INTERNAL REFINERY INSPECTION FOR OIL AND GAS SUPERMAJOR
Sector
Oil Gas & PetrochemicalRegion
North AmericaThe purpose of the inspection was to understand how the coke had deposited in the reactor before cleaning so that process models could be verified or otherwise.
The nature of this project meant it was too dangerous to send in personnel to carry out the inspection, therefore Cyberhawk’s confined space inspection drones were deemed the safest option, as they mitigate the requirement for personnel to physically enter the coker.
Cyberhawk was asked by one of the world’s largest oil and gas supermajors to carry out an internal inspection of a coker unit at one of its refineries in the United States.
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The coker’s environment presented a whole host of operational challenges to the Cyberhawk team. A built up coker absorbs light which affects the pilot’s line of sight – not only is it extremely dusty but there is also a high risk that the UAV could become trapped.
Cyberhawk’s previous success of working within confined spaces, along with the highly skilled pilots employed, saw the team emerge as the preferred provider for this difficult workscope.
Utilising Cyberhawk’s UAVs meant engineers were able assess the condition of the asset prior to de-coking which had not been previously possible by human entry due to the potential hazard of falling slabs of coke and resulted in the project being successfully completed in just one day.
