SeekOps, Flylogix expand drone use for North Sea methane monitoring

US sensor tech firm SeekOps has expanded its partnership with UK UAV specialists Flylogix on monitoring methane emissions from oil and gas installations in the North Sea, the company said on February 9.

The pair have already conducted multiple emissions surveys at part of the UK shelf using Flylogix's unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with SeekOps' methane-detecting sensors. They have now expanded their coverage to the rest of the UK shelf and waters off Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark.

"When it comes to emissions, you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Charles Tavner, executive chairman at Flylogix. "SeekOps’ ability to quantify the invisible and our use of long-range unmanned systems to change the paradigm on collecting data in remote environments with minimum personnel or operational disruption is a potential game-changer for the energy industry.”

"With their proven capabilities to effectively deploy our unique sensor consistently, repeatedly, and cost-effectively on facilities for bp, TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor, TAQA and Harbour Energy, we are very excited to extend our collaboration into a wider range of territories,” said Iain Cooper, CEO at SeekOps.

The companies want to help more operators and assets to accurately quantify and report emissions, in line with the standards of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 framework.

An interview with SeekOps CEO Iain Copper can be found here.