Extending Subsea Asset Life using Data and Tech-Driven Transformational Intelligence
February 6, 2024
We are excited to announce our latest tech developments, PlatformVi and V-LIM2! These cutting-edge technologies use data and tech-driven transformational intelligence to extend subsea asset life whilst providing invaluable insights for effective asset management. As a technology company, we continue to focus substantially on Research and Development, and are dedicated to bringing only the best products and services to market which offer maximum benefits for our customers.
How data has become an enabler and a predictor for asset managers
First on our development roadmap has been creating an ecosystem that captures and transforms data into actionable insight and, ultimately, into a predictive operating and maintenance tool for operators and asset managers.
What do we mean by that? Insulation resistance (IR) in electrical system cables is the subsea equivalent of the canary down a mine – it warns of problems and possible electrical system failure. When IR is fluctuating, and in the real world it is constantly changing, what does this mean?
A statutory requirement for monitoring the types of electrical systems used subsea, most existing, integrity, or line insulation monitors (LIMs) simply tell us when IR changes, and if that’s a steep fall, it probably means something bad is happening to the cable. This has been a useful indicator used in the industry for decades. If the LIM’s IR reading shows a significant loss of integrity, an operator probably has time to act, make repairs, or replace the umbilical, electrical flying lead or other system components. Do this before the cable fails and causes a loss of production and an expensive subsea intervention.
This basic yet valuable functionality is the first half of the challenge, but it is largely reactive. What if deeper insights were possible? What if almost undetectable patterns in the voltage, capacitance, and IR revealed the nature of the fault so it could be resolved much earlier? This would enable asset owners to make more accurate strategic maintenance and capital expenditure plans.
Data as a Service (DaaS) for subsea asset management – PlatformVi
Viper Innovation’s PlatformVi does just that, with several additional steps. Having operated LIMs for a decade across oil and gas, rail, and industrial, Viper Innovations has accumulated huge volumes of electrical measurement data that is correlated with events and actual performance.
Suddenly, the LIM that has been with us for many years monitoring IR could be transformed into a core element of a DaaS platform. Add data extraction, analysis tools using machine learning, user-centered design to identify relevant insights, and you have data-driven decision-making for areas such as:
• Proactive and predictive maintenance
• Enhanced safety by predicting and indicating potential and developing issues
• Operational efficiency
• Equipment service life extensions
• Quality control
PlatformVi fully integrates our V-IR condition monitoring technologies, such as V-LIM and V-SLIM, and draws on the patterns detected from correlating our data with real events.
V-LIM2 evolved: the fusion of data and technology
The humble LIM has also evolved. Like any data analysis tool, the ‘GIGO’ principle applies – garbage in, garbage out. So, the partner to DaaS is the data gathering tool that gathers high-quality information. Our technology roadmap includes evolving our existing line insulation monitoring technology, V-LIM, into V-LIM2.
The evolved V-LIM2 does everything V-LIM currently does and includes genuinely exciting new features that provide multiple benefits to operators and asset owners. Firstly, like the V-LIM, our evolved technology is PlatformVi compatible, so as soon as an installation goes live, users can benefit from everything PlatformVi contributes.
It is also easy to upgrade existing V-LIM and other IMD installations to V-LIM2. Being connected to PlatformVi means intuitive and easy configuration, regular firmware upgrade notifications, and real-time remote monitoring, with the operator always in complete control.
Enhanced IR, IC, and power monitoring capabilities
There are several other upgrades in the roadmap, such as expanding the IR monitoring range to 10GΩ, insulation capacitance (IC) to 500uF, and enhanced line power monitoring capabilities through reliable measurement of line voltage, current, and frequency. Some of these features are unique and incredibly powerful, enabling asset managers and operators to proactively manage their subsea electrical systems to minimize downtime and optimize performance and output.
If you can’t contain your excitement and want to know more now, contact us here for more information on how you can almost predict the future using our advanced data and subsea products.
