First deployment of Cantilever Technology

Gulf Marine Services PLC

('Gulf Marine Services', 'GMS', 'the Company' or 'the Group')

Successful first deployment of Cantilever Technology

GMS announces the successful completion of its first Well Intervention workscope, utilising the company's unique Cantilever Workover System, installed on the self-propelled vessel GMS Evolution. Under contract for a NOC client in the MENA region, this was the first occasion that the cantilever system, a technology designed and developed by GMS, has been used on a live well.  Key operational advantages of the cantilever technology include:

- Safer operations, eliminating lifting over live wellheads,

- Reduction in well-intervention time;

- Radical improvement in transfer time, platform to platform, over conventional rigs, and;

- Consequent cost savings for the field operator

The workscope involved a heavy coiled tubing well intervention, required multiple changes of bottom hole assembly, and was carried out in a third of the time that this operation would traditionally take.

Further efficiencies were achieved, with movements between platforms reduced to a tenth of the time taken by a conventional drilling rig, which is customarily used for intervention activities. The GMS Evolution has now moved to the next platform in the field, to complete a similar scope.

Tim Summers GMS Executive Chairman, said:

"GMS is the only company in the world with this SESV technology.  We are able to provide our clients with safe, innovative cost-saving technology solutions to enhance their oil and gas production, which is ever more valuable in these challenging times. 

The cantilever system on board Evolution is capable of carrying out aspects of well workover activity normally conducted by a drilling rig; however, its real strength comes when frequent moves within the field are required. Being self-propelled, and unlike a drilling rig, the vessel does not rely on tug support so can move between locations at a fraction of the time a drilling rig requires. This offers significant cost and time savings to our clients for a well intervention programme. We look forward to developing this technology to its full potential."

To read an in-depth case study relating to this please visit www.gmsuae.com 

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ABOUT GMS

GMS, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1977 and has become a world-leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs).  The fleet serves the oil, gas and renewable energy industries from its offices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.  The Group's assets are capable of serving clients' requirements across the globe, including those in the Middle East, South East Asia, West Africa, North America, the Gulf of Mexico and Europe.

The GMS fleet of 13 SESVs is amongst the youngest in the industry, with an average age of eight years. The vessels support GMS's clients in a broad range of offshore oil and gas platform refurbishment and maintenance activities, well intervention work and offshore wind turbine maintenance work (which are opex-led activities), as well as offshore oil and gas platform installation and decommissioning and offshore wind turbine installation (which are capex-led activities).

The SESVs are categorised by size - K-Class (Small), S-Class (Mid) and E-Class (Large) - with these capable of operating in water depths of 45m to 80m depending on leg length.  The vessels are four-legged and are self-propelled, which means they do not require tugs or similar support vessels for moves between locations in the field; this makes them significantly more cost-effective and time-efficient than conventional offshore support vessels without self-propulsion. They have a large deck space, crane capacity and accommodation facilities (for up to 300 people) that can be adapted to the requirements of the Group's clients.

The Company's Legal Entity Identifier is 213800IGS2QE89SAJF77.