Woodside switches to remote subsea inspections at Shenzi in the US Gulf of Mexico

Woodside has conducted its first subsea remotely operated inspection in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) at the Shenzi development, 195 km offshore Louisiana, according to a July 23 news release.

According to the company, this may also have been one of the first such programs approved by ABS in US waters.

Before the ongoing subsea campaign started at the end of May, inspections had to be conducted offshore with a full team of inspectors, engineers and support personnel present on the inspection vessel.

Moving to remote inspections eliminates the need for a full complement of crew to be onboard, reducing exposure of personnel to hazardous offshore environments, the company explained in its Living Energy newsletter.

Woodside has been collaborating with Wood on these first International Operations remote subsea inspection and Underwater Inspection In Lieu of Drydocking (UWILD) campaigns in the US GoM. 

Previously, data had to be compiled offline at the site followed by several months spent reviewing and uploading the information into an integrity data management system.

Principal integrity engineer Charina Choochert explained, "Whether we are inspecting equipment, monitoring well integrity or performing maintenance, doing these tasks enhances safety, reliability and operational efficiency.

"Whereas reports would [previously] take up to six months for analysis, we can now review live recordings, identify anomalies and take action quickly. It also means we can re-inspect in real time, and we don’t have to wait for the next inspection campaign.”

Frontline Engineering team lead Robert Boothby added, “We’re really pleased that regulators like the American Bureau of Shipping [ABS] have endorsed using remote inspections for large portions of the campaign…

“It raises the game for operators in the Gulf…The value of this initiative for Woodside is that we are leaning into our commitment to have world-class operations focused on safety, efficiency and performance.”