Pipeline Inspection News

While the adoption of unmanned/uncrewed surfaces vessels (USVs) was initially in defence, use of these low footprint systems has spread into other sectors, not least survey, and now the race is on for greater capability, endurance and autonomy. Elaine Maslin reports.After starting small, in inland waterways, use of USVs for survey operations has moved into coastal and now offshore waters. Given the extensive amount of seabed and rapid growth in offshore wind, there’s plenty of work out there for them to do.With the travel restrictions posed by Covid and increasing awareness of climate change…

The GEBCO NF- Alumni Team was announced as the $4 million grand prize winner of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, a three-year global competition that challenged teams to advance deep sea technologies for autonomous and unmanned, fast and high-resolution ocean exploration. The team's winning concept includes the use of a unique unmanned surface vessel (USV) / autonomous underwater vessel (AUV) and associated combination of communications hardware and software to process and transmit data remotely.

UTEC, a global surveying company in subsea services group Acteon, recently commissioned its new launch and recovery system (LARS) for the fleet of seven autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) it uses for seabed surveys in the oil and renewables industries.UTEC’s new LARS is a floating garage that enables an AUV to be launched and recovered without needing a small boat, thereby simplifying operations and improving safety. It also increases efficiency and reduces costs by enabling AUV surveys in parallel with construction or laying activities, as the LARS can be deployed from the same work vessel.The LARS will see its first use on a pipeline…

Fugro said it has been awarded a further two-year contract by Petrobras to provide inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) and pipeline inspection services in Brazil. Operations commenced in May 2017. The new award follows Fugro’s completion of an initial 12-month contract for the oil major, after taking delivery of the newbuild vessel Fugro Aquarius. Built specifically for the Brazilian market by Wilson Sons shipyard in São Paulo, with local content of more than 60 percent, Fugro Aquarius is an 83-meter, DP-2 ROV support vessel.

Gazprom was announced the winner of the All-Russian Green Development – Evolution Awards 2016 in the Best Green Tech Solution category. The award was presented by competition committee chairman Sergey Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. The Company was awarded for developing and introducing technologies that ensure high energy efficiency and reduce specific greenhouse gas emissions. These technologies include the use of mobile compressor stations without venting gas to the atmosphere from the gas pipeline section under repair. Another gas saving technology is hot tapping, which allows for making a connection to an operating gas pipeline without shutting the system down or venting gas.

Fugro has been awarded a contract by Blue Stream Pipeline Company B.V. for the provision of survey support vessels and associated survey services to perform the 2015 external pipeline inspection for the offshore, shore approach, and dry section components of the Blue Stream Pipeline System. The two 24” gas export pipelines, E1 and W2, run from the Beregovaya gas compression station in Russia’s Arkhipo-Osipovka, 235 miles (378km) across the Black Sea, with a maximum water depth of approximately 2,150m, to the Durusu inlet terminal 40 miles (64km) from Samsun  in Turkey. The in-field work in both areas has been completed and the reporting stage is now underway.

Barakah Offshore Petroleum’s subsidiary, PBJV Group Sdn Bhd (PBJV), has received a Letter of Award from Malaysian oil company Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, for the supply, refurbishment and maintenance of cleaning pig and associated services in Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Barakah said its wholly-owned subsidiary PBJV has received a letter of award from Petronas Carigali for the proposed job. "The total value of the contract will depend on the actual work orders to be issued by Petronas Carigali from time to time during the contract period. Barakah management estimates that the value of the contract to be about RM20 million to RM30 million, based on the current estimated work programme," said Barakah.

