People, Companies & Products
GE to supply HPHT equipment to Total
GE Oil and Gas has received a contract from Total E&P UK to supply drilling and production equipment for the expansion of the Elgin Franklin gas field in the North Sea. To meet the extreme well pressure and temperature demands of the project, GE is supplying surface wellhead and flow control equipment that can operate at well pressures of 15,000 psi and temperatures of 450°F. Field service installation, training and maintenance services also will be provided.
Separately, GE Transportation has agreed to market and distribute variable frequency drives designed by Ingeteam Technology. The GE Drilling Drives powered by Ingeteam will control the speed of motors on rigs using the latest drive system technology. The drives feature efficient packaging to save space on rigs.
Northern Offshore recognized for safety efforts
Northern Offshore’s Energy Enhancer jackup has been recognized with a Gold Award by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). RoSPA, a safety charity, launched its awards program 55 years ago, and recipients are determined after reviewing both accident records and HSE management systems. Northern Offshore will receive the award during a ceremony in September. “This award is a further recognition that our Energy Enhancer crew members are firmly committed to the belief that an injury-free offshore work place is an achievable target,” said Northern Offshore general manager John Monks.
Corvetti named AGR VP operations, maintenance
Joe Corvetti has taken up the position of VP operations and maintenance for AGR Field Operations. Most recently Mr Corvetti was location general manager within the Engineering and Production Facilities division of Wood Group. Prior to that, he served in different positions in Mustang Engineering and Worley Parsons. He holds a bachelors degree in engineering and a master’s degree in engineering science from the University of Melbourne.
ONGC names Rao director of exploration
Shri S V Rao has been named director exploration for India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Mr Rao has more than three decades of experience in field exploration, well site investigations and geological and geophysical assessment. He was also head of ONGC’s Krishna-Godavari and Western Offshore basins, and led the Exploration and Development Directorate, Dehradun, the corporate exploration wing of ONGC.
Wells to head up Fidelity E&P
J Kent Wells will become president and CEO of MDU Resources Group’s natural gas and oil production business, Fidelity E&P. Mr Wells has more than 30 years of experience with BP and Amoco, including responsibility for BP’s US onshore natural gas business. He will report to MDU Resources president and CEO Terry Hildestad beginning in May 2011 and be based in Denver, Colo. Mr Wells was senior VP of E&P for BP’s natural gas operations until late last year, when he was named group senior VP for global deepwater response.
Urech to lead LHR’s mooring hardware division
Harry Urech has been named mooring business development manager for LHR Services and Equipment, responsible for the mooring hardware division.
Helmer to be Maersk head of QMHSE
Thomas Helmer has joined Maersk Drilling as head of QMHSE. He was previously global manager process safety for Shell, where he assessed the status of process safety across assets. Mr Helmer is replacing Lisbeth Norup-Fromling, who took up a position outside the Maersk Group in late 2010.
Precision buys directional drilling companies
Precision Drilling Corp has acquired Drake Directional Drilling and Drake MWD Services. The companies typically operate 10 to 14 directional drilling jobs on a continuing basis in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Caterpillar to supply gen sets to CNOOC
Caterpillar Global Petroleum has been chosen to provide CNOOC with 8x 16 M 32 crude oil engine generator sets that will be installed on two offshore production platforms in the Panyu 4-2/5-1 oilfield in the South China Sea. Auxiliary equipment ordered with the generator sets include fuel supply modules, cooling modules, separator skids, lube oil skids and control panels.
Marine Cybernetics, GL Noble Denton team up on FMECA, HIL services
GL Noble Denton and Marine Cybernetics are partnering to improve offshore vessel performance and reliability. GL Noble Denton’s dynamic positioning experts will provide failure mode effects and criticality analyses (FMECA) services on offshore vessels while Marine Cybernetics will provide testing and verification of control system software using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing.
