Insights from the Energy Drone & Robotics Asset Owner Roundtable

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At the 2024 Energy Drone & Robotics Summit, the Asset Owner Roundtable brought together industry leaders to discuss how drones and robotics are integrating into energy operations. Featuring panelists from ExxonMobil, Oxy, Dow, and Florida Power & Light (FPL), the session offered a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge projects, innovative technologies, and plans for the future. 

Panelists:

  • Shankar Nadarajah, ExxonMobil

  • Dustin Waller, Oxy

  • Marty Robinson, Dow

  • Heath McLemore, Florida Power & Light Company

Moderator: Sean Guerre, Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition

Here’s a recap of the discussion and key takeaways. 

Quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity.

Scaling Drone Programs

Drones are everywhere in energy operations, enabling companies to monitor vast infrastructure, respond to emergencies, and streamline inspections. The panelists shared how they’ve scaled their drone programs to meet the demands of their industries.

“We’ve been up and running since about 2016,” said Dustin Waller of Oxy. “We have eight full-time pilots, 30-plus part-time fleet pilots, and 50 or60 operational drones. This year, we’re using drones the most. Our new BVLOS (beyond-visual-line-of-sight) waiver allows us to operate over critical infrastructure, which is a big step toward quicker data delivery and response times.”

Similarly, Heath McLemore from FPL described how automated drone-in-a-box systems are transforming utility operations: “We now have about 20 systems across Palm Beach County. We’re operating them under our current waiver, which allows the pilot to be sitting in a control center. The neatest part, after working five or six years on this project, is to be driving down the road and seeing these drones fly with no pilot around.” 

From Dow, Marty Robinson discussed expanding into new applications: “We’ve been using drones since 2012, and we’re looking at applications other than just aerial work — confined space inspections, industrial cleaning, and NDT (nondestructive testing).”

Innovations in Hazardous Environments

One of the most promising applications of drones is in reducing human exposure to hazardous environments. From confined spaces to extreme temperatures, drones are replacing traditional inspection methods and making operations safer.

Shankar Nadarajah of ExxonMobil recounted progress using drones for inspections inside hot oil cargo tanks on floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs): “The hot oil cargo tanks can reach temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. Today we have people inside these tanks doing both cleaning and inspection, and this is fundamentally something that we want to solve. Drones have been the main way that we're doing that.”

Managing Data Overload

Drones and robotics are contributing to energy companies having more data than ever before. Organizations are focused on building systems to process, analyze, and act on the information effectively. The panelists shared their strategies for overcoming the challenges of data management.

“We built the drone program from the inside out and the automation was built in the beginning,” said Waller. “The majority of our data we have in what we call a drone data library. It's just a place that anyone in the company can go and access all the data that was captured for every project that we've ever flown. And after the data is captured, it's completely automated so we don't have a bunch of employees processing data, looking at data, downloading data.”

For ExxonMobil, standardization has been key. “Whether I’m in Baytown, Texas, or in Australia, we’re all looking at the same robotic visual data,” said Nadarajah. “We want to make people’s jobs and lives easier, and we don't want them to struggle just because a nice shiny object produced thousands of images.”

McLemore highlighted FPL’s progress in consolidating data: “A team of data scientists and programmers are building an in-house application on top of AWS. So now we have this one all-encompassing application for all visual imagery and data for the entire company. It's helping us eliminate the need to fly the same routes twice, reducing a lot of the costs out of data collection.”

Partnering for Success

Collaboration with vendors is critical to scaling drone and robotics programs. The panelists discussed how they select and work with partners to meet their unique needs.

“It’s all about defining the business problem you’re trying to solve,” said Nadarajah. “You don’t want to overengineer a solution that’s too expensive or underdeliver on something critical. So it's really important in these conversations, both on the vendor side as well as the asset owners, to understand what the requirements are.”

Robinson discussed how Dow puts an emphasis on trusted partners: “We work with traditional inspection vendors who have added robotics and drones to their portfolio. Because they have existing relationships with Dow, it expedites the approval process and accelerates implementation.”

While some companies rely heavily on external vendors, others take a different approach, like Oxy. “I'll again be the black sheep. We don't really use a lot of third party vendors. We do almost everything in-house,” said Waller. “It's not for everyone, but for us, that's the way we do it.”

What’s Next?

The future of drones and robotics in energy is filled with possibilities. The panelists outlined their plans to expand automation, enhance capabilities, and solve new challenges.

For ExxonMobil, the focus is on scaling autonomy: “We just doubled our acreage in the Permian Basin with our Pioneer deal,” said Nadarajah. “So we're looking at autonomous across the board where we can deploy proven robotics and do that in the most cost effective way.

FPL is on the brink of achieving end-to-end automation for inspections. “For us, the most exciting for the next year is end-to-end automation of overhead equipment inspections,” said McLemore. “It's taken us a long time to get here. I think we're just about there, and it’s going to be exciting to see how the next year goes.”

Robinson shared Dow’s excitement for robotic advancements: “We've been doing industrial cleaning for a long time now, but we’re going beyond that with welding, grinding fasteners, that type of stuff. We're doing some great work on cooling tower basins and shallow water fasteners, so we’re going to have a lot of fun with that.”

Conclusion

The roundtable underscored how drones and robotics are reshaping energy operations. From increasing safety and efficiency to managing data and scaling programs, these technologies are driving transformative change. As the panelists look to the future, their stories highlight the importance of innovation, collaboration, and a relentless focus on solving real-world problems.

There’s more where that came from. Access the full recording of this and other sessions.