The use of drones in India seems to finally be moving past the recreational uses by individuals and surveillance by law enforcers and towards real business applications, such as Cairn Vedanta’s use of unmanned drones to survey its hard-to-reach oil and gas pipelines.
In an interview to The Hindu , Cairn Vedanta Oil and Gas’s Chief Operating Officer Suniti Bhat said the company was moving towards using drones as they were much cheaper, more effective, safer and saved more time than using helicopters or foot patrols.
“Ensuring safety and security of the pipeline has always been the biggest challenge for pipeline operators,” Mr. Bhat said. “Statistics suggest that approximately 60-70% of pipeline incidents are caused by third-party intrusion activities and so, a continuous or periodic surveillance of the right of use is the most effective deterrent for such activities.”
‘Quality of surveillance’
“[With drones] technology has offered an opportunity for a quantum jump in the quality and effectiveness of surveillance,” Mr. Bhat added. “We are perhaps the first company in India in the upstream sector to shift from a conventional approach for pipeline surveillance like foot patrols or line walks, periodic helicopter surveys, etc, to technology-driven drone... systems.
“In recent times, with the growing need for automation and technology, various industries have explored ways in which UAV technology can be implemented for operational excellence,” he explained. “In various forums, many oil and gas companies… requested the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for their help in obtaining approvals and guidelines from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.”
In September 2017, the DGCA released guidelines regarding the use of drones, following which Cairn Vedanta introduced the full-fledged implementation of the technology in 2018.
The DGCA has laid down rules relating to the weight of the drone, the training of the remote pilot, and the location in which the drone is to operate.
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) come in various sizes and weights. While Nano RPAs (weighing less than or equal to 250 gm) operating lower than 50 feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspace, and Micro RPAs (between 250 gm and 2 kg) operating below 200 feet in uncontrolled airspace and clear of prohibited or restricted areas, do not need a permit, almost all other applications of drones require an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit.
“As per DGCA guidelines, the operator company has to obtain approval from the local civil administration,” Mr. Bhat explained. “If the flight path is near a defence establishment, approvals and clearance from that defence station is an additional requirement.”
Cost benefit
However, the advantages of using the drones for surveillance far outweigh the cost and hassle of getting these permits.
According to Mr. Bhat, drones provide high resolution, continuous video recording and still photography with the capability of video analytics, compared with helicopter surveys.
They also provide baseline data during the first survey, which can then be used to compare the observations in subsequent surveys to gauge deviations in terms of encroachments, tree plantation and soil erosion.
Additionally, since the drones are unmanned and very light, they pose little to no risk to human life or infrastructure in case they fail.
For now, Cairn Vedanta has a service contract with a provider to “cover a minimum of two drone surveys per year for the entire pipeline stretch and the associated cost is less than a helicopter survey of the stretch,” Mr. Bhat said. “We are exploring the feasibility to extend this technology for various other industrial activities like leak detection, inspection of high rise structures, etc.”
