Contact Information

Corporate Headquarters:

Woods Hole Group
107 Waterhouse Road
Bourne, MA 02532
P: (508) 540-8080 | F: (508) 540-1001

Field Offices:

Woods Hole Group - Mid Atlantic
301D Cassidy Drive
Dover, DE 19901
P: (302) 672-0830
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Woods Hole Group - Texas
115 Serrato Lane, Bldg C
Richmond, TX 77469
P: (281) 545-2322
Secondary Line: (281) 545-8835
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Woods Hole Group – Maryland
4300 Forbes Blvd, Suite #110
Lanham, MD 20706
P: (301) 925-4411 | F: (301) 925-8995

Feel free to email us with any questions or comments.

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Snapshot:

Corporate Spotlight

Drilling rigs operating in the deep waters of the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are required to make current profile measurements through the upper 1000 meters of the water...[+]

Delaware Spotlight

The Delaware office remains a NOAA centric office focused on Operation, Maintenance, Repair, and Management contracts for the NOAA CO-OPS PORTS networks...[+]

Texas Spotlight

This summer went by quickly, but like most all people living in the Houston 'Petroplex' I wish it would have gone faster. High points of the weather were more rain than in ...[+]

. . .

Corporate Spotlight

Drilling rigs operating in the deep waters of the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are required to make current profile measurements through the upper 1000 meters of the water column and to provide those profiles in near-real-time to a public database hosted by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). The requirement applies to all rigs operating in water depths exceeding 400 meters. The measurements are used to support rig operations, inform future production platform and riser designs, and improve understanding of physical oceanographic processes in the GOM.

To satisfy these requirements, Woods Hole Group has installed and is operating current profiling systems on multiple drill ships, including four modernized systems for BP America. Installation of a fifth system is expected to be completed by the end of October, 2014, and we anticipate beginning construction of a sixth system this winter. This growing list of Woods Hole Group installations now exceeds 10% of the industry fleet of mobile drilling units (MODUs) in the GOM. Just prior to publication, Woods Hole Group personnel were on-board the Ensco DS3, another drill ship, completing hydraulic and computer connections prior to system testing and commissioning.

Woods Hole Group has a 15+ year history of rig system work, including in Indonesia, Australia, West Africa, Trinidad, and offshore Brasil. The first of the more modern current profiling systems was designed by the Oceanography and Measurement Systems (OMS) team of Woods Hole Group in 2009. It was installed on the Deep Ocean Clarion (since renamed the DS4) in 2010, which subsequently spent several years operating offshore Brasil before returning to the GOM in 2014. The advantages were well received by the industry. During factory acceptance testing in Houston the first system was described by the customer as "a game changer". That did not stop Woods Hole Group from improving the design for the systems that followed:

1. The Woods Hole Group design takes advantage of an OO38 Underwater Electronics Assembly (UWEA), which can be submerged with the transducer. Using these cables, winches with slip-rings, and an articulated A-frame, fewer personnel at much reduced risk of injury can more quickly launch and recover the instruments with little risk of equipment damage.

2. To overcome space limitations aboard rigs that constrain placement of the system components to locations high above the water, Woods Hole Group designed a gantry deployment system welded to a cantilevered platform. An A-frame lowers a sled with the 2 current meters (ADCPs) below the dynamic positioning thrusters extending below the keel. All of this increases measurement quality, and can be accomplished by a single operator and a spotter/safety observer in minutes and with minimized risk of injury.

3. The winches and A-frame are hydraulically driven from an operator control stand positioned to afford a clear view of the deck area and the water below.

4. The electronic components of the system, principally the sensors, data connections, and measurement displays, are automatically controlled by Woods Hole Group's Integrated Remote Monitoring System (IRMS) software and do not require action by the operator. The system will independently detect when it is in the water and will begin making measurements.

5. There are two current meters that profile current speed and direction from the water surface to a depth of 1000 meters. The instruments are powered, controlled, and deliver data through the electro-mechanical cables, from which the 1500 lbs sled and instrument assembly is suspended.

6. The ADCP PC, running Woods Hole Group's IRMS and a small suite of commercial software packages, controls the system, provides local and remote operator interfaces (the latter through a secure internet connection), generates data displays available throughout the rig to support real-time operations, and automatically transfers data to NDBC and Woods Hole Group.

7. Currently under development is a Woods Hole Group GOM Rigs website, which will provide the rigs and users on-shore with additional real-time data displays, archival data, and downloadable data tables and images designed to meet the operational needs of rig crews.

