NASA/NOAA Study Finds El Niños Growing Stronger
A relatively new type of El Niño, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship
between El Niños and climate change, and has potential significant implications for long-term weather forecasting.
Lead author Tong Lee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Michael McPhaden of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle measured changes in El Niño intensity since 1982. They analyzed NOAA satellite observations of sea surface temperature, checked against and blended with directly-measured ocean temperature data. The strength of each El Niño was gauged by how much its sea surface temperatures deviated from the average. They found the intensity of El Niños in the central Pacific has nearly doubled over the study period, with the most intense event occurring in 2009-10.
The scientists say the stronger El Niños help explain a steady rise in central Pacific sea surface temperatures observed over the past few decades in previous studies — a trend attributed by some to the effects of global warming. While Lee and McPhaden observed a rise in sea surface temperatures during El Niño years, no significant temperature increases were seen in years when ocean conditions were neutral, or when El Niño’s cool water counterpart, La Niña, was present.
“Our study concludes the long-term warming trend seen in the central Pacific is primarily due to more intense El Niños, rather than a general rise of background temperatures,” said Lee.
“These results suggest climate change may already be affecting El Niño by shifting the center of action from the eastern to the central Pacific,” said McPhaden. “El Niño’s impact on global weather patterns is different if ocean warming occurs primarily in the central Pacific, instead of the eastern Pacific.”
“If the trend we observe continues,” McPhaden continued, “it could throw a monkey wrench into long-range weather forecasting, which is largely based on our understanding of El Niños from the latter half of the 20th century.”
El Niño (Spanish for “the little boy”) is the oceanic component of a climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which appears in the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every three to five years. The most dominant year-to-year fluctuating pattern in Earth’s climate system, El Niños have a powerful impact on the ocean and atmosphere, as well as important socioeconomic consequences. They can influence global weather patterns and the occurrence and frequency of hurricanes, droughts and floods; and can even raise or lower global temperatures by as much as 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
During a “classic” El Niño episode, the normally strong easterly trade winds in the tropical eastern Pacific weaken. That weakening suppresses the normal upward movement of cold subsurface waters and allows warm surface water from the central Pacific to shift toward the Americas. In these situations, unusually warm surface water occupies much of the tropical Pacific, with the maximum ocean warming remaining in the eastern-equatorial Pacific.
Since the early 1990s, however, scientists have noted a new type of El Niño that has been occurring with greater frequency. Known variously as “central-Pacific El Niño,” “warm-pool El Niño,” “dateline El Niño” or “El Niño Modoki” (Japanese for “similar but different”), the maximum ocean warming from such El Niños is found in the central-equatorial, rather than eastern, Pacific. Such central Pacific El Niño events were observed in 1991-92, 1994-95, 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2009-10. Studies have hypothesized that global warming due to human-produced greenhouse gases could shift the warming center of El Niños from the eastern to the central Pacific, further increasing the frequency of such events in the future.
Lee said further research is needed to evaluate the impacts of these increasingly intense El Niños and determine why these changes are occurring. “It is important to know if the increasing intensity and frequency of these central Pacific El Niños are due to natural variations in climate or to climate change caused by human-produced greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
Results of the study were published recently in Geophysical Research Letters.
Bluefin and FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Enter Agreement to Advance Spray Glider Operational Capability in Response to Oil Spill
Bluefin Robotics is pleased to announce a Memorandum of Agreement with Florida Atlantic University (FAU) that establishes a framework that promotes the development of a Glider Research and Operations Center (GROC) at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI). The purpose of the agreement is to collaboratively further glider-based marine science and technology research in the areas of education, autonomous vehicle development, manufacturing, and at-sea operations. Ultimately, the team aims to create an extended field presence with the Bluefin Spray Glider, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic regions for persistent environmental monitoring and data collection.
“In light of recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, the combination of the HBOI GROC and the Bluefin Spray Glider will fill a vital need in the long-term monitoring of this critical environment. The Spray has the necessary depth and endurance capabilities required to maintain a continuous monitoring presence. As the GROC Spray fleet expands, we will continue to support HBOI as they push into new areas of oceanographic research,” said Jeff Smith, Director of Programs at Bluefin Robotics.
