iXblue’s new subsea positioning technology has been successfully deployed by survey provider UTEC on a world-class ultra-deep water field development project in Africa at depths of below 2000 metres. The sparse LBL solution combines Canopus intelligent transponders, Ramses transceivers, inertial navigation systems, and Delph subsea positioning software, along with an innovative ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) method, to provide more informative positioning and spool piece metrology at multiple drill centres throughout the project.
iXblue’s solution can be easily integrated within existing operational fields, and offers significant installation vessel time savings compared to conventional subsea positioning methods. UTEC is the first company to operate iXblue’s new sparse range-aided INS subsea positioning technology on a commercial project in the energy industry.
Paul Smith, Group Managing Director at UTEC, commented: “The extensive and open dialogue between UTEC and iXblue personnel enabled iXblue to fully develop the capabilities of their system to meet our clients’ requirements and expectations. UTEC now have experience and knowledge of Canopus and Ramses that lets us provide the benefits of the system to other clients.”
Olivier Cervantes, VP Energy Market at iXblue, said: “We want to thank UTEC for trusting iXblue once again with this major project. The strong partnership between our teams allowed us to successfully overcome the challenges posed by a highly difficult health situation and complex security conditions in-country. Between remote sea trials and training of UTEC offshore personnel due to the travel restrictions in place at that time, to the successful deployment of the solution despite a challenging environment, the agility and outstanding teamwork achieved by both our companies is something that is worth noting and we look forward to our continued partnership with UTEC.”
