Nigerian oilfield services provider RusselSmith and Norwegian robotics company Kongsberg Ferrotech are launching a range of autonomous subsea robotic technologies in Nigeria.
The robots will carry out inspection, repair and maintenance works on subsea pipelines.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with RusselSmith to introduce our autonomous robotic technologies to the Nigerian market,” says Christopher Carlsen, General Manager of Kongsberg Ferrotech. “We believe that these technologies will have a very positive impact on asset integrity management operations in the country.”
The technologies serve to upgrade subsea monitoring, repair and lifetime extension service offerings for both rigid and flexible pipes, umbilicals and ancillaries.
“We have a growing number of ageing assets in the country that require focused maintenance and life extension efforts,” notes Effiong Okwong, Divisional Chief Executive at RusselSmith. “Such maintenance efforts can now be further optimized for efficiency and made more cost-effective by adopting robotic solutions like ours.”
Because the robots will be capable of assessing and repairing subsea pipelines in a single operation – without divers or other conventional vessel-supported equipment – they will provide a flexible, effective and autonomous emergency pipeline repair system, leaving a lesser environmental trace.
“On the environmental front, we can expect to see a reduction in pollution due to pipeline leaks because operators will be better equipped to maintain pipelines and respond quickly to incidents,” Okwong adds. “At RusselSmith, our focus remains on providing smart technology solutions to help our customers unlock more value from their assets in safe and efficient ways.”
