Innovative Photogrammetry Survey Offers Solution for Damaged Riser Offshore Brazil

Smartphone video helped create a 3D model that enabled detailed survey.

1 Project Overview

During an ROV inspection of a customer's assets offshore Brazil, an Oceaneering team observed that a damaged riser had been released from its clamp and moved freely in the water column.

A basic smartphone video was taken and sent onshore for viewing. From this video, a 3D model was created and sent to the customer. Subsequently, the client commissioned a more detailed ROV photogrammetry survey of the damaged riser area and a more accurate model was created. From this 3D model, an engineering mitigation plan for riser repair and subsequent re-clamping of the riser to the asset was performed.

A damaged riser still from a video during a photogrammetry survey

2 Issues

The riser had become damaged and was no longer clamped (secured) to the asset.

With this being an older asset, there was serious risk to continued productivity. Also, with the riser covered in marine growth, it would be difficult to assess the exact level of damage sustained.

3 Our Solution

Smartphone video confirmed the riser damage.

Oceaneering worked with the client to better define and understand the future needs to remedy the problem. A more detailed photogrammetry survey was required, and Oceaneering worked with the customer and offshore team to plan for a more accurate and detailed ROV photogrammetry survey of the riser and clamp area on the asset.

There were several options for assessing the damaged riser and confirming the size and location of potential asset issues. Photogrammetry was identified as a method that was likely to produce fast results because it can be completed with smartphone or ROV video and specialized software. This enabled the customer to repair the damaged riser in a timelier manner than waiting on equipment not yet in country to be mobilized for alternative advanced survey methods. 

A photogrammetry survey shows a damaged riser

4 Execution Plan

An ROV photogrammetry survey plan was developed and included the installation of calibrated scale bars to the work site to improve the accuracy of the final 3D model deliverable that the client required.

A survey line plan on the asset was drawn up for the ROV to follow while recording standard ROV camera video. The ROV video was then modelled using proprietary Oceaneering photogrammetry workflows and procedures to produce a final 3D model deliverable.

5 Challenge

Normally, video would be taken with the ROV to assess the damaged riser.

However, the customer had recently taken over operations at the asset and needed to know how far apart the risers were so the ROVs could get through the space between them. This was resolved by the smartphone video footage and initial 3D modelling. Once the sizing was determined, the ROV could be comfortably deployted to complete the photogrammetry survey.

A 3D model of a damaged riser produced from a photogrammetry survey

6 Equipment Highlights

This project highlights the One Oceaneering integrated service offering.

Multiple business segments came together to help the client identify and repair the damaged riser. Oceaneering's ROV team observed the loose riser and, through subsequent surveys, our Survey group was able to provide our internal photogrammetry service combined with our 3D modelling capability. Our Offshore Projects Group then devised the engineering mitigation strategy for the securing and repair of the riser with a new clamping solution.

7 Results

Oceaneering provided a turnkey solution with existing services.

This enabled a rapid response and fast and seamless delivery of the data that allowed the client to make an informed decision on the repair of the riser. By using the photogrammetry services, the client was able to quickly address the problem and avoid further production issues.

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Company page Since our founding in the early 1960s, Oceaneering has expanded and grown globally to service several industries such as the offshore energy industry, defense, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries. In 1964, Mike Hughes and Johnny Johnson formed a Gulf of Mexico diving company called World Wide Divers. The company grew in response to increasing demand for their services and in 1969 merged with two other diving companies to form Oceaneering International, Inc. To solve the toughest challenges, we do things differently, creatively, and smarter. As your trusted partner, our unmatched experience and truly innovative portfolio of technologies and solutions give us the flexibility to adapt and evolve, regardless of market conditions. Our mission is to solve the unsolvable. We thrive by creating industry-changing technically creative solutions for the most complex operational challenges under water, on land, and in space. Our five core values establish a common culture and demonstrate what is most important for us as a company. Since the beginning, the company has transformed from a small regional diving company into a global provider of engineered products and services. Today, we develop products and services for use throughout the lifecycle of an offshore oilfield, from drilling to decommissioning. We operate the world's premier fleet of work class ROVs. Additionally, we are a leader in offshore oilfield maintenance services, umbilicals, subsea hardware, and tooling. We also serve the aerospace, defense, and theme park industries. Underpinning everything we do, safety is not only the foundation of our core values, but it is vital to our unmatched performance record and company culture. The industries we serve are as diverse as they are complex. Whether we are engineering deepwater umbilicals or developing robotics for aerospace applications, the safety and health of our employees, vendors, and customers is an integral part of our day-to-day business. If we are working, then our responsibility is to be working safely. Since our inception in 1964, we have placed a high value on employee safety—from diving services and subsea inspection to vessel-based installation operations. We have and will continue to evolve not only our health, safety, and environmental (HSE) processes, but those of the industries in which we work. Although we have been fatality-free since 1999, our HSE journey goes beyond statistics. As our portfolio of services has grown, we have continued to prioritize and advance our approach to HSE.