Petronas, WTR jointly develop robotic inspection device for oil&gas industry

Technology

March 25, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

Petronas Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd (PTVSB), the technology unit of Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, has formed a partnership with Waygate Technologies Robotics (WTR) to commercialise a robotic inspection device and scale its utilisation in the oil and gas industry.

The partners have jointly developed the device, based on the BIKE robotic system, that enables improved data management and inspection of confined or hard-to-reach spaces in oil and gas facilities, both onshore and offshore.

The technology comes with a cleaning tool as well as additional ultrasonic and eddy current inspection capabilities, the developers state.

Under the agreement signed on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2022 (OTC Asia 2022), Petronas will deploy the updated BIKE robot in more facilities. On the other hand, WTR will provide comprehensive training and support services.

At the same time, the deal represents the commitment by both companies to promote uptake of the device among partners and customers.

Furthermore, the companies are co-developing two new versions of the tool, the BIKE I-Beam, designed to overcome specific obstacles and sharp edges in confined spaces, and a micro crawler version to facilitate inspection of smaller pipes.

Commenting on the partnership, WTR’s executive general manager of Visual & Robotic Inspection Solutions, Michael Domke, said: “(…) Our R&D teams have been working closely together to tailor our robotic BIKE platform to their specific challenges. The result is a solution that will allow Petronas to minimise safety risks for their personnel as well as the overall downtime of their assets around the globe.

“Petronas is pleased to join forces with the robotics team at WTR for their vast experience and patents in mobile robots and inspection technologies”, added Petronas Technology Ventures’ CEO, Mahpuzah Abai.

“Coupled with the vision and capability of our R&D team, we could create solutions that would benefit our inspection and maintenance operations, as well as streamline our asset management. We also look forward to offering these solutions to other companies in the future.”