24 MAY 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® From the Field to the Sky ~ Part 3 Adapted from Information by the Berkeley Lab Researchers at Consortium Advancing Technology for Assessment of Lost Oil & Gas Wells (CATALOG) are working to develop methods for scaling up undocumented well detection and verification, utilizing drones fitted with sensors to semiautonomously survey extensive areas along preprogrammed flight routes. “The right way to attack this problem is a multilayer approach,” said Fabio Ciulla, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). “We can layer the information from all these different sources almost as if it were a cake. I can give my contribution with historical maps, someone else can do computations for historical oil production, others bring images, or satellites, or sensor data. It’s a beautiful mix of the old and the new, and I’m fascinated that maps, something that seems so old-fashioned and static, can give us so much useful information if correctly used with the help of current technology.” Various groups are developing different sensor types, each presenting distinct challenges and benefits. To operate a magnetometer from a drone effectively, it needs to be suspended from a nine-foot cable to minimize electronic interference and ensure accurate capture of the magnetic signature. A drone equipped with a methane sensor can collect air samples while in flight and analyze methane concentration, wind speed, and wind direction to identify the source of a methane leak, typically near a well location. Another method involves using hyperspectral cameras mounted on drones that looks for wavelengths associated with methane plumes. Researchers at the Berkeley Lab are also developing drone-mounted technology to locate hard-tofind oil wells, including those constructed with wood casings, or wells where the metal was stripped for other uses. Besides these methods, there are alternative ways to locate lost wells, such as using planes equipped with LIDAR laser systems to capture ground images, thermal cameras to detect hidden leaks, and even a smartphone app developed by CATALOG members that utilizes the magnetometer to search for wells. “We, as a society, really like energy,” said Berkeley Lab Scientist Sebastien Biraud, who leads the CATALOG project. “But we need to find solutions that limit our emissions. And working with local stakeholders like Native American tribes, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. National Parks Service, we’re seeing that this is one way we can have an impact.” Yuxin Wu and Jiannan Wang from Berkeley Lab fly a drone carrying a magnetic sensor. Photos courtesy of Jeremy Snyder with Berkeley Lab. Claire Knight from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory prepares a hyperspectral camera on a drone to look for methane plumes. ENV
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