Originally developed at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the Bluefin Spray is an ideal platform to facilitate the teams’ goals in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. The system is a deep-diving, buoyancy-driven autonomous underwater vehicle that collects water column data profiles using a pumped oceanographic–grade Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensor and a variety of other instrumentation. To drive its motion, the glider manipulates its buoyancy by transferring food-grade mineral oil between its pressure hull and flooded payload compartment. This vertical buoyancy is converted into forward motion using a pair of wings, which allows the vehicle glide along a saw-tooth dive profile to depths up to 1500 meters. In this manner, the Spray is capable of deployments over periods exceeding 6 months establishing the system as a very efficient platform for persistent monitoring. A number of Spray Gliders are already deployed in the Gulf of Mexico by other oceanographic groups.
www.bluefinrobotics.com
www.hboi.fau.edu
www.fau.edu.
Decommissioning Industry Body Launches Project to Help Supply Chain Win Decommissioning Work in North Sea
An industry body set up to ensure businesses are ready to secure opportunities from decommissioning work over the coming years will shortly launch a major mapping exercise to help the supply chain benefit from the £25-30billion of North Sea work forecast for the future.The work by Decom North Sea will help promote the capability and capacity of the North Sea supply chain for decommissioning projects, as well as showcasing supply chain companies and their individual expertise and experience.
Decom North Sea chief executive Brian Nixon on (Wednesday, August 25) gave details of the project at the major Offshore North Sea (ONS) oil & gas industry exhibition in Stavanger.
DNS was attending ONS to attract new members as well as meeting some of the key decommissioning players from Norway to learn of their plans and how the UK supply chain can work with them. He said revealing details of the exercise in Norway underlined the fact industry needed to take a pan-North Sea approach to securing decommissioning projects.
He said visitors to the Decom North Sea website would soon be able to quickly and easily identify capability in three areas - the phase of decommissioning, the kind of facilities or infrastructure to be removed, and the specific service and / or technology required.
Mr Nixon said providing this level of comprehensive information would help operators find suppliers and contractors with greater ease and provide the supply chain with a highly practical way of accessing opportunities and showcasing their respective decommissioning skills.
He added that decommissioning work was forecast to ramp up within the next year or two and, in advance of this intensive period of activity across multiple, complex projects, the industry (operating companies, major contractors, service specialists, technology developers, legal and financial experts, consultants etc.) must work together to learn from, and share, the various experiences that will be earned from the next clutch of decommissioning projects.
“To ensure a vibrant and sustainable capability, the industry needs to evolve innovative contracting models, able to stimulate progressive improvements and efficiency gains. A cohesive approach is needed to ensure effective management and mitigation of the various risks – safety; environment; cost; reputation; technical etc. New compensation strategies are also required to provide equitable management of risk and reward, and reasonable returns on investment for operators and contractors alike,’’ said Mr Nixon.
As a result, he announced that Decom North Sea has commissioned independent research and analysis of alternative management and contracting models. A research team from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University is consulting a wide range of senior industry officials before analysing and prioritising their findings.
The results of this research and analysis will be discussed and debated at the Decom North Sea / Oil & Gas UK Decommissioning Conference in October. It is hoped that some innovative and progressive options can be identified by this initiative, and that the industry can be encouraged to take them forward for possible adoption in the future decommissioning programme.
Mr Nixon said: “There is an expectation that the supply chain will respond with innovation and investment in readiness for the expected uplift in decommissioning activity. If it were possible for supply chain companies and contractors to spread any such investment over more than one project, it is likely that a better business case would result. So the concept of packaging, or clustering, individual decommissioning projects into larger programmes is being pursued as it offers potential benefits to all parties. This needs further research and promotion, and so it is hoped that some scenario planning will illustrate the benefits of such an approach.
“And of course it is vitally important that the industry and supply chain is prepared to secure maximum benefit from the wider North Sea programmes, and by doing so becomes recognised globally as a source of decommissioning expertise, in the same way as it is recognised for its strengths with new developments, production optimisation, subsea technologies, asset integrity and similar.
“If the issues highlighted here can be addressed in a collaborative manner, the supply chain can look forward to an additional and sustained business opportunity from decommissioning. However if they are not addressed, there is real concern that the industry could lose out on the economic benefit that will accompany these significant expenditures.’’
www.decomnorthsea.com
ROV Product Services Launches New ROV Spare Parts eCommerce Website
ROV Product Services (RPS) announces the launch of their new eCommerce website to supply spare parts to the underwater robotics industry. By simplifying the ordering process and reducing critical lead times, RPS is positioned for rapid response to support the Gulf of Mexico and worldwide ROV operations.
