American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015 - 131

IndustryFocus: Companies, People and Products
SPE Award Recognizes
Weatherford's Bill Lane

HOUSTON-Bill Lane, vice president
of emerging technologies for artificial
lift at Weatherford International PLC,
has received the Society of Petroleum
Engineers Gulf Coast Regional Production
and Operations Award for his outstanding
contributions to SPE and service to the
Gulf Coast region.
Lane has been with Weatherford and
its predecessors for two decades in various
executive positions, including vice president of the progressing cavity pump
business unit, the elastomers business
unit, artificial lift systems research and
development, compression equipment,
and completion equipment. Lane's current
duties include evaluating emerging artificial lift technologies, researching oil
and gas applications from a production
standpoint, collaborating on technical
publications, representing the artificial
lift team on technology issues, and providing content for and lecturing on artificial
lift, Weatherford notes.
Before joining Weatherford in 1994,
Lane spent 18 years managing engineering
and manufacturing operations in the
United States and internationally for Otis
Engineering Corp. Weatherford says he
holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering
and an M.S. in mechanical engineering
design, both from the University of Texas
at Arlington.
❒

LoneStar Energy Finishes
Big Foot Platform Project

BAYTOWN, TX.-LoneStar Energy
Fabrication has completed work on the
Big Foot drilling platform, which the
company says is the largest project in its
history. The $5.1 billion extended tension-leg platform is ready to begin drilling
in the Gulf of Mexico.
LoneStar Energy was the primary fabricator of the 4,600 horsepower modular
drilling rig. The company says the platform
will operate in the Bigfoot oil and gas
field, 225 miles south of New Orleans,
at a depth of 5,200 feet.
The platform will house 200 workers
and has the capacity to produce 75,000
barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of
gas a day, LoneStar Energy says. Standing
40 stories above the Gulf, the platform
weighs 8,200 tons, the company adds.
For information, visit www.lsenergyfabrication.com.
❒

Packers Plus Energy Services Inc.
now offers the ePLUSTM RetinaTM
monitoring system, which it describes as a cost-effective solution
for monitoring Packers Plus multistage completion systems. "The
Retina system will allow operators
to make on-the-fly operational adjustments with real-time data, ensuring a successful stimulation and
maximum cost savings," says company President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Themig.
The small, self-contained unit does not interfere with stimulation operations and has builtin redundancy for all measurements, he reports, adding it records detailed data for future
use. For information, visit www.packersplus.com.

Newpark Expands Facility To Aid Offshore Drilling
KATY, TX.-Newpark Drilling Fluids
is extending its offshore reach with enhanced, customized fluids technology,
expanded facilities infrastructure, and a
team of professionals dedicated exclusively
to deepwater products and services.
Specifically, Newpark Drilling Fluids
says it is expanding its Port Fourchon,
La., facility to significantly increase both
synthetic and water-based drilling fluid
mixing and storage capacities, as well as
provide a dedicated barite storage area
that will be stocked and maintained by
Newpark subsidiary Excalibar Minerals
LLC. The facility is adopting Lean Six

Sigma principles throughout, including
a unique system that hauls bulk sack material without the need for manual handling, to promote safety and efficiency.
The company adds that it is continuing
to enhance its versatile KronosTM drilling
fluids system, which is designed to accommodate the specific requirements for
nonaqueos fluids used in deep water.
With slight formulation modifications,
Kronos systems can be adapted to almost
any deepwater drilling application, Newpark Drilling Fluids says.
For information, visit www.newparkdf.com.
❒

C-Innovation Deploys ROVs Made By FMCTechnologies

DAVIS, CA.-C-Innovation is deploying six new UHD-III remotely operated
vehicles manufactured by FMC Technologies Schilling Robotics for contracts
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Three of the UHD-III vehicles will
support a 10-year contract for multiservice
support of the BP Thunder Horse PDQ.
Two of those will be installed on the
Thunder Horse platform, while the third
will be hosted on the Jack Edwards
offshore supply vessel, FMC details.
Later this year, FMC continues, the
fourth UHD-III will be installed
on the Kirt Chouest anchor
handling supply vessel to perform construction and inspection, repair and maintenance
work for Anadarko Petroleum
Corp., and the remaining two
will be part of the new Island

Venture construction vessel for contract
toward the end of the year.
"The UHD-III ROV offers 250 horsepower for standard operations with 150
horsepower of auxiliary power, for the
most effective use of power, giving us
capabilities to use subsea tooling never
thought of on an ROV," says C-Innovation
Technical Director Steven Thrasher. "We
have invested in market-changing technology with the ROVs."
For information, visit www.fmctechnologies.com or www.c-innovation.com.❒

This UHD-III ROV from FMC
Technologies Schilling Robotics is one of six that will be
used by C-Innovation to complete Gulf of Mexico contracts.

JUNE 2015 131

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015

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