RN-Purneftegaz introduces pipeline monitoring UAV

The new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of hybrid aerodynamic configuration has the advantages of aeroplane and helicopter types combined. Unlike its peers, this UAV can perform vertical take-off and landing on any unfinished surface, as well as hang in place to conduct a detailed examination of the territory. At that, most part of the UAV’s flight is carried out in the aeroplane mode, which is more efficient in comparison to the helicopter mode.

The UAV has been designed to high specifications: given its small size (wingspan 3.2 m, weight 12 kg), the aerial complex can stay airborne for up to two hours at speeds from 70 to 12 km/h and fly up to 160 km.

Using the UAV, RN-Purneftegaz employees, together with the administrations of the Purovsky, Nadym and Krasnoselkupsky districts, conducted an area monitoring, unprecedented in its scale, which helped organise clean-up of 30 ha of forest – an area comparable to 42 football fields. The amount of garbage collected was approximately 1500 m³ of household waste, which equals approximately to 150 heavy-duty dump trucks.

RN-Purneftegaz LLC is one of the main oil and gas production centres of Rosneft. The company is located in the town of Gubkinsky in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, Russia, and operates 13 licence areas. Over the period of its operation, the enterprise has produced over 260 million t of oil and gas condensate and over 110 billion m³ of gas.