Design by analysis rather than the traditional formula approach is the way forward for pipeline operators and contractors looking to cut project costs and timescales, argues TRaC Global consultant Dr Peter Moir.Analysis to validate the design…
Measuring mooring tensionSeattle-based Measurement Technology NW announced successful implementation of its running line tensiometer (RLT) technology with a Samson synthetic rope in a Gulf of Mexico offshore mooring monitoring project engineered by Delmar Systems late August…
Gas is due to start flowing through Nord Stream this month following completion of preparatory works on the first of the twin 1224km-long gas pipelines running through the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany. Formal inauguration of line one…
Marin Subsea was called out recently for an operation central to allowing Iraq – the world's fifth largest holder of crude oil reserves – to properly exploit its estimated 143 billion barrels. David Morgan looks at how the job was planned and painstakingly executed…
Technological barriers and operator requirements can limit the possibilities available to offshore design teams when it comes to engineering a production riser plan for a deepwater facility. Hybrid solutions and composites will offer some relief…
In 2010, ShawCor picked up an OTC Spotlight on Technology award for its Thermotite Ultra pipe insulation coating system. That summer, two of the company's divisions, Bredero Shaw and Bredero Shaw FJS, put the technology to use on a reeled pipeline…
In the past decade, the oil & gas industry has been effective in finding new resources, but much less successful in bringing new supplies onstream. That was the verdict of Eni E&P executive vice president Antonio Vella, addressing this year's Offshore Mediterranean Conference in Ravenna…
An important milestone in Apache's UK North Sea Bacchus field development was reached recently with installation of a 6.7km pipeline bundle. The job was overseen by Flexlife, whose operations director John Marsden here describes how it was planned and executed…
Three Alaskan Beaufort Sea developments – BP Exploration (Alaska)'s Northstar, Pioneer --Natural Resources' Oooguruk and now Eni Petroleum's Nikaitchuq – have helped establish baseline experience for future arctic frontier pipelines. As well as demonstrating technical strides…
Subsea welding goes deeperA decade of research at the UK's Cranfield University has confirmed that subsea welding can be successfully conducted at depths of up to 940m, more than 600m deeper than previous records and far deeper than the 180m depth limit for divers…
The current state of development of methane hydrate resources – ‘from Mallik to the Nankai Trough' – was examined by an international symposium in Japan late last year. Two of the participants, Professor Andrew Palmer and Simon Falser from the…
Drilling system vibration was recognized as a potential cause of elevated drilling costs half a century ago. It has been thoroughly studied in the years since, and sound mitigation practices have been published. Shell's Mark Dykstra discusses the state of the art…
Each time a hurricane sweeps through the Gulf of Mexico, operators hope for the best – that their infrastructure, from topsides to flowlines to wellheads, remains safe in the face of nature’s fury. Determined to protect its assets, Chevron sought…
Continuous registration of vessel traffic above pipelines via the proposed Automatic Identification System (AIS) represents a significant improvement on pipeline operators' emergency response to possible mechanical damage, says Jens Erik Thygesen…
Subsea trenching is not seen as one of the offshore industry's most glamorous or challenging activities – what could be more straightforward than digging in the dirt? In truth, however, it is far easier to lose money trenching than to make it…