Click here to view the embedded video.

The above video shows some more explanation on hot tapping. I would like to thank our user ‘pitihkawe’ for his post on the hot tapping.  This is more towards onshore applications & will be different for subsea applications.

“It’s A safe control entry into a pipe or vessels operating at vacuum,pressured or….without losing product and process interuption.” Hot Tapping applications includes the following :
* Prevent shutdowns
* New construction tie-ins
* Installation of by-pass systems
* Pressure and vacuum gauge installation
* New pipeline construction
* Sight glass installations
* Quality control sample points
* Valve installations
* Thermowell coupling installation
* Orifice taps for flow meters
* Offshore and underwater service
* Pipe inspection
* Temperature indicators
* Sparger installations

14th January 2009 I was assigned to ensure work site preparation are in order and safe for the activity in compliance to the PCSB SHe and work pack requirement.

The challenge of this activity is performing welding on the life 2″ pipe which carries aproximately 40 KB/D liquid (crude, gas and water) at 10000 kpa pressure.To ensure this activity can be perform safely the pipeline flow rate have to be constant, post weld temperature are maintain at 150 degrees C and not exceeding 250 degree C.

Among the tools are use for temperature monitoring are temperature sensors that will disable the welding activities as the temperature reach 230 Degrees C. Thermography Flir P65 camera to study the heat pattern on the welded surface during welding and also the infra red thermometers for spot measurement.

The pipe was finally drilled on January 27th @ 2220 hrs.

See more photo check this link:-

http://pitihkawe.multiply.com/photos/album/53/My_Hot_Tapping_Experience

Lets start with knowing Sigur Ros Sdn. Bhd.  (www.sgrsb.com).  Sigur Ros Sdn. Bhd. is the FIRST Malaysian Offshore Construction Company penetrating Turkmenistan and my be also in Caspian Sea.  Sigur Ros owned a shallow water pipelayer barge Arawana (Specification can be downloaded at www.sgrsb.com).  Currently Sigur Ros is executing a major Offshore Installation contract in Caspian Sea.  One of the major strength of Sigur Ros will be its run by very experience professional (the owner it self start their career as an Offshore Installation Engineer).

Its a very ’strange’ & interesting life working with Sigur Ros.  Giving FREE meal to all employee @ HQ Office & Sites makes me feel its a ‘People Oriented Company’… To be continued…. (have to rest, weather in Turkmenistan is very ‘extreme’.  9 deg. celcius compare to 30 degree in Malaysia … Spasiva!)

PSC = Petronas Carigali, Nippon Oil, ExxonMobil, Shell, Newfield Exploration Company, Murphy Oil, Talisman Energy, Hess Corporation and otherss.

The issue was discussed during SEAPOG EPRES (South East Asia Pipeline Operators Group Emergency Pipeline Repair Equipment Sharing) meeting.  The possible emergency pipeline repair equipment to be shared includes:

• Pressure containment clamps.
• Composite repair equipment.
• Mechanical connectors.
• Elbow bends and connectors.
• Line pipes.

I strongly believe that PLIDCO will be one of the items considered in this pool of resources.  So next time should any pipeline repair tender coming out, the methodology will be driven by resources available within the PSC.  As my personal experience in one of the pipeline repair job,  PLIDCO was not considered during that time.  The more ‘primitive’ approach was used since the job does not affecting the production.  The methodology used was, CUT & REPLACE with spool.  Btw, for those who are not very familiar with PLIDCO, here is the video stating their strength in pipeline repair.

Click here to view the embedded video.

OGA (Asian Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Engineering Exhibition) @ KLCC Convention Center; You Been There?  It was the biggest ever OGA exhibition and yes it do provide vast of new products & services and most importantly Verifications & ’Evidence’ to some industry Rumours (Will no write about it).

I personally been assigned to attend my employee booth on the first day & come back on the 3rd day to visit all the booths.  Today, i’m highlighting one of the leading international engineering groups i.e. Mustang Engineering!  & Most importanly they are setting up office here in KL.  Here what Mustang Engineering say about their Business Units.

Upstream
Mustang is ranked among the top five upstream engineering centers worldwide with offices located in strategic hubs around the world providing access to global resources…

Process and Industrial
Mustang’s Process & Industrial business unit is dedicated to providing our clients full-service engineering, procurement and construction management solutions…

Automation and Control
Mustang Automation and Control is a leader in providing engineering, specification, integration and implementation of control automation, and information systems to the process industries….

Pipeline
Mustang’s pipleline business unit offers engineering and field services for onshore pipelines and worldwide basis…

Midstream
Mustang is in the unique position to offer our clients excellence in engineering, cutting-edge LNG technologies, and solid knowledge of gasification and related synthesis gas processes…

Process Plants
Mustang delivers cost and schedule efficient projects with imporved HSE and quality performance…

