Energy technology services company Proserv has unveiled what it claims is a game-changing technology for subsea control and monitoring communications.

The Artemis 2G (A2G) subsea electronics module is a controls and communications tool. It is designed to free operators from the constraints of an existing brownfield umbilical by finding additional signal capacity to enable a cost-effective field upgrade or extension.

In addition, the design is said to offer high-speed, copper-based, multi-drop networks as a viable alternative to fibre optic infrastructures within the subsea production system.

According to Proserv, A2G provides more powerful communications and instrument support and increases accessibility for remote usage though its webpage interface from subsea to the desktop.

The product, it adds, complies with the latest ISO 13628 part 6, API 17F and Subsea Instrumentation Interface Standardisation. A2G can be used to co-exist with existing networks, is fully back compatible with all existing technology and does not require any proprietary software for remote configuration and support.

With the extraction of subsea oil and gas reserves becoming increasingly challenging in deeper and more isolated areas, greater data is required from subsea instrumentation, notes Alan Peek, Proserv’s VP for subsea controls and communications.

Longer step-out distances between subsea fields and host facilities also mean that improved communications and power technologies are needed to enable production in remote locations, he adds.

The new product, said Peek, is "effectively the brain of the subsea and control operations because unlike other tools, it controls all of the communication systems and enables the power, speed and accessibility necessary for the control and monitoring of challenging subsea infrastructures and environments.

“What sets A2G apart is the way in which it manages information and power and the sophisticated way that it configures and communicates the data while at different rates. This new technology has already generated an extraordinary level of industry interest and we expect a strong uptake.”

Earlier this year, Proserv announced two separate contract wins with Noble Energy and Talos Energy in the Gulf of Mexico where the A2G system is to be implemented on Noble Energy’s Gunflint field in the Mississippi Canyon area as part of work to control two deepwater wells about 70 miles from the Louisiana coast.