Even when the Covid-19 downturn is finally past us, operators will have to continue exploring new avenues for cost reductions to be better equipped to withstand future market declines. In a report that looked into the adoption of robotics across the petroleum industry, Rystad Energy found that existing solutions could replace hundreds of thousands of oil and gas jobs globally and reduce drilling labor costs by several billion dollars by 2030, if there is an industry push for such a transition.

One of the segments with much to gain from the adoption of robotics is drilling, as it is highly cost-intensive and involves carrying out dangerous tasks in challenging environments. Robotic solutions have already been introduced successfully in drilling operations, with companies such as Nabors at the development forefront.