Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) demonstrated its outstanding capabilities to a large European oil and gas corporation during demanding trials in Rivers State, Nigeria, from 27 to 30 January 2019.

The international oil and gas industry has shown increasing interest in employing UAS to effectively monitor and control oil and gas infrastructure, both onshore and offshore. Therefore, the latest flight trials with the CAMCOPTER® S-100 around the coast of Rivers State were designed to further investigate the implementation and potential advantages of UAS technology. Representatives of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army, Kongsberg Geospatial and local UAS service provider Aerial Robotix, among others, attended the event.

The market-leading Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS offers a substantial enhancement for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in an oil and gas production environment. The S-100 successfully completed a number of day and night flights monitoring pipeline Rights-of-Way (ROW), inspecting oil and gas wellheads/facilities and performing first-line maintenance checks, including detection of leaks and fluid levels of storage tanks. The CAMCOPTER® was also able to detect various third party illegal activities on the client’s pipeline ROW. Kongsberg Geospatial’s IRIS UAS situational awareness application supported the safe conduct of this Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operation.

“We were approached by one of our clients to carry out proof of concept BVLOS trials in Nigeria with a proven, reliable UAS that could safely carry the client’s payload,” said Tudor Moss of Aerial Robotix. “It quickly became clear to us that the Schiebel CAMCOPTER® S-100 was the best choice because of its unsurpassed capabilities and track record. Thanks to the S-100 and the support of the Schiebel team, we were able to deliver the project safely and successfully.”

“Monitoring and maintaining remote oil and gas facilities is a challenging and dangerous task that can derive considerable benefits and cost-savings from the use of unmanned systems,” notes Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group. “As a proven and reliable platform, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is perfectly suited for supporting key aspects such as infrastructure inspections, emergency response, security and surveillance.”