and identifying zonal

connectivity.

In development for five years, the InSitu Family portfolio

has been field tested worldwide.

aog_M_4_p042_PR 19/1/09 3:25 pm

video solutions.SOIL RemoteView EX is

designed for industries thatoperate in potentiallyexplosive atmospheres, suchas drilling rigs, petrochemicalplants and refineries, enablingtroubleshooting from adistance, real-timecollaboration and the sharingof expert knowledge acrossmultiple work sites.

RigNet’s SOIL network is aprivate extranet that allowssecure collaboration amongsubscribers.

SOIL Meeting is a videoconferencing solution thatuses the SOIL network as themeans for connectingparticipants.

Seamless 3DFoster Findlay Associates hasreleased SEA 3D Pro 2008,bringing the power of FosterFindlay’s Windowsapplication, SVI Pro, to theLinux workstation, whichworks seamlessly withGeoProbe, Halliburton’s 3Dinterpretation software.

SEA 3D Pro 2008, says FosterFindlay, has addressed threekey considerations in thecompany’s softwaredevelopment strategy:provision of cross platformsupport, improving workflowefficiency and integration.

SEA 3D Pro 2008 contains anextensive range of volumeprocessing technology and

interactive tools for objectivelyhighlighting and delineatinggeological features in 3D. Theinteractive link withGeoProbe, Halliburton’s 3Dinterpretation software,facilitates seamless volumeinterpretation workflowsusing Foster Findlay’s 3Dseismic analysis technology.

AccessiblegeoscienceSMT (Seismic MicroTechnology) has releasedKingdom 8.3, a Windows-based

geoscientific interpretationsoftware within the capabilityof the generalist interpreter.

New key softwarecapabilities encompass AVOconditioning, forwardmodeling and neural network-based log replacement,designed according to SMT tohelp upstream E&P companieslocate unconventional sourcesmore quickly, explore morecost effectively and maximiseproduction.

The new AVO conditioningcapability optimisesextraction fromunconventional sources by

helping geoscientists reducenoise from their pre-stackdata, without requiring thirdparty tools.

Forward geologic modelinglowers risk when exploringnew fields by helpinginterpreters conduct ‘what if ’analysis by incorporatinglithologic and fluidcomposition assumptions intoexisting data.

The patent-pending neuralnetwork-based logreplacement technology helpsmaximise declining wellproduction by betteridentifying areas of pay, evenwhere records have been lostover time, through theautomated generation ofmissing log curves.

High speedloggingtelemetry Baker Hughes Inteq hasunveiled the aXcelerate High-Speed Telemetry service,offering high-speed mud-pulseand wired-pipe datatransmission for logging-while-drilling (LWD) andmeasurement-while-drilling(MWD) applications.

The aXcelerate servicefacilitates real-timetransmission of high-speed,high-resolution data from allof Inteq’s downhole services,at data rates of twenty bits per


product review

43

Temperatures detected Watlow, a designer and

manufacturer of electric

heaters, controllers and

temperature sensors, offers

a full line of resistance

temperature detector (RTD)

sensors for a wide variety

of process and industrial

applications, including the

petrochemical sector.

Watlow says its RTDs

provide accuracy and a

wide temperature operating

range of –200°C to 650°C

(–328°F to 1200°F). The

linear change in resistance

per degree change in

temperature makes it easy

to interpret the signal,

allows for less complex instrumentation and requires no

cold junction compensation like that found in a

thermocouple.

Remote underseapowerDiversified Technologies is

introducing a new high voltage down

converter that allows efficient, long

distance high voltage transmission

and down conversion at point-of-load

undersea.

The PowerMod high voltage down

converter allows 5-10kV transmission

and provides down conversion of

10-20kW, with conversion to 100-600V

at the point-of-load undersea.

Featuring direct solid-state switching,

Diversified Technologies says the

converter maintains 90% efficiency,

with constant transmission over the

length of cable up to 100km and up to

hundreds of kilometers using

multiple nodes.

Connected in parallel to maintain

constant voltage through the entire

length of cable, PowerMod high

voltage down converters, priced at

$100,000 per node, incorporate switch-

modules which provide over one

million hours’ predicted reliability

per MIL-HDBK-217F.

Applications include the remote

undersea powering of motors, data

repeaters, instruments for oil

exploration, environmental studies,

and submersibles.

aog_M_4_p043_PR 19/1/09 3:26 pm

second, more than 500% fasterthan the three bits per secondindustry standard, says Inteq.

The aXcelerate service alsoenables wired-pipe telemetryconnectivity in conjunctionwith The IntelliServ Network.Inteq has provided downholeservices in the majority of allwired-pipe work that has beendone to date and has workedclosely with The IntelliServNetwork to pioneer real-timeapplications that takeadvantage of the largebandwidths available.

Start stop dataloggerDickson has a new multi-feature digital displaytemperature and humiditydata logger with both push-to-start and push-to-stopfunctions. Data recording issaid to be precise and easy-to-read, facilitating the mappingand analysis of temperatureand/or humidity in conditionswhen it is preferable to knowwhen data recording startsand stops, such as forenvironmental monitoring,avoiding unnecessary readingsmixed in with real data.

A temperature only versionis also available.

Subsurfacemodellingsolution Paradigm has previewed itsSKUA Prospect Architecture, anew module available withParadigm SKUA 2009, designedto help geophysicists andgeologists generate higherquality prospect maps.

SKUA ProspectArchitecture, says Paradigm,helps enforce structural andstratigraphic integrity usingSKUA UVT Transform andenables 3D seismic chrono-stratigraphic interpretation.The earth model andinterpretation are quality-controlled and edited

simultaneously whilesynchronously creating awater-tight structural modelready for velocity modellingand time/depth conversionand a geological model readyfor reservoir modelling.

The SKUA 2009 Suiteconnects to the interpretationsolution, Paradigm SeisEarth,via the new Epos frameworkcurrently in development.Independently, SKUA 2009 andSeisEarth offer capabilities instructural modelling andseismic interpretation,respectively.

Market andfinanceintegratorWellPoint Systems haslaunched WellPoint IntegratedSuite (WIS) 4.1, an oil and gassoftware application powered

by Microsoft Dynamics AXthat introduces newfunctionality by integratingthe WellPoint Energy Broker(ENB) and the WellPointEnergy FinancialManagement (EFM) solutionsin a single package.

