Member Info for adoubleuk

Or rather, no, not quite 'central'. Down by the Cherwell riverbank. Next to where St Cat's is. Which I knew in my childhood as fields occupied by many Lean Kine, but then became occupied by one Fat Bullock...

Fascinating area. Campground for Charles the 1st Army during part of the Civil War. Whose soldiers ate huge amounts of oysters, which were considered 'peasant food' at the time. Go figure that. When St Cat's was being built (no, sorry, St Catherine's Collage) tons of oyster-shells were unearthed. Along with clay pipes, and assorted other archealogical remnants which I loved picking through. But the pile-driver! I became friends with the man who ran that old rig. And ended up with a good collection of Ammonite fossils coming up with the cores of the clay. My subsequent oilwell-drilling career was in certain parts predestined, I believe.

etc..

Yuyus,

"Aduk where originally are you from I’m intrigued"

Central Oxford.

BlooBird,

"This might sound a bit preposterous"

Yes it is, but not your fault!

" but I'm wondering if the connections to the buoy are made automatically as it is drawn into the FPSO.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn1TyKMrkX4"

No effin'way.

And that buoy doesn't resemble 'ours' at all. Plus that nice 39-second video-clip is just some bright little whizz-kids animation. No more meaningful than 'Avatar' is to forestry-management.

I'm in fact beginning to think that Wellwell might be correct, and Techloks (or 'Grayloks' as I like to think of 'em) might be involved, but equally, coupled to Coflexips within the turret. Nothing hard-lined nor rigid. The whole thing needs some amount of flexibility, otherwise it'll break.

Of course, I'm just an amateur regarding this stuff. Just like the camerawork in this (very appropriate) footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WusEPH_wjrY

Escargot,

" Open a window then retreat to a bar for 9 hours. When you get home the smell will still be there but you seriously won't give a sh*t ...."

That sounds like wise advice. Unfortunately I don't think any bars here will remain open for a further 9 hours. Especially if I've been a customer.

Daltry:

" Lighting as sulphur-head matchstick will eliminate an odour, however sinister...."

That's good advice, as well. And I've just tried it. Because unlike in the UK where sulphur-head matches are now banned (or so I believe) for HSE reasons, they're still available here in France so that people wearing flourescent-yellow jackets to burn down motorway tollbooth stations. Unfortunately the experiment didn't work. Not only does my flat still smell of roast duck, but also as though I haven't changed my socks for a week.

Equally...

"Are you sure the smell is poultry??"

Unfortunately (and I am certain about this, despite possible short-term memory loss due to alcohol intake yesterday), I partook of no Lobster. Nor anything smelling nor tasting like that. Unfortunately.

Yuyus:

"Rub turkey in a reduced glaze of Jim beam , then baste whilst cooking with a mixture of the jim beam glaze and Cognac till the turkeys juices are clear .Then throw the turkey in the bin and just drink the gravy"

I'll make a note of this recipe for next year. Though (cf above) I prefer duck or goose at Christmas. And also, I detest Bourbon whisky. Might it work with Tanquarey gin, though?

How does one get the smell of roasted Christmas-day poultry out of one's flat? I've burned at least half a dozen joss-sticks, the air-fresheners are working, and my windows are open despite it being only six degrees outside, which means the central heating and Dyson fanless fan are working overtime to compensate, poor things.

Maybe I should get out that caustic aerosol and clean the oven. More dangerous work.

Advice, please.

SXX P-P,

"No matter. My prediction: Trump will do something stupid in 2019, which will send PoO up."

I'm terribly wary of predictions on BB's. Nevertheless this one of yours sounds plausible.

However, it does raise the question about what can Trump do that's so stupid that'll make him look stupider than he already is?

I suspect some people in the Pentagon with five stars on their epaulettes have already disactivated the 'Football' without telling him.

Hey! When do we get to see the Stormy Daniels / Chump sex-tape? It's surely got to exist.

