SecureGas, ADPM Drones in European gas network security project

Securing the gas distribution network in Europe is the intent of SecureGas, an EU-funded project led by RINA, which is coordinating a consortium of 21 European companies, including Leonardo and Eni. In the Business Case managed by the latter is ADPM Drones, with the installation of a Hangar at the site managed by Eni’s Logistics Department where the pipeline is located, a 100-km-long infrastructure linking Chivasso (in the province of Turin) with Pollein (in the province of Aosta).

With the smart docking station enabling autonomous operations in the advanced management of takeoff, landing, charging and data transmission, ADPM Drones will test a solution that allows drones to be used to monitor large areas, infrastructure and pipelines without the need for pilots.

The project aims to recreate different scenarios to evaluate the effectiveness of the solution to combine safety and resilience in upstream and midstream gas infrastructure. The list of objectives to be tested covers third-party interference and leak detection, so as to assess the reliability of TPI detection systems (intrusion, impact, gas leakage, drilling, excavation) under different environmental conditions, advance warning of landslides, which may impact the infrastructure, and finally simulate tests to find protection against cyber attacks.

The goal of the SecureGas project seeks to determine the best outcome among multiple choices, potential decisions and their consequences, to arrive at a course of action to be followed in case of real need. Methodologies and tools, then, that are needed to secure existing and future facilities to respond to possible offensives by hostile actors.