VT150 Vertical Crawler for Subsea Oil & Gas Company

An Oil & Gas customer requested remote visual inspection (RVI) equipment, which would enable them to assess the damage on a bent and buckled subsea pipe. This request only took a month to design, manufacture and test a customised solution.

Visual inspection was required to assess the damage on the client’s subsea pipe but the nature, extent and whereabouts of the problem were unknown.

The damage was described as ‘somewhere’ along the subsea pipe up to 51m below the mudline. The client indicated that below that depth, it was likely that the pipe would be empty and the presence of a corrosion cap and casing string at 51m below the seabed meant less probability for buckling.

The response to the challenge involved combining a Long-Range VT150 waterproof vertical crawler with larger Minitracs. These units are individually powered and modular in design, so they could be fitted onto the VT150 platform to enable access to confined spaces within the harsh subsea environment.

The equipment was further customised with special spring expansion, so that it could traverse the buckle point and self-adjust to any variations in shape of the pipe without any operator input.

Top quality visuals and reliable defect measurements were supplied through the integration of a third-party laser scanner and PTZ camera onto the crawler.

The VT150TM along with an extensive range of other high-performance visual inspection and non-destructive testing equipment are available in Australia from Nexxis – an established industry leader that has a commitment to developing flexible, practical and affordable solutions to even the most complex industrial challenge.

Discover our full range of advanced HD RVI cameras and crawlers or contact us today for a no-obligation chat.