SUBSEA/SURFACE SYSTEMS

Roxar’s subsea multiphase meters.

Under the terms of the contracts, Roxar will supply 10 of its subsea multiphase meters to a field offshore Angola and seven subsea wet gas meters to a field offshore South Africa. Through the continuous measurement of the amount of oil, condensate, gas, and water at the wellheads on the seabed, Roxar says the field operators will be able to increase flow assurance from the fields, optimize the production process, and maximize oil and gas recovery.

Roxar’s multiphase meter is designed to continuously measure the flow rates of the individual fluids in the well stream without the need for separation. The light-weight meters are designed for maximum reliability, performance, and flexibility, the company says, with each well having a jumper-mounted meter with retrievable canisters containing electronics, CPU and power. Roxar says the meters are more accurate than separation-based systems because they are independent of separation efficiency and are insensitive to slugs, foam, carry-overs and emulsions. The information is used to determine the optimal production capacity of each well over the lifetime of the field, thereby avoiding the risk of overproducing the well, while at the same time accelerating production and increasing recovery.

Roxar’s subsea wet gas meter provides real-time flow rates and sensitive, accurate water fraction measurements, the company says. Roxar says its subsea wet gas meter is the only meter available with online and direct measurement of formation water in wet gas flow, allowing direct measurement of water as soon as it starts to be produced from the well. The formation water detection function in the meter is considered an important input parameter for controlling hydrates, corrosion and scale in a subsea production system.

“By measuring multiphase and wet gas flows in real-time to an unsurpassed degree of accuracy, operators can gather valuable new information on a well’s performance, take early remedial action when a problem develops and optimize production,” said Roxar CEO, Sandy Esslemont. “We are delighted to be joining forces with Vetco Gray today and are confident that our multiphase and wet gas meters will help the field operators to increase productivity, flow assurance and oil recovery.”

Aker Kvaerner awarded Tyrihans booster contract

Statoil has signed a letter of intent with Aker Kvaerner for the delivery of a subsea seawater injection system for the Tyrihans project in the Norwegian Sea. Aker Kvaerner says that the new generation pumps should increase oil production from the Tyrihans field by 10%.

The pumps will reportedly be the world’s largest and installed at the longest step-out. The contract is valued at approximately NOK200 million.

The contract will specifically call for subsidiary Aker Kvaerner Subsea to supply two subsea injection pumps which will be installed more than 40 km from the Kristin platform, where the oil and gas will be processed. The pumps will feature Aker Kvaerner’s own technology and will inject raw sea water for pressure support and stabilization of the oil zone.

“Aker Kvaerner has developed a robust technology for the subsea raw seawater injection pump system for Tyrihans,” said Torstein Austvik, a Statoil engineer responsible for the pump system at Tyrihans. “The high capacity of Aker Kvaerner’s boosting system combined with its robustness and simplicity in design has been a decisive factor for Statoil in this contract award.”

Aker Kvaerner will manufacture the pump system at its facility in Tranby in Norway for delivery in the 3Q 2008. Production on Tyrihans, reportedly one of the largest planned projects on the Norwegian continental shelf, is due to begin mid-2009.

Raymond Carlsen, executive VP of Aker Kvaerner Subsea, called the contract award “a breakthrough for another of our boosting technologies already well-proven onshore. It is the latest in a string of recent projects that will benefit from this technology.”

Statoil has a 46.8% interest in the Tyrihans field, while its partners are Total with 26.51%, Hydro with 12%, Eni with 7.9% and ExxonMobil with 6.75%.

Hallin Marine wins Asia Pacific contracts

Subsea support provider Hallin Marine has won two new contracts with a combined value of a minimum of $4.3 million for diving and repair services in the Asia-Pacific region.

The first is a one month contract valued at $2.5 million for diving support of a subsea pipeline installation off Thailand for local energy major PTT. The main contractor for the Thailand project, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), awarded the contract to Hallin, which has taken the Diving Support Vessel,Gulmar Condor, on hire under a standard charter agreement to utilize it as a platform for Hallin Marines’ Saturation Diving System and ROV. HHI has the option to extend the contract for a further two months.

The second contract is a $1.8-million underwater repair and maintenance contract by Premier Oil for its Anoa gas field in the Natuna Sea off Indonesia. PT Hallin Marine Indonesia, Hallin’s recently established wholly-owned subsidiary, secured the base contract for the supply and operation of a DP1 vessel and a workclass ROV, as well as offshore intervention services. The work is slated to begin sometime in July.

“We are delighted with these major contract awards,” said John Giddens, CEO of Hallin Marine. “These are excellent project wins in themselves and both will produce real progress, in different ways, for our company. The charter of theGulmar Condor will strengthen our capability and the second contract win for our newly established office in Jakarta, Indonesian is a great step forward.

“The Premier Oil contract is another success for our new Indonesian subsidiary. Premier Oil is a highly respected oil operator and we are pleased to secure our second subsea contract with Premier and look forward to working with them once again.”