Electrical Safety for Underwater Systems

Underwater systems are mainly used to lay pipelines and install underwater structures. These include ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles), which are cable-operated underwater. The safety and reliability of subsea electrical systems and ROVs are paramount to oil and gas operations. Any system failings potentially have significant consequences due to the extreme conditions which make repair and recovery difficult and dangerous. Operators must have total confidence in the integrity of subsea operating systems. Effective monitoring plays a vital role by warning early developing issues with systems and components facing the extreme pressures and hazards of the deep ocean. With Bender, monitor subsea cables, identify trends in insulation resistance values, and inform operations and maintenance teams of cable degradation and developing electrical failure.  

Bender’s intelligent monitoring and measurement systems are designed to monitor and protect assets that work in some of the harshest operating conditions. Advanced warning enables operators to recover the ROV before the problem becomes critical and significantly reduces the risk of high-value ROV assets failing or becoming inoperative and the inevitable costly disruption to production schedules.

Our solutions integrate with existing OEM equipment, are designed for use on AC, DC, or AC/DC main circuits, and monitor energized and de-energized systems. Providing advanced warning of developing insulation failure, we can protect subsea assets and operators, thereby increasing the safety of operations. Bender supplies a range of original equipment manufacturers, both subsea and offshore, with equipment to protect systems, production, and personnel. Bender ISOMETER®s monitor the cable connection and underwater electronics for faults. An EDS system guarantees rapid troubleshooting. Advantages of Bender's insulation monitoring device include:

• 10 GΩ measurement
• Early recognition of faults to increase operational safety and make it easier to plan maintenance
• Synchronisation with capacitively coupled systems
• Fault analysis with scalable history memory
• Assessment of the quality of components used
• High adaptability on systems with different properties
• Straightforward and high-performing communications interface
• Self-explanatory commissioning
• Comprehensive configuration