African Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Makes Sense for Europe, Now and Going Forward

By NJ Ayuk

In the months since the European Union declared it would reduce its reliance on Russian oil following that country’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s been a lot of talk about the new opportunities this moment is creating for Africa’s natural gas industry. I myself have been part of that conversation, and I stand by my past statements.

Africa’s capabilities are considerable, as the African Energy Chamber (AEC) makes clear in our State of African Energy Q2 2022 Report.

What’s more, certain developments within Europe are putting African natural gas producers in a stronger position than they have been in before with respect to being able to fight for— and win — a larger market share. Quite simply, there are gaps in the European gas market that weren’t there in the past — gaps that urgently need to be filled. The existence of those gaps means that there’s more room for African gas now than there used to be, particularly liquified natural gas, which is easy to store and transport. As our report notes, 50% of the 2022-25 cumulative gas flows from Africa’s top-10 producers are expected to be exported as LNG. And, the interest in African LNG is not likely to be a momentary blip. Going forward, new technologies and shifting geopolitical conditions should make it easier for African producers to maintain market share in Europe.

In short, things are changing.

More Room in The Market Right Now

For decades, Russia was the EU’s single largest provider of gas, delivering at least a quarter to a third of its total consumption. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) data, the figure was even higher in 2021, when it supplied 155 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, equivalent to 45% of total imports and 40% of total consumption.

The numbers for 2022 are bound to be different. The volume of Russian gas flowing into European markets started going down significantly not long after the start of the war in Ukraine. In April 2022, the share of Russian gas in total EU imports was reported to be 31%, down from 45% in April 2021. There’s no reason to believe the number has gone back up since then, since April was the last month that Russia was willing to accept payment from most EU customers in U.S. dollars or euros instead

of using special ruble-denominated accounts that are subject to sanctions. Indeed, ever since Russia’s new payment requirement has taken effect, European customers have had to learn to live with abrupt cut-offs or reductions in pipeline gas deliveries, with their Russian supplier Gazprom citing payment difficulties or failure to resolve technical problems as reasons for the disruptions.

Since the end of April, these kinds of cut-offs have happened to Poland and Bulgaria, they’ve happened to Finland, and they’ve happened to Germany and all the other countries served by the Nord Stream I network. More cut-offs are likely before the end of the year, and no one knows exactly how much they’re going to affect the total volume of Russian gas shipments to Europe. The upshot, though, is that in 2022 the volume of delivered gasis sure to be quite a bit lower than the 2021 figure of 155 bcm.

And that’s where African gas starts to come into the picture.

If the EU doesn’t have enough Russian gas this year, it will have to make up the deficit somewhere else in order to endure the next heating season. And in part, it’s been trying to do so by importing more LNG from established large-scale producers such as the U.S. and Qatar. The EU has also been buying more LNG from smaller-scale producers such as Peru. But it’s also reached out to gasproducing states in Africa. Italy, for instance, has negotiated the purchase of additional gas from Algeria in 2022 and is also looking to buy more gas from Egypt and Angola in the short term.

More Room in The Market for The Years to Come

And European buyers aren’t just treating African gas as a quick fix — as something to cover the gap for the time being. Italy expects Algeria to keep supplying extra volumes beyond 2022, and it’s also talking to Angola, Egypt, and the Republic of Congo about more extensive deals. Germany is looking to cement ties with Senegal in light of that country’s future gas production, which is on track to start next year. The EU has signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel and Egypt in the hope of boosting future gas imports from the Eastern Mediterranean region. Baldwin, the European Commission’s deputy director-general for energy, to Nigeria to discuss the possibility of increased gas supplies. Baldwin, who leads the EU’s Energy Platform Task Force (EPTF) — set up in May 2022 to help cut Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas — waxed enthusiastic about Nigeria’s contribution to the EU’s gas supply in an exclusive interview with Premium Times. He noted that the West African country already accounted for 14% of the EU’s LNG imports, suggested that the figure might rise to 30% or more in the long term, and described Nigeria as a supplier that European gas buyers could count on.

“We need more gas from Nigeria as a result of the terrible war of aggression Russia has mounted on Ukraine,” Baldwin declared. “We can no longer count on gas coming from the Russian Federation, and we want to build a new partnership with countries like Nigeria with whom we have an already wellestablished partnership to obtain more gas and LNG from you on good commercial terms.”

