SUBSEA UK NEWS THE NEWSLETTER FROM SUBSEA UK

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FEBRUARY 2009

Growth Set to Continue in Subsea But it won’t be all plain sailing... Having coped with previous tough times when the oil price plummeted to $10 a barrel in the nineties, the subsea sector has learned valuable lessons on how to survive. Among all the current doom and gloom, outsiders may however still be puzzled by the subsea sector’s continued performance and confidence in future growth. Subsea UK chief, Alistair Birnie commented: “Firstly the sector is in good shape and our resilience is ensuring that no-one is unduly panicking. The underlying driver for the anticipated growth is more to do with reserves rather than current demand. Easy oil and gas is now off peak and the market is becoming more and more dependent upon offshore production and, in particular, subsea developments.” A recent report by analysts Infield Systems indicates that it will

certainly not be plain sailing all the way. However, while 2009 will see some projects postponed or even cancelled, which will have an impact, their forecast suggests that this will not be as significant as had first been feared, and the sector can look forward to a healthy level of business that will be increasingly supported by export sales. Commenting on their report, Will Rowley of Infield added “We do expect the recent industry frenzy to calm down to more sustainable levels and even with a slowdown in demand-driven growth, the simple aspect of depletion and increasingly complex replacement reserves and production means that the industry will continue to demand higher levels of activity than before.” This news is spurring on investment by UK companies in

subsea technology, capability and of course people, ensuring there is the capacity for this work to be carried out effectively and competently. Equally, M&A transactions in the subsea sector, which have been a major factor in 2008, are set to continue. A recent deal by the acquisitive Triton Group underlines the continued appetite among investors in this sector. Houstonbased ETS was the ninth company to be snapped up by Triton Group as part of its buy and build strategy. Martin Anderson, Chief Executive officer of Triton Group – headline sponsors of Subsea 09, commented: “Due to the continued performance and growth prospects, the subsea sector remains Continued on page 3

In this issue... SUBSEA UK NEWS MEMBERS NEWS - Projects from around the globe - Expansion of our member companies - Training and career prospects - New research and technology - Outstanding achievements Welcome to the first Subsea UK newsletter of 2009. With views and articles from around the Subsea Sector with the support of Subsea UK’s members, this newsletter is now published quarterly. With an growing circulation, the newsletter is read globally and is also translated into a Spanish (South American) version. Courtesy of Acergy

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SUBSEA UK NEWS Tel: +44 (0)1224 355355 E-mail: [email protected] www.subseauk.com

Member List 3sun Ltd, Abalt Solutions Ltd, Acergy, AE Precision Ltd, AFL Telecommunications, AFT Ltd, AGR Subsea Ltd, AKD Engineering, AKE Ltd, Aker Solutions, Andrew Palmer & Associates, Ansys Europe Ltd, Aquanos, ASCO UK Ltd, Atkins Boreas Consultants Ltd, Aubin Ltd, B & A Hydraulics Ltd, Balmoral Offshore Engineering, Baule UK Ltd, Bel Valves, BG Group, Bibby Offshore Ltd, BJ Process and Pipeline Services, Bowtech Products Ltd, BP, BPP-TECH, Brinker, Buchan Technical Services Ltd, C3 Global Ltd, Caley Ocean Systems Ltd, Castrol Offshore Ltd, CD-Adapco, Champion Environmental Technologies, Chevron Upstream Europe, CodaOctopus Ltd, Cognetas LLP, Consub, Cormon Ltd, Cranfield University, CSL, CTC Marine Projects, Cutting Underwater Technologies Ltd, Deep Ocean Subsea Control Innovations Ltd, DeepSea Engineering & Management , DES Operations Ltd, DNV , DOF Subsea UK, Dominion Gases, Douglas Westwood, Duco Umbilicals, Dunlaw Engineering Ltd, Dynamic Positioning Services (DPS), E.ON Ruhrgas North Sea UK Ltd, East of England Energy Group, Ecosse Subsea Systems Ltd, eProduction Solutions, Escape Business Technologies, EV Offshore Ltd, Expro Group, ExxonMobil, Ferguson Modular Ltd, First Subsea Ltd, Fisher Offshore, Flexlife Ltd, FMC Technologies, Framo Engineering UK Ltd, Fugro impROV, Fugro Rovtech Ltd, Furmanite International Ltd, Furness Enterprise Ltd, GE Sensing, General Robotics Ltd, Genesis Oil and Gas Consultants, Global Marine Systems Ltd, Halliburton, Hallin Marine UK Ltd, HCL Fasteners Ltd, Hockway Ltd, HTL, Hydrasun, Hydratight , IHC Engineering Business , IHC Sea Steel UK Ltd, Imes Systems, Infield Systems Ltd, Infinity Resources UK Ltd, Inspectahire Inst. Co. Ltd, INTECSEA (UK) LTD, Inventum Media Ltd, Isleburn Ltd, iXSea Ltd, J + S Ltd, J P Kenny Engineering, J. Ray McDermott, K.D. Marine Ltd, Kongsberg Maritime Ltd, L&N (Scotland) Ltd, Liquavision, Master Flo Valve Co (UK) Ltd, MCS , Meniscus Solutions, NaREC New and Renewable Energy Centre , National Hyperbaric Centre, National Oceanography Centre, National Physical Laboratory, Nautronix PLC, NCA - Norse Cutting & Abandonment Ltd, NCS Survey Ltd, Neptune Deeptech, NETmc Marine , Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd, Noordhoek Offshore B.V, NSIG (Northern Scotland Industries Group), Nylacast Ltd, Oceaneering , Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Oceanteam (Power & Umbilical Ltd), Offshore Marine Management Ltd, OIL Engineering Ltd, Online electronics, Optical Metrology Services Ltd, Pal Shipping, Pan-Ocean Engineering Ltd, PDL Solutions (Europe) Ltd, Pegasus International (UK) Ltd, Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd, Petrofac Facilities Management, Petroleum Technology Institute Ghana, PMT (GB) Ltd, Polar Media, Project Development International Ltd, Proserv Abandonment and Decommissioning, Prospect , RBG Ltd, Reson Offshore Ltd, Robert Gordon University, Rockwool Ltd, Rotech Subsea Ltd, Roxar Ltd, RUCO Ltd, Saab Seaeye Ltd, Saipem UK Ltd, Sonsub Division, Schilling Robotics Ltd, Schlumberger (Associate Member), Schlumberger Subsea Surveillance, Score (Europe) Ltd, Scottish Enterprise, Seal-Tite UK LLC, Seebyte Ltd, Self Energising Coupling Company (SECC), Shell UK Ltd, SMD Hydrovision, Society for Underwater Technology, Solstad Offshore (UK) Ltd, Sonardyne International Ltd (Aberdeen), Sonavision Ltd, Sonomatic, Soundmotion Ltd, Speciality Welds Ltd, SPT Group Ltd, Sub-Atlantic Ltd, Subocean Group Ltd, Subroutine Ltd, Subsea 7, Subsea Domain Ltd, Subsea Integrity Group (SIG), Subsea Support & Intervention UK Ltd, Sulzer Pumps (UK) Ltd, Talisman Energy UK Ltd, Technip UK, Thales Underwater Systems Ltd (associate), The Underwater Centre, Total E&P UK plc, Tracerco, Trelleborg Offshore, Tritech International Ltd, Triton Group, UKPS/SUBCO, Underwater Engineering Services, University of Aberdeen, UTEC Survey, Venture Production, VerdErg Connectors Ltd, Vetco Gray UK Ltd, Webtool Subsea, Wellmack Resources Ltd, Wellstream International Ltd, Wilton Marine Services Ltd, Wireless Fibre Systems, Xodus Group Ltd.

