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Sonardyne and Oceaneering Demonstrate ROV Capabilities (USA)

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November 28, 2012

Sonardyne and Oceaneering Demonstrate ROV Capabilities (USA)

A recent trials partnership between Sonardyne International Ltd. and Oceaneering International, Inc. has resulted in the development of a Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system for ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) control in any water depth, allowing the vehicle to hold station indefinitely and navigate to real-world coordinates automatically.
A Sonardyne SPRINT system was installed on one of Oceaneering’s Maxximum ROVs and integrated with a Sonardyne Ranger 2 Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) system for acoustic aiding of the Inertial Navigation System (INS). The trials took place in the Gulf of Mexico in water depths of 3,057 metres (10,030 ft) and results showed that continuous hovering of the ROV in mid-water beyond Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) range was possible, as well as automatic navigation to waypoints.
The majority of ROV navigation systems utilize an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) and DVL to provide a relative or dead reckoned position. These systems are subject to time and distance based position errors and only operate close to the seabed, meaning mid-water operations are conducted via manual control so real world or relative coordinates cannot be easily used by the ROV pilot. To address these limitations, Sonardyne and Oceaneering have developed a novel navigation and control system solution utilising the dual output of INS and AHRS data from SPRINT to provide ROV Dynamic Positioning (DP) in all water depths with capabilities beyond current state-of-the-art, without affecting reliability or ease of use.

Read the full article at Subsea World News

The Netherlands: Fugro Develops New Version of DeepWorks ROV Simulator

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November 28, 2012

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The Netherlands: Fugro Develops New Version of DeepWorks ROV Simulator

Fugro has developed a new version of its DeepWorks ROV simulator for the Saab Seaeye family of electric ROVs, supporting console integration of the Seaeye Tiger, Lynx, Cougar XT and Panther XT/XT Plus models. To cater for the training needs of a mixed fleet of ROVs, Fugro Operating Companies in UK, Singapore, UAE, Brazil, and Australia will be the first to benefit as an enhanced set of training configurations is rolled out across the company.
DeepWorks now allows rapid building and evaluation of new electrical ROV configurations, helping operators find the best arrangement and mountings for cameras, sonars and tooling while ensuring the vehicle remains dynamically stable. As the range of missions electric ROVs undertake grows, DeepWorks offers a very cost effective way of building and testing multi-mission capability.
For pilot training, the most important feature is replication of the Seaeye overlay which tells the pilot where the ROV is, its depth, pitch and roll and camera tilt angle. Replicating the actual user interface means that when pilots go offshore the console feels immediately familiar and missions can be performed as practised. Other built-in features to improve pilot skills and responses include independent viewpoint control, sonar interpretation and fault simulation at any point in the mission.

Read the full article at Subsea World News.

Explosion Erupts on Gulf of Mexico Platform

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November 28, 2012

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Explosion Erupts on Gulf of Mexico Platform

A fire occurred on an offshore oil and natural gas platform in West Delta Block 32 in the Gulf of Mexico Friday injuring several people, reported Houston’s KHOU TV, citing the U.S. Coast Guard. The fire has been extinguished.

According to the news station, four people were airlifted to a nearby hospital and were in critical condition. Two more people are said to be missing following the tragedy on the platform – operated by Houston-based and privately-owned Black Elk Energy Co.

Black Elk did not respond to requests for comment.

The Coast Guard has reported that production was not flowing from the well and at least 26 to 28 people had been aboard the platform. The workers were cutting into a line on the platform when sparks from a torch hit a storage tank, which then exploded, resulting in a two-by-a-quarter mile oil sheen around the site. The platform is located around 17 miles offshore Grand Isle, Louisiana in 21 feet of water.

The Coast Guard has activated a “command center” to investigate the incident, consisting of two helicopter teams, one from Mobile, Alabama and one from New Orleans to help with the search, reported KHOU. The government agency also called in two small boat stations out of Grand Isle and Venice to assist.

Black Elk hasn’t filed a recent work permit or exploration plan for that block. The most recent plan filed for the block WD 32 was Aug. 30, 2010 for Maritech to remove platform Caisson 3.

Read the entire article atRigzone.

SeaRoc Opens New Dundee Office, UK

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November 16, 2012

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International marine engineering company SeaRoc has announced the opening of a further office in Scotland to support the country’s growing offshore wind farm and marine renewables industries. Located in Dundee, the new office opened on November 12th and houses a number of marine engineering experts, including David Wotherspoon who joins SeaRoc as Development Director.

The new office is located in the exciting DundeeOne development, providing high specification and energy efficient accommodation for the new team. For Searoc, this location, on the banks of the Tay Estuary and immediately adjacent to the Port of Dundee, provides an ideal location from which to serve it’s growing offshore renewables client base within Scotland, as well as supporting developments in the rest of the UK and internationally.

Read the whole article at Subsea World News.

Norway: Financially Disappointing Third Quarter for EMGS

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November 16, 2012

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Norway: Financially Disappointing Third Quarter for EMGS

EMGS, the marine EM market leader, recorded revenues of USD 43.2 million in the third quarter of 2012, down from USD 45.5 million in the third quarter of 2011.

