Australian subsea contractor TSmarine is primed to start a multi-year service contract with international oilfield service company Expro which could be worth a potential $100 million.
The deal, awarded to TSmarine’s new Scotland-based offshoot SALT Subsea, will deliver worldwide support for Expro’s groundbreaking subsea well intervention system AX-S.
Under the contract, SALT Subsea will supply the Havila Phoenix, a 110 metre long vessel built in 2009; dual Schilling 4000 metre-rated UHD Workclass ROV systems; specialised tooling packages; survey and positioning and overall marine management of the vessel.
The Havila Phoenix and AX-S will be mobilised in Europe during October and start a series of demanding offshore trials before being deployed for operational use, TSmarine said in a statement.
TSmarine Asia Pacific chief executive John Edwards said AX-S would change the way oil and gas companies work on their subsea wells in the future, saving valuable time and money.
“There are about 4000 oil and gas producing subsea wells around the world and this number is growing,” Edwards said.
“Many wells are more than a decade old and require servicing to allow for maximum oil and gas recovery.”
“Current methods involve positioning a rig above the well while the work is carried out, which is time-consuming and expensive with rigs costing up to a million dollars a day.”
Expro’s AX-S subsea system is 35 metres high and weighs 220 tonnes and is deployed from a monohull vessel, such as TSmarine’s DP2 DNV-classed intervention vessel Havila Phoenix.
The system can be lowered on to any subsea well down to a depth of 10,000 feet, providing a safer and cheaper alternative to current practices.
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Source: SubseaUK, September 2, 2010