From a young age I was fascinated by the oil and gas industry. In the early 80s, the oilfield was a dangerous but somewhat exciting environment.
I’m lucky that there have been many highlights throughout my career. I landed my first role in the industry in 1994 as an industrial radiographer and had the opportunity to work offshore on non-destructive testing projects off the coast of Australia.
On a trip to the UK in 1997, a friend introduced me to the world of rope access inspection. I wasn’t aware of anyone in Australia working with this technique and seeing the huge potential it offered, particularly in terms of health and safety benefits, I seized the opportunity to introduce this technique back home and became one of the first rope access qualified inspectors in the region. It was an unproven skill in the country at the time and I worked tirelessly in a niche market to drive this new technology.
In 2003 I returned to the UK to work in the North Sea and, between offshore trips, led a team carrying out the inspection during a particularly bitter winter. We were blasted by continual wintery snow showers over a four week period doing a job that would now take a matter of days with a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).
With the good, comes the bad, and the ugly. I’ve witnessed some catastrophic incidents in my career and I truly believe I know what risk is. It’s important to drive home the overriding factor of safety when carrying out hazardous inspections – we all want to come out alive.
Innovation needs open minds. During a tea shack conversation on an oil rig, Malcolm Connolly, one of Cyberhawk co-founders, had a light bulb moment. He wondered about the possibilities of adding a camera to a remote controlled helicopter and using them for visual inspections. His simple idea of modifying the technology has introduced huge safety and cost saving benefits to the oil and gas industry and has seen Cyberhawk grow at a phenomenal rate to become a leading aerial inspection and survey services provider using UAVs – quite a success story.
The oil rich Middle East remains a real growth region for Cyberhawk. It’s the natural playground for companies operating with UAVs because of the production output. The willingness to use new technology is high and we’ve seen first-hand the impressive growth opportunities the region has to offer.
Since our first flight in the Middle East, six years ago, we have seen many positive changes. From plant management to government authorities, the technology has been carefully observed and its benefits have been recognised, and most importantly understood.
The downturn in the oil business has introduced a rat race for operators, the continual undercutting of competitors when it comes to value for money. We’ve experienced the immediate effect of losing out to smaller inexperienced companies; however, the cheapest option isn’t always the best choice. On numerous occasions we’ve been called upon to find solutions for failed projects carried out by competitors.
I believe UAV technology is the biggest change, and improvement, in oil and gas inspection in the last 10 years – it’s a tangible, realistic technology that will revolutionise our industry so that the data capture part of the job can be carried out remotely, and thus safely.
There’s no doubt about it, standing on the edge of a platform, preparing for a flight at a high level within an intense environment, the pressure is on. But, the adrenaline keeps me going and the sky is the limit.
