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GAIL (India) Limited in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has launched a surveillance geo-portal – ‘Bhuvan-GAIL Portal’ – that utilises space technology for its pipeline safety application.
The launch took place in the presence of B.C. Tripathi, Chairman GAIL (India) Ltd, V.K. Dadhwal, Director NRSC, ISRO and senior officials from GAIL and ISRO, according to a statement issued here.
GAIL is deploying space technology to monitor the pipeline’s Right of Use (RoU). It has more than 13,000 km of pipeline network, wherein monthly monitoring of pipeline is presently done via helicopter surveys. By January 2016, GAIL will begin live satellite monitoring of its pipeline RoU. It is also seeking alternative methods such as advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which can be integrated with this system.
The company has developed a mobile application from which pictures of untoward incidents taken locally from any mobile showing the actual scenario can be uploaded instantly to the portal. A report system integrated with the Bhuvan-GAIL portal can send alerts to relevant executives via SMS and email regarding the changes noted along the pipeline as well as the arrival of any new satellite photos.
To establish the technical feasibility of utilising space technology for its pipeline applications, GAIL began the study with imageries from Indian satellites and later shifted to very high-resolution foreign satellites.
With recent progress in satellite-sensing technology, availability of new high-resolution satellites, object-oriented image analysis, there is the possibility to introduce space technology for pipeline monitoring applications.
This R&D pilot project for monitoring of the 610-km-long Dahej–Vijaipur pipeline is one such effort to keep pace with technological advancements enabling time and cost-effective solutions. The Bhuvan-GAIL portal is operated via manual as well as auto-change analysis options to monitor changes along the natural gas pipeline.
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