‘Leaner and Meaner’ Technology Vital to Subsea Industry’s Future
29 June 2012
Leaner, meaner technology and common global practices are crucial catalysts to ensuring the subsea industry’s future sustainability. This was the message from Proserv’s chief executive officer (CEO) who urged industry leaders to work together.
David Lamont, CEO of global-leading energy production technology services company Proserv, was speaking at the annual congress of the Oil Council in London.
He said: "Technical advances in subsea technology have typically been not only more complex and heavier but expensive and less reliable too. It is vital that we shift our focus to ensure a crucial upside to the industry because there is significant demand for fit-for-purpose systems and solutions that are reliable, efficient and delivered in an ingeniously simple way.
"The development of leaner and meaner technology which incorporates off-the-shelf components and lighter, simplified designs is essential for faster and more cost-effective delivery and crucially, to improve production, reservoir management and ultimate recovery - particularly given that the number of subsea start-ups are set to rise considerably from around 300 to more than 800 over the next five years.
"There has been an increase in the number of niche companies developing new technologies but there is no common set of industry standards and practices. It is therefore fundamental that we start working together to establish a more consistent approach for much easier integration and industry standard interfaces.
"These are vital catalysts to catapulting the subsea sector into a powerful position and opening us up to significant opportunities in what has become an extremely competitive global market. Ultimately, it will help ensure our future prosperity.”
Mr Lamont was one of the speakers and discussion panel members at the Oil Council’s Oilfield Services and Engineering Assembly which is Europe's largest, annual corporate development and thought leadership forum. The two-day assembly unites senior executives from across the oil and gas, oilfield services, engineering, finance and investment communities. Held this week, 300 leaders met to showcase project and engineering excellence, hear the latest in capital raising strategies and investment trends, and chart the evolution in the relationship between oil and gas companies and contractors.
Proserv is a rapidly-evolving, market-leading company which specialises in drilling & production, subsea technology, equipment & support services, and infrastructure services, and operates worldwide in more than seven regions and 30 sites including the UK, the USA, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Far East, Africa and Australia.
The Aberdeen-headquartered company is fast becoming industry recognised for its innovations. Earlier this year, Proserv launched a next generation subsea cutting tool that provides complete well severance and significantly reduces in-well operational time by up to 50%. When used in conjunction with Proserv’s water abrasive cutting technology, it offers clients a superior cutting solution for their most challenging decommissioning and abandonment requirements. The MSC tool, which further strengthens Proserv’s existing suite of subsea and marine tools, has already successfully severed 42 wells with expectations for the next generation tool to surpass this in 2012.
Since the acquisition of Weatherford’s subsea control’s subsidiaries, Proserv has further strengthened its rapidly-expanding range of subsea capabilities and specialist integrated services. In addition to the company’s pioneering subsea production tree, which is specifically designed for early production, conventional fields and extended well testing, Proserv can now offer clients subsea and topside communication and control systems, subsea intervention services and subsea termination equipment for offshore production optimisation, control and monitoring.
Mr Lamont said: "Proserv has experienced exceptional growth over the past 12 months particularly in the subsea services sector. We remain committed to investing in market-leading technologies and the development of ingeniously simple solutions that complement our existing portfolio of value-added products and services, and deliver every time.”