NJ Ayuk, is the Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber

The Window of Opportunity Will Remain Open

It is somewhat tempting to meet these statements with skepticism, given that the EU has talked about gas supply diversification for more than 20 years and has done relatively little to make that diversification a reality. Yes, Brussels has supported initiatives such as the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which began delivering gas from Azerbaijan to Italy in 2020. However, in the time it took to bring that project to fruition, Gazprom managed to plan one larger pipeline across the Black Sea (South Stream), scrap that plan, draw up a plan for another larger pipeline (TurkStream), and then execute that plan, all while working on an even bigger subsea pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 2.

I believe, however, that such skepticism would be misplaced at this time. The EU is no longer working in a context where the benefits of supply diversification are theoretical and abstract; it’s now a concrete and immediate matter. For policy reasons, the EU wants to deny Russia access to revenue from gas sales and strip its status as a normal commercial partner. For practical reasons, European gas buyers need to find a way to make up for the supplies missing from Russia. And for both policy and practical reasons, Brussels wants to deny Moscow the opportunity to continue using gas supplies as a blunt instrument with which to threaten Europe in the future.

The change isn’t going to be immediate. It will take time to reduce Russia’s profile in the EU’s energy mix. But the process of supply reduction is underway, and it has already opened up new opportunities for African gas producers to acquire market share in Europe. I expect those opportunities to last beyond the near term, as the EU attempts to establish a new combination of gas suppliers to replace Russia over the next few years.

I also hope Africa’s emerging gas producers take advantage of new LNG technologies such as the modular Fast LNG solutions offered by New Fortress Energy (NFE), a U.S.-based company, to meet European demand for gas. With these technologies, they won’t have to wait as long or spend as much money to begin producing the LNG that European consumers are clamoring to buy. They can start in two years or less, rather than waiting five years or more, as is common with more conventional onshore projects.

Between these new technologies and the EU’s new policy stance, the African gas sector is likely to look very different within just a few years. I encourage you to read the State of African Energy Q2 2022 Report and find out more for yourself.

COP27 provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lay foundations for Africa’s clean energy future – finds Wärtsilä report

The climate change conference COP27 offers a unique opportunity to increase energy access and lay the foundations for decarbonisation across Africa, but wealthy nations must deliver on their climate finance pledges to unlock the continent’s potential, according to a new report.

‘Pathways for Africa’s Energy Future,’ a report from the technology group Wärtsilä, provides power system modelling of three African countries, Nigeria, South Africa and Mozambique. It finds that they can leapfrog some developed nations by not embedding inflexible fossil fuel-based systems. To enable such a massive transformation a combination of climate finance, effective planning and system reforms will be essential.

The report demonstrates that replacing coal with renewable energy combined with flexibility from engines and energy storage is the most effective way to reduce energy costs, increase energy access and improve reliability. The modelling found that renewable energy and flexibility can generate enough energy to provide power for close to 100 million people in South Africa, Mozambique and Nigeria who currently do not have energy access, if it were matched with the required grid infrastructure. These systems will require a total investment of around USD 119 billion over the next decade, which will not be possible unless wealthy nations deliver on the promise made in 2009 to deliver USD 100 billion annually in climate finance from 2020.

Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO, Wärtsilä Corporation said: “Despite contributing less than 3% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions, African countries are among the hardest hit by climate change. COP27, hosted in Egypt, is the perfect opportunity to deliver on global climate finance pledges so that, as a global community, we can seize this moment to act and unlock Africa’s renewable potential. That investment must be combined with effective planning and system reforms to increase energy access and create the renewable energy systems of the future.”

Wärtsilä modelled power system decarbonisation pathways for three countries in Africa, each with different starting points and facing differing challenges. Key findings:

• Nigeria can cut electricity costs by 74% on its path to net zero by 2060. Wärtsilä’s modelling shows that Nigeria can build a 100% renewable net zero power system by 2060, comprising around 1,200 GW of clean capacity, in line with its ’30-30-30’ and net zero targets. The impact is significant, with the cost of electricity generation predicted to drop by 74% by 2060 compared to 2022 levels and emissions dropping to zero.

• South Africa can solve its load-shedding dilemma and save USD 26 billion by 2032. By adding 40 GW of wind and solar PV, South Africa can build a power system that would meet current and future energy demand. This can deliver a 17% reduction in power system emissions and reduce energy system costs by USD 10 billion per year by 2032.

