Niharika VyasHuman divers have certain limitations pertaining to deepwater diving which also involves numerous risk factors. With time, these limitations started creating hindrance in the development of oil and gas resources in the deeper water. To overcome these problems, the inception of the first tethered ROV took place in 1953 which was later popularized by the US military. Soon after that, ROV operations were introduced in the commercial world and the oil and gas industry started manufacturing the preliminary versions of ROVs.
ROVs did not find much success in the oil and gas industry initially but with time, the ROV operation, technology and capabilities improved tremendously and this equipment became the eyes and hands of the sea. Now, they are also referred to as underwater robots whose controller is above the water. ROVs contain some visual device like a camera to capture the details of underwater. These devices are linked with the topside through an umbilical link which also dwells communications cables, an energy source and information transfer.
Offshore subsea is the most daunting environment to carry out surveys but ROV operations have made it easier for the industry to collect underwater data. The use of this unmanned vehicle has added to the revenue of the offshore industry and oil and gas overall. With time more and more companies started manufacturing and designing ROVs to improve the performance and operations of the industry which was an indication of improvement and growth for the industry.
Expansion Of The Market For ROV Companies
There was a major drop in ROV activities post-2014 crisis and as ROV market is closely connected with the offshore activities in the oil and gas industry, it also underwent a tough time. The ROV operations slowed down and between January 2015 to August 2017, a steep decline in the global offshore drilling rig count was recorded which was from 371 to 219. This decline in the rig count was caused mainly because of the decrease in the offshore activities in the regions of Africa and South America which are the traditional areas of deepwater activity. Further, the deepwater operation project cost has dropped 20% since 2014 which is a concern for the offshore industry.
But now, the industry has strategized its future operations with the new discoveries taking place globally which includes, Eni’s Zohr gas field, offshore Egypt, and ExxonMobil’s Liza discovery offshore Guyana. This indicates that in future the industry will witness some capital-intensive projects driving the ROV market. Moreover, some projects which were considered commercially non-feasible two years back, are now being reconsidered which will thrust the oil and gas investment. In 2017, the market through ROV operations was valued at USD 777.5 million and is expected to soar high and reach USD 943.1 million by 2023 with a CAGR of 3.27%.
Regions like South America and China are contributing significantly in the improvement of the ROV market. For example, as of May 2017, China had 5% of the total offshore fleet in the world active with its offshore activities concentrated in Bohai Bay, Pearl River Delta, and Beibu Gulf areas. There have been significant improvements led by the major players of the ROV industry which also has contributed to the growth of the market.
Major market players driving efficiency of the ROV operations have been mentioned below:
Delta SubSea
Delta SubSea (DSS) is a leading ROV Services and Solutions, Consulting & Engineering, and Tooling Solutions provider for the subsea oil and gas industry. It also offers its customers with many services including inspection, repair and maintenance, construction, drilling and decommissioning market segments. The company is committed to providing reliable solutions and services to its clients. The various kinds of ROVs provided by the company are:
- Schilling Robotics HD 150
- Schilling Robotics UHD 200
- Schilling UHD 250 Gen III
- Constructor ROV
Oceaneering
Oceaneering serves the industry with the latest technologies and works towards improving the efficiency of the subsea operations. It provides engineering services and products mainly to the offshore industry. It is one of the industry’s leading ROV providers and works with the customers to re-shape the future of the offshore industry. Some of the ROVs provided by the company are:
- Nexxus Rov
- Maxximum® ROV
- Millennium® Plus ROV
- Magnum® Plus ROV
Deep Ocean
Deep Ocean offers many services to the offshore oil and gas industry including Inspection, Maintenance and Repair, Subsea Construction, and Project Management and Engineering through Life-of-Field from inception to decommissioning. The various ROVs provided for different ROV operations by the company are:
- Constructor 220 HP
- Constructor ROV
- Mohawk
- Mojave
Types of ROV In Oil and Gas
There are various types of ROVs deployed for different ROV operations. Their functions vary simply from taking the camera to keep an eye on the subsea environment to performing some specific subsea function. They vary in size based on ROV operations performed by them. Some of the major categorizations are mentioned below:
Small Electric Vehicle
Their major ROV operations include observation and inspection and they are the tiniest version of this equipment. Typically, they have a single camera whose range is not more than 300 meters.
High Capability Electric ROVs
These type of ROVs can dive up to 6,096 meters but they can only carry video cameras and cannot perform many tasks. Heavy capability ROVs cannot perform any heavy tasks of the oil and gas industry.
Work Class Vehicle
These are heavier duty machines and are electrically and hydraulically powered. It has seven-function manipulator and a five-function grabber. The ROV operations include deployment in drilling, construction and pipeline inspection sectors.
With the increase in ROV operations in different areas, there were major improvements led by the companies in order to enhance the operational efficiency of the vehicle. The R&D department of the industry has brought in light many advancements which will help in overcoming the persisting challenges and lead to substantial improvement in performance.
Recent Improvements In ROV Technology
With the increase in the demand for ROV operations, the industry’s R&D department continues its quest to bring in further advancements in the technology and operation on the whole. Recently, IMCA updated its guidelines for the Safe and Efficient Operation of Remotely Operated Vehicles (IMCA R 004 Rev4) and the classifications have been revised. The updated classification of ROVs is mentioned below:
- Class I – Pure observation ROVs
- Class IIA – Observation class vehicles with a payload option
- Class IIB – Observation class vehicles with light intervention/survey and construction capability
- Class IIIA – Standard work class vehicles with a payload of <200kg and through frame lift of approx. 1000kg
- Class IIIB – Advanced work class vehicles with a payload of >200kg and through frame lift of up to 3000kg
- Class IVA – Towed vehicles, typically plough used in subsea cable burial operations
- Class IVB – Tracked vehicles utilising HP water jetting and specialised rock cutting tools, again used in the burial of subsea cables and pipelines
- Class V – Prototype or development vehicles
- Class VIA – Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) weighing <100kg
- Class VIB – Autonomous Underwater Vehicles weighing > 100kg
Apart from this, ROVs have found their use in the renewable energy sector too, which has further escalated the demand of the vehicle. These improvements and advancements will help the industry take the challenges head-on and build upon them new technologies for better performance.
The application of ROVs has increased which has led to the improvement in the market of the offshore industry. With the prominence of the technology increasing dramatically, it would be interesting to see how the industry balances the performance and demand of these unmanned vehicles at the same time.
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