RN-Purneftegaz Uses Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Monitor the Level of Greenhouse Gases
The RN-Purneftegaz company, which is part of the oil and gas production complex of NK Rosneft, began using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to control the level of greenhouse gases at the facilities for the preparation, processing, and transportation of oil and gas. The monitoring is carried out using a remote laser scanner and a high-resolution video camera installed on unmanned aerial vehicles. In real time, office processing is also carried out, a photographic plan and a heat map are drawn up in case of deviations.
Monitoring will be carried out at 40 facilities for the preparation, processing and transportation of oil and gas. It is planned to inspect over 700 km of pipelines per year. UAVs are twice as effective in controlling greenhouse gases as those of manned aircraft. In addition, the use of UAVs will allow monitoring at remote, inaccessible production sites.
Environmental preservation is an integral part of Rosneft’s corporate culture and activities. The company aims to achieve leadership positions in minimizing environmental impact and sustainability of production.
RN-Purneftegaz has extensive experience in using drones to monitor the state of oil and gas production facilities. In addition, the oilmen, together with the administrations of the Purovsky, Nadym and Krasnoselkupsky districts, carried out an unprecedented scale monitoring of natural areas, which made it possible to organize the harvesting of 30 hectares of forest – an area comparable to 42 football fields. The volume of collected garbage amounted to about 1.5 thousand m3 of household waste – this is about 150 heavy dump trucks.
Rosneft gives priority to environmental protection and industrial safety. Since 2019, Rosneft has been implementing a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The expansion of this program, as well as the introduction of innovations – unmanned aerial vehicles, laser and thermal imaging devices for scanning, ultrasonic detectors – are consistently helping to minimize the impact on the environment.
