Industry

The Manifa oilfield is one of the largest in the world. (Image source: Aramco)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy has announced that full pumping capacity on the critical East-West pipeline has been restored and full production recovered at the Manifa oilfield following Iranian attacks, while work is still ongoing to restore full production capacity at the Khurais field

It was announced on 9 April that important energy facilities in the Kingdom have been subject to multiple attacks, including oil and gas production, transportation and refining facilities, as well as petrochemical facilities and the electricity sector in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Yanbu Industrial City, resulting in one death and seven injured as well as the disruption of operations.

TotalEnergies reported that the SATORP refinery, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Aramco in Jubail industrial City, was hit on the night of 7-8 April, causing damage to one of the refinery’s two processing trains. No casualties were reported, and the units were shut down as a safety precaution. An assessment of the consequences for the refinery’s operations is currently underway.

The East-West pipeline, which has a capacity of up to 7mn bpd has played a vital role in maintaining Saudi exports as an alternative route to passage through the Strait of Hormuz, bringing crude from processing facilities in the east of the country to the Yanbu export terminal on the Red Sea. The Iranian attack on the pipeline cut pumping capacity by 700,000 bpd, according to the Ministry of Energy.

The attacks on the Manifa and Khurais fields had resulted in a reduction in production of 300,000 bpd at each field.

“The quick recovery reflects the high operational resilience and crisis management efficiency of Saudi Aramco and the Kingdom’s energy ecosystem as a whole, thereby enhancing the reliability and continuity of supplies to local and global markets, and supporting the global economy,” the Ministry of Energy said.

The acquisition will bring together P2D’s inspection and cleaning expertise with STATS’ pipeline isolation and maintenance technologies. (Image source: STATS Group)

STATS Group, a leader in pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and line stopping services, has acquired Aberdeen-based pipeline intelligence and cleaning specialist Pipelines 2 Data (P2D) in a move designed to expand its global pipeline integrity and maintenances service offerings

The deal, which builds on a long working relationship between the two companies and is backed by STATS Group’s parent company Mitsui, forms part of a long-term plan to build a comprehensive pipeline services platform combining inspection, diagnostics, maintenance and repair capabilities.

P2D has built a strong reputation for its smart pipeline cleaning, surveys and critical data analytics, which help operators assess pipeline condition and performance prior to maintenance or intervention activities, providing valuable insights.

The two companies have collaborated on projects in the Middle East and the UK, which have demonstrated the strong technical alignment between both entities and the operational benefits to clients. P2D will continue to operate from its base in Aberdeen and operational hubs in Canada and USA, while working closely with STATS to integrate technologies and develop joint service offerings.

It is hoped that the combination of P2D’s inspection and cleaning expertise with STATS’ pipeline isolation and maintenance technologies will create a unique service offering in the pipeline services market, enabling operators to manage pipeline integrity more efficiently through a single, integrated provider.

STATS chief executive officer, Stephen Rawlinson, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to add P2D’s talent and technology offering to our clients to help solve their complex pipeline integrity challenges. There are clear synergies between both organisations, and a strong cultural fit.

“We see this acquisition as part of a long-term growth strategy which builds on our UK heritage and will strengthen STATS’ global footprint. As a long-time trusted partner, we have identified that having access to P2D’s technology will add innovation to our product portfolio as we continue to look for opportunities to help our customers in the pipeline Inspection, Repair and Maintenance market.”

Steve Mayo said: “I am proud of P2D and excited about the opportunity and future under the stewardship of STATS. With P2D, I set out to create a unique offering and focused on solving challenges in the pipeline integrity market through ‘smart’ actionable insight derived from the data collected by our robust technology. I look forward to helping further expand the scale and scope of P2D’s offerings globally with the additional resources that companies like STATS and Mitsui can bring.”

Stats Group employs more than 500 staff across operational bases in the UK, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and USA.

Shipowners will need to have confidence in the security of the transiting vessels. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

As an uneasy ceasefire takes hold, huge questions remain about the resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the time it will take for Middle East operators to restore production

The 11mn bpd of upstream production currently shut-in across the Middle East can only be restored when export logistics normalise, says energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

"A 'workable system' of transit and shipowner confidence in the security of the transiting vessels is essential," said Alan Gelder, SVP Refining, Chemicals and Oil Markets at Wood Mackenzie. "This includes availability of insurance for transiting vessels, facilitating commercial trade financing, sustained outbound vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz making current oil on water available to the global refining market, and sustained inbound vessel transits through the Strait making ballasting vessels available to load crude at Gulf load ports. There also needs to be confidence in viability of transit during and beyond the current two-week ceasefire."

