UPSTREAM COMPANY FOCUS - momentumdubai.commomentumdubai.com/Presentations/Oil-GasDec2010.pdf ·...

64 Oil&Gas Middle East December 2010 www.arabianoilandgas.com

UPSTREAM COMPANY FOCUS

Momentum engineers installing a Turkmenistan platform weighing more than 1000 tonnes in 60 metres of water.

December 2010 Oil&Gas Middle East 65www.arabianoilandgas.com


Dubai’s Momentum Group has carved itself a profitable niche providing innovative engineering and fabrication work for a hungry collective of operators from the Mediterranean to the Caspian and beyond

Upstream players have long considered the UAE not only a great market in itself, but

also a launch pad to the wider regional opportunities. Few oil and gas companies embody that local office with global reach as well as the Dubai headquartered Momentum Group.

The company, present in the region for over quarter of a cen-tury, is a global contractor for drilling and related services. Momentum provides total drill-ing operations management and support for jack-up, land drilling, and pipeline projects, including well drilling and pro-gram engineering; platform and pipeline design, fabrication and installation, and growing sidelines in consulting services and port management. Though the company has a strong

Dubai’s Momentum Group has carved itself a profitable niche providing innovative engineering and fabrication work for a hungry collective of operators from the Mediterranean to the Caspian and beyond

BUILDING MOMENTUM

upstream pedigree with clients in the Middle East, including Dubai Petroleum, its core mar-kets are in the Black Sea and Caspian regions. “To date that has been our major focus area, but there are some exciting opportunities developing for us now in Malaysia and Iraq,” explains Jimmy Larsen, deputy managing director.

“We are also known for our rig refurbishing program and our success in port manage-ment,” he adds. Momentum’s drilling division owns and man-ages both onshore and offshore drilling rigs. “Though the Cas-pian is a major region for us, we have successfully completed offshore drilling projects in Tur-key, India, Bulgaria, the Medi-terranean, Bangladesh, and the Arabian Gulf. Onshore, we have completed the highest eleva-tion well in Turkey and multi-

ple delineation drilling projects in Turkey, Bangladesh and the Arabian Gulf,” explains Larsen.

The company owns and man-ages both onshore and offshore drilling rigs as well as its ware-barge, the Gulfdrill 9 (pictured).

“We typically manage engi-neering projects on a turnkey basis for the design, fabrica-tion and installation of offshore platforms. Recently we have delivered a Turkmenistan plat-form weighing more than 1000 tonnes in 60 metres of water. The platform was installed in three sections: The first section weighing 400 tonnes was lifted and placed on the seabed using one of Momentum’s managed crane barges,” says Larsen.

Larsen says that when the oil price fluctuated in the wake of the global financial crisis, a lot of the oil companies held off from any new work. “However,



we were quite well placed to keep busy during that contrac-tion period. When new develop-ments get put on ice there is a knock-on effect for new items and engineering demand slides a bit,”

Momentum, however, found a market hungry for a cost-ef-fective solution which could help owners or operators max-imise there existing infrastruc-ture, without the need to com-mit to a new jack-up contract.

“We have a barge with a plat-form drilling rig on it, which meant owners or operators could focus on what they had in country. Deploying that was a lot less expensive than a con-tracting a jack-up or starting new developments, so for those companies to go back into exist-ing wells and carry out mainte-nance or testing, that was a cost-effective solution, and a very popular one around that time. Ultimately it enabled these com-panies to increase output from wells which were already pro-ducing,” he explains.

This year has seen a notice-able bounce back in demand for offshore engineering projects, and Larsen says he expects 2011 to be another year of growth. “A lot of the companies we work with have production shar-ing contracts in place for a set number of years. When the oil price drops off its natural these companies to reign in some of their exploration and produc-tion expenses, but there’s only

“Last year we achieved 20% growth, driven by our work in the Caspian with Petronas, Technip and Dragon Oil. We are forecasting 15% growth for next year” Jimmy Larsen

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Momentum’s offshore drilling support barge, Gulfdrill 9, in action.

so long they are willing to do that for. If a client has 18 years left on a PSA then it might be judged acceptable to hold off for a year or two, but that’s not sus-tainable. Almost regardless of the oil price they will want to get back out there drilling and pro-ducing more,” he says.

Momentunm has carved a niche for itself by developing innovative engineering and drill-ing solutions which can save operators substantial sums of money over traditional methods. “A part of our business which is doing really well takes full project management responsi-bility – design of the drilling rig; fabrication, upgrade, or refitting; site installation; and final com-missioning,” says Larsen.

A recent example includes the EPIC of a production plat-form in 43 meters of water in the Sea of Marmara for TPAO, Turkey’s national oil company. The jacket was comprised of a four-legged braced space frame structure supporting the top-sides, riser and conductors. The design included a total of six well conductors, which were installed separately. The jacket was installed utilizing the derrick equipment of the jack up rig.

Larsen says opportunities in the Arabian Gulf, offshore devel-opments in the Mediterranean, and existing projects in the Caspian all deliver good pros-pects for Momentum’s drilling and engineering divisions.

TPAO EPIC job: Three platforms were fabricated onshore and then wet-towed to the Black Sea for installation.

December 2010 Oil&Gas Middle East 67www.arabianoilandgas.com


“We certainly see the Cas-pian as a huge opportunity. It’s a dynamic market for us. We have excellent experience all around that region. Over time we have built important relationships in those markets, and there is plenty of opportunities we are pursuing right now which look appealing.”

