Project underway to develop robots to inspect petrochemical containers

The European Commission, with a consortium of 10 European companies, led by Shell, has launched the PETROBOT project, which will develop robots to replace humans in inspections of pressure vessels and storage tanks widely used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. So far, to ensure inspectors' safety, oil, gas and petrochemical plants have to shut down during inspection operations: vessels have to be decoupled from live sections of the plant; then vessels are extensively cleaned to remove all products that can emit flammable or toxic gases; scaffolding is then erected in larger vessels, so that inspectors can access all necessary areas. After inspection (which often lasts for a few hours) all this work is done in reverse. This long and costly procedure could soon be reduced thanks to robotic technology, thus reducing the exposure of personnel to potentially hazardous conditions, saving the industry time and resources, as well as opening up new markets for the European robotics industry and allowing for the creation of new jobs in robotics manufacturing and maintenance. When a pressure vessel is taken out of service, a robot (in the shape of a snake arm or a crawler) will enter it via a manhole or a nozzle; the robot will then scan along the vessel wall for damages. A robot will enter the storage tank while the product (petrol or intermediate products) stays in place; the robot will then scan over the tank bottom for damages. To scan vessel walls or tank floors, robots will be using specialist inspection tools. These tools allow robots to detect any damage, and have to provide the same inspection capacity as obtained from an inspector. European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes said, "The Petrobot project illustrates our will to transfer cutting edge results from research to the market, opening up new markets for EU businesses and creating new jobs in Europe." PETROBOT will involve partners from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Germany over a three-year period. The EU will contribute EUR3.7 mln to the EUR6.2 mln project. PETROBOT project mobilizes the complete value chain, including robot and inspection technology providers, inspection service companies and end-users. Inspection robots will be tested in the installations of the end-user consortium members. Special project activities aim at preparing the future user community to maximize the uptake of the new technology. These new activities could create new types of jobs and open new markets. As a technology area, it may become a strong export product for the EU, by exporting the robotic hardware solutions or complete robot-inspection services. The PETROBOT initiative was born out of a R&D program performed by Shell Global Solutions International B.V., part of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, with support of Quasset B.V., a Dutch SME with expertise in condition assessment technology development. The ten-party project consortium, led by Shell, also comprises GASSCO AS, Chevron North Sea Ltd., Koninklijke VOPAK N.V., A.Hak Industrial Services B.V., Dekra Industrial AB - DEKRA, Alstom Inspection Robotics (AIR), OCROBOTICS, Innospection GmbH, and Quasset B.V.