The Swiss company Flyability was an early pioneer of the use of drone technology within the oil & gas sector. And as such, it has a great deal of experience and understanding of how the application of drones has evolved from a novelty to a ‘must-have’ tool for operators across the globe.
Today, as Stefano Zampieri, product manager, explains, Flyability’s drones are widely used to inspect inaccessible or hazardous locations throughout the oil & gas industry. “The Elios 3 inspection drone finds extensive applications in confined spaces such as storage tanks, insulated assets such as stacks, and even catalytic converters,” Zampieri begins.
“What makes this drone so versatile is its integration of multiple capabilities – including high-accuracy mapping, 4K video recording, radiation sensing, radiometric thermal imaging and ultrasonic thickness measurements.”
The most obvious benefit of using drones is safety – and Zampieri describes the advantages here as being substantial: “Drones eliminate the need for work at height and entering confined spaces, two of the highest-risk activities in industrial settings,” he notes. “For added safety, Elios 3 is equipped with a lower explosive limit (LEL) gas sensor, providing an additional layer of protection in case operations don’t proceed as planned. From an insurance perspective, there’s a compelling case for mandating robotics for all inspections based on these clear safety benefits.”
Beyond safety, Zampieri reports a number of benefits that drones can bring on the operational side; and it’s this that makes them particularly attractive for operators. The oil & gas industry doesn’t have a stellar record when it comes to prioritising safety, but it enthusiastically invests in solutions that will improve its profit margins.
On this, Zampieri comments: “Drones deliver considerable operational efficiencies and cost savings. The financial comparison is straightforward: is it more economical to deploy a drone or construct thousands of dollars’ worth of scaffolding? The answer is evident in most scenarios.
“Drones offer exceptional flexibility, as they can be deployed within minutes and transported easily across facilities or between sites. This stands in stark contrast to traditional inspection methods requiring cherry pickers or scaffolding, which involve complex logistics, transportation challenges, and time-consuming setups. This rapid deployment capability translates directly to reduced downtime and faster decision-making.”
Zampieri adds that another operational advantage comes from the development of interchangeable payloads for the Elios 3. “This modular approach eliminates the need to maintain and transport 10 different inspection tools. With a single drone platform capable of accommodating various sensors and measurement devices, companies benefit from reduced equipment inventory, simplified training requirements and streamlined inspection processes,” he explains.
DATA DIGITALISATION
A compelling argument in favour of drones is they digitalise the inspection process. “They create comprehensive digital records that offer tremendous advantages over traditional paper archives, enhancing data management, accessibility and long-term documentation. This digitalisation enables more effective asset management and maintenance planning through consistent, comparable inspection records,” notes Zampieri.
In terms of how the data that’s gathered is communicated back to a central system, Zampieri confirms that the data collection process follows a straightforward workflow. He says: “Initially, all inspection data is stored locally on the drone’s onboard computer during the flight mission. Once the inspection is complete, this data is offloaded to a laptop or desktop PC where inspectors can thoroughly review the findings and generate comprehensive reports.
“After processing, clients have flexible storage options. The inspection data can either be archived in the plant’s memory storage infrastructure or uploaded to the cloud service that’s included within our ecosystem.”
By their nature, oil & gas sites can be remote and not very well connected on the comms side: does this prove difficult for drone data processing or delivery tasks? “The primary challenge we encounter isn’t related to remote locations but rather to the sheer volume of data collected,” answers Zampieri.
“Between 4K video recordings and detailed lidar maps, inspections generate substantial datasets. For longer inspections, we recommend bringing a laptop directly to the site to periodically offload data, preventing the drone’s onboard memory from reaching capacity.
“Interestingly, remote locations don’t pose significant problems for data gathering since everything is stored locally during inspection. The drone doesn’t require constant connectivity to function effectively. Cloud synchronisation only becomes necessary if operators opt to utilise cloud storage solutions, but this can be performed later when connectivity is available,” he says.
