Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Britain’s Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), formed in February, has approved investment of more than £1.6 million ($2.04 million) in new projects.
OGTC’s goals include cutting the cost of inspecting and maintaining offshore infrastructure by 50% by 2021.
One of the projects involves development by Air Control Energy of a new generation ofunmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for remote inspection of oil and gas facilities. These drones could be 20 times faster than traditional inspection techniques and cut costs by 50% compared to manual rope access methods.
Under another project, TRAC Oil & Gas is developing a new electromagnetic method to inspect corroded pipework under insulation and composite wrap materials.
By monitoring the condition of hidden pipework, companies could again save time and money compared to current approaches.
Under a third scheme, OGTC is co-funding a project with Deepwater Oil Tools to develop an articulated joint, ArticuLock, which could enable drilling operations in rough weather conditions.
OGTC adds that Chevron, Nexen, and Total have joined its solution centers – asset integrity, well construction, small pools, digital and decommissioning – to collaborate on projects, share knowledge, and identify solutions to industry challenges.
Total and Chevron have invited OGTC representatives to participate in eight individual offshore field trials to be completed by October.
06/26/2017