Woods Hole Group also designed and installed the mechanical components of launch and recovery systems (LARS) on multiple other drill ships. For instance, the system on the Pacific Drilling Pacific Santa Ana for Chevron features rigid vertical rails along which a carriage carries the ADCP. Carriage position is controlled with a winch and the ADCP can be positioned close to the deck for maintenance. When deployed to the bottom of the rails, the ADCP is held rigidly and cannot rotate or swing. This stable platform provides the highest possible data quality and minimizes the risk of equipment damage in rough weather or high currents.

Electronics enclosure control and monitoring interface After installations are completed and systems become operational, Woods Hole Group personnel regularly visit each rig, performing standard and preventive maintenance, ensuring the systems continue to operate smoothly, and providing operational training to rig crews. GOM rig systems have been a successful undertaking for Woods Hole Group. Our designs and services are well regarded and, with a number of new-build rigs scheduled to begin GOM operations in the next few years, there is promise of a growing market.

Delaware Spotlight

The Delaware office remains a NOAA centric office focused on Operation, Maintenance, Repair, and Management contracts for the NOAA CO-OPS PORTS networks. Presently the office has five staff members based in Dover, DE, one technician in Gloucester, VA, and one technician in Jacksonville, FL. Woods Hole Group Delaware personnel continue to perform operations and maintenance activities for NOAA PORTS systems. In July of 2014, Woods Hole Group was awarded the "Operation, Maintenance, Repair & Management of the East Coast Observing Systems" contract from NOAA. This contract is a for a period of five years that covers the Narragansett Bay, New London, New Haven, New York-New Jersey Harbor, Delaware Bay, Upper Chesapeake Bay, Lower Chesapeake Bay, and Charleston PORTS networks. Woods Hole Group staff will continue to provide NOAA with unparalleled service for their PORTS system providing both routine and annual maintenance, along with major repairs for the majority of the NOAA PORTS stations along the East Coast of the US.

In June of 2014, Woods Hole Group was awarded the "Operation, Maintenance, Repair & Management of the Western Gulf of Mexico" contract that included Lake Charles PORTS, Houston-Galveston PORTS, and the Texas NWLON network. This contract is also for a period of five years. These stations will be managed by Woods Hole Group, but operations will be performed by our strong IDIQ partner from the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Conrad Blucher Institute. The two contract awards represent a large commitment from NOAA, and are indicative of the level of satisfaction NOAA has with the Woods Hole Group.

Over the past few months, Woods Hole Group was awarded contracts to repair multiple stations damaged during Hurricane Sandy. These stations include Quonset Point water level and current meter station in RI, Conimicut Light water level station in RI, The Narrows current meter station in NY, Bergen Point water level in NY, Brandywine Light Shoal water level station in DE, and Brown Shoal current meter station in DE. Work is either in progress or completed at these stations, and will be completed by the end of the year. The aim of the rebuild for each station in addition to restoring data flow, is to harden these stations above highest observed storm surge during Hurricane Sandy. Installation of the new metrological station on the USCG Mariner's Harbor Tower in Staten Island, NY was finally approved, and will be installed by the end of the year. The new station is funded by the USACE NY and NY/NJ PORT Authority. Data will be hosted by NOAA as part of the New York/New Jersey Harbor PORTS system. This involves installing dual met sensors on a 200 feet tall USCG communications tower with the sensors installed at 160 feet, along with a new set of data collection and transmission equipment.

The operation and maintenance phase of Jacksonville PORTS network that Woods Hole Group installed for the Jacksonville Marine Transportation Exchange (JMTX), in partnership with NOAA, has been ongoing since April 2014 when the JXPORTS was declared operational and public dissemination of the data started. The Jacksonville PORTS network is the second largest behind the Chesapeake Bay PORTS network consisting of eighteen stations along the St. Johns River, including six water level stations with associated sensors, three visibility stations, seven current meter systems, one conductivity-only station, and one air gap station. The data are available on the NOAA PORTS webpage. Woods Hole Group will continue with Operations and Maintenance of this PORTS network for at least the next three years. At this time all stations are fully operational and producing high quality data for the St. Johns River maritime community and future port stakeholders in Jacksonville. The Delaware office continues to provide support for the ongoing Philadelphia Water Department project, providing field support for the long-term current monitoring stations, short-term current meter deployments, and the dye tracer study. Since May 2014 Woods Hole Group DE personnel have taken the lead on the installation and routine maintenance of two continuous YSI dissolved oxygen monitoring systems for this project.

The Delaware office also provided field assistance for the Mullica River portion of the Newtown Creek Sediment Toxicity Test Work Plan during the initial pilot study in August, with continued support during the remainder of sampling events this fall.

Woods Hole Group Delaware office will continue to work closely with the Falmouth, MA and Houston, TX offices supporting the NOAA PORTS contracts and additional projects throughout the remainder of the year.