ENB is an oil and gasmarketing software solutionwith a flexible contract andprice builder and a logisticsmarketing and settlementsolution, a configurable andscalable multi-commodity,currency and languagemarketing system.

EFM offers a single standardglobal solution for worldwidefinancial management andreporting requirements.

Low powercontrol Yokogawa Electric has madeavailable several new low

power consumption modulesfor use with field control node(FCN) autonomouscontrollers, a core element ofthe Stardom network-basedcontrol system. The newmodules include a CPUmodule with embedded I/Oand communication ports, apower supply module, and abase module that is half thesize of its predecessor.

With their durability, lowpower consumption and abilityto run on solar batteries,Yokogawa says these modulesenable the use of FCNcontrollers in gas and oil fieldsand locations subject to harshenvironmental conditionsand/or lacking infrastructure.

Rental oil-freecompressorsassist FPSOcommissioningThe Singapore operation ofAtlas Copco Specialty Rentalsupplied two PTS 916 oil-free aircompressors and a desiccantdryer for the commissioning ofgiant FPSO Hai Yang Shi You117 by Sembawang Shipyard(AOG November/December2008). The vessel will be mooredin the shallow water Bohai Bayas part of China’s Peng Lai 19-3phase two oil development,operated by ConocoPhillips.

The two PTS 916 100% oilfree air compressors providedthe air supply for all airrelated pipes installed in thevessel’s superstructure atSembawang.

According to Atlas Copco,the use of rental units ispreferred since the permanentonboard compressor is run offthe ship’s engine – which isboth expensive andimpractical to run whilst inthe shipyard.

The compressors feature anactual free air delivery (fad) of37.4m3/min at 10.3bar;including a desiccant dryer inthe rental package ensuredtotally dry air to a dew point of–40°C.


product review

44

Quick riser connection Subsea Riser Products (SRP) has developed Quick-Flange, a

quick make-up, lightweight marine drilling riser

connection, able to be deployed in severe conditions in

deep waters. All ancillary components perform as part of

an integrated system resulting in optimised performance

as well as easier inspection and reduced maintenance

costs, says SRP.

Quick-Flange advantages include rapid make-up, 2.5

million pound load capacity, load sharing option and the

choice to use lightweight or high strength metals, plus

faster running and retrieval times than a standard marine

drilling riser flange.

Rapid make-up is achieved by using four quarter-turn

breach connectors positioned around the flange face.

aog_M_4_p044_PR 19/1/09 3:26 pm

August 4-6, 2009Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center, Galveston, Texas

Discover your options. . .at the Deepwater Intervention Forum

The 5th annual Deepwater Intervention Forum will be held at theMoody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, Texas,August 4-6, 2009. Key operators and service industry personnel

will discuss and share experiences/challenges within the deepwaterintervention market. With the continuing growth in subsea tieback

developments, finding ways to avoid or reduce workover andthru-tubing well intervention costs is becoming critical for operators

with mature assets. Forum attendees will be able to discover thelatest systems and technologies available. Learn from recent

intervention case studies, and network with industryexperts working on deepwater interventions worldwide.

The 2009 Technical Advisory Board is chaired by Brian Skeels ofFMC Technologies and co-chaired by Mike Bednarz of BP.

The Advisory Board is made up almost exclusively of operatorsand is currently preparing a two-day program of case studies

and expert presentations on this well-timed topic. Attendees tothis forum will participate in discussions centering on new tools,

techniques, and best practices associated with well interventions.

There will also be a golf tournament on Tuesday, August 4, 2009.Come network, learn, and relax before the forum kicks off that evening.

Topics to be discussed include:

– Operator Viewof the Intervention Market

– Update onPopular Intervention Systems

– New Challenges inRig Based Interventions

– Pipeline andUmbilical Interventions

– Storm Related Interventionsand the Lessons Learned

– Panel Discussions based onWhat the Audience Wants to Know

09 Advisory BoardChairman Brian SkeelsEmerging Technologies Director –FMC TechnologiesCo-chairman Mike BednarzSr Intervention Engineer – BP

Bob Curtis, RIT Superintendent /Program Manager i-Tech,a Subsea 7 companyDana Witt, Senior Drilling Advisor –ChevronJoseph Levine, Senior Engineer, Office ofOffshore Regulatory Programs – MMSJohn Cromb, Completion Engineer –AnadarkoPerry Courville, CT and HWO ProductManager – HalliburtonColin Johnston, Senior Well OperationsEngineer – WellOpsJoel Rignol, Completion & Well WorksTeam Leader – Total E&P USARay Stawaisz, Deepwater InterventionManager, GOM – ChevronLynard Carter, Petroleum Engineer – MMSJohn Bousa, DMT ROV & Diving Sales – DMTBrent Boyce, Subsea InstallationManager InterMoor, Inc.Mark DeRouen, Deepwater ProductionEngineer – Mariner Energy, Inc.Robert Corkren, Sales & MarketingManager i-Tech, a Subsea 7 companyLarry Klentz, Project Manager Riser andTooling Division – Saipem AmericaNick Alvarado, Subsea Engineer – FugroAndy Henderson, Manager SubseaTiebacks – OceaneeringColin Morris, Subsea Intervention ThemeLeader – ShellTerry Lease, General Manager –VMAX Technologies, Inc.Bjorn Ronning, Senior OperationsEngineer – Well Ops, Helix ESG

This interactive event is designed to maximize the exchange of ideas among delegates and presenters.This is achieved by eliminating formal, peer-reviewed papers in favor of brief technical presentations followed

by an extended Q&A period. No proceedings will be published, and the press will not be invited to attend.

For information on attending this event, sponsorship and exhibit opportunities or generalinformation, please contact Ray Vanegas at [email protected] or call 713-874-2207.

www.deepwaterintervention.com

AOG_M_4_DIF_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_DIF_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 11:19:5519/1/09 11:19:55

SBM nets NWScontractSBM Offshore has landed the$145 million full scope turnkeycontract to provide operatorWoodside Energy with adisconnectable FPSO forWestern Australia’s CWLHproject (see page 10). SBM willconvert its Okha FSO atSingapore’s Keppel Shipyard toreplace the existing FPSOCossack Pioneer.

