Aims To Overcome The Challenges Associated With Drone Inspection Activities In The North Sea

A North Sea drone initiative ... a collaboration with oil and gas multinational Total S.A.; NATS, a provider of air traffic navigation services in the U.K; the Oil & Gas Technology Center (OGTC); and Flylogix Limited ... has been established to overcome the challenges associated with drone inspection activities in the North Sea, and allow commercial operators of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) easier access to U.K. controlled airspace for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.

The four-partner collaboration is developing and testing a concept for drone operations that will allow UAV operators to react within hours of an inspection request and enable routine BVLOS in the North Sea. The project involves extensive consultation with stakeholders and aims to establish a leading example of safe and reliable drone operations alongside existing users in controlled airspace.

Currently, approvals for carrying out UAV operations inside U.K. controlled airspace can take up to three months, with requests considered on a one-by-one basis resulting in the granting of single flight permissions. This makes the planning of inspection and logistic services extremely slow.

The collaboration’s strength stems from the combination of FlyLogix’s unique BVLOS capability, Total’s leadership in robotic and autonomous systems for the energy industry, NATS’ expertise in unified traffic management, and the OGTC’s unparalleled position of influence with the U.K. offshore industry.

"We are delighted to partner with Total, NATS and OGTC to enable routine beyond the horizon unmanned aircraft operations in the North Sea," said Charles Tavner, Executive Chairman of FlyLogix. "This project enables us to conduct daily inspections and emissions measurement without the cost and risk of sending deploying personnel offshore.”

"Collaboration is key. By bringing together industry expertise in oilfield robotics and autonomous systems, alongside aviation specialists, collectively we can accelerate the development of robust standards, ensuring safety and reliability remain a priority," said Suzanne Buist, Project Engineer at the OGTC. "The integration of this new technology alongside existing airspace users is an important step forward in the adoption of drones to undertake a wide range of operational activities in the North Sea.”

"NATS has long been an integral element of aviation safety in North Sea operations and we are excited by the opportunity to help develop beyond visual line of sight capability," said Daryl Heaselgrave, NATS General Manager Aberdeen Airport. “We recognize that such autonomous technology can bring huge benefit to the oil, gas and renewables sector and we believe we can help unmanned aerial vehicles and current airspace users operate safely in an integrated North Sea environment.”

(Source: Flylogix news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.flylogix.co.uk