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Subsea UK Celebrates Fifth Anniversary Since its inception in April 2004, Subsea UK has spent close to five years expanding its membership from an initial 30 founding members to almost 200 member companies, and continues to grow with the industry. As a privately funded and selfsustaining not-for-profit organisation, Subsea UK exists for the subsea industry, to benefit its members, to promote everything subsea and, most importantly, bring together operators, contractors, suppliers and academia; the focus has always been on building relationships, and Subsea UK’s wide variety of events – now hosted all over the world – offer unique networking opportunities. In addition, Subsea UK keeps members in touch with all the latest industry news, available at SubseaUK.com or through the Subsea UK Online Newsletter. The online newsletter, launched in November 2008, is one example of how Subsea UK continually strives to improve its services for the benefit of the subsea community. Alistair Birnie, Chief Executive of Subsea UK, states: “Our members’ confidence in the current market and in Subsea UK has given us the confidence to keep pushing forward, to continue expanding, improve our services and better our portfolio.” Now Subsea UK members are given preferential rates on events and exhibitions, unique advertising opportunities, and even free promotion – this quarterly newsletter is free for all members to submit articles for publication and mass distribution. Each member company

is allocated a profile page on SubseaUK.com; part of a completely searchable directory of every member company. The website generates in excess of 90,000 hits monthly, and the majority of views are of the directory itself. Members also have the option of submitting their press releases, which are posted as articles to the front page and news pages. Members are also kept abreast of upcoming events through a variety of mediums: the online newsletter, the website calendar and through regular email correspondence. And Subsea UK is still building momentum. With the support of its members, Subsea UK will continue to host the events that bring everyone together, continue to promote the industry and continue to grow. Birnie says: “We now have global events, such as our bi-annual event in Kuala Lumpur, Subsea Asia, and we’re still growing. We’re working hard every day to create even more exciting events for the rest of 2009 and 2010.”

ADVERTISE IN SUBSEA UK NEWS The Subsea UK Newsletter is a very effective medium for communicating with your customers. If you are interested in advertising in the next newsletter, email [email protected]

2009/10

Forthcoming Events SUBSEA UK PAVILION AT THE SUBSEA TIEBACK FORUM IN SAN ANTONIO Texas 3/5th March

HOSPITALITY SUITE AT OIL AND GAS ASIA Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Oil and Gas Asia 10-12th June

SUBSEA UK BREAKFAST, OTC Houston 5th May

SUBSEA TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Oil and Gas Asia 11th June

ALL ENERGY Aberdeen 20/21 May PARLIAMENTARY RECEPTION House of Commons, London 3rd June

SUBSEA DINNER Aberdeen 9th September

Book for all these events at www.subseauk.com

To read any of these articles in full please visit the news section on www.subseauk.com

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SUBSEA UK NEWS

Subsea UK Online: What’s New? SubseaUK.com

SubseaSkills.co.uk

SubseaUK.com has gone through some exciting new changes recently, as part of an effort to further improve communication with our member companies. We’ve revised the site’s layout to make it easier to navigate, removed excess clutter to make it a cleaner, neater web browsing experience, reworked the way news is released so that it’s instantly viewable on the front page, added a number of brand new sections, completely revamped the directory search so that the profiles of member companies are easy to find and we’re still working with our site design team to constantly improve the site for our members. Log on to SubseaUK.com now for all the latest news and events, for details on membership or our existing members, or to contact us directly.

The Subsea UK Skills website is a great resource for attracting potential employees, providing training and offering successful online learning modules for those wishing to expand their knowledge base. Four online learning modules have been developed in conjunction with Univation, the corporate arm of The Robert Gordon University, to support the induction of engineers from other industries and new graduates into the subsea sector. The modules cost £200 per person. Subsea UK members pay £100. Subsea UK Skills is a great resource for applicants seeking a career in the subsea industry, offering a comprehensive listing of companies and their contact information who, as Subsea UK members, have opted into the scheme. There are literally hundreds of job opportunities across the UK subsea sector. Visit SubseaSkills.co.uk for more information.

