METAS has already developed a product that detects even small gas leaks on up to 700 meters’ distance in the sub-sea environment. The objective of the new project is to develop a technology that can be used down to 3000 meters deep. The technology will be able to monitor both existing environments around platforms and other sub-sea installations, and closed wells. Testing of the new technology will be conducted at 2600 meters below sea level in Santos Basin, Brazil.
The project is named Enhanced Subsea Hydrocarbon Leak Detection with Broadband Active Acoustic Sensor System (L-BAS), and is a further development of a project finished in 2015, supported by Regionalt Forskningsfond Vestlandet. The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Petrobas, Nortek, Christian Michelsen Research, University of Bergen and Aker Solutions are partners in the new project. They have received funding for three years, and the project is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2016.
METAS provides technology solutions for the industry to overcome their subsea challenges for environmental monitoring, Active Acoustic Leak Detection oil and gas (AALD) as well as multipurpose subsea sensor solutions. The company was established in 2009 by researchers from Institute of Marine Research and BTO. Read more about METAS at their web page.
Great interest
– We have received a record number of applications for this DEMO 2000 announcement. This shows the willingness to innovate in the industry. It also shows how important it is that the Government invests in research and technology in their petroleum policy, says Arvid Hallén, CEO of the Norwegian Research Council to www.forskningsradet.no.
Read more about the allocation at Forskningsrådet’s web page.
About the program
As a part of the Government’s package of measures aimed to ensure competence and employment in the petroleum industry, the Norwegian Research Council provides 125 million NOK to 17 projects for developing new technology for the Norwegian continental shelf through DEMO 2000.
DEMO 2000 is a demonstration and piloting program, aimed to ensure competence and employment in the petroleum industry. The program distributes 125 million NOK in 2016.