Robotics regulation and liability issues concerning robotic technologies in the oil and gas sector

The growth of civil infrastructure in oil and gas entails infrastructure that is hazardous, and represents an environmental challenge during decommissioning and replacement. Autonomous technologies can play a key role in first providing accurate assessments and in carrying out this decommissioning, which often has to take place in environments hazardous to humans, and protect humans and the environment. This chapter explores the liability of autonomous systems related to the decisions to be taken in the oil and gas sector, which involves often unknown, unstructured environments. In relation to liability is the designer, producer, commissioner or user responsible for the inappropriate actions of the autonomous system?