Subsea Growth Set to Continue Continued from front cover

attractive to the financial institutions. Since forming in 2007 with the acquisition of Perry Slingsby Systems, we have completed nine deals, bringing the total number of employees within the group to 600 and the overall turnover to $250 million. We are well on our way to achieving our strategy of becoming a UK headquartered global market-leader in subsea technology and services.” The international aspect will be critical to the UK’s success in this sector going forward. Birnie added: “In 2008, exports accounted for some 50% of UK subsea sales and this has been growing year on year, indicating a very healthy global position for the UK subsea sector. “However, there is strong competition out there and while we have a great opportunity in securing our market share and retaining our world-leading position, we need to be competitive and offer best value to our clients, wherever they are.” Subsea UK has continued to drive the export market agenda and has increased and enhanced its activities to ensure that UK based companies are seen to be leading the way on projects around the world. “We want to ensure that our members take full benefit now, while the economics work in our favour, with attractive export exchange rates. With Subsea UK overseas events and delegations coming up in North America, Brazil, Asia and Europe in the next few months, interest remains high and it is very encouraging that member companies are forging ahead and making the best of these opportunities,” concluded Birnie.

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PROJECTS

PROJECTS

Cost Effective Inspection Techniques to be Used on BP’s Deep Water Rigid Pipelines Subsea engineering company, MCS, has just completed trials to assess the capabilities of more cost-effective inspection methods to establish the integrity of subsea pipelines on BP’s deep water assets. Following a theoretical study to evaluate the integrity of these pipelines, BP wished to validate the findings by measuring the wall thickness of rigid pipelines. Measuring the wall thickness would allow BP to quantify deterioration (if any) and could influence future intervention on their rigid flow lines. MCS was appointed to investigate and evaluate nonintrusive inspection techniques and bring to trial the most cost-effective to validate the findings in the initial report. MCS selected companies against a set of criteria, including understanding of the demands of working in water depths of up to 500 metres, track records and time constraints. Following the trials, undertaken at Subsea 7’s test facility in Aberdeen, MCS recommended the use of two companies with different techniques to allow for good comparable data recovery: Applus RTD and Tracerco. Applus RTD used the RTD “Incotest” Pulsed Eddy Current System, an electromagnetic method of inspection which saturates the whole cross-sectional tool foot print area of pipe to determine the average wall thickness. Applus RTD was able to detect a wall

SRD Provide Subsea Visualisation at Frigg SRD, part of the Tritech Group, has successfully completed an acoustic subsea visualisation programme in support of decommissioning work on the Frigg field, located on the boundary between the British and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea. In August this year SRD were contracted by Saipem UK’s Sonsub Division on behalf of Total Exploration & Production to provide acoustic subsea visualisation support. The operation involved the removal and disposal of pipelines within a 500 metre radius of the platforms and was conducted from the vessel Normand Cutter. There was also a requirement to smooth the original protective rock berms to remove hazards for subsequent trawling activities. SRD’s Subsea Visualisation System (SVS) provided real time monitoring of the smoothing operation and was used for rapid assessment of the dispersal of material. There was also a requirement for a number of pipe ends to be buried to at least 1 metre. SVS was used for real-time comparison of historical pre-trenching data with the actual post-trenching survey data. Using pipe burial information from the ROV-mounted pipe tracker, SRD was able to accurately image and quantify the burial depth of the pipes. After all smoothing operations had been completed, it was necessary to remove seabed debris within the 500m zone around the platforms. SRD conducted a bathymetry survey of the whole field to identify potential items of debris and successfully located 20 items of debris, most of which were recovered to the surface, including pipe lengths, grab bags and a ship’s anchor.

thickness with 5% accuracy on a pipe with a nominal wall thickness of 21.6mm. Tracerco used its Gamma Scan technique which involves a gamma ray source transmitted through one side of the pipe section. The received intensity can then be plotted graphically to represent wall thickness loss. Tracerco also demonstrated that detecting 5% wall thickness loss was achievable and would therefore fulfil BP’s requirements.

BPP-TECH Heads Up the PowerCab Joint Industry Project BPP-TECH’s PowerCab project team is developing a range of dynamic subsea electrical power cables, up to a power rating of 100MW, to meet these needs of the offshore industry. Cable design work, optimisation and testing is being carried out to develop high strength, light weight subsea power cables with the capacity to deliver exceptionally high dynamic fatigue loading performance. The availability of high capacity subsea power cables and transmission systems offers the prospects for transforming the economics of offshore oil fields and renewable power generation projects. Benefits of the technology will accrue both at a short-term economic level and for long term strategic technology options. Immediate advantages of BPP-TECH’s power cable technology include the removal of power generation equipment on offshore platforms and the use of remote gas for power generation. The technology is applicable to many cable types and will enhance the capability of conventional AC and DC subsea power cables to draw economic benefits from offshore field developments and power generation schemes.

Major Contract Success for 3sun Pioneering technology has helped win Great Yarmouth Controls and Instrumentation company 3sun an £800,000 offshore contract. The company, still only in its second year, has spent the last six months working for Petrofac on the Grove field extension in the southern North Sea, about 80 miles off Great Yarmouth. The contracts cover the provision of a new control system and modification to the existing one for the refurbished Centrica-owned, Grove platform, previously known as Camelot CB. 3sun used its re-engineering skills and experience to make considerable cost savings in materials and offshore installation man-hours by replacing complicated instrument tubing with a single manifold device. It was designed and manufactured specifically for the project in under five weeks. As part of the project, 3sun used new technology in the form of the latest on-screen hydraulic modelling and animation software to assess and illustrate exactly how the hydraulic power system – including its associated umbilical connection to subsea infrastructure – would operate even before component parts were ordered. The platform is bringing three new wells onstream. One was brought onstream in late 2008, and there will be two subsea tie backs by mid 2009.

