robotics

Advanced robotics is poised to make a big splash in the oil and gas industry, but when and just how big will it be?

Advanced nondestructive-testing technology such as drones and robotics were tried in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company gas-processing field sites successfully and demonstrated the benefits of using such technology for inspections to ensure asset integrity without any compromise on safety while saving time and operational expenses.

Saudi Aramco is accelerating the adoption and scaleup of disruptive and multipurpose robotic technologies to deliver safer, cost-effective, and efficient inspection capabilities, emergency response, aerial mapping, project monitoring, security surveillance, and environmental monitoring.

New contracts, a joint venture, and a merger are pushing the company's robotic vessel fleet further into the mainstream of both hydrocarbons and renewable energy inspection services.

An autonomous robot will be deployed on an offshore platform for the first time by Equinor. The operator plans to use it as its eyes and sensors on future platforms where humans will visit only intermittently.

Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy sees the potential for robots and automation to replace up to 400,000 roles in North America, Europe, and Russia by 2030. The timeline is not guaranteed, though, and will move at a speed set by human decision making.

Industrial robots are becoming an increasingly popular choice in a variety of industries for different applications. Going by responses to a McKinsey and Company survey, up to 88% of businesses worldwide intend to adopt robotic automation into their infrastructure.

To provide condition monitoring and combat fouling, the robot clings and moves along the hull walls. It is controlled via a 4G connection to clean and inspect the walls in line with individual vessel schedules developed through a proprietary algorithm and big data.

The partnership will deliver autonomous robots for safe work in adverse land, sea, and downhole environments.

With their gee-whiz—albeit artificial—intelligence, robots may be the industry’s answer to jobs deemed dangerous, dirty, distant, or dull.