The demand for Oil & Gas is high, yet with fluctuating prices, this presents the challenge of reducing costs to cope with the lower end of these prices; reducing the significant loss of revenue during inspections certainly falls into this category. Other key challenges faced in the Oil and Gas industry are the risks posed to human life, and the optimisation of performance coupled with the pursuit of improving its overall environmental footprint.
So the key question we will be addressing within this article is — can the use of drones overcome these issues?
Advantages of Using Drones in the Oil and Gas industry
There is no question that ROI is vital in any company, so it is important to understand the effect of the use of drones in this figure. Does it really pay off? In order to address this, we have to first understand the advantages of drones in the field.
Logistics
- Inspection crews no longer need to be afforded bed space on rigs for a prolonged period of time.
- The plant does not need to shut down in the same way it would traditionally have done so in the past; drones are non-invasive and can work alongside plant processes.
- Maintenance requirements can be pinpointed, so that the teams can attend to only the areas that need work, rather than inspecting the whole area without knowing whether physical maintenance will be required at the end or not.
Safety
- People do not need to climb structures to check the integrity of the structure as the drone can capture this.
- The payloads can detect issues we may not be able to see with our eyes, including gas leakages, overheating, and corrosion beneath the platform.
Efficiency
- What would typically take weeks of labour force, will take a drone just a matter of days.
- Accurate photographic captures and heat readings are taken instantaneously, alongside 4K video recordings.
Data Collection, Analysis and Sharing
- Drones offer greater clarity and visibility into your assets, the collected data helps you accurately identify signs of deterioration and damage.
- Depending on your requirements, drones can collect data using different sensors of the spectrum like UV or even Thermal.
- Given this flexibily in data collected, data analysis can yield in-depth insight.
- Analysis of data is instantaneous and deliverable in a variety of forms for easier understanding.
- The sharing capability ensures stakeholders and other relevant figures have access to all collected data whenever they wish to view it.
Flexibility
- Reports can be generated at the click of a button from any remote location, whenever the drone is on-site.
- The plant does not need to close down, reduce operation, nor turn off the flare.
Cost-Effectiveness
- ROI gained from the first project, due to the vast reduction in man hours and the ability for plant production to continue during the inspection.
- With the drones’ ability to quickly pick up corrosion and irregularities when they first show. Maintenance can immediately be set to task without the traditional time-consuming and labour intensive manual inspections — which need to occur as a preventative measure, regardless of whether the rig or plant needs maintenance or not.
Drone Applications in the Oil and Gas Industry
Monitoring, Surveying and Inspections
- Leak and spill detection is the newest advancement to drone technology, enabling gas and oil leaks to be detected. This is particularly important in the gas field as leaks are invisible without the use of advanced technology.
- Indoor and outdoor inspections are equally possible; improving safety across the board.
- As a preventative measure or an emergency response, drones can be sent in to locate the problem, reducing the risk to humans until strictly necessary. Oil spills and fire incidents can be mapped out to ensure the area is effectively managed after an incident or natural disaster.
- Live flare stack inspection can take place risk-free and without impeding the operation of the plant.
- Chimney and smoke stack inspections can also be performed as above.
- Pipeline inspections can be assessed from within or from above ground to check for issues such as soil erosion and vegetation encroachment; visual data can be compared to previous drone inspection captures to assess the rate at which soil is subsiding, and correct a problem before a blowout occurs.
- Storage tank inspections are done easily via drones, who can enter small spaces easily and use advanced lighting techniques in highly dusty conditions.
- General inspections benefit from the use of drones, gaining precise data and an ROI from each drone inspection.
Mapping
- Drones have the ability to effectively and precisely map out a variety of features:
- Flow lines
- Drill sites
- Pipelines
- Landfills
- Spill and fire-related incidents
- The precision afforded by drone technology is highly accurate to within 1cm, enabling effective data to be captured at a fraction of the time it would traditionally take.