Ashtead Technology adds new subsea navigation system to rental pool
Aberdeenshire subsea service company Ashtead Technology has added a new piece of equipment to its rental pool.
technology
Tech Tuesday: Whittaker’s new offshore welding method to save firms millions
A north-east engineering company has come up with a new way of welding that will allow high quality work to be carried out on rigs while they are still at sea.
Rovop adds to collection of ministerial visits – and hails $4m of new business
Aberdeen-based remotely operated vehicle (ROV) service provider Rovop has announced over $4million (£3million) of contract wins spanning the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Europe. The company, which was visited by Greg Clark during his first visit to Aberdeen in his role as the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has been awarded several new contracts across the oil and gas and offshore wind sectors. The contracts are with several new clients across a number of sectors and include construction support, cable lay and protection, survey and inspection repair and maintenance (IRM).
READ Cased Hole hires manager to spearhead growth plans
Aberdeen downhole well integrity specialist READ Cased Hole (READ) has appointed its first ever global business development manager to spearhead the company’s expansion drive. The role has gone to Gavin Lindsay, who previously held director level positions with a major oilfield services company. READ, whose headquarters are in Bridge of Don, decided to create the position after being emboldened by a number of contract wins and technology launches earlier in the year.
Scottish university spin-out targets renewables market following six-figure investment
A Scottish university spin-out which makes sensors for detecting faults on electricity grids has scooped investments totalling £370,000. Synaptec plans to use the money to hire more staff members and break into the renewable energy and subsea markets. The batch of funding came from business angel syndicate Equity Gap, the Scottish Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise, and Strathclyde University, where the company originated.
Opinion: Standing on the shoulders of giants
In the distant past of the year 1993, when I was but a wee scrap of a lad at eleven years old, I saw the future emblazoned in black and white print. An advert in the latest issue of 'Personal Computer World' shone out at me like a beacon, lighting the way to tomorrow - the Amstrad PenPad PDA600, a touchscreen PDA no bigger than a typical paperback book, with handwriting recognition, a stylus, and all sorts of glorious applications for storing data and keeping notes. I had to have it.
Tech firm shrugs off loss of deal with Shell
A technology company that started as a spin-out from Aberdeen University yesterday revealed a widening of half year losses after losing a major contract with Shell.
Cyberhawk flying high after £2million funding package
Scottish drone technology company Cyberhawk Innovations is poised for further expansion and diversification after a £2million funding package from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.
Tech Tues: Technology Showcase focuses on decommissioning
ITF and Oil & Gas UK have organised the Technology Showcase 2016 which takes place in Aberdeen on March 9.
System looks to claw back wasted wind energy
Gusty weather could give a major boost to UK businesses with the launch of a new system which claws back wasted wind energy.
Churchill Drilling to unveil new technology in Middle East
Churchill Drilling Tools will launch its HyPR HoleSaver in the Middle East. The expansion comes after successful deployments of the hydraulic pipe recovery tool in the North Sea and the Gulf Of Mexico.
Technology created by Aquamarine goes up for sale
Technology developed by wave energy company Aquamarine Power has been put up for sale as its administrators try to recoup some of the £90 million invested in the business. Graham Newton and James Stephen from accountancy firm BDO were appointed as administrators of the Edinburgh-based company in October. They were asked by its directors to find a buyer or investors for the business, but a month later in November no offers were on the table and so the firm ceased trading, with the loss of 13 jobs in Edinburgh and one in Belfast.
Technology firm wins £1.2million Scottish Government grant
An Aberdeen technology firm has won a £1.2million Scottish Government grant to develop an innovative subsea power generation system. East Coast Oil and Gas Engineering (ECOG) has invested £3.9million in the autonomous electrical power technology which has been designed to reduce the cost of repairing or replacing umbilicals after all-too common power failures.
Qatar Petroleum boss says technology can turn challenges to opportunities
The president and chief executive of Qatar Petroleum has called on oil and gas leaders to convert current challenges facing the industry into opportunities for future development.
