The planet now offers very little in terms of unexplored and unmapped corners and regions and this is due in part to the fact that there are machines available to help humans to discover what is in its deepest oceans. Some of these machines are operated with the use of our hydraulic power packs – in particular the remotely operated vehicles (ROV) used in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Human divers are limited in where they can go underwater and what they can do. In both the UK and Norway they are legally confined to operating at depths of no more than 200m. With the oil and gas industry needing to go in deeper waters, the ROV fills a vacant role when it comes to construction of production facilities and their ongoing maintenance.
ROVs are typically used to perform observation work in addition to operating as a remote underwater robot to change out drilling equipment and cables on the seabed. They can operate as deep as 10,000 feet and can be controlled from the surface through use of their umbilical communications cable and an on board camera.
Drilling rigs that are located on the seabed in areas where there are strong currents may rely on the ROV to check that their legs and spud cans are still level and in position.
When new oil or gas is found, the rig will need to operate in development mode and the ROV will play a support role. It will operate valves, control umbilicals or pull in flowlines. This type of operation is required for both floating and non-floating operations and can save huge amounts of money that would otherwise be spent on lay barges.
ROVs are also capable of installing and maintaining cables, wreck recovery and more. Our hydraulic power packs are used to winch ROVs in and out of water.