• Smart cameras equipped with video analytic applications can detect and inspect spills, leaks, and flares in oil and gas facilities quickly and efficiently
• Existing surveillance infrastructure can be easily updated/retrofitted to become smart and provide situational awareness to automate production monitoring            
• Millions of dollars in cost savings can be achieved by reducing fines and system downtime through automated monitoring and on-premise video storage, saving bandwidth in remote locations           

PITTSBURGH — April 7th, 2022 — Like many industries that experienced business disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil and gas industry is beginning to adopt a variety of digital oil field technologies to more efficiently monitor its vast networks of remote sites. The mainstreaming of Artificial Intelligence technologies, coupled with advances in video analytics and camera technologies, have spurred this transition toward automating the oversight of regulatory compliance, environmental safety issues and other operational efficiencies and away from the more traditional onsite, manpower-intensive approach.

Energy organizations are increasingly turning to new alternatives to monitor flare detection, liquid leak and gas monitoring, in the form of smart cameras that are capable of running specialized AI-enabled analytics directly on the camera. These devices provide a cost-effective and flexible alternative to traditional monitoring technologies with AI apps that provide automated, real-time alarms of potential issues, speeding up response and helping to reduce the frequency and expense of EPA and OSHA fines. Using AI analytics, smart cameras are also able to make decisions at the camera level about what video footage is relevant to save onsite or transmit to a central location, translating into dramatically reduced video storage and bandwidth costs.

This innovative approach is made possible with the smart camera platform from Azena, which enables cameras to run multiple applications on a single device, and provides an Application Store offering more than 100 apps that can be downloaded onto a smart camera. Specialized video analytics capabilities for oil field operations are made possible by a partnership between Azena; Twin Eagle Solutions, a trusted consulting and systems integrations company for the energy industry; INTEOX cameras from Bosch Security and Safety Systems and video analytics apps from developer Noctuai. 

“Organizations in this market are faced with escalating supply chain costs, a lack of skilled labor to monitor production and the demand for increased environmental sustainability, all factors that are creating the demand for cost-effective, remote monitoring solutions,” said Casey Rawlins, Technical Solutions Consultant, Azena. “With the Azena platform, the installation of a single smart camera at each site, running a few key applications, can quickly and cost-effectively provide operational benefits that add up over time and number of locations, and help alleviate some of these cost pressures.”

Automates safety and monitoring operations

A smart camera equipped with smoke and flare detection will pan the oil field and notify remote operators of any abnormalities, such as venting or smoking in gas flares or the absence of a flame, indicating a potential methane leak. Flares that are smoking consistently are a major indicator that something is not working correctly and can even result in an explosion. The applications provide real-time situational awareness so that critical events can be detected instantly and with greater accuracy, further reducing downtime and lost productivity.

Using the same smart camera, which can be simultaneously equipped with multiple video analytics, water tank levels can also be monitored by identifying when a tank is not at the required level to prevent the overflow of water or hidden leaks. Similarly, AI-analytics can detect gas leaks, which can be extremely hard to identify with the human eye.  Video analytics can also promote better worker safety by detecting the correct usage of PPE such as hard hats, goggles, vests and flash-resistant gear and alert staff to take action in events of noncompliance.

Join Azena, Twin Eagle Solutions and Bosch to explore smart cameras in an upcoming webinar, “Automating oil & gas facility monitoring with AI video analytics apps,” which will be held in conjunction with ENTELEC at 1030-1130 CDT, Tuesday, April 12.

The joint technology offering  will also be showcased at the following upcoming events:

• ENTELEC Conference & Expo, April 26-28, Houston  – Booth #407
• Offshore Technology Conference, May 2-5, Houston – Booth #3610
• Data Driven Oil & Gas USA 2022, June 14-15, Houston

Learn more about Azena, its Application Store, and the benefits of its platform here: https://www.azena.com.