Flow Assurance News

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed update to the Santa Clara Unit Development and Production Plan, which includes the use of hydraulic fracturing on 16 existing wells at Platform Gilda, located 8.8 miles offshore Ventura County, California.BOEM has deemed the plan complete and is launching an environmental review under the Department of the Interior’s “Alternative Arrangements for NEPA Compliance During a National Energy Emergency,” published on the April 23, 2025.

Seadrill has announced that Sonadrill Holding, its 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol E.P., has been awarded a contract extension.A seven-well priced option for the ultra-deepwater drillship Sonangol Quenguela has been exercised, extending operations in Angola by approximately 480 days and committing the rig into June 2028.Seadrill earns a management fee for providing management, operational and technical support to Sonadrill.

Major industry announcements and new product launches continued to drive significant visitor numbers and plentiful business activity as Oceanology International 2026 (Oi26) surpassed expectations on the second day at Excel London.Among the companies taking center stage, expanding platform OceanSight used Oi to unveil its new collection of ocean technology brands built to advance marine sensing and subsea intelligence, celebrating an exciting new chapter focused on accelerating innovation and strategic growth.OceanSight…

OceanTools is celebrating two projects that highlight their engineering expertise and versatility. From designing subsea pressure housings for a well-known space technology company to creating solutions for the world’s deepest oceans, their housings deliver reliability and resilience in the most extreme environments.A major U.S. space technology company approached OceanTools with detailed specifications, and they designed and built a highly intricate pressure vessel to meet their requirements.

All-Cash Deal, Expanding Brazil FootprintTidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wilson Sons Ultratug Participações S.A. and its affiliate Atlantic Offshore Services S.A. (collectively, WSUT) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $500 million, including the assumption of existing debt.The acquisition significantly strengthens Tidewater’s position in the global offshore support vessel (OSV) market while marking a decisive expansion in…

Norway-based subsea well intervention and installation services company AKOFS Offshore has signed a firm contract with Petrobras for its Aker Wayfarer vessel.AKOFS Offshore, majority owned by Akastor, said the 2010-built vessel will continue to perform services as a Subsea Equipment Support Vessel (SESV) for Petrobras in Brazil.The contract, valued at $330 million, has a duration of four years, with operations expected to begin in September 2027, following the expiry of the current…

DOF Group ASA announced the award of a substantial contract for a project in Argentina. The project is scheduled for offshore operations across two campaigns in Q2 and Q3-Q4 of 2026 and will encompass mooring pre-lay, pipeline end manifold installation/construction management, tie-in spools installation, hook-up and pre-commissioning of two CALM buoys, and diving services. DOF will utilize Skandi Hera and Skandi Patagonia for the project with an expected combined duration of more than 250 days.Preparations are underway…

Martens en Van Oord, a contractor in roadworks, civil and hydraulic engineering, is taking a step toward further sustainability and modernization of its fleet by investing in the latest generation of the V4000 autonomous unmanned survey vessel (USV) from Demcon unmanned systems, a specialist in high-tech autonomous vessels for hydrographic and maritime applications. The selected 4‑meter variant provides increased range and longer endurance thanks to the additional hull length…

Progress on the BorWin6 Project continues with the successful completion of a fabrication yard milestone in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. Mammoet has completed the transport, loadout and mooring of the 5,461-ton offshore jacket foundation, set to support the BorWin6 offshore converter platform BorWin kappa in the German North Sea. Developed by TenneT and delivered by McDermott International, the BorWin6 offshore grid connection is a 980-megawatt high voltage direct current connection that will transmit offshore wind energy from the German North Sea to the mainland…

James Fisher and Sons has invested in U.S.-based autonomous marine technology company Ocean Aero, taking a strategic minority stake as part of Ocean Aero’s Series D funding round.The investment increases James Fisher’s exposure to autonomous and low-emission marine technology and supports the development and deployment of Ocean Aero’s Triton Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV), a wind- and solar-powered platform designed to operate without onboard crews.Ocean Aero designs…

“Seeing” under the world’s waterways is a perpetual challenge, seeing what’s under the seabed surface and even bigger challenge. Seequent, the Bentley Subsurface Company, helps organisations understand what’s happening underground and under the seabed, helping to identify and mitigate risks such as unexploded ordinance (UXO), helping to ensure a more efficient and safe work environment for multiple maritime stakeholders.

