Bristow Investing in Innovative Solutions to Further Improve Client Efficiencies

Drone inspection services a cost-efficient alternative

Bristow recently announced an investment in Sky-Futures, the leading provider of drone inspection data services for the oil and gas industry, which gives Bristow immediate entry to the fast-growing UAV services business and bolsters Bristow's offerings to include drone inspection services.

"In this new market reality where continued cost pressures compel companies to find new solutions, our investment in Sky-Futures puts Bristow at the forefront of offering innovative solutions that help our mutual clients achieve further efficiencies in their operations," said Bristow Group President and CEO Jonathan Baliff.

James Harrison, Sky-Futures CEO and co-founder said, "This partnership between Bristow and Sky-Futures enables us to rapidly expand the operational delivery of drone based inspection services in the global oil and gas market. We're really excited because it allows us to enhance our advanced technology platform that powers industrial data capture and analysis, providing our clients with increasingly valuable and actionable information."

Inspections completed by professionally trained UAV remote pilots are safer, faster and more cost efficient than other inspection techniques, which are typically done manually via rope access. UAV inspections on industrial infrastructure may be completed without disrupting production, eliminating the need for costly and potentially unnecessary shutdowns. Sky-Futures recently completed a drone inspection of two offshore flare tips for a major oil client which was estimated to have saved the client approximately $35 million by avoiding an unscheduled shutdown.

With a team of Federal Aviation Administration and the UK Civil Aviation Authority approved remote pilots, Sky-Futures conducts safe, cost effective and experienced UAV inspections of live flare stacks, splash zones, decommissioning, general topside work and under deck, using HD video, still and thermal imagery. The data is then analyzed, processed and delivered through Sky-Futures advanced technology platform.

The company recently completed its first drone inspection in the Gulf of Mexico, having obtained the 46th Section 333 Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Exemption Certificate to operate drones in the U.S., and was recently named to Bloomberg's Business Innovators list as a breakthrough business.