Drones help oil, gas companies get an improved view of areas where they may not be able to get to normally.
Inspecting oil and gas equipment is not an easy job since it’s often located in hard-to-reach spots. That has changed significantly in the past several years as more companies turn to unmanned aerial vehicles—also known as UAVs or drones—to help keep an eye on what’s going on in the field.
“Drones transformed a lot in the industry,” says Richard Allen, financial operations coordinator for the Jack Doheny Companies UAV venture, Doheny Drones. “Companies in the oil and gas industries can do a number of things, such as flare stack inspections, off- and on-shore oil derrick inspections, tailings pond inspections, oil spill detection and damage assessment, and gas emissions monitoring.”
Drone technology was pioneered by the U.S. military, and when it came to commercial applications, industries such as oil, gas, mining and agriculture that cover large acreages in sometimes remote areas were the first to jump on board. These drones are not the kind shoppers can buy off Amazon and use to fly around their backyard, or the kind that Amazon itself plans to use to deliver products to customers. Rather, these are high-tech, battery-powered machines equipped to hold quality cameras and other sensors to gather important information from out in the field. A person on the ground uses what looks like a hand-held video gaming device to control the drone, which collects and sends back the information it has gathered.
Cenovus Energy, a Canadian oil company with oilsands operations in northern Alberta, began investigating drones in 2012. Geospatial specialist Wade Ewen looked into the technology and found it was a good fit for their needs. Since the company flew its first UAV at the end of 2013, Cenovus has flown more than 300 flights.
“We use them to acquire high-resolution imagery that helps us design a terrain model to calculate how much dirt we need to move for construction projects,” Ewen says. “We have found it to be cheaper and safer than putting boots on the ground, which meant a traditional surveying crew who might be near some heavy machines.”
Ewen says the drones collect data that is then downloaded into a computer where it is carefully analyzed. “We’re able to turn data around faster and the return on investment has been good,” he says.
Cenovus’ experience isn’t unique. Many other companies involved in the oil and gas industries began looking at drones at about the same time, namely because of the technological improvements.
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Several technical advances in recent years have increased the popularity of drone usage. One of the biggest advances is the ability of UAVs to carry larger payloads.
“We have one drone, for example, that can carry up to 25 pounds, and you can put just about any sensor or camera on it,” Allen says. “These more advanced cameras can take high-quality video and photos up to 50 feet away. It’s amazing.”
The ability to carry those heavier loads has expanded what the drones can monitor, says Steve Gitlin, vice president for marketing strategy and communication for AeroVironment, a California-based company that makes a variety of transportation-related equipment, including drones. AeroVironment monitors BP pipelines as the ground thaws and freezes using drones.
“We need to understand how things are going on the ground, and the drones help us do that,” Gitlin says. “Drones provide powerful insight on demand. They deliver high-quality images as well as quality 3-D graphic information since they can carry equipment that shoot and record the laser pulses as they bounce back and create detailed maps.”
For example, a drone can carefully look at ruts on a gravel road and help determine how much gravel is needed to fill them in, he says.
“You’re 400 feet up in the air and that provides you a vantage point that was previously unavailable,” Gitlin says. “The quality of information we’re getting from drones is better than we can get anywhere else.”
That’s due in large part to the high-quality sensors and cameras that can be mounted on today’s drones, he adds.
“It’s amazing what you can see,” Gitlin says.
Allen says the batteries in drones last longer today than they did just a few years ago, and that has provided more options for what they are used for and how often they need to be charged.
Ease-of-use is another reason drone usage has increased in popularity, says EJ Burrows of Skymatics, a Canadian-based company that uses drones to provide aerial inspections and surveys for companies, particularly those in the gas, oil, petrochemical industries and utilities.
“A lot of the stuff we do today we could have done three years ago, but it’s just easier and it’s about half the price,” he says. “As costs go down, I think their usage will continue to increase.”
IMPROVEMENTS AHEAD
As Doheny Drones General Manager Kyle Dehne looks to the future, he envisions UAVs that can carry even larger payloads.
“That really will open the door to being able to have more sensors on board and getting a clearer look at what’s going on,” he says.
Other improvements include batteries boasting longer lives and perhaps drones with quad roter blades that will provide more stability in high winds.
“A lot of the places where we operate, the weather conditions aren’t ideal, so anything that provides greater stability is key,” Dehne says.
Beyond physical improvements, a big leap forward for the industry will be when regulations are changed involving drone usage beyond the line of sight, according to those working in the industry. Right now, both the United States and Canada require that UAVs are only used when the operator can see them. That’s not the case in other countries.
“There are many companies, mostly overseas, who produce fixed wing drone aircrafts that can travel thousands of miles at up to 90 miles per hour equipped with infrared cameras,” Allen says. “Once regulations allow flight beyond line of sight, oil and gas companies will be able to inspect above-ground pipelines daily for potential leaks.”
Skymatics’ Burrows says the industry will be in a “whole different place” if line of sight rules are changed.
“The technology exists to operate the drones outside of the line of sight, but when and if the regulators allow it, I think their use will really take off since companies will be able to use them for longer projects,” he says. “If you combine that change along with longer battery lives, the industry will compete even stronger with manned aircraft such as helicopters or small planes, and it will be a better deal, too, since the cost will be less.”
Comments