The RPS website http://www.rovproductservices.com offers a comprehensive list of critical ROV spare parts, including motors, valves, hoses and PCB’s for immediate purchase and delivery. With RPS headquartered in New Orleans, they can provide ready access to key marine ports, from Mobile to Houston, offering hotshot delivery services. Warehouse stocking and spares inventory management round out RPS’ offerings.
RPS principals, Norman Robertson and Carlos Sardinha, have 26 and 21 years experience in the ROV industry, respectively. Together, they bring a comprehensive knowledge of ROV systems from design and production, to installation and operations.
“RPS is focused on two key sectors; managers that need to rapidly define a MATerial REQuest and buyers that need to process that MAT REQ efficiently” says Norm Robertson. “A manager can define an online ‘wish list’, email the URL to the purchasing department, where the buyer can access the URL and buy the equipment. It is a simple as that. Our warehouse staff reacts immediately to shipment notifications, packaging the parts and shipping, according to client priority requirements defined during checkout. For the Gulf of Mexico region a 3-6 hour hotshot delivery service is available. We are truly ‘ROV Parts on Demand’“.
Carlos Sardinha points out that “Identifying key operational parts is paramount to maintaining ROV functionality and minimizing downtime. By offering an immediate one stop, all inclusive website for key components, ROV operational companies can maximize efficiency and optimize operational expenditures. Working with industry leaders, maintenance experts, and our extensive technical experience helped us define those critical items that need to be available immediately. “
By identifying a need in the offshore ROV industry RPS is positioned to support the critical operations of the Oil and Gas subsea industry. RPS looks forward to working with operational companies to define their spare part support requirements.
Wintershall Announces Five North Sea Oil Discoveries in Just One Year
The largest German oil and gas producer, Wintershall, continues to make headway on the path to becoming one of the leading operators on the Norwegian continental shelf. The company has now discovered five new oil fields in the North Sea in just one year, it announced at the international trade fair “Offshore Northern Seas” (ONS) in Stavanger. “The expansion of our activities in our core region North Sea, especially on the Norwegian continental shelf, is making good progress,” Martin Bachmann, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall Holding GmbH and responsible for Exploration and Production, explained.
Following the success of Wintershall’s own operated wells “Grosbeak” and “Maria” (both offshore Norway), Wintershall has now also struck oil with its third operated well, Blakeney, around 150 kilometers east of Aberdeen in the British production license P1619. Wintershall holds a 75% stake in the discovery, the Canadian company Sterling Resources holds a 25% interest. The size of the find is estimated at 60 to 100 million barrels of oil in place. The “Maria” discovery about 200 kilometers off the coast of Trondheim is estimated to be one of the largest oil discoveries in Norway so far this year.
The success of the three Wintershall-operated wells is complemented by two other successful exploration wells in which Wintershall is involved as a partner. Wintershall has a 20% stake in the so-called Catcher field, which was discovered in the British North Sea in June. The very promising area will shortly be assessed with further wells to determine whether additionaldeposits can be demonstrated. In addition, the well Beta, 15 kilometers north-west of the Snorre field, proved oil in the northern North Sea. Wintershall also has a working interest in exploration well “Cladhan” in the British North Sea and is planning to sink more wells on the Norwegian continental shelf this year.
Wintershall focuses on the full E+P life cycle in Norway “These excellent new discoveries increase the growth potential of our portfolio in the North Sea considerably and show that we are on the right track,” Martin Bachmann said. He explained that Wintershall would continue to invest heavily in the North Sea region and especially Norway. “In Norway, our investments are focused on the entire E&P life cycle – from exploration to production. This is certainly not a strategy practiced by all international E+P companies in Norway these days. We believe in the po-tential on the Norwegian continental shelf. Hence, we not only want to invest here for the long-terms; we also want to get actively involved as an operator,” Bachmann explained at the international trade fair in Stavanger.
