Virginia Natural Gas to use drones to conduct inspections and other tasks

Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) is using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also knowns as aerial drones, to conduct equipment inspections on its pipeline infrastructure.

The drones will begin flights across Hampton Roads, as well as northern James and New Kent counties in Virginia for various operations, including inspections of critical infrastructure, right-of-way assessments, and the inspection of more than 5,500 miles of gas pipeline.

Virginia Natural Gas will use self-dispatched Mavic 2 Pro drones. The drones are equipped with a visual or infrared camera that can be used for navigating and patrolling a segment of pipeline, identifying and capturing images, or videos at pre-defined timings and returns.

“VNG is always looking at new, innovative ways to help us continue to provide reliable service to our customers,” Zack Gravely, Asset Protection specialist and one of the new drone pilots, said. “Drones are ideally suited for inspecting equipment because they can safely and quickly deliver high-quality photos and videos of our system in a way that can minimize environmental impact and inconvenience for customers along any rights-of-way.”

VNG will have a team of three trained pilots to fly the drones – all of whom obtained their pilot certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Kenny LeSueur, engineer and quality assurance specialist at the company, is the third drone pilot on the team. “Drones will give us the flexibility to perform a variety of higher quality inspections due to their ability to fly closer to pipelines, and safety of operation. For example, when we inspect bridges, we will no longer have to be close to the water source, such as rivers or streams, so it will increase the safety for those in the field as well,” LeSueur said.

Virginia Natural Gas is one of the first natural gas utilities in the state to use drones. Also, its parent company, Southern Company Gas, is conducting a pilot program for its sister companies in Illinois, Georgia, and Tennessee. VNG will develop best practices and procedures on how to best use the new technology in the utility space.

“Southern Company, and now Virginia Natural Gas, is leading the energy industry in deploying state-of-the-art drone operation technology and elevating their processes,” Dean Barefield, Unmanned Aerial Services program manager at Southern Company, said. “We see parallels between our electric and gas utilities and the ability to integrate that technology. The addition of drones to the day-to-day operations at VNG will offer a cost-effective platform for pipeline inspection while increasing efficiency and safety due to their availability, range and ease of operation.”