Contents Contents

UT2 December 2008 News The magazine of the Society for Underwater Technology News Employment Exchange, Research, Calling it Off 4 On the Move 6-7 Polar Barents Sea Find, Arctic Boundaries, Arctic Hydrocarbons 8, Bathymetry 9, Lowest Arctic Ice Coverage, Arctic Role 10, Aurora Borealis, Autosub 10

Polar Research Oceanology Sentry 14, Underwater Observatory 15, Underwater Vehicles Sonar

Cover: Subsea visualisation of the Vehicles seabed around the Frigg fi eld. Picture courtesy of SRD. ROVs SubCAN 16, Swiss ROV, Titan, LYYN 18, SMD COOEC 18, Police Aid 19, Bigger/Better 19, Innovator, Subsea Well Control, SAUC-E 20

Equipment Sign Rule, Orion, TOGS 22, Clay Cutter 23, Manipulator Upgrade, Estonian AUV 24, Low-light Cameras 25, 26 December 2008

Projects Babbage, Venture, Pony, Skarv, Draugen 28, Azerbaijan, Vol 3 No 4 Cosmos 29, Wintershall, Haklang, Ettrick, Noatun, MA-D6, Cameron 31 2 Halvorsen 32, Twister 34, DMBS/COSSP 35 UT Processing

Society for Underwater Pipelines Kvitebjorn, Mexilhao, Normand Progress, Corrib 40, Technology Notdstream 41, Wake Interference 42, Ball Connector 43 80 Coleman St, London EC25 5BJ Research Trawl Research 44, Ringing the Changes 46 +44 (1) 480 370007 Changes Acquisitions and Restructuring 46, People 48 Editor: John Howes [email protected] SUT SUT News 50 Sub Editor: Mariam Pourshoushtari [email protected]

Advertising: Joe Sinfi eld Published by UT2 Publishing Ltd for and on behalf of the Society for [email protected] Underwater Technology. Reproduction of UT2 in whole or in part, without permission, is prohibited. The publisher and the SUT assumes no responsibility Production: Sue Denham for unsolicited material, nor responsibility for content of any advertisement, particularly infringement of copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights Design and Layout and patents, nor liability for misrepresentations, false or misleading statements Torpedo Design and illustrations. 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

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 3 NEWS NEWS Employment Exchange Research Is Vital Former Aberdeen SUT chair and global Subsea UK is warning companies Subsea is rapidly becoming the technol- head of technology at Aker Solutions, against the temptation to put invest- ogy of choice for the exploitation of Alistair Birnie, has been appointed the new ment in research and development reserves in mature offshore hydrocar- chief executive of Subsea UK. This follows on hold as the oil and gas industry bon provinces like the UK. With new new earlier this year that the previous begins to feel the effects of the global deepwater provinces coming into play, chairman, David Pridden, was standing credit crunch. together with the existing areas such down. as Brazil and Gulf of Mexico, subsea The body which champions the UK’s production has become a truly global Alistair is well known in the UK oil and subsea industry – an industry which technology used in every major offshore gas industry and has a track record in the employs 40 000 and contributes hydrocarbon province around the world. subsea sector. A chartered engineer, Mr £4.5 billion to the UK economy Global spend on deepwater develop- Birnie has 28 years of experience in the – fears that oil and gas companies ments is estimated to grow by 74% in subsea industry. may be re-considering their R&D the period to 2012. budgets in light of the recent drop in Prior to joining Aker Solutions, he was oil prices. “Subsea technology is one of the great technology application manager for ITF successes of the oil and gas industry in where he championed new technology, “A decline, even temporarily, in recent years, but its future development particularly in the subsea sector, for two research and development activi- could be at risk” said Mr Birnie. years. This was preceded by six years with ties could have a devastating effect Nautronix in the roles of VP of projects and on the industry and ultimately on “The dramatic change in oil price, head of technology applications. security of supply. With oil and gas coupled with a cost base which has production taking place in more com- risen equally dramatically in the last few “Subsea UK has come a long way in plex, challenging and deeper water years, will be forcing companies to four years and my aim is to further build environments, the need for new reassess their business priorities and on the success, ensuring that we work technology to successfully extract their budgets. At a time of escalating towards global recognition for the collective the remaining reserves, is critical,” costs, we need more than ever to ex- expertise, skills and technology of our says Alistair Birnie, chief executive of amine how technology can play a role in member companies. Subsea UK. delivering improved value while enabling an increase in production. “There has been tremendous growth in the “If the UK is to hold on to its world- industry, and the UK’s role in that growth has leading position in subsea, we must “The industry must continue to work been acknowledged. We need to maintain have technology in all stages of together to identify the gaps between our position and ensure that we project our development. The creation and com- the technology the oil and gas operators experience onto the global stage. mercialisation of new smart subsea need and the technology currently being technologies will have an impact on developed in the sector. The establish- “I relish the challenges this will involve and our ability to secure a major share ment of the National Subsea Research am looking forward to working with the of the predicted £41 billion global Institute NSRI will play a major role in industry, our members and board to ensure market in 2011.” meeting the technology challenge.” we overcome them and continue to lead the way around the world.” Calling It Off Talks of a possible merger between subsea giants Acergy and Subsea 7 have failed. Acergy chairman Mark Woolveridge said, “The board gave this approach its fullest consideration, but decided to continue with its independent strategy.

“With our position as one of the leading companies in the SURF sector, our high quality fl eet, operating excellence and good backlog, we remain well positioned for profi table growth. Furthermore, in a challenging period in fi nancial markets, our strong balance sheet underpins the board’s confi dence in the Group’s ability to deliver value for shareholders.”

For its part, Subsea 7 chief executive offi cer Mel Fitzgerald, said, “Subsea 7 remains a very strong independent company with great people, assets and culture, and we are on track to achieve our vision as the subsea partner of choice.”

Alistair Birnie 4 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Sorry, it won’t trim your toenails.

Operating as either a stand-alone Attitude and any position reference application. Available in Heading Reference System (AHRS) or as part surface or subsea versions rated to 5,000 metres, of an integrated acoustic navigation system, Lodestar is building a successful track record as Lodestar is the marine industry’s multi-tool; a ring a DP reference and subsea positioning instrument. laser inertial reference system for highly dynamic It’s heading in the right direction; are you? marine environments that can be configured for www.sonardyne.com/products

Trusted Solutions for:

Seismic Construction Defence Inertial Survey Telemetry Drilling UT2 DECEMBER 2008 5 NEWS NEWS MOV

Acergy’s new building Acergy Technip Acergy has offi cially moved in to its The 17-acre site features a modern Technip, has signed a three- new, bespoke, multi-million-pound offi ce building on three levels year lease for a second site campus in the Westhill Business Park and an extensive workshop area, located near to its UK head- on the outskirts of Aberdeen. complete with an external yard. quarters in Westhill. The com- The offi ce design centres around pany requires the extra space to While 600 staff have made the two impressive glass atriuma with provide enhanced facilities for move from the company’s previous a restaurant and coffee bar located its 800-strong workforce. The base at Bucksburn, Aberdeen, the within the ‘heart’ of the building. building, entitled ‘Aspect 32’, is new facility can house up to 800 a newly built offi ce located at employees. Since the construction Acergy is the fi rst subsea company Arnhall Business Park. contract was signed in late 2006, a in Scotland to have its own leisure recruitment campaign has increased complex for the full use of its Technip’s UK headquarters was the company’s headcount by 25%. employees and families. They can signifi cantly extended in 2004. enjoy the use of two squash courts, However, due to the company’s The campus has been constructed with a multipurpose gym, weights room investment in new assets and the environment in mind, incorporating and games hall capable of hosting a the growth of the UK project energy saving features which include fi ve-a-side football tournament and business, the company recog- daylight and movement sensitive aerobic classes. As the hall has a nised that steps were needed lighting controls, gray water harvesting, signifi cant seating capacity, it will to ensure it continued to offer a passive chilled beam cooling and a also be used for all staff meetings high standard of offi ce accom- geothermal heat source system. and company events. modation.

SMD Saab Seaeye SMD has moved into a new £1.75m offi ce development on Global success for Saab Seaeye has led the company to the site of its Turbinia manufacturing and assembly facility. expand its production capacity by 50% with the opening of a new 24 000ft2 factory in Fareham, Hampshire. SMD’s new CEO Andrew Hodgson commented, “It has been a long-standing ambition of mine to house all of our Managing director, Dave Grant, said that the greater 135 employees on a single site. engineering, technical and production capability will help meet the growing demand for the company’s “In total, we have invested £2.75m re-developing the range of underwater vehicles. Turbinia site. As well as the new main offi ce, we have improved the main assembly hall and added a new stores Custom-built facilities have been integrated into the building, a new client and production offi ce, a new canteen new building, including production cells and dedicated and support services offi ce, a modern training facility with test areas. This comprises ample onsite space for a simulator and new wet test facility. This forms an impor- customer-ready control containers and launch and tant part of the general redevelopment of the banks of the recovery systems linked into the factory for fi nal ROV Tyne to become a centre of excellence for subsea and integration. The move has signifi cantly improved marine technology.” production effi ciency by bringing together three different sites under one roof.

Saab Seaeye’s building in Hampshire

SMD’s building on the Turbinia site

6 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 VING

Subsea 7 in Westhill Subsea 7 The new Subsea 7 facility in Westhill Working areas include a covers an area of approximately combination of open-plan fl oor 17 300m2 (186 000 ft2), comprising a space and cellular offi ces with an central core area and a wing in each even distribution across all fl oors direction, north, south, east and west. of meeting rooms, coffee points The building includes a ground fl oor and toilet facilities. A visitor suite plus three upper levels which can is available to provide clients with accommodate up to 1200 occupants. privacy and the facility of daily remote contact with their own Car parking and building access offi ces. The interior of the building is at the north of the site, while the has been designed with a high level south side of the building features of temperature comfort and noise landscaped grounds including an open- abatement. air dining area. The building is largely composed of curtain walling with silver The heating/cooling solution is anodised aluminium and clear anti-sun delivered by a ‘chilled beam’ system glass, designed to reduce solar glare which is currently regarded as the and reject excess heat. It has a glass best option for zone-controlled atrium feature running east to west comfort. The complex offers the Technip’s Active 32 building along the spine and has a high rating opportunity for expansion in line with on environmental effi ciency. future business growth.

PSS/Sub-Atlantic Sub-Atlantic has formally opened its training for both new Houston facility. The new sales and novice and service centre offers 5000ft2 of experienced offi ce and workshop space. It is pilots, designed to allow the company to gain technicians and access to the US market by providing engineers. full technical and sales support to existing and new clients, including The simulators extensive stock holding of major electric use the same and hydraulic ROV components. hardware as used in It is part of Perry Slingsby Systems the fi eld, so (PSS) $2 000 000 training and support beginners Sub-Atlantic’s new facility in Houston facility in Houston which opened last can become year. Altogether, the 20 000ft2 complex accustomed to the control includes a deepwater education placement, vehicle reactions and centre offering full ROV simulation and control system diagnostics without the necessity of going offshore.

The two companies share a central storage facility, which can be fully Inside Saab Seaeye’s building stocked with spare parts. A dedicated training facility is also Meanwhile, Sub-Atlantic will located at the factory. It will enhance double its facility in Aberdeen the existing training package for without the interruption of operators from across the world and actually moving. It will expand offer technical training in the operation into the building next door! and maintenance of Saab Seaeye’s complete range of portable and work- class vehicles. Inside the new facility

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 7 Polar Research Barents Sea Find Polar Research Arctic Boundaries StatoilHydro, operator of exploration In August 2007, Russian scientists licence 394, has completed drilling of ex- sent a submarine to the Arctic Ocean ploration well 7224/6-1 in the Barents Sea. seabed at 90deg north to gather data in support of Russia’s claim that the The well was tested in a prospect called North Pole is part of the Russian Arenaria in block 7224/6. The primary goal continental shelf. The expedi- was to prove hydrocarbons in sandstone tion provoked a hostile reaction of early Jurassic to late Triassic age. The from other Arctic littoral states and secondary goal was to prove hydrocar- prompted media speculation that bons in rocks of the middle Triassic age. Russia’s action might trigger a ‘new Cold War’ over the resources of the In the primary exploration target, rocks of Arctic. good reservoir quality were found in ac- cordance with the prognoses. While there are a number of disagree- ments over maritime jurisdiction in the Arctic region – and potential for more as Arenaria states defi ne the areas over which they have exclusive rights over the resources of the continental shelf more than 200 nauti- cal miles from their coastal baselines – so far all of the Arctic states have followed the rules and procedures for establishing seabed jurisdiction set Snøhvit out in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law Nucula of the Sea. To date, only Russia and Norway have made submissions to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf, but Canada, Denmark and the USA are also likely to defi ne their continental shelf limits over the next few years.

In response to numerous enquiries relating to maritime jurisdiction in the Arctic, the International Boundaries Research Unit IBRU has prepared a map Goliat Hammerfest and a set of briefi ng notes on the current state of play in the region. The map Melkøya identifi es known claims and agreed boundaries, plus potential areas that Map of Arenaria might be claimed in the future. No hydrocarbons were proven. In the secondary drilling target, gas was proven in reservoir rocks of poor quality.

This is the fi rst well to be drilled in Arctic Hydrocarbons exploration licence 394, which was Earlier this year, a team of Mark Myers, director of the USGS, awarded in the 19th license round in US Geological Survey (USGS) said the information was being 2006. The well was an obligation well. It scientists completed an appraisal made public so that decisions was drilled to a vertical depth of 2315m of possible future additions to could be made about the future below sea level and was completed in world oil and gas reserves from use of oil and gas and related is- rocks of middle Triassic age. The well new fi eld discoveries in the Arctic. sues about protecting endangered is now being permanently plugged and species, native communities and abandoned. Areas north of the Artic Circle the health of the planet. are believed to contain 90 billion Drilling of exploration well 7224/6-1 was barrels of undiscovered oil and a The study included only those completed by the Polar Pioneer drilling further 1670 trillion ft3 of ‘techni- resources believed to be recover- unit at a water depth of 265m. Polar cally recoverable’ gas according able using existing technology, but Pioneer will now start drilling exploration to the USGS. with the important assumptions for well 7222/11-1 in the StatoilHydro- offshore areas that the resources operated exploration licence 228. would be recoverable even in the Subsea This Circum-Arctic Resource presence of permanent sea ice The licensees in exploration licence 394 Appraisal (CARA) evaluated the and oceanic water depth. are: StatoilHydro (65%), Gaz de France petroleum potential of all areas Norge AS (20%) and Petoro (15%). north of the Arctic Circle. A number of onshore areas in

8 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Polar Research

To view the briefi ng notes that accompany this map, please go to: www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/arctic.pdf

Canada, Russia,and Alaska already have Bathymetry been explored for petroleum, resulting in the discovery of more than 400 oil and gas The outer limit of the continental shelf is defi ned in relation to fi elds north of the Arctic Circle. These fi elds the geology and geomorphology of the continental margin. The account for approximately 240 billion barrels Arctic Ocean seabed is currently rather poorly surveyed, but of oil and oil-equivalent natural gas (bboe), existing public domain datasets such as US National which is almost 10% of the world’s known Geophysical Data Center’s ETOPO2 bathymetry dataset, from conventional petroleum resources. which the seabed relief map (above) was generated, suggests that in many areas of the Arctic, the outer limit of the continental Nevertheless, most of the Arctic, especially shelf may fall well short of the theoretical maximum limits shown offshore, is essentially unexplored with on the main map. respect to petroleum. The Arctic Circle en- compasses about 6% of the earth’s surface, The Arctic coastal states are currently conducting hydro- an area of more than 21 million km2 (8.2 graphic and geophysical surveys of the Arctic Ocean in order million miles2), of which almost 8 million to identify the outer limits of the continental shelf with precision. km2 (3.1 million miles2) is onshore and more Some data being acquired through collaborative ventures are than 7 million km2 (2.7 million miles2) is on being made available to the public, notably the International continental shelves under less than 500m of Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (http://www.ngdc.noaa. water. gov/mgg/bathymetry/arctic).

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 9 Polar Research Lowest Arctic Ice Coverage Polar Research In September, Arctic sea ice coverage reached its lowest extent for the year and the second-lowest amount recorded since the dawn of the satellite era, according to observations from the NASA-sup- ported National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

While slightly above the record-low minimum set on 16 September 2007, this season further reinforces the strong negative trend in summer sea ice extent observed during the past 30 years. Before last year, the previous record low for September was 2005.

