Page 24 - The ROV Manual - A User Guide for Remotely Operated Vehicles 2nd edition

12 CHAPTER 1 The ROV Business
problem is multiplied as the complexity of the equipment increases. In short, mobilizing a WCROV spread on a new vessel of opportunity for a short-term assignment is seldom worth the trouble or the expense. The only way to justify a WCROV spread for call-out work is to have a dedicated vessel with the ROV spread permanently integrated. But considering the relatively low vessel/vehicle utilization of call-out work, it is an expensive asset to have idle, moored at the dock.
The inland work is the realm of the OCROV and MSROV, but unless it is a construction project (requiring heavy-lift WCROV capability) it is generally call-out work. The offshore marketplace is generally populated with larger exploration and production (E&P) companies performing construc- tion projects requiring heavy WCROV equipment. In most cases, a smaller ROV would be more than adequate to perform the scope of work for the project assignment but the engineering section of these E&P companies are used to paying more for their ROV services and do not object to the higher cost structure.
The market draw for OCROV and the MSROV services encompasses “the 80% solution” at a substantially lower cost structure than the larger ROVs. The nature of the call-out business is short- term and very profitable work. The upside to the call-out business is there are not many players to dilute the already industry-wide low utilization inherent in call-out work. The downside of the call- out business is the lack of any predictably sustainable work levels. It is, for the most part, either feast or famine.
1.2.2 Day rate versus project management
This discussion is more applicable to the offshore hydrocarbon mining industry since it dominates deepwater construction but also crosses to any deepwater construction industry (e.g., wind farms, and seafloor mining).
The deepwater offshore oil and gas (O&G) service industry begins with the seismic survey and ends with the gas pumping into the passenger car. The need for waterborne robotic services begins with the precasing survey and ends when the pipeline crosses the preselected 1000 fsw (300 msw) curve. The following is a sample list of services/tasks needed:
• Pipeline/umbilical/flowline pre-lay survey
• Subsea site survey
• Drill support
• Installation of wellhead valve trees
• Installation of subsea tie-back
• Inspection, repair, and maintenance (IRM) of subsea facilities
• Fabrication and installation of pull-tubes
• Subsea coiled tubing flowline procurement and installation
• Subsea wellhead control umbilical procurement and installation
• Subsea pipeline end terminations procurement and installation
• Spool piece measurements, fabrications, and installation
• Subsea umbilical termination assemblies procurement and installation
• Planning, management, and execution of pigging and testing flowline programs
• Conduct deepwater pipeline hot taps and deep tap projects
• Conduct deepwater diverless pipeline repairs utilizing ROVs onboard vessel