Innovation—whether through developing new products or standardizing and simplifying existing equipment and methods—exists at all levels of the E&P business. The need, therefore, to stay up to speed with the latest trends is vital if companies and individuals are to remain capable of moving swiftly when the time is right.

In this special section E&P highlights some of the products and technologies being shown at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference and exhibition in Stavanger, Norway, that can benefit companies in their ongoing drive to efficiently find, develop and produce offshore reserves.

The forward-looking main conference sessions have panel sessions discussing “big ticket” items such as global energy projects and transitioning markets, finance, security challenges, and energy game changers. In a further 20 dedicated technical sessions a North Sea-focused agenda has been put together under the challenging theme of “Demand and Supply 101,” with participants highlighting proposed technology solutions to specific industry problems and issues.

Focus areas

Designated 101 subject areas include what the petroleum industry can learn from other industries such as car manufacturing and space, new drilling and well-related concepts to mitigate cost, more cost-efficient greenfield developments and brownfield modifications, production optimization solutions, extending mature field life, downhole advances, Barents Sea drilling and development technologies, subsea and boosting advances, reducing plugging and abandonment costs, and decommissioning solutions.

Solutions also are being specifically highlighted through the ONS Innovation Awards, which this year have attracted a record 130 candidates. A prime example of how advances large and small can make a difference, the oil price downturn has if anything increased the industry’s efforts to find, explore and create new opportunities.

Innovation

The Innovation Award first arose in 1982, with companies today competing in two categories, one for large organizations and one for small and medium-sized enterprises. A Special Innovation Award also is presented to an individual or organization that has played a significant role in the wider energy sector.

Entries cover a huge range of technologies and disciplines including CO2 capture, well integrity, FPSO repairs, riserless coiled tubing drilling, flow measurement, robotics, formation testing, multiphase compression, BOP monitoring, BOP stacks, wind-powered water injection, digital oilfield solutions, electric submersible pumps, explosion-proof cameras, drones, downhole diagnostics and light well intervention. A full list of entries is available on the ONS website at ons.no.

With more than 1,300 exhibitors expected to participate at ONS—with the event now into its fifth decade— there are plenty of innovative products and solutions to be found on the show floor as well as being discussed in the technical sessions.

The following entries are just a taste of what will be exhibited. They have been contributed by the companies concerned and do not reflect the opinions of Hart Energy.

Improved availability of continental gas export
The ABB Predictive Drive Torque Control (DTC) ensures that the drive for electrical motors remains in operation during power grid disturbances such as voltage dips. Power grid disturbances affect the variable speed drive system. Until now all load commutated inverters (LCIs) have seized, delivering zero torque during supply voltage dips. This results in compressor system and plant shutdowns. In addition to production losses amounting to millions of U.S. dollars, plant upsets and shutdowns also result in increased CO2 emissions and wasted energy. The present innovation is a new control algorithm. The ABB Predictive DTC ensures that the ABB variable speed drive MEGADRIVE-LCI keeps mission-critical pumps and compressors in operation. Based on operational experience, Gassco plant management supports the statement that the solution with the Predictive DTC has contributed to more reliable energy supply to Europe. new.abb.com

Tool joints can be sheared with pipe centered, off-center
Operators must have confidence that the shear rams inside the BOP will shear the pipe and allow the rig to disconnect and move offsite. This confidence must also apply to previously “nonshearable” tool joints and hardbanding whether the pipe is centered or off-center. To provide this necessary performance, Cameron, a Schlumberger company, has designed and qualified BroadShear enhanced shearing technology. This shearing ram is an innovative approach to solving recent industry concerns regarding nonshearables across the BOP, reducing the amount of nonshearables across the BOP from about 10% to less than 2%. This major advancement in casing shear enables tool joints (both through the pin/box and through hardbanding) to be sheared with the pipe centered or to one side of the BOP. BroadShear rams enable shearing of casing diameters up to 16 in. The tool joints and hardbanding can even be sheared off-center. To learn more, visit booth 415 in ONS Hall D. cameron.slb.com

Increase efficiencies, success in solving complex well challenges
Frank’s International is recognized for ingenuity and innovation across its well completion, intervention and recovery equipment and services. Attendees visiting Frank’s International booth 5670 at this year’s ONS can explore technology advances that include Frank’s new Xtreme3 Premium Connectors, which are designed to handle extreme requirements. Frank’s also is showcasing 1,000-ton tools designed to dramatically reduce the possibility of slip crushing when compared to standard casing elevators or spiders available in the industry. Frank’s specializes in running corrosion-resistant alloys with a specialty product line designed to handle these critical materials. Frank’s patented Fluid Grip technology and Collar Load Support system eliminate die penetration marks and iron transfer, mitigating corrosion and allowing well life to be maximized. These tools offer the industry’s only completely non-marking tubular running solution. Frank’s International will be showcasing Xtreme3 premium connectors, Remote Tong Systems, casing running tools, Fluid Grip, Collar Load Support system, Rotary Mounted Completion Spiders, control line management system, Drill String Torque Reducer subs and 1,000/1,250-ton tools at ONS 2016. franksinternational.com

