Monday, December 23, 2024

Gas Technology News

Carbon Capture & Storage: A New Lease of Life for Submarine Pipelines?

Photo courtesy Neptune Energy

Since 2019, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) have risen up the political agenda, globally, offering a route to decarbonization, as well as (more recently), increased energy security. Many are eying use of existing pipeline to make both happen. Elaine Maslin takes a look.Hydrogen production and CCS offers a more or less “green” decarbonization options for oil and gas companies, alongside carbon capture and storage (CCS), especially if existing offshore infrastructure could be reused to make it happen.

Geothermal Energy: A New Life for Old Offshore Oil Wells?

© Naeblys/AdobeStock

Old offshore oil wells could be turned into geothermal energy producers under a plan by a new consortium. The group, The Aquarius North Sea Geothermal Consortium, is “actively” working with North Sea operators to see if old wells could be used to generate geothermal energy for existing platforms. But a future goal is greenfield geothermal exploration.Kirsten Pasturel, CEO of ZeGen Energy, says there’s huge potential with some mature oil fields producing over 100…

Robotics: Autobots Transform in the Offshore Energy Sector

BladeBUG is a blade walking inspection robot, focusing on leading edge erosion inspection. Images from ORE Catapult.

Robots and robotics have slowly been entering our lives, in various shapes and forms (and fictional characters), from self-driving household vacuum cleaners to highly automated manufacturing systems. Now they’re heading for the offshore world – in just as many shapes and forms.There could be a lot to gain from robotics, but platforms and offshore wind turbine structures are also very challenging places to put them on. For oil and gas, key drivers are around safety and cost .

This Energy Source Can Support Your Sustainability Goals Without Wrecking Your Budget

Photo courtesy of PERC

Port operations are so all-encompassing and downright dynamic that they operate almost like miniature cities. So it’s no surprise these key transition points in the global supply chain are treated as such by regulators with regard to emissions compliance and air quality standards.On their path to a cleaner operation, ports can often face outside pressure on their operational budgets. Even the tiniest decision on how to move goods from sea to shore to the nation’s thoroughfares can have dramatic impacts on the bottom line.

Chrysaor Backs Mocean Subsea

Mocean Energy, global wave energy player, has teamed up with energy major Chrysaor, subsea energy storage experts EC-OG and AUV specialist Modus in a project to look at using renewables for subsea power.The project, funded by the partners together with the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), will look to use Mocean Energy’s Blue Star wave energy converter and EC-OG’s HALO subsea energy storage system to power subsea tiebacks or residential AUVs.If industry feedback is positive…

G42, ADNOC JV for AI in Oil and Gas

With a goal of creating more artificial intelligence (AI) led solutions for the oil and gas sector, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)  has signed a deal with compatriot technology company Group 42 (G42) to create a new joint venture.The JV will be tasked with developing and commercializing market-leading AI products for the energy sector.The agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) by Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Director, Executive Office Directorate, ADNOC, and Peng Xiao, CEO of G42.

Field Trial Success for Well Integrity Innovator

Neil Gordon (Photo: Sentinel Subsea)

Sentinel Subsea, specialist in long-term well integrity verification, has announced the successful completion its first offshore field trial, run in conjunction with independent operator Spirit Energy and the Oil & Gas Technology Center (OGTC).As a growing number of offshore assets reach the late life stage of their lifecycle, so the number of suspended wells which require environmental monitoring also increases. Recognizing the need to monitor suspended wells both efficiently and cost-effectively…

IMO 2020: Hydrogen's Future in Maritime

Hydrogen fuel cell technology to Satisfy Future IMO RequirementsWith an ongoing push by the maritime community to reduce ship emissions to satisfy IMO MARPOL Annex VI regulations and limit the sulfur content of ships from 01 January 2020 to 0.5 percent world-wide, many ship owners are starting to consider hydrogen fuel cell technology to satisfy evolving emissions regulations. To date, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on research programs to utilize hydrogen fuel cells for transportation.

UK Opens National Decommissioning Center

The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) is opened by Lord Duncan, UK Government Minister for Scotland and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Energy Minister, in Newburgh, in North-East Scotland’s Energetica Corridor.The Centre aims to work in partnership with companies to become the global leader in research and development (R&D) focused on reducing costs, extending field and asset life, and transforming the traditional approach to decommissioning.100 offshore platforms and 5…

Forum Tackles Decom Challenges

John Warrender, Chief Executive, Decom North Sea and Bill Cattanach, Head of Supply Chain at the OGA. (Photo: Decom North Sea)

At its inaugural Collaboration and Innovation in Decommissioning event earlier this month, Decom North Sea brought together more than 110 delegates – from operator and supply chain companies – to focus upon finding solutions to current and future decommissioning challenges.Working with the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), Decom North Sea constructed a highly interactive day comprising presentations, open forum sessions, networking and one-to-one sessions to maximize delegate engagement resulting in the generation of over 120 potential solutions.Setting the scene…

