Technology

A new advanced robotic technology from IGS, a provider of asset integrity and energy efficiency solutions for energy, power and heavy industry, is revolutioning fired heater maintenance

The company has launched Rovex, a compact remotely operated vehicle (ROV) specifically developed for fired heater convection sectrions. It is designed to improve access to complex tube geometries and remove heavy fouling with precision, enabling operators to maintain output, reduce costs and extend asset life.

Heightened focus on energy security, coupled with continued investment in refining and petrochemical capacity across the Middle East, is driving greater attention towards efficiency and reliability across critical assets. Fouling is a persistent challenge across refineries, restricting heat transfer and reducing efficiency. In steam crackers, even a 1% efficiency loss can cost operators several million dollars annually. In large crackers, the impact can exceed US$10 million annually when yield, energy, and lost production are included.

Savings and benefits

At a time when the industry is under significant cost pressures, the technology can drive significant savings. Rovex’s fully remote operation eliminates the need for confined-space entry, reducing exposure to
• High-temperature environments
• Hazardous combustion residues
• Risks associated with confined-space entry
• Respiratory hazards from airborne particulate matter

High-definition cameras provide operators with continuous visual feedback throughout operation, ensuring operational precision and confidence. Proprietary articulation systems allow the ROV to navigate between tube banks and access all convection section surfaces, including those previously considered unreachable by conventional methods. Integrating robotic mobility, patented lance technology, and digital performance verification, the system supports measurable improvements in efficiency, reliability, and emissions reduction through effective cleaning of stubborn deposits on furnaces and fired heaters.

Compared to traditional water jetting or manual techniques, which typically access 20-30% of fouled surfaces and can risk asset damage, Rovex enables consistent cleaning coverage over 90% of the surface area.

Each Rovex deployment is supported by a thermal performance evaluation, enabling IGS engineers to quantify efficiency losses and target cleaning activity. This approach allows performance improvements to be measured and verified.

“Rovex reflects our continued focus on combining engineering and robotics to improve maintenance outcomes,” said Eric Duvekot, VP Engineering at IGS. “It provides a practical way for operators to address fouling safely, before it leads to lost revenue, while achieving consistent and measurable performance improvements.”

Success story

Recent field applications have demonstrated the system’s impact. At Oman Methanol Company, Rovex restored convection section performance, reducing stack temperature by 93.2°F / 34°C and improving fuel efficiency by 1.8%, enabling a return to full production capacity while reducing fuel consumption and associated emissions.

TotalEnergies is

TotalEnergies is advancing the deployment of data and AI to make its operations more efficient, safer and more sustainable, as exemplified by its new methane emissions monitoring centre

At VivaTech 2026, TotalEnergies is showcasing MethaneLive, its new global methane emissions monitoring centre which leverages real-time data and advanced algorithms to detect, measure, and analyse emissions, thereby providing a pathway to reduce them

Curbing methane emissions can play an important role in slowing global warming. IEA analysis suggests that the energy sector was responsible for around 145 Mt of methane emissions in 2024 – more than 35% of the total amount attributable to human activity. Oil operations were responsible for around 45 Mt, natural gas operations for nearly 35 Mt, and abandoned wells for around 3 Mt. An additional 2 Mt of methane leaked from end-use equipment. The oil and gas industry is making increasing efforts to reduce methane emissions, with more than 50 oil and gas companies, including TotalEnergies, signing up to the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter launched at COP28, which commits signatories to reducing emissions to near zero by 2030.

Acccurate emissions data is critical for the implementation of effective methane abatement strategies. In 2025, TotalEnergies deployed permanent, real-time methane emissions monitoring through the installation of 13,000 sensors across all its operated onshore and offshore Upstream sites. These sensors generate a large volume of data. By combining advanced digital tools with the expertise of MethaneLive teams, this data is analysed in real time to alert operators, identify the root causes of anomalies, and recommend the most appropriate corrective actions.

Since its launch in early 2026, MethaneLive has detected 35 fugitive methane emissions at various facilities and enabled them to be tackled through targeted maintenance operations.

This foundation now enables the deployment of agentic AI solutions to go further, by more effectively targeting the highest-emitting equipment and improving the detection of fugitive emissions.
“The use of real-time data is a concrete driver that helps make our operations more reliable, safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. The value of digital technologies and AI is built over time, at the intersection of technology and people. Thanks to the quality of our data and the expertise of TotalEnergies’ teams, we are making digital a key driver in the fight against methane emissions,” said Namita Shah, president OneTech at TotalEnergies.

MethaneLive is just one example of how TotalEnergies is leveraging data to integrate artificial intelligence into its operations, making them more efficient, safer, and more sustainable, as it looks to scale up the use of data and AI across the company.

Data: a key enabler for scaling AI

Today, nearly 3,000 pieces of equipment are monitored across TotalEnergies’ assets. By analysing data collected from this equipment, AI systems detect early warning signs of potential failures, enabling teams to proactively plan maintenance operations on industrial facilities. This approach improves asset availability, reduces unplanned shutdowns and associated costs, and enhances safety. This system is set to be extended to tens of thousands of additional pieces of equipment monitored by AI models.

To fully leverage data and deploy AI at scale, TotalEnergies is investing in collecting real-time information from all its sites, then making it more reliable, better structured, and easily accessible to teams through dedicated platforms.

