Gas From Norway
Aug 16, 2004
Gas transport from the fields to onshore treatment plants, as well as transport of sales gas to the consumer marked in Europe was traditionally carried out by the oil companies in joint ventures. However, as the discovery of more and more gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) materialised, it became obvious that a consolidated network would be advantageous to all parties involved. By Erik Kvadsheim. [ In 7/8-2004 ]

One Trip Natural Gas Lift Solution Brightens Picture for Marginal Oil Reserves
Aug 16, 2004
As the industry seeks to extend its ability to develop marginal offshore oil reserves profitably, fields requiring gas lift to generate sufficient oil production often pose a sizable challenge. Gas lift in subsea wells, using injected gas from surface, requires extensive infrastructure – the cost of which can render a marginal field uneconomic to develop. By Ian Raw. [ In 7/8-2004 ]

Design and Performance – Testing of a New Solution for Subsea Separation
Aug 16, 2004
Separating gas, oil, water, and sand at the seabed has great economic potential for many subsea field developments. A subsea separator can avoid or simplify costly surface platforms or floating vessels, as well as being an efficient tool to enhance hydrocarbon production. One solution of interest is the separation and re-injection of water at the seabed to avoid bringing the water up to the surface facility. A new subsea separation concept for such a system has been demonstrated through an extensive qualification programme that has included performance testing at full-scale and is now available for installation subsea. By Toine Hendriks and Rune Fantoft. [ In 7/8-2004 ]

Internet: The Wired Home
Aug 16, 2004
When the Web emerged in the early nineties, pundits wasted no time in starting to talk about the merging of different media – the phenomenon known as convergence. Only problem is, there was none. As is so often the case, people’s communication and entertainment habits tend to stick, and new media take their place alongside existing ones; they don’t replace them. In fact, the convergence has been slow in coming, excruciatingly so for business sectors depending on rapid change, such as the computer and telecommunications industries. By Erlend Gram Simonsen. [ In 7/8-2004 ]

Online Environmental Surveillance
Aug 1, 2004
Preventive measures have been taken worldwide to reduce the more than 500,000 tons of oil spilled into the marine environment every year, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is increasingly declaring sensitive sea areas as “Special Areas”, including the North Sea, where allowable discharges from vessels and offshore structures are reduced from 40 to 15 part per million. By Casper Kvitzau. [ In 7/8-2004 ]

Commentary, 5/6 2004
Jun 17, 2004
In Norwegian, an eventyr is a story that an English speaker might describe as a fairytale or adventure. As in English, these types of stories follow a formula, beginning with the Norwegian equivalent of “Once upon a time…” (Det var en gang…). Typically, as is most likely the case the world over, such stories involve a deserving, honest person who’s elevated in class or wealth beyond his or her wildest dreams. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

From the Editor: Spring Fever
Jun 17, 2004
Summer is almost upon us, but it’s been quite a spring. Contrary to the traditional idea that Spring Fever is cause for slowing down and lazily staring out the window, it’s been quite a hectic time here at the magazine. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Bringing SmartWell® Completions into the Mainstream
Jun 17, 2004
New technologies such as maximum reservoir contact wells and multi-lateral wells promise to improve oil recovery and make marginal accumulations economic through controlled commingling. The key to successful exploitation of these technologies is the ability to monitor and control the movement of fluids into and out of each reservoir zone. Intelligent well technology provides the capability to manage the flow of fluids in the well bore, without intervention, enabling complex well architecture to enhance recovery and tap marginal reserves. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Protecting the Offshore Market
Jun 17, 2004
In recent years Marioff has established an enviable record for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of HI-FOG water mist systems for the protection of machinery spaces, gas turbine enclosures and accommodation areas within the offshore market. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Focus on Finland: Men of Steel
Jun 17, 2004
CCB Stål AS is one of Norway’s largest steel and metal wholesalers, supplying carbon steel, special steel, aluminium and construction products. Headquartered with a 17,000 square-metre warehouse in Oslo, the CCB Group comprises twelve branch offices, nine of which have their own warehouse facilities. The group’s main warehouse located in Bryne, Norway – not far from the heart of the Norwegian oil industry in Stavanger – is the Group’s primary provider to the offshore industry. As a part of Rautauruukki, which focuses on new solutions, CCB offers value-adding expertise and reliability in addition to its quality products that comply with the latest revisions of Norsok standards. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Focus on Russia: Finnish-Russian Oil Production in Northwest Russia
Jun 17, 2004
SeverTEK, a joint venture equally owned by Finnish energy company Fortum and Russian oil company Lukoil, commenced oil production in the South Shapkino field in north-west Russia in mid-July 2003. [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Internet: Death of a Dinosaur
Jun 17, 2004
Music may well be the food of love, but in any case, it’s penetrating every consumer medium with any mass-market appeal. We buy CDs and play them on our stereos; we listen to the radio while we eat breakfast, and while we drive our cars. We go to concerts. The papers are full of music news and charts, MTV and VH1 bring us music videos 24/7, and soundtracks are vital and integral part of movies. And increasingly, we are consuming music through the Internet. Some of it in legal ways, a lot of it ripped from a CD and posted on the Web, in newsgroups, through I.R.C. chat rooms, or distributed through file-sharing networks. The music biz is scared out of its collective wits. So how can the Internet become a good, safe marketplace for record labels, musicians, and consumers? [ In 5/6-2004 ]

Commentary, 3/4, 2004
Apr 6, 2004

These days, one often hears “the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS)” and “mature” in the same breath.

In our youth-oriented culture, “mature” is often used as a quasi-polite term for something or someone who’s past the prime, that is, old and used-up. When it comes to the NCS, perhaps the exciting days of mega-discoveries may be past, but that by no means is any indication that the NCS should be written off. A recent press release from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate claims that the shelf holds more resources and that less than half of the total has been exploited. Given that, the NCS may still be hiding a mega-discovery or two.

[ In 3/4-2004 ]

From the Editor: The Deep Blue Sea
Apr 6, 2004
A deep look into deepwater finds that more than just templates on the sea floor. Environmental considerations and engineering management are some of the aspects covered in this issue. Discharge of drilling waste is now regulated in most areas of the world, and Statoil’s drilling research and technology division has been working rigorously to qualify new technology that aims to bring discharge rates to zero. We also have a description of how INTEC Engineering has applied its experience providing professional services for deepwater pipelines and production systems to the Simian/Sienna field in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Nile delta, which boasts the longest subsea tie-back using large-diameter pipe. [ In 3/4-2004 ]

Redeployment of North Sea FPSOs
Apr 6, 2004
The challenge for the lease contractor is to find a balanced solution for the field operator that is both economically and commercially attractive, keeping in mind the FPSO’s residual value after the first and/or second project. Particularly in marginal fields, the unit must have flexibility to be easily adapted for future operations and, as such, improve its residual value. By Ad van Loenhout. [ In 3/4-2004 ]