Subsea safety system designed for deepwater well testing
Halliburton has released the Dash electrohydraulic control system for the company’s subsea safety tree. Previously, control was provided through direct hydraulic pressure from the surface. This latest edition to the Dash series employs the speed of electrohydraulic actuation of core safety functions while continuing to provide full direct hydraulic redundant control of all functions. This helps to increase reliability and provide more cost-efficient operation and maintenance. Linking with downhole and surface read-out control systems, the Dash system enables analysis to help drive optimal performance and avoid nonproductive time during deepwater dynamic testing. halliburton.com

Digital pressure testing software provides analysis, oversight
Offshore Technical Compliance (OTC) in partnership with Hecate Software has released GREENLIGHT, a new digital pressure testing software suite that provides reliable pressure analysis and compliance oversight, a press release stated. The software uses proprietary algorithms to conduct, analyze and document a wide variety of pressure tests. The software does not require benchmark testing for a baseline reading, thereby streamlining overall testing time. Its user-friendly interface allows easy onsite annotations and test associations, analysis, and reporting. All test results can be thoroughly reviewed by OTC’s team of petroleum engineers and compliance professionals to ensure regulatory compliance and documentation accuracy. otcompliance.com

Light technology designed to assist divers
Scottish R&D company PhotoSynergy Ltd. (PSL) aims to further the safety of diving personnel and increase efficiencies in the subsea sector. Winner of the Subsea UK Innovation for Safety Award 2014, LIGHTPATH is a side-emitting flexible fiber that projects a continuous and flexible line of light that carries no electrical power and has a life expectancy of five years. In February PSL released the latest in its portfolio of subsea products—the SLS2000—which provides the option to illuminate the dive umbilical from the diver end. It offers a minimal-sized light source, which will not impede the diver during the work. A small, compact unit at just 30 mm in diameter and 70 mm long, it was designed to provide a light source to saturation divers using an LED attached to the umbilical at the diver’s end. photosynergy.co.uk/

System completes first commercial well intervention
Ziebel’s Z-Line, a gravity-deployed slim carbon-composite cable, was used to acquire meaningful distributed temperature and distributed acoustic fiber-optic data during a commercial well intervention, a press release stated. The Z-Line made its inaugural run for a major operator offshore Norway. The system accessed a platform well to a depth of 2,952 m (9,684 ft) with standard wireline-type gravity deployment and dry sealing pressure control equipment (no grease injection). All mechanical requirements of the line functioned successfully, and high-quality distributed fiber-optic data were acquired for the operator. Z-Line builds upon the Z-System carbon-composite technology, which delivers critical decision-making well information to oil companies. The key difference between the two is that the Z-Line does so from a smaller wireline footprint and, being gravity-deployed, with a typically shorter intervention time per well. The Z-Line is a 3/16-in. diameter carbon-composite line with embedded optical fibers at its core. This enables distributed temperature sensing and distributed acoustic sensing to be performed along the full length of the line. ziebel.com

Long-stroke rod pumping unit offers key benefits
Liberty Lift Solutions LLC has released its XL model long-stroke rod pumping unit. The product incorporates features designed to promote extended life, operational advantages, energy efficiency and minimal maintenance, a press release stated. The XL unit has a unit designation of 320-500-306 and operates at low speeds with constant velocity, providing fewer strokes per minute with high production rates. These combined efficiencies assist in reducing stress on the reducer and the sucker-rod string, prolonging the life of the unit and component parts at the wellhead, the company said. The pumping unit incorporates an efficient, clean oiling system for internal parts. While designed with easy access for maintenance, the XL incorporates safety features to protect operating personnel and the environment. The Unit Sentry feature’s primary use is to protect the XL unit when it detects potential operating abnormalities and to pause or stop the unit when the variable speed drive or pumpoff control signal this situation. The Unit Sentry also easily and freely shares information with the variable speed drive or the pump-off control. The XL unit’s integrated rollback system allows easy movement and repositioning for workover operations. libertylift.com

Fire protection technology for offshore projects
Trelleborg’s offshore operation has secured a significant contract with a major shipyard to supply its fire protection technology, Firestop, to 17 I-Tubes for the FPSO vessel Egina. Firestop will enable the I-Tubes, additional riser pipes that allow pull-in of new production risers, cables and umbilicals, to withstand 120 minutes of jet fire. The fire-resistant material will be applied onsite in South Korea using Trelleborg’s mobile production unit, a transportable coating facility. Firestop is a rubber-based passive fire protection product that can be customized to meet the demands of specific offshore oil and gas projects and installations. By using a layered construction, Firestop provides corrosion, thermal, fire and mechanical protection. Applications for Firestop include rigid riser or tubular fire protection, flexible riser fire protection, emergency shutdown valve protection, escape-way tunnel seal and protection of riser hang-off arrangements. The material is ISO 22899 certified by the International Organization for Standardization, confirming that Firestop can safely and confidently be used for jet fire protection within pipes and hollow sections. Work on the Egina FPSO unit will start immediately and is expected to be completed in second-quarter 2016. trelleborg.com/offshore

Drillbit with ridge-shaped cutting elements improves ROP
Smith Bits, a Schlumberger company, has released its AxeBlade ridged diamond element bit, which incorporates new-geometry Axe ridged diamond elements across the bit face, a press release stated. AxeBlade bits improve ROP in a wide range of formations and steering response in directional applications. The latest generation of Smith Bits’ 3-D cutting technologies, Axe elements have a distinctive ridge shape that combines the shearing action of a conventional polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit with the crushing action of a roller cone bit. The geometry of the element breaks rock more efficiently, requiring 30% less force, according to the company. It also delivers improved control compared with conventional PDC cutters when drilling directionally. The AxeBlade bit has been successfully field-tested in a variety of applications, drilling more than a cumulative total of 60,960 m (200,000 ft). In a field trial in South Texas, the AxeBlade bit kicked off from vertical to a 90-degree angle and continued drilling the lateral section for 1,093 m (3,586 ft) with 29% faster ROP compared to offset wells. slb.com/AxeBlade