After a successful pipeline inspection pilot for TotalEnergies, Oceaneering’s Freedom AUV has been deemed ready for sustainable pipeline inspection campaigns.

Freedom inspected more than 75 miles of sub-marine pipelines, to add to 37 miles of near-shore North Sea pipelines inspected during an earlier demonstration. The pilot represented a 50% reduction in time and emissions when compared to existing methods, Oceaneering said in a May 29 press release.

The AUV demonstrated its ability to detect and track the pipeline while maintaining a defined flight envelope above the pipe and gathering the required data in a single pass of the pipelines. On completion of the pipeline inspection missions, onboard automated data processing allowed the assessment of the mission effectiveness and the confirmation of pipeline condition in collaboration with TotalEnergies.

Offshore