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Saipem Submarine Drone Will Be Used by Shell and Petrobras for Monitoring Ultra-Deep Waters
Saipem – an Italian multinational providing services to oil fields – has signed a contract with Shell and Petrobras, which plan to use its FlatFish submarine drone in two pilot projects related to monitoring campaigns of two offshore ultra-deep water fields in Brazil, operated respectively by the two energy companies. The two projects with Shell and Petrobras are experimental and also included in the research and development program of the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP).
Additionally, its goal is to qualify the drone for conducting unmanned inspections and without vessels, in order to support monitoring and maintenance campaigns of underwater infrastructures. In particular, Saipem implemented the FlatFish drone during the industrialization period aimed at unlocking operations in deep waters – specifically for the contract with Shell and Petrobras, it involves over 2,000 meters of depth. From this perspective, the company needed to enhance its resources based on artificial intelligence, as well as those focused on navigation and monitoring.
The practices will be directed by Sonsub, Saipem’s center of excellence for underwater technologies and robotics, over a period of about 12 months. In the first phase, intermediate tests will be carried out in shallow waters at Saipem’s base in Trieste, Italy, with assistance from Sonsub’s engineering department in Brazil. During the second phase, the drone will be deployed in Brazilian waters, which is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022.
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Contract Signed with Shell and Petrobras Confirms Saipem’s Efforts in Underwater Robotics Technological Development
According to Saipem, the contract with Shell – a company that ensures high investments in Brazil in 2022 – and Petrobras attests to the company’s motivation for technological development in underwater robotics and advanced automation, and constitutes an important pillar of its ongoing search for competitive and economical low-carbon alternatives, demonstrating Saipem’s commitment to sustainability.
The FlatFish consists of an autonomous underwater drone positioned on the seafloor, remotely controlled and capable of performing complex monitoring activities over an extensive range of underwater assets. In this context, Saipem has had the license to develop FlatFish technology since 2018 when it was entrusted to the company by Shell. The technology was previously developed by SENAI CIMATEC, a Brazilian research institute, in collaboration with DFKI, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, and funded by the research and development program of ANP and EMBRAPII (Brazilian Company of Research and Innovation Industrial).
About the Italian Company
As stated on the company’s own website, Saipem is an advanced technological and engineering platform aimed at the design, construction, and operation of complex, safe, and sustainable plants and infrastructures. Moreover, the company is always oriented towards technological innovation, being today committed to assisting its clients at the forefront of the energy transition, with increasingly digital and environmentally sustainable assets, technologies, and processes.
Regarding offshore facilities, Saipem claims to be a leader in remote activities and deep waters. The company attributes its growth in the sector to its strategy of acquiring other excellent companies in the offshore segment, such as Bouygues, and also to the continuous technological innovation that enables it to develop fields on the seafloor at depths of over 3,000 meters, through its own underwater robotics.
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