The global market for drones in the oil and gas industry is growing fast. Between 2019 and 2025, it has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.24%, and it’s expected to reach $16.72 billion by 2025.
One reason drones are becoming so popular in oil and gas is their ability to easily inspect offshore oil rigs. These are large platform structures located on the ocean that drill for petroleum and natural gas beneath the seabed. In 2020, there were 173 offshore oil rigs across the globe. And the ones near the US on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS) must be inspected at least once per year.
However, offshore oil rig inspections are very complicated and precise. Each rig has 3 distinct zones that need to be examined:
- The underwater zone—This is the part of the structure that is below sea level.
- The splash zone—This is the area above sea level that still gets wet.
- The dry zone—This is the area high enough off the sea level that it stays dry.
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Each of these areas suffers a lot of wear and tear due to extreme weather conditions—like hail, snow, rain, winds, squalls, waves, and more.
For example, because oil rigs are constantly in contact with salt water, the underwater and splash zones often experience pitting corrosion, which is a major form of metal deterioration. Other forms of wear and tear include insulation degradation and debris accumulation.
Drone Inspections of Offshore Oil Rigs
Now with drone technology, inspecting offshore oil rigs is much easier. Drones can quickly deploy, maneuver around complex structures, and access otherwise inaccessible and dangerous areas—all while the operator remains securely footed on the platform.
Drone data can then be processed through advanced software to produce high-quality 3D models and detailed inspection reports along with service plans and recommendations for further action. These reports can prioritize needed maintenance and repairs by severity, so you know what to tackle first. And if you perform regular drone inspections, you can track changes over time.
“Exterior inspections of offshore rigs used to be a dangerous task, but now drones are helping to eliminate risk and reduce the chance of human error.”
- Jim Banks, NS Energy
Drones can be equipped with different payloads to capture high-quality footage from various angles. They can collect visual, thermal, and even LIDAR data in real-time. Plus, they can geotag the exact locations of any anomalies as they go.
Benefits of Drone Offshore Oil Rig Inspections
Now that you know the basics behind offshore oil rig inspections with drone equipment, here are the main benefits of the technology:
1. Worker Safety
Inspecting offshore oil rigs is an inherently dangerous job. It involves maneuvering sketchy structures from dangerous heights and getting close to flares and toxic chemicals.
If you use a drone to do the inspection, you’ll have fewer technicians while reducing risk for inspection personnel. Drone pilots and spotters can distance themselves from high-risk areas while the drone does most of the work.
2. Predictive Maintenance
Regular drone inspections can identify issues early on. For example, drones can spot early stages of rust before it causes damage to the underlying metal through etching and pitting.
The earlier you recognize problems that need to be fixed, the better you can optimize asset performance and reduce the risk of gas leaks and oil spills, which could lead to environmental and economic disasters.
3. Security
Drones can also provide security surveillance. This is especially helpful since offshore rigs are often in remote locations where there’s more risk of piracy, kidnapping, and ransomes. Drones can keep a vigilant eye and immediately alert the offshore installation manager (OIM) if there’s a problem.
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4. Mitigating Lost Revenue
A traditional rope-access inspection can take 8 weeks and cost $7 million per day in shutdown costs. But drones can inspect offshore rigs in as little as 3 to 5 days while they remain active. That means drones provide a massive amount of savings in recovered revenue.
5. Valuable Data
Drones can also be equipped with different payloads for collecting various types of data. Here are some that you can expect:
- Visual data—These are high-resolution images taken with RGB cameras.
- Thermal data—These are heat maps and sometimes exact radiometric temperature readings taken with infrared (IR) sensors.
- LIDAR data—These are exact distances and shapes taken with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) laser technology to create point clouds.
Drone operators can share all of this information with multiple stakeholders in real-time for quick decision-making. Then they can also upload it to the cloud for safe recordkeeping. That way, you can perform side-by-side data comparisons with previously flown missions and note any changes.
Types of Inspections Drones Perform
Now let’s go over the types of inspections drones can perform on offshore oil rigs:
Monitoring of Gas Emissions
Offshore oil rig operations involve a lot of toxic and combustible gases. So unwanted gas emissions can be very dangerous for personnel, especially in confined spaces where oxygen levels are limited.
But smaller drones with crash guards can easily inspect tight spaces. And when equipped with multi-gas detectors and highly sensitive optical sensors, you can quickly identify any gas leaks. This helps you comply with regulations and stop leaks before they turn into bigger problems.
Video Credit: RMUSUAV
Rust and Corrosion Detection
Drones can also identify corrosion on an offshore oil rig. Corrosion occurs as a result of electrons flowing between the oil rig’s steel and the ocean’s seawater in what’s called an electrochemical reaction. The dissolved oxygen just below the water’s surface further contributes to this process. If left unaddressed, it could lead to destructive rusting and pitting.
With drones, you can collect dozens of photos and videos of an offshore oil rig within a short flight. The footage can then be processed with advanced software to automatically identify early formations of rust. By addressing the issue quickly, you can then extend the overall lifetime of the structure.
Flare Stacks
A flare stack is a thin metal tower that lets off flames or steam from burned gas. The smallest crack or corrosion in a flare stack could start a fire, which would require the entire oil rig to shut down and put workers at serious risk.
Normally, you have to shut down a flare stack and let it cool before inspecting it. The whole process can take several days. But a drone can inspect a flare stack from the air even while it’s still active. They can record detailed information while streaming it back to operators who assess the data and have it later reviewed.
Oil Spill Detection and Response
Drones can also help detect and respond to oil spills. Oil spills are a huge safety and environmental concern. After all, you don’t want to cause the next BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Mexican Gulf and still impacts us today.
In addition to detecting oil spills early, drones can measure their size and spread in real-time. This way, drones help reduce the spread of oil and help response teams intervene before the spill becomes unmanageable.
Drone Services for Oil and Gas Inspections
In the end, inspecting offshore oil rigs with drones has a lot of advantages that are hard to pass up. That’s why more and more oil and gas companies are starting to use drones in their operations.
If you need professional drone services, The Drone Life is here to help. Our expert pilots have the experience and equipment needed to perform a range of infrastructure inspections and environmental protection and monitoring missions.
Together, we’ll work to determine your project needs and develop a plan that will take your inspection and maintenance possibilities to new heights. Feel free to contact us today for a free one-on-one meeting.
