Rotech Subsea signs off busy year in oil & gas market with new CFE jet trenching tech in high demand

Rotech Subsea, the leading provider of subsea jet trenching and controlled flow excavation (CFE) services to the energy industry, may have captured the headlines recently for being the global leader in offshore renewables pre-commissioning, commissioning and IRM but that is only half the story. The Aberdeen-based technology-driven contractor known for its cutting-edge proprietary range of CFE, Jetting and Hybrid Jetting tools built its reputation in oil and gas - and continues to service the sector.

Taking the subsea excavation sector by storm in the 1990s, focused on oil & gas, Rotech Subsea emerged from a non-compete period in 2015 (following the sale of its first-generation technology) with a new generation of excavators with greater power, cutting capability, and controllability, opening up new opportunities in the renewables cable trenching sector. It has experienced exponential growth in that market ever since, and the technological advances that have driven that success have also proven to be in high demand in the oil and gas IRM and Decommissioning market. Indeed, Rotech has just signed off on another busy year in the oil and gas sector, with the outlook for 2024 looking rosy too.

With Rotech Subsea’s R&D team constantly evolving and expanding its suite of sector-leading non-contact CFE, Suspended Jet and Hybrid Jet Trenching tools, the company provides a range of efficient and cost effective excavation services to the oil and gas market, including pipeline deburial, repair, access, cutting and removal. No stranger to adapting to an evolving energy landscape, the team continues to develop new tools and applications specifically for the oil and gas market - including the Twin RSGfor retrieval of decommissioned pipelines and umbilicals, and the 10” Suction Dredger - as well as adapting its suite of tools which deliver the narrower, deeper trenches to be cut in harder, deeper soils demanded by the offshore wind sector - for use in oil & gas decommissioning or maritime dredging.

In the last 18 months, Rotech has mobilised its project teams and equipment far and wide for oil & gas projects, including to Turkey, Trinidad and the North Sea, delivering a range of commissioning, IRM and decommissioning work scopes.

In December 2022, Rotech wrapped up an umbilical post-trenching project for a global installation contractor in Turkey, using its TRS1-LD Suspended Jet Trencher, complemented by the 350 kPa capable RS3. January 2023 saw Rotech in the North Sea delivering pipeline deburial works for a major subsea solutions provider with its TRS1 tool.

In April 2023, Rotech was active in the North Sea again, completing two major IRM scopes - an umbilical trenching scope with its TRS1 and rock dump removal and re-profiling with its TRS2 - for a leading international dredging and maritime services provider. The Aberdeen-based contractor delivered multiple other oil and gas pipeline deburial scopes in the region as the year progressed.

“Renewables has been a huge growth area for us in recent years, but providing commissioning, IRM and decommissioning services to the oil & gas market is a vital part of our business,” says Director of Subsea, Steve Cochrane. “Our first-generation equipment was purpose built for the oil & gas sector but our new, more precise and more powerful non-contact tools are much in demand in both sectors, globally, and we have equipment strategically placed in the USA and Asia to service those markets.

“2023 was a really busy one for us in oil & gas in the North Sea and beyond, and with 2024 shaping up to be another great year we look forward to working with long-term partners, helping deliver their key commissioning, IRM and end-of-life projects.”

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