‘Proud moment’ for Reach Subsea as its USV travels to Australia

Norway’s Reach Subsea has sent off its uncrewed surface vessel (USV) on a trip to Australia where it will provide reservoir monitoring for Australia’s energy giant Woodside Energy.

The Reach Remote 2 USV, which Reach Subsea took delivery of in June, is currently travelling to Australia to perform reservoir monitoring on the Scarborough gas field, using the company’s gWatch technology.

The 23.9-meter-long USV is equipped with hull-mounted survey sensors and a work-class electric remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Said to be designed for full remote control from a shore-based remote operations center, the vessel integrates multiple communication technologies, including VSAT, 5G, Iridium, Ceragon Pointlink, and Starlink.

This deployment is said to mark the start of the Norwegian company’s inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) operations in Australia.

According to Reach Subsea, gWatch is widely used across Norwegian gas fields and measures time-lapse gravity and seafloor deformation to detect small changes in reservoir mass and pressure, with these high-precision measurements significantly reducing uncertainty in gas reserves (GIIP) and aquifer influx, enhancing history-matching workflows and supporting more accurate production forecasts and infill well planning.

The Reach Remote 1 USV recently performed a subsea inspection campaign at TotalEnergies’ fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

“Seeing the Reach Remote 2 vessel sail ‘down under’ to deliver world-class services to a company like Woodside Energy is a proud moment for all of us at Reach Subsea. This project clearly demonstrates that the transition to a robotic future is not a vision — it’s happening now,” said Reach Subsea’s CEO Jostein Alendal.

“We are reducing HSE risks by removing personnel from hazardous environments, reducing operational costs, and cutting the carbon footprint of offshore activities by up to 90%. It’s a major leap forward for the industry and a testament to what innovative technology can achieve.”

Woodside is the operator and has a 74.9% participating interest in the Scarborough field. LNG Japan holds a 10% and JERA, which came onboard in October 2024, a 15.1% interest in the Scarborough joint venture (JV).

The gas field is located in the Carnarvon Basin, approximately 375 kilometers off the coast of Western Australia.