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Drones are quickly becoming a game-changer in the oil and gas industry, as the flying robots perform otherwise costly and dangerous inspections of pipelines, offshore rigs and refineries.

Exxon Mobil Corp. is one of many major oil companies using drones in its oil and gas production operations (Shell Oil and BP are among the others), but it鈥檚 also finding new ways to make use of the technology.

Exxon this year successfully used drones along the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif. to contribute to a continuing research project of tracking whales. It鈥檚 typical for oil and gas companies to do environmental studies before conducting offshore operations.

鈥淭he detection allows us a greater level of awareness of where the animals are, and that helps with our mitigation strategies,鈥� said Ashley Alemayehu, a Spokesperson for Exxon.

The energy giant got into hot water in 2008 when nearly 100 whales got stranded in a shallow Madagascar lagoon and died. An independent review panel appointed by the International Whaling Commission found in 2013 that a sonar system used by an Exxon Mobil contractor was the most likely trigger for attracting the whales to the lagoon, according to The Washington Post.

Exxon contends the study鈥檚 findings and says its operations don't diminish marine wildlife populations, though it did change practices to stop use of sonar in certain places. The company still avoids operating in areas sensitive to marine wildlife, such as migration corridors or breeding and feeding grounds.

鈥淲hile there is no scientific evidence that mitigated seismic exploration causes any harm to marine wildlife, we still take extra precautions to ensure the sounds produced as part of our offshore operations have minimal interference with the communication between marine mammals,鈥� Alemayehu said.

Exxon Mobil鈥檚 efforts to detect whales has been ongoing for 20 years now, but using drones is new. In the past, the research relied on a complicated mix of satellites and humans with binoculars to gather data.

鈥淪atellites are limited by their orbit,鈥� said Dyan Gibbens, CEO of Trumbull Unmanned, which is the company that operated the drones for Exxon. 鈥淒rones have a lot more flexibility.鈥�

Satellites also won鈥檛 work if obstructions like clouds block their view. Exxon is currently using all three systems - satellites, human counters and drones - to corroborate the data to ensure the results are the same in each method.

Over the course of two weeks in March, a team sent out four types of drones, primarily Lockheed Martin鈥檚 LMT, Indago UAS, to gather data over the course of 50 drone flights.

鈥淰alue is added from drones,鈥� Gibbens said. 鈥淚t makes sense to use more than one type of sensor or medium to provide different perspectives.鈥�

Goldman Sachs analysts suggest that drones will not only make work in the oil and gas industry easier, but cheaper too. A March 2016 report estimates a potential US$41 million global market for pipeline inspections and US$1.1 billion market for offshore rig and refinery inspections using drones.

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