UT3 December 2010

The magazine of the Society for Underwater Technology

ROV Technology Subsea intervention Underwater Equipment

1 UT2 December 2010 UT2 December 2010 2 Contents

News Introduction 4, Licensing 6, Acquisition 10, Discovery 12, 2 December 2010 Drilling 14, Development 16, On Stream 24 UT The magazine of the Society for Underwater Technology Subsea Subsea Technology 30, Installation 44, Stabilising 50, Technology Vessels 52

Pipelines Pipelines 56, Cables 73, Umbilicals 80

Subsea Subsea Equipment 84, Sonar 88, Survey 100, Subsea ROV Technology Subsea intervention Equipment Equipment 106 Underwater Equipment

1 UT2 November 2010 Underwater Submersible 108, ROVs and AUVs 110, Diving 134 Cover: A one-atmosphere Vehicles submersible. Image: SeaBotix Wind Wind Power 136,

Maintenance Maintenance 143,

Seismic Seismic 146, December 2010 Companies People 252, Representation 156, Awards 158, Agreements 160, HQ 162

SUT Nova Scotia Branch Inaugural Meeting, Designing 3 for Availablilty, Operability and Integrity, An UT appreciation of Flow Assurance and Pipeline Heat- ing, Deepwater Intervention Forum: Fit for Purpose Society for Underwater Technologies, Subsea Tree Technology for future Technology challenges, The Hurricane-Powered Delta 80 Coleman St Mudflow Transportation System,Pipeline Repair and London EC2R 5BJ Intervention Technology, Underwater Technology Vol 29, No 3, Subsea Control and Data Acquisition +44 (0) 1480 370007

(SCADA) 2010 Editor: John Howes [email protected]

Sub Editor: Michaelagh Shea [email protected]

US Representation: Published by UT2 Publishing Ltd for and on behalf of the Society for Underwater Stephen Loughlin Technology. Reproduction of UT2 in whole or in part, without permission, is Ad-Expo Marketing International prohibited. The publisher and the SUT assumes no responsibility for unsolicited Phone +1 (281) 373-1811 material, nor responsibility for content of any advertisement, particularly [email protected] infringement of copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights and patents, nor liability for misrepresentations, false or misleading statements and illustrations. Production: Sue Denham These are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Opinions of the writers are not necessarily those of the SUT or the publishers. ISSN: 1752-0592

3 UT2 December 2010 News News The Price of Decommissioning Alistair Birnie, chief executive of Subsea UK, has warned the oil and gas industry that it must think long and hard before embarking on cost-cutting measures when awarding contracts for decommissioning work.

Speaking at the seventh annual DecomWorld North Sea decommissioning conference in Aberdeen the leader of the trade body, which represents the country’s £5 billion subsea sector, outlined the issues and challenges that impact on future decommissioning work.

Mr Birnie believes that the industry must be even more vigilant in order to cope with the growing pressure and scrutiny arising as a result of the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

He said, “Competition is going to be fierce for subsea resources and there is no doubt that day rates for specialist vessels and services will rise to pre-2008 pricing. There will Alistair Birnie, chief executive of Subsea UK be inevitably a temptation to drive costs down by looking for cheaper alternatives, but companies must be prepared to pay more to ensure experience, safety and environmental protection.

“The priority must be on safety and the environment. Failure in these areas could be hugely detrimental to our industry which is already under intense scrutiny, whether in drilling, operations or in decommissioning. Alistair Birnie, chief executive of Subsea UK

“We cannot afford to let incidents However, Mr Birnie points to the future requirements and re-apportioning happen. Get it right and we will forecasts for both subsea oil and gas work scope to better balance potential demonstrate to the world the projects and marine renewable work rewards with risks.” competency of our people, our which are both set to rise in the next technological excellence and our high ten years, with work in renewable The UK’s subsea sector is worth standards in safety and environmental energy rising more sharply. This will, around £5 billion and employs 40 000 protection. Get it wrong and we could he says, put pressure on availability people. Subsea UK is a self-sustaining well pay a very high price.” of specialist equipment and skilled body that champions the UK subsea people. supply chain, representing over 200 The substantial market for subsea members. It acts as a focal point decommissioning will involve subsea “For the commercials to work, the for all stakeholders to promote the engineering, certification, survey industry must accept that the cost base sector and maximise its opportunities and inspection, pipeline operations, will rise and we should instead seek at home and abroad, and provides removal of subsea structures, savings by driving out inefficiencies, a national forum for collaboration, excavation, subsea wellhead cutting improving contracting relationships diversification and technology and removal and barge operations. and attitudes, reducing operation development.

UT2 December 2010 4 Headline Sponsor

Subsea 2011 Exhibition & Conference

AECC, Aberdeen, 9-10th Feb 2011 Conference – Wednesday 9th February (09:30 – 15:30) Exhibition – Wednesday 9th February (08:30 – 17:00) and Thursday 10th February (08:30 – 16:00) Subsea UK Business Awards Dinner – 9th February Organised by t: 0845 505 3535 www.subsea2011.com

Subsea 2011 Sponsors Media Sponsors

5 UT2 December 2010 Licensing Licensing

1°W 0° 1°E 2°E 3°E 4°E

9/17b, 9/22b 9 ZEUS 7 8 9/24d Blocks Away 16/1a, 16/2d, 16/6c REACH 7/30, 8/26 TAQA The UK’s Department of Energy and CONOCOPHILLIPS Climate Change (DECC) has granted 15/9, 15/10, 15/14, 15/15 144 oil and gas exploration licences NEXEN 15/11, 15/16d 16/8c in the 26th licensing round. These 59°N GTO licences cover 268 blocks, almost as ZEUS 14/9, 14/14 (split), 14/15 16/11a many as the 303 awarded in the 25th SILVERSTONE SENDARO Round. 14/14 (split), 14/18c, 14/19c 15/23g 15/21d 16/21e 16/23b NORWEGIAN ENERGY PREMIER ECHO FIRST OIL PETRO-CANADA Energy Minister Charles Hendry said: 14/17 14 16/24a (split) 13 ZEUS BP

14/30b “It’s encouraging to see the healthy 16/24a (split) NEXEN 15 16 level of interest there is from industry TALISMAN

15/29c 21/3c, 21/4b, 21/5b to make the most of the UK’s still 14/29e, 20/4c (part), 21/1b (split) CONOCOPHILLIPS SENDERO 20/5f (part) TALISMAN substantial resources of oil and gas. ENCORE 22/2d, 22/3c Under Discussion 14/27b 21/8b 22/4c ZEUS VERITAS “Whilst in the long-term, we want to MAERSK 58°N 22/1a, 22/2c decarbonise our energy system, we MPX 22/5c 20/2c ECHO have moved swiftly to offer these NEXEN 22/7b NEXEN licences as we must realise the 21/1b (split), 21/2b 22/6b 21/6a FIRST OIL 21/14b SENDERO optimum value from the UK’s energy 19 SENDERO VERITAS 22/8a 22/14c CARRIZO CONOCOPHILLIPS resources and ensure secure energy 23/11c 21/7b 22/16, 22/17b CONPHIL supplies. PREMIER GDF SUEZ 20 22 22/18b (split) 21 CARRIZO 20/12 23 22/18b (split “We remain absolutely vigilant and SENDERO 20/15b, 21/11 21/12d 21/15a PA RESOURC FIRST OIL DANA APACHE 22/20b determined to ensure that exploration 22/17a, 22/22d BP 21/25c IDEMITSU in our waters is done safely and with TOTAL 22/23c (split) 22/21c, 22/26c (split) GDF SUEZ minimal impact to the environment.” MAERSK 22/30e (split) 21/30e (split) MAERSK SILVERSTONE 22/23c 23/26e 21/27a (part), TALISMAN MAERSK 22/30e (split) 28/2 (part) Following a screening exercise by SHELL 57°N LUNDIN 30/1a (s DECC, it has been decided that HEATHER 29/4e BP SHELL 30/6c 30/1a (split) 99 further blocks (comprised in 45 29/10d CONPHIL GDF SUEZ 29/9e ITHACA prospective licences) should be 27/2, 27/3, 27/4 Under Discussion subject to more detailed assessments DELIVERIT 30/8 30/13b TOTAL 27/5, 28/1 (part), 28/6 (part) of the likely effects of oil and gas 21/29d 29/14 GDF SUEZ DELIVERIT ANTRIM AWE 30 activities on certain protected nature 28 29 30/6b, 30/11a, 30/12d 21/30e (split),22/26c (split) VALIANT conservation areas. STERLING 29/1d (split) TALISMAN 29/15 (split) 26 TOTAL 30/20b, 30/25 (split) 27 28/5, 28/10, 29/1d (split) MAHONA A decision on whether to grant ENCORE 29/15 (split) licences for these blocks will 29/20(split) 30/25 (split) 28/24, 28/25, 28/30 (part), TALISMAN 31 ELIXIR be subject to the results of the 29/21, 29/26 (part) GTO 29/20 (split) 30/24 (split), 30/25 (sp environmental assessments. GTO LUNDIN HEATHER 56°N 30/17c, 30/17d, 30/19b, 30/24 (split) 30/22, 30/23, 30/24 (split) 38/5, 38/10, 39 Government will continue to work with LUNDIN 39/6, 39/7 VALIANT HEATHER industry through the PILOT forum to NEXEN 37/5, 37/10 (part) 38 39 maintain investment in the North Sea. 35 36 37 38/1, 38/6 (part) Central North Sea VOLANTIS

Earlier initiatives including innovation 1°W 0° 1°E 2°E 3°E in the licensing system, a focus on Quadrant & Blocks “brown fields” stewardship and on UK Continental Shelf Key Map location fallow assets have helped maintain 26th Round of Offshore Licensing Blocks potentially 1 2345 awarded high levels of interest in recent years. MAP 3 678910 North Sea Blocks on offer 11 12 13 14 15

We will work closely with industry to Eastern Central Area 16 17 18 19 20 ensure that this is carried through so Blocks currently Scale 1:2,000,000 under licence 21 22 23 24 25 that activity and investment should be 0 20406080Kms as high as possible. 26 27 28 29 30

jc/maps/26R_Award_ma

UT2 December 2010 6 Licensing

3°W 2°W 1°W 0° 1°E 2°E 3°E 221 223 222/28, 222/29 222 FAROE 63°N 63°N

217/11 (part), 217/12, 217/13 (part), 219/2, 219/3, 217/16 (part), 217/17 (part), 217/18 (part), 223/26, 223/27 217/19 (part), 217/20, 218/11 (part), FAROE 218/12 (part), 218/16, 218/17, 218/22 (part) FAROE

59°N

216 217 218 219 208/1, 208/2, 208/3, 220 211/1c, 211/2d 217/27, 217/28 BAYERNGAS DANA 211/2c BAYERNGAS 62°N 62°N 211/1b, 211/2b, 211/3b 214/5c, 214/9d, BAYERNGAS 214/10b OMV 211/11a VALIANT 58°N 214 210/19a, 210/20a 208 209 210 211 SERICA

211/26c 214/26, 214/27b TAQA NIPPON 3/1b (split), 211/26d TAQA

3/1b (split) t) LUNDIN 61°N CES 61°N 3/5, 3/10c ZEUS

207 3/14f VERITAS 57°N 3/17 split) APACHE 206 1 2 3 3/18 TOTAL

3/27a FIRST OIL 3/25b, 3/30b, Shetland 4/21, 4/26b 9/3c TOTAL Islands XCITE 4 9/3d XCITE 60°N 60°N 9/1 (part) 10 NAUTICAL 9/5b, 10/1b NEXEN 9/13d (part) EXXONMOBIL 9/9d, 9/14 (part), 9/15d 8/15 (part), 9/11d (part) plit) MPX 56°N STATOIL R 5 6 7 8 9 9/1b, 9/17b, 9/22b Orkney ZEUS Islands 9/24d Northern North Sea REACH

4°E 3°W 2°W 1°W 0° 1°E 2°E

UK Continental Shelf Key Quadrant & Blocks Map location 26th Round of Offshore Licensing 1 2345 Blocks potentially MAP 2 awarded 678910 North Sea Blocks on offer 11 12 13 14 15 Northern Area 16 17 18 19 20 Blocks currently Scale 1:2,000,000 under licence 21 22 23 24 25 020406080Kms 26 27 28 29 30 ap3mxd jc/maps/265R_Award_map2.mxd

7 UT2 December 2010 Licensing Licensing

1°W 0° 1°E 2°E 3°E 4°E

36/20, 36/25, 37/16, 37/21 VENTURE

35 36 37 38 39

36/23, 36/24, 36/26, 36/27, 36/28, 36/29 VENTURE

55°N 55°N 45

41/5,41/10,42/1 TRAP OIL

44 41 42 43

42/13b, 42/17, 42/18 RWE Dea

43/24b 42/24 (part), 42/25c (part) HOLYWELL VOLANTIS

49/2c 47/10c (split) VENTURE BP 54°N 54°N 46 49/4d, 49/9d 47/10c (split), 48/6c (split) VENTURE DANA

47/9d, 47/10c (split) 48 49 VOLANTIS 47 49/24c 48/6c (split) SHELL BP

47/14c, 47/15c 49/29f GDF SUEZ SHELL

49/30f VOLANTIS

50 53°N 53°N 51 48/11c, 48/12b FAIRFIELD

52 53 54

52°N 52°N Southern North Sea

1°W 0° 1°E 2°E 3°E

UK Continental Shelf Key Quadrant & Blocks Map location 26th Round of Offshore Licensing Blocks potentially 1234 5 awarded MAP 4 6 7 8 910 North Sea Blocks on offer 11 12 13 14 15 Southern Area 16 17 18 19 20 Blocks currently Scale 1:2,000,000 under licence 21 22 23 24 25 0 20406080Kms 26 27 28 29 30

JC/maps/26th_Award_map4.mxd

UT2 December 2010 8 Licensing

7°W 6°W 5°W 4°W 3°W 2°W

213/16, 213/17, 214 Faroe 213/21 Islands STATOIL 213/19b (part) 213 NEXEN 208 212/30, 213/26c, 213/27c 214/26, 214/27b STATOIL NIPPON

205/2b (part) 204/4b, 204/5b NEXEN 61°N HESS 212 204/9b, 204/10b, 205/5b 61°N 204/15 NEXEN HESS 205/5c, 205/9, 204/14d 205/10 TOTAL OMV 207 204/14c, 204/19c VALIANT 204 205 206 204/21, 204/22b, 204/23b (split), 204/26 (part) VALIANT 205/13b, 205/14, 205/18, 205/19 176 FAROE 74 175 60°N Shetland Islands 60°N

204/23b (split) HURRICANE

164 165 166 202 203 5 6

59°N Orkney Islands 59°N

13/22d DANA 156 201 13/17 (part), 11 13/16b 13/18 (part), ZEUS 13/23c AWE 155 12 13

58°N

58°N

13/28b West of Shetland 18ECHO 19 17 7°W 6°W 5°W 4°W 3°W 2°W

Quadrant & Blocks UK Continental Shelf Key Map location 26th Round of Offshore Licensing 1234 5 Blocks potentially MAP 1 awarded 6 7 8 910 West of Shetlands Area Blocks on offer 11 12 13 14 15 and Western North Sea 16 17 18 19 20 Blocks currently Scale 1:2,000,000 under licence 21 22 23 24 25 0 20406080Kms 26 27 28 29 30

JC/maps/26R_Award_map1.mxd

9 UT2 December 2010 Acquisition Acquisition Blane Taqa the Otter Faroe Petroleum has acquired an As part of the transaction, Faroe Taqa, the Abu Dhabi national 18% interest in the Blane oil field Petroleum has also agreed to assign energy company, has purchased from ENI for £60 million. under a farm out agreement, a Total’s entire equity stake of 81% in 20% interest in the Atlantic Margin production licences for two blocks The Blane oil field (P111 block Rannva exploration licences (P.226 Block 210/15a and P.1021 30/3a (upper), UK North Sea) was (Faroese Licences 012 and 017 Block 210/20d) in the Otter field discovered in 1989, and is located and UKCS licence P.1740) which development area. on the central graben of the UK straddle the UK/Faroe border. continental shelf, extending into Otter lies adjacent to TAQA the Norwegian sector. Production These prospective licences cover Bratani’s existing North Sea commenced in September 2007 some 2794 km2 and are located interests, purchased in 2008, and from a Tertiary Palaeocene Forties in around 500m water depth, is a sub-sea tieback to the TAQA sands reservoir with a structural approximately 170km west of the BP Bratani operated Eider Platform. closure. operated Schiehallion oilfield. The Average daily production year Rannva licences (Faroe Petroleum to date from the Otter Field is The field has been developed 100% and operator) contain two approximately 8000 barrels of oil as a subsea tie-back to the BP- giant prospects along the axis of the per day. operated Ula platform located in the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, one of the Norwegian continental shelf (34km largest undrilled anticlines in North to the north east) and currently West Europe. comprises two horizontal production wells with gas lift and one water Continuing technical work is Dana Dana has entered into an injection well. underway across these licences in agreement to acquire Petro- order to define a well location Canada UK’s interests in certain The low-cost producing field has UK assets for cash consideration of average gross production rates of 11 Faroe Petroleum has also built up £240 million. 964 barrels of oil equivalent per day its stake in the producing Schooner (boepd). gas field to 6.96%. It is now The package consists of two main concentrating on operations on the production hubs– the Central North Joint venture partners in the field ENI-operated Anne Marie well, in Sea Triton Area and the Nexen- are Talisman Resources (43% and the Faroe Islands and the Chevron operated Scott/Telford Moray Firth operator), Roc Oil (12.5%), Nippon operated Lagavulin exploration well fields. Additionally, the Acquisition Oil (14%) and Dana (12.5%). west of the Shetlands. includes the prospective Inner Moray Firth exploration portfolio.

The acquisition provides an additional 33.5 million barrels of oil equivalent of proven and probable reserves and 44.3 mmboe of proven, probable and possible reserves. It has a predominantly oil based production portfolio with oil comprising 95%of the proven and probable reserves and increase in Dana’s total number of producing fields from 55 to 63 exercise the investor put set out in the terms of the convertible bonds in July 2012.

By year-end 2010, Dana will have a total daily production ofExample around Solstice 70 000 boepd, nearly doubleimage. the Water depth 7 production rate at the startmetres of the leading into the year. surf zone. Blane will be tied back to the Ula field

UT2 December 2010 10 Acquisition

Marubeni Chevron BP has reached agreement to sell fields is approximately 15,000 Chevron has acquired operating its recently-acquired interests in four barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed). interests in three exploration mature producing deepwater oil and blocks in the South China Sea’s gas fields in the US Gulf of Mexico BP acquired a range of deepwater Pearl River Mouth Basin. It has to Marubeni Oil and Gas for $650 Gulf of Mexico assets from Devon acquired a 100% interest in blocks million. Energy as part of a deal announced 53–30 and 64–18, and a 59.18% in March 2010. The agreement interest in block 42-05, from BP acquired the interests in the announced today does not affect Devon Energy China. The blocks fields – Magnolia, Merganser, BP’s other interests in the Gulf of cover an exploratory acreage of Nansen and Zia – from Devon Mexico where it is both the largest approximately 8,100 miles2 Energy earlier in 2010 as part producer of oil and gas – with (21 000 km2). Chevron will be of a wider acquisition of assets current net production totalling operator during the exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and approximately 400 000 boed – and phase under agreements with China Azerbaijan. the largest holder of leases National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Andy Hopwood, BP executive vice president, Strategy and Integration, said: “When BP acquired Devon’s Shell Fields to W&T Gulf of Mexico assets it was clear W&T Offshore intends to acquire that these four fields did not fit well interests in six offshore producing Proven reserves associated with the rest of our business in the fields located in the Gulf of Mexico with the acquisition and letter of region. We therefore decided they from Shell Offshore. intent are 7.0 million barrels of oil would be of more value to another or natural gas liquids and 112.2 company than to BP.” W&T anticipates paying $450 billion ft3 of natural gas, or 154.3 million in cash, subject to billion cubic feet of natural gas Marubeni will pay BP $650 million customary post-effective date equivalent. in cash for the interests, subject to adjustments, and assume customary post-closing adjustments. approximately $50 million for Tracy W. Krohn, Chairman and Dependent upon regulatory the asset retirement obligations Chief Executive Officer, stated, approval, the parties anticipate associated with these properties. “Our acquisition of Shell’s completing the deal in early 2011. interest in these fields helps us Both amounts are subject to meet our objective of increasing The assets included in the change based on the number of our production and reserves in agreement comprise: properties ultimately acquired. The 2010, as well as lowering our acquisition is being funded with costs per Mcfe and improving a 25% interest in the W&T’s available cash on hand and our EBITDA margins going ConocoPhillips-operated Magnolia from borrowings on its revolving forward. oil and gas field in the Garden credit facility. Banks area of the Central Gulf Additionally, we believe that the The acquired interests are in the high level of cash flow generated a 50% interest in the Anadarko Tahoe, SE Tahoe, Marlin, Dorado by these properties, partially due Petroleum-operated Merganser gas and Droshky fields located in the to lease operating expenses field in the Atwater Valley area of the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico. that are low relative to volumes Central Gulf The sixth field, which is subject produced, will provide an to a letter of intent with Shell, is attractive return on investment a 50% interest in the Anadarko a Gulf of Mexico producing shelf based on full cycle economics. Petroleum-operated Nansen oil and property along with associated gas field in the Western Gulf; assets. With the production from these assets currently weighted about a 65% operating interest in Combined production, net to 37% towards oil on a volume the Zia oil and gas field in the Shell’s interest, in the six fields is equivalent basis, we can benefit Mississippi Canyon area of the currently approximately 6840 b’d from today’s high oil prices, while Central Gulf. oil and 68.8 MMft3 of natural gas the reserves are predominately per day or approximately 18000 natural gas which should provide BP’s net production from these barrels of oil equivalent per day. longer term upside.”

11 UT2 December 2010 Discovery Discovery Falklands Zidane Last September, Rockhopper for the use of the seismic vessel RWE Dea Norge has made a Exploration became the first MV Polarcus Asima as well as the significant gas discovery near the company to successfully flow oil to Polarcus Nadia Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea surface in Falkland Islands waters. in production licence 435 (Zidane). The primary objective of this 3D The well is located approximately Sea Lion 1 was drilled in a water seismic acquisition programme is to 15km north west of the Heidrun depth of 451m during April and define the aerial extent of the Sea field and 35km south of the Skarv May 2010 and suspended for Lion fan, as well to examine other field in the Norwegian Sea. future testing, having encountered areas and play types. Under the a gross oil column of 217m with contract Rockhopper will acquire The primary objective for the well net pay of 53m. a 3D seismic survey over areas of was to prove hydrocarbons in licences PL032 and PL033 (100% Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the The Sea Lion 1 was re-entered Rockhopper) which were not Fangst group). Secondary objective during September 2010, where it previously defined by 3D, as well as was to prove hydrocarbons in flowed for 18hrs. The well tested adjacent areas. Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks at sustained rates in excess of (the Tilje formation). The well 2000b/d with a maximum rate of Rockhopper will also acquire a encountered gas in a 150m column 2304b/d. The well produced no 3D seismic survey over areas of in the Fangst group. Preliminary its licence PL024 (and adjacent water, no H2S and negligible CO2. estimates of the size of the areas, which were not previously discovery range between 5 and Rockhopper is now preparing defined by 3D seismic, as well as 18 billion m3 of recoverable gas. to progress its operational participating with Desire Petroleum The possibility of finding more programme which will include plc on areas of licences PL003 and hydrocarbons in the license is good. appraising the Sea Lion discovery, PL004, in which Rockhopper has a shooting additional 3D seismic 7.5% working interest. across the extent of the North Falkland Basin and drilling further The vessel will be available to exploration and appraisal wells on commence the seismic survey by David its Northern acreage. Rockhopper earlyJanuary 2011, and the time Total Norge has made a gas/ has contracted to acquire required to shoot the survey within condensate discovery in well additional 3D seismic . It has the licence area is estimated 25/5-7 on the David prospect, signed a contract with Polarcus to be approximately 50 days. located about 12 miles (20km) northeast of the Heimdal field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. A gas column of about 230ft (70m) was encountered in the Brent group (primary target) with better reservoir rocks and reservoir quality than expected.

The Statfjord formation, the secondary target, has good reservoir properties, but with aquifers.

Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery range between 2.4 and 3.2 million m3 of recoverable oil equivalent. Drilled by the Ocean Vanguard semisubmersible, the well was not formation tested, but data was gathered. The partners in the license are considering connecting the The Polarcus Nadia discovery to the Heimdal field.

UT2 December 2010 12 Discovery

Total Manaia Owo Total has made a significant new gas OMB New Zealand has brought Tullow Oil’s Owo-1 exploration and condensate discovery in Block B the Manaia well, which targets sidetrack in the Deepwater Tano offshore Brunei. the Mangahewa formation of the licence offshore Ghana has Manaia structure, onstream. Now significantly extended the column Well ML-5, located in a water depth that an oil flow is established, of high quality light oil discovered of 65m and around 50km from the focus will turn to production by the Owo-1 well. Results of the coastline, was drilled 8km to testing. This will include assessing drilling, wireline logs and samples the south of the Maharaja Lela/ the field’s production rate, oil of reservoir fluids confirm that Jamalulalam field in a new, deep properties and determining if Owo is a major new oil field. fault panel. It discovered gas with additional wells are necessary. condensate in high pressure/high The Owo-1 well encountered 53m temperature formations (HP/HT). The Manaia field, located about of net oil pay and the sidetrack, 4 miles (6km) from Maari, is a drilled 0.6 km east of the Owo With a total vertical depth of 5664m, separate geological structure, but discovery well, encountered an the well is the deepest ever drilled the oil is produced through the Tiro additional 16m of net oil pay in Brunei. 10 million ft3 of gas and Tiro Moana wellhead platform and in the lower part of the same 220 barrels per day of condensate into the Raroa FPSO. The field is channel system. Pressure data were produced during the test from operated by OMV New Zealand, indicates that this oil pay is in a limited zone situated at 5350m which holds a 69% working communication with the reservoirs depth. This is the deepest successful interest, and partners on the field penetrated in the Owo-1 well and test in South-East Asia. The gross with Todd Maari (16%), Horizon confirms at least 69m of total net thickness of the hydrocarbon bearing Oil International (10%) and Cue oil pay in a substantial gross oil formation exceeds 800m. Taranaki Pty (5%). column of 200m.

ML-5 is the third positive well of an exploration campaign which started in 2007, targeting the deep, HP/HT horizons of the Maharaja Lela structure. The development of Mpungi the new resources and production Eni and Sonangol has announced through the existing facilities is another important oil discovery at currently being studied. the Mpungi-1 well, offshore Angola.

The well, located in Block 15/06, 120 km from the Angolan shoreline in 1050m of water, was drilled to a total depth of 2300m and encountered oil pay in both the Upper and the Middle Miocene sand reservoirs.

During the production test of the main pool, the well has flowed light oil at rates in excess of 6000 b/d (rates constrained by surface equipment).

Mpungi-1 is the eighth exploration well drilled by the joint venture since it was awarded the block at the end of 2006. It is the seventh discovery in the area and it completes the Block’s minimum work obligations one and a half year in advance of the contractual terms. Map of Block B, Brunei Map of Block 15/06

13 UT2 December 2010

Drilling Drilling Noble Bully II Drill Tower The drill tower for the The topdrive, including vessel with a single lift. Noble Bully II drill ship service loops was also Testing and commissioning left the Huisman quay in installed and tested. will start soon after the Schiedam heading for installation onboard the the Keppel Shipyard in For the Noble Bully Noble Bully II. Singapore, where it is II, one of the setback expected to arrive early carousels including four Apart from the drilling November. Huisman, pipe rackers was installed, tower, Huisman also the Dutch–based enabling testing of the pipe delivered all specialist in heavy lifting, handling system already in equipment for the pipelay and drilling Schiedam. handling of drill equipment, designed and pipe, casings, manufactured the drilling The drill tower (80m) marine risers, tower and related cranes, will be installed pipe, riser and BOP onboard the handling equipment.

Most of the equipment was manufactured at the Huisman production facility in The Netherlands. The drill tower was upended on the quay, fully assembled and tested prior to transportation.

UT2 December 2010 14 Drilling

subsea and surface BOPs and X-mas trees, the riser The Bully range drill ships tensioning system, both deck are designed to offer a cranes and both drillers lower cost and more flexible cabins. alternative for drilling in ultradeep and Arctic With the equipment come conditions. all power systems as well as an integrated The selection of Huisman’s control system which compact box type drilling also controls third tower instead of a party equipment. conventional derrick allows This equipment for a significantly smaller has previously sized vessel compared to been shipped to other deepwater drill ships Keppel Shipyard in of similar capacity. Singapore. The box type drill tower design also improves safety and maintenance.

15 UT2 December 2010 FEED FEED Hebron Jasmine Golden Eagle Kiewit-Aker Contractors, a 50/50 ConocoPhillips, on behalf of Penspen has been awarded a joint venture between Peter Kiewit the Jasmine field owners, has contract by Nexen Petroleum Infrastructure and Aker Solutions, awarded WorleyParsons a UK to deliver a subsea front end has been awarded a contract by contract to provide detailed design engineering design (FEED) study ExxonMobil Canada Properties and procurement services for the for the Golden Eagle subsea (EMCP) for the Hebron Project high pressure, high temperature engineering development in the gravity based structure (GBS). Jasmine area development project North Sea. in the North Sea. The Hebron Field is an oil and gas Golden Eagle area contains development in the Atlantic Ocean The contract includes provision of 150–275 million boe of gross located 350km offshore from St. detailed engineering for three new recoverable reserves. Penspen John’s, in Newfoundland and platforms, interconnecting bridges, will provide an integrated FEED Labrador, Canada. pipe-in-pipe risers and spools study establishing structural along with the functional design requirements, specifications, The contract is for front end and specification for the subsea operational functionality and engineering design (FEED) and pipeline, subsea isolation valves, flow assurance for the subsea site preparation, with the option power/communications cable and portion of the Golden Eagle area at ExxonMobil’s discretion to umbilicals. development. subsequently provide detailed engineering, procurement and First production from Jasmine construction (EPC) services. Phase 1 is anticipated to occur during late-2012 and the core The contract value for Aker development is expected to Solutions’ share of the FEED and produce an annual gross peak Perla site preparation is US$70 million. sales rate of more than 88 000 b/d Foster Wheeler has been awarded oil. a pre-front-end engineering FEED will commence immediately, design (pre-FEED) and front-end with site preparation at the Bull Arm WorleyParsons is performing the engineering design (FEED) contract fabrication yard, Newfoundland and work from its offices in London, by Cardon IV, for new production Labrador, Canada, to be performed Woking, Kuala Lumpur and facilities at the Perla field, located once permits are received. Beijing. in the Gulf of Venezuela, Caribbean Sea.

Cardon IV is a joint venture company owned by Eni Venezuela B.V and Repsol YPF Venezuela Gas, for developing non-associated natural gas exploration and exploitation activities in Cardon IV area, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The value of the contract was not disclosed. The award will be included in the company’s third- quarter 2010 bookings.

The new production facilities comprise offshore structures, trees, controls, offshore processing, subsea flowlines, export pipelines, the shore approach and utilities facilities from the wellheads to an onshore gas plant, and tie-in to an existing gas and condensate pipeline system. Map of Hebron

UT2 December 2010 16 Development Development

Voyageur to Huntington Sevan Marine has entered into an agreement with E.ON Ruhrgas for the chartering and operation of FPSO Sevan Voyageur on the Huntington field (block 22/14b) in the UK sector of the North Sea.

Installation of the FPSO is expected to take place in the end of 2011 with first oil targeted for early the following year. The E.ON Charter is for a fixed term of five years with extension options for E.ON, and an estimated contract value of US$535 million for the fixed term.

The Sevan Voyageur

17 UT2 December 2010 Development Development Valemon Cabaça The plan for development and to markets in the UK and continental Eni and Sonangol have operation of Statoil’s Valemon field Europe. The condensate is due to be successfully appraised and in the North Sea has been submitted piped to Kvitebjørn for stabilisation tested its Cabaça South East to the Ministry of Petroleum and and onward transport to the major oil discovery in Block Energy today with the goal of starting Mongstad refinery near Bergen. 15/06, located offshore Angola. production in 2014. The Cabaça South East-2 well is At the same time as submitting located in 470m water depth, at Valemon is a gas and condensate the PDO to the ministry, Statoil a distance of about 100 km from field between Kvitebjørn and Gullfaks has started placing a number of the coast. South in the Norwegian North contracts for the development. The During production tests, the well Sea, about 160km west of Bergen. group recently awarded letter of flowed high quality 34deg API oil Recoverable reserves have been put intent to Heerema Vlissingen after at rates of about 7000 barrels/ at 26 billion m3 of gas and 31 million an international tendering round, 3 day. The rates were constrained barrels (5 million m ) of condensate. covering construction of the steel by the limited capacity of the Development plans call for an jacket for the Valemon platform. surface facilities. unstaffed fixed steel platform A similar preliminary order has with separation facilities for gas, been placed with Heerema Marine Evaluations indicate that the condensate and water. Existing Contractors Nederland for transport appraisal well has increased the infrastructure will be exploited via and installation of this structure. initial estimate of oil in place for pipelines. Production is slated for the discovery by at least 30%, 2014 The jacket is due to be ready in the thus confirming the opportunity spring of 2012. Contracts for the of realising a second production Gas from Valemon will be transported topside, including the living quarters, the hub in the North East area, via Heimdal to the European pipelines, subsea umbilical and marine which will double the Block 15/06 markets. The condensate will be operations will be let in 2011-13. production. Eni will work together piped via Kvitebjørn to the Mongstad with Sonangol and partners to accelerate the development of refinery near Bergen. An annual plateau output of roughly the second hub. 3 billion m3 of gas from Valemon Calling for the installation of a new will make a key contribution to Eni is the Operator in Block unmanned platform, the PDO has meeting Statoil’s goal of maintaining 15/06 with a 35% working been presented for official approval Norwegian offshore production in interest, while Sonangol is by operator Statoil on behalf of the coming years. Output from the field the concessionaire. The other Valemon licence. The field contains will also help to utilise spare capacity partners in the joint venture some 206 million barrels of oil in the processing facilities on the are Sonangol Pesquisa e equivalent, and the partners intend Kvitebjørn and Heimdal installations. Produção (15%), SSI Fifteen to invest almost NOK 20 billion in the (20%), Total (15%), Falcon Oil platform, pipelines and production Statoil (64.275%) operates the field Holding Angola (5%), Petrobras wells. with, Petoro (30%), Enterprise Oil International. (5%) and Statoil (3.225%( and Total (2.5%) holdoing Angola (5%). Valemon is the second major the remainder conditional on a development plan that Statoil has unitisation agreement. Schematic of the Valemon development submitted this year. Last spring, the compnay presented the PDO for Gudrun, also in the North Sea. These two projects call for a combined investment of roughly NOK 40 billion.

The Valemon PDO embraces a fixed steel platform to separate gas, condensate (light oil) and water in the wellstream. It will normally be unstaffed after the drilling phase. Gas from the field will be carried via the existing pipeline from Huldra to Heimdal, a hub for onward transport

UT2 December 2010 18 Development

Jack St Malo

Map of Jack and St Malo

Chevron has sanctioned New Orleans, Louisiana, in water trend. We have an operating development of the depths of 7000 ft (2100m). interest in the 2009 Buckskin Jack/St. Malo project, its first discovery and participate operated project located in The initial development of the in the Perdido Regional the Lower Tertiary trend in the project will require an investment Development, which provide deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. of approximately $7.5 billion. significant learnings we can It will be comprised of three apply to Jack/St. Malo.” “Jack/St. Malo is the latest subsea centres tied back to a hub example of Chevron advancing production facility with a capacity The Jack and St. Malo fields its industry-leading queue of of 170 000 barrels of oil and 42.5 are estimated to contain major capital projects,” said million ft3 of natural gas per day. combined total recoverable George Kirkland, vice chairman, Startup is anticipated in 2014. resources in excess of 500 Chevron Corporation. million oil-equivalent barrels. ”The Jack/St. Malo project builds “The Lower Tertiary is off our success in the US Gulf of Seven exploration and recognised as a huge resource Mexico and will enable Chevron appraisal wells have been with the potential for long life to help meet future US energy successfully and safely drilled projects of up to 30 to 40 years demand while delivering a safe at these fields since 2003. and the opportunity to enhance and reliable deepwater operation,” recoveries through technology.” said Gary Luquette, president, Chevron, through its Chevron North America subsidiary Chevron USA has The Jack and St. Malo fields working interests of 50%in the are located within 25 miles (40 “Today’s announcement is Jack field, 51% in the St. Malo km) of each other approximately another step in our efforts in the field, and 50.67% in the host 280 miles (450 km) south of development of the Lower Tertiary facility.

19 UT2 December 2010 Development

Development Pappa Terra Development work on the Pappa TLWP wave model tests will further “ABS has a longstanding Terra field is continuing with the enhance the wave basin experience relationship with Petrobras beginning of platform construction of Lab Oceano, being part of the and, since dry trees are being planned by the end of this year. R&D establishment at Federal considered as one of the solutions University of Rio de Janeiro - Ilha do for deepwater exploration in the The Papa Terra heavy oil field Fundão Campus. region moving forward, we are is located in the Campos Basin excited to class this unit and look approximately 110km (68 miles) off forward to assisting Petrobras Rio de Janeiro in water depths of Classification in achieving another milestone up to 1200m (3940 ft). Petrobras Classification society ABS has been in its exploration and production and partner Chevron are slated to selected to class two of the major history,” says Kenneth Richardson, put the field into production by late components in Petrobras’ Papa Terra ABS Vice President, Energy 2013. offshore Brazil field development. Development.

The field will house the first offshore Both the P-61 TLWP and the floating Houston-based FloaTEC designed tension-leg wellhead platform production, storage and offloading the TLWP which will be built at (TLWP) in Brazil, P-61, which will (FPSO) unit known as P-63 will both Keppel’s BrasFels yard in Angra connect to an FPSO, P-63. Papa be ABS classed. dos Reis. ABS has extensive Terra is expected to commence production in 2013. The Papa Terra oil field (well 4-BRSA-2180-RJS) is located on the BC-20 Block in the Campos Basin in a water depth of 1200m (3937ft). Petrobras serves as the operator of the giant oil field and holds a 62.5% interest; Chevron holds the remaining 37.5% interest.

Recently, scale model tests have taken place on the TLWP at Lab Oceano in Rio de Janeiro in close cooperation between Lab Oceano and FloaTEC.

The platform will be a local host for dry tree, top tensioned risers (TTRs) in 1180m of water; the first such application in Brazilian deepwater. The platform will support well drilling and workover activities in concert with a tender assist drilling rig that will moor up alongside the TLWP.

The model tests have successfully demonstrated the behaviour of the platform in the Campos basin ocean conditions. The water depth of the project required the use of the deep pit (-25m) in the Lab Oceano wave test basin. The test basin features wave generators and wind fans that allow for modeling of realistic current, waves and wind at scale. The state-of-the art

UT2 December 2010 20 Development

experience providing technical and Classing Floating Production services for tension-leg platforms Installations issued in 2004. (TLPs). “Global performance analysis There are presently 22 TLPs is performed to fully address installed worldwide. Of those, 15 the comprehensive effects of TLPs were built to ABS class or environmental loads on an overall certified by ABS. The class society platform and its components has used this experience to set including the deck, hull, tendons, the standards for the evaluation mooring system and risers,” of dynamic loads and site-specific explains Sidney Bereicoa, fatigue assessments, key to ABS Manager, Energy Project developing appropriate design Development, Brazil. “This level of criteria for TLPs. investigation is needed to verify the design of a TLP, particularly in terms This guidance was first outlined in a of the mooring and riser systems supplement to its Guide for Building unique to this type of floating system,” adds Bereicoa.

