Third-Party External Disruption

Over the last few years, external pipeline disruptions and spillage from deliberate and accidental damage are becoming increasingly widespread. India, Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria, Russia and Europe are increasingly reporting incidents involving illegal tapping. Frequent monitoring and analysis of the pipeline structure and right of way allows operators to quickly identify areas of high concern and make informed decisions.

Our software detecting illegal activity

The SkyX Approach

  • Step 1

    SkyX routinely scans the entirety of the pipeline at a cadence specific to the requirements to identify areas with illegal tapping.

  • Step 2

    Equipped with live feed capabilities and an array of sensors, SkyOne scans the pipeline, structures and right of way for:

    • Unauthorized external activities
    • Construction activities on asset and the right of way
    • Excavation on and along the right of way
    • Evidence of vehicle or human activity
    • Spills on or near the right of way
  • Step 3

    SkyX produces results from each scan, and seamlessly integrates analyzed images, raw photos and thermal images into the SkyVision Portal to visually verify and safely determine proper course of action for each situation before deploying crews and scheduling repairs.

  • Step 4

    SkyX maintains a database of each scan, providing the capability to monitor trends over time and deliver proactive notifications of problematic areas along your entire asset.

Benefits Realized

  • Identify areas with illegal activity.
  • Reduce the risk of external interference.
  • Increase safety of staff, public and the environment.
  • Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
  • Analysis to detect trends and areas of high concern.

Results of Working with SkyX Systems

  • Mitigate Risks

    As a vital component of your pipeline integrity management ecosystem, implementing SkyX’s Third-Party External Disruptions solution allows you to mitigate risks associated with external disruptions and activity, such as spillage, safety breaches, damage to the pipeline, company reputation and the environment.

  • Operational Excellence

    SkyX provides deeper insights on the operational health of your pipelines, supporting infrastructure, and projects. Increased access to raw and analyzed data provides the ability to assess situations faster, avoid costly disruptions, avoid dangerous responses and quickly make intelligent informed decisions.

  • Unlock Access to Predictive Analytics

    A consistent routine scan of the pipeline, right of way and surrounding area is the proactive solution needed to manage long-range assets. SkyX delivers access to historical data to better analyze, identify, assess, monitor and avoid problems before they become critical issues.

Right of Way

Ensuring that a pipeline right of way is free of physical encumbrances to assure reasonable and frequent visual inspections of the pipelines is of paramount importance to operators. On a regular basis, pipelines are exposed to multiple threats resulting in damage and various disruptions.  Frequent right of way monitoring allows pipeline operators to clearly see structures, equipment, construction, vegetation growth or other issues encroaching on the right of way.

Our software right of way monitoring to detect a hole

The SkyX Approach

  • Step 1

    SkyX will set-up SkyOne to routinely scan the entirety of the pipeline at a specific frequency to meet corporate and regulatory safety requirements.

  • Step 2

    Equipped with live feed capabilities and an array of sensors, SkyOne scans the pipeline, structures and right of way for:

    • Unauthorized human activities
    • Construction activities on or near the right of way
    • Excavation activities on or near the right of way
    • Vegetation encroachment
    • Debris on the right of way
    • Erosion
    • Cracks and ground depressions
    • Residential and commercial development near the right of way
  • Step 3

    SkyX produces results from each scan, and seamlessly integrates analyzed images, raw photos and thermal images into the SkyVision Portal to visually verify and safely determine proper course of action for each situation before deploying crews and scheduling repairs.

  • Step 4

    SkyX maintains a database of each scan, providing the capability to monitor trends over time and deliver proactive notifications of problematic areas along your entire asset.

Benefits Realized

  • Reduce the risk of external interference.
  • Ensure timely asset maintenance and repair.
  • Increase safety of staff, public and the environment.
  • Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
  • Analysis to detect trends and areas of high concern.

Results of Working with SkyX Systems

  • Mitigate Risks

    As a vital component of your pipeline integrity management ecosystem, implementing SkyX’s right of way monitoring solution allows you to mitigate risks associated with encroachment, unauthorized construction and other unauthorized activities.

  • Operational Excellence

    SkyX provides deeper insights on the operational health of your pipelines, supporting infrastructure, and projects. Increased access to raw and analyzed data provides the ability to assess situations faster, avoid costly disruptions, avoid dangerous responses and quickly make intelligent informed decisions.

  • Unlock Access to Predictive Analytics

    A consistent routine scan of the pipeline, right of way and surrounding area is the proactive solution needed to manage long-range assets. SkyX delivers access to historical data to better analyze, identify, assess, monitor and avoid problems before they become critical issues.

