ECS Reveals Crisis Response Simulation at OTC

Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced Monday it is unveiling its Crisis Response Simulation (CRS) for the first time at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) on the showroom floor. Over 80,000 attendees and more than 2,500 exhibitors are expected to attend OTC, and ECS will be the only modeling and simulation company exhibiting.

"We are looking forward to showing the Crisis Response Simulation to offshore technology leadership during OTC," stated Waymon Armstrong, president of ECS. "ECS, an award winning company, brings 16 strong years of military simulation experience and has the potential to transform crisis response training. Our CRS is the first in our competency-based products and services line that supports the oil and gas industry."

The Crisis Response Simulation, or CRS, is a web-based, critical-thinking tool that immerses corporate senior executives in intense, realistic scenarios. These scenarios cover decisions that impact the preservation of life, the support of affected family members, rig stability, communication and social media, mitigation of legal risks and other obligations that appear in a crisis response situation. Whether it is a well blowout, fire, or an environmental release, CRS is customizable to a broad set of scenarios that represent the current offshore or onshore upstream, mid-stream, and downstream oil and gas industry

"ECS is pleased to leverage the 9+ million dollars of U.S. military and ECS-funded Internal Research and Development investments that have resulted in the Crisis Response Simulation. The robust simulation system builds critical thinking skills for senior level decision makers," explained Armstrong. "The immersive training exercises can be configured rapidly and provides intense, realistic scenario rehearsal and real-time feedback, resulting in effective training for senior level decision makers. We are confident this training system will save money, time and help save lives in situations where there are no second chances."

Envisioning the re-use of technology developed for, and in use by the U.S. military, Armstrong now leads the ECS Commercial Division, focused entirely on non-Government/non Department of Defense initiatives. The Offshore Technology Conference runs May 6–9 at Reliant Park, Houston, Texas. ECS is will be in booth number 11225 on the showroom floor.

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ECS Reveals Crisis Response Simulation at OTC

Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced Monday it is unveiling its Crisis Response Simulation (CRS) for the first time at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) on the showroom floor. Over 80,000 attendees and more than 2,500 exhibitors are expected to attend OTC, and ECS will be the only modeling and simulation company exhibiting.

"We are looking forward to showing the Crisis Response Simulation to offshore technology leadership during OTC," stated Waymon Armstrong, president of ECS. "ECS, an award winning company, brings 16 strong years of military simulation experience and has the potential to transform crisis response training. Our CRS is the first in our competency-based products and services line that supports the oil and gas industry."

The Crisis Response Simulation, or CRS, is a web-based, critical-thinking tool that immerses corporate senior executives in intense, realistic scenarios. These scenarios cover decisions that impact the preservation of life, the support of affected family members, rig stability, communication and social media, mitigation of legal risks and other obligations that appear in a crisis response situation. Whether it is a well blowout, fire, or an environmental release, CRS is customizable to a broad set of scenarios that represent the current offshore or onshore upstream, mid-stream, and downstream oil and gas industry

"ECS is pleased to leverage the 9+ million dollars of U.S. military and ECS-funded Internal Research and Development investments that have resulted in the Crisis Response Simulation. The robust simulation system builds critical thinking skills for senior level decision makers," explained Armstrong. "The immersive training exercises can be configured rapidly and provides intense, realistic scenario rehearsal and real-time feedback, resulting in effective training for senior level decision makers. We are confident this training system will save money, time and help save lives in situations where there are no second chances."

Envisioning the re-use of technology developed for, and in use by the U.S. military, Armstrong now leads the ECS Commercial Division, focused entirely on non-Government/non Department of Defense initiatives. The Offshore Technology Conference runs May 6–9 at Reliant Park, Houston, Texas. ECS is will be in booth number 11225 on the showroom floor.

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Lukoil 'Not Affected' By Cyprus Crisis

MOSCOW - OAO Lukoil Holdings, Russia's NO. 2 oil producer, hasn't been affected by the Cyprus crisis, Chief Executive Vagit Alekperov said Thursday.

Mr. Alekperov said Lukoil's gas stations on the embattled island were only taking cash as banks there weren't working.

Asked whether Lukoil has deposits in Cyprus or carries out financial transactions there, Mr. Alekperov said: "No. Cyprus has never been a center of oil sales."

Cyprus's financial-services sector is facing potential collapse after the country's parliament on Tuesday rejected a euro-zone bailout plan that would have involved a controversial bank-deposit tax.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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BP Rethinking Libya Operations After Algeria Crisis

BP is reconsidering its operations in Libya after the terrorist attack on its gas facilities in Algeria and as industry concerns over security in Libya grow.

"We had expected to restart drilling at the end of the second quarter this year, but we're currently reviewing our plans," a BP spokesperson said.

The British oil major was left stunned by the attack on Ain Amenas gasfield - operated by BP, Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrach - which left 37 foreign workers dead after a four-day siege.

The incident immediately raised questions over Libya, where oil production has staged a strong comeback after the civil war, but where many of the fields lie exposed in remote desert locations.

BP had been exploring acreage in Libya before the civil war that ended Muammar Qaddafi's 42-year reign.

The security situation remains precarious. The militias raised to fight Gaddafi are struggling to control Libya's vast deserts, and it is widely believed that the Islamist terrorists who seized the Ain Amenas facility had crossed the country's hinterland on their way from Mali.

Libya's government has taken measures to protect the oil industry. Last September, Nuri Berruien, the chairman of the state-run National Oil Company told Bloomberg News that 10,000 militias were being trained as security guards and for border control, complementing an existing force of about 2,500.

Last week, Libya's deputy oil minister Omar Shakmak said that security forces at the border had been bolstered in response to the attack on Ain Amenas.

Yet experts agree that Libya is the North African country most vulnerable to attacks on its oil and gas installations, and oil companies are wary that the terrorist threat could spill across the border.

"We are observing and evaluating the security situation in Libya and in North Africa in general very carefully," said a spokesman for Germany's Wintershall, which is rebuilding its production and export capacity in the country. Libya's oil sector relies heavily on international oil companies, which also include Italy's ENI, ConocoPhillips from the United States and France's Total.

Prior to its civil war, the country produced 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), and companies were quick to return when hostilities ceased. Output was ramped up faster than many observers had expected, and is now almost at pre-war levels. Mr Berruien said the country was targeting an increase to 1.8 million bpd this year.

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In Amenas Hostage Crisis an 'Inside Job'

OSLO (AFP) – Islamist commandos behind the spectacular hostage-taking at an Algerian gas field probably had help from someone inside the plant, Norway's foreign minister said in a newspaper interview published Thursday.

"We have reports that the terrorists had people on the inside who laid the groundwork over time," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told the Verdens Gang. "They had for example pre-positioned equipment at the site."

A foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed Eide's comments to AFP.

Citing other unidentified sources, VG said the Islamist militants had placed weapons inside the complex ahead of their Jan. 16 attack, when they took hundreds of people hostage until a raid by Algerian security forces brought a bloody end to the crisis Saturday.

At least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including Western and Asian nationals, according to a preliminary death toll, as well as one Algerian hostage. Several people are still missing and some bodies haven't yet been identified.

The newspaper also cited hostage witness accounts as saying that the attackers knew exactly where to find the expatriate workers inside the vast complex.

An Algerian security official told AFP Wednesday that one of the assailants had been employed as a chauffeur at the site up until last year.

Five Norwegians remain unaccounted for. They are employees of the Norwegian oil group Statoil, which jointly operates the site with BP and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach.

The Scandinavian country has sent a forensics team to try to find the Norwegians among the unidentified bodies.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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