Cougar XT Chosen for Africa Subsea Ops

In a bid to boost its offshore deep water operations, RusselSmith, a Nigeria-based oilfield services provider, has chosen Saab Seaeye’s Cougar XT electric underwater robotic vehicle to boost its ROV fleet.

“The Cougar is an ideal choice,” says RusselSmith CEO, Kayode Adeleke. “It is a powerful, highly maneuverable and capable ROV and we believe it will add a lot of value to our subsea operations.”

RusselSmith sees the Cougar meeting its current and projected subsea undertakings which include inspection, repairs, maintenance, light construction work and drill support.

For them, the Cougar’s size to power ratio is an important benefit. “Its small footprint makes it easy to mobilize and operate from smaller vessels, bringing significant savings in terms of time and cost. This will be of great benefit to our customers,” declares Effiong Okwong, RusselSmith’s Director for Solutions & Market Development.

As a leading provider of integrated oilfield and pipeline services to the oil and gas industry in Africa, RusselSmith is set to fully exploit the technological potency of the Cougar XT.

A key feature of the 2000m rated Cougar XT is its unrivaled power and maneuverability whilst handling a wide range of heavy tooling and sensors, that comes from its six powerful thrusters, each interfaced to a fast-acting control system that gives a greater control and response than can be found in any other robotic vehicle of its class on the market.

RusselSmith’s package from Saab Seaeye includes a tether management system (TMS) for the Cougar and an ‘A” frame launch and recovery system (LARS) upgraded to Zone II, together with a 20 ft combined control cabin and workshop.