Providing roadmaps to the next generation

When I first decided to tackle this editorial article for NG P&E Magazine, I was at a loss as to what I could possibly offer in the way of substantive input that would strike a cord with the general readership. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that however technical and often overlooked the photogrammetric mapping and image data collection industry is, it is nonetheless an important factor in development of most power and energy today and in the future. Knowing the value of mapping and imagery data, and its inherent use in today’s progress for meeting tomorrow’s power and energy needs, makes me particularly proud to be a part of a profession dedicated to constantly improving the world around us. The critical information the photogrammetric profession provides allows others to explore, develop, design and improve new ways of extracting energy-producing sources from the earth and deliver them to our front doors. Photogrammetry is therefore a noble and respectable ally to any related power and energy production field.

As an ally, the Photogrammetric profession is involved in many areas that help shape what the future of power and energy holds and what types of companies they rely upon today to develop new, innovative and more cost efficient methods of power generation and energy distribution for tomorrow. Whether you transport oil and gas over the Interstate Highway systems that were built using high accuracy aerial photogrammetric design mapping, or you discover a new low sulfur coal bed from a combination of aerial photos, geothermal imaging and topographic base maps, it is a sure bet that a Fugro Company was involved in one or more facets of the process to get that power and energy to your doorstep.

The capacity, resources and manpower of the entire Fugro group of companies has grown to become one of the largest offshore and onshore mapping and data providers in the world. The Fugro group now numbers 286 offices in 50 countries, and over 11,000 employees with 40 ships and 45 data acquisition platforms/sensor combinations. Fugro’s mission is to be a worldwide leader in the collection and interpretation of data related to the Earth’s surface, including seabeds and the soils and rocks beneath, and advising clients regarding these matters. Fugro has the capability to meet the needs of virtually any mapping project. Fugro SESL’s highly-specialized, helicopter mounted FLI-MAP LiDAR system allows for low operating altitudes and slower data collection speeds, which is ideal for smaller projects requiring high precision data such as powerline and pipeline corridor mapping. Fugro Horizons and Fugro EarthData use fixed wing aircraft, which enables more efficient data collection over wider areas to meet the needs of county and state projects while keeping costs low. Fugro’s activities are carried out all over the world, offshore, onshore and from the air. Many of the services offered by the Fugro family are aimed at providing information to the:

• Power and energy industry
• Oil and gas industry
• Mining industry
• Construction industry

Nearly 80% of the work and resulting revenue generated by this large group of Fugro companies is directly or indirectly related to the next generation of power & energy. In short, the Fugro companies are heavily invested in providing exploration and infrastructure development mapping to further the next 100 plus years of oil & gas exploration, coal mining, wind farm design, electrical transmission and distribution and power generation facilities, just to name a few. Much of this investment is directed toward pursuing technological innovations with the goal of reducing costs to our clients.

Many innovations in spatial data acquisition and processing have played a major role in saving the power and energy industry both time and money. One of the most prominent of these innovations, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), has proven to be an extremely powerful tool when cost savings and time are of the essence. The LiDAR system virtually paints the surface of the earth using laser pulses and records the elapsed time each pulse takes to return. When this information is combined with data about the position and attitude of the sensor, the result is a dense sampling of ground elevation points. This data can be used to generate a 3-dimensional representation of Earth’s surface which, when viewed with the proper software, can be rotated, flipped or colored to indicate elevation changes or even vegetation health/density. All this data can be acquired and processed quickly, efficiently, and at a reduced cost when compared with other methods such as traditional film aerial photography.

The helicopter-mounted FLI-MAP LiDAR sensor system, developed by John Chance Land Surveys Inc., is perhaps one of the most innovative LiDAR systems currently in service. The high resolution, accuracy, and detail of the FLI-MAP laser and imagery data allows for engineering-grade mapping products in a variety of formats that can meet the needs of the most demanding applications. For a number of years, FLI-MAP has specialized in data capture for power transmission utilities, capturing more than 30,000 kilometers of power lines since inception in 1997. More recently, conventional LiDAR has undergone significant growth in the development of wind farms, hydroelectric facilities, oil and gas, pipeline, and resource mining. The growth in usage of LiDAR data in these sectors has expanded the application to include all phases of development from pre-planning to infrastructure maintenance to volumetric/consumption studies.

