Reach Subsea has secured two new contracts from Equinor with both projects to be carried out using the uncrewed surface vessel Reach Remote 1 (RR1) on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
The first contract involves gas reservoir monitoring at the Troll field. It will involve the deployment of Reach Subsea’s gWatch technology, which is currently used across various Norwegian gas fields and has previously been integrated into similar projects internationally.
This scope also includes options for further survey assignments.
The second contract covers inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) of subsea assets at various offshore sites.
For this work, Reach Subsea will employ a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed from RR1, supported by dedicated tooling tailored for uncrewed operations.
With these latest awards, Equinor has now commissioned three projects making use of RR1. The scheduled work will take place consecutively, with most of the vessel spread’s capacity engaged throughout the second and third quarters of 2026.
Preparations for both campaigns are set to begin immediately, while offshore execution is planned for Q2 and Q3 of this year.
Recent months have seen Reach Subsea complete multiple offshore activities with RR1, including operations within safety zones and the deployment of several tools from the unmanned vessel.
The company states that this latest development follows a period of increasing operational activity for RR1.
Reach Subsea CEO Jostein Alendal said: “These awards further strengthen our collaboration with Equinor and confirm Reach Remote as a robust and flexible platform for both reservoir monitoring and IMR operations.
“The integration of Reach Remote with our proprietary gWatch technology, as well as ROV based inspection and tooling, demonstrates how uncrewed solutions can deliver high quality data and services while reducing operational complexity and emissions.”
The newly awarded contracts are in line with Reach Subsea’s long-term objectives within remote and autonomous subsea operations and are expected to support ongoing utilisation of the RR1 platform.
RR1 is equipped to conduct a range of traditional survey activities such as seabed mapping, pipeline inspection, geophysical work, and surveys for unexploded ordnance.
The vessel features automated systems covering mission planning, execution, feature recognition, onboard data processing, and storage.
Last week, Equinor began drilling operations at the Raia gas project in the pre-salt region of Brazil’s Campos Basin, with production targeted for 2028.
