Woodside to create a new offshore inspection system

Woodside announced that the CCAIT system incorporates a human-sized robot, designed to inspect the inside of caissons – vertical carbon steel pipes up to 70 m long and up to 1.2 m wide – which are used on offshore platforms to house critical equipment such as firewater and seawater lift pumps.

Woodside Executive Vice President Technical Services Daniel Kalms said:

• The CCAIT system removes the costs of mobilising tools from international locations, including the cost of delay in fractured supply chains
• These can represent up to 50% of the total cost of an inspection campaign

The new system was designed, developed and deployed in less than 12 months via a collaboration led by Woodside and incorporating Perth-based expertise from Nexxis, Monadelphous, WOMA and Fugro.
Nexxis Technology CEO Jason de Silveira said:

• Woodside's decision to partner with a local company demonstrated the strong sovereign capability of Australia's advanced manufacturing sector to develop and deploy cutting-edge robotic technology

The CCAIT system is remotely controlled from a safe location on an offshore platform by skilled technicians.
The tool is lowered inside the caisson via a tether and winch arrangement.

Wheels are then extended to centralise the tool within the caisson, and probe arms extend to enable ultrasound inspection.
A series of high-definition cameras stream video back to the technicians, with the data used by the asset team to define the forward plan.

Woodside recently completed its merger with BHP’s oil & gas business, becoming a top 10 global independent energy company by hydrocarbon production and the largest energy company listed on the ASX.