The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) and the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) have joined forces to fund and support the development of innovations which could reduce costs, raise production efficiency, and improve safety and environmental performance. OGIC has made £1 million available to support companies with projects that require research and development to be undertaken at a Scottish university. OGIC can fund up to 70% of these costs and ITF can potentially ‘top-up’ financial support if an innovative project engages the interest of its members.

Trelleborg’s applied technologies operation has exhibited its new innovative Eccofloat®TG30 and TG32 materials, at Underwater Intervention in New Orleans, Louisiana in the U.S., on stand 119.

Our ROV, Diving and Inspection team in Banbury (formerly SubservPro) has a long and distinguished track record in the provision of personnel for offshore projects. With this in mind, we have appointed Spencer Trouten as the new Business Manager for this business line. With this change, we enhance the experience level, offer new dimensions to our services and generate more focus on exceptional service delivery.

Like many organisations, subsea technology company Sonardyne Inc., uses trade shows to launch new products, speak to users about their requirements and identify industry trends. And whilst conversations first held at events regularly lead to a purchase decision, it can be weeks or months later before an order is actually placed. But that wasn’t the case during the recent Underwater Intervention show in New Orleans when equipment rental company Survey Equipment Services (SES) of Houston, placed an order during the show for a Sonardyne Mini-Ranger 2 USBL tracking system and multiple Nano transponders. SES’s clients regularly carry out inspection projects using divers working from small boats and barges. Sonardyne’s Mini-Ranger 2 USBL and Nano technology is perfectly suited to these short duration projects; it’s quick to install and easy to use, meaning that tracking underwater targets begin in just a few simple steps.

Greensea, creator of OPENSEATM, the universal marine industry operating platform, has recently announced the appointment of Kevin Wingart as Quality Control Engineer. Prior to joining Greensea, Kevin worked as a principal engineer for ERIN Engineering and Research where he performed probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power plants. Kevin served four years in the United States Air Force as an Information Technology Specialist and one year in the Peace Corps as a renewable energy technology transfer volunteer. He earned his B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from California State University.

Aker Solutions will provide design engineering for the upgrading of the semi-submersible Njord A platform in Norway. The company will as a subcontractor of Kvaerner take part in upgrading the platform after operator Statoil exercised an option in an agreement awarded in April 2016. The option is for work in the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the project. Aker Solutions' share of the work is valued at about NOK 1 billion and will be booked in the company's first-quarter orders. "This is the largest offshore platform in Norway to have been brought to shore for a total upgrade," said Luis Araujo, chief executive officer of Aker Solutions. "We're excited to continue our work with Kvaerner and Statoil on this landmark project, which will enable the Njord field to keep producing oil and gas for several more decades."

C-Kore Systems delivered a C-Kore unit to a major integrated Oil and Gas Company with operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The unit will be used for fault finding on their assets in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dear MTS / IEEE OES Colleagues, On September 18-21, 2017, the OCEANS North America conference will be hosted in Alaska for the first time ever! On behalf of the Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, the OCEANS ’17 Anchorage Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is honored to invite your participation in this prestigious event.

Underwater Laser Scanner an Industry Leader in Offshore Survey & Inspection. After several months of intensive development and testing, 2G Robotics will be publicly launching the ULS-500 PRO at the April 2017 Ocean Business Exhibition in Southampton, UK. The ULS-500 PRO improves upon 2G Robotics’ proven dynamic underwater laser scanning solution by increasing the ease with which surveys can be performed. The ULS-500 PRO boasts industry leading sample rates facilitating faster vehicle speeds while providing higher density point clouds. The system’s higher sensitivity sensor provides more accurate data capture and has achieved results up to 20m in range. The addition of the SeaShot Imager Stills Camera and the SeaShot LED provides synchronized laser and stills camera operation for an even higher degree of detail during survey campaigns. Additionally, the ULS-500 PRO comes standard with a 4000m depth rating. With the best accuracy in the industry and real-time data acquisition, the ULS-500 PRO will replace the ULS-500 as the accepted technological norm for high resolution subsea survey.

