Swire Announces New Products at OTC 2013

Swire Oilfield Services, LLC, introduced two new products to the Gulf of Mexico region at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), May 6 - 9. Swire’s Modular Systems division and SAFE (Swire Advanced Fluid Engineering) Tanks address the industry’s need for offshore workspace solutions and more advanced offshore fluid storage and transport. Both products will be on display at the conference. The company’s…

Offshore Brazil: Production Starts at FPSO Unit

In February, a second floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO)* unit deployed by NYK for the BM-S-11 consortium through a joint venture company started oil production in a pre-salt area off Brazil. This FPSO unit, FPSO Cidade de Marica, is owned by a shareholder consortium comprising SBM Offshore N.V. (Netherlands), Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. (Brazil), and a joint venture company between NYK (48.72 percent…

GE to Supply Turbomachinery to Statoil

GE Oil & Gas and Norway-based Statoil Petroleum AS have signed two new, five-year frame agreements that call for GE to supply turbomachinery equipment as well as services to support Statoil’s installed fleet of GE turbomachinery. GE’s equipment will be deployed primarily for Statoil’s onshore and offshore projects in Norway, as well as for other global activities, between 2013 and 2018. GE’s first…

Heriot-Watt University Orders ASV C-Enduro

Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Campus, has confirmed the order of an ASV C-Enduro. The C-Enduro Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) will be used for research in persistent and long term autonomy with multiple remote and autonomous marine platforms. The vehicle’s primary application will be as a moving navigation and communication platform for AUV’s. Professor David Lane of Heriot-Watt said: “The vehicle…

SBG Systems Launches New Inertial Sensors

SBG Systems has released the Apogee-M and the Apogee-U, two new inertial sensors to complete the Apogee product line. The Apogee-M is a Motion Reference Unit (MRU), and the Apogee-U is an Inertial Navigation System. Both are made of titanium with a depth rating of 200 meters. Apogee Series is an inertial navigation systems (INS) based on the MEMS technology. One year after the release of the Apogee surface sensors (IP68 enclosure)…

New NOAA ROV On Ocean Trials

The 6,000-meter-rated remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system will be tested from 'Okeanos Explorer' in the 2013 field season. Dave Lovalvo, project manager for the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research’s Deep Submergence Group and his team has built and will be testing the ROV during the 2013 field season. The vehicle will be operated from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, America's only U.S. government ship that is dedicated to the sole purpose of exploring the world’s oceans.

Fiber-Optic Connector Technology for O&G Ops

Fiber-optics (FO) technology is finding new uses in subsea applications. Fiber allows longer transmission distances and higher data rates than copper — a fortuitous development, as offshore drilling moves to deeper depths. Petroleum exploration and production are also becoming smarter, as operators pursue real-time information and analysis of both the individual well and the entire production chain from well to topside or land-based platform.

AAE-1 Cable System Upgrade Underway

TE SubCom and the consortium behind the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) cable system, announced today that the deployment of a large-scale wavelength equipage to the system is currently underway. The equipage will utilize TE SubCom’s advanced 100 Gbps optical transmission equipment, representing a leap forward in undersea capacity. AAE-1 is a 25,000 km system owned by a consortium of 19 global service providers that will connect Southeast Asia to Europe across Egypt…

Iran to Launch Home-Made Submarine Soon

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Islamic Republic will soon launch a new domestically-manufactured submarine. "The Navy's new submarine will be launched soon," Iran's state-run news agency quoted Rear Admiral Sayyari as saying. The Submarine 'Fateh' (triumphant) was tested in a joint military forces maneuver in January 2015. Iran is also working on a new destroyer and…

Evolution of Ocean Exploration: Mapping the Seafloor with Geodesy

The evolution of ocean exploration continues with seafloor mapping with Geodesy. In an age where the surface of Mercury and Mars can be mapped in great detail, it’s difficult to imagine how around 85-95 percent of our ocean floor remain enigmatic. While advanced sonar technology has allowed ships to create highly detailed topographic maps, it would take 125-200 ship-years to survey the deep oceans alone, costing billions of dollars.