But no, on second thoughts, that's something I'd prefer NOT to watch.

Wellwell,

"My point was (as you agreed with before disagreeing) that it’s not a 12 stud flange requiring precision hydraulic torquing [tensioning] equipment. It will be a quick make up connector once the riser connections are mated."

As usual you've just 'skimmed' my (admittedly lengthy) post. Because I disagreed with you BEFORE (grudgingly) potentially agreeing with you!

And now you're rather ruining my day, because instead of doing nice things like taking a healthy walk down to the river and watching the ducks in the sunshine or going to the karting-track on the outskirts of town to spend half an hour scaring myself, I'm instead wondering what sort of connectors I'D use on a dynamic FPSO flowline if it were my boat.

And looking at the company website again, and getting myself worried, because there are two studs on the riser connector marked '100054.01.03' which don't look right. Out of the 24, by the way, not 12. And anyway, what the hell is 1000.01.03, anyway? Not Lincoln, for sure. How many bloody wells are going to be eventually tied in? The plot thickens.

I'm terribly 'old school', so think of Techlok Connectors as 'Grayloks'. From the days before Gray Oiltools was bought out by FMC, which subsequently 'merged' with Technip, and all the names got changed.

But here's the thing. A Techlok (or Graylock) on a flowline connection handling (theoretically, and for the sake of argument) 20,000 bbl/day isn't just held together with four bolts made up by a couple of tyre-fitters with a torque wrench. Plus then it'll have to be 'bombed' by the NDT people, and then pressure-tested, almost certainly using inert gas and up to (guess) five or ten thousand or maybe even fifteen thousand psi for certification. Then the certificate will have to be made, signed-off in quadriplicate, approved by their management, then the government 'authorities', and etcetera. And we all know how 'speedy' the paper-pushers are, usually.

Which is all why I think 'ADVFN Steve's' message is a good one, and should be heeded.

I'm just thanking my lucky stars that in France, Boxing Days isn't a Bank Holiday. For two reasons. For starters, it means I can put in some share-orders via the internet and catch the UK market on the hop, with their hangovers. Secondly, it means the off-licence will be open, and I've got a terrible hankering for some Tanqueray gin right now. Which I'll mix with Red Bull rather than tonic, though. With just a dash of Angustura Bitters, in memory of Kevin Ayers.

snaggletooth,

" It's the reservoir longer term performance /characteristics which is the minor worry - to me anyway."

And long may they remain 'minor worries'. There are far bigger ones. Like Trump. The middle east.Not being able to buy jewelery in the Boulevard Hausmann without being teargassed. Or Mars deciding to go out of orbit and flee the solar system, having heard that Ellon Musk wants to set up shop there. Stuff like that.

Bobblicious,

" Failure and replacement of an input card led us to do some subsequent testing following this. Process unaffected largely, but did have some interaction with the F&G system so management wanted it resolving."

Good for 'management'. But JC on a bicycle! (Apologies, Reverandy! But referring to Jeremy Clarkson, so don't worry! And even if I wasn't, either image applies.)

You couldn't ESD because of a failed electronic device? That rings a bell, rhyming with 'Macondo'. Sometimes I feel glad I'm 'retired from active service'.

ifonly1,

"you made that up ....."

No he (NigWit) didn't!

Everyone knows that everything he posts is true.

Except I have a suspicion that it was the PORTSIDE overhead underside bracket that failed, not the starboard one. But have no proof for this assertion. Yet.

Wellwell,

"I don’t think there are flanges to be made up and torqued/tensioned etc."

Hey! Now we're getting really 'techy' here!

(By the way, hope Boxing Day's started OK for you. Despite mad news about the price of crude, which doesn't really matter to us, given that the UK markets are closed. Mine has started in the usual confused manner, not helped by spending some time looking at the image galleries on Hurricane's website, particularly pictures of the buoy.)