The P-63 will join many other ABS- classed FPSOs operating offshore Brazil. The unit is a conversion of a very large crude carrier (VLCC) and, when completed, will have 16 topside modules weighing over 14 000t. The facilities on board are designed to process approximately 140 000 b/d of oil and 35 million ft3 of gas per day. ABS will work closely with Brazil’s QUIP consortium facility in Rio Grande during the Left: Model testing. Above: Below the fabrication and integration. water line. Image : Lab Oceano Below Schematic of the vessels in the field. Image: ABS

21 UT2 December 2010 Development Development Gygrid A rapid development is taking shape for Statoil with the Gygrid discovery in the Norwegian Sea, which will extend the production life of the existing Njord platform by several years. The field has an estimated 30 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Gygrid will be tied back to the Njord A installation, which lies just under 20 km west of the discovery.

Statoil has already ordered the components for Gygrid’s subsea production system with the longest delivery times. This will allow the field to meet the original start-up date of late 2012-early 2013.

Given today’s resource base, Njord would have to shut down in 2015, but the contribution from Gygrid promises a much brighter future.

Discovered in June 2009, Gygrid was given the status of a fast-track project in February and the first investments were made six months later. A final decision on developing the discovery is set to be taken during the coming winter.

Recoverable reserves have been put at 30 million barrels of oil equivalent, mostly crude Development plans call for a single subsea template with one production well and an injector. The field is due to come on stream in 2012-13.

The field is operated by Statoil (35.0%) with partners including Noreco (17.5%), VNG (2.5%), Petoro (7.5%), E.ON Ruhrgas (17.5%) and GDF SUEZ (20%). Fast-track Statoil’s previous fast-track projects – PanPandora, Katla, Gygrid and Vigdis North-East – are all on schedule and a new wave of projects which could be developed even more quickly is now being added to the portfolio. Projects in the second wave include Fossekall/Dompap and Vilje South.

Such developments are needed to make these small volumes profitable and to help maximise the potential of the Norwegian continental shelf By rationalising the use of time and resources, improving collaboration and adopting standardised equipment, Statoil aims to reduce the normal development time for simple projects from roughly 5 years to 2.5.

UT2 December 2010 22 Development

Vulcan East Bridge Energy has contracted consultants ADIL to manage development of the Vulcan East gas field in the UK southern North Sea.

Under the $2.85-million contract, ADIL will provide personnel and systems to manage all activities for the program, which involves a subsea tieback to existing infrastructure close to the field in block 49/21.

Bridge discovered Vulcan East in 2006 and expects to deliver first gas in the second half of 2011.

The contract should run until end-2011.

Petrojarl Jurong Shipyard has secured a S$351 million contract to convert the Aframax tanker, MT Arc II to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, to be renamed FPSO Petrojarl Cidade de Itajai, for Teekay Petrojarl Production.

The conversion contract involves the conversion of the oil tanker to an FPSO that includes detailed engineering, installation and integration of 16 topside modules, installation of spread mooring and power generation systems, accommodation upgrading as well as extensive piping and electrical cabling works.

Scheduled for delivery in the 1st quarter of 2012, FPSO Petrojarl Cidade de Itajai will constitute part of the Tiro e Sidon field development plan. On completion, Teekay Petrojarl Production will charter the FPSO to Petrobras for 9 years with options.

The FPSO will be installed in approximately 277m water depth. It will be capable of processing at least 80 000 b/d oil and 70.0 MMft3/d of production gas, injecting more than 96 000 barrels of water per day and storing 650 000 barrels of oil. In addition, the FPSO is designed to remain on the field for up to 15 years The Njord platform. Image: Atle KårstadGygrid / Statoil field development without dry docking.

23 UT2 December 2010 On Stream On Stream Gjøa

UT2 December 2010 24 On Stream

Statoil has brought its Gjøa oil and gas field developed onstream, opening the way for more activity in the northernmost part of the Norwegian North Sea. The Vega gas satellite is also due to come on stream in the near future. Operated by Statoil, it has been developed as a subsea installation tied back to Gjøa.

Oil and gas are set to flow from Gjøa for at least 15 years to come, however, there are also openings for further development in the area, so the field’s platform and infrastructure has been designed for a producing life of at least 30 years.

Gjøa is named after the ship used by Norwegian Polar explorer Roald Amundsen, and the vision for the development has been “based on history, built for the future”.

The Gjøa platform is the world’s first production floater to receive its power from land. Electricity is transmitted through a 100km cable from Mongstad north of Bergen. This reduces carbon emissions on the field by about 210 000t per year. It is only the second Norwegian offshore installation to be powered in this way, after Troll A.

Work on fabricating the platform and its associated infrastructure began in 2007. Costing some NOK 40 billion, the Gjøa/ Vega project has been completed on schedule.

Five subsea templates are tied back to this installation, and will be supplemented by a further three such units when Vega comes on stream. Recoverable reserves in Gjøa are put at 82 million barrels of oil and condensate and 40 billion cum3 of gas. Vega is expected to yield 26 million barrels of condensate and 18 billion m3 of gas.

Statoil has been the development operator, with GDF Suez replacing it for the production phase. Statoil will continue to be a partner in the field.

The Gjøa field. Photo: Martin Lindland

25 UT2 December 2010 On stream On Stream Tupi

Petrobras has brought the FPSO Cidade Angra dos Reis, onstream as the first definitive production system installed in the Tupi area, in the Santos Basin pre-salt cluster.

The oil and gas floating production, storage, and offloading system (FPSO) is initially connected to the RJS-660 well, which will undergo technical testing until the Declaration of Commerciality (DC) is made for the field, slated for late December, when the process of interconnecting it to other producing wells will be completed and the Tupi area will enter the production development phase.

It is installed in an area near the FPSO Cidade de São Vicente, which has been performing the extended well test (TLD) for Tupi since May of last year and has already produced about seven million barrels of oil. The pilot system, whose activities will begin after the DC, will complement the technical data collected by the TLD with critical information about the reservoir and the production. These data are essential to design the future units that will operate in the pre-salt. It will also contribute both to improve the well construction and subsea production collection (25%), and Galp Energia (10%). oil accumulation not only extends projects, and to assess how different to the far south of the Assessment recovery methods (oil extraction) With the completion of the TLD and Plan area, but also that the oil- perform in the reservoir. the drilling of additional exploratory bearing reservoir is about 128m thick, wells, Petrobras will send the Final reducing hydrocarbon volume estimate The unit will produce light, high Assessment Report for the Tupi uncertainties in the area. Two more commercial value oil and will kick-off area, together with the Declaration wells are scheduled to be drilled by late the final Tupi production system, of Commerciality for the field, to the December. which will collect basic technical National Petroleum Agency (ANP). information for the development The FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis, of large accumulations of oil To date, nine wells have already chartered from Modec, is moored at a discovered in recent years in that been drilled in that accumulation, water depth of 2149m and is capable of sedimentary basin. with excellent results for the producing up to 100 000 barrels of oil company. The ninth exploratory and to process up to five million cubic The consortium that is undertaking well, completed last week, confirms meters of gas per day. At the peak of the production in the BMS-11 block, the field’s high light oil and natural production, six oil-producing wells, a where the Tupi oil accumulation is gas recovery potential, which the gas injector well, a water injector, and located, is formed by Petrobras, company estimates between 5 and another injector that can inject water which is the operator, holding 65% 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. and gas, alternately, will be connected of exploration rights, BG Group This well also proved that the to the vessel.

UT2 December 2010 26 On stream

CNOOC CNOOC has brought two new oil LD 32-2 is located in the Eastern fields, BoZhong (BZ) 26-3 and LuDa Bohai Bay with water depth of about (LD) 32-2 onstream. 25m, and adjacent to producing oil field LD 27-2. BZ 26-3 is located in the central part of Bohai Bay, neighboring producing In order to reduce production cost, a field BZ 25-1S. The field has an joint development plan was carried average water depth of about 25m. out for both LD32-2 and LD27-2 The development and production fields. The field has 4 production wells operations of BZ 26-3 mainly rely on currently. The peak production of LD the facilities of its surrounding oilfields. 32-2 is expected to reach 6300b/d in 2011. With 4 wells online currently, BZ 26-3 is expected to hit its peak production CNOOC holds 100% interest and acts of more than 6600bbl per day in 2011. as the operator of these two fields.

Melrose Melrose Resources has announced single subsea wells tied back to first gas production from the the existing Galata field production Kavarna and Kaliakra gas fields platform, from where the gas offshore Bulgaria. is exported by pipeline to the Company’s onshore gas plant near The Kavarna and Kaliakra fields Varna for processing. contain combined reserves of 74 billion ft3 and are located in the A similar development plan will be Galata exploration concession in adopted for the recent 12 billion ft3 the Bulgarian sector of the Western East Kavarna discovery which will Black Sea. The combined field supplement the production from the production plateau rate is expected two new fields and has the potential to be approximately 45MMft3/d. to extend the combined field production plateau period to around The fields were developed using three years.

The oil that is produced will be transferred to land on shuttle tankers. The gas will be separated from the oil in the FPSO’S facilities. Helix Helix Energy Solutions Group (H PI) dynamically-positioned FPU A part may be used for on board power commenced oil and gas for the purpose of producing the generation, while there will be two production from its Phoenix Phoenix field and other oil fields in uses for production surplus: it may field in deepwater block Green the GOM. be reinjected into the oil reservoir in Canyon 237. the production process or exported The HPI is designed to to shore via a gas pipeline that will Helix acquired the field, formerly economically produce marginal connect the FPSO to the Mexilhão called Typhoon, ironically after fields while mitigating future storm platform, which operates a gas field the destruction of the field’s damage risk. in shallow waters in the same basin. tension-leg platform by Hurricane From Mexilhão, the gas will flow to the Rita in 2005 The HPI incorporates a Monteiro Lobato Gas Treatment Unit, disconnectable turret system that which is currently under construction The company is in the process allows the vessel to disconnect in the city of Caraguatatuba (state of of ramping up production from from the production buoy in a São Paulo), to be treated before being the four subsea wells. Helix matter of minutes in the event of an shipped off to the consumer market. constructed the Helix Producer 1 emergency.

27 UT2 December 2010

On Stream On Stream Phase II of Parque Das Conchas

Shell has launched phase II of the prolific Parque das Conchas (BC-10) project more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the coast of Brazil.

This significant investment develops the fourth field in the BC-10 block and continues a successful wave of production growth in Shell’s Upstream Americas business. The full project delivers an energy resource of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, with production of some 100 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

“This is another important milestone in our delivery of substantial growth in the Americas,” said Marvin Odum, Upstream Americas Director. “Over the next five years, we’ll see more projects reach critical delivery points in this region such as last BC-10 field month’s announcement of our final investment decision for the Mars B (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO has a FMC’s scope of supply will include 11 project in the Gulf of Mexico.” daily processing capacity of about subsea trees rated at 10 000psi and 100,000 barrels of oil and 50 million two production manifolds. The company Shell began production from the ft3 of natural gas. will also supply an artificial lift manifold first phase of Parque das Conchas containing four subsea gas/liquid in 2009 with production from nine Shell, as operator of Parque das separation and boosting modules, as wells in three fields – Abalone, Conchas, holds a 50% interest. well as related subsea controls. The Ostra, and Argonauta B-West. Petrobras (35%) and ONGC (15%) subsea system will be engineered and Phase II for the project includes hold the remaining interest. manufactured at FMC Technologies’ seven additional development facility in Rio de Janeiro. Deliveries will wells, which will reach total depths “Bringing this phase of Parque das occur in 2012. of approximately 1100m (3600ft) Conchas to life represents another below the seabed. Production proud moment for Shell’s deep- FMC Technologies was awarded the from the first phase of Parque water offshore teams,” added Odum. contract for BC10- Phase I in 2006 and das Conchas is currently above “The men and women on these supplied the subsea systems, including expectations. teams exude excellence and are separation and boosting modules to Shell. backed by a strong legacy of deep Parque das Conchas was the water expertise. We’re all looking “Phase I of this field came on-stream first full-field development to forward to continuing our responsible in July of 2009 and represented some separate and pump oil and gas operations in the waters off Brazil.” significant technology advances in subsea from the seabed. Shell’s Perdido separation,” said John Gremp, President Development, in the Gulf of FMC and Chief Operating Officer. “This includes Mexico, was the second. Electric our delivery of the industry’s first subsea pumps of 1500 horsepower drive FMC Technologies t has signed a gas/liquid separation and boosting the oil up nearly 1800m (6000ft) contract with Shell Group Companies system. We’re pleased to continue our to the surface for processing on to supply subsea systems for the strong alliance with Shell and to support the Espirito Santo, a floating, Parque das Conchas Phase II their efforts offshore Brazil and in other production, storage, and offloading project. international basins.”

UT2 December 2010 28 On stream

Gorgon

McDermott has been awarded a contract from Vetco Gray Australia Limited for the fabrication of subsea structures and spools for Chevron’s Gorgon Upstream Project. The value is expected to be in excess of US$50 million and will be included in McDermott’s fourth-quarter 2010 bookings.

The project involves the construction of 12 000t of subsea structures and spools, which will be carried out at McDermott’s fabrication facility in Batam Island, Indonesia.

“This project is a significant win for our company and further strengthens McDermott’s strategic positioning as a service provider in the fast developing subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (“SURF”) market in Asia Pacific,” said Stephen M. Johnson, McDermott’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

The scope of work encompasses the fabrication of various eight- The Gorgon field slot, six-slot and four-slot BOP manifolds, including pipeline termination structures, pipeline end GE Oil and Gas Drilling and Sam Aquillano, Vice President terminations, spools, well jumpers, Production business has been - Drilling and Production, GE Oil and subsea pig launchers/receivers. awarded two contracts totaling and Gas said: “We are delighted Work is scheduled to commence more than $120 million by to have been selected by later this year, with completion Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine DSME to fulfill these important expected in the last quarter of 2012. Engineering (DSME) of South Petroserv and Odebrecht oil Korea, one of the world’s leading and gas equipment orders. This is the second contract specialised shipbuilding and McDermott has won for the offshore contractors. The awards demonstrate Gorgon project. Earlier this year, our ability to meet DSME’s the company was contracted to Under the first contract, GE will state-of-the-art technology supply more than 60 pre-assembled supply a blowout preventer (BOP) specifications and exceed racks and units with an estimated stack and controls system, to be high expectations regarding combined weight of approximately installed on a Petroserv-owned the delivery of large, complex 25,000 tonnes. drillship for oil and gas production equipment orders against activities offshore Brazil. compressed timeframes The Gorgon Upstream Project supports Chevron’s development of In addition, GE has been selected GE Oil and Gas manufacturing the Gorgon and Janz fields located to supply two complete drilling plants in Houston, Texas, offshore Northwest Australia. packages to be installed on U. and Singapore will jointly Gorgon is the world’s largest Odebrecht Oil and Gas owned manufacture the equipment for subsea to beach Liquefied Natural drill-ships, each including a 10 000ft these orders, with deliveries Gasdevelopment, and is Australia’s riser system and BOP stacks and scheduled between October largest known gas resource. controls. 2010 and November 2011.

29 UT2 December 2010 Technology Day

In late September, Aker Solutions launched a ‘Technology Day’ in London to outline its recent projects and latest developments. Opened by Adrian Phillips vice president of business development, A range of services offered by the company, from subsea systems

Subsea Technology to life-of-field support, were discussed. Focusing on the subsea sector alone, Phillips

Market Trends Exploration John Westwood of Douglas- One area of interest to the subsea Aker Solutions has proposed a rigid Westwood was invited to set the engineer is wellhead fatigue. lockdown system which keeps the scene by describing current market bending moment of the wellhead trends. He pointed out that energy In a well, the tree sits on the within allowable levels. demand has already started to wellhead. In order to form a safe and outpace population growth and will robust seal, it is necessary to apply lead to a supply ‘crunch’ in the next correct amount of tension between Subsea Technologies few years. The longer-term outlook the two. This is determined by In order to reduce lead time from is very insecure with emerging applying stress and measuring the order to delivery and improve stock economies driving up the price to resultant bending moment. control, Aker Solutions uses a access available oil supplies. standardised tree design. Any oscillating movement of the A third of global oil comes from tree above, however, can introduce While this is suitable for higher offshore. This will grow marginally fatigue forces on the wellhead, specification requirements, Aker by 2020, but of this, deep water will where the two join. These forces are Solutions is also working on a ‘lighter’ represent an increasingly significant caused by a number of factors such solution suitable for 5000psi or 10 proportion. Deepwater CAPEX will as variation in rig direction, currents, 000spi pressures. This has the reach US$137 billion over the next sea states. advantage of a lower weight and 5 years. smaller envelope. “Factors detrimental to fatigue life,” In order to meet these demands, said Kevin O’Flaferty, vice president The designers have also been subsea technology is vital in business development, “include working on its vertical tree systems, unlocking deepwater reserves, shallow water depths, high blowout increasing the temperature limits improving marginal field economics preventer (BOP) mass, rough weather, up to 180oC, and are currently and tying smaller reservoirs back the position of the cement height and developing a model capable of being to existing facilities. Because of the height of the lower flex joint.” installed in 3000m of water. the relative expense of optimising production, subsea wells under- Traditionally, input from the lower flex Subsea facilities are becoming perform their platform equivalents joint is used for calculating fatigue, progressively more complex and, by 25%. Light well intervention however, Aker Solutions found that consequently, an increasingly could provide the answer, however, monitoring BOP dynamics had a important part of a subsea facility this is often limited by the range of greater effect. design with the ability to control them. work that can be performed and by water depth. It will take time for this technology to be fully accepted by a conservative oil industry.

Westwood warned that offshore renewables could effect the subsea market by requiring thousands of kilometres of cables and requiring installation infrastructure that would otherwise be used in the oil and gas sector.

This increase in demand will squeeze supply and push up day rates. Left: Slimline rigid lockdown mechanism deactivated. Right: Slimline rigid lockdown mechanism activated

UT2 December 2010 30 Subsea Technology

described various operational areas in which Aker Solutions is active, such as well intervention; marine operations and subsea installation services; deepwater subsea production; subsea processing and boosting; shallow water subsea production; steel tube umbilicals and general well services. Specific topics were then discussed in more detail.

SURF Aker Solutions has launched its Aker Solutions is one of the SubseaWEB systme based on few large contractors to have standard open protocols. its own umbilical manufacturing capability. Connections Once the major pieces of subsea Kjell Peter Indreberg, equipment have been installed, vice president of umbilical it is necessary to connect them sales and marketing, explained together. that traditionally the cable and umbilical industry lay the The distance between the two hubs elements at steep helix angle, is measured and a spoolpiece Horizontal with protection from excessive of the correct dimensions is connection loading coming from armouring. manufactured. The challenge then system is to install the jumper. The Aker Subsea steel tube umbilical concept, however, Aker Solutions has developed a Aker Solutions has also developed uses the capacity in the tube as horizontal connection system which a vertical connection system which strength elements. can be used with or without guide can be used with rigid, flexible and wires. Its main advantages is that umbilical lines. The seal is retained “A main characteristic of the it does not require a large running in the upper hub connector, and can Aker Subsea umbilical is the tool and it has a fast installation be replaced and the hub cleaned low helix lay-angle (2deg) which time of 3–4 hours per jumper which without retrieving the jumper. gives high torsion stability while includes landing, connecting and a limiting the internal radial force back seal test. generated at high umbilical tension,” said Indreberg. The only tooling required for the connection is a stroke tool and a Vertical “The helical elements are connection torque tool, which means that a supported in separate conduits system minimum of ROV intervention is which gives high crush load required. capacity for deepwater installation and improved fatigue properties.

“There is no need for a separate armouring system. If increased axial stiffness is required due to high strain, additional helix elements of a suitable material are added to the cross section.

“The umbilical can be ‘tuned’ to meet any water depth or environmental condition by adding weight elements or stiffness elements into the cross section.”

Spool installation

31 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Technology CLOV Katla FMC Technologies has signed an located in approximately 4500ft FMC has signed an agreement agreement with Total Exploration (1370m) of water in Block 17 offshore with Statoil for the manufacture Subsea Technology and Production Angola for the Angola. and supply of subsea production manufacture and supply of subsea equipment to support the Katla production equipment for the CLOV The 36 wells will be tied-back to development. The award has a development project. The award has the CLOV FPSO, which will have a value of approximately $75 million a value of approximately $520 million processing capacity of 160,000 bopd in revenue to FMC Technologies. in revenue to FMC Technologies. at plateau and a storage capacity of 1.78 million barrels. The FPSO Katla is a fast-track offshore oil FMC’s scope of supply includes will have the ability to handle two and gas field located in water the manufacture of 36 subsea types of oil – light oil with a API depths of approximately 310ft trees, wellheads and controls. gravity between 32 to 35 degree from The Company will also supply Oligocene reservoirs, and a 20 to 30 (95m) in the Norwegian sector of eight manifolds, two workover degree API gravity oil from Miocene the North Sea. It is one of three systems and associated tooling and reservoirs. Both oil streams will be additional options included in equipment. Deliveries are scheduled combined and processed in one single the previously announced Pan to commence in the first quarter of train before storage. Pandora project awarded to FMC 2012. FMC continues to develop Technologies in June. As with local execution capability in the Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis Pan Pandora, all equipment for region and will conduct the following de Angola (Sonangol) is the Block Katla will be based on a standard activities in Angola: 17 concessionaire. In addition to subsea solution designed by FMC Total E and P Angola, other partners for Statoil. Fabrication, assembly and include Statoil Angola Block 17, Esso testing of 36 wellhead systems and Exploration Angola (Block 17), BP FMC’s scope of supply for Katla 19 subsea trees Exploration (Angola) and Norsk Hydro includes the manufacture of three Manufacture of 7 complete Dezassete. subsea trees, one manifold and manifold systems associated subsea and topside Critical equipment testing, “FMC has a strong history and control systems. offshore installation support and experience in supporting Block equipment refurbishment 17 projects, including the Pazflor, Additional recruiting and training Rosa and Girassol fields,” said The equipment will be of onshore and offshore personnel Tore Halvorsen, FMC’s Senior manufactured and assembled at Investment in local facilities Vice President of Global Subsea FMC’s facilities in Dunfermline, Production Systems. “We are pleased Scotland and Kongsberg, Norway. The deepwater CLOV development to be selected by Total and look Deliveries are scheduled to project consists of the Cravo, Lirio, forward to supporting them and their commence in the second quarter Orquidea and Violeta discoveries, partners with the CLOV development.” of 2011.

UT2 December 2010 32 Subsea Technology

Kanowit Mariscal Sucre Khafji Aker Solutions has been awarded Technip has been awarded Technip awarded major two subsea contracts from Petronas an engineering, procurement, contract for the Khafji Carigali. The first is a work order to construction management (EPCM) Crude Related Offshore supply subsea production system and contract by Petroleos de Venezuela. ProjectsTechnip has been services for the Kanowit field, (PDVSA) for the Mariscal Sucre awarded a lump sum The engineering, procurement and Dragon/Patao development, offshore engineering, procurement, construction work order is valued at the North-east coast of Venezuela. fabrication, installation, approximately RM147 million (US$45 commissioning and start- million). This encompasses a complete The Mariscal Sucre Dragon and up contract, worth nearly subsea production system and services Patao fields are located around 25 US$400 million, by the for a period of three years or until the miles North of Paria peninsula, state Khafji Joint Operations completion of the Kanowit project. of Sucre, Venezuela, at a water (joint venture between depth of 328–427ft (100–130m). Aramco Gulf Operations This will consist of a subsea production They are the first offshore gas and Kuwait Gulf Oil system consisting of two subsea trees, development in Venezuela. The Company), for the Khafji wellheads, subsea control system, contract covers: Crude Related Offshore manifold with high integrity pressure Projects. The Khafji field protection system, pipeline-end manifold project management and is in the Neutral Zone and all tie-in equipment. Most of the construction management for the between Saudi Arabia and facilities will be built at Aker Solutions’ Dragon platform and subsea system Kuwait. high-tech manufacturing centre in the Port fabrication, transportation and Klang Free Zone to deliver the project and installation, Technip’s scope of work the equipment. Delivery of the subsea detail engineering for the platform covers the installation of hardware is scheduled for 2011. and subsea tieback to the Dragon two integrated wellhead field. The platform will be installed in jackets, two power Meanwhile, the second contract with approximately 427ft (130m) of water distribution platforms, a an estimated value of RM17 million depth, main composite submarine (USD 5 million) will see the delivery procurement of long lead cable as well as a number of 5600m of subsea umbilicals that equipment and procurement services of infield cables, a new tie back the Kanowit subsea wells to for the platform. living quarters platform the Kumang Cluster, Offshore Bintulu, and control room. The Sarawak, Malaysia. It will cover project Work will be executed with the contract also includes the management, engineering, procurement Group’s North America’s engineering complete refurbishment of and manufacturing of subsea steel tube centre and Technip’s Venezuelan the existing LQ and OCP umbilical and auxiliary equipment. affiliate: Estudios y Projectos Ditech. platforms.

The high-tech manufacturing centre in the Port Klang Free Zone

33 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Technology

Subsea Technology Åsgard Subsea Aker Solutions has been awarded the Åsgard subsea compression system contract by Statoil. The contract value is approximately NOK 3.4 billion.

This covers the design and construction of the Åsgard subsea gas compression. The contract was signed by Mads Andersen, executive vice president of Aker Solutions’ subsea business area, and Vidar Martin Birkeland, acting chief procurement officer at Statoil.

In October 2010 the Åsgard licence decided to go ahead with its concept involving gas compressors installed on the seabed. Åsgard may be the first installation worldwide to employ seabed processing involving gas compression and this represents an important technological leap in the development of fields in deep and demanding waters.

“The contract for the design and construction of the subsea gas compression is the biggest contract award on the imminent Åsgard development project,” said Vidar Birkeland, acting head of procurement in Statoil.

“This creates some exciting opportunities for the industry and our choice of concept has been met with great interest by Norwegian and international suppliers. We are looking forward to working together with Aker Solutions in the Åsgard development.”

The contract’s duration will be until the end of 2014. The contracts for modification, pipelines, marine operations and other major procurement items in connection with the Åsgard development will be awarded in the course of the coming year.

UT2 December 2010 34 Subsea Technology

Compression “There still remain large volumes both on Åsgard and in adjacent areas. Volumes that we will not be able to produce using current facilities and the existing installation. With the help of compressors we can recover 28 billion m3 of gas and 2.2 million m3 of condensate from Midgard and Mikkel. This makes Åsgard subsea compression one of our biggest projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS),” said Ståle Tungesvik, head of reserves and business development at Statoil.

“This is one of the most important measure we have implemented in order to increase recovery from existing NCS fields,” he continued. “Subsea gas compression represents a considerable technological leap for the industry. With this technology in place we can considerably boost recovery rates and lifetimes for several gas fields.”

The contract award is contingent on a positive investment decision due to be taken in the first quarter of 2011.

“This award signifies a quantum leap for subsea gas compression within the oil and gas industry. As one of the major subsea contracts awarded during 2010, this has been a key target for Aker Solutions. It confirms our position as the preferred partner of subsea technology, solutions and capability,” said Mads Andersen, executive vice president of Aker Solutions’ subsea business area.

When gas is produced the pressure in the reservoir decreases and the well flow may need boosting in the form of compression. In many instances, subsea compression technology is necessary to

35 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Technology Subsea Technology

The Asgard field development

create enough pressure for the Over 25 years of development and Tranby, Norway, and in Aberdeen. hydrocarbons to travel up the long term commitment have led to pipelines to the receiving terminal. this Åsgard award,” says Andersen. Final equipment deliveries will be made in stages with the The subsea compression system The project will be managed out of SCMS and the SCSt template provides improved energy efficiency Aker Solutions’ headquarter in Oslo; structure delivered in 2013 and and safety, and lower investment Norway, while the equipment will the compressor trains, controls and operating costs when compared be primarily manufactured at Aker and power equipment delivered to using a traditional platform and Solutions’ facilities in Egersund, and in 2014. is a concept suitable for most large subsea gas fields.

Aker Solutions’ scope of work for the subsea compression system includes a subsea compressor manifold station (SCMS), subsea compressor station (SCSt) template structure, three identical compressor trains, all electrical control systems, high voltage electrical power distribution system, topside equipment, and tooling, transport and installation equipment.

“We are extremely pleased to be chosen for this huge milestone contract with Statoil.

The synergies we have developed with Statoil on the Ormen Lange gas compression pilot project have given us valuable experience which we can now transfer to this project. Aker’s Asgard compression system design

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37 UT2 December 2010 Intervention Intervention Aker Solutions has recently taken delivery of the world’s largest deepwater well intervention vessel. The advanced subsea well service monohull Skandi Aker will join its sister ship Skandi Santos (currently installing trees as part of a five- year contract with Petrobras), in Riser Based the Aker fleet while a third vessel, the Aker Wayfarer, is due to be added before the end of 2011.

The ability to work over wells is particularly important to any operator wishing to maintain optimum hydrocarbon recovery from its field. While this is customary onshore, or on platforms with rigs, it is less common in deeper waters due to it being considerably more expensive.

Such intervention work has been traditionally executed by drillships and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). Unfortunately, where available due to high demand, these solutions often come replete with exorbitant day rates and, in the case of semisubmersilbes, low transit speeds to and between wells.

In recent years, the industry has turned to specialised monohull vessels employing novel riserless intervention techniques. These wireline-based systems are lowered down to latch on top of the tree and into the well. The barrier between the pressured well fluids downhole and the open seawater is safely maintained by a seal called a lubricator.

These wireless systems are cost- effective but relatively limited in their efficacy and the water depths they can work in.

The Skandi Aker bridges this gap by combining the high transit speeds (18kts), good fuel economy and lower cost advantages of a monohull with the ability to carry out cost-effective riser-based intervention services that are

UT2 December 2010 38 Intervention

Intervention

The riser based drilling system

39 UT2 December 2010 Intervention Intervention

normally the domain of a MODU. designed to accommodate coiled operations, there are two tubing. In total, it has 725t tensioning 500m3 drill water tanks and a The vessel can perform a range of capacity. 45m3 storage tank for barite. subsea installation and construction activities, handling 225t structures Fluid movement is supported down to 3000m water depth. Tanks by a substantial pumping The smaller riserless vessels, in Many drilling and intervention system. There are three comparison, are limited to depths of operations may require the use of high-pressure pumps for nearer 800m. various fluids. These are mixed mud, drill water or completion and stored in the Skandi Aker’s fluids which can register The Skandi Aker is a157m-long numerous tanks. a maximum pressure of ship with a beam of 27m, and a 11 7500psi and are capable 500t deadweight. This large size There are two 200m3 storage tanks of moving 3500l/min when gives the vessel the added stability for brine/base oil/diesel/glycol, pumping at 5000psi. to operate in an extended weather supported by three 100m3 reserve window. tanks. Mixing the fluids is carried out The performance is in two 50m3 mix tanks. There are reinforced by two high- The ship was designed by the also two 25m3 slug pits. For drilling pressure injection pumps, STX Norway Offshore Design and also with a maximum built at the company’s yards in pressure of 7500psi and Romania, before being outfitted at a flow of 250l/min, for the Søviknes yard in Norway. It was Operations monoethylene glycol and leased from DOF on a five-year chemicals. charter with an option for another The Skandi Aker is designed to Central to the vessel five years. carry out four main types of subsea operation is the riser. operations. Individual riser joints, The vessel is roughly divided nominally 50ft in length, into control and accommodation Subsea Intervention are brought on board in facilities for 140 people at the fore, The vessel can carry out general baskets where they can with storage tanks below, and a subsea intervention operations such be inspected before large open deck. It is powered by as the removal and installation of assembly. There is six MAN main engines totalling 19 plugs and the installation testing and enough space to store 200kW, as well as seven thrusters maintenance of subsea equipment 2000m of 73/8in riser or which give it Class 3 dynamic in deep waters. 3000m of 51/8in riser. positioning. Riserless Well Intervention The Skandi Aker’s derrick and The Skandi Aker has the necessary drill floor lies amidships straddling equipment to perform riserless the 7.2m2 moonpool. The derrick intervention including logging, is 34m in height with a capacious re-perforation, zone isolation plug V-door to allow access to large setting/removal, etc, using a the AX- premium items. It can lift equipment S system developed in cooperation up to 450t using the active heave with Expro. compensated drawworks. This is central to many of the well Riser Well Intervention operations that are carried out. The vessel can carry out coiled tubing and wireline intervention such The derrick can support the full riser as well testing and clean-up. It can load as well as the weight of the coil also conduct chemical injection, tubing. circulation, sand removal, push force and scale milling. There is a high capacity tensioning system with a 65ft stroke which Drilling caters for large waves and drift-off. There are the necessary facilities to Included is a swivelling tensioning carry out light drilling operations by ring for when the vessel changes means of coil tubing and a downhole heading. The system is also motor or slim pipe. The derrick with tensioning system

UT2 December 2010 40 Intervention

The actual riser consists of four main At the stern is a large deck area of around 1850m2 subsystems. At the top is the upper riser which can store a variety of pipe or subsea equipment system which consists of the necessary such as the suction anchors which were installed on valves, rams and interfaces to connect it Tullow’s Jubilee field in 1100m of water, as part of the with the mother vessel. Skandi Aker’s first contract.

Below this is the main high pressure monobore riser which can extend Support Equipment thousands of metres. At its base is the The vessel’s subsea operations are supported by a pair lower riser package. This allows an of Perry Slingsby Triton XLS remotely operated vehicles emergency disconnect in addition to the (ROVs) one launched through centre moonpool, and the well control systems certified to other launched overboard. These heavy duty work-class 10 000psi. At the base is the workover ROV systems have a depth rating of 3000/4000m. control system. This contains the electro hydraulic umbilicals which transmit power These ROVs have a power output of 150–200hp and and control. a payload capacity of 250–550kg They have 350m tethers. There is also space for an optional observation Inside the riser runs the drilling, wireline ROV. or coiled tubing. The wireline string can incorporate a downhole tractor, which Deck operations are assisted by a large 400t active can transport the tools to carry out the heave compensated crane that can lift 285t at scale removal or honing operations, the 2000m/225t at 3000m. There is also a secondary 50t changing out valves or the shifting of anchor handling crane. sleeves.

The wireline can also carry a range of cased hole tools for integrity evaluation, perforation or zonal isolation. Information can be carried to and from the surface in real time.

Alternatively, well intervention can be carried out by coiled tubing. Sizes of up to 23/8in can be employed by the Skandi Aker’s facilities.

The ROV and tether management system

41 UT2 December 2010 Are you stuck with mature fi elds producing up to 98% water, because workovers are just too expensive? Now FMC Technologies has the tool – thoroughly fi eld-tested in the North Sea – to boost production using less expensive, monohull vessels. It’s called riserless light well intervention (RLWI), and it Norwegian Petroleum can increase oil recovery by up to 46% – at half the usual cost. Discover the full potential of our Directorate’s 2009 award intervention technologies at www.fmctechnologies.com for improved oil recovery

www.fmctechnologies.com

© 2010 FMC Technologies. All rights reserved. UT2 December 2010 42 Subsea Technology Flex Joint

FMC, in association with Statoil, has pioneered a novel reactive flex joint, This issue has resulted in a research recently bringing it to first prototype programme, funded through the stage. The company is now involved Norwegian Research Council’s in the next phase of development work Demo 2000 programme, to develop a to upsize the design from a model to a reactive flexible joint. full-scale working device, culminating in a test programme which is likely to “The principle of operation is based commence in the spring of 2011. This on a passive compensation of the could have important consequences bending moment on the permanent in the cost effective development of installed equipment,” said Carlsen. subsea wells. The reactive flex joint “This is done by setting up a counter being tested bending moment at the flexjoint “In order to optimise production and elevation. The two effects can be increase oil recovery, it is important superposed and the result is that we to be able to carry out a range of can control the environmental loading. well operations on any given well The riser can be retrieved, maintained where necessary,” said Tore-Østein The subsesea safety package (yellow) and replaced if necessary.” Carlsen, system engineer at FMC. with the riser (white) protruding from the This work might range from such top. The flex joint is located between the The system will work by hydraulic routine operations as carrying out two. The metal structure simulates the pressure although the prototype uses a well intervention and maintenance, movement and imposes dynamic loading pneumatic source to move the flex joint. ‘working over’ the well and removing on the model debris, to drilling sidetracks from The project is a collaboration between move the floating vessel and, in existing wells.” FMC, Statoil and Trondheim research turn, the riser. Along the length of centre – which has been working on the riser, sea currents also impose Maintenance operations are the concept for the past year. The next a multidirectional tangential force commonly conducted through surface project is to scale up the frame and on the steel tubing which results in trees in fixed platforms, but are cylinders to full size. This has called a considerable dynamic loading. carried out far less from subsea wells. for engineering calculations which This results in large stresses being This partially accounts for the fact have been carried out from analysts at transferred onto the point where the that subsea wells are around 25% St Petersberg University. These dynamic steel riser meets the rigid less productive than their surface are necessary to ensure that the seabed equipment. equivalents. It not only costs more mechanic principles are correct. to intervene in subsea wells, but it is At this position, it is common to install a potentially more problematic. “There are always scaling problems flex joint to accommodate the stresses associated with moving from model to between the moving and static One potential issue is the stresses prototype stage,” said Carlsen. components. imposed on the seabed infrastructure every time a riser is attached to a well ““WeWe needneed toto controlcontrol ttorsionalorsio The more the rriseriser iiss useused,d, hhowever,owever, to facilitate the drilling or workover. momentmoment,, tthehe peperpendicularrpendicula the greater thee cumucumulativelative stress. ThiThiss This can compromise the integrity of moment, design the means that a lilife-of-fieldfe-of-field programme the subsea equipment. suspension of the cylindecylinders,r of workovers oorr even lilightght well ccontrolontrol high stresses areareasa intervention operationsperations can serseriouslyiously In a conventional subsea well, the aandnd size uupp the accumulaaccumulators. reduce the workingorking lilifefe ooff the seabed safety package sits on the seabed. WWhenhen yyouou ggoo from a smalsmall- to safety equipment.ment. As it is extremelextremelyy In the case of drilling, this package llarge-scalearge-scale momodel,del, yyouou need expensive to maintainmaintain oorr consists of a blow out preventer to understand all the replace any off the subsea (BOP) while in production wells, the processes.processes.”” safety and controlntrol safety is ensured by the subsea tree. equipment thatat hhasas The riser protrudes from the top of the gone on beyondnd its safety package, providing a conduit to working life, tthishis the floating production system at the TheThe reactivere may effectivelyy limit surface. flex jointjoi the opportunitiesties to do such At the surface, environmental factors operations. such as wind, waves and currents

4343 UTUT2 DecemberDDeeccemb 2010 Installation Installation Installation Bisso Installation Bisso Marine has performed a technically challenging tandem block lift of an offshore production topside.

