UTEC’s survey services will be deployed during the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) phase and will encompass offshore and onshore works to install two 17.5 km 220 kV power cables from Bel Air in Dakar to Cap des Biches.
Senegal Power Compact is a program financed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent US government agency, and the Senegalese government. The program, implemented by MCA-Sénégal II, aims to secure a reliable supply of electricity for Senegalese citizens and meet the country’s increasing demand thus unlocking greater potential for economic growth and the reduction of poverty. The offshore work on the entire project is expected to continue until Q3 2025.
As part of the geo-services scope of work, UTEC will provide surface positioning support, trenching support and as-trenched multibeam echosounder (MBES) surveys from the self-propelled multipurpose vessel Atlantis. UTEC will also deliver nearshore MBES surveys conducted from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat and surface positioning support during the product lay. The communications hub installed onboard the vessel will automatically transfer survey data to UTEC’s centralized data processing facility in Scotland where it will be accessed by remote data processing personnel and analyzed in real time.
Other equipment includes a real-time kinematic positioning global navigation satellite system (GNSS) for primary vessel positioning, a precision point positioning GNSS for secondary vessel positioning, environmental sensors, VisualSoft video acquisition and processing suites, EIVA data acquisition and processing suites and Norbit iWBMS MBES. Some of the equipment was supplied by Seatronics, an Acteon brand.
“We are proud to support Enshore Subsea and Herbosch Kiere on this transformative initiative for the people of Senegal,” says Shane Thompson, Commercial Manager, Europe and Africa, UTEC. “We have a long-standing relationship with Enshore Subsea and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in the future. Utilizing our communications hub will allow us to reduce carbon emissions and minimize health and safety risks associated with offshore mobilizations, while enabling our customers to view data from any location.
“We are pleased to once again work with UTEC on this important project,” says Philip Strettle-Brown, Survey & Seabed Innovation Manager at Enshore Subsea. “UTEC’s consistent track record of quality deliverables support our project aims and we look forward to another productive collaboration.”