Asia-Pacific

TDW Offshore Services recently completed a pipeline pressure isolation operation for Petronas subsidiary Malaysia LNG (MLNG) using its SmartPlug pipeline isolation technology. The SmartPlug tool successfully isolated a 36-in. pipeline such that six 22-ton motor-operated ball valves (MOVs) could be replaced in the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Read more »

Recognizing that step changes in oil and gas recovery can only be achieved through analogous step changes in reservoir understanding, a recent SPE Applied Technology Workshop aimed to explore the limits and new promises in reservoir testing.  Read more »

Shell Global Solutions, the energy technology and consultancy arm of Royal Dutch Shell, is expanding its upstream business by selling technology to oil producers in Asia and the Middle East with the goal of boosting output at mature fields. Read more »

Horizontal and multilateral wells took center stage at an SPE Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) held earlier this year in Penang, Malaysia. The workshop, titled "Maximizing the Value of Horizontal and Multilateral Wells: New Challenges, Technologies, and Approaches," gathered 70 participants from around the world for discussions aimed at addressing new applications of multilateral and horizontal well technologies.  Read more »

Deepwater discoveries and development plans are expanding from well-established regions like the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to frontier regions such as offshore India, but there is a lag in experience that must be filled. An SPE Advanced Technology Workshop (ATW) in Mumbai titled "Deepwater Development" aimed to do that, by bringing together a multidisciplinary, multinational group of 117 oilfield professionals to exchange ideas in the area of deepwater project planning and execution. Read more »

The Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh was the host of an SPE Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) titled “Underbalanced and Managed Pressure Drilling: Technologies for Improving Drilling Performance, Enhancing Production and Reducing Project Risk.” From 12 to 15 October 2008, 80 participants representing 45 different organizations from 16 countries discussed the value that underbalanced and managed pressure drilling (UBD and MPD) technologies can deliver to a range of projects worldwide. Read more »

Remedial and slimhole sand control completions took center stage at a recent SPE Advanced Technology Workshop (ATW) held in November 2008 in Penang, Malaysia. Titled “Chasing Lost Reserves with Remedial and Slimhole Sand Control,” the ATW reviewed methods for maximizing recovery of reserves in place by using economical through-tubing and slimhole sand control technologies. Read more »

Recognizing a need to mitigate the growing number of major incidents in the oil and gas industry, risk management consultancy Det Norske Veritas (DNV) has opened the DNV Global Risk Center. The Hyderabad, India-based center will employ 60 consultants with backgrounds in engineering, business administration, and environmental sciences with an aim to support the energy sector in India and beyond. Read more »

The Malaysian island of Langkawi was the setting for an SPE Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) titled "Development of Marginal Offshore Fields" held 21-24 April. Fifty-six participants representing 36 organizations and 11 countries discussed the challenges in developing marginal fields and the current industry trends and technology employed to deal with complex geologies, challenging drilling environments, and infrastructure constraints. Read more »

China's Yantai Raffles Shipyard recently unveiled a new heavy-lift gantry crane that has been garnering industry awards and breaking heavy-lift records. The Taisun crane is capable of lifting 20,000 metric tons and promises to improve safety, speed, and efficiency during construction of offshore production vessels. These accomplishments garnered the Taisun a Spotlight on New Technology Award at this year's Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.

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