ENSCO 8505, the sixth in a series of seven ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles, recently arrived in Texas for final trials before launching a two-year stint under contract to Anadarko, Apache and Noble Energy in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley was on hand in Corpus Christi…
Low creep synthetic ropes made from high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) hold the key to overcoming the engineering and installation issues facing naval architects and installation contractors arising from ultra-deepwater, permanent moorings. Lankhorst…
Dutch contractor Stork Technical Services continues to make inroads into the offshore oil & gas sector as it pursues its ambition to become a global force in the provision of maintenance, modification and overhaul services. Meg Chesshyre talks to the man with the plan…
With the successful deployment of its new large bore SIM plug systems at Apache’s Sinbad field on the North West Shelf, Peak Well Systems chalked up an industry first offshore Australia earlier this year. Russell McCulley pays a visit to the…
There has been considerable progress in industrial hygiene issues in offshore environments in recent years. Dr Jas Singh, Golder Associates' Hawaii-based health & safety consultant, offers this primer. Experience in many offshore environments…
US offshore wind studies under wayThe US Department of Energy has awarded GL Garrad Hassan two grants worth a total of $700,000 to fund studies that will help identify optimal strategies for the installation, operation and maintenance of offshore…
The offshore division of mooring rope specialist Lankhorst Ropes is unveiling a new ultra-low creep, high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) mooring rope for 2000m-plus water depths at OTC 2012 in Houston.Based on the Lankhorst Gama 98 rope construction…
Tomahawk, the latest addition to Forum Subsea Technologies’ ROV range, has been built to be fast and agile and it shares the same 35kW power system and thrusters as Forum’s largest electric vehicle, the Comanche.It is manufactured at the Aberdeenshire facility of Sub-Atlantic…
FMC Technologies is the recipient of two ‘Spotlight on New Technology’ at the OTC 2012 show in Houston. The awards, which acknowledge innovative technologies that significantly impact offshore exploration and production, are for the Pazflor…
The mobile early leak detection system (MELDS) from Teledyne TSS is claimed capable of quickly detecting leakages of dissolved methane and combustible gases from pipelines and subsea structures at depths down to 3000m. The versatile and…
A three-month campaign for West Africa’s first well intervention work and subsea well operations conducted from a monohull intervention vessel was completed recently by Helix Well Ops UK’s 132m-long Well Enhancer. The vessel performed a subsea tree changeout…
Specialist downhole tool provider Peak Well Systems has launched the Power Cutter, a patented powercharged, non-explosive cutter that is dropped from surface to sever slicklines and cables in the event that a toolstring becomes stuck downhole…
The iPZIG at-bit inclination, gamma ray and imaging service has been introduced by PathFinder, a Schlumberger company, to help optimize well placement in target zones through early bed boundary detection.Developed specifically for unconventional…
A problem Dong Energy was having last year with the replacement of a damaged subsea control module on the Danish sector Oselvar field was solved using 3D visualization technology at Aker Solutions’ Forus IPort performance technology in Norway…
The Blue Orca, a state-ofthe-art pressure pumping vessel, has been chartered to provide offshore stimulation services to Maersk Oil in the North Sea. Upon completion, scheduled for late 2013, it will become the eighth vessel in the Baker Hughes fleet…