ASME International Sponsors Key Sessions At the Offshore Technology Conference - May 3-6, 1999, Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 1999--

The Petroleum Division of ASME International (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) will sponsor key sessions at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), slated for May 3-6 at the Houston Astrodome.

OTC '99 is expected to draw a multinational audience of 50,000-plus during its 4-day run. This year's exposition will have more than 1,800 companies exhibiting their products and services, covering every facet of offshore operations and technology, in more than 375,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space.

ASME International's Petroleum Division, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, has been a participant of OTC since the conference began in 1969.

Sessions sponsored by ASME include:

Monday, May 3, 2:00-5:00 pm: Materials, Welding and Corrosion

-- Deep Water: Consideration of the Cathodic Protection Design Basis, K.P. Fischer, Marintek A/S

-- Internal Corrosion Monitoring of Subsea Production Flowlines - Probe Design, Testing, and Operational Results, M. W. Joosten, J. Kolts, and P.G. Humble, Conoco Inc.; T. J. Blakset and G. Simes, Corrocean A/S; and D. Kelly, Britannia Operator Ltd.

-- Surface Roughness In Internally Coated Pipes (OCTG), F. F. Farshad, J. D. Garber, and S. R.Bikki, U. of Southwestern Louisiana, and R. Davis, Tuboscope Vetco Int'l. Inc.

-- Specifications and Principle Characteristics of Continuously Milled Coiled Tubing for Pipelines, R. K. Stanley, J. R. Martin, and W. D. Van Amam, Quality Tubing, Inc.

-- Global Performance Comparison Between Composite and Steel Tendons in Ultra-Deepwater TLP's, S. Wu and R. B. D'Souza, Aker Engineering, Inc., M. Karayaka, Aker Maritime, Inc.

-- Composites Technology Used Onshore With Synergy to Offshore Applications, J. G. Williams, U. of Houston, and S. Silverman, Materials Testing Services, Inc.

-- Friction Welding--Technology for the New Millennium, G. R. Blakemore, circle Technical Services Ltd.

Tuesday, May 4, 2:00-5:00 pm: Morpeth

-- Morpeth Field Development Overview, W.J. Roach, British Borneo Exploration, Inc.; S. E. Kibbee, Atlantia Offshore Ltd.; N. Mackintosh, Mentor Subsea; and G. Lochte, British Borneo Exploration Inc.

-- Morpeth Seastar Mini-TLP, S. E. Kibbee, S. J. Leverette, K. Davies, and R.B. Matten, Atlantia Offshore Ltd.

-- Morpeth Seastar: Foundation and Tendon System, K. Davies and M. Srivareerat, Atlantia Offshore Ltd.

-- Morpeth SeaStar Installation, I. Redfern, Mentor Subsea; R. B. Matten, Atlantia Offshore Ltd.; and D. Calkins, Mentor Subsea

-- Morpeth Subsea Production System, G. Lochte, British Borneo Exploration Inc; D. Gray, Mentor Subsea; C. Kochenower, Cameron; O. Tarrleton, Hydro Tech Systems Inc; and C. Loper, Wellstream

-- Morpeth Export System, J. Kenneflick, Mentor Subsea S.A.; P. Lang, British Borneo Exploration Inc.; and D. Hervey, Mentor Subsea

-- World's First TLP to Achieve Classification, R.A. Major, ABS Americas; G. R. Frazer, British Borneo Exploration Inc.; J. Taylor, Atlantia Offshore ltd.; and J. A. Mercier, Global Maritime

-- Deepwater TLP's in Benign Environment, H. Hannus, Aker Engineering A/S, and R. B. D'Souza and S. Wu, Aker Engineering Inc.

Wednesday, May 3, 2:00-5:00 pm Subsea Equipment

-- Foinhaven Super Duplex Material Cracking Investigation, T. Taylor and T. Pendington, BP Exploration Operating Co., and R. Bird, BP Exploration Technology

-- Large-Bore HPHT Wellhead and Christmas Trees, G. J. Chiasson, Cameron; D. W. Stewart, Shell U.K. E&P; and C. Smith, Cameron

-- Subsea Reinjection of Produced Water, B.O. Bringedal, ABB Corporate Research

Wednesday, May 3, 2:00-5:00 pm Subsea Equipment

-- The First Deepwater Installation of a Subsea ESP: RJS-477A, Campos Basin, Brazil, J.E. da Silva, C.H. de Silva Mattos, and J.H. Rittershaussen, Petrobras S.A.

-- Spool-Tree Development for 2500-mWater Depth, L. R. Prado, Cooper Cameron Corp.; E. de Melo Sanches, Petrobras S.A.; and L. A. Olijnik, Cooper Cameron Corp.

-- Experimental Validation of Subsea Separator Design, P.J. Nilsen, ABB Corporate Research, and B. Strand and A. Kolberg, Norsk Hydro A/S

-- Innovative Adaptation of Subsea Test Tree Successfully Tests Ultra-Deepwater Well in the Campos Basin, Brazil, C. F. Etchevery, Halliburton Energy Services, and C. R. Tigre Maia, Petrobras S.A.

In addition to the sessions, the ASME Petroleum Division will sponsor two key fundraising events that will benefit the Ocean Star Museum and local scholarships in Houston. They include the 5th annual ASME Offshore Technology Golf Tournament, all day Saturday, May 1 at TOUR 18, and the 11th Annual ASME Petroleum Division/University of Houston Cajun Crawfish Boil, on Sunday, May 2, 1:00-5:00, Lynn Eusan Park on the University of Houston Campus. This festival-like event includes tons of crawfish, barbecue, zydeco music, games for the kids, thousands of dollars in raffle prizes, and the appearance of the Pasadena Independent School District's robot, recently entered in a national contest at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center.

An awards luncheon Wednesday, May 5, at the Sheraton Astrodome Hotel will recognize the Woelfel Best Mechanical Engineering Achievement Award, the Lubinski Best Paper Award, the Rhodes Industry Leadership (Oil Drop) Award, and special presentations to mark the Petroleum Division's 75th Anniversary.

The 125,000-member ASME International is a worldwide engineering society focused on technical, educational and research issues. It conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds some 30 technical conferences and 200 professional development courses each year, and sets many industrial and manufacturing standards.