COVER STORY
THE ENERGY WATCHDOG
Siobhan Doyle explores how mobile robots are helping make the oil and gas industry safer and more efficient
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cross the oil and gas sector, asset maintenance and worker safety are top priorities. Mobile robots are
increasingly used to support these goals by capturing valuable on-site data while keeping employees away from hazards. Central to this work is American engineering and robotics design company Boston Dynamics and its canine-inspired robot, Spot. Within the oil and gas sector, Spot can
identify air and gas leaks, as well as other equipment maintenance requirements, from anomolies in temperature for example. Equipped with acoustic imagers, gas sensors and thermal cameras, Spot can identify potential hazards, identify equipment with degraded performance, and help ensure compliance for safer, more reliable operations, according to its developers. In this article, we look at the ways in
which this Massachusetts Institute of Technology spin-off company’s agile robot is helping energy companies inspect and maintain their equipment on-site, ultimately optimising site performance and helping operators make informed decisions.
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ACROSS THE POND Oil and gas companies are facing evolving market demands, regulatory pressures, and competition from alternative energy sources. California- based petroleum refineries company Chevron, has been responding to these pressures by adopting products and solutions that improve reliability and lower carbon emissions across their operations. This has led to using Spot at its
cogeneration facility in the Chevron Pipeline and Power Upstream Bakersfield, California location to validate several critical use cases. In the summer of 2023, the company expanded its fleet of Spot robots and deployed them to refineries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and El Segundo, California. With this expansion, Chevron now owns more Spot robots than any other oil and gas company, marking a significant step toward incorporating advanced robotics capabilities throughout its asset portfolio. “Mobile robotics have proven
invaluable in our operations,” says Joshua Hofstatter, technology and
digital innovation manager at Chevron’s refinery in El Segundo, California. “Spot has the ability to walk into a facility and gather key data which can be presented into a fit-for-purpose dashboard. This really helps with decision making.” Jason Bohr, Chevron’s enterprise
process mining product owner, explains that Spot, equipped with various payloads, can monitor thousands of pieces of equipment at the refineries. This capability ensures that plant operators receive a continuous stream of real-time, accurate data to maintain smooth operations.
THE ROBOT HELPS WITH SAFETY INSPECTIONS According to the team at Chevron, Spot can utilise an acoustic imager to detect anomalies and alert operations about potential air leaks, enhancing the efficiency of its refineries. Spot CAM+IR, a payload with purpose- built cameras, can capture visual and thermal images of equipment and gauges. Chevron then processes these images through its own computer vision
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