More Subsea Oil & Gas News in Middle East

A record for distance, voltage, and frequency will be set when ABB provides to Aker Solutions drives and transformers for the subsea power distribution system at Statoil's Åsgard oil and gas field.

Noble Energy has awarded Delmar Systems Inc. a contract to install five subsea trees in the Tamar gas field offshore Israel in the Mediterranean Sea.

Saipem has won engineering and construction offshore contracts in with a combined value of more than $1 billion.

Noble Energy has awarded Expro a $27-million well engineering contract for its deepwater E&P program.

Noble Energy has contracted EMAS AMC for a subsea spread for the Tamar deepwater development offshore Israel.

The offshore industry, in particular the Gulf of Mexico, is still in a retrospective mode, assessing the impact from the subsea blowout in early 2010 and the ongoing global economic crisis. However, with signs of economic recovery and the potential for higher oil prices, the level of confidence for deployment of subsea processing equipment shows signs of revival.

This month we take a look at E&P operations in the largest enclosed body of water on Earth, the Caspian Sea. Capex growth by 2016 is expected to hit $4 billion a year in efforts to tap more than 50 Bboe in reserves across the area. The big projects, ACG, Shah Deniz, and Kashagan lead the way for this hub of demand. Europe to the west and China to the east will generate demand for more production from this relatively lightly explored region.

The Galsi pipeline across the Mediterranean Sea will transport natural gas from Algeria to Sardinia and mainland Italy once completed. Parts of the 560 km (348 mi) offshore route encounter difficult seabed morphology, descending and climbing steep slopes in water depths approaching 3,000 m (10,000 ft).

Grenland Group is to deliver one integrated template structure and one manifold for FMC Technologies at Kongsberg. The total weight for the delivered structures will be approximately 350 metric tons (386 tons).

Mermaid Maritime subsidiary Subtech has entered a joint venture agreement with General Technologies & Systems (Gentas) to provide diving and offshore marine services the oil and gas sector in Saudi Arabia.

Noble Energy Inc. has awarded a NOK 270 million ($46 million) contract for subsea umbilicals to Aker Solutions as part of a larger contract executed earlier this year.

Recent advances in pipelaying equipment and vessel design can help offshore operators and contractors overcome challenges posed by uneven seabed terrain, including major sandwaves, outcrops, pockmarks, and general unevenness. As the industry moves into deeper waters, the difficulties posed by uneven seabed landscapes will become increasingly significant, and these latest advances will figure more prominently.

When the Norwegian government decided in 2006 to set up centers of expertise to promote the country’s business strengths in various areas, it chose Bergen as the centre of expertise for the subsea sector – and with good reason. In and around this attractive city on Norway’s west coast is a dense cluster of companies, from small to large, offering a wide range of subsea technology for the offshore oil and gas industry. The subsea cluster’s main focus is on aftermarket activities – maintenance, modification and operation.

Eni has contracted Technip to install subsea equipment at Kitan field in the Timor Sea in 350 m (1,148 ft) water depth. The area, jointly administered by Timor-Leste and Australia, is 500 km (310 mi) from the northern Australian coast and 250 km (155 mi) south of the Timor-Leste capital, Dili.

Burullus Gas Co. has awarded Technip a $300 million-plus engineering, procurement, installation, and construction (EPIC) contract for the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) Phase VIIIa development.

Noble Energy Inc. has awarded Aker Solutions a NOK $150 million ($23.58 million) contract for subsea control equipment.

Noble Energy Inc. has awarded Aker Solutions a NOK 650 million ($109 million) contract to engineer and manufacture 240 km (149 mi) of steel tube umbilicals for the Tamat project in the Mediterranean.

Fluor Offshore Solutions and Global Industries are featuring at the Subsea Tieback Forum & Exhibition news that the two companies have agreed to join forces to produce offshore oil and gas projects in the Middle East and North Africa region.

This is an overview of the subsea separation, boosting, and compression progress and development in the offshore oil and gas industry during 2009. Recent awards and start-ups indicate several new projects in the developmental stages plus new world records for installed systems. Subsea separation and boosting technology is now operational in 2,438 m (7,999 ft) water depth in Shell’s Perdido field.

Technip is shifting its subsea R&D focus increasingly towards the coming generation of ultra deepwater projects. Management outlined some of the solutions and associated investments at a recent presentation at the company’s flexible risers/flowlines plant in Le Trait, northern France.

Repsol has awarded Aker Solutions a contract to deliver subsea equipment for its Mediterranean wells.

Qatargas has awarded Neptune Marine Services a subsea inspection contract for its platforms, offshore pipelines, and subsea connection facilities in the Arabian Gulf.