Fugro Generates Cost Saving with Award-winning ROV Deployment Technique

Fugro’s innovative use of platform deployed ROV (PDROV) technology has demonstrated substantial reductions in the costs of subsea jacket inspections and significant operational improvements. Recognised with an Engineering Excellence Award from Woodside Subsea Academy, Fugro’s novel PDROV for subsea jacket inspections has been implemented by Australia’s largest oil and gas company, saving them around AU$10 million per inspection cycle.

In March 2018, Fugro began a nine-month inspection campaign of Woodside’s offshore facilities on the Australian North West Shelf. “Very early in the project, we identified an alternative to traditional vessel-launched ROV operations which would deliver cost-saving benefits for our client as well as operational improvements,” said Paul Mullins, IRM/remote operations manager. “For a more effective approach to inspection and cleaning tasks, we engineered a solution which involved a modified ROV and the design of an innovative launch and recovery system (LARS) enabling the PDROV to be deployed from individual platforms.”

Number of challenges

During the development of the new system, the project team overcame a number of challenges including limited space and structural capacity on the platforms, platform crane weight and reach limitations, electrical supply, and restrictions on welding and drilling.

Fugro’s innovative technique resulted in substantial cost savings as well as significant risk reduction, achieved through reduced requirements for vessels, personnel and equipment. The new system delivers additional benefits including access to previously inaccessible areas of oil platform jackets and an improved operating window due to the absence of heave and drift-on restrictions associated with vessel-based ROVs.