Eni's Clean Sea subsea robotic technology is to be used for the first time for marine environmental monitoring and offshore asset inspection offshore the Mediterranean and West Africa.
Clean Sea is a type of hybrid AUV focusing on environmental characterization and protection through higher quality and quantity monitored data. It can be operated from conventional supply vessels, says Eni, and can monitor water quality, extending its application well beyond the oil and gas industry.
The AUV, or advanced underwater vehicle, has multi-tasking interchangeable sensors optimized in a single integrated assembly, rather than several dedicated tools. It also has the capability to change its mission strategy in real-time, as a function of sensor response, optimizing monitoring duration and minimizing cost.
Clean Sea can be operated in either AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) or ROV (remotely operated vehicle: surface controlled) mode and is therefore more versatile than ROV based technologies.
Eni will establish two logistics bases, one in Angola for West Africa and the other in Sicily for the Mediterranean region, with a dedicated operative team to cover worldwide routine activity.
In the Mediterranean basin, Clean Sea will be operated by Enimed in Gela. Starting from the first quarter of 2016, two teams will be in charge of the maintenance and operation of the vehicle to provide underwater support services across the Mediterranean Sea. Planned operations include routine sealine inspections and seabed and seawater samplings for environmental monitoring.