Unmanned drones could help survey pipelines and offshore rigs

Energy companies already use ROVs to monitor and manipulate wells at extreme underwater depths, and unmanned aircraft companies hope that in the coming years, companies will be able to hire or buy aerial drones to survey pipelines, check on hard-to-reach parts of platforms and gather information after an offshore accident occurs.

Introduced in 2007, as production and development of unmanned aerial systems began to grow, the current federal regulations are now facing proposed changes. These will be released in a few weeks and will be subject to a comment period and review, a process that generally takes 12 to 18 months.

“The concerns about these unmanned aerial systems, whether they’re operating in the Gulf of Mexico or over land, remain the same,” said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford. “We want to make sure that they’re used in such a way that the safety of other aircraft is not compromised.”

According to Lunsford, planes and helicopters travelling back and forth to offshore rigs make more than 800 trips per day, meaning utilising unmanned aerial systems could pose a challenge.

California-based AeroVironment is eager to collaborate according to Vice President Steve Gitlin. “We’re ready,” he said. “As soon as the FAA says ‘Go,’ we’re ready to provide capabilities to the customers who want it. These aerial systems will save money, save lives and allow for more effective use.”

Lindsay Voss, Senior Program Development Manager at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, said that the FAA’s long-time complaint is that it needs more data, such as a complete picture of the drone accident rate.

“You could say there’s a lot of operational time with Department of Defense,” she said. “We probably have about 6000 hours a year in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it’s difficult to take that info and apply it to national airspace.”

According to Voss, several companies that operate in the Gulf of Mexico, including Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips, have expressed interest in the technology.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said the company has been developing ways to deploy drone technology for pipeline inspection.

“We have been working cooperatively for over five years with other members of the oil and gas industry, the aviation industry and the FAA to enable eventual deployment of drones to assist us in leak and machinery threat detection once (new FAA) regulations are in place.”

Currently, BP and other oil giants use manned helicopters to survey their pipelines. Howeverm helicopters can run up to US$ 300/hr, while renting a lightweight drone can cost as little as US$ 20/hr, said Voss.

Drone producers say their machinery has a range of applications beyond pipeline surveillance as well.

“The colour and infrared video could be very useful if they want to check out the condition of an offshore platform. If there’s a disaster, people tend to be evacuated from a platform, but the operator will still want to have eyes on the target,” said Gitlin. “We’ve done some demos for offshore oil companies in the past and, using infrared, were able to detect oil slick in the water.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/19122011/unmanned_drones_could_help_survey_pipelines_and_offshore_rigs/