UTEC operates new iXblue subsea positioning technology on challenging ultra-deep water construction project

Survey provider UTEC, the lead brand for Acteon’s geo-services segment, has successfully deployed iXblue new subsea positioning technology on a world-class ultra-deep water field development project in Africa, with depths below 2,000m. iXblue sparse LBL solution, brings together Canopus intelligent transponders, Ramses transceivers, Inertial Navigation Systems, and Delph Subsea Positioning Software, to provide more informative positioning and spool piece metrology at multiple drill centers throughout the project execution.

Always striving to deploy new disruptive technologies with the aim to deliver more reliable and cost-effective solutions for its customers, UTEC was the first company to operate iXblue new sparse range-aided INS subsea positioning technology on a commercial project in the Energy industry.

A third-party friendly solution able to be easily integrated within existing operational fields, iXblue solution offers significant installation vessel time savings compared to conventional subsea positioning methods. Combined with a new innovative and cost-effective ROV Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) box-in method, it drastically reduced the time spent on calibration and maintenance during the operations.
Paul Smith, Group Managing Director, UTEC says, “The extensive and open dialogue between UTEC and iXblue personnel enabled iXblue to fully develop the capabilities of their system to meet our clients’ requirements and expectations. UTEC now have experience and knowledge of Canopus and Ramses that lets us provide the benefits of the system to other clients.”

“We want to thank UTEC for trusting iXblue once again with this major project. The strong partnership between our teams allowed us to successfully overcome the challenges posed by a highly difficult health situation and complex security conditions in-country,” explains Olivier Cervantes, VP Energy Market at iXblue. “Between remote sea trials and training of UTEC offshore personnel due to the travel restrictions in place at that time, to the successful deployment of the solution despite a challenging environment, the agility and outstanding teamwork achieved by both our companies is something that is worth noting and we look forward to our continued partnership with UTEC.”

Following the success of this project conducted with UTEC and leveraging its high reliability, iXblue new subsea positioning technology has already been selected for many other sparse LBL operations in both Africa and other regions.