Skip to content

Remote sensing services for the Oil & Gas industry

(August 2012). GRAS is increasing the level of activity within the Oil & Gas industry offering mapping and monitoring services based on earth observation data. Remote sensing is relevant in all stages of the oil & gas lifecycle, including exploration, appraisal, development, production and restoration.

Examples of services currently provided to companies in the O&G industry are; * Suspended sediments baseline mapping and operational monitoring * Shallow water habitats and bathymetry mapping * Coastline dynamics assessment * Inland vegetation and land cover mapping * Detailed change detection within upstream activity areas

By applying remote sensing analyses knowledge and insight into long term dynamics can be achieved in a cost-effective manner. For baseline purposes a satellite based approach is often the only way to access information about historical conditions in a project area, including long term trends, seasonal and inter-annual variations, frequency of extreme events and sources and nature of suspended matter.

Furthermore, earth observation satellites facilitate instantaneous and systematic mapping of large areas. This enables the user to monitor both the dynamics of ocean parameters such as chlorophyll-a or suspended sediment concentrations and coastal changes including bathymetry and submerged vegetation.
In onshore areas land cover maps can assist in searching for surface indicators of subsurface oil and gas as well as generating up to date topographic maps for planning of seismic surveys for exploration drilling. Moreover, the access to historical data and the continued supply of new image data allow clients to monitor existing facilities and assess environmental conditions within operational areas.

Source