proposal that integrated products, services and
multiple skill sets.
Or when an operator in the North Sea,
unfamiliar with subsea hot
tapping, desired to tie-in a
new, piggable oil line into
an existing export line. The
Engineering Services response
included everything from
a hot tap market study,
business and technical risk,
and piggability assessment,
to the subsea hot tap
procedure and evaluation of
the isolation valve and fitting
options. The study results
were incorporated by TDW’s
regional sales and operations
teams into a proposal for
the actual tie-in services,
including the supply of valves
and fittings through subcontracted vendors.
“The offshore industry is extremely cautious,”
Lim explains. “There are a lot of steps they do in
advance to make sure their operations are done
correctly. Studies are a typical tool of offshore
operators. Any time they need to do something
and they’re not sure what the risk looks like, they
initiate an engineering study.”
Lim goes on to state that it is not the intention
of Engineering Services to
compete with the established
industry of independent
engineering companies who
traditionally provide Front
End Engineering Design
(FEED) work for operators.
Instead, the department is a
response to customer requests
for the specific knowledge
that TDW can bring, given
its experience and expertise
in intervention, isolation and
pigging technologies. “TDW
adds value to the operator’s
evaluation process where the
solution involves a wide range
of its solutions.”
According to Chief Technology Officer Jeff
Wilson, who oversees Engineering Services, the
department not only enables TDW to participate
I N N O V AT I O N S • A P R I L - J U N E 2 0 1 4
F E AT U R E S T O R Y
25
Developing Viable Solutions
GEORGE LIM – Manager of Engineering Services,
T.D. Williamson
>>
George Lim, who heads Engineering Services, thinks the new department
could also become the formal gateway for TDW to participate in more Joint
Industry Projects (JIPs). JIPs are formal, highly structured collaborations
formed by operators, service companies, vendors, and academia to
investigate technical challenges and develop viable solutions.
Lim cites the DeepStar Global Deepwater Technology Program,
which is based in Houston, TX, and has 70 members, and Aberdeen,
U.K.’s ITF, which bills itself as ‘the internationally recognized champion
for facilitating collaborative development of innovative
technologies within oil and gas and related
industries’ as two of the best-know JIPs.
“JIPs are a common practice in the offshore
industry in particular,” Lim says. “They’re a way
for service providers to partner with operators
to better understand the market challenges and
contribute to more comprehensive solutions.”
“Instead of channeling
a request to one
department, we’re
identifying what the
operator’s greater
needs are and
bringing distinctly
different technologies
together to meet them,”
Wilson says.
