Terra Drone Corporation (https://www.terra-drone.net/global/) , the world’s largest provider of drone services and technology, in collaboration with NDT CCS, a well-known NDT inspection company in the middle east region have just completed a pilot project for the RFCC Cyclone & CO Boiler Internal Visual Inspection using drones for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Refining, a subsidiary of ADNOC that handles downstream processes. The pilot project this time was carried out to prove that drones can be used for internal visual inspections at RFCC facilities, especially in reactors, cyclones, and boilers. This project was carried out at an oil & gas processing facility, precisely at Resid Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) in Al-Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In the process, four teams were provided to carry out 24-hour operations to accommodate the short time available due to the shutdown process. There are some parts that have never been visually inspected before because of the difficulty of accessing them. By using drones, these parts can be easily reached thereby providing valuable information for facility owners. In addition, because the drone is versatile, it can complete a visual inspection in a very short time, saving facility owners a lot of time preparing for follow-up actions.
This work has never been done in any other area in the region before. Therefore, thorough planning & coordination with facility owners & inspection engineers were carried out prior to inspection activities. In addition, drone inspections were carried out while the facility is shut down. Therefore, careful scheduling is required to ensure inspections can be carried out on time.
Drone Elios 2
To complete this work, our team used the Flyability Elios 2 for internal inspections & the DJI M300 RTK for external inspections (flare stack). The Flyability Elios 2 was chosen because it proved capable of extensive operation during scheduled operations. The team was able to visually inspect the inside & outside surfaces and inlets of several reactor cyclones, reactor main risers, and CO2 super boiler pipes & heaters. The inspection results are then sent to the inspector & engineer on site for them to review & take action based on the condition of the object.
The Flyability Elios 2 drone is ideal for working on inspection cases worldwide and has been used to carry out internal inspections in hard-to-reach areas. In addition, Terra Drone is very familiar with the technology after having a lot of experience in Indonesia, Japan, and several European countries.
Terra Drone Corporation, NDT CCS and ADNOC team at Resid Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) in Al-Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
To complete this project, Terra Drone collaborated with NDT CCS, a very well-known NDT inspection company in the Middle East region. DT CCS has been ADNOC’s long-standing partner in providing advanced NDT services to many of ADNOC’s subsidiaries. On the other hand, NDT CCS and Terra Drone have forged a strategic partnership since 2019 to provide drone services in the region.
ADNOC Refining is very satisfied with the work provided by Terra Drone & NDT CCS and pleased with the performance of the Flyability Elios 2. Terra Drone, which has indeed collaborated with NDT CCS, has become ADNOC’s long-standing partner in providing advanced NDT services to many of ADNOC’s subsidiaries. NDT CCS and Terra Drone have forged a strategic partnership since 2019 to provide drone services in the region. Based on this experience, ADNOC Refining plans to use drones more in their future scheduled inspection plans.
Earlier this year, Terra Drone Corporation and NDT CCS had also collaborated to carry out inspections at the ADNOC company, specifically the online drone flare stack inspection for ADNOC Offshore.
NDT CCS & Terra Drone is excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate how drones can benefit oil & gas facility owners to provide a fast & safe visual inspection of their assets. By leveraging the experience of both parties, we believe that more companies will be able to benefit from using drone technology for their daily operations.
