AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) are increasingly being used for pipeline surveys and other offshore applications. But they hold potential for wider use, which is dependent on operators pushing for advances. “We’ve been at this thing for 20 years; a large number of the technology elements have been there for 15 years. It’s just that the offshore industry has not consistently pursued them.” Speaking at a technical session on the opening day of the Offshore Technology Conference, Andy Hill, Global Geohazards Technical Authority at BP, added that most technical papers continue to “look at what we know we can do” instead of taking a view of the future with the already-existing capabilities.

https://www.spe.org/en/ogf/ogf-article-detail/?art=2945