Wintershall is spending almost 50 percent of its exploration budget in Norway this year. “Bernd Schrimpf, the new Managing Director of Wintershall Norge, and his excellent team in Norway are ideally qualified to travel this ambitious path successfully.” Bachmann also thanked Harald Vabø for his outstanding and pioneering work.
Wintershall is one of the largest license holders in Norway with around 40 licenses – and is the operator in almost half of them. The company is targeting a production level in Norway of around 50,000 MMBOE per day by 2015. The activities in the Northern North Sea are coordinated from Stavanger, the heart of Norway’s oil and gas industry and the headquarters of Wintershall Norge ASA. Experience and responsibility as operator The North Sea is one of Wintershall’s traditional core regions. The wholly owned BASF subsidiary has been active in the North Sea since 1965 and currently operates 25 crude oil and natural gas platforms in the Dutch North Sea, and one in the German North Sea. Moreover, Wintershall sets standards in this region: in order to further improve the efficiency of its operations in the southern section of the North Sea, Wintershall has been controlling 19 of its 26 offshore platforms centrally from land with one of the most modern radio surveillance systems for about two years now. This reduces the number of helicopter flights needed to the platforms by a third.
Furthermore, the increased efficiency in platform operations makes production from smaller and older reservoirs commercially viable. Rijswijk, near The Hague, is home to the corporate-wide Competence Center for Offshore Technology and also the headquarters of Wintershall Noordzee, which manages the activities in the southern North Sea. Wintershall also produces crude oil from Germany’s Wattenmeer national park together with the German company RWE Dea. Production from the ecologically sensitive area has been
running without incident for more than 20 years.
www.wintershall.com
Schlumberger Completes Merger with Smith International
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) announced Monday, that it has closed its merger with Smith International, Inc. As previously announced, each Smith stockholder will receive 0.6966 shares of Schlumberger common stock in exchange for each Smith share, with cash paid in lieu of any fractional shares of Schlumberger common stock. Schlumberger has issued approximately 176 million shares pursuant to the merger, representing a transaction value of approximately $11 billion. As a result, former Smith stockholders own approximately 12.9% of Schlumberger’s outstanding shares of common stock.
The merger widens Schlumberger's lead as the world's largest oilfield services company based on revenue and market capitalization. Smith’s drilling technologies, other products and expertise complement a variety of Schlumberger technology offerings, while the geographical footprint of Schlumberger will enable the merged companies to extend joint offerings worldwide.
Andrew Gould, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schlumberger, commented, “I am extremely pleased to welcome Smith employees, customers and shareholders to Schlumberger. We are ready to begin the process of realizing the synergies made possible by this merger and our focus in the near term is on the execution of plans that have been laid out these past few months while continuing to deliver safety and quality in our field operations. Beyond the near term, the merger will allow us to address new markets and develop new technologies, and employees from both companies will have key roles to play in unlocking the value brought by the combination.”
John Yearwood, former Chief Executive Officer of Smith, said, “This is an exciting time for all the former Smith International employees as we aggressively expand our service offerings through the rapid implementation of the identified growth strategies while continuing to focus on our customers' everyday needs. The quality of the integration planning process has been outstanding and everyone is looking forward to exceeding expectations."
www.slb.com
New Weather Closures; A perfect solution for offshore vessels
Heavy doors and hatches require manpower to close in rough waters. A perfect solution for offshore vessels, workboats, tugs, crew's quarters and pump houses, the advanced Weather Closures from Delta "T" Systems can be remotely shut in the event of bad weather, violent seas and extreme wind or for security purposes.
Available in custom sizes to fit any application, the versatile Weather Closures are constructed from marine-grade 6063 aluminum housing with anodized aluminum blades. The Weather Closures are also offered in a powder-coated finish to handle harsh marine conditions. Lightweight and energy efficient, they feature 24V DC or 110V AC electric actuators, which enable users to remotely open or close the weather closures from the helm or other required locations.
Employing proven moisture-eliminator technology, the effective Weather Closures filter 97% of the water and salt from incoming air. The water then drains overboard through slots on a face drain.
