Page 46: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2006)

46 MTR July 2006 the nearby Old Head of Kinsale prospect, to drill 49/23-1, the second well of its 2006 three-well program.

The rig then moves on to the

Donegal Basin for its planned third well, which will be operated by

Lundin.

ORE Offshore to

Showcase USBL

The TrackPoint 3P is designed to be a versatile, low cost acoustic tracking system manufactured to be extremely rugged for use in smaller boats. The

TrackPoint 3P System includes a deck unit; an integrated USBL acoustic signal processor designed to operate with up to four targets sequentially for a wide range of subsea navigation and relocation tasks. It is contained in a portable, water resistant enclosure that interfaces to a hydrophone and

PC or laptop computer that is used to send commands to the deck unit as well as to display the target position.

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Drill Equipment Contract to Aker Kvaerner

Aker Kvaerner signed a contract with Jurong Shipyard in Singapore for delivery of a drilling system for an ultra deepwater drilling semi-sub- mersible platform. The total contract value for Aker Kvaerner is approxi- mately $160m. The contract includ- ed the delivery of a complete drilling package consisting of engineering, drilling equipment deliveries and subsea equipment. The ultra deepwa- ter drilling rig is scheduled for deliv- ery in first quarter 2010.

Solar-powered Gas

Platform Work Begins

The world's first gas platform pow- ered solely by wind and solar energy has begun production, in a break- through for the offshore industry in low-cost exploitation of marginal fields. Royal Dutch Shell announced that it has begun pumping gas from its Cutter platform in the U.K. south- ern North Sea. The tiny platform, powered by two wind turbines and a pair of solar panels, cost $142.6m to develop and is expected to produce gas at the rate of some 3 million cu. ft. a day for the next 15 years. The

Cutter platform, about half the size of conventional satellite platforms and built for 40 percent of the cost, uses only a fraction of the energy of tradi- tional oil installations. It measures just eight meters by eight and has no helideck. (Source: The Independent)

Metocean Services

International

Metocean Services International provides a range of oceanographic and meteorological services to the off- shore oil and gas market, coastal engi- neers, dredging companies and port authorities. These include physical measurement services, desktop stud- ies, data processing/reporting and weather forecasting.

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Oil Detection System

OSIL introduces the Slick Sleuth from InterOcean Systems, an above water oil detection system. In addi- tion to InterOcean Systems, OSIL is a distributor for AML, Guildline,

Sontek and YSI. Products range from

CTD, SV, current meters, water qual- ity multi-probes, oil spill detectors, databuoys, tow-bodies, to salinome- ters and calibration standards.

Monitoring systems are custom built for coastal, offshore and ports and harbors.

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Thin Jack: A Jacking and

Separating System

Equipment and Technical Services (ETS) added Thin Jack technology to its equipment offering. Thin Jack is a patented, two-mm thin envelope capable of exerting hundreds of tons of force to jack, lift and separate diffi- cult-to-move objects, such as pipeline flanges and concrete weight coatings.

Constructed from two sheets of high tensile (grade 316L) steel and

TIG welded to form an envelope with a narrow metal tube protruding from the envelope, Thin Jack is inflat- ed with oil or water using a hydraulic hand pump at pressures up to 8,700 psi (600 bar), thus expanding the envelope to 10 to 12 mm. The steel sheets are forced apart, converting all the energy from the pressurized fluid into forces perpendicular to the steel sheets. The force achieved is a func- tion of area and pressure and can amount to up to 400 tons from a sin- gle Thin Jack.

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