Challenges of Robotics and Automation in Offshore Oil&Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry will keep booming in the coming few decades. Because it becomes more and more challenging to obtain oil and gas from conventional and non-conventional resources, there will be considerable demands on the labor, financial capabilities and technology development. Since the future supplies of oil and gas will expand, more advanced technology will become increasingly necessary to obtain conventional and non-conventional oil and gas. The offshore oil industry is a complicated myriad of equipment, structures, and work force. Before any real vision of the potential roles of robotics and automation in offshore oil processes can emerge, the processes related to oil and gas must be enumerated appropriately. Therefore, this study performs the necessary survey and investigation about the work conditions of robotics and automation equipment in oil and gas industry, especially offshore oil rigs. The oil &gas industry processes are first investigated. The personals and tasks are then explored. The challenges and requirements are identified for robotics and automation applications in the oil and gas industry. Our objectives are to explore the opportunities and challenges of robotics and automation in the oil and gas area.