People, Companies & Products

Forum Energy Technologies launches deepwater test tank for subsea tooling at new center in Aberdeen

Forum Energy Technologies has unveiled a deepwater test facility and received industry accreditation for the calibration laboratory at its new European Operational Center in Aberdeen. The indoor test tank is one of the largest in the Northeast of Scotland and is dedicated to testing subsea tooling and survey sensors, as well as work-class remotely operated vehicles.

Staffed by dedicated personnel, the test tank and laboratory have a primary purpose to provide full control, certification and faster turnaround in preparing Forum’s rental inventory for hire.

In addition, the firm will also offer a full test and calibration service to customers. The large fresh water tank, measuring 5 m x 6 m x 4.5 m, is fitted with overhead 10T crane, lighting, cameras and a viewing platform. The calibration laboratory has been accredited by Valeport and conforms to traceable procedures for the recalibration of Valeport CTDs (conductivity, temperature and density) and sound velocity sensors and parameters fitted on current meters, tide gauges, wave recorders and loggers.

Tenaris’ first service center in Thailand built for Chevron

In July, Tenaris celebrated the inauguration of its first service center in Thailand, which was built to serve Chevron. From Songkhla, an important harbor on the Gulf of Thailand, Tenaris will supply the major OCTG and Rig Direct services. Tenaris will provide 80,000 tons of chrome and carbon casing and tubing, along with TenarisHydril premium connections. Rig Direct is Tenaris’s new service model that makes oil and gas operations more efficient by bringing quality and expertise to the rig site, applying the highest standards of health, safety and environment.

TWMA wins £1.5 million Contract with Apache

TWMA recently secured a £1.5 million contract with Apache on the WilPhoenix platform in the North Sea Beryl field.

As part of TWMA’s fully integrated waste management solution, the one-year contract with a one-year option will utilize the company’s TCC RotoMill for offshore processing and EfficientC for cuttings transfer and distribution.

Safety Management Systems, Smith Mason & Co team up for well control training

Safety Management Systems, a division of Acadian, and Smith Mason & Co have teamed up to provide well control training in Houston. The courses, led by Smith Mason & Co instructors, will be held at Safety Management Systems’ Houston training facility. The courses offered include IADC WellSharp, Stuck Pipe Prevention, Smith Mason Advanced Well Control,  among others.

Derrick, Green Supply partner in Argentina

Derrick Equipment Company and Green Supply have announced a strategic partnership for the Argentina oil and gas drilling market. Green Supply will be positioned as the exclusive provider of Derrick’s oilfield solids control equipment for the Argentinian market.

Delmar acquires Interocean

Delmar Systems has acquired InterOcean Systems. InterOcean will operate as an affiliated entity of Delmar, with its existing management from its San Diego, Calif.

Cobalt Names David D. Powell as CFO and EVP

Cobalt International Energy has named David D. Powell as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. Mr Powell previously served as Chief Financial Officer for BHP Billiton Petroleum.

From March 2009 until May 2016, he was accountable for all finance, accounting, commercial assurance, supply chain and information technology activities. Mr Powell replaces Shannon E. Young, III.

Kyle Graves becomes instructor for MDS

Murchison Drilling Schools (MDS) has hired Kyle Graves as an instructor. Mr Graves has a petroleum engineering degree from Texas A&M and has 31 years of experience in drilling. Mr Graves has varied experience working on land rigs, jackups, semisubmersibles and drillships.

Mr Graves will be teaching the Operational Drilling Technology Course, Practical Drilling Technology Course, Advanced Drilling Technology course, and the IADC WellSharp Well Control Course.

NOV promotes Issac H. Joseph to President, Wellbore Technologies

National Oilwell Varco has promoted Isaac H. Joseph to President, Wellbore Technologies.

Following the merger between National Oilwell and Varco in 2005, Mr Joseph was named President of NOV Tuboscope, where he led a global team of more than 6,500 employees.

