Equinor has awarded a contract to MMT to conduct geophysical studies at the developer’s offshore wind lease area off New England.
Survey operations will begin late summer 2020 and will run until the second quarter of 2021.
The contract covers high resolution geophysical, benthic surveys and shallow subsurface surveys for the planning and engineering of Equinor’s lease area off New England.
MMT will use its Stril Explorer vessel, which is equipped with the Surveyor Interceptor SROV.
MMT developed the Surveyor Interceptor with Reach Subsea to reduce the time it takes to carry out offshore surveys.
The technology will “significantly increase the operational window, cut operation time, and reduce the impact on the surrounding wildlife by reducing the noise in the water column”, MMT said.
The method will also allow all surveys to be conducted from a single vessel rather than the standard two-vessel deployment.
The Surveyor Interceptor will be modified to host more sensors, to achieve all the offshore wind data requirements Equinor requires, MMT said.
MMT chief executive Per-Olof Sverlinger said: “This award is strategically important as MMT/Reach has been preparing to support our clients in the US offshore wind industry for more than two years now.
“We have a long experience from the renewables segment in Europe and developers have shown interest in using our professional support in the US market. They know what we can deliver and we know their requirements on both a safe and efficient operation and the quality of deliverables.”
Reach Subsea chief executive Jostein Alendal added: “This major award is a testament to the combined capabilities of Reach and MMT, our track record worldwide, and our ability to develop innovative solutions.
“To be in the technological forefront demands a good portion of stamina and it is encouraging for the whole team to get this recognition from a leading operator like Equinor.”