GE Expands Technology Portfolio to Address Offshore Drilling Challenges

GE continues to expand its technology portfolio to address the challenges of offshore drilling and production and the rigors of deepwater drilling. Several GE business units are showcasing their latest products and services for the offshore sector in Booth 3163 at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which is expected to draw nearly 90,000 attendees.

"With one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios of advanced technology solutions and services, GE Oil & Gas is helping to solve complex challenges all around the world," said Dan Heintzelman, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas. "GE's global scale and deep R&D experience, combined with cross-business technology sharing and innovations from our recent acquisitions uniquely position us to help our customers be more efficient, productive and competitive."

At the conference, GE Oil & Gas introduced the next-generation SeaONYX BOP surface control system and operator interface. The new system is designed to control a deepwater blowout preventer, which is used to rapidly seal an oil well in an emergency. The technology incorporates for the first time GE's Mark Vle hardware and Proficy software tools—the same proven control systems that have been deployed in a wide range of GE power generation applications worldwide, such as on GE's advanced fleet of wind and gas turbines.

GE Oil & Gas also announced the first application of its latest SeaSmart Offshore Package turbine solution with Statoil. It's designed to power offshore oil rigs but with a substantially smaller footprint and reduced weight, which can be critically important when space is at a premium on an offshore platform. When compared to the package launched in 2009, the new technology reduces the total footprint by 24 percent. The total weight drops by 22 percent, driven in part by the use of new GE composite materials.

Other new technologies from GE Oil & Gas at OTC include:

Driving efficiency in the unconventional gas sector: On a drilling site, a manifold lets an operator control flows, acting much like a switchboard. GE's new skid-mounted modular frac manifolds are designed to safely allow simultaneous drilling operations on multiple well pads. The modular design enables fast installation and allows units to be shipped to and from well sites with GE crane trucks—which reduces freight costs by eliminating the need for "wide load" permitting,

Listening for leaks under the sea: GE Oil & Gas' Measurement & Control business is highlighting two innovative remote monitoring and sensing solutions for the subsea sector. The Acoustic Leak Detection System uses passive, acoustic hydrophone technology to detect and locate subsea oil and gas leaks by discriminating the noise of a leak from other sources of sound. The new Subsea Multi-Domain Condition Monitoring combines specially designed electric emission monitoring and acoustic hydrophones to monitor the operating condition of subsea machinery and processes.

Award winning deepwater technologies: The organizers of OTC have given two "Spotlight on New Technology" awards to GE Oil & Gas. The RamTel Plus system and Remotely Operated Vehicle Subsea Display Panel won for providing real-time, electronic measurements of the position of a blowout preventer's ram, which closes a well, and the pressure required to operate the sealing elements. The Deepwater BOP Blind Shear Ram won for its next-generation technology that is able to slice through today's larger diameter well pipes and casings—which also are stronger due to advanced metallurgy—and seal a well in an emergency.

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