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GROWTH

GROWTH

VetcoGray Wins Subsea Contract for Gorgon Upstream Project off Coast of Australia

‘Unprecedented Demand’ for ROV Courses at Market Leading Centre

VetcoGray, a GE Oil & Gas business, has received an award for a frame agreement covering a period of five years to supply subsea equipment and support services for the Gorgon Project. The Gorgon Project includes the subsea development of the Greater Gorgon natural gas fields, located about 130 kilometers (km) off the north-west coast of Western Australia and that have water depths of 200 to 1,300 meters and lie between 65 and 134 km from Barrow Island. The fields will be linked to a three train, 15 million tons-per-year LNG facility, with provision for domestic gas production on Barrow Island. Chevron Australia Pty Ltd of Perth is 50% owner and operator of the Gorgon Project in a joint venture with the Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell. VetcoGray is a leader in the supply of long offset subsea control systems to facilitate subsea-to-beach field developments such as the Gorgon Project. “We’re extremely pleased that Chevron has selected our technology, which has been proven in LNG applications worldwide, for this major Australian development,” said Dave Tucker, chief operating officer of VetcoGray. “The Gorgon Project offers a tremendous opportunity to expand our capabilities to support commercialisation of the significant gas resources located offshore north Western Australia.” The scope of VetcoGray’s contract includes the supply of manifolds, pipeline termination structures,

Demand for training in Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) has rocketed in the last 12 months, according to new figures from the world’s leading commercial dive centre. The Underwater Centre in Fort William has seen uptake on its ROV courses increase by more than 70% this year, compared to the previous 12 months. In 2007, the Centre ran a total of seven premium ROV courses. By the end of 2008, the Centre had run a total of 12; a 71% increase year on year. These figures reflect the global demand for ROVs recently highlighted in a report from analysts, Douglas-Westwood, which revealed that expenditure on work class ROV operations had more than doubled since 2002. The energy analysts predict that by 2011, $1.458 billion

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pipeline end terminations, trees with subsea control modules, wellheads, production control systems, system integration testing, installation and operations support. “Our capacity to provide a complete spectrum of reliable equipment and services was key to winning the award,” noted Tucker. The VetcoGray project team will be based in Perth while engineering of the highly specialised subsea systems will be carried out at VetcoGray’s centers of excellence located in Aberdeen and Nailsea (UK); Houston (USA); Billingstad (Norway); and Singapore. Manufacturing and sourcing will also take place across several international locations, including potentially Australia. The schedule for the supply and delivery of the equipment is to be developed.

Second Contract for NASNet®’s Bespoke Bundle Solution Nautronix have signed a deal with Subsea 7 for a NASNet® solution to support positioning operations during a pipeline bundle tow out on BP’s Machar field. This contract follows on from the successful use of NASNet® by Subsea 7 on a similar recent bundle tow out on Total's Jura field. The high quality positioning and monitoring of the pipeline bundle during tow out is a key factor in achieving the offshore delivery schedule and NASNet® will be a vital component in meeting the demanding schedule. Nautronix’s NASNet® system usually allows subsea positioning by deploying stations on the seabed in a network and using these to give position reference signals to position equipment within the water column. The company reversed this principle for the bundle tow out operation and instead track the position of the beacons on the bundle using the position of the vessel and numerous constraints, as a result there is one reference point providing full positioning rather than a network. Sales Director John MacLeod said: “This is a true demonstration of the strength of the acoustic signaling technology behind NASNet® and the engineering capability within Nautronix to provide a solution to meet our customers requirements.”

will have been spent in this sector. As the demands on energy supplies increase, the oil and gas sector has to seek reserves in areas that demand advanced technology to overcome challenges. The subsea sector is playing an integral role in accessing reserves, and the need for highly trained ROV pilots is at an all time high. The Underwater Centre in Fort William is on the shore of Loch Linnhe, where depths range from 20 metres to 150 metres in a sheltered location, allowing for training throughout the year, regardless of weather conditions. Firmly established as the market leader in the provision of sub sea diving and ROV courses, the Centre provides an in depth seven week training programme for ROV pilots. These Premium ROV courses

New Alliance Offers Fast Track to Problem Solving An innovative new alliance has been launched, offering a faster and more efficient approach to the inspection and assessment of defects on subsea pipelines and topsides pressure systems for the upstream oil and gas industry. Expert Alliance brings together industry leaders Atkins, Innospection, Proserv and Sonomatic, offering a single point of access to a broad range of services required in subsea inspection and maintenance. The new partnership will be of significant benefit to efforts to ensure the integrity of maturing assets. It sees partners working cooperatively on projects from the outset, ensuring that processes

such as pre-inspection cleaning, screening, inspections, and engineering analysis can be carried out more efficiently and effectively. Spokesman for Expert Alliance, Ramsay Fraser of Atkins said: “Inspection and assessment of defects requires the operator to deal with several sub-contractors to put a range of necessary services in place. The creation of Expert Alliance will make this process much more efficient as those services can be delivered through a single interface.” He said the idea for an expert alliance grew from the realisation that the companies regularly worked on the same projects for the same clients.

comprise a four week electronics module and three weeks working ‘hands on’ with the Centre’s fleet of remotely operated vehicles.

International Abandonment and Decommissioning Leader Consolidates Global Base in UK Proserv Abandonment and Decommissioning, the Proserv Group business unit that has established itself as the world’s most comprehensive abandonment and decommissioning contractor, is to be established as a separate company with its global base in the UK. The new company will operate under the name of Proserv Offshore, while the other four divisions of the Proserv Group will be rebranded Proserv Technology. Commenting on the move, David Dent, former Senior Vice President of Proserv Abandonment and Decommissioning and now Managing Director of Proserv Offshore, said: “We decided to retain the Proserv name because of the considerable investment made by existing shareholders and management in building the brand awareness, while introducing Offshore in order to highlight our key business focus.” The Proserv Group based in Norway will retain ownership of the group’s other four strategic business units, which will be rebranded as Proserv Technology.

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GROWTH

GROWTH

Subocean on Crest of Marine Renewable Wave Having secured £100 million in renewable energy contracts in 2008, Subocean Group is now firmly established as a major player in subsea power cable installation and burial activities in the offshore windfarm market. The Aberdeen company, based in Surf City at Westhill, has successfully transferred its oil and gas subsea construction expertise into the offshore renewables market. “This market has existed since 2002 but we are finally seeing continuity of projects which is being driven by the UK Government’s renewables obligation of achieving 10 -15% of energy from renewable energy resources by 2020,” said Mike Daniel, Operations Director of Subocean Group. The offshore renewables power cable market consists of two main cable types. Firstly, 132KV cables for the export cables which connect the offshore wind-farm substation to the beach. These can be from 4km to 50km in length depending on the location of the wind-farm offshore. There can also be up to three offshore substations on a project.