Although remote locations don’t prove a problem, the oil & gas sector does present several other environmental challenges that affect drone operations. According to Zampieri, “The three main constraints we face are: ATEX areas; high-temperature environments; and outdoor windy conditions.”
When asked how Flyability approaches these challenges, Zampieri says: “Regarding ATEX environments, developing a fully ATEX-certified drone with existing available technology is nearly impossible, and even if technically feasible, would require monumental investment.
“However, some customers have developed practical approaches for Class 1/Division 2 (or ATEX Zone 2) areas. With appropriate mitigations in place and using the Elios 3’s integrated LEL gas sensor, it is possible to conduct flights safely. The authorisation to perform such inspections ultimately depends on each refinery’s safety department protocols, but we’ve seen customers successfully implement these solutions at multiple facilities.”
For high-temperature environments, the Elios 3 can withstand ambient temperatures up to 50°C while flying – already exceeding human tolerance levels, Zampieri points out. “This capability allows for operation in boilers before they’ve completely cooled down, saving valuable production time. The system includes temperature monitoring with warning alerts, enabling operators to safely retrieve the drone before thermal limits are exceeded,” Zampieri says.
On the third challenge he cited, that of windy conditions: “Our drone is capable of flying outdoors and is particularly effective when navigating between pipe racks and performing ultrasonic thickness measurements on pipes. However, as it was specifically designed with a protective cage for indoor confined space inspections, its maximum wind speed tolerance is lower compared to standard outdoor drones.”
REFINERY REVOLUTION
In terms of a real-world example, Zampieri recalls a project involving a large refinery in Italy. The inspection challenge here focused on performing ultrasonic thickness measurements in a 22m diameter spherical tank. “Using our drone solution, we successfully completed 350 measurements in just a single day, which fulfilled the entire inspection scope for this particular sphere,” Zampieri reveals.
He adds: “What made this application especially suitable for our technology was that the spherical tank was insulated, making exterior measurements impossible and requiring interior access for accurate data collection. Traditional methods would have required elaborate scaffolding, which is particularly complicated and time-consuming to install within a spherical tank due to its geometry.”
Zampieri adds: “The company saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding the scaffolding costs alone,” confirms Zampieri. “Additionally, the facility gained at least a week of operational time by eliminating the extended downtime that would have been necessary for scaffolding installation, inspection and dismantling.”
He concludes: “The results of this inspection were impressive, demonstrating how drone technology can transform traditionally complex inspection scenarios into efficient, cost-effective operations while maintaining high data quality standards.”
BOX: ASSET MANAGEMENT
Zampieri reveals that a key part of the drone usage evolution is occurring on the business side. “Most asset owners still outsource inspection work to specialised inspection companies. This approach has been common because, until recently, piloting a drone required a very specific set of skills and expertise that wasn’t widely available in-house,” he explains.
“However, we’re witnessing an important shift as drone technology reaches greater maturity. The systems have become more user-friendly and accessible, making it increasingly feasible for companies to bring these capabilities in-house. This internalisation offers greater flexibility and enables faster deployment of inspection resources when needed, without scheduling delays or contractor availability constraints.”
Zampieri notes that an emerging hybrid model is also gaining traction, where asset owners buy their own drones but maintain relationships with external companies to provide pilots when needed. He comments: “This approach balances ownership of the technology with specialised piloting expertise for more complex inspections or during peak inspection periods.”
BOX: DRONE DEVELOPMENTS
When asked what’s next for Flyability, a smiling Zampieri says: “The R&D team is working on so many new features, it’s difficult to pick just one!” Expanding on this, he adds:
“We’re building our offerings on both the hardware and software front. All drones face a demand for longer flight times, so this is something we are examining and testing the best solution for.
“We have also just announced a new development for the Elios 3 drone on the autonomous front: a Smart Return to Home (RTH) feature.”