Exhaust Emission (IMO Marpol)

The IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) met at its 57th session from 1 March to 4 April 2008. During the session, both the revised Annex VI of MARPOL and the revised NOx Technical Code were approved, with the intention to adopt the two at the 58th MEPC session, scheduled to take place in October 2008. The annex and the code are then expected to enter into force in Feb/Mar 2010.

The new revision substantially tightens the NOx and Sulphur limits compared to the existing annex, and also includes requirements governing NOx emissions from ships constructed from 1 January 1990 to 1 January 2000.

New NOx limits :

The revised NOx regulations contain a 3-tier approach as follows:

Tier I (identical to today’s limits) :-

For diesel engines installed on ships constructed from 1 January 2000 to 1 January 2011, the allowable NOx emissions are:

-17.0g/kWh when n is less than 130 rpm

-45.0*n(-0.2) g/kWh when n is 130 rpm or more but less than 2000 rpm

-9.8 g/kWh when n is 2000 rpm or more

Tier II  :-

For diesel engines installed on ships constructed on or after 1 January 2011, the allowable NOx emissions are:

-14.4g/kWh when n is less than 130 rpm

-44.0*n(-0.23) g/kWh when n is 130 rpm or more but less than 2000 rpm

-7.7 g/kWh when n is 2000 rpm or more

Tier III :-

Ships constructed on or after 1 January 2016 will have additional limitations when operating in an Emission Control Area (ECA). No ECAs have yet been designated for NOx emissions, but it is expected that both the Baltic Sea and North Sea will be designated as NOx ECAs well ahead of 1 January 2016.

For Tier III ships operating in the NOx ECAs, the allowable NOx emissions are:

- 3.4g/kWh when n is less than 130 rpm

- 9.0*n(-0.2) g/kWh when n is 130 rpm or more but less than 2000 rpm

- 2.0 g/kWh when n is 2000 rpm or more

It should be noted that the Tier III limits cannot be achieved without additional means, such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Water Injection.

NOx Emission Limits for Engines Installed on Ships Constructed Prior to 1 January 2000

Ships constructed on or after 1 January 1990 but prior to 1 January 2000 will be required to comply with the NOx emission limits in force today (Tier I). However, the requirement has been narrowed down to apply to engines with a power output of more than 5000 kW and a per cylinder displacement of 90 litres or above. Moreover, compliance is only required if an Approved Method for obtaining the necessary NOx reduction is available for the engine(s) in question. The regulations also contain a mechanism to ensure that an Approved Method meets a cost-effectiveness criterion which will set a maximum cost for purchasing and installing a method.

Necessary engine adjustments or the fitting of NOx-reducing kits must take place no later than the first renewal survey that occurs 12 months or more after approval of an applicable method. However, if the supplier of an Approved Method is not able to deliver this at the time of this renewal survey, installation may take place at the next annual survey. Detailed requirements for the approval of NOx-reducing methods have been included in the revised NOx Technical Code.

New Limits for Sulphur Content in

Fuel Oil

The new limits for sulphur content in fuel oil will be:

Globally :-

3.50% from 1 January 2012

0.50% from 1 January 2020

In SECAs :-

1.00% from 1 March 2010

0.10% from 1 January 2015

Sulphur scrubbing will still be an acceptable method for compliance and there will be no HFO ban.

In order to confirm that the refinery industry can meet the demand for low sulphur fuels by 2020, a review clause has been introduced scheduling a fuel availability review to be completed by 2018. If this review reveals that it is impossible to meet the 0.50% limit by 2020, the requirement will be postponed until 1 January 2025.

Marine Exhaust Emission

TPG500 Shah Deniz Production and Drilling Jack-up

In year 2006, BP the operator of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate development project, has successfully deployed and installed the TPG 500 platform at its permanent location in the Shah Deniz gas-condensate field in the Caspian Sea, approximately 100 km to the south of Baku.

All platform systems had been tested and commissioned prior to the April 10th sail away from the Zykh yard in Baku, where the platform and associated seabed foundations were built and assembled. The platform was then towed to an intermediate location some 70 km from Baku, where the platform legs were successfully mated to the three foundation cans which are each 30 metres in diameter and 15 metres in height and weigh 1400 tonnes. The TPG 500 platform ( Technip design ) was then towed to its final location in 105 m of water, where the legs were lowered and then cemented in place. Final installation of the platform over the pre-drill well template required critical precision. This unique installation method was successfully completed offshore on April 2006.

The TPG 500 is a unique achievement for the Caspian. The entire platform, including the legs, was assembled at the Zykh construction yard near Baku. The three legs for the platform and their foundation structures, were built entirely in the Zykh 3 area of the yard, whilst the whole platform was assembled at the quayside of Zykh 4. Only two other platforms of this type have ever been built, both of which are operating in the UK North Sea.

