Page 14: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2017)

Offshore

Figure 1:

UAS programs are ideal for visually inspecting remote assets, such as rig components or sub- components in dif? cult- to-reach areas.

UAS Programs

Improving Safety and Effectiveness for

Offshore Asset Inspection and Surveying

Credit: Oceaneering

By Todd Chase

Oil and gas companies are using unmanned aircraft sys- one example, a major oil company set up a UAS program to tem (UAS) technology to improve safety and ef? ciency in a identify the presence or absence of rig components or sub- growing range of applications, from infrastructure and main- components – as well as any gross damage or deformation, tenance inspection to security, emergency response and envi- including visible cracks, the extent of coating breakdown and ronmental and regulatory compliance. Today’s UAS programs variations from structural drawings. The unmanned, eight-pile are supported by payloads including high-de? nition video production and compressor platform included a boat landing equipment, high-resolution still cameras, thermal imaging connected by a bridge, and featured two decks and elevation cameras and emission sensors – and there are many ways, op- depths ranging from -97 feet to 10 feet (Figure 1). Many of erationally and ? nancially, to incorporate them into business the areas of interest were in hard-to-reach locations, as the processes. Numerous oil companies have demonstrated how image shows.

UAS programs can improve safety while augmenting existing Clearly, manual inspection of these rig elements would be operations, and have also shown the value of supporting these both dif? cult and dangerous if it required sending someone programs with a comprehensive range of processes, proce- down a ladder or out onto scaffolding. With a UAS program, dures and management systems. people are removed from these dangerous situations. Addi- tionally, inspections can be performed while the asset is live,

Examples of Successful Programs thus reducing the length of costly shutdowns. A study of UAS

One of the most popular applications for UAS programs in- use at one leading international exploration and production cludes visual inspections of remote assets such as oil rigs. In (E&P) company showed that these programs enable inspec- 2017 October 14 MTR

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