After 18 months of successful trials, Queensland manufacturer Incitu Pacific announced yesterday that BG Group’s Queensland Gas Company business had introduced the ScanEagle remotely piloted aircraft system to inspect and monitor gas wells, pipelines and processing facilities in south-west Queensland’s Surat Basin for up to eight hours a day.

Until now, all inspections had been conducted by operations staff using piloted aircraft.

Andrew Duggan, managing director of Insitu Pacific which developed the technology, said the unmanned Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations had never before been used commercially on this scale.

"By working closely together and with Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the ScanEagle is helping QGC to begin streamlining its inspections, with benefits for both the local resources and agriculture sectors,” Duggan said.

Shell Australia country chair Andrew Smith said the innovative solution would improve safety by reducing the need for driving and use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

“Over time and as we progressively introduce this technology, it will reduce inconvenience to landowners by cutting the number of land access requests, and the cost to QGC, associated with regular on-the-ground visual inspections,” Smith said.

The ScanEagle RPAS is being launched and recovered from QGC property and operated by Insitu Pacific personnel.

The ScanEagle RPAS has a 3m wingspan and operates between 500-1500 metres in compliance with CASA’s air safety regulations.

QGC says it is actively engaging landholders regarding the introduction of the new RPAS technology to ensure the community remains informed.

Insitu Pacific, a subsidiary of US-based Insitu Incorporated, has provided UAS services to defence, civil and commercial interests in the Asia Pacific region since June 2009.