Salvage and Decommissioning

 

26 January 2011 North of England Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Ian Frazer, GL Noble Denton

Sponsored by GL Noble Denton

 

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Flyer

 

Overview

The very term ‘Design Life’ predicts a precipice at some future date against which all engineering and financial calculations are derived – and yet what shall actually be involved in removing the structures, that were often a feat of ingenuity to install in the first place, is all too frequently considered as a distant problem. Decommissioning, however, is already taking place and increasing in volume. There is disquiet within the oil and gas industry which has been caught largely unprepared for the challenge, let alone the opportunity.

The SUT’s newly formed Salvage and Decommissioning Committee and its interactive Special Interest Group were established in February 2010 to help address this situation, by bringing together the offshore, marine salvage and scientific sectors in order to exchange technologies, methodologies, ideas and information.

This evening meeting began with a brief overview of aims of the Committee and the means by which it intends stimulate activity, before highlighting specific aspects of practical work.

 

Presentations

Global Decommissioning Opportunities

Brian Twomey, Managing Director, Reverse Engineering Limited

Brian gave a global market overview which contained a summary of the structures to be decommissioned and an estimate of market value and timing.

 

Synergies between Decommissioning, Wreck Removal and Cargo Recovery

Moya Crawford, Managing Director, Deep Tek Ltd

The international salvage community forms a responsive, risk-based industry that removes structures and recovers property from the seabed as part of its everyday work, using a wide range of equipment, cutting and lifting techniques. The presentation discussed the synergies and highlighted some of the applications.

 

Overview of North Sea Decommissioning Campaigns

Don Orr, Principal Engineer, GL Noble Denton

A substantial number of offshore facilities have now been removed from the North Sea. The presentation explored the variety of structures decommissioned and the range of techniques employed. This was demonstrated using experience from 3 decommissioning campaigns supported by GL Noble Denton over the last 3 years.

 

HPHT

 

20 January 2011 London Evening Meeting

Chairman Dr Bob Allwood, Chief Executive, SUT

Sponsored by Subsea Communities and supported by Acteon

 

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Overview

HPHT fields and projects pose unique operating challenges that we believe the industry can overcome together. To address this, Acteon is building an industrial community where knowledge and experience can be shared for the benefit of all involved. This evening’s meeting is hosted by Will Rowley, Acteon Group, Analyst responsible for the Acteon Subsea Communities. The evening’s speakers presented information on HPHT (Seabed to Surface) that would typically be presented at a Community Event.

 

Presentations

HPHT Trends, Definitions and Issues

Will Rowley, Group Analyst, Acteon

Drawing on recently correlated data, this presentation provided an overview of current trends and influences in regards to HPHT projects and field developments. It  also introduced the Acteon led HPHT (Seabed to Surface) Industrial Community, highlighting the aims and benefits of working together to overcome the challenges that the industry will face in the future.

 

HPHT Subsea Design

John McGrail, Director, 2H Offshore

As a global engineering contractor that specialises in the design and structural analysis of risers and conductor systems, 2H has direct experience of the key challenges of designing subsea equipment for HPHT service. John identified and discussed the difficulties faced in the design of riser and flowline systems for HPHT conditions, highlighting the technologies and step changes required for future progress.

 

Riser Systems and Connection Options

Rick Moralee, Sales Manager, Claxton Engineering

Holding one of the largest jack-up drilling riser stocks in Europe, Claxton is at the forefront of HPHT riser system operation and deployment. This presentation provided an overview of HP drilling riser systems with particular attention to connection options and the associated operational advantages.

 

Global Market Outlook – The Energy Sector

19 January 2011 Aberdeen Branch Lunch Seminar

Chairman Alistair Birnie, CEO, Subsea UK

Sponsored by Infield and Quest Offshore

 

Overview

Over the past two years there has been significant fluctuations in the global energy market, caused by the financial situation/global recession, which in turn has affected energy prices.

However 2011 would appear to be the turning point and this evening meeting’s presentations reviewed the opinions of two major market analysts and their viewpoint for 2011 and beyond. This included a debate on the impact to the UK’s subsea industry but more importantly the overall global market.

 

Presentations

Kader Dicko, Analyst, Infield

As the oil and gas industry is slowly recovering from the global financial crisis and the Macondo disaster, albeit with a looming fear of a double dip recession due to the European sovereign debt crisis, the global subsea and offshore construction market shows some promising signs of revival in the near future. Strengthening oil prices and rising tendering activities for subsea production systems and offshore construction activities will eventually improve the market in the medium term on the back of higher project sanctioning. Whilst contract awards in the North Sea have been slow to pick up in 2010, we expect a more buoyant level of activity from late 2011/early 2012. The aim of this presentation was to illustrate the current state and medium term outlook of the subsea and offshore construction market on a global scope.

Caitlin Shaw, Director Market Research & Data Division, Quest

Quest Offshore, a leading provider for deepwater market intelligence, focused this presentation on the future of the global subsea market. The subsea market has been truly dynamic in the past few years as the industry adjusts to a number of global events, but with growing confidence in the future, activity is expected to regain significant momentum. THe presentation explained to attendees where the market has come from in recent years and how that will change in the future and the drivers behind those changes.