The company used the used the D/B LILI BISSO to set a 315t topside deck during the installation of a new offshore structure in the Gulf of Mexico. Bisso Marine’s D/B BOAZ provided support on the project, which also involved the installation of a lean-to well protector on the existing caisson.

“Performing a tandem block lift offshore always presents challenges, but our expert offshore team and multipurpose derrick barges performed the job safely and on budget for the customer,” said Ron McInnis, vice president of construction and heavy lift operations for Bisso.

UT2 December 2010 44 45 UT2 December 2010 Installation Installation F3-FA When Centrica originally looked at production options for its F3-FA field, the company was impressed by the advantages of using a self- installing platform. The design the company eventually chose was based on SPT Offshore’s SIP2 concept.

Following more than 1.5 years of design, engineering, fabrication and preparations by Heerema Vlissingen, and SPT, the platform was recently loaded on a barge sailed away, arriving at the field three days later. This was The platform lifting off the transport barge followed by mooring, undoing the seafastening and lowering the legs. 45mm to 135mm including leg allowed for. The deck was then lifted stiffening frame weigh about 790t and the cargo barge was retracted The installation took a total of each. between the 4 legs. The overall 2 days and 4 hours. A rig is drilling offshore suction and lifting operation over the well area and the field The suction piles are the largest the time was carried out in a world should be on stream later this year. SPT Offshore had ever designed, record-breaking time for this type of built and installed. They had platform.” Installation dimensions of 15m diameter by 13m The total self-installing platform and deep, weighing 410t each. During the detailed design phase of substructure weighs approximately the project, the engineers were faced 9000t. The deck accounts for 4000t “All of these activities took much less with various technical challenges to and measures approximately 63m time than originally anticipated,” said adapt the concept to meet the harsh by 42m by 24m high (excluding Managing Director Mark Riemers. North Sea environment. flare stack). The legs have a diameter of 3.25m outside diameter “The following suction pile installation Due to enormous size of the and varying wall thickness from took only 6hrs, although 12hrs were suction piles and the relatively slow

Sailing the platform to the field

UT2 December 2010 46 Installation

The platform fully installed

motion behaviour of the barge yard Heerema Vlissingen, was The model test data were (in 6m waves, the barge loaded initially towed all the way from tuned with the marine software with platform rolled less than 2 Vlissingen to the F3-FA field some model we used to simulate the deg, while the tug boat rolled 50 3 weeks before,” said Riemers seafastening forces and forces on deg), the seafastening forces “Bad weather necessitated us to the legs and platform elements. were significant. The specially return to Rotterdam and to seek designed seafastenings were all shelter. Following a week standby “After the field is depleted the pinned connections, so that release in Rotterdam the platform was platform will be removed by offshore would be simple. successfully installed last week.” reversed installation and towed and installed at another field in the This indeed proved to be the case, “As part of the work, we undertook North Sea. as detaching the seafastening was model tests at the MARIN test facility achieved in only 6hrs. to simulate the motion behaviour of “This shows the versatility of using the barge and platform during tow suction piles and self installing “The deck built at our client’s and installation. techniques,” he concluded.

47 UT2 December 2010 Installation Installation DeepBuoy Aubin, the specialist chemical development and offers a new a way of placing large structures on supplier to the oil and gas industry, approach to subsea installation and the seabed in very deep water with has launched a new product that decommissioning work that will bring a high degree of control that simply could change the way the subsea massive cost-savings by reducing the is not possible at present. It allows sector of the oil and gas industry need for cranes and crane barges for manoeuvring on the seabed to be carries out installation operations. that cost up to $1million per day. carried out by ROV rather than crane and is operational at far greater depths DeepBuoy, a patented low density The DeepBuoy gel is pumped into than traditional lifting methods. liquid gel capable of buoyancy up tear-shaped bags attached to the to 3000m water depth, can be used infrastructure requiring to be moved “The market for deepwater lifting is for lifting, supporting and lowering creating an underwater lifting system. worth billions of pounds every year heavy subsea structures up to 2000t. Aubin managing director Paddy so there is enormous potential for It has been four years in product Collins said: “DeepBuoy provides DeepBuoy. It could also be used to recover lost equipment and ROV hooks up buoyancy module which allows even vessels or aircraft and we are the fine control of the lift generate by addition of investigating opportunities in the DeepBuoy renewables sector as well.

“We have a team of research scientists that developed some clever chemistry and worked with Strathclyde University on testing.

The DeepBuoy system works using the Archimedes principle, one of the oldest scientific discoveries. This states that when a body is immersed in a fluid it is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. So if a ton of DeepBuoy occupies approximately two cubic meters of volume it will

The pieces of subsea equipment connected by the jumper

UT2 December 2010 48 Deepbuoy is displaced from the tank to the module using sea water, eliminating the need for specialist pumps.

displace two cubic meters of water weighing about two tons, thereby creating a buoyant upward force equivalent to one ton. It is this resultant upward force that is used to lift structures subsea.”

To help get the technology into the market Aubin, based in Ellon, has formed a partnership with Aberdeen- based Ecosse Subsea Systems to develop and deliver engineered solutions for the subsea market.

Managing Director Mike Wilson said: “This enabling system will give a valuable alternative for many costly subsea procedures, not least because it can be used well beyond normal diving depths and has remarkably low density (550kg/m3) giving near pound for pound lift. A flexible Deepbuoy container is lowered to the sea floor. The “As well as being non-hazardous and environmentally ROV approaches to facilitate responsible, it offers a precise and safe way to place, the hook-up to a port on tank. move and recover structures from depth and can even lift and lower heavy structures from the seabed to near the surface. In addition, it extends the capabilities of cranes and construction vessels.’’

49 UT2 December 2010 Stabilising Stabilising Subsea Grouting Stornes FoundOcean, the subsea and The project is set to recover In August 2010, the flexible fallpipe offshore grouting specialist for remaining low pressure gas from vessel Stornes was launched at the CIMC the global energy construction the North Rankin and Perseus gas Raffles yard in Yantai, China. The ship industries, has won the offshore fields. The North Rankin B platform is scheduled for completion in 2011 after grouting contract for the North will be connected by two 100m which it will be operational on the offshore Rankin B (NRB) platform installation, bridges to the existing North Rankin market. Western Australia, through Heerema A platform. Marine Contractors Australia . Stornes is the fourth and largest flexible Jim Bell, Managing Director at fallpipe vessel in the Van Oord fleet and The North Rankin B jacket is to be FoundOcean is excited to have one of the largest in its category. The ship secured to the seabed by sixteen been awarded this contract. has an overall length of 175m, a width of primary piles arranged in clusters “This is a very interesting project 26m and a loading capacity of 27 000t. of four at each of the four corner for FoundOcean as the NRB Gliding rails brought the ship from shore legs of the jacket. The primary piles foundations are mammoth to a pontoon, after which the pontoon was are to be driven through jacket pile compared to a ‘regular’ jacket. This submerged in the harbour. sleeves. Connection between the will be our biggest pile grouting primary piles and the sleeves will be project by cement grout volume, Stornes is one of the latest investments achieved by placing grout into the although we have pumped larger from the EUR 1 billion Van Oord investment pile/sleeve annulus. volumes for different applications.” programme. The final investment in this programme is the self-propelled cutter The jacket will stand at 150m tall “The seabed in Western Australia is suction dredger Athena, which is currently in approximately 125m of water. particularly complex which means being built at the IHC Dredgers yard in The piles will be inserted to a depth that the foundations will need to be Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. of 306m below sea level into a drilled. The piles will be inserted drilled hole 182m deep and 2.5m in into pre-drilled holes 182m below diameter. The two-month grouting the sea bed and then grout will operation is scheduled for August be pumped into these sockets to 2011. secure the platform to the seabed.”

Rankin A and B platforms

UT2 December 2010 50 Stabilising

The Stornes fallpipe vessel

51 UT2 December 2010 Vessels

$150 million African barge contracts International oil and gas service Angola is providing deepwater The vessel can accommodate up to company Marine Subsea is accommodation services through 300 people for all types of offshore delivering $150million worth of African Worker in the significant projects including accommodation, new contracts within its fleet of five three year contract. maintenance, repair and installation, multi-purpose barges. construction, survey operations, The 9412t, 100m African Worker pipelay and hook up projects. The latest is with Total for the barge is being moored at depths brand new African Worker barge of 1500 m on Girassol Field, Block Marine Subsea operates in three in Angola and another new barge 17. Whilst DP3 barges have been main industry areas – subsea African Lifter is also in Angola with traditionally used for permanent construction and well intervention, operator Sonangol. positioned work at this depth, Marine offshore support and charter and Subsea’s state-of-the-art barges can logistics. Operating a fleet of modern The Norwegian headquartered also operate in deeper waters at a and high specification intervention company, which has offices in financially competitive rate. and accommodation/support vessels.

UT2 December 2010 52 Marine Subsea offers strategically The African Installer is with Geocean located expertise, particularly to the in Libya until late autumn this year. West Africa market. Marine Subsea also operates The African Lifter is now on a five Sarah, a multi-purpose offshore year contract in Sonangol and will be subsea construction and light stationed on Block 2 in Angola. The well intervention vessel that African Caribe has been awarded operates at 3000 metres as well an extension of one year plus eight as offshore support units and a months options with Saipem for semi-submersible crane vessel. the FARM project for CABCOG Production on a brand new light well (Chevron) in Cabinda. The African intervention vessel, Karianne, is also Fjord is with Diamond International/ underway and is expected to be ENI in the Congo until May next year. complete later this year.

53 UT2 December 2010 Vessels Vessels

The Skandi Vitoria Skandi Vitoria Bourbon Oceanteam 104 On August 3rd DOF Subsea, Asia Pacific- Perth based subsea 1A1, DYNPOS-AUTR, EO, DK (+) through a joint venture with contractor TSmarine has signed a CLEAN DESIGN classification. Technip, officially took delivery of three year charter with Oceanteam the new flagship Skandi Vitoria. Bourbon 4 for the recently delivered The vessel also holds SPS (special 137m DP2 construction vessel purpose ship) class which is now The pipelay vessel, built by STX Bourbon Oceanteam 104. a requirement under Australian Europe Brasil, is the first PLSV maritime legislation. ever built in Brazil. Using a STX TSmarine will relocate the new build Europe OSCV 6 design, the from Norway to the Asia Pacific This large and very capable vessel Skandi Vitoria is well suited for Region during the 4th quarter of this is configured with a Hydramarine pipe laying, subsea construction, year. 250t AHC primary subsea crane installation and maintenance work. and a secondary Natoil 90te AHC The Bourbon Oceanteam 104 is subsea crane. With 2400m2 of Skandi Vitoria’s size (150.2m the fourth vessel in a series of five useable deck space, a beam of length, 27m breadth and 12m North Ocean 100 series design DP2 27m’s and accommodation for moulded depth) and its diesel ships built in Metalship’s Vigo yard 120, TSmarine will engage the ship electric propulsion system allows in Spain. All ships in the series have primarily in field installation and her to operate in waters down to been built to the demanding DNV + decommissioning activities. 3000 m deep.

She is well equipped with a vertical and horizontal pipelay system, a carousel for 2000t product, a second carousel for 750t product, two work class ROVs and a 250t active heave compensated crane.

Skandi Vitoria will begin work on a 4+4 year contract for Petrobras, which is anticipated to commence in October. Norskan Offshore will be responsible for the marine manning and vessel operations while Technip Brasil will perform the pipelay and ROV services. The Bourbon Oceanteam 104

UT2 December 2010 54 Vessels

Skandi Skolten

In July, a large group gathered at Skandi Skolten is the second in a performances, excellent Skoltegrunnskaien in Bergen to series of four Installer vessels. manoeuvrability, high capacities welcome DOF Subsea’s newest and good stability addition, Skandi Skolten. She is a state of the art vessel with hybrid propulsion, 361t •Environmental friendly design The 200 hundred guests were bollard pull, 250t offshore crane, a treated to a tour of the vessel led by deck area of 1070 m2 and 2 Work •Large working deck Captains Helge Skår and Egil Nyrud Class ROVs. and their crew. Later in the evening •ROV hangar, prepared for launch- everyone enjoyed a banquet. With the Skandi Skolten, DOF and recovery system for ROV Subsea once again ensures the Special highlights of the night most environmentally friendly, •Large, high standard and included entertainment by Tone efficient and highest quality vessel comfortable accommodation for 90 Damli Aaberge and speeches by to clients. Some of her design people, with low noise levels Senior Vice President Offshore and features include: Specialized Vessels, STX Norway Skandi Skolten is currently working Aukra Knut Ola Tverdal, Godmother •Low resistance hull shape on her first project in the North Sea Karoline Møgster, Chairman of DOF designed for high speed and for Alantis Resources, providing ASA Helge Møgster and CEO of low fuel consumption, good general support for tidal turbine DOF, Mons S. Aase. seakeeping and station keeping installation

The Skandi Skolten

55 UT2 December 2010 Pipelines Pipelines

Jasmine Acergy Subsea 7 has confirmed that a previously reported North Sea Acergy has been awarded a new four year pipeline bundle contract award that contract for the Acergy Condor by Petrobras in was announced on August 2010 Brazil, commencing in September 2010. is for the ConocoPhillips Jasmine This contract, valued at approximately $220 discovery in the Central North Sea. million, is for the provision of flexible laying services, offshore Brazil in water depths of up to The Subsea 7 workscope includes 2000m. the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and This follows more than twelve uninterrupted years commissioning of two approximately of similar work by this ship for Petrobras. 4km pipeline bundle systems and associated pipe-in-pipe spools.

Each of the bundles consists of a 16in production pipeline inside a 20in sleeve pipeline, housed within a 35in outer carrier pipe.

The bundle system will join the new Judy riser platform (JRP) to the new Jasmine wellhead platform (JWHP). The pipeline bundle system will be installed using the controlled depth tow methodology (CDTM).

Also included in the workscope is the installation of a 9km power and communications cable connecting the JRP with the Jasmine living quarters platform and installation of two 300m control umbilicals connecting the subsea isolation valves, integrated within the bundle towheads, to the JRP and JWHP. In addition, Subsea 7 will carry out tie- ins to existing risers and platforms and testing and pre-commissioning of the complete Jasmine bundle pipeline system.

Project management and engineering will be carried out at Subsea 7’s office in Aberdeen. Fabrication will take place at Subsea 7’s bundle fabrication worksite in Wick, North Scotland. Offshore operations are scheduled to commence in 2012.

The new Jasmine facilities will be located approximately 8.5km west of the existing Judy Production Platform in J-Block, Central North GSP Bigfoot 1 Sea in water depths of up to 85m.

UT2 December 2010 56 Pipelines

57 UT2 December 2010 Pipelines Pipelines Gjøa Gas Pipe First gas began to flow through the Gjøa gas pipe (GGP) tying this Norwegian north sea field and its Vega satellite to Britain’s Far North Liquids and Associated Gas System (Flags).

The 28in line runs for 130km from Gjøa to the tie-in point with the Shell-operated Flags-pipeline, which will carry its rich gas to the receiving terminal at St Fergus in Scotland.

Gassco took over the operatorship of the GGP earlier this year, at the same time as the pipeline was incorporated in the Gassled transport system.

This development is the first pipeline where the company has chosen to take direct operational responsibility for technical operations without support from a technical services provider.

“Taking on a new pipeline calls for extensive planning of the operator change and the start-up of gas transport,” notes Svein Birger Thaule, senior vice president for technical operation.

“We’ve achieved this through good collaboration with development operator Statoil and platform operator GDF Suez. We’ll be responsible directly for all operations of the GGP.”

The pipeline will initially be used to import gas from Flags for completion of the Gjøa platform, with exports from the latter starting when the platform is operational. Overall gas production capacity for Gjøa, which lies about 40 kilometres north of the Fram field, will be 17 million m3 per day.

The combined Gjøa/Vega development involves several subsea templates tied back to a semi-submersible production and processing platform. Oil from the latter is due to be exported to the Mongstad terminal near Bergen via a new 50km Picture: Gjøa platform (Photo: Statoil) pipeline tied into Troll Oil Pipeline II.

UT2 December 2010 58 Pipelines

59 UT2 December 2010 Pipelines Pipelines Islay Technip has been awarded a Successful deployment of ETH-PIP technology, which is designed for both contract, worth approximately will enhance or enable production shallow and deepwater environments. €70 million, by Total as operator operability in certain flow and of the Islay Gas Field, to deliver temperature conditions, where The full workscope covers installation a full engineering, procurement, subsea pipelines transporting of a 6km ETH-PIP, control umbilical, construction and installation (EPCI) hydrocarbons are liable to blockage subsea structures and seabed project in the UK North Sea. through the formation of hydrates or preparation, including detailed design, The Islay field is located in the wax. engineering and project management. North Sea, 440km north-east of Aberdeen, in 120m of water depth. ETH-PIP aims to enhance production Technip’s operating centre in operability of subsea pipelines Aberdeen, Scotland will execute The contract will involve the world’s that are liable to become blocked the contract, supported by the first subsea implementation of by the formation of hydrates or Evanton, Scotland spoolbase and Technip’s reelable, electrically wax. Successful application of Group entities Genesis Oil and Gas trace heated pipe-in-pipe ETH- this technology will reduce capital Consultants and Duco. Offshore PIP technology. This is a new and operating costs for fields installation is scheduled for mid-2011 technology developed and qualified with challenging flow assurance and will be carried out by vessels by Technip for use in shallow and conditions. from the Technip fleet, including the deepwater applications alike and new pipelay vessel, Apache II, and qualified by Technip and Total for The Islay project is a pilot project for diving support vessels Skandi Arctic higher temperature applications. the use of this innovative pipeline and Skandi Achiever.

Apache II

UT2 December 2010 60 Pipelines

Bundle Ghana Snorre Subsea 7 has been awarded Technip has been awarded a lump Technip has been awarded by a US$55 million contract in the sum contract by GNPC, for phase Statoil ASA a contract, worth Danish sector of the North Sea. 1 of the Natural Gas Transportation approximately €23 million, and Processing project, 60km for the development of the The Subsea 7 work scope is offshore Ghana. Snorre field in the Norwegian to engineer, procure, fabricate, North Sea. install and commission a 2.2.km The contract covers the bundle system. Included in the engineering, welding and The contract covers the scope of work are the associated installation of a 14m rigid steel welding and installation of a subsea tie-ins and testing and pre- flowline as well as the engineering, 9km long rigid steel flowline commissioning works. A pipeline fabrication and installation of one to connect the Snorre A and bundle product integrates the PLET. B platforms. It also includes required flow lines, water injection, installation and tie-in of the gas lift and control systems and The flowline will constitute the deep flexible risersrequired to assembles them within a steel water section of a pipeline which connect the flowline to the carrier pipe. will be used to pipe natural gas platforms. from the Jubilee field to the future At each end of the pipeline, onshore processing plant. This contract will be executed the structures, manifolds, by Technip’s operating center incorporating equipment and This contract, which confirms in Oslo, Norway. The flowline valves, designed specifically to Technip’s leading position in the will be welded at the Group’s the requirements of the field, are Subsea Sector in Ghana, will be Spoolbase in Orkanger, attached. The fully tested system executed by the Group’s operating Norway. is then launched and transported centre in Paris. to the location using the controlled Risers installation is depth tow method. Once installed The flowline will be welded at scheduled for the summer no trenching or rock dumping is Technip’s spoolbase in Mobile, of 2011, while flowline required. Alabama. Installation operations installation, to be performed are scheduled to start at the end by the Apache II, will be Offshore installation of the bundle of 2010. This will be carried out by done in the first half of system is scheduled for 2011 with Apache II, Technip’s new pipelay 2012, followed by the tie-in tie-ins in 2012. vessel. operations. Medway Brazil Pipelay Acergy has announced the Global Industries has been award of a contract valued at awarded a project for design, approximately $50 million engineering, procurement, from Dana Petroleum PLC on the fabrication, installation and Medway Development Project in pre-commissioning to be the Dutch sector of the North performed in the Northeast Sea. region of Brazil.

This contract is for the tieback The project, worth of two subsea wells and the approximately US$90 million, associated dedicated flowlines and will be mainly performed by the umbilicals from the Van Nes and DLB Iroquois, a pipelay and Van Ghent fields to the De Ruyter offshore construction platform. vessel, with the support of a diving vessel. Engineering, Engineering will procurement, and fabrication commence immediately, with for the project will begin in Q4 offshore installation due to 2010, with execution of the commence and complete in 2011. project beginning in 2011. DLB Iroquois

61 UT2 December 2010 Pipelines Pipelines Aker Prepare for Marulk Tie-in Statoil has awarded to Aker modifications and operations in Aker The scope of the project is Solutions Marulk tie-in to the Solutions. to facilitate Norne FPSO for floating production, storage and installation and start-up of the offloading (FPSO) vessel Norne. Aker Solutions is currently working on Marulk template. The execution Aker Solutions estimates the value many projects to exploit the capacity phase is based on a front end of the work to be approximately of existing infrastructure to bring in engineering design (FEED) study NOK 120 million. new and smaller fields. Marulk tie-in performed by Aker Solutions. In to Norne falls in to line of a series of order to accommodate for a tie- “This award falls within our core tie-in projects connected to Norne back of Marulk at Norne topside a business and strategic objective FPSO. new flowline will be hooked up to of pursuing more advanced and both the production and the test complex modification projects in The Marulk field is located in the manifold. addition to the smaller modifications Norwegian Sea approximately 30km included in the frame agreements southwest of the Norne field at a The Marulk Tie-in to Norne is recently awarded by Statoil. It water depth of 365m in the PL122. an amendment to an existing also confirms our position as a The initial development will consist modifications contract Aker strong service provider within of two wells tied back to the Norne Solutions has with Statoil for Norne. the modification business in Mid FPSO, the northernmost production Work under the contract starts Norway”, says Stian Vemmestad, facility on the Norwegian Continental immediately and the project will be president of maintenance, Shelf. completed in March 2012.

UT2 December 2010 62 Pipelines

Pappa Terra Saipem Technip has been awarded by In Nigeria, Saipem has been 10in–24in) connecting 6 platforms Papa Terra BV, the contract awarded a subcontract for the Critical in an offshore field, for a total for the supply of integrated crude pipeline replacement project. length of 85km; including shore production bundles (IBP) for the approach and bridges. Papa-Terra field. The awarded scope of work encompasses fabrication, The marine activities will be This field is located at a water transportation, installation and testing carried out between the fourth depth of 1200m in the Campos of the replacement of 6 pipelines quarter of 2010 and mid- 2011, Basin, approximately 110km (with a diameter ranging between mainly by the crawler vessel. offshore Brazil.

The contract includes the engineering, procurement, manufacturing and supply Galata Installation of 27km of IPB risers and flowlines, and an electrical GSP Bigfoot 1 has completed the wellheads to Galata Platform. and monitoring module that installation of the 10-in and 6-in will be installed on the P-63 pipeline at Galata Platform. The technical vessel returned floating production, storage and to Constanta Sud – Agigea port offloading unit (FPSO). According to the contract with and prepares for new pipeline Melrose Resources, the technical operations. Technip’s IPB technological vessel installed 8.5km of 6in solution will be used in the diameter pipeline, 14.5km of 10in GSP Bigfoot 3, the 300 men heavy oil Papa-Terra field to diameter pipeline, as well as two work and heavy lift technical increase the temperature of secondary 1in diameter pipelines. vessel, carries out the completion the produced fluid after long operations and testing. The vessels shut-downs in order to reduce The subsea pipelines connect the were assisted by GSP Queen and its viscosity, thus enabling well Kavarna-2 and Kaliakra-2 subsea Amber II. production restart.

A new and innovative monitoring system, using the distributed temperature sensor technology, has been specially developed for this application and will be incorporated in the IPB for the first time.

Technip’s operating centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will perform this contract. The IPBs will be manufactured at the Group’s manufacturing plants and the electrical and monitoring module will be designed and procured by Technip Brazil.

The delivery of the modules and the IPBs are respectively scheduled for the 1st quarter and the end of 2012.

GSP Bigfoot 1

63 UT2 December 2010 Polymer-lined Pipelines for Subsea Pipelines

Polyethylene-lined carbon steel pipelines have been used for sub- sea water injection service in the North Sea for more than 15 years. In 2008 a PE lined spool was recovered from the seabed while a water injection system originally installed in 1995 was being modified. The spool provided the first opportunity to retrieve and examine a PE lined section of a reeled water injection pipeline after 13 years service.

The recovered 2m long spool included both a lined section and a joint at the end termination of Spool recovered from North Sea after 13 years water injection service the 12km by 10in pipeline. The PE80 liner used for this pipeline was a 250mm SDR25 with a wall on samples taken from the tight fit against the wall of the host thickness of 10mm. recovered spool using the actual carbon steel pipe with no annular material as a control wherever gap throughout the life of the Stalks up to 472m in length had possible. pipeline. been installed by the Swagelining technique, which provided a tight Liner Reversion Tensile Testing fitting liner against the host bore A ring section machined out of the Duplicate tensile tests were size of 242mm. spool was measured and the steel undertaken on samples taken from pipe carefully removed from the the 12, 6, 9 and 3 o’clock positions, Dr Steve Brogden led a team to liner. The external diameter of the with one sample from each position carry out a condition assessment liner was then measured periodically having had volatile constituents with support from specialist over the following four weeks. removed in a vacuum oven at 90oC contractors, some of which (desorbed). developed the original PE80 pipe This expansion on release from the grade used for this water injection host pipe shows that the liner still It was considered that the liner line enabling them to source the had significant locked-in recoverable would have been likely to absorb actual material for comparison. hoop strain after 13 years in service low quantities of small molecules Tests were therefore performed thus enabling maintenance of a during its service life and therefore What is Swagelining Swagelining technology has been 1km in length before insertion into mechanically and connected to used globally in a wide range of a carbon steel pipe stalk. A welded one end of the PE liner pipe which applications over 20 years. carbon steel stalk is prepared of pulls the liner into the host carbon appropriate length, usually only steel pipe from a winch positioned The technique can be used for limited by available space on the at the far end of the host pipeline. rehabilitation of ageing pipes of Spoolbase. any material in order to extend Once the liner has been pulled life of the asset, or new pipelines The principle of the technique is through the host pipe with some such as high pressure subsea to reduce the size of a PE pipe by additional length to allow for axial water injection pipelines where drawing through a reduction die reversion, the load is removed. installation has previously been and maintaining the tension under carried out by reel lay, j-lay or load during installation through the The liner is then allowed to revert bundle methods. host pipe. naturally by stress relaxation for 24 hours until a tight radial fit has At a spoolbase, the PE pipes are The PE liner pipe is originally been achieved on the host pipe usually supplied as 12 or 18m larger than the internal bore of bore. In effect the natural spring- sticks and then butt fusion welded the host pipe. A wire rope or cable like property of the polymer is together into a long string of up to is attached to a towing head used.

UT2 December 2010 64 Pipelines Water Injection

desorption was undertaken to extract For stress crack resistance this material, the PE liner material these and determine what effect they absorption of small molecules can has performed satisfactorily in the had on the mechanical properties of be seen to be especially beneficial, service application the liner. giving significantly enhanced • The WeldLink connector and performance for this property. compression ring assembly Differences between the liner and retaining the Swagelined liner has desorbed samples can be seen in It is possible to estimate the lifetime remained fully intact and secure each case, this being consistent with of the liner in this application. Using • The linepipe and field joint a plasticising effect caused by small these assumptions a minimum coatings remain in good condition quantities of volatile species absorbed lifetime of 54 years was calculated for and have provided satisfactory by the liner in service. the reference pellets, 97 years for the corrosion control despite poor desorbed liner and 177 years for the adhesion of the field joint coating to Flexural Modulus untreated liner. the linepipe coating and adhesive Short-term flexural modulus values substrate were determined for as received liner Chemical Stability samples taken from each of the four Following tests, the chemical life of Since the first PE lined water positions and compared with a sample this liner was estimated at beyond injection pipeline was installed in produced from reference pellets. the original 20 year design life and 1994, none of the PE lined carbon likely to be in excess of 100 years. steel pipelines operating in the It showed only a modest reduction North Sea are known to have failed in flexural modulus compared with From the overall test data it was to date whereas there is a body the actual liner material. This effect considered possible to derive the of evidence suggesting a lifetime could be attributable to plasticisation, following conclusions: expectancy of less than 7 years for though this could not be confirmed as • The corrosion controls put in place unlined pipelines operating under these tests were only conducted on as to protect the pipeline have been similar service conditions. received samples, since no desorbed successful. The spool shows only samples were available. superficial corrosion internally and The advantages of a polymer externally and is considered to be in lined-pipeline are improved flow, Environmental Stress Cracking good condition considering its age reduced energy consumption, The stress crack resistance of the and history lower weight, better thermal untreated and desorbed liner material • The PE liner has remained tight insulation and increased lifetime was assessed using full-notch creep fitting after reeling, installation and at a lower overall cost than tests (FNCT). Surprisingly, samples 13 years in service and exhibited the alternatives of a corrosion from the liner after 13 years service residual strain during inspection / allowance or use of a CRA pipe performed much better in these testing material. tests than samples produced from • With no deterioration in condition reference pellets. compared to its original sample Although the use of polymer lining technology in the offshore industry has largely been limited to relatively low temperature water injection service until now, recent developments in polymer materials, venting and various new methods of connection mean that there is now the opportunity to widen the scope of application to much higher operating temperatures and hydrocarbon service, especially for projects where the cost of clad CRA pipe is prohibitive.

Taken from a paper The Effectiveness of Polymer Lined Pipelines for Subsea Water Injection Service by Dr Steve Brogden, Swagelining The lining installation process showing the die reduction for insertion into host pipe

65 UT2 December 2010 Pipelines Pipeline Tracker Calibration Teledyne TSS customers can now benefit from a new facility that enables the TSS 440 pipe and cable trackers to be precisely calibrated for specific targets. Samples of pipe or cable provided by the customer can now be analysed in the new facility so that an error matrix can be created for the user’s own TSS 440.

This makes it possible for burial depths of a particular pipe or cable to be measured to an accuracy of 5cm or 5% of range so that compliance with installation contracts can be verified.

The first tests undertaken at the new facility were carried out for DeepOcean, the subsea division of the Trico Marine Group. The company had supplied samples of armoured three-core cable that is being installed on a wind farm project in the German sector of the North Sea.

By using the new Teledyne TSS facility it was possible to generate data that will enable DeepOcean’s TSS 440 trackers to be precisely calibrated for performing as-laid surveys of the cables.

The new Teledyne TSS facility is conveniently located beside the company’s factory in Watford, UK. It is believed to be unique as it creates laboratory-standard conditions in which tests may be conducted on samples up to 5m long and weighing up to 2t. This The new installation is a seemingly the test area could not begin until it had requirement was a major element simple facility that consists of been thoroughly examined for any buried in the company’s choice of the new a truck on rails that is used for metal that might affect sensor results. factory that it moved into late last carrying the sample of cable or year. pipe. Varying heights and positions Everything needed for the facility was of the TSS 440 are achieved then manufactured in glass reinforced Previous TSS test facilities have through its deployment above the plastic by UK specialists The Grating been set up in more remote sample on a specially adapted Company. More used to producing locations, but testing a single sample fork-lift. intrinsically safe stairs and walkways can take up to a day, and the new for offshore and industrial applications, installation is more convenient for Fifty square metres of land the company manufactured the truck, its customers and for any back-up originally designated for car track, the guard rails and the scanner workshop or laboratory support that parking was re-assigned for the extension frame for the fork-lift entirely may be required. new facility but construction of from GRP.

UT2 December 2010 66 Pipelines

Handheld Tracker Oil and utility companies have been laying pipelines under the ocean for more than a century. Their location was not always marked and today, there is a pressing need to accurately map the location of these lines to ensure they are not damaged by dredging, dropped anchors, and other potentially hazardous operations.

To assist in the effort JW Fishers has developed the PT-1 pipe tracker. This instrument is a very sensitive pinpointing magnetometer. The range of the instrument is not affected by the material between the sensor and the metal target. The range remains the same whether detecting through air, water, silt, sand, stone, or concrete.

The PT-1 uses modified magnetometer technology to provide exceptional sensitivity with effortless pinpointing of targets.

Fishers pipe tracker consists of a 3ft long probe with electronics box mounted on one end. In the tip of the probe is a sensor that measures the earth’s magnetic field strength.

Iron and steel objects create a distortion in the field which the sensor picks up. Field changes are displayed on the PT-1 control panel with both audio and visual The new facility now ensures the dumping to ensure compliance with outputs. The larger the object, the highest possible accuracy when contract specifications. stronger the reading will be. analysing the characteristics of different targets. These can vary The Teledyne TSS 440 is typically Other groups that will find significantly according to their size, mounted on a ROV and uses pulse this device invaluable include shape and composition so Teledyne induction technology in conjunction police departments and TSS customers have invariably sought with an advanced algorithm to detect military dive teams for locating to obtain precise data on the response its target. Depending on the size and weapons, mines, and other that each will generate with a TSS 440 shape of the target, the 440 offers explosive devices. Commercial pipe and cable tracker. detection ranges 30–50% greater than diving companies can use it previous models. This means that it can to track armored power and This can have a significant commercial also deal with the potential errors that communications cables, find impact as an error in burial depth might arise when a cable is in an open trench anchors and chains, locate lost result in a requirement for costly rock or passing through a rock berm. dredge heads, and recover tools.

67 UT2 December 2010

Pipelines Pipelines Ulstein Design For Heerema After having developed the concept Rietveldt, managing director at “The success of the project comes and basic design for Heerema’s Ulstein Sea of Solutions. “It is a for account of our project team, new monohull vessel, Dutch based continued recognition of our design managed by Edwin van Leeuwen, Ulstein Sea of Solutions (USOS) capabilities and proves that our which was able to provide the design has now also been awarded the inhouse developed SOC 5000 in the record time frame required by further engineering of the vessel design is a solid base to meet clients Heerema to start tendering for the with the selected shipyard, DSME project requirements. construction of the vessel.” of Korea.

In Febraury 2010 Ulstein Sea of Solutions was contracted by Heerema to design their new deepwater construction vessel, for which a letter of intent (LOI) was signed between Heerema and DSME mid July 2010. On August 24th this was turned into a building contract with DSME for the design, construction, testing, commissioning and delivery of this impressive vessel. A record breaking time for development and award of such a vessel.

“Designs for deepwater construction vessels are an important focus area for Ulstein and we are very pleased that Heerema selected us for designing this state-of-the-art vessel”, said Tore Ulstein, head of design and solutions area at Ulstein Group.

The self propelled DP3 deepwater construction vessel is a customised version of the Ulstein SOC 5000 vessel design. The vessel features a revolving heavy lift capability of 4000t, deepwater lowering equipment up to 3500m and a pipelay tower for J-lay and Reel-lay operations via a moonpool. The hull configuration is specially designed for fast transit speeds and optimum motion characteristics in operation. The vessel is DP3-class equipped with a pair of 6500 kW and four 3200kW thrusters allowing for a transit speed of 12-14kts.

“We were very pleased that Heerema selected us for designing this state-of-the-art deepwater construction vessel,” said Bob

UT2 December 2010 68 Pipelines

Following the contract award to “The work will be executed by a office, close to Heerema and DSME by Heerema, Ulstein Sea dedicated project office in Vlaardingen Huisman, is important to have of Solutions signed a contract with where engineers from DSME and good communication and flow of DSME on the 13th of September Ulstein Sea of Solutions work closely information required to shorten for further vessel engineering together. the timeline in the early phase of and integration of the mission the construction of such a vessel” equipment designed by Huisman. “The central location of the Ulstein concluded Van Leeuwen.

Overall length 211.5 m Operating draught 11.0 m Service speed 12-14 kn Beam (moulded) 46.2 m Installed power 6 x 7,370 kW Depth (moulded) 16.1 m

69 UT2 December 2010 Nord Stream Update

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71 UT2 December 2010

Pipelines Pipelines Pipeline Positioning Sonardyne has been awarded a contract by Subsea 7 to provide its latest Sixth Generation (6G) acoustic technology for monitoring the position and status of towed offshore pipeline bundle systems.

The bundles are manufactured at Subsea 7’s facility in Wick, Scotland and towed to their final location in the North Sea suspended between two tugs – a technique known as Controlled Depth Tow Methodology (CDTM). Subsea 7 Towhead Under the terms of the new contract, the first tow will take place in the first quarter of 2011 when a of the bundles. The technology The RSV will patrol the bundle going 7km bundle will be towed out to the proved very effective as any damage no further than 500m away from it. Bacchus field for Apache. Later, four sustained to a bundle during tow-out Because the towfish will be flown below 7km bundles will be towed to BP’s is extremely costly to rectify. the disturbed water layers near the Andrew field. surface it will be able to obtain clear For the latest tows, Sonardyne’s acoustic signals from the transponders, The Sonardyne 6G acoustic new Compatt 6 transponders will thereby maximising the communications equipment installed on each bundle be deployed at intervals of around robustness of the system. Depth updates will provide the towmaster with real 700m–1000m along each bundle. from all monitoring points will be received time information on the pipeline’s Sonardyne Lodestar attitude and at the RSV every 30secs while heading, position, depth and shape along heading reference sensors will also carrier pressure and trailing wire angle its entire length. This data will be deployed at each end of the updates will be received at five minute help ensure that the bundle is not bundles and at specified intervals intervals. The 6G acoustic technology will allowed to sag or snake excessively along them. Lodestars contain highly also make it possible to monitor the tow during the tow due to the effects of accurate ring laser gyros that will wire tension, activate its release and also tow speed, tide and sea state and enable the shape and attitude of the to operate carrier flood and vent valves that it is ‘flying’ at the required depth bundle to be monitored. The pressure remotely if required. to avoid submerged objects. Should of the carrier gas (Nitrogen) within the corrective action be required, the pipes will be monitored by sensors at Sonardyne has already performed towmaster is able to alter the depth each end of the bundle and this data, a detailed analysis of the acoustic profile of the pipeline bundle by along with the angle of the towing properties of the sea areas in which various methods including varying wires will also be transmitted. the bundles will be towed. This will the tow speed. ensure the optimum performance of the Compatt 6 uses Sonardyne acoustic monitoring system is maintained Sonardyne has considerable Wideband 2 ultra-wide bandwidth throughout each tow. experience of this application for signals that make it more versatile its acoustic technology having than previous versions. They can Bundles are typically towed at a relatively first developed bundle monitoring operate in more demanding acoustic shallow depth of around 40-60m where equipment for Subsea 7 in 1993. conditions and are suitable for a acoustic signal propagation can be At that time, depth monitoring wider range of applications than a unpredictable due to the effects of transponders deployed at regular conventional seabed positioning shallow and aerated water, vessel noise intervals along the bundle were transponder. Acting as an acoustic and mixing of different water layers. connected, via data highway cable, network, each Compatt 6 will be able The latest generation Wideband 2 to master units located on the tow to transmit its data along the bundle signal architecture has been designed head. These sent data acoustically to other transponders and onwards to specifically for difficult acoustic to the towmaster and received a transceiver in a towfish that will be circumstances and we are confident that commands back, such as to open flown from an escorting ROV Support it will demonstrate high reliability in this the valves that controlled flooding Vessel (RSV). challenging environment.

