Norwegian subsea services firm Reach Subsea has brough in TotalEnergies to its Reach Remote uncrewed surface vessel (USV) qualification program, which joins Equinor and other industry majors as partner in the pilot program.
The pilot project includes a variety of relevant survey, ROV intervention, IMR and monitoring related work scope which will demonstrate the full capacity of the Reach Remote spread.
Reach Remote is an uncrewed 24-meter surface vessel equipped with hull-mounted survey sensors and a work class Electric ROV.
Unlike traditional crewed subsea vessels, Reach Remote represents a new approach to conducting subsea work scopes, with positive impacts on efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability with an objective to reduce emissions by 90%.
The pilot program with Equinor, TotalEnergies and others is planned to be executed directly after the delivery of the vessels. The scope of work is part of a full-scale operation and will be executed offshore in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea on production fields such as Troll, Gullfaks, Snorre and Åsgard.
“For TotalEnergies, USVs present opportunities to increase safety, reduce emissions and reduce cost when performing IMR operations.
“In support of the ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society, USVs are expected to form part of the suite of tools to support asset integrity across the subsea portfolio.
“The aim is to demonstrate safe methods of operation, and to prepare for this emerging technology,” said Andy Gower, R&D Subsea Robotics Lead of TotalEnergies.
“We are pleased that major energy contractors are actively supporting the validation process, which is crucial to ensuring the USVs can be effectively deployed. Conducting the pilot qualification program at full scale for prospective clients who are considering the future use of USVs represents the highest level of validation for our technology,” said Jostein Alendal, CEO of Reach Subsea.