Aker Solutions to supply subsea manifolds for Petrobras pre-salt fields

Aker Solutions won a contract worth more than $300 mn from Petrobras to supply eight manifolds that alternately inject water and gas to increase oil recovery from Brazil' s deepwater offshore fields.

The subsea manifolds, designed for water depths of 2,500 m, will be installed by Petrobras and its partners in deepwater pre-salt field developments.The units have a design life of 30 years and the first is scheduled to be delivered in 2016.
 
"We are pleased to work with Petrobras on its important and technically challenging pre-salt developments," said Oyvind Eriksen, executive chairman of Aker Solutions. "Brazil is a key market for our subsea technology and one of the fastest growing areas in the oil and gas industry."

The order will be executed by Aker Solutions' Brazilian subsea division. The unit last year began work to double its subsea equipment manufacturing capacity at a plant in Curitiba by 2015. About 70% of the contract with Petrobras will be procured and manufactured in Brazil.
 
"Aker Solutions is committed to delivering high local content in Brazil, where demand for complex subsea production equipment is growing," said Luis Araujo, president for Aker Solutions in Brazil.
 
The manifolds will play a key part in the crucial injection process that helps improve recovery from the fields.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Blockline and Associate Ltd Nigeria Ltd, online.

AWE provides Pateke-4H drilling update

AWE reported that the Pateke-4H development well, including the sidetrack section, was at a measured depth of 4,083 m with the 9 5/8 in. casing successfully installed and cemented to a depth of 3,669 m. Preparations are under way for the drilling of the next interval using an 8 ½ in. drilling assembly to drill horizontally through the reservoir section to a planned measured depth of 5,361 m.
 
The Kapuni F10 sandstone objective has already been intersected on prognosis with oil shows and real time logging measurements indicating the likely presence of an oil bearing reservoir. The commercial significance of the oil shows will not be clear until the horizontal drilling is completed and the reservoir size and quality is fully assessed.
 
The Pateke-4H development well is in PMP 38158 and AWE is the operator. Located in the offshore Taranaki basin, New Zealand, PMP 38158 contains the Tui, Amokura and Pateke fields and has been producing since 2007.
 
Pateke-4H is targeting a mapped northern extension of the currently producing Pateke field. The well is being drilled in water depth of approximately 124 m with a planned total measured depth of 5,361 m, including a 1,272 m horizontal section. If successful, the well will be completed for subsequent tie-back to the Tui FPSO (Umuroa) for production in 2015.

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Statoil brings North Sea's Gudrun field on stream

Statoil and its partners, GDF SUEZ and OMV, have started production from the Gudrun oil and gas field in the North Sea.

"Gudrun is the first new Statoil-operated platform to come on stream on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2005. This is a red-letter day for the company," says Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil' s executive V.P. for the Development and Production Norway business area.

The new field contributes to important production from the Norwegian shelf. Statoil expects to recover 184 million barrels of oil and gas (oil equivalent) from the field.

"Gudrun illustrates how we can maximize value creation and realize new projects on the Norwegian shelf by combining new field developments with existing pipelines and facilities," says Nylund.

The Gudrun investment decision was made during the financial crisis. When the plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted in 2010, Gudrun was Statoil' s only mega-project (investments in excess of NOK 12 billion). Now Gudrun is the first in a long line of field developments operated by Statoil.

"We have delivered the Gudrun field on time and below the cost estimate in the PDO. Choosing a global strategy for Gudrun has contributed to reducing the costs," says Margareth Øvrum, head of the Technology, Projects and Drilling business area in Statoil.

Gudrun was discovered in 1975. It is a high temperature-high pressure field, and the need for new drilling technology was one of the reasons why these reserves were left in the bank for such a long time. Now Statoil also has available capacity in existing facilities and pipelines.

Oil and gas from Gudrun is sent to Sleipner, where it will be processed before the oil is sent on to KårstØ and the gas to Europe, all through existing pipelines tied in to Sleipner. This allows Statoil to benefit from previous investments made on the Norwegian shelf.

"The Gudrun concept is a win-win situation. By using existing infrastructure, the Gudrun development costs less and Sleipner gains an extra customer. Gudrun' s start-up came at the perfect time," Nylund explained. 

Modifications have also been carried out on Sleipner and at KårstØ as part of the Gudrun project.

Gudrun will be operated from Statoil' s offices at Vestre Svanholmen in Sandnes, and is the first new field Statoil operates from the Stavanger region since Sleipner in 1993.

"It' s good to see a new field joining the old giants - Statfjord, Snorre and Sleipner. Later on, Gina Krog will also come to Operations South. This field will also be tied in to Sleipner - yet another win-win situation," says Nylund.

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Magnolia LNG, SKEC Group sign technical services agreement

Liquefied Natural Gas Limited has reported that Magnolia LNG, LCC (MLNG), its wholly-owned subsidiary, has executed a technical services agreement (TS Agreement) with SK E&C USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd., of Korea (SKEC Group).

The TS Agreement relates to the ongoing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities for MLNG’s planned 8 mtpa Magnolia LNG Project, in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

SKEC Group has already completed a satisfactory detailed review of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited’s OSMR process technology, which will be employed in the Magnolia LNG Project, and provided the company with an initial estimated EPC cost of $1.57 bn, which was consistent with the company’s budget estimate, including appropriate contingencies.

Liquefied Natural Gas Limited’s Managing Director, Maurice Brand, said that the EPC activities remained on schedule with the SKEC Group and will be managed going forward by the recently appointed COO, John Baguley, who will commence on May 1, 2014.

“We also remain on schedule to lodge our application for Filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions on the 30 April 2014,” Brand said.

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