UT2 December 2010 72 Cables Cables Birns Prysman BIRNS has developed two standard Prysmian has been selected The scope of the FORCE project is hybrid pin configurations for electro- together with International to test tidal energy devices and their optical hybrid connectors: the Telecom, by the Fundy Ocean effects, if any, on the environment BIRNS Millennium 3T and 3O. Research Centre for Energy and explore the potential of a (FORCE) as a partner in an cleaner, renewable source of The versatile new options in the innovative project aimed at energy. Millennium connector series provide exploring the potential of tidal high performance, technologically power generation. After wind and sun, tides are the advanced solutions to deliver ultimate frontier of renewable power maximum data and power for Prysmian will design and supply that shows great future potential extreme depth applications. the submarine composite cables due to its high predictability. The for the connection of four tidal FORCE project is a new application The Millennium 3T can handle both current turbines in the Bay of for submarine power transmission high voltage (≤ 3.6Kv) and low Fundy (Nova Scotia, Canada). and distribution cable systems. voltage (≤600v) conductors— users can specify a wide range Once the underwater cables of configurations with up to 31 are installed and operating, electrical wires and up to 10 the generated electricity will be Strain optical fibres. The Millennium 30 transferred to the shore and has a single optical fibre, with connected to the Nova Scotia Bowtech has produced its first the capability of handling up to power grid. The Bay of Fundy Strain Termination. The project 10 electrical wires. Both unique has been identified as the best involved termination of the cable standard hybrids are available in site in North America and one at one end with a polyurethane single or multi-mode, and provide of the best in the world for tidal over-mould to a stainless steel incredibly low data loss—typical power generation, with a resource lifting eye, with a subsea electrical loss recorded for a cable assembly potential as high as 2000MW, connection. of the series is <1dB, in accordance enough power for about 750 000 with ANSI/TIA/EIA-455 for fiber homes. The cable incorporated optic return loss test procedures. Vectranfibre braid, which is weight Prysmian will provide for weight five times stronger than The new standard hybrid options approximately 11km of 3-core steel and ten times stronger than are tested to withstand high open EPR (ethylene propylene aluminum, to transfer the load to face pressure and are rated to rubber) insulated 34.5kV the lifting eye. 6000m. They provide elevated composite submarine cables for contact density with 50 microns of the connection of tidal current The 12.5mm diameter cable and hard gold contact plating. turbines. over-mould strain termination were successfully tested to 5kN (509.9 kg) as the minimum breaking load rating of the cable. Bowteche have previously supplied strainstrain terminations tested up toto 33000kg.000kg. StrainStrain termination

electro-optical hybrid connectors

73 UT2 DecemberDDeecembmbeerr 2010201010

Cables Cables

Devenick Cables Nexans has been awarded a contract worth in excess of €14 million from BP in Aberdeen, to deliver a subsea umbilical system for the Devenick gas field in the North Sea.

The Devenick gas field is located approximately 37km north of the East Brae platform in the North Sea, and 280 km from the coast of Scotland. The Devenick development umbilical system to be supplied by Nexans will consist of four umbilicals; one SSIV (subsea isolation valve) umbilical, one main umbilical and two infield umbilicals. Nexans manufacturing plant at Halden The umbilicals will be BC-10 manufactured in Nexans’ factory in Halden, Norway and delivered on this very interesting new Oceaneering has secured a contract in spring 2011. Additional project,” says Krister Granlie, with the BC-10 consortium, operated fiberoptic and electrical elements managing director, umbilicals by Shell, to supply umbilicals for will be supplied from Nexans’ and submarine high voltage Phase II, offshore Brazil in the factory in Rognan, Norway. business group. Campos Basin.

“We are delighted to have This latest contract with BP The order is for hybrid subsea pump won this important umbilicals comes in addition to the frame and steel tube production control contract for the Devenick gas agreement that Nexans signed umbilicals totaling approximately 30km field. It adds to the very good in 2009. (19miles) in length and associated cooperation we established hydraulic flying leads. Manufacture previously with BP on the Devenick is a high pressure, of the product is planned to involve Foinaven project several years high temperature, gas the Oceaneering Multiflex facilities ago, and we now look forward condensate field located in Panama City, Florida and Niteroi, to renewing our relationship approximately 37km north of the Brazil commencing in early 2011. East Brae host platform. The Devenick reservoir sits These umbilicals will be used to within blocks 9/24b and support subsea development of the 9/29a, both of which Argonauta O-North field consisting of are BP operated. seven production and four injection wells in water depths ranging from Along the nominal 4900–6500 ft. route centreline the water depth varies Hybrid umbilicals offer several from 112.5m LAT capabilities in a single integrated (lowest astronomical product, which generally lower an tide) at the 9/24b-4 Devenick offshore field operator’s development well to as deep as 131.5m LAT cost. in a broad in-filled channel north of East Brae. Hybrid pump umbilicals specifically provide electric power transmission Devenick will be initially to subsea pumps that increase and developed by two wells (S1 accelerate production from some The Devenick umbilical and S2) connected to a subsea fields, particularly those with heavy manifold. crude or in deepwater.

UT2 December 2010 74 Cables

BritNed Interconnector NKT High Voltage Cables Global Marine has completed its RWE Innogy and NKT cables have Construction of the transformer work related to the installation signed a contract for the manufacture substation on land has already and burial of a submarine and delivery of high-voltage sea begun. The building work at sea will power cable which will provide cable for the Welsh offshore wind start in the autumn of 2011. From connectivity between the UK and the farm “Gwynt y Môr”. then on, 160 by 3.6MW wind turbines Netherlands. will be installed at the wind farm site In total, NKT cables will produce around 13km off the coast of North The first and only interconnector around 83km of offshore cable. Wales in water depths of between 12 between the UK and the The contract value is around EUR and 28m. Netherlands, BritNed has a capacity 35 million. Besides RWE Innogy, of 1000 MW and is approximately the Munich-based municipal utility The work will be carried out from 260km in length. The goal of its company Stadtwerke München, and one of the world’s biggest offshore construction is to further integrate the Siemens are also involved in Gwynt y construction ships. RWE Innogy has UK power grid with continental and Môr Offshore Wind Farm. placed an order for the building of two northern Europe. Global Marine’s of these ships, each valued at around scope of work exceeded 1 000 000 “We’re well on schedule with €100 million, with a Korean shipyard. man hours and 3500 vessel days, a preparations for the construction of Gwynt y Môr is scheduled to begin significant milestone, the successful our third offshore wind farm off the exporting energy in 2013, with the testing of the Interconnector cables, coast of North Wales,” said Paul wind farm expected to be completed has been achieved by Global Marine Coffey, Chief Operating Officer at in 2014. Once fully constructed, and ABB. RWE Innogy. “With contracts in place the wind farm will have an installed for the supply of turbines, substations capacity of 576MW capable of The companies jointly entered into and offshore export cabling, we generating enough clean electricity a project agreement back in April have now secured the key project energy to meet the energy needs of 2009 and this month Global Marine components to enable us to begin the equivalent of around 400 000 UK completed the installation of the last with offshore construction as planned homes every year. omega joint, connecting a converter in the autumn of next year.” station at the Isle of Grain in Kent, In parallel with the construction of England with one in Maasvlakte near In total, NKT cables will produce four Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm, Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 132kV high-voltage offshore cables RWE Innogy is building the Nordsee for RWE Innogy at its newly built Ost Offshore Wind Farm (295MW) in “The completion of this cable system cable plant in Cologne. Manufacturing German territorial waters, and this is signals a further step towards a should begin at the end of 2011 and due for completion in 2013. single European energy market and be completed in mid-2012. Global Marine has worked with ABB Off the north coast of Wales, RWE to deliver a full range of installation When manufactured, the high voltage Innogy is already operating North capabilities,” said Nicola Broom, submarine cables will be taken via Hoyle (60MW) and Rhyl Flats managing director, Global Marine the Rhine to Rotterdam. A special (90MW) offshore wind farms. In Energy. “Our combined experience cable-laying vessel will deliver the addition, the company presently has in managing the complexities of cables to Liverpool Bay off the a 50% stake in the construction of the installing subsea power cables has coast of North Wales. Later, these 504MW Greater Gabbard Offshore been crucial to this project, and high voltage cables will transmit the Wind Farm, off the southeast coast of we are committed to delivering energy produced by the total of 160 England. Alone or with partners, RWE excellence in offshore transmission wind turbines of the “Gwynt y Môr” Innogy is presently developing further design.” wind farm across 20km to the coast, major projects in the UK, such as where the closest feeding point on Triton Knoll (1200MW), Atlantic Array Various vessels including the Team land is located at St Asaph. (1500 MW), Galloper (500 MW) and Oman, North Ocean 102, Edda Fjord, Dogger Bank (around 9,000 MW). Olympic Zeus, Olympic Hera Atlantic, Each of these cables is around 20cm Guardian and the barge Union thick and is protected with a robust Furthermore, RWE Innogy is Beaver were all vessels that formed armouring against the extreme loads developing the Innogy Nordsee 1 part of the solution engineered by at high sea, such as corrosion or Offshore Wind Farm, 40km to the north Global Marine Systems and ABB abrasion through tides and waves. At of the North Sea island of Juist. With for the cable installation and burial. the same time these cables enable a around 960MW of installed capacity, BritNed is expected to be fully maximum energy transmission over this is the biggest offshore wind farm operational by early 2011. long distances. planned off the German coast.

75 UT2 December 2010 Cables Cables Alcatel Lucent Nexans Submarine Cable Alcatel-Lucent and Bezeq Nexans, has been awarded a The 150 kV link will interconnect International, Israel’s Internet and €64 million turnkey contract by the Nea Makri substation on international telecoms provider, Greece’s PPC (Public Power the coast of Attika with the have teamed up to roll-out a new Corporation) – the country’s Polypotamos substation on Evia. high-speed submarine cable largest electrical power utility – to Nexans will manufacture, supply system linking Tel Aviv, Israel, to design, manufacture and install the and install three subsea cable Italy and then to Europe via land new high-voltage AC (power link circuits that will take a 21km route route. The system which will span between Evia and the region of across the Gulf of Evia in waters 2297km, is the first fully-owned by Attika on the mainland. reaching a maximum depth of 85 an Israeli operator to land in Israel metres. and will further strengthen the hub The project will facilitate the role of the area. development of wind power Nexans is also supplying the projects totalling around 400 MW underground power cables (2.7km) The fixed and mobile broadband on Evia, the second largest of the to provide the land connections penetration in Israel is growing Greek islands, by enabling the at each end of the submarine at a fast pace with the number of power they produce to be exported cables together with associated Internet users expected to reach directly into PPC’s national power accessories such as transition more than 5 million by the end of transmission grid. joints and outdoor terminations. this year. With over one and a half million high-speed ADSL and cable lines, the Israeli telecom operator is taking a new significant step in the S.B. Submarine development of its communication infrastructure. The new system S. B. Submarine Systems has strong side currents in excess will enable Bezeq International to successfully completed the of 3kts and frequent storm better serve its customers, while simultaneous marine installation of force winds. reducing the capital expenditures the twin line power cable project deriving from leasing capacity. between Anjwa and Whawon island Not only was the station in South Korea. This system will be keeping capabilities of the “The Israeli telecom market is the first of its kind in this region in vessel key in overcoming highly dynamic with one the highest terms of cable size, rated capacity these difficulties but the household broadband and mobile and installation methodology. approach that the project penetration rates that are leading delivery team took in terms of to network convergence as more The system purchaser – KEPCO, planning and execution was technologically diverse services Korean Electric Power Corporation, are becoming available,” Isaac required two 154kV cables to be Benbenisti, Chief Executive Officer laid simultaneously and fitted with of Bezeq International. “Alcatel- specially fabricated UP Urethane Lucent’s advanced technology will protection throughout the cable enable us to offer access to huge laying process. The 3core XLPE bandwidth at more affordable rates, cables were manufactured while empowering our ability to by LS Cables which weighed deliver new applications for our approximately 83kg/m with a customer and benefit from growth 203mm overall diameter. in wholesale market.” To meet the customer’s “The availability of more capacity requirements, SB Submarine used will boost connectivity to its CS Fu Hai DP2 cable ship. support the move to high-speed The vessel was equipped with a broadband, while ensuring low- specialised power cable laying latency and increasing flexibility to spread in order to allow for the serve the diversified requirement of loading and laying of this large businesses and consumers,”said diameter power cable. Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine The route between Whawon and CS Fu Hai Networks SAS. Anjwa was challenging in itself with

UT2 December 2010 76 At home in the ocean Easytrak Nexus is the second generation USBL tracking system from Applied Acoustics. With Broadband Spread Spectrum technology at its heart, Nexus has the ability to transfer digital data from subsea to surface, all the while continuing to provide secure and stable positioning information in challenging environments. Versatile, flexible and simple to install and operate, Easytrak Nexus is tracking, made easy.

Nexus USBL Acoustic Tracking System Broadband Spread Spectrum Technology Digital Data Telemetry Multiple Target Tracking

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Netherlands Power Connection fundamental in mitigating these Global Marine Systems has Grain in Kent, England with one in risks so as to ensure a successful completed its scope of work related Maasvlakte near Rotterdam in the implementation. Overall the actual to the installation and burial of a Netherlands. implementation took approximately submarine power cable which will 12 days. provide connectivity between the “The completion of this cable system UK and the Netherlands. signals a further step towards a The success of this simultaneous single European energy market and installation of two 203mm diameter The first and only interconnector Global Marine has worked with ABB cables is a landmark project for between the UK and the to deliver a full range of installation SBSS in terms of project scope and Netherlands, BritNed has a capabilities,” said Nicola Broom, engineering challenges. capacity of 1000MW and is managing director, Global Marine approximately 260km in length. The Energy. goal of its construction is to further integrate the UK power grid with “Our combined experience in continental and northern Europe. managing the complexities of installing subsea power cables has Global Marine’s scope of work been crucial to this project, and exceeded 1 000 000 man hours we are committed to delivering and 3500 vessel days, a significant excellence in offshore transmission milestone, the successful testing design.” of the Interconnector cables, has been achieved by Global Marine Various vessels including the Team Energy (the energy division of Oman, North Ocean 102, Edda Global Marine Systems) and Fjord, Olympic Zeus, Olympic Hera ABB, a global leader in power and Atlantic, Guardian and the barge automation technologies. Union Beaver were all vessels that formed part of the solution The companies jointly entered engineered by Global Marine into a Project Agreement back in Systems and ABB for the cable April 2009 and this month Global installation and burial. Marine completed the installation of the last omega joint, connecting BritNed is expected to be fully a converter station at the Isle of operational by early 2011.

77 UT2 December 2010

Cables Cables The Strongest Link MacArtney has developed a new for an extended period without required the combination of several type of connector, approved by the conductor failure. design features. A boot was fitted American Petroleum Institute (API), behind the connector to ensure that to enhance the safety of blow out MacArtney carried out a any water entering the cable cannot preventers (BOP). comprehensive design, build, test penetrate to the connector and the and deployment programme to fulfil connector will continue to work for “Critical to the safety and the the requirements of outfitting Hydril its intended lifespan even with water environment, BOPs are advanced with three rig packages as well as flooding in the cable right up to the valves that react to sudden many spares and test units. It had to boot. overpressures in a well, shutting meet API standards 16D for testing it down and averting a blow out,” when assembled as well as the For 17E standard certification, said a spokesman. “Automatic harder to attain 17E for functionality the cable is as important as the systems constantly monitor the well when flooded. connector. The cable was selected and are designed to be fail-safe. for its ability to withstand wear Not only must they be periodically Ensuring that connectors for the underwater. The conductors inside inspected and tested, but the API infrastructure system would function the cable are also protected to sets standards that are clear about even if the cable was flooded prevent water ingress shorting. the types of risks against which such equipment must be protected. New designs are rigorously tested and certified and each element must meet stringent requirements before being API certified.

The size and the depth at which BOPs are deployed makes it impractical to bring them up to the surface often, for testing purposes. Systems and equipment on the BOP can be submerged for up to a year between servicing.

Furthermore, all equipment associated with BOPs must withstand the increased pressures encountered at the deep water depths.

When Hydril was designing its new BOP control system, it needed a complete infrastructure package that met the strict standards for testing and reliability stipulated by the API. The connector system within the unit needed to be able to withstand submersion for extended periods and accommodate several failure modes stipulated in the API pressure controls guidelines.

These stipulations included the requirement for the umbilical or termination assembly to function even when fully flooded with seawater and continue to operate The connectors are designed to be testable when mounted via two access points

UT2 December 2010 78 Worldwide Underwater Technology R&D Engineering System Integration Sales Service

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Similarly, critical to the design, was to ensure that the connector could be tested for integrity once assembled. MacArtney designed and integrated double test ports on the API connector itself, to allow pressure testing of both sections after mating and before the connection is lowered into the water.

“Each system needed to be fail-proof on delivery and was tested at various stages of production and completion,” said a spokesman. “Every element in the cable was tested individually before construction to ensure that they were entirely intact and fully functional. The cable, and then the connector and cable, were pressure tested before completion. The entire cable and connector unit were ultimately pressure tested prior to inclusion in the infrastructure package.”

The system has evolved over several years into a comprehensive high reliability power and communications infrastructure package for semi-submersible drilling rigs in operation around the world. The complete infrastructure package includes fibre optic media converter, multiplexer, MUX cable, slip ring, subsea stress termination, subsea FITA terminations, all subsea harness cable and POD connections. The Hydril BOP system

79 UT2 December 2010 Umbilicals Umbilicals Popeye and Europa Aker Solutions has signed three manufacture the subsea umbilical The Popeye field is located in subsea contracts with Shell, for and then install it, is one way of Green Canyon block 116 in deliveries to the operator’s Popeye doing this,” says Erik Wiik, President approximately 671.6m (2200 ft) and Europa fields in the Gulf of – Subsea North America, Aker water depth and will tie-back to Mexico. Solutions. the Cougar fixed platform located in South Timbalier block 300 in Under the contracts, Aker Solutions Engineering, project management, 110.3m (362 ft) water depth. will in total deliver approximately and manufacturing will take place at 40km (25miles) of electro-hydraulic Aker Solutions’ umbilical facility in The Europa A7 well is located steel tube umbilicals to Shell’s Mobile, Alabama. in Mississippi Canyon block 935 Popeye field and Europa field in approximately 1143m (3750 extension. Aker Solutions will “This is an important contract for ft) water depth and will tie-back also install the umbilical for the our umbilical facility in Mobile, to existing Europa subsea Popeye field, using the company’s Alabama. Although we have vast structure. deepwater installation vessel experience with Shell through our Boa Sub C. umbilical operations in Norway, this The Europa development ties is our first Shell umbilical project to back to the Mars TLP located in “We have a strategic objective of be executed by our team in Mobile, Mississippi Canyon block 807 in combining our product and service Alabama. 896m (2940 ft) water depth. offerings where they can create attractive business propositions Our key objective is excellent project Aker Solutions’ contract parties for our customers. The contracts execution, which will position us for are Aker Subsea and Aker with Shell, where we will first further jobs with Shell,” added Wiik. Marine Contractors.

Aker’s cable manufacturing facility

UT2 December 2010 80 Umbilicals

Noble The Offshore Pipelines and Control Lines Aker Solutions has been selected to Market analysts Infield Systems forecast period for the first time. supply further subsea umbilicals for have produced a global market The significant growth in the SURF leading US independent oil and gas report on offshore pipelines and market is driven by a number company Noble Energy. The deal is control lines up to 2014. of large regional developments, worth approximately including long subsea gas NOK 270 million. Since 2008, operators’ short term tiebacks in North West Australia, strategies and forecast spends deepwater block developments This latest order is an exercise of have been downgraded with the in Angola, flexible installations in options agreed under the initial NOK weakening energy demand and the pre-salt basins of Brazil and 650 million umbilical contract which lack of available credit. numerous subsea to shore lines in was announced on 9 April this year. Asia and Europe. The subsea umbilicals will be used The global recession has had at Noble Energy’s Tamar deepwater many impacts on the market, and Whilst this growth is indicative project in the Mediterranean Sea. as such the industry will still feel of the industry’s trend to the effects of this ‘downturn’ for the discover and develop deeper The latest order is for approximately short term future. However, with water reserves, the shallow 105 kilometres of steel tube signs of a ‘pick up’, there is still water developments still hold umbilicals, bringing the total order much potential for growth in the potential. This is highlighted by from Noble Energy up to 330 next five years and more. the continued strength of the kilometres of subsea umbilicals. conventional pipeline installation Pipeline and control line market, all be it at slower growth Engineering and project management installations have mirrored the rates than that of the SURF will be provided from Aker Solutions’ trends of the greater offshore oil market. facility in Mobile, Alabama, where the and gas industry; indicative of their umbilicals will be manufactured too. crucial use in the development of The trunk/export lines sector will Estimated delivery date is Q3 2011. hydrocarbon reserves worldwide. represent the highest percentage growth rate amongst all sectors. Infield expects pipeline and control Whilst this growth characterises line capital expenditure to exceed the increasing global demand to Shell Umbilicals US $269bn over the next five diversify the location and type of Duco has been awarded by Shell years. This equates to 79,799km energy supplies, installation of Upstream Europe a seven year of lines, of which 55,900km will trunk lines is highly dependent frame agreement for the supply of be pipelines and 23,899km will be on a number of political, umbilicals. The contract covers control lines. environmental and economical engineering, procurement, project factors. management and associated Combined, pipeline and control services for the fabrication and line installations are expected to As such, trunk/export lines loadout of thermoplastic umbilicals see relatively steady growth in represent the most volatile section up to 17km in length. the next five years, equating to of the pipeline market, and will a compound annual growth rate likely be the most widely affected The contract provisions (CAGR) of over 6%. The previous by the global downturn and the predominately service the SWEEP five years did not see such a high subsequent ‘pick up’. portfolio of prospects in the Southern growth – predominantly effected by North Sea, but also include new and the downturn. Control lines represent just 30% existing requirements for Central of the installation market in the North Sea Assets. Combined A global pick-up is expected, forecast period. Growth in this projects may require an average however in some cases extended market is mainly attributable to an of over 15-30km of thermoplastic growth is different depending increase in umbilical installations. umbilicals per year based on on the market sector, field Additionally, growth in power lines business planning estimates developments and energy will begin to influence the market; between 2011 and 2017. The requirements of each region. including lines which are directly umbilical systems and thermoplastic associated with the production end hoses will be manufactured by Duco The SURF market sector of the offshore oil and gas industry in its primary business facilities in is expected to overtake the and the inter-regional distribution Newcastle, United Kingdom. conventional line market in the of the power it generates.

81 UT2 December 2010 Umbilicals Umbilicals UMF Publishes Guidance Note on by Pat Oakley, Secretary, The Umbilical Manufacturers’ Federation

The Umbilical Manufacturers’ and commissioning stages of Bend Stiffener v Bend Limiter Federation (UMF) has recently umbilical products with the aim of published a guidance note providing promoting the use of correct and This is used to provide strain relief a standard glossary of terms and standardised terminology throughout on subsea and topside umbilical abbreviated terms to be used in the industry. terminations. the description and specification of umbilical system products. Common examples of conflicting or Stiffeners and limiters are very confusing terms are :- diverse in construction, performance With the complexity and diversity and, invariably cost and each has a of umbilical systems constantly Umbilical vs Umbilical System specific duty in relation to the service increasing, it is imperative that This differentiates between the condition. design requirements are clearly basic umbilical cable and the communicated at the design, cable when fitted with hardware Frequently such devices are procurement, manufacturing and (terminations, etc). It is important to incorrectly termed in specifications. installation stages. Ambiguity at any be aware of the difference between point can and does have serious the two terms as it can confuse at implications. what stage of a manufacturing/test programme when certain actions are To address this growing problem, undertaken. the UMF has compiled a glossary of terms and abbreviated terms in Design Working Pressure (DWP) CrossAker’s section cable manufacturingof an facility a document to be available as an umbilical. Image Duco industry reference source for all This is used to define the ratings of parties involved from the design the fluid conduits in umbilicals. In stage, through to the installation some instances, other undefined terminology such as maximum working pressure or working An umbillical pressure, which can have different Image: Nexans meanings. Power Cables v Power Cores These are now being integrated into umbilicals as electrically driven pumps are being installed on the sea-bed or down-hole, either as single or multiple entities.

The problem for the specifier is to understand the difference between the two, as specifying an umbilical with three power cables would normally be interpreted as three 3-phase circuits to be include in the umbilical, nine power cores in total when, in reality only three power cores are required to provide one 3-phase circuit.

UT2 December 2010 82 Umbilicals

Umbilical System Terminology

Top Right: A bend stiffener/ Bottom Right: a Bedn limiter

Image: UMF

commonly associated with umbilical systems along with a short definition of each term and where appropriate diagrams to further support the definition.

Abandonment v Wet Parking The Guidance Note also The former occurs as an emergency includes a section on action and the latter as a planned abbreviations commonly used action requiring additional design when describing umbilical features with regard to umbilical features and functions. terminations

As can be appreciated from the above cases, even an apparently minor misunderstanding between parties can lead to significant variance from the originally UMF : intended umbilical system design, UMF, the Umbilical Manufacturer’s functionality and cost. Federation was established in 2001 whereby member What needs to be remembered by companies could exchange specification compilers, and the information and implement actions persons who check and approve in respect of improvements in such documents, is that when safety, environment, materials, used to procure umbilical systems technologies, etc, thereby such specifications form part of increasing the industry’s confidence the contract. As such, they need to in umbilical products. be correct and free of ambiguities, not an easy task but, hopefully, The UMF comprises Aker somewhat easier due to the efforts Solutions, DUCO, JDR Umbilical of the UMF. Systems, Nexans, Oceaneering Multiflex and Parker Scanrope The 33-page guidance note , which who between them account for was compiled with technical input the majority of umbilical systems from all members of the UMF, installed in subsea production contains many hundreds of terms systems.

83 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Equipment Acoustic Pingers Military units and scientists measure the flow of melting fresh offensive and defensive undersea Subsea Equipment are finding a broad range of water. In a typical deployment the weapons systems. Torpedoes are applications for acoustic pingers. ADCP would be anchored to the the primary anti submarine warfare bottom and calculate current flow (ASW) weapon deployed by ships, Pingers are signaling devices that rates all through the water column. aircraft, and other submarines. are attached to an underwater site or instrument package, allowing Attaching a pinger to the ADCP At test sites, ASW training targets it to be quickly relocated. Using a ensures it can be recovered should are used to simulate submarines and pinger receiver, the sonar signal it break free from the mooring. inert (nonexplosive) torpedoes are transmitted by the pinger is easily Scientists at the US National Marine fired at these “targets”. According to detected and followed to its source. Fisheries Service put pingers on a Navy report, pingers are installed The pinger receiver can either be instruments that help them monitor on all training platforms to track their carried by a diver or deployed from the health of our oceans. position. a boat. They never need worry about Navy divers also use pingers to mark Researchers at Pukyong National losing an expensive instrument the site of explosive devices such University in Korea are working like a conductivity, depth, and as mines during combat operations. with scientists from the country’s temperature (CTD) probe when one EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Hydrographic and Oceanographic of these beacons is attached. At the teams can then relocate the devices Administration(KHOA) to study the University of Delaware’s College of using the receiver, and disable or affects of ocean currents. One of Marine, Ocean, and Environment dispose of them. the instruments they employ is the senior research technician Bill Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. Parnella said, “We use them to It is not uncommon for old bombs to locate a small unmanned research be found during marine construction The ADCP is used to measure sub when it doesn’t do what its told.” projects in areas that were targeted current flow in oceans, estuaries, during World War II. When one of rivers, and streams. These devices US Navy’s Underwater Warfare these bombs is uncovered, a pinger have a wide range of uses from Center (NUWC) is using acoustic is deployed so EOD divers can locating underwater tornadoes pingers at their training sites. quickly find and remove the explosive that could damage oil platforms NUWC performs research, before any damage is done. to attaching them to icebergs to development, and testing of The pingers frequently used by these groups are JW Fishers SFP-1 single frequency pinger and MFP-1 multifrequency pinger. The single frequency transmits only one frequency which is set at the factory.

The MFP-1 can transmit any one of 60 different frequencies which can be set in the field. This allows many pingers to be set at different frequencies and placed in close proximity to each other.

The PR-1 receiver will locate any pinger frequency between 3KHz and 97KHz.

Diver with PR-1 pinger receiver; Inset photo; KHOA’s Ms. Kang with MFP-1 pinger in extended housing – Photo by Steve Barsky

UT2 December 2010 84 For over 30 years Kongsberg Maritime has been leading the way in manufacturing underwater cameras, lamps and imaging sonar for today’s demanding ROV, Plough, Trencher and AUV navigation, surveillance and inspection tasks in the deepest and most challenging applications around DEFINITIVE the globe. ROV NAVIGATION Dependable colour zoom inspection cameras Affordable HD cameras with HD-SDI output Extremely low light BIT navigation cameras Powerful High-Intensity Discharge (HID) and LED lamps Robust digital pan & tilt and rotator units Versatile high resolution scanning sonar

Innovative design and technology, unrivalled build OE10-102 Pan & Tilt Unit shown with OE14-502 HD Camera and quality and exceptional imaging quality ensure OE11-141 HID Lamp MS1171 Multi-Frequency Sonar System Kongsberg’s products offer the best with ROV Ethernet Hub price-performance and reliability.

To discover more, please contact us: Telephone: +44 1224 226500 Email: [email protected] www.km.kongsberg.com/cameras

Lighting

Bowtech has extended its range of Aquavision of 850nm which produces a high output of IR underwater lighting systems. light with better transmission through the water column. The LED-6000-AC is its brightest 120VAC underwater LED light to date. The bright 6000 lumens white light The new LED-1600-UV Black Light is ideal produced is ideal for colour video inspection or viewing for oil leak detection. It features the latest LED tasks. The hard anodised aluminium housing is technology to produce and emit only UV light. As available in either 3000m or 6000m depth rating. It is a result, far more usable UV is present for your retrofittable to existing 120V AC systems. inspection task without the requirement for heavy and costly ballasts and filters as is the case with The LED-1600-IR is the new infra-red LED light, used outdated Mercury Vapour discharge lamps. for non-intrusive observations of marine ecosystems The LED-430 is the smallest in its range of LED This light features the latest LED technology; it is fitted lamps, measuring less than 130mm and weighing with a cluster of Near IR LEDLED’s s with a wavelength only 146g. It delivers a bright white light of 430 lumens and is rated for use up to 300m depth, ideal for colour video inspection or viewing tasks especially for diving and inspection ROV applications.

Bowtech Aquavision LED lights utilise the latest quad cluster LED technology which generates more than four times the light output per Watt than an incandescent bulb without the vulnerability of fragile filaments.

They are extremely robust and highly shock resistant with an effective lifetime of over 100 000 hours.

85 UT2 December 2010

Cameras Cameras Remote Control Camera Bowtech has extended its range of colour zoom inspection cameras with the launch of the reduced size Surveyor-SD which includes a full functional hand-held remote control option.

The benefits of the hand held remote control include the ability to: Select and fine tune long line amplifier Change camera control, either RS232, RS485, USB or Voltage Select termination resister for RS485 multidrop control Camera status indicator Internal voltage indicator Wide dynamic on/off Zoom, focus, iris control Select light source (LED or halogen) Manually set and save default power up settings Bowtech’s new colour zoom Default reset inspection camera without opening the camera. optical zoom lens, as well as 530HTV lines resolution, The Surveyor-SD camera itself utilises Sony ExView HAD all within a 4000m high quality Titanium housing with CCD technology delivering high picture quality with a 36:1 an 99.7% optically clear sapphire window.

Eastar Cameras Eastar Offshore has chosen an OE15-100 black and white extensive suite of Kongsberg OE15-358 black and white Maritime cameras and lights for its A range of underwater latest ROV system. lighting including HID and Halogen lights. Eastar and its wholly owned subsidiary Alam Subsea is an “We decided to go for Kongsberg established and rapidly expanding for our cameras and lights ROV manufacturer based in because essentially, they are Singapore. The company designs, industry standard. They also offer manufactures and provides great after-sales assistance and operational support packages for of course the all important local a range of products including work supply and good lead times,” and observation class ROVs, said Stuart Raines operations depth rated from 1000m down to manager of Eastar . 3000m. Eastar has produced over 16 The newest ROV systems from ROV systems to date. They Eastar will be fully equipped with are in operation all over Asia, a package of cutting-edge, field- on projects for prestigious proven cameras and lights from clients such as Shell, BP, Petro Kongsberg, including: Vietnam, ONGC India, Petronas (Malaysia), Korea National Oil OE14-366 Colour zoom Corporation (KNOC), Exxon OE14-372 Fixed focus colour Mobile, CONOCO, Agip and OE14-110 Compact colour Chevron. Cameras and lighting on an ROV system

UT2 December 2010 86 Cameras

HD Camera Hadal Technologies has launched class vehicle operators. Hadal Oculus provides a simple and its Oculus high definition camera, Technologies president Brent straightforward upgrade path for an designed for straightforward Evers said, “This new product, has entire ROV camera system, with up integration on any fibre-optic simplified the integration of HD video to eight cameras multiplexed onto a equipped subsea system. on subsea systems.” single fibre-optic cable.

Oculus provides a broadcast video HDSDI is full bandwidth It is suitable for oil and gas standard HDSDI (high definition uncompressed video without the inspection tasks, scientific serial digital interface) signal over processing delays and multi-second exploration and broadcast feature fibre-optic cable directly from the loss-of-signal problems that are productions. camera, with no need for additional inherent in compressed video signal conversion. signals.

Requiring only power and serial HDSDI over fibre resolves noise control, the Oculus provides and interference issues that uncompressed 1080i video, 10x plague HD analog component optical zoom and complete auto (YPbPr) signals and the impedance or manual camera control all in a mismatch problems that HDSDI compact 8in long, 4in diameter, signals over copper encounter when 6000m depth-rated package. passing through standard subsea connectors.

This new product has generated Coupled with Hadal Technologies’ Oculus High significant interest from large work Octopod HD receiver/multiplexer, Definition camera

Underwater Video Aberdeen-based, C-Tecnics has a built-in HD Monitor, 600G HDD, instantaneously begin inspection, released the C-Vision HD, a portable camera power and control (zoom and recording and playback and also high definition underwater video focus), light power and intensity control includes a screenshot feature. The system with HDD recording. The and laser activation. system can record up to 30hrs of first of these systems has now been high-definition video footage and delivered to a European marine The software allows the user to allows the user to transfer this onto research and oceanographic institute an external hard drive via a USB with further orders already in the port. HD-SDI, VGA and LAN outputs pipeline. are also provided as standard with the system. The C-Vision HD surface control unit is a robust, case-mounted PC with The C-Vision HD features the new C-Tecnics Mantis HD Camera which offers good picture quality, zoom C-Vision HD and focus control and a range of HD video system and SD video output formats.

The standard camera is supplied in an aluminium housing rated to 1000m, however, optional housing materials and connector types are available to suit individual customer requirements.

The Mantis HD Camera can also be supplied individually, configured to operate with existing customer equipment upon request.

87 UT2 December 2010

Sonar Sonar Sentinel Protects Megayacht A Sonardyne Sentinel diver versatility of the Sentinel system its effectiveness in any maritime detection sonar is to be supplied – whether it’s an expeditionary environment. as part of an integrated security over-the-side system or a fully package for one of the world’s integrated through-hull installation Other options include a wireless/ largest megayachts currently with proven offshore engineering.” network advisory tool that can send under construction in a European alerts of any underwater threat/ shipyard. activity to a Windows-based device How it works anywhere in the world or to simply Sonardyne is working with Sentinel operates by creating guide a security craft to intercept MarineGuard Systems, the yacht’s a 360deg invisible underwater the threat. security systems integrator, screen that provides an exclusion to provide a Sentinel intruder zone extending up to 900m from Sentinel can be installed as a detection sonar and an electro- the vessel. It can be deployed stand-alone system or integrated hydraulic through-hull deployment in minutes when the vessel is with state-of-the-art radar and system. This will consist of gate stationary, at anchor or docked electro-optic technology. valves, extension tubes, coffer and it can be operated by unskilled dams and associated ancillaries, crew members for whom no prior This can combine both local and and will enable the immediate knowledge of sonar is necessary. wide area surveillance controlled at automatic deployment and a central interface. It allows a crew recovery of the Sentinel sonar The system includes a built-in test to automatically project a complete array. capability to ensure reliability and surface, air and underwater built-in analysis tools to determine security zone around a yacht. The installation will be an application of a sonar solution developed by Sonardyne for all types of superyacht and includes through-hull, over-the-side and seabed frame deployment.

Sonardyne engineers will work with MarineGuard and the shipyard during the planning and installation of the through- hull deployment equipment, the subsequent installation of the Sentinel system and the operational sea trials.

This latest contract will be the fifth megayacht to be supplied with a Sentinel system in 2010. In addition to off-the-shelf systems, Sonardyne has also created bespoke solutions for the protection of vessels ranging from 30m to integrated multiple sonar head systems for cruise liners and even larger ships.

Commenting on the contract, Rob Balloch, strategic development director for Sonardyne said, “The opportunity to work The Sentinel with MarineGuard on such a Sonar prestigious project illustrates the

UT2 December 2010 88 The hands-on ocean technology exhibition and training forum National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK • 5 – 7 April 2011

The hands-on ocean technology exhibition incorporating in-classroom and on-water demonstrations and training sessions.

Over 300 companies exhibiting – 4,000+ visitors expected to attend

Find out more… www.oceanbusiness.com

For information contact: Organised by: In partnership with: Hosted by: Telephone: +44 (0)1453 836363 Email: [email protected] 89 UT2 December 2010

Sonar Sonar Acoustic imaging reveals new detail of lost town

Off the coast of the Dunwich in the coast has been the subject of the seabed and many of the Suffolk in England lies half a countless diving and archaeology remains are fragmentary. medieval town that has long since projects. abandoned to the encroaching Conventional optical systems sea. Despite many diver and Since the 1300s, historic buildings generate blank screens in such sonar surveys, the extent and have been lost to the relentless conditions and the industry detail of the well-known site are encroachment of the North Sea, but has turned to sonar imaging as still unknown as poor visibility attempts to gain any detailed view an alternative. Modern side- frustrates its study. of what lies beneath the water, silt scan sonar and multi-beam and sand off the coast have been echo sounders have located In June 2010, acoustic imaging frustrated by the poor visibility near and visualised the site but the technology was introduced to the seabed. resolution is limited and the anarchaeological survey of the images lack the detail needed to site, revealing hitherto unknown Tidal and wave currents keep fine differentiate carved stonework or detail of the underwater remains. sediments from the seabed in building materials from naturally suspension, causing the very poor occurring geological formations. The site of the sunken town has visibility within lower metres of been the subject of debate for the seawater that limits diving and Although considerable advances several centuries, and the question hampers archaeological survey. This in side-scan sonar and multibeam of how much of the ancient capital is a particular problem off Dunwich echo sounders have enabled of East Anglia remains just off because the site is dispersed over detection and visualisation of

TB presenter Dan Snow and MacArtney’s Mike Sawkins with the Didson

UT2 December 2010 90 Sonar

wrecks and sea-floor sediments, these are still limited MacArtney Underwater Technology employed new by resolution. Diver survey is still required to identify technology to examine the Dunwich site. targets where the remains are not discrete wrecks. Marine Archaeology Professor, David Sear, based at In June 2010, a team working with the BBC and the University of Southampton’s School of Geography teamed up with divers including Andy Rose from the diving instructor company, Learn Scuba, based in Lowestoft, and enlisted the help of sonar imaging expert, Mike Sawkins from the MacArtney Underwater Technology Group. They deployed a special sonar camera, the diver-held (or DH) Didson.

