INDUSTRY NEWS
Taurob and Equinor to Introduce Autonomous Robots on Norway's Offshore Platforms
Equinor is introducing autonomous ATEX-certified robots on their oil and gas installations. Partner in the project is inspection robotics specialist Taurob of Austria. Its robot will be used to conduct routine inspection and maintenance tasks on offshore installations.
Thorough Certification Taurob started developing robotics applied for human safety, particularly in emergency response situations, 11 years ago. Safety is also the main driver for the energy domain to step into robotics. The state-of-the-art ‘Taurob Inspector’ is the result of an intensive 2-year collaboration between Taurob,
French energy giant Total and UK's OGTC. Total was the first energy major to implement robotic inspection on their plant in the North Sea's Shetland Islands. Matthias Biegl, Managing Director and co- founder of Taurob, emphasizes his company's focus on safety: “Our goal is to build trust with operators and raise acceptance on site. Going through thorough certification procedures with the customers and their HSEQ and Electrical departments is as important as the development process itself.”
Equinor decided in 2019 to join Total, OGTC and Taurob in the ARGOS Joint Industry Project to develop a completely new robot, capable of performing autonomous manipulation operations. “We expect
Aquaterra Energy Secures £1m Worth of Riser Analysis Contracts With Major Middle
Eastern Operators Aquaterra Energy, a leader in global offshore engineering solutions, has secured the company’s largest riser analysis contract to date, a five-year deal with a major Middle Eastern operator to provide green and brownfield riser analysis. Combined with other recent project wins in the Middle East, Aquaterra Energy will now deliver an estimated £1m of riser analysis work over the five-year period.
Acting as a primary riser analysis supplier, Aquaterra Energy will manage and deliver multiple scopes of long-term work using its in- house analysis teams. Located in
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Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the contracts incorporate a wide range of recurring brownfield riser analysis projects, with future greenfield opportunities. The brownfield platform modification projects include slot recovery, slot addition and assisting development of inspection programme of existing conductors.
Martin Harrop, Riser Analysis Manager at Aquaterra Energy, comments on the projects delivered to date: "With the region shifting its focus to aging infrastructure, there is a growing appetite for experienced riser analysts amongst operators. As the operations are often non- standard, we have been working closely with our client's engineers to find solutions to challenging
operational concerns. Our analysis has generated many cost-saving, operational and decarbonisation benefits for our clients in the region.”
Andrew McDowell, Operations Director at Aquaterra Energy adds: “The Middle East is embarking on its next stage as an oil and gas producing region. Operators are now continuing to invest in new projects but also finding themselves with a glut of legacy assets coming to end-of-life from earlier generations of investment. To safely and efficiently maximise output, our expert riser analysts are perfectly placed to support operators with both green and brownfield projects. With a long-term contract in place, I see this as the start of a major period of growth for us in the region.”
the result to be a robust and reliable robot, with maintenance intervals of up to only once per year; ideal for Normally Unmanned Facilities (NUF) where human intervention is rare. As a so called ‘Work Class’ robot, it will physically interact with the installation,” says Biegl. First tests will be performed this year.
Taurob Inspector robot on site. (photo Total/Ben Mullay)
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