______________________________ 1 Máster of Science in Physics- option Ocean Dynamics – ADVANCED SUBSEA DO BRASIL

IBP2495_08 CS-AUV

AN AUV FOR SURVEY CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT Jacques P Schoellkopf 1

Copyright 2008, Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis - IBP Este Trabalho Técnico foi preparado para apresentação na Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2008, realizada no período de 15 a 18 de setembro de 2008, no Rio de Janeiro. Este Trabalho Técnico foi selecionado para apresentação pelo Comitê Técnico do evento, seguindo as informações contidas na sinopse submetida pelo(s) autor(es). O conteúdo do Trabalho Técnico, como apresentado, não foi revisado pelo IBP. Os organizadores não irão traduzir ou corrigir os textos recebidos. O material conforme, apresentado, não necessariamente reflete as opiniões do Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, seus Associados e Representantes. É de conhecimento e aprovação do(s) autor(es) que este Trabalho Técnico seja publicado nos Anais da Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2008. Resumo

Por diversos anos, o desenvolvimento de AUV foi focado, com sucesso, no survey de inspeção e de Pré-engenharia. O desenvolvimento do mercado permitirá que a esta nova geração seja validada: AUV de Inspeção e intervenção, este particularmente para suporte no desenvolvimento do campo. O suporte no desenvolvimento do campo é o principal merdado de desenvolvimento do AUV. A Advanced Subsea e seus parceiros, promovem o desenvolvimento dos AUV de suporte a construção, cobrindo 95% das tarefas atuais executadas por ROV durante esta fase.. O CS-AUV, lançado de embarcações de construção ou de perfuração, pode executar pre-lançamento, as-laid survey, monitoração de TDP, inspeção da free-span, diferentes alternativas de lançamento de LBL, permitindo a redução drástica do uso de embarcaçõesde apoio DP2 durante a fase de instalação do campo. Para complementar, o CS-AUV é incentivado por um programa de ambiciosas da inovações & desenvolvimento.

Abstract For several years, AUV development have been successfully focused on general Inspection or Pre-engineering

Survey activities. Development of the market will allow new generation to be validate: Inspection and intervention AUV, this particularly for Field Construction Support application. Survey Construction Support is a major market for AUV developments. Advanced Subsea and its partners, promotes the development of Construction Support AUV covering 95% of current tasks performed by ROV during Field development. CS AUV, deployed from Construction Vessels or drilling rigs, is able to perform pre-lay, as-laid survey, TDP monitoring, free-span inspection, LBL arrays deployment work, allowing to dramatically reduce the use of DP2 ROV Support Vessel during Field Installation work. In addition, CS-AUV is supported by an ambitious Innovation & development program. 1. Introduction

For several years, AUV development have been focused on global Inspection or Pre-engineering Survey activities, with unbalanced success. Most of the proposed tools were based on a “fish” shape with a good hydro-dynamical coefficient. Basically, it remains a leader on the pre-engineering market “Huggins”with little outsiders. Second approach was to have an AUV able to navigate and to perform station keeping (typically AUV issued from Mine-hunting applications), then few manufacturers started investigation the intervention option, with AUV with open frame achitecture, manipulators arms or hybrid vehicule coupling a shuttle based on the AUV principle, then once docked on a subsea structure, allows to operate a Work ROV. These 2 concepts of AUV, based on inspection and intervention capabilities, will create a real technological choc, and a new deployment of subsea intervention market. This is the option selected by Advanced Subsea and its partnersin order to bring on the market powerful tools able to perform very sophisticated tasks in Survey Construction Support. 2. Survey Construction Support Scope of Work

The main Survey tasks required for Field development are as follows:

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With the exception of the pre-engineering survey of infield area and export routes which is performed by Company at F.E.E.D. stage which received a good solution with fish shape AUV like HUGIN, all other survey support tasks can be investigated:

•Pre-survey of sea-line and umbilical routes,

•Existing Structures and Obstacles Inspection/ Positioning or marking

•Large LBL Arrays Deployment and Calibration for cut-to-length, subsea structure positioning and well drilling spud-in.

•Touch-Down-Point monitoring for rigide pipes, with position of TDP located which can be very far away from the laying vessel (500m till more than 1000m with steep S laying vessels

•As-laid survey of infield and export lines, which must be performed a short time after laying and survey of infield line

•As-built of subsea structures,

•Tie-in Jumper Metrology,

•As-built survey (hand-over survey) of all sea-lines and umbilicals to be performed upon completion of the development and including Risers inspection

•Miscellaneous operations like Valves operations for flooding the line, transponder deployment & recovery, cable cutting, etc…

Up-to-now, industry proposed to use DP2 ROV Support Vessels including a large amount of survey sensors and positioning equipment, and nothing else. Opportunity vessels like large Supply vessels, currently used for shallower water survey operation are neglected. 3. Survey Construction Support AUV

Due to the increasing day rates and the limited number of DP2 Survey Support vessels to be used in deep water, it appeared to us, it was urgent to investigate and find alternate solutions based on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle having large autonomy and covering most of the survey requirement in relation with Deep Water field development.

