A long-standing truism is that ideas that change one industry dramatically often are the result of innovations from a different industry altogether. In the realm of subsea exploration and production, with its high levels of risk and expense, concepts pioneered or used elsewhere are positioned to initiate important advances, a fact reflected in the three papers chosen for this year’s feature on Subsea Hardware and Technology.
Paper OTC 28051 uses the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis technique often used in organizational and personal strategy-building to compare four different development concepts that hold promise for meeting the environmental and economic challenges posed by presalt fields in the Santos and Campos basins.
In its discussion of fiber-communications technology that has been widely used in other industries, paper OTC 27987 describes the search for optimal use of wet-mate connectors in subsea applications, stressing that the significant opportunities in data collection offered by this hardware are of limited value without rigorous quality control.
Finally, paper OTC 29069 delves into the world of marine mining, where developments in artificial intelligence and robotics are redefining the roles of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). These innovations, including diverse aspects such as increased mobility and manipulation abilities and enhanced inspection capabilities for extended AUV missions, may increase cost-effectiveness while creating minimal disruption to the seafloor—innovations that will likely have a powerful echo in the oil and gas industry.
With hard work, the progress outlined in these three papers may help create a better balance between cost, production, and ecological stability in offshore operations. The papers illustrate the interdependence of both technological and environmental systems, a truth of which operators in all realms of the industry must remain perpetually aware.
This Month's Technical Papers
Strengths and Weaknesses Guide Choice of Brazilian Subsea-Development Options
Subsea-Fiber Wet-Mate Connectors Require Careful Design To Balance Cost, Performance
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Support Marine Mining
Recommended Additional Reading
OTC 28992 Horizontal Well Placement in a Thin Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoir Using Azimuthal Sonic and Resistivity Measurements: A Case Study From Offshore Abu Dhabi by Amr M. Serry, ADMA-OPCO, et al.
OTC 28562 Electric-Controls Technology: The Role in Future Subsea Systems by Sigurd Moe, TechnipFMC, et al.
