Two retrofittable SunStations™ installed

SunStation™ Minis installed in the Gulf of Mexico

Deepwater was contacted by a major energy company that was seeking something an AUV could easily interrogate that would eliminate CP stab surveys on their subsea equipment. One of their colleagues mentioned that Deepwater had already developed such a system, called SunStation™, where lights from an AUV or ROV awaken the unit – powered entirely by solar panels – and potentials are then recorded by camera.

SunStations™ have typically been integrated into subsea equipment before installation and attached electrically via permanently-mounted RetroClamps™, but in this instance the client needed a more retrofittable version. A smaller SunStation™ was designed using magnets to attach the unit to the steel asset, enabling placement exactly where the client needs it for easy AUV accessibility while interrogating the CP readings. Attached to the readout is a flying lead that also attaches magnetically to the structure, which is placed via ROV on the location to be monitored to make the electrical connection that provides the CP readings.

So far, the client has installed two of the SunStation™ Mini units on equipment in the Gulf of Mexico and remarked that it was easy to install, relatively compact, unobtrusive and easily moved or removed if needed.