• Mozambique can reduce emissions and save USD 84 million. By adding 200 MW of low-cost renewable energy annually, Mozambique can build 3 GW of clean capacity by 2032, supported by 205 MW of new energy storage capacity and 1 GW of grid balancing engine capacity. This would cut 5.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions between 2022-2032 and save USD 84 million on the cost of electricity production.

Wärtsilä produced this modelling using independent market simulation software PLEXOS to support African countries that wish to shape multi-year plans to build their optimal power systems for the future. Across the continent, countries can help to stimulate investment by setting out clear strategies to build well-functioning flexible renewable grids, showcasing the new opportunities those conditions create, such as green hydrogen production. Regulatory reform is also needed to place a value on flexibility and encourage the market. Doing so will help to lay the foundations for more flexible and reliable grids able to support high levels of renewable energy, while increasing energy access

Image: Africa can leapfrog to a renewable and reliable energy future and increase energy access © Wärtsilä Corporation

Terrestrial Surveying

Terrestrial Surveying|Image: Fugro

In addition to using GPS, terrestrial laser scanning is a useful tool in measuring land mass. This method records a dense array of distance returns over a large area. The resulting data can be used to create a detailed digital 3-D landscape model. The data generated can also be merged with digital photographs to create photorealistic 3-D landscape models

Terrestrial surveying involves the collection of accurate measurements of heights and distances. It is often used to plan and construct construction projects and can supplement existing data from satellite remote sensing and aerial surveys. These surveys are used to record the relative location of features such as buildings and roads. Several types of surveying equipment are used.

In geomorphology, the use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is driven by the need for accurate and rapid topographic data. The data obtained from repeat surveys allows researchers to unravel complex space-time variations in landforms and landscapes. It also helps establish strong links between processes and forms. In geomorphology, repeat surveys have been used to understand and model processes such as hillslope-channel coupling, a phenomenon that involves hydrological and topographical changes in alpine drainages.

The use of GPS has reduced the human resources required for surveying in the field. The use of total stations and laser scanners has also simplified the execution process. The most recent technologies include 3D laser scanners and terrestrial lasergrammetry. These technologies are fast, reliable, and accurate. In addition, they can be integrated into a variety of applications.

Besides using GPS and satellite imaging, surveyors also use ancillary equipment to complete their work. Surveyors use instruments such as leveling instruments to level the surface of the land. They also use beacons to locate landmarks and landforms. They also wear protective equipment to avoid exposure to dangerous environments. Before Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM), the primary method of determining a position on earth's surface was triangulation. With this method, the surveyors could measure a distance between objects by using their existing position on a map or plan. They could then use this information to calculate the heights and distances of other objects.

In addition to using GPS, terrestrial laser scanning is a useful tool in measuring land mass. This method records a dense array of distance returns over a large area. The resulting data can be used to create a detailed digital 3-D landscape model. The data generated can also be merged with digital photographs to create photorealistic 3-D landscape models.

With its numerous applications, drones are fast becoming a valuable addition to the land surveyor's toolkit. Drone mapping has a number of advantages, including reduced costs, time, and risk. The use of drones is increasingly common in oil and gas exploration, and the energy industry has adopted this technology in many projects.

Early surveys were performed using primitive instruments, but modern surveying techniques were first developed during the 18th century. The first precision theodolite, invented by Jesse Ramsden, was introduced to the public in 1787. It was originally used for testing new military aircraft instruments, but it was later modified to be a commercial aerial photogrammetry system. Then, Vladimir Zworykin invented the kinescope. This instrument was widely used for land surveying.

Another important aspect of Terrestrial Surveying is the definition of station positions. This is critical for the success of the project, and must be based on material characteristics and terrain constraints. The position of each station must be determined accurately, and the parameters must be grouped to ensure the best coverage of the surface. Since the scanners lift everything they "see", a clean cloud of points must be created, which helps eliminate the noise.

Ivanhoe awarded new exploration rights in South Africa

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) has been granted three new highly prospective exploration rights covering total surface area of 80 square kilometres adjacent to the company’s Platreef project in Limpopo province, South Africa.

Platreef is a palladium, rhodium, nickel, platinum, copper and gold development project that is 64% owned by Ivanhoe. A 26% interest is held by Ivanhoe’s broadbased, black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partners, which include 20 local host communities with approximately 150,000 people, project employees and local entrepreneurs. A Japanese consortium owns the remaining 10% interest.

