Advancing e-ROVs

摘要

Statoil is working with Oceaneering on a project that could at least achieve a stepping stone towards the goal of having permanently sta-tioned underwater vehicles. The firms are working on an e-ROV (remote operated vehicle) skid, which could comprise a subsea garage, with a 100kw battery pack and tether management system, with surface communica-tion and control via a buoy with antennae (connected to the skid with a Kevlar and fiber cable), to enable an ROV to work remotely for periods of time on the seafloor. If there is communication available on a nearby subsea template, this could be used instead. It could also link up to a drilling rig, whose activity it could be supporting.