Pipeline Mapping and Subsurface Data From the Air
Buried pipelines, right-of-way corridors, and drilling infrastructure — mapped without crews walking the line. Northern Drone flies airborne ground-penetrating radar, corridor LiDAR, and photogrammetric mapping for oil and gas operators, from the Bakken outward to projects nationwide.
Airborne GPR screens alignments for buried pipe and profiles depth of cover along the route — continuous data over wetlands, rough terrain, and active facilities where a cart survey is slow or unsafe.
Classified point clouds along your ROW: encroachment, vegetation, erosion exposure, third-party crossings, and terrain change — with flight lines visible so coverage can be audited.
Bedrock depth surfaces for HDD bore planning, pre-construction terrain models, and cut/fill volumes for pad and access-road construction — before the first rig mobilizes.
Alignment-ready outputs in LAS/LAZ, GeoTIFF, SHP, KMZ, and DXF that drop straight into your integrity management and GIS systems. Standard 72-hour turnaround.
Nobody Walks the Line
Traditional pipeline surveys put crews on foot across miles of right-of-way — through wetlands, over rough terrain, and alongside live facilities. Our GPR platform flies the alignment at 1–3 meters above the surface, collecting continuous subsurface data at a pace no ground crew can match, with zero personnel exposure on the line. For depth-of-cover verification after waterway crossings, erosion events, or farming activity over the easement, that speed is the difference between a spot-check and a full-route answer.
We're straightforward about physics: GPR performance depends on soil conditions, and no responsible operator promises detection everywhere. What we deliver is honestly flagged data — where the pipe shows, where conditions limit penetration, and where ground verification is worth the dig. Your integrity team gets a map they can defend, not a guess.
Compliance Records and Project Decisions
- Depth-of-cover documentation — georeferenced cover profiles that feed your DOT/PHMSA reporting and integrity management program, with auditable flight-line coverage instead of interpolated spot checks.
- Post-event reassessment — after flooding, erosion, waterway migration, or deep tillage over the easement, a re-flown alignment shows exactly where cover changed and by how much.
- Dig planning support — screening data that helps your integrity team prioritize verification digs where they matter, instead of trenching on a guess.
- HDD and crossing design — bedrock depth surfaces along proposed bores, so the drill plan meets rock where the data said it would.
- ROW encroachment sweeps — recurring corridor LiDAR that documents vegetation, structures, and third-party activity along the easement, timestamped for your records.
Built for Energy Country
Based in West Fargo, North Dakota, we're a short mobilization from the Bakken and the pipeline networks that move its production — and fully mobile for projects anywhere in the country. FAA Part 107 certified pilots, $5M aviation liability insurance, and COA/waiver capability for restricted airspace around facilities. When deliverables need a licensed stamp, we partner with Professional Land Surveyor firms who review and certify the final product.
Related services: drone-based GPR · LiDAR corridor mapping · stockpile volumetrics · thermal inspection
Oil & Gas FAQ
In suitable soil conditions, yes — buried pipe produces a distinctive radar signature, and airborne survey screens long alignments quickly. Detection depth varies with soil conductivity and pipe material, so we report confidence honestly along the route and flag segments where ground verification makes sense.
A continuous profile of cover depth along the surveyed alignment, georeferenced by RTK, delivered as GIS layers and a report your integrity team can act on — with the flight lines visible so coverage is auditable.
Yes. We plan every mission around your site's safety requirements, coordinate airspace authorizations where needed, and operate with $5M aviation liability coverage. Certificates of insurance are available to your safety officer on request.
Have a Route, ROW, or Pad to Map?
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