After a pandemic-altered schedule the past two years, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) was back on track as an in-person only event, with a vast variety of technical presentations, networking opportunities, technology showcases and demonstrations, and a crowd-filled exhibition. Industry leaders, C-suite executives, technology experts, investors, buyers, entrepreneurs, young professionals and more than 1,000 exhibitors gathered May 2-5 in Houston to network and discover the latest advances, challenges and opportunities in the offshore energy industry.
Each year attendees gather to focus on new technology innovations, advances and trends. The 2022 Spotlight on New Technology Award winners comprise 14 companies, including seven small businesses, from around the world.
This award is presented to OTC exhibitors based on the following criteria: novelty in the marketplace; level of innovation; demonstrated success; broad commercial appeal; and ability to make a significant impact across the offshore industry.
2022 Spotlight winners
For electrifying subsea process automation, Bosch Rexroth has been honored with a Spotlight award for its SVA R2, an electric subsea valve actuator with safety springs. The subsea electric actuator is as compact as hydraulic actuators and can replace conventional hydraulic cylinders without taking up additional space.
Expro is an award recipient for its Galea autonomous well intervention system. The system is designed to reduce intervention costs, HSE risks and environmental impact, and it can be set up in different operating modes to suit a variety of applications onshore and offshore. Galea minimizes deferred production, offers 24/7 monitoring from anywhere across the globe and recues operational overheads.
Oil States Industries has received an award for its Oil States Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) and Riser Gas Handling (RGH) system. The system integrates MPD and RGH into a deepwater drilling riser. The system’s design features retrievable annular packers, which allow replacement and servicing in minutes—without disconnecting the lower marine riser package—to substantially reduce maintenance and nonproductive time.
Additionally, Oil States has also been recognized with partner TotalEnergies for developing the Merlin 15K HP/HT riser system for subsea drilling applications in shallow water. Merlin enables drilling of HP/HT wells in shallow water from a jackup rig, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per well compared to using traditional higher specification semisubmersible rigs, according to a company news release. It also offers simple plug-and-play advantages compared to conventional flanged systems.
“The system is believed to be the first of its kind design-rated for sour service applications,” OTC stated.
Part of the Municipal Group of Companies, R3 Environmental Systems has won an award for its Vacuum Assisted Pure Oil Recovery Technology, which recovers drilling fluid and water from waste that is generated during oil and gas drilling activities.
“We are confident that this technology could significantly reduce the waste produced in the oil and gas sector,” said Patrick Rooney, director of manufacturing, Municipal Group of Companies, in a recent company news release. “It’s a small contribution to making this industry just a little bit greener.”
Schlumberger has received an award for its ReSOLVE iX extreme-performance instrumented wireline intervention service, which leverages intelligent downhole technologies to optimize results in extreme conditions, such as HP/HT, sour and restricted-access environments.
“The instrumentation enables real-time downhole measurement and diagnostics, visualized in a user-friendly dashboard,” according to Schlumberger’s website. “You can now confirm operations as they happen and quickly adjust your actions to address downhole uncertainties.”
Schlumberger was also recognized for its Autonomous Directional Drilling, a hardware that drills holes autonomously.
“Autonomous Directional Drilling isn't one tool or technology,” according to Schlumberger news release. “It amalgamates the fullness of well construction operations to drill from spud to TD [total depth], using an autonomous system that constantly analyzes its position, formation characteristics, conditions and trajectory to optimize steering, well placement and overall drilling performance—reducing cost/foot drilled and improving productivity.”
2022 Spotlight Small Business Winners
ClampOn has been awarded a Spotlight award for the ClampOn Subsea Flow Temperature Monitor, which is a non-intrusive instrument that calculates and monitors the temperature of the flow medium from outside the pipe. The non-invasive monitoring tool can be retrofitted to existing installations (e.g., as a replacement for broken intrusive sensors). The company states it also can be integrated into ClampOn’s range of subsea sensors to provide temperature measurement alongside sand monitoring, pig detection, vibration monitoring or leak detection.
CoreAll has been recognized for its CoDril tool.
“The CoreAll Intelligent Coring System and Logging While Coring tool provides real-time transmission of gamma-ray, resistivity, downhole vibration and core jam indication,” OTC stated on its website. “The CoDril tool is a supplemental downhole convertible core bit, allowing the operator to select between coring and drilling modes and saves a complete roundtrip to change the BHA [bottomhole assembly] every time.”
HYTORC has received two Spotlight awards for its MXT+ hydraulic torque wrench and its HYTORC Connect App.
The wrench is constructed from high-strength materials for “rugged industrial use” and “highly repeatable performance,” according to the company. It includes a coaxial reaction drive, auto-release feature and a new cycle counter.
The Connect App software provides wireless data exchange between Bluetooth-enabled HYTORC Electric Torque Tools and Windows PC or mobile devices. According to the company, detailed bolting results are captured wirelessly for complete project documentation.
“The [Connect] App communicates wirelessly with the tool, initializes bolting parameters, guides the operator, monitors results, collects data and generates complete quality documentation to assure bolted joint integrity,” OTC stated on its website.
Rocsole Ltd. has won an award for its Intelligent Level Detection & Data Analytics for Sand Management. Sensors for automated sand management systems secure the proper functionality and avoid unexpected shutdowns or reduced production rates. ROCSOLE’s electrical tomography allows deposits to be registered and monitored in real time.
“Being rewarded the Spotlight on New Technology award three times in a row is a huge recognition for our technology,” said Rocsole CTO Arto Voutilainen in a company news release. “Being able to detect waste streams, deposits and solids buildup in real time is providing large benefits for our customers to improve their efficiencies and ESG measures.”
Subsea Shuttle LLC has earned an award for its technology that provides subsea chemical storage and injection, which meets the need for longer and more cost-effective deepwater subsea tiebacks.
“The system features a cost-effective modular design and delivers application flexibility regarding injection rates, autonomy, reliability and compatibility with a wide range of production chemicals,” OTC stated on its website.
Aquatec Group has been recognized for its KINEKtron, a fully functional, tested and deployed retrofit subsea strain monitoring system. The system is capable of measuring strain on structural tubular members. KINEKtron combines Aquatec’s existing underwater instrumentation and communications technologies with a new method for measuring strain in an ROV-installable package.