Products
Safety M-Pact 2 gloves protect hands, fingers
Mechanix Wear’s Safety M-Pact 2 glove features impact-absorbing finger protection, EVA deep-ribbed knuckle protection and a padded palm to reduce hand fatigue. Rubberized grip panels on the palm and fingertips improve control, and Day-Glow stretch Spandex and reflective ink provide added visibility.
Underwater camera rated to 9,000-m water depth
Kongsberg Maritime has launched the OE14-408 underwater digital stills camera. Features include 10 megapixels per image, improved color depth and dynamic range, Ethernet upload connectivity, faster flashgun refresh rate and more compact housing. It is depth-rated from 4,500 meters to 9,000 meters.
Drill-through tool ensures casing gets to target depth
Deep Casing Tools has introduced Turbocaser Express, a drill-through tool to ensure casing gets to target depth. After reaming casing to target depth, the tool’s patented internal design can be drilled through in minutes with standard bits after normal cementing. The Turbocaser Express is manufactured as a single body from high-strength steel; it is suitable for high-pressure, high-temperature environments and works with any drilling fluid without deterioration in power output, reliability or performance, according to the company.
Mobile apps provide secure access to drilling data
Halliburton’s Sperry Drilling has released mobile versions of the InSite Anywhere Mobile and the eChartBook Mobile services. InSite Anywhere provides access to well data stored in the InSite database; it works with all Halliburton and third-party data. eChartBook allows access to logging calculators for all of Halliburton’s major logging while drilling and wireline sensors.
Spear drill bit optimized for shale plays
Smith Bits’ Spear drill bit targeting shale plays features a steel bit body to overcome hydraulic challenges, maximize hole cleaning, improve directional response, reduce borehole tortuosity, and enhance stability. Unlike conventional PDC bits that target either curve or lateral sections, the Spear PDC bit efficiently drills both curve and long lateral sections. A unique hydraulic design directs flow toward the cutter faces, keeping them sharp and sweeping the cuttings away from the bottom of the hole and around the bullet-shaped body into the annulus. Spear bits have been used successfully in the Bakken, Barnett, Marcellus, Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale formations.
Safety covers protect personnel from drops hazards
Dropsafe is launching the Dropsafe Mesh Safety Covers to protect rig personnel from drops hazards. The covers are secondary retention systems made of stainless steel. They fully enclose and tether overhead fixtures such as lights, speakers or CCTV cameras, preventing them and their fixture components from falling. Dropsafe is already serving companies such as Transocean, National Oilwell Varco, ConocoPhillips, Ensco, Seadrill and KCA DEUTAG.
Multiphase flow meter based on magnetic resonance technology
Shell and KROHNE are commercializing a new multiphase flow meter based on magnetic resonance technology, developed through collaboration between Shell and magnetic resonance specialist Spinlock. The flow meter operates across the entire gas volume fraction range, avoiding frequent recalibration. It fits around the pipe, mitigating internal restrictions, and does not use radioactive sources.
“Our aim is to bring the first-generation flow meter to our operations by 2012 while embarking on a joint technology development program for future versions in more demanding environments such as subsea,” Jeroen Regtien, Shell VP hydrocarbon recovery technologies, said.
Sand control system uses shape memory polymers
Baker Hughes has launched the GeoForm conformable sand management system with shape memory polymer (SMP) technology. The system conforms to the borehole in an open-hole environment, reducing complexity versus traditional gravel-pack systems while improving efficiency, reducing rig time and mitigating risks associated with conventional techniques.
The SMP is manufactured to a desired shape and size, placed on the outside of base pipe and then “compacted” to a smaller shape conducive to running in hole. When exposed to bottomhole temperatures and a catalyst, it expands to its original shape to fully contact the borehole wall, conform to borehole abnormalities, and provide a positive stress on the formation. This positive stress stabilizes the near wellbore region and controls sand migration.
The modular design of the system allows for easy integration with existing Baker Hughes technologies.
