A weighty issue
Most of our social culture has focused on the importance of
personally being slender and reducing unwanted pounds. So
too, has the offshore oil and gas industry wrestled with the
topic of weight minimization in the construction of its offshore
structures and process facilities. Mustang Engineering's John
Ellis and Richard Shirley update OE's long-running file on the
industry's battle with the bulge.ABS nod for novel tank containment
ABS recently gave its 'approval in
principle' (AIP) to ConocoPhillips
for its new proprietary 'Prism/
Pyramid tank concept for large LNG
carriers, designed to reduce free surface
area and thus reduce the high impact
sloshing loads and resonance period in
the tank ...
Alvheim helps with the home improvements
Marathon's Alvheim project may take its name from the 'home of the elves' in Norse mythology,
but there is nothing small-scale about the potential of this new 250 million barrel oil development
in the Norwegian North Sea. Darius Snieckus speaks with project director Peter Oswald about
plans for the multiple field development - being promoted by the country's ministry of energy as
the kind of 'major opportunity' still lying untapped in the mature areas off Norway.
and another thing ... Kerry's cry-caribou comedy
What with war and tsunamis and the specter of Tom
DeLay as US House majority leader, it has been difficult
to find much to chuckle about these days around
Washington DC. But it was clear the circus was back in town
about two days before the Senate budget vote was taken ...
Better, faster . . . and cheaper
Drilling activity is up in deeper water, to deeper geological
horizons, through depleted zones and in higher pressures and
temperatures. Sampling the impressive wares at February's
SPE/IADC drilling conference in Amsterdam, Rick von Flatern
highlights current industry initiatives focused on doing things
better, faster and cheaper even as it all gets more difficult.
Gateway to a gas future
Offshore regasification became
a reality last month with
Houston-based Excelerate
Energy reporting the
successful first discharge of
Malaysian LNG into its Gulf
Gateway facility 116 miles
offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
David Morgan reviews this
and other recent developments
on the offshore LNG front.
Holstein out to pasture
When BP kicked off its recent deepwater
Gulf of Mexico development spree, it
decided to begin the program by placing
the world's largest spar platform on the
Holstein field. But putting together such
a large project was no easy feat, as
Marshall DeLuca reports.
LNG business booming
The LNG business is poised for a
period of strong growth in capital
expenditure, with energy analysts
Douglas-Westwood predicting Capex -
including eight offshore terminals - of
some $67 billion for the period 2005-2009 ...
Making deepwater history
Deepwater operators continue to prove the old adage that records are meant
to be broken as the industry continues to each year re-establish the deepest
of the deep and the largest of the large for these massive field developments ...
Making deepwater history, part 2
Making light of Troll gas
The world's first high voltage direct current power supply
from shore to an offshore installation will soon be driving
gas compressors on Norway's giant Troll A platform.
Terry Knott digs into the details with system developers ABB.
Offshore production?
While the move towards offshore receiving terminals is
‘for tomorrow, LNG FPSO’s are for the day after tomorrow’,
Claude Valenchon of Saipem Paris told delegates to last
month’s Offshore Mediterranean Conference in Ravenna, Italy ...
Red planet appears on horizon
A new approach to subsea production boosting and processing
known as Mars was recently demonstrated in Aberdeen, aimed
at offering operators greater flexibility in the way that they
manage their fields. Terry Knott reports.
Repairing bolted flange connections in deepwater
The repair of defective bolted flange connections, without separating and re-jointing, presents
particular challenges for deepwater pipeline operators. Options include the full enclosure of the
flange and its stud fasteners or a more localised repair where a curing sealant is injected into the
flange gap. Furmanite International's Mark Burton and Dominic Dean outline the pros and cons.
Rooting out seismic's 'necessary evil'
As innovators in the marine seismics field, Norwegian firms
have always punched above their weight. Now one of them is
focusing its sights on the 'necessary evil' that is today's
piecemeal approach to geophysical data collection and
analysis. Multiwave Geophysical's Rick Donoghue argues that
the case for doing it all upfront is now a compelling one.
Where are the low-cost rotary steerable systems?
Drilling engineers and directional companies have long known that the highest percentage of
rotary steerable system (RSS) and positive displacement motor corrections are for inclination
control, not azimuth. They also know that if you keep the string turning to the right you should
drill a better hole and also reduce the chances of getting stuck, writes Jon Symons.
Offshore Engineer Reports