Corrosion Monitoring

Corrosion is one of the most common threats affecting pipelines. Every year, pipeline operators around the world spend billions of dollars to mitigate the effects of corrosion. When left unchecked, corrosion has a devastating effect on the structural integrity of the pipeline. Identifying the type, cause, size and corrosion growth rate are paramount for effective management.

Galvanized Corrosion Monitoring

The SkyX Approach

  • Step 1

    SkyX will routinely scan the entire length of the pipeline using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). 

  • Step 2
    Equipped with high-resolution cameras, the vehicle scans overground pipelines for:
    • Rust and discolouration
    • Clusters of pits
    • Active areas of galvanized and pitted corrosion
    • Localized corrosion around welds, flanges
  • Step 3

    Using its own SkyVision software, SkyX processes, analyzes and identifies areas of concern on high-resolution images from each flight.

  • Step 4

    Customers view, track and monitor areas of concern over time and use the data to determine the proper course of action to address and prevent corrosion issues.

Benefits Realized

  • Determine corrosion rates.
  • Promote the transition from a reactive to a proactive safety culture.
  • Implement cost-effective inspection and maintenance response on areas with a high probability of failure from corrosion.
  • Ensure the integrity and safety of assets by locating structural defects and discovering material non-compliances.
  • Contribute to a successful health, safety and environment (HSE) management program.

Results of Working with SkyX Systems

  • Mitigate Risks

    As a vital component in your pipeline integrity management ecosystem, implementing SkyX’s corrosion monitoring solution gives you the ability to mitigate risks associated with corrosion, such as damage to property, personnel, environment, and the reputation of the organization.

  • Operational Excellence

    SkyX provides deeper insights on the operational health of your pipelines, supporting infrastructure, and projects. Increased access to raw and analyzed data provides the ability to assess situations faster, avoid costly disruptions, avoid dangerous responses and quickly make intelligent informed decisions.

  • Unlock Access to Predictive Analytics

    A consistent routine scan of the pipeline, right of way and surrounding area is the proactive solution needed to manage long-range assets. SkyX delivers access to historical data to better analyze, identify, assess, monitor and avoid problems before they become critical issues.

Hydrocarbon Leak Verification

Leaks occur when there are flaws in the structural integrity of the pipeline, either as the result of age, environment, construction or external factors. When leaks are detected, current verification methodologies employed are unsafe, time-consuming and reactive.

With the SkyX Leak Verification solution, operators can enhance the level of response, accuracy, reliability and robustness of decisions.

Our software detecting crude oil spill verification

The SkyX Approach

  • Step 1

    Provide SkyX with general co-ordinates of alerts received from SCADA or fiber optic systems.

  • Step 2

    Within 30 minutes SkyX configures the flight path and deploys SkyOne to scan the pipeline, right of way and surrounding areas. No on-site manual piloting required.

  • Step 3

    Equipped with live feed capabilities and an array of sensors, SkyOne scans the pipeline for:

    • Pools of crude oil and other petroleum liquids
    • Gas plumes on the pipeline or right of way
    • Abnormal discolouration on ground cover around the pipeline, and abnormal amounts of condensation on and near the pipeline
    • Oil slicks and spills in bodies of water
    • Ruptures and discoloration on the pipelines
    • Specific changes in ground or pipeline temperature
  • Step 4

    Within minutes, SkyX confirms the presence of a leak with alerts and results.

  • Step 5

    SkyX provides GeoTagged and time-stamped images for precise response.

  • Step 6

    Within hours, raw and analyzed visual data is seamlessly integrated into ArcGIS so you can evaluate assets, conduct risk analysis and determine the type, cause and size of any leak before deploying crews and scheduling repairs.

Benefits Realized

  • Locate leaks with increased accuracy.
  • Identify leaks and spillage backed by visual confirmation and multi-spectral insights.
  • Decide on a correct course of action based on visual and multi sensor verification and analysis.
  • Increase the safety of people, the public and environment.

Results of Working with SkyX Systems

  • Mitigate Risks

    As a vital component of your pipeline integrity management ecosystem implementing a SkyX solution gives you the ability to mitigate risks associated with leaks, external disruptions and emergencies.

  • Operational Excellence

    SkyX Systems provide deeper insights on the overall health of your pipelines, supporting infrastructure, and operational projects. Increased access to raw and analyzed visual data gives you the ability to avoid costly disruptions, and empowers you to make the best possible decisions when it comes to managing assets, people and operations.

  • Unlock Access to Predictive Analytics

    Routine scanning provides the ability to observe long-range assets as they age over time. SkyX delivers access to historical data to help you better analyze, identify, assess, monitor and avoid smaller infrastructural problems before they become critical issues.

See Beyond

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Contact us today to learn more about our turnkey solution.