Leading underwater inspection provider, Welaptega, has successfully completed a mooring inspection campaign for Premier Oil in the Central North Sea.
Welaptega, an Ashtead Technology company, developed and engineered the inspection solution using its Subsea Cleaning Tool and Subsea Caliper attached to an inspection-class ROV. Deployed directly from the platform rather than from a support vessel, the elimination of vessel day rate costs led to significant daily five-figure cost savings for Premier Oil.
Welaptega's Subsea Caliper deployed on chain
Welaptega successfully carried out the visual inspection scope and chain measurements from the hull interface to the touchdown point 143 metres below the waterline. The work is part of a wider life extension scope being carried out by the operator across the Balmoral field.
As well as eliminating support vessel requirements, the approach required less technicians offshore to complete the work, in turn reducing project costs further.
Tyler de Gier, General Manager of Welaptega, said: “Although we’ve proven this model for other clients, this is the first time we have completed an asset-based mooring inspection for Premier Oil and we are pleased to have been able to complete a successful campaign which resulted in significant cost savings for our client.
Subsea Cleaning Tool close-up
“We are looking to continue to develop these capabilities this year, with a focus on R&D to allow this method of deployment to be extended to our innovative optical Chain Measurement System.”
Andrew Mackay, Premier Oil’s Marine Superintendent, said: “We were extremely impressed with Welaptega’s professionalism and the quality of the mooring chain inspection programme they carried out for us on our Balmoral asset.”
To see Welaptega’s optical chain measurement system in action, watch this video.