Bechtel to FEED GLNGSantos and Petronas haveselected Bechtel as the frontend engineering design (FEED)contractor for the downstreamcomponents of the GladstoneLNG (GLNG) project, whichinvolves the construction of aninitial nominal 3.5 milliontonne per annum LNGliquefaction plant utilising theConocoPhillips OptimisedCascade Process on CurtisIsland in Gladstone Harbour,Australia. Gas will be suppliedfrom the Santos/ Petronas coalseam gas (CSG) fields in southeast Queensland.

The FEED contract, valued atapproximately $40 million,covers the liquefaction plantand associated infrastructure,set to commence in 1Q 2009.

The Bechtel award includes are-estimate of total GLNGproject costs, the world’s firstCSG to LNG development,estimated in 2007 at $5.5 billion.

A final investment decision isexpected in 1H 2010 with firstgas shipments scheduled in2014.

Reindeer reined inAusGroup subsidiary AGC hashad its fabrication contract forthe Reindeer platformterminated by Apache Energyfollowing the project jointventure’s decision to shelvedevelopment plans for thisWestern Australia offshore gas

development and its associatedonshore processing facilities atDevil Creek.

Apache and partner Santoshad originally envisaged thedevelopment coming onstreamin 2010. They now plan tocontinue working on regulatoryapprovals ‘to ensure a timelyrestart of the project once gassales agreements that supportthe development have beenagreed’.

AusGroup said 14% of theapproximate $30 millioncontract value has beeninvoiced and paid andanticipates that all costs andcommitments will bereimbursed by the client.

Clough B17pipeline awardClough has been awarded acontract by Real OffshoreInstallation of Malaysia forinstallation of a 24in pipelineand associated tie-ins and stalk-on risers within the block B17field development, located inthe offshore Joint DevelopmentArea (JDA) between Malaysiaand Thailand and operated byCPOC (Carigali-PTTEPOperating Company).

Clough will deploy its derrickpipelay barge Java Constructorafter completion of upgrade,now underway by ST Marine inSingapore.

The projected one-month B17installation is scheduled tostart 2Q 2009.

Hallin dives for Shell Hallin Marine has beenawarded a $4.2 million contract

for the provision of saturationdiving services by J RayMcDermott for a Shell Sarawakpipeline installation campaign,offshore East Malaysia.

Hallin Marine will mobilise anine man saturation divingteam to support McDermott’sDB26 construction barge for itsscope of work in water depthsto 100m from February toDecember.

Bayu Undanmaintained Clough Amec has been awardeda new three-year contractvalued at $60 million to provideoperations and maintenanceservices to the offshore BayuUndan gas and liquidhydrocarbons productionfacilities, located in the TimorSea joint productiondevelopment area (JPDA)between Australia and TimorLeste. Bayu Undan, operated byConocoPhillips (03-12), theprincipal stakeholder at justover 57%, consists primarily ofan FSO and three platforms,wellhead, compression withquarters, and drilling &production and processing.

Technip landsMA-D6 deal Technip has received anoffshore installation awardfrom Aker Installation FloatingProduction worth over $180 million for phase twodevelopment of the MA-D6oilfield, operated by RelianceIndustries off the east coast ofIndia (see feature, page 14).

The contract includesengineering and project

management, transportationand installation of 18km offlexible production and gasexport risers and flowlines,fabricated by Technip under aseparate contract,transportation and installationof five umbilicals and a gasexport manifold, andconstruction, transport andinstallation of a 24in rigidspool, all supported by theGroup’s center in Chennai,India.

Offshore installation isscheduled for 1H 2009, to becarried out by the Constructor.

Mahakamreservoir boostHalliburton has secured athree-year contract with TotalE&P Indonesie to providespecialised cased-hole servicesin the shallow waters of theMahakam Delta, EastKalimantan, Indonesia.

Total will be provided with afull suite of technologies andservices to meet the challengesof laminated reservoirs,servicing more than 1200producing wells utilisingHalliburton’s Julia SegaraLestari barge and Elnusa’sSamudra-1, a low draft, self-propelled vessel.

Technologies employedinclude Halliburton’s MaxForcedeep penetrating charges andpressure-independent gunbrake system, used with theSurgePro perforating designsoftware program to optimiseunderbalanced perforatingoperations, and the StimGunassembly to fracture the delta’stight formations.

Rong DoiextensionProduction Services Network(PSN) has secured a four-year,multi-million dollar contractextension to provide operationand maintenance services onKorea National OilCorporation’s (KNOC) RongDoi and Rong Doi Tay gas field


contracts/deliveries

46

China sold 20 years of LNGRoyal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell two million tonnes per

annum (mtpa) of LNG to China for 20 years in a deal signed

with PetroChina International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of

PetroChina Company.

Part of the LNG will be from the Gorgon gas project off

Western Australia, held by Shell 25%, ExxonMobil 25%, and

Chevron Corporation 50%.

aog_M_4_p046_BOB 19/1/09 1:56 pm

development project, locatedoffshore the southeast coast ofVietnam.

Rong Doi, KNOC’s firstoffshore production facilityoutside of Korea, is supportedby a predominantly local PSNteam.

QatargassupportQatargas has entered into afive-year support and serviceagreement with EmersonProcess Management for itsexpanding LNG operations atRas Laffan, Qatar.

Emerson is to provide assetmanagement services,advanced skills training, and acomprehensive partsmanagement programme,having established a dedicatedteam of engineers resident inQatar.

Emerson already has a longterm alliance in place withQatargas for supply of digitalautomation solutions,including PlantWeb digitalplant architecture and smartinstrumentation.

When completed andoperating, Qatargas’ four newLNG liquefaction and megatrains at Ras Laffan areexpected to create the world’slargest capacity for LNG, eachdelivering at a rate of 7.8mtpa,part of a plan by Qatar toexport more than 42 mtpa ofLNG by end 2010.

Aramco flowservedFlowserve Corporation hassigned a 10-year supplieragreement involving theirentire range of flow controlproducts and value-addedservices to Saudi Aramco foruse in extant and plannedfacilities.

Flowserve will streamlineprocurement for all newequipment, to include pumps,valves, actuators andmechanical seals, deliver costreducing aftermarket services

through a LifeCycle Advantageregime that optimises spareparts inventories, increasesequipment life, and maximisesreliability, engage in a jointproduct and technologydevelopment programme andestablish local training centres.

