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, which 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 50% to 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 turbomachinery, 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. Major customers include Alstom Power, Dresser-Rand, General Electric, and Rolls Royce.
Engineering and fabrication consortium
DalaOffshore is a cooperation of Swedish companies. 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, and steam management, as well as office and personnel modules.
Kollin & Ström AB specializes in manufacture, assembly, and service of steel and aluminum con-structions as well as manufacture of niche products, primarily for use offshore in the North Sea regions. Siljan Stainless manufactures stainless steel heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tanks, tube systems, and sewage and fresh water treatment facilities, as well as parts for high-temperature applications in thermo-alloys.
Drinking water treatment
 Modular galley system from Electrolux Marine. |
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 fulfill their requirements for this service. E.C.T. also runs courses each year titled "Drinking Water Treatment for Offshore Personnel."
Galley and laundry
Galley 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 been supplying food service and laundry equipment to the offshore sector.
Gas turbine cleaning
 GTE's spray nozzle technique for 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 says 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.
Living quarters design and fabrication
Emtunga, one of the leading manufacturers of offshore living quarter modules, has changed its name to Pharmadule Emtunga AB 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.
Optimizing deepwater production
Glisco Optekon's software tool, Optekon, makes intelligent evaluations of each stage of a process to show how even seemingly minor actions can affect the end result, often negatively. Optekon can then be applied to implement action to optimize costs and other benefits, even for the most complex deepwater production systems.
Submersible agitators and slurry pumps
ITT Flygt manufactures submersible agitators and slurry pumps for sediment-free mixing and the efficient transfer of drilling mud. The company's products are operating offshore on rigs and supply vessels, saving customers time and money on a daily basis. The company operates a worldwide network of sales companies, distributors, and after sales support.
Semisubmersible design
GVA Consultants specializes in the design and project management of semisubmersible units. The company, with its roots in the former GVA shipyard, has more than 20 years' experience in semisubmersibles for various applications. It has designed more than half of the world's purpose-built production semisubmersibles and is presently designing the BP Thunder Horse and Statoil Kristin units. GVA-C is also leading a consortium that is building a drilling unit for the Caspian Sea.
Maximizing winch performance
Hagglunds has been working with manufacturers and operators of winches to optimize applications for 40 years. This experience and knowledge has made the Hagglunds name well known for performance and reliability, particularly with mooring and lifting applications. Typical features of the company's winch drives are: high power (up to 1,200 kw); accurate, constant tension at low and even zero speed with very high mechanical and starting efficiency; no stick-slip effects; and strong low-speed performance and low inertia, providing highly responsive controls.
Tempered water for eyewashes
Krusman has developed a unique blending system for eyewashes that is equipped with a safe thermostat to eliminate the risk of scalding. This is vitally important when there is a need to prolong the flushing time in cases where the victim has been exposed to splashes of corrosive substances that may attack the eyes or skin. If only cold water is accessible, it may be difficult for the victim to endure the required flushing time. Krusman supplies safety blending systems for eye and drench showers.
Brake control systems
Lidan Engineering manufactures brake control systems especially for upgrade of drawworks with band brakes. They include the DBS Brake Servo, a servo-hydraulic brake control system, which not only improves drillers' productivity, but also eliminates injuries to the driller. The system provides the necessary feedback for the driller to continuously "feel" the load. An integral function of the creep speed qualities of the DBS brake servo is the ADS Autodriller. The automatic feed out is controlled through a closed loop transmission between the drawworks drum and a small feed-back hydraulic motor. A signal for automatic weight on bit (WOB) control permits weight control within extremely narrow limits, working in concert with a steady rate of penetration (ROP), selectable between 1 and 75 mph. The BCS Block Control is an aid for the driller to avoid collision against drill floor, crown block, or racking arms. A PLC continuously directs the auxiliary electric brake to keep the travelling block within stored speed limit profiles and, when necessary, triggers the fail-safe spring brake actuator for full stop.
Hot isostatic processing
Metso Powdermet has won numerous major contracts from the offshore industry in recent years. Hot isostatic processed (HIP) PM Near Net Shape products are supplied from the largest HIP facility in the world, located at the company's facility in Surahammar, Sweden. Main applications are pressure vessel items such as manifolds for topsides, subsea-installations, valve-bodies, swivels, wye-pieces, and large wall thickness fittings. Material grades are primarily high strength stainless steel: Ferritic 12% Cr, 6% Mo-austenitic and 22-25% Cr duplex grades with excellent corrosion resistance. The company can manufacture products up to 15-ton unit weight, outside diameter 1.2 m and 2.8 m length.
Borehole surveying
Reflex Instrument is a leading manufacturer of instruments for borehole surveying that optimize the amount of drilling. The electronic single shot, Reflex EZ-Shot, is most effective when a limited number of surveys in a non-magnetic environment are needed quickly. For a large number of readings, either dense or in long holes, the company has produced a new Electronic Solid State Multishot, Reflex EMS. For accurate surveys under magnetically disturbed conditions, the Reflex Maxibor is recommended.
Offshore mooring chains
Since the 1960s, Scana Ramnäs has manufactured and supplied offshore mooring chains specializing in stud link and studless anchor chains in the 2 3/4-in. to 6 1/2-in. diameter range, chafe chains, Ramfor connec-tors and jewelry. Scana Ramnäs is a leader in the development and standardization of offshore mooring chains grade ORQ, ORQ+20%, R3S, R4, and R4+ as well as the present standard of studless chains. Stock depots of chains and connectors are available worldwide.
Spill-free handling
Todo has been a manufacturer and supplier of couplings and valves for the oil and chemical industries for over 30 years. The company's most notable product is the Todo-Matic Dry Break coupling, designed for spill-free connection and disconnection where aggressive and environmentally dangerous liquids are transferred. Todo-Matic is used extensively by contractors in the North Sea, the Far East, and Australasia. Typical media transferred by Todo-Matic are corrosion protection liquids, glycol, diesel, methanol, helicopter fuel, and drinking water. The system is most frequently used by supply vessels delivering liquids to offshore platforms in 4-in. and 6-in. sizes.
Water fog fire protection
Ultra Fog is a high-pressure water fog system designed to provide fire protection for accommodation areas, machinery spaces, and local protection of high-risk areas. Ultra Fog has a range of working pressure from 60 bar up to 150 bar, depending on the application. This flexibility is possible due to the unique technology and design of the Ultra Fog nozzle. Ultra Fog systems are of single fluid type, which means that only one set of pipe work is necessary - this simplifies installation and maintenance. The water is easily supplied through pressurized cylinder arrangements and/or pumps.
Loose stud guarantee
Since May, Scana Ramnas has been providing a five-year guarantee for all stud link anchor chain manufactured at its plant in Sweden. Should studs come loose or go missing, the company will correct this at no cost to the user. Loose studs can seriously impair a chain's fatigue life, which in turn can lead to formation of racks in the link. The definition of a loose stud is based on Det Norske Veritas instruction to surveyors No. 1-C3.4. Scana Ramnas' asymmetric stud with stud expansion, introduced in 1991, is designed to forestall such an event. The technique has also been proven to greatly reduce the costs of chain inspection.