The amount of turbines on a project can vary from 30 to 500 depending on the project. This continuity is enabling Subocean to invest in major items of equipment to meet market demand. In May 2007, Subocean put a shallow-water, fully equipped cable installation barge UR101 on the water. With a 1200 Te cable tank, a full cable lay spread and a three metre cable plough spread, this barge has had 100% utilisation on various projects. The company is also in the process of putting a second shallow water barge, Subocean Discoverer, on the water, complete with a 5500 Te carousel and cable lay equipment. This barge will have a new three metre cable plough spread and will be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Other investments include the upgrading of an existing 400Te carousel to 1000Te, a third three metre cable plough system to suit power cable diameter of 230mm and minimum bend radius of 3.5 metres. Subocean has also committed to a 150t Bollard Pull DP2 vessel for

Sonardyne Ranger USBL Tracks Jason To Near 5,000 Metres A Ranger Wideband USBL (UltraShort BaseLine) acoustic positioning system from Sonardyne International Ltd has provided impressive performance for the engineers from the Deep Submergence Laboratory of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) when it accurately tracked the Jason remotely operated

vehicle down to the seabed in 4,700 metres of water. The recent demonstration was carried out from onboard the R/V Thomas G Thompson in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii where Woods Hole researchers regularly conduct deep ocean research cruises. Jason had been equipped with a Sonardyne AvTrak 2 transceiver and

three years and a second large 5500 Te carousel for installation on a third transportation barge to take the cable delivery activities away from the critical path at the worksite.

AKE Welcomes Sister Company Under Corporate Umbrella Subsea UK member company, International Risk Mitigation and Security Company AKE Ltd has been joined under the umbrella of Cerberus International Holdings by Aberdeen based specialist technology business Return to Scene (R2S). AKE and R2S have worked closely in Aberdeen since 2006, when AKE’s permanent office in the city was opened and AKE’s Corporate Relations Manager in Aberdeen, Claire Fleming, has expressed her delight with the development – a sentiment shared by R2S Chief Executive Officer, Brian Dillon, who commented that “This investment will see us grow the business far in excess of current levels and we envisage the creation of more jobs in Aberdeen. This is a very exciting time for everyone at R2S and our customers will benefit significantly through the extensive services the enlarged group can offer.” R2S deploys a range of specialised photography and specialist software to record 360° spherical images. It has revolutionised the way data recorded on location is collated, shared and managed, allowing secure, remote, multi-user, visual access to data as it is collected or updated. Claire Fleming went on to comment that “Like AKE, R2S has a great interest and a number of clients within the subsea sector. R2S’s technological capabilities can contribute greatly to AKE’s services in terms of security and risk mitigation; however, their services also have vast application within the HSEQ realms of the subsea sector and indeed, the wider energy industry.”

Medea (a shock absorber, buffering Jason from the movements of the ship) with a directional Compatt 5 transponder. AvTrak 2 combines the functions of transponder, transceiver and telemetry link in one low power acoustic instrument that has been designed to meet the requirements of a variety of mission scenarios and vehicle types. During the deepwater dive to almost 5,000 metres, the Sonardyne system was able to achieve a positioning accuracy of 0.32% of slant range, or +/-15 metres, despite the temporary, relatively flexible, over-the-side pole. This performance proved almost as good as WHOI’s existing tracking system and far more convenient to use as no seabed transponders have to be deployed first. In addition, Jason’s position could be updated at 1Hz despite the water depth which helped with visualisation of the ROV’s dynamics.

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GROWTH / TRAINING

TECHNOLOGY

CSL Launches New Subsea Facilities Introduction Course CSL has introduced a new Subsea Facilities Introduction training course to help meet the industry’s growing demand for subsea knowledge and expertise. The Subsea Facilities Introduction is a one day course which provides attendees with an insight into all aspects of the subsea industry, giving them an understanding of subsea systems, knowledge of how they operate, what they look like and how they are installed and maintained. The course can be tailored to suit different levels of experience, from newcomers to the industry to oil and gas professionals who want to learn about the latest subsea industry developments. Some of the topics covered in the course are: “Why choose subsea?”, “What is a subsea system?”, “Topside infrastructure”, “Subsea infrastructure”, “HS&E”, “Vulnerabilities to subsea systems”, “Diving/Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)/Dive Support Vessels (DSVs)”. Led by Richard Horne and John Allen, CSL’s HSE Manager, delegates will benefit from their combined knowledge and expertise. Richard has over 22 years’ operational oil and gas experience and John has over 30 years’ experience in occupational health and safety, of which almost 20 have been in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Advanced Riser Management and Planning

Southampton, base of the NOCS

Met Office & NOCS to Share Marine Observing Expertise Two of the UK’s leading research organisations in marine science are pooling their technical expertise to gain a greater understanding of the oceans for improved weather forecasting and weather prediction. Previously located at Watnall, near Nottingham, the eight-strong Met Office Marine Engineering Team are responsible for a network of marine observing equipment, which includes nine moored buoys, seven of which are in open-ocean locations, mostly to the west of the British Isles, and two in coastal inshore waters. Two of the openocean buoys are operated jointly with Meteo-France in the Bay of Biscay. These buoys provide early warning of severe weather conditions and together with a further eight systems located on lightships and remote islands, these automatic observing systems make up the Met Office’s Marine Automatic Weather Station (MAWS) network, providing early warning of severe weather

conditions. The team also provides technical support for drifting buoy and Argo float deployments. Each automatic system measures air pressure, air and sea temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and (with the exception of island systems) wave height and period. The lightship systems also measure visibility. All stations transmit their observations hourly, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Their work complements that of the NOCS Sensors and Moorings Group, whose towed vehicles and fixed-location moored systems can be equipped with a variety of sensors measuring conductivity, temperature and pressure, together with oxygen and chlorophyll levels. One of the group’s highest profile projects is the RAPID mooring array at 26.5 degrees north, which monitors the meridional overturning circulation of the Atlantic, also known as the ‘Atlantic heat conveyor.’

