Automation is advancing in the oil-and-gas sector with an eye on autonomous operations. Some technologies are advancing at a faster pace than others.
Autonomous operations have been the goal of the oil and gas sector for years, but despite many false dawns the autonomous future appears to be as far away as ever. Successes have been few and far between. One such was earlier this year when a project by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) started developing a mobile robot for autonomous operational inspection of offshore platforms.