“We proved that we could operate continuously on the seabed for over 165 days on the first attempt. The next dive had 240 days of continuous operation,” says Njål Bragstad, Technical Coordinator at Saipem.
 
Years of testing at Saipem’s base in Trieste, with 2,000 hours of trials, are cited as the reason the drone worked from day one when it was put into operation at Njord.

Universal `Subsea USB` 
“Many components were tested during the trial phase, but that’s the only way to make such solutions perform in the field. The UTC award is a recognition of this achievement and the collaboration with Equinor, where risk-sharing was a key factor. This has shown that it pays off to take risks,” he says.

With Blue Logic’s charging plates and interfaces to various tools, Saipem has obtained a universal solution — both for charging and for connecting tools — a “Subsea USB.”

“Through this connector, communication and power are combined safely. In water, even a simple plug socket is complicated. Before Blue Logic developed its solution, the industry was characterized by varying standards and quality, leading to significant follow-up costs.”
 
Saipem has documented over 800 successful connections and disconnections from Blue Logic’s charging connector on the Njord field.

‘’With traditional subsea connectors, the equipment would have been damaged after 20–30 uses. With Blue Logic’s solution, we can connect and disconnect equipment subsea without that concern,” Bragstad continues.
Engineers often know what they want, but the solutions can be cumbersome. Here, we could pick building blocks from Blue Logic and create a concept. We already had the drone, but with their interface we can accomplish much more. For Blue Logic, it started with a collaboration with Equinor, which needed a permanent drone. Eventually, this became a close cooperation with Saipem, a major international subsea operator.

Won an Innovation Award
Together, we developed a charging station for various installations, including the possibility for drones to ‘live’ on the seabed. Together with Equinor, we received the Innovation Award at ONS. When Saipem won the contract for Njord, this became a three-party collaboration, where we provided the infrastructure for the drones,” explains Blue Logic founder Helge Sverre Eide. 
“Together with Saipem, we have created connectors and interfaces that allow drones to ‘live’ on the seabed, like a permanent caretaker. Saipem develops and operates the drones, while Equinor has installed the charging station.”

Traditionally, such operations have involved vessels, personnel, and a cable down to an ROV. Now, the work can be carried out by drone pilots, even onshore, in principle, in another part of the world.

“The drones are equipped with batteries, similar to electric cars, and can navigate into the charging station on the seabed, where they receive new instructions between missions”, continues Eide, who in 2010 founded Blue Logic together with Lars Gunnar Hodnefjell and Eirik Jacobsen.
 
“The goal was to industrialize and standardize subsea products, and to make it easier to work in the ocean space. We deliver interfaces, instruments, and services that enable drones to function optimally and allow more missions to be remotely controlled from shore.”

There is little to suggest that subsea oil and gas operations are over, but the transition is underway — also within Blue Logic.

“The future development of the ocean space includes not only offshore wind and wave energy, but also food production, as fish farms move out of the fjords. The fact that we can now maintain subsea installations for oil production will also apply to other offshore activities,” continues Eide.

“We should also not forget the safety aspects, such as inspection of subsea data and communication cables, as well as oil and gas pipelines — and we are ready!”

Please check out the article here: Wireless Drones Revolutionize Subsea Operations