Deployment of Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicles: Managing Asset Integrity in the 21st Century

摘要

Drones have found applications as toys, military equipment and parcel delivery services. Deploying Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicles (ROAV) has enabled new exciting frontiers to be broken in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry. ROAVs are unmanned light-weight aircrafts that are remotely controlled and often kitted with instruments and cameras for diverse use-cases. Attaching a high definition camera converts the vehicles into data gathering systems that can work in remote, dangerous and hazardous environments. As part of the Shell Group’s technology replication initiative, the use of ROAV technology for Flare inspection is being adopted as part of SPDC’s Asset Integrity Inspection procedure. The traditional inspection method, typically scheduled as a Turn-Around task, requires a shutdown of at least 3 days to allow for extinguishing of the flare, cooling down, and ascent of inspection personnel sometimes with rope access. Findings from the visual inspection of flare nozzles and stacks serve as input for maintenance and engineering work planning in future Turn-Around activities. A Non-Associated Gas (NAG) plant, a swing producer for a LNG facility, was selected as first deployment for this technology’s application in SPDC. This first deployment at the selected asset clearly demonstrates the following benefits; Elimination of working at height, Maintain safe distance from operating asset, Increased facility uptime and reduced deferment/interruption of operations. Other benefits include reduced cost to perform versus traditional methods (cranes, helicopters, scaffolding, and binoculars), shorter setup and faster inspection time, clear representation of asset condition using visible and thermal imagery and better planning of maintenance and turnarounds, especially in Life Extension programs. The application of this technology presents an innovative tool for asset integrity management with seamless data acquisition and storage which can be trended for condition monitoring application. It can be also used to inspect structures like masts, under-decks of offshore platforms, chimneys and tanks of Nigeria Limited