Subsea equipment plays a fundamental role across various industries, facilitating exploration, inspection, monitoring and intervention below the ocean’s surface. It allows a range of companies to navigate this challenging environment with precision and efficiency.
From the extraction of hydrocarbons to harnessing clean energy and conducting cutting-edge research, subsea equipment offers versatile solutions for diverse applications. Here, we explore the functions and benefits subsea equipment can unlock for three primary subsea industries; oil and gas, renewable energy and marine science.
Subsea equipment in the oil and gas industry
How subsea equipment enables oil and gas exploration
Since the industry began extracting oil and gas from offshore locations, subsea equipment has been integral to the success of operations within the sector. In recent years, the increasing number of ageing assets around the world, and the global energy transition, have required increasingly reliable subsea equipment, which has led to a number of innovations across the subsea equipment market.
Equipment categories that are very connected to oil and gas projects - both in the installation of new infrastructure and integrated risk management (IRM) - are inspection equipment, long baseline (LBL) positioning systems, ROV tools, and oceanographic equipment. The primary uses and functions of subsea equipment in the oil and gas industry include the following:
Inspection equipment: This includes advanced tools and devices used to assess the integrity, performance and safety of materials, structures or systems, often utilising non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques to identify flaws without causing damage.
Long baseline (LBL) positioning systems: This system functions by measuring acoustic ranges to a seabed array of transponders. These are then passed through a least squares computation to accurately trilaterate a position.
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs): ROVs are crucial in providing visual assessments for corrosion, damage or leaks, as well as collecting data to ensure the integrity of subsea infrastructure.
Oceanographic equipment: To provide data on currents and water properties, oceanographic equipment offers a better understanding of the subsea environment and allows companies to make informed decisions on their renewable energy projects.
The benefits of subsea equipment for oil and gas companies
With cost and safety being primary concerns within the industry, along with the expansion into deep and ultra-deep water operations, companies are becoming increasingly selective when sourcing equipment for subsea oil and gas operations.
The use of high-quality subsea equipment for oil and gas extraction has revolutionised the sector, offering a number of benefits to companies and operators; from optimising production efficiency, to mitigating operational risks in challenging offshore environments. The most significant benefits are as follows:
Increased efficiency: Specialised subsea equipment allows for more precise and faster extraction processes in the oil and gas sector, which reduces downtime and increases production as a result.
Enhanced safety: With recent innovations allowing for more tasks to be operated remotely, subsea equipment offers an enhanced level of control and safety. It also produces in-depth data to allow for clearer and safer decision making.
Cost reductions: By optimising subsea architecture, increasing operational efficiency and extending the life cycle of ageing assets through improved maintenance and inspection, subsea equipment allows for a number of cost reductions within the oil and gas industry.
Subsea equipment in the renewable energy sector
How subsea equipment is used for renewable energy
As sustainable operations and net zero have become crucial targets for companies around the world, offshore renewables has emerged as a significant subsea market.
To harness power from renewable sources, especially offshore wind and tidal energy, the renewable energy sector relies heavily on subsea equipment for installation, maintenance and monitoring, allowing for the sustainable and efficient generation of renewable energy.
Equipment that support wind farm projects include winches, sidescan and sub-bottom profiling systems, multibeam echo sounders, magnetometers, oceanographic and positioning equipment:
Electric winches: These allow for lifting, pulling and positioning of subsea infrastructure during the installation phase, while using an efficient electric power source.
Sidescan and sub-bottom profiling systems: Utilising advanced sonar technologies, these tools create detailed images of the seabed (sidescan) and map and analyse the layers beneath the seafloor (sub-bottom profiling), to provide critical data for offshore operations.
Multibeam echo sounders: These are sonar systems that utilise multiple beams of sound to map the seafloor in high detail. This provides precise depth measurements and detailed 3D images of underwater environments for various applications.
Magnetometers: These are used to measure magnetic fields and map geological features below the seabed, allowing teams to locate submerged pipelines, shipwrecks, or unexploded ordnance.
Oceanographic instruments: To provide data on currents and water properties, oceanographic equipment offers a better understanding of the subsea environment and allows companies to make informed decisions on their renewable energy projects.
Positioning equipment: This is essential for enabling precise device installation and subsequently maximising energy production, as well as overall safety.
The benefits of subsea equipment in the renewable energy industry
Companies within the renewable energy sector can unlock a range of benefits by leveraging innovative subsea equipment in their projects and operations. As an industry centred around sustainability and lowering carbon emissions, environmental considerations are crucial when it comes to renewable energy, as well as ensuring that operations run efficiently.
The most significant benefits the renewable energy sector can gain from subsea equipment are:
Sustainable operations: Subsea equipment enables the efficient harnessing of renewable energy sources, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and promoting sustainable energy production.
Reliability and durability: The robust design of subsea equipment ensures it can withstand harsh marine environments, providing long-term operational reliability.
Operational efficiency: Advanced subsea technology streamlines installation and maintenance processes, reducing downtime and operational costs.
Subsea equipment in the marine science industry
Using subsea equipment for marine science
The ocean occupies 71% of the earth’s surface and holds many secrets which aren’t immediately visible or accessible to us. Subsea equipment is therefore essential for the marine science industry to allow researchers to better understand and monitor activity from marine life, which provides invaluable data for exploration and aids conservation efforts for the subsea environment as a whole.
Marine subsea equipment can be used to gather intelligence and research on sea life and subsea habitats in the following ways:
Underwater cameras and video systems: These systems are used for continuous visual monitoring of marine life, underwater habitats and geological features below the ocean’s surface. They can be mounted on ROVs, AUVs or deployed as standalone units.
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs): Equipped with cameras, lights and various tools, ROVs can be used to conduct visual inspections, take samples and perform precise tasks at depths which can’t be reached by divers.
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs): These are programmable robotic vehicles that operate independently for mapping the seafloor, collecting water samples and measuring elements such as ocean temperature, salinity and currents.
Sonar Systems: Multibeam and side-scan sonar systems are also used for mapping the seafloor, as well as providing detailed imagery and data to detect underwater objects and studying marine life.
Underwater drills: These allow researchers to collect samples from the seabed for geological studies, allowing marine scientists to gain important data on seabed sediments.
The benefits of subsea equipment in the marine science industry
When it comes to marine science, knowledge is power, and by utilising high-tech subsea equipment, researchers can gain a better understanding and invaluable insight into the ocean’s environment and wildlife in order to better protect them.
The most significant benefits that marine scientists can unlock through the use of subsea equipment are:
Enhanced research capabilities: Thanks to the availability of a vast range of innovative technology, subsea equipment offers detailed and extensive exploration of underwater environments, providing researchers with high-quality data for scientific analysis.
Environmental monitoring: By using specialised subsea equipment, marine scientists can continuously monitor the underwater environment, helping them to track changes in marine ecosystems, assess the impact of human activities and develop conservation strategies to protect the ocean’s wildlife.
Data collection: Efficient and precise data gathering methods are provided by modern subsea equipment and supports a wide range of scientific research within this industry, from climate studies through to marine biology and geology.
Subsea equipment is essential for driving advancements and efficiencies in multiple offshore industries, with its applications enhancing operational safety, efficiency and sustainability across the board.
At STR, we provide state-of-the-art subsea equipment, carefully designed to meet the diverse needs of a range of industries. Discover our impressive product portfolio and find out more about how subsea equipment can benefit your operations…
