Subsea Firm Proves Acoustic Hydrate Detection in Deep Water

An acoustic sensor detected a hydrate plug in a submerged deepwater pipeline offshore Angola earlier this year.

While TSC Subsea’s Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART) is not new, the company developed an acoustic-sensing equipment package called ART vPush that could be propelled by a ROV specifically to detect the hydrate blockage in the Angolan pipeline. The job required partial pre-dredging of the pipeline, the actual ART vPush inspection, and follow-up high-resolution imaging of the ends of the hydrate plug carried out by TSC’s Acoustic Resonance Technology External Measurement Inspection System (ARTEMIS). 

TSC uses ART to inspect or look inside walls of pipelines with “substantial coating on the exterior,” said Jonathan Bancroft, TSC Subsea global sales director.