Fugro to open remote operations centre in Canada with govt support

The Dutch geo-data specialist Fugro is aiming to reduce the carbon footprint in Canada with remote technologies as it is building a remote operations centre (ROC) in its St. John’s office, located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The onshore communications hub is scheduled for completion in Q4 2022 and will complement Fugro’s global network of ROCs meant to enable onshore control of offshore operations via remote and autonomous technologies.

The company noted that its clients in eastern Canada will get safer, more efficient and more sustainable delivery of marine geo-data and related services through this centre.

The St. John’s ROC is partly funded by the provincial and federal governments program called the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Assistance Fund.

Additionally, Fugro plans to upgrade its equipment on selected offshore client assets to facilitate remote services. The Dutch company will also offer remote and autonomous services to non-oil and gas clients both locally and abroad.

Pat Byrne, Fugro’s Marine Asset Integrity manager in Canada said: “We are thrilled to have the government’s support on building a ROC in our St. John’s office and we are proud to help lead the region’s digital transformation, accelerating and enhancing the application of remote operations in the region to reduce the carbon footprint of energy development.

“Fugro has been moving in this direction for some time and we have seen tangible and significant benefits from our advances in digital technology worldwide.”

In November 2021, Fugro opened a ROC in India to provide support to a variety of projects, starting with remote anchor positioning and remote client solutions. The new regional facility, set up in a record time of eight weeks, is known by the name Drishti, the Sanskrit word for vision.

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