Fast track pipeBarmada McDermott, a J RayMcDermott subsidiary, has wona fast track transportation andinstallation contract fromExxonMobil Exploration &Production Malaysia for the 11/2 mile, 12in full well streamreplacement pipeline betweenGuntong-C and Guntong-A,offshore the east coast ofpeninsular Malaysia.

Expro testsKarachaganakExpro International has beenawarded a three-year contractextension from KarachaganakPetroleum to continue welltesting services on theKarachaganak oil, gas andcondensate field, onshore northwestern Kazakhstan into 4Q2011.

The contract involvesprovision of well testingservices, including use of theMegaflow separator for wellclean-up, slickline, memorycased hole production log

testing, calipers and gauges,along with sampling and radialcutting torch services.

Apexindo inKalimantanoperationsPT Apexindo Pratama Duta hassecured an estimated $44 million one-year contractfor its offshore swamp bargedrilling rig Raisis from TotalE&P Indonesie, for operationsin the Handil area of EastKalimantan, Indonesia.

Apexindo has also receivedan appointment letter fromVico Indonesia valued atapproximately $27 million todeploy Rig-5 for a one-yearonshore drilling project inNilam, East Kalimantan.

ABB powersAsian rigsABB has won contracts worth atotal of more than $150 millionto supply main electricalsystems for six drilling rigs anddrillships built in Asia.

The new orders comprisethree deepwater rigs underconstruction at JurongShipyard in Singapore andthree Korean built drillships –two at Samsung HeavyIndustries shipyard and one at

Hyundai Heavy Industries.ABB will supply complete

electrical systems, includinggenerators, medium and lowvoltage power distribution,thruster drive and drillingdrive systems.

BSP gripswellheadsPlexus Holdings has enteredinto a new four-year contractwith Brunei Shell Petroleumfor the supply of its proprietaryPos-Grip wellheads and TRT-Smudline suspensionequipment, together withservice and support. Work,commencing with the supply ofwellheads for two wells, one ofwhich is HPHT, will besupported by Plexus’ sales andoperational presence inMalaysia.

SeamlesscommunicationCapRock Communications wona five-year contract to deploysatcoms for Transocean’s globalfleet of drilling rigs.

CapRock will consolidateTransocean’s different VSATsystems and services across itsgeographically dispersed fleetand shore base facilities intoone network.

CapRock’s VSATconnectivity will support Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP),secure access to the corporatenetwork and internet access.

Hefty newbuildtender award Kencana Mermaid Drilling hasreceived a letter of award fromPetronas Carigali for itsnewbuild tender assisteddrilling rig MKR-1.

The initial five-year contract,extendable by up to five yearsand estimated to be worth $235 million, is expected to startby 4Q 2009 when the rig, nowunder construction by KencanaHL, is completed.


contracts/deliveries

47

CONTRACT EXTENSION: Seadrill and Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP)have agreed to extend the contract for the self-erectingsemisubmersible tender rig West Pelaut for three years for anestimated $153 million, starting 2Q 2009 in direct continuation ofexisting BSP work .

aog_M_4_p047_BOB 19/1/09 2:01 pm

Triton expandson all frontsThe Aberdeen, Scotland-basedTriton Group is investing in astronger presence in Singaporeby widening its capabilities toencompass all group businessesincluding Perry SlingsbySystems, Sub-Atlantic,Dynamic Positioning Services,UK Project Support (UKPS),Subco and Visualsoft.

Cynergetix, the group’sSingapore subsidiary, already

an established ROV supportprovider servicing Tritoncustomers operating acrossAsia, will be complementedwith further expansion tosupport the remainingbusinesses Geoscience Earth &Marine Services and VMAXTechnologies, expected to takeplace throughout 2009.

Triton will increase itscombined rental and spareparts inventory to over $5 million in 2009, and offer arange of specialised deepwatertooling systems and equipment.

Bibby base inSingaporeBibby Ship Management hasopened an office in Singapore,to expand global coverage andallow greater access to theSoutheast Asian market.

Singapore complementsBibby regional offices inManila and Mumbai.

Hempelspreading inChinaMarine, protective anddecorative coatings specialistHempel is acquiring 100%ownership of Hempel-Hai Hongin China.

Hempel-Hai Hong,headquartered in Hong Kongand responsible for 25% ofglobal turnover for Hempel, hasthree factories, with a fourth onthe way, 10 major offices and 13stock points in China.

Malaysianumbilicals Technip is to expand itsAsiaflex Productsmanufacturing facility atTanjung Langsat, Johor,peninsular Malaysia to includethe production of subseaumbilical systems as of 2010,augmenting the manufacture ofthe company’s complete rangeof flexible pipes at the plant,

currently under construction.Technip hopes to leverage

this and other worldwidedevelopment andmanufacturing centres to servethe deepwater oil and gasmarkets in India and the AsiaPacific and Middle Eastregions.

Bridon focus on HangzhouWire and rope manufacturerBridon has agreed to sell itsmajority interest in BridonTianjin, manufacturer ofelevator rope, to GolikHoldings, a Hong Kong-basedcompany.

The sale allows Bridon toconcentrate on developingother opportunities in China,with a focus on the recently

acquired operation inHangzhou, where BridonHangzhou has a manufacturingbase to serve growing demandacross Asia in their coremarkets in the oil and gas,mining, and constructionsectors.

Personnelsupply KS Energy Services hasincorporated two wholly-ownedsubsidiaries in Singapore thatare involved in the provision ofpersonnel and services toupstream and downstream oiland gas companies, KSTechnical Resources andSpecialist ResourcesInternational.

Flowservespeeds upFlowserve has opened itsnewest Quick Response Center(QRC) in Bangalore, India, partof a growing global network.

Located at Flowserve’sexisting Bangalore facility, thenew facility will manufactureand service FlowserveLimitorque actuators for thepetrochemical and powerindustry in India.

CSG takeover BG International (AUS)Investments, a BG Groupsubsidiary, has acquired 96.62%interest in Queensland Gas inAustralia and intends tocommence the compulsoryacquisition of the remainingshares.

Queensland Gas Company isan integrated energy businessand coal seam gas producer.

FluidsassuranceRheochem has signed a two-year master services agreementwith ARC Energy, a subsidiaryof Australian WorldwideExploration, for provision of


company news

48

Rigging link US-based rigging products

supplier Halo of Port

Fourchon, Louisiana, has

formed a partnership with

Gaylin International of

Singapore, a provider of

lifting sling assemblies.

