By Nikunjkumar Patel, Oceaneering
The offshore energy sector faces increasing pressure to improve safety, efficiency and sustainability while controlling costs. Operators must address outdated processes that expose human workers to health, safety and environmental (HSE) risks. By enhancing operational processes through automation and digital solutions, companies can reduce these risks and safeguard personnel.
Oceaneering leverages advanced technologies that are designed to improve insights, efficiency and safety, especially in harsh, demanding environments. The company has three key objectives that aim to help safeguard the workforce, protect the environment and optimize operations:
- Improving operational processes through automation to reduce HSE exposure;
- Optimizing efficiency and sustainability by minimizing environmental footprints and reducing costs; and
- Delivering deeper insights through data analytics and real-time monitoring for informed decision-making.
Digitalization in the offshore energy sector
Oceaneering's four key areas of focus include remote operations, residency, autonomy and fleet management. Remote operations enable tasks to be managed from onshore, significantly reducing personnel costs and improving efficiency. This centralized approach allows subject matter experts to oversee multiple systems, ensuring expertise is available when needed.
High-reliability solutions, such as resident vehicles, play a crucial role, as systems that can operate without human intervention for extended periods enhance safety, reduce downtime and streamline operations.
Autonomy, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), is transforming subsea operations. It enables underwater vehicles to navigate complex environments, optimizing routes and decision-making through real-time data analysis.
Fleet management further enhances subsea operations by interconnecting robotic fleets, where AI enables seamless collaboration and efficient execution of tasks, boosting safety and productivity across the board.
Investing in technologies
Oceaneering invests in subsea technologies that have been qualified through years of rigorous testing around the world.
The company's Liberty resident system is a docking system for remote or resident operations, reducing the need for a surface vessel. Liberty can house ROVs and AUVs, offering 550 kwh of battery power. It can communicate with an onshore remote operations center via an integrated buoy, rig downline or subsea infrastructure connection. This technology has the potential to save substantial operational costs while enhancing safety. Liberty can perform work-class tasks within a 1,000-m working radius, eliminating the need for a support vessel and mobilization of personnel offshore. This capability is particularly beneficial during critical operations where timely responses are essential.
The company's Freedom autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) leverages advanced autonomy to provide a more efficient and environmentally friendly method for completing operations. Freedom offers a faster alternative to traditional work-class ROVs. Its ability to operate in close proximity to pipelines and umbilicals enables its advanced autonomous software to trigger inspection behaviors when it detects points of interest. As a result, Freedom provides full inspection coverage of the pipeline length with higher data resolution than traditional AUVs.
The Isurus ROV, designed for harsh environments, enables the completion of work scopes in challenging conditions, including severe current environments, while effectively reducing risk, costs and time spent waiting for favorable weather. Suitable for both shallow and deep water, Isurus is ideally suited for renewable energy applications and high-speed ROV surveys.
Additionally, Oceaneering has released a new uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) service. These remote-controlled and supervised autonomous vehicles operate in tough offshore conditions, ensuring optimal data quality while reducing downtime. The USVs’ endurance and speed make them ideal for high-speed nearshore surveys. The company's integrated ROV and survey services further optimize offshore drilling operations by eliminating the need for survey personnel onboard vessels, reducing HSE exposure and increasing efficiency.
