De-Manning Offshore Operations and Reducing Carbon Emissions with Autonomous Subsea Drones

Abstract

AbstractAt the conclusion of a long and exhaustive in-shore and field-testing programme, leading to commercial readiness, this paper presents the latest state-of-the-art developments in autonomous asset integrity inspection for subsea pipelines and structures by means of autonomous subsea drone. Further, the paper reviews and provides analysis of the benefits of such technology to operators in a shallow water scenario. The presented application case, specific for the water depths that characterize the Middle East area, shows that tangible benefits can be obtained both in terms of de-manning offshore operations, reduction in carbon emissions, improvement in data quality, improved weather workability and responsiveness to urgent callouts. In particular, the existing capabilities offered by battery technologies allow a subsea operational range adequate to cover typical field layouts, with launching/recovery from a platform. Furthermore, and with specific reference to shallow water applicability, the extensive testing at Saipem premises, in 8 to 20m water depth, truly represents the ideal de-risking prior to a potential deployment in the Arabian Gulf area, having autonomous inspections as main focus. This paper presents the very latest status update for subsea autonomous and resident drone operations with data quantifying and validating the safety, carbon emissions, time-savings and cost benefits compared to conventional pipeline and subsea inspection methods, specifically for the Middle East area.