The project hosts a thick, underground deposit known as Flatreef, containing approximately 58.8 million oz. of precious metals (palladium, rhodium, platinum and gold), as well as 6.2 billion lb. of copper and nickel in indicated resources, plus 94.3 million oz. of precious metals and 11.9 billion lb. of copper and nickel in inferred resources.

It is located on the northern limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, where platinum group metals mineralization is primarily hosted within the Platreef, a mineralized sequence that is traced more than 30 km along strike.

Ivanhoe’s project, within the Platreef’s southern sector, comprises two contiguous properties: Turfspruit and Macalacaskop. Turfspruit, the northernmost property, is contiguous to Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena group of properties. The Flatreef deposit lies entirely on the Turfspruit and Macalacaskop properties.

The initial scope of the development plan is to fast-track Platreef into production, starting with an initial 700,000 t/y underground mine using the existing Shaft 1 and a new on-site concentrator. First concentrate production from Phase 1 is planned for Q3 2024, with the Phase 2 expansion expected following the commissioning of Shaft 2 in 2027. Phase 1 average annual production is expected to be 113,000 oz. of precious metals, plus 5 million lb. of nickel and 3 million lb. of copper. The average annual production of the Phase 2 expansion is expected to increase to 591,000 oz., plus 26 million lb. of nickel and 16 million lb. of copper.

Platreef is projected to become Africa’s lowest-cost producer of platinum group metals, nickel, copper and gold.

New exploration territory

The new exploration rights form a continuous block situated on the southwest border of Ivanhoe’s existing Platreef mining rights at Turfspruit and Macalacaskop, which together cover 78 square kilometres in area.

The exploration rights overlap a significant geophysical gravity anomaly known as the “Mokopane Feeder”, the centre of which is located approximately 10 km from Platreef’s Shaft 1.

“The Bushveld Complex sits among the most unique and valuable mineral endowments on our planet. These exploration rights are postulated to be geologically significant by our leading geoscientists. The new exploration rights are located at the intersection of a highly significant gravity geophysical anomaly and major regional geological structures,” said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s executive co-chairman.

“Therefore, the ‘Mokopane Feeder’ may be related to the actual source of the giant mineralizing system feeding the entire northern limb of the Bushveld Complex,” he added.

The Bushveld Complex is currently the largest known, layered igneous complex in the world and is host to the largest known reserves of platinum group metals, chromium and vanadium, as well as gold and base metals including nickel and copper.

According to the geological team at Ivanhoe, the “Mokopane Feeder” anomaly is the most significant gravity feature in the entire Bushveld Complex. Academic studies based on historical data hypothesized that the anomaly represents a primary feeder zone to the Rustenburg layered suite of the northern limb.

To better understand the conceptual “Mokopane Feeder” target, Ivanhoe said it will begin a detailed high-resolution, airbornemagnetic and gradiometer-gravity survey over the project area. The surveys are expected to be completed in early 2023.

South Africa's mining sector contracts in August as gold production down 17.4%

Miners work deep underground at Sibanye Gold's Masimthembe shaft in Westonaria, South Africa, April 3, 2017. Image Credit: Reuters

By Vladimir Basov

According to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the domestic mining production decreased by 5.9% yearon-year in August 2022.

StatsSA said that largest negative contributors were platinum group metals (a decline of 12.9%, contributing -3.1 percentage points); gold (-17.4%, contributing -3.0 percentage points); and iron ore (-15.2%, contributing -2.0 percentage points). Manganese ore was a significant positive contributor (an increase of 25.4%, contributing 1.5 percentage points).

The agency added that seasonally adjusted mining production in South Africa was flat in August 2022 compared with July 2022. This followed month-on-month changes of 3.1% in July 2022 and -1.0% in June 2022.

According to the report, the country’s seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 0.6% in the three months ended August 2022 compared with the previous three months, mainly due to the higher production of manganese ore, which was partially offset by lower production of platinum group metals.

