Jaime Kammerzell
Gulf of Mexico Editor
Offshore

The future of subsea technology depends on "imagineering," F. Richard Frisbie, Oceaneering International Inc. senior vice president, said at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston on May 4.

Frisbie outlined the history of the subsea industry and the technology used to reach the milestones. He first spoke of the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) used off Canada to lay fiber optic cable. This was cutting edge technology in 1996, but he challenged the industry to push beyond proven equipment to develop tomorrow's subsea fields.

Subsea engineers continue to develop new technology without first considering lessons learned from two major, harsh environment subsea projects currently under development, Orman Lange on the Norwegian continental shelf and Snøhvit in the Barents Sea.

Frisbie says much of what the industry uses today is based on former approaches. He points to OTC's Spotlight on New Technology winners as a good place to start when looking for innovative subsea technology. Though these Spotlight winners are making great progress, he said the leadership still needs to come from the oil companies.

Frisbie also points out the need to repair subsea equipment without launching into "crisis engineering." As equipment is built today, the inexpensive parts of the equipment that fail most often are hard to reach. "The oil field of the future needs to install equipment with the ability to be repaired easily."

Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) also played a role in Frisbie's presentation. He explained how simulated training has propelled ROVs into the industry, from 40 systems to 110 in a five-year period. The simulator models realistic underwater conditions on which ROV pilots can train for real-life operations.

Frisbie reminded the industry that it "can't be constrained by today's technology for tomorrow," before he closed Wednesday's topical luncheon.

05/04/05