A new system for monitoring undersea oil pipelines for leaks and damage is to be developed.
OptaSense is to work with Anglo-Dutch energy major Shell to develop a subsea version of its distributed acoustic sensing system.
The project will see the technology, which is already used in onshore oil systems, being adapted to work in depths of up to 10,000ft.
“The search for oil and gas is taking the industry into ever deeper and more challenging environments,” said OptaSense chief executive Magnus McEwen-King.
“The global deepwater and subsea market is large and is forecast to grow rapidly. Producing a marinised version of our technology will enable OptaSense to extend the use of our already proven onshore distributed acoustic sensing capabilities into the growing subsea sector.”
The Farnborough-based firm will work with Shell to develop a smaller version of its DAS unit that will fit into a pressure canister, with a demonstration of the unit expected by the middle of next year.
The system will allow potential operators to monitor in real-time what is happening along pipelines, using sensors along a fibre optic cable to measure changes.