Helping reshape the industry through digitalization
GE Oil & Gas will showcase technologies (introductions and enhancements) that are designed to help the wider industry adjust to a new market reality as GE seeks to provide the foundations for better decision-making and increased productivity, from automating its pressure-testing process to providing operators with remote monitoring capabilities. As highlighted by the “transition” theme of this year’s ONS, the industry is at a turning point. All players in this space have a shared responsibility to drive a more viable way of working. At the event GE Oil & Gas’ focus will be on how it can—and is—transforming its operations, driving greater productivity and helping to reshape the industry landscape through digital, predictive analytics and automation across the entire value chain. For example, GE’s advanced manufacturing solutions are designed to improve cost-effective fabrication, while digitalization has the potential to dramatically improve efficiency in production and service of oil and gas facilities through boosting flow and recovery rates as well as implementing predictive maintenance. Through high-tech sensors, Big Data, software analytics and robotics, GE is helping lead the digital industrial revolution. geoilandgas.com

Drill tower will develop, test robotic advancements
Huisman has expanded its testing and commissioning facilities in Schiedam for new drilling equipment. A new 90-m (295-ft) high drill tower capable of handling 55-m (180-ft) stands and 46-m (150-ft) risers and with the ability to simulate dynamical vessel movements is completed. The Huisman Innovation Tower (HIT) will be used to demonstrate Huisman drilling equipment, to develop and test future equipment and systems, and for the training of operators and Huisman staff. The tower will validate existing robotic drilling technologies and be used to investigate future automation opportunities. Engineered with 3 million pound to 3.6 million pound hookload capacity, the HIT is designed and built to prove up the robotic advancements. The HIT has been designed as another acknowledgment of the continually evolving nature of drill floor robotics and their undeniable contribution to safer, more efficient and more economical offshore drilling operations. huismanequipment.com/en

A single resource to identify critical assets
Almost 63% of those polled in the 2015-16 Technology Radar survey said pressure to reduce asset downtime has increased in the last year. Asset costs also are a major concern for oil and gas industry decision-makers, with almost half reporting that asset integrity savings are more important than they were 12 months ago. Axxim has been developed in response to these operational challenges. The product provides the industry with a single resource to identify critical assets, increase equipment reliability and uptime by at least 20%, reduce failure risk by 80%, and determine an optimum approach to inspection and maintenance that can achieve costs savings of up to 50%. Axxim embeds decision-making techniques, including risk-based inspection, reliability-centered maintenance, root cause analysis, and failure mode and effects analysis, directly into an organization’s enterprise asset management application through Max-Grip’s strEAM+ technology. lr.org/axxim

Fiber-rope retrofit extends subsea crane capabilities
MacGregor has released a fiber-rope retrofit option for any existing subsea crane, enabling operators to increase their fleet’s lifting capabilities without having to invest in new vessels. The modular upgrade can be rapidly installed and replaces the crane’s original steel wire rope with high-performance fiber rope. It uses the same advanced technology as MacGregor’s fiber-rope offshore crane, FibreTrac, launched earlier this year, including traction technology delivered in partnership with Parkburn Precision Handling Systems and a low-tension storage drum. Fiber rope enables a crane to use its full lifting capacity at practically any depth because, unlike wire rope, it weighs virtually nothing in water. Owners can therefore bid on a wider range of contracts as a smaller crane can be used for more assignments. For example, a 100-tonne fiber-rope crane has the same lifting capacity as a 250-tonne wire-rope crane lifting loads at 3,500 m (11,483 ft). macgregor.com

ROV enhances user interface, reliability to perform complex subsea tasks
Oceaneering will showcase its newly advanced and environmentally friendly ROV, the eNovus. The eNovus serves as the basis for a future hybrid between AUVs and ROVs. With remote piloting and automated control technology (RPACT), the eNovus enhances user interface and reliability to perform common and complex subsea tasks. RPACT, which revolutionizes operational efficiency, will be demonstrated at ONS. Subject matter experts or ROV pilots can establish ROV control through a satellite or wireless network link to support operations at a remote work site. RPACT diminishes operational and environmental risk while reducing potential damage to tooling, manipulators and subsea assets. Oceaneering also will be exhibiting a compact and cost-effective second-generation M5 monobore connector for subsea intervention such as gas lift, chemical injection, well stimulation, hydrate remediation, flooding and venting operations, acid injection, and scale squeeze. This ROV flyable connector features the Grayloc metal-to-metal seal and provides reliable sealing after more than 25 make-and-break cycles. oceaneering.com

Sensor provides significant risk reduction, reduced costs
Cameron, a Schlumberger company, will feature the OneSubsea AquaWatcher water analysis sensor in ONS Hall D at booth 415. Live demonstrations and technical presentations will illustrate the AquaWatcher sensor’s capability to detect minuscule quantities of water in multiphase and wet gas flows, determine the salinity of that water and the ratio of injected chemicals to water plus measure the conductivity of produced water at any gas volume fraction and most water cuts. With the AquaWatcher sensor, breakthrough of injected water in waterflood applications can be detected at very low concentrations, and crucial information about the origin of produced water can be provided. This sensor provides significant risk reduction and reduced costs for chemical injection and reclamation as well as allowing additional production to be brought online due to improved utilization of the available injection and reclamation capacity. cameron.slb.com/onesubsea

Rubber-based fire deluge system is corrosion-free
Trelleborg will present a selection of offshore solutions at ONS, including its range of Vikotherm thermal insulation materials, Firestop passive fire protection, Elastopipe flexible piping system and subsea buoyancy solutions. Vikotherm thermal insulation is a range of materials that ensure superior joint strength, increased thermal conductivity and heat capacity as well as flexibility and resistance to the hydrostatic collapse of flowlines. Firestop is a customizable rubber-based passive fire protection solution that provides corrosion, thermal, fire and mechanical protection. Elastopipe is the first corrosion-free explosion-, impact- and jet fire-resistant flexible piping system. Trelleborg’s subsea distributed buoyancy modules provide uplift to reduce the weight of the pipeline. trelleborg.com/offshore