Offshore Technology: Safer by technology

MATTHEW TREMBLAY, ABS  

Data and digitalization are a here-and-now solution. For the international oil and gas community, its development for inspection applications——from component design and manufacture, through to construction and in-service maintenance—is evolving at a rapid pace. The evolution of technologies and how they can be applied to remote inspection techniques signals a major transition in how the industry is tackling the monitoring and integrity of its assets offshore, as well as onshore. 

ABS is at the forefront of how remote inspection technologies are being developed for industry and how they can be applied. The firm believes companies should be able to execute inspections swiftly, accurately, and with minimal disruption to operations. Proven technology applications are now generating more detailed insight than was once possible with the human eye, and they’re representing a game-changer in how these latest services are fast attracting the interest of oil and gas operators. 

This is true, not only in the U.S. but also across Europe and Asia. And this is not only by operators of vessels, facilities and equipment used in oil and gas operations, but also by state-of-the-art audit services that are now appealing to a wider range of operators across the breadth of the supply chain globally for equipment and materials manufacturing. 

VALUE-LED TECHNOLOGIES 

The safety we expect in our everyday lives depends on things working, and working properly.  From the offshore rig drilling for oil, the processes used for refining, or power stations and plants onshore, all must be built, operated and managed with safety in mind. 

Clients have told ABS what a difference the remote inspection services have made to their operations since they were first introduced. ABS took the decision to officially launch its remote surveys as far back as 2018, following a lengthy period of testing and evaluation to prove out the technologies being applied. ABS has since taken the decision to extend their range of technologies globally, providing more choice and flexibility for how clients can  play a critical role in the oil and gas industry, safely and efficiently. 

BORN OUT OF THE COVID ERA 

The pandemic was a period that severely stress-tested the professional and practical ways in which we all operate, and increasingly, the way companies operate their assets both onshore and offshore. It also became the impetus for ABS to re-evaluate business practices. 

 From the vast array of rigs, vessels and infrastructure, the concept of remote inspections seemed a far distant technological revolution then. Today, ABS is powering up advances in remote inspection technologies, including its remote surveys and audits that augment the traditional survey experience by allowing surveyors to perform a range of actions without being physically present while simultaneously capturing all survey and audit requirements, Fig. 1. Access to remote surveys and audits allows for business continuity, particularly during challenging times that may create scheduling conflicts or personnel or logistical issues. 

ABS' Operations Support Center has global coverage and is staffed with trained and qualified surveyors ready at a moment's notice.

For decades, maintenance management and condition evaluation of oil and gas assets have been labor-intensive, analog exercises. Often, surveyors put themselves in high-risk confined spaces to inspect operating equipment. Remote inspection technologies help to reduce direct human intervention on site and in dangerous situations, which is enhancing a safety-first approach with the adoption of tools, software and systems that improve safety, performance, and operating costs for the client.  

These technologies can navigate through complex and dangerous environments, access restricted spaces, and perform inspections with precision and agility. This dramatically reduces risk and, in the longer term, cost, by reducing human intervention and automating maintenance inspections. Advances in image recognition from deep-learning techniques have made it possible to create a high-fidelity model of the world around an asset.  

ABS’s Operations Support Center (OSC), has become the hub for efficient identification, dispatching and execution of remote surveys, Fig. 2. The OSC has global coverage and is staffed with trained and qualified surveyors ready at a moment’s notice to connect to assets and perform remote surveys. The rapid expansion of asset connectivity and remote inspection technologies is enabling the OSC to serve as a core function in ABS’ approach to class surveys.  

Fig. 2. ABS’ Operations Support Center (OSC) serves as a hub for efficient identification, dispatching and execution of remote surveys.

The economic implications of adopting remote inspection technologies are profound. Beyond the direct cost savings, the early detection of failures through enhanced monitoring can prevent extensive damage and downtime, further optimizing the financial viability of oil and gas assets. The ability to conduct thorough inspections remotely means that maintenance can be potentially proactive rather than reactive, which is less costly and more efficient for the operators and their teams. It can save on mobilization costs, which helps to reduce risks associated with offshore travel. 

THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR 

Remote inspection technologies used on oil and gas assets should be a very reassuring and a trusted approach to operating any asset safely. 

There's regulatory approval, thinking how best to standardize an approach across asset types, sizes and functions. There are challenges around the perception of “new” technologies by employees and their participation in an approach that will require a change of mindset, as remote technologies begin to transform their duties and improve the infrastructure of supply chains. Data management and connectivity are imperative for seamless implementation of these practices. 

The ultimate goal of remote technologies is not to entirely remove employees from inspection operations, but to use technologies as a way to more efficiently and effectively inform decision-makers without the need to be physically present onboard thanks to, for example, sensor technologies. 

Sensor systems are evolving, and their application across transport, infrastructure and pipeline assets is expanding at a fast rate. This expansion is needed to meet the demands of expanded remote inspection technologies, satisfy the need to cut costs, and ensure efficiencies are met safely. 

Recent projects indicate how the scope of new remote inspection services can be applied. They have shown the benefits of adopting this approach more widely, as alarms and alerts for critical assets. We now see several advantages, including:   

• Allowing for more accurate turnaround and management planning and execution
• Preventing the surprise appearance of potentially new damage mechanisms
• Optimizing the use of alternative and opportunity feedstock and managing the risks
• Enabling more informed decision-making for operational changes, with less downtime
• Reducing cost overruns, inspection overheads and unplanned shutdowns
• Enhancing safety while extending the operating life of an asset.

WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS MANAGED 

Confronted by daily challenges, complexities, uncertainties and opportunities, it is easy to lose sight of a simple fact: companies that fully assess their risks are better able to manage them strategically. Delivering effective remote inspection services with the support of independent expertise from companies like ABS is vital to the oil and gas industry’s continued success and evolution.  

Joint ventures and collaborations with technology developers, which introduce valuable core inspection and maintenance competencies into businesses, are beginning to redefine industry perceptions of safety, and foster important dialogue about sustainable energy supply and demand issues. These challenges can then be tackled head on, together. These programs are particularly valuable when seen alongside industry trends. First, oil and gas infrastructure globally is maturing, exacerbating the potential of changing processes and, in some cases, introducing new damage mechanisms.  

We are also seeing a greater number of assets switch hands more frequently. In its simplest terms, this can be a change of personnel at a given site, right through to a new organization inheriting assets. A new plant owner for example, may well have a different internal culture and operating mindset to the previous one. Both these cases are examples of where the remote technologies can help. 

Progress in the fields of monitoring and sensing, along with technological leaps in software and data acquisition, can now all be leveraged. Operators and their engineers with leadership teams can benefit from smart dashboards, providing clarity and enabling information-based decision-making. This is a long-awaited solution.  

WHY NOW? 

Digitalization is a reality, and it demonstrates a growing commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology into operations. The entire landscape is shifting towards data-driven verification and using multiple data sources to facilitate inspections, including drones, equipment operating sensors, transactional data, and different forms of technology.  

ABS is evolving these technologies and the techniques to collect data. Starlink has been a game-changer for industry. It has improved how an offshore asset can connect back onshore in the most remote environments, securely and with ease. Logistically, there is now no need for delays waiting to send a surveyor to a distant location. You can connect to an asset, extract the data, and live-stream operations, working remotely.  

Remote technologies are applied during close-up visual class surveys of a structure in mobile offshore units. ABS is forward-thinking in applying technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), crawlers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and wearable technologies to augment traditional class-related surveys and inspections. In the last 12 months, the demand for these services and expansion of remote inspection technology (RIT) service suppliers. It has ramped up significantly and today represents a core part of the business’s service portfolio. 

ABS is taking it one-step further into data verification, leveraging data and mapping it to class verification points. It’s a world-first in providing industry with incredible insights 24/7 on the health of their assets that simply wasn’t available before. Services are being tested and piloted with different operators to ensure that the service is not a roadblock for industry. This gives companies peace of mind before a decision is taken related to the extent and type of remote inspection, where this will be used in the future. 

ABS has led a number of new remote inspection technology initiatives, and their development has helped operators to identify risks early on and eliminate downtime for in-service modifications that go on to reduce operating costs. 

ABS is developing strategies every day that help to mitigate and manage potential problems for clients later on. Careful monitoring of risks using remote inspection technologies at construction, installation and in-service is invaluable, ensuring that the condition of an asset—such as a vessel, Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit or Offshore Production Facility—is thoroughly documented when it is commissioned and put into service, Fig. 3. All these factors help make sure that asset operations are fit-for-service and optimized cost-effectively, and that a client’s inspection and maintenance programs are appropriate, focused and targeted. 

Fig. 3. By monitoring risks using remote inspection technologies at construction, installation and in-service, offshore assets are thoroughly documented by the time they are commissioned.

LOOKING TO A DIGITAL FUTURE 

Proven remote inspection technologies are pioneering how oil and gas operators can achieve greater efficiencies and insights with new data and information on how an asset performs.  

Given the growing complexity and costs associated with the discovery and supply of tomorrow’s new energy sources, and the associated infrastructure needed to support their transport, the integration of remote technology promises to simplify processes while enhancing safety and efficiency. Remote inspection technologies are the primary catalyst for transitioning from traditional human-resourced maintenance to real-time risk assessments and insights, which is more cost-effective and allows second-by-second assessment of an asset’s integrity. This enables maintenance responses, based on actual needs rather than forecasts. It reduces downtime for the operator, the supply chain and engineers or surveyors. 

ABS has significantly expanded its remote survey capability in recent months and is now able to conduct numerous classification surveys and project certifications remotely on eligible vessels and facilities. Its remote survey and audit services are available to equipment and materials manufacturing clients all over the globe. It is what industry needs to transform from traditional time-consuming maintenance protocols, particularly at a time when cost-efficiencies and smarter ways of working are improving how company operations are seen by flag states and regulators. 

By leveraging remote inspection technologies, combined with more effective data collection, ABS is helping clients shift their approach and streamline finite resources to focus on known problem areas. ABS continues its industry research into these inspection technologies with a goal of continuously improving internal practices and efficiencies for its clients. 

Whether relying on existing or new infrastructure, the integrity of an operation above or below the water line, or onshore, will increasingly become a central link in the global energy supply chain. Remote inspection technologies are redefining the boundaries of oil and gas safety with strong robust processes. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MATTHEW TREMBLAY serves as ABS senior vice president of Global Offshore Markets, based at ABS corporate headquarters in Houston. In his current role, Mr. Tremblay holds the global responsibility for strategic planning and client development within the offshore market sector. Throughout his 28-year tenure at ABS, Mr. Tremblay has served in various engineering and leadership positions throughout the United States and Asia, including Pacific Division vice president of Operations, based in Singapore, and vice president of Engineering for the ABS Americas Division. Mr. Tremblay graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, with a bachelor's degree in marine engineering. He is also a member of the American Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME).