Drone mapping is incredibly useful in the energy sector, particularly for planning and monitoring gas well pad construction and pipeline routes. The Northern Tier has seen extensive natural gas development, and AFS has the expertise to support these projects with aerial surveying:
When a new well pad or energy facility is planned, we perform an aerial survey of the proposed site and surrounding area. This helps engineers design access roads, pad layout, and erosion controls with accurate terrain data. We can map large tracts of land quickly, giving a detailed view of elevation changes, water bodies, and existing infrastructure that need to be considered. The high resolution imagery also serves environmental planning (e.g., identifying nearby streams or wetlands to avoid or protect).
Laying pipelines requires careful route selection and knowledge of the terrain and obstacles along the way. Instead of sending survey crews to walk miles of a proposed route (which could be through dense woods or over difficult ground), our drones can fly the corridor and collect all necessary data. We generate a continuous map of the pipeline corridor, and from that we extract profiles of the land elevation along the route, locate crossings (roads, rivers), and spot any issues (like a steep ravine) that designers must address. Drones can also be outfitted with thermal sensors or LiDAR for specialized pipeline surveys – for example, thermal cameras can detect potential gas leaks by sensing temperature anomalies, and LiDAR can penetrate thin vegetation to give ground elevation even under tree cover.
During pipeline construction or pad development, regulators and companies need to ensure that work stays within permitted boundaries and erosion control measures are in place. Our periodic drone surveys create geo-referenced evidence of compliance – you can see if soil stockpiles have proper covers, or if work has encroached outside the approved corridor. If there’s a need to calculate disturbed acreage for environmental reports, the orthophotos make it straightforward.
Building a flat well pad involves significant earthmoving. We assist by calculating how much cut (material removed) and fill (material added) has occurred, by comparing pre-construction and post-construction elevation models. This ensures balance in earthwork and can detect if there’s any deviation from plan (for instance, if a contractor moved less soil than required). It’s also useful for verifying reclamation at the end of a project – confirming that pits have been filled or contours restored as intended.
After infrastructure is in place, drones remain valuable. We can periodically fly pipeline routes to check for signs of leaks (e.g., unusual dead vegetation that might indicate a leak, which a multispectral camera could catch) or encroachment (new buildings or excavation near the pipeline). For well pads, aerial images can monitor integrity of containment berms, condition of equipment, or even volumetric measurements of onsite materials like sand or gravel. Instead of manual inspections that are time-consuming, a quick drone flyover can flag areas needing closer on-ground inspection.
During pipeline construction or pad development, regulators and companies need to ensure that work stays within permitted boundaries and erosion control measures are in place. Our periodic drone surveys create geo-referenced evidence of compliance – you can see if soil stockpiles have proper covers, or if work has encroached outside the approved corridor. If there’s a need to calculate disturbed acreage for environmental reports, the orthophotos make it straightforward.
The DJI Matrice drones shine in energy sector projects due to their robustness and ability to carry multiple sensors. For instance, a Matrice 300 RTK with a Zenmuse H20T camera (which has visual and thermal sensors) can inspect pipelines visually and thermally in one flight  . This setup was famously used to complete a complex jetty pipeline inspection in just 10 days – a job that traditionally took 4-5 months – proving how much faster and safer drone inspections can be . We leverage the same kind of technology to bring those efficiencies to our local energy clients, such as Chesapeake Energy and others, who need timely, accurate data without compromising safety. As one case study showed, using the DJI M300 RTK for a pipeline inspection eliminated “hazardous manhours” that would have been required in a manual inspection and slashed the project time dramatically  .
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