The global oil and gas industry from a UK perspective: lessons from the North Sea

In the last 12 months or so, particularly with the drop in oil price, there’s been a lot of speculation about the future of the Australian oil and gas industry. Strenuous efforts are being made to bring down costs, reduce complexity and expedite the completion of major capital projects. Yet with the commodity price looking likely to be subdued for some time, serious questions persist. How can we sustain activity in Australia, secure the investment needed to continue exploration and appraisal drilling, for the next wave of projects? In looking for answers to these challenges, collaboration is a theme that comes up time and time again. But what does it actually mean? What does it look like in practice? Who does it well and how? And which companies are reaping the rewards of great collaboration? To fill this knowledge gap we are launching a survey which will look at many aspects of collaboration in the Australia and compare this with the results of similar surveys conducted in the UK. We will be looking to survey both operators and service companies working in the Australia and find out: What does collaboration mean? What constitutes effective collaboration? How do companies view themselves and each other as collaborators? How does collaboration in Australia compare with companies in the North Sea? We hope a better understanding of collaboration could help companies in Australia continue to improve productivity and efficiency, adopt new ways of working, and truly make the most of Australia’s abundant resources.

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Manufacture and Qualification of Small Diameter / Thickwall Reelable DSAWL Linepipe

Volume 3: Operations, Monitoring and Maintenance; Materials and Joining ◽

10.1115/ipc2016-64406 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Hall ◽

Martin Connelly ◽

Graham Alderton ◽

Andrew Hill ◽

Shuwen Wen

Keyword(s):

Oil And Gas ◽

Small Diameter ◽

Oil And Gas Industry ◽

Fe Model ◽

External Diameter ◽

Gas Industry ◽

The North ◽

Innovative Thinking ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Cost

Tough market conditions have seen the price of oil drop which with the subsequent uncertainty surrounding the industry have seen the oil and gas industry concentrate on reducing the cost of designing, installing and operating pipelines. A critical process for the industry is the procurement, manufacture and installation of appropriate linepipe. The method of installation is often dictated by the pipe size and the water depth that the pipe is to be laid in, however there are times when the choice of lay method is due to vessel availability and relative costs for each technique. In early 2014, Tata Steel successfully manufactured and delivered 16"OD × 0.875”WT X65 submerged arc welded longitudinal (SAWL) linepipe for installation via the reel lay method. Notable features about this fact were the size, which represents the thickest 16” external diameter UOE pipe yet delivered by Tata Steel, and that this was to be the first UOE pipe to be installed by the reel lay method in the North Sea. The ability to manufacture small diameter thickwall linepipe was only possible due to recent operational developments including an established tooling programme and a fully validated Finite Element (FE) model of the UOE process, along with years of experience of integrating these tools into the manufacturing process. This paper discusses the manufacturing challenges for small diameter thickwall linepipe, and how with the aid of modelling tools, innovative thinking and previous experience in supplying small diameter thickwall linepipe into two reel-installed projects, the pipe was manufactured and delivered with the properties shown to be compliant with DNV OS-F101 Supplementary Requirement P.

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Safety Offshore—Loss Prevention in a Pioneering Industry

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part E Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.1243/pime_proc_1993_207_212_02 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 207 (2) ◽

pp. 79-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A A Denton

Keyword(s):

Oil And Gas ◽

Oil And Gas Industry ◽

The Novel ◽

Gas Industry ◽

The North ◽

Mining Community ◽

The North Sea ◽

Offshore Oil And Gas ◽

Offshore Oil ◽

Subsequent Introduction

The President recalls his early days in a coal mining community which kindled his interest in mechanical engineering, and tells of his subsequent introduction into the nascent offshore oil and gas industry in the early 1960s. His career has been closely linked to the development of devices to drill for and produce oil in harsh environments in all quarters of the globe. Many of the novel ideas that emanated from a pioneering industry were subjected to the author's evaluation and certification, and the more interesting of these are described, together with pointers for future offshore developments. The Piper Alpha accident in the North Sea resulted in the Cullen Inquiry, to which the author presented the evidence of the Institution. Subsequent to this he has examined operating procedures of many offshore organizations and submits his evaluation of the Cullen recommendation and the prospect for safer operations in the future. Finally the President looks at unification and related matters, and offers views on the way forward for the Institution.

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The past, present, and future of the regulation of offshore chemicals in the North Sea—a United Kingdom perspective

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsz172 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 1157-1166 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

R Sühring ◽

A Cousins ◽

L Gregory ◽

C Moran ◽

A Papachlimitzou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

North Sea ◽

Oil And Gas ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Oil And Gas Industry ◽

Data Generation ◽

Management Actions ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Uk

Abstract The North Sea is one of the most studied and exploited ecosystems worldwide. The multiple uses from industrial, transport, as well as recreational activities have required researchers, regulators, and legislators to understand and, where possible, to minimize any expected negative environmental impacts. As with any international sea, assessing the current pressures and management actions resulting from these activities is centred on several national and international legislative instruments. This variety of co-existing legislations makes development processes and regulatory assessments cumbersome and time consuming. Hence there is a need to integrate environmental risk assessment and management across sectors, ensuring smart, cost-effective data generation, as well as supporting and standardizing environmental practices. This paper provides an overview of the changing regulatory frameworks regarding offshore chemicals used in the oil and gas industry, and the process of chemical risk assessment conducted under the Offshore Chemical Notification Scheme (ONCS) in the UK. Our view of methodological, research, and regulatory needs and challenges that should be addressed to ensure an adequate and sustainable assessment of offshore chemical use in the North Sea is discussed. Furthermore, we discuss the issues faced regarding chemicals used in the UK oil and gas sector with respect to declining hydrocarbon production.

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