Halo will work with

Gaylin to service Gaylin’s

customers while those

customers are operating in

the Gulf of Mexico and

Atlantic Basin and Gaylin

will do the same for Halo in

the Pacific Rim region. The

agreement also connects a

network of global suppliers.

BRUNEI LAND MARK: At arecent presentation in Rijswijk,The Netherlands, Shell nameddrilling contractor KCADeutag’s T201 rig, workingonshore Brunei, as ‘Best LandRig’ in Shell’s worldwide fleet for2008.

Congratulating all hands onthe rig, Francisco Chacin, T201rig superintendent for BruneiShell Petroleum, said the awardwas ‘the result of a group ofmotivated people striving tosafely deliver wells at lowercosts’. He added: ‘We haveshown that an inherently riskyoperation can be conductedin a safe manner, while stillpushing ourselves for consistenttop quartile performance - thebest of both worlds.’

KCA Deutag performanceimprovement team leaderJaap Van Der Sijp (right) ispictured accepting the awardon behalf of the T201 teamfrom Peter Sharpe, Shell globalwells manager.

aog_M_4_p048_BOB 19/1/09 2:02 pm

drilling fluids and associatedservices and to support drillingand production operationsonshore Western Australia.

New serviceTracerco has established a newservice centre in Abu Dhabi,UAE, as a regional hub that willenable the company’s full rangeof technical services,previously available only fromtheir UK HQ.

The initial priority will berapid response to processdiagnostic needs and provisionof technical services forspecialist instrumentationsystems, radiologicalprotection advice and reservoiranalysis.

Tracerco is involved in oil &gas production maximisation,including EOR, and therefining and petrochemicalsector.

Settling inSingaporeAquatic, an Acteon company,has established an office inSingapore with an operationsbase to follow shortly.

Catriona Kang, as VP AsiaPacific, will head Aquatic'sbusiness in Singapore. Kangwas formerly with GlobalMarine and Canyon Offshoreand Subsea Offshore, the latternow Subsea 7.

Thule sells twojackupsThule Drilling has sold itsinterest in QGM BVI and itstwo Friede & Goldman SuperM2 design jackup drilling rigs,Thule Energy and Thule Force,for a total of $275 million toRoyal Oyster Group in Dubai,UAE.

In a related takeover in 2008,Royal Oyster acquired DragonOffshore, an engineeringcompany with offices inside theQGM yard responsible forservices related to therebuilding of Thule Power and

the design and construction ofThule Energy and Thule Force.

Thule has also sold thesemisubmersible ThulePhoenix for only $5 million incash to Royal Oyster. The rig isto be delivered 1Q 2009 on an ‘asis – where is’ basis.

Coiled tubingventure Al Qahtani Marine & OilfieldServices of Saudi Arabia andCanada’s ProductionEnhancement Group haveestablished the joint ventureAbdul Hadi Al Qahtani WISE toexploit patented and ProductionEnhancement Group exclusive-global-rights held WISEmultifunction coiled tubing(CT) technologies, first in SaudiArabia and subsequently in theMiddle East.

Oil and gassolutions WellPoint Systems, a Canada-based provider of software andrelated solutions to the energyindustry with an office inJakarta, Indonesia, haspartnered with Dubai-basedQuorum MENA to resell its

Microsoft Dynamics AXsolution set within the MiddleEast, North Africa and India.

QMENA, as part of theagreement, will purchase $2 million worth of WellPointSystems’ back office oil and gassolutions for resale and alsohave exclusive rights to sellWellPoint’s products withinthese three regions.

Loon byanother nameLoon Energy has approved areoganisation resulting information of Loon EnergyCorporation with assets inSouth America, and changedthe name of the company toKulczyk Oil Ventures.

The assets of Kulczyk Oilwill include Loon’s currentinterests in oil and gasexploration properties inBrunei and an investment inJura Energy, a Pakistan-focusedoil and gas exploration anddevelopment company.

Loon Brunei, a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Kulczyk Oil,owns a 40% interest in aproduction sharing agreementwith the right to explore andproduce oil and gas from block L,a 550,000 acre area covering

much of eastern onshoreBrunei and an offshorecomponent, where a 350km2 3Dseismic programme is underway and drilling is expectedlater this year.

Apexindo toadd an FPSOIndonesian drilling contractorPT Apexindo Pratama Duta hasreceived approval fromshareholders for wholly-ownedsubsidiary Apexindo Raniworoto purchase an FPSO vesselcomplete with oil and gasprocessing equipment, part of astrategy to provide integratedservices.

Exmar FLSOadvancesExmar has formed an allianceto advance its efforts in thedevelopment of a floatingliquefaction, storage andoffloading (FLSO) solution,formalising a relationship withlong-time LNG partnerExcelerate, and with Black &Veatch, a provider of naturalgas processing and liquefactiontechnology.

The FLSO concept combinesthe liquefaction process,storage tanks, loading systems,and other LNG-relatedinfrastructure into a singlefloating unit.

SubseaallianceFMC Technologies, by mutualagreement, is to acquire a 45%interest in Schilling Roboticsfor $116 million, integratingsubsea and remotely operatedvehicle (ROV) expertise.

FMC Technologiesmanufactures and suppliessubsea production systems.Schilling Robotics producesROVs and their manipulatorand control systems and relatedequipment and services for oiland gas subsea exploration andproduction.


company news

49

Nanjing measurement Emerson Process Management has opened its Asia Flow

Technology Center in Jiangning Science Park, Nanjing,

China, expanding production capacity and services for flow

metering and measurement technologies serving industries

that include the oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals

industries.

The 12,500m2 facility will manufacture measurement

devices, including Micro Motion Coriolis flow and density

meters, Rosemount vortex and magnetic flowmeters, and

Daniel ultrasonic and differential pressure flowmeters.

aog_M_4_p049_BOB 19/1/09 2:02 pm

Lim Chee Onn has relinquishedhis role as CEO of KeppelCorporation. He is succeeded

by Choo Chiau Beng(pictured), who inturn has given up hisposition as CEOKeppel Offshore &

Marine (KOM). Lim willcontinue to serve as non-executive chairman of KeppelCorporation board and Choowill remain as non-executivechairman of KOM. Tong ChongHeong, formerly MD and COOof Keppel Offshore & Marine,has been appointed CEO.

