{"id":34137,"date":"2019-01-09T20:01:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T12:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=34137"},"modified":"2019-01-11T19:21:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T11:21:58","slug":"how-oil-and-gas-companies-can-ramp-up-exploration-with-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2019\/01\/09\/how-oil-and-gas-companies-can-ramp-up-exploration-with-drones\/","title":{"rendered":"How oil and gas companies can ramp up exploration with drones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Lily Asis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one connected to the oil industry needs to be reminded of the most recent collapse and the cost slashing that had to take place to try and prevent further losses. No, there\u2019s no reason to rehash all of that. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s worth discussing instead is how\ncompanies in the oil industry that are itching to restart explorations in\nremote or dangerous terrain don\u2019t have to sink major money into those\nexplorations, nor do they need to risk the wellbeing of employees that would\ntraditionally be tasked with gathering data from or surveying prospective\nsites. Why send a helicopter and human beings when a drone can do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reducing\nrisks and reducing costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main reasons exploration is\namong the first items to be slashed in the budget during times of austerity is\nthat untapped oil and gas deposits tend to be located in distant locations with\nextreme environments. The helicopters and other vehicles and equipment\nnecessary for surveying leads are costly, even when renting instead of owning,\nand with the risks associated with the terrain and weather in many of these\nlocales, only the best vehicles and equipment will do when it comes to\nprotecting the employees involved in exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the number one way to protect\nemployees that would otherwise be exposed to these harsh conditions and risky\nterrains is to take those employees out of the equation for early stages of\nexploration, and then arm them with the most precise data possible for the\ntesting stages of exploration. This can be easily accomplished with a drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industrial drones are capable of capturing\nand transmitting high-definition photos and video that will allow researchers\nto look for seeps, reservoirs, source rocks and other positive signs for\nprospective drilling sites, all without needing to get anywhere near the site\nitself. Drones\nfor surveying<\/a> are also a valuable tool for the energy industry, with\nindustrial drones able to use photogrammetry or LiDAR in order to produce the\nmost precise topographical maps possible. These maps are essential for\ndetermining the potential viability of a site as well as for arming testers\nwith accurate information if further investigation is warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deriving\nmaximum benefit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as completing the initial stages of\nexploration with a drone offers energy companies significant advantages, the\nnature of many industrial drones can still make the process slightly\ncumbersome. If a drone pilot is required, this factors a significant expense\nback into the exploration mission, delays on-demand flights, and introduces the\npossibility of human error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why an automated industrial drone\nis the leading choice for oil and gas exploration. As an automated industrial\ndrone handles the full flight process from launch to landing, including data\ncollection, there\u2019s no need to have an expensive pilot either on staff or\ncontracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, leading automated drones are\ncapable of maintaining their own power supplies and equipping themselves with a\nrange of sensors so they\u2019re always ready to launch immediately for a variety of\nmissions. Leading automated drones also integrate with the software necessary\nfor automatic data processing, easily producing those precise topographical\nmaps, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regaining\ncompetitive edge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, an industrial drone is an investment that will allow oil and gas companies to take more risks in exploration without actually risking the safety of employees or risking financial losses. Additionally, investing in an automated industrial drone that can equip itself with a range of sensors can improve operations ranging from exploration and inspections to security, surveillance and emergency response. That\u2019s a good reason to keep looking forward in the energy industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Investing in an automated industrial drone that can equip itself with a range of sensors can improve operations ranging from exploration and inspections to security, surveillance and emergency response. That\u2019s a good reason to keep looking forward in the energy industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,26],"tags":[4081,1263,1942,96],"class_list":["post-34137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-opinions","tag-drone","tag-drones","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}