Eni Uses Drones to Inspect Rigs

A British drone operator has won a contract to inspect rigs operated by one of the world’s largest oil producers. Sky Futures Ltd. will deploy drones at Eni S.p.A. facilities as part of a global three-year contract. The company expects airborne analysis and visualization technology to help improve safety by forecasting issues before they occur, Bloomberg reported. Safety on Eni rigs came under focus last year when a worker was injured on the company’s Goliat facility in the Barents Sea, shortly after unions expressed concerns. That was followed by a fire on an Eni offshore platform in the Republic of Congo, which resulted in the death of a crane driver and injured five workers. The company said in July that injury frequency during the first half of 2016 fell 11% from the same period a year earlier. Sky Futures co-founder Chris Blackford declined to comment on the value of the contract, but said the Middlesex, UK-based company is in discussions with other oil producers.