How Saudi Aramco is Leading Oil and Gas Robotic Innovation

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Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company, has stated it wants to be the “leading digitalized energy company.” Its Q1 2021 earnings report, which showed a 30% rise in net profit, indicates that technology investments are paying off.

The energy company is moving toward more sustainability, efficiency, and safety—and robots are helping it along the way. And it’s not the only company investing in robotic technology. According to a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report, robotics and drones are expected to be the highest adopted technologies, with the highest growth in the oil and gas sector for the next 3 to 5 years.

 
 

The company is using advancements in AI, data analytics, and IoT to develop emerging robots that are fully autonomous and capable of remote operations. Robotics have the potential to transform how oil and gas companies operate—facilitating real-time, data-driven decision-making and prediction abilities.

In the Air

Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are helping oil and gas companies monitor large-scale assets with more efficiency and frequency. In 2019, Saudi Aramco expanded its UAV fleet by adding 18 new UAVs, which support field operations and inspection activities, including: 

Onshore and offshore flares

  • Storage tanks

  • Elevated structures

  • Power system infrastructure

  • Aerial mapping

  • Environmental monitoring

Saudi Aramco also uses UAV-based methane detection technology to detect and quantify the concentration of methane and other hydrocarbon gas leaks. And it has deployed UAV RFID tracking to enhance pipe inventory management that can accurately identify, count, and locate 4,000 pipes in 4 minutes.

On the Ground

Oil and gas assets are often dangerous places. In 2019, Saudi Aramco deployed the first explosion-proof multipurpose firefighting robot equipped with:

  • Multiple visual and thermal cameras

  • Heat tracking sensors

  • A gas detector

  • 12 bar water connections 

The robot can send live video to the mobile command center and perform safe firefighting operations at a closer proximity than humans.

Saudi Aramco says it’s in the process of developing the next generation of ground and legged robots. The goal is to enable reliable and highly agile and maneuverable robotic platforms that will support remote field operations, inspection, and surveillance.

Below the Sea

Saudi Aramco has successfully deployed an industrial-grade mini-ROV (remotely operated vehicle) as a multipurpose solution for subsea assets inspection. The subsea robot monitors and transmits real-time video streaming and captures high-resolution images of foundations, pipelines, composite cables, and concrete encasements.

They say oil and water don’t mix, but these robots are handling both just fine.