In March, when the Arctic reached its annual maxi- mum sea ice coverage during the winter, scientists from NASA and the data centre reported that thick, older sea ice was continuing to decline. According to NASA-processed satellite microwave data, this perennial ice used to cover 50–60% of the Arctic, but this winter it covered less than 30%. Perennial sea ice is the long-lived layer of ice that remains even when the surrounding short-lived seasonal sea ice melts to its minimum extent during the summer.

NASA scientists have been observing Arctic sea ice cover since 1979 through the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) – a high-resolution passive microwave Instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite. Amongst the applications researchers use it is to study the interactions between the ocean and sea ice from season to season.

Arctic Rôle Applied Acoustic Engineering (AEE) 6.25m spacing and the multi-tip Delta Region, AAE’s geophysical capabilities sub-bottom profi ling equipment is sparker array. are being put to the test in a very different currently in use in harsh conditions way. Scientists from the University of north of the Arctic Circle. Systems The deployment of the CSP-D and Bergen in Norway have been conducting are currently being deployed for both Delta sparker system offers speed of environmental studies on the polar ice commercial operations, in the search mobilisation as it requires only two- cap. for ydrocarbons beneath the seabed, man operation and a readily available as well as for environmental reasons, single-phase generator on a vessel of Part of those studies required the need such as the monitoring sediment opportunity rather than a cumbersome to obtain seismic data from the seabed layers beneath ice fl oes. compressor and air gun arrangement. beneath moving ice fl oes. Personnel from the university developed their Off the northern Alaskan coast a The variable input power circuitry own sparker sound source to suit their 6000J Delta Sparker with CSP-S of the CSP-S is also proving specifi c requirements, but turned to AAE energy source is being used in a important. This provides a slow-start to produce the energy supply needed to geohazard survey. Such surveys are to gradually increase power output, operate it. However, one of the criteria used to detect shallow gas, active keeping generator requirements low of the energy supply was to operate faulting and potential hydrate zones. and reducing wear and tear on the remotely, in sub-zero temperatures, for The UHR (ultra high resolution) equipment. a period of approximately six months, multichannel seismic survey is recharging itself from its own power utilising a 48-channel streamer at On the other side of the North Polar supply.

10 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientifi c Visualization Studio; Blue Marble Next Generation data courtesy Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC)

AAE’s technicians, in conjunction with the university, considered this situation and developed a seismic energy supply capable of fi ring a 4.8KJ shot using energy harnessed from the sun. A series of solar cells were incorporated into the unit that allowed the sun to recharge the capacitor banks easily and suffi ciently, creating a viable and environmentally friendly way round what could have been a major obstacle.

With the seismic data being recorded and sent to Bergen via the Iridium satellite network, the university’s scientists can monitor the operation remotely, returning to the pole to retrieve the equipment at the end of the project. Applied Acoustics’ Delta Sparker about to be deployed in the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 11 Polar Below and left: The Aurora Borealis Research

Aurora Borealis Polar Research The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar most sophisticated research vessel. in water depths between 100 and and Marine Research – part of the Fifteen 15 institutions and agencies 5000m. Helmholtz Association – along with from ten European nations, including engine manufacturers Wärtsilä have Norway and the Russian Federation, For the fi rst time, scientifi c deep-sea revealed the technical design of the founded the European Research drilling will become possible even European Research vessel Icebreaker Consortium (ERICON). in drifting pack ice, without need of Aurora Borealis. The European Commission has support from additional icebreakers. funded the preparatory phase Extensive model tests in the ice tanks with €4.5 million. The anticipated of the Hamburg Ship Model Basin construction costs as of 2008 are (HSVA) and Aker Arctic Research around €650 million. Centre in Helsinki, Finland, have proven that Aurora Borealis will be The Alfred Wegener Institute is also able to dynamically position in ice globally connected, by more than 74 cover of two or more metres thickness. co-operational agreements, to the most important international research centres for There are the two 7x7m moon pools polar and marine research. enabling scientists to deploy their equipment into the ocean without Subject to suffi cient fi nancial support, being subject to wind, waves and ice. the preparations for the construction of the vessel should be completed by 2011, The aft moon pool is mainly dedicated The Aurora and construction could start as early as to drilling operations, while the Borealis 2012. This would enable the fi rst scientifi c forward moon pool is reserved for will be a unique operations to be undertaken in 2014 or most other scientifi c works. Scientifi c vessel – a combination of a thereabouts. laboratories are located on several heavy icebreaker, a scientifi c drilling decks around the moon pool, which is ship and a multi-purpose research The Aurora Borealis will be equipped with designed in an atrium-like shape with platform that can operate year-round a drilling rig that enables researchers to circular walkways and preparation in polar waters. It will be the world’s drill more than 1000m into the sea fl oor, areas.

Autosub In early 2009, the Autosub from the RRS James Cook under The survey discovered seabed autonomous vehicle will be make its the direction of Dr Russell Wynn of scours hundreds of metres across way to Antarctica on the research the National Oceanography Centre, and up to 100m deep, which were vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, to look at Southampton. formed when giant submarine fl ows the Pine Island Glacier. It is intended ripped out huge volumes of seafl oor. that the vehicle will look at water The areas of Autosub6000 operation fl ow and take measurements to look ranged from just north of the Canary The Autosub6000 produced images into provide information about global islands, via the Iberian Abyssal Plain to of unprecedented resolution, giving warming. the Whittard Canyon, in water depths detailed evidence about the scale ranging from 4200 to 4850m. The ship and frequency of occurrence of the At the opposite extreme, the newer cruise track length was in excess of 2000 fl ows, making it practical to accurately Autosub6000 will spend some time miles. navigate piston cores both within and next year working at the mid-Atlantic outside the scour features. ridge, looking at the superheated Each of the Autosub6000 missions lasted hydrothermal vents at depths of up to 24 hours. While the AUV carried out the Seabed coring was carried out while 6000m detailed, high resolution Autosub6000 surveyed three miles (2Mpixel size), 3D bathymetric survey down. Later, the survey data was The Autosub 6000 recently carried out of the seafl oor, of 16 to 25km2 areas, used to help plan subsequent cores. successful trials to investigate potential the ship was able to transit elsewhere threats to coastal communities along and carry out seabed piston coring the Western European margin from operations. Within two hours of the end Autosub 6000 giant landslides, earthquakes and of each mission, more seabed coring tsunamis. operations were underway, guided by bathymetry information gathered by Altogether, it carried out fi ve missions, the Autosub6000.

12 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 At home in the ocean

Easytrak - Subsea Tracking Sub-bottom Profi ling Acoustic Positioning Acoustic Release and Telemetry

+44 (0)1493 440355 : [email protected] : www.appliedacoustics.com

Worldwide Underwater Technology R&D Engineering System Integration Sales Service

t
Infrastructure for riser monitoring systems

t
Fibre optic connectors

t
Launch and recovery systems

t
ROTV for pipeline survey

t
HD underwater camera systems

www.macartney.com

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 13 Subsea RESEARCH

Sentry: Thinking Out of the Box

Subsea Research The newly developed Sentry even at a zero forward speed. autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has successfully completed The swivelling thruster/foil its fi rst scientifi c mission. The new actuators allows vehicle control vehicle was built at the Woods uncompromised by thruster Hole Oceanographic Institution performance degradation in (WHOI) as a replacement for the crossfl ows. Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) which came into service 12 years Its shaped monolithic hull ago. It is capable of diving down to provides the same degree depths as low as 5000m. of static stability in pitch and The Sentry being used by the University of roll as possessed by the ABE Washington In its inaugural programme, the vehicle, but with lower drag. Sentry made a total of six dives and surveyed 212 linear kilometres of “It is much more hydrodynamically Sentry on Watch seafl oor, or about 53km2, as it traced effi cient than ABE, particularly Powered by more than 1000 lithium-ion a grid of parallel lines. during purely horizontal translation,’ batteries adapted for extreme pressures, said Jakuba. “Furthermore, its Sentry dove for as long as 18 hours and 58km, “Sentry is radically different from all larger battery capacity allows longer with the potential for longer trips in the future. currently operational AUVs,” said mission times.” Michael Jakuba, visiting research “The AUV is designed to swim like a fi sh or fl y scientist at Johns Hopkins University “Another important factor is derived like a helicopter through the water,” said Dana Dynamical Systems and Control from experience with the ABE Yoerger, the lead WHOI engineer for Sentry. Laboratory. “The vehicle has been vehicle, which meant that particular “The sleek hydrodynamic design allows the designed to be highly manoeuvrable, attention in the design was paid Sentry to descend quickly from the sea surface capable of purely vertical motion and to maintenance and operational to the depths (about 3500m per hour). The hovering,” he said. considerations.”. novel shape also gives the vehicle tremendous stability and balance while cruising through The basic design consists of a On its fi rst scientifi c mission, bottom currents. wing-shaped monolithic hull with a the Sentry carried a multibeam pair of protruding foils fore and aft. mapping sonar, a water “The vehicle has thrusters built into its foils, Both the fore and aft set of control conductivity, temperature and or wings. Like an airplane, the foils allow foils are capable of swivelling 270o. depth (CTD) probe, an the vehicle to gain lift or drag or directional Four thrusters are attached to the optical backscatter momentum, as needed. rotating control foils, one sensor (to detect to each foil. cloudy water), two “When necessary, the AUV also can hover magnetometers, over the bottom for close-up inspections, The design and a sensor for navigational decision-making, and for rising up represents a detecting water and down over rugged seafl oor terrain. The departure from other chemistry design allows the vehicle to start, stop, and AUV designs in related change directions, whereas many AUVs tend three signifi cant to travel in one direction. ways: “The AUV steers itself with a magnetic compass; long-baseline (LBL) navigation triangulated from underwater beacons; a to hydrothermal sophisticated inertial guidance system (INS); vents, developed and, when within 200m of the bottom, an in collaboration acoustic sensor that can track the vehicles’ Unlike with Ko-Ichi direction and speed with incredible precision,” more standard Nakamura of said Yoerger. AUV designs Japan’s National actuated by a Institute of Advanced Industrial With this mission successfully completed, single main Science and Technology. Sentry is now ready to join the National Deep propeller and Submergence Facility (NDSF), a federally funded aft control foils, The Sentry AUV designed by centre based at WHOI that operates, maintains the Sentry is Woods Hole Oceanographic and coordinates the use of vital deep ocean manoeuvrable Institution vehicles for the US oceanographic community.

14 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Subsea Research

North East Pacifi c Underwater Observatory A revolutionary project to understand oceanographic processes has been taking shape on the Juan de Fuca Plate Map of the proposed deepwater observatories in the northeast Pacifi c. In the North, work is being carried out in Canada, led by the University of Victoria (UT2, Feb/Mar 2008, p32) while the US assault is being spearheaded by The work made it possible to fi nalise locations for two critical the University of Washington, which has used the Sentry to sites. One is near an area 50 miles off Newport, Oregon, help pinpoint deepwater sites for seafl oor instruments to be where scientists would like to learn more about the icy deployed as part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) methane that collects on, or below, the seafl oor where the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). Juan de Fuca plate subducts beneath North America.

“The network, which will be connected to land by “Most developed nations have major research efforts underwater cables from locations offshore Washington focused on understanding, and learning to use these and Oregon, will help unlock secrets about such things energy-rich deposits of methane,” Delaney said. “Our plan as the ocean’s ability to absorb greenhouse gases is to build the infrastructure that will allow entire generations and help scientists learn how seafl oor stresses cause of scientists to study these deposits fi rsthand using robotic earthquakes and tsunamis,” said John Delaney, University telepresence – no other country is there yet.” of Washington oceanographer and chief scientist on the two-week mapping expedition.

“The ocean community is on the threshold of a new era in which an ensemble of novel technologies will provide us with an increasingly powerful capacity for exploring and interacting with the global ocean system,” Delaney said. “The cruise itself is an example of the coming generation of systems, where highly capable autonomous underwater vehicles like Sentry will be integral components. Today’s AUVs are helping us develop the power and high-speed communications network we’ll need to explore powerful and potentially dangerous processes at underwater volcanoes, within powerful tsunamis or in the wake of large storms and hurricanes.”

In plans thus far, cables from two places on land will extend to fi ve primary nodes, each about the size of a large dinner table. Like underwater extension cords, the nodes will supply power to, and communicate with, instruments, robots and smaller secondary nodes.

Choosing the right sites involved mapping and imaging in remarkable detail using sonar instruments, a towed camera Icy methane – the patches of white in this image – are known and the Sentry. This produced maps precise to within 1m, to collect on and below the seafl oor where one tectonic plate as it glided about 250ft over the seafl oor. dives under another. Sites such as this host a rich community of microbes able to live off the methane and without any sunlight. Working in tandem with sonar instruments on the University of Washington–operated research vessel Thomas G. The other site is about 300 miles west of Cannon Beach, Thompson and with photo-mapping by WHOI’s TowCam Oregon, and, in a decidedly different environment. This seafl oor imaging system, Sentry gathered the most precise is on top of Axial Seamount, the largest active submarine maps to date of seafl oor features known as Hydrate Ridge volcano east of Hawaii and north of Baja California, Mexico. and Axial Volcano, around the edges of the Juan de Fuca Earthquakes, eruptions and hydrothermal venting at Axial plate. Seamount are representative of what happens worldwide All photos courtesy of the University of Washington along the 43 000 mile mid-ocean ridge system.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 15 UNDERWATER Vehicles

By Martin Wareham, CAN Do It Electrical Engineering Manager, Sub-Atlantic As part of its product development ware and hardware) provides a cost transported to the underwater work site. programme, Sub-Atlantic set itself the saving which can be passed onto the These tools and sensors are then used

Underwater Vehicles challenge to design, develop and build customer due to the reduction in non to carry out various underwater tasks. all the necessary hardware and soft- recurring engineering (NRE) and also The variety and complexity of underwa- ware to control an ROV in real time means that any spare hardware compo- ter tools and sensors that have emerged while relaying diagnostic information nents that are carried by the operator on into the ROV market in the last decade, regarding the health of the ROV in a a boat or oil rig are minimised. which must be interfaced to the ROV simple and intuitive manner. control system, mean that the ROV Sub-sea electronics are designed in-house control system must be as fl exible and Using National Instruments’ LabVIEW, and are employed within the SubCAN confi gurable as possible. a National Instruments PCI CAN distributed control system as a whole. It (controller area network) card, a PC provides protection from both overvolt- Tools and sensors that can be con- and other various electronic sub-as- age and over current on all its input/out- nected to the subCAN controlled ROV semblies and fi rmware, Sub-Atlantic put (I/O) and communication channels to include: has been able to design, produce and prevent damage to electronic compo- deliver SubCAN, a technologically nents. Various communication interfaces Various electrical and hydrau- advanced, reliable, and immensely are provided as part of these sub-sea lic manipulators (mechanical arms), scalable, small to medium sized ROV electronic sub-assemblies, such as to enable the ROV pilot to pick up, control system. RS232, RS485, Ethernet and CAN. hold and manoeuvre underwater objects The PCI CAN card interfaces to vari- Because the vessels that carry the Torque tools, for turning ous other pieces of surface equipment ROVs around the oceans of the world underwater valves on manifolds with required by the ROV pilot to control cost hundreds of thousands of pounds a controlled amount of torque the ROV and TMS (Tether Manage- a day to run, the overall reliability of Skids that can be attached to ment System). CAN provides the SubCAN, is the key its success. An the underside of the ROV to carry control system with a very robust increased level of sensory feedback and out various tasks, such as pipeline and relatively fast communication diagnostic information, as compared with surveys, deploying lengths of cable mechanism, with very little software other small to medium sized ROVs, is underwater, pumping and fl ushing and fi rmware overheads. displayed on the graphical user interface fl uids into and out of an underwater (GUI) touch screen, proving the ROV manifold or pipeline. The SubCAN control system allows pilot with as much information as pos- High defi nition video cameras the system design engineer to scale sible about the status of the ROV and providing crisp, movie like, video the control system from one ROV to the SubCAN control system. The ROV images another without the need to rede- can be up to 6000m away from the ROV High resolution acoustic sign any hardware or fi rmware from pilot on the support vessel, so the quality sonars, approaching the quality of scratch. The inherent modularity of of the sensory feedback provided, in underwater video cameras, as the the LabVIEW software as well as the order to control, navigate and also plan lack of light visibility underwater SubCAN hardware and fi rmware also scheduled maintenance on the ROV, is can be an issue for normal video allows the software engineer to do the paramount. cameras same. Fibre optic gyros and inertial ROVs are really only the mechanism by sensors, used in highly accurate Commonality of components (soft- which underwater tools and sensors are underwater navigation Auto Positioning Using the standard control command to the ROV from the joystick but the control is via pilot to stop the ROV, which closed loop velocity demands, takes more skill. The system rather than open loop thruster also compensates for currents commands. in the water etc

This means for example when The pilot can also fl y the ROV the joystick commands a zero hands free by commanding velocity the ROV stops im- the ROV to move a number mediately with very little drift. of meters in each degree of Without this the ROV would freedom of the ROV; again normally need an equal (to the obviating the requirement for a speed of drift) and opposite very skilled pilot.

