Altus taking advantage of technology
CARRIE KELLY
Western Canadian Pipeline
When it comes to the energy industry, often things need to be done yesterday. That’s what motivates companies like Altus Geomatics to use the latest technological advances — so that things can get done fast.
The company, which has 12 offices across Canada, is setting up a booth at the Medicine Hat Petroleum Expo in May to talk about its services with those in the industry.
Aaron Clapperton, branch manager in Medicine Hat, has worked with Altus Geomatics for five years. He started out working in the field.
“I was still in university when I started with Altus. I later became an Alberta land surveyer,” says Clapperton.
Any oil and gas company looking to build a pipeline needs the services of land surveyer, which Altus provides.
“It really is the main thing we do. Our field crews are always going out to sites and creating legal plans,” Clapperton says. “Since we have numerous offices, our crews don’t have to travel too far.”
Altus serves clients in the Western Sedimentary Basin from Manitoba to British Columbia.
One of the larger projects Altus has surveyed is the Alliance Pipeline. That project involved surveying about 800 kilometres of pipeline rights-of-way from Fox Creek to the Saskatchewan border. Only five per cent of the project was done using
conventional equipment. The other 95 per cent was surveyed with GPS (global positioning).
Altus staff strive to provide the best in service, experience and expertise, Clapperton says, and the technology they use helps them in working toward that goal.
Three-dimensional scanning using laser allows Altus to capture images in high definition in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise.
The 3-D laser scanning not only allows Altus to get a job done quickly, but actually at a lower cost when compared to conventional methods. And it can capture more information than regular methods. Anything that is visible can be scanned and modeled.
Clapperton called the 3-D laser scanning a mix between photography and surveying.
“It takes a full collection of data and measures distances,” he says. “We can create a 3-D image of a plant site, which can be really beneficial for engineers to view when a facility needs to be upgraded. The entire plant site can be modeled in 3-D so it can be viewed on a desktop. We can have an entire plant site modeled within a day.”
“It’s a great resource and a money saver.”
Altus Geomatics also provides mapping services to its clients. In remote locations, the company often uses Lidar equipment to collect data aerially. Lidar stands for light detection and ranging and is similar to radar, but uses light instead of radio waves.
Most Lidar data is collected from an airplane or helicopter — especially useful in northern locations with minimal road access.
“We fly over the area to collect elevation changes and creeks and everything out there,” says Clapperton.
It’s information that can be vital to companies when choosing locations for wells. In addition to using Lidar for the planning and surveying of well locations, Altus has also used the technology for routing pipelines. Altus completed a Lidar survey of a 25-kilometre midstream pipeline in the Nordegg area, which is heavily forested.
Altus Geomatics has more than 90 fully equipped survey crews operating in all areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia. It presently employs about 340 people.
Altus Geomatics specializes in many aspects of geomatics, especially in oilfield surveys, 3-D laser scanning, GIS development and mapping products. The crews are experienced in gathering data in all types of terrain.
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WESTERN CANADIAN PIPELINE | SPRING 2010 13
33413900•04/23/10
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