Oil and Natural Gas
How can UAV’s help energy operations?
There are three parts to an energy operation: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Upstream is the discovery and exploration of oil and natural gas, midstream is the transportation and storage of oil and natural gas, and downstream is the distribution of refined oil and gas to its users. Midstream has seen the most activity with UAV’s as they are utilized for roof tank inspection, emergency response, natural gas detection, modeling, VR training, and security.
Which UAV is applicable?
Similar to other industries, there are several options. If the UAV program is in the first phase, some economical options include the Mavic 2 Enterprise series, Phantom 4 series, and the Mavic 2 series as well. For more mature programs the program manager could look at the M200 v1, M200 v2, or M300 RTK series. There are also third party payload offerings such as the U10 which could be used to quickly identify and locate potential methane leaks .
Achievements
By working closely with partners such as Shell, we have improved our product line to meet industry demands. For example, meeting with Shell at Deer Park reinforced our H20T gimbal’s sensors which helped increase productivity and efficiency for roof top inspections. The feedback overall has been positive and while the Z30 and XT2 have been popular gimbals we’re excited to announce the H20 series.
There is still enormous potential for growth in this industry and we are working diligently to accelerate the adoption of UAV technology.