An unmanned surface vessel has been sent out by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited to investigate pipeline routes in the Niger Delta.
The PUNCH recorded that, the USV breakthrough reduced exposure to people and the environment while saving time and money according to Shell.
The Media Relations Manager for Shell Nigeria, Abimbola Essien-Nelson, provided a statement informing us that the remotely operated USV had spent 166 hours in January surveying a pipeline route in Bonny.
“It is the longest single mission of its kind inside the Shell Group and the first USV deployment for a pipeline route reconnaissance in shallow water in Nigeria.
“This represents the new paradigm for surveying in Nigeria, where the Uncrewed Surface Vessel is deployed by both on-site and remote operators,” stated Essien-Nelson.
According to a remark from Chief Surveyor and Head of Offshore Survey Operations at SPDC, Steve Keedwell, “We recorded increased productivity and better data acquisition at the survey at Bonny. The USV is designed to be diesel-electric, its deployment resulted in a 97% reduction in CO2 emissions.
“The effectiveness of data collection combined with enhanced data quality and zero employee exposure is revolutionizing the way we conduct surveys.”
It was revealed that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited Upstream Investment Management Services, the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board, the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency were among the stakeholders with whom the SPDC collaborated to implement the technology.
Shell reported that it collaborated closely with a Nigerian vendor, Compass Survey Limited, to further its Nigerian content development strategy. Compass Survey Limited “deployed the vessel with support from their foreign partners, Unmanned Survey Solutions, UK.”
The oil major claims that in order to increase local capacity, the vendor is providing on-site remote operator training.
“This is a thrilling new phase in our endeavour to provide Nigerian content for survey administration.”
According to SPDC General Manager, Nigerian Content Development Lanre Olawuyi, “the innovation in the survey at Bonny is already drawing interests from the oil and gas industry and beyond, which means it stands a good chance of being widely used in Nigeria.”
