A West Australian oil and gas company will use a NASA humanoid robot to explore how the technology could be used to improve safety, reliability and efficiency in high-risk and remote environments.

Woodside Petroleum today announced it was being loaned NASA's Robonaught, a "highly dextrous" anthropomorphic machine for five years for deployment in Perth.

It is not Woodside's first foray into AI, or artificial intelligence.

In August last year, the company announced the development of their own AI unit, to become more productive in the face of tumbling oil prices.

Woodside's Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer Shaun Gregory said the collaboration would help Western Australia become a global centre for scientific and technological excellence.

"We want the best thinkers from inside and outside our company to be working on solutions that unlock value in our operations," he said in a statement.

"It also supports the WA innovation agenda."

NASA's robots are designed for use in extreme conditions, such as on the International Space Station.

They perform tasks such as changing air filters in dangerous and extreme conditions, and are equipped with the ability to learn how to complete an assigned task without human direction.

Woodside said they would begin by researching how Robonaut could perform tasks compiled from more than 300 ideas suggested by their employees.

Robonaut arrives mid-year and will remain in Perth until 2022.