Project Ariel and USIS allow the integration of an offshore submarine robot and an aerial vehicle in one
unmanned vessel
Repsol Sinopec Brasil, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the country, and TideWise, a Brazilian company that offers services using autonomous vessels, developed the ARIEL project (Autonomous Robot for Identification of Emulsified Liquids) and the USIS project (Uncrewed Subsea Inspection System), both with the aim of creating automated offshore marine inspection systems more efficiently, economically and safely.
The ARIEL Project, which won the 2020 ANP Innovation Award, consists of the development of a
robotic system composed of an autonomous vessel, the USV Tupan, a vessel developed by TideWise, a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), a water sampling system and a package of meteoceanographic sensors.
Learn more about this system in the offshore subsea application
Currently in its second phase, the project delivery is an unmanned system for the inspection and monitoring of the presence of oil at sea. During Rio Oil & Gas 2022, the companies demonstrate the Ariel autonomous system in Guanabara Bay, with live transmission at the RSB stands.
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If oil is suspected at a certain point, the Ariel, which has a range of up to 1100 kilometers, navigates to the indicated position. At the site, the drone takes off carrying out a sweep to identify the possible oil slick. If the drone does not identify the spot, a message is sent to the remote operators communicating a possible “false positive”.
If identified, the drone returns to the USV and sends a signal for it to navigate to the indicated coordinates. Once there, a fluorometer verifies the presence of oil in the water and the sample collection system is activated, collecting a sufficient amount of water and oil for laboratory analysis, enabling the development of a dispersion model of the oil stain.
After the success of the ARIEL Project, TideWise and Repsol Sinopec Brasil started the USIS Project. The main objective of the project is to integrate an ROV, a remotely operated submarine vehicle, to the USV Tupan.
Both vehicles will carry sensors, LiDAR on the USV and optical cameras on the ROV, to create an unmanned system for the inspection of offshore assets. This technology will allow remote operators to monitor mooring cables, submarine oil and gas pipelines, FPSO hulls, submerged structures of offshore wind farms and shore approach of pipelines or submarine cables, in addition to allowing cleaning of encrustations on submerged surfaces.
“Ariel and USIS are strategic initiatives within RSB's Research and Development portfolio, which is aligned with the Repsol Group's sustainability axes and focuses on safety, the environment and innovation and technology. In addition to detecting oil at sea, the integration of these projects will allow us to advance in new features, such as satellite communication and measurement of offshore wind potential”, highlights Marcelo Andreotti, manager of Research in Production Facilities and Operations.
“This system will allow for a reduction of up to 70% in operating costs and up to 95% in fuel consumption, increasing the safety of operations and improving the quality of the data collected. The USIS project will allow the Brazilian maritime industry to position itself at the forefront of the development of fully autonomous ROV support vessels, in addition to demonstrating our pioneering spirit in the integration of complex robotic systems”, says CEO Rafael Coelho.
About Repsol Sinopec Brazil
Present in Brazil since 1997, Repsol Sinopec is a pioneer in opening up the E&P market and in exploring the Brazilian pre-salt. Today, it is the fourth largest oil and gas producer in the country, with an average daily production of around 80 barrels per day from the Sapinhoá, Lapa and Albacora Leste fields.
RSB is also responsible for discovering the BM-C-33 field, an asset with the capacity to be one of the
main sources of natural gas supply in the country. Since 2010, the company forms a joint venture
between the Spanish Group Repsol (60%) and the Chinese Group Sinopec (40%). In this way, it is a society
subsidiary that adopts the performance standards of the Repsol Group, which operates throughout the value chain of the
energy.
Learn more: repsolsinopec.com.br | Via Approach Communication