Graphical User Interface for the SubCAN system 16 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Power to control

The ability to harness power in one of the most challenging environments on the planet is in your hands with the innovative subCAN™ Control System developed by world leading electric ROV manufacturer Sub-Atlantic.

Designed and built using the highest levels of technology, expertise and ingenuity, the unique modular system is true to Sub-Atlantic’s philosophy of creating effective, reliable products in response to the needs of their customers.

Take advantage of Sub-Atlantic’s reputation for setting new standards in ROV performance and let them help you make waves in the subsea industry.

Sub-Atlantic Ltd. United Kingdom, Aberdeen T: +44 (0) 1224 798660 E: [email protected]

Sub-Atlantic Inc. USA, Houston, Texas T: +1 713 329 8730 E: [email protected] HOUSTON FACILITY NOW OPEN

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 17 UNDERWATER Vehicles

Underwater Vehicles Triton for Titan Perry Slingsby Systems (PSS) has been working closely with GSP since signed a contract to provide ROV capa- the start of the year, and this contract bilities to the multi-million pound new- award recognises our ability to deliver Swiss ROV build construction vessel the GSP Titan. quality and reliability, as well as our ca- The swiss-based CDF Commercial The multi-purpose vessel commissioned pability to offer our customers new and Diving Fankhauser/TAF Taucharbe- by GSP Titan Ltd is a world-fi rst, as it innovative technology.” iten AG (CDF/TAF) has purchased combines offshore pipelay, heavy lift and a micro AC-ROV system. CDF/TAF tender assist drilling operations into one Sub-Atlantic General Manager John specialise in underwater construction, design for the fi rst time. Ferguson added: “Comanche is setting engineering, industrial cleaning and new standards for light work-class capa- inspection. The contract, worth an undisclosed bility in electric vehicles and is operated sum, will see PSS and Sub-Atlantic worldwide by numerous major contrac- Managing Director André Fankhauser deliver one 3000m Comanche system tors. Sub-Atlantic is extremely pleased was quick to see the potential of the and two 3000m Triton XLX 200HP with this agreement which underlines AC-ROV system: “Of all the systems systems in January and November the strength of Triton Group capabilities, we looked at, the AC-ROV was the 2010, respectively. offering customers a complete solution best suited to our requirement. A port- package.” able one case system, the AC-ROV Each TXLX is equipped with the inte- is highly suited to confi ned industrial grated controls engine (ICE) real-time The 161m vessel will be used to con- environments, its ingress capability, control system and confi gured with duct installation of submarine pipelines, mobility and robustness really set it the latest tooling and survey capabili- transport operations, the removal, apart from other systems. It is the ties, state-of-the-art Gb telemetry and dismantling or installation of offshore ideal visual tool for inland commercial graphical diagnostics. constructions superstructures weighing diving, for general inspection or as a up to 1800t and tender assist drilling safety device to be deployed with the Kevin Taylor, general manager, Perry operations. It is due for completion in dive team.” Slingsby Systems, said: “We have August 2011. LYYN in Videoray SMD COOEC Following the successful introduction of LYYN T38 to SMD has been awarded a contract to supply two work VideoRay users, there are many witnesses to its usefulness. class ROVs to China Offshore Oil Engineering Co However, since one of the strong points of the VideoRay ROV (COOEC). COOEC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the is its portability, it introduced extra equipment necessary to China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). carry around. Two 150hp Quantum units will be supplied, each com- “We have had several requests from users to have LYYN plete with launch and recovery system, control cabin and inside our products, and since LYYN’s recent introduction workshop cabin all built by SMD in the UK and they are the LYYN Hawk this is now available,” says Chris Gibson, valued in excess of £4m. VideoRay director sales and marketing. Commenting on the award, Mike Jones, sales director LYYN processor in VideoRay control box at SMD said “We are delighted to work with COOEC to double their existing fl eet of SMD supplied work class ROVs. This contract award further strengthens our dominant position in the supply of work class ROVs to the offshore market in Asia.”

The SMD Quantum is a powerful and fl exible work class ROV and is part of the comprehensive range of SMD Q-series.

SMD Quantum for COOEC 18 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Underwater Vehicles

Police Aid Merced County in California has purchased a Seabotix ROV for missions ranging from search and rescue, to homeland security inspections. The sheriff deputies recently took it to Lake Yosemite for a unique training opportunity.

On this training outing, deputies used the remotely operated robot to help raise a boat from the bottom of Lake Yosemite The Centurion QX using infl atable bags.

The boat sank last summer, and the owner swam to shore. Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better The dive team recently found The philosophy behind the Centurion QX is for ROVs introduces diminishing returns the vessel using the sonar simple – a structurally robust work-class ROV in terms of performance, as weight technology and confi rmed its fi nd that has the power to operate effi ciently at becomes a major issue when operating with the video images. Deputies water depths of up to 3000m, but minimises at extreme water depths. The compact, said the robot can also be used the size, weight and deck loading issues usu- lightweight 125hp HPU on the Centurion to help divers look for evidence, ally associated with other types of deepwater QX is optimised to provide the best bal- rescue swimmers and recover ROVs. i-Tech has taken this forward with its ance of power-to-weight for performing bodies. fl agship vehicle to created an ROV suited all subsea tasks required on drilling and for the support of deepwater drilling and fi eld fi eld support programmes. There is also Sheriff Mark Pazin said that the development programmes. a 150hp version. principal reason for purchasing the submarine was to help The Centurion QX is based on its in-house To supplement the manoeuvrability protect the valley’s water supply. designed and built Centurion series of ROV. of the ROV at depth, i-Tech has now i-Tech collaborated with Wallsend-based introduced an ROV dynamic position- “This piece of equipment is to subsea robotics specialists SMD to under- ing (DP) system as standard on all new maintain the integrity of the take the ROV build programme and supply Centurion QX systems. DP acts as a waterways in Merced County the advanced control and handing systems type of auto-pilot system for the ROV, and other contiguous counties,” that make the Centurion QX such a reliable maintaining a desired heading, depth, he said. deepwater work-class vehicle. altitude, pitch and roll by automatically controlling the vehicle’s thrusters to That includes looking for cracks The Centurion QX comes with a standard compensate for the effects of currents. or other problems in dams and 125hp hydraulic power unit (HPU) based canals and even searching on Subsea 7’s Hercules heavy work-class ROV DP also makes it possible for the for explosive devices. Pazin design. Over 60 of these HPUs are now in pilot to plot a course using waypoints, says the robot is a valuable operation worldwide, fi tted to ROVs perform- directing the ROV by entering Cartesian addition to the department’s ing operations ranging from drilling support to co-ordinates. As a new technology, crime-fi ghting fl eet. The ROV subsea construction. i-Tech is only just beginning to reap the has already been used to help benefi ts of ROV DP but the increased Tuolumne County deputies In common with many machines, higher accuracy and reduced pilot fatigue will search for a body in Lake Don power usually means greater weight, which only further enhance performance. Pedro.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 19 UNDERWATER Vehicles Innovator ROVs for Sonsub The ROV fl eet of Sonsub in the UK has been augmented with the ar- rival of three brand new latest gen- Underwater Vehicles eration Innovator 250s. Designed and built in-house by Sonsub’s own research and development team, these heavy construction class systems are capable of the highest level of activity, providing unrivalled power and control for deepwater Sonsub’s Innovator ROV operations, whilst retaining the now established advantages of the The Nessie AUV Innovator class.

As well as an upgrade to 250hp power system, these new ROVs come with state-of-the-art heavy weather launch and recovery systems (LARS) to enhance operational capability in harsher conditions, plus new fully electric umbilical winches featuring active heave compensation, high speed deployment and quieter operating conditions.

The vehicles are being deployed on Sonsub’s own fl eet of subsea construction vessels, with Innovators 21 and 22 already onboard the Bourbon Pearl and Normand Cutter respectively and Innovator 23 planned for the Far Samson. Subsea Well Control Centre SAUC-E

Schlumberger has opened a new facility for subsea well A Heriot-Watt University team triumphed over control to address the growing deepwater market. The facility, international opposition at the third edition of the named the Well Control Centre of Excellence, is located at Student Autonomous Underwater Competition the Testing Services base outside of Aberdeen. – Europe (SAUC-E 2008), held at the Ifremer deep wave basin near Brest, France. “The new Well Control Centre of Excellence is dedicated to providing a high level of support for completion landing string The team won fi rst prize and were also presented operations in the North Sea, Africa and the Mediterranean,” with the Thales Special Award for innovation said Devan Raj, operations manager, Schlumberger. “This in decision-making autonomy, bringing home will benefi t maintenance processes and system integration €11 000. The students are studying a variety of testing effi ciency to ensure better tool subjects, including robotics, ocean systems and reliability offshore.” vision image and signal processing.

The 3200ft2 fully enclosed facility, The Heriot-Watt University team designed a hover- which stands 75ft tall, allows capable autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for full vertical makeup and capable of carrying out a complex in-water mission testing of completion landing with no direct human control. The team of students string and subsea test tree worked hard to ensure that the AUV completed all assemblies. The facility the mission goals. enables remote monitoring of pressure testing up to The work paid off as, for the fi rst time in the history 30 000psi with +0.5% of the competition, the AUV, named Nessie III, accuracy. Also included completed all of the tasks. These included touching are two 40ft deep, cased a submerged buoy, dropping markers on a target test wells for safe and on the tank fl oor and surfacing in a marked zone effi cient pressure and above two tyres whilst producing a full map of the function testing. competition arena.

20 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 21 SUBSEA Equipment Sign Rule Orion Knowing how much and how fast a The subsea version of the Orion cable is heaved in or paid out, can inertial navigation system (INS) has be crucial for controlling underwater been specifi cally developed to meet

Subsea Equipment equipment. Simply standing next to the needs of users in the demanding the winch to view a display, however, offshore survey, construction and may not always be the optimal posi- ROV operations markets. It is rated tion for observing equipment entering as standard to 3000m – but is also and leaving the water. available for work at 6000m . It brings all of the advantages of a dependable This prompted MacArtney to develop and competitively priced reference a new cable status indicator with system at this depth, able to provide jumbo display, allowing the opera- precise attitude, heading and heave tors to view vital cable information on data. This makes it suitable for a board from where it suits them. wide range of applications, such as supporting multibeam sonar surveys “Winches can be controlled via a or the construction of major seabed remote control system by an opera- installations, while also benefi ting The Orion INS tor located a distance away from users with minimal downtime. the winch on the ship’s deck, but system consequently offers a mean traditional cable status indicators The Orion INS incorporates time between failure (MTBF) of cannot be seen at a distance,” said three single axis ring laser gyro 30 000 hours while its key individual a spokesman. “The operator may elements and three highly accurate components are rated at 300 000 be forced either to choose to stand accelerometers. These components hours MTBF. The performance of the closer to the water or to the winch, have been proved through extensive Orion’s components and software periodically check the display, or may use in many of the world’s commercial means that users will benefi t from even require two crew members.” aircraft and were chosen for their heading accurate to 0.1º sec lat and availability, accuracy and their very roll and pitch measurements to within The extra large numbers on the high meantime between failures. 0.025º through a range of ± 90°. jumbo display can be read at a Heave measurements are accurate distance, allowing the operator to Such exceptional core elements have to 5cm or 5% over ranges to 99m maintain complete visual control. enabled the Teledyne TSS research and free inertial positioning remains and development team to design accurate to 5NM/hour. The confi gurable system can be ad- this high specifi cation INS which is justed to show a wide range of data confi gured and controlled by the latest Orion is backed by comprehensive The system can also be fi tted as easy-to-use OrionView interface. It Teledyne TSS sales and service slave to other systems, including ex- uses the latest version of the TSS capabilities through its own personnel isting cable status indicators or com- inertial algorithm which has a 30-year in the UK, USA and Asia-Pacifi c. puters with winch control software. It pedigree of providing outstanding can be set to display a range of data, performance in all sea conditions. including cable tension and time. The algorithm processes the data generated by the ring laser gyros TOGS (RLG) that can be used at operating CDL has announced the launch of temperatures ranging from –10°C to its new gyrocompass, tiny optical +55°C and require a settling time of gyro system (TOGS). less than 15 minutes. The CDL TOGS is a low cost The Orion supersedes the company’s fi bre optic gyro (FOG) based successful Marinus AHRS and north-seeking compass for use incorporates many years of on vessels and remotely operated technical expertise in motion sensor vehicles(ROV). The extremely technology achieved by the Watford, small size of the TOGS unit allows UK, company. The accelerometers the system to be used in many employed within the Orion are equally underwater applications where highly regarded and are built into the space is at a premium. new Orion at the advanced Teledyne TSS UK workshop,s where quality There is a standard 3000m version control is maintained to the highest weighing only 8kg, and a 7000m The new confi gurable sign standards possible. The new Orion unit housed in a titanium case. from MacArtney

22 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 definitive underwater navigation

The new OE13-124 BIT camera provides outstanding light sensitivity, image quality and range performance in low-light and turbid water conditions

• 6x more light efficient in water than previous generation navigation cameras • Wide dynamic brightness range • Compact, lightweight, robust design • Improved reliability, maintainability and through life savings

To discover more, please contact Kongsberg Maritime Ltd email: [email protected] telephone: +44 (0)1224 226500 web: www.kongsbergmaritime.com

Clay Cutter The ClayCutter AGR Subsea gas has literally developed designed so that they can be used on other a piece of groundbreaking technology! applications when not performing ClayCutter Called the ClayCutter X, the system offers projects considerable savings by allowing pipe to be laid across uneven seafl oor areas where John Sands, UK General Manager of AGR pipelay was previously impossible or only Subsea said: “The technology provides a feasible with extensive rock installation new way of excavating the seabed. Although work. Companies can pre-trench and the equipment was primarily designed for remodel sections of seabed that were clay we can cope with widely varying seabed previously impenetrable. soils, opening up the possibility of routing pipelines through diffi cult seafl oor areas The system works by directing many high where previously lines would have skirted pressure water jets at the seabed, through around obstacles. Reducing the total length the ClayCutter X manifold system. The of lines plus reducing or eliminating other position of the equipment is dictated by seabed interventions such as rock dump is the position of the vessel from which it is very attractive to installation contractor and deployed. Physical contact with the seabed operators alike. is not required, as all the cutting work is performed by the high pressure jets or, The company completed its fi rst subsea in softer soils, with high-volume water project using the new technology for the cannons mounted on the ClayCutter X Southern Extension of Shell’s Ormen body. Lange Gas Field, located on the Norwegian continental shelf, in 870m water depth. AGR Key to the success of the system is the was contracted directly to StatoilHydro, the ability to vary the tool’s confi guration while operator for the installation phase of the it is in use, and the use of high-power project. During the project, executed in July centrifugal pumps which can range from this year, the system cut more than 38 days high pressure to high volume without the off the planned 55 day excavation schedule. need to change out pump liners. Each ClayCutter X was able to achieve an average pump is powered by a 3000hp marine excavation rate of 23.8m3/hr and excavated a diesel engine, and the pumps have been total of 3,368m3 of soil from 10 sites.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 23 Subsea Equipment

Manipulator Upgrade Schilling Robotics has launched duplex alloy, which should prevent an upgrade kit for its parallel and bending. intermeshing jaws. It is available for the Titan parallel-acting and three- Hard stops have been included for fi nger intermeshing gripper kits. All when the jaw is in the open position, Titan 4 manipulators (and Orion 7P) to prevent an overload bending or manipulators are now shipping with breaking the T-bar pin. the new grippers. The upgrade kits are for customers with The design also includes a transition Titan 3 and 4, Orion 7P/R and from an open to a closed bearing/ Conan 7P/R manipulators that rocker in order to prevent breakage. wish to upgrade older grippers There are holes through jaws, which to the new confi guration. allow the jaws to be bolted shut.

