American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 50
SpecialReport: Drone Surveillance For Emissions
Drones have made finding
and repairing leaks
so affordable that, on
many sites, the extra
methane sent to market
covers the cost of the
inspection. They also improve
safety by allowing
operators to check storage
tanks and thief
hatches without asking
workers to climb them.
will give pipeline companies a more affordable,
precise and consistent way to
inspect their assets, " he affirms.
The unmanned aerial vehicle
achieves long flight times thanks to a
15-foot wingspan, lightweight construction
and compact batteries, says Fred
Bedard, the director of sales, marketing
and flight operations for Commaris. He
adds that the UAV runs very quietly; it
relies on batteries rather than engines
for power, gets its lift while cruising
from its large wings instead of lift rotors,
and gets its speed from a single
propeller in the back.
" On most missions, people and animals
on the ground are only exposed to 43
decibels from the UAV, which is quieter
than most people talk, " he details. " That
lets the UAV fly over a ranch without disturbing
the residents or spooking cattle. "
Bedard stresses that unlocking the
drone's full potential requires the right
payload. " Most of the methane sensors in
use today were designed for rotorcraft
drones, which move at a much slower
speed. If we fly at maximum speed, it's
like trying to capture motion on a camera
with the wrong shutter speed, " he compares.
" The sensors still get some data,
but the resolution and reliability no
longer meet expectations. "
Flogistix and Commaris have partnered
to develop sensors that enable faster
inspections, Bedard relates. " Developing
sensors in-house is not our primary focus,
but Flogistix has had so much success in
the oil field inspection market and shown
so much commitment to improving the
technology that we have decided to commit
to the project, " he says. " The early test
results have been promising. "
50 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
Ensuring Safety
To fly drones beyond the pilot's line
of sight, companies must obtain a Federal
Aviation Administration waiver, Bedard
notes. " Under most conditions, a pilot
can only see a typical drone a mile away.
We may be able to add a few miles by installing
strobe lights on the bottom like
the ones on planes, but we still need to
seed the route with observers if we want
to fly quickly. "
Inspections may be performed at a
much lower cost with a Beyond Visual Line
of Sight waiver. " The FAA takes its duty to
protect public safety seriously, so it only issues
waivers when it is confident a UAV
can complete its mission without harming
people or property, " he assures. " In practice,
that means the UAV needs to fly as
long as expected and avoid collisions. "
It's possible to alleviate safety concerns
by installing cameras on Commaris'
UAV that give the pilot a
360-degree view, but such cameras are
expensive and take up half the aircraft's
payload capacity. Instead, Bedard recommends
mitigating risk in other ways.
" One of the biggest methods for limiting
risk is redundancy, " he suggests. " Because
our UAV is designed for industrial
applications rather than hobbyists, it has
two GPS systems, two rudders on the back
with separate control systems, and two
ailerons on each wing with independent
servo motors. If any of these components
fail, we should still be able to fly safely.
" Instead of controlling the aircraft
with a joystick, our pilots program the
route using a touch screen on a rugged
laptop, " he adds. " Through clicks and
taps, they tell the UAV where to fly, how
fast it should go and what to do, then let
the UAV handle the specifics of how to
follow that flight plan. This frees the pilot
to focus on the big picture and minimizes
the chance of human error. "
Commaris makes sure any paperwork
it submits to the FAA is thorough and
well-organized, Bedard mentions. As
someone who has flown planes and helicopters
and has served as an FAA safety
representative for the past decade, he says
he knows how to speak to regulators in a
way that resonates.
Saving Lives
Building trust with regulators takes
work, but Bedard says the UAV's capabilities
make that challenge worth tackling.
" People are using UAVs to save
lives, " he says. " For example, one of our
partners has developed a portable, threepound
cell phone tower for search and
rescue operations. If a hiker gets lost in
an area without coverage, our UAV can
rapidly carry the cell phone tower to that
area, pinpoint the hiker's location and
send a text message asking if anyone
needs medical attention. "
In Switzerland, the miniature cell
phone tower located hikers who were
buried in snow because of an avalanche,
Bedard recounts. He says the same
technology can help find kidnapping
victims by looking for the cell phones
of likely abductors.
" For the Coast Guard, UAVs with infrared
cameras can search square miles
of water for survivors' heat signatures,
then report back so the rescue helicopter
can go exactly where it needs to go as fast
as possible, " he relates. " During wildfires,
drones can perform monitoring historically
handled by helicopters, allowing
firefighters to get critical information
without putting more lives at risk. "
These life-saving uses will be easier
to market and perfect as drones' industrial
applications continue to gain momentum,
Bedard predicts. He says the oil
and gas applications will only get more
exciting as sensors improve and drones
build a track record of safely operating
outside FAA's default limits.
" Without a waiver, under current limits,
it would take a full day and several observers
to inspect a 100-mile pipeline for
leaks, " he estimates. " If we can fly at full
speed, we may be able to complete the
same inspection in an hour and a half. " r
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022
Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Intro
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover1
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover2
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 4
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 5
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 6
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 7
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 8
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover3
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover4
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