Offshore staff
VIENNA, Austria – Equinor plans to deploy autonomous ATEX-certified inspection robots on its oil and gas installations, according to inspection robotics specialist Taurob.
The ‘Taurob Inspector,’ the result of a two-year collaboration between Taurob, Total and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre in Aberdeen, has been operating at Total’s onshore Shetland Gas plant.
In 2019 Equinor decided to join Total, OGTC and Taurob in the ARGOS JIP to develop a new robot, capable of performing autonomous manipulation operations.
According to a Taurob spokesman: “We expect the result to be a robust and reliable robot, with maintenance intervals of up to only once per year; ideal for normally unmanned facilities where human intervention is rare. As a ‘Work Class’ robot, it will physically interact with the installation.”
First tests are due to be performed this year.
04/13/2021
