Oceaneering to supply Equinor with battery-powered ROV

Oceaneering has won a contract from Equinor for the provision of resident, battery-powered electric remotely operated vehicle (E-ROV) system to support subsea inspection, maintenance and repair activities.

Oceaneering said on Monday that the deal with Equinor would last for three years with additional two one-year optional extension periods.

The E-ROV system is expected to be deployed in water depths up to 1,000 meters on the Norwegian continental shelf. Work under the contract is scheduled to begin in early December 2018.

Martin J. McDonald, senior vice president of ROVs at Oceaneering, said: “[…] we are excited by this award with Equinor to provide this resident ROV system. The E-ROV system is capable of operating for extended periods of time without being recovered to the surface, which greatly reduces the requirement for a surface vessel onsite. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Equinor.”

The E-ROV system is piloted from one of Oceaneering’s onshore mission support centers, using the company’s proprietary Remote Piloting and Automated Control Technology, or RPACT.

The RPACT transfers ROV control data and live, high-definition video with low latency, using a 4G mobile broadband signal transmitted from a buoy on the water’s surface.

This technology also deploys machine vision learning and augmented reality techniques, and allows for efficiencies and versatility that lead to real-time control of the ROV and its tooling.