Aker Solutions secured a global framework agreement to deliver engineering and project management services at BP-operated subsea oil and gas fields.

Happy Easter!

Subsea services specialist Bibby Offshore has awarded a frame agreement for rigging equipment inspection and wire rope management to leading marine and subsea business IMES, following a lengthy and competitive tender process.

Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) and Underwater Mining Solutions (UMS) are teaming up to offer customers the full scope of mining equipment required for underwater mining projects, both offshore and inland, and in all territories. Their combined expertise, and the strength of each of their parent companies, enable SMD and UMS to provide customers with proven, de-risked solutions to deep-sea, near-shore and inland underwater exploration, mining and processing.

Tritech International Ltd, [Tritech], A Moog Inc. Company, is pleased to announce that Seatronics, an Acteon Company, is the first rental company to choose its next generation Gemini 720is multibeam imaging sonar.

The newly appointed conference chair of SPE Offshore Europe 2017 says that now is the time for the industry to reinvent itself and that SPE Offshore Europe 2017 will be the place where the industry will come together and shape its future for the next 10 years. Catherine MacGregor, President Europe & Africa, Schlumberger has been appointed chair of the event which will take place in Aberdeen from 5-8 September 2017 when the industry will have faced one of the longest and most severe downturns in decades.

Fugro is to supply ROV drilling support services on board the Ocean Guardian MODU under a new contract awarded by Dana Petroleum (E&P) Ltd. Operating one of its fleet of FCV 600 ROVs, specifically designed for North Sea drill support activities, Fugro will carry out drilling and completions projects at the Dana-operated Western Isles developments in the northern North Sea.

A year ago, Douglas-Westwood (DW) commented that E&P companies within West Africa were focusing reduced Capex plans on high-quality deepwater assets in the region. At the time, Brent crude was rebounding towards a mid-2015 peak of over $60 per barrel. However, in the months since this peak, oil prices plummeted once more, with Brent reaching lows of $26 per barrel in January 2016. DW has since revised its outlook considerably for West Africa’s deepwater prospects. With Brent on the rise last year and operators reiterating their commitment to deepwater assets in the region, DW foresaw the drilling of 483 deepwater development wells over 2016-2021 with deepwater production to continually increase to 4.0 mmboe/d by the end of this period.

Subsea IMR provider, N-Sea, has won the Safety Innovations award at this year’s SPE Aberdeen Offshore Achievement Awards. Winners were announced at a prestigious awards ceremony last night at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).

Dutch contracting company, Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V. [Van Oord], have purchased a suite of Gemini 720is multibeam imaging sonars, in the week of its launch at Oceanology 2016, 15 - 17 March, ExCel, London.

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors, a leading contractor for dredging, marine engineering and offshore energy projects has selected Valeport’s SWiFT SVP for its various survey activities. The SWiFT SVP is designed to ensure a seamless workflow and has an integral GPS to geo-locate every profile. The compact unit features high accuracy sound velocity, pressure, temperature, salinity and density measurement, plus integral GPS and re-chargeable battery. Suited for coastal, harbour and inland hydrographic survey use, Van Oord is to deploy the SWiFT SVP as part of their operations worldwide

In October 2015 a consortium of UK companies and academic partners, led by Steatite began an R&D project to develop a battery pack that will be pressure tolerant up to depths of 6000 metres.

Recently two ECA Group H800 Full HD ROVs, one to China, the other to a Middle East, have been selected for their power, ruggedness, compactness and stability performances.

Aberdeen-based Ashtead Technology has become the first subsea services company to be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for its state-of-the-art calibration laboratory. This official seal of approval from UKAS demonstrates that Ashtead delivers professional and technically competent calibration of survey, positioning and oceanographic sensors crucial to their customers’ subsea operations.

Statoil has exercised an option with Ocean Installer for flexible jumper replacement at the Vigdis field. The option falls under an amendment to the previously awarded SLMP Marine Installation contract.

The new Dolphin 2D sonar from Marine Electronics Ltd (MEL) is making a splash on the company’s stand at Oceanology (E200) where designers of small AUVs and ROVs are able to see what can be achieved when using such a small, low cost package. A prototype of the new sonar was first presented to the industry a year ago since when it has been refined and tested to the point where it is now ready for operational use.

Atlantas Marine Ltd has made its first move into ROV instrumentation with the design and manufacture of a video overlay device intended to make cathodic protection surveys easier and faster. Being shown in public for the first time at Oceanology International (Stand E 201), the new tool has been designed to display the readings obtained by a cathodic protection probe as an overlay on the ROV’s video display. This creates a permanent record and eliminates the need for the ROV operator to make handwritten notes of individual probe readings while surveying the condition of a vessel’s anodes.

Oceanology International 2016, 15-18 March, Stand D600 Kongsberg Maritime has received IMO Type Approval (Wheelmark) for its state-of-the-art MGC R3 COMPASS system. The gyro compass fits well into the range of offerings from KONGSBERG for navigation and ship control systems.