Technology Transfer Steps Up The Pace Of R&D

?The sheer scale and immediacy of the demand for hydrocarbons to help spur global economic recovery and growth cannot be underestimated.

Simply to offset the depletion of reserves and meet forecast increases expected to 2020, additional resources equivalent to approximately five times the oil capacity currently produced by Saudi Arabia and four times the gas capacity currently produced by Russia will be required.

Opening up new E&P frontiers means that complex technical issues must be tackled head-on.

Expediting progress

Visionary engineering expertise is needed to conceptualize and swiftly introduce new technology systems across the industry’s complex value chain, and clearly, there can be no compromise: new technologies must be safe, reliable, and proven, enabling operators to mitigate the potential HSE, financial, and reputational risks of being the early adopter.

“Reliable innovation” is integral to the GE Oil & Gas business model. The company underpins deep domain knowledge and commitment to R&D with a new product introduction system of linear tollgate validation and prototype testing to destruction so that to the greatest extent possible there is an understanding of the limits of technology prior to commercialization, installation, and deployment.

The new S-Series SVXT subsea tree is the result of intense customer partnership and consultation at the design engineering stage with many operators, including Shell UK, which confirmed the first order for installation in 1Q 2011 in the maturing Southern North Sea. (Images courtesy of GE Oil & Gas)

Technology transfer or “borrowing” from GE “sister industries” is a key competitive differentiator for the company that has helped chart its progress over the last decade.

Technology transfer within the company means it applies experience within other industrial businesses – including aviation, healthcare, nuclear – and the expertise within GE’s Global Research Centers very directly, for example, exploiting aero-derivative gas turbines and material science technologies, remote monitoring and diagnostics capabilities, and also through people by exchanging senior engineers with GE Aviation.

Like GE Oil & Gas, every original equipment manufacturer will lay claim to having world-class systems to incubate new technologies, backed by Six Sigma, Lean, and a range of proprietary approaches that underpin operational business processes.

But, even for an industrial conglomerate with genuine technology and scale differentiators, world-class systems simply are not enough to be able to adequately serve operator customers. More than any other factor, partnership is the key success in tomorrow’s global energy industry.

The power of partnering

The oil and gas industry has shifted beyond pure-play transactional order-supply relationships, to more meaningful partnerships where longer term goals, and often the associated risks, are shared.

Partnership – which to be successful must be deep, intimate, and consultative customer relationships – have been the critical factor determining GE’s ability to consistently transform engineering vision to solution reality.

The concrete proof of this is the number of innovative products the company has been able to develop in a relatively short time frame for the industry.

The new VetcoGray S-Series SVXT subsea tree is one example. With a pressure rating up to 6,500 psi and a temperature range of between 0°F and 250°F (-18°C to 121°C), this tree is 20% lighter than conventional designs and has many new safety features that also have fundamental, repeat operational expenditure benefits, including eliminating the need for both a separate tree cap and the deployment of an ROV or diver for installation. The SVXT is the result of intense customer partnership and consultation at the design engineering stage with many operators, including Shell UK, which confirmed the first order for installation in 1Q 2011 in the maturing Southern North Sea.

The company soon will supply Chevron with its new Subsea MudLift Drilling pump system for deployment in early 2012 in the first-ever commercial application of dual gradient drilling (DGD) technology. DGD can reduce the number of casing strings required for deepwater drilling, enabling wells to be designed with larger diameter completions and/or to reach deeper reservoir depths previously inaccessible using conventional single gradient drilling. The new pump can deliver up to 1,800 gal/minute at discharge pressures up to 6,600 psi and can handle solids up to 1.5 in. in diameter. This product is the result of long-term partnership and commitment and follows rigorous prototype testing and a successful field trial carried out in 2001.

The VetcoGray MR-6H SE marine drilling riser system fully
automates marine drilling riser makeup.

A third example is the VetcoGray MR-6H SE marine drilling riser system, which fully automates marine drilling riser makeup, increasing safety by removing people from a dangerous environment, while also helping decrease nonproductive time by speeding up operations.

The riser design is simple, with very few parts, and uses field-proven concepts and profiles that have provided many years of exemplary service. With today’s ultra-deepwater wells, this 3.5 million pound rated coupling automated riser system can help significantly reduce the time needed to deploy and retract the riser string while maintaining a highly preloaded coupling. The VetcoGray MR-6H SE system represents a safety and efficiency advancement for deepwater drilling.

All of these solutions build on the company’s deep domain knowledge and expertise, which helps in clearly defining and addressing technical, environmental, schedule, and fiscal challenges.

Time and again, partnership is the single

critical factor in introducing the new and dependable technology that the oil and gas industry needs. Partnership is the main ingredient that keeps this industry vibrant and full of engineering possibilities.

The nature of partnerships

Partnership also takes the form of technology transfer and licensing agreements in areas that are critical to the future of global energy supply. In 2010, GE extended its reach with strategic partnerships and technology transfer agreements in China, Asia, India, the Middle East, and Kazakhstan.

Partnering is critically important for companies that want to push the boundaries of their limitations. It is the foundation of GE’s business-wide “company to country” approach, which means localizing business to markets where the company operates, building on local capabilities, and developing local resources through skills development and training.

Partnership also means expanding operational footprint to be closer to customers with field service engineers and facilities. Next year, GE will open a new Global Research Center in Rio de Janeiro, a US $100 million investment that reflects a long-term commitment to Brazil.

Partnership requires companies to have the courage to admit that no one player – no single company – has all of the answers. Seeking out and developing meaningful partnerships is the surest means of accelerating the pace at which the industry is able to unlock tomorrow’s hydrocarbons and to reach the oil and gas industry’s fullest potential.