William Yau (pictured)has been appointedCEO of Borouge,based in Singapore,succeeding Harald

Hammer. Yau is responsible formarketing and sales of thecompany’s plastics solutions tocustomers in the Middle Eastand Asia.

Lim Ah Doo has been appointedan independent director ofSembcorp Marine in Singapore,enhancing corporategovernance with experiencethat includes 18 years atMorgan Grenfell Group in Asia.

Will Fortenberry(pictured), AberdeenScotland-based CetcoOilfield Services’director of business

development, has relocated toKuala Lumpur, Malaysia tosupport the company’s oilfieldwaste treatment systemsgrowth in Asia, whichaccounted for about $5 millionin revenue in 2008, a 250%increase over 2007.

Mark Williamson(pictured) is the newservices businessunit general managerof Ausclad Group of

Companies, overseeing servicesto the minerals, oil and gas andutilities markets that includeasset maintenance, insulation,refractory, protective coatingsand shutdown support. TerryHemsworth, formerly acting

general manager at the unit,has resumed his position as

group commercialmanager. Ausclad hasalso appointed DavidGilbert (pictured)general manager,

eastern Australia, responsiblefor growth opportunities that

include South EastAsia, and MikeGibson (pictured) asexecutive generalmanager, operations.

Stein Diesen has been employedby Singapore-based FrigstadOffshore as COO, effective 1 March, moving from Seadrill,where he executed ultradeepwater rig constructionprojects comprising semi-submersibles and drillshipsbuilt in Korea and Singapore.

Lawrence Brown(pictured) has beenmoved from executivedirector to MD ofKairiki Energy, a

Perth Australia-based oilcompany with an interest inoffshore Philippines permitSC54. Brown replaces CraigGumley, the former MD, whoresigned.

Grant King has had his serviceas MD with ASX listed OriginEnergy extended a further fiveyears. Paul Zealand, recentlyappointed Origin Energyexecutive GM, upstream oil &gas, reports to King.

William Hastings is the newpresident and CEO of MagellanPetroleum, which is engaged inoil and gas exploration andproduction in Australia andNew Zealand through 100%owned subsidiary MagellanPetroleum Australia. Hastingsreplaces Daniel Samela, whowill continue to serve as CFOand treasurer.

Mark Gemmell(pictured) has joinedPumptools, anAberdeen, Scotland-based artificial lift

completion specialist and

electrical submersible pumpsupplier, as businessdevelopment manager forAustralasia. Gemmell will workout of Perth, Australia.

Kevin Robertson has beenappointed by BJ Services asIndia country manager fortubular services, based inMumbai, reporting to GaryYoung, regional manager-Middle East and CIS for tubularservices, based in Dubai, UAE.

Ross Gorrell, who served aspresident of PetrominResources since 1990, has beenappointed CEO and acting CFOof the company, replacingKenny Chan, while alsocontinuing as non-executive co-chairman and as a director.

Raffaela Heinbockel(pictured) has beennamed to directFugro Gravity &Magnetic Services’

business development team inthe Middle East. Heinbockelalso heads geophysical servicesin the Middle East for thecompany.

Peter Sadler has been appointedSerica COO. Sadler, previouslyCEO of Indago Petroleum andof Rak Petroleum, overseesexploration, appraisal anddevelopment operations inWestern Europe and SoutheastAsia from London.

Marc Robinson has beenappointed regional salesmanager for the Middle Eastand Asia Pacific, based in AbuDhabi, by SMX International,the recently re-launchedCanadian pipe connector andflow control products company,formerly Securamax.

Kerry Doyle has been appointedCEO and president of CaspianServices, replacing LairdGarrard. Doyle previouslyserved as CEO of VeritasCaspian, the company’s jointventure with CGGVeritas,where he was responsible fordeveloping and implementing

seismic data acquisition overopen acreage of the Kazakhsector of the Caspian Sea.

Sudheer Chand(pictured) has beennamed ABS directorof offshoretechnology, joining a

team of offshore engineers andresearchers within the ABS’corporate technologydepartment in Houston, Texas.Chand, most recently involvedwith the design andconstruction of FPSOs anddrilling rigs, will also beresponsible for oversight of theSingapore Offshore TechnologyCenter, an ABS collaborativeeffort with Singaporeuniversities and industry.

Daniel McNease has retired asCEO of Rowan Companies. Areplacement for McNease, whojoined Rowan in 1974 andbecame CEO in 2003, is beingsought.

Raymond Milchovich, FosterWheeler chairman and CEO,has signed a new three-yearagreement to continue to leadthe company, deferringpreviously announcedretirement plans.

Sandy Lowe has been electedexecutive VP, internationalproduction and engineering forOxy Oil & Gas by OccidentalPetroleum Corporation. He willcoordinate all international oiland gas producing assets andengineering and major projectdevelopment functions.

Kevin Murray-Taylor(pictured) has beennamed as Veripos’EAME businessdevelopment

manager with responsibilityfor continued expansion of itspositioning services on behalfof 3D seismic, survey, DP,construction and pipelay vesseloperators.

Marcus Smedley has beennamed VP of engineering byWood Group Pressure Control.


appointments

50

aog_M_4_p050_BOB 19/1/09 2:02 pm

Per Wullf as has been appointedexecutive VP and COO atSeadrill Management.

Steven Manz has beenappointed VP and CFO of PrideInternational’s mat-supportedjackup rig business.

Wayne Mueller has beenpromoted by AllianceEngineering, a Wood Groupsubsidiary, to VP of itsdeepwater business unit.

Erik Sverre Jenssen has beenappointed president ofsub-surface geological andgeophysical consultancy AkerGeo, a subsidiary of AkerSolutions.

JD Baker has joined FluidSystems, a Houston, Texas-based worldwide provider ofsolids control, screening anddrilling mud processtechnology, as VP of sales andbusiness development.

Jim Hollis (pictured)has been promotedfrom executive VPand COO of IONSolutions to president

and COO of ION Geophysical.Hollis is in charge of alloperations including businessunits, sales and manufacturing.

Timothy Goodell has beenappointed senior VP andgeneral counsel for HessCorporation. Goodell waspreviously a partner in the lawfirm White & Case.