Mr Joseph graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Products

GRIP services developed to aid in subsea well control events

Boots & Coots Services, a Halliburton business, has developed the Global Rapid Intervention Package (GRIP), a suite of services to help reduce costs and deployment time in the event of subsea well control events. GRIP provides well planning and well kill capabilities facilitated by the company’s global logistics infrastructure and existing product service lines. This includes both an inventory of well test packages, coiled-tubing units and relief well ranging tools. Halliburton also announced the release of CALIBR engineered flowback service, which applies advanced diagnostics and a collaborative workflow to continuously manage flowback operations to improve well productivity. It also helps maximize water recovery and reduce damage to fractures caused during drawdowns. The CALIBR service is performed by acquiring real-time surface data during flowback operations, analyzing this data to determine reservoir response and recommending adjustments for optimization of recovery and long-term performance.

Speed squeeze system provides acid stimulation

Energy Fishing & Rental Services has introduced the Speed Squeeze retrievable acid stimulation system. The system uses a straddle-packer design to acid-stimulate individual stages. This ensures spot placement of the acid treatment and eliminates the need for bull-heading or diverter systems. The system can be used in open or cased hole and can be run on jointed pipe or coiled tubing. Speed Squeeze system substantially reduces fluid volume required on location. Stage counts are unlimited, and stage location is flexible. It can also incorporate downhole pressure gauges.

DROPS expands best practices guidebook

The independent workgroup DROPS (Dropped Objects Prevention Scheme) has expanded the guidebook, “Best Practices Guide for Offshore Environments,” to implement life-saving strategies for companies within the industry. The guidebook has extended into a 130-page PDF that addresses safety practices for all operational activities.

Free version of electronic field ticketing app available

Phoenix DAS has introduced a free version of its mobile electronic field ticketing application. The free OpenTicket module allows service companies to replace paper-based field tickets. The OpenTicket module is fully-mobile, works in both online and offline modes, and includes a live dashboard for tracking completed, in-progress and invoiced jobs.

Weatherford Deep-Set Safety Valve Achieves V1 Rating

Weatherford announced that its new model WUDP-10 deep-set safety valve has been certified to V1 standards under API Specification 14A. The valve is designed for deepwater applications and is effective at depths in excess of 12,000 ft (3,658 m). Additionally, because it operates independent of tubing pressure, the valve can also be set in shallow applications. The tubing-retrievable valve uses conventional hydraulic functionality to provide long-term, reliable operation that is not dependent on nitrogen storage. The simple design minimizes leak paths and incorporates a heavy power spring for fail-safe closure.

Archer launches point system for well integrity

Archer has launched the Point system. Deployed proactively and systematically at the surface and downhole, the system leverages the company’s understanding of integrity dynamics, what Archer defines as the behavior of the well system in response to its integrity to unravel, decipher and describe what is happening in the well and locate integrity failures. Much of the technology is field-proven with different elements of the Point system having been used in more than 2,000 successful deployments worldwide.

Welllink performance service reduces lost time in drilling operations

Baker Hughes has announced the commercial release of its WellLink Performance service, designed to help operators reduce invisible lost time by transforming the complex data buried within legacy applications, drilling reporting systems and data streams into real-time information that is instantly accessible and actionable. Using this information, operators can improve drilling economics by quickly identifying, investigating and mitigating common performance issues associated with drilling processes such as connection procedures, circulating times and tripping speed – inefficiencies which can account for as much as 30% of normal uptime activities.

Air-actuated tool does not require high-pressure water to clean risers

Chet Morrison Contractors has introduced MUDBUG, a new tool for cleaning drilling and production risers. It’s an air-actuated, self-propelled device that uses oscillating brushes to clean debris build-up inside risers, moving through the length of the riser and back out again. Unlike other methods, MUDBUG does not require high-pressure water to remove the rust, scale and drilling mud that builds up in drilling and production risers. Instead, it uses only 120-psi air to operate, thus eliminating the problem of water disposal and risk associated with high-pressure washing.

MUDBUG can be operated by a two- or three-man crew instead of the usual five-man team required to clean a riser. Because the device is portable, it can be transported via plane or helicopter to remote locations.

Click here to watch a video on Chet Morrison Contractor’s MUDBUG