Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 7, 2023 – A record-breaking 184,000 participants gathered at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) 2023 last week, the world’s largest energy conference. Centered around the theme ‘Decarbonizing. Faster. Together.’, the event united global energy innovators and leaders. Oceanit was in attendance and showcased our pioneering AI systems dedicated to minimizing pipeline carbon leaks and emissions.
Spanning four days, ADIPEC 2023 was the largest edition yet, bringing together representatives from over 160 countries. Alongside ministers and energy leaders, key figures from interconnected sectors such as finance and technology also participated, all committed to accelerating collective decarbonization efforts and speeding the global energy transition.
Dr. Sultan Al Jabar, the COP28 president-designate, opened ADIPEC 2023 with a rallying call to industry leaders, emphasizing, “This event is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution.” He defined solutions as finding ways to decarbonize and fast-tracking the energy transition to clean energy while simultaneously meeting global energy needs.
Oceanit was invited to present a paper titled ‘AI-Enhanced Tools for Performance Enhancement in Energy and Water Systems.’ Sumil Thapa, an Oceanit engineer and contributor to the paper, was in Abu Dhabi to present on Oceanit’s AI technologies that are curbing greenhouse gas emissions from pipelines that transport gas, oil, and wastewater.
“Addressing emissions starts with our pipelines,” stated Sumil Thapa. “Consider our existing energy infrastructures. Many (pipelines) are 40 to 50 years old, either approaching or having surpassed their expected service life. Such aging can lead to defects, causing leaks of gases like methane.”
Methane, a significant component of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas. Its effects are around 84 times more powerful in climate warming than carbon dioxide. As of 2023, pipelines leak an estimated 1.25 to 2.6 million tons of methane annually.
Pipeline coatings surface treatments are widely used to combat methane leaks from aging pipes. Surface treatments can mitigate fouling and corrosion and extend the pipes’ lifespan. However, effective application necessitates meticulous surface preparation, including cleaning of the inner pipe surfaces. The current state of the art is manual cleaning, and the interpretation of surface cleanliness can be subjective, leading to quality control issues.
Oceanit’s ADIPEC 2023 paper addressed these challenges and introduced an AI-integrated digital inspection system called RIVEAL. This system pairs with a novel video “PIG” system (Pipeline Inspection Gauge) to identify defects in pipeline surfaces via multispectral video data. The AI-driven PIG can inspect pipes in-situ to deliver a data feed for RIVEAL, helping to ensure consistent cleanliness standards or uniform surface treatment application standards. RIVEAL boasts over 90% classification accuracy, thereby increasing the quality assurance of pipe cleaning and surface treatment applications.
Oceanit’s RIVEAL pairs seamlessly with another Oceanit development, CorLANCE, an AI-powered autonomous system designed for cleaning and maintaining heat exchanger tube surfaces. CorLANCE can capture data using a video probe attachment, gathering qualitative heat exchanger tube data, which RIVEAL can then analyze to detect defects and cleanliness.
ADIPEC 2023 provided a stage to spotlight innovative solutions like RIVEAL and CorLANCE, showcasing Oceanit’s commitment to energy transition and decarbonization. RIVEAL and the supporting technologies will further enhance the efficiency of surface treatments like HeatX, DragX, and HydroPel and play a pivotal role in combating emissions and fostering a sustainable future.
About Oceanit
Founded in 1985, Oceanit is a “Mind to Market” company that creates disruptive technology from fundamental science. Utilizing the unique discipline of Intellectual Anarchy, Oceanit reimagines innovation to break the bonds of normal and solve the impossible — delivering technologies to the market that impact humans and society. Oceanit’s diverse teams work across aerospace, healthcare, energy, and industrial/ consumer technologies, as well as on environmental and climate matters. Through engineering and scientific excellence, Oceanit transforms fundamental science into impactful, market-focused technologies used around the world.
