Bennett & Associates

Bennett & Associates, L.L.C.
Founded 1997
Founder William T. Bennett Jr.
Headquarters Houston, Texas
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Key people
 Tommy Sam[1]
CEO
Services Naval Architecture
Website www.bennettoffshore.com

Bennett & Associates L.L.C[1] is an independent Naval Architecture, Offshore Design and Consulting firm that was founded in 1997 by William T. Bennett, Jr. Bennett & Associates is currently headquartered in Houston, Texas and has a location in New Orleans, Louisiana.

History

Founding

In 1997, William T.Bennett, Jr. retired from his previous position as CEO of Friede & Goldman, and established his own Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering firm. In spring of 1997, Bennett & Associates L.L.C had humble beginnings being operated out of Bennett's own house with a single structural engineer as the only other employee. By the fall of 1997, Bennett had acquired an office space on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the next few years, the company continued to grow as they provided naval architecture and marine engineering services to the offshore industry.[2]

Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana coast and devastated the city of New Orleans. As a result, the company temporarily located to Houston, Texas where it successfully recovered from the loss due to the hurricane. Following hurricane Katrina, Bennett & Associates formally moved their headquarters to Houston, Texas while still retaining the original office in New Orleans.

Acquisition By Keppel

In January 2012, Bennett & Associates was acquired by Keppel FELS, thereby becoming part of Keppel Offshore and Marine.

Achievements

Keppel "B-Class"

In 1998, Bennett and his team was invited by Keppel FELS in Singapore to co-design what was to become the "B-Class" jack-up. The "B-Class" eventually became one of the most successful Jack-Up rigs in the world. As of March 2011, 33 B-Class rigs have been built and with 19 more on order.[3] Bennett engineers also contributed to the design of the A and N-Class Jack-ups.

Q-4000

In 1999, Cal Dive International approached Bennett & Associates to complete the basic design (and later the detailed design) of an originally SDP/McClure Semi-submersible. In 2000, Richard Michel from Bennett & Associates and Wm. Strong of Cal Dive jointly presented a paper at the Offshore Technology Conference showcasing the capabilities of the "Quantum 4000" (or Q4000).[4] The semi-submersible was delivered in 2002.[5] Recently, the Q4000 was one of the auxiliary drilling platforms supporting the well containment efforts during the Deepwater Horizon incident. It retrieved the failed BOP from the well for further investigation.[6]

Publication : "Jack Up Units - A Technical Primer"

In 2005, Bennett & Associates and Offshore Technology Inc. (Keppel Fels) co-authored a document titled "JACK UP UNITS - A Technical Primer For The Offshore Industry Professional". The intention was to provide industry personnel with a brief introduction to Jack-Up Platforms and their design considerations. This document has since become known in the industry simply as "The Jackup Primer".[7]

MinDOC (ATP "Titan")

In 2006, while looking to acquire an offshore drilling platform, ATP Oil and Gas approached Bennett & Associates expressing interest in the MinDOC design. ATP had originally considered a Truss Spar design to be built in Finland. However, a combination of the new severe post-Katrina met-ocean conditions together with the vulnerably of currency fluctuations meant that the Spar was no longer feasible.[8] Bennett & Associates was awarded the contract to develop a new alternative to the spar. The result was the ATP "Titan" which became the first US-built deepwater dry tree drilling and production platform.[9]

BASS 350 and BASS 400

In 2011, Offshore Magazine listed the Bennett & Associates "BASS 350 and BASS 400" jack-up units as one of several notable designs which reflect the growth of operating loads and water depth of current drilling operations.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bennett & Associates L.L.C Website
  2. ↑ Bennett & Associates History
  3. ↑ Keppel Secures Third Jackup Order from AOD
  4. ↑ Offshore Trade Conference Paper : A Dynamically Positioned, Semi Submersible, Multi Service Vessel for Working in 10,000 Feet of Water
  5. ↑ Cal Dive takes delivery of Q4000
  6. ↑ BP retrieves Deepwater Horizon BOP from Macondo well in gulf
  7. ↑ Jack Up Units - A Technical Primer
  8. ↑ Oil Online Article
  9. ↑ Offshore Magazine - First US-Built deepwater dry tree drilling and production platform to set sail
  10. ↑ Offshore Magazine Article - New Jackup Rigs Are More Robust

External links