Offshore staff
SAN DONATO MILANESE, Italy – Saipem has signed a Eu40-million ($4.37-million) subsea service contract with Equinor, covering use of an underwater intervention drone (UID) Hydrone-R and an all-electric work class ROV Hydrone-W at the Njord field development in the Norwegian Sea.
Both vehicles have been developed by Sonsub, Saipem’s business line for Life of Field, Underwater Technology and Subsea Processing.
According to Saipem, this is the first offshore oil and gas service contract anywhere for subsea drones. It runs for 10 years from 2020, when the currently suspended Njord field is due to resume production, with the option for a 10-year extension.
Hydrone-R operations will start from 1Q 2020, immediately following completion of current endurance tests offshore Trieste, while Hydrone-W will be delivered in 2021.
The ROV and UID services will support drilling activities and inspections/interventions on the Njord subsea facilities, i.e. pipeline end manifolds (PLEMs), flowlines, umbilicals and riser bases.
Development of Hydrone-W should be completed in 2021, and this vehicle is likely to be used for heavy intervention work at Njord.
Hydrone-R will perform similar tasks, but will mainly provide quick response in unexpected situations. It may also be used to maneuver to the Hyme subsea installation, 20 km (12.4 mi) from Njord, for intervention tasks.
According to Equinor, the UID may function autonomously at Njord for months between scheduled maintenance, whereas Hydrone-W will be connected to the platform as a traditional ROV.
Both are electric and can be operated without a surface vessel, which Equinor says should help lower carbon emissions, with a faster response time. Also, operations should be unaffected by weather conditions.
Saipem’s Norway branch, which is managing the contract, will ensure supervision of the two vehicles from the Njord-A semisubmersible platform and from shore, via its proprietary remote control protocols.
10/02/2019
