Technological barriers and operator requirements can limit the possibilities available to offshore design teams when it comes to engineering a production riser plan for a deepwater facility. Hybrid solutions and composites will offer some relief…
In 2010, ShawCor picked up an OTC Spotlight on Technology award for its Thermotite Ultra pipe insulation coating system. That summer, two of the company's divisions, Bredero Shaw and Bredero Shaw FJS, put the technology to use on a reeled pipeline…
In the past decade, the oil & gas industry has been effective in finding new resources, but much less successful in bringing new supplies onstream. That was the verdict of Eni E&P executive vice president Antonio Vella, addressing this year's Offshore Mediterranean Conference in Ravenna…
An important milestone in Apache's UK North Sea Bacchus field development was reached recently with installation of a 6.7km pipeline bundle. The job was overseen by Flexlife, whose operations director John Marsden here describes how it was planned and executed…
Three Alaskan Beaufort Sea developments – BP Exploration (Alaska)'s Northstar, Pioneer --Natural Resources' Oooguruk and now Eni Petroleum's Nikaitchuq – have helped establish baseline experience for future arctic frontier pipelines. As well as demonstrating technical strides…
Subsea welding goes deeperA decade of research at the UK's Cranfield University has confirmed that subsea welding can be successfully conducted at depths of up to 940m, more than 600m deeper than previous records and far deeper than the 180m depth limit for divers…
The current state of development of methane hydrate resources – ‘from Mallik to the Nankai Trough' – was examined by an international symposium in Japan late last year. Two of the participants, Professor Andrew Palmer and Simon Falser from the…
Drilling system vibration was recognized as a potential cause of elevated drilling costs half a century ago. It has been thoroughly studied in the years since, and sound mitigation practices have been published. Shell's Mark Dykstra discusses the state of the art…
Each time a hurricane sweeps through the Gulf of Mexico, operators hope for the best – that their infrastructure, from topsides to flowlines to wellheads, remains safe in the face of nature’s fury. Determined to protect its assets, Chevron sought…
Continuous registration of vessel traffic above pipelines via the proposed Automatic Identification System (AIS) represents a significant improvement on pipeline operators' emergency response to possible mechanical damage, says Jens Erik Thygesen…
Subsea trenching is not seen as one of the offshore industry's most glamorous or challenging activities – what could be more straightforward than digging in the dirt? In truth, however, it is far easier to lose money trenching than to make it…
Newly merged contractors Royal Boskalis Westminster and Smit Internationale got a foretaste of the operational synergies expected to stem from this move when their activities coincided earlier this year in the Strait of Magellan at the remote southernmost tip of Argentina…
The thickest 18in UOE pipe manufactured to date was required for Petrobras' Tupi field. Corus' Simon Slater, Richard Freeman, Martin Connelly and Shuwen Wen describe the manufacturing steps taken to meet the technical linepipe requirements of the project…
Among the greatest uncertainties in future energy supply is the amount of oil and gas yet to be found in the Arctic: the US Geological Survey estimates the region to hold as much as one-fifth of the world's untapped reserves of hydrocarbons…
New view for crane operatorsClaxton's new EEx-rated crane boom rig camera helps rig crane operators monitor the area beneath the crane boom, where loads can often be moved into 'blind' areas not visible from the crane's cab.Claxton, an Acteon company…