The next generation of riser design and analysis software by Wood Group’s MCS Kenny provides expanded analytical and modeling capabilities for offshore and subsea applications.

The solution was enhanced because of increased design requirements associated with multicase extreme and fatigue sea state loading conditions and is now 40% faster on average than the previous version , the company said. Benefits include an automatic mesh-creation facility to expedite the model creation process, a live structure preview facility, an integrated keyword editor, and a summary post-processing collation facility. Additionally, the analysis software features sliding pipe-in-pipe contact and improved internal fluid and slug flow modeling. Mcskenny.com.

Incorporating user feedback, the Flexcom Version 8 software allows for greater flexibility while modeling the characteristics of oil and gas riser systems in deep water and other harsh environments. (Image courtesy of MCS Kenny)

Analysis tool improves GoM bidding odds

SmartZoft Decision Tools of Denver, Colo., has updated the SmartBid software platform to provide cost-effective competitive analysis within the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) bidding environment. Using an array of variables, including companies’ historical bidding strategies, the analysis tool can increase the likelihood of winning blocks of interest while lowering the odds of overbidding, the company said. SmartBid Version 3.2 software includes:

Lease ownership module. Accesses all GoM active and inactive lease information, including well and platform data as well as lease and bid information updated in real time. Data are available in tabular form or plotted in color on a map with user-selectable subsets for focusing on specific areas, plays, or key competitors;

Competitive analysis module. Includes trend analysis that summarizes companies’ bidding behaviors over time. Winning bids, over bids, and success rates can be analyzed;

Econometric analysis module. Reveals the likelihood that a block will receive a bid and predicts the bid value. Users can input projected wellhead prices for oil and gas as well as estimated mean range of values (MROV) from BOEMRE (recently divided into the BSEE and BOEM). These parameters have special significance in computing likely bidding activity; and

Forward-looking decision analysis module. Combines the probability of winning at alternative bid amounts with the user’s estimated value of the block to compute an optimal bid amount. According to the company, operators that have used SmartBid have found lease and bid data much easier to access, analyze, and manage. Smartzoft.com.

High-temperature roller cone technology advances downhole

Smith Bits has developed the new Kaldera advanced roller cone products for drilling operations in challenging high-temperature conditions.

According to the Schlumberger company, the new roller cone technology features specialized elastomer seal compounds and proprietary grease reservoir components that enable it to function reliably in downhole conditions where temperatures range from 149°C to >260°C (300°F to >500°F). The seals are made from fabric reinforced elastomer composites formulated from fluorocarbon materials that provide excellent thermal stability and wear resistance and bear mechanical properties well suited for high-temperature environments, the company said. An innovative grease compound used to lubricate the seal/bearing system also was developed from selected synthetic base oils and various functional additives to increase load capacity at elevated temperatures.

Smith Bits has deployed the Kaldera roller cone products in high-temperature applications where temperatures have exceeded 260° C, and, according to the company, the technology has demonstrated both bit performance and reliability improvements during field trials. Slb.com/bits.

The Kaldera advanced roller cone products are tailored for geothermal and high-temperature drilling applications. (Image courtesy of Schlumberger)

GPS fleet management platform tracks assets

Oil and gas customers can better manage assets such as trucks, well heads, and pump jacks remotely with real-time data and reporting by aligning their geographic information system (GIS) mapping technology with the NexTraq Fleet Tracking platform, according to the technology’s provider. The fleet management web services offering marks NexTraq’s entry into the oil and gas sector.

NexTraq’s open platform integrates GIS mapping with GPS fleet tracking for remote monitoring, enabling fleet managers to upload and view points of interest using GIS maps and by overlaying GIS data. Its map layering technology allows managers to set up accurate geofences and zones that provide time arrival and mileage notifications to help managers mitigate downtime while also increasing operational efficiency and costs savings. In one application, a customer saw a 25% increase in driver productivity after integrating GIS mapping with the NexTraq fleet tracker, the company said. Nextraq.com .

AIS solution improves seismic streamer operations

Kongsberg Seatex has developed an AIS solution to improve of maritime seismic operations safety by monitoring and displaying the size and shape of seismic streamers.

Seismic surveys can be challenging due to the large size of a 3-D or 4-D streamer spread – typically 6 km to 12 km (4 miles to 7.5 miles) in length and up to 1 km (0.62 miles) in width – which can restrict the seismic vessel’s maneuverability in areas of high shipping activity.

Providing greater flexibility and improving visibility in the survey area, the Kongsberg solution uses AIS technology and AIS standard compliant functions that enable the seismic vessel to broadcast its operational coordinates along with the size and shape of its streamer spread, which can be viewed on AIS-compatible ECDIS displays onboard the area’s surrounding vessels. Kongsberg.com.

Integrated engineering tool reduces project risk, cost

A new engineering design and information management solution released by Aveva Engineering offers project engineers an integrated workflow while also improving project efficiency and reducing engineering and design costs, the company said.

The Aveva Engineering advanced technology improves project management, enabling specialist engineers to retain full control of multidisciplinary information. (Image courtesy of Aveva)

The Aveva Engineering technology uses a proven and scalable database approach to deliver a multidisciplinary working environment required by specialist engineering teams working concurrently on facility and marine projects. The platform features an accessible user interface based on Microsoft Office Fluent with built-in spreadsheet style tools, and full status control of each discipline gives engineers better visibility of the quality of information in the database.

According to Aveva, users can benefit from more effective management, control, and data exploitation as well as a reduced impact of change on cost, schedule, quality, and risk as changes can be implemented and communicated quickly. Additionally, a wider range of data inconsistencies can be detected and aligned during the design phase with greater ease using its advanced programming technology. Aveva.com.

New plug-ins help derisk exploration prospects

The Play-to-Prospect Risk plug-in for the Petrel E&P software platform provided by Schlumberger is an integrated petroleum system-based assessment used to standardize the method for evaluating study areas and increase the understanding of geological scenarios to determine the probability of risk and success.

The risk assessment technology converts trap, reservoir, charge, and seal into chance maps through a suite of transform methods to determine play limits and identify area upside by calculating the mean economic case for potential field development and the probabilistic economic resource case.

Additionally, the new Prestack Seismic Interpretation plug-in for Petrel improves understanding of petroleum system elements such as charge, risk, and trap definition and complements the Play-to-Prospect Risk offering’s exploration capabilities. Benefits of the WesternGeco technology include analyzing prestack gathers to interpret processing effects on post-stack data, evaluating response differences in offset traces to assess fluid effects, making on-the-fly offset stacks to create clearer partial stacks of interpretation targets, and interpreting and auto-tracking directly on prestack data for better horizon definition, the company said. Slb.com.

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