Tasks for ROVs in support of oil exploration and development, deepwater pipelines, and many other areas, continues to increase in both depth and complexity. As shown in the figure below, the exploration water depths in the Gulf of Mexico have more than doubled during the last two decades, increasing from depths of 3,500 ft (1,067 m) in 1976 to 7,600 ft (2,316 m) in 1996. Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off Brazil in depths beyond 3000 ft (914 m) accounted for over 90 percent of the worldwide effort between 1985 and 1997. And this trend is not expected to decrease in the future.

Gulf of Mexico Drilling Milestones

The move into deep water for oil and gas exploration, development and production has opened up a whole new market for innovative solutions to operating systems on the seabed. Exploration is already being carried out in water depths over 10,000 ft (3,048 m), while production is quickly approaching this depth. The move into deep water, in the US Gulf of Mexico alone, has created a new regulatory problem that is only beginning to be addressed by various agencies: the safety to personnel and safety of the environment as technology attempts to keep pace with new discoveries in deeper and deeper water. The need to monitor this activity around the world will be critical in the prevention of a disaster to life or the coastal environment.

In addition to the offshore oil and gas industry, many tasks exist for ROVs in the ocean’s deepest depths. Towed search systems, tethered ROV work systems, and autonomous vehicles are now routinely used to locate and recover objects around the world. Vehicles such as the CURV III and ATV can reach beyond 6,000 meter depths and Japan’s KAIKO has reached the deepest point in the ocean at 10,909 meters. And, with costs coming down, ROVs are increasing their support of scientific investigations. Vehicles such as Jason at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Tiburon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institution can support scientific investigations to depths of 6,000 meters and 4,000 meters respectively.