BP says emerging technologies could unlock surge of new energy
Oil major BP said the world is no longer at risk of running out of oil and gas for decades ahead of existing technology capable of unlocking global reserves. In its latest technology report the company said energy reserves could be set to double by 2050 despite the high level of consumption currently. The company said when all accessible forms of energy – including nuclear, wind and solar – are taken into account, there is enough resources to meet 20 times what the world will need over that period.
Lloyd’s Register report reveals oil and gas execs failing on innovation and collaboration
A new study reveals almost half of oil and gas executives believe they have fallen short of their innovation goals in 2015 - nearly twice as many since early 2014.
Statoil joins force with Norwegian University to fund energy research
Statoil and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have signed an agreement on research funding for future energy solutions. The group, with a total budget of NOK 50million over the next four years, will look to build-up a research group which can help develop sustainable energy solutions. The first move will be to recruit a researcher who can guide the work and build up the research group based at NTNU in Trondheim.
SGN saves £1million by cracking down on bad driving practices
Gas distribution company SGN is expecting to save in the region of £1million by implementing a driver performance improvement programme across its 2,000-strong fleet.
Peak launches well bore tubing tool
Peak Well Systems has developed a tool which can confirm the minimum diameter specification of well bore tubing with the ability to cover a range of services. The company said FlexiDrift consists of a mandrel with two sets of extendable rails that can be manually extended with ease using the adjustment sleeves to the desired radius of the well tubing. When run downhole, the positioning of the extended rails provides the highest radial contact across the widest operating range of required drift sizes.
Jobs machine from Canada oil slows as robots add to price slump
Truck driver Craig Huzulak is unemployed after losing his job four times since December -- the new normal in a Canadian oil patch still reeling from a downturn. Huzulak, 49, was working at a mine last year near Fort McMurray, Alberta, when crude prices plunged and work dried up. He lost two more positions in the following months and then had a job offer yanked at the end of June before he could even start. In addition to the market rout, the father of two now worries about the self-driving trucks Suncor Energy Inc. is rolling out in its oil-sands mining operations that will replace workers like him to save companies money. “It’s really, really hard for heavy-equipment operators,” said Huzulak, who has driven trucks and worked on drilling rigs in Western Canada for 15 years. “There’s a lot more fear now that this might last longer.”
Scots turbine tech wins engineering Oscar
A team of Scots scientists whose technology has been described as significant as James Watt’s steam engine, have won engineering's top “Oscar”.
Atlantic Offshore Rescue to unveil Ocean Falcon
Atlantic Offshore Rescue is to unveil the third vessel of its modernisation programme. The standby vessel operator will showcase the Ocean Falcon, which totals £300million, at a ceremony in Aberdeen today. Ocean Falcon is a new H820 design from Havyard Ship Design. It was built and developed in Passai, Spain by Zamakona shipbuilders, in close collaboration with Atlantic Offshore Rescue over an 18 month period.
Opinion: The key emerging technologies for oil and gas
When emerging technologies and key trends are discussed there is a vast array of suggestions made and debated. They range from wearable technology, 3D printing, bio-computers, through to the "internet of things" and many more.
Opinion: Austerity measures could be the mother of invention
This will be a challenging year for the North Sea but the necessary austerity may create a new appetite for near-to-market technologies. The average cost of bringing oil to the surface globally is around $7 a barrel, in the North Sea the average is $28, and in some of our fields it is nearly four times that. As a result, the second half of 2014 was brutal to North Sea operators’ profit and loss accounts with 2015 offering no respite. Operators are prioritising cost efficiencies and reappraising capital programmes, while the supply chain is doing its bit as part of the industry belt tightening.
The ‘black hole of sunlight’
A multi-disciplinary engineering team at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90% of the sunlight it captures. It is said the new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700C and survive many years outdoors in spite of exposure to air and humidity. By contrast, current solar absorber material functions at lower temperatures and needs to be overhauled almost every year for high temperature operations.