Upstream and midstream in the Brazilian basins; the first vertical configured in the MINERVA signal engine.
Live from POLIS. Panels are published in Brazilian Portuguese.
Inspection is a campaign business with vessels, crews and scheduling. Resident autonomous systems make it a continuous data service. That moves value from the campaign to the integrity record and changes who can bid on d…
OpenAlex, 2016–2025: works on subsea/underwater inspection with AUV, ROV, resident or autonomous vehicles rose from 89 to 275 a year (CAGR 13.4%), against 2,641 to 3,451 (CAGR 3.0%) for offshore oil and gas. Their share of the offshore count went from 3.4% to 8.0%, with the jump in 2023–2025. Resident-vehicle work proper is still tiny (2 → 11 a year).
Independent cross-check · · sonar-pro · live web search · 15 citations: insufficient evidence · Record
MINERVA over the full INPI base: E21B filings peaked at 2,117 in 2013 and have plateaued at 400–540 a year since. There is no rise above baseline. The movement is in composition: between 2009–13 and 2019–23, E21B 41 (subsea and other equipment) rose from 2.08% to 7.26% of filings (+5.18 pp). Filings from 2024 onward are incomplete under the 18-month secrecy period.
E21B filings rose 29x between 2000 and 2013 (73 → 2,117), then fell to a plateau of 400–540 a year, one fifth of the peak
Between 2009–13 and 2019–23, share gains went to equipment not covered elsewhere including subsea (E21B 41, +5.2 pp)
Independent cross-check · · sonar-pro · live web search · 15 citations: insufficient evidence · Record
After factory acceptance tests in Trieste under a 2023 contract, Petrobras approved the final phase: implementation of a resident/semi-resident autonomous inspection drone in Brazilian ultra-deep water. It is a qualification step, not yet field operation; vessel-free inspection moves from R&D pilot toward operational use.
Petrobras has been able to grant approval to proceed with the final phase of the project, which aims at the full implementation of the FlatFish technology in a real offshore environment
Saipem's underwater inspection drone (UID) FlatFish has completed a test campaign with Brazil's oil & gas major Petrobras as part of a contract awarded in 2023
unmanned, vessel-free inspections to support the monitoring and maintenance
Independent cross-check · · sonar-pro · live web search · 15 citations: consistent · Record
Petrobras earmarked US$ 9.7 bn over five years for sustainable disposal of equipment and well abandonment, under ANP Resolution 817/2020, which requires decommissioning programmes (PDIs) five years before offshore production ends. A large end-of-life pipeline raises the value of asset integrity histories; no tender yet names inspection data as an award criterion.
A destinação sustentável de equipamentos e o abandono de poços demandarão dispêndios de US$ 9,7 bilhões nos próximos cinco anos.
trata do descomissionamento de instalações de exploração e produção de petróleo e gás natural
Independent cross-check · · sonar-pro · live web search · 15 citations: partly consistent · Record
| Trend | Stage | Momentum | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous inspection approaches economic triviality | emerging | 3 for · 1 against |
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