Saipem’s underwater drone hits milestone with six-month-long uninterrupted operations

Saipem’s Hydrone-R underwater intervention drone has achieved uninterrupted subsea operations for nearly six months, performing remotely operated works and autonomous missions on Equinor’s Njord oil and gas field offshore Norway.

The Hydrone-R, whose operations are fully supervised from Saipem’s onshore control center in Stavanger, Norway, via the communication link to the rig, had achieved the milestone for continuous subsea residency of 167 days.

The drone is tasked to perform inspections and interventions on subsea assets, providing information about potential hazards and ultimately improving the overall integrity and safety of Equinor’s subsea systems. The company noted that the drone pilots can either command the Hydrone-R or upload purposely designed missions onboard the vehicle for autonomous tasks.

The project it is deployed for is part of a ten-year contract signed in 2019 with Equinor – said to be the first-ever worldwide service contract for subsea drones signed in the offshore energy sector. 

The Hydrone-R is part of Saipem’s Hydrone Program, with a fleet of next-generation drones and advanced ancillary equipment.

The Njord project will be the location of the imminent first launch of Hydrone-W, the full-electric heavy-duty subsea drone, which will supplement Hydrone-R for tandem operations and simultaneous underwater works necessary to serve the entire Norwegian field.