Stakeholders react as Shell introduces unmanned vessel for undersea pipeline

Stakeholders have called for cautious optimism in the incursion of artificial intelligence and technologies that cut jobs in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

The reaction is sequel to Monday’s announcement by Shell that it has introduced ‘surface water drone for pipeline survey in its shallow water operations.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) had said it has deployed an Unscrewed Surface Vessel (USV) for a pipeline route survey in the Niger Delta.

It was learnt that the USV, a water surface drone with no human crew can be used for underwater pipelines examination, integrity assessment amongst others.

SPDC announced the innovation, the first in Nigerian oilfields in a statement by its Media Relations Manager,  Mrs Abimbola Essien-Nelson.

The energy firm explained that the USV saves time and cost and reduces exposure to personnel and the environment.

“Last month, the remotely operated USV conducted a pipeline route survey at Bonny for a total of 166 hours.

“It is the first deployment of an USV for a pipeline route survey in shallow water in Nigeria and the longest such single mission in the Shell Group,” Essien-Nelson said.

The statement quoted Mr Steve Keedwell, SPDC’s Chief Surveyor and Head, Offshore Survey Operations as saying that the deployment of USV is the new face of survey in Nigeria, in which on-site and remote operators deployed the Uncrewed Surface Vessel.

 “We recorded increased productivity and better data acquisition at the survey at Bonny. Deploying the USV reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 97 per cent because the vehicle is designed as diesel electric.

“The efficiency of data acquisition coupled with improved data quality whilst reducing personnel exposure to zero is transforming how we execute surveys.”

According to the statement. SPDC partnered with a wide range of stakeholders to deploy the technology.

They include Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission; NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services; Nigerian Content Development and Management Board; Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office; and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.

The energy firm noted that in furtherance of its Nigerian content development programme, SPDC worked closely with a Nigerian vendor, Compass Survey Limited, which deployed the vessel with support from their foreign partners, Unmanned Survey Solutions, UK.

“The vendor is training on-site remote operators to build local capacity.

“This is an exciting chapter in our efforts to develop Nigerian content in the conduct of surveys,” said SPDC General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, ‘Lanre Olawuyi.

“Already, the innovation in the survey at Bonny is attracting interests from the oil and gas industry and beyond, which means it stands a good chance of being widely used in Nigeria.

“We will continue to support Nigerian companies in the domestication of technology and innovations.”

Meanwhile, on concerns about the loss of jobs as the USV requires no human labour, the oil firm noted that the USV creates jobs at the remote control centre where data from the unmanned vessel is received and processed.

Dr Nnimmo Bassey, an environmental rights crusader who welcomed the application of drone technology for pipeline monitoring underwater noted that the claim of 97 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is bogus and needs to be validated.

“The drones can be good for monitoring pipelines for defects, leakages, corrosion or illegal activities. To say that they lead to 97 percent carbon dioxide emission reduction is a vacuous claim that can only made by carbon speculators seeking profit rather than halting pollution.

“The drones whether subsea or above water cannot in any way  eliminate human agency in halting harmful activities,” Bassey noted.

Mr Henry Itrechio , an oil services expert noted that the introduction of technologies that cut off jobs should be used with caution due to the adverse social impact of job losses on the economy.

“Incursions of Artificial Intelligence ought to be handled with cautious optimism as machines cannot replace humans, like in the case in point the USV is better because of the danger of having humans in undersea vessels is very high.

“The USV is not without its own drawbacks and its pilot deployment for pipeline surveillance in shallow waters should be further studied to ascertain the suitability for deep-sea operations,” he said.

He further noted that the disadvantages of using USVs for pipeline surveys in the oil industry include limitations in communication, navigation, payload capacity, range, and speed when compared to undersea vehicles.