Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are having a profound impact on both offshore and onshore oil and gas projects around the world – assisting operators to conduct inspections of hard to reach areas and across lengthy distances in record times, while reducing costs and risks to personnel safety.
UAVs provide enormously precise aerial intelligence that simplifies and improves a wide range of oil and gas processes.
Whether inspecting hundreds of kilometres of oil or gas pipelines for leaks, helping operators comply with regulations or enabling companies to construct infrastructure more efficiently, UAVs have quickly become a go-to tool for oil and gas operators around the world.
Pipelines
UAVs equipped with high-quality cameras allow inspectors in the field or engineers in a remote location to view and identify damage to pipelines.
UAVs with thermal imaging capabilities are being used to detect liquid leaks or fugitive emissions of gases that may have gone unnoticed through other inspection methods, so that appropriate actions can be taken with minimal impacts to operations and the environment.
Sinopec manages 6,000 kilometres of oil pipelines in southern China that require continuous inspections – often in mountainous regions that are difficult to reach and pose dangers to personnel.
After noticing the success of UAVs in other industries, in 2014 the company began exploring how it could potentially make the company’s inspections more efficient while reducing costs and decreasing the risks to inspectors. Sinopec also hoped that UAVs could provide with significantly more information that could be used for improved pipeline management.
In 2015, Sinopec invited UAV companies to field test systems along their pipelines. Subsequently, in 2017, Sinopec launched its large-scale drone-based pipeline inspection operations. To date, these systems have flown over 40,000 kilometres of pipelines, saving the company time and money while also reducing the risk of injury to its workers.
The aerial imaging provides a wider perspective, which has allowed the company to easily determine the spatial relationships between targets and the pipeline and to discover issues that are difficult to observe from the ground. An added benefit is that frequently flying UAVs serves as a deterrent to people engaging in activities that may be harmful to the pipeline.
Storage facilities
Many oil storage facilities depend on manned aerial vehicles to conduct inspections, however, recently the use of UAV’s has proven to deliver significant cost savings for operators.
The oil storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma is the largest crude oil storage facility in North America. In 2015, the facility introduced UAVs to conduct inspections remotely, replacing aerial imagery via helicopters.
With orthomosaic, elevation and 3D map capabilities, the UAVs have allowed the facility manager to monitor the tanks to make sure they meet federal regulations. As a result of the introduction of the UAVs, the site has seen a reduction in required site visits and the manager has been able to attain more comprehensive information to help with oversight. The UAVs also reportedly delivered cost savings of around $3,500 over a five-month period.
Surveying
The use of UAVs is also intensifying in the oil and gas exploration stage as their ability to survey prospective drilling locations and gather key data for operators continues to be demonstrated.
Last year, Gazprom Neft became the first company in Russia to use UAVs in multi-level magnetic prospecting surveys at the company’s Novoportovskoye field.
The UAVs covered the 100 square kilometre area 10 times faster than would have been possible on the ground, and was also two times cheaper than traditional methods involving aircraft. The introduction of UAVs to the site confirmed that geological prospecting can be undertaken in the most inaccessible licence blocks.
Construction
Once a well site is ready for development and construction commences, UAVs can also be used to conduct as-built surveys, allowing operators to record the progress of a project while ensuring the quality of the facilities built are kept at a high standard.
UAV data and imagery can also be used to compare conditions to pre-construction designs, as well as to detect and correct plan defects and deviations or any potential safety issues. This helps streamline decision-making throughout the project while providing a visual timeline which can be shared with all stakeholders.
Once construction is completed, UAVs provide a digital 3D representation of the facilities which can be used as a baseline reference.
In operation
Measuring and reducing methane emissions is a key priority for many oil and gas operators. In addition to thermal imaging and optical cameras, some UAVs feature methane sensors that are able to measure methane gas from several metres away.
In 2019, BP executed a pilot project which combined advanced sensor technology originally designed by NASA with a fixed-wing remote piloted air system (RPAS) to remotely monitor methane emissions on its offshore assets.
The project broke the UK’s record for the longest commercial drone flight. The drone circled the Clair platform at a radius of 550 metres for 90 minutes, travelling for a total of more than 185 kilometres, surpassing the previous record of 100 kilometres.
The pre-programmed drone, once airborne, managed itself autonomously. Throughout the flight, the RPAS live-streamed valuable data was collected by the methane sensor.
Following the successful results, UAVs are expected to be deployed at all of BP’s North Sea assets sometime this year.
Source: Oil and Gas Drone Services Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019 – 2024), ReportLinker
