This is probably not the most auspicious time to be launching new technology. Operators would seem more likely now to look for a less expensive way to do what they have always done than to take a risk on something new.

So it must be with some trepidation that Deep Blue Engineering has launched SHUTTLE SUB, a large payload-carrying rov-based deployment system that could be used for a number of applications including pipelay in deep water.

Despite the unfortunate timing, Deep Blue’s David Webster is unfazed as he has done this sort of new technology thing before. A veteran of the Nailsea-based controls business when it was part of the ABB world, Webster’s team developed a rotary steerable drilling system that was sold onto WH Energy and became Pathfinder and is now owned by Schlumberger. Deep Blue also developed the Sure Safe actuator for Aker Solutions and a subsea HIPPS system that is being marketed by Severn Subsea Technologies, part of Severn Glocon.

Shuttle Sub which is still being developed - Deep Blue is looking for a partner - can carry multiple kilometres of umbilical in a 4t cartridge and Webster believes that it could have an interesting role in installing umbilical jumpers as well as cables for corrosion monitoring of pipelines.

It may well be, though, that the first application will be on salvage work if development work can be completed.

MAGMA GLOBAL (SEN, 31/21), newbie manufacturer of m-pipe, a carbon fibre-based composite pipe, commissioned an independent report from energy advisory firm Calash on the potential economic benefits of using its polymer-based pipe versus steel in riser systems.

The results, from Magma’s point of view, are very encouraging. Its pipe would save over 10% in capex over a steel catenary riser system, while a steel single leg offshore riser (SLOR) would cost 75% more than its m-pipe. This is bolstered by the lightweight and strength of m-pipe.

All well and good except that Magma has not manufactured a full complement of risers in m-pipe, although its existing production facility has the capability to produce a continuous length of 6in pipe up to 3,000m. It is now building a new production unit that can handle continuous lengths of pipe up to 12in.

Magma would not tell SEN what the longest continuous length of pipe it has produced - it is ‘confidential’ - but it did say that it has begun tendering for supply on projects where it could offer considerable cost savings. One interesting point is that it can dismantle its production extruder and ship the entire line to an alternative location making it an intriguing option for countries with local content requirements.

While it has yet to convince an operator to place a significant order - it has supplied pipe for a topside water injection application - the cost and weight saving elements could lure a price conscious operator. As with Deep Blue’s new technology, it will likely face an uphill battle in this time of economic constraint.

Sometimes it is difficult to know where to put a story. As the word ‘technology’ is part of the moniker of the SOCIETY OF UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY, it gets to go here.

The learned body known as the SUT which will hit the ripe age of 50 in 2016 is looking to alter its structure to better reflect the international nature of its membership. Committees of its council will, for the first time, include members from overseas branches. There are also moves afoot to review its bursary schemes, new guidelines for vetting membership applications as well as its business plan.

Overseas memberships with major branches in Houston and Perth is now reaching nearly 50% of the total, SEN has been told.

DOF Subsea has acquired three Slocum GLIDERS as part of its new Ocean Observation System service. These auvs will be used to gather environmental data - current measurements, hydrocarbons in the water column, marine mammals, biochemical properties, et al - as part of offshore operations...ISO has issued new energy consumption standards for PUMPING SYSTEMS to help reduce consumption and the carbon footprint of onshore and offshore systems...Oil Spill Response, in conjunction with the operator-run Subsea Well Response Project, has delivered a WELL CONTAINMENT TOOLKIT which adds a number of pieces of subsea architecture to complete a system with the existing well capping stacks.

Offshore