Reservoir complexity and an emphasis on asset integrity have encouraged developers to refine visualization technology for oil & gas applications. OE shares details of a handful of new products that have come across our desk in recent weeks.The…
Seeking to establish itself as the national strategic centre of excellence for subsea research, the National Subsea Research Institute (NSRI) recently unveiled the future focus for its ground-breaking research – and the accent will be very much…
In less than a year, shipyards' lack of experience in delivering automated, highly-integrated offshore topsides has dropped as a primary source of non-productive time, according to a recent report that polled operators about the causes of NPT…
Exploration and production at greater depths and a heightened emphasis on safety could mean even bigger roles for ROVs in offshore operations. Experts say the machines are not just up for the challenge, but ahead of the game. Russell McCulley reports…
No crystal ball is needed to determine one area of offshore activity where spending will rise inexorably in coming years: inspection, repair and maintenance. With one leading commentator predicting this sector’s annual spend will reach $7 billion by 2014…
All alarms exist for a reason, but in many offshore assets too many alarms can be worse than too few. Amor Group’s Brendon Glass explains why.In today’s automated plants or platforms, thousands of alarms have been configured into the control system…
Prompted by practical engineering needs, Foster Wheeler Upstream developed a design tool to facilitate the design of subsea plate mudmats. Dr Jinming Xu, Paul Schank and Ray Young discuss how Mudmatician, through automation and built-in intelligence…
Another drilling contractor, Seadrill, recently put to the test DNV’s new standard for managing integrated software dependent systems. Wendy Laursen assesses the system’s scope for reducing software-related downtime on drilling units.There are…
By automating the process of data analysis and optimisation, downhole monitoring and completions specialist Zenith Oilfield Technology says its Z-Sight tool facilitates better management of the high volumes of data associated with artificially lifted wells…
For a while, non-productive time was a problem most companies didn't want to acknowledge. Two recent reports have brought into focus the amount of time, and money, lost due to non-productive time. Jennifer Pallanich finds out what the Athens…
The digital oilfield has become mainstream and is how business is now conducted. That was the message at the third SPE Intelligent Energy conference convened in The Netherlands this spring with over 1500 attendees including a high proportion of business leaders…
Shortening the data commuteDynamic Drilling Systems (DDS) is gearing up to begin production of its new Apollo Dart drilling software, which will be able to provide data within milliseconds, the company’s president Bob Sage announced during the recent IADC/SPE drilling conference in New Orleans…
It's been a year since FMC Technologies acquired a 45% stake in Schilling Robotics for $116 million, with an option to take full ownership of the ROV specialist by 2013. Russell McCulley talks to Schilling Robotics founder Tyler Schilling and…