Ocean Business
April 2008 IssueProject to Develop Next-Generation AUV Announced at Subsea ‘08
Subsea 7 (George Town, Cayman Islands) and SeeByte Ltd. (Edinburgh, Scotland) have joined forces to develop a new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the offshore oil and gas industry.
SeeByte and Subsea 7 aim to provide the industry with a new concept in autonomous inspection and intervention vehicles, and the project will see the development of the first truly autonomous vehicle capable of both inspection and light intervention in an offshore environment, representatives said. The vehicle, deployed from a host facility, will be capable of inspecting risers, pipelines, moorings and other structures and general visual inspection, they continued, and docking, data exchange and light intervention activities will also be inherent features of the vehicle design, they continued.
The project will be executed in collaboration with BP (London, England) and Chevron (San Ramon, California). The multiyear project will entail building the prototype vehicle and carrying out initial onshore trials and then full offshore operation trials.
This new generation of AUVs will significantly change offshore inspection and intervention activities and has the potential to dramatically reduce costs by removing the need for a dedicated support vessel, said the companies.
"The project will benefit from SeeByte’s experience in automating the control process of underwater vehicles," said Dr. Ioseba Tena, sales and marketing manager of SeeByte. "This ranges from SeeTrack Offshore, our current offering to the ROV [remotely operated vehicle] industry—a true dynamic positioning system that simplifies the ROV control process and helps save on training and operational costs—to our experience in previous AUV development programs, including the world-record breaking Autotracker program that demonstrated autonomous pipeline inspection over 22 kilometers and was carried out in partnership with Subsea 7 and BP."
"Our involvement in this program results from Subsea 7’s ambition to be the subsea partner of choice in the subsea engineering, construction and technology sector and is underpinned by our reputation as a pioneer of ROV and remote intervention technology," said John Mair, global technology manager for Subsea 7. "In order to meet our customers’ evolving needs, Subsea 7 is committed to developing new cost-effective solutions to meet the challenges of subsea oil and gas field development and maintenance activities in increasingly deep water and remote locations. We believe that our new generation of AUV, being developed with SeeByte and with the backing of BP and Chevron, will be a key component of this strategy."
"BP has long supported the development of advanced AUV technology, and we believe the development of this prototype autonomous inspection/intervention vehicle will be a key next step," said David Saul, BP’s senior subsea engineer. "Successful development will allow us to apply the technology across a far wider range of challenging subsea applications, including deepwater subsea process, bringing both significant operational benefits and cost reductions."
"This collaboration seeks to accelerate the efficient use of autonomous vehicle technology for offshore operations," said Alexis Denz, subsea engineer for Chevron. "It represents a fresh approach to fostering innovation in the offshore industry. Our vision is that this technology will meet our future inspection and intervention requirements and eventually reduce the need for intervention vessels for routine inspection and intervention work." For more information, visit www.subsea7.com and www.seebyte.com.
Fugro Chance Works for Five Years with No Lost Time Accidents
Fugro Chance Inc. (Lafayette, Louisiana) recently announced that they have reached a safety milestone: The company has had no lost time accidents for five years.
"This kind of goal cannot be reached without very hard work by many individuals working as a team," said Phil Stutes, president of Fugro Chance. "Our employees are encouraged to review their work environment for safety hazards. Our philosophy is that accidents are preventable, and this accomplishment is truly commendable."
Jimmy Mizzi, safety manager of Fugro Chance, pointed to the company’s in-house safety program. Training for Chance surveyors includes water survival, firefighting, CPR, first aid, coast guard training, defensive driving and man-overboard procedures.
"No Chance employee has missed work due to a work-related incident or injury for five years," Mizzi commented. "Our safety record is a reflection of our commitment to maintaining a safe environment in all areas of the business." For more information, visit www.fugrochance.com.
HB Rentals and ISS Partner on Equipment Deal in Australia
HB Rentals (Broussard, Louisiana), working in partnership with its sister company, Arnaudville, Louisiana-based International Snubbing Services (ISS), recently announced that they will deliver a custom-equipped engineering cabin from the United States to New Zealand.
The firms are providing the specially outfitted newbuild 20-by-eight-foot module to OMV (Vienna, Austria).
HB Rentals manufactured the cabin to meet strict offshore regulations in Australia and New Zealand, requiring the high-specification office accommodation to be A60 fire-rated in compliance with Safety of Life at Sea/International Maritime Organisation standards and offshore lifting code DNV 2.7-1.
ISS carried out custom installation of specialized equipment to configure the module as part of a package of equipment for the Maari platform, operated by OMV in the Taranaki basin offshore New Zealand.
ISS will also supply OMV New Zealand with a fully equipped, 420,000-pound hydraulic modular workover rig and a coiled tubing unit.
"Having won the initial contract with OMV, our colleagues at ISS needed a high-specification engineering cabin in which to install their equipment," HB Rentals director for offshore sales in the United States, Glenn Aguilar, said. "Our 20-by-eight units are already widely in use in a number of locations offshore Australia, due to their compliance with strict regulations in the region. We were able to work closely together here in Broussard, ensuring that ISS could carry out their custom installation and fully test the unit after manufacture, before transportation to Australia."
The office accommodation module is being transported to Australia by ISS, together with the complete Rig 18 package, for onward shipment to New Zealand.
The firms are working cooperatively on an ongoing basis, with ISS providing local support services for another of HB Rentals’ clients, BG Group (Reading, England), in Trinidad through its base in the Caribbean. A similar arrangement exists in Australia. For more information, visit www.hbrental.com and www.iss-snub.com.
C & C Technologies’ C-Nav Wins NPCC GcGPS Positioning Contract
The National Petroleum Construction Co. (NPCC), based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has awarded C & C Technologies (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd. (Singapore) a long-term contract for their C-Nav globally corrected global positioning system (GcGPS) positioning services for the fifth consecutive year.
"The contract was won in the face of fierce competition," stated Rick Shannon, managing director of C & C Technologies (Asia Pacific). "We are delighted to have again won this contract. Our customers appreciate the superior capabilities of C-Nav, particularly when coupled with our track record for reliability, accuracy and a first-rate friendly service."
The contract also marked the beginning of a new partnership, as this will be the first collaborative effort with the recently appointed sub-distributor, Technical Equipment Service ME (Abu Dhabi).
NPCC will use positioning services provided by C-Nav to deliver offshore construction, dynamic positioning and survey support to its client base in the Arabian Gulf and India. For more information, visit www.cctechnol.com.
Eltech Electric and Ships Co. Announce They Have Merged Operations
Eltech Electric Inc. (Seattle, Washington) recently announced that it has purchased Ships Co. Ltd. (Olalla, Washington). Herb Myers, founder and president of Ships Co. Ltd., will head a new Eltech alarm systems division that will design, build and install bulletproof alarm systems for marine and other harsh environments.
The systems will continue to be sold under the company’s brand name, SHIPSCO.
"We are very excited to join forces with Herb and the Ships Co. team," announced George Hancock, president of Eltech Electric Inc. "We have installed SHIPSCO alarms in the past and are very impressed with their technology. They have designed totally dependable alarm systems from the ground up for the harsh marine environment. It would have been easier for them to base their systems on laptops or PCs, but they didn’t compromise. SHIPSCO is simply the toughest electronic system we have seen in the marine business."
"The merger is a great move for both companies," commented Myers. "Eltech provides the resources we need to grow while continuing to provide a high level of installation and support services. They have a lot of talented and motivated people who will add a new dimension to what we can do for the industry." For more information, visit http://eltech.us.
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