The TPG-500 platform is a large jack-up comprising drilling, production and accommodation for 120 personnel with a total weight of 32,000 tonnes (topsides 22,000 tonnes, legs and foundations 10,000 tonnes). The platform’s drilling facilities are capable of drilling wells with a length of over 7 km and with an outreach of more than 3 km, while its production facilities are capable of processing approximately 1 billion cubic feet (28.5 million cm) of gas and 60 thousand barrels (8000 tonnes) of condensate per day. Gas and condensate from the field will be transported via sub sea pipelines to the Sangachal terminal.

It is the culmination of three years of hard work by over 5000 people, many countries from Singapore, Norway, France, Germany, USA, Turkey to Azerbaijan involved in the design, fabrication, construction, transportation and hook up and commissioning. At the peak of construction activities Zykh employed approximately 3500 people more than 80% of whom were Azerbaijani nationals. Their performance has been exceptional, both in terms of safety and of quality. Prior to sail away the Zykh yard had completed more than 13 million man hours without a lost time accident. In addition, the project utilized the services of some 257 local companies for provision of equipment, material and other services to the yard.

The parties to the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) are: BP (operator – 25,5%), Statoil (25,5%), the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR – 10%), LUKoil (10%), NICO (10%), Total (10%), and TPAO (9%).

Pointers for Asian business leaders

THE secret of a successful leader in Asian companies lies in the answer to four questions:
Where are we going?
How do we get there?
What is work like when we get there?
Who stays and who goes?

By answering these questions and taking the subsequent actions, an effective business leader devotes attention to a crucial set of institutional and organisational processes, two American management gurus behind a book, 'Asian Leadership: What Works' says.

If you, as a leader, only focus on a few of these factors and have not delegated the remaining factors to skilled and trusted colleagues, these blind spots will eventually pose a profound risk to your company.

Ulrich is Professor of Business at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, while Sutton is Professor of Management Science at Stanford Engineering School say the answer to the four questions are found in eight factors that those at the discussion deemed most essential to their success, along with the skills required to accomplish these actions.

The factors are:
1) creating customer-centric actions;
2) implementing strategy;
3) getting past the past;
4) governing through decision making;
5) inspiring collective meaning making;
6) capitalising on capability;
7) developing careers;
8) and generating leaders.

Along with the four questions, these eight factors are especially crucial to being a successful leader in Asian companies. The factors cover the distinct challenges of the Asian setting; the role of the leader; the competencies they must show; the paradoxes they manage; and the actions required to get there.
In creating customer-centric actions, leaders must spend time with customers in emerging and new markets - and find ways to understand and satisfy unmet needs of both existing and potential customers.

When it comes to implementing strategy, Asian leaders must know how to dream - and make the dream come true. Asian leaders need to have the creativity to discern an unknown future and build the agility or capacity to act to get there.
Tradition and old ways may hamper their thoughts and actions, so they must learn to manage that. But this should not amount to dumping the cultural heritage of the country they operate in.

Asian leaders would have to master the skills of respecting traditions without being so strongly bound to them that their company's performance, and their people's well-being suffer.

In making decisions - the governing through decision making factor - Asian leaders are required to do it in a way that help their organisations simultaneously leverage scale and size and deliver on a sense of small and focused. At the same time, they must also build a governance process that deals with relationships (who is involved in the decision), roles (what positions and roles shape decisions) and rationality (what are the criteria for the decisions).

To retain talent, which is an especially scarce commodity in Asia, Asian leaders need to help employees make their work meaningful or purposeful. When employees believe in their work not only for financial gain, they offer more of their discretionary energy to doing their work well. This means managing beyond skills and rationality, and making sure that employees feel emotionally connected to the company.

Other steps for building talent retention include :

- Grow competencies, situationally. Look for opportunities to put people into challenging situations where their skills and competencies will grow.


- Meet one-on-one, routinely. Conduct regular, but brief one-on-one meetings between manager/leaders and direct reports. Begin by asking, “What’s on your mind?”– then listen and act.

- Make retention everyone ’ s respon sibility. Encourage all members of the work group to feel responsible for the retention of their peers and to be alert to problems that can be fixed.

- Be a career builder. Talk to people about their long-term career aspirations and help them use or build the skills and competencies they need for the future.

- Help people get an “ A ” . Give the gift of being clear about what an “A”level performance looks like.

- Manage the meaning of change. Move toward people in uncertain times, including personal and organisational change. Be there and be open. Check in with people often.

- Walk your talk. Be aware that people are always watching and assessing you and your actions as a leader.


Helping staff to build and manage their careers and putting in place the next generation leaders, another two factors that go into making a successful Asian leader, would be in the job description of any leader.
But to manage the paradox of individual and collective action is rather a unique challenge in the Asian context.
Asian leaders have to help individual employees develop and apply their distinct talents and abilities to be productive and creative. Yet at the same time, they have to get them to work as a team.

'There are times when Asian employees submit their personal identity to the collective, but doing so undermines the ability to do creative work or to see a complex decision from multiple perspectives,' Ulrich and Sutton say. When this happens, Asian leaders need to adopt and invent ways to encourage individual thinking, constructive disagreement and solutions that weave together diverse and, perhaps, clashing perspectives.
At other times, as when collective action is called for to achieve a common goal, individual employees who put themselves above their teams can undermine performance.

