Equinor is cutting costs by keeping robots underwater to inspect and maintain equipment instead of hiring large vessels for each job. According to Equinor in its centre announcement, underwater robots and autonomous vessels could save several hundred million NOK annually toward significantly lower operating costs by 2035. These underwater robots include remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, which are tethered or self-directed machines that work below the surface. Equinor combines resident seabed drones, portable inspection drones, and uncrewed surface vessels to reduce vessel days, labor exposure, and repeat mobilizations.
Table of Contents
- Which vessel trips are robots replacing?
- What do the large resident robots do at Njord?
- Where do small portable drones save money?
- How is Equinor scaling tests and uncrewed vessels?
- What still needs large vessels?
Which vessel trips are robots replacing?
The main saving comes from avoiding a large offshore vessel hire for routine checks. Inspection, monitoring, and light maintenance can now start from shore or from the platform itself.
Offshore Technology reports broader robotics use across ground, air, underwater, and uncrewed vessels could save over NOK 1bn per year. Jobs shifting to robots include: Each avoided mobilization removes fuel, crew, and standby costs. That makes frequent checks affordable instead of rare and expensive.
- visual inspection of subsea structures and pipelines
- environmental and reservoir monitoring surveys
- light inspection, maintenance, and repair tasks launched from uncrewed vessels
What do the large resident robots do at Njord?
Equinor uses resident Saipem Hydrone systems at the Njord field for intervention and work-class tasks. The setup came from a 10-year contract signed in 2019 worth about 40m euros. It covers Hydrone-R intervention drones and Hydrone-W electric work-class ROVs. The residency record is long.
According to Saipem in its Arctic mission update, Hydrone-R has logged over 500 days of subsea residency at Njord, including a 240-day continuous deployment. The same vehicle completed an autonomous survey in an Arctic coral area without vessel support. Long residency means the robot waits on the seabed and works on demand. Equinor avoids repeated launch and recovery operations in harsh weather.
Where do small portable drones save money?
Staff use small Blueye portable underwater drones for frequent self-inspections from installations. According to Blueye Robotics in its customer report, each avoided large vessel hire saves about NOK 1m. The saving repeats every time a local check replaces an external callout.
Small drones suit short visual tasks, quick verifications, and repeat observations. Operators can inspect sooner because they do not wait for a vessel slot. Faster checks also catch minor issues before they grow into shutdowns.
How is Equinor scaling tests and uncrewed vessels?
Equinor opened the KNARR robotics centre at Karsto on 28 Oct 2026 for marine robotics trials. Equinor says the site offers test areas at 25m, 140m, and 250m depths plus 3km of seabed cable. The focus is inspection, monitoring, and maintenance trials under real offshore conditions. Uncrewed vessels are already doing commercial work.
According to Offshore Engineer in its contract report, Equinor hired Reach Subsea's Reach Remote 1 for 2026 Troll gas-reservoir monitoring with gWatch and ROV-based subsea work. The vessel supports inspection, maintenance, and repair without a full onboard crew. The pattern is test at Karsto, then deploy offshore. Proven tasks move from trials to contracted reservoir and asset programs.
What still needs large vessels?
Snake-like Eelume resident robots handle visual inspection, cleaning, and valve and choke adjustments. They are built for nimble access to tight subsea spaces. Their value is lower cost and constant presence.
They reduce, but do not replace, large vessels and heavy ROVs for major jobs. Heavy lifts, complex repairs, and high-force intervention still need larger systems and support. Readers should treat resident robots as a filter that leaves fewer expensive mobilizations, not zero.
