Remotely Operated Vehicles
Oceaneering ROV aboard the Transocean Development Driller III
More than 4 million people watched the 24-hour a day camera feeds beamed live to bp.com from the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) working around the leaking well
Armed with high-tech video equipment, the ROVs - often described as ‘robot submarines’ - were a window to BP’s operation 5,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Not only did these unmanned robots provide the eyes of the operation but also the hands. This fleet of hardy underwater vehicles regularly overcome harsh conditions and low visibility to complete numerous subsea missions from turning bolts to closing valves.
ROVs are not a new technology. They have been used in the oil industry for more than 30 years to reach depths to which no human diver could descend. Most ROVs resemble a giant steel box, with some measuring up to 11.5 feet in length, about the size of a small car. Their manipulator arms can pick up tools and some are capable of lifting a tonne weight. These £1m vehicles are deployed in a protective cage which carries them to their subsea location.
ROVs are not a new technology. They have been used in the oil industry for more than 30 years to reach depths to which no human diver could descend. Most ROVs resemble a giant steel box, with some measuring up to 11.5 feet in length, about the size of a small car. Their manipulator arms can pick up tools and some are capable of lifting a tonne weight. These £1m vehicles are deployed in a protective cage which carries them to their subsea location.
Underwater toolboxes
BP’s Richard Lynch led the team spearheading attempts to seal the well. He remembers watching the live video feed as the ROVs went to work on connecting pipes that would ultimately make way for the cap that would seal the well.
“Everyone watched the ROVS take those six bolts off around the joint and believe it or not we had a tool for every one of those bolts,” he said.
Each tool was specially engineered to be ROV-friendly so the robots could adequately grip every device. Subsea ‘toolboxes’ were installed, allowing each robot to pick up equipment in the area, maximising the time they could spend on the operations.
“In 5,000 feet of water, this saved us the time that it would have taken to get the ROVs back to the surface - you have to have the tools available there and then,” Lynch said.
“Everyone watched the ROVS take those six bolts off around the joint and believe it or not we had a tool for every one of those bolts,” he said.
Each tool was specially engineered to be ROV-friendly so the robots could adequately grip every device. Subsea ‘toolboxes’ were installed, allowing each robot to pick up equipment in the area, maximising the time they could spend on the operations.
“In 5,000 feet of water, this saved us the time that it would have taken to get the ROVs back to the surface - you have to have the tools available there and then,” Lynch said.
ROV pilots
A tether or ‘umbilical’ links the ROVs ROV to the surface control rooms cabin where the operators or ‘pilots’ control or ‘fly’ these highly manoeuvrable machines. According to subsea manager John Hughes, flying isn’t the hard part of the role of ROV pilot “it’s the maintenance.” Nothing would have happened subsea without these vehicles, so it was key that they were well looked after, which is difficult when working with electronics.
“ROVs need very smart people to maintain them. They have a lot of electronics and hydraulics and fibre optics for the high-quality video,” Hughes said.
In a deepwater site like the Gulf of Mexico, it’s usual to find six ROVs and their operators working from three different vessels. A greater number would carry the risk of the ROV’s tethers, which can span 3,000 feet, becoming entangled. But through extensive storyboarding, where every operation was broken down to a sequence of minute movements, a record number of 14 ROVs worked simultaneously around the Macondo well site to complete operations as quickly - and as safely - as possible.
Lynch says, “To people watching the operation, it probably looked like chaos but every move had been well thought out. Nothing was left to chance, everything was designed for a reason and every movement mapped out in advance.”
“ROVs need very smart people to maintain them. They have a lot of electronics and hydraulics and fibre optics for the high-quality video,” Hughes said.
In a deepwater site like the Gulf of Mexico, it’s usual to find six ROVs and their operators working from three different vessels. A greater number would carry the risk of the ROV’s tethers, which can span 3,000 feet, becoming entangled. But through extensive storyboarding, where every operation was broken down to a sequence of minute movements, a record number of 14 ROVs worked simultaneously around the Macondo well site to complete operations as quickly - and as safely - as possible.
Lynch says, “To people watching the operation, it probably looked like chaos but every move had been well thought out. Nothing was left to chance, everything was designed for a reason and every movement mapped out in advance.”
Attestation
The information on this page forms part of the information reviewed and reported on by Ernst & Young as part of BP's 2010 sustainability reporting.
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More on ROVs from the people who make them