 

Materials in Harsh Environments

 

23 March 2011 North of England Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Terry Sheldrake, Wellstream International Ltd

Sponsored by Bridon International Ltd and SpanSet

 

Flyer

 

Presentations

Metals in Extreme Conditions

Richard Clements, Wellstream International Ltd

Never before has it been more important to understand the materials we are using in deepwater developments. The failure of components or systems installed in subsea oilfield developments carries with it implications for the environment, health and safety and corporate reputation, as seen recently in the Macondo incident in the GOM. Learning from problems with materials and proper, thorough testing and qualification play a vital role in this process, ensuring materials are suitable for the applications into which they are being put. This presentation focused on qualification and testing methodologies for metallic materials in flexible pipes for ultra-deep-water applications, the problems which can be encountered during those qualifications, and an example of an investigation into an issue raised by a client – vent valve screen corrosion.

 

The use of Fibre Ropes in the Marine and Offshore Industries

James Mackay, Bridon International Ltd

This presentation looked at materials, properties and focuses on the varied applications we now see high strength fibre ropes being used.

 

Pipeline Replacement Project

 

17 March 2011 London Evening Meeting

Chairman Dr Bob Allwood, Chief Executive, SUT

Sponsored by Flexlife

 

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Overview

In early January 2011, the 14" flowline between Forties Bravo (FB) and Forties Charlie (FC) platforms developed a leak in the vicinity of the FC platform. Several repairs were undertaken, however, new leaks occurred in the line at each pressure test after repairs. It was decided to cut out and remove a 10m section of the line for further examination and analysis to determine the cause of its failure. On removing this section, a Smart flanged section was put in its place. Unfortunately during the pressure test new failures were identified and it was therefore decided to retire the line altogether.

In order to mitigate both valuable production and associated financial losses, a decision was taken to provide a temporary connection between FB and FC, by re-routing the currently existing 8” produced water flexible injection line (PWRI) also running between FB and FC, which allowed for re-instatement of hydrocarbon transport. This work was extremely fast track and production was restored by using this measure on 6th March 2011.

A number of options were considered for the permanent line replacement. It was concluded that the temporary connection will be replaced by a permanent, trenched and buried 14” flexible pipeline, the design of which has already been approved; its fabrication and installation to be executed over the next 4 to 6 months.

 

Presentations

Apache Forties – Bravo to Charlie Pipeline Replacement Project and Interim Production through PWRI

The evening’s presentation was split into two portions. The first section presents the interim findings of the materials and corrosion examination and analysis including photographic evidence showing the failure modes in the line. This was presented by David Newman, Flexlife Asset Integrity Manager.

Following on from this, a presentation detailing the subsea campaigns since early January 2011 culminating in the novel rerouting of the produced water line (PWRI) and its connection into the Bravo – Charlie system was given by Paul Williams who is a Project Manager with Flexlife and was directly responsible for these works.

 

Subsea Solutions for Arctic in Extreme Weather Environments

 

9 March 2011 Aberdeen Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Adrian Phillips

 

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Overview

Excitement continues to grow around the prospects of major exploration and development in and around the arctic continental shelf. Russian gas giant Gazprom is voicing optimism about the prospects for a final investment decision this year in favour of the landmark Shtokman gas and liquefied natural gas development in the Barents Sea. The Shtokman offshore field is a joint project controlled by Gazprom with France’s Total and Norway’s Statoil as minority shareholders. The other major Russian player Rosneft is already talking to "global players" about exploration ventures in Russia’s Barents Sea and the Asian part of Russia’s Arctic waters. This follows major joint ventures signed last month to explore in the Arctic’s South Kara Sea with BP and in the Black Sea with ExxonMobil.

 

Presentations

Subsea Arctic Pipelines: Key to Successful Field Developments

Glenn Lanan, Intecsea

Hydrocarbon transportation is one of the controlling requirements for offshore Arctic field development and pipelines are often required for intrafield flowlines, export to shore-based facilities or for tanker loading systems. The offshore Arctic environmental and loading conditions provide unique challenges for conventional subsea pipeline technology. INTECSEA summarised the increasing industry experience with pipeline design, construction and operation in ice covered waters and highlighted some of the remaining challenges such as optimised design for ice loadings and subsea leak detection.

 

ENI Goliat Subsea Development

Richard Carter, Aker Solutions

Following Statoil’s pioneering and record breaking subsea project, Snohvit, the next major subsea development in the same area is ENI’s Goliat. Statoil opted for a 140km "long offset", whilst ENI have chosen for an FPSO. Aker Solutions provided some insights on the reason for the decision whilst offering a perspective on the engineering challenges of the subsea solution.

 

Recent Advances in Satellite Remote Sensing for Ice Monitoring

Nicholas Walker, eOsphere

Satellite remote sensing can provide useful information for operators working in ice infested waters, including information about ice extent, ice type, ice motion and icebergs. Recent advances in satellite SAR technology allow additional information to be extracted for successful ice monitoring. These new capabilities include improved resolutions, improved polarimetric and radar frequency options.