Energy, Automobile, EV, Renewable News | Woodside in collaboration to design offshore inspection system

Woodside in collaboration to design offshore inspection system

June 14, 2022

Woodside has collaborated with industry to create a state-of-the-art offshore caisson cleaning and inspection tool (CCAIT system) that allows safe and cost-effective remote inspection of critical equipment on its offshore platforms.
The one-of-a-kind system was designed, developed and deployed in less than 12 months via a collaboration led by Woodside Energy (Woodside) and incorporating Perth-based expertise from Nexxis, Monadelphous, WOMA, and Fugro. The CCAIT system incorporates a human-sized robot, designed to inspect the inside of caissons – vertical
carbon steel pipes up to 70 metres long and up to 1.2 metres wide. These structures are used on offshore platforms to house critical equipment such as firewater and seawater lift pumps. In response to possible COVID-related supply chain risks, a local solution was sought, inspiring the collaboration.
The CCAIT system is remotely controlled from a safe location on an offshore platform by skilled technicians. The tool is lowered inside the caisson via a tether and winch arrangement. Wheels are then extended to centralise the tool within the caisson, and probe arms extend to enable ultrasound inspection. A series of high-definition cameras stream video back to the technicians, with the data used by the asset team to define the forward plan.
Woodside Executive Vice President Technical Services Daniel Kalms said: “The CCAIT system removes the costs of mobilising tools from international locations, including the cost of delay in fractured supply chains.

These can represent up to 50% of the total cost of an inspection campaign.

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