• Inspection, Repair and Maintenance Matrix

The Inspection, Repair and Maintenance Matrix

The goal of Inspection, Repair and Maintenance (IRM) is to maximise the economic returns from an offshore field development by optimising the production available from a reservoir. The practice extends throughout the whole life of the field and encompasses the offloading of production reserves, integrity monitoring of risers and seabed settlement monitoring.

IRM activities are conducted in an on-going programme of inspection, repair and maintenance. Vessels require subsea positioning for divers and ROVs undertaking surveys whilst dedicated well stimulation vessels require wireless control of bespoke tooling deployed to revitalise production from ageing wells.

Autonomous Monitoring

Sonardyne's 6G® autonomous monitoring techniques offers a completely autonomous system enabling a network of instruments to be deployed over a large area for long term monitoring of structures, seabed settlement, pipeline movement and many other monitoring tasks.

Newly deployed structures fitted with AMT transponders can be positioned using Sonardyne's 6G® USBL and LBL techniques. Post installation, the AMTs can be used to autonomously measure the structure's settlement into the seabed before metrology and further commissioning activities take place. Autonomous monitoring can also be used for long term structural monitoring of pipelines to detect slugging and/or thermal expansion and also provide autonomous MetOcean monitoring with wireless telemetry of seabed environmental data.

Projects already using 6G® autonomous monitoring technology have included complex seabed settlement monitoring to assess seafloor deformation and subsidence as reservoirs are depleted. Such monitoring is vital to avoid drilling problems, to ensure local infrastructure is not damaged and also to improve reservoir efficiency.

 

Data Logging

Sonardyne's new generation of subsea acoustic data logger system uses a Wideband, high speed acoustic link to allow large volumes of logged data to be rapidly and accurately retrieved at the surface. When combined with the feature of ROV portability, the system is the ideal solution for initial well appraisal, where frequent downhole pressure and temperature readings need to be logged over a period of a few weeks. The system is equally suitable for long term deployments where it may remain installed on a wellhead, logging data for several years without intervention. The unit is capable of interfacing to downhole gauges from all of the major suppliers.

 

Lightweight Intervention System

Sonardyne's Wideband acoustic control technology is also used in control of lightweight rig-less intervention systems. In this application, the Sonardyne acoustic control system is used primarily as a back-up to a single lightweight umbilical, but will provide the primary means of control during certain phases of the deployment sequence, before the umbilical is connected. Reliability and integrity of the acoustic link is crucial to maintaining full control of the subsea system at all times.