Q. Tell us a little about Fugro.
A. Fugro is the world’s leading independent provider of earth and engineering data services. We integrate geotechnical, survey, subsea, and geoscience information to inform and de-risk infrastructure projects, both onshore and offshore. Our focus is in the oil and gas, sustainable energy, and infrastructure markets, and we also support a number of public sector initiatives for the creation of baseline datasets. Examples include topographic mapping for resource management, land-use planning, and emergency response, as well as hydrographic surveys for nautical charting, coastal zone management, and legal boundary claims.
Q. How is Fugro organized?
A. Fugro was founded in the Netherlands in 1962 and operates in 70 countries across the globe. Services are provided through a regionally organized, global network of offices and facilities. This structure allows us to deliver flexible capacity, advanced technology, and specialized staff, along with local knowledge and expertise specific to certain geographies. The Alaska office offers many great success stories in this regard.
Q. Are there any recent projects that illustrate this point?
A. Absolutely. Last year we completed a large geotechnical and geophysical program for ExxonMobil Alaska LNG LLC (AKLNG – a consortium of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, and the State of Alaska).
The geotechnical scope of work included drilling and sampling of borings for the onshore liquefaction facilities, marine terminal, and offshore pipelines. It also included installation of monitoring wells, seismographic and in situ measurement of soil properties. The geological and earthquake engineering scope included assessment of geohazards, source characterization, probabilistic seismic hazard and site response analyses. Bathymetric, side scan sonar, reflection and refraction surveys, and sub-bottom profiling were also conducted to assist in developing an integrated site model. These studies will help AKLNG and its contractors to proceed with the FEED level design of the LNG terminal and associated offshore pipelines.
The 2015 program followed successful completion of a similar but smaller program carried out by Fugro in 2014. For both efforts, our Alaska-based staff played key roles in project planning, logistics, operations, and management.
Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?
A. The ability to combine local knowledge with global resources is certainly one of our biggest strengths, as evidenced by our work on the AKLNG project. With an eye toward cost management, we are able to efficiently staff up or down depending on client need, and we have a proven ability to adapt our field operations to meet Alaska-specific requirements.
Another important differentiator is our emphasis on solutions-based services. We create value by acquiring and interpreting integrated datasets about the earth, and then provide the associated consulting services needed to support engineering activities. We are not simply a data provider; we are a solutions partner.
Q. Can you elaborate on that? What is the benefit of data integration?
A. Sure. For any large infrastructure project- from pipelines to ports development- our clients need to understand the site characteristics to engineer, construct, and maintain the asset. By integrating marine geophysical surveys, geotechnical investigations, and lab analysis into a single site characterization project, we can construct highly detailed geologic models. These models can be used to better inform civil and structural engineering/design and reduce risks and uncertainty, so avoiding higher construction costs. These data can also be used to study geologic hazards, such as seismic ground motion, landslides, soil liquefaction, etc.
Q. Is the company adding any new services or products?
A. Yes. One service that we are particularly excited about is satellite derived bathymetry, which shows good promise for increasing the rate by which nautical charting and coastal zone hydrography can be collected. While typically procured by public sector agencies, these baseline datasets are critical to land management decisions and natural resource development projects. And Alaska, like many Arctic regions, is vastly underserved in this regard.
An incident in Unalaska Bay last year highlighted the dangers of this data deficiency. While en route to the Chukchi Sea in support of drilling exploration activities, the icebreaker Fennica struck an uncharted shoal in waters that later proved to be some 20 feet shallower than previously thought. Disaster was averted in this incident, but the near-miss demonstrated how under-funded mandates, such as nautical charting backlog, can negatively impact resource development projects.
As it now stands, it would take decades to survey the region’s oceans and coastlines using high resolution vessel-based and airborne methods. By adding satellite derived bathymetry surveys in advance of these more traditional techniques, Fugro can significantly increase efficiency of the planning effort as well as the pace and scope of data collection. We have successfully proven this approach in Canadian waters and look forward to deploying the capability in Alaska soon.
Q. What do you see as your biggest challenge in the Alaska market over the next five years?
A. It is undoubtedly a challenging time for Alaska businesses given the current price of oil. Like our clients, we are streamlining operations so that we can better weather this market downturn. Thankfully, we are well positioned to do just that. Our engineers routinely look for ways to improve services, so even before the price of oil dropped so drastically, we were implementing new techniques to gain project efficiencies for our clients.
As an example, in 2014 we began investigating the feasibility of reprocessing existing seismic data, procured during the exploration phase, for the purpose of shallow drilling hazards assessment for onshore and transition zone locations. The approach required development of new data processing workflows since the data were originally collected (and processed) to target exploration objectives. While not appropriate for every project, this approach has shown good results, providing both operators and regulators with the confidence needed to spud exploration wells without the time and expense of new geophysical data acquisition solely for the purpose of shallow hazards assessment. This is a major deal when you consider the time it takes to obtain permits, not to mention the substantial costs of mobilizing crew and equipment to perform new surveys.
Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?
A. Fugro has an excellent safety record. In Alaska, we have designed and implemented a certified HSE program specialized for the region. This program incorporates a quality management system meeting ISO 9001:2008 requirements; an occupational health and safety management system meeting OHSAS 18001:2007 requirements; and an environmental management system meeting ISO 14001:2004 requirements. All projects that run through our office follow these same procedures and are executed by staff trained in our HSE program.
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?
A. Fugro is 100 percent committed to Alaska. We have been working here for more than 40 years and believe in the state’s potential.
Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?
A. www.fugro.com
