The Application of Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring Throughout the Asset Life Cycle: The IOGP Good Practice Guide
Authors: Palandro David , Steffke Andrea , Partington Kim , Brown Wendy 
Published: March 2020

Remote sensing data has been increasingly used for environmental monitoring in recent years. The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) has recognized this trend and created a Task Force to develop a document to provide good practices and lessons learned for the oil and gas industry. The objective of the document is to provide clear guidance to the environmental professional on how remote sensing may be applied to the range of common use cases encountered across the asset life cycle.

The good practice document development and content was informed by peer-reviewed publications, reports and direct input from oil and gas member company examples. A series of seven online and face to face presentations from key groups that develop remote sensing data for environmental monitoring were also shared. These included presentations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). The scope of the document was defined to include satellite, manned airborne and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms across a broad range of sensors and spectral wavelengths.

The resultant document covers six chapters. Three of the chapters covers the use cases and are delineated by target application; Land, Marine and Coastal and Atmospheric applications. Each of these chapters are further divided into sections with specific applications relevant to the oil and gas industry, including where in the asset life cycle the application may apply to, potential platforms and sensors, final deliverables and potential challenges. For example, Habitat Mapping, captured as a subsection under Land applications, is often completed during development of an asset to define a baseline for specific habitat types. Ongoing monitoring is also typical after construction, especially if any critical habitats are identified. Remote sensing platforms used to provide habitat data range from medium to high spatial resolution satellite data through to very high spatial resolution UAV data. For either satellite or airborne data, the spectral data used for habitat mapping includes visible and infrared data. The remaining three chapters provide a state of knowledge of environmental remote sensing, the business case for the oil and gas industry and how to develop a scope for an environmental remote sensing project, a review of existing remote sensing platforms and sensors available for environmental monitoring.

This paper will provide practical guidance for operators on the current applications of the latest remote sensing technology for environmental monitoring in oil and gas projects; it will include actual industry use cases throughout the asset life cycle and lessons learned, together with good practices for the consideration, acquisition and stewardship of geospatial data. It will serve as a useful link between the environmental professional and remote sensing specialist.