Riser management is an increasingly important part of contemporary field operations. Because of the high drilling day rates, it is important to minimise nonoperational downtime. Working in areas of strong currents, however, instances of riser and component failures, suspended operations and loss of station keeping are not unusual. It is, therefore, important that riser management strategies are followed in order to maximize operability and protect subsea infrastructure from damage. This prompted Fugro and MCS to develop a riser management package with a range of onboard riser management tools to provide the offshore drilling industry with enhanced safety and substantial costs savings. Optima is a software platform that assists operators and drilling contractors to plan and monitor operations with drilling or completion/workover risers. At the heart of Optima is the finite element analysis engine from MCS’ Flexcom software, an industry standard in advanced 3D offshore riser analysis. The system offers a number of benefits, eliminating over-conservative assumptions that are inherent in operations planning carried out in the office. By planning

riser operations on-board using prevailing or forecast metocean conditions, it is possible to optimise the operating envelope, leading to reduced downtime and substantial cost savings. It also increases confidence in carrying out riser operations in prevailing or forecast metocean conditions and provides the ability to properly plan dual activity operations on-board resulting in greater efficiency. Another advantage is that it supports enhanced longterm riser integrity from recording riser usage and fatigue exposure and reduces annual riser inspection costs through optimisation of inspection programmes. There is a reduced risk of failure through improved system monitoring and operation – staying within operational capacity of the riser. It can lead to reduced fatigue and wear on critical riser components and can help to protect the well. The operator display shows operating envelope (based on flex joint angles or other limiting parameters) with vessel and wellhead position, and optimum vessel position advice for drilling and non-drilling (standby), completion/workover operations, minimum and maximum top tension limits and optimum top tension.

UTEC Surveyor Now Equipped for Deep Ocean Cable Route Surveys The UTEC Surveyor has become the first civilian vessel to be equipped with the powerful Kongsberg EM 122 multi-beam echo sounder only used previously by the US Navy. This gives the ship exceptional deep ocean mapping capabilities that UTEC Survey is now using to support operators in the submarine cable industry. The echo sounder installation has significantly enhanced the capabilities of the UTEC Survey-owned ship. With 288 simultaneous beams, the new sounder enables the UTEC Surveyor to obtain high resolution seabed imagery from as deep as 11,000 metres. This is expected to offer significant cost benefits for clients in the submarine cable industry by enabling deep ocean

routes to be chosen with greater confidence and precision. The EM 122 system fitted to the UTEC Surveyor has been designed to perform seabed mapping to full ocean depth with an unsurpassed resolution, coverage and accuracy. It is the latest model in a series of deep sea multi-beam echo sounders from Kongsberg. Compared with previous models, it has up to four times the resolution in terms of sounding density through the inclusion of multi-ping capability and more than twice the number of detections per swath. UTEC Survey now believes that this will enable it to provide a major benefit for customers seeking to optimise their survey operations.

12 SUBSEA UK NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

13 SUBSEA UK NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

Rolling into Action Driving under its own power, the mighty Rock Trencher (RT-1) has rolled out of the SMD production facility in Tyneside. Too heavy to lift and too large to fit through the door, special arrangements were required

to transport the 2.3MW unit to its proud owners, CTC Marine Projects in Teesside. Paul Arthur, Project Manager at SMD, commented “We have had to remove an entire wall of the production facility to mobilise the RT-1.” The 185 tonne RT-1 is the world’s largest and most powerful subsea rock trenching vehicle for the burial of pipelines. Working at depths of up to 500m, the vehicle is driven on wide plastic tracks enabling it to manoeuvre on various seafloor terrains. Two giant cradles capable of lifting 65 tonnes each provide the strength to lift a pre-laid 1.5m diameter pipe into the safety of supporting pipe roller cradles. Huge

tungsten carbide tipped chain cutters are configured in a novel 3-cutter arrangement to excavate a 2m trench through up to 40MPa compressive strength rock beneath the pipe. Spoil is removed by four very large dredge pumps before the pipe is then lowered into the trench. Coupled with this strength the RT-1 is also flexible enough to cope with soft seabed conditions. Buoyancy is provided by two enormous air-filled tanks with the capacity to reduce the RT-1’s weight-in-water to 20 tonnes. Used in conjunction with a jetting-only option, the RT-1 is able to fluidise sand to bury the pipe. When soil conditions get harder again the buoyancy tanks can discharge air to increase the effective weight-inwater. Mike Jones, Sales Director at SMD, commented “It’s exciting to see it emerge after 18 months of development work, including scales tests, in partnership with CTC and their clients. The result is a machine which will set a new benchmark for the protection and stabilisation of pipelines in the increasingly challenging environments from where we are extracting oil and gas.”

UK Robot Submarine Successfully Completes First Science Mission Autosub6000, the UK’s deepestdiving robot submarine, has successfully completed its first science mission in the deep Atlantic Ocean. The mission formed part of a research expedition investigating potential threats from tsunamis, giant landslides and earthquakes to coastal communities along the west European margin. Autosub6000 was developed by British engineers and, as its name suggests, can dive to a depth of 6,000 metres – nearly four miles. It is an example of an ‘Autonomous Underwater Vehicle’ (AUV) meaning that it is not controlled from the surface and is pre-programmed before each mission. For its first scientific mission, Autosub6000 was released from the research vessel RRS James Cook and sent almost three miles below the surface to investigate a

submarine canyon north of the Canary Islands. Upon its return to the surface, some 24 hours later, the vehicle provided scientists with spectacular three-dimensional images showing holes in the seafloor the size of a football stadium. These holes were formed by giant submarine flows that ripped up huge volumes of seafloor sediment and carried the material up to 1,000 kilometres further offshore. Both Autosub6000 and RRS James Cook are operated by the National Marine Facilities Division of the Natural Environment Research Council. The NMFD is based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS). Chief Scientist on RRS James Cook, Dr Russell Wynn (NOCS), said: “This new technology is allowing us to image the seafloor in

unprecedented detail, and is providing valuable information about the huge scale and immense power of these giant submarine flows”. The robot submarine executed a so-called ‘lawnmower survey’, flying 100 metres above seabed, while surveying the 16-square-kilometre area in 200-metre-wide strips with its high-resolution multibeam echosounder. Leader of the Autosub6000, NOCS engineer Steve McPhail said: “We are very happy with the performance of the AUV and the quality of the images it obtained, following its first ever survey of the deep ocean. Autosub6000 is a completely autonomous robot: there are no connecting wires with the ship and no pilot. Once programmed, it dived down to the ocean floor and completed its mission without any further intervention.”

