Adamson to take over as Transocean CEO in Q2 2025

Keelan Adamson, Transocean’s current President and COO, will become President and CEO of the company following a transition period, which is expected to conclude in Q2 2025. 

Mr Adamson, who will succeed Jeremy Thigpen as CEO, has been in his current roles since February 2022. Prior to that, his positions at Transocean included Executive Vice President and COO from August 2018 to February 2022; Senior Vice President, Operations from October 2017 to July 2018; and Senior Vice President, Operations Integrity and HSE, from June 2015 to October 2017. He joined Transocean in 1995 and holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from The Queens University of Belfast. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Mr Thigpen is expected to be appointed as Executive Chair of Transocean’s  Board of Directors.

Diamondback to acquire Double Eagle subsidiaries

Diamondback Energy entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire certain subsidiaries of Double Eagle in exchange for approximately 6.9 million shares of Diamondback common stock and $3 billion of cash. As part of this agreement, the companies also agreed to accelerate development on a portion of Diamondback’s non-core southern Midland Basin acreage.

Diamondback is also committing to sell at least $1.5 billion of non-core assets to accelerate pro forma debt reduction. The company expects to reduce its net debt to $10 billion and maintain leverage of $6-8 billion in the long term.

New drilling waste management site breaks ground

TWMA broke ground on a new drilling waste management site in Habshan, Abu Dhabi. Expected to be operational by summer 2025, the facility will have the capacity to process up to 300 tonnes of drill cuttings per day. Additionally, it will recover up to 1 barrel of oil or diesel per tonne processed, enabling self-sufficiency through recovered fluids. Further, it will have the ability to service up to 100 rigs and will feature TWMA’s XLink and RotoMill technologies.

Dolphin names interim CEO as Iversen steps down

Jon Oliver Bryce was appointed as interim CEO of Dolphin Drilling following the resignation of Bjørnar Iversen. Mr Bryce also serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Dolphin and previously held senior positions at Awilco Drilling and Odfjell Drilling. 

Devon announces executive leadership changes

Devon Energy announced several updates to its executive leadership team. John Raines was promoted to the position of Senior VP, E&P Asset Management, and Trey Lowe was promoted to Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, Tom Hellman joined the company as Senior VP, E&P Operations.

TotalEnergies selects IFS for asset management

TotalEnergies recently selected IFS Cloud to manage and service its global operated asset portfolio. The operator will be able to maintain all of its assets for exploration, production, refining and chemicals on a single platform. When fully implemented, over 13,500 users globally will be able to perform asset maintenance.

Separately, IFS has appointed Matt Breslin as President, North America. He previously served as Chief Revenue Officer at Upland Software and holds extensive enterprise software experience. 

BP to help ONGC strengthen Mumbai High production

BP is set to serve as technical services provider for India’s Mumbai High field, while ONGC will retain the field’s ownership and operational control. Under the agreement, BP will receive a fixed fee for its deployed personnel, as well as a fixed fee linked to incremental oil and gas production. 

OneSubsea, Innovex team up on subsea wellheads

Innovex and SLB OneSubsea signed a master services agreement for subsea wellhead technology, aimed at the ability to deliver integrated solutions faster. Innovex was formed last year following the merger of Dril-Quip and Innovex Downhole Solutions.

Oxford Flow to deliver ES valves to BP in the US  

UK-based Oxford Flow has secured a nearly $1 million order from BP for its ES stemless axial flow valves, marking a milestone in the US market. With no mechanical actuator, stem or drive train, the ES valve is smaller and lighter than conventional valves. It is operated using a low power, electrohydraulic powerpack. 

EnerMech wins extension for work in Qatar 

EnerMech secured a five-year contract extension to provide North Oil Company with leak testing and flange management services in the Al Shaheen field, off the northeast coast of Qatar. Services covered under the contract include bolt tensioning and torquing, pipe freezing and training.

Motive Offshore expands operations into Texas

Motive Offshore opened a new office in Houston that will serve as a central hub for operations in the Americas. In conjunction, the company is launching a local recruitment drive and anticipates a 75% increase in its local team over the coming year.

