Swire Seabed's Seabed Worker commences new project with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) to collect seabed data in the Norwegian Sea
Swire Seabed’s ROV support vessel, Seabed Worker commenced a new project on 1 August with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), a governmental specialist directorate for the provision of survey services to collect seabed massive sulphide data in the Norwegian Sea.
The marine acquisition campaign is part of NPD’s programme to map possible deep sea mineral resources in the Norwegian Continental Shelf and is funded by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The project site is located along the central rift valley of the Mohns Ridge, about half way between Norway and Greenland, with an operational depth of approximately 2,000 to 3,300 metres. The project involves AUV surveys and ROV operations including rock/soil sampling, with an expected total project period time of about 25 days.
To complete this scope of work, Swire Seabed has partnered with Ocean Floor Geophysics Inc. (OFG) who has supplied a Kongsberg Hugin AUV and team for the data acquisition and processing. Survey data will include synthetic aperture sonar data (HiSAS), multi-beam bathymetry (MBES), sub-bottom profiler (SBP) and spontaneous potential data (SP). Following the data evaluation, Swire Seabed will collect rock and core samples through the use of a Schilling HD Work-class Remotely Operated Vehicle (WROV) with relevant tooling. Thereafter, Swire Seabed’s survey team will be responsible for the compilation of all input and the delivery of the field report at the end of the operation to the client.
“We are pleased to work with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) in this exciting mission to enhance the database for mineral exploration. In our 30 years of working in the industry, we have undertaken some of the most challenging subsea operations and pioneered deep water expertise. We are confident that we will be able to use our expertise and synergise efforts with Ocean Floor Geophysics Inc. (OFG) to deliver excellence and achieve this mission,” said CEO, Swire Seabed, Arvid Pettersen.
Seabed Worker is one of four vessels operated by Swire Seabed. Prior to this project, Seabed Worker was on a three-year contract conducting global ultra-deepsea operations at a depth of 6,000 metres below sea level. With an overall length of 88.8 metres and a deck space of 630 square metres, this multi-purpose subsea vessel is a proven and versatile operating platform ideal for a variety of work including IMR, light construction and survey operations.
Swire Seabed’s other vessels are Seabed Constructor, Seabed Stingray and Seabed Supporter. Seabed Constructor remains engaged in a long term contract with Ocean Infinity and Seabed Stingray is currently involved in an inspection scope in the North Sea. Seabed Supporter was recently de-mobilised out of the Caspian Sea following a four-year charter to BP Caspian for IMR operations in the Caspian Sea and is currently in Turkey undergoing reinstatement work.
About Swire Seabed AS (Swire Seabed)
Swire Seabed has a dependable track record for undertaking a wide range of subsea projects for the international oil & gas industry, as well as a range of challenging recovery and incident response operations through our team of highly experienced personnel both onshore and offshore. Operations are managed from Swire Seabed’s head office in Bergen, Norway with operations in the Caspian Sea supported by an office in Baku. Swire Seabed is a fully-owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO). The integration of Swire Seabed’s cutting-edge practical expertise into SPO’s robust global conglomerate ensures that Swire Seabed can deliver reliable offshore construction support, ROV and survey services to the Oil & Gas and renewables sectors worldwide.