Among the upgrade features in The redesign of the intermeshing the parallel grippers, the slots are grippers have made it more robust, enlarged to enable jaw to grip 0.75in with jaws made of Super-Duplex diameter bar, and there is a transition stainless steel. Like the parallel from a simple T-bar plate to a more grippers, there is also a transition robust T-bar pin made of mp35n-super from a T-bar plate to a T-bar pin, hard stops for jaw in the open position to Above left: Intermeshing jaws prevent overload and transition to a Above: Features of the new grippers closed bearing/rocker design. Left: Parallel jaws

Estonian AUVs The Estonian navy has acquired navy needs to accomplish this two lightweight Hydroid REMUS 100 priority. unmanned autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). During World War I and II, more than 80 000 sea mines were As a member of NATO since planted in the Baltic Sea. Since 2004, the Estonian navy’s top 1995, a number of mine clearance priority is the development of mine operations have been carried out countermeasure capability. in Estonian waters in close co- operation with other navies of the The REMUS 100, equipped with Baltic Sea region, in order to fi nd sophisticated sensor, navigation and dispose of these ordnances. and power resources, has the proven reliability to perform the Over the past six years, Hydroid, intricate sonar surveys the Estonian the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) in La Spezia, Italy, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have widely demonstrated REMUS technology throughout NATO. In June, during NATO’s BALTOPS 2008 exercise, the Estonian navy learned fi rst-hand how REMUS vehicles performed in the mine countermeasure segment of the exercise The Remus AUV

24 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Bowtech Low-Light Camera The Bowtech Explorer Extreme monochrome camera offers ‘bet- ter than SIT’ performance, making it a quantum leap forward in underwater ultra low light level viewing.

The Extreme uses a Peltier cooled back thinned and back il- luminated EM CCD sensor for higher sensitivity coupled with automatic image enhancement. This produces a signifi cantly higher output signal and much lower noise fl oor, together with an effi ciency of 8 5% to 95% Quantum Effi ciency (QE), in that critical underwater Blue/Green are of the spectrum, making the camera ideally suited for underwater use.

As the Explorer Extreme has no intensifi er or sensitive tube, the life of the camera is dramatically improved, reducing the thought life cost of ownership compared with the now obsolete SIT and other intensifi ed CCD low light cameras. Bowtech Explorer Extreme monochrome camera

Typical applications are for ROV Navigation, submarine ap- plications such as upward viewing and general monitoring, and A 576TVL high resolution output is suitable for recording for marine scientifi c research. Its low magnetic signature also direct to tape of the latest high-quality digital video players. makes it an ideal camera for use in underwater mine counter- measures. The camera has almost no image lag. It is fi tted with The camera has a length of 252mm and a maximum a wide angle high speed aspherical 107deg diagonal high speed diameter of 110mm. It weighs 5.5kg in air (3.1kg in water). lens and fully water corrected optical Acrylic viewing port to It has a minimum illumination of 1x10-5 lux and a signal to drastically reduce distortion. noise ratio of 35dB 1x10-3 lux.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 25 Low Light Cameras

As subsea operations move into the camera to be ruined by nothing deeper waters and continue through more than accidentally leaving it facing both night and daylight hours, light a window, where an image of the frame availability can become an issue. would burn into the sensor.”

For close-up inspection tasks, at Thus an immediate advantage of ranges up to several metres, this replacement CCD-based technology, is seldom a problem. ROVs are which doesn’t suffer from image burn, normally equipped with an array of was the reduced through-life costs lighting, illuminating the scene to compared with an intensifi ed camera. allow detailed inspection images. At longer ranges, at greater depths and Another perceived problem was in turbid water conditions, however, robustness. Some people used to deride the lack of light often affects the the SIT because the technology was general navigation of the underwater based on a glass vacuum tube. Many vehicle to the target. used to assert that for this reason, the SIT camera was inherently not robust In the early 1980s, the industry fi rst enough for extreme subsea use. began to look at Silicon Intensifi er Target (SIT) camera technology, ‘This was simply not true,’ said Dave which soon became the mainstay of Mackay. ‘The SIT was developed for long-range underwater viewing and the US military and could withstand navigation operations. 100G of shock, so robustness wasn’t a problem. SIT was originally developed by the military for night-time visualisation in What was true, however, was that the the Vietnam war era. And there lay physical size of the SIT camera was the problem! Over 40 years later, the to become an issue as the industry Low light image using a SIT camera units had long since stopped being pushed into deeper waters. Such made. As the supplies gradually applications necessitated larger depleted, companies were forced pressure housings. A typical SIT fi rst generation electron multiplying CCD to search for low-light camera camera was robust enough to be rated (EMCCD) technologies. Many have claimed alternatives. to 3km as standard, but because the to match or even better the performance newer range of CCDs were generally of the SIT, however, most have failed to “SIT was an outstanding technology smaller and lighter, otherwise similar match the performance in real underwater and lasted for a long time,” said cameras could be rated to 4.5km operating conditions. Dave Mackay, General Manager at without increasing the physical size. Kongsberg. “If it were economically “One of the main demands of a camera in available today, it would still be seen In order to achieve enough light terms of ROV navigation, is light intensity by many as the proven technology of sensitivity, the smaller CCD sensors underwater,” said Dave Mackay. “That is choice. have to be thermoelectrically cooled. where the SIT excelled, but where most This has the effect of reducing the low-light CCD based replacements failed “Its gradual absence, however, thermally-generated noise within the to do so. They sometimes got close to prompted camera designers to work sensor. This in turn means that it is SIT light sensitivity performance at very on technologies based on low light possible to boost the electronic gain to short viewing ranges underwater, but they charge-coupled CCD sensors to fi ll get better light sensitivity notably were much inferior to the SIT at this gap in the market place – with the typical viewing ranges important for varying amounts of success.” The cooling is normally based on a ROV navigation tasks – between 5m and Peltier type device, where one side 25m. The new advanced CCD technology In truth, SIT cameras were cools down while the other heats up. offers much improved light sensitivity remarkable but not without inherent Attaching the solid state CCD chip to compared with conventional CCD and problems. One such was image burn. the cool side may cool the sensor by as fi rst generation EMCCD systems at all much as -80 degC. underwater viewing ranges.” “SIT technology was based on light intensifi cation,’ said Dave Mackay. ‘A CCD Now, Kongsberg has developed a camera side-effect made the camera prone to In the past few years, research into called the model OE13-124, that it damage if bright stationary sources of alternative video sensor technologies claims, matches the SIT and has a light entered the camera. able to work in low light levels has number of advantages not enjoyed been ongoing. It has resulted in such by its predecessor. It offers a much “Despite the utmost diligence by a range of innovations as intensifi ed improved light-sensitivity compared operators, it was not uncommon for CCD (ICCD), high-gain CCD and with first generation CCD systems at all

26 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 .....

harshest of operating conditions. This light sensitivity performance advantage is even greater in turbid water conditions (eg estuarial and coastal waters), where the OE13-124 can be an order of magnitude more light sensitive than even SIT technology.

One common innovation in recent years is advanced image processing that can greatly improve the contrast and perceived defi nition of an image. “Generally, it is not really possible to produce a low light HD camera as the electronics sacrifi ce The new OE13-124 low light BIT camera defi nition for light sensitivity – they are mutually incompatible. Image processing techniques such as S- curve equalisation and histogram Environmental Issues equalisation, however, are built into The OE13-124 has used experience this camera as standard, and part of gained in over 30 years of manufacturing the way in which we attain this light harsh environment marine products. The sensitivity,” Mackay said. standard camera is fi tted with a Grade 5 Titanium Alloy (6Al / 4V) pressure hous- “We normally quote two ways of ing, rated to 4500m although deeper rated measuring the sensitivity. The headline pressure housings are available. number is 1x10-5 lux, however, this The same tank the same target and light conditions fi gure is often quite misleading. A more Electromagnetic protection is important using the OE13-124 BIT camera useable specifi cation is the picture at for cameras mounted with an array of 400 TV line resolution, which the other ‘noisy’ electronic equipment on work -5 underwater viewing ranges. OE13-124 measures at 5x10 lux.” ROV’s. The OE13-124 incorporates a The new unit is built around an high degree of immunity from conducted advanced CCD sensor design – using The the new camera is already interference, while controlled emissions to backilluminated and thinned (BIT) attracting early interest from ROV prevent interference with other equipment. CCD substrate. This new CCD sensor and plough operators in the offshore technology is combined with leading edge industry, and is of particular interest Many underwater electronic sensors (not electronic and environmental protection to to the military which are planning on just cameras) use elastomeric seals for produce dependable performance in the conducting evaluation trials. high-pressure underwater operations. These seals are prone to long term per- Camera Light Sensitivity vs Underwater Viewing Range meability by water vapour ingress causing Higher = better light sensitivity internal humidity build up. This is particu- 0.1 larly important for underwater cameras as this can lead to ‘misting up’ of optical assemblies and front ports. 1 The OE13-124 uses only specially quali- 10 fi ed, low-permeability elastomeric seals, together with built-in molecular-sieve desiccant in order to maintain a low- 100 humidity internal environment over a long operating life. The camera is fi tted with a 1000 visible internal humidity indicator.

The OE13-124 is also fi tted with power- 10 000 conditioning and fast-acting protection Relative Scene Illumination Scale circuitry to protect the camera from dam- 100 000 age in the event of severe over-voltage 0.1 1 10 100 conditions (eg, in the event of an ROV Underwater Viewing Range umbilical cable fl ooding) or an accidental reverse polarity power connection. OE13-124 bit First generation CCD SIT

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 27 New Contracts

Babbage

New Contracts E.ON Ruhrgas UK has awarded. a lumpsum contract, The contract covers project management, worth approximately €32 million, for the development design, fabrication and installation of a of the Babbage gas fi eld located in the uk Southern 28km gas export rigid pipeline. North Sea. It also includes a 40t manifold and three Under this contract, Technip will install fl exible tie-in jumpers, installation of a subsea pipeline system to export pipeline protection materials, trenching gas from the new Babbage platform and backfi lling of the gas export pipeline to existing subsea infrastructure pre-commissioning, tie-ins and testing. located within the West Sole Bravo 500m zone at a water Technip will use the Apache and the The Apache depth of 2m. Orelia.

Venture Skarv Venture Production has awarded This is the third award FMC has re- BP Norge has awarded Acergy a FMC a contract for the supply of ceived from Venture in 2008. Previ- $60 million contract for the instal- subsea production systems. The ous contracts for Venture’s Chestnut lation of ten dynamic fl exible risers award represents approximately and Acorn fi elds included the supply systems, two dynamicumbilicals and $25 million. of two wellhead systems and one a direct electrical heating dynamic subsea tree for each project. The cable on its Svarv fi eld. FMC’s scope of supply includes subsea tree for the Acorn fi eld three high-temperature enhanced includes a multi-mode fi bre optics Installation is due to commence in horizontal subsea trees and four communication system designed the second half of 2010, using the subsea wellheads. All equipment will to optimise well productivity and newest addition to Acergy’s fl eet, be designed and manufactured at improve the speed and accuracy of Skandi Acergy. Dunfermline, Scotland, facility. data received from the well.

Pony Races Off Draugen Hess has awarded a major contract for the development of its Pony fi eld in the Gulf of Mexico to Intecsea. The Norske Shell has awarded a US$30 million contract to contract is for the subsea system and the tension leg plat- Subsea 7 for installation work at the Draugen fi eld in form (TLP) hull and mooring front end engineering design the Norwegian sector of the northern North Sea. The (FEED). project is a call-off under the existing Pan European USC frame agreement held with Shell. The work commenced in mid-September and will continue through early 2009. Hess is the operator and sole owner The project is related to Shell’s installation of a new of the lease located in Green Canyon Block 468 and 469 type of Tanker Loading System, which will replace an in 3200 to 3800ft water depth. existing tanker loading unit. The Subsea 7 operation will disconnect two 15in fl exible risers, then install two The subsea system scope incorporates the design of all new 16in fl exible pipelines to connect the subsea in- subsea components including trees, jumpers, subsea frastructure with a new subsea loading system, and structures, fl owlines, umbilicals, risers and subsea control associated equipment to systems. complete the tanker loading system. The TLP hull and mooring scope includes: hull sizing and global performance, and design of the hull structure, hull systems, and the tendon moorings and foundations. Procurement support includes development of procure- ment packages for long lead components and construction support.

The TLP is a conventional four-column hull supporting wet trees only.

28 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Azerbaijan/Brazil/Venezuala Saipem has won three new offshore contracts for a total amount in excess of US$1.1 billion.

In Azerbaijan, Saipem has signed a long-term underwater service contract agreement with BP. Saipem will be responsible for the activities required for the inspection, maintenance and repair of the existing BP facilities in the Azeri offshore. The contract has a duration of fi ve years, which BP has an option to extend by two years.

Petrobras awarded Saipem the contract for the Uruguà- Mexilhão pipeline. Saipem will transport, install and test a 18in, 174km-long gas pipeline in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The pipeline will link the fl oating production, storage and offl oading (FPSO) vessel Cidade de Santos, located in the Exploratory Block BS-500 at Uruguá fi eld, in 1372m water depth, to the Mexilhão gas platform in the Mexilhão fi eld in 172m water depth. Project activities are scheduled to fi nish by the end of March 2010.

Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) awarded Saipem the contract for the Dragon – CIGMA pipeline in the Mariscal The RapidSolution shallow Sucre complex in offshore north east Venezuela. Saipem will water tree system, which transport and install a 115km, 36in gas export line connecting will be used for the Tunisia a platform located in the Dragon fi eld to PDVSA’s CIGMA contract. Photo courtesy of complex on the southern side of the Paria peninsula. Marine Aker Solutions. activities will be mainly carried out by the Semac pipelayer vessel and are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. Cosmos South Storm Ventures International (Barbados) awarded a contract to Aker Solutions to supply a subsea production system to Cosmos South development offshore Tunisia. The contract value is undisclosed.

The offshore phase will be carried out by the Scope of work for the contract is three subsea company’s deepwater Flex/J-lay vessel, the trees, subsea control systems and tie-in and Seven Seas, and an ROV support vessel from connection system. The subsea production system the Subsea 7 fl eet during 2009. will be installed in approximately 100m water depth in the Gulf of Hammermet offshore Tunisia.

At the centre of the delivery is Aker Solutions’ RapidSolution programme. RapidSolution is a pre- stocked and pre-confi gured well system that offers signifi cant reduction in lead times and which fi ts 80% of all subsea fi elds.

“With today’s exeptionally high oil prices, the drive to get to ‘fi rst oil’ is more important than ever. The RapidSolution programme is our answer to the market,” says Svenn Ivar Fure, senior vice president for trees/processing and boosting in Aker Solutions. “The decision we made in May to double the size of the programme was certainly the right one.”

Subsea trees will be manufactured at Tranby, Norway, and subsea controls in Aberdeen, UK. First deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2009.

The Seven Seas UT2 DECEMBER 2008 29 Project PROJECTSNews

Project News Wintershall E-18/P-9 Wintershall Noordzee has awarded Technip a lumpsum contract, to assist in the development of the E-18 and P-9 gas fi elds in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The contract covers:

Assembly and installation of a 5.4km, 10in rigid fl owline between the new E-18 platform and an existing platform, Manufacture and installation of a 16.7km, 8in rigid fl owline for the tie-in of two new P-9 wells and an existing platform, Installation of two umbilicals, 5.6 km and 16.8 km long, Trenching and backfi lling the pipelines and umbilicals, and Installation of protection structures for the P-9 fi eld wells, tie-ins, protection and testing of the subsea system.

Technip’s entities in the United Kingdom will execute the contract. Project management and engineering will come from Aberdeen, with the fl owlines being welded at the Evanton spoolbase. The P-9 umbilical will be manufactured at the Newcastle manufacturing unit.

Offshore operations are scheduled to commence in the fi rst quarter of 2009. Two vessels from the Technip fl eet, the Apache and the Skandi Achiever, will execute the pipelay- ing and diving operations, respectively. Third party vessels will be utilized for trenching and backfi lling services.

Haklang Sonsub on Ettrick sandstone was carried out, and fl uid The Sonsub Division of Saipem UK has and pressure samples were taken. recently completed operations on the Haklang The size of the discovery is estimat- Ettrick subsea fi eld development operated Luva ed to be between 8 and 14 billion m3 by Nexen Petroleum in the North Sea, of recoverable gas. resulting in a successful conclusion to the Snefrid substantial two-year long project. The fi eld A joint development of Haklang and lies in blocks 20/2a and 20/3a in the UK the nearby Luva and Snefrid South sector of the North Sea discoveries will be considered. Luva was confi rmed by BP in 1997. The development includes three subsea Norne production wells and one water injector The total resource potential of these tied back to a fl oating production storage three fi nds is expected to be in the and offl oading FPSO, with Sonsub’s Map showing the location of Haklang size of 40–60 billion cubic metres of scope of work comprising the installation StatoilHydro has discovered good recoverable gas. StatoilHydro says and hook-up of the subsea pipelines, production quantities of gas in a “this well is an important step in order umbilicals, risers, structures and FPSO well drilled in production licence to prepare for a new deepwater devel- retractable buoy mooring systems. 218, southeast of the Luva gas fi nd opment in the Norwegian Sea.” and 280km west of Sandnessjøen Last August, Nexen has made a dis- in Norway. The purpose of the well The well is the third exploration well covery called Blackbird, six kilometers was to confi rm gas in reservoir in production licence 218, which was south of its operated Ettrick fi eld. The rocks from the Late Cretaceous age awarded in the 15th licensing round well, drilled by the semisub GSF Arctic in a prospect called Haklang. in 1996. The well was drilled to a IV, encountered 111 feet of net pay in depth of 3356m below sea level and multiple zones. A 127m-long gas column was was completed in the Nise formation proven in a reservoir with good pro- in Late Cretaceous rock. The water Nexen is operator of the Blackbird well duction qualities. Core drilling in the depth is 1248m. with a 79.73% working interest.