Insights of Jack Up drilling rig

Jack up drilling rigs represent about 60% of the worldwide Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU's) fleet. Compared to other type of drilling rigs, the jackup is rather special since it involves specific problems such as leg penetration, punch through and moving with the legs fully raised during the ocean or field tow, dry or wet.

The intent of this information is to introduce the basic concepts, which have involved the operational aspects of drilling jack ups. There are many recommendations in the specific Rig Operations Manual and they are a result of the analysis and compilation of the rig specific set out by each individual rig operator.

Historically the JU was built to operate in mild environments up to 250ft of water depth. The modern largest JU's are built to operate world wide with at present up to maximum water depth up to 450ft.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A JACK-UP :

In comparison to semi-submersibles, a jack-up has some definite Advantages:

a) Lower construction costs. A semi drilling rig is probably about 2 to 2.5 times of a jackup.
b) Less personnel required to run the rig. A semi has about 2 times the numbers of jackup crew personnel.
c) Because of (a) and (b) lower day rates. A jackup day rates is about half the semi.
d) The possibility to work over a fixed platform.
e) It is cheaper for the operator to use a jack-up:
Less power full boats to move the rig. No mooring system required -no lost time to run anchors.
Less maintenance costs. Surface BOP without sub sea system. Simple well head assembly. However, some semis' have thrusters installed for DP mooring.
f) Less down time:
No wait on weather due to motions.
Drilling equipment can be handled faster and easier.

However, the jack-up’s have some Disadvantages:

a) Limited water depth. The maximum water depth for the largest JU is 450ft. Semis' can work up to 10,000 feet water depth while afloat.
b) Depends on bottom soil condition. The bottom soil conditions may cause a punch through or deep leg penetration.
c) In case of a blow-out the rig can not move off location. For semi, the riser could be disconnected and move away from the location, if emergency case.
d) More fragile. Many incidents and damages during moving and because of a punch through. Statistics have shown that over 75% of the incidents occur under tow or during jack-up/jack-down operations.
e) Safe operations require strict procedures and many different ways of preloading the rigs to ensure that the rig is spudded firmly on the seabed before it is jackup to the operational airgap, usually ranging 30-60 feet airgap.

Introduction to rig equipment at drillfloor,etc :-

Intro Drill Rig Equipment 1

Offshore Rig HVAC systems - general information

Offshore Rig HVAC System: - The purpose of air conditioning system is to provide a comfortable working and living environment for crew & personnel on board the semi or jackup rigs, and to maintain acceptable conditions for operation of electrical equipment in the switchboard room.


Mechanical: - The Air-conditioning system for Living Quarters and SCR Room could be a refrigerant direct expansion type or chilled water system. Quarters Air conditioning system consists of two Condensing Units- Seawater cooled type.  Three AHUs with direct expansion type cooling coils, serving accommodations respectively in Upper & Main deck, Tween & Lower deck (Port and Stbd). The AHUs could be provided with build-in heaters (3-steps control) and humidifiers to maintenance required room temperature and humidity.

The air conditioning system for SCR Room may consists of two Condensing Units-Seawater cooled type for direct expansion type coils, located in AHU room at Lower deck and operate only in cooling mode.

Condensing units for Air conditioning system and for SCR Room use R-134a Refrigerant, Window and Split conditioners use R22 however this refrigerant type will not be allowed by year 2020 and all existing units to be charged with new CFC free refrigerant. The quarter system is designed to maintain overpressure in passageways. Each cabin maybe equipped with reheater and room thermostat for individual temperature control depending on the area where the rig operates, usually you do not need them in the Gulf of Mexico except those north sea or colder climate.

Ventilation Fans are installed in the quarters to exhaust air from Galley Hood, Sanitary, Laundry, Change Rooms, Sick Bay & Clinic, Coffee Shop, Recreation Room, Fan Rooms and to supply fresh air to Galley and Fan Rooms. Classification requires galley AHU to be dedicated unit and not shared with other aircon spaces, cabin, public areas.


Rig Cold room and freezer System :- The purpose of the refrigeration systems are to cool down and maintain a reduced room temperature in the freezer room (-25 / -22 degC), cold room (-1 / +2 degC) and vegetable room (+8 / +11 degC) for preservation of foodstuffs. These store food rations for crew consumption onboard and usually these last for about 2-3weeks before they are replenish from supply vessels to the operating rigs.


Mechanical :- The refrigeration systems consist of three (3) evaporator units, one located in each of the freezer room, cold room and vegetable rooms, and two (2) condenser units, located in the fan room no. 1 on lower deck.
Piping :- R-404a refrigerant for the refrigeration systems is piped from each evaporating unit to the condensing units. The condensing units are seawater cooled using the vessel sea water service / cooling system.


HVAC Presentation1