Each diver clipped onto a shot line which had been previously positioned over the ruins using GPS navigation and side-scan sonar data. The divers could then undertake circular sweeps of the sea bed around the shot line, gradually increasing their radius of survey. A set of data was taken hanging over the ruins at a distance of between 8–15m and the second set for close up visualisation at 1–5m within the ruins.

The combination of high frequencies, acoustic lenses and very narrow beams increased the image detail and gave archaeologists greater detail of the site than ever before available.

The DIDSON diver held system enabled us to see for the first time the worked and rubble masonry on the seabed from the ruins of St Katherines Chapel and St Nicholas Church lost to the sea in c.1550 and 1480, respectively. This ability starts to open up the options for marine archaeology in near shore shallow turbid waters around coasts,” explained Professor Sear from the University of Southampton’s School of Geography

Recent surveys of the coastline of the UK have highlighted the extent of non-wreck marine archaeology associated with buildings and settlements that to date are unprotected by law and largely unexplored. Such areas are often subject to development, and as such, require effective techniques for assessing heritage and archaeology as part of development control and planning.

This field trial, which was the first ever use of the Didson imaging system for non-wreck marine archaeology, could change the way archaeologists examine offshore sites where visibility is low, especially where the coastline is silted by rivers or eroded away by the sea. New detail of underwater archaeology

91 UT2 December 2010

Sonar Sonar BARTT Performance Indicator Sonardyne International has added taking account of the environmental A Sonardyne Sentinel may be new functionality and capability to conditions at a specific deployment deployed from a vessel by lowering its Sentinel intruder detection sonar site. the compact sonar head into the system. water from a boom or through a It incorporates a high frequency dedicated hull opening. It is also The Bearing and Range to Target shallow-water sonar performance widely used when mounted on a (BARTT) device can be used to model that takes account of seabed frame to create a permanent provide security boat crews with background noise and reverberation installation for monitoring a port guidance to the position of an plus sound speed through water. entrance, for example. underwater target being tracked by These can predict the signal the Sentinel system. Information variations and the expected When coverage of larger areas is is supplied to the crew via simple, probability of detecting a target. necessary, up to 10 Sentinel heads clear graphical and textual displays can be integrated and they will alert on a large touch-screen smart The SPI Operator version of the new security personnel if any threats phone or similar device. software is designed to give a ‘range enter the area covered by the of the day’ at a specific deployment network. The system can be further The data is provided via a GPRS location. This version requires the expanded to allow ‘friendly divers’ connection with the Sentinel minimum of inputs from the sonar to wear small wrist transponders command workstation and now operator and produces a coloured so that they can be easily tracked provides a vital link to ensure that contour plot showing signal range whilst underwater. once detected, intruders can be and target depth and is very simple deterred or apprehended. for the sonar operator to interpret. The Bearing and Range to Target (BARTT) device The new BARTT system is far more SPI Expert is aimed at effective and secure than boat more experienced users guidance provided over radio. The who may wish to plan Sentinel operator simply selects a sonar deployment by an intruder track to be intercepted predicting the performance and the track position data is then when the Sentinel is automatically transmitted to the installed in different BARTT mobile device and updated locations or to understand every sonar ping. how the performance may change if the conditions vary The mobile device then uses its over time. own position provided by its built-in GPS receiver to calculate range and Sentinel IDS systems bearing to the intruder. This updates are operational worldwide continuously as the patrol boat protecting both commercial approaches the intruder’s position. and military assets, critical energy and civilian The mobile device also sends its infrastructure, VIPs and own position back to Sentinel, maritime borders. where it is displayed on the command workstation. The Sentinel The system uses advanced operator can, in this way, monitor sonar technology to provide a the movement of both the target 360deg, below water protection and the intercepting vessel. zone that can discriminate between genuine targets such The Sentinel Performance Indicator as divers and swimmers and (SPI) is a further new enhancement non-threats such as large fish or that introduces software that can pleasure craft. Sentinel has been provide essential information about designed specifically for ease of the predicted performance of a use by security personnel and to Sentinel IDS. It informs the operator meet the practical requirements of of the sonar’s operating range by everyday use.

UT2 December 2010 92 Echoscope 3D

The unique 3D sonar technology of 50deg by 50deg and within this windfarm installation and the Coda Echoscope is set for new acoustic volume, an instantaneous underwater breakwater decommissioning projects in the 3D image is generated. construction; in all cases significant North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. improvements in operational The fact that these 3D images can efficiency and enhanced The benefits of the Echoscope’s be generated instantaneously and underwater safety are reported. 3D capabilities, which bring real- without the need of positioning, time visualisation to the underwater heading or motion reference sensors “Given the unrivalled operational working environment, were is recognised as a distinct advantage and safety benefits that 3D real- substantiated in a successful role in numerous diverse underwater time visualisation has brought in a recent ‘plug and abandonment’ applications. to many different underwater task in the Gulf of Mexico, applications in recent years, underlining its suitability for entry Commercial achievements with we are delighted to bring a new into the decommissioning arena. Echoscope technology have perspective to the processes of been documented in a range of decommissioning,” said Stephen Echoscope technology generates a diverse applications including ROV Auld, Managing Director at real-time three-dimensional image operations where, as an intuitive CodaOctopus Products. from one acoustic transmission, or aid to the ROV pilot, real-time 3D ping, and from a single ping over visualisation augmented his spatial “We are confident that Echoscope 16 000 range and bearing points awareness when navigating through technology will transfer easily are generated. complex structures. into this environment to enhance subsea safety and increase The total viewing angle measures Other projects include offshore productivity.”

93 UT2 December 2010

Sonar Sonar Rescue challenge for Gemini New SideScan Tritech International has recently GeoAcoustics has launched its next- been involved in the development generation of digital side scan sonars and design of an underwater and Sonar 2094 Digital. surface water search and rescue package. This new Sonar is based upon the industry standard GeoAcoustics Launched in June at the National dual frequency side scan sonar. Fire and Rescue Show 2010, Around 1000 of these systems have Harrogate, SARbot is a remotely been sold since their 1994 launch operated vehicle (ROV) rescue and hundreds of thousands of package, specifically designed for line-kilometers have been surveyed speed and ease of deployment. Tritech’s high resolution imaging across the world’s oceans. The sonar, Gemini 720i system is renowned for its data The intelligent technology onboard quality, ease of use, ruggedness and SARbot, a modified LBV (Little working load, onshore rescue dependability. Benthic Vehicle) system from San personnel can pull the person to shore. Diego-based SeaBotix, includes Sonar 2094 Digital combines these Tritech’s high resolution imaging The SARbot rescue package features with the latest in digital sonar, Gemini 720i. Low visibility also includes Tritech’s new technology to generate a giant leap conditions often restrict effective high-frequency StarFish 990F in system performance: underwater search and rescue; side scan sonar. Towed from a however Gemini 720i provides vessel, StarFish 990F provides Simultaneous dual frequency, clear, real-time sonar imagery which high definition sonar imagery 114 kHz and 410 kHz enables rapid response scanning for target identification. StarFish 24bit data acquisition offering of underwater environments. The can cover hundreds of metres of a dynamic range that makes rescue effort is further assisted by an underwater search area, in a acquisition AGC and TVG obsolete an onboard camera. relatively short period of time. thus providing repeatable results Extended range performance SARbot is equipped with a Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service through 20 MHz raw data sampling mechanical arm which can securely (FRS) helped develop the prototype grip the person and, via a 100kg SARbot after experiencing problems locating and rescuing persons in challenging conditions.

Mike Broadbent, Tritech International, comments: “We are proud to be involved in such a pioneering project for SAR. This is indeed a new application for Tritech’s innovative products and demonstrates the application of our commercial products to the benefit of non-commercial enterprises, which will potentially help save many lives.”

Jesse Rodocker, SeaBotix., comments: “The Tritech Gemini 720i imaging sonar is a critical component of the SARbot, enabling rescue teams to locate and rescue the drowning person more rapidly than previously thought possible. Without the Gemini rescue teams The SARbot are flying blind.”

UT2 December 2010 94 Sonar

Viewing the Past and dynamic digital filtering techniques Improved resolution Very long cable operation

Sonar 2094 Digital incorporates the established 159D towfish design, which is now equipped with new, fully digital electronics, supported by a wide bandwidth link to the new digital side scan transceiver deck unit.

The towfish can be supplied with attitude and/or depth sensors options as well as an RS232 channel for a magnetometer The Goddard vessel interface. Its standard depth rating is 1000m with a 2000m rated The Institute of Nautical The BlueView scanning system towfish available. Archaeology (INA) partnered easily creates high-resolution 3D with OceanGate and BlueView images of underwater areas and The digital side scan transceiver Technologies on an expedition to objects. And because of its small has an onboard Windows PC for create 3D imagery of the size, it can be easily deployed on acquisition software installation A.J. Goddard, a famous a boat, tripod, or small ROV. This and can be delivered with an sternwheeler “ghost shipwreck” particular system has had great inbuilt GPS interface. in Lake Laberge, Yukon Territory, success within the oil and gas Uupgrade paths are available Canada. industry, but this is the first time it for existing GeoAcoustics dual has ever been used for underwater frequency side scan users. Recently designated as a Yukon archaeology. Historic site, the frontier-era steamer disappeared in a winter storm The BV5000 is able to quickly scan in October 1901. Researchers a large target area from a stationary and “citizen scientists” used the position, capturing millions of breakthrough technology to create individual measurements in a the first high-resolution, 3D digital matter of minutes. model of the perfectly preserved steamboat. The survey, which would have taken years to complete, took only days employing the new BV5000 3D scanning system provided by BlueView.

As demonstrated on the Goddard, the BV5000 represents a significant technological breakthrough 1000m depth rated aluminium towfish for documenting of GeoAcoustics’ digital side scan underwater sonar, Sonar 2094 Digital. shipwrecks. Imaging the Goddard vessel

95 UT2 December 2010

Sonar Sonar

Next Generation StarFish

Following the success of StarFish 450F, Tritech International, the innovative underwater technology company has announced the launch of new products to create a range of StarFish seabed imaging systems.

The intuitive, shallow water, high specification side scan sonar range now includes the higher resolution StarFish 452F and StarFish 990F; providing ultra sharp images from the signature full-body, compact, three-fin, hydrodynamic design.

The imaging capabilities of the StarFish range are further enhanced through the application of compressed high intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) and digital-signal- processing (DSP) techniques

StarFish 452F builds on the success of the original StarFish 450F, offering improved resolution with the same long acoustic range of 100m/300ft per channel.

StarFish 990F is the side scan sonar of choice for high resolution survey in ports and harbours, and inland waterways such as rivers and canals. With detailed image definition and target detection, is also ideal for search and recovery (SAR) operations.

Launched in 2007, StarFish set new standards in side scan technology for shallow water survey work. This has led to the development of a complete range of StarFish seabed imaging systems, providing a host of applications including: law enforcement/homeland security, wreck location/archaeology survey, engineering, dive clubs and academic research.

StarFish systems are designed with the user in mind; offering true plug-and- play technology, they are all powered by user-friendly StarFish Scanline software. A software development sit (SDK) is available for download free of charge from the StarFish website, allowing users to integrate a StarFish side scan system into their own software package.

UT2 December 2010 96 Sonar

97 UT2 December 2010 Sonar Sonar Diver Assistance Sonar Divers working for sub-sea services company Fathoms have confirmed the benefits of 3D sonar when working in water with poor or zero visibility. The team has been excavating the seabed at a wreck in European waters where the divers have been forced to rely upon instinct and touch to find their way around the site.

Despite these difficulties, the divers have been able to work effectively by employing a 2001 3D sonar from Marine Electronics Ltd (MEL) to scan the site before each session. The eight-man dive team has been steadily removing the overburden of mud with an air-lift and their work is clearly visible on the MEL sonar 3D profiling sonar images. These reveal the contours of the excavated hole in considerable depths of around 5 to 6m from where The model MEL 2001 is available detail and enable the divers to the acoustic transducer would scan in both cable-connected or self- preserve a mental picture of the site a horizontal swath. It would then be contained logging versions. before they descend to resume work. rotated by a small angle and another The sonar may be fitted with swath captured until a complete conductivity, temperature, pressure, Working at a depth of 24m, the dive circular area underneath the sonar pitch and roll sensors. The logging team has excavated a hole some dome is covered in an operation that unit can process raw data to arrive 20m diameter and 8m deep. By takes just 10 minutes. at an ASCII “XYZ” file. referring to the images from the MEL 2001 sonar it has proved possible to work very efficiently and concentrate on specific areas that required attention. Work is due to resume on the project soon after a break of several months. The team expects to find that considerable in-filling of the hole has occurred and the MEL 2001 will help with its removal before excavation can resume.

Project manager Matthew French explained; “We chose the MEL sonar because we thought it would be the one that gave the best result. In practice it made the divers’ lives much easier by being able to understand the shape and size of the hole they were creating.”

The MEL 3D Profiling Sonar System makes it possible to capture short range 3D bathymetry data at high resolution. The underwater sonar head was lowered on a pole to 3D Image

UT2 December 2010 98 Diver Replacement Sonar Cessna found For two days earlier this year, made over a 50m section of wall L-3 Klein‘s system 3900 Kongsberg Maritime (Singapore) and consequently merged to form dual-frequency side scan sonar has together with its subsea agent SDA the image below. been successfully used by Halifax- Group, conducted MS1000 high based Wreck Hunter to locate a resolution underwater inspection Each scan was completed within Cessna 414 airplane off the coast of trials at a hydroelectric power dam 4–5 minutes, and the data was Nova Scotia. in Laos. processed that same evening to present to dam staff the following The L-3 Klein sonar system is The trials were conducted for staff morning. an extremely high-resolution digital from the inspection and maintenance sonar for use in search and recovery department. Currently, inspections of The results showed the area missions that require a portable side the underwater structures are carried of the dam wall scanned to be scan sonar capability. out using traditional methods such as in good condition. There was divers. However poor water visibility, sedimentation build up on the The System 3900 is designed to strong currents and dangerous concrete steps of the dam floor, support dual frequencies, with water intakes required a safer and which is clearly evident in the a 445kHz frequency that offers more accurate method to inspect image. However this was not an excellent range and resolution, the condition of the underwater issue to the dam staff. and a 900kHz frequency that offers structures. higher resolution of identified An object was seen lying against targets. The MS1000 high resolution sonar one of the steps, so the sonar head was used for the trial and was was moved closer to this object Wreck Hunter sonar operators used deployed from the top of the dam for further investigation. It the low 445 kHz frequency to cover wall at approximately 20m height appears to be a stick or piece of a swath of area 150m wide to above the water surface. Data was metal leaning against the dam locate the aircraft’s fuselage, which recorded in the MS1000 software wall. Divers investigates this was identified in 52m of water 11km program. A number of scans were object at the next inspection. off Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

“Both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and on-site Transport Canada officials were very impressed with the quality of the images from the Klein System 3900, as well as its portability and ease of operation,” said Terry Dwyer, operations manager for Wreck Hunter Incorporated.

“In less than one hour, the system was set up onboard the RCMP Patrol Vessel Preventer, and we were fully operational to survey the targeted search area.”

“The ability to quickly mobilise and deploy equipment, and to locate and identify critical assets and items of interest underwater was one of the main drivers in developing and bringing to market our System 3900 for search and recovery,” said John Cotumaccio, president and general manager of L-3 Klein.

MS1000 High Resolution Sonar

99 UT2 December 2010

Survey ResearchSurvey

Nexus in Arctic Adventure An Applied Acoustics’ rack-mounted For the second consecutive The survey vessels were tasked with USBL tracking system Easytrak year, from May to October 2010, collecting multibeam bathymetry Nexus, has been recently deployed McGregor Geosciences had been with backscatter, 2D high resolution in the northern Arctic Ocean. contracted to map seafloor and seismic, sub-bottom profiles, side- This is the most sophisticated of shallow seabed structures in the scan sonar, box and gravity cores, the Easytrak family, with spread high Arctic. The work was aimed grab samples, water sampling spectrum technology for high at identifying potential drilling and profiles as well as video/stills accuracy performance. Working with hazards and providing baseline photography, with the deployment a variety of dynamic underwater environmental information in of current meter moorings at four targets, the Nexus was used advance of offshore drilling. For locations. Both vessels were fully during a geohazard survey by the work, McGregor mobilised staffed with a team of survey and McGregor Geosciences, the marine two survey vessels, the R/V Strait geoscience experts that carried geosciences and seabed mapping Explorer and the R/V Poseidon out all phases of the acquisition, company based in Bedford, Nova EA 303, ships ideally suited for processing, interpretation and Scotia. operations in ice prone Arctic waters. reporting for the project.

UT2 December 2010 100 Reliable, accurate and well serviced market can provide to ensure their displaying their position on a equipment is the key to the success operations run as smoothly and separate monitor in real-time. of any marine project and to efficiently as possible,” said Matthew augment the suite of McGregor Davis, ROMOR’s Sales Manager, Rick Hunter, General Manager of equipment on board, the Easytrak “and our purchase of Easytrak Nexus McGregor Geosciences confirmed Nexus system was amongst a for our rental pool is just another that both survey vessels, mobilised wide range of acquisition materials example of sourcing exactly what our from Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia and ocean sensors supplied to client’s need.” in early May, have now returned to McGregor by ROMOR Ocean port following a successful mission. Solutions of Dartmouth Nova Used for the first time in Canadian Scotia, to fully kit the two survey waters, the Nexus was mounted in The Easytrak Nexus purchased vessels. the operations room of the survey by ROMOR is the first system vessel where it could monitor the in North America. ROMOR is “We’re dedicated to supplying activity of up to 10 subsea targets the Canadian representative for our customers with the best the within a specified operating area Applied Acoustics.

101 UT2 December 2010 Survey Survey Pacific Survey The NOAA vessel Okeanos Explorer recently tracked the bottom over the Mariana Trench down to 7954m using its EM 302 multibeam echosounder.

As the only United States ship assigned to systematically exploring the largely unknown oceans, the Okeanos Explorer was fitted with its EM 302 multibeam echo sounder last year in order to provide high-resolution maps of the seafloor.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates a wide assortment of hydrographic survey, oceanographic research, and fisheries research vessels and has a full suite of Kongsberg multibeams, including an EM 122 (1x1 deg) for the ship Ronald H. Brown and an EM 710 (0.5x1 Deg) for the ship Rainer.

UT2 December 2010 102 Survey

Marins UAE Systems Integrator Company including attack submarines, Abu Dhabi Systems Integration offshore patrol vessels, destroyers (ADSI) has chosen IXSEA and frigates. navigation equipment on behalf of UAE Navy. ADSI is the combat PHINS (or PHotonic Inertial system integrator (CSI) of 12 Navigation System) also Ghannatha-class missile boats, incorporates FOG technology which will use IXSEA’s MARINS and is a surface INS that outputs inertial navigation systems (INS), position, attitude and velocity data and upgrading 12 Ghannatha- with extremely high accuracy. class transport boats, which will PHINS is high-speed-craft certified use PHINS systems. by the International Maritime Organisation, and will accept aiding The IXSEA systems will be used data from various input sources. It for navigation and positioning and, is suitable for application on any in the case of the missile boats, surface vessel and a variety of to provide attitude measurement subsea vehicles. for weaponry alignment and stabilisation. Oscar Correa, Ghannatha CSI program manager, ADSI, said, “We MARINS is the first high- chose IXSEA because we found performance INS to be based on that its navigation systems are very IXSEA’s fibre optic gyroscope precise, state-of-the-art systems (FOG) technology, and is designed that provide operators with a to meet naval demands for complete set of data. They are also accurate and reliable inertial highly reliable”. navigation. Military-specification- qualified and incorporating a “The systems offered the best sophisticated Kalman filter, this cost benefit from the operational strap-down system is suitable for and commercial viewpoints,” adds navigation and weapons control Mr Correa. “IXSEA’s systems are on all types of naval vessels,vessels, perfect for our applications.”app

IXSEA’s MARINS

103 UT2 December 2010

Survey Survey Alaska Region Research Vessel Slick Sleuth Kongsberg Maritime will supply “The new vessel will open up the ice- OSIL (Ocean Scientific International) and a sophisticated suite of acoustic choked waters of the Alaska region InterOcean Systems, have launched the systems, including multibeam and to scientists from all over the world,” a new oil spill detection system, the Slick scientific echo sounders for the said Terry Whitledge, director of the Sleuth SS300-EX, for use in ATEX Zone Alaska Region Research Vessel Institute of Marine Science at the 1 / Class 1 Division 1 locations. (ARRV), R/V Sikuliaq, which has UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean been commisioned by the owner, Sciences and the project leader. the National Science Foundation and will be operated by the “As the first vessel in the UNOLS University of Alaska, Fairbanks. fleet with significant research capability in seasonally ice-covered Kongsberg Maritime’s specialist US waters, scientists on board the ARRV company, Kongsberg Underwater will be able to investigate a variety Technology, Inc. has been chosen of ecosystem issues, including the as the scientific sonar systems response of Alaska’s fisheries to integrator for the ship. climate change.”

R/V Sikuliaq will have an R/V Sikuliaq will be 254ft (77.4m) Slick Sl euth impressive array of sonar long and capable of breaking through equipment including several 2.5ft of ice at a speed of 2 knots, Kongsberg Maritime manufactured and will be able to accommodate a Slick Sleuth autonomous oil spill systems such as the EM 302 deep total of 26 scientists for up to 45 days detection stations (ADS) were originally water multibeam echo sounder, EM at sea. It is designed and built to launched in 2008 by InterOcean, and 710 shallow water multibeam echo American Bureau of Shipping polar proved extremely popular and successful sounder, TOPAS PS 18 parametric class 5 (PC 5) standards, which will at providing instant detection and sub-bottom profiler and the EK 60 allow the ship and its crew to work notification of oil spills. The latest model scientific echo sounder. In addition, safely for longer periods of time in a enables them to be used in hazardous the new Kongsberg Seatex wide variety of Arctic waters. environments. Seapath 320+ will be supplied as a vessel attitude, heading and When completed it will be one of Manufactured to IEC/ATEX requirements, position reference for the scientific the most technologically advanced the intrinsically safe housing is made sonar suite. research ships in the world enabling from flameproof cast aluminium. Suitable

a wide variety of oceanographic for the most rugged environments, the The R/V Sikuliaq is currently research to be conducted and then unit can be powered by a solar recharge under contract for detailed design transmitted to virtually any academic system, or via plant AC or DC. Mounted and construction at the Marinette institution on the planet. above the water level (typically 1.5m), Marine Corporation in Marinette the Slick Sleuth SS300-EX is easy to Wisconsin, and will be home R/V Sikuliaq operate and maintain. The system is also ported at the UAF Seward Marine perfectly suited for spill monitoring over Center. It is the culmination of plans ground, concrete, or wet/dry drainages, that arose in 1980 from the U.S. wherever spill detection is warranted. scientific community’s recognition of the need for a highly capable The SS300-EX offers micron-level research ship for operations in the real-time detection with non-contact UV coastal and open ocean waters of optical sensor technology (eliminating the Alaska region. issues associated with fouling due to contact with oil or debris, and aquatic/ marine growth), the sensitivity of which can be adjusted to suit the users needs. The unit can be configured to shut off pumps and activate valves and audio/visual alarms, enabling users to respond rapidly to any spill. Data can be transmitted via hardwire or wireless technology.

UT2 December 2010 104 MiniSense2

The CDL MiniSense2 is a second generation MEMS based motion sensor. Building on the success of the original MiniSense product, the MiniSense2 uses the latest high accuracy 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) MEMS technology to achieve higher accuracy in pitch, roll and heave measurements.

In addition, the MiniSense2 introduces a new range of aiding options to allow use in a far wider variety of applications. An in-built magnetic heading sensor provides a 1 deg heading accuracy and a GPS aiding option allows the system to become a complete real time aided navigation and attitude measurement system.

A powerful BlackFin processor provides incredible flexibility and the power to run inertial calculations within the MiniSense2. This means that a wide variety of client specific tasks can be run inside the system CDL MiniSense2 with no need for external processing.

105 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Equipment Echosounder MiniBAT Profiling Option BioSonics has launched the

Subsea Equipment DT-X SUB, a self-contained, OSIL (Ocean Scientific programmable echosounder for International Ltd) has released a scientific data collection. The new towed MiniBAT oil in water system is used for AUV or ROV detection system. instrumentation or in a seafloor observatory for water column profiling The system allows detection of or marine mammal migration and hydrocarbons in water at either evaluating abundance over time. It fixed depth or undulating patterns can also be used to gain insight into down to 60m depth. The system temporal behaviour and variation and has been made possible by event response. utilising the new YSI oil in water

The DT-X SUB is composed of a scientific echosounder with data storage and power systems the MinBAT tow body integrated and packaged in a compact, waterproof housing. It is lightweight, has no external cabling DT-X SUB Seafloor mount and is intended for monitoring and assessing all types of aquatic each tidal cycle for extended periods. organisms, from zooplankton to For example, the echosounder marine mammals. can be programmed to ping for just several minutes each hour Company president Tim Acker said; and toswitch to sleep mode the “This technology has the capacity remainder of the time. to revolutionise hydroacoustics and greatly expand our understanding This “smart” power management of the undersea world. It will enable system greatly reduces power data collection in environments never consumption and extends battery MARINS before possible.” life. The UAE systems integrator company “Development of the DT-X SUB was Power system functionality monitors Abu Dhabi Systems Integration driven by increasing demand for available power levels and performs (ADSI) has chosen IXSEA navigation information about aquatic animals’ a controlled shutdown when power equipment on behalf of UAE Navy. temporal behaviour and distribution runs low. The system can then ADSI is the combat system integrator over time. Continuous, long-term automatically reboot only when (CSI) of twelve Ghannatha-class underwater observation requires power levels are restored. missile boats, which will use the use of autonomous, energy IXSEA’s MARINS inertial navigation efficient monitoring devices. It is fully The system circuitry and features systems (INS), and upgrading twelve autonomous with pressure housings evolved from BioSonics’ experience Ghannatha-class transport boats, rated to 300m–1100m.” building customised echosounders which will use PHINS systems. for AUVs and underwater The DT-X SUB offers solid state observatories where space and The IXSEA systems will be used RAID storage and fully programmable payload requirements are minimal. for navigation and positioning and, duty cycle and echosounder in the case of the missile boats, configuration, enabling the user to The new DT-X SUB offers a will also be used to provide attitude collect and store hydroacoustic data compact, lightweight design measurement for weaponry alignment during the day and night, and during packaged in a 25cm diameter and stabilisation. housing that is 55cm in length. MARINS is the first high-performance Ping rates are user-selectable from INS to be based on IXSEA’s fibre-optic 0.01–30 pings per second, with the gyroscope (FOG) technology, and pulse duration – also user selectable, is designed to meet naval demands between 0.1–1.0 milliseconds. for accurate and reliable inertial navigation. The power transmission ranges from 100–1000W while the background Military specification qualified and DT-X SUB exploded diagram noise is extremely quiet –140dB. incorporating a sophisticated Kalman

UT2 December 2010 106 Subsea Equipment

Mini Sense 2 sensor adapter kit teamed with a The MiniBAT is software-controlled CDL has launched the magnetic YSI 6-Series sonde. and can be set to undulate over a heading aiding module for its low- desired depth range, maintain a costs MEMS-based motion sensor The YSI oil in water sensor adapter constant depth, and can even be MiniSense2. kit uses a unique adapter to plug programmed to follow the seabed the industry-recognised Turner with the MiniBAT automatically Magnetic heading can be derived hydrocarbon sensor directly into altering its depth. from three magnetic field sensors an optical port on a YSI 6-Series mounted orthogonally. The technology sonde. With an operational depth of 60m is very mature, often giving heading and profiling speed of up to 10kts, accuracies equivalent to far more The sonde package then fits neatly the MiniBAT enables users to collect expensive optical systems. It does, to the MinBAT tow body, providing large spatial datasets quickly and however, suffer from poor dynamic users with a system capable of efficiently saving both time and performance and can be almost detecting oil throughout the water money. useless when external magnetic field column for offshore and coastal interference influences the sensor. monitoring. The software allows continuous measurement and real-time display These issues can be partially There are two versions available, of the data, transmitted with water corrected by the introduction of the either a crude oil or a refined fuels quality data from other sensors. low cost motion sensor to the heading sensor: the refined oils version algorithm. The motion sensor performs is also fitted with a built-in The lightweight construction of the badly over the long term but has rejection filter to prevent MiniBAT means that it is highly higher accuracy in the short term. CDOM (coloured dissolved portable and easily deployed by This allows the data to be mixed in organic material) interference in one person from almost any kind of a Kalman filter in order to provide coastal areas. vessel. improved performance. The results are impressive, although not in the same class as our optical technology.

The magnetic heading option on MiniSense2 is of particular interest for the owners of small ROV systems filter, this strap-down system is suitable operators with a complete set of data. where magnetic anomalies often for navigation and weapons control on They are also highly reliable”. hinder performance. The outlay all types of naval vessels, including needed even for CDL’s TOGS low-cost attack submarines, offshore patrol “The systems offered the best cost FOG systems can be undesirable on vessels, destroyers and frigates. benefit from the operational and smaller ROVs, so the MiniSense2 with commercial viewpoints,” adds Mr aided magnetic heading provides a PHINS (or PHotonic Inertial Navigation Correa. “IXSEA’s systems are perfect navigation option at a far lower price System) also incorporates FOG for our applications.” point. technology and is a surface INS that MARINS inertial navigation system outputs position, attitude and velocity The MiniSense2 is also a full inertial data with extremely high accuracy. platform, capable of running almost all the algorithms CDL have developed PHINS is high-speed-craft for our TOGS technology. This means certified by the International that placing a MiniSense2 system on a Maritime Organisation, and small electric ROV system will provide will accept aiding data from features in the future that are only now various input sources. It is being fitted to work-class vehicles. suitable for application on any surface vessel and a variety The MiniSense2 of subsea vehicles.

Oscar Correa, Ghannatha CSI program manager, ADSI, said, “We chose IXSEA because we found that its navigation systems are very precise, state-of- the-art systems that provide

107 UT2 December 2010 Subsea Deep Underwater Vehicles According to Xinhuanet, a domestic submersible has reached a depth of 3759m, making China the fifth country in the world to acquire deep- diving technology surpassing the 3500m mark. The Chinese submersible Jiaolong, which is 8.2m long and weighs nearly 22t, was designed to reach a depth of 7000m and operate in most of the world’s oceans, officials said.

Jiaolong is considered to be the world’s only deep-sea vessel that can theoretically reach those depths. Japan’s Shinkai 6500 has a depth capability of 6500m. The other three countries with deep-diving technology are the US, France and Russia.

A submersible differs from a submarine as it typically depends on another vessel or facility for support.

Jiaolong, with a crew of three, dived 17 times in the South China Sea, going below 3000m four times. It operated at a peak duration of Submersible under construction (Photo: China Daily) nine hours and three minutes and sent back videos and photos of the seabed. “During the design and building of the few countries that possess manned In an experiment when it landed on stage, we overcame many technical deep-diving technology,” said Liu Feng, chief the seafloor, it placed the Chinese difficulties such as pressure director of the diving trials. flag and a sign depicting the resistance, auto-control systems legendary dragon’s palace onto the and battery capacity,” Wang Fei, Lack of experience was the biggest difficulty seabed with a robotic arm. deputy chief of the State Oceanic faced in the trials, Liu said, adding that Administration, said while introducing severe weather such as typhoons and storms “The successful diving trials of the submersible. also hampered efforts. Jiaolong marked a milestone in our country’s deepwater equipment Jiaolong started its diving trials in “We did pressure tests that simulated the and technology development,” said August last year by going through environment at 7000m underwater. That Wang Weizhong, vice-minister of depth stages. depth is our target,” Liu said. science and technology. “From last year’s 50m, 300m and Ye Cong, one of the hydronauts on board China started to develop the 1000m to this year’s depth of more Jiaolong, said he could sit in the vessel while submersible in 2002. Work on the than 3,700 meters, it is a great the other two crew members could only stoop deep-sea vessel and its mother ship achievement. Such a depth means in the cabin. were completed after six years and that Chinese scientists are able to involved about 100 institutions and conduct research in the deep. It “The air pressure in the cabin is the same companies nationwide. also marks China becoming one as it is on the surface. I felt excited and

UT2 December 2010 108 Diving

The Jiaolong sticking a Chinese national flag in the seafloor Image: News CN

nervous every time I went deep underwater,” he said.

Ye continued that the team had just successfully completed the diving trials and it still had a long way to go before the submersible was applied to scientific research.

China’s submersible development is aimed at scientific research to help with the peaceful exploration and utilisation of natural resources, officials said.

Jiaolong’s main missions include physical, chemical and biological research, as well as exploration The submersible “Jiaolong” getting out of the water after completing one dive in the and deep-sea salvage, officials South China Sea in July of 2010. Image News CN said.

109 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Scientific Research Ocean Explorer ROV manufacturer Sub-Atlantic has won a contract to DOER Marine has developed supply a Comanche ROV system for scientific research in the Ocean Explorer H2000 ROV Underwater Vehicles a deal worth just over £1 million. – a high power, versatile compactct system for depths to 2000m, withh a The specialist subsea vehicle will support the construction 1000m option. and maintenance of the MoLab modular seafloor observatory unit at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Standard equipment includes Sciences, Kiel University in North Germany. a hydraulic valve network comprised of dual six function The Comanche which is to be christened Phoca, German valve packs. A typical for ‘seal’, will join the existing IFM GEOMAR fleet of configuration supports a five subsea equipment. function manipulator with one spare, leaving seven available The 3000m Comanche will complement the 6000m-rated valve stations each with work class ROV called Kiel 6000 which also operates 3500psi capability. using Sub-Atlantic thrusters. It runs alongside an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) named Abyss. These can be used for a wide variety of functions including Ocean Explorer H20H200000 The modular observatory is an innovative deep sea bio boxes, sample trays, rotary system that can be deployed globally and monitors cleaning brush, releases, light bar actuation, or other custom several square kilometres of seabed over several months, tooling. Image and data collection is supported by three gathering biological, chemical and geophysical data for simultaneous video signals, six data channels (2x RS485 and a variety of important scientific projects using a suite of 4x RS232), Ethernet, and is HD fibre ready. subsea sensors and sampling equipment. The six thrusters, quad configuration plus dual verticals, Head of the MoLab project, Dr Olaf Pfankuche explained provide 327lbs of forward thrust. Payload is 16lbs (72kg) with why they decided to buy the Comanche. a shaft output of 7.5HP. -– all this from a vehicle that weighs 895lbs (406/kg), with a footprint of only 60 by 39 by 38ins. “The Sub-Atlantic Comanche was chosen for its reputation and impressive track record in a variety of challenging roles. Additionally, we see important synergies between Phoca and Kiel 6000 in commonality of components, maintenance and training. “The compact Merlin nature of the vehicle, allows for deployment from smaller vessels.” IKM Subsea has recently signed a contract with Olympic Shipping for delivery of two Merlin WR200 ROVs. These will be installed on the Olympic Hera and the Olympic ZeusZeu .

TheThe lease agreement is based on solid built ROV systemssys with a duration of 1+1 year. In addition to the ROV,RO IKM Subsea will supply personnel, engineering servicesserv and operations support to Olympic’s operations. TheThe value of the two-year contract is estimated to exceed NoK one hundred million.

“Our“Ou goal is to become one of the biggest players in this field,field and we plan to build six full ROV spreads every year,”yea said Ben Pollard, business director IKM Subsea.

IKMIKM Subsea AS is strongly represented in their niche whichwhi they provide ROVs and trenching nationally and internationally.inte

AsAs a strategic grip, the company recently spun off as a separatesep division within the IKM group. To strengthen its positionpos in the market, the Group has recently acquired thethe local ROV tooling company Technique AS. TheThe CCommancheommanche RROVOV

UT2 December 2010 110110 Underwater Vehicles

Pipe Inspection

Pro-ROV Services was contracted use of a SeaBotix LBV300-6 by Ocean Innovations and and 750m (2420ft) tether, line/ C and W Divers to perform a tether distance counter, along one-day inspection for the West with audio and video recording Basin Municipal Water District’s equipment. Pro-ROV Services (Los Angeles, CA) temporary was able to penetrate up to 579m desalination demo project at the (1900ft) before coming to sand Redondo Beach Harbor. buildup that was less than the 355mm (14in) of height of the The project entailed a 610m ROV. (2000ft) penetration of an old but existing saltwater 3m (10ft) At regular intervals as dictated diameter reinforced concrete by the line counter and on-site intake pipe. engineer the ROV was put on the floor of the pipe and then sent The pipe was initially built as the straight up to the crown of the cooling intake for the adjacent pipe for height measurements. The SeaBotix LBV300-6 This method was employed as exact measurements were not required where profiling sonar would have been used. As this is only a temporary inlet pipe for demonstration purposes of the desalination project, this method of measurement was determined to be accurate enough.

“Longer pipe penetrations up to 2000m (6000ft) are possible with the LBV300-6” says Mark Stepanek, owner and operator of Pro-ROV Services.

“This model of ROV provides Pro-ROV Services to offer longer pipe penetrations along with a power plant. The requirement was small form factor enabling access to find out what the remaining to smaller diameter pipes, often clearance was throughout the a requirement by municipalities, inside of the pipe. construction companies and utilities” said Stepanek. It was known that there was sand build up as divers had penetrated “Water depth is not usually an part of the pipe, but could only go issue with these type of projects, so far. More information needed but having a small ROV with to be collected on how much sand the capability to pull 2000m of and debris was in the pipe in order cable while taking great video for C and W Diving to determine and sonar and sending it back costs and time commitment to up to the surface for real-time remove the sand and debris. viewing by engineering is a real plus – There just aren’t that many This was accomplished with the companies that can do this.”

Merlin WR200

111 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Shipwreck Find Iver 2 Teledyne Gavia, the maker of gathered astonishing images of OceanServer Technology, a leader Gavia Autonomous Underwater ships lost for centuries. “The Gavia in next generation AUV technology, Underwater Vehicles Vehicles (AUVs), announced that AUV’s performance was impressive announced today that Cal Poly has an international team from ProMare in what was assuredly difficult and agreed to purchase a second Iver2 (US), the Norwegian Maritime unknown terrain. The Gavia AUV AUV for research purposes. The first Museum (Norway), the Norwegian made surveying in the deep lakes Iver2 AUV was purchased in 2008 University of Science and Technology in Telemark (Norway) possible and and has been used extensively for (Norway), and Teledyne Gavia gave us brilliant results we could not a variety of research applications (formerly Hafmynd ehf) have located have achieved with a towed sonar including one project that required nearly two dozen, well-preserved system or another AUV of lesser the vehicle to operate under the ice shipwrecks in the lakes of the depth rating or of a less robust Telemark Waterway in south-central design and construction.” stated Brett in the Arctic. Norway. Phaneuf of Promare. The new vehicle will also be a multi The waterway has been used for use platform in a number of research transportation of people and goods efforts including marine life tracking for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The shipwrecks located in the waterway are suspected to range in date from the Medieval/Viking Age to the mid-19th century. The team surveyed the location over a period of 3 days and will return to the area in the summer of 2011 to continue exploring the waterway for more shipwrecks and evidence of historic and ancient watercraft and commerce.