30 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Project News .....

Sidescan MA-D6 Technip has been awarded a €140 million installation contract by Aker Installation Floating Production for phase 2 of the development of the MA D6 oil fi eld. This fi eld, operated by Reliance Industries.

The fi eld is located off the eastern coast of India in KG D6 Block, at water depths ranging from 1200 to 1400m. The contract includes:

• engineering and project management, • transportation and installation of 18km of fl exible production and gas export risers and fl owlines, fabricated by Technip’s fl exible pipe plant in Le Trait, France, under a separate contract, • transportation and installation of fi ve umbilicals and a gas export manifold supplied by the client, • construction, transport and installation of a 24in rigid spool.

Technip’s operating centers in Paris, France, and Aberdeen, Scotland, will execute this contract with support from the Group’s centre in Chennai, India. Offshore installation is scheduled for the fi rst half of 2009 and will be carried out by the Constructor, one of the pipelay and construction vessels from Technip’s fl eet.

This award follows the successful completion of phase 1 of the same project by Technip in May 2008

The Skandi Achiever K5F The world’s fi rst all-electric subsea system has come on stream in the North Sea. Cameron’s novel system was installed as part Noatun of Total Nederland’s K5F project in the Dutch Sector of the North Sea. Statoil is considering options for its Noatun discovery while it drills a side-track well to confi rm the size The project includes a three-well combined template/manifold in- of the middle to lower Jurassic gas/condensate stalled in 40m of water, controlled from an existing platform 18km discovery. away. Production is piped back to an unmanned platform 10km away. The initial installation encompasses two template/manifold- Recoverable reserves of Noatun have been estimat- mounted trees with the option for two additional trees in the future, ed to be between 5 and 8 million m3 of oil equivalent one of which would be a satellite tree. The system, named following the drilling of an appraisal well. A tie-back to CameronDC because it uses DC power, includes; the Njord fi eld is being considered. Fully redundant, all-electric control system confi gured for four In September, gas and condensate were confi rmed wells, including tree-mounted electric subsea control modules at Noatun, which lies 16km north of the Njord fi eld in (ESCMs), manifold–mounted power regulation and control the Norwegian Sea. The well was drilled to a vertical modules (PRCMs) including end terminations for the coaxial depth of 5050m below sea level and was completed cable supplying power and communication, master control station in the lower Jurassic Åre formation. (MCS), electric power and communications units (EPCU) and a sea water return cathode/anode system ”The Noatun fi nd proves that it is still possible to make considerable fi nds in established exploration CameronDC christmas trees with electrically actuated produc- models in this area, also at water depths of up to tion and annulus valves, electrically actuated chemical injection 5000 metres,” says Sivert Jørgenvåg, head of explo- valves, and electrically actuated insert-retrievable chokes. ration activities close to existing fi elds on the Halten Bank. “It is encouraging that we make discoveries The system features full redundancy throughout and offers feed- which can prolong the lifetime of the Njord fi eld.” back during operation including on valve and choke operation and the ability to track operational characteristics throughout the life The well was drilled by the semi-submersible West of the system. Valve-mounted spring packages ensure that the Alpha drilling rig, which is proceeding to the North system is truly fail safe close should a loss of power or communi- Sea to drill the Fulla prospect. cation occur.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 31 SUBSEA PROCESSING The easy stuff

Subsea Processing is behind us

So maintained Tore Halvorsen, senior have ended up with tailor-made archi- vice president of FMC Technologies, tecture in our fi eld developments,” he at the recent ONS conference in said. “Now, however, the advantages Stavanger. He was commenting on of plug and play are really coming to the technological demands needed to the fore. meet tomorrow’s subsea challenges. “One of the reasons that the cost of “The reserves that the industry are drilling new wells is so high in some now faced with will be considerably sectors, is that less and less is known more diffi cult to develop,” he said. about a fi eld before the development “These include heavy oil, hydrocar- commences. bons in ultra deep waters, sub salt and polar conditions. We need to look “In the sub-salt areas of Brazil, for ex- at enhanced oil recovery, production ample, it is diffi cult to understand the optimisation and accelerating the date structural geology as the seismic is for fi rst oil by reducing development diffi cult to acquire and interpret. This times. We also need to reduce de- means that the reservoir engineers velopment and operating costs while have to make assumptions on how maintaining a high environmental and many wells will be required. safety performance. They therefore often start with a small Tore Halvorsen “In order to satisfy these demands,” number and add to them as more said Halvorsen, “FMC was looking at information is gathered by monitoring three main areas: fi eld development, the fl ow. With such a background, an “Extending tie-back distances is processing and production enhance- adaptable plug and play system can something that the industry has been ment. add capabilities. particularly good at. Every three to fi ve years, we have doubled the water depth “Over the years, we have talked about Another challenge to the subsea we can produce in. This is because we the advantages of fl exible plug-and- industry is increasing tie-back dis- have been able to extend our original play systems, but we still seem to tances. technology.

“After 3000m, however, this will require Tieback Distance (km) an evolution in technologies. External 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 pressure becomes greater than internal pressure and basic sealing mechanism will not work anymore. Corrib (gas) 500 “Today, we can tie back gas fi elds Popeye (gas) Snohvit (gas) around 170km away, however, operators are now looking at step-out distances of 1000 Pluto (gas) 600km for gas, 200km for oil and 100km Gemini for heavy oil. This requires a completely Nile (gas) Ormen Lange (gas) different way of developing fi elds. One 1500 enabling technology is gas compression Mica (oil) and seabed processing. Diana (gas) Mensa (gas) 2000 Thunder Horse (oil) “At present, there is a notable gap Water Depth (m) Water between the water depth that the drilling Canyon Express (oil) industry can reach and that which oil can 2500 Na Kika (oil) be developed. This needs to be exam- ined. It might be easier to bridge this gap

3000 by the subsea industry than looking at mooring and riser technology. Development diagram showing water depth and tieback distance

32 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 High temperatures and pressures “The future intention is to able to proc- make up many new subsea develop- ess a gas fi eld subsea so that it is ments. It has been estimated that ready to feed into a gas export pipeline within the next ten years, around 140 although the industry is currently a long prospects will require either HP or HT way off this. However, experiments are technology. This will therefore see ongoing.” the need for increased strength and fatigue resistance. Another area receiving attention is riserless light well intervention (RLWI). “Our plan is to introduce a product Subsea wells are estimated to produce line capable of 15 000psi/350oF by only 80% oil compared with the top- the year 2011, 20 000psi/350oF by sides equivalent. This is due to the fact 2013 and up to 30 000psi/400oF that it is easier and cheaper to clean by 2016 depending on the market the well out and ensure it is working at requirements,” said Halvorsen. its optimum.

Another are of interest is polar devel- To work over a well, it is normally opments. The international energy necessary to use a anchored drilling agency has stated that as much as rig, however, FMC has been carrying 25% of undiscovered reserves could out this operation with a dynamically lie in the arctic area. Subsea would positioned light well intervention vessel. seem the preferred development This can not only be done in shorter method rather than using surface time, but also at a lower cost. facilities. A key part of the RLWI system is Subsea Processing deployed through a moonpool from In recent years, the industry has made a dynamically positioned vessel and major strides in subsea processing. installed on the subsea Christmas tree Separation and boosting systems without the use of anchors or risers. It have been developed with the Tordis includes a patented lubricator system gravity water knockout separation which can permit the recirculation of system installed and the Pazfl or gas hydrocarbons in the well. The Riserless Light Well Injection system knockout system in planning. Applica- tions are currently being developed It is estimated that RLWI technology 1 billion barrels of oil off the coast of to allow heavy oil to be sent over long increases the potential to recover Norway alone. distances.

Get a year subscription of UT2. Four issues for only £30

Name Subscription Title Company

Address City

Postcode

Phone E- mail

Signature Date Post to the Society for Underwater Technology, 80 Coleman St, London, EC25 5BJ England

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 33 Subsea PROCESSING Subsea Twister a step nearer Petrobras is preparing to start up a Following this, further development

Subsea Processing Twister gas dehydrating system on was made with the aid of a subsidy for a plant north east Brazil. This will obtained from the European Union (EU). provide vital information to base a possible decision to progress with Commencing in January 2004, this the world’s fi rst subsea test unit. four- year programme involved a consortium of the Dutch companies The Twister module is being Twister and CDS, FMC and Norske introduced into a bypass at a gas Shell of Norway, and the Belgian processing plant in Bahia state company Ipcos. Subsea innovators that serves the Manati platform. and sponsors Petrobras signed a Plans envisage Petrobras will wait memorandum of understanding in a few months to gain experience April 2006. of the technology before making a decision. The system is seen as ideal for converting for use in subsea, as it has Diagram of the subsea version of the Twister is a supersonic no moving parts and thus requires Twister supersonic separation system separation system which is used minimal maintenance. to simultaneously deydrate, hydrocarbon dewpoint and recover The onshore testing at Bahia Twister BV says that following any natural gas liquids. A conventional represents the fi rst phase of this project decision to progress, the subsea a gas/liquid separator only removes and will look at its capacity to handle prototype will consist of a basic single free liquids (water and condensate) 30 million ft3/day gas. Passing this test tube and one hydrate separator vessel. from the gas. Drying the gas has a could see a second phase consisting The company will collaborate with FMC number of advantages in production: of a subsea pilot test in water depths on the pilot subsea module design. The of 1600m on the Canapu fi eld in the facility is likely to be built in Brazil, with It prevents corrosion in the Espirito Santo basin for this test. testing earmarked for around 2010. pipeline and allows cheaper steels to be used instead of The dry gas will be introduced into the If successful, this could see Petrobras corrosion resistant piping. Golfi nho-1 fl oating production, installing it on a commercial installation storage and offl oading (FPSO) vessel, in 2012 or 2013. Twister says that a It avoids the risk of hydrate while the separated liquids will be number of operators have expressed formation in the pipe and routed through an umbilical or small interest in participating in a joint the need for pigging. This is piggy-back line. industry project. particularly useful in longer lines.

It improves the combustion characteristics of the gas. How Twister Works The Twister works by passing the The high vorticity swirl forces the The system was developed by the gas stream over static guide vanes droplets to the wall and the liquids are Dutch-based Twister BV company, which enerate a vortex as high as removed from the gas using a cyclonic which was spun out of Shell in April 500 000G. A laval nozzle is used to coaxial separator. 2000. expand the saturated feed gas to supersonic velocity which results in The separated streams are slowed Since then, it has been successful both low temperatures and pressures. down in separate diffusers, recovering in onshore installations in Nigeria This results in a mist of water and up to 85% of the remaining free Malaysia, and most recently hydrocarbon condensation droplets. pressure. Colombia, where Ecopetrol recently selected a unit for its Gibraltar gas fi eld.

The drive to develop a subsea version of the Twister stems back from a study completed in 2002 carried out in partnership with Shell and FMC Technologies. This was funded by the Demo 2000 programme.

34 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Subsea Processing ..... Subsea Production

Saipem has become the latest company to enter the subsea production market with the proposed development of two major pieces of seabed architecture.

The fi rst is a gas/liquid separation unit called the confi gurable subsea separation and pumping (COSSP) system. The second is a deepwater multiphase boosting system (DMBS).

The development of these systems is seen as a strategic business decision to seek a greater involvement in the subsea umbilicals risers and fl owlines (SURF) market. The DMBS system

“We see subsea development as a an important part of this newly developing and motor set in a vertical arrangement. cyclonic devices. The central pipe market,” said Roberto Di Silvestro, It is also possible to fi t two booster units affords the separator a slug-handling product development manager at in parallel. capacity, with the separation taking Saibos, the Saipem division, which will place in the circumferential pipes. be responsible for the development. Due to the deep water design, There is also no sand accumulation. modularisation is important. The “We see a future in being able to modules can be independently The design incorporates radar based separate the gas from the liquid and recovered using a multipurpose service and nucleonic level sensors. boosting the liquid fl ow.” He pointed vessel. to Total’s Pazfl or fi eld off Angola as an example. Saipem is currently in the testing phase, Liquid Outlet which should take around a year. These DMBS will see the qualifi cation of a full-scale Subsea multiphase boosting is the most 1.5mW prototype multiphase pump . effective solution for the development of Following land tests, the pump will be low pressure reservoirs laying in deep tested in shallow water. waters. The pumping is based on twin screw positive displacement units that COSSP Section through are particularly adapted for working The system is based on a modular the COSSP with multiphase streams. They can multi-pipe separator design that is separator operate up to 95% of void fraction with particularly suitable for the application high pressure boost, large throughput in deep and ultradeep waters, as it is capability and turn down. diffi cult to use large diameter pressure vessels. The development implements Leistritz pumps and Hayward Tyler motors. Different pump types such as electrical submersible pumps ESPs, centrifugal With its water-based cooling system or twin screw pumps are available and a passive pressure-balancing depending upon the client preference system, it is designed for use in and application requirements. water depths up to 3000m. The pump Multiphase can deliver a head of up to 100 bar, The separation station is of a compact Inlet although Lestritz is designing and design, with off-the-shelf components. testing a pump that will deliver a The manifolds and pump modules are pressure boost of 150 bar. retrievable.

The boosting station sits on a single The gas/liquid separator is based on Liquid Outlet pile and is confi gured with the pump gravity separation and can implement

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 35 Subsea SONAR

ELICS MK-5 also includes a gap fi ller and provides complete swath cover- age even at nadir.

Subsea SONAR Designed for rapid survey operations with a 10 knot survey speed, its high Above: the Elcis 100-400. Below: the Elcis Mk 5 resolution allows for easy target detec- ELICS Lives tion. It combines sonar and bathymetry IXSEA has launched ELICS 100-400, recovery; route and harbour surveys; for enhanced data visualization and a turnkey, all-in-one and ready-to-use mine hunting (MCM); environmental feature detection. sonar package based on a high- and archaeological surveys; geophysi- performance dual-frequency digital cal survey and dredging and debris Thanks to an embedded Inertial Navi- sidescan sonar, a powerful logging clearance. gation System (INS) tightly coupled software, 100m tow cable, a topside with an acoustic positioning system, it transceiver unit and a data acquisi- The ELCIS 100-400 is part of a fam- offers directly georeferenced images tion PC. ily that includes the model 400-1200 with real-time use. (which has an operating frequency of This light, rugged and compact sonar 400-1250kHz and an operating range The ELICS MK-5 applications include: is user friendly, intuitive and offers of 30-150m) and the ELICS MK-5 rapid environmental assessment one-man deployment in just a few which has also been recently launched. (REA); route and harbour surveys; minutes. ELICS 100-400 is designed homeland defence; unex- to work in conjunction with Delph The Mk5 combines the ploded ordnance survey; Sonar Interpretation software and is benefi ts of beam forming search and recovery and compatible with most sonar process- and interferometry techniques mine coutermeasures. ing software. with embedded inertial navigation and acoustic positioning to produce ELICS 100-400 applications include: directly georeferenced image and pipe and cable route; search and bathymetric information in real-time.