'Fraid I disagree with you. Or at least, regarding the flowline bit. I had to go to google to check Seacon, then recognised the things. But Techlock couplings for the flowlines? Not impossible, I suppose. With the advantage that they're quick and easy to remove in a worst-case situation in the future (let's hope it'll never happen) with the FPSO needing to disconnect from the buoy and move away. For whatever reason.

Unfortunately though, try as I have (looking to other sources as well), I haven't managed to find any pictures showing the 'sharp end' of the buoy and the various connections in detail.

But one thing I'm dam certain of, and that's that the connections aren't going to be made up by a couple of roughnecks wielding a 25-pound sledge and a hammer wrench! Check out the flange connections on the underside of the buoy: they're 'tug-turn-torqued' things which are built to last, cut can be checked (maybe yearly) quite easily with an ROV. So I suspect it'll be something similar on the topside.

I think the point 'ADVFN Steve' was trying to make is that even if actual latch-up requires only a short amount of time, once it's done there will be a heck of a lot of stuff to be done after that critical operation. Plus given the nature of the beast, applicable regulations, and Hurricane's excellent HSE record, I don't for a moment believe there will be corners cut in order to 'save time'. So commissioning time (ie buoy hookup to actual FoiL) is likely to be a matter of weeks, and certainly not just a few days.

Which is why I feel his message should be welcomed and he should be thanked for it. Because it's 'realistic', and a timely 'warning' to investors who actually do think Rome was built in a day, and might otherwise start rabbitting on about 'delays' if the FoiL RNS doesn't appear two days after latch-up. Some of his details might be questionable, but overall I think his thesis is correct.

(Oh, and yeah, I know there's a theory that Rome was thrown up overnight, like a Barrett house, which could explain why the Forum is still covered in scaffolding, but it's slightly dubious!)

PS. 'Snaggletooth': yes, the buoy hookup engineering is 'simple'. Like one of those 'catch a duck' attractions at a fairground. However, nothing done in the oilfield is 'easy'. Just like those ducks. Other than catching the clap on a Saturday night after going to an Aberdeen disco, maybe, but that's a different story...

Wellwell,

" I just don’t get what he’s saying about connecting the flowlines from the buoy to the fixed part of the swivel; it isn’t making sense to me."

OK, but it does to me."

RIGHT. AK being nocturnal again, as usual! But having had a great Christmas Day (or rather, Christmas Day evening) in the company of friends, or people others might consider Dubious Characters. Whatever.

I am not being confrontational here, please believe me. But just an old, (sometimes lonely but that's neither here-nor there) engineer figuring things through.

ADVN Steve is 'unsure' about the status of the SURF in place. So am I, because not in possession of 'inside information 'in that respect. But it doen't worry me at all.

But he's utterly right in saying that latch-up to the buoy is the 'easy part'. EXCEPT, physically speaking, it's the critical manoever. (On which maybe 'Mr Market' is waiting.) Got to be done right , first time. This is what makes me laugh about all the people heer talking about 'weather windows'. Bluewater / Hurricane will do it in their own good time, with utterly no regard as to some puff-boat meterological websites, nor what the SP happens to be that day.

But once 'mated' to the buoy, there the FPSO is. Moored. But as ADVFN Steve explains, there's a shyteload of stuff to follow.

The 'Commissioning and Startup' stuff. Which will involve a number of people wielding hydraulically-powered bolt-torquing devices, connecting up some heavy-duty high-pressure lines, other people connecting delicate electrical / fibre optic things, other people checking that, other people signing off related paperwork, etc., etc. etc....

Rome wasn't built in a day. And getting the FPSO to and from Dubai and refitted is in fact also just an 'easy bit'.

The only bit I'm not sure about in Steve's message, (passed over here by our good friend Missdosh, who should be thanked for that), are his estimates of first tanker transfer .Because I suspect they'll 'go for it' for marketing reasons, within the realms of technical ability, but then slow things down afterwards.

But we'll see...

Never trust an oilman. Especially one with a big grin on his face. He knows more than you do.

