China’s Offshore Oilfields Achieve First Large-Scale UAV Operations
Recently, the UAV system operation project for oilfields in the Beibu Gulf was officially launched. This marks the first large-scale application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in China’s offshore oilfields, setting a practical example for the integration of marine energy development and the low-altitude economy.
In the Beibu Gulf, on the central platform of the Weizhou 12-1 Oilfield, approximately 50 nautical miles from the mainland, an industrial-grade UAV equipped with a high-definition camera and an infrared thermal imager is taking off. Capable of conducting all-weather intelligent inspections in winds below Force 7, the UAV can finish the inspection workload that previously took a full day for a tugboat in just one hour.
