The Operation
An independent operator contacted us with an urgent request – based on an internal recommendation they knew we were the right team to help.
Having discovered a small leak on a methanol spool feeding one of their subsea assets in the North Sea, they needed to fix it immediately. However, with the hardware having been in place for over a decade, they found it prudent to confirm the spool dimensions before committing pencil to paper on the design of a repair clamp. The angle of the bend was of particular interest.
Interestingly this project saw us analysing both legacy video, and current ROV footage to ascertain the answers to these questions.
The Challenge
The client needed to arrange a repair campaign which would involve putting a pressure retaining clamp around the damaged area of the spool. For this to effectively halt the leak, it was crucial to have an accurate understanding of not just the diameter, but also the angle of the pipe bend.
As the operator was well aware of who we are, the quality of the data we could supply, and the speed at which we could do so, we were rapidly contracted for the job.
Responding to challenging requests is something of a trademark for us, and this one was no different. Time was a huge constraint, as the design had to be completed quickly in order to plug the leak as soon as possible. Visibility was relatively poor while the ROVs were photographing the leak site, which made capturing some of the more unique angles somewhat challenging.
The Solution
We immediately began discussions with the offshore team to guide them in the correct capture method and angles, as well as processing and analysing the legacy and recent ROV video.
As soon as this data was sent to us, we set about ingesting and processing it into a 3D dataset.
From start to finish, we were able to supply the customer with the data they required within 24 hours. Following which we liaised with them throughout the reverse engineering stage of the project, checking dimensions and ensuring the designers of the clamp had all the data they required.
The Result
Our customer received a report containing every piece of information they required to design and fit a clamp that would fit perfectly, thereby halting the leak: the shape of the pipe, the outer diameter and the angle.
The clamp was designed and installed during a dive campaign 4 weeks later, and our client advised us that it fitted first time.
This was a particularly challenging – and gratifying – project for several reasons:
• The data was analysed in conjunction with legacy video.
• The capture was carried out remotely using whatever equipment was available on the vessel.
This is something that’s unique to Viewport3 – our expert team can process data, using it to provide comprehensive yet straightforward reports, even if it hasn’t been captured with specialist equipment. It’s a service offering that’s indispensable when responding to urgent operational requests.
In Numbers
4.1 million – number of points in the 3D cloud
3 – number of values advised to client in final report
1.37 – number of degrees by which the bend angle deviated from nominal
1 – number of attempts required to fully fit the repair clamp
