in this section
Preparation helps utilities handle the polar vortex 8
Utility bill payers like mobile-and the old channels too 10
First mass-produced fuel cell vehicle about to hit the market 11
A ScanEagle drone in flight.
they come in Peace
A new Federal Aviation Administration decision to permit the testing of unmanned aerial
vehicles, or drones, in six states is expected
to open the door to U.S. use of unmanned
aircraft by oil and gas companies. Limited
trials have already taken place. ConocoPhillips
conducted the first-ever sanctioned commercial drone test in U.S. airspace in September
in a 36-minute ScanEagle flight over Alaska's
Chukchi Sea. BP also test-piloted a Scout
drone-produced by Aeryon in Waterloo,
Ontario-in a brief 2012 flight. Drones may
spare people from exposure to potentially hazardous conditions, ConocoPhillips program
manager John Hand said in a recent edition of
the company's Spirit magazine. They can fly
lower and more slowly than manned aircraft,
allowing for more detailed pipeline inspections, he added, and they are much cheaper
to operate. The FAA must set regulations for
UAV use by September 2015.
-Gary James
march 2014 AmericAn GAs
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - March 2014