BP, a British multinational oil and gas firm, has announced the introduction of a new robotic crew member on its Mad Dog platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a tweet sighted by energynewsafrica.com, BP said: “Spot is performing autonomous operator rounds on the production deck and we believe spot can improve safety and efficiency,’’
Commenting on the new innovation, Facilities Technology Manager, Adam Ballard said: ‘‘One way to drive digital transformation on BP’s sites is to deploy robots for the inspection of its remote facilities. In this application, the robots will do the work of people by performing tasks like scanning for abnormalities, tracking corrosion, or checking gauges.
Introducing our newest crew member on the Mad Dog platform in the Gulf of Mexico – Spot, the @BostonDynamics robot ?. Spot is performing autonomous operator rounds on the production deck and we believe Spot can improve safety & efficiency
— bp (@bp_plc) November 13, 2020
“I see robots as being the eyes, ears, nose and other senses at our sites,” Ballard said.
“It is about being able to use sensors to have that real-time understanding, and to get the context of the facility for someone such as an office-based employee that’s trying to help troubleshoot a job or a piece of equipment—while minimising the exposure of people to these potentially dangerous environments.”
This use of Spot would help BP reach one of its key goals: improving employee safety by keeping people away from potentially hazardous work environments.
“There are thousands of pounds of pressurised combustible material out there,” Ballard said.
“High-pressure oil and gas can create risks for people working in close proximity. If we could have a robot with the proper sensors out there, we’d much rather do that.”
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Improving safety isn’t the only thing Spot can do for BP. When these robots are out on remote sites, they can improve operational efficiency by gathering larger data sets on how equipment on these sites performs.
As Yasser Bangash, Senior Facilities Engineer on the innovation and engineering team explained: “If you send a human out, they can look at two or three things at a time. A robot, like Spot, can have several different sensors or cameras on it, and process all that information at the same time.”
Meanwhile, the operators back in a secure location can focus on applying judgement to the information in order to make smart decisions rather than data collection.
