One of the perks of this job over the years has been receiving many an invitation from one company or another to go see their latest technology on display or demonstration, either in their yard or in the field. Unfortunately, with the crush of running this publication and related tasks, it’s been harder in recent years to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.
Nevertheless, when the opportunity arose on a relatively slow Friday to attend a subsea equipment showcase on the far west side of Houston, especially at the behest of one of our stalwart editorial advisors, this editor jumped at the invitation.
So, on Sept. 12, Subsea Shuttle, LLC and Safe Marine Transfer, LLC hosted an equipment showcase at their fabricator’s facility, Centurion Subsea Services. The event brought together several dozen representatives from oil, service and engineering companies, along with regulatory personnel (federal).
The program opened with a site safety briefing from Steve Jett, Centurion’s U.S. Regional Manager. Following this, Art Schroeder, CEO and Co-Founder (Fig. 1) of both companies, as well as being one of our editorial advisors, provided a technical overview in the conference room before leading an equipment tour, Fig. 2. Attendees viewed subsea storage units, subsea process modules, and the host facility’s Power Regulator and Control Module (PRCM), which enables operator interface with subsea systems.
Schroeder emphasized the companies’ shared mission: to enhance offshore operations, safely and sustainably, with a strong focus on environmental responsibility. Their objectives include:
Safe Marine Transfer (SMT): Boosting subsea production by up to 50% through injection of Drag Reduction Agents (DRA).
Subsea Shuttle (SSS): Driving reserve and production growth via lower-cost, longer, and more efficient subsea tiebacks.
What is particularly attractive is that both companies repurpose proven technologies in innovative ways to achieve these goals.
Industry support and recognition. The two companies’ early development was supported by the DeepStar® industry consortium. In 2014, SMT was selected by RPSEA (Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America), a public–private initiative with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL), under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This work advanced SMT technology to TRL 3, with Approval in Principle from ABS.
SMT earned industry recognition as a finalist for World Oil’s Best Deepwater Technology in 2017, later winning the award for its subsea production enhancement with DRA. Continued development was supported by LSPI (a Berkshire Hathaway company) and later by Subsea7. The equipment stands at a TRL 5, with a team ready to deliver results.
Subsea Shuttle milestones. In 2020, SSS secured a subcontract with the U.S. Navy, leading to a successful offshore technology demonstration. The following year, the DOE funded its Subsea Chemical Storage and Injection (SCSI) initiative, enabling the company to reach TRL 5.
In April 2025, the DOE extended the contract to support an offshore demonstration of SCSI, marking another step toward full commercialization. The showcase helped reinforce the readiness of both the equipment and the team to deploy, along with cooperation and support from regulatory and DOE.
It was a fun, informative day at the Centurion facility, and many thanks to our advisor, Art Schroeder. We wish the firms well, as they progress with their work, aided by the cooperation and encouragement from the federal government.
UK government continues to stumble along the wrong path. In early September, it was once again time to visit Aberdeen, Scotland, for Offshore Europe. And while the conference and exhibition had plenty to show and tell, one could not help sensing the stress that the folks in Aberdeen are feeling, courtesy of their national government in London.
Indeed, the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer seems to be going out of its way to do damage to the UK oil and gas industry, and Aberdeen is smack in the bullseye of financial impact. People there are worried about their futures and the future of the industry, and with good reason. The regime in London continues to tout renewables, particularly wind power, to the detriment of oil and gas. Someone needs to tell Starmer that you can’t run a country only on wind power.
At the same time, his regime is making it harder and harder to operate in the UK North Sea. No exploration permits are being issued, and that bodes ill for the basin’s future. When Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump held a press conference during Trump’s state visit to the UK, Starmer was asked about his energy stance, and he seemed to begrudgingly state that oil and gas will be part of the UK’s energy mix for many years to come. It was obvious that Trump sensed the insincerity of Starmer’s remarks, as he seemed to nudge the P.M. when he said it.
If Starmer really wants to demonstrate a commitment to keeping oil and gas in the UK energy mix, he could start by removing the nasty tax surcharge on North Sea production. But he probably won’t, because he’s too addicted to the extra revenue going to the government. WO
IN THIS ISSUE
Special focus: Upstream Practices. In this large lead section, you will find five articles on various topics related to this month’s theme. In one feature, authors from Deep Well Services discuss use of the Auto Sep flowback system in several applications. Meanwhile, Clariant authors talk about solving critical oilfield challenges with chemical solutions. In addition, a Merichem expert discusses stopping sour gas flaring with advances in H2S treatment. Also, Trilogy LLC experts describe use of their Sand Titan sand separation technology. Finally, a well-recognized senior geologist tackles the tricky subject of sustainable field development planning.
Global Mid-year Forecast: International activity progresses slowly, while the U.S. limps along. A set of headwinds is steering U.S. operators away from greater drilling, not the least of which is too much oil on the global market and the resultant soft oil prices. In Canada, the industry is still trying to determine whether Prime Minister Mark Carney is serious about stimulating more oil and gas activity. And internationally, some regions are keeping a steady pace while others are faltering. For details, please turn to the individual U.S., Canadian and International forecast articles.
Digital transformation. We have two features on this topic. In one, a Samp author discusses how AI closes the digital delta and is transforming legacy oil and gas operations. In the other article, Weatherford talks about how its CygNet system is entering a new chapter of evolution.
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