3.1. Construction Support AUV (CS -AUV)

CS-AUV is a pertinent answer to this major market requirement: What are the capabilities required for performing most of survey tasks and what kind of solution to propose? Large Range of intervention (several kilometers), Autonomy (several hours), availability (reduced battery charge time and reliability), payload capacity, decision making capability, reasonable communication ability, then in addition, sonar based obstacle avoidance functions, target identification, extended positioning method availability, position keeping, inspection based on video and other sensors, limited intervention capability using grabber and manipulator arms in semi- or fully-supervised mode, remote controlled intervention mode when required. Then for operation, launch & recovery system, transportation and operation workshop and control cabin. 3.2. Proposed AUV

What kind of AUV will be the best performer for such a scope of work?: not a single one, but two brothers: - Alive 3000, developed by Cybernetix and manufactured by ECA, is the only open-frame AUV of the market, equipped with docking grabbers and a 7 function manipulator, able to navigate, to identify a target, to dock on it and to perform programmed or tele-controlled actions. Its open-frame architecture allows to interface any survey sensor currently used for ROV.

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- Alistar 3000 developed and manufactured by ECA is one out of the 2 AUV, currently able to detect and follow a sealine, to perform station keeping while monitoring TDP and to perform Pipeline inspection in automatic mode.

4. CS- AUV Services

For several years now, ADVANCED SUBSEA & CYBERNETIX have developed a strong partnership for the development of Construction Support AUV services covering 90% of current survey tasks usually performed by ROV during deepwater Field development & installation. This partnership includes now ECA. 4.1. Scope of Services

CS-AUV service is based on the operation of these two AUV : Alive and Alistar, offering a full pertinent solution including back-up and complementarity for performing all tasks required by Field development activity, down to 3000m. Both systems can be operated with same crane, workshop and control cabin. When required, remote operation can be real-time monitored and controlled using a 2000m optic-fiber lead.

CS-AUV can be deployed directly from Construction Vessels, drilling rigs or standard supply vessels, and is able to perform:

- LBL arrays deployment & Calibration work for Drilling rig and construction vessel scope of work - Pre-lay hazard survey required prior to laying operations, - TDP monitoring even in very deep water - as-laid survey performed directly few kilometer behind the laying barge, including full free-span inspection, - Subsea tie-in metrology based on hybrid inertial+ acoustic method. - Sealine flooding and other operation

This spread, complemented with a full Positioning and survey acquisition & processing suite, will allow to

dramatically reduce the cost of survey construction support by avoiding the full time use of ROV Support Vessel during Field Installation work.

Furthermore, during production phase, the same AUV spread will be able to perform visual and annual inspection of subsea structures and sealines and any other tasks required by operator, launched directly from the FPSO, drilling rig, supply vessel or any fixed structure. 4.2. Development Program CS-AUV service is supported by an ambitious program of development in Brasil including short and long term objectives: Advanced Subsea do Brasil - a new Survey Services company- develops and proposes 2 kind of services to Company and Contractors working in the Brazilian waters:

1) First, Short term Innovation-based Services within 4 to 8 months - time to program and validate AUV specific functions -,

- Drilling support based on LBL transponder deployment and calibration tasks, where the AUV deploys and calibrate LBL array allowing Drilling rig to avoid calibration tasks in critical time. It will be able to recover transponders upon completion of the well (ALIVE).

- Metrology services based on Inertial and Acoustic Metrology methods, with CS-AUV able to identify and

dock on structure, then connect metrology interface. Metrology will be performed using 2 complementary techniques: inertial and LBL acoustic method. (ALIVE)

- TDP monitoring and remote inspection services, based on ALISTAR & ALIVE. Both deployed from the lay-

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barge , connected to the barge with an sacrificial optic fiber, allowing to tele-control and provide video in real-time. Note: In this case, CS-AUV is working as a ROV with ultra-long tether but autonomous in energy and then is

immediately available for service.

2) Long term, innovation services based on a Multi-partner JIP – on a 2/3 years program in order to implement: - Full autonomous Construction Support services and mainly pre-lay, as-laid/ as-built survey of laid flowlines

and umbilicals equipped with all required survey sensors. Deployment and calibration of large LBL arrays. - Full autonomous Inspection Maintenance & Repair services including structure as-built, CP survey, free-span

inspection, chemical analysis, etc…

- Full automated intervention services in ultra-long range mode with or without sacrificial optic fiber 4. Conclusion Such services allow to drammatically reduce operation support cost by saving DP2 vessel time for some applications

or even save very effective Rig time. But the major argument is that, in a very demanding market, the number of vessel is limited and such tool will contribute to the development of the offshore industry.