Oil & Gas

Oil & Gas exploration now takes place at greater depths than ever before and makes it impractical for the employment of Divers. Unmanned and Autonomous systems are the solution and as a result their activity worldwide is expanding. In the Oil & Gas Industry Unmanned and Autonomous systems are starting to take centre stage, particularly with respect to subsea explorations. They have now become an indispensible tool and are employed on a continuous basis. They are needed for all life-of-field phases in the offshore Oil and Gas industry.

As a specialist in automation and control technologies, ECA Group provides state of the art remote applications. ECA Group’s advanced Unmanned and Autonomous systems are specially designed to meet the current challenges of today’s Oil & Gas market. 

For example, ECA Group’s Unmanned and Autonomous vehicles do all the subsea work required to support a drilling programme. Much of this is observation work but vehicles may be required to change out equipment that the drillers have to put on the seabed or recover debris. On platforms themselves ROV’s are used with a range of tools to conduct specific tasks such as pull in Flow lines or control umbilicals and operate valves. This is required on both floating and non-floating assets and greatly reduces costs.

During the installation of production facilities, such as platforms, subsea manifolds, pipelines or FPSOs, there is a substantial requirement for ROVs.

The whole seabed area needs to be surveyed prior to, and after, installation, pipeline touchdown needs monitoring, lift wires and ropes need attaching or detaching, valves need turning, pipelines need burial or another form of protection.

Once in production there is a continuous requirement to carry out inspection and maintenance. This has increasingly become the preserve of ECA Group’s Unmanned and Autonomous systems. For inspection of pipelines Unmanned systems need to be fitted with an array of sensors that are used to track the pipeline but also to get sonar and camera images that will be used to detect defects. ECA Group’s modular unmanned systems are designed for this particular requirement. With the ability to change out modules and sensors a whole range of inspection and maintenance tasks can be accomplished.  

ECA Group’s highly versatile and resilient systems are present in all areas of the Oil & Gas Industry.  From platform and pipeline inspection, to deep and shallow water survey, seabed recovery and hull inspection work. These innovative solutions are the result of considerable expertise gained over many years and are supported by ECA Group’s robust customer service organisation.

As expenditure in deepwater areas and subsea infrastructures around the world increases, Unmanned and Autonomous systems have become an increasingly vital part of the offshore Oil and Gas Industry.  Future Robotic applications in the in Oil & Gas Industry are wide ranging. The positive growth forecast for the development of this market along with the increased focus on safety and security means that these systems will take on an even more important role in the coming decade. ECA Group’s innovative and high tech solutions are developed for that very reason.