PRODUCTS

ROV features enhanced through water performance

Forum Energy Technologies (FET) has launched its latest work class remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the XLX EVO III. It is equipped with larger thrusters for increased through water performance and an improved buoyancy package, facilitating a 500-kg payload.

The vehicle has a new frame, which is now CNC machined and provides an improved layout both for maintenance access and tooling capability. Through-frame-lift has increased to 4,000 kg, a rise of over 30% from the EVO II.

The XLX EVO III also comes with up-dated pilot chairs or console, as well as FET’s latest control software, ICE Unity, enabling remote operations.

New electric TRSV moves industry closer to full electrification of wellbores

Halliburton launched the new EcoStar electric tubing-retrievable safety valve (eTRSV), which builds on the first electric TRSV and eliminates hydraulic actuations.

In 2016, Halliburton installed the world’s first electric safety valve, a system that remained fully operational for the life of the well. This reduced the need for extensive surface facilities, which streamlined operations and enhanced personnel safety. 

The EcoStar eTRSV acts as a fail-safe that closes in case of well incidents at the surface. Halliburton’s DepthStar tubing-retrievable safety valve technology forms the foundation of the EcoStar eTRSV, which incorporates field-proven magnetic coupling technology and replaces the hydraulic actuation system with electric actuation. This design increases reliability by isolating the actuation system from completion tubing fluid and pressure. It features independent and redundant electro-mechanical actuation and control systems, which enable more precise control, real-time position sensing, and valve-health monitoring at the surface.

“As part of Halliburton’s all-electric portfolio, the EcoStar eTRSV marks another step toward the full electrification of wellbores. The EcoStar eTRSV builds on industry-leading safety valve technology to improve completion performance and maximize asset value for operators,” said Maxime Coffin, VP for Halliburton Completion Tools.

Baker Hughes launches electrification technologies

An all-electric land cementing unit, enhanced interval control valves (ICVs) and an all-electric subsea production system were all recently announced by Baker Hughes.

The Hummingbird all-electric land cementing unit replaces diesel engines with grid-connected or battery-powered motors. The use of electronic, rather than hydraulic, components results in lower maintenance costs and requirements while enhancing reliability in the field. Hummingbird is designed to operate in high-pressure situations and is equipped with monitoring and control systems that provide enhanced cement job control and consistency across applications.  

SureCONTROL Plus ICVs enable electrical remote operations for more efficient zonal control of both subsea and dry tree wells. These ICVs replace multiple hydraulic lines with a single electrical line, simplifying complex installations, reducing rig time and accelerating production while limiting the need for costly interventions. They feature a digital telemetry system that provides continuous data, enabling improved asset performance management and proactive maintenance of downhole tools.  

Baker Hughes also announced an all-electric subsea production system, which allows for existing tree designs to be seamlessly updated for electric operations, while electro-hydraulic trees currently operating in mature assets can be retrofitted for full electrification.  The system is designed for both shallow and deepwater developments.

Enhancements added to development software

Emerson has announced the release of PAC Machine Edition 10.6, the integrated development environment software used to configure and manage control system devices. The PACSystems Simulator is a newly incorporated component, empowering users to easily write, test and troubleshoot control logic on a PLC emulator. Further, a new high-performance OPC-UA PAC Server accelerates PLC communication performance for visualization and other client applications, with double the tag count capacity, faster startup speeds and improved processing efficiency.

New wellbore cleaning tech tackles downhole scale

Pipetech launched the new Downhole Scale Remediation (DSR) system addressing challenges posed by scale, wax and other naturally occurring deposits that obstruct fluid flow, compromise production efficiency and create unsuitable surfaces for bridge plugs.

Instead of relying on corrosive chemicals, the DSR leverages a rotational high-pressure water-jetting system. Its water-jetting nozzle tracks and adapts to a wellbore’s varying inner diameter. The technology achieved proof of concept in November 2024 at Pipetech’s Aberdeen facility, and field trials are planned for 2025.