While the world is moving towards a more sustainable energy-based future, in the energy-hungry world of today, 60% of the global energy is still coming from Oil & Gas. From extraction to supply, Oil & Gas is a very infrastructure-heavy industry with pipelines being one of the key parts of this infrastructure. Pipelines enables a secure, efficient, and economical distribution of processed and unprocessed materials. It is a vast network, estimated at around 2.5 million km and it is prone to leaks, failures and damages resulting in severe ecological disasters, mortal casualties and monetary losses.

Industry Pain Points

Effective management of these long pipelines is very challenging as there can be several causes of disruption of normal operation.

Accidental damages caused by natural events

Integrity breaches because of wear and tear

Theft and damages caused by saboteurs

This disruption causes severe financial losses of billions of dollars for the stakeholder organisations but additionally cascades into environmental damage, loss of faith by investors and sometimes reputational damage too.

For example in a pipeline carrying 16 million litres of oil per day, 160 kilolitres of flowrate will be lost per day before any leak is detected.

Pipeline threats are extremely difficult to monitor especially in harsh or remote locations like mountains, forests and deserts. Incidents are happening daily around the world. Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia had to cut down its oil production by 50% in the year 2019 following drone attacks on an oil field owned by Saudi Aramco. Nigeria loses more than 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and an estimated £4.8 billion a year, to vandalism. The prevalence of pipeline theft in South America is well documented, with other hot-tapping hotspots including Russia, Indonesia and Iraq, according to Oilprice.com.

Limitations of Traditional systems in monitoring and managing pipeline

Traditional Pipeline Intrusion Detection Systems (PIDS) are limited by their capability. It is a labour-intensive industry involving third-party suppliers with a skilled workforce.

Travelling to the location of suspected pipeline damage can be a difficult, lengthy, and sometimes risky task. Technologies like CCTV, aerial surveillance, ground radars and line walking deliver sub-optimal effectiveness in dense forest and submerged sections etc. Even in normal areas, these technologies cannot monitor the entire length of the pipeline nor can they accurately determine the location and cause of the threat. Therefore quickly comprehending the exact location and root cause of a pipeline breach is very important. IoT enabled DAS helps pipeline operators to take fast and accurate action with minimum risk to the company’s technicians.

Putting AI and IoT enabled DAS to Work

Technology is the ultimate enabler in managing this complex ecosystem that can efficiently address all the industry’s pain points. Embracing DAS and IoT with intelligent solutions will eliminate the need for constant routine checks and support. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology is a game-changer when it comes to an effective pipeline leak, theft, and damage detection. DAS converts fibre optic cables that run alongside a pipeline into microphones that constantly monitor acoustics along the line. Due to this DAS is able to identify the site of a threat precisely. With artificial intelligence and machine learning, DAS can interpret acoustic data with great accuracy. DAS is able to identify the threat type like if it is human interference such as pipeline theft, ROW interference such as heavy machinery excavation, or a natural breach such as a burst line. Note, AI-enabled DAS is not just about identifying genuine pipeline security risks. It is also about eliminating false alarms.

In hostile or harsh environments, this type of technology is crucial to the pipeline security response. For example in case of theft by organised criminal gangs, Drones integrated with DAS can be quickly used to accurately investigate the site before a security team is deployed. Drone with autopilot and other advanced technologies now makes it possible to fly the drone to the location, identify the criminals, and scare them without any physical presence at the site at all.

The IoT framework helps automate the inspection process and enables real-time sensor data to initiate effective pipeline systems management. IoT works on trend-based predictions to trigger any anomaly in the system. The intelligent pipeline monitoring system continuously scans for patterns and predicts a failure in the pipeline network.

Benefits

DAS along with AI and IoT enables a monitoring solution that automates all the traditional steps to allow oil and gas pipeline infrastructure to be monitored and managed remotely. This includes alerting and dispatching repairpersons to the exact location.

  • Reduce Losses
    IoT enabled DAS solutions can manage multiple roles in an instant, cutting down the additional labour and management costs.
  • Immediate Notifications
    If preset parameters’ values fall out of the defined range, security supervisors and technicians can receive immediate alarms via SMS or E-mails.
  • Increased Uptime
    With an AI-powered pipeline management system, Oil and gas data collection and timely insights can help detect blind spots and help operators pinpoint the exact reason for failure and leaks.
  • Improved Safety
    Along with improved visibility for radiation, exposure, or heat signs in work environments, AI-powered solutions can transform data into information and knowledge that can then be used to improve maintenance operations.

DAS along with IoT and AI can potentially save billions of dollars in unnecessary remedial works, theft, losses, and protect local natural environments from disturbance and optimise the operator’s response. As DAS and IoT technology continues to evolve, real-time pipeline monitoring will become less risk-prone and more efficient.

