People, Companies and Products

Noble Corp completes merger with Maersk Drilling

The business combination between Noble Corp and Maersk Drilling has been completed, and the companies are operating as a single organization as of 3 October. “Today marks an exciting new chapter as we bring together these two exceptional companies,” Noble President and CEO Robert Eifler said. Additionally, Noble has closed on the sale of five jackups (Noble Hans Deul, Noble Sam Hartley, Noble Sam Turner, Noble Houston Colbert, and Noble Lloyd Noble) to Shelf Drilling.

Salunda, Transocean agree to licensing deal for safety system

Salunda has signed an exclusive license agreement with Transocean to make, develop and sell HaloGuard, a safety system that integrates camera and sensor technology with drilling equipment and machine controls. 

The system combines real-time location technology with a machine vision system. It is designed to locate personnel on the drill floor during operations. When a crew member comes within a certain distance of working equipment, he or she is notified by an alarm through a wearable device.

Baker Hughes streamlines 4 product companies into 2 segments

Baker Hughes is restructuring its four product companies to focus on two reporting business segments and streamlining its corporate structures. The Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) segment integrates the current Oilfield Services and Oilfield Equipment product companies. The Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) integrates the current Turbomachinery & Process Solutions and Digital Solutions product companies. As part of the restructuring, Maria Claudia Borras was named Executive VP of OFSE. Rod Christie was named Executive VP of IET, and Jim Apostolides took over as Senior VP of Enterprise Operational Excellence.

New Welltec test flow loop facility to focus on CCS projects

Welltec has opened a new test flow loop facility in Esbjerg, Denmark, to provide corrosion testing for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. This will include Project Greensand – the most mature project of its kind in Denmark, with the potential to store up to 1.5 million tons/year of CO2 by the end of 2025, and up to 8 million tons/year of CO2 by 2030.  

Schlumberger to partner with Aramco, Wintershall 

Schlumberger and Aramco will collaborate on the development of a digital platform that will provide sustainability solutions for hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The proposed platform will enable companies to collect, measure, report and verify their emissions, while also evaluating different decarbonization pathways.

Separately, Schlumberger was named as Wintershall Dea’s preferred partner on the acceleration of its Terra Nova subsurface transformation program. The contract will focus on deploying the OSDU data platform in Wintershall’s Microsoft Azure cloud and integrating it with petrotechnical workflows and data science tools.

Vallourec wins inaugural NOIA ESG Excellence Award

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) recently named Vallourec as the winner of the NOIA ESG Excellence Award. The company was honored for its ESG roadmap, which prioritizes measurable, third-party validated impacts and targets, communication with employees and stakeholders, building trust with communities, teamwork and innovation. The NOIA ESG Excellence Award competition is open to any offshore service or supply company that is in good standing with NOIA.

Cole Ramsey named API Vice President of Upstream Policy

API has promoted Cole Ramsey to Vice President of Upstream Policy. Mr Ramsey previously served as Counsel in API’s Office of the General Counsel. He joined API in 2018 as Policy Advisor and Project Coordinator for The Environmental Partnership.

Prior to joining API, he spent six years working in ExxonMobil’s US exploration and production, gas and power marketing, and refining and supply groups.

Shane McArdle named Kongsberg Digital CEO

Kongsberg Digital has appointed Shane McArdle as its CEO, succeeding Hege Skryseth. Mr McArdle previously served as Head of Digital Energy at Kongsberg Digital.

Wael Sawan to succeed Ben van Beurden as Shell CEO

Ben van Beurden will step down as CEO at the end of 2022 after a 39-year career with Shell; he will be succeeded by Wael Sawan, who will also join Shell’s Board of Directors. Mr Sawan is currently the Director Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions.

Matt Lyne assumes role as Senior VP, COO at Valaris

Matt Lyne has commenced his role as Senior VP and Chief Commercial Officer at Valaris. Mr Lyne previously served as Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer of Seadrill, where he held senior marketing and commercial roles for more than 12 years.

