Boston, MA 06/11/2014 (wallstreetpr) – BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has hired AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) to deploy drones in monitoring its Prudhoe Bay oil field.
Long Term Partnership
BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has signed a five year partnership with the California based drone manufacturer to monitor its largest North American oil field. This will be first time that drones will be carrying out routine commercial activities over land with the agreement of Federal Administration Aviation (FAA). AeroVironment seeks to deploy their Puma AE drone for the task. The drone is small manually launched system which supports a flight time of around three and a half hours. It will be outfitted with various sensors such as electro- optical sensors, infrared sensors and the custom LiDAR.
Safe And Efficient
The unmanned aircraft maker will use the drones to collect information about BP’s plants in an efficient and effective way. Sensor data which will be gathered by the drones will be available for analysis by technicians at BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) from any part of the world. AeroVironment’s chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tim Conver said that the rigorous and safety focused regulations of the FAA have led the company to come up with a cost effective and better solution. BP’s oil field can rely on the Puma to manage operations in a safer way, ensuring environment protection and improving productivity. The drones will capture 3D maps of the roads, well pads and pipelines at the oil fields, which will later be available for analysis.
Commercial Use
Drones propose a more reliable as well a safer alternative to the tasks that are otherwise performed by ground inspectors or manned aircrafts. Their sophisticated sensors and advanced flight technology allows them quick inspection of oil pipelines and also detect potential environment dangers without latency. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has sold around 25,000 mainly to the U.S. military as the FAA does not allow commercial use. However, later this year, the agency might come up with a rule easing the commercial use of drones.
