Drilling automation & oilfield robotics

Automating the drill floor.

Robots on the drill floor. People out of the red zone. RigRobots designs robotic systems for oil and gas drilling rigs: machines that trip, connect, circulate, inspect and intervene, from spud to completion.

Watch the film See the fleet
  • 3,000hpLand rig, first build
  • 1,500,000lbHook load
  • 90ft/minContinuous tripping
  • 2holdsOn every load, always

Why RigRobots

The red zone is where the work is. It should not be where the people are.

Most drill floor injuries happen in the same few square feet around well center, during the same few tasks: handling pipe, making connections, tripping.

We put machines there instead. Robots handle the tubulars, torque the connections and walk the rounds. The driller supervises from the cabin, and the crew works from outside the zone.

Handle

Trip and rack pipe

Stands move from setback to well center and back with nobody on the floor.

Connect

Make and break

Stab, spin and torque every connection to the same value, every time, with a logged record.

Inspect

See everything

Aerial, deck and subsea robots survey the rig so people don't climb, rope up or dive.

The fleet

From the crown to the seabed.

Five oilfield robots, one control system: a drill floor pipe handling robot, an inspection quadruped, an inspection drone, a hull inspection ROV and a subsea BOP ROV. Each works a zone of the rig that has always needed a person to stand in it.

RigRobots inspection drone flying over a refinery at sunset
Zone Air
01 / 05 · Aerial

Aerial inspection drone

Flies the derrick, flare stack and pipe racks on a set route and brings back a full visual and thermal survey. No rope access, no scaffolding, no one working at height.

Works
Derrick, flare stack, plant
Tasks
Structural survey, thermal scan, gas plume check
Crew
On the ground, clear of the drop zone
RigRobots humanoid robot guiding a 5 inch drill pipe at well center on a drill floor at dusk
Zone Drill floor
02 / 05 · Drill floor

Drill floor robot

Works at well center. It walks tubulars from the V-door to the rotary, stabs the pin, spins it in and torques the connection. The driller watches from the cabin.

Works
Well center, V-door, setback
Tasks
Pipe handling, stabbing, make-up and break-out
Crew
Driller's cabin, outside the red zone
RigRobots four-legged inspection robot on the deck of an offshore platform
Zone Main deck
03 / 05 · Main deck

Inspection quadruped

Walks the rounds every shift: mud pumps, shakers, manifolds, HPU. It reads the gauges, listens for leaks, logs gas and heat, and flags anything out of range to the control room.

Works
Pump room, shakers, manifolds, decks
Tasks
Gauge reading, leak and gas detection, thermal
Crew
Control room
RigRobots underwater ROV inspecting a vessel hull with its manipulator arm and lights
Zone Waterline
04 / 05 · Hull

Hull inspection ROV

Tethered and hovering, it inspects the hull, risers and moorings, cleans growth and gauges thickness. The survey gets done without putting divers in the water.

Works
Hull, risers, moorings, thrusters
Tasks
Visual survey, cleaning, thickness gauging
Crew
Topside, no divers
RigRobots subsea ROV lighting up an 18 3/4 inch 10,000 psi BOP stack on the seabed
Zone Seabed
05 / 05 · Seabed

Subsea BOP intervention ROV

Works the BOP stack on the seabed. It inspects the stack, operates the panels and carries out hot-stab intervention when the well needs a hand at depth.

Works
BOP stack, wellhead, subsea panels
Stack
18¾ in, 10,000 psi class
Tasks
Inspection, panel operation, hot-stab

The film

Thirty seconds on a robotic rig floor.

Tracked units working the wellhead together while the crew stays clear. Sound on.

Spud to completion

Every operation on the well, handled by machine.

  1. Spud

    Spud in

    Conductor and surface hole drilled with the floor already automated.

  2. Drill

    Drill ahead

    Rotary and slide steering held to plan, cuttings flushed and mud managed.

  3. Trip

    Trip

    Continuous tripping with two holds on the string at all times. No handover risk.

  4. Case

    Case and cement

    Casing run and made up robotically, cement jobs pumped and logged.

  5. Complete

    Complete

    Completion string run, well secured, rig ready to skid to the next slot.

Questions

Drilling automation, answered.

What does RigRobots do?

RigRobots designs robotic systems that run the operations on an oil and gas drilling rig: pipe handling, making and breaking connections, tripping, inspection of the rig and plant, and subsea work on the hull and BOP. The aim is to keep crews out of the red zone around well center.

Which drilling operations can robots automate?

Pipe handling from the V-door and setback to well center; stabbing, spinning and torquing connections; continuous tripping; running casing; deck rounds and gauge reading; aerial inspection of the derrick and flare stack; hull and riser inspection; and BOP inspection and intervention on the seabed.

How do drill floor robots improve safety?

Most drill floor injuries happen in the few square feet around well center, during pipe handling, connections and tripping. Robots do that work while the driller supervises from the cabin, so nobody has to stand in the red zone while machines move.

Does RigRobots work on land rigs and offshore?

Our first build is a robotic 3,000 hp land rig. The inspection drone, inspection quadruped, hull inspection ROV and subsea BOP intervention ROV take the same approach to offshore platforms, drillships and production plant.

What stage is RigRobots at, and how do I get involved?

RigRobots is in concept design. We work with drilling contractors and operators who want to automate their rigs. Email info@rigrobots.com and tell us about your rig and the operation you want automated first.

Now in concept design

Put a robot on your floor.

We work with drilling contractors and operators who want their people out of the red zone. Tell us about your rig and the operation you want automated first.

Email the team