To locate the shipwrecks the team deployed a Gavia AUV, provided by Teledyne Gavia, equipped with the latest sonar imaging and inertial navigation systems. The Gavia AUV has a modular design and a depth rating in excess of 500m. The Gavia vehicle was used in several locations Above and below: from a vessel of opportunity, and Shipwreck discoveries

The Iver2 AUV

UT2 December 2010 112 Underwater Vehicles

(such as sharks). The EP42 vehicle Interface (API) with select vehicle analysis tools. This unique software will be outfitted with a DVL for command options to permit backseat design, coupled to a growing precision navigation and acoustic driver control of the Iver2 AUV. variety of sensors, has enabled current profiling, along with a dual OceanServer to carve out a strong port camera system and a low- The EP42 vehicle provides added position in the research space power acoustic modem. payload space and a larger battery for Autonomous Underwater system with 760W hrs of total battery Vehicles. The EP42 Expandable Payload capacity for extended mission range. (EP) platform includes a dedicated The VectorMap programme can user CPU with disk to enable the All Iver2 AUV models come standard input NOAA ENCs or any geo- installation of a user-selected with OceanServer’s VectorMap referenced chart, map or photo operating system, sensor drivers Mission Planning and Data image, allowing the operator and behavioral software. In addition, Presentation tool, which provides to intuitively develop AUV missions the EP vehicle ships with a well- geo-registered data files that can using simple point-and-click documented Application Protocol be easily exported to other software navigation.

113 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Underwater Vehicles

ABYSS in Hydrothermal Exploration

The autonomous underwater to measure mixed processes in the composition etc.) or map and image vehicle (AUV) ABYSS from water column. For this reason, the the seabed (bathymetry, side scan, IFM-GEOMAR successfully P403 expedition contributed to the magnetics, gravimetry, photography). completed its 50th dive last further development of ABYSS as a The vehicle contains two 5.6 kWh week during the Poseidon multidisciplinary research platform. 29V lithium-ion battery packs allowing expedition P403. an operating and mapping of up to 24 During the 50 dives, ABYSS covered hours. During the dive, ABYSS took a distance of 2446 km in 453 hours high-resolution bathymetric altogether. During the expedition A graphic mission planner lets users measurements of the P403, which ended on August 30th, build mission files at the beginning of well-known Lucky Strike ABYSS completed 11 dives without each mission. hydrothermal field as well as any technical problems. The vehicle oceanographic data with a was used up wind force 6 and 3 Sensors of the base vehicle include new microstructure profiler, metre high waves. pressure, temperature, conductivity, constructed by Rockland optical backscatter and eH-sensor Scientific Inc. The REMUS 6000 type AUV is (in cooperation with Dr. Koichi able to carry a payload to great Nakamura, Japan), and an inertial The data delivered by the depth in order to measure ocean navigation system that is aided by profiler illustrates that the AUV water characteristics (conductivity, an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler is also an excellent platform temperature, Eh, chemical (ADCP) with bottom lock capabilities.

UT2 December 2010 114 Underwater Vehicles

115 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles MBARI Long-Distance AUV

Underwater Vehicles Over the past decade, expected. The AUV completed a it, or we could schedule a research autonomous underwater vehicles four-day science run with plenty cruise and hope that the bloom (AUVs) have become increasingly of battery power remaining, using would happen while we were out important in oceanographic relatively low-power rechargeable on the ship. Tethys can travel to a research. Today’s AUVs fall into batteries. Based on these promising spot in the ocean and ‘park’ there two groups: 1) propeller-driven initial results, the researchers hope until something interesting happens. vehicles that can travel fast and that the little robot will eventually Once a bloom occurs, Tethys can carry lots of instruments, but are be able to travel from California to move fast enough to follow the limited to expeditions of only a Hawaii using high-power disposable bloom and watch it evolve, the way few days; and 2) “gliders,” which batteries. a biologist on land might follow and can stay at sea for weeks or even study a herd of deer.” months at a time, but cannot travel very quickly. Tethys From the very beginning, Tethys was Tethys is the brainchild of MBARI’s designed to be as energy efficient MBARI engineers recently Chief Technologist, Jim Bellingham, as possible. Its hull, motor, and demonstrated a new super- who has been designing cutting- propeller were computer designed efficient AUV that combines the edge AUVs for almost 20 years. and tested to minimise drag and best of these two approaches. This maximise efficiency of propulsion. new long-range AUV (LRAUV) “In designing this AUV,” said can travel rapidly for hundreds of Bellingham, “ we were actually trying Like a fish, it can control its kilometres, “hover” in the water for to make a fundamental change buoyancy and the angle at which it weeks at a time, and carry a wide in how we do oceanography. In “swims” through the water. The robot variety of instruments. the past, if we wanted to study also incorporates sophisticated something like an algal bloom, we power-saving software like that The new robot, called Tethys, could either put out a mooring and found in some laptop computers, spent most of October hope that the bloom would drift past which monitors what systems are crisscrossing Monterey Bay as part of MBARI’s CANON experiment. Oceanographers used Tethys to track patches of microscopic algae that were carried around the bay by currents. During this experiment, the robot showed that it could travel fast enough to buck the currents, but could also go into “hover mode” to drift with the currents when needed.

In “high-speed mode” the LRAUV can travel up to one meter per second (2.25 miles an hour) - about four times faster than most underwater gliders. However, it can also travel long distances at around half this speed.

After spending four years designing, building, and testing Tethys, MBARI engineers were happy to see it working out in the real ocean. In fact, the AUV Jim Bellingham, Thomas Hoover, and Brett Hobson work on the long-range AUV at the performed even better than MBARI test tank. Photo: Todd Walsh © 2010 MBARI

UT2 December 2010 116 by Kim Fulton-Bennett, Mbari

being used, and turns off those systems that are not in use.

This quest for energy efficiency is not without its risks. For example, most robotic vehicles are slightly buoyant. This means that, if all else fails, they will float up to the surface. However, with its variable buoyancy system, Tethys can make itself neutrally buoyant. If the entire system went dead under these conditions, the robot would remain drifting somewhere below the surface, and could be very difficult to recover. To mitigate these risks, MBARI engineers designed numerous fail-safe systems into the robot, some of which have their own independent power supplies.

Most AUVs are programmed at the surface to follow a pre-set path through Brett Hobson watches Tethys floating at the sea surface in Monterey Bay. the water. Some can be reprogrammed Photo: Todd Walsh MBARI via a satellite link when they come to the surface. Tethys takes this process Bellingham put it, “You cannot predict middle of the patch, to drift with the further, and can make some decisions exactly how the AUV will behave— currents. A second LRAUV would without human intervention. For that’s the whole point. But you still circle around the outside of the example, during the CANON experiment, want to make sure that whatever it patch to measure how the shape it was programmed to follow a course decides to do, nothing bad is going to and size of the patch changed over that would allow it to map the vertical happen to the vehicle.” time. and horizontal extent of algal blooms beneath the ocean surface. Bellingham hopes that this new AUV Bellingham also hopes to use two design will be small and inexpensive LRAUVs with different instruments Such internal decision making becomes enough so that it can be used for in a single experiment, so that increasingly important when robots a variety of ocean research and they can monitor different types of operate for weeks or months at a time. monitoring. “We did some research marine organisms simultaneously. and found that the most used He explains, “Although our first As Bellingham put it, “We found that research vehicles were the smallest vehicle is equipped to study controlling the vehicle from shore via ones. But it’s a real challenge to phytoplankton blooms, we want satellite was just too cumbersome. balance the factors of complexity, to equip subsequent vehicles to By the time the vehicle had seen a weight, and cost. Ultimately we’d characterize other organisms, such promising patch, reported it to us, and like to Tethys to be a vehicle that is as zooplankton [drifting marine we had sent the vehicle back toward broadly accessible to scientists—a animals]. We are working on the the center of the patch, the patch had vehicle that can be launched from a bottom of the food web now, but moved. Also, controlling the robot 24/7 small boat, at relatively low cost.” eventually we hope to observe was very tiring for the human operators. interactions between organisms at We suspected, and now we know, that Even as Tethys was being put different trophic levels. For example, the long-term success of such research through its paces in October, MBARI we could study zooplankton grazing depends on the vehicle being able to engineers were busy building a on phytoplankton, or fish and carry all this out on its own.” second LRAUV. As Bellingham points marine mammals feeding on krill. Of out, “These vehicles are designed to course, this is going to be a long- As with the energy efficiency software, run as part of a pack.” For example, term effort.” having such sophisticated internal when tracking patches of algae, one Reprinted with kind permission control software carries certain risks. As LRAUV could be “parked” in the of the author.

117 UT2 December 2010 Versatile ROV

SeaBotix recently teamed up manipulator functionality. and manoeuvred it so we could view with SEAmagine Hydrospace, what was causing the problem,” manufacturers of one-atmosphere As part of a successful ten-day said Caplehorn. “A section of rock submersibles, to create a unique expedition to Catalina Island with was attached to the kelp and had and revolutionary system for client SEAmagine, Caplehorn carried out entered the tube. Using the ROV, Underwater Vehicles Mike Caplehorn. four training dives piloting the LBV, we were able to clear the tube and with SeaBotix’ global sales manager, proceed with the dive. The constant SEAmagine’s Deep-C 9 is its Sean Newsome, which proved the depth and heading capabilities of the latest two-man Ocean Pearl utility of this feature. In total, the SeaBotix LBV were key to moving model. Classed by ABS, the Deep-C performed 23 dives over 42 in an area where surge was moving submersible is rated to a depth of hours, in areas ranging from shallow the sub, the kelp and the ROV.” 320m. SeaBotix worked closely sandy sea bottom to large kelp fields with SEAmagine to integrate its and 300m-deep ledges under strong Sean Newsome said “I’ve spent a 320m-rated LBV300 HD ROV into wind, surge and current conditions. combined year and a half under its hull. This included installing a water on Trident Submarines in the purpose-built tether management The benefits of the training occurred Navy, but this was the first time I had system (TMS) with an ROV immediately. On the proceeding a big transparent ‘pearl’ of a window. garage and a tractor drive to dive following the training session, Knowing the LBV was immediately deploy and retrieve the LBV. A Caplehorn was forced to deploy the successful in both the primary special feature of SeaBotix’s ROV LBV due to the inability of Deep-C mission in holding steady in current was the inclusion of a guillotine to clear a large flat section of kelp as the second point of view system cutter. that was threatening to block one of (alongside the fixed-mount HD pan its thrusters. The normal procedure and tilt on the submersible), as well “Since the primary use for the is to simply reverse the submersible as in the secondary mission in being LBV is to film in and around and have the kelp exit the tube an emergency rescue tool at +300m, shipwrecks, the ability to cut its immediately in front of the thruster. is very gratifying to the SeaBotix own umbilical was critical should it crew, seeing as it was performed be irreversibly entangled, trapping “We successfully launched the ROV just one day after training.” the submersible,” said a Seabotix spokesman. “The emergency system requires three active operations to function.” The LBV300 HD is the first mini-ROV with a truly-integrated high-definition 1080i video system. Employing a Sony block camera installed within the camera enclosure, it has the same 180deg tilting capability as the standard cameras.

The video feed is via SeaBotix’s 8mm fibre-optic tether with 100kg working load. By building the system into the LBV camera enclosure without changing the vehicle profile, HD LBVs can also carry and simultaneously run other large sensors on a lower tool skid.

The hydrodynamic efficiency and payload capability is the same as standard LBVs. In the case of Deep-C’s LBV300 HD, this provided sufficient space to mount both a universal 3-Jaw grabber as well as the guillotine cutter for dual The Seabotix ROV on a tether from the SEAmagine’s Deep-C 9

UT2 December 2010 118 Underwater Vehicles A Seabotix LBV installed in a console within the Deep-C 9

The Seabotix LBV SEAmagine Deep-C 9

119 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles

Underwater Vehicles QX Ultra controller), a Zipjet and a high-pressure water jet tool, all installed within the main frame.

Normally on a medium-size work ROVs, this causes access problems with for maintenance. This is not the case with QX Ultra. Highly resilient polypropylene side protection completes the frame package. These removable single piece items offer good protection with unprecedented access to the ROV internals when removed.

The control system is completely new, and one of the main evolutions when The QX Ultra undergoing dock trials compared to previous generations of SMD vehicle. For many years, SMD has supplied The QX Ultra incorporates a number Subsea 7 with work class ROVs to of new technologies spanning different Codenamed DVECS2, the primary keep them ahead of the game. engineering disciplines, many of which changes centre on the control software have been borrowed from SMD’s and topside control hardware. Subsea Subsea 7, through its i-Tech compact Atom ROV system released control architecture largely remains subsidiary, has provided feedback from earlier this year. The design criteria for the same as previous SMD vehicles to the operational experience. For its QX Ultra was to create a reliable and allow a level of backward compatibility part, SMD has been able to contribute versatile work platform coupled with with ROVs already in the field. a wealth of knowledge in the design eye-catching purposeful aesthetics. and manufacture of such systems. SMD’s proven subsea distributed This operator/supplier combination had “Work class ROVs from different control network is still employed to already resulted in the design of the manufacturers tend to look similar communicate with components on the Centurion QX ROV design. based on the fact that they are vehicle. However, the need for separate configured to do the same jobs,” said junction boxes has been eliminated with After 3 years of SMD producing the ROV manager, Mark Collins. “SMD, instrument and spare connection points Centurion QX, Subsea 7 went out however, has worked hard to create incorporated into the main pod. to the open market to assess ROV a machine that will stand out from the suppliers and technology. SMD crowd while addressing the shortfalls As well as increasing space and successfully fought off the competition of other and previous WROV designs.” saving weight on the vehicle, this to continue supplying Subsea 7 with philosophy also reduces complexity work class ROVs and to produce the QX Ultra’s frame is designed for and the number of harnesses. most recent iteration – a new vehicle strength whilst incorporating weight- Miniaturisation of pod components designated QX Ultra”. saving techniques derived from the has largely made this possible, but as aerospace industry. Welded upper and with all SMD ROVs, the pod remains This ROV has been designed as a lower decks coupled with ultra rigid serviceable in the field. general purpose work class ROV tubular sections offer maximum rigidity, that will enable Subsea 7 i-Tech whilst a bolted external framework QX Ultra is configured to interface to carry out a multi-ROV contract permits easy replacement of frame with the latest ROV instrumentation. for Petrobras in Brazil. The 125hp sections if damaged. There is also a A CDL TOGs/Nav gyro with integrated system is designed primarily for rig large space for tooling. DVL offers accurate positioning and support and field maintenance but unlocks SMD’s ROV DP (dynamic is also equally capable of carrying The ROV is fitted with two hydraulic positioning) feature. ROV DP out construction tasks and survey control units (one a Curvetech, the functionality is standard on QX Ultra operations. other a Zetechtics Jupiter 2 torque tool and all SMD ROVs.

UT2 December 2010 120 Underwater Vehicles

QX Ultra front view

to traditional four-pole counterparts. When an item is scanned and the Hydraulic quick release panels are reader docked, updated information conveniently positioned in the porch is uploaded to the local PMS server area for easy access to spare tool within the ROV cabin and then channels. Care has been taken to forwarded onshore to the main base ensure these do not infringe on the computer server. This powerful available porch space whilst still being system can help an onshore ROV easily accessible for maintenance. manager track assets, spare part usage and maintenance records In addition to the vehicle and control across a fleet of systems quickly system, SMD has also designed and and efficiently. manufactured the QX Ultra A-Frame DVECS2 is based on a SCADA/PLC and winch. Both are optimised to SMD recognises that good support setup rather than SMD’s previous handle the ROV, ensuring the entire is as important as reliable and SCADA/UNIX setup. The new system package makes efficient use of space. versatile technology. As a result, offers better graphical feedback SMD remains the only work class it has invested heavily in regional and improved diagnostics to keep ROV manufacture in the world with offices around the world over the operators aware of the vehicle the in-house ability to manufacture the last 18 months. In addition to the subsystems’ status. If a fault occurs complete subsea/surface package. UK headquarters, Singapore and subsea, operators can diagnose the Houston are also technical centres problem and prepare for repairs while The QX Ultra system includes a planned with support staff and spare parts the vehicle is being recovered. This maintenance system (PMS) and RFID in stock. By the end of 2010, SMD reduces downtime. tagging system which is a first for will have an office open in Brazil to work-class ROVs. The SMD PMS is support the large number of vehicles Operators can configure the vehicle an integral part of the QX Ultra control in the region. for new tasks quickly and easily. system and is accessed from the main Graphical representations of vehicle screens from within the cabin. The SMD is determined to continue subcomponents such as the main system monitors vehicle usage and driving new beneficial technologies pod and valve packs can be called flags maintenance tasks that are due. and improved support services into up on the touchscreens (or main the work class ROV market. The screens) and channels assigned new Operators are instructed on tasks technology advances incorporated parameters. to undertake and report on actions in QX Ultra will soon underpin taken. Maintenance data is logged for SMD’s other models, including An advanced trending and logging particular components so a historical the Quantum construction class system is also incorporated to help record can be kept. Data interface ROV and Quasar general purpose operators find intermittent fault with the components on the ROV is by class ROV, when new versions are problems. Operators can refer back in means of an RFID tag reader ssystem.ystem. rereleasedleased iinn 20112011.. time to when a fault occurred and notot only look at the status of the suspectedted component, but also what other The QXQX Ultra frame usesuses components were doing that may bee aerospace weight-savingweight-saving connected to the fault. techniquestechniques

The main hydraulic components are from SMD’s respected Curvetech range. A Curvetech seven-channel intelligent thruster control unit ensures precise control of four HTE380 (380mm) thrusters providing horizontal propulsion and three HTE300 (300m) thrusters providing vertical movement.

A Subsea 7 lightweight two-pole hydraulic power unit (HPU) helps keep weight down while also freeingg up space within the frame when comparedred

121 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles

Saab Seaeye in the Caspian With the Caspian seabed a A suite of Tritech equipment including hazardous jungle of unrecorded old a Super SeaKing Sonar with a dual

Underwater Vehicles pipes and cables from the Soviet era, frequency profiling sonar head, a a Cougar XT ROV from Saab Seaeye side-scan sonar, and altimeter, is is to become a vital investigative tool also fitted, along with a Tritech bathy now that new pipelines are being laid. system.

After a favourable experience The Cougar XT comes with two five- operating the vehicle elsewhere, function heavy duty manipulators, a engineers of the State Oil Company grabber jaw, camera boom adaptors of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, decided to for the manipulators with Seaeye deploy the Cougar XT in the Caspian colour camera fitted, a water jetting Sea for their underwater applications. system, cleaning brush assembly, The ROV will be used for diving and 4in hydraulic rotary disc cutter, pipeline inspection of the SOCAR 38mm anvil cutter, Cygnus ultrasonic current projects, and for future seabed thickness gauge and CP probes. inspection as new pipes are laid. Three removable skids are available: In addition to pipeline inspection a tooling skid, wheeled skid and an and seabed survey, it will be used AX ring skid with AX ring removal tool for a variety of tasks including the and additional buoyancy.The ROV inspection and survey of vessels and will be launched from a Saab Seaeye platform legs. stainless steel tether management system fitted with a camera and SOCAR has taken a high-spec upgraded MUXs. version of the 2000m-rated Cougar XT with an upgraded video package Deploying the Cougar will be a crane including two Kongsberg high- style launch and recovery system, definition mono low-light cameras, supplied with a bullet/swivel assembly two Kongsberg colour zoom cameras, and lock latch assembly, together a pan and tilt platform and LED with an A60 zone ll-rated ROV control lighting. cabin.

Above: Cygnus ultrasonic thickness gauge and CP probes Right: Cougar and launch equipment

UT2 December 2010 122 Underwater Vehicles

2UHD Schilling Robotics has received work-class ROV systems. The an order for two new 200hp UHD UHDs feature Schilling’s unique ROV systems from specialist power management system, subsea service company DOF remote diagnostics, and advanced Subsea. automatic piloting modes that deliver superior operational stability In addition, two original UHDs and precise control. delivered to DOF Subsea in 2006 will be upgraded to the advanced Based on integrated sub-systems, UHD Gen II design, providing the UHD reduces complexity, enhanced capabilities and performance. A Schilling UHD Deliveries of the 4000m rated UHDs are scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2010.

This order reflects a continued commitment between DOF Subsea and Schilling Robotics for the increases efficiency, and lowers the supply of advanced, high- cost of owning and operating an performance, ultra-heavy-duty, ROV from day one.

Modular Range Earlier this year, the Swedish model in the range. This means ROV manufacturer Ocean that if the need for a higher power Modules released a series of ROV is needed, it is possible to just ROVs which, they say, brings a change the components, rather than new meaning to modularity. This purchase a new ROV. translates to seamless and cost- effective upgrades. The basic VB is a minimal lightweight vehicle, but the addition of more At the bottom of the range spohisticated add-ons extended is the simple VB model. By frames and increased buoyancy, turn changing and upgrading specific it into the V4 ST, V4 XT, V8 Sii. components, however, it is Ocean Modules ROVs possible to turn this into other

123123 UT2 DecemberDecember 20102010 Underwater Vehicles ROV Range for 2011

Underwater Vehicles Graham Hawkes was instrumental rapid response deployments in introducing the Mantis and WASP and use from smaller ships of diving systems to the offshore oil opportunity.” and gas industry, and has been involved in producing generations of “When you look at the cost of ROV manned submersibles. He has now operations, it is driven primarily founded an ROV company called by the ship costs, not the cost of Hawkes Remotes (HRI). the actual ROV,” added Jonathan Epstein, the company’s chief The initial product line-up offered executive officer and co-founder. by the company is a family of three different ROVs. This group For a large percentage of subsea incorporates new proprietary fibre- tasks, HRI’s vehicles enable those optic tether technology and high costs to be eliminated or reduced energy-density batteries to enable by 80%, which will improve the range, depth and deployment economics for existing subsea capabilities well beyond those of businesses while enabling new current-generation ROVs. subsea applications and increasingg the potential scale of ocean The F6500 ROV HRI’s ROVs will leverage the exploration by the world’s research company’s newly developed community.” SpiderOptic technology, which uses thin armoured fibre-optic The three ROV models will be tethers that pay out as the vehicles launched in 2011. The first vehicle, move, reducing drag, improving the U-11000, is scheduled for performance, and eliminating the release in the first quarter and will need for cumbersome ship-based be optimised for long-range survey, support infrastructure. observation and light intervention, making it ideal for remote HRI’s SpiderOptic cartridge inspection, repair and maintenance systems will be available in single- work (IRM) in commercial subsea use (disposable) and reusable environments, as well as for a range configurations, and are designed of oceanographic applications. to be easily and quickly swappable The F11000 ROV in the field. In addition, all HRI The U-11000 will have a range vehicles will be made available for as long as 20km from its launch full ocean depth, building on a suite point, allowing it to be deployed for of tested components developed for certain tasks from shore or from the Challenger manned deep-sea an ocean platform instead of from submersible. a ship, further reducing the cost of operations as compared to current The U-11000 ROV “SpiderOptic technology ROV systems. fundamentally changes the way ROVs move through the water,” HRI’s next two ROVs will be said Graham Hawkes, the launched in the second half of company’s chief technology officer. 2011. These will include the T- “By using thin tethers deployed 6500, designed for a broad range directly from the vehicle, we will of tasks below the launch point. fundamentally alter the performance They will also include the F-11000, and efficiency of deep sea and long a hybrid AUV/ROV model, with up range deployments. This technology to 6kts forward thrust and a large also gives HRI’s ROVs a decided payload for sensory and survey advantage in portability, enabling equipment.

UT2 December 2010 124 Underwater Vehicles

AC-ROV

Distributors for AC-ROV, the camera and light options was delivered. N3 Maritime: versatile underwater micro ROV, Enhanced dive team safety have been particularly busy The system has successfully recently. One such, the Singapore- completed multiple filter and pump N3 Maritime (Singapore) required a based Trekar Asia Pacific has inspections with no down time. dual capability ROV system to work reported a number of recent in conjunction with its commercial successes, including the following: dive team and as a stand alone Private Sale: inspection tool. Prosafe Production Services: Sidescan survey package A 40m tethered AC-ROV and Tritech Following a product survey and AC-ROV permanently deployed on FPSO Starfish side-scan sonar system was demonstrations it was felt that Trekar sold an AC-ROV to global delivered to an industry professional as the AC-ROV offered the best fit. owner and operator of floating a combined shallow water survey and Used for mapping and planning production, storage and Offloading inspection package. the dive site, the compact AC- vessels (FPSOs), Prosafe ROV is also the useful to be Production Services. The compatibility of the two deployed with the dive team as systems was demonstrated, with a confined ingress tool, a free- Prosafe required an ‘on board’ the portable, robust and simple-to- swimming or a hand-held camera solution that could visually inspect use characteristics of both systems and health and safety device. and monitor the integrity of FPSO apparent. turret mooring chains. The highly portable AC- With a combined cost of less than ROV has further enhanced The solution had to be easy to £10 000 the client has purchased N3’s underwater harbour deploy, be easy to operate with a powerful low cost survey and inspection capability, with the no specialist training required and inspection package that required 120m tethered AC-ROV being have the ability to circumnavigate a no specialist training and minimal deployed on vessel and facility chain link without the camera losing comparative operating costs. integrity inspections. the target.

The 100m tethered AC-ROV system is permanently deployed on Prosafe’s FPSO vessel Espoir Ivoiren, operating offshore, the Ivory Coast, West Africa.

Singapore Public Utilities Board: In-house inspection replaces diver Looking to replace divers with a customised in-house inspection capability, the Singapore Public Utilities Board (SPUB) demanded a solution that offered the combined abilities of open and confined water inspection.

Due to the remote operating locations involved, a portable and robust system was recognised as being important. Following a very successful in-situ demonstration to SPUB operatives, a 40m tether AC-ROV with laser scaling and rear The micro vehicle, AC_ROV

125 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Sea Swarm

Underwater Vehicles Following the Deepwater Horizon accident, around 5 million barrels of oil escaped into the water. Up to 800 skimmers were deployed to remove the water from the surface, but because of challenges of operation and scalability, they were only able to remove 3%.

This prompted workers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to propose SeaSwarm a new system for ocean-skimming and oil removal. At its heart is a nanofabric that selectively absorbs large quantities of hydrophobic liquids like oil without collecting water. The nanomaterial, patented at MIT, can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil. By heating the nanofabric, the oil can be removed and the fabric re-used.

Each Seaswarm robot is comprised of a head, which is covered by a layer of photovoltaic cells, and a nanowire covered conveyor belt. This flexible conveyor belt softly rolls over the ocean’s surface, absorbing oil while deflecting water.

The photovoltaic cells generate enough electricity to keep the fleet moving Seaswarm Prototype for several weeks and provide the energy to propel the vehicles forward. As the head moves through the water, the conveyor belt constantly rotates and sucks up pollution. The nanowire-covered belt is then compressed to remove the oil. As the clean part of the belt comes out of the head, it immediately begins absorbing oil, making the collection process seamless and efficient.

This process is more streamlined than current ocean-skimming technologies because the robots can operate autonomously and don’t need to return to the shore for constant maintenance.

SeaSwarm is intended to work as a fleet, or ‘swarm’ of vehicles, which communicate their location through GPS and WiFi in order to create an organised system for collection that can work continuously without human support. Because they are smaller than commercial skimmers attached to large fishing vessels, they are able to navigate hard to reach places like estuaries and coast lines.

SeaSwarm works by detecting the edge of a spill and moving inward until it has removed the oil from a single site before joining other vehicles that are still cleaning. Oil is ‘digested’ locally so that SeaSwarm does not need to make repeated trips back to shore, which would dramatically slow collection time.

As the vehicles work in unison, they can cover large areas, and by communicating with each other and researchers on land, they can coordinate their collection efforts. Measuring just 16ft long by 7ft wide, the fleet can access hard-to-reach places like coastlines and estuaries.

The first SeaSwarm prototype was tested in the Charles River in mid- August 2010. The vehicle’s flexible conveyor belt easily adapted to surface waves and successfully propelled itself through the water. Seaswarm in development Top right and right: SeaSwarm, a project by the MIT Senseable City Lab Photos by Kris Krüg and Andrea Frank.Graphics by Adam Pruden

UT2 December 2010 126 Underwater Vehicles

Oil Detection

In response to rapidly growing demand for highly portable and adaptable methods for measuring water quality and oil pollution – particularly in conjunction with the impact of oil spills on marine habitats – VideoRay and Turner Designs have integrated an industry- standard Turner Designs C3 Submersible Fluorometer with one of the world’s most popular mini-observation remotely operated vehicles.

The Turner Designs C3 is specified by the US Coast Guard in the SMART protocol for detecting the presence of oil. The C3 Submersible Fluorometer is designed to incorporate up to three optical sensors, temperature and depth.

Sensors can be selected to detect crude oil, refined fuels, CDOM, in vivo Chlorophyll a, blue green algae, rhodamine WT dye, fluorescein dye and optical brighteners. Turbidity sensors are also available.

Video Ray and Turner Designs

127 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles ROV Modules Greatship Ramya OEG Offshore (OEG) has been Greatship Global Offshore Services anchor handling vessels, two jack up awarded a series of subsea (GGOS), a subsidiary of The Great rigs, two multipurpose vessels and

Underwater Vehicles contracts worth £1.2 million. It will Eastern Shipping Company, has one ROVSV. GIL and its subsidiaries deliver various ROV modules to taken delivery of Greatship Ramya also have an order book of seven Subatlantic, PSSL, Schilling and a Platform/ROV Support Vessel vessels - one MPSSV in Singapore, Subsea Robotics. (ROVSV) from Colombo Dockyard, two MSVs in India, two ROVSVs in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and two 150 TBP AHTSVs The contracts involve six ROV in Singapore. control cabins and workshops for Greatship Ramya is a DP2 vessel, Schilling for worldwide use and two capable of supporting offshore The Greatship Ramya is 78m in ROV cabins for Subsea Robotics exploration and production and has length, has a breadth of 8m and a for use in the Asia Pacific region. been built complying with the new 3700t deadweight at 6.3m draught. The PSSL deal comprises one ROV SPS Code 2008. It weigs 967 net tons. It can travel cabin, whilst Subatlantic requires as speeds up to 13.8kts (10kts two ROV control vans – all of which With the delivery of Greatship economic speed). have been designed to be used in Ramya, Greatship subsidiaries international waters. currently own and / or operate four It has a number of tanks, including platform support vessels, seven 988m3 liquid mud, 913 drill water, Garrick Hirst, Engineering Manager at OEG, said “Working on an international basis means that our products can be deployed across various countries and continents, which have varying acceptable standards.

Our units are not only designed to comply with DNV 271 and A60 standards where required, but can also be upgraded to Zone II for use in hazardous areas and CSC plated to enable cost-effective transportation from one location to another.

“Our comprehensive understanding of the nature of work that our subsea customers are involved in means that our designs for ROV cabins and workshops are geared towards creating an ergonomic workplace for employees. This enables a more fluid working environment that reduces stress and increases productivity, with the aim of minimising man hours and consequently, costs.

“Furthermore, we are currently working on new designs that will hold more benefits for customers, such as quicker hook-ups, hazardous area upgrades and an ability to increase turnaround time during customer equipment Greatship Ramya integration.”

UT2 December 2010 128 Underwater Vehicles

ROV Backpack 790m3 brine, 761 potable water, 140m3 The new ROVPACK backpack lets an operator transport one of the methanol and 1304m3 fuel oil. it has a lightweight Ocean Modules vehicles, such as the RESROV or HOTROV, pair of roll reduction tanks. with both hands free.

Deck equipment includes tow 8t This simple concept, in combination with full-size Ocean Modules Thruster capstans, two 10t tugger winches and a 110 units in a very compact and light frame, opens up a wide range of 3t deck crane. The deck area is 725m2. possibilities for safely using a full-power ROV in situations that were There are four tunnel thrusters, two previously only practically accessible with much less capable micro-ROVs. 900kw in the bow and two 400kw in the stern. It can be anchored by two 1700kg high holding stockless units and 330m by 43mm chain cables either side. There is also an anchor/mooring winch.

ROV support systems include removalbe bulwards, s store workshops and deck sockets of 440, 220 and 24v DC.

The new ROVPACK backpack

Deep Ocean/Falmouth Falmouth Scientific and Laurel Industrial has announced the acquisition of Deep Ocean Engineering of San Leandro, California. Deep Ocean has delivered nearly 600 purpose-built ROV’s and tooling to more than 250 customers in more than 40 countries since the company was founded in a small workshop in 1982.

129 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Sperre

Norwegian ROV designer Sperre has developed a new hybrid ROV Underwater Vehicles (H-ROV) which has two novel features that make it suitable for inspection and intervention work.

The new ROV concept has its roots in an idea that Sperre owner Thor Olav Sperre believes will bring much-needed innovation to the somewhat stagnant, old- fashioned field of ROV design and manufacture.

One of the features that distinguishes the H-ROV from ordinary ROVs is that its thrusters can swivel round their own axes to provide optimal driving power in the direction of travel as well as compensate efficiently for current and cable drag.

This offers an improvement in performance of anything from The hybrid ‘H’ ROV 30%–50% in comparison with all conventional ROVs currently in SeaOtter MkII and SAS dem production. This in turn means placing a different tool in place of that the H-ROV will be particularly the original tool. The manipulator Atlas Elektronik has successfully suitable for subsea dynamic arms can, therefore, automatically delivered a series of technology positioning and autotraction reach in the same location for this demonstrations of the SeaOtter operations. new tool than look somewhere else MkII and Vision600 Synthetic in a tooling rack. Aperture Sonar (SAS). The buoyancy element with its thruster(s) will also be capable This essentially means that the H- The SAS equipped AUV conducted of rotating independently of the ROV can carry four times as many over 10hrs of survey runs mapping H-ROV’s main chassis and the interface tools and sensors as a various sea bed features in the thruster platform, allowing the conventional ROV. shallow waters of Portland Harbour. H-ROV to simply redefine forward The Vision600 SAS provides 1in and aft, and thus enabling more “The H-ROV will meet future resolution across the 200m wide equipment to be mounted and needs for extra sensors and tools, swath covered by the system. employed on operational tasks, as and will be more cost-effective well as providing a 360deg view. at great depths since it will not The Vision SAS system is the result be necessary to bring it to the of a dedicated research effort by Thye second novel feature is that surface for reconfiguration,” said a Atlas Elektronik UK in collaboration it can be fitted with a tooling skid spokesman. with Atlas Elektronik in Germany. which can also be rotated. The manipulators can take one tool “The H-ROV, which is a new The Vision600 SAS is a out, say, a jet cleaner to remove design, will create a new market demonstration of the continual marine fauna from a subsea tree as well as capture segments of the evolution of sonar technology, interface. existing market for ROVs. It will which Atlas Elektronik Group is be a perfect tool for the offshore committed to pursue. The Vision It can then be replaced in the industry, research, marine biology family of sonar is designed in a pod in front of the manipulators. and archaeology, environmental modular manner and by adding The tooling pod can then rotate, studies, etc. additional transducer arrays in

UT2 December 2010 130 ISE

ISE has delivered a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for SNK Ocean, a Japanese marine services company based out of Tokyo, Japan.

The HYSUB ROV – the “Hakuyo 150-3000” – is designed to perform several functions including cable burial, salvage, research and survey.

It is SNK’s deepest diving ROV, rated to an operational depth of 3000m.

It will compliment SNK’s existing HYSUB ROV that operates to depths of 2000m. The vehicle is equipped with four lateral and three vertical thrusters, two manipulators, a full sensor package, and ISE’s customised control system, ACE. The HYSUB ROV – the “Hakuyo 150-3000” monstration

different configurations can be smooth deployment, flawless overseas visitors, Dorset Police adapted to produce wider swath mission execution and easy and UK MOD showed great coverage, higher rates of coverage recovery of the AUV in and out interest in the demonstration with or inferometric bathymetry. of the Atlas Bincleaves waterside representatives from the navy facilities. In addition to the hydrographic unit and UUV team. The system is designed for AUV use with low power consumption, and can be directly interfaced with the MARPOS positioning system on the AUV. Furthermore, the system is controlled through the use of the payload manager in the SeaOtter MK II where it can be co-located and acoustically interfaced with other sensors.

A joint Atlas team from Germany, UK and Denmark (ATLAS MARIDAN) held the demonstrations to UK and foreign military, as well as offshore survey and exploration organisations and companies over the course of three days.

Potential Customers from as far SeaOtter MkII and Vision600 afield as Singapore, USA, Nigeria Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) and all around the EU witnessed

131 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Cougar Contract French Jifmar Offshore Services has ordered two Saab

Underwater Vehicles Seaeye Cougar XT ROVs for a new Algerian contract. This importantp new pprojectj will involve work at three differenterent oil terminal points where the ROVsROVs will be used for inspection,nspection, maintenance and repair (IRM)(IRM) tasks on structures,ctures, pipes, manimanifoldsfolds and the umbilicals at fivefive SPMSPM buoys.ys.

Jifmarar OffOffshoreshore ServicesServices specialise in services to onshore and offshoreoffshore oil and gas terminals, including surfacesurface and subsurfacesurface IRM. For JiJifmar,fmar, reliability was paramount in theirr choice ooff ROV.ROV.

‘We chose SaabSaab SeaeyeSeaeye because we trust the reliabilityreliability ooff their ROVs,’ROVs,’ says Jean-Michel Berud,ud, president ofof JifmarJifmar OffshoreOffshore Services.Services.

He explainedexplained that the CougarsCougars will undertakeundertake a numberumber ooff vital tasks that include checking the criticalcritical shape ofof the ‘Chinese‘Chinese lantern’ buoy structurecture anandd determiningdetermining chainchain integrity.integrity.

To ccheckheck the shape and location ooff these structures, the ROVsVs will be fittedfitted with a 3D3D multibeammultibeam sonar. AndAnd thethe chainchain thicknesskness willwill bebe measuredmeasured usingusing a TritechTritech TyphoonTyphoon laserlaser scalinging system.

Jifmarar is also planning to fitfit a water jetting cavitation cleaningning system forfor blasting mollusc clear ofof thethe chains.ns.

In additionddition the, CougarsCougars will be equipped forfor a rangege ooff IRM tasks with equipment and toolingtooling that includesincludes low-lightlow-light colourcolour andand blackblack andand whitee wide-anglewide-angle cameras on a pan andand tilttilt mechanism;chanism; a UUSBLSBL trackingtracking systemsystem and a duall five-functionfive-function heavy duty manipulator skid.

The power ooff the 2000m rated CougarCougar XT design meansans iitt can operate heavyheavy dutyduty toolingtooling andand handledle a wide rangerange ofof work tasks includingincluding drill support,port, salvage,salvage, survey andand IRM,IRM, at a muchmuch lowerlower costt than using an hydraulic work ROV.ROV. Winches and control Differenterent tooling options are easily added and cabin are supplied by changed,nged, usiusingng the ROV’sROV’s modular interfaceinterface and Techsafe who have bolt-on-on custom sskids.kids. collaborated with Seaeye in the development of The RROVOV pilot gets unrivalled manoeuvrability ROV support systems fromm ffourour vectoredvectored horizontalhorizontal thrustersthrusters anandd for over 20 years and two verticalvertical thrusters,thrusters, eacheach havinghaving velocityvelocity are fully experienced in feedbackdback forfor precise control and built with drive the rigours of offshore technologyhnology that givesgives the CougarCougar one ofof thethe operations. highesthest thrust-to-weightthrust-to-weight ratioratio inin itsits class.class.

