A Chevron Corporation subsidiary has received regulatory approval to use unmanned aircraft at its pipeline and production facilities.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a first-of-its-kind waiver for Houston-based Chevron Pipe Line Company (CPL), and American Aerospace Technologies, Inc. (AATI) to conduct unmanned aircraft surveillance in the San Joaquin Valley, California.
Designed by AATI, the AiRanger Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) will support Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) aerial surveillance for Chevron’s pipeline and production facilities. AATI is a leader in intelligent airborne sensing and surveillance services for energy and other critical infrastructure, Chevron said in a news release Monday.
The FAA issued a 91.113 Waiver and granted a 44807 Exemption (Waiver and Exemption), which authorizes AATI to utilize the onboard detect and avoid system to comply with aircraft right of way rules when operating BVLOS, according to the release.
The waiver and exemption were granted following the Detect and Avoid (DAA) system capabilities demonstrated during flight operations in Buttonwillow, California, in October 2023. The AiRanger is the first UAS to demonstrate compliance with industry consensus standards for the DAA system and reach this milestone, the release noted.
“CPL and AATI have been on a journey since 2019 to develop an aerial patrol solution with technology that advances safe, reliable, and cost-effective routine facility inspections and pipeline system surveillance,” CPL President Stephanie Beveridge said. “Through collaboration with the FAA, we are working to do just that in the San Joaquin Valley”.
“For the first time, an unmanned aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds that flies above 400 feet and beyond visual line of sight has been approved for commercial operations in the U.S. This initial Waiver and Exemption spans over 4,000 square miles at up to 8,000 feet MSL, opening a new era in unmanned aviation in the National Airspace System,” AATI CEO David Yoel said.
“The AiRanger is a new type of platform due to its large scale and the range of operations it enables. Its intelligent sensors and real-time communications deliver actionable data at a scale that was previously unimaginable. With safety as our guiding principle, we look forward to expanding AiRanger operations across the country,” Yoel added.
Project manager for the UAS initiative and digital advisor for operations at CPL, Roy Martinez, said, “CPL operates approximately 3,000 miles of regulated pipelines nationwide. The AiRanger UAS beyond visual line of sight operations will help transform routine oil and gas pipeline surveillance and inspections required by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Agency (PHMSA) using automated intelligence solutions”.
"CPL’s coordinated efforts with the FAA and AATI to deploy this program is just one example of how Chevron continues to work with federal agencies to explore and implement emerging technologies to further Chevron’s purpose of developing the affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress,” Martinez said.
The AiRanger UAS is a fixed-wing, unmanned aircraft system capable of long-range operations beyond visual line of sight. The aircraft weighs 220 pounds with a wingspan of about 18 feet and can fly over 700 miles and up to 17 hours at up to 17,000 feet, according to Chevron’s website.
Chevron Pipe Line Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and operates a network of approximately 3,000 miles of pipe which transports over 1.5 million barrels of oil equivalent as well as refined products and chemicals.
To contact the author, email rocky.teodoro@rigzone.com
What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network.
The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.