UK’s EFC Group Develops Rigless Intervention System for Baker Hughes

EFC Group, a leading designer and manufacturer of instrumentation, monitoring, handling and control systems for the global oil and gas industry, has delivered a highly innovative mechanical handling contract to provide a Rigless Intervention System for Baker Hughes.

Following a brief from the oilfield services company, Aberdeen-based EFC Group delivered on the ambitious concept by designing and building the Mastiff™ RIS.

The system was initially conceived for well bore tubular extraction during well abandonment and conductor pre-installation activities, however carries the potential for useful work in many other offshore well servicing and construction type activities.

Ted Littlechild, sales director at EFC Group, said: “The Mastiff™ RIS provides operators with an alternative method for carrying out pipe installation and retrieval operations, which typically require a costly offshore rig. Using the RIS reduces the cost of abandonment, workover and drive pipe pre-installation operations.”

The Mastiff™ RIS supports pulling and cutting of 15m (50-ft) sections of 36-inch (and larger) conductor pipe, inner casing and cement, a significant improvement over casing jack systems which usually work with 1.5m (5ft) sections.

The substructure has also been designed to accommodate a wide range of platform layouts to achieve a ‘turn-up and assemble’ capability, without the need for platform modification.

Overall, the design offers a high level of safety, removing the need for working at height. Employing simple, well-engineered principles and mechanisms has resulted in an affordable, portable solution in comparison to traditional approaches.

Mr Littlechild continued: “The RIS is highly innovative, with unique qualities such as the ability to be quickly dismantled into standard shipping containers, making Mastiff™ easily and affordably transportable to any international location.

“This is a significant contract for us, resulted from a segment opportunity which Baker Hughes identified in the global oil and gas service market. We pride ourselves on how closely we listen to our clients’ requirements, and offer a truly bespoke solution which encompasses these needs.”

EFC Group reached a new employee milestone last year, now with 82 team members, illustrating the wave of recruitment that has been recently undertaken.

EFC also has international representation in the U.S., Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and India, making the group well placed to service its global client network.

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Source: EFC Group, July 17, 2012