How does Rebreather technology lead to oil and gas development?
Much of the world’s petroleum resources lay beneath the ocean’s surface. Since the 1960s, advances in drilling, diving, robotic and instrumentation technologies have directly lead to the ability to exploit ever increasing quantities of these submerged resources. While much of the work that is required to develop marine petroleum fields can now be done remotely, using equipment like Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), nothing can replace the versatility and competency of an actual diver working underwater.
However, the ability for divers to work deeper has about reached the limit of current technology. At the depths divers are now required to labor they are limited by a variety of factors, including decompression obligations, breathing gas requirements, equipment breathing resistance, inherent resistively of the lungs when breathing gas of increased density. Rebreather technology can solve or ameliorate these problems.
Rebreathers provide gas to the diver in an optimal mix for the depth at which they are working. Closed circuit rebreathers (See Diagram>) maintain a constant partial pressure of oxygen in the gas mixture being breathed by the diver.
This minimizes decompression obligations, or in some cases eliminates it for shallower working dives. Less decompression time means more working time, and greater cost efficiency for the project.
A significant expense item for working divers is the availability and cost of the breathing gas. At the depths in which oil production is occurring, the bulk of the gas being breathed by the divers is helium.
Helium is a scarce commodity (compared to air typically used by divers), and is much more expensive. In fact, due to declining supplies worldwide, helium prices have skyrocketed in the last 12 months, more than quadrupling in some markets.
Closed circuit rebreathers of the type under development at Blu Vu allow divers to minimize gas use, in
some cases using less than 0.5% (yes, 1/2,000!) of the gas consumed during a 3-hour dive using comparable open circuit breathing technology. This alone can represent a cost saving of over $5,000 per diver per 3-hour work dive, or $80,000 per working dive day!
One of the most significant factors in working at great depths is the breathing resistance experienced by the diver. Merely inhaling and exhaling literally exhausts the diver, rendering them incapable of accomplishing any useful work in some situations. This resistance comes from two factors: the resistance from the equipment, and the resistance of the divers’ lungs. The technology being developed by Blu Vu circumvents these issues by providing what can essentially be thought of as a “power-assisted” breathing function. It is anticipated that this will allow divers to work in depths of up to nearly 1500 fsw (450 msw) comfortably.
When added together, Blu Vu technological licenses will allow the American oil industry to pursue petroleum recovery to depths unheard of previously, with lower cost and greater efficiency.
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