UT2 DecemberDecember 22010010 132132 3D modelling of ‘Chinese lantern’ TheirTheir ccabina interiors are custom Both systems will be ATEX, A 60 designed,designe ergonomically efficient zone 2 certified. andand cancan be easily altered. Uniquely, theirtheir wwinchesin are designed For Jifmar, the benefit of be mobilised quickly and have a to taketake up little space yet can incorporating the Cougars into their reduced demand for deck space. accommodateaccomm 1.5km of cable. They fleet brings the advantage of a also havehav the unique feature of light-work ROV resource that can ‘We also like that, using the torque ccontrol which automatically fulfil a wide range of contractual Cougars, means we can offer a full stops theth winch should ROV needs at a low cost. They are easy service without putting divers at recoveryrecover be fouled. to handle, need few crew, can risk,’ concluded Jean-Michel Berud.

133 UT2 December 2010 UT2 December 2010 134 Part of the flexible hose change on board Jifmar Paul B

135 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Ullswater Delivered Underwater Vehicles The West Division of Hallin Marine Subsea International Ltd has taken delivery of the purpose built subsea operations vessel, The Ullswater, and immediately won its first saturation diving contract.

The West Division of Hallin, a Superior Energy Services company, has previously been involved solely in the supply and operation of Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

The Ullswater, complete with its in-built saturation (Sat) diving system and operations team of divers and engineers, has commenced work on a contract for Acergy offshore Angola.

The move into full vessel operations and Sat diving follows a hectic period behind the scenes at Hallin’s West Division’s headquarters in Aberdeen, with the creation of new office space, a diving operations team and the recruitment of new staff with relevant diving and vessel experience.

The three-month plus contract for Acergy has seen the Hallin vessel the SOV Ullswater transit from Las Palmas to provide support for works associated with the Angola Liquefied Natural Gas (ALNG) pipeline network and Total E&P Block 17.

The work will be carried out in two phases, air dive support for the ALNG and saturation dive support for Block 17, and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Mike Arnold, the managing director of West Division, said: ‘Having a specialist, purpose designed, new vessel like the Ullswater with its outstanding saturation diving system and capabilities, was the next logical step for West Division and allows us to continue our growth and offer our clients the wider-range of services they have been requesting.

‘We are very pleased to be working with Acergy on its Angolan contract.

‘This project is ideal for the Ullswater, showcasing its abilities and inbuilt systems, and was exactly what it was built for.

‘The vessel’s combination of saturation diving, air diving and ROV systems and advanced lifting capacity means we expect it to be ideal for the work that is currently The Ullswater being bid in West Africa.’

UT2 December 2010 136 Underwater Vehicles

137 UT2 December 2010 Underwater Vehicles Fugro Contracts Cable Sensing Suite In partnership with vessel owners Greatship and Farstad, Fugro Brasil An inshore cable survey system has been awarded 3 long-term contracts for ROV support vessels by that senses cables, is set to cut

Underwater Vehicles Petrobras. costs in the burgeoning marine energy industry by using a smaller The value of the tripartite contracts for Fugro is approximately US$ 140 ROV than usual for work of million and will involve ROV services and positioning. Greatship will be this kind. Typical costs for this providing the vessels Greatship Rohini and Greatship Ramya. Farstad combination would be around will be providing the vessel Far Scotia. £150 000 compared with nearer £500 000 with a conventional system.

Submagnetix has integrated the Drive compact Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV with its system, to create Hägglunds has won a significant type approved band brake assembly to such a small and rapidly mobilised order for system drives from SMD. the motor for the winch. Each one will package that can be deployed from The order is for 20 hydraulic drive be assembled into the winch module a small vessel and survey all types systems for launch and recovery of complete in Hägglunds new power unit ROVs. build facility in the UK. of inshore and coastal submarine cables and pipelines. The £870 000 order includes drive The customised marine power unit, systems for the umbilical winches utilising Bosch Rexroth pumps and As the only survey solution of its and A-frame systems which SMD valves, will also be integrated into the kind in the world, Innovatum’s are supplying to Subsea 7 vessels for module and designed and built in the Smartrak 9, can sense cables use in the Petrobras operations off facility. All units are designed to meet carrying either AC or DC current, the Brazilian coast. the tough marine certifications and and cables with no current or signal some units are of ATEX explosion at all. It also senses steel pipelines. Each drive system has 75 KW proof design as well. of installed power and using a The system includes fitting the Hägglunds Viking 64 series hydraulic The order, placed in July 2010, was Falcon ROV with a Tritech Super winch motor, known for its tension taken on a short delivery time for SeaKing profiler system to provide control characteristics on umbilical the first two systems. These were high quality cross-sectional cable handling operations. delivered on time in September. The profile data of the seabed and to rest are scheduled for deliveries provide underwater ROV position Also included is a Hägglunds DNV towards the end of 2011. data, a Tritech Micron-Nav USBL navigation transducer along with pitch and roll sensing, an accurate flux gate compass, a high accuracy altimeter and a pressure sensor for depth.

Surface equipment consists of three small rack units – one for the ROV controller, the other for the cable tracker and acoustics unit, and another for the surface navigation and video and event logger. Only two people per shift are needed to launch and operate the system, with one controlling the ROV and the other the survey equipment.

Although the system can use ROVs from different manufacturers, the Falcon is a trusted design with Hydraulic Drive over 200 in use around the globe. Hägglunds system drives for SMD

UT2 December 2010 138 Underwater Vehicles

Its success has come from Passive Magnetic Mode the repeater drive currents. A ‘true being a powerful free-swimming North-Seeking Gyro’ is required to ROV that is small enough to This is used for pipeline survey work obtain accurate heading information. be manhandled, yet is packed using the natural field of steel pipes, with technological innovations and for cable survey, either by the This is similar to passive magnetic developed from Saab Seaeye’s weak natural fields of the cable or the mode, except the field gradients are wide range of observation and stronger fields developed by specially produced by the DC current flowing work-class vehicles. magnetising the cable armour or in the cable or pipe. strength member prior to cable lay. For survey work, the Falcon has a Fields produced by a DC current in low electrical and acoustic noise An array of vertically mounted this manner are at right angles to the signature for optimum survey magnetic gradiometers is used fields produced by the magnetism of sensor data. to collect magnetic field gradient a pipeline. Range is dependent on information. The change in field the current in the target, varying from Submagnetix was established gradient near to the target is caused <1m at 0.5A to >10m at 500A. to carry out submarine cable by both the intrinsic magnetism of the surveys in shallow water depths target and the effect of the permeable from the beach down to 50m. material in the target ‘bending’ the Active AC Mode This is the typical scenario for magnetic field of the earth. This method of tracking is primarily offshore windfarms, interconnector used for locating, tracking and power cables and coastal The local terrestrial field effects are surveying cables. communications cables. mathematically removed and the field gradients resolved to produce a two- An array of up to six tri-axial flux Comprehensive reports and dimensional target position. A tri-axial gates is used to sense the alternating charts are created, showing fluxgate sensor, which may be part of magnetic field produced by a accurate cable route and depth one of the gradiometer instruments, is unidirectional AC current flowing of bury along the route. These used to provide heading information in the target cable or pipeline. This are required by installation and this, combined with the known current flow must have a remote contractors, owners and heading of the target, is used to adjust return path. regulatory authorities, to ensure the calculations for angular offsets and that the cable is prproperlyoperly burieburiedd ttoo proproduceduce ththee ttrackingracking didisplay.splay. AsAs the frequencyfrequency of thet AC may be and not in dangerdanger of beibeingng accuratelyaccurately controlled,controlled and the magnetic exposed to damage.damage. field signalssignals maymay be accurately filtered, Active DC Mode highlyhighly accurate data may be produced. The cable and pipeline trackingtracking TThishis option iiff used fforor tracking live TargetTarget direction datadata is also produced, systemsystem uses three differentdifferent HHVDCVDC cablecables,s, and trans-oceanic allowingallowing accurate alignmentali of cable methods to acquire targettarget datadata.. ttelecommunicationelecommunication cacables.bles. IItt ddoesoes tthishis maintenance vehiclesvehicle with the target by trackintrackingg the mamagneticgnetic ffieldsields ffromrom cable.cable.

Innovatum sees its system having a greatgreat appealappeal to small survey companies,companies, electricele companies andand those carryingca out hydrographichydrograph studies.

It meansmea they no longerlong need to use a large,l bulky and expensive,exp power- hungryhun survey sysystem,st says the comcompany.

A falcon ROV with the cable sensing unit attached

139139 UTU 2 December 2010 Diving Diving Sea Trials The Havyard 858 DSV Acergy Havyard Design delivered basic Havila is one of the most advanced design and calculations. diving support vessels ever built. It was constructed at Havyard Havyard Steelcad delivered Group’s shipyard Havyard Leirvik detail engineering and workshop in Sogn in Norway and is now drawings. performing the final sea trials. It will be delivered to the owner, – a joint Havyard Elektro delivered electrical venture between Acergy and Havila installations and electric systems. Shipping imminently. Havyard Powertec has delivered electrical engineering and Havyard After delivery, the owner will IASTM integrated automation perform extensive final testing of the system. advanced diving systems before the vessel is put into operation. Havyard Ship Services followed up building of the steel hull in Turkey The Acergy Havlila is a purpose- and will service the vessel in the built vessel for saturated diving warranty period using Havyard Life operations. From the beginning the Cycle Portal. vessel has been designed to fit the advanced saturated diving vessel Main data system. Havyard 858 DSV:

The highest attention has been Loa: 120 m given through the whole process Breadth: 23 m to minimise hazards to the people Dead weight: 7250 T involved in the construction of the Deck area: 1050 m2 vessel and to the crew and divers Speed: 17 knots working on the vessel in operation. Accommodation: 120 persons The result is the most advanced, SAT diving system: 24 persons state-of-the-art Diving Support Main crane: 250 tonnes Vessel in the world. Aux. Crane: 40 tonnes Aux. Crane: 10 tonnes In addition to Havyard Leirvik Class: building the vessels, several other DnV +1A1 - E0 – SF - DYNPOS companies within the Havyard AUTRO – SF – DK(+) - CLEAN Group has delivered products and DESIGN - COMF-V(3), NAUT-AW services to the vessel. - HELDK SH - ICE C - DSV-SAT

UT2 December 2010 140 Diving

141 UT2 December 2010

Wind Power Wind Power Dogger Bank The development of the world’s ten per cent of the electric power at the existing substation in Cottingham, biggest offshore wind project has demand in the UK. Yorkshire. now been launched. Between The Dogger Bank zone is seen as 9000–13 000MW of wind power are Now that the first stage has been having a strategic position between the planned by 2020. identified, we are going to see the UK, Norway and continental Europe actual development work in the and has therefore been identified by The development consortium form of wide-ranging environmental the European Wind Energy Association Forewind has announced the studies. Research will focus, for (EWEA) as a central grid node in first stage in building the biggest instance, on bird migration routes, on the organisation’s plans for an inter- offshore wind farm project in the the structure of the seabed and on European electric power grid. This is world. Dogger Bank is a sandbank the animal and plant life in this area. where wind power fluctuations might one approx. 120 miles (200 km) off the day be balanced out by storable energy east coast of England. Covering an As well as setting up the actual wind from Norwegian hydropower plants and area of about ten times the size of turbines, the planning also covers then be available 24/7 for transportation Berlin, some 900MW of offshore the construction of substations at as base load to central consumer areas wind power are to be installed here sea and on land and the laying of in Europe. by 2020 and can eventually be submarine high-voltage cables that expanded to 13 000 MW. will take the electric power from the The Dogger Bank zone is being sea to the end user on land. developed by the Forewind Consortium Due to the sheer size of Dogger which comprises RWE Innogy, Scottish Bank, the project has been split For the first construction phase of and Southern Energy (SEE) and the into four stages. Each stage, in the Dogger Bank wind power plant, Norwegian energy utilities Statoil and turn, will proceed in three phases a grid connection point will be set up Statkraft. of development and construction. The exact location of the first stage in the southern section of the sandbank has now been announced. It will be located between 75 and 110 miles (between 125 and 180km) off the Yorkshire coast, covering some 770 miles2 (2000km2), where the water is only about 100ft (30m) deep. Within this space alone wind turbines will be generating an installed output of up to 1400MW.

“The offshore wind project Dogger Bank is one of the biggest energy projects in the world – similar to the Three Gorges Dam in China or the Desertec Project in northern Africa,” said Prof. Martin Skiba, Head of Offshore Wind at RWE Innogy.

“It somehow represents the aim which the entire offshore wind industry has been heading for. With each project that is successfully developed and set up over the next few years we’ll be getting closer to this aim.”

In the future the Dogger Bank Wind Power Station might cover about Dogger BankSource: Forewind

UT2 December 2010 142 Wind Power

Greater Gabbard Jumbo Offshore has successfully completed its transition piece (TP) installation project for the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm (GGOWF), off the UK’s south-east coast.

For client Fluor, Jumbo’s DP2 heavy lift vessel Jumbo Javelin installed 131 TP’s (out of 140 in the field) with a record-breaking installation speed of more than 1 TP per day. The job included leveling and grouting operations and was done without any serious accidents or incidents. This is the first time that TP’s have been transported and installed using a free floating vessel on dynamic position.

Jumbo’s scope included transport, installation, levelling and grouting of the TP’s. During the mobilisation in March 2010 the Jumbo Javelin was outfitted with job-specific equipment, amongst others temporary living quarters (Ferguson), a grout plant (Densit) and an access system (Ampelmann). The Ampelmann is a ship-based, self stabilising access system that actively compensates all vessel motions. It was used to give crew safe access from the vessel to the installed TP as well as efficiently guiding the grout hoses.

In addition, Jumbo developed and built its own Above and below: the installation of transition pieces using the passive lifting compensators (with a 2.5m stroke Jumbo Javelin and a safe working load of 300t) and two job- specific, remote release operated, spreader bars to lift the TP’s.

Each time after loading nine 280t TP’s in the Port of Flushing, the Jumbo Javelin sailed to the offshore location where she positioned herself on DP and started overboading the first TP onto the monopile. Every TP was placed in the specified orientation and then leveled to its final position. Next, the annulus (the space between TP and monopile) was filled with grout to fix it permanently. After the final survey the TP was handed over to client Fluor.

The Jumbo Javelin is able to carry 9 TP’s at a time, stowed vertically in the hold and each with weights up to 300t. The vessel is well-equipped for wind farm installation work: it is free floating, uses its DP2 system to create an efficient and safe working environment, has a transit speed of 17kts and sails with open hatches. This means a large transport capacity, fast transit times to the installation site, fast installation and fast relocation from one position to the next.

143 UT2 December 2010

Maintenance

Maintenance Icebreaker Protection in Antarctica expeditions The British Antarctic Survey needed a coating that would protect their ice strengthened research vessel Ernest Shackleton during expeditions to the Antarctic region in which it is subjected to extreme mechanical forces.

Ecospeed has proven its ability to withstand the harshest winter conditions on numerous occasions and was therefore selected as the new underwater hull coating for the vessel.

The vessel was coated in Frederikshaven, Denmark, where the grit blasting and application of the two layers were done under the eye of an Ecospeed inspector. The timing was geared to the schedule of the yard. This flexibility can be easily achieved with Ecospeed because the coating has no maximum overcoating time.

Ernest Shackleton is a 1A1 ICE-05 class icebreaker which is used for expeditions to the South Pole. Throughout these journeys the vessel has to crush the thick ice of the Antarctic Ocean and its underwater hull therefore needs to be protected against the extreme The Ernest Shackleton mechanical forces that it has to encounter. Ecospeed’s track record proved to the owner that the coating coating on the underwater hull of an project to provide scientific data can withstand even the harshest icebreaker that has been sailing to and to authenticate the non-toxicity circumstances. both the North and the South Pole of the Ecospeed hull performance since it was coated 3½ years ago. technology. This research proved that For over four years several vessels the coating is 100% toxic free and coated with Ecospeed have been The owner of this vessel has since that it produces no negative effect sailing the most northern parts of then also had Ecospeed applied on on the water quality or the marine the Baltic Sea during the winter the icebreaker’s sister ship. environment at any point. season when they are almost completely frozen. Besides its durable resistance to Furthermore, because Ecospeed mechanical damage, Ecospeed creates an impermeable barrier for Despite the frequent impact of large is also a non-toxic coating and protection against corrosion and pieces of floating dry ice, none offers a TBT-free, copper-free marine fouling, the coating is ideal of these vessels have required and biocide-free solution for the for in-water treatment, which consists more than just a few touch ups protection of the underwater of two procedures. First there is a during their drydock visits. Further hull. In 2008 stringent tests were one-time conditioning applied with evidence of Ecospeed’s resistance carried out within the framework custom-designed tools to improve the is the excellent condition of the of an EU-LIFE demonstration surface characteristics of the coating.

UT2 December 2010 144 Protection system used on icebreakers

Applying the coating

Conditioning is followed by regular underwater cleaning, removing any marine fouling at an early stage of development without causing damage or deterioration in the quality of the Ecospeed coating layers.

Its drag characteristics will even improve significantly with repeated and multiple underwater treatments. Instead of suffering from the cleaning action designed to remove biomatter in its very early stages, an Ecospeed coating will gradually improve, thereby steadily enhancing the ship’s performance. This translates into substantial fuel savings and a reduced carbon footprint. Protected hull

145 UT2 December 2010 Seismic Seismic eBird Kongsberg Seatex, Kongsberg Maritime’s specialist in position reference systems and attitude determination, has through the introduction of the eBird redefined lateral steering within the seismic industry for streamer control. eBird was launched just last year and will now be deployed in full scale on a PGS vessel.

PGS has signed a contract with Kongsberg Seatex for use of eBird on a Ramform vessel equipped with its latest 3D GeoStreamer technology.

GeoStreamer is PGS’ proprietary and the seismic industry’s first multi- component towed streamer system, providing improved data quality, broader bandwidth, reduced noise, increased weather window and greater operational efficiency.

“PGS has over the past years carried out extensive functional and reliability testing of the Kongsberg eBird system to verify it meets our stringent product qualification standards and operational requirements.

eBird has fulfilled our expectations and we are now outfitting our first The eBird fin Ramform vessel with a full eBird installation in line with our strategy to standardize on eBird as the which has also validated the use of provides a range of solutions for primary system for controlling our eBird in seismic data acquisition advanced vessel navigation and GeoStreamer 3D and 4D spreads,” production. control together with AUVs and says Nils Lunde, Head of Marine acoustic systems. Engineering at Petroleum Geo- eBird complements the wide range Services (PGS). of solutions provided to the seismic “The launch of eBird received industry by Kongsberg Seatex substantial interest from the eBirdis a novel bird solution for including Seatrack and RADius tail- seismic industry, and we are very lateral, vertical and roll streamer buoy and gun-float tracking. satisfied to see that PGS will control in marine seismic acquisition utilise our eBird in its 3D seismic that enables fault tolerant and Seapath advanced positioning and operations. With the increasing efficient multi streamer steering precise heading solutions, MRU demand for streamer steering for by employing a wide range and VMM attitude determination more efficient marine operations of innovative and patented systems, HMS 100 helideck and for emerging concepts such technological solutions. monitoring and AIS 200 automatic as 4D seismic we are confident identification system. that eBirdis on the right track for The eBird technology is developed the future,” says Gard Ueland, in close cooperation with PGS, Further, Kongsberg Maritime President of Kongsberg Seatex.

UT2 December 2010 146 Seismic

Spectrum 3D Multi-Client in Australia New Centre Spectrum has released a new found within this basin, including CGGVeritas has been awarded a three- large-scale 3D multi-client rollover anticlines and fault blocks year contract by Maersk Oil to perform seismic merge dataset. This associated with antithetic faults, high-end seismic data processing amalgamation of key surveys stratigraphic traps, pinchouts and and imaging services at a dedicated encompasses over 30 000km2 of onlap plays. centre which was inaugurated on the Carnarvon Basin situated off 29th September 2010 in the Maersk the northwest shelf – Australia’s Spectrum’s 3D dataset will provide Copenhagen office in Denmark. premier hydrocarbon province. a valuable tool for pursuing these multiple play types and The Dedicated Processing Center Most hydrocarbons found in the for those companies interested (DPC) gives Maersk Oil experts the basin are sourced from Upper in participating in the current flexibility to work in a close collaborative Jurassic Dingo Claystone, Australian hydrocarbon bid environment with an onsite team with possible input from other rounds. Spectrum’s newly merged of highly experienced CGGVeritas source intervals. In the outboard data covers several open blocks geophysicists specialising in time, Rankin Platform, giant gas included in the 2010 / 2011 bid depth, 4D and OBC processing and accumulations as well as oil and round. imaging. gas accumulations along the inboard eastern Gipsy-Rose- The 3D merge encompasses To help solve targeted challenges for Lee trend are sourced from a 30 surveys in total, all carefully their various E and P assets, Maersk delta-based Triassic to Middle balanced and phase matched Oil will have access to the latest Jurassic sequence. by Spectrum’s experienced CGGVeritas seismic technologies and geophysicists. The results of this be able to provide input to R and D The oil reservoir is primarily in undertaking give an excellent projects. the Windalia Sandstone Member high resolution overview of the of the Muderong Shale and the Carnarvon Basin. Troels Albrechtsen, Senior VP Lower Cretaceous Barrow Group Corporate Technology and Projects, which has excellent reservoir The Carnarvon 3D merge project Maersk Oil, said: “Establishing the DPC characteristics. Late Cretaceous forms part of the significant within Maersk Oil is a key element of and middle Miocene faulted Spectrum ASB data library, which our continuous commitment to provide anticlines provide structural includes regional and basin- our geoscientists and engineers with traps. specific seismic data alongside a first-class seismic data necessary for large well database covering the optimum exploration and development A wide range of play types is prospective offshore NW Australia. decisions.

3D multi-client seismic merge dataset of the Carnarvon Basin

147 UT2 December 2010 Seismic Seismic Dyneema Ropes The seismic research vessels Ramform Sovereign and Ramform Sterling are equipped with towing and spreader ropes made from Dyneema ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibre. These are among the latest in a large fleet operated by Petroleum Geo- Services (PGS). The Ramform Sovereign and Ramform Sterling each deploy up to 20 seismic streamers.

PGS specialises in reflection seismology services, using specially equipped vessels fitted with a series of tethered hydrophone arrays that can reach lengths of up to 12km. One of its competitive advantages is its ability to achieve higher-resolution data than its competitors, by towing a denser array of sensors. To help reduce the weight of these arrays,

PGS has specified UHMWPE fibre of DSM Dyneema for a wide range of towing and other ropes, for use on vessels throughout its fleet. Applications include superwide towing rope, streamer spread ropes, various bridling systems and fabricated multiple splice connections.

“Ropes made with Dyneema are very strong, light weight, and resistant to harsh environments,” says Brad Bertsch, Mechanical Supervisor at PGS. “They can be easily spliced, have very little creep, have very low elasticity and are resistant to chemicals and corrosion. And ropes made with Dyneema are easy on our ships’ equipment, sheaves, and winches.”

Industry reports show that towing lines made with Dyneema fibre require replacement only every two years, whereas steel wire ropes used in seismic applications typically have a lifetime of just four to five months.

Safety in use provides a further, critical advantage for ropes made with Dyneema. With extremely long lines under very high tension, steel lines always carry the risk of “snap back” if a wire breaks. Dyneema helps to virtually eliminate this threat due its low elongation qualities, a factor that also aids in the precise placement of lines and equipment. Resistance to tension and bending fatigue weigh further in favour of Dyneema.

Dyneema is less dense than water. Bertsch says the buoyancy that this provides is another major advantage over steel cable in seaborne applications. Furthermore, the low weight and low diameter, of the ropes made with Dyneema played an important part in PGS being able to fit greater lengths of rope onto existing winches, and also in controlling costs, such as those associated with fuel usage, that are impacted by towing weight.

UT2 December 2010 148 149 UT2 December 2010

Seismic Seismic Data Reprocessing

Spectrum has signed an US Geological Survey (USGS) present in the area covered by agreement with the Geological assessment over this province the Spectrum reprocessed data. Survey of Denmark and Greenland indicated undiscovered oil and gas Tertiary sediment thicknesses of (GEUS) to reprocess more reserves of 31 400 MMBOE (million up to 6 km have been postulated in than 7800kms of 2D seismic barrels of oil equivalent). offshore South Eastern Greenland data offshore the east coast of basins (below 72deg north) and Greenland. This data will be East Greenland forms the conjugate possible Tertiary and Mesozoic processed though Pre-Stack margin to the Norwegian continental reservoirs could be present in the Time Migration (PSTM) and shelf, Faroe-Shetland Islands and form of fluvio/deltaic and submarine subsequently licensed on a multi- Rockall Basins. It is considered sandstones. Extensive offshore client basis. that analogues of successful play Lower Tertiary Basalts observed types found in these relatively on seismic sections in the northern The data consists of 3 surveys well explored petroleum provinces portion of the study area are almost known as the NAD project, which can be extrapolated into the East certain to overlie Mesozoic and were acquired during the 1980s Greenland offshore frontier area. Palaeocene sediments. offshore East Greenland. The data This offshore area is considered is located between 62 and 72deg frontier in hydrocarbon exploration Spectrum reprocessing of vintage north and ties many of the wells terms, with only limited, regional, 2D seismic data in the India West drilled by Ocean Drilling Program wide-spaced 2D seismic lines Coast offshore region was able to (ODP) between 1993 and1995. available and only a few ODP wells effectively image below Tertiary drilled. Deccan Basalts and successfully Competitive bidding for the area identify and image pre-basalt is scheduled in 2012 and 2013, Outcrop data from onshore Mesozoic stratigraphic sequences as designated by Greenland’s East Greenland and previous for the first time. It is hoped that Bureau of Minerals & Petroleum interpretation of the existing by using the same techniques, the (BMP). The survey area includes offshore seismic data has East Greenland pre-Tertiary basalt the southern part of the East suggested elements of a working sedimentary section imaging can Greenland rift basins. A 2007 hydrocarbon system could be be improved and subsequently be interpreted. Greenland The reprocessing of the vintage seismic data will be carried out in Spectrum’s state of the art processing centre. A thorough parameter testing sequence will be applied to the data to ensure the best possible quality for final products.

The application of PSTM will be an integral part of the final sequence and the final product will be added to Spectrum’s rapidly expanding Multi- Client data library towards the end of the year.

UT2 December 2010 150 9001

9001

Ashtead Birns Ashtead Technology has been BIRNS, the ISO 9001:2008-certified “From man-rated penetrators to awarded ISO 9001 certification. design and manufacturer of high lights, custom cable assemblies HSEQQ Manager Jason Miller performance connectors, penetrators, and connector products trusted in states, “This is not simply a custom cable assemblies and lights demanding military, subsea and paperwork activity – it is a public for deep ocean, marine, military nuclear power applications, this declaration that we are committed and nuclear power markets, has certification is yet another method to to achieving the highest levels of announced the two newest levels of ensure our customers a seamless customer satisfaction and confirms advanced certification of its team of way to integrate BIRNS’ products that we have the processes in place expert electrical technicians, assembly into their plans with the highest to deliver the right instrument to the and inspection personnel. levels of safety and reliability.” right place at the right time.” The entire team recently achieved The J-STD-001 Class 3 is a “ISO 9001 has a great emphasis new J-STD-001 Class 3 and WHMA- standard prescribing practices and on continuous improvement, A-620-A Class 3 certification. requirements for the manufacture so we are constantly seeking BIRNS electrical technicians solder of soldered electrical and electronic customer feedback to help find to exacting J-STD-001 Class 3 assemblies, and among the upper ways to enhance service and requirements. echelon of soldering certification in raise satisfaction levels. It’s great the marine market and for the DoD when customers thank us for “We’re proud to certify the entire (Department of Defense). good service and give us repeat BIRNS production and inspection business, but we value criticism team to these exacting standards, This standard is requisite for even more highly. Ultimately we as part of our ongoing commitment the highest level of reliability in aim to enhance the customerrs to leading the industry with high manufacturing processes for experience with Ashtead, performance products relied upon in those with assembly, testing and demonstrating our ability to the world’s harshest environments,” inspection functions responsible for provide products and services that says Steve Hollinger, quality ensuring the quality of all electronic constantly meet both customer and assurance manager for BIRNS. and electrical assemblies. regulatory requirements.”

“Every one of our employees plays an important role in assuring compliance with ISO 9001. Participating in Internal Quality Audits and providing information that can help improve our Quality Management System.”

Ashtead has also developed a ‘Gold Standard of Enquiry Handling.’ This is an internal system to certify that all pertinent information is gathered from the customer to ensure that the most appropriate equipment is chosen.

For example, the recommended instrumentation must be cost- effective, suitable for the application and must meet the required specification. The system also has a follow-up procedure to verify that the customer has received exactly what they need. All employees are required to complete a training course on the system. A technician carrying out soldering

151 UT2 December 2010

People People Keith Palmer Jim McClaugherty Prof. Max Rowe Jim McClaugherty, has joined SURF LUX Assure, a research and Subsea. (SURF) as Vice President development company specialising of Business Development. He will in chemical monitoring technologies have the responsibility of leading for the oil and gas industry, has the company’s Sales and Marketing appointed Professor Max Rowe as efforts. an advisor as part of a continuing growth strategy. “Jim is a proven leader and his experience and knowledge will be a Professor Rowe, who is based key part in our success. I am pleased in Aberdeen, has over 22 years to have him in this important position,” experience in the oil and gas said Wade Abadie, President and industry where he worked for a CEO. major Operator in a variety of roles, including technology management, Jim has 40 years of experience in quality management, commercial the Offshore Industry. He started his management, strategic planning, career as a commercial diver in the acquisitions and economics. Gulf of Mexico where, over a 10 year He is Chairman of the Industrial Expro has appointed Keith Palmer period, he held various positions, Technology Facilitator (ITF) and as President and Region Director including tender, Diver, and Dive holds an Honorary Chair in the for Expro North America. In this Supervisor. In 1979, Jim became a College of Physical Sciences at position, Palmer is responsible for project manager and subsequently, Aberdeen University. managing all aspects of operations served in the capacity of Operations across Expro’s North America Manager, General Manager and in Professor Rowe is Managing regions, both on land and offshore. Sales and Business development Director of his own consulting

roles for a number of Diving and company – Selkie Solutions Ltd Prior to his current role, Palmer was Marine Contracting Companies. He which works at the interfaces Senior Vice President for Expro’s has recently departed EPIC Diving between business and technology North America Land business for & Marine where he served as their primarily for the energy industry. Of three years. Palmer joined Expro Director of Marketing for 3 years particular benefit to LUX Assure will in 2005 as the Vice President of and has come aboard with SURF be his experience of successfully Operations for North America. Subsea to pursue worldwide business introducing and deploying new

opportunities and to assist in the technologies in the oil and gas Before joining Expro, Palmer spent growth of this exciting company. industry. four years with Elmar/NOV. Prior to that, he spent 17 years with Schlumberger throughout North and South America.

“The North American region presents tremendous opportunities for Expro both on land and offshore,” said Chris Mawtus, Expro Chief Operating Officer. “Keith Palmer understands the North American market and knows Expro’s strengths in this market, therefore he is ideally suited to lead Expro as we continue to grow our presence and activity there.”

Palmer received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Professor Rowe and Emma Perfect

UT2 December 2010 152 People

Emma Perfect, Managing Director the company as we continue to Assure. They have an exciting and Chief Scientific Officer at LUX commercialise our technologies in range of technologies and l am Assure said: “Max will be a great this sector.” very much looking forward to the addition to the team at LUX and challenges involved in contributing his vast experience in the oil and Professor Rowe added: “I am to the growth and success of the gas industry will be invaluable to thrilled to be joining the team at LUX business.”

Stephen Bowring Managing Director (far left) and Mike Winstanley, Sales Director (far right) congratulate Michael Parkin (centre left) and Brian Hector (centre right)

Stephen Bowring, managing director industries, In the last 5 years, Director and am very much looking of Bowtech has appointed Brian as Head of Engineering, he has forward to my new role within the Hector as Technical Director and been instrumental and guided company and the challenges that it Michael Parkin as Engineering his engineering team to bring the will bring. Since joining the company Manager. introduction of the company’s highly over 16 years ago everyday has successful range of Aqua Vision been different and challenging which Brian joined Bowtech over 16 years professional underwater cameras I think makes any job very satisfying. ago following his graduation from and LED lights. I would like to take this opportunity Robert Gordon’s University where he to thank both Steve (Bowring) and studied for his BEng in electronic and These cameras and lights are now Mike (Winstanley, Sales Director) electrical engineering. Since then the preferred choice of many of the very much for their recognition over he has also obtained a mechanical world’s leading ROV manufacturers the years”. engineering qualification. and operators, navies, universities and research establishments. Taking over the management of Since his early days when he the Engineering Department will designed Bowtech’s first production Bowring said “Brian has been a loyal be Michael Parkin. He has been a product the ST-5K range of and trusted employee of Bowtech member of the Engineering team for underwater xenon strobes, Brian has Products since he was recruited in over 6 years. been the technical engineering brain May 1994. This promotion is just our behind Bowtech’s success. way of expressing our appreciation to In his previous role as senior He and his team have designed such a valued colleague and friend”. development engineer, Michael has systems for inspection of most been responsible for the innovative hazardous areas including offshore, Brian says “I am absolutely delighted design of the Bowtech Aquavision oceanographic, military and nuclear with my appointment as Technical range of LED underwater lighting.

153 UT2 December 2010

People People Lewis/Esson RBG the provider of fabric maintenance and construction support to the global energy industry, has announced two internal promotions to its senior management team, marking the first time the company has promoted internally to this level.

Garry Lewis has been appointed as UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) key account director and Roger Esson has been promoted to sales director, both with effect from 1 September.

Mr Lewis started with RBG in 2004 as operations manager and has since fulfilled the roles of operations team leader, general manager and projects director, playing an instrumental role in the award and transition of large scale fabric maintenance contracts for clients such as Talisman, ConocoPhillips and Total.

Mr Lewis has a BA (Hons) Business Studies degree from the University of North London and a Masters in Business Administration from the Robert Gordon University.

In his new role, Mr Lewis will deliver continued growth for the UK Operations division, focussing specifically on HSE, people and operational excellence.

Mr Esson joined the company in 2006 as operations manager, latterly working as delivery team manager. He has a BSc in Quantity Surveying from the Robert Gordon University as well as an NVQ level 5 in Management.

Through the RBG Academy, Mr Esson was recently awarded Chartered Management status. In his new role Mr Esson will focus on a number of significant group business opportunities as well as strengthening the company’s business development capability. Garry Lewis and Roger Esson from RBG

UT2 December 2010 154 AUSTRALIA’S SUBSEALARGEST EVENT EXPLORE the latest developments in risers, subsea pipelines, geophysics and geohazards, subsea engineering risk, FLNG and subsea integrity and learn about global opportunities and Australian subsea projects.




 




 
  
 

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Representation Ashtead Swathe Life Support

Offshore Projects Ashtead Technology has appointed Swathe Services has announced Innovative commercial diving an agent for the Middle East. a new agreement with the equipment manufacturer Life Emphor FZCO, a well established Oceanscience Group to represent Support Engineering (LSE) has Dubai based technology solutions them as sales distributors for recently appointed Sea and Land provider, will provide Ashtead their range of oceanographic Technologies Pte Ltd (S.A.L.T) of Technology’s full equipment rental and hydrographic deployment Singapore as exclusive distributors fleet, incorporating Positioning platforms. for their range of products in the Equipment, ROV Sensors, Asian countries. Hydrographic and Geophysical The Oceanscience Group has Equipment and IRM and Diving established itself as a leader in the S.A.L.T has been distributing the Equipment to customers in the development and manufacture of JOK diver recovery harness for the region. innovative scientific products for past year but a formal agreement oceanographers. They have been between the companies means A calibration facility, technical recognised by partner companies that S.A.L.T will now be stocking workshop and support facilities and government bodies worldwide and distributing the full range (with 24 hour technical support) for their contribution and dedication of products including the new as well as a training centre will to continuous development and Harness range plus HOTDiver also be provided from the Emphor improvement of data collection hotwater suits, and surface supply facilities. systems. air panels.

Ashtead sees the appointment of Swathe Services will also be Mahmood Hassan Arkatti from Emphor as a significant step in supplying the Oceanscience range S.A.L.T said ‘There is great their plans for geographical growth. of remotely operated bathymetry interest in the advancement of platforms. Initially designed for diving standards in the Asian Supporting the entire Middle East US and Canadian government market, and it has been a region, Emphor has operations in agencies these compact remote challenge to find products that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha and controlled boats may be configured are so well documented and have have ISO 9001 accreditation. for various bathymetry packages, proof of testing. There are many and have been developed for companies in this region who take The territory covered by the commercial use. The Oceanscience diving safety very seriously and agreement includes, United Arab platforms offer flexible and efficient are adopting the requirements for Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi solutions for inaccessible or CE marked products or products Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and hazardous locations, or may be conforming with standards such Iran. used working alongside the main as EN15333 for surface supplied vessel increasing efficiency and diving equipment. We can now Ashtead has also appointed Scope data collection. assist’. Engineering to represent them in Australia, New Zealand and Papua “The Oceanscience Group is a LSE’s Business Development New Guinea. Scope is a well highly respected company that has Manager Mark Marie also established Perth based fabrication become a leading manufacturer of commented ‘It is excellent news and engineering solutions provider deployment platforms in the last that we now have a professional Scope Engineering provides ten years” said James Williams and committed stockist and solutions to the offshore Oil & Gas (MD Swathe Services) “We are servicing representative in this sector as well as building and really pleased to be working with market. LSE is proud to be at the construction industries in Australia. them and have been impressed forefront of the implementation with their commitment to customer of these standards in the design Grey Roughan of Scope service and support as well as manufacture and testing of its Engineering said “The large the continuous improvement and products.’ Ashtead Technology inventory of development of their products. equipment that will be available for S.A.L.T is the first full-range Scope Engineering to offer to the They are at the forefront of many distributors for LSE, and the search offshore market, will complement major development projects around is on for additional competent the current activities of Scope the world and we are looking distributors to represent the where we provide services to the forward to a successful future for company’s products on a global oil and gas offshore industry.” both our companies”. scale.

UT2 December 2010 156 AUSTRALIA’S SUBSEALARGEST EVENT EXPLORE the latest developments in risers, subsea pipelines, geophysics and geohazards, subsea engineering risk, FLNG and subsea integrity and learn about global opportunities and Australian subsea projects.




