Saipem's underwater drone will be used by Shell and Petrobras to monitor ultra-deep waters

Saipem – an Italian multinational that provides services to oil fields – signed a contract with Shell and Petrobras, which intend to use its FlatFish underwater 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 National Petroleum Agency (ANP).

In addition, its objective is to qualify the drone for carrying out unmanned inspections without vessels, in order to support campaigns for monitoring and maintaining underwater infrastructure. In particular, Saipem implemented the FlatFish drone during the industrialization period in order to unlock operations in deep waters – for the contract with Shell and Petrobras in particular, these are more than 2.000 meters deep. Under this bias, the company needed to improve its resources based on artificial intelligence, as well as those aimed at navigation and monitoring.

The practices will be led by Sonsub, Saipem's center of excellence for underwater technologies and robotics, over a period of around 12 months. In the first phase, intermediate tests will be carried out in shallow waters at Saipem's base in Trieste, Italy, with the assistance of Sonsub's engineering department in Brazil. During the second phase, the drone will be deployed in Brazilian waters, which should occur in the third quarter of 2022.

Contract signed with Shell and Petrobras proves Saipem's efforts towards technological development in underwater robotics

According to Saipem, the contract with Shell – company that guarantees high investments in Brazil in 2022 – and Petrobras attests to the company's motivation for technological development in underwater robotics and advanced automation, in addition to constituting an important pillar in its permanent search for low-carbon, competitive and economical alternatives that demonstrate Saipem's commitment to sustainability.

FlatFish consists of an autonomous underwater drone located on the seabed, remotely controlled and capable of performing complex monitoring activities of a wide range of underwater assets. Given this context, Saipem has had the license to develop the 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 association with DFKI, the German Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence, and financed by the research and development program of the ANP and EMBRAPII (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial).

About the Italian company

As the company's website attests, Saipem is an advanced technological and engineering platform, aimed at the design, construction and operation of plants and complex, safe and sustainable infrastructures. Furthermore, the company is always oriented towards technological innovation, being today committed to assisting its customers on the frontier of energy transition, with assets, technologies and processes that are increasingly digital and focused on environmental sustainability.

As for offshore installations, Saipem claims to be a leader in remote and deep water activities. The company attributes its growth in the sector to its strategy of acquiring other companies of excellence in the offshore segment, such as Bouygues, and also to the continuous technological innovation that makes it capable of developing fields at the bottom of the sea, at depths of more than 3.000 meters, through its own underwater robotics.