An example illustrating the flexibility and cost-saving potential of LiDAR can be found in a recent project successfully completed by Fugro SESL. The Keystone Pipeline Project was to provide engineering and legal survey for over 370 km of new oil pipeline route in southern Alberta and Manitoba for the construction of a new oil pipeline. The use of LiDAR proved a great success by minimizing project costs and keeping the project on schedule. It allowed the full 370 km area to be surveyed and the production of a detailed digital terrain model within a matter of weeks as opposed to months. The use of LiDAR also helped greatly in reducing the cost to the client as there were numerous re-routes and changes during the lifetime of the project. If conventional survey methods had been used, then each change would have required the mobilization of a survey crew and days of fieldwork. With the LiDAR data set, reroutes were not an issue; and a scenario involving increased project costs and missed deadlines was completely avoided. The ability to regenerate profiles, as well as extraction of topographic details allowed for quick regeneration of plans and documents required in the permitting and legal aspects of the job to ensure deadlines were still maintained even after major changes to routes.

Photogrammetric topographic mapping, digital and film aerial photos, fixed-wing and helicopter-mounted aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) elevation modeling, existing and new power line corridor mapping, wind farm design mapping, pipeline corridor mapping, on-shore/off-shore oil exploration are all resources of information/data that are used throughout the world to develop… you guessed it…. the next generation of power & energy. Each data/image source has its own special applications and uses to determine how energy is most efficiently found, developed, extracted, transported and finally processed for our daily consumption. Whether it is to provide electricity to power a light bulb, natural gas to heat a home or blended ethanol fuel to power our vehicles, we depend on companies behind the scenes to help the major power companies provide power and energy to satisfy our ever insatiable daily needs.

Fugro is just one of many typs of companies that assist the energy and power generation market from behind the scenes. Every map, image, data set or interpretation of data ends up in the hands of someone who is using that information to make integral decisions about how to find the next energy source, how to extract that energy source from the earth, how to transport it to a processing facility, how to build the processing facility, how to distribute, transmit or transport the power to the consumer. In essence, the spatial data industry supports some of the largest energy and power producing companies in the world. Companies such as:

• Exxon Co USA
• Chevron Oil
• Wyodak Resources Development Corporation
• Rio Tinto Services, Inc.
• Powder River Coal Company
• PEMEX
• PacifiCorp

At the same time the U.S. drives the power and energy industry forward, and with the advent of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we have became starkly aware that the American public as well as the future of power and energy must be protected. Photogrammetric mapping and aerial image collection of natural disaster and terrorist attack locations has become necessary to insure the continuity of power and energy production and transmission we have all come to depend on, if not demand. Topographic mapping and aerial images assist the engineering and transportation industry in planning, designing, construction and maintaining highway, pipeline and railway transportation for gas, diesel, natural gas, electricity, coal etc. Topographic mapping and aerial images in the wake of a flooding oil and gas refinery in Kansas City, Missouri helps to ensure the constant flow of fossil fuels to power our world today and tomorrow. Topographic mapping and aerial images of Hurricane Katrina assist in emergency management planning and response, thus helping the Department of Homeland Security to mitigate damage to power and energy infrastructure while insuring that the oil and natural gas refineries as well as electric, nuclear and coal power generation facilities are functioning to full capacity at all times. The list goes on and on. Suffice to say, the geospatial data industry provides more support to sustain, develop and insure the next generation of power & energy than the general American public even ventures to realize.

This realization is observed in everyday applications of the on-shore photogrammetric mapping, aerial imaging and off-shore data collection profession of which we are a part. These applications determine what, where and how future power and energy sources are going to be discovered, extracted, processed and delivered for U.S. public consumption. You might say that Fugro helps prepare the road map to the next generation of power and energy.