Fugro’s remote operations center in Canada opens for business

Fugro has opened a new remote operations center (ROC) in St. John’s, Canada, which will be used for controlling offshore survey operations.

According to Fugro, the St. John’s ROC will serve offshore energy and other marine-based clients whose work in Canada often involves harsh operating conditions and/or long-distance mobilizations.

The launch was marked by an open house event, where visitors had the opportunity to tour the facility and experience the technologies on offer.

The ROC was built with support from the federally-funded Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Assistance Fund, which was created to maximize employment among Newfoundland and Labrador residents and support the recovery of the local offshore oil and gas industry.

“Fugro’s St. John’s office has been a regional employer for nearly three decades. In that time we’ve introduced some remarkable – even award-winning – innovations, but none so transformative as the digitally based solutions we can now provide from the Canada ROC,” said Pat Byrne, Marine Asset Integrity Manager for Fugro in Canada.

“The ability to perform remote operations, provide processing and data management services, all from our control facility in St. John’s, represents a pivotal moment for this region. It’s exciting to consider the benefits this shift will bring, not only to our clients but also to our workforce.”

Fugro reported in mid-January that it was planning to carry out a remotely operated autonomous offshore wind farm inspection, said to be an industry first. The Dutch company shortly after completed its first fully remote offshore integrity inspections campaign in the North Sea for an oil and gas operator.

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