American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016 - 117

IndustryFocus: Companies, People and Products
Shell Chooses Materia Inc.'s Thermal Insulation System
PASADENA, CA.-Materia Inc., in
conjunction with Aegion Corp., has been
selected by Shell Offshore Inc. to supply
pipeline insulation materials for the Appomattox development in the deepwater
Gulf of Mexico.
According to Materia, the insulation
system is unique among polymers for providing an effective thermal barrier between flowlines and seawater. The
thermosetting cross-linked hydrocarbon
polymer maintains structural integrity in

deepwater operating environments as an
incompressible solid at water depths
greater than 10,000 feet.
"Shell's safety and performance requirements were rigorous," says Materia
co-founder and Senior Adviser Michael
Giardello. "We were charged with supplying pipeline insulation materials that
met their performance requirements,
while greatly reducing the complexity."
For information, visit http://oilandgas.materia-inc.com.
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ABB, Aker Solutions Ally To Tackle Subsea Projects
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND-ABB
and Aker Solutions have agreed to build
on their combined strengths in subsea,
power and automation technologies.
According to the companies, the cooperation will integrate ABB's technologies
in subsea power and automation, and
Aker Solutions' subsea capabilities to provide more effective, reliable and flexible

OERB Campaign Cites
Oil, Gas Contributions
OKLAHOMA CITY-The Oklahoma
Energy Resources Board has developed
a campaign called "Energy to Amaze,"
which shows how Oklahomans are impacting the world using components
found in oil and natural gas.
The campaign includes a website that
draws attention to hydrocarbons' contribution to life-changing innovations, such
as restoring mobility, enabling deaf children to hear for the first time, and bringing water to developing countries that
lack other ways to access it.
The Energy to Amaze website points
out how oil and natural gas have contributed to food production and distribution technologies in the areas of fertilizer,
food preservation and water filtration. It
also demonstrates that petroleum-based
products such as Nomex, Kevlar and
nylon are protecting everyone from firemen and police officers to everyday drivers. OERB also notes that oil and natural
gas are foundational to products and technologies that expand communication,
spread knowledge and cultivate relationships, including artificial valves, prosthetics and cochlear implants.
For information, visit www.oerb.com/
energy-to-amaze.
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solutions. It will enhance how production
equipment on the seafloor is powered and
controlled by applications on shore or
platforms, lowering costs and improving
the economic viability of production at
fields far from infrastructure.
ABB indicates the cooperation is an
outcome of several years of joint work that
includes landmark developments such as
the 2015 delivery of the world's first subsea compression system for the Statoil-operated Åsgard field offshore Norway. The
company adds that initial focus includes
developing better subsea compression systems at lower costs and in less time.
For information, visit www.abb.com
or http://akersolutions.com.
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Weatherford's Nisku Facility
Gains API Q2 Certiﬁcation
HOUSTON-The Weatherford drilling
services facility in Nisku, Alberta, has received API Specification Q2 certification.
To gain certification, the company notes, a
facility must demonstrate a robust quality
management system that assures personnel
competency, risk assessment, contingency
planning, and other key elements.
The Nisku facility is the second
Weatherford facility in Canada to achieve
this certification, following a Weatherford-Canada Partnership in Paradise,
Newfoundland, which the company reports was certified last year.
"This certification validates the success of our service quality and risk mitigation programs, which are driven
internally by our operational excellence
and performance system (OEPS)," says
John Raine, Weatherford's vice president
of quality, health, safety, security and environment.
"API Q2 certification is a high bar of
achievement," comments David Reed,
Weatherford's Canada region vice president. "We were able to meet this challenge because of our strong culture of
safety, quality and teamwork, as well as
the implementation of OEPS."
For information, visit www.weatherford.com.
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LORD Corporation Unveils Generation 3.3 Axial Isolator
CARY, N.C.-LORD Corporation is
launching its Generation 3.3 axial isolators
to protect probe-style measurementwhile-drilling tool strings from axial
shock and vibration. Specifically designed
to provide reliable performance, the company says, the isolator significantly reduces the magnitude and occurrence of
accelerations (g loads) transmitted to
the MWD tool string from the drill bit,
axial excitation devices, and other axial
drill string dynamic inputs observed in
normal operation.
LORD says the isolators consistently
deliver an 80 percent or better reduction

in axial shock events greater than 30 g's,
and have a low operating cost. According
to the company, they feature:
* Nonlinear elastomer spring/damper
elements, which improve reliability and
shorten maintenance cycles;
* A robust design that allows for use
in a broad range of drilling parameters;
* Consistent, field-measurable operational life; and
* Field-proven anti-rotation and
sealing features.
For information, contact LORD at
855-796-1595 or visit www.lord.com/oilandgas.
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LORD Corporation says its new axial isolator extends measurement-while-drilling tool life
and protects downhole electronics in a broad range of operating conditions by signiﬁcantly
reducing shock events' magnitude and quantity.

JUNE 2016 117

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016

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