$5,880,000,000 That Can't Be Real Surely

[thecordman]

Hi,

I watched a video a few weeks ago about using drones on oil rigs. The video said that oil rigs have to close for around 10 days each year for inspections and they often have to install scaffolding. An offshore oil rig can lose $400,000 a day due to inspections. I estimated that there are 200 offshore oil rigs but when I Googled it there are 1,470 offshore oil rigs according to the World Economic Forum.

That means offshore oil rigs lose $5.8bn each year due to inspections. You would think they would be pushing really hard to use drones to help with those inspections. At least drones on tethers that had some sort of protective casing.

 

[Weaponized]

The inspections are more comprehensive than purely visual. There's all sorts of lifting equipment, rigging, etc. That needs hands-on maintenance, corrosion inspection/treatment that can't be done from a distance. They really don't lose anything compared to what's lost from a failure resulting from a lack of inspections.

 

[thecordman]

Thanks, there are a few companies that are operating in this sector. Is it possible that drones could fly to certain points and attach themselves to the surface so they get a close up view of an area. Using AI to identify potential risks which inspectors prioritise.

 

[Weaponized]

Thanks, there are a few companies that are operating in this sector. Is it possible that drones could fly to certain points and attach themselves to the surface so they get a close up view of an area. Using AI to identify potential risks which inspectors prioritise.

I'd be shocked if they weren't already doing it. They've been using ROV's for decades for remote underwater viewing. The dredging industry is using drones as well. You just don't hear much about it cause it really isn't that big of a deal to them. For critical equipment that needs frequent viewing it actually makes more sense to mount a permanent camera on it.

 

[lertsek]

I'm an ex-pipefitter and the myriad of piping, valves, flanges, pumps, motors, etc that run right next to each other and need to be inspected all the way around would be a nightmare to try and fly around. And as Weaponized stated, some things need to be done manually, such as checking the torque on way too many bolts.

 

[Bobby A.]

And much of this inspection work is done during down time it when the rigs are "stacked" (not in use)....

 

[thecordman]

I'm an ex-pipefitter and the myriad of piping, valves, flanges, pumps, motors, etc that run right next to each other and need to be inspected all the way around would be a nightmare to try and fly around. And as Weaponized stated, some things need to be done manually, such as checking the torque on way too many bolts.

Thanks, can drones be used on erosion prone areas to identify any possible erosion.

I did find a business on LinkedIn that seemed to be developing drones specifically for the oil industry.

 

[lertsek]

Thanks, can drones be used on erosion prone areas to identify any possible erosion.

I did find a business on LinkedIn that seemed to be developing drones specifically for the oil industry.

Sure, erosion assessment would be a good job for drones. They could even calculate the cubic yards that got washed away. Land based oil spills would be another thing that could be checked quickly with a fly-over.