Combined long baseline (LBL) acoustic positioning and inertial navigation system (INS) software from energy technology company Sonardyne has helped to support the latest phase of an offshore project northwest Australia.

The project is the first full use of Sonardyne’s Fusion 2 software and associated 6 ‘plus’ (6+) hardware in Australia, cementing the global adoption of the new survey and construction technology in the wake of field development projects across Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia.

In this latest deployment, geo-data insights firm UTEC, the lead brand for Acteon’s Geo-services segment, used Fusion 2 software and 6+ hardware in support of full and sparse LBL operations to position and install a new subsea well gathering system being tied back to an existing facility.

“Fusion 2 vastly simplifies topside interfaces and simplifies use, because it does the job of three systems, in one,” says Edd Moller, Sonardyne’s Head of Energy. “When used with our latest generation 6+ hardware, including the industry standard Compatt 6+ transponders and vehicle-installed ROVNav 6+ transceiver, it enables more to be done with less equipment in the water. It can operate in full LBL arrays, where required, but, using the latest fast LBL mode, it can also reduce time on task. That’s because it can take advantage of the combined ranging and telemetry functionality of our 6+ hardware, which is enabled by our Wideband 3 digital signal protocol.

“Fusion 2 can also operate in sparse LBL arrays, reducing the amount of subsea hardware required during these operations, saving project costs but still with the same LBL positioning accuracies. Fusion 2 can also be operated in USBL-aided INS mode, allowing improved and fast updates of the vessels USBL system. It’s a truly flexible system for supporting any offshore construction or survey operation.”

[blockquote]Paul Barry, Country Manager – UTEC said; Following installation of five drill centre arrays for future structure installation we were able to use the SLAM calibration routine to integrate the wider area cut-to-length arrays using fewer Compatts than we would have normally. The SLAM calibration on the cut-to-length Compatts was done in parallel with the pre-lay survey as the ROV was passing along the route, therefore saving vessel time and reducing the carbon footprint of the project. [/blockquote]

Using various combinations of Sparse LBL aided INS and full LBL aided INS a total of 29 structures were installed. The ROV was docked onto the structures and the much faster and smoother aided INS position updates made for efficient structure installation operations.

Our successful, and continuing, use of the system was built on the comprehensive training in Fusion 2 and 6+ of our field personnel by Sonardyne and the supply of the Compatts and ROVNAV’s from Seatronics, the lead brand for Acteon’s Electronics and Tooling segment. The Seatronics supply required them to upgrade their Compatt and ROVNAV 6’s to 6+ functionality plus perform rigorous pre-mob testing.

UTEC’s use of Fusion 2 and 6+ hardware to generate vessel time-savings on this project is just one example of UTEC’s objective to safely manage the introduction of new technologies to benefit our clients on future projects around the world.”