At Ocean Business in Southampton  MMT´s key topic was the new Surveyor Interceptor ROV (SROV). Together with its Norwegian partners Reach Subsea AS, MMT developed a new generation, survey ROV, named Surveyor Interceptor (SROV), which is specially designed for pipeline inspection and seabed surveys. The new SROV is designed to provide MMT´s clients with improved, accurate data to a much higher speed resulting in substantially better inspection quality at a lower cost per km. (As published in the APRIL 2015 edition of Marine Technology Reporter -http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)

Bibby Offshore announced today that its Asian Division, Bibby Offshore Singapore (‘BOS’), has secured a contract with the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (“MGTC”). MGTC, a joint venture between Total (operator), Unocal, PTT-EP and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, has appointed BOS to provide ROV pipeline inspection, remedial work and associated project management on its South East Asia asset offshore Myanmar. Bibby Offshore will supply its DP2 ROV support vessel, Bibby Spring.

Trying to locate subsea power and communications cables has always been a difficult job. Regulations require cables be buried from several feet to several meters under the ocean bottom to prevent snagging by boat anchors and fishing trawls. The amount of overburden on a cable often means it’s too deep to be located with conventional metal detection equipment. The device that has proved most effective in finding them is a cable tracker. This system has two parts, a signal injector and a probe. The injector is attached to the shore end of a line and induces a signal into one of the conductors.

‘Addressing the Challenges of New Frontiers’ is the topical theme for the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Annual Seminar being held in Singapore November 6-7, 2013. The program for the 18th seminar in the annual series is now online at imca-int.com/events/imca-annual-seminar.aspx, and registration is open. Open to members and non-members alike, the seminar features keynote addresses, presentations, workshops and discussions on diving including key developments and advances in diving equipment and operations; marine and subsea operations including DP operations; marine operations, technology and equipment; offshore surveying in remote and harsh environments; ROV and AUV resources and developments in technology.

The new Fugro-owned Survey Vessel “Fugro Helmert” has been christened at Fassmer Shipyard in Germany, & is equipped with Kongsberg Maritime (Germany) advanced technical equipment. Kongsberg Maritime scope of supply to this high sophisticated survey vessel includes a Dynamic Position System Class 1 (DP1) with class notation Germanischer Lloyd and various sounding equipment placed in a specially designed blister in the keel section area. This includes the middle water EM710 multibeam system, as well as the latest generation of shallow water multibeam system EM 2040.

Kongsberg Maritime will introduce the new EM 2040 Compact, a sophisticated multibeam echo sounder for high resolution mapping and inspection applications, during Ocean Business 2013. Based on the EM 2040 multibeam, the EM 2040C is a development in acoustic technology that makes detailed surveys of shallow water possible using small boats and launches. Kongsberg Maritime will also offer another variant, the EM2040CX for use on AUVs, ROVs and other vessels of opportunity. Available in single or dual head configurations…

For more than 35 years, Advanced Subsea (AS) has been deeply involved in marine technological innovation. Through steady research and partnerships with research institutes in France and Brazil, Advanced Subsea has been developing new tools, procedures and methods for monitoring oceanographic and meteorological parameters. AS is an independent French company specialized in deep water subsea construction support and services with its head office in Paris and support offices in Houston, Luanda and Rio Janeiro. Advanced Subsea’s Modeling & Forecast Services are based on a partnership between Advanced Subsea SAS & LEGOS – CNRS Laboratory for Geophysics & Spatial Oceanography.

DeepOcean AS, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group, contracted to provide offshore light construction and survey services for Statoil. The estimated value of the contract is NOK 100-million. The frame agreement includes services covering light construction services, seabed mapping with hull mounted Multi Beam Echo sounder (MBE) and ROV based construction support, seabed mapping and pipeline inspection services. As part of this contract, Statoil has awarded DeepOcean a call-off for 6 month operations in 2014. The call-off further includes options to extend the firm period with up to 6 additional months. The project will be executed from the survey and light construction support vessel Volstad Surveyor and it will be managed by an onshore project team in DeepOcean’s Haugesund office.

Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and manufacturer of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), announces its newest AUV, the REMUS 600 Survey (REMUS 600-S) at the XVIII International Hydrographic Conference (IHC) in Monaco. The REMUS 600-S is a high performance version of the successful REMUS 600 AUV and features advanced technology that has only previously been available in Kongsberg's accomplished HUGIN vehicles, making it ideal for such applications as International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) quality surveys.

