Executive Q&A: C-Innovation’s VP on scaling smart subsea services in a tight vessel market
Key Highlights
- The industry faces vessel shortages and scheduling pressures due to limited new vessel investments and rig availability.
- Client expectations have shifted toward vendor-led, integrated solutions.
- Recent case studies demonstrate the company’s ability to deliver complex interventions efficiently, achieving significant cost reductions and operational improvements.
- C-Innovation is integrating AI, data analytics and automation to enhance decision-making, predictive maintenance and remote operations, boosting offshore reliability and safety.
By Ariana Hurtado, Editor-in-Chief
Offshore operators are facing renewed challenges in subsea construction and intervention, such as vessel availability and project scheduling constraints.
In this exclusive Q&A, Offshore speaks with David Sheetz, vice president of subsea service provider C-Innovation, to explore how the company is responding to shifting client expectations, expanding its global footprint, and leveraging data analytics and automation to enhance offshore performance.
With more than 35 years of experience in the offshore energy industry, Sheetz has helped transform C-Innovation from an ROV service provider into a global turnkey subsea intervention and project management company. Under his leadership, C-Innovation has expanded its capabilities across engineering, project execution and subsea operations, delivering complex deepwater solutions in regions including the Gulf of Mexico, South America and the North Sea. He also oversaw the RovOp and Kyst Design acquisitions.
From those strategic acquisitions in Norway and the UK to technical case studies in the Gulf of Mexico, Sheetz outlines C-Innovation’s approach to delivering integrated subsea solutions in a competitive and evolving market. He also shares insights into the company’s R&D pipeline, including advancements in remote operations and robotics, and discusses how AI is transforming bid development and asset reliability across its fleet.
Offshore: What are the challenges offshore operators are facing and the solutions they are seeking?
Sheetz: The challenge we face as an industry is that while operators are now moving forward with new fields and discoveries following the recent downturn, there has been very limited investment in new subsea construction vessels over the past decade. As a result, demand has now outpaced supply, creating significant scheduling pressures. Much of this work is dependent on rig availability, which by nature is variable, further compounding the issue.
To adapt, C-Innovation is working closely with clients to optimize project planning, prioritize vessel utilization and deploy creative scheduling strategies to ensure work scopes are executed efficiently despite these constraints.
Offshore: How are client expectations changing, and how is C-Innovation adapting its service model to meet those needs?
Sheetz: In recent years, we have observed a clear shift in client expectations toward more vendor-led solutions. Following the downturn, many operators significantly reduced headcount within their subsea and other technical teams. While activity levels are now increasing as new projects come online, operators are generally maintaining lean organizational structures and relying more heavily on trusted partners to provide comprehensive support.
C-Innovation has adapted by strengthening our position as a full-service provider. With access to multiple business lines under the broader Edison Chouest Offshore family, we can deliver most required subsea services under a single contract. This integrated model not only reduces complexity for our clients but also enhances efficiency, accountability and overall project execution.
Offshore: How would you describe C-Innovation’s strategic priorities over the next 3-5 years in the offshore oil and gas sector?
Sheetz: C-Innovation’s strategic priorities over the next three to five years are clearly defined and centered on sustainable global growth. In recent years, we have executed targeted acquisitions to strengthen and expand our position as a full-service provider. The acquisition of RovOp, for example, has extended our geographic reach into key regions such as the North Sea, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East—areas where we have not historically operated. Our intent is to establish and grow our proven full-service provider model within each of these regions, delivering the same integrated solutions that have set us apart in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, the acquisition of Kyst Design in Norway significantly enhances our technology group. This partnership provides access to a highly skilled engineering team, enabling us to accelerate the development of next-generation subsea technology and further differentiate our service offerings. Together, these initiatives position C-Innovation to expand our global footprint, enhance our technical capabilities and deliver greater value to our clients in an increasingly competitive offshore environment.
Offshore: C-Innovation has been involved in riserless well intervention projects that push the boundaries of traditional subsea operations. Can you walk us through a recent offshore case study?
Sheetz: bp presented C-Innovation with a challenging hydraulic intervention involving five wells. The primary challenge was that a drilling rig would be positioned directly over the vertical access of the wells and subsea production manifold. Complicating matters further, the wells were expected to go sub-ambient.
C-Innovation, together with its partners, developed a solution using its proven well service jumper methodology, originally designed for no-vertical-access scenarios. However, this campaign required a significantly greater horizontal offset than in previous projects. This longer offset created a material demand that could not be met within traditional procurement timelines.