Bishop Lifting Products acquires Westech Rigging

Bishop Lifting Products, a provider of wire rope, slings, rigging and related products, completed its acquisition of Westech Rigging Supply. This marks Bishop’s 10th acquisition since 2012. 

Talos expands in deepwater GOM with EnVen acquisition

Talos Energy has acquired EnVen Energy, a private operator in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico, for $1.1 billion. The transaction adds approximately 24,000 BOED of production – a 40% increase – and doubles Talos’ operated deepwater facility footprint.

BSEE names Paul Huang as Deputy Director

Paul Huang has joined the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) as the new Deputy Director. He previously served as the Assistant Administrator of Federal Insurance for the National Flood Insurance Program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Salunda, Transocean agree to licensing deal for safety system

Salunda has signed an exclusive license agreement with Transocean to make, develop and sell HaloGuard, a safety system that integrates camera and sensor technology with drilling equipment and machine controls.
The system combines real-time location technology with a machine vision system. It is designed to locate personnel on the drill floor during operations. When a crew member comes within a certain distance of working equipment, he or she is notified by an alarm through a wearable device.

ADC Energy wins contract to assess semi, drillships

ADC Energy has secured a contract worth more than $1 million to deliver baseline condition assessments for five vessels for a North American company. As part of the scope of work, ADC Energy will conduct baseline condition assessments of all five rigs, utilizing historical data to identify areas of potential risk to safety and performance. The assets comprise a sixth-generation ultra-deepwater semisubmersible and four sixth-generation ultra-deepwater drillships.

Products

Automated tubular makeup reduces personnel needs

Expro has launched the iTONG system, a push-button tubular makeup solution that allows the operator to control, execute, verify and validate every connection makeup via a tablet or the control chair. It ensures joints of casing and tubing can be made to a specific torque, or broken out in an automated sequence, with the push of a button. iTONG is coupled with Expro’s iCAM torque-turn tubular connection makeup system, which uses AI to determine whether the makeup is successful.

The new technology, which has undergone field trials on a jackup rig in the North Sea and taken part in 22 jobs, can save an estimated 50 hours of rig time per year, according to Expro. Further, with a reduction in the number of personnel required for tubing operations, a rig using the technology can reduce annual emissions from rig time, travel and accommodation by an estimated 146 tons a year.

Halliburton expands data visualization platform

Halliburton recently updated its HalVue data visualization platform to incorporate wireline data visualization. Previously, the application allowed customers to visualize mudlogging, MWD/LWD and cementing. The platform is real-time data monitoring application that gives users a consistent view of data across operations as it comes in from the rig to maximize asset value.

Austenitic stainless steels offer improved OCTG durability

N’GENIUS Materials Technology has developed a new series of high-strength austenitic stainless steels. The N’GENIUS Series was designed to supplement the majority of existing grades in the 300 Series, the corrosion-resistant alloy line pipe grades currently available for selection in the API Specification 5LC and the DNV-ST-F101 standard, plus the CRA oil country tubular goods (OCTG) in the API Specification 5CT for casing and tubing. It can address challenges associated with elevated temperatures, high pressures and higher mechanical loads, as well as corrosion.

New thermoplastic composite bearing reduces friction

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has launched its latest lightweight thermoplastic composite bearing, the HiMod Advanced Composite Bearing Plus. It is an enhanced dual-layer bearing with a low-friction modified PEEK layer that reduces friction and increases wear performance. Manufactured using Trelleborg’s patented Automated Fiber Placement technology, a thin low friction liner is bonded to the inner diameters and can be added to the outer diameters of the bearing.

Real-time comms system designed for RSS and MWD

Enteq Technologies’ XXT-Hop is a communications system that allows drilling contractors to access real-time data during live operations. The system can be configured to work with existing rotary steerable systems (RSS) and MWD systems. It utilizes drop-in modules, consisting of a transmitter fitted above the RSS, which connects with a receiver in the MWD string to send real-time drilling data to the surface. It also removes the need for physical connectors and dedicated collar lengths and enables logging while drilling (LWD) to be run below MWD equipment rather than above.

A version of the XXT-Hop series is also currently in development with a range of 25 m, which would allow MWD to run above the motor.