Innovative thinkers

At offshore technology services company Viking SeaTech, whether a project concerns marine engineering, mooring or maintenance, one factor is common to each scenario: people. In a firm that specializes in ensuring that offshore structures are safely, appropriately secured and moved, it is the professionals behind day-to-day operations, whether they work for Viking or for a client, that are receiving increased attention. Health, safety and environmental assurances are the firm’s top priority, said Viking Group Chief Executive Bill Bayliss.

The process of supplying a client with mooring and positioning services and equipment involves a range of functions, from selecting appropriate materials to establishing the most effective design to secure a structure. For Viking, the system does not stop there; Bayliss highlighted two important aspects of how personnel are deployed in the oil field, and how best to ensure their safety and effectiveness.

On both sides of a subsea installment operation, people are necessary, as is their protection. On the front end, offshore workers based on a semisubmersible rig or vessel, in addition to Viking staff, must contend with a range of circumstances, from weather to human error. Once a structure has been moored or otherwise secured, the work of additional Viking professionals begins, ensuring that equipment stays put, especially if challenges arise.

Established within the last year, VS People is one of Viking’s latest business units, and it was created to provide clients with “the right people, in the right place, at the right time.” This approach takes a more holistic view of the work that Viking and its clients undertake, effectively bringing operators through the design and equipment selection process, to deployment and continued maintenance. This involvement is increasingly critical, as subsea design criteria and mandated integrity levels continue to rise, said Bayliss.

In keeping with trends of increasing compliance standards for offshore operations, Bayliss said the installation industry is likely poised for an increase in activity in the areas of tension monitoring and innovations in positioning. As rig day rates hover around, and exceed, $500,000 per day, operators can look for potential cost and time savings through the effective, safe mooring and maintenance of active structures. Bayliss said that meeting the same installation criteria, in different ways, will be a key part of the future equation.

Today, Viking already aims to reduce risk profiles and downtime by pre-laying and pre-installing mooring lines, prior to the arrival of a rig. Once positioned, a structure is attached to its subsea equipment and does not detach from that mooring, even when moved. The ability to move installation systems simultaneously with a structure means valuable savings, by avoiding downtime associated with transportation and hook-up operations.

In another forward-looking move, Viking has established a Survey group, to provide engineering, equipment, people and survey services in a consolidated offering. The proper positioning of a rig can ensure valuable uptime, especially in climates like the North Sea, where weather conditions pose considerable threats to operations. In the future, Viking has plans to further extend its survey capabilities to cover the area of subsea construction support.

As geography, resource potential and costs drive innovation in the offshore segment, companies like Viking, with leaders like Bayliss, will continue to re-evaluate and respond to conditions from the oil field. Whether it’s real-time, visual monitoring of equipment, or challenges in seabed topography and environmental regulations, Viking will look to stay at the forefront of the market by leveraging both technology, and the people behind it.