 




 
  
 

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Awards Awards Golden Pipeline RBG Technip has been awarded the RBG has won the accolade for PlusGard significantly reduces the 2010 Global Pipeline Award in technology and innovation at operating costs associated with the field of pipeline transportation the 14th Offshore Contractors scaffolding installation and removal. during the International Pipeline Association (OCA) challenge Whilst traditional ‘over the side’ Conference in Calgary, Canada, for awards. The awards are designed scaffolding work requires a fast its Subsea Cryogenic Pipe-in-Pipe to recognise and promote the rescue craft to stand-by for potential Pipeline Transfer System (C-PiP). achievements of the OCA member recovery at sea contingency - at a companies and individuals. cost of approximately £8000 per day The American Society of – the safe enclosure provided by the Mechanical Engineers International RBG won the accolade for PlusGard system eliminates this need. (ASME) Global Pipeline Award was PlusGuard, an advanced rail presented to Technip by members system that has revolutionised Dave Workman, RBG chief executive of the Pipeline Systems Division, the use of scaffolding in offshore officer said: “This award is a huge a division of the International operations, greatly improving achievement for RBG and we are Petroleum Technology Institute safety whilst simultaneously delighted that the industry has (IPTI). This award acknowledges reducing operating costs and recognised the potential in our outstanding innovations and major optimising productivity. PlusGuard system. technological advances in pipeline transportation. The first system of its kind to be “The PlusGuard system is not only used in the North Sea, PlusGard a significant improvement to the Technip began development of is custom designed for the safety of offshore scaffolders but the C-PiP Pipeline Technology in offshore environment and is able also benefits the efficiency of the job. 2004, earned proof-of-concept to transform traditional access Traditionally we were only able to certification by ABS and BV in methods. By providing a dynamic erect and dismantle scaffolding when 2006, and fitness-for-service scaffolding enclosure with flexible a boat was available to stand by certification from DNV in 2008. and easy-to-use telescopic tubes, which limited the time we were able Technip is currently designing or the system offers a safer working to spend on a job, especially in the has assessed the potential for C- environment for scaffolders winter months.” PiP Pipeline applications in several operating at height, specifically projects. over a platform’s side or below “With the PlusGard system we are deck. able to work full daylight hours The award application featured the and be less affected by weather design for the Hess LNG Weaver’s As well as improving safety, conditions.” Cove Energy project in Fall River, Massachusetts. Technip’s C-PiP technology was selected for this liquefied natural gas import terminal project based on its superior safety and reliability features. The C-PiP LNG transfer system was engineered to address the specific challenges of this project’s location and is currently proposed for the 4.25-mile (6.8 km) long offshore berth.

Technip’s technology is an effective next step in global development of safe and reliable LNG pipeline transportation from both far inland onshore plants and far offshore loading/unloading locations. It will also enhance contribution to the efficiency, operability, versatility and integrity of worldwide pipeline transportation systems. The technology and innovation award won by RGB

UT2 December 2010 158 Awards

Bluefin Global Marine Bluefin Robotics was Global Marine Systems has been honoured with a President’s Award after named a Gold Winner being awarded eleven consecutive Gold Awards by RoSPA (The Royal in MassEcon’s (The Society of Prevention for Accidents). As the largest independent provider Massachusetts Alliance for of submarine cable installation, maintenance and related engineering Economic Development) services worldwide, Global Marine Systems is committed to delivering strong Seventh Annual Team occupational health and safety management systems across its business. Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards. These The RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2010 are sponsored awards celebrate companies by The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health from across the state that (NEBOSH), the leading health and safety professional examining body. The have made outstanding awards programme encourages organisations to develop health and safety contributions to the management systems as well as reducing the number of accidents and cases Massachusetts economy. of ill-health at work.

Over the last year, Bluefin “Safety is paramount to Global Marine’s operating philosophy and it is always has renovated a 54 000ft2 first on our agenda,” said John Golding, operations director of Global Marine building in Quincy’s Fore Systems. “We’ve developed our safety management system significantly over River Shipyard into a state- the last few years and measure the company’s ability to respond quickly and of-the-art facility for its correctly to any potential accident, right down to putting a plaster on a finger. business. Bluefin will move Our strong reputation is built on 160 years of quality service and reliability and its Cambridge headquarters we are proud to receive this recognition that we have one of the best safety and East Boston marine records in the industry.” operations outfit to the new South Street address in November.

“It is an honour and Brinker privilege to be chosen for Brinker Technology has won the downhole, through the wellhead, the MassEcon award,” accolade for best well intervention down the annulus, and on reaching said David P. Kelly, CEO solution at the annual World Oil the leak, pressure differential and President of Bluefin awards. forces entrain them into the defect Robotics. “Our new facility creating a permanent mechanical provides more flexible The awards recognise leading seal passing full well integrity and efficient workspace, industry players and innovations testing and certification. enabling us to better that represent the best technological compete in a continually achievements or contributions over evolving industry. the last year. The finalists were Brinker Technology ‘s well announced last night (14 October intervention solution award The Shipyard is the perfect 2010) at a ceremony held in locale for the company Houston. to further expand its operations, bringing new Brinker won the prestigious accolade high-tech jobs to the South for its patented Platelet Barrier Shore.” Technology, which is changing the face of the rigless-thru wellhead “The winners of the Team workover market. Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards all have Platelet Barrier Technology deploys outstanding stories, from free-floating discreet particles called adding jobs, to office ‘Platelets’ into a flowing system. The expansion, to the positive Platelets are specifically engineered ways in which they impact for the size of the leak and the their communities,” said operating conditions of the system. Susan Houston, Executive Suspended within an engineered Director of MassEcon. fluid, the Platelets are pumped

159 UT2 December 2010

Agreements Agreements Senergy Centrica Growth Aker Global commissioning specialists Aker Solutions has agreed to transfer Collaboration Gedi has reported exceptional ownership in its subsidiary Aker Marine Senergy has signed a business growth figures including Contractors (AMC) to Singapore listed collaboration agreement a 380% rise in turnover – from company Ezra Holdings Ltd (Ezra) with Centrica for the £10million to £48million – over in exchange for equity instruments in provision of services the last five years. The bolstered Ezra and cash. In addition, 50% of including subsurface turnover has also resulted in Aker Solutions’ ownership in the Aker consultancy, well the Aberdeen-headquartered Connector installation vessel will be engineering, and well company breaking its 2010 target transferred to Ezra.

operations management. forecast of £48million. With AMC’s experienced personnel, assets and project execution The value of the five-year During the last four years, qedi capabilities on board, the new agreement is expected to be has enjoyed an annual rolling partnership is a significant step in excess of £10 million, . turnover of about 30% and towards realising the ambition of increased profit margins by 100% developing a world class SURF Daren Wallwork, vice due to the nature of its high value (subsea umbilicals risers and president of energy services consultancy services and its flowlines) and floater installation at Senergy, said: “This pioneering GO Technology hub company with differentiated assets agreement with Centrica is of integrity management software covering all water depths and regions focused on the alignment of applications. of the world. In addition, Ezra will people, values, resources access Aker Solutions’ wide range of and strategic objectives. Next year’s outlook looks even subsea and other products to create a healthier with secured sales of leading combined EPCI capability. In our experience, GO Technology for 2011 already working in a partnership topping the £60million mark. Under the agreement, Aker Solutions arrangement where we will sell 100 percent of the shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary AMC are closely aligned to the Stuart McLeod, qedi’s group to Singapore-based Ezra, in which needs of our client is the managing director, said: “Five Aker Solutions becomes a substantial most efficient, rewarding years ago, qedi recognised a shareholder. Aker Solutions and Ezra and successful way of niche opportunity in the market also enter a 50/50 joint venture for doing business, and we are and evolved into a dedicated ownership and chartering of the new- delighted to be working with completions and commissioning build Aker Connector (to be renamed Centrica in this manner as specialist. AMC Connector), which will be they continue to develop completed in early 2012. their business in the UKCS.” The success of the business has surpassed our own expectations In the transaction, AMC is valued at and this year, we are well are on USD 250 million. Ezra will settle the track to accomplishing our goal of transaction by paying Aker Solutions a 35% growth rate. USD 50 million in cash, US$100 million in shares in Ezra Holdings, and US$50 million in a convertible bond with maturity after 36 months.

The final US$50 million plus interest will be settled in cash on and subsequent to delivery of Aker Connector. The US$100 million payment in shares will give Aker Solutions a substantial shareholding in Ezra. Aker Solutions will be represented with one director on the board of Ezra.

Upon delivery of the Aker Connector vessel, Ezra will take 50% ownership in the vessel owning company including assumption of 50% of Aker Connector’s Daren Wallwork qedi managing director Stuart McLeod capital expenditure commitments.

UT2 December 2010 160 Agreements

Teledyne Acquires Hafmynd Corus = Tata Steel

Teledyne Benthos has acquired AUV complement our current Corus Tubes has adopted Tata Hafmynd, the icelandic autonomous underwater product offerings: Steel as its new identity. From, underwater vehicle (AUV) APEX profilers for observation, September, the Tata Steel name manufacturer, known for its small- Slocum Glider for monitoring and and logo began to appear on sized Gavia vehicle. MiniROVER for inspection. the company’s transactional documents, product deliveries, “The acquisition of Hafmynd and Teledyne intends to maintain a locations and vehicles. Not its key technologies will broaden presence in Iceland with a focus on everything will change immediately, Teledyne’s portfolio of underwater AUV research and development, however, as the re-branding is an solutions,” said Robert Mehrabian, testing and service, as well as 18 month process. chairman, president and chief providing support for other Teledyne Marine businesses. Hafmynd will executive officer of Teledyne. “The Corus joined the Tata Steel family surveying capabilities of the Gavia operate as Teledyne Gavia ehf.” in April 2007 in a transaction that created one of the world’s largest steelmakers, with a major presence in Europe as well as Asia. Like Corus and its predecessors, Tata OGS SOSC MOU Steel has a long and successful The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the Smart Ocean Sensor history, having pioneered the first Consortium (SOSC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) integrated steelworks in India. to advance sensor observing systems for the oceans community. Corus Tubes, an industry-leading The two organizations will participate in joint outreach and marketing producer of high quality products activities to raise awareness and interest in smart sensor systems and and packages for the oil and gas Sensor Web Enablement. The organizations’ first cooperative activity will industry, focuses on subsea and focus on the Monterey Bay Research Institute’s (MBARI) PUCK protocol particularly, deepwater projects. for hydrographic sensor configuration. The company operates in key energy hubs including the UKCS, “This agreement is a natural outcome of the active role that the ocean Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, the observing community has played in the OGC in recent years,” explained Middle East, South America and Mark Reichardt, President and CEO of the OGC. “We look forward South East Asia. to an ongoing dialog with the ocean sensor manufacturers and users represented by the SOSC as they tackle a range of ocean-related Kirby Adams, managing director interoperability issues in activities such as climate research, meteorology, and chief executive officer of disaster management, resource management, and navigation.” Tata Steel Europe, said: “Corus Tubes has established an enviable international reputation for its quality linepipe. With the transition Huisman Bakker Sliedrecht to Tata Steel name our customers Huisman, the Schiedam-based drive systems, Bakker Sliedrecht have the reassurance that the designer and manufacturer of creates the possibility to enter the technical expertise and capability heavy construction equipment for Chinese market on an extended earned over a long and successful international onshore and offshore scale. period will be enhanced by aligning companies, and Bakker Sliedrecht, a world-class product with a global provider of total solutions related Huisman will, under the leader in steel production. to maritime and industrial electro supervision of Bakker Sliedrecht, techniques, have announced to realize the production combined “This is the right time to enter a new expand their collaboration to China. with a joint purchasing in which era under the Tata Steel name. This the overall article management brand migration will lead to the Tata The Huisman production facility in will be aligned. Huisman’s Product Steel name becoming much more Fujian will get a specially equipped Data Management system (PDM) prominent and widely recognised workshop supervised by Bakker will be used for joint engineering in the industry.” Tata Steel, which specialists for the production of data. The various necessary is listed on India’s Bombay and electronically controlled drive investments are currently being National Stock Exchanges, is a systems. For Huisman this will done to enable an immediate start member of the Tata Group, one of result in a saving on the total cost of with a fully equipped workshop. India’s largest business houses.

161 UT2 December 2010 HQ HQ Trelleborg With increasing demand for its innovative fendering, mooring and berthing systems, Trelleborg Marine Systems is relocating its headquarters to Singapore, delivering closer proximity to its state-of-the-art Singapore and China-based manufacturing facilities. The move will enable the closer integration of its sales and production capabilities.

The relocation, which will see managing director, Richard Hepworth, move to Singapore, will give the company a global perspective while retaining its local presence, ensuring its innovative fendering, mooring and berthing solutions are in tune with market demand.

Trelleborg customers will continue to benefit from the close geographical proximity of its four regional hubs, which deliver global coverage, ensuring that the company has a local presence across its entire customer base. In addition, Trelleborg Marine Systems Melbourne will continue to provide docking and mooring solutions to ports and terminals with safety critical applications, including the LNG market.

Richard Hepworth, managing director, Trelleborg Marine Systems, commented: “While many fender suppliers are merely trading low quality imitation products, we are committed to ensuring that our in-house R&D and manufacturing facilities are developing only the best and most innovative solutions.

“We continue to invest heavily in not only product design but also compound and material development, ensuring that our products are leading the way in innovative berthing, docking and mooring solutions.

“The new headquarters will ensure that our sales and production functions have a close proximity to our R&D and manufacturing facilities, enabling both divisions to work closely together to continue developing solutions that meet the growing needs of our diverse customer base.”

KJ Tan, managing director of engineered products, Asia, Trelleborg Marine Systems, added: “The new Singapore headquarters for Trelleborg Marine Systems enhances our ability to produce rubber fenders in-house and provide market leading solutions.

“Rubber fenders represent the core of what we do, which is energy absorption, and having our headquarters situated within our production facility places more focus on what is important to us and our customers. Trelleborg’s innovative parallel motion fender system

UT2 December 2010 162 HQ

163 UT2 December 2010 SUT

Nova Scotia London Branch Inaugural Meeting Evening Meeting Designing For Availability, Operability and Tuesday, 29 June 2010 Report on SUT London By John Scott, Dominion Diving Steve Cowley, head of flow Evening Meeting assurance, put on what was a On 29 June, 2010 Her Majesty Queen Thursday, 17 June 2010 seamless double act. Elizabeth II boarded HMCS Sackville in by Dr Bob Allwood, chief Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to continue the executive, Society for Philip set the scene with celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Underwater Technology an overview of the scope birth of the Canadian Navy. of subsea design activities In the final SUT London and emphasised the need to As she did so, it is unlikely that she noticed evening meeting of the design for operability. As the the two dozen or so enthusiastic underwater season, a small but evening was to concentrate on technophiles who gathered in Summit Place, nonetheless appreciative deepwater flowlines, he listed a less than 200 yards away, to sow the seeds audience were treated to number of considerations that for the latest international branch of the an excellent account of how would be addressed during the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT). subsea systems, in particular, evening, including mechanical flowlines, are designed for integrity and thermal buckling. Tony Hall, CEO of Walaptega Marine Ltd and reliability and integrity. The a long-time member of the SUT, hosted this chairman for the evening, After showing pictures of some initial meeting at Welaptega’s offices on the Bob Allwood, chief executive Halifax waterfront. John Scott of Dominion of the hardware that would Diving Ltd organised the meeting months of the Society, introduced be the subject of the evening, in advance, not realising that his chosen the two speakers. Both of Philip illustrated the complexity date would coincide with Her Majesty’s visit IntecSEA UK, Philip Cooper, of the problems faced by to Halifax. Such is chance; perhaps this engineering manager, and showing a slide that depicted unnoticed beginning, on such an auspicious day, bodes well for the newest branch of the SUT. Kuala Lumpur Branch The group of approximately two dozen enthusiasts who attended this meeting An Appreciation of Flow Assurance and included a mix of members and non- members. Everyone present expressed Report on the Kuala Lumpur flow assurance for subsea, their belief in the need for a learned society Branch Lunchtime and how this fits into the field to expose and espouse the underwater Technical Session development process at Shell. technology proponents present in eastern Wednesday, 11 August 2010 Canada. By Neil Oakes Flow assurance (FA) is the discipline tasked with ensuring A Nova Scotia branch of the SUT is a logical fit for a region that is home to a wealth The 11th of August, the first interruptions caused by fluid of government and private organisations day of Ramadan, could not characteristics are minimised actively involved in underwater technology. deter people from attending and properly managed to the Kuala Lumpur SUT ensure optimum production The Nova Scotia branch promises to be very luncheon session on level 42, of hydrocarbons. Pek-San active and intends to hold regular technical Petronas Twin Towers. Our emphasised that a clear meetings for the benefit of its members and host for the afternoon, Neil understanding of the potential will contribute regularly and significantly Oakes, opened the session threats to production such as to the activities of the SUT. Perhaps, as a with a brief background to the hydrates, wax, slugging or foam result, a member of the Royal Household SUT and how it originated in are the key to formulating an will bring to Her Majesty’s attention her Kuala Lumpur. effective FA strategy. coincidental involvement in the creation of the Halifax Branch of the SUT. The first speaker was Pek-San FA expertise in integrated Ong, flow assurance engineer, solutions ranges from the good For information contact: John Scott, from Shell Global Solutions. acquisition and characterisation Dominion Diving: jscott@dominiondiving. of reservoir fluid for assessment com or Tony Hall, Welaptega Marine: Pek-San introduced the through to mitigation via [email protected] audience to an overview of modelling. The flow assurance

UT2 December 2010 164 SUT SUT

Integrity the vast range of disciplines that and detailed account of the issues buckling, during which he referred need to be included in a subsea that impact on the operability of to pipe-in-pipe examples. Philip also project team and the complex the systems being discussed. He discussed the issues related to rigid interfaces between the many covered the range of phenomena tie-in spools and emphasised that parties involved in the project, e.g. that impact on flow assurance and whilst there are a number of major operators, suppliers, contractors, gave an account of how a number of design challenges, there is limited environmental groups and other these can be avoided or mitigated. guidance in the form of codes and design teams. information within the literature. What came across very well was the Indeed, he admitted that projects He emphasised that this complex complexity of this particular subject sometimes need to invent their own process needs to be diligently and the number of areas on which rules for many aspects of design. addressed if the availability goal is flow assurance considerations have to be achieved. Philip also stressed an impact. One particular example of One of the benefits of not having that availability, operability and this described by Steve concerned too large an audience is that integrity considerations are key the mechanical effects that slugging discussion following the event can features at every stage of a project can have on risers and flowlines. be very focused, which it certainly from concept to operation, and was on this occasion. The other most certainly are not to be seen as Philip returned to the lectern advantage was soon to become ‘bolt on’ extras. to discuss a number of issues apparent – there were second concerning flowline design. Of helpings of cheese and biscuits for Steve defined the term ‘flow particular note was his discussion of those who had attended on this assurance’ and gave an excellent the problems of in-service pipeline balmy June evening!

Pipeline Heating

role then continues all the way other disciplines of the expected and installation method. He to surveillance monitoring and work products and when they must also explained in detail the remediation techniques. be delivered in order to ensure that functionality of different types the overall project schedule is met. of heating mediums: hot water This is important, especially in heating, indirect electrical heating deepwater subsea development in Following Pek-San’s presentation, and direct electrical heating. Malaysia, where the flow assurance Brett Howard of Technip took the challenges are severe. floor and provided a high-level Brett concluded that there are a overview of pipeline heating and the wide variety of systems available Pek-San explained the flow drivers needed to implement this in the market, and that their assurance role in the overall technology. Heat retention is one of significant track record proves the process of project development the common mitigation strategies effectiveness of this technology. at Shell. Shell is mainly involved used for FA issues such as wax with the subsea and subsurface and hydrates. Brett explained the Both presentations turned out disciplines from the early project applications of pipeline heating in to be very interactive. Audience stages through to operation. deepwater, long tie-back, waxy members actively raised crude and shutdowns. questions and provided opinions Pek-San also demonstrated how an about what was presented. The FA engineer at Shell interfaces with Brett went on to describe the next event is planned for mid- other disciplines such as reservoir, different heating systems and October and will be subsea wells, production chemistry, the factors for system selections. hardware-focused. pipelines and topsides on the project Heating system selection is team. She concluded that the FA based on three main areas: Technip kindly sponsored this engineer is expected to advise these heating medium, pipeline type event.

165 UT2 December 2010 SUT SUT

Houston Branch Deepwater Intervention Forum. Fit for Purpose Technologies Report on SUT Houston Branch Supported Conference, Hilton Galveston Hotel and Convention Center Galveston, Texas, USA 17-19 August 2010 By Jodi Roberts, Marketing and Business Development, SUT Houston Branch The goal of the Deepwater and technologies available, learn It is expected that attendance will Intervention Forum was to explore from recent intervention case increase by 30% next year, according various solutions for dealing with studies and network with industry to the conference management. deepwater intervention. By sharing experts working on deepwater real-world case studies and best interventions worldwide. Key topics included: Operator practices, delegates went home View of the Intervention Market, with a better understanding of their The conference included 35 Update on Popular Intervention options when facing subsurface exhibitors, 500 attendees, a golf Systems, New Challenges in Rig hazards. tournament that included more Based Interventions, Riserless than 70 players and two full days Light Well Intervention, Rigless At DIF, key operators and service of discussions with up to 30 Intervention, Subsea Wireline industry personnel discussed and presenters from around the globe. Intervention Techniques, Pipeline shared experiences and challenges The majority of the registered and Umbilical Interventions, Gas within the deepwater intervention attendees were CEOs, VPs, Lift, Storm Related Interventions market. With the continuing growth senior well managers, marketing and the Lessons Learned, Non-Well in subsea tieback developments, department heads, etc. Mariner Intervention, Jones Act, Active Heave finding ways to avoid or reduce and Shell were the conference Draw Works and Compensated Coil work over and thru-tubing well hosts and sponsors included Tubing. intervention costs is becoming Halliburton, Tetra, Oceaneering, critical for operators with mature USLL, Cameron and Cross Group To inquire about DIF 2011, contact assets. Forum attendees were Incorporated. The SUT was a Ray Vanagas at able to discover the latest systems supporting sponsor. [email protected]

Aberdeen Branch Subsea Tree Technolgy for future challenges Report on SUT Aberdeen Branch Supported Evening Meeting, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 By Bill Donaldson, Entec Marketing A late change of venue did not The next speaker was Simon concerns. Simon offered a range deter a large turnout for the Vaughan of Aker Solutions. Simon of possible solutions to these Aberdeen Branch’s October gave a brief overview of the role challenges. evening meeting. of subsea trees, the products currently on the market and how A joint presentation by Alexander The meeting was opened by present needs are addressed. Strachan and Hans Hopper of Quest Offshore’s Bill Donaldson, He then reviewed how changing Cameron followed. who gave a brief presentation industry needs might influence the on the market for subsea trees: development of subsea trees in the Opening with a review of the why there is greater focus on future and the challenges faced as purposes of subsea trees – their role subsea developments; how those fields previously considered as barriers, providing access to the the subsea industry has grown ‘marginal’ become targets for well and connection to the production over recent years as more development. pipeline – Cameron’s team then discoveries are made in deeper reviewed the types of trees available, water; and the anticipated These include: remote locations; covering dual bore and spool trees future demand and where this deeper water, higher pressures as well as the variations available, is coming from by analysing the and temperatures and complex including electric trees. This was activity in different regions and production requirements; and followed by a review of potential the major operators. environmental and economic future technology for controlling

UT2 December 2010 166  J$1JVV`1J$%1JV! R

11 1118VJ$G8HQI `Q1 .:JR:IG1 1QJHQJ 1J%V QR`10V Q`VH`%1 C1@VRI1JRVR]`Q`V1QJ:CVJ$1JVV` `Q`RV :1CQ`0:H:JH1V 1:J 1J$V6H1 VIVJ :JRH.:CCVJ$V888 Houston Branch :JR:J:]]C1H: 1QJ`Q`I8 Mudflow J :CC: 1QJ :JR HQII11QJ1J$ Q]V`: 1QJ : :I%J$ V:07 JR% `1V .1]7:`R `Q` Transportation :1]VI  R:7 7 VI8 Report on SUT Houston Branch OSIG Learning Luncheon

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

The afternoon event was well attended with sixty-eight attendees. The speaker was Jim Hooper, a Geotechnical Engineering Consultant specialising in Marine Biohazards.

In the presentation, Jim discussed how waves from Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Katrina (2005) generated thousands of large-stress, positive and negative pressure cycles against the seafloor during the time they shoaled into the Mississippi Delta.

Huge mudflows were triggered across the shallow water and mid-slope regions of the delta. They flowed far down the delta front, thoroughly disrupting the oil and gas pipeline transmission network within their paths. While mudflows are not unexpected on the submarine delta seafloor, the size of the

individual flows, and the water How do large ocean waves depths that they penetrated during transform weak, but otherwise the Ivan and Katrina events, perfectly stable, seafloor sediments were greater than any that had into, for instance, 40ft-thick, near- been experienced within the last liquid layers that can travel miles several decades of exploration and downslope on near-zero degree development in the Mississippi Delta. gradients? subsea production systems, including the use of electric actuators for It is notable, however, that some How can the delta seafloor gate valves, chokes and other of these new mudflows seem to be control hurricane waves such that the tree functions; a discussion on the resting on, but are not fully covering, dynamic energy components of the challenges faced when dealing with the downslope extensions of older, largest waves are filtered from the high temperatures and pressures; and larger events. Apparently, the Ivan storm’s energy spectrum, and only a review of some of Cameron’s own and Katrina mudflows are not the the smallest waves remain? products, including MARS and PUGS. worst seafloor failures that have occurred in the Mississippi Delta. What methods do engineers The presentations sparked a lively use to counter or avoid the effects ‘questions and answers’ session, This discussion reviewed the of mudslides when they design which as usual had to be interrupted fundamental characteristics of production platforms, pipelines, and to allow the meal (and drinks) to be hurricane wave-delta seafloor other seafloor supported facilities? served. The event was sponsored interaction, addressing questions by Quest Offshore Resources and a such as: The luncheon had great reviews and vote of thanks went to Michele Ross the branch looks forward to the next for organising the evening and to the Why do large mudslides occur OSIG learning luncheon. To view the Palm Court Hotel for accommodating in the Mississippi Delta, and not presentation, visit www.SutHouston. us at the last minute. elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico? com under ‘Special Interests’.

167 UT2 December 2010 SUT SUT

London Branch Underwater Technology Pipeline Repair and Vol 29 No 3 A Personal View Intervention Technology The scientific diving challenge in Europe Report on SUT London Evening Meeting J-P Féral Thursday, 16 September 2010 By Dr Bob Allwood, Chief Executive, SUT Technical Papers Preliminary characterisation of The subject of this evening Allan described in some detail the a shallow water hydrothermal seminar had originally been repair procedure step by step, sulphide deposit recovered by planned to be covered earlier in aided by a most impressive video scientific divers (Aeolian Islands, the year, but had been postponed animation – how would we manage southern Tyrrhenian Sea) because of travel difficulties without them these days? All of the AM Conte and G Caramanna caused by the volcanic ash cloud. pipeline repair system hardware had Abstract: Active hydrothermal been designed and built in-house by vents, mainly occurring along the An audience of some 60 people a very experienced workforce. mid-ocean ridges, are also found was pleased that it had been in shallow-water environments in possible to rearrange the seminar Whilst the project ran over some four volcanic areas. This paper presents for this night. The evening was years, following a site integration test data for a shallow-water vent and sponsored by Subsea 7 who in Nigg, Scotland in September 2009 associated sulphide hydrothermal provided both of the speakers: the actual repair was successfully deposits located east of the Allan Glennie and Mick Fowkes. completed over a 14 day period in volcanic island of Panarea (Aeolian Our chairman for the evening, December 2009. Not surprisingly, Archipelago, southern Tyrrhenian Dr Bob Allwood, welcomed the Allan was able to refer to a number of Sea). audience and introduced the lessons learned during this project. speakers. The vent lies at a depth of 25m on A second presentation of a more the seafloor in an exhalative area Allan commenced by summarising general nature was given by Mick on characterised by the presence of the types of damage that subsea Subsea 7’s pipeline repair capability. several vents (Caramanna et al., pipelines can be subject to before With many years of experience, 2003, 2005; Anzidei et al., 2005; describing the repair undertaken the company’s remote technology Esposito et al., 2006). Samples of by Subsea 7 of a water injection group of some 60 engineers and the hydrothermal deposits were line in Total’s Girassol field in draughtsmen, managed by Mick, collected by scientific divers in Block 17 offshore Angola. offers solutions for all sizes and January 2007. The ore mineralogy pipeline types. components of the deposits, mostly In a water depth of some 1350m, Pb–As sulfosalt, Zn–Pb sulphide this was a technically challenging He described a number of case and barium sulphates, reveal a operation. The story started as studies during his presentation and genetic analogy with late-stage, long ago as August 2004 when referred to several complex tools low-temperature products of Kuroko- it was discovered that a 12in that had been developed, including type mineralisations in subduction- diameter water injection line had a laser scanning measurement tool related tectonic settings. ruptured after only nine months and a flange bolt replacement tool of service. This event was linked that had been developed to assist The impacts of anchoring and to problems that had been the cause. mooring in seagrass, Studland encountered during its installation. Bay, Dorset, UK At the end of the evening Allan KJ Collins, AM Suonpää and JJ Total selected the repair solution and Mick addressed a number of Mallinson that had been proposed by questions from the floor. With a total Abstract: Studland Bay, Dorset, on Subsea 7, awarding the company of 64 years’ engineering experience the central south coast of England a contract in 2005 for the design, between them, this was not too is shallow and well protected from manufacture and testing of a difficult a task and the audience was the prevailing south-west winds, diverless pipeline repair system able to move on to the awaiting wine making it an ideal habitat for a (PRS) that could be deployed from and cheese with little delay. dense seagrass bed of Zostera a relatively small support vessel. marina. The shelter and proximity to

UT2 December 2010 168 ! ! % "  "! ! #  "
 !       ! ! "   ! !%   $! % the port of Poole make it a popular of scientific diving in contributing anchorage. to increased knowledge about this extreme environment. The discovery Bare patches in the seagrass habitat of two exotic species in the associated with boat anchoring and sinkhole represents a paradigmatic mooring are described. Shear vane case of the problem of invasive stress of the seabed was measured species introduction in such a in situ by SCUBA divers. When unique environment. The project comparing the undisturbed seagrass also included research on human  )*'&$ ". )$0 -$'(%&+ ' +! 
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 involving storm wave induced North Sea): first monitoring mobilisation and dispersion of the results Technical Briefing impacted sediments exposing the F Kerckhof, B Rumes, T Jacques, S ROV-SCUBA integrated survey underlying rhizome mat, which Degraer and A Norro of the Montecristo Island Nature is further undermined by crabs. Abstract: In 2008 the building of Reserve (Tuscan Archipelago Results from this work and studies a first windmill park some 30km National Park, Mediterranean on other seagrass species suggest off the Belgian North Sea coast Sea) that the recovery is far from began. Such offshore constructions L Angeletti, A Ceregato, M straightforward. It may take many represent a novel, artificial, hard Ghirelli, B Gualandi, E Lipparini, D years, leading to the decline of the substratum habitat on the Belgian Malatesta, A Sperotti and M Taviani Studland Bay seagrass habitat and continental shelf, where the sea- associated species. bottom consists mainly of sandy and Abstract: A remotely operated muddy sediment. vehicle (ROV) survey aimed The underwater exploration at exploring the waters around of the Merro sinkhole and the It is anticipated that in the coming Montecristo Island, a nature associated diving physiological years, several hundreds of offshore reserve in the Tuscan Archipelago and psychological effects. windmills will be constructed in (Tyrrhenian Sea), was carried out in R Palozzi, G Caramanna, P a dedicated zone off the Belgian summer 2008 down to a maximum Albertano, R Congestri, L Bruno, R coast. SCUBA-based in situ depth of ca. 160m. The main target Romano, MG Giganti, R Zenobi, C techniques were used to document of this exploration was checking the Costanzo, G Valente, D Polani, M and sample the fouling assemblage potential occurrence of deepwater Vecchio, M Vinci and V Sbordoni on the hard substratum represented scleractinian corals. Abstract: The Pozzo del Merro by the concrete foundations of (Merro sinkhole), a few kilometres the first windmills constructed in Whilst the ROV transects did not away from Rome, Italy, is the Belgian waters. Here this paper document any deepwater corals, deepest flooded karstic cavity presents and discusses the results they did reveal that the coarse known in the world. Over the last of the monitoring undertaken from detrital bottom of the Montecristo two years, a multi-disciplinary February 2009 to February 2010. granitic edifice between 110–160m scientific research project studied was dominated by a crinoid facies the almost unknown aquatic Despite the further offshore location made of Leptometra phalangium ecosystem of the sinkhole while and differences in substratum type, (Müller, 1841) with a density of up also studying the psychological and the preliminary results indicated to 15 individuals per m². physiological reactions of scientific that the overall structure of the divers operating in the very hostile marine biofouling assemblage at the Book Review underwater environment. Thornton Bank site is similar to that The First Treasure Divers: The on the foundations of other offshore True Story of How Two Brothers This paper presents a preliminary wind farms in Germany, Denmark Invented the Diving Helmet and overview of the seven studies and the Netherlands, as well as on Sought Sunken Treasure and Fame carried out in parallel and attempts other hard structures in the North by John Bevan to highlight the fundamental role Sea. Reviewed by G Momber

169 UT2 December 2010 SUT SUT

Subsea Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) 2010 Future Technology, Availability and life through changes

Report on the SUT International Conference Hilton Newcastle Gates Hotel, Newcastle, UK 2–3 June 2010

This two-day international biennial least the Ormen Lange subsea addressed various aspects of conference in the field of Subsea compression option. this broad and important issue. A Control and Data Acquisition key missing link in the path is still (SCADA) is one of the more This session clearly illustrated the perceived to be the high reliability specialist SUT conferences, vital role that addressing these kind electric surface controlled subsurface developed for those engaged in of industry-stretching challenges safety valve (SCSSV). remote control and monitoring of plays in moving forward the subsea systems. technology capability spectrum for The afternoon session switched our benefit to more conventional future thoughts to progress on the monitoring This year the two-day conference projects, as well as for the tougher technologies, and good examples was held in June 2010 at the decisions such as commitment to were presented of the role that optical Hilton in Newcastle, UK, and subsea gas compression. techniques using, for instance, Bragg again followed the long tradition of grating sensors or high-power LEDs, providing a unique forum for the A parallel was drawn to game- can now play in simplifying and suppliers and operators of subsea changing subsea projects of a extending the acquisition of valuable technology to exchange and debate bygone era, such as the Exxon SPS data from various subsea sites. views and experiences. and Shell UMC. The greatest benefit of these was not necessarily just the Specific applications for thermal The conference was very ably specific applications that they were gradient monitoring and hydrocarbon kick-started by a rousing keynote directly assigned to, but rather to the leak detection subsea were described address from Alex Hunt, a well- industry’s broader capability thereby in some detail. known champion of upstream to address the major challenges technology development from presented by the requirement for An update was also given on ways BG Group. With the scene clearly longer offsets and deeper water with now available to separate the set, and the potential for more confidence. standardised subsea production sophisticated control and monitoring control system from the increasingly capabilities identified, the main Without operators prepared to keep customised intelligent well conference proceedings were sponsoring these types of technology requirements of the intervention and categorised into four discrete half- development challenges, the industry workover control and monitoring day sessions. would find itself unable to respond system. adequately to the step-changes that The first morning examined the continue to be required for successful Of particular interest here were the state of the art on control system development in the increasingly lessons learned along the way from development and qualification tougher environments that are being the testing and piloting phases of the for the emerging seabed oil and encountered. development program. gas processing systems. The question was posed, “Are we Not surprisingly, the delegates were The full day of concentrated learning now ready for all-electric subsea yet unable to reach any consensus and participation was then very control systems?”, as opposed to on the answer to the question effectively and enjoyably rewarded the conventional electro-hydraulic posed. There was a general feeling, by an excellent Elizabethan banquet systems widely still applied to date. however, that it is just a question dinner evening at the nearby sixteenth of time before the increasing use century Lumley Castle. This gave full It was pointed out that great strides of active subsea boosting and opportunity for networking among the have now been made on developing processing technologies tips the delegates, with the added bonus of and qualifying electric subsea valve balance in favour of all electric not needing to concentrate on table actuators for several challenging solutions. All five presentations manners whilst getting one’s point potential applications ahead – not and discussions in this first session across.

UT2 December 2010 170 HOSTED BY SHELL

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171 UT2 December 2010 SUT

A thoroughly good time was had which should underpin the system The challenges of cost-effective by all, and a warm vote of thanks level design goals for the subsea light well intervention for the ever was made to Michele Ross for control systems of the future. deeper and rougher operating organising such an appropriate environments were then reviewed. event. Key aspects of these were identified A few key players in the industry as standardised modular units which have relentlessly driven forward Most delegates made it successfully are configurable for a range of the capability, even though the to the start of Day 2, the first applications and globally connected take-up of commercial contracts session of which was chaired by via standard, highly secure internet from field operators has often been SUT’s new chief executive Dr interface protocols. hardly sufficient to justify continued Bob Allwood. Bob gave a brief investment on any conventional overview of the breadth and depth Furthermore, the wisdom of economic basis. of SUT’s scope and widening global recognising the potential for AUVs to coverage and ambitions. complement the evolving capability However, LWI operations are now of ROVs was highlighted, which taking place in down to 900m water The main focus of this penultimate requires that due consideration be depth in the Gulf of Mexico, but session was wireless subsea given upfront to the location and the current concepts are not really communications, and obsolescence modular packaging of the new seen as being the basis for ultimate management when extending older generation of seabed hardware. technical solutions in deeper brownfield electrohydraulic systems. and rougher waters globally. The A diverse round-up of other industry has to come to grips with Great progress has been considerations was covered by the the investment needed to create the made on wide-band acoustic final session of the conference. suitable and proven capability for communication systems, with It began with a comprehensive intervention on the wells that will be second generation wide-band overview of the work that has produced not too far into the future. systems now offering highly robust been ongoing in a JIP to address communication capability in even the number and types of umbilical The conference took place against the most challenging environmental blockages that have been the backdrop of the rapidly unfolding conditions. experience across the industry to events at the Macondo deepwater date. field in the Gulf of Mexico. It The potential for these systems remains to be seen what impact the now to start replacing increasingly The consensus was clearly that aftermath of this will have on our expensive umbilical systems for blockages cannot generally be business globally, but the consensus certain applications was highlighted, rectified once they have happened, view is that such changes are likely although due recognition was also so efforts need to focus on to be far-reaching in scope, time and given to the inevitable trade-off avoiding incidences and building in cost. that still prevails between data appropriate redundancy to suit the rate and robustness in any given applicable operational philosophies. The final presentation and environment. Guidelines around the results are discussion was around one of the being built into a draft RP which most pertinent issues in this regard The obsolescence issue has will set out the framework within – the degree to which subsea HIPPS become an increasingly significant which more detailed specifications can now finally be considered to and challenging one as field life and procedures should be further have come of age. It was postulated extension requirements outlive both developed. that the recent issuance of the API the timeframe for manufacturer RP-17O signifies that subsea HIPPS support and the technical expansion Coverage was then given to is now truly an accepted technology. capability of the original subsea development and qualification of It will be particularly interesting to control system hardware. water-based hydraulic control fluid see what the views on this are in two for 220oC applications and beyond. years’ time. A proven approach was described The successes already achieved whereby the original subsea control were illustrated, but emphasis In conclusion, the delegates modules can be replaced by units was also made on the need to be expressed great appreciation to both using latest technologies, without realistic about what it will take to the organisers and the presenters for the need for major production continue to qualify fluids for truly an excellent two days, and renewed disruption or reliability compromise. reliable service with the ever greater the view that the SCADA Conference environmental challenges we are is still a forum of immense relevance This led on naturally to presenting to the suppliers of these and value to the subsea controls consideration of key principles fluids. community worldwide.

UT2 December 2010 172 AUSTRALIA’S SUBSEALARGEST EVENT EXPLORE the latest developments in risers, subsea pipelines, geophysics and geohazards, subsea engineering risk, FLNG and subsea integrity and learn about global opportunities and Australian subsea projects.




 




 
  
 

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