Nautronix Scoop Innovation & Technology Award at Subsea UK

Nautronix are delighted to have won the Innovation and Technology Award, sponsored by Simmons & Company International for their NASeBOP (Nautronix Emergency BOP Acoustic Control) System at the Annual Subsea 2012 Business Awards.

This prestigious award is a major achievement in recognition for the advancements made through this development; the company has invested $1.5 million this financial year in the product line and have increased the capabilities of current BOP products, which includes improved safety features.

Lindsay MacDonald, Director of Technology at Nautronix said: “We at Nautronix are really excited about winning this Innovation and Technology Award, as a company that invests considerable effort into Research and Development this is a significant achievement in getting our commitment to improving acoustic BOP controls recognised industry-wide. Nautronix continues to develop its unique Acoustic Digital Spread Spectrum (ADS²) techniques in critical subsea positioning and BOP control applications and we are looking forward to developing the next generation of acoustic control systems.”

Since the tragic Macondo Gulf of Mexico incident, Nautronix reviewed their existing acoustic BOP control and monitoring product line with a focus on improvements to enhance safety, within a very short time the R & D expenditure with a value of £1 million and a year long development programme was approved which now sees this investment coming to fruition with the launch of a 16 channel NASeBOP System.

This product expanded on the existing EBOP product which provided high integrity control and monitoring of BOP critical functions both as primary or secondary control in conjunction with the standard BOP umbilical.

NASeBOP provides dual redundant capability to acoustically command and monitor specific functions and sensors interfaced via the Acoustic Valve Package, this can include pressure and temperature sensors. The system is fully compliant with all relevant statutory and geographical standards such as NORSOK D-001, Petrobras and API 16D and API 17E.

The top-side equipment also includes a unique Emergency Response System (ERS) which is a portable unit that can be stored in a shore based location and in the event of an incident easily mobilised to any field location to provide monitoring capabilities of the subsea equipment and sensors even after a disconnect has taken place.

With 12 NASeBOP systems either delivered, or currently in production due for delivery in this financial year the revenue for these units are in excess of $20m which will have all the key features including the ERS. The awarded NASeBOP is being supplied for use on new ultra-deepwater drillships being built in Korea, along with Nautronix NASDrill RS925 hydroacoustic positioning system. With four new drill ships for Noble Corporation and three for Rowan Companies Inc. with companies like Noble, Rowan and Ensco fully supporting our products on their new builds, it is a great testament to our technology.

The industry has been slow in adopting new technology; however we are now seeing real recognition for reliable digital acoustics for safety critical systems with the industry choosing Nautronix systems for their superior functionality and leading edge technology over alternative products.

Nautronix continues to lead the way in improving the reliability of digital acoustics through its core technology ADS² (Acoustic Digital Spread Spectrum) with year on year commitment to new technology with over $25m of R & D investment, including significant developments in its unique broadcast only NASNet® MkII positioning system.

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Subsea World News Staff , February 16, 2012;  Image: Nautronix