The Fleet of the Future: How Oceaneering is Redefining Offshore Operations
As offshore energy development confronts more applications, increasingly complex operating environments, and a turbulent global market, adaptability and integrated offerings may be the solution. At the center of this vortex is Oceaneering International’s Offshore Projects Group (OPG) and Vice President Dan Vela, who shared insights with MTR about the operations of a multi-vessel, multi-mission fleet.Dynamic flexibilityDan’s wide-ranging career in oil and gas has spanned from an offshore technician to sales, account management and now operations. He’s held his current role as vice president - OPG Americas for three years.A typical day may vary greatly, but there’s a common emphasis on developing the teams and scopes that will address the projects that come their way. “It's a lot of planning of future work, of current work, and a lot of risk and hazard identification and management,” Vela said. “We spend a lot of time on quality and making sure that our teams are prepared. Then, it's just the flawless execution of the projects and making sure that that they're going off the way that we planned, and that we can come back, reload and head out to the next one.”The role is dynamic, requiring flexibility. “Whereas in manufacturing, you plan something, you put it in the system, and it kind of flows through. This does that, but it tends to move around in that process,” he explained. “Our job is to keep it as tight and as in line as we can with the plan and follow it all the way through execution. That's evolved over time of us learning how to do that the most effective way for both internal and external results. And we're still learning. It’s always something new. It's never a dull moment, that's for sure.”External factors pose dynamic challenges. “Whether that's weather that affects us doing our operation or it's a customer schedule that moves. A lot of our day-to-day is reacting to those inputs as they come in and then reshuffling or replanning, repreparing, re-evaluating and then moving forward to the next step.”Fit for missionFrom a vessel activity standpoint, the bulk of OPG America’s work in the Western Hemisphere is in the Gulf of America, with additional projects ranging across the Caribbean and down to South America.Its five vessels underwent an update in recent years as Oceaneering considered how to approach fleet management as an enduring strategy. In addition to operating their own ships, they entered into long-term agreements with other vessel owners to build fleet capability and scope.There are two large vessels in the fleet, which have 250-ton heave cranes onboard, with a back deck of about 12,000 square feet. These ships specialize in subsea hardware installation and interventions—projects that require bigger equipment and larger crane capabilities at deeper water depths. Ocean Evolution was built for and is owned by Oceaneering, while the second is chartered from an independent vessel owner. Speaking about the latter, Vela explained, “The boat is staffed with Oceaneering management and execution teams, and then the vessel owner staffs it with the marine team that operates the vessel. We coordinate with them on operations and on what’s needed for the vessel, like maintenance.”Ocean Evolution. Credit: Oceaneering InternationalTwo medium-sized vessels have 165-ton heave cranes and slightly smaller back decks. Those boats flex up or down based on the project; often they are used for smaller installation or intervention work, but also tasked for inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR). Oceaneering’s smallest vessel is also chartered and primarily does IMR-based work.Ocean Intervention II vessel. Credit: Oceaneering InternationalOceaneering vessel providing IMR support. Credit: OceaneeringWhat makes the company’s fleet unique is that regardless of the vessel, all boats are equipped with its own ROVs and survey services. This holistic approach, Vela said, allows the company to collaborate and coordinate internally.“On a day-to-day basis, we evaluate the needs of projects coming in and look at the vessel best available to suit that,” he added. “We try to match the vessel to the scope the best we can, and if we don't have it available then we’re able to move things around and shift work from vessel to vessel.”One-stop shopA recent project, although non-traditional, showcased Oceaneering’s service capabilities from start to finish. The customer, a pipeline company in the Gulf of America, wanted to change their production lines subsea, as opposed to shutting down processes before starting the work. Oceaneering’s engineering team was able to build complex skids with isolation valves that would allow for operations to continue. “They built the system, tested it and then we received the system and went offshore to do the installation,” said Vela. “It allowed us to bring the full weight of what Oceaneering can do to the table, from creating the engineered product, to building it, testing it, delivering it and installing it.”He added, “We’re looking forward to doing more of that with this customer. They’ve got several more of these projects coming up and we’re well positioned to help.”Ship shapeIn a turbulent global business environment, with rapidly growing trends like marine autonomy and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Oceaneering is embracing adaptability to best serve its customers. “There are a lot of external impacts that affect our business and are the biggest drivers,” said Vela. “A lot of that has to do with the market and where and how our customers are spending their money. That’s a key point for us to understand to help us react or be proactive to those trends. When we think about AI on the vessels, there's some opportunity there, but I think the biggest part is how we can use it to help us work more efficiently.” He noted that tracking and planning can be streamlined using AI.Regarding autonomy, Oceaneering’s fleet already features autonomous processes, such as dynamic positioning systems, subsea survey equipment, ROV systems and the cranes. “We also have a group whose sole focus is looking at autonomous vessels. We collaborate with them on what we use the vessels for and how can we integrate autonomy into how we use our fleet in the Gulf of America. And that's an ongoing discussion.Plotting a courseFor Vela, the near-term future holds exciting potential for Oceaneering. “In the next three to five years, we’re trying to really understand what our fleet needs to look at. What does it look like? How many autonomous vehicles are included in that?”Crewing is one factor that requires the right balance. “We’re looking at how we can reduce our crew sizes offshore. Not that we want to reduce people, but we see areas where we can move into remote operations.”It’s just one element under consideration. “So, on top of our day-to-day operations, we’re looking at a lot in the background. There’s a lot of things going on, a lot of moving parts and challenges, but we have great people here that want to be challenged. They want these new and exciting opportunities to think about and plan for and problem solve with.”Watch Marine Technology TV’s full video interview with Dan Vela here: