ONSHORE REFINERY INSPECTION IN SINGAPORE
Sector Oil Gas & Petrochemical
Region Asia
The rationale behind the operator’s use of UAVs was to reduce human exposure to hazardous environments, including working at height and in gas-rich environments, as well as remaining a safe distance from the operational assets. The operator also wanted to achieve cost reductions, through removing the high cost of scaffolding, maximising uptime and periodic condition monitoring to keep declining assets running. Further to this, high quality data was sought to improve maintenance and turnaround planning, in turn supporting management decisions.
Inspection of stacks and flares is known to be challenging for a number of reasons:
Exposure to high temperatures
Exposure to SOx/ H2S
Difficulty in inspecting the top section of a chimney stack given the height
Using UAVs for inspection was investigated and deemed to be by far the preferred method for addressing these issues.
To undertake its first piece of work in Singapore, Cyberhawk secured the necessary flight permissions from the aviation authority as well as additional approvals from the local airforce.
In September 2014, Cyberhawk was tasked by the operator of a major onshore refinery in Singapore with the safe inspection of multiple chimney stacks and flares, without the need to shut down operations.
The rationale behind the operator’s use of UAVs was to reduce human exposure to hazardous environments, including working at height and in gas-rich environments, as well as remaining a safe distance from the operational assets. The operator also wanted to achieve cost reductions, through removing the high cost of scaffolding, maximising uptime and periodic condition monitoring to keep declining assets running. Further to this, high quality data was sought to improve maintenance and turnaround planning, in turn supporting management decisions.