VetcoGray to open ultra deepwater subsea testing center

Offshore Staff

NAILSEA, UK -- VetcoGray plans to build a new, multi-million dollar hyperbaric test center at the company's Nailsea site.

Located next to the existing assembly and test facilities, the new test center will use hyperbaric (high-pressure oxygen) technology to simulate operational conditions at the seabed. VetcoGray's subsea control modules will be tested to identify any dormant fault conditions that otherwise would be detected only after the pod was installed on the seafloor.

Dave Tucker, Chief Operating Officer of VetcoGray, noted: "Over the next five years, most of our projects will involve testing of equipment at depths of 3,000 m (9,842 ft)," says Dave Tucker, COO of VetcoGray. "But the trend in the industry is toward applications in deeper water. Our new facility will have a test capability of 4,000 m (13,123 ft), enabling us to address the future needs of our customers."

A full-time project manager has been appointed to oversee the planning permission phase leading up to the first production test at the new center, which is scheduled for April 2009.

The new center will incorporate a hyperbaric test chamber including a control system, a test hydraulic power unit, an electronic test unit, and data loggers. The facility also will provide space for enhanced system integration test (SIT) activities.

04/28/2008