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) has completed several rig repair and upgrade projects for Saudi-based ADES Holding, strengthening the partnership between the two companies.In 2025, several ADES jack-up rigs underwent major works at ASRY’s facilities in Bahrain.The ADM-501 and ADM-504 units were prepared earlier in the year for drilling operations in Nigeria, while upgrade works on ADM-503 and ADM-511 were recently finalized ahead of upcoming drilling campaigns…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a new four-year contract with Petrobras for the remotely operated support vessel (RSV) Skandi Commander.The contract was awarded following the same competitive tender process that led to six previous four-year RSV contracts announced earlier.The Skandi Commander will be equipped with both a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the latter being a unique feature of this agreement.The contract…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has secured an approval in principle (AiP) from ClassNK for the basic design of specialized vessels to joint and bury subsea power cables.MOL is working with Sumitomo Electric Industries, Furukawa Electric and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) to develop fundamental technologies-including a new type of cable-laying vessel-as part of a project subsidized by the Japanese government's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).One of MOL's roles in this project is to develop technologies for cable jointing and burial vessels…

Saipem has obtained ISO 55001:2024 certification, the international standard for asset lifecycle management, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards operational excellence and offshore sustainability.The certification, issued by DNV, confirms Saipem’s Asset Management system compliance with the most advanced requirements, covering all operational phases - design, procurement, installation, commissioning, maintenance and decommissioning, ensuring a robust and effective “Asset Integrity” framework.The certification applies to Saipem’s entire offshore asset portfolio…

Our fascination with the depths of the ocean revealed itself in some of our most-read stories of 2025.What’s really down there? asked New Wave Media President Greg Trauthwein in his interview with Matt Grove, Regional Segment Manager Offshore at Seequent in September, in the most watched Offshore Engineer TV show.Working underneath the world’s waters is a challenge in and of itself, a challenge exacerbated if an operator does not have a clear picture of the make-up of the seabed with insights on the potential traps that might await.

Norwegian offshore supply vessel owner DOF Group has secured seven new contract extensions with Petrobras for its offshore support vessels (OSVs) in Brazil, valued over $160 million.Five of DOF's Brazilian-flagged anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels, all with ROVs on board, including Skandi Fluminense, Skandi Paraty, Skandi Angra, Skandi Urca and Skandi Iguaçu, have had their current contracts with Petrobras extended until the first quarter of 2027.The new four-year contracts…

Lebanon and Cyprus signed a long-awaited maritime demarcation deal on Wednesday, paving the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signed the agreement at Lebanon's presidential palace and told reporters it would signal deeper cooperation between Lebanon, European Union-member Cyprus and the broader EU."This is a historical agreement, concluding an issue pending for many years and now look forward to what our countries can jointly create…

A new generation of hybrid vessels is demonstrating significant gains in both fuel economy and operational output. For Olympic Subsea’s owner and CEO Stig Remøy, it proves that technology-led efficiency is the fastest path to decarbonization—and a powerful business case.When Stig Remøy began pivoting Olympic Subsea toward subsea and renewables a decade ago, the move was met with some internal skepticism. “Naturally, there were internal discussions — some believed oil and gas was the future,” he recalled.

Ocean services provider DeepOcean and Saudi Arabia-based Jana Marine Services have signed a heads of terms agreement to establish a joint venture company that will offer integrated subsea solutions to the offshore energy industry in the Middle East.The intended joint venture, to be named JADE Subsea Services, plans to enter into a five-year charter agreement with Jana Marine for a newbuild DP2 hybrid diving support vessel (DSV) capable of performing subsea construction, inspection…

Survival technology specialist Survitec has launched its next-generation high-expansion foam fire suppression system, designed to deliver higher foam output at lower operating pressures while reducing both installation and through-life costs for shipyards and shipowners.The key breakthrough lies in a redesigned generator that produces greater volumes of foam at significantly lower feed pressures. Traditionally, high pressure has been a limiting factor in foam system performance…

United Oil & Gas has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TDI-Brooks to secure a specialist survey vessel for a campaign offshore Jamaica.The work is related to the planned piston coring and surface geochemical program on the company’s Walton Morant Licence.The campaign forms a key part of United's forward work program under its extended license to January 2028. The survey will involve the collection of 40-60 seabed core samples across the Walton and Morant Basins…

Norway-based subsea well intervention and installation services company AKOFS Offshore has signed a firm contract with Petrobras, for its subsea equipment support vessel AKOFS Santos, which will continue to operate offshore Brazil.Following a competitive tender process, the vessel will continue to perform services as a multi-purpose supply vessel (MPSV) for Petrobras in Brazil under a new contract.The contract has a duration of four years, with operations expected to start in January 2027…