Aerial Drone Presentation Discusses Implications of New Technology

The Desk and Derrick Club of San Angelo hosted a technology presentation on aerial drones outfitted with cameras and demonstrated what they could do. Overall, this presentation, held at the San Angelo Country Club on Wednesday, showed how drone technology is being implemented in the oil and gas industry.

Tom Ashmore, a commercial drone pilot and owner of Westex Skycam Professional Drone Services, was the chief speaker at the event.

“We were motivated to reach out to Mr. Ashmore because he is a local drone specialist here in this area, and because that technology is being utilized in the industry now,” said Candice Brewer, president of the Desk and Derrick Club of San Angelo.

Westex Skycam produces videos implementing drones for real estate, archeology, insurance companies, oil companies, retail businesses and universities. The company opened in 2014 and received its FAA certification in August 2015.

“For the energy industry, there’s two main uses for the drones,” Ashmore said. “One is promotion, which is for most industries. But the biggest one right now is being able to do inspections of the various industrial complexes, everything from wind turbines to gas plants to pipelines.”

At the presentation, Ashmore showed examples of promotional videos made by companies in the energy industry that were made with drones. The small devices are much cheaper to use and more precise than helicopters, which are traditionally used to make similar videos.

In regards to inspections, Ashmore explained that drones can be used to get a closer look in places that would be dangerous for humans. Furthermore, the drone can form a 3D image of a space by taking many pictures of it; a digital environment can be formed by those pictures, and each facet of the environment can be examined. Additionally, infrared cameras can be used with drones to determine how hot and dangerous certain environments are.

“Part of the popularity [of drone technology] is that it’s new and it’s fun to play with,” Ashmore said. “Drones now are so high tech that they can really be controlled easily. For the industry, they’re feeling their way through on what drones can do to help them.”

Ashmore said the drone’s short 20-minute battery life is the biggest problem in the commercial drone industry.

After Ashmore finished his presentation, he demonstrated the technology by flying his drone smoothly over the Concho River.

This presentation was one of Desk and Derrick’s monthly educational seminars. According to the organization's website, “Our purpose is to promote the education and professional development of individuals affiliated with or interested in the energy industry and to educate the general public about this industry.”

Brewer said the Railroad Commission will discuss well plugging and its website next month.

In the meantime, check out this example of a Westex Skycam  video: 

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