Here is some of Mustang Engineering Involved projects

• Murphy Oil Kikeh Development, Malaysia.
• NEXUS Crux FPSO FEED Timor Sea, Australia
• ONGC Mumbai High North Platform, India
• Inpex Ichthys Option C Pre-FEED Browse Basin, Australia
• BP China Zhuhai LPG Phase II FEED China
• ENI Blactip Post FEED Study Bonaparte Gulf Western, Australia
• Cairn Energy Mangala Production Facilities, India
• Woodside Sunrise Timor Sea
• Chevron Greater Gorgon/Jansz FEED Northwest Cost, Australia
• BP Kepodang BP, Indonesia
• Conoco Belanak, Indonesia
• PB Terang Sirsun BP, Indonesia
• Command Petroleum/Hyundai Ravva, India
• BP Hai Tach BP, Vietnam
• GSPC Deen Dayal, India
• AGIP Wollybutt, Australia
• AGL Pipeline Mitigation, Australia
• British Gas Panna Brownfield Project West Cost India
• BP Clair Field Development United Kingdom, North Sea/UK
• Mobil Equatorial Guinea, Inc Jade Development Project Equotrial Guinea, West Africa
• Chevron Benguela Belize Angola, West Afrika
• Exxon Mobil Diana Field Development Gulf of Mexico
• BP ThunderHorse Gulf of Mexico
• Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Boomvang and Nansen USA, GoM North America
• Chevron Texaco Agbami Development FEED Phase 111 Nigeria, West Africa
• Chevron Tahiti USA, Gulf of Mexico
• Chevron Blind Faith USA, Gulf of Mexico

Btw, their office address in Malaysia, as follow:

Wood Group,
Level 11, Menara Perak,
24 Jalan Perak,
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel : +60 3 2264 5555
Fax : +60 3 2164 3619
Email : AsiaPacificSales@MustangEng.com

1.  Owning a Petronas License will not the ultimate reason for vendor/company getting invited for all tender.
2. To ensure your company is always included in iLINTAS database you must always comply to all Petronas requirement.  I personally dont know what is the requirement, but i believe part of it is Validation of Petronas License, Submission of Audited Account, No Complaint from sub-vendor on work quality or payment … etc.  (You are invited to add to this list)
3. Indirectly its encourage all vendor especially local business to practice proper business practice
4. It is also indirectly improve vendor work quality since (i believe) part of the requirement is to have a ‘good track record’ if you want to maintain inside the system.

But I still don’t have the info, whether the information is accessible to Non-Petronas License entity.  My last comment would be, it is worth to assign someone to monitor the requirement just to ensure your company is always inside the iLINTAS.  You will easily loose business opportunity if you are not inside the LOOP.

Note : We would appreciate if anyone out there could elaborate more on this iLINTAS system.

As Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev and Eni’s CEO Paolo Scaroni said, the end of the year will be, probably, the new deadline for reaching a compromise.

The object of the dispute remains the same – Eni’s new plan, according to which it is proposed to postpone the beginning of oil production for 2 years and to increase the Kashagan development budget. Minister Mynbayev states, “In our opinion, we can not approve it in such a form,” adding at the same time, however, “Kazakhstan is ready for an open dialogue.” His subordinate, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Dyusembay Turganov, speaks more menacingly: “If now the parties do not reach common ground, most likely the question of a change of operator will be introduced.”

Generally it looks as if Kazakhstan is choosing rigidity in tactics during these negotiations. Two months ago the Kazakhstan parliament passed a law (Kazakh President Nazarbayev signed it October 24) allowing the government to reconsider and even to annul natural resources contracts if it threatens national security and strategic economic interests.

Probably, there is nothing surprising in this as Kashagan is really very important for Kazakhstan. And for the consortium of Western energy corporations, who hardly want to lose a share of this huge “sugar bone” (as they say in Kazakhstan and Russia), as well. Such a comparison is given here not by chance: on the map the Kashagan oil field really looks like a huge bone.

Kashagan is fifth in reserves of the largest oil fields around the world and number one among fields outside the Persian Gulf region. Definitely, the Caspian Sea holds other, still undiscovered oil fields, but no one can be sure there will be any more such as Kashagan. This is really the last big oil of the Caspian. For Kazakhstan this oil has the same strategic importance as the reserves of the Gulf of Mexico have for the United States (which sometimes are called the last oil of America).

In the past few years the Caspian Sea has yielded not only successful discoveries, but also disappointments. The Shakh Deniz and Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli projects are being developed successfully on the Azerbaijan shelf; however, some other projects have been closed, such as Apsheron (developed by Chevron), Oguz (ExxonMobil), Kyurdashi (Eni) and Lenkoran Deniz and Talysh Deniz (Total). On the Kazakhstan shelf, oil has been confirmed only in two offshore projects, too: Kashagan and Zhemchuzhina (Pearl), opened a month ago. Exploratory drilling on Tyub-Karagan and Kurmangazy, for which there were great hopes, has not found sufficient reserves of hydrocarbons.

These failures are forcing the Kazakh government and Western companies to pay more attention to oil fields already discovered, and especially to Kashagan. The Memorandum of Understanding of October 23 assumes an increase of Kazakhstan’s share in the project from 8.33% to 17% and opportunities for further agreements. It looks as if Kazakhstan has gone the way the Arab petroleum exporters went in the 1960s and 1970s. Those countries have increased by means of small but consecutive steps the share in their own petroleum industry from 5 to 10% in the 1950s up to 90 to 95% in the 1970s.

It is unlikely the Western consortium can stop this process; however, it fully can slow it down. Their incomes really depend on the speed of the course of this process. For nevertheless, you see, this project has more common interests than contradictions.

• Mechanical (Senior Piping/Vessels) Engineer
• Quality/QA Engineers
• Instrument/Controls
• Process
• Scheduler
• Structural
• Materials/NDT
• Welding
• Rotating Equipment
• Electrical

If you would like further information please contact sandy.grewal@lr.org.