NAM Offshore sticks with Brand for North Sea maintenance
NAM Offshore has extended a Dutch North Sea maintenance contract with Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services by BrandSafway by a further six years. NAM Offshore has extended a Dutch North Sea maintenance contract with Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services by BrandSafway by a further six years, according to a Dec. 10 company news release. Brand and NAM have been cooperating on various gas production interests in the southern North Sea for the past 55 years. Under the new term, Brand will provide services such as access solutions, insulation and coating via a dedicated team.
Two oil & gas firms strike trade-off deal ahead of drilling ops
Norwegian oil and gas players, OKEA and DNO, have made arrangements to exchange partial stakes in two prospects off the coast of Norway, which are slated to be drilled with semi-submersible rigs owned by Odfjell Drilling and Transocean, respectively. According to DNO, its wholly-owned subsidiary, DNO Norge, has entered into a swap agreement with OKEA to get a 10% interest in PL 1119, containing the Mistral prospect. As a result, the latter will pick up a 10% interest in PL 1109, containing the Horatio prospect. Located just south of the Åsgard area in the Norwegian Sea, the Mistral prospect is expected to be spud shortly using Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible rig. The drilling activities target estimated pre-drill volumes of 19-57 million barrels of oil equivalent with a medium chance of success. The Norwegian player underlines that the total drilling time is estimated at 60 days in case of a discovery. Mistral partners include Equinor (50%, operator), Pandion Energy (20%), and OKEA (20% after the transaction). The effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2025. Upon completion, DNO will retain a 20% interest in PL 1109 following OKEA’s entry in the license, where the Horatio well is scheduled for drilling in the first quarter of 2025, using Transocean’s Transocean Norge semi-submersible rig. Other partners include OMV (Norge) (30%, operator), Aker BP (20%), and Pandion (20%). Transocean Norge is said to be the first semi-submersible rig that secured the Abate (Power+) notation for greenhouse gas abatement. The semi-sub won a 17-well contract in Norway at day rates between $350,000 and $430,000 in September 2022 for the drilling of all firm and additional potential wells in the period 2023 to 2027. With no consideration to be paid by either party for the swap of working interests, each party will carry its relative share of the drilling costs for the respective wells. This transaction is subject to government approval. OKEA sees this swap deal as an opportunity to further diversify its exploration portfolio. The Mistral prospect, located in the south Norwegian Sea, between Draugen and the Aasgard area, is planned to be drilled in December 2024. On the other hand, Horatio, situated approximately 20 km northwest of the Gjøa platform, is scheduled for drilling in the first quarter of 2025. Recently, Equinor and OKEA temporarily suspended drilling activities in the wake of a shallow gas discovery in PL 1014 at the Arkenstone prospect.
‘Monumental year’ for Mermaid Subsea as it breaks North Sea decommissioning record
Aberdeen-headquartered Mermaid Subsea Services (UK) has plugged and abandoned (P&A) 30 wells in the UK North Sea during 2024, claiming that this is the highest number of vessel-based well decommissioning operations ever completed in a single year within the region. The work was carried out using the Island Valiant vessel and includes a 21-well P&A campaign for a North Sea operator, designated as the largest vessel-based North Sea decommissioning campaign in history. Mermaid also wrapped up the first stage of a major North Sea decommissioning contract for Shell U.K. Limited, with subsequent phases to follow in 2025 and 2026. The work was carried out using the Island Valiant vessel and includes a 21-well P&A campaign for a North Sea operator, designated as the largest vessel-based North Sea decommissioning campaign in history. Mermaid also wrapped up the first stage of a major North Sea decommissioning contract for Shell U.K. Limited, with subsequent phases to follow in 2025 and 2026. “It has been a monumental year for Mermaid, one that has cemented our position as a major player in the North Sea subsea and P&A market,” said Scott Cormack, Regional Director for Mermaid Subsea Services (UK). “Recent research from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) found that operators need to plug 200 abandoned North Sea oil and gas wells a year to stay on top of targets. If the sector is to achieve this it will require the market to deliver innovative decommissioning models, like the vessel-based solution offered by Mermaid.” According to the company, last year’s milestone was accompanied by an associated increase in headcount, with Mermaid growing significantly. Plans include growth in Westhill further in 2025 in response to an increasing backlog. This will be supported by Mermaid’s dive vessel, set to enter the North Sea market in 2025. “It is clear from the demand for Mermaid’s unique and tailored offering that the North Sea market requires another contractor to tackle the mammoth amount of work that is coming down the pipeline,” Cormack noted. “With new additions, contract wins and completed projects, 2024 was an immensely successful year for Mermaid and we look forward to building on this further in 2025 when we will be bringing our own dive vessel to the region.”
