In the previous article, we briefly discussed the benefits of AI in the oil and gas industry, particularly in field operations. We touched on two examples that are directly related to field operations, such as refineries, shipyards, and platforms. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into these examples and examine the ways ITXOTIC is leveraging technology to bring solutions to the market.
Safety and Security
Both are paramount concerns in any refinery plant. These facilities cover vast areas with numerous pieces of equipment, assets, and hazardous materials, including pipes, boilers, tanks, and flammable and explosive substances. Monitoring every inch of the site is essential to ensure safe and optimal operations. However, due to the sheer size of these facilities, security monitoring is a daunting task. Adding more manpower may seem like a solution, but it increases the risk of exposure to dangerous zones. Additionally, it is not cost-effective to have a human operator monitor every video feed continuously. AI technology can help overcome these challenges by combining CCTV systems with computer vision AI. An intelligent monitoring system can actively check every video feed continuously, like having virtual security guards. It can monitor for various events such as safety non-compliance, dangerous zone monitoring, worker ID and counting, and mustering purposes. Optical Gas Imaging cameras combined with AI detection can even monitor gas leaks of hydrocarbons. By using AI systems to handle these tasks, safety supervisors’ burden can be reduced while improving the level of safety in the field.
Site productivity
This is another critical concern in refinery operations. Every project or task must be completed on schedule with adequate resources, including the number of workers and machinery. Site supervisors must constantly move around the field to ensure work is being done, mainly by third-party contractors who charge by man-days. Visual AI can help address plant productivity by detecting specific tasks, such as welding, cement mixing, or operating cranes and backhoes. Even non-productive idle time can be detected and recorded for further productivity analysis. AI can also track the machines’ location and movement to ensure they are being operated for the task. Visual AI can help monitor the weather conditions at the site, reporting when it is sunny, cloudy, or raining, and cross-referencing that information with nearby weather station data to optimize resources and improve site productivity without adding a burden to existing manpower.
Smart Maintenance
AI can significantly improve the operations of asset integrity inspection, making it faster, cheaper, and more cost-saving compared to current conventional methods, especially visual inspection. One of the biggest challenges with visual inspection is accurately locating specific defects around the plant. With the advancements in technology like LIDAR, drones, and AI, such tasks can be further simplified. LIDAR can be used for 3D mapping of the facility, while drones and robots can automate the physical inspection task, especially for hard-to-reach locations. AI can then scan through the images and point cloud data from the inspection to detect and localize the locations of all defects, including corrosion, cracks, dents, etc. The severity of the defects can also be classified. Enhancing the work with AI and other digital technology can save weeks of manual labor, improve inspection quality, and result in savings of millions of dollars from more efficient use of materials and incident avoidance.
In conclusion, AI is becoming increasingly essential in refinery operations, improving safety and security, site productivity, and asset integrity inspection. It is crucial to leverage technology like AI, LIDAR, drones, and robots to simplify and optimize operations, improve safety, and reduce costs. The benefits of implementing AI technology in the oil and gas industry are numerous and clear, and ITXOTIC is at the forefront of these advancements, bringing innovative solutions to the market.
