Global Offshore Prospects

16 February 2012 London Evening Meeting

Chairman Bob Allwood, Chief Executive, SUT

Sponsored by Douglas-Westwood

 

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Overview

The energy business has proved to be resilient over the last 12 months and certain sectors have in fact seen record levels of activity. Douglas-Westwood continued their renowned ‘Global Offshore Prospects’ series of presentations with an evening event hosted by the Society of Underwater Technology.

Steve Robertson, Rod Westwood and Gouri Kumar presented the firm’s outlook for the coming years and considered whether the offshore business will continue to build on the current buoyant position or whether the European sovereign debt crisis and threat of wider global economic downturn will start to be felt. Analysis was drawn from the firm’s published research and extensive proprietary in-house data, in addition to the insight and experience gained from the many advisory and transactions engagements completed throughout 2011. Specific sector focus included offshore capex and operations, offshore drilling, subsea production and associated services and technology. Gouri also provided an update on the latest outlook for marine renewable energy.

 

Presentations

Steve Robertson, Director, Douglas-Westwood

Rod Westwood, Manager, Douglas-Westwood

Gouri Kumar, Senior Analyst, Douglas-Westwood

 

Renewables – an Evolving Geoscience Approach to UK Round 3 Offshore Windfarm Mega-sites

15 February 2012 OSIG Geoforum Evening Event

Chairman Mike Baker, GEMS International NV

 

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Presentations

The Contractor’s Point of View by Roger Birchall, Geophysical Manager, Gardline

Challenges Faced When Acquiring Windfarm Mega Site Geophysical and Hydrographic Datasets by Jon Steer, GEMS Group

Fugro Seacore Ltd: Marine Installation Services for Marine Renewables 2012 by Tony Hodgson, Fugro

 

Renewables: Offshore Wind

1 February 2012 Aberdeen Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman David Kaye, Engineering Manager, Aquamarine Power

 

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Overview

The offshore wind industry is attracting a significant amount of business and attention, including a number of large scale developments under the Crown Estate Round 3 Offshore wind developments. This meeting looked at some aspects of offshore wind which will be of particular interest to the subsea industry in north-east Scotland. This included an update on latest developments on floating offshore wind turbines, an update of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, to be developed offshore north of Aberdeen, and a short technology bite on condition monitoring technology for wind turbines.

 

Presentations

Floating Wind Turbine Developments

Tim Crome, Sales & Business Development Manager, Technip Norway

Looking at Technip Norway’s experience in floating wind turbine technology, this presentation discussed the transition from Oil and Gas contractor to Offshore Wind contractor with the construction and installation of the world’s first full scale floating offshore wind turbine, Hywind for Statoil. Technip’s alternative design for floating offshore wind, Vertiwind, was also briefly presented.

 

European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre

Jeremy Cresswell, Chairman, Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group

The Aberdeen Bay windfarm project, more correctly known as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, is a ground breaking new facility to be developed off the coast of Aberdeen which will enable the accelerated development of offshore wind power in Scotland, the UK and Europe. The centre will allow offshore wind farm developers and associated supply chain companies to test new designs, prove existing products and receive independent validation and accreditation before commercial deployment. The project has become a strategic project for the EU and which has attracted a 40 million euros grant from Brussels. This presentation will run through the project from its genesis to the present day. The road has been long and far from smooth and we’re not there yet!

 

Techbite Slot

The Benefits of Condition Monitoring Applied to Offshore Wind Turbines

Jim Marnoch, Business Director, SKF (UK) Ltd

SKF’s online Condition Monitoring solution (WindCon) is used to verify turbine health and to detect the onset of developing faults on critical components. This reduces cost by targeting maintenance effort at the machines that are exhibiting problems. This increases availability and output from the unit or farm as whole. By analysing the component failure history, and conducting Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), recurring faults can be eliminated by redesign, improving reliability. This presentation looked at the system, operational experience in offshore wind turbines, and how the system may be used for marine renewables.

 

Integrity Monitoring of Flexible Structures

25 January 2012 North of England Branch evening meeting

Chairman Dr Jerry Baker, Chief Engineer, Head of Life Cycle Management, Atkins Solutions

 

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Overview

Oil and gas fields located in challenging environments have pushed the development of risers technologies and a number of technical challenges need to be evaluated at all stages. Assessing the integrity of subsea risers in operation is now becoming a necessity in order to improve safety, reliability and performance.

 

Presentations

Integrity Management of Flexible Pipe

Patrick Le Stanc, Department Manager, Technip Riser Integrity Management

Events detection and the follow up of service life parameters are presenting a huge interest for operators by allowing them to anticipate any adverse effect on the offshore and subsea facilities in order to maximise the safe service life. If necessary, appropriate action plan can then be scheduled in advance for maintaining the safe operation of the riser system. In order to implement such Integrity Management plans, qualification of monitoring or inspection systems must be anticipated together with the associated interpretation services. Various technologies can be used to support this approach (distributed measurements based on optical fibres, acoustic emission…). The presentation outlined some of the various technologies qualified and under development to support this approach.

 

Integrity Monitoring Systems

Dr Geoff Lyons, Director Systems Structures & Risers, BPP-TECH

This presentation provided an overview of BPP-TECH’s comprehensive experience in the field of integrity management of flexible structures and provide an insight into various new developments in integrity monitoring. In particular the presentation focused upon:

• Moorings (POSMON, CHAMON, OSCAR)
• Tensioned Risers (RMS)
• Flexible Risers (DRIFT)
• Umbilicals (FUMS)
• Pipelines (Fibre Optics)

 

Global Market Outlook

18 January 2012 Aberdeen Branch Breakfast Seminar

Chairman Alistair Birnie, Managing Director, Denmore Technologies Ltd

 

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Overview

Companies in Aberdeen have a long and distinguished record as participants in the global energy market. Our speakers looked ahead to the future of this market, particularly the subsea arena and the implications for both Operators and Contractors.

 

Presentations

Kader Dicko, Senior Analyst, Infield Systems Ltd

Long term market fundamentals of the offshore oil and gas industry are conducive for growth but the deteriorating health of the global economy (Eurozone crisis) will likely play a major role towards this process. If sustained over a longer period, the recent global economic weakening might possibly burst the current bubble surrounding the oil and gas industry, mostly if oil prices considerably weaken below the current US$100/barrel mark and the low business confidence of financial markets spread to the offshore market. The next few months will be crucial to gauge the impact of the global economy status on the offshore industry. The aim of this presentation was to illustrate the current state and medium term outlook of the global subsea and offshore construction market, whilst providing a macro view of different dynamics related to the offshore oil and gas industry.

 

Mike Beveridge, Managing Director, Simmons & Co

Mike presented an update on the capital and financing markets, talking through some major themes which are driving offshore and subsea activity both in the North Sea and Internationally.