Dr Stuart Fysh, executive VPand MD, Africa, Middle Eastand Asia region for BG Group,has left the company. He issucceeded on an interim basisby Jørn Berget, executive VPand MD, BG Advance.

KJ Srinivasan(pictured) has joinedsensor technologyspecialist Halma asMD of its new India

hub in Mumbai. The companyalso recently opened hubs inBeijing and Shanghai.

16-19 February6th Annual HSE RiskManagement AsiaKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaContact: IQPCtel: +65 6722 [email protected]

17-19 February Australasian Oil & GasExhibition & ConferencePerth, AustraliaContact: DiversifiedExhibitions Australiatel: +61 3 9261 [email protected]

22-25 FebruaryASEG 2009 (20th InternationalGeophysical Conference) Adelaide, Australia Contact: Saprotel: +61 8 8352 [email protected]

9-12 March7th Doha Natural GasConference & Exhibition Doha, QatarContact: Qatar Petroleum/SPEtel: + 974 440 [email protected]

15-18 MarchMEOS 2009 (16th Middle East Oil& Gas Show & Conference) Manama, BahrainContact: Allworld Exhibitionstel: +44 (0)20 7840 [email protected]

25-28 MayGastech 2009Abu Dhabi, UAEContact: Dmg World Mediatel: +44 (0) 1737 855000 [email protected]

31 May-3 JuneAPPEA 2009 Conference &ExhibitionDarwin, AustraliaContact: Julie Hoodtel: +61 7 3802 [email protected]

10-12 JuneOGA 2009 (12th Asian Oil, Gas& Petrochemical Engineering)Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaContact: MEStel: +603 4041 [email protected]


appointments events advertisers’ index

51

ON-LINE INQUIRY SERVICEFour easy steps and a great way to link

up with these Asian Oil & Gas advertisers!

AOG On-line is your gateway to detailed information about Asian Oil & Gas' family of advertisers, products and literatureitems. And all it takes is a couple of clicks of the mouse! Here’s how:

1. Go to www.oilonline.com/aog on the internet.2. Select the Reader inquiry link on the left hand navigation3. Select the advertisers or companies you’d like

to learn about4. Submit your contact details, and the information you

requested will be on its way to you via e-mail!

Let AOG On-line connect you to the companies that can deliver the solutions you need to work

SMARTER, FASTER and more PROFITABLY.


AOGBookshop 53/55Deepwater Intervention Forum 45Drilling & Completing Trouble Zones 52

Cosmo 36

Fugro Geoteam As 6

Get Energy 2009 5

Hughes Christensen 2

IIR 36

KTL Offshore Pte Ltd 5

OGA 21

OTC 31

SchlumbergerOilfield Services 4Oilfield Services 56Oilfield Services insert @ 11

Society of Petroleum Engineers 13

TAM International 9

aog_M_4_p51v2 19/1/09 3:20 pm

Organizer: Official Magazine: Official Website:

October 20-22, 2009San Luis Resort &Galveston Convention CenterGalveston, Texas

Drilling through tar, salt overhangs, lost circulation zonesand high temperatures and high pressures are justsome examples of the challenges faced in today’sdrilling environment. Add to that, the tough economicchallenges operators and service companies are upagainst today and tomorrow, and it’s even moreimportant than ever to understand how to handle thesesituations. With rig rates at an all time high and personnelat a premium, it’s imperative in today’s world to stay onschedule and within project economics.

This event will highlight the latest developments in avariety of technologies aimed at Drilling and CompletingTrouble Zones. Additionally, case studies on key fieldswill highlight new techniques and best practicesassociated with drilling and completing. The 2009Technical Advisory Board is preparing a two-day programof case studies and expert presentations on these timelyissues. Make plans to attend this interactive event,participate in the question and answer periods and learnmore about these topics to include:

➤ Low-Cost Low-Tech Completion➤ Real Time Imaging of Trouble Zones➤ Reducing Subsea Well Non Productive Time➤ Lost Circulation, Prevention & Treatment➤ Casing Design for Deep Wells➤ Through Tubing Drilling and Completion➤ Completion Design Consideration➤ Managing Integrity of Old Wells

This interactive event is designed to maximize the exchange of ideasamong delegates and presenters. This is achieved by eliminating formalpeer-reviewed papers in favor of brief technical presentations followedby extended Q & A periods. No proceeding will be published, and thepress is not permitted to attend.

2009Drilling and Completing Trouble Zones Advisory Board:

Eric Van Oort - Planning and Business Improvement Manager –Shell Exploration and Production Co.

Ken Dupal - Vice President, Engineering –ExPert E&P Consultants, LLC

Tim Marvel - Manager Product Development – Hughes Christensen

Ron Sweatman - Chief Technical Professional & Tech LeadGlobal Business & Technical Solutions – Halliburton

Warren Schneider - Business Line VP, – TESCO

Pat York - Director of Commercialization & MarketingSolid Expandable Systems – Weatherford International Inc.

Todd Eberhardt - Regional Technical Services Manager,Texas Land and Offshore GOM – Superior Energy

Blaine Dow - Drilling Optimization - Product Champion – Schlumberger

Flávio Dias De Moraes, Ph.D. - Technical Support,

Well Engineering Manager – Petrobras

For information on attending this event, sponsorship andexhibit opportunities or general information, please contactRay Vanegas at [email protected] or call 713-874-2207.

www.drillingtroublezones.com

AOG_M_4_DCTZ_FP.indd 1AOG_M_4_DCTZ_FP.indd 1 19/1/09 11:23:3719/1/09 11:23:37

Order online - www.oilonline.com/store / fax 1-713-831-1778

BOOKSTOREInternational Safety

Guide for Oil Tankers &

Terminals 5TH Ed

Isgott- international safety guide for oil tankers & terminals. Includes latest ideas on topics such as generation of stray cur-rents & static electricity; use of mobile telephones & pagers; new materials for mooring lines, much more. Introduces principles of ism & isps codes.. With cd.

ISBN: OIL 092917 | PRICE: $ 445.00

in Non Technical

Written in non-technical language to give a basic understanding of the

with exercises & answers. Ideal for

or any other area operating in other disciplines.

ISBN: OIL 147764 | PRICE: $ 69.00

Petrochemicals

in Nontechnical RD

Premier text on petrochemicals for the nontechnical industry profession-al. An overview of petrochemicals & expanded to include methyl tertiary butyl ether & higher alcohols.

