How Oceaneering Is Building a Scalable Robotics Platform

Oceaneering International OII has built its identity around subsea robotics, positioning the segment as the core engine of its technology-driven business model. With 60 years of subsea expertise, the company delivers robotics and automation solutions designed for some of the world’s most demanding offshore environments. This focus reflects a long-term strategy centered on remotely operated and autonomous systems that enhance safety, reliability and efficiency while reducing the need for human intervention offshore.

The Subsea Robotics segment operates one of the largest global fleets of work-class systems, totaling about 250 vehicles deployed across energy and industrial markets worldwide. In 2024, these systems achieved 99% uptime, supported more than 61,000 days of utilization, and logged over 420,000 dive hours. The fleet has also surveyed more than 400,000 kilometers to date, underscoring both scale and operational consistency. This performance profile highlights Oceaneering’s ability to execute mission-critical work reliably across geographies, supported by a global footprint spanning roughly 50 countries.

Beyond fleet size, Oceaneering’s robotics platform is reinforced by decades of experience in remote operations, fleet management and data generation. The company has spent more than 20 years advancing onshore-controlled operations, allowing customers to shift personnel away from offshore assets while maintaining high levels of oversight and responsiveness. The data generated by continuous robotic activity feeds into inspection, maintenance and asset integrity decisions, strengthening customer outcomes. This combination of uptime, operational data, and remote capability supports recurring demand and positions the robotics segment as a durable, scalable growth driver.

Robots Become Core Tools Across Global Energy Assets

Europe’s largest oil company, Shell SHEL, is expanding its robotics capabilities across operations to make inspection and maintenance safer, faster and more consistent. Shell uses robots on land, underwater, and in the air to reduce human exposure and streamline data collection. Shell’s methane-sniffing units, mobile inspection systems like Sensabot and ExR-1, and autonomous underwater vehicles all work as roaming sensors that spot leaks, assess equipment, and gather high-frequency imagery. These tools help Shell cut emissions, improve reliability and modernize its day-to-day operations.

Meanwhile, French behemoth TotalEnergies TTE is pushing ahead with robotics to simplify site operations and lower on-site risk, positioning robotics as a central part of its future platforms. TotalEnergies’ ARGOS program introduced autonomous inspection robots capable of detecting gas leaks, monitoring temperatures, and capturing 3D data across complex facilities. TotalEnergies tested these robots from the Shetlands to the North Sea and Angola, confirming remote oversight and multi-robot coordination. With new operator-robots now able to manipulate equipment, TotalEnergies is building toward fully integrated robotic ecosystems across its global assets.

The Zacks Rundown on OII

Shares of Oceaneering have gained 21.2% in the past three months, essentially in line with the industry's growth.

Oceaneering currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 2.20 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by five brokerage firms. 

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for OII’s earnings has been revised over the past 90 days.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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