PS For assorted reasons, I've got a big grin on my face.

boblondon,

"I would put a word of caution in for Wick however remember guys it is our lowest chance of success drill in the Reabold portfolio, great if it comes off but I would not hope much on it "

Yes, it would be stupid to disagree with what you say there. But equally, as an oilfield professional, I put very little store in these brokers' 'chance of success' percentages, whether they're 'backed up' with a CPR or not. Essentially they're just 'bookies' odds' in fact.

Personally I like the look of Wick from a technical viewpoint, and obviously so do all the backers, otherwise they wouldn't go to the expense of mobilising a rig to drill it and see what's there. And again, although this is personal opinion only, so this must be taken with buckets of salt, I believe it will be 'successful'. However, whether it will turn out to be current-day 'commercial' is a slightly different story. And we won't know that for a few weeks yet. And Wick will never be a 'monster' field, something which shouldn't be forgotten, whatever the result.

HOWEVER, there's a thing about oilwell drilling which is very largely misunderstood by the general public and investors. That being instant ability to 'produce' isn't the be-all and end-all. In Reabold's West Brentwood case, it's 'instant production', which is great, because it means money in the bank. But it won't happen with either Wick nor Colter. The drilling is a funny thing referred to as 'data-gathering'. Seeing what's 'down there'. But at the same time, in this modern world, Information (ie acquired and consolidated data) equals Power, and Power relates to Money.

I think (no, I know it through contacts) that a lot of people have put their money into RBD mainly on the back of Colter and also Romania. Colter actually could turn out to be a 'monster', Romania another money-spinner ensuring the company doesn't come back to 'the market' looking for more cash. And California, the relative newcomer, is already looking good.

What it boils down to is trust in the management as always. And (again, personal opinion only) I see nothing wrong with it so far. I do suspect the usual 'buy a new Porsche' people (the curse of AIM chatboards) predicting a sudden SP rise to 3.5p are being wildly delusional. Just half that in the next six months would put a grin on my own face! But for now, this thing's looking solid. Two wells drilling right now, one offshore UKOCS N.Sea, the other about to spud onshore California. Plus more coming up shortly. That sounds serious to me.

And fun. Whereas leaving my money in the bank, which might pay me 0.75% interest over a year (if I'm lucky) doesn't sound fun at all.

GLA

Bobblicious,

(Assuming you've finished your shift now and maybe tucking into a good meal.)

An ESD test on Christmas morning sounds mean. Because presumably it's required the rest of the day getting everything back to normal again!

Did it all go OK?

*calendar*

Not to be confused with colander...

That's a nice Christmas present! Very good (and diligent) of Corallian to have gone to the bother of releasing the news today rather than just letting it seep through the grapevine while the markets are closed. I advise people to mentally underline the word 'approximately', however, regarding the guided timeline. Because if the rig's still there in 22 days' time, tha usual miseryguts culprits will be back here shouting and fearmongering about a delay!

This has at last given me an excuse to hang my new 2019 calander on the wall! It's good to have things to look forward to...

A Merry Christmas to everyone, and spare a thought for the guys an' gals out on the Ensco 72, please.

Here's a song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14aDp-4NKk&start_radio=1&list=RDMMl14aDp-4NKk

Bobbi,

"ESD testing for me in the morning. Such is offshore life at Christmas."

Jesus.

Take care.

SIPP,

"The Nikkei 225 was down 5% after the US markets finished 2% down off Trump's disparaging tweets re the Fed."

My specially-bought for Christmas bottle of Nikka whisky opened last night. And yes, was rapidly about 5% down. But it felt very good. And the yanks are now a completely lost cause if they take any notice of Trump's tweets.

Happy Christmas, all! And this is a propitiously Good Season. Stockmarkets essentially closed (other than for the computers) for a week...

Missdosh,

That was posted at 00:00 hr exactly! How did you manage that?

Oh, and checking back, a certain screenshot was taken at 22:29.

Must have been a good evening!

Roll on January 9th!