Automation

FAA exemption permits drones for oil and gas inspections

Sky-Futures, a UK-based company offering drone inspection services to the global oil and gas industry, was awarded an FAA exemption allowing their drones to fly in U.S. air space.

SaaS offers low-risk approach to money-saving technologies

Many manufacturers are looking for solutions that can cut costs today but without having to make major investments. Software-as-a-Service can reduce implementation time, risk, and cost.

Thermal enhanced oil recovery techniques

Oil & Gas Engineering spoke with Dr. Berna Hascakir from the Heavy Oils, Oil Shales, Oil Sands, and Carbonate Recovery Methods (HOCAM) center at Texas A&M University to get a glimpse of new technologies being developed to extract heavy oil and bitumen in unconventional plays. Dr. Hascakir discussed microwave heating, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), and in-situ combustion (ISC).

Software management program for managing field devices

Yokogawa's FieldMate Versatile Device Management Wizard R3.01 is a software program for configuring, adjusting, and managing a wide variety of field devices used in factories and other production sites and is useful for routine maintenance tasks.

EC: Monitouch HMI V9 series

Hardware — HMI, Operator Interface, Thin-client: The Monitouch HMI V9 Series are UL Certified, and come standard with on-board Ethernet ports and SD card slots, allowing for better connectivity to peripheral devices. This is a Control Engineering 2015 Engineers’ Choice finalist.