Chevron inks 20-year LNG supply deal with Energy Transfer
U.S. energy giant Chevron has signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Energy Transfer LNG, a subsidiary of compatriot firm Energy Transfer, for the delivery of volumes from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project the latter is developing on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Chevron is slated to get 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG from Energy Transfer’s proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for 20 years. The agreement is subject to the latter taking a final investment decision (FID) on the project and the satisfaction of other conditions precedent. “Chevron believes LNG plays an important role in meeting the world’s need for energy while helping advance lower carbon ambitions. This new long-term agreement demonstrates our focus on increasing access to affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy supplies to meet growing global demand,” noted Freeman Shaheen, President of Chevron Global Gas. Energy Transfer is developing a large-scale LNG export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana located on the Calcasieu ship channel. The project entails converting the existing LNG import and regasification terminal, encompassing four storage tanks, two deep water berths, and other LNG infrastructure, to an export facility. “We are pleased that one of the most prominent LNG industry participants has selected Lake Charles LNG as a supplier,” said Tom Mason, President of Energy Transfer LNG. “We believe that Lake Charles is the most compelling LNG project on the Gulf Coast and we continue to make significant progress towards full commercialization of this project.” According to the developer, the future plant will benefit from a direct connection to its existing trunkline pipeline system that leads to intrastate and interstate pipelines. These pipelines are said to provide access to multiple natural gas-producing basins, including the Haynesville, the Permian, and the Marcellus Shale. KTJV, a joint venture between France’s Technip Energies and U.S. KBR recently won the assignment to repurpose the import and regasification terminal into an LNG export terminal. The new LNG export facility is expected to have a 16.45-mtpa capacity.
UK’s first CO2 injection nears reality as final preparations are underway
Perenco UK and Carbon Catalyst Limited are completing the final preparations for the CO2 injection test at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) license in the North Sea that encompasses what is seen as the UK’s largest depleted gas field. The partners secured a license to progress the Poseidon CCS project at the Leman gas fields in the UK southern North Sea in August 2023. In November, Wintershall Dea came on board by buying a 10% interest from Carbon Catalyst, marking its entry into a second UK CCS project, including the Camelot license. “We are currently in the mobilization phase of the rigs that will support the coming injection test on Leman. It has been a great collaboration between Petrodec, SLB and Perenco UK to convert the Erda, that is used to do typical oil and gas operations, to do CO2 injection operations,” said Louis Hannecart, CCS Manager at Perenco. The companies are currently in the middle of mobilization, with most equipment already on Erda’s deck. Diego Andres Kettle, Senior Project Engineer at Petrodec, said: “We are almost mechanically complete. Next week we will already start testing the systems and we will carry out a trial in port, before the rig sails away towards the end of December.” Leman is said to be the largest reservoir complex in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), offering a mixture of depleted gas reservoirs and saline aquifers in which to permanently store recovered CO2. The ultimate storage capacity is around 1,000 Mt. The field is connected to the PUK Bacton Terminal, which will receive and process CO2 offshore. The project is due to come online by 2029. Initial CO2 injection rates will be circa 1.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), ramping up to ~10 Mtpa by 2034, and with further geological potential to peak up to ~40 Mtpa, over a 40-year period. Perenco UK and Carbon Catalyst are also partners on the Orion CCS project which encompasses both the decommissioned Amethyst field and the producing West Sole field, using depleted gas reservoirs for the permanent storage within geological formations of captured carbon dioxide.