Thailand's PTTEP showcases tech prowess at Expo 2020 Dubai

The country's petroleum exploration and production company is holding an exhibition at the UAE event

PTTEP's stand at Expo 2020. All photos: PTTEP

Thailand is famous around the world for its pristine beaches and mouth-watering cuisine.

But now the sun-kissed nation is also showcasing its technological prowess, as part of an event at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Thailand’s national petroleum exploration and production company PTTEP – which has been in partnership with the UAE since 2019 - is holding an exhibition at the world’s fair.

The “Thailand digital and innovation festival” is taking place at the Thailand pavilion from January 30 to February 17, 2022.

Sponsored by PTTEP, the exhibition will display cutting-edge technology including robots and drones. These machines are designed to revolutionise sectors such as farming and subsea repair and inspection work.

“You will be surprised when you see the PTTEP booth,” said Montri Rawanchaikul, CEO of Thailand’s PTTEP.

“We are bringing our new innovations to show the people what we have innovated in terms of using advanced technology to help with E&P (exploration and production).

“So, we have the subsea inspection using a robot; we have the drone – which is a simple drone – but with the application we have into inspection of E&P and beyond E&P.

“And we are also moving to the area of smart farming, using a drone with the connectivity to a data platform to do smart farming.

“So, you’ll go there, and you’ll see that as a part of the Thai pavilion, because we support innovation.”

He also praised Expo 2020 Dubai as an event that allows organisations to branch out and display their work to a wider audience.

“I think this World Expo is a great event because if you want to see E&P, you go to a conventional E&P conference somewhere and then you talk about E&P.

“But this is the venue where you can actually talk about anything beyond E&P and innovation, technology and collaboration.”

PTTEP and its subsidiary, AI and Robotics Ventures (ARV), will be exhibiting three robots at Expo 2020 Dubai.

One of them, called Nautilus, aims to transform the perilous process of repairing subsea oil and gas pipelines.

As the pipelines age they can become vulnerable to corrosion. This can lead to through-wall defects and, in the worst-case scenario, leaks and production shut-downs.

Currently, pipeline maintenance and repairs are done largely via diver installed clamps or sectional replacement.

These processes can be expensive, time consuming and dangerous.

For example, human divers sent to fix pipelines face many risks in the cold, dark and deep environment.

By contrast, the Nautilus is the first fully autonomous pipeline services and spot repair robot that does not require human diver support.

The Nautilus is a remote-controlled robot that dives down to the pipeline and inspects or repairs faults within the subsea habitat.

Capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 92 degrees centigrade and a pressure of 90 bar, the Nautilus won the "Breakthrough Technological Project of the Year” at the ADIPEC awards, Excellence in Energy 2020, in the UAE.

Another innovation that PTTEP, which is a platinum sponsor at Expo 2020, will be bringing to the fair is the AiANG, which aims to improve the agricultural sector in Thailand.

The AiANG sprayer drone takes ariel footage of agricultural lands and helps farmers to pinpoint areas that need extra attention.

For example, the drone can spot unhealthy clusters of crops within a large field and relay that information to the farmer’s smartphone.

This allows farmers to precisely target the areas that need to be treated and sprayed, which helps to reduce cost and boosts sustainability.

According to its manufacturers, the AiANG saves 10 times more energy than alternative methods.

Farmers can also get accurate, real-time data about their land, assisting them to make informed decisions about their business.

Finally, PTTEP will be displaying Xplorer, which is an autonomous underwater vehicle.

Developed by a Thai engineering team, Xplorer is a new robot that can inspect subsea pipelines.

It deploys intelligent pipe tracking by artificial intelligence and autonomously returns to its docking case after finishing its mission.

It can also autonomously locate the anode and measure its voltage. The anode can help to protect pipelines from corrosion.

The robot has between six and 12 hours of endurance at inspection speeds of between 0.6 to 1.0 knots.

If users want to review the data from the robot faster, they can apply an auto anomaly detection by artificial intelligence function. This can save time and reduce the risk of human error.

More information about the Xplorer, AiANG and Nautilus can be found at PTTEP’s virtual booth.

PTTEP has been operating in the UAE for several years.

Its first venture occurred in 2019, when it went into a partnership with Eni, an Italy-based oil and gas company.

They were awarded offshore exploration blocks 1 and 2 by Adnoc. The blocks covered a combined area of more than 8,000 square kilometres.

The agreement represented the first time Abu Dhabi had awarded blocks to a consortium as part of the emirate’s first-ever competitive open block licensing round.

“These historic agreements on the first blocks to be awarded, following a competitive bidding process, represent a major advancement in how Abu Dhabi and Adnoc unlocks and maximises value from its substantial hydrocarbon resources, in line with the leadership’s directives,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc managing director and group chief executive.

Interim results from the first exploration well in block 2 indicated the presence of between 1.5 and 2 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas, Adnoc said last month (January).

Under the agreement, PTTEP and Eni hold a 100 per cent stake in the exploration phase and will invest at least US$230 million in exploration.

Upon any commercially viable discovery, Adnoc has the option to hold a 60 per cent stake in the production phase.

In 2020, PTTEP and Eni won a third offshore exploration block, which lies next to the existing two blocks and covers 11,660 square kilometres.

Last year (2021), PTTEP made moves to further expand its presence in the UAE.

It signed an agreement to acquire a 25 per cent stake in an onshore exploration block in Sharjah.

Located in the centre of the emirate, the area covers around 1,184 square kilometres and is known as Concession Area C.

The block has high gas and condensate potential. Condensate is a mixture of light liquid hydrocarbons, similar to a very light crude oil.

The area’s hydrocarbon potential will be further investigated using 3D seismic surveys this year (2022).

PTTEP’s acquisition will be finalised after it has obtained all the government approvals and all conditions have been met.

“This investment marks another important milestone for PTTEP in expanding our presence into another area of the UAE, the Sharjah emirate,” said Mr Montri, CEO of PTTEP. “We believe that the capabilities, expertise and technology brought by this partnership to the Concession Area C will lead to successful discovery.”