Safety technology
bp deploys leading-edge technologies across our operations to help predict safety challenges and prevent incidents from occurring
Producing and transporting hydrocarbons
Our Remote Collaboration Center in Houston provides round-the-clock support for deepwater well operations in the Gulf of Mexico, ensuring that bp’s offshore teams receive 24/7 assistance from onshore experts.
We also deploy a suite of intuitive computers that use sensory technology to gather data on our well operations and then translate the data into simple, real-time indicators that help rig crews and office-based experts enhance safety and performance.
We also use drones and robotic crawlers to inspect our Gulf of Mexico facilities, reducing potential risk to people.
Refining operations
Our US refineries use drones to monitor elevated structures — rather than have workers climb up temporary scaffolding — while using robotic technology to perform other critical safety inspections.
At our Whiting refinery, we use state-of-the art robots to clean tanks which would have previously required multiple cycles of flush material to be used along with hundreds of man-hours spent manually cleaning.
Our Cherry Point refinery uses phased-array ultrasonic testing technology to check our equipment and piping, verify structural integrity and provide early detection of corrosion damage.
In our wind energy business, every bp-operated wind farm receives round-the-clock support from on-site personnel and/or our Remote Operating Center (ROC) in Houston. Using advanced technology, ROC teams centrally monitor all bp sites while working with colleagues in the field to enhance performance, reliability and safety.
We’re also using drones to complete detailed and one-off intensity management inspections of blades. Drones allow us to take high-resolution images of any blade damage and then schedule the appropriate repairs and maintenance. Their use also reduces risk by eliminating the need for people to access the blade directly.
Lightsource bp uses panels that are constructed to achieve long-term field durability to withstand harsh environmental conditions for 35 years or more. Solar panels are mostly glass, aluminum, silicon (refined sand) and semi-conducting material. By weight, more than 80 percent of a typical solar panel is glass and aluminum – both common and easy-to-recycle materials. The glass is designed and tested to withstand hail and is tempered, like the windshields of cars, and resistant to breakage.