Structural Monitoring Of Offshore Platforms By 3d Subsea Laser Profilers.

Structural monitoring of offshore and subsea oil and gas infrastructure is a key practice for increased integrity of equipment, extension of operating life time and improvement in the efficiency of production. Dimensional information acquired during inspections is useful for assessing the subsea infrastructure and identifying faults. In this regard, laser measurement technologies that are capable of acquiring accurate 3D profiles of subsea infrastructure are of growing interest to the subsea industry. Among the advantages of these techniques with respect to conventional camera stereoscopic vision systems are the ability to operate at extended ranges and in the absence of any external illumination. In addition very high measurement accuracy is achievable. In this contribution the authors will outline the potential for laser profiling of subsea oil and gas infrastructure and report recent developments relating to methods for extending the utility of the technique as well new approaches to achieve advanced monitoring.