“Compared to the previous quarters, the third quarter is disappointing financially. However, we are on track to deliver the best-ever annual results in the company’s history. The fundamental demand for EM services remains strong and we expect to see continued profitable revenue growth in 2013,” says Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer.

Highlights in the third quarter 2012 are the following:

– Total revenues at USD 43.2 million for the quarter

– EBITDA of USD 7.3 million

– Net loss of USD 5.8 million

– USD 20 million contract awarded in Asia

– PEMEX data acquisition successfully completed

– Expanding the addressable market through proof of concept surveys

Subsequent important events:

– West of Shetland and Norwegian Sea basalt mapping project fully pre-funded

– New 3D EM data acquisition project in Brazil

Read the whole article at Subsea World News.

Symbiotics Delivers Offshore Training Courses (UK)

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November 5, 2012

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Symbiotics Delivers Offshore Training Courses (UK)

Symbiotics Ltd, leading international specialists in human performance assessment and training solutions, has been selected to design and deliver a bespoke training course to operation and maintenance personnel in offshore early warning monitoring and detection systems, to be utilised at various offshore installations.

The 24-hour monitoring system uses a number of computerised functions to aid the detection and maximise safety for all. Groups of operators and maintainers will be trained to optimise the system performance and sustain it through life. Courses will be delivered at the customer’s site.

Read the full article at Subsea World News.

Turner Designs: Cyclops Fluorometers Easily Integrated into AUVs (USA)

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November 5, 2012

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Turner Designs: Cyclops Fluorometers Easily Integrated into AUVs (USA)

Turner Designs’ new Cyclops Integrator enables easy system integration of the popular Cyclops Submersible Fluorometers and Turbidimeter into AUVs, gliders, floats and other platforms.
One, two, or three optical sensors with configurations ranging from deep UV to IR along with the Cyclops Integrator electronics can be fastened to an optical head defined by the customer and ready for integration. Alternately, customers can purchase the Cyclops Integrator with sensors in one of the pre-defined Turner Designs optical head configurations. Data integration is simple with ASCII data automatically delivered at 1 second intervals only 3 seconds after power is applied.

Read the whole article at Subsea World News

GE wins US$165 million contract to supply subsea technology for Chevron Oil Project in West Africa

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November 5, 2012

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Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012

GE Oil & Gas (NYSE: GE) today announced it has received a £102 million (US$165 million) contract to supply production equipment to Chevron’s Lianzi project, situated offshore between Angola and the Republic of Congo.

GE will provide a range of technologies to enable EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) project execution. This includes the supply of seven trees, nine subsea control modules (SCMs), topside and subsea controls distribution equipment and vertical connection systems.

Completion of the first tree is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2013, with a cross-regional team from GE Oil & Gas’ Aberdeen, Nailsea and Sandvika (Norway) sites collaborating on project delivery.

Rod Christie, vice president of Subsea Systems, said, “West Africa is one of the world’s key hydrocarbon basins, and we are excited to be working with Chevron Overseas Congo Limited as operator of the Lianzi project, the first cross-border development in the region. This contract win is not just an expansion of our relationship with Chevron. It represents our product competitiveness in the global marketplace, ongoing commitment to the region and continued demand for our state-of-the-art technology solutions.”

Read the full article at Your Subsea News.

Kiwi Black Gold: Beyond Taranaki?

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October 29, 2012

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One of the most remote countries in the world, the island nation of New Zealand is renowned for its World Cup-winning All Blacks rugby team, Māori warrior tradition and, of course, beautiful landscape that had a starring role in “The Lord of the Rings” series of movies.

It is less well known for its oil industry. But that could be about to change.

This summer saw New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment release an ‘Occasional Paper’ that discussed the scale of benefits to the country if it developed another petroleum basin to add to Taranaki – the only producing petroleum basin in New Zealand.

Combining analysis from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research and Kiwi economics group BERL, the paper detailed a range of benefits that New Zealand would garner from the development of another basin similar to Taranaki – which has proven oil reserves of 528 million barrels along with 6.9 trillion cubic feet of gas.

According to the paper, a similar basin to Taranaki would mean another $1.5 billion of exports for New Zealand along with royalty payments to the government of $320 million per annum and a further 5,500 jobs created in the country.

Read the full article at Rigzone.

AGR Focuses on Growth in UK by Strengthening Its Team

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October 29, 2012

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AGR Focuses on Growth in UK by Strengthening Its Team

International oil services and technology firm AGR has recruited Chris Rayburn as Business Development Manager based near London.
In January AGR will move into new offices in Guildford, allowing up to 50 per cent expansion of its London team as the Norwegian firm focuses on growth in the UK.

Chris, who was previously Global Business Development Manager for Halliburton’s Drill Bits & Services Product Service Line, has over 30 years’ oil and gas experience, much of it in international markets including Saudi Arabia, Gabon, Tunisia and Algeria.

His key focus is on supporting AGR’s London-based clients operating in the UK and Africa.

He said: “I’m eager to develop existing and new business in the area, particularly assisting clients to realise cost-effective solutions for the planning and execution of their well construction projects.

“AGR is the world’s largest independent well management company with a history of delivering in challenging waters. I believe we are in an excellent position to significantly grow from our London base.”

Read the full article at Subsea World News.