McDermott, Aker readying Spar entries
With the recent break up of Spars International J. Ray McDermott has announced the formation of a new spars division SparTEC. The TEC in this case stands for Technology, Engineering, & Construction. The goal of the new division is to advance the development and delivery of spar technology through integrated management, engineering and construction.
McDermott's former partner, Aker, will also market, sell, and contract for engineering, design, fabrication, procurement, transportation, and installation of spars. Both companies will have equal access to all the patents and spar technology developed by Spars International, including proprietary analytical tools and software, developed by Deep Oil Technology and SII.
According to Daniel Houser, vice-president and general manager of J. Ray McDermott's Subsea & Deepwater Technology Group, the new division will work closely with McDermott's Mentor Subsea Technology Services and Engineering divisions. He said these divisions will continue to focus on offshore facilities engineering, subsea and pipeline engineering, and project management. "The agreement to go our separate ways was amicable and practical for both companies," Houser said. "This new approach provides for a wider range of project options and will offer clients the flexibility required by today's markets."
Oceaneering introduces ROV "two-car garage"
The new Hydra "Minimum" ROV is not very imposing. About the size of a coffee table, this minimal unit has two cameras and future models may include a small arm the vehicle can use to hold onto a subsea structure, so it won't be carried away by the current.
What makes this unit innovative is that it is part of a larger system. The Hydra is parked in a small metal cage that attaches like a remora to the bottom of a standard Hydra "Magnum" cage. Oceaneering said the goal is to provide an option to mobilizing the relatively large and complex Magnum, when all that would be needed is a camera/video system.
Charles Royce with Oceaneering said the key to this development is the interaction of the two vehicles as part of one system. The cage containing both ROVs is lowered to the seabed. Once there, the Minimum ROV can be mobilized to inspect the situation. It is small, rugged, easy to operate in tight spaces, and relatively inexpensive. If the Minimum finds a problem, then the larger Magnum can be mobilized, but Royce said research shows the majority of the time this won't be necessary. Much of routine work can be done by the Minimum unit. If the Magnum is needed, then it is already there and can be brought into service quickly.
Royce said there will be situations when the two can work in tandem. The Minimum would offer a second perspective on operations when the Magnum is working subsea. But the real goal here is to mobilize the Magnum as little as possible. Royce said research indicated two trends:
- The majority of ROV work, even in complex deepwater projects, is as a set of eyes subsea.
- The majority of downtime for an ROV system is attributed to a failure in some aspect of the hydraulics system.
Oceaneering's new Hydra Minimum ROV offers operators a second set of eyes.
Royce said the data clearly showed that the more hours the vehicle logged outside the cage, the more likely a failure was to occur. The Minimum does not operate on hydraulics. It is controlled by six, separate 1-hp thrusters motors powered by brushless electric motors. The ROV's cage is equipped with a 1,000 ft tether and it can operate in a 3-knot current. The unit is designed to be as independent of the Magnum system as possible, with its own fiber optic link with the surface. The two units share the umbilical and winch system. Royce said the small Minimum cage simply bolts on to the bottom of the standard Magnum cage.
AUVs coming into their own
The big buzz at this year's Underwater Intervention Conference was the growing popularity of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), technology that spend decades in research labs. Speaking on the subject, John Westwood of Douglas-Westwood Associates, said these vehicles are expanding out of the prototype phase into the commercial market.
Traditionally these pre-programmed robots were used exclusively by research institutes and military establishments. Westwood said there are millions of dollars being spent developing these vehicles for commercial use. No fewer than four are entering the industry, performing such tasks as mapping the oceans for the oil industry, mapping the seabed for diamond dredging, and gathering oceanographic data for researchers.
AUVs use advanced navigational systems and are designed to dive to the seabed, carry out tasks such as high precision seabed surveys, then return to a support ship with the data. Westwood identified five major areas where AUVs could be successfully applied: seabed survey work, oceanography, offshore pipelay support, subsea production support, and military defense. Douglas-Westwood will release an-in depth study on the potential of AUVs in this market shortly.
Terra Nova FPSO swivel test complete
First article testing of the large marine slip ring assembly for the Terra Nova FPSO was successful, according to manufacturer Focal Technologies. Framo will integrate the slip ring assembly into the turret swivel stack of the FPSO. This stack mates the product swivels supplied by Sofec. The turret moors the FPSO, while allowing it to weathervane around the mooring point. The assembly tested has three major sections fiber optic, fluid, and electrical. The nine-pass fiber optic rotary joint is at the top of the stack. Next is the fluid rotary union, which has eight ports each rated at 5,500 psi. The electrical slip ring has a variety of circuits, rated from signal levels to 600V/600A. Terra Nova is located offshore Newfoundland in the Grand Banks.
Big Inch RAC Solution
Big Inch Marine Systems has introduced a Remote Articulating Connector for connection of misaligned pipelines without the need for diver intervention. The RAC features an Integral Ball Joint to provide stress-free makeup at up to plus or minus five degrees misalignment. The connector offers improved sealing integrity over non-articulated, hydraulic collet-type connectors. The RAC requires less precise metrology, features a simplified spoolpiece design, improved soft landing performance, and a simplified running tool.