AI to unlock the full value of subsurface data

The company is leveraging advanced AI models combined with high-performance computing to fully harness its subsurface data and knowledge base, from exploration through to production across its assets.
In geosciences, AI helps streamline basin and field synthesis, improve the interpretation of seismic data, and optimise reservoir development and production, while automating processes and enabling the evaluation of a wide range of scenarios. It thus strengthens teams’ analytical and interpretation capabilities, helping identify new resource opportunities and optimise their development in a more efficient and sustainable way.

A new supercomputer to support AI applications

To support these data investments, TotalEnergies is launching Pangea 5, a new-generation supercomputer, which will increase the company’s computing power sixfold and support the development of AI applications. From 2027, it will help meet growing digital needs, optimise computing times, and deepen the understanding of complex scanarios.

AI to enhance safety and boost industrial performance

TotalEnergies is also collaborating with Mistral AI on a joint innovation lab, focusing initially on refinery performance analysis, as well as on leveraging large volumes of technical documents and data for exploration & production activities.

The Petrofibre facility in Al Khobar. (Image source: Petrofibre Arabia)

Petrofibre Arabia Equipment Company Ltd., the first Saudi manufacturer specialising in advanced fibre optic monitoring systems, will host a live technology showcase on 16–17 June 2026, demonstrating Saudi-made solutions designed to strengthen pipeline integrity, infrastructure security, and operational reliability across the energy sector

The event will feature live demonstrations of FibreLeak™, Petrofibre Arabia’s Pipeline Leak Detection System (PLDS), which uses distributed temperature sensing, and FibreGuard™, its Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which uses distributed acoustic sensing. Both are developed to provide continuous real-time monitoring of critical assets using Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing technologies.

The showcase will bring together asset owners, EPC contractors, engineering consultants, industrial operators, and technology specialists from across Saudi Arabia to experience the practical application of locally manufactured monitoring solutions for pipelines, industrial facilities, and critical infrastructure.

Headquartered in Al Khobar, Petrofibre Arabia designs, manufactures, installs, and supports advanced fibre optic monitoring systems serving the oil and gas, petrochemical, utilities, industrial, and infrastructure sectors. The company provides complete lifecycle support including engineering, system design, commissioning, training, and long-term maintenance services.

FibreLeak™ enables operators to detect and locate potential leaks at an early stage, helping reduce environmental risks, product losses, and operational disruptions. FibreGuard™ provides continuous monitoring of pipeline corridors and critical infrastructure by identifying unauthorized activities, third-party interference, and potential security threats before they develop into major incidents.

As part of Saudi Arabia’s industrial transformation, Petrofibre Arabia is contributing to the localisation of advanced monitoring technologies traditionally supplied from international markets. The company is approved within Saudi Aramco’s supplier ecosystem and has achieved Saudi Aramco Plant Number and 9COM registration, reinforcing its commitment to quality, compliance, and local manufacturing excellence.

The technology showcase reflects the company’s broader vision of positioning Saudi Arabia as a regional centre for intelligent infrastructure monitoring technologies while supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 through innovation, industrial localisation, and the development of nationally manufactured high-value technologies.

By combining advanced fibre optic sensing capabilities with local engineering expertise, Petrofibre Arabia continues to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s ability to protect critical infrastructure, improve asset integrity, and support safer, smarter, and more sustainable operations across the Kingdom and beyond.

For more information, visit www.petrofibrearabia.com

The curated digital destination is designed to help energy companies discover and deploy AI agents, domain models and digital applications from SLB and partners. (Image source: SLB)

As the deployment of agentic AI advances throughout the industry, SLB has launched the SLB Digital Marketplace, a curated digital destination designed to help energy companies discover and deploy AI agents, domain models and digital applications from SLB and trusted partners

The marketplace includes around 200 digital products including existing Ocean store solutions and new solutions from SLB and over 30 partners. These products span Delfi and Lumi SaaS applications, plug-ins, workflow extensions, data connectors, and Tela AI skills, agents and foundation models. SLB's suite of digital platforms — Tela, Delfi, and Lumi — covers the full spectrum of energy software: from AI-powered workflows and cloud-native E&P applications to intelligent workspace tools for energy teams worldwide. With a family of agentic workflows and full integration across all SLB digital products, Tela agentic AI assistant helps users interface with its agents through natural language.

With the advancement of agentic AI, energy companies will need access to a broader ecosystem of specialised tools that work together across planning, operations, data and AI.

For energy professionals, the marketplace provides a single destination to evaluate and access trusted digital capabilities that extend workflows across the Delfi and Lumi environments, enabling them accelerate agentic workflows and build their own bespoke ecosystem, from subsurface to production, well construction, sustainability to data management. For developers, partners and ISVs, it provides the opportunity to publish and scale solutions across the SLB ecosystem.

“AI in energy is shifting from promise to performance,” said Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer of SLB. “The SLB Digital Marketplace is designed to accelerate that shift by creating an open ecosystem where innovation can scale, solutions can interoperate and customers can move faster from insight to action. This is how we translate AI into real performance across the energy system.”

“No single company can build every agent, model or application the energy industry will need,” said Rakesh Jaggi, president of SLB’s digital business. “The SLB Digital Marketplace is the next expression of our commitment to openness, giving energy professionals more choice while maintaining the governance and quality standards required for enterprise operations.”

See also: https://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/technical-focus/slb-partners-with-qualcomm-technologies-on-ai-solutions

https://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/technical-focus/slb-strengthens-collaboration-with-nvidia-to-accelerate-ai-for-energy