ROVOP Expands ROV Fleet

Subsea specialist ROVOP announced that it is set to take delivery of five new remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), representing an investment of £17 million (approx. $28 million) and building upon the company’s existing fleet of ROVs.

The ROVs include two UHD-III’s, which are the most advanced heavy-duty work-class vehicles in the market, as well as three HD work-class systems. All ROVs are being supplied by leading manufacturer FMC Technologies Schilling Robotics in Davis, California, with the first of the HDs being delivered to ROVOP in Aberdeen, Scotland, as soon as this week.

Both of the UHD-III systems are to be deployed on the Ceona Amazon which is one of global oil and gas subsea construction specialist Ceona’s newbuild multiple lay vessels. The ROVs will include Ennsub-designed ultra-deepwater launch and recovery systems (LARS) which will be fully integrated into the vessel and will enable operations in harsh environment conditions through the use of active heave compensation and heavy-weather deployment capabilities.

ROVOP’s latest investment in its ROV fleet comes less than three months after the independent company, which is dedicated to providing ROV services and equipment to the subsea sector, took delivery of four new hydraulic work class systems.

Steven Gray, managing director at ROVOP, signed the contract with Tyler Schilling, president of FMC Schilling Robotics, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

Gray said, “Our investment in a further five ROVs allows us to meet strong demand from our customers. The market is recognizing that ROVOP’s combination of the most advanced technology and our industry-leading personnel and customer service represents a genuine step change in what operators can expect from their ROV service. The capability, efficiency and reliability of our service are leading the ROV industry and we are delighted to be able to expand our fleet.

“The UHD-III is the most advanced and versatile 250-hp ROV on the market and through its highly-intelligent management system, it offers the best performance for the most difficult deepwater tasks including the highest thrust performance for ultra-heavy duty tasks. It also builds on the commitment that ROVOP and Ceona share to use technology, operated by the most experienced personnel, that offers a game changer for the subsea construction sector.”

Among many of the other UHD-III features is that with its ISOL-8 auxiliary pump of 150-hp capacity for intervention applications, the vehicle delivers combined pressures and flows that cannot be achieved with conventional ROV systems. This enables ROV compliance with API Standard 53 which requires a secondary intervention method on blowout preventers to close rams in less than 45 seconds and, as such, offers considerable cost reduction for secondary BOP intervention.

Schilling said, “We are very pleased to have been awarded this contract by ROVOP, furthering their investment in Schilling Robotics’ ROVs and their subsea operations worldwide. We are delighted that our focus on customer productivity continues to be recognized as a critical requirement by the market.”

Delivery dates on the remaining four ROVs are all during 2014.

Stuart Cameron, chief operating officer at Ceona, said, “The award of these two additional 250hp ROVs for installation on board our flagship vessel further cements our long-term partnership with ROVOP. These next generation vehicles are of the highest standard and complement our vision to provide a high quality and reliable service to our clients.”

Today’s contract announcement comes after ROVOP secured a five-year deal with Ceona to provide hydraulic, work-class services on board the company’s fleet of new, purpose-built deepwater pipelay and construction vessels including the Ceona Amazon, Polar Onyx and Normand Pacific.

The Polar Onyx and the Normand Pacific came into service last month with Ceona Amazon due to come into service in January 2015.

Earlier this year, ROVOP contracted Aberdeen-based Ennsub to design and manufacture the ROV Deployment LARS for the Ceona Amazon in addition to supplying the integrated winch and A-frame to be used on ROVOP’s HD ROV delivery this month. This LARS offers latest generation capability including unrivalled umbilical handling which prevents point loading and twisting of the umbilical cores, particularly in deepwater and during high frequency cycling associated with active heave compensation operation.

Award-winning ROVOP, which is headquartered in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, is an independent company dedicated to providing ROVs and services to the oil and gas and offshore wind industries. The company has fast positioned itself as a leader in ROV services and become an approved supplier to some of the world’s largest oil and gas and subsea construction companies.

rovop.com

fmctechnologies.com/SchillingRobotics

ceona-offshore.com