Another Greensea system is entering the market – this time with the versatile, long duration, Exocetus Coastal Glider. Greensea is providing their commercially available navigation, control, and automation product based on their patent-pending OPENSEATM operating platform – the first operating platform for the marine industry – for the command and control of the Exocetus vehicle and sensors. The Exocetus AUV carries more payload and is faster than competing gliders. It also operates well in changing salinity conditions common along the coast. “But the main differentiator for users is its open architecture design and ease-of-use,” said Joe Turner, Co-founder.

Ashtead Technology has expanded its equipment rental pool following a significant investment in the latest Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) technology to deliver faster, more accurate asset integrity inspections. A global leader in marine technology, non-destructive testing and subsea services, Ashtead will now supply the Eddyfi Lyft™, an inspection tool for identifying corrosion under insulation (CUI), a major asset integrity issue for the oil and gas, and petrochemical sectors. CUI is a type of corrosion that occurs as a result of a moisture build-up on the external surface of insulated equipment. The corrosion is most commonly galvanic, chloride, acidic, or alkaline, and if undetected, the consequences can lead to the shutdown of a process unit or an entire facility.

- New research sheds light on youth perception of North Sea career prospects – YOUNG people living in the UK’s key energy hubs preparing for and making choices about their future careers still believe there is a long term future in the North Sea and want to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry, according to a new study. More than 500 students from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Great Yarmouth, Waveney and Norwich were asked to contribute to the Youth Perception of a Career in the Oil & Gas Industry report which was conducted by oil and gas industry skills organisation OPITO throughout 2016. The study will be shared with industry as well as the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) National Careers Service, to help inform and shape national career initiatives in the year ahead.

It’s a go ahead for new design development and configuration for the established OceanWorks International observatory communication nodes, thanks to approved funding from The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The OceanWorks Subsea Instrument Interface Modules (SIIM), or junction boxes originally were developed for the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) Neptune and Venus observatories, where they have been in place since 2006. There is a total of 14 junction boxes that have been delivered to ONC for deployment on both Neptune and Venus. Three more junction boxes are being delivered to ONC for implementation this year, for a total of 17.

Software start-up offers unique solution for high-risk robotics operations. BluHaptics, the software company pioneering new solutions for telerobotics, has secured $1.36 million in Series A financing. This investment follows more than a million dollars in recent U.S. government grants, which together will be used to support the company’s expansion and launch of its first commercially available product. Seattle Angel Fund, a member-directed investment fund focusing on early-stage, growth-oriented businesses in the Pacific Northwest, led the round with participation from Seattle’s Alliance of Angels. “We are as excited about the management team they have put in place as we are about their groundbreaking technology,” said Susan Preston, managing member of the Seattle Angel Fund.

Industry doyen Sir Ian Wood has kicked-off a new campaign ahead of SPE Offshore Europe 2017 to encourage previous and future visitors, exhibitors and speakers to share their experiences of the event and what they are looking forward to seeing at September’s conference and exhibition. OE & Me is a new online hub which invites people to send their stories of SPE Offshore Europe and organisers are looking for contributions from both within and outside the oil and gas industry. Short-style video footage from phones or tablets is the recommended format to upload to the hub. Full details are available at: http://www.offshore-europe.co.uk/en/OE--Me/

OceanWorks International is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jonathan Fether as Atmospheric Diving System (ADS) Product Line Manager. A trained submersible pilot and experienced OceanWorks HARDSUITTM pilot, Jonathan will work closely with OceanWorks customers carrying out the training and support for the ADS. Finding new manufacturers and sourcing component suppliers is also a significant part of his new role.

Energy services company Proserv has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract with Premier Oil for work in Asia Pacific. Proserv will supply a subsea control system and associated equipment for the BIGP (Bison, Iguana & Gajah Puteri) development project, located in the Natuna Sea, Indonesia. The scope of supply is a three well subsea control system, which includes the company’s award winning Artemis 2G subsea electronics module, tied back to two platforms, Naga and Pelikan, in approximately 90m water depth. Bison and Iguana will tie back to the Pelikan platform and Gajah Puteri will tie back from a controls perspective to the Naga platform. The Gajah Puteri well is the longest step out at 21km.

Ashtead Technology has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a business development director. With a career spanning more than 20 years in the oil and gas industry, David Mair joins Ashtead from Hoover Ferguson Group where he held the position of global business development director. Prior to this, Mr Mair worked at Subsea 7 where he held a number of senior management roles, including group vice president of business development.