When integrated with AI, data collected by robots through cameras and sensors on potential vulnerabilities can then be processed onshore to assist in operational planning.
The role of robots has increased in importance as threats against platforms and pipelines have intensified. Damage can be caused by the underwater environment, which exposes infrastructure to corrosion and leakages, despite advancements in coating technologies. Climate change-induced phenomena such as rising sea levels and shifting ocean currents pose additional hazards to offshore infrastructure that require close observation.
Underwater robots have been at the scenes of several extreme accidents and attacks on offshore infrastructure in recent years. Following the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, ROVs were deployed to clean debris, seal leaks and activate a blowout preventer valve.
Offshore infrastructure can also be caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflict. Underwater robots helped mitigate the impacts of the biggest attack on pipeline infrastructure in recent history, when the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged by man-made explosions in 2022. 'Gliders' were used to map the debris and measure concentrations of methane in the water using sonars and sensors.
Research from the Ocean Engineering journal states that robots are "ideally suited to the inspection of pipelines, allowing an AUV to maintain its speed and use the pipeline for navigation guidance".
GlobalData highlights collaborations between oil and gas companies and technology vendors as enabling the diversification of underwater robots. A prime example is Shell's work with ROV-technology provider Geo Oceans in the Gulf of America, where a ROV inspected four cargo oil tanks on a floating production storage and offloading unit, while human workers remained safely onshore.
A representative from oil and gas giant Eni tells Offshore Technology: "Underwater robots' services are typically provided to us by specialised companies. Eni collaborates with such companies to ensure that their products and services satisfy the increasingly demanding needs of the offshore industry."
While such advancements are enhancing efficiency, productivity and safety, underwater robots remain a relatively nascent technology in the oil and gas industry, bringing additional variables to the already complex offshore environment.
For oil and gas companies already grappling with the high costs of offshore operations, underwater robots present an additional investment. Depending on their capabilities and features, the price of ROVs and AUVs can reach millions of dollars.
However, experts generally agree that the cost-benefit trade-off is ultimately worth it.
Offshore Technology asked Rich Patterson, vice-president of sales at Kongsberg, which develops advanced technologies that offer "extreme performance for extreme conditions", for his view on the financial costs.
"There is some industry debate as to whether it is the responsibility of governments or the infrastructure owners to invest in inspecting offshore infrastructure, but the cost of making repairs is millions," he says. "If operators could prevent an incident from happening with robots, then a lot of money would be saved."
Professor Aaron Becker from the University of Houston concurs. "The cost of investment is worth it for oil and gas companies. We are seeing a big increase in the blue economy, so more activity in the ocean."
The university is home to the Subsea Systems Institute, which is backed by Rice University and NASA's Johnson Space Center and home to several research projects on improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of underwater robots for the offshore industry.
Becker highlights that surface ships, which traditional ROVs are tethered to, are "the most expensive part of the operation. There has been a move to controlling these remotely from a base instead of a ship."
Matthew Simpson, systems support manager at Forum Energy Technologies (FET), has extensive first-hand experience working on complex offshore projects that use ROVs, and emphasised the required risk assessments.
"You need to be very careful about what faults you investigate. If it is not major, you should make a risk assessment before you start about whether it is appropriate to send an ROV down immediately or wait for a suitable maintenance period to avoid potential downtime and financial losses."
The integration of robots into existing workflows is another key challenge that offshore operators face.
GlobalData analysis points out that "until autonomous systems for underwater robots develop further, experienced operators and inspection engineers are still necessary to monitor live video feeds".
"Robots often just displace where humans work from," explains Patterson. "There is a lot more remote operations now where it used to be necessary to place humans out onto oil and gas platforms, but now those people are monitoring and controlling the operation from onshore. It is an improvement."
Kongsberg is aiming to simplify the robotic technology it offers to reduce the level of expertise needed, thereby upskilling the broader industry. GlobalData identifies the company as a key innovator in underwater robots for the oil and gas industry.
Developments in robotics have also encouraged job creation, as highlighted by Becker: "There is growth in high-value jobs, from the ROV operators to the engineers designing them."
"ROVs encompass a bit of everything - hydraulics, high-voltage electrics, electronics, fibre-optics and mechanics," explains Simpson. "So, a good crew will have a mixture of these skill sets to operate the robots effectively under pressure."
Eni identifies "increasing the frequency of in-site periodic or continuous interventions with resident robotic systems without the need of personnel and vessel supports" as a key challenge.
GlobalData forecasts that the growth of the underwater robots market will be largely driven by advancements in robotic intelligence and cloud connectivity that enhance remote management and facilitate inter-robot communication.
Indeed, Becker says he is "excited about seeing long-life miniature AUVs, something like schools of fish that can survey entire pipelines. In my research, we are very interested in how teams of robots can collaborate."
Robots are also making increasing contributions to the environmental, social and governance aims of hydrocarbon companies. In a key collaboration between TotalEnergies and subsea engineering company Oceaneering in 2024, AUVs were piloted to inspect 120km of subsea pipelines in the North Sea, resulting in a reported 50% decline in emissions compared with existing methods. This makes the technology a significant tool in the ongoing energy transition.
Concerns around ageing offshore infrastructure are another area in which underwater robots can help, as nearly 2,800 fixed platforms (33% of the global total), 18,500 wellheads and 80,000km of offshore pipelines are scheduled for decommissioning by 2030.
As an ROV provider, FET is seeing a rise in the use of the devices for decommissioning, "particularly in the North Sea", says Simpson.
"We are going to see much more frequent inspection and maintenance because seawater is terrible on metallic assets and all of it is ageing," confirms Becker. "So, hopefully we will see better stewardship of our environment and less disasters, because they will be caught faster with robots."
As well as ageing asset maintenance and decarbonisation, Patterson highlights security as a driver of future market growth in ROVs and AUVs. "There is already growing uptake, but you bring in the critical infrastructure security aspect, that gets even higher. I don't see that going away in the future as it has been shown how easy it is to tamper with assets."
Eni confirms to Offshore Technology that: "We expect a growth of the share of AUVs with respect to more traditional ROVs and we believe this will offer opportunities to further improve Eni's offshore activities and operations."
Overall, proactive oil and gas companies are investing in the research, development and deployment of ROVs and AUVs, recognising the place they occupy in the industry's future.
"Protecting pipelines and platforms with underwater robots" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.