Swedish technology profiles

Access and maintenance lifts

Alimak specializes in rack and pinion driven lifts for industrial locations and has more than 25 years' experience of offshore applications. The modular-built lifts are adaptable in size and capacity and do not need any machine room or lift shaft. Available in explosion-protected design, the lifts provide safe and convenient access in hull columns, derricks, flare towers, and platform modules. Recent references include lifts for the Kvitebjørn and Valhall developments in the North Sea and the new Mærsk semisubmersible drilling rig for the Caspian.

Subsea field developments

The Alpha Thames method uses field-proven equipment, packaged into a unique "just in time" building block approach, that enables continuous production to suit varying reservoir conditions throughout field life. Recent studies using Alpha Thames' approach on behalf of major clients in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and Africa have shown potential production costs savings of $2-3/bbl, and increased recovery of between 50% and 100%.

Clean air for turbomachinery

Reliability of gas turbines, compressors, and engines is dependent on clean filtered air to perform efficiently. With 25 years experience of supplying air intake and acoustic systems for turbo-machinery, Camfil Farr – which has offices in Sweden, Belgium, Canada, and the USA – offers complete systems for all types of environments. The company's products include a complete range of barrier and static filters for offshore, marine, and land-based installations, Pulsejet filters for desert and heavy dust-load installations as well as acoustic systems, including inlet and exhaust silencers and acoustic enclosures with vent systems. Customers include Alstom Power, Dresser-Rand, General Electric, and Rolls Royce.

Engineering/fabrication

DalaOffshore is a cooperation of Swedish comp-anies. Members work as independent suppliers or in partnership, depending on project size. Of these, Allards provides heat transfer solutions and processes vessel design and fabrication. HIAK specializes in acoustic insulation for diesel and gas turbine engines, ventilation, steam management, as well as office and personnel modules.

Kollin & Ström specializes in manufacture, assembly, and service of steel and aluminum constructions as well as manufacture of niche products, primarily for use offshore in the North Sea area. Siljan Stainless manufactures stainless steel heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tanks, tube systems, sewage and fresh water treatment facilities, as well as parts for high-temperature applications in thermo-alloys. Finally, Remote Control designs, manu-factures, and markets pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric actuators for standard and special valves.

Drinking water treatment

E.C.T. Offshore Service offers comprehensive services for the treatment of drinking water offshore. Its systems have operated on over 250 rigs and platforms, many of which have annual service contracts with E.C.T. Due to the company's close cooperation with the Norwegian government, it can ensure that the installations fulfil their requirements for this service. E.C.T. also runs courses each year titled "Drinking water treatment for offshore personnel."

Galley and laundry

Galleys and laundries on offshore installations need to be equipped with the sturdiest and most heavy-duty equipment, due to the harsher conditions, compared with onshore installations. Electrolux Marine commits considerable resources to improving and developing not only its own manufactured equipment, but also features such as hygiene, ergonomics, design, layout, and safety. For the past three decades, the company has supplied food service and laundry equipment to the offshore sector.

Living quarters design and fabrication

Emtunga, one of the leading manufacturers of offshore living quarter modules, has changed its name to Pharmadule Emtunga following a merger with Pharmadule, which specializes in modular pharma-ceutical plants. The merger provides improved use of facilities and access to more experienced engineering capacity, which should in turn increase efficiency and reduce fabrication costs. Offshore-related activities will continue under the brand name Emtunga, and business is improving with success in several new geographical areas. The cost level of Emtunga's living quarters has proved attractive all over the world, and the tendency from oil companies to order two or more identical quarters helps to further reduce costs.

Welding equipment

On June 13, 2001, Esab was granted membership of the International Pipeline and Offshore Contractors Association (Iploca), which is operational in 125 countries. Esab's application was approved by Iploca for its extensive experience and reliability in the supply of welding equipment, consumables, and technology to pipeline engineering and construction. Letters of reference from Esab's pipeline customers also contributed positively to the decision. All Esab units will be included in the official Iploca directory, and the company's welding consumables will display the Iploca symbol.

Gas turbine cleaning

Gas Turbine Efficiency has developed the first cleaning concept for gas turbines using the same nozzle installation for both on and off-line cleaning, thereby reducing the installation and hardware costs. It is designed for use on every type of gas turbine, installation or application – new or retrofit. The concept saves water, space, and weight and has been subjected to extensive on-site and test cell tests. The company claims it is the most cost-effective cleaning program available. GTE's cleaning technology has been adopted by Alstom Power, GEPS, Dresser-Rand, Statoil, Norsk Hydro, and Phillips Petroleum, among others.

Optimizing deepwater production