"Ballasting vessels are unlikely to enter via the Strait of Hormuz any sooner than a 'just in time' logistics basis, at risk of becoming trapped if hostilities resume," Gelder added. "Onshore storage drawdown remains constrained by over-the-jetty load rates, onshore inventories cannot be instantaneously transferred to ballasting vessels."

As export volumes ramp up, freed up storage capacity will allow upstream production and refining operations to resume. The level of storage varies from around a month for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to less than two weeks for Iraq and Kuwait.

"The initial recovery from major fields will be more than sufficient to meet the ramp-up of export volumes. Shipping logistics will remain the constraint on upstream recovery for several weeks," said Fraser McKay, head of Upstream Analysis at Wood Mackenzie. "Thereafter, as those constraints begin to ease, the constraints on supply will shift to the upstream production, and this will expose the different challenges each country faces. More than half of most field's previous supply levels could be restored before shipping constraints ease. Thereafter, different recovery profiles will emerge."

McKay noted that it will take countries like Iraq as long as six to nine months  to reach prior production levels given the complexities involved, due to both reservoir management and resource constraints.

In other countries, while there is little damage to upstream infrastructure, refineries could require repair. So even though exports will ramp up, previous production highs will take much longer to reach, although ultimately most, but not all production will be restored to prior levels. Restoring production too rapidly could risk doing more long-term damage, however, warned McKay.

Gas recovery

As for LNG supply, even if LNG cargoes are able to exit the Strait of Hormuz, relieving some of the pressure on the gas market, for there to be real structural change in supply the Ras Laffan site in Qatar would need to restart its operable trains, according to Tom Marzec-Manser, Europe Gas and LNG Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie assumes that if QatarEnergy began restarting Ras Laffan at the start of May, it would take until the end of August for the 12 trains to return to full service. A restart of just the 41mtpa North site would take just over a month. However the South site which originally had a 36mtpa capacity has sustained damage. These two additional trains will not return to service for a number of years and reduce the site's capacity to 24 mtpa.

Wood Mackenzie assumes the ADNOC's 5 mtpa Das Island LNG plant in the UAE will be able to return to service fairly quickly.

"Outside LNG, domestic gas infrastructure in the UAE has been harder hit than oil, and that recovery process could require longer-term repair work," Marzec-Manser added. "Sustained disruption at Habshan would have wide-ranging implications for domestic gas availability, compelling the UAE to reduce reinjection volumes or increase piped imports via the Dolphin pipeline."

The acquisition will bring survey management services. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Ikon Science, a global provider of geopredictive software, is strengthening its wellbore solutions portfolio with the acquisition of roundLAB Inc., an independent wellbore positioning and survey management specialist

The acquisition will bring proven survey correction services and algorithms designed to improve wellbore position certainty, reduce collision risk, and increase confidence in target delivery during drilling operations. Customers can benefit from:

• Expanded wellbore solutions: Survey management services, including sag correction and magnetic survey error reduction via MSA, IFR1 & IFR2,
• Improved well placement confidence: Reduced uncertainty and more consistent survey QC to support anti-collision and boundary management decisions, providing assurance that drilling and completions are conducted as originally planned.
• Operational continuity: roundLAB’s high-quality service delivery model and customer support will continue, with a planned roadmap for deeper workflow alignment across Ikon’s subsurface platforms and services to help drive further value to customers.

“This acquisition accelerates our Wellbore Solutions roadmap,” said Francisco Morillo, Ikon Science’s CEO. “By bringing roundLAB’s independent, high-quality well survey management services into Ikon Science, we expand the accuracy and assurance of wellbore positioning workflows, complementing our rock physics, pore pressure and geomechanics capabilities with drilling-facing execution confidence. The result is a more connected workflow from subsurface understanding to well planning and well placement.”

“Joining Ikon Science allows us to scale our survey management and well placement services globally,” said Dukhwa (Duk) Hong, roundLAB’s co-founder and sr. technical authority in Survey Management.

“Ikon’s deep subsurface domain expertise, global reach, and integrated software platforms create an ideal home for our technology and team, and we’re excited to deliver even more value to operators as they drill more complex wells and pursue tighter targets.”