Ampelmann Secures North Sea Decommissioning Project

Photo: Ampelmann

Dutch offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann said it has made another step forward in the field of decommissioning with a recently secured contract in the Southern North Sea.An E-type gangway system has been installed on the Olympic Orion vessel to carry out a two-month campaign for end client Spirit Energy to prepare the Audrey platform for decommissioning.The E-type is the largest fully motion compensated system within the Ampelmann portfolio. Operating globally…

MAN D&T Rebrands ‘MAN Energy Solutions’

Uwe Lauber, CEO MAN Energy Solutions unveiling the new company name in the Augsburg Headquarter (Photo: MAN Energy Solutions)

MAN Energy Solutions represents a new vision, as reflected by a new, corporate design. The new branding embodies a strategic and technological transformation, a process the company had already begun back in 2017 by implementing its new strategy for the future: to expand its business with sustainable technologies and solutions such that they become its main source of revenue by 2030. This strategic realignment is supported by the expansion of MAN Energy Solutions’ product range to include hybrid…

Teledyne Bags OTC Technology Award

The FlameGuard P5-200 is a flame-proof ceramic electrical penetrator for use as part of the fire resistant envelope of an offshore surface wellhead and Christmas tree system. (Image: Teledyne Marine)

Teledyne Marine was recognized by the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) with a 2018 Spotlight on New Technology Award for the FlameGuard P5-200. Each year, OTC recognizes innovative technologies with the Spotlight on New Technology Award, which showcases advanced solutions that will lead the industry into the future. The FlameGuard P5-200 is a flame-proof ceramic electrical penetrator for use as part of the fire resistant envelope of an offshore surface wellhead and Christmas tree system.

Offshore Achievement Award winners Announced

Winners of the 2018 Offshore Achievement Awards were announced last night {22 March} in a celebration of industry talent, innovation and enthusiasm. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section revealed the 11 winners to an audience of more than 450 people, with categories covering technology innovation, company performance and individual achievement across the UK offshore energy sector. Ray Riddoch, UK managing director at Nexen was named this year’s…

Raptor Oil Closes $5.8 Mln in a Series C Funding Round

Photo: Raptor Oil

Aberdeen-based technology start-up Raptor Oil said it has secured £4.2 million ($5.8 million) of investment in a Series C funding round. The round, led by Statoil Technology Invest (STI), was completed on December 15, 2017. It includes investment from ConocoPhillips and new investor Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise. In addition, funds were granted by The Oil & Gas Technology Center. Raptor, formed in Aberdeen in 2011 by Dr. Colin MacLean and Gordon Cowie…

BiSN Secures O&G Industry Investment

Paul Carragher (Photo: BiSN)

Metal-to-metal downhole sealing solutions provider BiSN said it has been awarded significant investment by the Aberdeen-based Oil & Gas Technology Center (OGTC). One of four companies to benefit from a total £1.3 million ($1.8 million) investment as part of the Technology Center’s ‘Call for Ideas’ initiative, which aims to have a transformational impact upon well plugging and abandonment (P&A) in the North Sea. BiSN’s Wel-Lok M2M technology utilizes a modified thermite heater…

Well-Centric Develops Compact Milling Tool

Gate Valve Milling Tool (Photo: Well-Centric)

Well-Centric, an independent specialist in well integrity and production technology solutions for the oil and gas industry, will launch a new compact milling tool at the SPE ICOTA Well Intervention Conference this month. The Well-Centric Gate Valve Milling Tool is a milling tool designed to provide access to restricted wells by drilling through stuck gate valves or other blockages. Stuck valves can result in a well being out of action for months, if not years, with lost production potentially amounting to millions.

LUX Assure Appoints Partner in Malaysia

Photo: LUX Assure

Oil and gas technology firm, LUX Assure, has strengthened its presence in Malaysia with the appointment of a regional partner, Borneo Seaoffshore Engineering SDN BHD. Borneo Seaoffshore will support LUX in educating the local market on corrosion management best practice, whilst promoting its CoMic  technology. CoMic is an on-site deployable corrosion inhibitor monitoring kit, which is used to inform better corrosion inhibitor management and to identify if the optimum level of inhibitor is being dosed.

GE Power Division Signs $3 bln Services Deal in Algeria

GE Power, a division of General Electric Co, has signed a services deal with a subsidiary of Algerian utility Sonelgaz valued at more than $3 billion, the largest such agreement ever for GE Power, GE said on Monday. Under the 20-year contract with Sonelgaz SPE, GE will provide long-term maintenance and operations services for 10 power plants in Algeria, which produce 11 gigawatts of power, about 70 percent of Algeria's electricity, GE said. The agreement is expected to save Sonelgaz $2 billion in gas costs over 20 years, GE said.

Partners to Develop Western Australia LNG Supply

Woodside and GE have signed an agreement to work together to support the use of LNG as a fuel in Western Australia. The agreement will provide customers with the option of seamless access to reliable LNG fuel supply and gas-fuelled transport and power generation solutions. Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said that this type of collaboration was key to development of the LNG fuel market in Western Australia. “The agreement between our companies will harness the combined experience and offerings of Woodside and GE…