Subsea Piling Services and remotely-operated subsea piling system introduced

Conductor Installation Services Ltd (CIS), an Acteon company that provides pile- and conductor-driving services to the oil and gas industry, has announced the launch of a new service line: Subsea Piling Services.

The announcement coincides with the introduction of the new CIS Subsea Piling System, a remotely-operated system that the company developed to drive piles as large as 36 in. in diameter, in water depths to 300 m.

Self-tensioning winches enhance safety & control
“What sets the new Subsea Piling System apart is that it features self-tensioning hydraulic winches that lower and raise the hydraulic hoses and electrical cables that connect to the hammer,” said Andy Penman, Group Managing Director of the CIS Group.

“While other systems rely upon technicians to carry out this critical action by manually operating the winches, the constant-tensioning capability of the new subsea piling system’s winches means that they automatically heave and lower according to sea conditions. In essence, we have removed the guesswork and risk of human error, making the process more efficient, reliable, and much, much safer.”

Greater accuracy
Driving piles with the innovative technology offered by the Subsea Piling System has been streamlined, making it very straightforward.

The entire process is carried out by an experienced pile-driving engineer from a control unit and monitoring system located on-board a vessel or barge. A hydraulic hammer, which is connected via an electronic umbilical cable to the control system, is lowered into the water and placed directly over a subsea pile. Once it is accurately positioned, the pile is driven into the seabed by the hammer until it reaches its target depth. The operation is continuously monitored and controlled by an engineer in the dedicated CIS control cabin.

“The CIS remotely-operated piling method offers complete control so that the level of accuracy achieved by every blow of the hammer is much greater,” said James Chadd, Technical Sales Manager for the CIS Group. “The more accurate it is, the less time it takes to drive the pile. Put simply, it’s faster, much more efficient and costs less.”

Acteon sister companies CIS and MENCK
“As global suppliers, MENCK and CIS work very closely together to meet the needs of oil and gas operators around the world,” said Dr Bernhard Bruggaier, Executive Vice President for the Acteon Group. “They complement each other extremely well. Whereas CIS focuses on serving the drilling market, MENCK caters to the marine and construction sector. Together, they provide truly comprehensive pile-driving services.”

Modular and environmentally-friendly
Easy to assemble and deploy, the Subsea Piling System is comprised of several primary components.

These include:

1. A hydraulic hammer dressed for working subsea.
2. A control unit equipped with instrumentation and technology used to carry out and monitor the piling process.
3. A power unit.
4. Hydraulic hose and cable winches that carry up to 300 m of hoses or cable.
5. An upending frame.

In addition to its unique constant-tensioning winches, when using the Subsea Piling System to drive piles, CIS uses only the highest quality of biodegradable hydraulic oil to prevent against negative impact on the environment in the event of oil leakage.

Initially, the company plans to establish a foothold in the offshore subsea European market. Looking ahead, the CIS Group anticipates that it will use the Subsea Piling System to carry out a subsea pile-driving operation in the North Sea for a major operator.

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/07112013/conductor_installation_services_introduces_subsea_piling_services/