Offshore Engineer Reports
March 2005

and another thing ... According to the pros, the cons
Last month, to mark the adoption of the Kyoto Treaty, Greenpeace sent some of its shock troops to crimp day trading at the International Petroleum Exchange in London. They made their move just as day trading, which is done verbally, was getting under way, by invading the place armed with a variety of noisemakers and successfully halting the process for at least a short time.

Barges loom large for colossal Kashagan
Fifteen years from now, a sprawling, bridge-linked village of floating barges and facilities built to produce the colossal shallow water Kashagan oil field will dominate the skyline in the north Caspian Sea. Today, with drilling complete, fabrication of the first module units to be installed on the $30 billion development off Kazakhstan is gathering pace. Darius Snieckus looks at the breakthrough contracts bestowed as part of operator Agip KCO's phase one development.

Converting gas to cash
While according to statistics Nigeria holds the greatest amount of oil reserves in Africa, many feel that it is the country's gas reserves that will bring the greatest return in the future. Marshall DeLuca hears from two companies focused on developing these gas reserves with an innovative barge-based system they hope will convert this untapped resource into hard currency.

Extending the depth
As depletion of the shallow water Gulf of Mexico shelf reserves continues, companies are inventing new ways to improve economics for these increasingly marginal fields. On the infrastructure side, a novel approach by ATP Oil & Gas not only brought the company substantial cost and schedule savings but also earned it the 2004 Offshore Energy Achievement Award for innovation and technology. Marshall DeLuca reports.

Libya lends weight to re-emerging regional play
With start-up last year of the Euro7 billion West Libyan Gas Project and the handing out of awards on 15 blocks as part of the keenly-awaited first EPSA IV licensing round, Libya has taken two dramatic strides towards its stated aim of returning indigenous oil production to its historic peak of 3 million b/d - and, at a stroke, repositioned itself as a lead player in the Mediterranean oil and gas arena. Darius Snieckus rounds up recent developments in the rapidly evolving region.

Lightweight cable launch
Coiled on the back deck of a survey vessel, GeoEel looks a bit of a slippery customer. In fact it is the latest streamer developed by OYO company Geometrics ...

Making a good recovery
After so many false dawns over the last five years, the marine seismic market is finally showing signs of revival. Andrew McBarnet reports on the challenges that increased demand may present.

Nile delta debut for deepwater flooding unit
A new underwater system for remotely controlling flooding and pigging operations in subsea pipelines has notched up its first successes in the West Delta Deep development offshore Egypt. Terry Knott learns more from system developers Norson Services.

Perfless completion in prospect
Concern over formation damage and efficiencies associated with perforating has led to considerable improvements in both the technology and the processes in recent year. Now a JIP has developed and is delivering a method for 'perfless completion'. In unconsolidated formations, say proponents, it could conceivably replace traditional perforation practices. Rick von Flatern reports.

Scope of things to come
Schlumberger took the occasion of February's SPE/IADC conference in Amsterdam to formally unveil its much-anticipated Scope system, hailed by the company as the next generation of logging while drilling tools. US Editor Rick von Flatern takes a look at this latest LWD offering with an eye on what has come before.

Smarter business
When 'intelligent' field technologies and systems were first introduced in the late-1990s, many were sceptical as to whether they would become part of the core E&P business. Five years on, as Shell EP's Grahaeme Henderson and Pieter Kapteijn confirm, digital oilfields are entering the oil and gas mainstream as important drivers of bottom-line performance improvement - and, more philosophically, doing things 'differently and better'.

this month ... Spar rises over Malaysia deepwater
Spar rises over Malaysia deepwater; Five in a row on block 31; Corocoro back on; First flow from Central Azeri; North Sea satellite duo into orbit; Mooring marvels; Sakhalin II pipeline get second look; Onne Base open for business; TLP patents buy-up; US Gulf production 'alive and well'; South Atlantic border bounty.