New SeaBat The Edge RESON has launched a new version processing times are reduced, and EdgeTech has introduced a new 900kHz of its SeaBat 7125 multibeam sonar surveying productivity is maximised. frequency facility for its 4200-SP sides- systems designed for installation on The SeaBat 7125-Surface offers: can sonar system. The 4200-SP System small surface vessels. will now be available with 300/900kHz Single or dual-frequency op- dual simultaneous frequencies. The most notable change is a new erations (200kHz and/or 400kHz) transceiver that combines the function to ensure high fl exibility This new high frequency is aimed at of sonar processor and interface unit A ping rate of 50Hz (range those customers seeking very high thus removing the need to install the dependent) with 256 equi-angle or resolution imagery without having LCU bottle used in the deep-rated 512 equi-distant beams per swath to sacrifi ce the ability to collect data SeaBat 7125 systems. A cable length ensures exceptionally high data at longer ranges. While operating at of 25m (standard) or 50m (optional) density. 300kHz, the user can expect to achieve between the transceiver and the Advanced signal processing a range of 230m per side and at transducer arrays allows for simple and bottom detect routines deliver 900kHz, 75m per side in salt water, and installations on most second-to-none data quality. considerably longer than this in fresh small vessels. SeaBat 7125-Surface is fully water conditions. backwards compatible with LCU All performance and and other SeaBat 7K transceiver A 4200-SP system consists of ei- acoustic parameters systems ther a 100/400 kHz, 300/600kHz or are identical to the 300/900kHz dual simultaneous frequen- other members of the SeaBat 7125-Surface also offers a cy towfi sh and either a rack mount or SeaBat 7125 family. number of new and unique features. portable topside processor. Price for the Through a number of The new transceiver provides an system remains the same regardless of features, both data integrated multiport serial card and is which towfi sh, topside or frequency set collection and available with PDS2000 pre-installed is chosen. for data acquisition and display, as well as data processing on the same The 4200-SP can also be installed on hardware platform. Four video outputs an AUV, ROV or custom platform and allow multiple user and helm displays comes available with a multitude of ad- to be run. ditional optional sensors.

SeaBat 7125-Surface 36 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 ..... Sideascan Family Tritech International has launched a The advanced 150kHz composite new comprehensive range of sonar transducer assembly provides systems that have been tailored to superior image quality and long range. cover a wide variety of requirements, from shallow depth imaging to seeing The SK150’s simple, modular design in far deeper conditions. provides increased reliability and facilitates quick in-field repairs SeaKing Towfish SK150 DST Building on the success of the should any damage occur during advanced sidescan sonar systems operation. All electronics are located Tritech completes the family with in a single subsea pressure housing laptops and PCs with Tritech the next generation model SeaKing isolated from the rest of the towfish. Seanet Pro software installed. Towfish SK150 DST, the largest in the family. Specifically designed The low cost, stabilising fins can In addition to the display of to fly at depths of up to 250m, be easily replaced if damaged, sidescan sonar data, the system the SK150 can be used for high and a simple sheer and recovery will take position input from GPS. resolution surveys at depths other mechanism is provided in the event This information is recorded along lighter systems can’t reach. of the SK150 becoming snagged. with the sonar data to allow a ‘fix’ on a target. The SK150 combines the very As part of the Tritech SeaKing suite latest Tritech DST (digital sonar of survey sensors, it is possible to The post processing export facility technology) electronics with industry run the SK150 with other SeaKing will convert the logged data to leading transducer design and sensors over one communication link. XTF and CSV formats for third digital CHIRP signal processing party software packages. The techniques to dramatically improve The SeaKing Towfish SK150 DST SK150 is also fully compatible with range resolution and generate sonar may be connected to a Seanet SCU all Kiltec and Easyreeling electric images of unprecedented clarity. surface control, or most standard winches.

Saab AST 30 guests from 10 countries with Applied Signal Technology (AST) and MacArtney’s FOCUS-2 remotely representatives from the defence and recently participated in a live operated tow vehicle (ROTV). demonstration of its PROSAS Surveyor offshore oil exploration communities. synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system For this demonstration, PROSAS As participants were briefed on the during a launch of Saab Underwater Surveyor was integrated onto the new system aboard the Systems’ new underwater vehicle, Double Eagle SAROV, a unique S/S Motala Express, the Double the Double Eagle semi-autonomous hybrid underwater vehicle that can Eagle SAROV and PROSAS remotely operated vehicle (SAROV). be operated as either an AUV or as Surveyor performed a pre- a ROTV. From a single confi guration programmed, two-hour mission on PROSAS Surveyor is a real-time, ultra and platform, PROSAS Surveyor Lake Vattern and presented sonar high resolution synthetic aperture sonar simultaneously provided SAS, data with 3cm x 3cm resolution over system based on a modular design multibeam sidescan, and bathymetry 150m range per side. Images of and open architecture. The system from the same sensor. has been successfully deployed onto objects planted on the lake bottom were downloaded from an onboard a variety of underwater platforms, The two-day demonstration and recorder and viewed immediately including Hydroid’s REMUS 600 workshop, held at Saab’s Motala, upon recovery of the vehicle. autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sweden, facility, was attended by

The hybrid SAROV Trials in lake Vattern AST’s sonar

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 37 Subsea SONAR

Submarines The Jet Set Below and above: JetSWATH

Subsea SONAR Silvercrest Submarines has A new hydrographic survey craft has selected a Sonavision Titan Sonar been developed to carry out rapid and Minerva Sonar Controller survey operations in diffi cult marine for operation in a dry transfer environments. Called the JetSWATH, it submarine which it will operate has been developed by ITER and SEA under contract in southeast Asia. in collaboration with Bombardier.

The system will be used on the It consists of survey instrumentation manned submersible to locate mounted in a jetski. It allows detailed, underwater tunnels on the seafl oor, high-resolution seabed mapping in then allow the submarine to mate shallow waters, with the ability to with an entry/exit tower, before transit to and from the survey areas at transferring high speed. technicians into the The system comprises a phase differ- tunnel itself ence bathymetric sonar (PDBS) plus (all at one a full range of position, motion and atmosphere, navigation sensors, all built into a jet work sleeve ski. It is located in a waterproof console conditions). The situated at the craft’s steering column. sonar will also commercial and defence markets. be used for other The survey sonar is SEA’s SWATHplus target acquisition operating at 468kHz giving very high JetSWATH supports a wide range of survey and obstacle resolutions across a wide swath, even operations including very shallow waters (rivers, avoidance in very shallow waters (as little as 1m estuaries, near shore), seabed and structural submarine deep). SWATHplus is a highly success- surveys close to installations, and surveys in missions. ful survey sonar, selling into both the areas too hazardous for standard survey craft.

Using special wideband 1:3 Piezo Composite Transducers, and measuring only 3D Bathymetry below the Frigg platforms 226mm by 90mm, the Titan is In August 2008, Saipem UK – Sonsub On the baseplate of a 14m overside- capable of ranges up to 250m and Division, contracted Sonar Research mounted pole, a pair of 240 kHz SVS is the only sonar of its size with the and Development (SRD) on behalf sonar heads were installed, along with performance of a high-resolution of Total Norge, to provide sub-sea heading, motion and depth sensors. sonar. visualisation support in connection with Seabed data was acquired in a typical decommissioning work in the vicinity of onsite water depth of 100m using both Titan is available as standard with the Frigg platform. The Normand Cut- conventional multibeam, and electronic a 250–500kHz tuneable head, ter had been conducting fi eld activities, transmit beam-steering techniques. allowing the user the choice of long principally the removal and disposal of range target identifi cation and short pipelines within the 500m zone. This The engineers then focused attention range high resolution imaging. created a disruption to the surface on eight pipelines within the 500m Above: A Titan sonar system. of the seabed as the pipes were zone. These routes featured either Below: A manned Silvercrest extracted – sometimes through areas rock berms (covering the pipe) or Submarine that had used rockdumping to secure trenches (where the pipe had been re- the lines in the fi rst place. moved). In either case, smoothing was required to reduce slope severity. Regulations required the operator to smooth the original protective rock Terrain images displayed the seabed berms such that they no longer posed gradient with a simple two colour a hazard to any subsequent trawl palette – highlighting areas where fi shing activities. Sonsub used SRD’s localised gradient values were outside Subsea Visualisation System (SVS) the pre-determined limits specifi ed. to provide real time monitoring of the Smoothing work was carried out on smoothing operation while providing a this berm in two stages. The fi rst stage rapid assessment of the dispersal of utilised a mass fl ow excavator (MFE) material and gradient analysis. which helped to disperse the rock

38 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Subsea SONAR ..... Sentinel diver detection sonar system Yacht Protection Sonardyne has sold a Sentinel diver This vulnerability can now be The head measures only 30cm in detection sonar system for use on a eliminated by Sentinel, which diameter, 40cm high and weighs just prominent superyacht. This follows uses advanced sonar technology 29kg (65lb) enabling it to be stowed an endorsement by the United States to provide a 360deg, below- in a small deck locker and then Naval Undersea Warfare Center, water protection zone that can deployed by just one person. It can which showed its Sentinel-based discriminate between genuine also be mounted on a seabed frame Integrated Swimmer Defence (ISD) targets, such as divers and to create a permanent installation system in trials at Rhode Island swimmers, and non-threats such as for monitoring a port entrance, for in August, where it successfully large fi sh or pleasure craft. example. demonstrated the long range detection of swimmers and divers The small size of the Sentinel sonar The system can be further expanded and their subsequent engagement. head makes the system’s use, a to allow ‘friendly divers’ to wear small realistic proposition in a variety of wrist transponders so that they can The yacht owner, a head of state, will applications. It has been designed be easily tracked whilst underwater. use it to detect divers and swimmers specifi cally for ease of use by This provides a further level of approaching the vessel from any inexperienced personnel and to personal protection for owners and direction. The sale is expected to meet the practical requirements their security detail. be the fi rst of many into a market of every day use. These attributes where security is given the highest are now expected to attract buyers Successful trials have included importance. from many sectors of the maritime operations in tropical and temperate security industry, the armed forces sea water. These have also Despite the use of sophisticated and civil administrations. included testing in crowded acoustic detection technologies above environments and locations where the water, ships and ports have A Sonardyne Sentinel is deployed the Sentinel’s ability to differentiate always been vulnerable to intruders by lowering the compact sonar between intruders and large fi sh has approaching from beneath the head into the water from a boom or been recognised as an important surface. through a dedicated hull opening. benefi t.

Deep Blue dump and reduce its maximum BlueView Technologies has launched a new 4000m rated height above mean seabed level. version of its proven acoustic underwater vision systems. After an intermediate SRD survey The introduction of BlueView’s fi rst deep system is a direct to determine the effects of the response to requests from the oil and gas industry for one MFE, a subsea ‘harrow’ was used of its sonars that can provide underwater vision solutions for fi nal smoothing. for deep operations.

Further SRD surveys were carried In addition to the new depth rating, the DP900-90 has a out to confi rm that the resultant 90deg imaging fi eld of view, twice that of systems currently profi le was within specifi ca- available. The signifi cantly larger fi eld-of-view provides tion. Below is the sequence of ROV operators with a dramatic improvement in low visibility bathymetry and gradient images navigation and operations. produced by SRD at each stage of the process: The system is available with either an Impulse MSSJ or a Schilling SeaNet connector, making integration onto most There was also a requirement work-class ROVs a quick operation. As with all of for a number of cut pipe ends BlueView’s products, the DP900-90 is small to be trenched/buried to at least enough to mount with the ROV’s main 1m. SVS was used for real-time camera system, providing ROV comparison of historical pre- operators with seamless trench data with actual post-trench low visibility operation survey data. Using pipe burial in- capabilities. formation from the ROV-mounted PipeTracker, SRD were able to BlueView’s accurately image and quantify the DP900-90 Sonar view of the Frigg area end-of-pipe burial depth. Sonar

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 39 UNDERWATER Pipelines Kvitebjorn Repairs Mexilhão In the Frame StatoilHydro has decided to bring Petrobras has awarded Global StatoilHydro has entered into frame forward the repairs to the Kvitebjørn Industries a US$57 million agreements for pipe and pipe fi ttings pipeline to the fi rst quarter of 2009. contract for laying laying pipe in with four suppliers, running from 2009 the shallow water Mexilhão Field to 2011. The suppliers are The Kvitebjørn gas pipeline, which in the Santos Basin. The scope Ahlsell Oil and Gas Underwater Pipelines runs from the Kvitebjørn platform in of work includes laying 22km of Norwegian Piping the North Sea to Kollsnes processing 34in pipeline. Scandinavian Fittings and Flanges plant outside Bergen, was closed in Vector International mid-August, following the discovery of a Global will use the DLB Iroquois, minor gas leakage from the pipe during which is already in Brazil, having These deals secure access for a routine inspection of the pipeline after worked on the Camurupim fi eld. StatoilHydro to pipe, pipe fi ttings and a scheduled shutdown. The leakage fl anges for production and projects. is in the same place as the pipe was The complete project scope The operator has recognised that it damaged last year by a ship’s anchor will allow the export of the gas is important to encourage roughly 10km from the platform. produced in Mexilhão platform, competition and give new suppliers which sits some 130km from a chance. The pipe was qualifi ed for temporary São Sebastião port, to the use in January 2008 pending Unit of Treatment of Gas All suppliers offer the same products permanent repairs that were scheduled Monteiro Lobato (UTGCA) in and the four identical and parallel for summer 2009. StatoilHydro has now Caraguatatuba. The project is agreements make it possible for re-assessed various alternative repair part of the Plangas that aims StatoilHydro to secure the best pos- solutions and plans to start the repairs to triple the production growth sible price, availability and quality to the pipeline at the turn of the year. of natural gas in the country, of pipe and pipe fi ttings during the making Brazil self-suffi cient. contractual period. Given the weather conditions, it is not possible to say with any certainty how long the repair work will take. If the primary repair solution is successful, Corrib StatoilHydro expects production to resume by the end of the fi rst quarter The planned gas pipeline connecting fi rst time all of the parties sit down 2009. the Corrib gas fi eld off the northwest together. Ryan said he wanted the coast of Ireland with the mainland government to play a more central will not be in operation for at least role in achieving consensus on a two years, according to Irish Energy range of issues from environmental Minister Eamon Ryan. to policing between Shell, local com- Normand Progress munities and other interested parties. Technip has been awarded by Petro- The Shell-operated Corrib fi eld is bras a daily-rate contract (worth more estimated to contain 1 trillion cubic than US$ 100 million) for a two-year feet of gas, however, the develop- charter of the Normand Progress, ment has been beset by protests and Expanded Umbilicals fl exible pipeline installation vessel. delays since its discovery 12 years The contract includes engineering ago. The dispute centres on the Technip has expanded its Asiafl ex and support services, as well as an method of development. The local Products manufacturing facility to additional two-year option. people want Shell build a shallow include the production of subsea water platform offshore, as they be- umbilical systems as of 2010. The Normand Progress will be used lieve that onshore processing might Asiafl ex was created earlier this for the installation and retrieval of fl ex- bring the pipeline too close to their year to manufacture Technip’s ible pipelines offshore Brazil, at water homes and pollute their water supply. complete range of fl exible pipes. depths reaching 2000m. The vessel Protests against the pipeline in the will be fi tted with fl exible pipelay past have led to several arrests, and The state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment including a 125t vertical lay in September, a local teacher staged facility is currently under system. Operated by Technip under a a hunger strike. construction in Tanjung Langsat, frame agreement, the vessel is owned Malaysia. It benefi ts from a strategic by Solstad. The minister hoped that the develop- location to serve the emerging ment will start soon to reduce Ire- deepwater oil and gas markets in The contract follows the charter con- land’s dependence on imported gas the Asia-Pacifi c, India and Middle tract for a new Brazilian pipelay ves- He has, therefore, set up a forum East regions. Asiafl ex Products will sel, awarded to Technip by Petrobras hoping to unite local opinion around also create training and long term earlier this year. the project. This forum will be the employment opportunities locally.

40 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 ..... Nordstream on Track The Nordstream pipeline project is and 2012. The system is designed currently undergoing environmental relying on a multi-design pressure impact assessments prior to the concept. There will be three offshore fi rst pipe being laid in 2010. It has pipeline segments (with different wall been planned to follow the shortest thicknesses), therefore two hyperbaric possible route consistent with welding tie-ins are planned. the need to take adverse natural conditions into account. The 1.22m diameter pipelines will carry gas at a pressure of 220 bar. The Nordstream will also respect or avoid combined pipes will have an annual A gradiometer from Innovatum, environmentally sensitive areas, capacity of up to 55 billion m3. carried by a Commanche ROV was military exclusion zones, munitions used to carry out survey work dump sites, major navigation traffi c The survey programme – the most lanes and special areas used for detailed Baltic survey ever undertaken other economic or recreational included magnetic gradiometer, multi The remains of the wrecks were interests. echobeam, side scan electromagnetic re-discovered in 1990 and were later induction and video inspection. This surveyed and charted using a special Traversing much of the southern consisted of more than 33 000km scanner. Baltic, Nordstream will connect the of geophysical and 5000km of Russian Baltic Sea coast near the gradiometer survey. The route was Earlier this year, Nordstream signed town of Vyborg with the German especially planned to avoid known a contract with Saipem for laying the Baltic Sea shore near Greifswald munitions dump sites. pipeline. Saipem will begin laying 1200km away. activities in the fi rst months of 2010 The project has led to the uncovering by using two pipelaying vessels, in This will effectively link the Russian and charting a number of wrecks. order to complete the laying of the gas transmission system to that of The most recent was one in the fi rst line in the fi rst half of 2011. the European Union and become Greifswalder Bodden lagoon that lay an important factor in European undisturbed for nearly 300 years. Last year, the Russian-based United energy security. From the landing Metallurgical Company (OMK), signed point, natural gas will be piped via In 1715, during the Great Northern War, a contract to supply 25% of the steel the European gas network to large the Swedish navy ballasted some 20 pipes for the fi rst line. The remaining markets. These include Germany, ships, each about 15m long, positioning 75% of the volume was awarded to Denmark, the United Kingdom, the them to sink on the seaward sill. the German based Europipe. Netherlands, Belgium, France and the Resting on the shallow sea bottom and Czech Republic. only 2m below the surface, the ships The order awarded to OMK covers formed a 980m defensive barrier that over 280 000t of high quality steel The project will consist of two parallel prevented enemy fl eets from entering pipes. Each pipeline requires around pipelines, to be installed in 2011 the bay. 1.1 million tons of steel.

