Each major North Sea platform has in the region of 4000 valves ranging from safety relief valves and emergency shutdown valves through control valves and general isolation valves. Meg Chesshyre talks to specialist valve maintenance company Severn…
Why has the inhospitable West of Shetland region consistently bucked the trend of enhanced conservatism felt throughout the wider offshore market? And what is driving this activity? Infield Systems' Luke Davis, Gregory Brown and Dr Roger Knight…
Elastomer seals and their wear can tell the offshore equipment maintenance engineer a lot about how well equipment is operating and provide early warning of potential problems. By visually examining the seals as part of a preventative maintenance schedule…
Its boosters say radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is gaining wider acceptance in retail and other industries, offers cost-effective and convenient applications for oil & gas companies, particularly in tracking assets. So why has the industry been slow to adopt RFID…
Integrators charged with building chemical injection skids for medium-pressure applications face some formidable obstacles. Two of the chief obstacles concern critical fluid system components: medium-pressure instrument ball valves and reliable end connections for use with SAF 2507 tubing…
Technip and Schlumberger have signed a global co-operation agreement jointly to develop subsea integrity and surveillance solutions for flexible pipes used in deep offshore oil and gas production.The new agreement extends a collaboration between the companies that began in 1998…
The marine seismic industry chalked off 2009 as a year to forget, but Andrew McBarnet suggests that 2010 won't be a whole lot better.Making predictions is a mug's game. We all know it, but we all do it. And if you're in a business like marine seismic…
Hydrate formation in oil and gas operations has been a multi-billion dollar problem for many years. Nalco's Noah Morales discusses some of the chemicals his company has developed in answer to hydrate challenges and provides a case history about one of its new low dose hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs)…
Over 300 energy leaders debated the challenges of a sustainable future for the North Sea and explored the potential development of the subsea market over the next 10 years at November's Subsea Europe conference in London. Meg Chesshyre reports…
CCS which stands for carbon capture and storage or sequestration has been the great hope of middle-of-the-road characters, people other than radical ‘greenies’ or their ‘right-wing’ adversaries. Oil companies and governments have jumped on this…
Drilling with casing continues to draw interest for its ability to overcome troublesome formations. Jennifer Pallanich reviews Weatherford’s recent applications of the technology offshore Brazil and West Africa.Weatherford carries out its…
Historically, the Middle East play has been an onshore story, with one notable exception: the South Pars/North Field offshore Iran and Qatar. That looks to be a changing trend as operators pursue the offshore gas potential. Jennifer Pallanich reports…
Landing a helicopter on a fixed platform can be testing at the best of times, but landing on a floating vessel with changing vessel motion and significant weather variations throughout the day quite another matter. Fugro’s Anthony Gaffney discusses…
Earlier this year, Indonesia’s Graha yard launched its first newbuild jackup rigs. Jennifer Pallanich talks to owner Drydocks World about the the yard’s journey so far and its plans for the future.Drydocks World bought Labroy Marine’s Graha facility on Indonesia’s Batam Island in early 2008…
Major players in the marine seismic market are playing it cool, but there must be some apprehension about the impact of recent moves by the Chinese contractor BGP. Andrew McBarnet reviews the plot so far.The Houdini act performed by ION…