Welcome to PETROBOT

The PETROBOT project aims to develop a series of robots which can be used by inspectors to conduct remote inspection of pressure vessels and storage tanks widely used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. Currently the inspection of these tanks and pressure vessels is being done by people working inside these spaces which means the assets have to be shut down to ensure the safety of inspectors. Furthermore, vessels have to be decoupled from live sections of the plant, extensively cleaned to remove all products that can emit flammable or toxic gases and rendered safe for entry. In larger vessels, scaffolding is erected so that all necessary areas can be accessed during the inspection.

The objectives of the PETROBOT project are to minimise the exposure of personnel to potentially hazardous conditions, to reduce downtime and to save resources by using robotic technology to end the above procedure, which is long and costly.

PETROBOT mobilises the complete value chain, including robot and inspection technology providers, inspection service companies and end-users. The 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 maximise the uptake of the new technology.

Robots in Action – Video

See below the new videos of the PETROBOT Pressure Vessel and Aboveground Storage Tank Inspection Robots in action.

Consortium Members

The ten-party project consortium comprises of the following participants:

PETROBOT is supported by an EU grant from the FP7 Robotics program. The project was started on September 1st, 2013 and has a duration of three years.