Route of the Nordstream pipeline

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 41 OFFSHORE

There are many occasions in subsea facilities design where multiple ‘lines’ exist in very close proximity. In these Wake Interference in Dynamic circumstances, the behaviour of a downstream line in the wake of an upstream line is a major source of un- certainty when predicting their global Analysis of Off shore Lines Offshore Lines behaviour.

Traditionally, it has been assumed that the lines do not modify the fl uid fl ow; hence both the upstream and downstream cylinders see the same infl ow conditions (ie, they are hydro- dynamically uncoupled). However, as line separation decreases, it becomes more important to quantify the hydro- dynamic coupling between adjacent lines.

The issue is not the wake itself or the resulting downstream cylinder motion alone. Rather, it is of concern if closely spaced lines exhibit relative motions that might produce contact between them. Tractable assessment of this requires modelling of the wake behind a cylinder as part of the stand- ard design process. Fig 1 : Example OrcaFlex Model

This feature as implemented in a lead- OrcaFlex also contains as standard a within the wake of another. This is illus- ing riser design program, OrcaFlex. number of specialist features, including trated in the following schematic axial modelling of line on line contact, fatigue view along two nearby jumpers (Fig 2). OrcaFlex post-processing, VIV models and the OrcaFlex is a 3D line dynamic option to calculate fully coupled The upstream cylinder generates a analysis package used extensively vessel/line motion. wake due to the fl ow passing over it. throughout the offshore industry. It is a The fl ow velocities within the wake general-purpose tool, able to analyse The latest release of OrcaFlex (v9.2, region are lower than those in the free a wide range of applications including Sept-08) includes wake interference stream (outside the wake); in other (but not limited to) modelling capabilities, discussed fur- words, the upstream cylinder creates ther below. a shielded region immediately down- Offshore seabed to surface stream. These reduced fl ow velocities production and control lines Wake Interference give rise to lower drag forces on any Surface/subsea buoy motions Any submerged object subjected to a line located within the wake, in com- Mooring analyses relative fl ow will produce a downstream parison to the drag forces that would be Marine installation procedures wake. Many offshore systems include experienced in the free stream. (including pipelay). multiple lines in close proximity (for example, the jumper lines shown in In addition to the reduced drag, the ve- The software includes a full graphical Fig 1). locity profi le across the wake (normal to user interface (GUI) used throughout the fl ow direction) generates a lift force model building, analysis and results In a system like this, it is highly likely on any line located within the wake but review. that the different environmental condi- offset from the wake centreline. This lift tions will lead to one jumper line lying force acts normal to the fl ow direction The following screen-shot (fi g 1) shows an example model for a riser tower system with multiple jumper lines connecting from the top of the riser tower to the underside of the FPSO vessel.

Numerical results (tension, curvature, position, stresses, etc) are available graphically and as spreadsheets, in Fig 2: Schematic axial addition to the visual replay of the sys- view along two nearby tem response. jumpers

42 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Offshore Lines LINES

and towards the wake centreline, as the lift force. Further work by Blevins is shown between the analytical and shown in Fig 2, and tends to pull the (2005) developed a model that includes experimental results. line towards the centre of the wake. both lift and drag contributions. In the central region of the wake, the Relative line motion, including a downstream cylinder experiences The new wake interference feature in graph of clearance between the further reductions in fl ow velocity (as OrcaFlex offers implementations of lines, is shown in Fig 3 below. Here, it is more shielded by the upstream both the Huse and Blevins models. the current in the fl ow direction is cylinder) causing it to move further It also offers a user specifi ed option ramped over time. Both lines move upstream. (where the user directly inputs the drag downstream as a result, but as a and lift coeffi cient factors for different consequence of the wake model- The combined effects of the lift and positions within the wake). ling, the upstream line moves further drag forces on the downstream cylinder downstream than the downstream produce the typical path for the down- It is important to note that all these line. Hence, the clearance between stream cylinder, shown by the dotted approaches are essentially 2D models the two lines decreases over time. line in Fig 2. It can be seen that were considering parallel lines located the cylinder to follow this path, then normal to the relative fl ow direction. the separation between the two lines In reality, the system geometry can would be signifi cantly reduced, poten- be far more complex due to tially leading to clearance and contact local curvature of the lines, problems. fl ow directions that are not precisely normal to the line It is therefore important to be able to axes, etc. The application of analytically assess the wake interfer- the wake interference models ence behaviour of pairs of lines for within OrcaFlex includes a full systems that use multiple lines in close generalisation to 3D to take proximity. account of these factors. A comparison between tank In the fi rst widely referred to approach test results, the Blevins (see DNV-RP-F203), Huse (1993) (2005) model and its imple- presented an analytical model for the mentation in OrcaFlex are reduction in drag force within the wake. detailed in Wu et al. (2008), While this models the shielding effect, which also includes more de- it does not include the contribution from tails of the 3D model. Good agreement Fig 3 Relative line motions

Depth Record for Ball Connector Subsea connector specialist First Altogether, nine Ballgrab connectors tivating mechanism locks the connec- Subsea has set a new depth record were installed for the spar’s nine taut- tion. The connection can be released for its ball and taper mooring connec- leg chain-polyester rope-chain mooring by removing the load and using the tors. Ballgrab connectors have been system. Designed with a minimum ROV release clamp to lock the tool into successfully installed at a depth of breaking load (MBL) of 3880 kips the disengaged mode. 2632m (8637ft) to moor the truss spar (17260kN), the Ballgrab connectors link on Shell’s Perdido Development project the Perdido suction piles and ground In deepwater where a suction pile is in the Gulf of Mexico. chain segments with the long term used then the Ballgrab female recepta- mooring shackles. cle is fi xed to a trunnion on a docking porch on the side of the vessel, as was The Ballgrab subsea mooring connec- the case with the Perdido piles. tors enable installation of mooring piles in deepwater without the need for large Ballgrabs are available in a range of vessels and diving operations, resulting sizes up to 2500t MBL and have been in a safer mooring operation. used in over 200 subsea mooring installations worldwide. The Ballgrab subsea mooring con- nection system works on the simple Recent projects include BP’s Mad principle of a ball engaged in a taper. Dog SPAR, Ocean Confi dence Drilling As the male connector’s balls roll up Programme and Thunder Horse PLET the tapers of the mandrel, they make tie-back systems, ExxonMobil’s Erha contact with the internal bore of the and Kizomba drilling programmes, Kerr female receptacle; the tightness of the McGee’s Constitution, Gunnison and grip increases in direct proportion to Red Hawk spars, Murphy’s Kikeh and the load applied. In the fi eld, the tool Thunder Hawk projects, Total’s Dalia is self-aligning, and once inserted and and Akpo projects and Nexen’s Ettrick engaged the connector’s T-Handle ac- development.

The Ballgrab Connector UT2 DECEMBER 2008 43 s e l c

i Subsea h e V

VEHICLES a e s

b East Side Story

u It was a pleasant day in early September 2005 on Brown’s Bank,

S Subsea Vehicles some 100km off the shores of Shelburne on Nova Scotia’s South shore. The calm sea had less than a 1m swell and light winds (less than 5kts) blew across the water. The visibility was six miles. From a vessel, a remotely operated towed vehicle (ROTV) was being used to carry out a routine survey of scallop habitats in waters of up to 50m, on behalf of the fi shing company Clearwater. Trawl On board was Bill Hickey, an experienced fi shing gear technologist with the Conservation and Protection, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Newfoundland Region. Mike Smith of the St John’s-based ProDive Services was on hand to provide technical support.

The towed ROV was responding well to operator Bill Hickey’s expectations, however, about 20 mins into the work in an area of strong tidal currents, the vehicle snagged and the umbilical snapped, losing contact with the submerged vehicle. After 8 hours, they called off the search. One year later Artist’s drawing of the remote vehicle. All pictures courtesy of the Fisheries Research Services, A local Nova Scotian fi sherman was surprised to fi nd a large Marine Laboratory unless stated structure caught up in his nets as he pulled the catch into his vessel. It was the subsea vehicle over a year before. Research One of the fi rst use of controllable remotely quickly revealed it to be Clearwater’s missing vehicle. There operated vehicles (ROVs) was at the Marine followed a period of negotiation. At the end, the fi sherman was Laboratory of the Fisheries Research Service considerably richer, while Clearwater was reunited with its errant in Aberdeen. ROTV. After lying dormant in the water for an extended period, the vehicle was returned to the original supplier – Sub-Atlantic, for a When the Marine Laboratory fi rst wanted total refurbishment. to fi lm fi shing trawl gear underwater in the 1970s, it used divers who swam onto the gear “Considering that it was lost in relatively shallow turbulent with the fi rst underwater video cameras. For waters, which must have subjected the vehicle to considerable the fi rst time, scientists were able to directly movement over a couple of years, the fact that it was recovered see the way that trawl systems worked. in a structurally sound condition was a testament to the original construction,” said Ian Garioch of Sub-Atlantic. “It just needed “We discovered that depending on how the minor parts replacing. The whole bill for the repair of the vehicle gear was rigged and towed, this determined itself, was less than £3000.” how the fi sh were selected and caught,” said Chris Hall, head of the engineering group at Clearwater has now decided that the vehicle is currently surplus to Fisheries Research Services (FRS). Those its requirements and has approached the Halifax-based deep-sea early investigations have been refi ned and imaging consultant Ulrich Lobsiger, who has been active in the developed, to ensure that FRS scientists industry for over 25 years, to look for a suitable purchaser. continue to obtain valuable and practical knowledge about fi sh and their behaviour in relation to trawls. To better protect the divers we assembled a Perspex screen onto a towed ‘chariot’, which could be steered by means of fi ns to control the attitude and lateral placement, while a second diver manned the camera.

“By the 1980s, researchers wanted to observe trawls at commercial fi shing depths beyond 100m – a depth impractical for divers. Initial efforts to develop a manned, single- The remote vehicle atmosphere towed observation platform, and being repaired at a remote-control version of the divers’ fi nned Sub-Atlantic’s vehicle, proved impractical. It was at this time Aberdeen base. that the idea of using Magnus rotors was Pictures courtesy of developed”. Sub-Atlantic

44 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 S Subsea Vehicles u b s e a

V e h i c l e

The Magnus Eff ect s

In most ball games, it is possible to get the ball to swing through the air in wide arc by imparting a spin on it, often with devastating Research results. This is due to a principle of physics called the Magnus A ship trawling effect. This is more exaggerated when a ball or cylinder passes through a fl uid.

The spin creates a boundary layer of moving fl uid around itself. If the ball or cylinder travels at a certain velocity, the velocity close to the body at one side is a little “We had been using motorised Charlie greater (because the velocity of Boards, a modifi ed pelagic (mid-water) the boundary layer is added to trawl system, where the standard the velocity). Conversely, at the vertical otter boards used to keep the other side, the velocity is a little The RCTV mouth of the net open, were replaced less because the boundary layer by rotating vertical cylinders. When velocity is subtracted from the The compact rotors produced the the rotors were spun, the Magnus normal velocity. effect would steer the net left and equivalent force to drive the vehicle right. This was an early example of left and right that would have to Bernoulli’s principle says that the targeted fi shing, where the net could otherwise a fi n would have been be directed to catch fi sh observed on required with an area of 1m square. fl uid pressure is less where the the ship’s echosounder. This gave velocity is greater and vice versa. scientists the unique opportunity Since the 1980s, the RCTV has The difference in pressures to relate echo-gram images to fi sh been used in many applications on cause the cylinder to move species and size.” research and commercial fi shing perpendicular to the direction of vessels, to enable scientists to the moving fl uid. “Armed with experience of rotors for directly observe pelagic (mid-water) steering, we carried out collaborative and demersal (sea-bed) trawls, By using two pairs of rotating work with the then Robert Gordon to determine that the gears were cylinders mounted 90deg from Institute of Technology, to build a fi shing correctly, that the nets were each other, a towed vehicle can simple towed sledge with a front rotor, not distorted and, where applicable, be accurately positioned up and which could be spun to control the that they were maintaining contact down, right and left. depth of the sled.” with the seabed. The TV images showed how fi sh reacted to different Upward In order to achieve both vertical and components of the trawls (eg, the Force lateral control, FRS engineers built a sand clouds generated by the doors, towed platform with two pairs of rotors the tow wires and the ground gear) set in a cruciform orientation, to create and gave scientists an indication of what was termed the remote controlled how trawls could be tailored to be television vehicle (RCTV). The fi rst more selective (ie to target only one prototype consisted of long, thin rotors fi sh species). 63mm dia and 1.6m long, copied from the size of rotor on the sledge. From the early RCTV, which was fi tted with only a single monochrome Tests in 1981 in Loch Ness, however, camera swivelling in one direction, confi rmed that these dimensions were we have added a pan and tilt Velocity wrong. By increasing the rotor diameter to unit fi tted with combinations of 165mm and reducing the length to 110cm, low-light-level SIT and CCD TV How the Magnus effect causes a the researchers found that the unit was cameras, 35mm fi lm and digital still spinning object to move normal to the 30% more effi cient and increased the dive photographic cameras. One of the direction of the force range and lateral control. Continued on p47 Illustration: Bartosz Kosiorek

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 45 Subsea VEHICLES Ringing the Changes Subsea Vehicles

A novel AUV design has been hybrid AUV that can potentially travel structures. Essentially becoming a recently receiving attention from the thousands of miles to a spot and then towfi sh, the free-fl ooded fi breglass underwater industry. Instead of the carry out a programme of operations. body can contain a variety of audio, classic torpedo shape, the vehicle ‘The device can settle motionless on video and auxiliary sensors depending is designed in the form of a ring, or the seabed to gather data, and then on requirements. more accurately, a short tube. While lift off again to continue the journey, this does not greatly compromise the or alternatively rise to a waypoint for The system could accommodate an au- forward speed, it gives it an extraordi- recovery. tomatic closed look control in depth and nary amount of manoeuvrability. attitude to provide obstacle avoidance. Another alternative scenario would en- The AUV, called the RHyVAU, has visage a low cost tethered variant with been designed and developed by the audio-visual data link that may be de- Bristol-based group GO Science as a ployed from a wide range of platforms low cost, low energy sensor package including yachts, tenders and offshore Hull shape The AUV is 0.533m “The RHyVAU is designed to provide across by 0.8m in low cost remote operation in many Pressure tolerant length. The glider roles where divers or alternative ve- battery pack version has a mass of hicles may fail to meet goals through The prototype had a 22 kgs. some combination of cost, safety, 200W hour battery risk, schedule or performance param- pack. The production eters. The prototype is fully scalable, version will have a and may be used across a broad 1.1kW hour capacity spectrum of maritime, industrial and which translates into a utility applications, from inside narrow range of 150km or 1-2 pipes for inspection, or on the sea days. bed for sensing or power services,” The design includes said a spokesman. an underwater dock- ing facility to provide “We have spent a considerable effort recharging. perfecting the shape. The original glider was trialled in a 17m swimming pool. By the time it had completed the length, it had lost only 3m in height, giving glide slope (length/ depth ratio) of 5.5:1. By looking at the physics and modifying the shape, we have attained ratios of 10.5:1 and eve 12:1.”

This makes the vehicle particularly useful as a buoyancy-powered glider capable of 4500km range and ex- tended mission periods. Mission con- trol, navigation and communicatons can be carried out by satellite link.

