Drone Benefits in Upstream O&G
/Oil and gas isn’t going away as an energy source anytime soon. O&G companies are seeing record profits, and energy demand continues to grow.
From Ericcson
To reduce emissions and improve operations, O&G producers are bringing in digital technologies—and drones are playing a big role in upstream oil activities like:
Finding potential wells
Mapping and gathering data on drilling sites
Collecting environmental data
Automating some operations
As O&G producers work to find new oil and gas reserves as well as extracting known reserves, drones are an important tool. They can help reduce costs, save time and resources, and help with environmental assessment.
New wells and drilling opportunities are often located in areas with harsh terrain—from arctic to desert. The conditions are harsh for humans, but robots are right at home. Drone inspections at potential sites are often faster, safer, and more data driven than manual inspections.
Once a site is identified, O&G companies often have to undertake environmental impact studies. Drones help in this phase by mapping sites, collecting animal and vegetation baselines, and documenting water flow in the area. Previously, helicopters have been used for collecting this information, but UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are taking over at many O&G companies.
When production goes live at a site, drones can continue to play a role:
Site inspections
Equipment monitoring
Emissions data collection
And more
Drones can be deployed at every level of the upstream O&G process to help producers lower costs, collected better data, and improve safety
Adoption is increasing, and the industry is no longer swimming upstream.
