Fugro’s USV delivers remote survey for a 433 km trunkline in Western Australia

The project involved the construction of a pipeline that is designed to transport dry gas from a floating production unit to an onshore LNG plant.

Challenges

The route crossed existing subsea infrastructure that included pipelines and fibre optic cables owned by other operators which required precise navigation and planning. Additionally, environmental constraints and the pipeline's proximity to shipping lanes, a loading jetty, and the shore crossing at the LNG plant added complexity, requiring strict safety measures and careful execution.

Solutions

Fugro leveraged its Blue Essence® uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to support the pipeline installation during the critical nearshore phase.

Before the pipeline’s installation, Fugro conducted a pre-lay survey which provided a preliminary inspection of the seabed. As the pipeline's proposed route was near shipping channels, this step was crucial for assessing the route's feasibility as well as checking the pipeline corridor was clear of obstructions and evaluating seabed conditions to guide the installation process.

Next, Fugro provided the construction support surveys by assisting the pipelay barge with shore pull, touch down monitoring, as-laid survey and real time updates of the pipeline installation on the seabed. After the pipeline installation was completed, a survey was performed to document the actual “as-built” condition of the pipeline.

Data from the USV and electric powered remotely operated vehicle (eROV) provided an accurate record of the location, depth and external condition of the pipeline, providing the data to demonstrate that Saipem met Woodside's design requirements. The as-built survey provided a baseline for future maintenance, management and long-term monitoring.

An industry first using USV for pipelay support service

Fugro’s use of the Blue Essence^® USV to conduct the survey is believed to be an industry first for the pipelay support services. This enhanced productivity and the overall safety of the operations, offering a viable alternative to the client’s initial specification of using a conventional crewed survey vessel. Fugro employed the use of advanced cloud processing for seabed and pipeline model generation. This data was provided on schedule, allowing Saipem early access to crucial project data.

Impact

By using USVs, eROVs, and remote operations instead of traditional vessels, health and safety risks were minimised, the carbon footprint was reduced, and access to real time data was faster and more widely available to client personnel.

Similarly, drones were deployed for topographic surveys, delivering increased efficiency, more detailed data, and faster completion times compared to traditional methods. This approach also minimised potential personnel health, safety, security, and environment risks, as the survey was conducted within an operational LNG facility.