Subsea installation contractor Bibby Offshore has announced a three-year bareboat charter agreement with Solstad Offshore Asia Pacific Ltd. for the NOR Spring, a  DP2 (Dynamic Positioning) Anchor Handling Support Vessel (AHSV). The deal has been struck by Bibby Offshore’s Singapore operation, Bibby Offshore Singapore Pte Ltd. The NOR Spring represents a multi-million dollar investment by Bibby Offshore and becomes the fifth vessel in the fleet. The NOR Spring is currently completing…

Nord Stream AG has withdrawn the conditional application to the Swedish government to build a service platform off the coast of . Using advanced technology, the consortium now plans to build its pipeline across the without such a platform. Reflecting these plans and responding to Swedish Government requests, Nord Stream is supplementing the documentation accompanying its application to build the pipeline through Swedish waters. In December 2007, Nord Stream submitted a conditional application to build a service platform northeast of the in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Since submitting this application, Nord Stream has continued to seek maintenance solutions for the pipeline without building an intermediate service platform.

In a recent report, the energy & marine industry analysts Douglas-Westwood, has revealed that operations of cable controlled work-class remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) is a business worth $600 million worldwide and this is forecast to grow to $725 million by 2008. The firm reported these results in ‘The World AUV & ROV Report,’ a new global business study published. In his keynote address to delegates at the ‘Advances in Technology for Underwater Vehicles’ conference in London today…

In a recent report, the energy & marine industry analysts Douglas-Westwood, has revealed that operations of cable controlled 'work-class' remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) is a business worth $600 million worldwide and this is forecast to grow to $725 million by 2008. The firm reported these results in 'The World AUV & ROV Report,' a new global business study published. In his keynote address to delegates at the 'Advances in Technology for Underwater Vehicles' conference in London, DWL's John Westwood said he expected this growth to mainly come from the oil & gas sector as increasing demand raises ROV utilization and day rates.

The Deep Marine Technology, Inc. long term leased Agnes Candies Saturation Dive Support Vessel has completed its first job in the Gulf of Mexico. Working for Spectra Energy in 315ft water depth at Main Pass 282, the DPII Agnes Candies vessel, working with a 24hr crew on board, safely and efficiently performed Pipeline Remediation tasks for the Client. The Agnes Candies can be adopted for a large spectrum of work ranging from Repair and Installation to Inspection and Plug and Abandonment. Other possible uses for the vessel include platform repairs; riser, anode, and hot tap installations; subsea tree and valve assistance; and platform and pipeline inspection.

Deep Marine Technology, Inc. announces the signing of a long term lease agreement for the DP II Agnes Candies Dive Support Vessel. The Agnes Candies is 220-ft., U.S. The Agnes Candies can be adopted for a large spectrum of work ranging from Repair and Installation to Inspection and Plug and Abandonment. Other possible uses for the vessel include platform repairs; riser, anode, and hot tap installations; subsea tree and valve assistance; and platform and pipeline inspection. The Agnes joins the 150-ft. Mother Theresa DSV also on long term lease to DMT. We are currently selling time slots for both vessel spreads during periods that are not committed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration completed a survey today revealing that the double-hulled tank barge DBL 152 struck a submerged platform on Nov. 10, while en route from Houston to Tampa, Fla. The platform gouged a 35-foot long by 6-foot wide hole in the barge's starboard bow, puncturing both hulls and damaging the number one cargo tank. The platform West Cameron 229A, owned by Targa Midstream Services Limited Partnership, was a non-producing platform used to support pipeline inspection and operation. It is normally above the surface of the water but was damaged and sank during Hurricane Rita. Following the storm the company located their platform and marked it with unlit buoys. Response crews began lightering the fuel from the double-hulled tank barge DBL 152. At 4 p.m.