ISBN: OIL 147985 | PRICE: $ 69.00

Nontechnical Guide

Exploration

Non-technical guide to petroleum geology, exploration, drilling and production. A step-by-step expla-nation of petroleum science, well completion testing, completion and production. Well illustrated with color plates.

ISBN: OIL 14823X | PRICE: $ 69.00

Deepwater Petroleum

Exploration & Production

Deepwater petroleum exploration and production: a non technical guide. The most comprehensive text on the business. It covers all aspects of deepwater operations including historic background and an outlook to future operations.

ISBN: OIL 148469 | PRICE: $ 69.00

Rock Physics

Handbook

Addresses the relationships between the physical properties of rocks & geophysical observations. This book makes available a vast amount of laboratory & theoretical material in an accessible form.

ISBN: OIL 543444 | PRICE: $66.00

Formulas & Calculations

and Workover

NEW EDITION!! Formulas & cal-culations for drilling, production, & workover. Formulas for pressure gra-

annular velocity, buoyancy factor and

provided throughout.

ISBN: OIL 674520 | PRICE: $107.00

Oil & Gas

Production In Non-

Introduction to oil & gas production for the beginning petroleum engi-neering & geology students and for professionals interested in the indus-try. Complete with helpful charts & diagrams.

ISBN: OIL 700520 | PRICE: $ 69.00



AOG_M_4_p053 Catalogue 19/1/09 12:32 pm


IMDG 2006 2 Vol

International maritime dangerous goods code. Volumes 1 & 2. Also includes cds for code in english, spanish & french, and an imdg code e-learning in english. Please note: these cd’s require additional pay-ments at activation time !!

ISBN: OIL IMOIF200E | PRICE: $205.00

Fundamentals of

Petroleum 4TH Ed

A nontechnical overall view of the petroleum industry. Presents useful information that should help lay per-sons understand the complex world of oil & gas.

ISBN: OIL 98162X | PRICE: $85.00

Primer of Offshore

Operation

In simple, yet detailed explanations. Chapters include oil & gas; explo-ration; drilling rigs; drilling a well; development drilling & completion; production & workover. Many illus-trations to clarify text.

ISBN: OIL 981786 | PRICE: $ 72.00

Primer of Oilwell TH Ed

Includes a 20 in. X 27.5 In. Ro-

reader of the oilwell drilling business written primarily for adults, junior & senior high school students.

ISBN: OIL 981948 | PRICE: $114.00

Pipeline Rules of Thumb

Handbook 6TH Ed

Manual of quick, accurate solutions to everyday pipeline engineering problems. Updated & revised to in-clude new material on project scop-ing, plastic pipe data, hdpe pipe data,

-ing, more. Many illustrations, charts, formulas, etc..

ISBN: OIL 678526 | PRICE: $130.00

Marpol Consolidated

2006

Includes annex i, annex ii, annex iii, annex v, & annex vi.

ISBN: OIL IMO 520E | PRICE: $115.00

Economics 5TH Edition

An essential textbook for students & a vital resource for engineers. Provides updated data & addresses

-uct distribution, & processing re-quirements resulting from state & federal legislation.

ISBN: OIL 370388 | PRICE: $ 99.95

HB 8/Ed

An up-to-date revision of data

-dexed sections such as: conversion factors; drill string stds; casing, tub-ing & line pipe stds; drilling bits & downhole motors; pumping & pres-sure losses..

ISBN: OIL 808714 | PRICE: $115.00

Gulf Coast Oil Directory 2008

UPDATED...With extensive information on companies...

name...Very very detailed and informational book.

ISBN: OIL GULF 2008 | PRICE: $ 99.00




Product Title/Description Item# Unit Price QTYTotal

Price

Subtotal

Credit Card Information

Card Type: Mastercard Visa Discover

Credit Card Number: Expiration date:

Name on card: Signature:

We cannot ship to a P.O. Box

Name: Company:

Address:

City/State/Zip/Country

Phone: Fax:

E-Mail:

Oilonline, 1635 West Alabama, Houston, TX 77006 USA

Dictionary For The Oil

& Gas Industry

from many sources- writers & edi-tors, industry personnel, petex in-structors & coordinators, & various published works.

ISBN: OIL 982138 | PRICE: $107.00

Solas 2004

Safety standards for ships engaged in international trade, providing safer shipping and cleaner oceans.


The Production Story

a basic description about oil & gas production, from its origin to the sur-face. This story is twofold: to enlight-en those whose jobs require a general knowledge of production operations; and to serve as an intro to the petex oil & gas production series.

ISBN: OIL 98002X | PRICE: $60.00

MODU Code 2001

(Mobile Offshore)

Code for the construction and equip-ment of mobile offshore drilling units (MODU code), 2001. (No 2004 edition is expected.


AOGA S I A N O I L & G A S ASIAN OIL & GAS ORDER FORM



* M

ark

of S

chlu

mbe

rger

.

Mea

sura

ble

Impa

ct is

a m

ark

of S

chlu

mbe

rger

.

© 2

009

Schl

umbe

rger

.

09-F

E-00

19

DOWNHOLE FLUID ANALYSIS

InSitu Family

No longer do you have to wait for samples to be returned to the surface for analysis. InSitu Family* downhole fluid measurements bring unprecedented accuracy to fluid properties quantification at true reservoir conditions, in real time. And concerns about sample quality are also a thing of the past because focused Quicksilver Probe* fluid extraction assures the acquisition of virtually pure reservoir fluid for measurement.

Fluid Profiling* analysis of InSitu Family measurements gives you further insight to reservoir fluid distribution and variation. You’ll understand the compositional distribution of fluids or confirm your assumptions of zonal connectivity with enhanced downhole fluid analysis. Then use multiwell comparisons to describe the lateral variation of fluid systems across an entire field.

Measure and understand fluid density, advanced composition, gas/oil ratio, CO2, and pH with InSitu Family measurements today. For optimized production tomorrow.

[email protected]

www.slb.com/insitu

Global Expertise | Innovative Technology | MEASURABLE IMPACT

pg

gg

ggg

pp

Fluid facts.Downhole. Fast.

BD_M_4_Schlumberger.indd 1BD_M_4_Schlumberger.indd 1 19/1/09 11:36:4119/1/09 11:36:41

asian oil and gas-january - february 2009

Documents