Adding dual thrust vector control Thrusters propellers turns this into a vehicle The design of the propulsion package to compete more fully with the more means that the two motors do not only common industrial AUV forms. Con- apply differential thrust (forward and The propulsion system can move the fi gured with autonomous power and reverse) but differential thrust vectoring. AUV at speeds of 7kts, or alternatively, communications, capable of 150km It gives the AUV 6 degrees of freedom remain stable in 7kt currents. mission range, with endurance up to That makes the ring wing extremely agile and capable underwater, carrying All the propulsors are inside the ring 48 hours. out manoeuvres that are impossible with for safety and to prevent them colliding a classical AUV shape. with other structures or snagging. Combining the two designs gives a

46 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 Subsea Vehicles

The remote vehicle showing the cruciform rotors

Applications RHyVAU is designed to serve the off- shore oil and gas, renewable energy, homeland security and utility energy sectors.

Applications include remote sensing, harbour protection, undersea detec- tion, intruder classifi cation, hull and propeller inspection, environmental monitoring etc.

A ship trawling, monitored by the remote Sensor package platform There is suffi cient hotel and payload to accommodate a range of sensor type delivering audio, sonar, digital video, Continued from P45 electric magnetic and seismic data sets. There are also comprehensive local and TV pictures may be use to frame replaced by CCD versions which wide area network comms system. the photographic camera, for high are smaller, use less power and quality imaging. Up to three acoustic are more robust.” The glider system can house biological, scanners may be fi tted, giving hydrocarbon plume and other special scientists the opportunity to steer “Working close to the sea-bed purpose sensors the RCTV around the trawl in limited is very hazardous for electronic visibility or at night, to observe fi sh at equipment, so it is essential that close range in the dark, and to capture all components of the RCTV are cross-sectional images of the trawl suitably engineered to withstand The Shape of Rings to Come from which 3D models of the trawl shock, pressure and abrasive sand. A good way to envisage the may be deduced. design is a classic hydrofoil. “Further to collaboration with These are extremely stable, “We also changed the motor scientists from Europe, particularly hydrodynamic shapes are able to control system from one that gave with German and Icelandic groups, pass through water with minimal considerable electrical interference, many countries bought their own resistance and controlled to a Sub-Atlantic motor controller, versions of our RCTV. Sub-Atlantic lift. GO Science took the which wiped out this problem totally, came in to talk with us with the intellectual step of rolling this to get better images.” said Chris Hall. aim of working up a commercial into ring, which behaves like a design. hydrofoil of infi nite length. “We have also installed pressure sensors, light meters and “Though the commercial versions However this cross-sectional transmissometers on the RCTV, to differ from ours in terms of the shape has been moulded into a give us the opportunity to monitor materials used, the basic Magnus swept vehicle. This means that environmental factors. A fibre- rotor principle is retained through- from the tip, it looks as though the optic multiplexer, based on a prizm out, together with the stable design sides have been swept forward, device, together with a fibre-optic combination of fl otation at the top of giving it good drag perfomance, towing umbilical has significantly the RCTV and the weight (sensor but induced effects give it lift increased the volume of control, package) underneath. characteristics, similar to the sensor, video and acoustic data classic delta wing aircraft. that may be sent to and from the “The RCTV has proved itself as RCTV. an invaluable and unique platform When it passes through the water, from which scientists may gather it barely makes a ripple, despite “The use of low-light level cameras accurate and reliable data about travelling at speed just a few was very important as we were fi shing gears, fi sh behaviour and inches from the water surface. unable to use artifi cial lighting due the marine environment, which This shows the lack of wasted to the adverse effect on the fi sh that enables them to make informed energy as it moves. we were observing. We used to use decisions about selective trawl SIT cameras but these have been designs,” he said.

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 47 Acquisitions and Restructuring People

Teledyne has acquired the sand will allow MacArtney to extend and Schilling: Hobart ‘Hobey’ Birmingham and corrosion sensor manufacturer improve its winch range and further and Taft Symonds join the board of Cormon to add to its marine develop into the marine electric directors. Don Revelino had joined instrumentation businesses. Cormon power regulation within the offshore as director of quality, health, safety, had sales of £6.8 million for its fi scal renewable energy sector. and environmental (QHSE), Randy year ended 31 March, 2008. The Baker as director of engineering

People and Places acquired business will operate under Greatship of India and the services, and Michael Moody as the name Teledyne Cormon. Norwegian-based DOF Subsea supplier development manager. Clay have announced a joint venture, to Cottingham is the new vice president Triton Group has acquired be named Greatship DOF Subsea of customer service while Paul A. VisualSoft, its eighth acquisition since Pte. Ltd. It will focus on subsea Whalen is the new senior vice president forming in 2007. It has also formed a project opportunities in the Indian of operations. Earlier this year, Gil new company, VMAX Technologies, subcontinent. Llacuna became the company’s new for the sale and development of vice president and corporate controller, simulation software for subsea R2Sonic of California has appointed and Sally Larocca was appointed its operations. It was created organically European distributors for the Sonic fi rst vice president of human resources. from within the Group. Series broadband multibeam echosounder systems. Nautronix: Sam Hanton has joined as The company is investing in a the new chief surveyor. stronger business presence in These are Cadden, located in Singapore by widening its capabilities Nantes: France ScanSurvey in Tritech: Simon Beswick, the current to encompass all group businesses Ishoej, Denmark, for Denmark, fi nance director, will become managing including Perry Slingsby Systems, Sweden and Finland: Stema director. Richard Marsh will become Sub-Atlantic, Dynamic Positioning Systems in Geldermaulsen, the vice-chairman. Services (DPS), UK Project Support Netherlands for the Benelux region (UKPS), Subco and Visualsoft. and Geomatics Centre, in Moscow Deep Marine Technology: Bruce C. for Russia. Gilman has begun his tenure as interim The Group’s Singapore subsidiary chief executive offi cer. Cynergetix is already an Hallin Marine has acquired the established ROV support provider issued share capital of Prospect Hallin Marine has appointed Rik servicing Triton customers operating Flow Solutions. Prospect is an Zwinkels as a project director for the across Asia. It will see the with engineering consultancy service company’s east division. Mike Cornish further expansion to support the company with offi ces in Aberdeen, has joined its western division as remaining businesses Geoscience Derby, Stavanger and Houston. business development manager. Earth and Marine Services (GEMS) and VMAX Technologies Teledyne TSS has expanded its Sonardyne has promoted Spencer throughout 2009. global sales and support network Collins to senior vice president, with the opening of a new facility international strategic sales. He will Ixsea has opened an offi ce in Perth un- in Singapore. The new premises continue to be based from the Houston der the managership of Regional Sales are located with the Teledyne offi ces, reporting to UK group sales Manager, Australasia, Nick Goodwin. Geophysical facility at Loyang Base director, Richard Binks. Earlier this year, IXSEA opened its fi rst in Singapore. The new Teledyne TSS Australian offi ce in Brisbane. facility is being managed by Anthony Aberdeen-based Veripos has Gleeson. appointed Kevin Murray-Taylor as Applied Acoustic has appointed business development manager Milan-based Mepeco as a new agent Bowtech has appointed Seatec for its Europe, Africa and Middle in Italy. Underwater Systems as exclusive East (EAME) region. Veripos has distributors for all of its product range, also appointed Alex Robinson to Lyyn has appointed Direktronik to within the Benelux countries. the position of global fi nance and its dealer network in Sweden and administration manager. Norway. The company has appointed Claxton Engineering has opened an VideoRay dealer Buccaneer and offi ce in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In a restructure at Triton Dave SeaBotix dealer Liquavision to add it The new facility is located in the Jebel Sturrock to be new Group chief to its UK dealer network. Ali Free Zone port. It will improve the operating offi cer. Bruce Lokay has service to the Middle East and Far been appointed regional director Asia MacArtney has bought into its East markets. Pacifi c with support from regional long-term supplier, the engineering managers Stuart Kendall and Frank company A. Schmidt Marine. ASME Oceaneering and Cybernetix are Crighton, while Steve Rampton, is the A/S produces high quality electronic combining their unique Subsea tech- new regional director Americas. control systems for winches, and nologies and experience to develop the two companies worked closely the next generation Autonomous Gordon Affl eck has taken up the post of in the development of the active Underwater Vehicle, SWIMMER, to area sales manager– Australia for heave compensation winch range. provide work class ROV capabilities BEL Valves, with a remit to grow the The strategic purchase of ASME A/S in an AUV system. number of high integrity installations.

48 UT2 DECEMBER 2008 SUT SUT News Market Developments & Structural Changes in Off shore Oil & Gas Report on SUT London Evening Meeting, Thursday, 4 September 2008 by Prof Gwyn Griffi ths

Will Rowley and his team from Infi eld tation is reducing cost to the end user. processing methods, including subsea Systems presented a veritable However, this is balanced by expected boosting and separation. Potential ad- Schott’s Miscellany of facts, fi gures delays because of constraints from over- vantages were highlighted, such as an and insights into the evolving world of loaded contractors, with a gap between increased capacity, with lower size and the offshore oil and gas industry. a conservative estimate of capacity in weight for the platform, and an increase Infi eld has been providing detailed 2017 of 1.2bn tonnes and an optimistic in recoverable resources. data and information on and to the capacity of 1.4bn tonnes. industry since 1986, with an extensive Subsea separation has been seen range of databases, publications, One approach to providing the infra- as helping reduce risks from hydrate mapping and analytical services. structure needed for LNG is to convert formation in low-pressure green fi elds. existing platforms and vessels for A key problem is the immaturity of Rowley began with a review of liquefaction and re-gassifi cation. Katy the technology with, for example, the installed and planned offshore infra- Simpson outlined the benefi ts, which fi rst subsea gas compression coming structures, highlighting their increas- include faster delivery and the ability to online in 2009 with Ormen Lange. The ing diversity and complexity. Supplier use with smaller/stranded fi elds, and proven technology of subsea boosting companies are challenged not only arguably with greater security than for is becoming an integral part of devel- by geographical diversity, but also onshore facilities in certain areas of opments in West Africa, Brazil, Gulf of by the political imperative in re- the world. A steep growth in capacity is Mexico and elsewhere. gions such as West Africa and Latin expected. America, especially for infrastructure The role and importance of national oil to be built locally. Growth is foreseen While the offshore industry is proud of companies (NOCs) has increased over not only in specialist vessels, but its new frontiers in deep waters, Howard the last 40 years. George Venturas also in support areas such as fabri- Wright reminded us that there are still noted that while they controlled some cation yards, pipe mills and subsea many important discoveries in shallow 15% of offshore reserves in the 1970s, engineering suppliers. waters. Fixed installations remain impor- they control some 70% today; of the tant. The regional capacity to fabricate major discoveries of oil over the last Yanina Pavlova described the antici- and construct platforms is strong in Asia, 10 years, only one has not been by a NOC. pated growth of liquefi ed natural gas while elsewhere providing local content (LNG) out to 2030. Critically, much is a ‘massive issue’. These aspirations While major growth is expected from of the supply of LNG does not come drive up costs and have the potential to NOCs, Venturas asked, “Where will the from major oil or coal producing lead to delays. rigs come from?” and cautioned that the countries – thus providing a degree personnel to operate these assets may of security and diversity of energy Anna Karra summarised the advantages not all be there. He felt that this aspect supply. New technology for transpor- of several subsea technologies and had not had the emphasis it needs.

BP Greater Plutonio Subsea System Commissioning – Programme and Lessons Learned Evening meeting, London, 5th October 2008 by Derek McGoldrick, Student – Cranfi eld University This evening meeting was so well took us right through to the handover ing capacity of up to 240 000b/d and attended that extra seats had to be to the production team. One of the storage capability of some 1.7million brought into the lecture theatre! After a purposes of this evening was to give barrels. Greater Plutonio’s well depths brief welcome and introduction by Ian us some information concerning the vary, but all current wellheads are within Gallett, the Society’s Chief Executive, lessons that had been learned during the range 1250m to 1450m. our speaker for the evening, Paul this operation. Martyniak of BP, introduced the The overall subsea system layout cov- Greater Plutonio development. Paul Greater Plutonio is situated offshore ers some fi ve reservoirs and will even- was BP’s lead subsea commissioning Angola in Block 18. It uses a submerged tually comprise 20 production wells, 23 engineer for this project, and his talk riser tower and an FPSO with a process- injection wells, 8 manifolds and 160km

UT2 DECEMBER 2008 49 of risers and fl owlines. Tieback distances plained the method of managing all the over in sections for commissioning. from the FPSO range from 4 to 19km valves and isolations. Precise records – a truly complex feat of engineering in were kept at all times for all valves to no- There was wine and cheese provided an inhospitable environment. tify if they were open or closed. For easy after the presentation, which was visual purposes they also devised a GUI great for students relatively new to The commissioning operation on Greater which clearly displayed the system, its offshore technology as it gave us an Plutonio was supported by two vessels. layout and clearly defi ned valve location opportunity to talk to experienced

SUT News ROV’s were used extensively for such and whether a valve was open or closed. engineers and get a better insight tasks as manual valve operation, valve One lesson learned that Paul referred into the industry. The presentation position visual verifi cation and tree cap to concerned the design of some valve slides are to be uploaded to the SUT removal and replacement. The ROV’s position indicators. In some situations it website for those who missed out, but were also used to install the well jumpers had been very diffi cult when using the don’t expect any wine or cheese to be and test them to 506 bar pressure. Other ROV to get a visual indication to be sure sent on! uses for ROV’s that were mentioned whether a valve was open or closed. were SCM change-out, choke change- On the way home from this presenta- out and for visual leak detection. The handover of the riser tower, an tion I felt motivated and excited by the The use and operation of valves enormous structure, was also a very potential of a career in this thriving received much attention as Paul ex- interesting topic as it had to be handed industry.

The North Sea Is Alive! Report on SUT Aberdeen Meeting 12 November 2008 By David Liddle (Branch committee and ITF)

Chaired by Brian Nixon of Scottish reserves. This can also be bolstered by only fi ve of these were actually in the Enterprise Energy Team, the audi- the volatility of the oil price; however, Faeroes. These licences were spread ence listened intently to the opening budgets are being slashed because between West of Shetland, the North speaker, Bob Gray, as he unravelled of this volatility hence we may see a Sea, and the largest number in his own take on how events could slowdown in activity for the North Sea Norwegian sector. One of reasons possibly unfold in the current in the coming months if some change of behind the size of its Norwegian port- economic climate. Bob is head of ownership does not occur. folio is the fact that the tax regime is exploration and production corporate very favourable in Norway. However, fi nance at Simmons International, and As Bob reminded us, predicting the with the third largest acreage West of being associated with fi nancing the North Sea activity is not easy, and Shetlands and around the Faeroes, energy sector for many years, has many factors come into play to confuse there are plans for considerable ex- more experience than most in inter- us. At the end of the day, there is a ploration programmes in these areas. preting the signs. world demand for hydrocarbon as an energy source. The simple fact of life is Our fi nal speaker for the evening As we all know, the North Sea is a that as an industry, we need to fi nd and was Pieter voor de Poorte, technical mature province and year-on-year exploit the reserves, whoever it is doing manager for Oilexco. Pieter told about replacement of reserves becomes the exploiting. OIlexco’s exploits with the Brenda increasingly diffi cult. Bob explained fi eld development, for which it won the that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) In order to reinforce this statement, the UKCS Technology Uptake Award. are a means of slowing production evening continued with presentations growth where reserves are scarce. In from two relatively new players in the Oilexco has been the most active terms of replacing reserves, many of North Sea, Faroe Petroleum and Oilexco. appraisal driller in recent years, and the major players are now focusing Pieter went on to explain how the attention away from the North Sea, as Mark Maclellan of Faroe Petroleum deployment of existing technology one would expect. gave the audience an enlightening in innovative ways has helped bring presentation that increased everyone’s Brenda to fruition. As well as sharing In the times of economic challenge perspective of what previously may some descriptions of the hardware, and capital constraints, the focus have been somewhat of a misconcep- Pieter explained part of their suc- of activity tends to move to low risk tion about Faroe Petroleum. cess with Brenda was down to their resources, and the addition of easy re- “Service Friend” concept that they serves are the focus of development, Faroe Petroleum is one of around 160 adopted. such as oil sands and unconventional exploration and production companies gas. In order to do this, it could lead to now competing in the North Sea. It has This concept engaged its supply chain divestment of assets in the North Sea a simple model in sticking to what it in that all data was fed back to the to smaller players, and hence a poten- is good at, and that involves explora- beach to share and be monitored; in tial changing scene for the North Sea. tion and then divesting to leave the this way assessment and resolution production to others more geared to this of potential issues was encountered Nevertheless, UK Continental Shelf expertise. and resolved in real time. Whilst the assets are cash cows for the current Brenda development was late, Pieter players and many will sit on these Mark explained that Faroe Petroleum was keen to tell us that it was deliv- assets as a generator of capital now had 50 licences to exploit but ered on budget.

50 UT2 DECEMBER 2008