Global Markets Ripe for US Marine Technologies

The growing worldwide demand for marine technologies, port construction and shipbuilding is generating new export opportunities for U.S. companies. As more firms look to boost their bottom line by maximizing their reach to the more than 95 percent of world consumers who live outside of the United States, many are taking advantage of numerous export resources along the way. At the same time, many other businesses have yet to export. International Trade Specialist Maryanne Burke leads the U.S.

FMC Gets Shell Ultra-deep Subsea Equipment Order

FMC Technologies, Inc. to support Shell's ultra-deepwater project in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico. Stones is located approximately 200 miles (322 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast in approximately 9,600 feet (2,926 meters) of water. FMC Technologies' scope of supply includes eight subsea trees, a subsea manifold, topside and subsea controls and associated equipment. "Deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico require advanced capabilities and innovative solutions…

Tracking Underwater Pipes and Cables

Utility companies have been laying pipes and cables across the ocean floor for more than a century. Prior to the introduction of GPS, marking their position was a difficult and tedious task, fraught with error. It is extremely important to know the exact location of existing lines before undertaking dredging operations or when new pipes and cables are laid down. Regulations require they be buried from…

Next-Generation Subsea Metrology: Better Measurements, Fast

DOF Subsea, together with subsea technology companies Sonardyne, 2G Robotics and Seatronics (an Acteon company), successfully demonstrated a new underwater surveying technique in December that could significantly shorten the time needed to map underwater structures and offshore sites. Representatives from across the North Sea energy sector, including senior figures from oil majors, contracting companies and service providers…

Riptide Expands Its UUV Product Line

Unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV) manufacturer Riptide Autonomous Solutions said it has added two new platform offerings to complement its micro-UUV launched in 2016. The new 1-Man and 2-Man Portable UUVs use the same technical architecture, hydrodynamic hull shape and electronics as the original Micro-UUV. Drawing upon advanced manufacturing, modern electronics and open source concepts the larger Riptide vehicles will deliver the same flexible solution already favored by Micro-UUV users.

SoCal Tech Focus: DimEye

In February 2017 DimEye released the diver version of its 3D subsea inspection system: VLS (video laser scan). The system is based upon a combination of advanced photogrammetry and laser triangulation techniques: photogrammetry provides characteristic points and features of the object to be measured as well as precise location and orientation of the cameras, while laser triangulation allows the measurement of thousands of 3D points on every single laser line projected on the object surface.

KVH Industries Acquires Videotel

KVH Industries, Inc., acquired Videotel, a producer of high-quality training films and e-Learning services for the commercial maritime industry. Servicing over 11,000 vessels, Videotel is a market leader in the provision of maritime training services, offering video, animation, e-Learning computer-based training (CBT), and interactive distance learning courses. “The acquisition of Videotel is an important…

iXBlue Launches ROVINS NANO

iXBlue is launching ROVINS NANO, an inertial navigation system designed for ROV navigation. Based on iXBlue’s fiber optic gyroscope technology, ROVINS NANO has been designed for ROV pilots performing maintenance and construction operations. It offers the stability and accuracy of the inertial position, outputting true north, roll, pitch and rotation rates. Paul Wysocki, iXBlue ROVINS NANO Product Manager…

Technic Awarded New Offshore Agreement by Oil Majors

Technip informs it has been awarded a new framework agreement by Statoil, Exxon Mobil and Gassco for diving, subsea intervention and repair contingency services. Under the terms of this framework agreement, a replacement of an existing frame agreement held for eight years, Technip will provide these services for the next four years. This new contract, effective from December 1st 2014, also includes an option for additional periods up to seven years.

EvoLogics Showcase Latest Developments

EvoLogics extended its ranges of underwater acoustic modems (S2CR series) and combined positioning and communication devices (S2CR USBL series), with new products - the S2CR 42/65 and S2CR 42/65 USBL, high-speed devices with hemispherical beam patterns for transmissions in vertical, slant and horizontal channels. Both devices rely on the EvoLogics patented S2C (Sweep-Spread Carrier) broadband communication technology.