Monitoring device aids placement of North Sea Utgard template

Sept. 25, 2018
Ashtead Technology has completed a subsea installation monitoring project to support Equinor’s Utgard field development on the Norwegian/UK North Sea median line.

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK – Ashtead Technology has completed a subsea installation monitoring project to support Equinor’s Utgard field development on the Norwegian/UK North Sea median line.

Under a contract awarded by Subsea 7 subsidiary i-Tech Services, Ashtead’s Deflection Monitoring System (DMS) was deployed to capture critical data needed to safely deploy a subsea template in water depths of 110 m (361 ft) from theSeven Arctic vessel.

The DMS monitors structure deflection, heading, pitch, roll, depth and suction at differential pressures, in real time.

This is said to minimize the risk of structural damage throughout the installation, and to assist decisions during critical tasks.

The DMS was adapted for this program at Ashtead’s UKAS accredited calibration laboratory in Aberdeen, with the calibration procedures reportedly improving the resolution and noise reduction of the sensors.

Once on the template, the system ran autonomously, and was controlled remotely via radio frequency communications, an acoustic data link and an ROV electrical hot stab, dispensing with the need for direct ROV or diver intervention.

Ashtead also used various measurement sensors and positioning tools to improve the accuracy of the data collected.

Ross Macleod, the company’s technical director, said the DMS allows real-time adjustments to be made during installation, ensuring the structure is set in place quickly and within installation tolerances.

09/25/2018