d in inhospitable environments and are designed to produce for twenty years or more. With time, they will require more and more frequent interventions, bearing in mind that any failure will require costly resources and may result in detrimental production shutdowns.has developed top-notch expertise in in situ repairs, such as this intervention on a ruptured injection line (line WI 15) on the Girassol field.address these challenges, Total has already mobilized the IMR (Inspection, Maintenance, Repair) experts of its deep offshore teams. The stakes are enormous: their job is to develop tools to optimize the operability, reliability and safety of tomorrow s mature fields.
Today s specialists already know how to monitor the integrity of infrastructure that is especially exposed to the inherent constraints of the deepwater environment (such as risers, mooring lines and export lines). However, the available data are still too fragmented. Tomorrow s operator at the surface will need to have available a comprehensive vision of the subsea infrastructure and the capacity to intervene promptly if something goes wrong. With both of these goals in mind, Total teamed up with the French robotics engineering firm Cybern ? tix to develop an innovative IMR system .
The new concept is called SWIMMER (for Subsea Works Inspection and Maintenance with Minimum Environment ROV). It is based on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) which contains its own Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV), and is designed to spend up to three months on the sea floor. The AUV is programmed onboard the FPSO then «swims» under its own power to one of the docking stations installed at the bottom of the ocean. After it docks, it releases its ROV. The ROV itself is controlled by an operator at the surface, and can intervene anywhere within a 200-meter radius around the station.AUV has a range of 50 km. It is equipped with cameras, measurement instruments and a real-time interface to exchange data with the FPSO. The AUV can also inspect pipes and other equipment as it swims from one docking station to another.
SWIMMER embodies some key advances :
· in terms of responsiveness: uninterrupted presence on the seabed by the AUV for a period of three months improves surveillance of the installations and allows quicker intervention if necessary;
· in terms of economics: because it does not depend on a dedicated support vessel, the AUV can translate to a substantial reduction in operating costs.is already under way to develop second-generation SWIMMER and subsea communications systems to increase its range and applications.
Keeping a Close Watch on Pipes
The integrity of subsea pipelines and other equipment is the key to safe, reliable deepwater developments. Total s R & D organization is running a number of programs devoted to research on effective, economically viable solutions to these issues. Total now equips all its flexible risers with an innovative continuous monitoring system developed in partnership with Schlumberger. RACS (for Riser Annulus Condition Surveillance) checks the integrity of these strategic lines. By allowing real-time detection of anomalies in th...