While the world is moving towards a more sustainable energy-based future, in the energy-hungry world of today, 60% of the global energy is still coming from Oil & Gas. From extraction to supply, Oil & Gas is a very infrastructure-heavy industry with pipelines being one of the key parts of this infrastructure. Pipelines enables a secure, efficient, and economical distribution of processed and unprocessed materials. It is a vast network, estimated at around 2.5 million km and it is prone to leaks, failures and damages resulting in severe ecological disasters, mortal casualties and monetary losses.

Industry Pain Points

Effective management of these long pipelines is very challenging as there can be several causes of disruption of normal operation.

Accidental damages caused by natural events

Integrity breaches because of wear and tear

Theft and damages caused by saboteurs

This disruption causes severe financial losses of billions of dollars for the stakeholder organisations but additionally cascades into environmental damage, loss of faith by investors and sometimes reputational damage too.

For example in a pipeline carrying 16 million litres of oil per day, 160 kilolitres of flowrate will be lost per day before any leak is detected.

Pipeline threats are extremely difficult to monitor especially in harsh or remote locations like mountains, forests and deserts. Incidents are happening daily around the world. Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia had to cut down its oil production by 50% in the year 2019 following drone attacks on an oil field owned by Saudi Aramco. Nigeria loses more than 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and an estimated £4.8 billion a year, to vandalism. The prevalence of pipeline theft in South America is well documented, with other hot-tapping hotspots including Russia, Indonesia and Iraq, according to Oilprice.com.

Limitations of Traditional systems in monitoring and managing pipeline

Traditional Pipeline Intrusion Detection Systems (PIDS) are limited by their capability. It is a labour-intensive industry involving third-party suppliers with a skilled workforce.

Travelling to the location of suspected pipeline damage can be a difficult, lengthy, and sometimes risky task. Technologies like CCTV, aerial surveillance, ground radars and line walking deliver sub-optimal effectiveness in dense forest and submerged sections etc. Even in normal areas, these technologies cannot monitor the entire length of the pipeline nor can they accurately determine the location and cause of the threat. Therefore quickly comprehending the exact location and root cause of a pipeline breach is very important. IoT enabled DAS helps pipeline operators to take fast and accurate action with minimum risk to the company’s technicians.

Putting AI and IoT enabled DAS to Work

Technology is the ultimate enabler in managing this complex ecosystem that can efficiently address all the industry's pain points. Embracing DAS and IoT with intelligent solutions will eliminate the need for constant routine checks and support. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology is a game-changer when it comes to an effective pipeline leak, theft, and damage detection. DAS converts fibre optic cables that run alongside a pipeline into microphones that constantly monitor acoustics along the line. Due to this DAS is able to identify the site of a threat precisely. With artificial intelligence and machine learning, DAS can interpret acoustic data with great accuracy. DAS is able to identify the threat type like if it is human interference such as pipeline theft, ROW interference such as heavy machinery excavation, or a natural breach such as a burst line. Note, AI-enabled DAS is not just about identifying genuine pipeline security risks. It is also about eliminating false alarms.

In hostile or harsh environments, this type of technology is crucial to the pipeline security response. For example in case of theft by organised criminal gangs, Drones integrated with DAS can be quickly used to accurately investigate the site before a security team is deployed. Drone with autopilot and other advanced technologies now makes it possible to fly the drone to the location, identify the criminals, and scare them without any physical presence at the site at all.

The IoT framework helps automate the inspection process and enables real-time sensor data to initiate effective pipeline systems management. IoT works on trend-based predictions to trigger any anomaly in the system. The intelligent pipeline monitoring system continuously scans for patterns and predicts a failure in the pipeline network.

Benefits

DAS along with AI and IoT enables a monitoring solution that automates all the traditional steps to allow oil and gas pipeline infrastructure to be monitored and managed remotely. This includes alerting and dispatching repairpersons to the exact location.

  • Reduce Losses
    IoT enabled DAS solutions can manage multiple roles in an instant, cutting down the additional labour and management costs.
  • Immediate Notifications
    If preset parameters' values fall out of the defined range, security supervisors and technicians can receive immediate alarms via SMS or E-mails.
  • Increased Uptime
    With an AI-powered pipeline management system, Oil and gas data collection and timely insights can help detect blind spots and help operators pinpoint the exact reason for failure and leaks.
  • Improved Safety
    Along with improved visibility for radiation, exposure, or heat signs in work environments, AI-powered solutions can transform data into information and knowledge that can then be used to improve maintenance operations.

DAS along with IoT and AI can potentially save billions of dollars in unnecessary remedial works, theft, losses, and protect local natural environments from disturbance and optimise the operator’s response. As DAS and IoT technology continues to evolve, real-time pipeline monitoring will become less risk-prone and more efficient.