To address this, C-Innovation and its partners identified an alternative product—Strohm flexible pipe—capable of handling both high and sub-ambient pressure requirements while also meeting the project’s delivery schedule. This pipe not only solved the lead-time challenge but also provided a substantial cost advantage compared to the previously used Magma pipe.
bp commissioned the project in April 2024. All equipment was delivered by December 2024, and deployment of the well service jumper was executed from one of C-Innovation’s MPSVs [multipurpose support vessels], keeping the primary intervention vessel off the critical path. Stimulation of the first well began on 2 February 2025, and the fifth and final well was completed on 16 February 2025—just 14 days total to complete all stimulations. This efficiency was made possible through another proven C-Innovation methodology: stimulating multiple wells directly from the subsea production manifold, which significantly reduced transit and setup times.
Compared to previous campaigns, this intervention achieved major performance improvements:
- Reduced operational days, non-productive time, and waiting on weather: Driven largely by fewer operational days and reduced exposure.
- Operating expenditure savings: A 47% cost reduction for the campaign, with projected savings of up to 75% for any future reinterventions due to equipment already in place.
Offshore: How is C-Innovation leveraging data analytics, automation or AI to enhance decision-making and reduce downtime offshore?
Sheetz: C-Innovation is actively integrating data analytics and AI-driven tools across multiple fronts to improve operational efficiency and reliability. We have a dedicated team focused on developing and implementing these technologies throughout our organization.
One key initiative has been the creation of a secure AI database capable of referencing our extensive project history and technical libraries. This system has become an invaluable resource, particularly for complex and large-scale bids, where it can automatically generate and verify substantial portions of technical documentation before final review by our Commercial team. The result is a more efficient and accurate bid development process.
From an operational standpoint, we are deploying advanced monitoring and automation systems across our fleet—from our vessels down to the ROV level. These systems continuously assess asset health and can initiate both scheduled and condition-based maintenance alerts when irregularities are detected. This predictive approach enables us to shift from reactive to preventative maintenance, significantly reducing unplanned downtime and ensuring higher reliability during critical offshore operations.
Offshore: Can you share insights into your R&D pipeline or any partnerships driving innovation in subsea intervention or robotics?
Sheetz: With our recent acquisition of Kyst Design in Norway, C-Innovation has strengthened its focus on advancing subsea technology and robotics. Our current R&D initiatives are centered on reducing operational downtime and increasing overall efficiency across our intervention and inspection services.
A key part of this strategy is the expansion of remote operations, inspections and survey capabilities. The shift toward shore-based control and monitoring not only addresses the industry-wide manpower challenges we’re all facing but also enhances safety by reducing the number of personnel required offshore.
Offshore: As a member of the Edison Chouest Offshore group, how does C-Innovation leverage its access to vessels, shipyards and logistics to deliver turnkey subsea solutions?
Sheetz: C-Innovation serves as the integrator for the greater Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) group, allowing us to deliver a true single-source subsea solution to our clients.
Our integrated logistics team is the backbone of this operation, ensuring that every element—from vessel scheduling to equipment mobilization—runs seamlessly and efficiently. Because these resources are internal, communication and decision-making are streamlined, minimizing downtime and maximizing operational uptime.
Additionally, having access to ECO’s fleet and shipyards gives us exceptional flexibility. We can plan vessel maintenance or shipyard periods around active projects, and if a vessel requires drydock mid-campaign, we can substitute another from the fleet with minimal disruption. This adaptability has proven invaluable in maintaining project continuity and delivering consistent, high-quality service to our clients.
Offshore: Is C-Innovation exploring opportunities beyond the Gulf of Mexico, Guyana and Brazil? What regions or markets are of highest interest right now?
Sheetz: Yes. The acquisition of RovOp last year was a strategic move designed to expand C-Innovation’s global footprint. We have since established C-Innovation International, which will leverage RovOp’s existing operational presence to introduce our full single-source subsea solutions into new regions.
Our immediate focus areas include the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the North Sea, where RovOp already has a strong foundation and client relationships. By building on that infrastructure, we’re able to deliver the same integrated subsea intervention and support model that has proven so successful in the Americas—now on a truly global scale.
Offshore: How do global supply chain challenges impact your operations, and what mitigation strategies have proven effective?
Sheetz: Global supply chain challenges have certainly affected the offshore sector. Even before recent disruptions, we proactively invested in securing and maintaining a robust inventory of critical spares for our ROVs, handling systems, vessels and other key assets. By managing and controlling our inventory internally, we have established a buffer against market delays, ensuring that our operations remain uninterrupted and our clients’ projects are supported without compromise.
About the Author
Ariana Hurtado
Editor-in-Chief
With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.
Utilizing her editorial expertise, she manages digital media for the Offshore team. She also helps create and oversee new special industry reports and revolutionizes existing supplements, while also contributing content to Offshore's magazine, newsletters and website as a copy editor and writer.
Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.