Oil Spill Response Ltd (OSRL) has announced the inception of Water Column Monitoring (WCM) equipment and services to support its Subsea Well Intervention Service (SWIS) Capping members.
The WCM program was developed by CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) and has been integrated into operational plans and desktop exercises conducted in the U.S. and internationally since 2014. CSA is a marine environmental consulting firm with 50 years of experience serving the environmental needs of the offshore oil and gas industry.
Designed for deepwater deployments, water column characterization, water sampling, and monitoring during subsea dispersant injection (SSDI), the mobile WCM kit includes two 8 ft × 20 ft containers certified for offshore use by Det Norske Veritas and the American Bureau of Shipping. The equipment, instruments, and consumables incorporated into each container are industry standard, commercial grade, and mobilization ready. A portable Launch and Recovery System consists of a combined winch, A-frame, and 3,500-m custom cable, which enables the deployment of instruments in deep water from a suitable vessel such as platform supply ship. The instruments enable in situ, real-time characterization of water column properties with depth, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and two types of fluorescence, as well as the remote triggering of water sampling bottles at any depth.
Access to the WCM equipment and CSA services enables OSRL’s SWIS Capping members to promote best-practice subsea well incident planning, preparedness, and response.
For more information, please contact our Subsea Director, Andy Myers.
Article contributed by Jodi Harney (Energy Director and Senior Scientist, CSA) and Andy Myers (Subsea Director, OSRL)