HWCG's management is pleased to inform you that the West Vela drillship is qualified for flow and capture operations and HWCG has received an acceptance letter from BSEE. Kudos to Steve Scanio and Adam Hunt who have spear headed this effort with PTS and several contractors. This work was accomplished just in time for the Q4000's departure from the GOM. The West Vela will be a back-up vessel to the Q5000.

We have several upcoming activities and projects which may be of interest to you or members of your team.

HWCG will be scheduling a Systems Integration Test (SIT) that will entail installing the RCS onto the Open Water Landing System (OWLS) winch frame and landing the RCS onto the lower frame. The RCS|OWLS SIT will occur at GFM in Houston later this year once the SIT plans are finalized and all equipment is ready for the demonstration. HWCG will provide at least two weeks' notice to allow members confirm attendance.

Seahorse is finalizing revisions to the SSDI nozzle mounts for the mudline dispersant kit and HWCG will schedule the SIT and demonstration once the mounts are confirmed to be sufficient for the operation. We'll ensure the schedule allows for a least two weeks' notice to members to confirm attendance. This activity will also occur at GFM in Houston.

HWCG is finalizing plans for to test the SilCam 6000 cameras which measure oil, gas and particle size distribution for water column monitoring. FEED work has been completed and final integration is progressing. The SilCam - ROV integration and test will be performed in late Q4-2024 or early Q1-2025 based on facility schedule. Preliminary work has been completed, and we will coordinate with Apex, CSA and Sintef to schedule the test date. Members will be provided ample notice to schedule attendance.

HWCG has begun the Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED) work to develop concepts for a hydromechanical dispersion system that could eliminate or significantly reduce the need for subsea dispersants. We envision a scaled test of the concept to be done at Ohmsett in New Jersey where the SilCams will also be used to measure PSD for effectiveness. Fabrication will commence once the concept is selected and sanctioned by the Steering Committee.

We have secured funding from the Steering Committee to provide access to a Trendsetter owned 15k Trident IRS next year, which can be utilized by members for typical well intervention or abandonment operations and can also be used in a response for flow and capture, well kill and intervention operations.

Most recently the Steering Committee approved funding for a Static Offset Flowline to be used during flow and capture on shallow water wells or for wells having dry trees on floating facilities where vertical access is not available. This project is expected to be completed in late 2025.