Honey, I shrunk the boat? Uncrewed subsea inspections leveraging remote operations technology
Yating Zhao A * and Paul Ulyett AA Woodside Energy Ltd, 11 Mount Street, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 S215-S218 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21129
Accepted: 28 March 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
Between May and November 2021, Woodside, in collaboration with Fugro, completed multiple, world-first, fully uncrewed inspection campaigns of trunklines and subsea infrastructure in the North West Shelf, all utilising a surface vessel and underwater robot (ROV), remotely operated via beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications architecture. Similar work is traditionally performed by a Multipurpose Support Vessel (MPSV) with >50 people onboard, consuming >20 m3/day fuel during transits. Transition to uncrewed remote operations technology has enabled the use of a much smaller (12 m) vessel, removing health and safety risk associated with offshore crew, and with <0.2 m3/day fuel consumption during transit. High-resolution hull and ROV-mounted multi-beam data, ROV-mounted laser point cloud data, ultra-high-definition images and videos and Cathodic Protection (CP) field gradient data were all successfully collected, and operations were completed from the busy Dampier Port with no incidents. Delivery of this landmark achievement was enabled by a multi-year staged technology plan in collaboration with Woodside’s subsea Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) contractor, Fugro, including establishment of a dedicated remote operations centre based at International Communications Facility. Extensive stakeholder engagement was performed internally and with external regulatory bodies to ensure that all risks were captured, understood and managed so that all parties were aligned on implementation of the novel approach. Application of this technology is forecast to transform the costs of IMR operations vs traditional methods, effectively eliminate carbon emissions and offshore personnel exposure hours, and create opportunities for a more diverse workforce in the sector.
Keywords: cathodic protection, Fugro, IMR, multi-beam, pipeline inspection, remote operations, ROV, sustainability, technology, Uncrewed Surface Vessel, USV, Woodside.
Yating Zhao is the Subsea Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) Technology Lead at Woodside, responsible for planning, engineering and execution of subsea IMR work across Woodside’s subsea asset portfolio. Yating holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and has 10 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. After graduating and joining Woodside, Yating has held various operational roles supporting producing assets both onshore and offshore. She has experience managing integrity of complex subsea systems and holds the position as subsea systems’ Subject Matter Expert (SME) at Woodside. After moving to IMR, Yating has focused on project execution, contractor management and stakeholder management to lead the successful delivery of the first ever Uncrewed Surface Vessel for beyond-line-of-sight offshore inspections. |
Paul Ulyett is the Production Delivery Manager in the Woodside Subsea and Pipelines function, responsible for technical integrity, reliability and OPEX management across Woodside’s subsea asset portfolio. Paul is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, with over 15 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas industry, specialising in Subsea Production Systems across their lifecycle. Graduating in the UK, he has experience across both contractor and operator organisations, including international assignments on manufacturing sites, offshore facilities and onshore plants in the Caspian, Europe, North Africa and Malaysia. Starting his career in subsea equipment manufacturing and delivery, Paul moved into project execution, including technical leadership and package delivery, before transiting into successive operations roles, where he has instilled a strong focus on stakeholder management, risk governance and contractor partnership. |
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