The Weather Closures can also be integrated into the fire suppression system. In the event of discharge, ventilation openings will automatically close, preventing the dilution of extinguishing agents.
www.deltasystems.com
Seakeeper Marine Group Boat Works Stabilize Green Navy RTSC
Capable of running completely on biofuel and using 100% shore power, the new 114' US Navy Range Training Support Craft (RTSC-110) is one of the most environmentally-friendly US military vessels ever launched. Proudly built by Marine Group Boat Works, the RTSC-110's technological advances include six internal Seakeeper M7000 Gyro Stabilization Systems for crew safety and comfort. This is the first of a three-boat contract."The Navy required a stabilization system be incorporated in the RTSC-110s," said Marine Group Boat Works vice president Todd Roberts. "It was agreed the ideal solution would avoid any hull protrusions, which inevitably led to us to Seakeeper."
The RTSC-110s are multi-mission boats capable of launching and recovering objects, such as small high-speed craft, aerial targets and test weapons. The next generation of Torpedo Weapon Retrieval (TWR) vessels, they are designed to handle and support the evolving fleet training requirements.
The boats feature a rugged, all-aluminum hull, twin 1,800hp Caterpillar engines and a unique fuel filtration system that enables the RTSC-110s to run on 100% biofuel. With 100% shore power capability, the green craft is also a zero-discharge vessel.
"This landmark six-gyro project is the largest installation of Seakeeper stabilizers in a single vessel," said Roberts. "Marine Group Boat Works is proud to continue making history with Seakeeper as we move on to complete Boats 2 and 3 on schedule."
"We're honored to be working with Marine Group Boat Works and the US Navy," said Seakeeper inside sales coordinator Brook Stevens. "The RTSC-110 and similar military vessels are excellent applications for gyro stability due to the nature of their missions. We deliver superior roll reduction performance completely internally, without any hull protrusions. Our gyros provide a stable platform to increase crew safety and productivity, while eliminating fatigue and seasickness."
A full-service facility, Marine Group Boat Works handles repairs, retrofits, conversions and custom painting for pleasure, commercial and government craft up to 665 tons. Its new construction division specializes in metal and fiberglass fabrication for workboats, tugs and barges.
Seakeeper is a global leader in internal stabilization technology. Its actively-controlled gyros deliver a powerful righting force for unmatched stability while at anchor, zero and low speeds or underway.
www.seakeeper.com
Hallin’s New, Purpose Built, State Of The Art Singapore Facility Opens
Hallin Marine Subsea International’s new, state of the art, multi-purpose facility in Singapore has been officially opened by Dave Dunlap, the CEO of parent company Superior Energy Services.
The 11,000 square metre, purpose built premises are a ‘clear indication of the commitment we have to South East Asia and our plans to continue to grow our presence in the region’ Mr Dunlap explained during the opening ceremony for staff and guests.
He added: ‘It gives Hallin Marine the best possible facilities: it's a great operational base next to where our vessels will tie up; a first class maintenance and storage centre; an outstanding manufacturing facility for our dive and ROV systems; and a wonderful environment in which to work for our design engineers and our executives and support staff.
’This facility will also give other Superior subsidiary companies a base to grow their own operations in the region while working together to produce and deliver technically advanced solutions for our clients.’
The facility has been built on the marine jetty in Loyang (the centre for Singapore’s busy offshore oil and gas industry) and been some two years in the planning and gives Hallin the room to further expand.
Hallin’s senior team worked closely with the developers and the Singapore authorities to ensure the showpiece development fitted its current and planned future needs.
It brings under one roof the company’s East operating division; its manufacturing and marine divisions; the company’s administration centre and the Singapore arm of Prospect, Hallin’s engineering design business as well as acting as a base for other Superior subsidiaries in the region.
The development is in excess of 11,000 square metres and boasts 5,000 square metres of yard space, of which almost a quarter is covered.
With 3,000 square metres of workshop space, including designated ‘clean areas’ for electronic, hydraulic and electrical assembly and testing, and a further 3,000 square metres of office space, Hallin believes it has planned for the next step of its expansion programme.
www.hallinmarine.com
Athens Group Appoints Director of Quality
Wight has over 30 years of experience delivering quality hardware and software systems and has spent 15 years in the oil and gas exploration industry. Prior to joining Athens Group, he worked as the vice president of corporate quality at a major medical device company. He holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a number of certifications including: Manager of Quality/Organization Excellence from the American Society for Quality (ASQ); and Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute (PMI). Wight has served as a Lead Examiner for organizational quality based on the Baldridge Criteria and has been a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) for over two decades.
www.athensgroup.com