Quasar WROV Leads Facelift Program As part of SMD’s constant improvement philosophy a complete face lift program of their entire QSeries ROV range is now coming to an end. Since conception of the first work class vehicle back in 2006, SMD quickly added two more models and extensive choice of Tether Management Systems and launch equipment to the range. Now after nearly three years in production and over 40 systems sold, SMD have decided to facelift the ROV range using valuable customer feedback. Leading the way and showcasing the outcome of the development program is the medium size Quasar Work Class ROV. With abilities spanning drill support and construction markets, this latest general purpose hydraulic work class vehicle benefits from a host of improvements and features. Revised component positioning has freed up a large amount of space for tooling and instruments while still ensuring good access for maintenance. A new design front end improves protection and survey instrument carrying capability. This prominent bumper design will be seen across all SMD work class

vehicles setting the systems apart from the competition. Further revisions include revised thruster mounts with quick access hose connection points and the option to angle horizontal thrusters at 45º for standard operations and 30º for high speed survey runs.

New Acoustic System Protects Superyachts From Divers A high performance diver detection sonar has been launched by Sonardyne International Ltd to close the envelope of security around superyachts which, until now, have always been vulnerable to intruders approaching from underwater. With the small, lightweight Sentinel sonar lowered into the water from a boom or through a dedicated hull opening, a yacht’s crew will be alerted to any divers or swimmers approaching the vessel from any direction. The long detection range capabilities of Sentinel mean that should a threat be identified, the crew has sufficient time to assess the situation and react accordingly. Sentinel has been developed specifically for ease of use by a

yacht’s crew and is set to become a vital component of a vessel’s security system. Within minutes of a yacht anchoring or berthing, the Sentinel sonar head can be deployed in the water and activated; ensuring complete peace of mind for all onboard. The Sentinel system that is now available for installation aboard superyachts is based on the same technology chosen by the US Navy for its Integrated Swimmer Defence system. It combines state-of-theart sonar with commercial off-theshelf (COTS)-based processing units and automated detection and classification software that has been proved in extensive evaluations.

Flexible Riser Inspection Technology Extends Life Aberdeen-headquartered engineering consultancy flexlife has reported a high level of interest in its new technology which will help extend the operating life of damaged flexible risers and flow lines, minimising lost production and associated environmental impact of a leak. flexlife devised the patented solution to scan flexible risers in situ and detect annulus flooding anywhere along their length while AGR Field Operations has the ROV capability to deliver it through the Neptune system. The technology is the first subsea inspection application that can be used for the reliable, in-situ annulus examination of flexible risers and flowlines for the detection of a flooded annulus, confirmation of armour wire thickness to 0.1mm accuracy, and snapped or disturbed armour wires. The technology has also recently been developed to map the level of pitting corrosion on the armour wire surface. Director Stuart Mitchell said: “We looked at the most common failure modes in flexibles and one of the first patents we applied for was for an annulus scanning technology we wanted to develop. AGR had an ultrasonic technology that they didn’t think they could apply to flexible pipe. Our partnership is very complementary.” This next step in the technology will see Brinker’s ‘plasma’ – which combine ‘platelets’, discrete particles that travel through well fluids and ‘entrained’ to seal leaks and into a gel based material – injected into flexlife’s device that will both repair the outer sheath of a flexible along with any leaks that are present in the repair tool.

Carl-Petter Halvorsen

14 SUBSEA UK NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

15 SUBSEA UK NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

ACHIEVEMENT

ACHIEVEMENT

Cranfield University Celebrates 20 Years of Providing Skilled Postgraduates to the Subsea Engineering Sector The subsea engineering postgraduate course at Cranfield University has successfully entered its 20th year of operation. With offshore oil and gas operations moving to depths that now demand radically different engineering solutions, and a lack of investment in talent over recent years, there is now an urgent need for graduates in this sector to fill the deepening skills gap. Cranfield University’s Subsea Engineering programme has seen steady growth since its inception, to become by far the most popular of the options within the MSc Offshore and Ocean Technology. This further substantiates the urgent need for skilled professionals in the offshore industry. This skills gap is not restricted to the UK. Dr Robert Allwood, Course Director for Cranfield’s full and part-time MSc in Offshore and Ocean Technology programme, said, “The subsea engineering course attracts students from the UK, the EU – notably France – but also from many other countries around the world, where the need for senior skilled professionals is also significant. Some 250 of our graduates have taken up roles within this industry, many of them senior, and we are seeing a marked increase in professionals from industry studying part-time in order to increase their knowledge and skills.” The course consists of a combination of theoretical work covered in the taught modules and practical work through the group and individual projects. It covers both the fundamental issues such as hardware, subsea and field layout, flow assurance and installation/maintenance,

but also focuses on what is happening in industry today. This means that the course must constantly evolve to keep up with the latest ideas and techniques – 20 years ago, 150m was considered as deep water by many, but today, operations have moved to depths exceeding 2,000m. Around 25% of the coursework is presented by professionals from industry, ensuring content is completely up-to-date. An important aspect of any master’s course is project work. Cranfield students undertake both a group and an individual project within their programme, both of which are relevant to the needs of the industry today. Many are sponsored by industrial clients. Students on last year’s Subsea Engineering programme were commissioned by BG Group to undertake a study into the capabilities and limitations of facilities installed at depths of over 2,400m.

