OTC 2023: Oceanit actively working on disruptive offshore technologies
By Ariana Hurtado, Editor and Director of Special Reports
HOUSTON — Oceanit's energy services range from nanocoatings to artificial intelligence and machine learning for oil and gas exploration to subsea wireless communications.
Just ahead of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), Matthew Sullivan, director of product with Oceanit, shared insights about the company's latest technology innovations and how it is addressing the challenges facing the offshore energy sector.
"The energy industry is undergoing a transformation in many areas including decarbonization, digitization and automation," Sullivan told Offshore. "Oceanit is actively working with its partners in the industry to develop and introduce disruptive technology solutions to solve the industry’s hardest problems."
In the R&D area, Hawaii-based Oceanit is actively working on disruptive offshore technologies. For instance, Scanite is an acoustic metamaterial for digital well integrity monitoring that is designed to provide real-time well integrity information for the digital oil field. Scanite provides accurate monitoring and detection of cement stresses, formation issues and enhanced well integrity.
In addition, in subsea environments, high-speed data transmission, continuous monitoring abilities and high-capacity communication systems are becoming critical for operations in deepsea environments for communication and infrastructure, in both the private sector and defense sector. So, Oceanit developed ULTRA using point-to-point, tight-beam lasers to enable high-bandwidth, wireless communications to create the crucial backbone for a subsea Internet of Things, Sullivan explained. The system offers gigabit bandwidth communications over distances of 100-plus meters and runs through low-power sensor nodes, enabling real-time monitoring of wide-band data and eliminating the need for umbilicals within the system.
As another example, DragX is a new surface treatment system for pipeline integrity. It utilizes nanocomposite technology to create a durable, low-friction internal surface that provides flow assurance and prevents corrosion, deposition and adhesion. Sullivan said DragX can lower operations costs, maintenance costs and pipeline downtime. The system is being applied offshore with the aim to enhance drag reduction and flow assurance, improve pipeline integrity and mitigate hydrate formation.
The following is a Q&A interview between Offshore and Sullivan, as he dives deeper into Oceanit's recent technologies to increase efficiencies and optimize offshore operations.OFFSHORE: What is Oceanit’s latest technology solution for the offshore energy industry, and what offshore challenges is it addressing?
Oceanit, in collaboration with the US Department of Energy, developed the initial proof of technical concept for HALO (Hydrogen recovery using Arc-plasma Learning Optimization) to efficiently process produced water and extract valuable outputs such as hydrogen and rare earth minerals. The technology is now being applied to the offshore industry.
OFFSHORE:Do you have any recent offshore case study details you can share?SULLIVAN: In collaboration with Shell, Oceanit developed SCIN for use in seven deepwater and unconventional environments.
Sonic cement evaluation logs have been used since the late 1950s to quantify the presence of cement behind casing. The bond between casing and cement placed in the annulus is a critical component of wellbore construction. Bond integrity is inferred after the cement has cured, using acoustic methods well known in the industry. This evaluation is dependent on the acoustic coupling between the cement and the pipe.
However, if the acoustic coupling is weak, non-existent or has been damaged by operations such as pressure testing or stimulation treatments, the cement may be present but cannot be properly evaluated, leading to ambiguous conclusions and ultimately unnecessary remedial cementing.
SCIN has been successfully field tested in both unconventional and deepwater environments, applied to over 5,200 ft of pipe ranging from 5-inch to 16-inch diameters. SCIN significantly improves the accuracy of acoustic cement evaluation results, eliminating unnecessary cement remediation costs, which can range from $100,000 to well over $10 million per well.
OFFSHORE: How is Oceanit connecting with offshore energy majors, independents and national oil companies; federal and regional government officials; and/or academics to reach net-zero targets or improve ESG goals for the offshore oil and gas industry and/or offshore renewables sector?
SULLIVAN: Founded in 1985, Oceanit is a “Mind to Market'' company that creates disruptive technology from fundamental science. Oceanit’s EDGE (Energy Decarbonization for the Global Environment) initiative specifically addresses next-generation energy technology challenges, operating as an 'innovation incubator' for the energy industry. EDGE focuses on the rapid deployment of disruptive energy technologies at scale with the aim of accelerating energy transition and sustainability to reach the industry’s ESG goals.
EDGE has resulted in the development of advanced nanomaterials to improve downhole casing for offshore rigs, ‘smart’ sensing materials used in cementing, green hydrogen production from produced water, advanced artificial intelligence to safeguard critical infrastructure from hackers, and more. To get these disruptive technologies to market, Oceanit has partnered with leading energy companies, such as Shell, Chevron, Eni and others, to rapidly pilot new energy decarbonization technologies and deploy them at scale.
OFFSHORE: Can you explain the company's process of "Mind to Market" technologies and how they resolve offshore energy industry issues?
SULLIVAN: We create breakthrough ideas, insights, discoveries and developments, delivering the future as an interdisciplinary team. Oceanit calls this practice 'Mind-to-Market,' delivering deep science to disruptive, real-world innovation.
Our ‘Mind to Market’ process works like this: We start by listening to our customers to gain empathy and understand the 'market pain.' Then we start a user-engagement journey following design thinking methodologies which encourage rapid prototyping, iteration and validation that we are delivering on what will actually make an impact and be adopted by the industry.
Finally, we initiate a process around delivery to market, delivering products at an accelerated time scale to disrupt a paradigm or industry practice.
CEO Patrick Sullivan will be part of the OTC panel, "Active Arena: Collisions - The Nexus of Entrepreneurship, Digital Transformation, and Energy Transition," from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2.
Oceanit also will be hosting its "EDGE Technology Showcase: Delivering the Future" from 5-9 p.m. on May 2 at the Houston 1940 Air Terminal Museum.
05.01.2023
