Rockwell Automation announced that it is working with TotalEnergies to implement a robot fleet management system, driving autonomous operations for its offshore platforms. The long-running project will reach a significant milestone with its first test on an offshore asset scheduled for mid-2023.
Autonomous operations have long been an aspiration for the oil and gas sector because of the difficult working conditions associated with offshore operations. This knowledge is extendable to wind offshore projects. Energy companies are investing in the use of robotics in these facilities, looking to enable unmanned operations for long periods; reduce employee exposure to hazardous situations; increase safety; attract young talent interested in new technologies; and further reduce CAPEX and OPEX.
For a decade now, TotalEnergies has been investing in robots and remote operation in particular with autonomous surveillance and inspection robots certified to the ATEX explosive atmospheres standard.
“Because of the remote and often harsh environments in which oil and gas companies operate offshore, there is a strategic objective to minimize employee exposure on these platforms,” said Matt Graves, director at Kalypso, a Rockwell Automation company. “ and the next step was to develop a control system to operate these robots remotely. For that, they turned to Kalypso.”
TotalEnergies has been working with Kalypso and other partners to implement a Robotic Supervision System (RSS). This will allow operators located in an onshore control room to remotely supervise and coordinate the robots using IoT technology, autonomously performing the various activities that field operators are executing on conventional facilities: from periodic inspection operation and maintenance tasks to emergency response.