Global Distribution and Customer Support Network Tritech International has just held its first major Distributor Week. Members of the Global Distributor Network came to Aberdeen to work on future strategies, share ideas and work together on developing a better understanding of Tritech’s advanced range of subsea products. Eight countries sent delegates, America, Russia, Germany, Canada, Italy, Singapore, India and last but not least England. With the principal focus on high performance sonars, video cameras and mechanical tooling, the workshops gave the Distributors a chance to gain first-hand, working knowledge of Tritech’s wide range of professional underwater equipment. Sonar Research and Development (SRD) who are the multi-beam sonar

specialists in the Tritech Group, were also present with the new Eclipse Sonar. They provided a unique opportunity for the Distributors to operate and understand the features of some of the offshore industries most advanced survey sonars. Tritech distributor, Carlo Vassale of Telesub Lanterna in Italy, says: “We were given the chance to work together in groups in order to analyse data coming from practical trials and applications and this was really interesting because we got to compare the different opinions we had.” “Moreover, we were taught how to improve our marketing skills and strategies in order to expand our market.” “Finally, it was nice to get to know the people that help and support us daily. It has been a really good and useful experience and I would like to thank all who organised it because they did a great job.” Tritech supports its Distributors through its marketing knowledge and

resource. The Distributors were given information on how they can encourage growth and business development through Tritech’s marketing support network. During week long visit the delegates were also able to enjoy a taste of Scotland. They embarked on a Grampian Safari, experiencing dramatic views of the countryside, spotting salmon jumping upstream and visiting local castles and stone circles. Of course no visit to Scotland is complete without a wee dram! Maurice Fraser, Tritech’s Sales and Marketing Director, says: “We thoroughly enjoyed the active participation of all the delegates and were very proud of the way the team at Tritech organised the week. It was not only educational for our guests but also a lot of fun. The success and positive feedback received has committed us to making this an annual event for Tritech. I look forward to welcoming more of our 30 overseas Distributors next year.”

Tritech Distributors visit Head Office in Scotland for a hands-on experience of Tritech systems

Framo Engineering Celebrate 25th Birthday

Subsea Pump Module

© Framo Engineering

In 2008 Framo Engineering celebrated it’s 25th birthday; leading the way in providing enhanced recovery technology. Framo Engineering was established in 1983. The aim was to be a systems supplier of enhanced recovery products. The main objectives of these products were to reduce cost, enhance recovery, tie-in of marginal satellite fields, long-distance tie-backs and deepwater developments. Today Framo Engineering maintains

its strategy. The Framo Engineering name is synonymous with enhanced recovery system technology: Subsea boosting pumps, pump controls, multiphase/wet gas flow meters, compact manifold and fluid transfer systems. Framo Engineering’s focus is working closely with clients for the whole field life, from the concept phase to project execution and after market support; assisting in optimising clients’ interests.

16 SUBSEA UK NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

ACHIEVEMENT

WWW.SUBSEAUK.COM

North East Support for Subsea Engineering Bid David Doig, CEO of OPITO

Companies Prepare for Offshore MISTS A new training requirement for offshore personnel is almost upon us, and time is running out for those who need to take action. OPITO, the offshore training body is warning that all businesses should ensure they are aware of the Minimum Industry Safety training standards. The Step Change in Safety Competence Group decided that this initiative would be the first step of its contribution towards making the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide Oil and Gas Industry by 2010. Currently, basic safety training is carried out to different depths of understanding and will cover different areas. By undertaking this safety training only once and centrally recording the training on the Vantage Central Records (VCR) system, there will be no need to for individuals to undergo similar or repetitive training every time they visit a different site. The refresher programme can be completed as an interactive computer based tutorial and this is recommended for anyone who requires updating in one or more of the nine safety areas covered by the programme. To maintain the Vantage POB accreditation for this programme, offshore personnel will need to undertake the refresher programme every 4 years. The only permitted methods of renewing Vantage Central Register (VCR) accreditation of this training are via the approved online training and/or assessment programme, or by completing an OPITO approved in-house or external course.

A collaborative bid submitted by Newcastle University, Newcastle College and Subsea NE to One North East’s (ONE) £5.9M Higher Level Skills Fund has received agreement in principle to funding to develop a new foundation degree in Subsea Engineering at Newcastle College, and a new Masters Degree in Subsea Engineering and Management at Newcastle University. The development of both will be in conjunction with the industry committee, with industry support. The programmes will be delivered in a format to suit industry including “bite-sized” modules, which can be taken on a stand-alone basis if required. The funding includes a full time

post based at Newcastle University to act on behalf of Subsea NE, the College and the University, to build relationships with other subsea firms in the region and ensure they are assisted in meeting their higher level skills needs. Coordinating the bid Dr Fiona Whitehurst, Lecturer in Management at Newcastle University Business School, said: “This bid has involved a considerable amount of work from all concerned and can be seen as an endorsement by ONE of the significance of the subsea sector in the region. This work will lead to the establishing of new subsea engineering courses from foundation degree level through to MSc in Subsea Engineering.”

Subsea Sector Lobbies on SED Since the ruling on Seafarer’s Earnings Deduction (SED) on the Pride South Africa case, there has been concern that the Subsea sector would lose out and that skilled personnel would go elsewhere. Initial indications from HM Revenue & Customs were that on the basis of the ruling, they would consider all vessels concerned with subsea construction and IRM to be offshore installations which would then have significant implications.

Subsea UK has however been lobbying on behalf of its members and has held meetings with HMRC to highlight the issues and to provide guidance as to how the subsea and marine construction sector operates. Work is still ongoing in drafting revised guidance notes, expected to be public, but the indications from correspondence are that HMRC have had a change of heart and will significantly relax their initial interpretation.

Subsea UK The Innovation Centre, Exploration Drive, Aberdeen Science and Energy Park, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB23 8GX Tel: +44 (0)1224 355355 Email: [email protected] www.subseauk.com While every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented in this newsletter is accurate, Subsea UK assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or out of date information and shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages resulting from the availability of, use of, access of, or inability to use this information.