Plumbing
the Depths in Deepwater Intervention by ROV
13 September 2006
Aberdeen
Evening Meeting
Chairman Jim
Mann, Global ROV Manager, Fugro Marine Survey Division
Sponsored by impROV Ltd, Fugro and Oceaneering
Evening meeting report by Jim Mann
Flyer
ROV systems have, by
necessity, gotten smarter over the years and, as we regularly
operate in the 'Ultra-Deep Water' of the Golden Triangle, the
reliance on the ROV and the support team has grown as the operators
need to solve real challenges on their subsea production systems.
The three presentations illustrate to you what is required, not just
to undertake the intervention itself, but the detailed preparation
and procedures that control the activity.
Initially the scene was set by
reminding the audience of the preparation for intervention that goes
into the design and outfitting of the subsea production system, even
before the first steel has been cut on the build. The intervention
panels, their interfaces and a quick overview of the plethora of
remote technology tooling that is routinely deployed in support of
the deepwater production got the audience thinking and introduced
them to the complex tasks that are being undertaken by the ROV and
the teams.
Dave 'Jock' Nichols presented
a Choke Changeout in ultra-deepwater, a task which only a couple of
years ago was considered 'cutting edge' and is now almost routine in
its execution. This lead to the 'world first' intervention when the
next presentation described the organisation and execution of the
ROV actually intervening downhole, when the full bore isolation
valves (FBIV) were opened by the ROV and its tooling—an operation
which effectively saw the ROV have control of the well!
Presentations
Alan Duncan, Managing
Director, impROV Ltd
Component Replacement
Dave
'Jock' Nichol, ROV Sales and Marketing Manager, Fugro Survey Ltd
Opening of the WI Full Bore
Isolation Valve (FBIV) by ROV
Alan Brown, Senior Project
Engineer, Oceaneering
5 Minute Technology Bite
Steve Ham,
Underwater Centre, Fort William
With the ever present people crisis,
the Underwater Centre gave the audience a brief insight into some of the
initiatives the Centre has underway.