The company recruits key supervisory roles for its drilling operations and rig management teams internationally, but works closely with the local popula-tions in the Black Sea and Cas-pian regions to pass on skills and safety lessons to workers from each territory.

“Quite a bit of the team will be recruited locally. Whilst many of the key roles will be expats, its part of the government ini-tiative to impart and teach the local teams the skills they need to do this for themselves. We’re happy to work with that frame-work,” says Larsen.

“Obviously we have a big emphasis on training, and that is a challenge to impart in areas where safety programmes and frameworks aren’t what people are used to. We carry out an extensive training programme for all staff before they head out there.”

Earlier this year, Momen-tum, together with consortium partners Yantai Raffles Offshore

China and TSC Offshore China were awarded a contract for the lease and management of one newbuild jackup by Dragon Oil in Turkmenistan.

“Momentum will be the main drilling contractor responsible for the daily operation, manage-ment, logistics and maintenance of the rig and base station. Yan-tai will carry out the rig con-struction, TSC will provide all the drilling and related equip-ment,” explaines Larsen.

The unit is a Friede & Gold-man-designed Super M2 jackup that can operate in water depths of up to 300ft and a drilling depth of 30,000ft in all weather condi-tions in accordance with ABS assessment criteria. It is due to be delivered and mobilized to location in the fourth quarter of next year. The unit is being sent in modules from China to the Caspian Sea, where it will be assembled and undergo accept-ance testing. The unit has been contracted by Dragon Oil for work in the Cheleken Contract Area offshore Turkmenistan, for five years plus up to two years of options.

“We will supply all of the drill-ing team and spec the drilling equipment for the seven year period. That rig is due to be fin-ished in November 2011, and the whole project is progressing really well,” says Larsen.

In 1999, Momentum’s Port Management division acquired exclusive operational rights of Ajman Port from the Government of Ajman – and within two years, we increased port activities ten-fold. We then took Momentum’s management’s skills to the Port of Um Al Quwain, achieving similar results. We have recently been invited by other ports in the Gulf, Mediterranean and Far East to participate in their planned expansions.

Our Port Management Services encompass not only port management, but also logistics services through our strategic alliances with shipping lines. Services include container terminal establishment and enhancement, Supply base management, Free zone development and whole port services.

Momentum carried out the Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) of three tripod-shaped production platforms in water from 62m to 79m in the Black Sea for TPAO. Momentum innovations contributed substantially to meeting budgetary, logistical and scheduling concerns: The Momentum tripod design required less material and time to construct than a traditional four-legged structure. Second, all three platforms were locally fabricated onshore and then wet-towed to location for installation. The end result was the overall successful completion of the project.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT: EPIC JOB FOR TPAO IN THE BLACK SEA

PORT MANAGEMENT: AJMAN & UM AL QUWAIN



To bolster its business in the Caspian region Momentum has had an office in Baku for eight years and an office in Turkmeni-stan for two years.

In addition to the Caspian, Larsen says the company has a strategy in place for the expected demand boom in Iraq. The com-pany’s four owned land rigs are currently working in the Cas-pian region, but the company is gearing up, in partnership with CIMC (China International Marine Containers) and TSC to bring a fresh influx of rigs in, should demand pick up.

“Our partners have the abil-ity to provide drilling rigs for us, so financing and providing the rigs is not an issue, and we will be carrying out the rig manage-ment,” says Larsen.

Momentum is currently in advanced talks with a high-end

US oil field service provider to go into Iraq with them to pro-vide some of the major conces-sion holders there with some solid equipment. “Petronas and Shell will be a big focus for us. Petronas has established a very solid operation in Dubai, from where a lot of their Iraq work will be managed,” he says.

Combining its innovative engineering solutions with tar-geted clients in key growth mar-kets has helped Momentum out-perform much of the sector in a period where many firms have struggled.

“Last years we achieved around 20% growth, driven by our work in the Caspian with Petronas, Technip and Dragon Oil. Looking ahead we are conservatively forecasting 15% growth for next year,” beams Larsen. Jimmy Larsen is deputy managing director of Momentum Group.


THE BIG PICTURE

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse hostesses hem in Kevin Daglish, Phillipa Jenkins and Jim Graham of R&M Wholesale Electrical and Jimmy Larsen of Momentum Group.

The Dubai Oil Field Get-together celebrated its first anniversary in style last month

T he Ruth’s Chris Steak House monthly Oil Field Get-togethers at the restau-rant’s Middle East HQ in The Monarch Dubai has earned an enviable reputation

as the must-attend event for the UAE’s oil prof-fessionals. The Oil Field Get-together kicked up another notch last month, and the afternoon had an extra spring in its step as the assembled crowds celebrated the institutions first birthday. As usual a whole host of industry stalwarts were battering down the doors at Ruth’s Chris Steak House to enjoy great food and company, amidst an informal networking opportunity.

The event, this time sponsored sponsored by R&M Wholesale Electrical has consistently raised the bar for local industry networking events, with hungry diners barely fitting through the doors of the restaurant. The Oil Field Get-together is held on the last Thursday of every month and sponsorship opportunities are avail-able. The next event is in Januray 2011. See you there!

Where: Ruth’s Chris Steak HouseAt: The Monarch Hotel, DubaiWhen: Last Thursday – Every monthAttendees: 99Sponsor: R&M Wholesale Electrical

R&M Wholesale Electrical sponsored the latest instalment of the booming Oil Field Get Together in Dubai last month, pulling in upstream celebrities from the surrounding Emirates

David Snodgrass, Joel Rego and Jack Ahart.

Joe Edwards and Kenneth Flynn of Action International.

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