Wildfires in Africa

Image: SWT

Causes and effects of wildfires

By Dorcas Kang’ereha

Using satellite images, NASA has found that there are more wildfires in Africa than in the Amazon. According to NASA, 70 percent of the total area burned by fire around the world is Africa and 90 percent of these fires are human-caused. While fires are a natural part of the ecosystem, they can also pose a serious threat to human life. Fires in Africa are often sparked by lightning strikes, and most of them occur during the wet season. According to ICPAC June 2020 report Zooming into the Eastern Africa region, wildfires in the region are a regular occurrence especially after the rainy season, when the environment is conducive for fire. They are a natural cycle in many ecosystems, especially the savanna, but also in the forest ecosystems. The region experiences two fire seasons in a year’s circle that is, April to August in the areas south of the Equator and September to March in the areas north of the Equator.

“It all depends on context, time of the year, frequency, etc. Some of the negative impacts can range from air pollution, excessive erosion, loss of species; damage to infrastructure, negative impacts on the economy and livelihoods, loss of life is also possible,” asserts Dean Ferreira, Managing Director at NCC Environmental Services (Pty) LTD. “In some ecosystems, if wildfires occur at the incorrect frequency or season, if the fire intensity is too high (or too low), the ecosystem can be damaged due to a loss of species and even affecting ecosystem services such as water retention or carbon sequestration,” he adds.

Conferring to Global Forest Watch (GFW), South Africa’s peak fire season typically begins in late June and lasts around 20 weeks. There were 6,883 VIIRS fire alerts reported between 11th of October 2021 and 3rd of October 2022 considering high confidence alerts only. This is high compared to previous years going back to 2012, says GFW. The online monitoring platform further discloses that, From 2001 to 2021, South Africa lost 116kha of tree cover from fires and 1.41Mha from all other drivers of loss. The year with the most tree cover loss due to fires during this period was 2017 with 20.5kha lost to fires — 22% of all tree cover loss for that year.

In Western Africa, UNISDR Regional Subsahara Wildland Fire Network indicates that, fire is a regular feature in the landscape of most West African countries especially in areas dominated by savanna and woodland vegetation. More recently wildfires have become annual events in the forest and forest transition zones of some countries (e.g. Ghana). The causes of wildfire occurrence are quite similar in most member countries in the West African region and are mostly humancaused. In spite of these negative impacts, most countries lack a holistic and efficient system for preventing and controlling wildfires. Consequently, the problem of rampant wildfires continues to persist.

Since early August, 106 fires have broken out in Algeria, destroying 800 hectares of forest and 1,800 hectares of woodlands, this is according to Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud, who said some had been caused by arson.

Image courtesy

A counter fire in the Fynbos Biome | image NCC Environmental Services (Pty) LTD

The recent wildfires in eastern Algeria have killed at least 43 people and 200 people were injured. Officials have not confirmed the numbers but local media has said that the death toll may be higher. This is due to scorching air temperatures and dry conditions as well the lack of fire-fighting aircraft by the authorities.

In Central African Republic the peak fire season typically begins in late November and lasts around 14 weeks. There were 11,706 VIIRS fire alerts reported between 11th of October 2021 and 3rd of October 2022, this is according to Global Forest Watch.

While the numbers of fires are significantly higher than those in the Amazon, forest fires in Africa are an ongoing concern due to the rainforests. People ignite fires to open up new areas for farming. Cattle farmers light fires in the savannahs to stimulate nutritious grass for animals and to control parasitic ticks. These fires often get out of hand and become difficult to put out. As a result, up to half of the Serengeti grasslands burn every year. This region is renowned for the migration of wildebeest and other safari animals. In order to prevent future fires, education campaigns are mandatory.

“Each year more and more areas of Kenya’s precious water towers are being lost to wild fires. If this is to continue, where will Kenyans get their water from in the future?” Questions Toby Dunn, Director at Farmland Aviation Ltd. Fires are a common problem throughout Africa, and their extent is becoming much greater in some parts of the continent. Some of the fires are caused by farmers performing prescribed burns. These burns are often conducted during the dry season. However, it is important to note that the number of fires does not necessarily mean that there is ecological damage. wildfires are part of the African landscape and not all wildfires are bad. Certain ecosystems are not only fire prone, but also fire driven. The Fynbos Biome, the most diverse biome on the planet, requires fire to maintain this unique diversity, as long as they occur during the right season and at the appropriate frequency. African landscapes are burnt to ensure grazing, reduction in fuel, for localized agriculture and this indigenous practice has occurred for 100’s, if not 1000’s of years. The landscape has adapted to this. Africa is the fire continent and wildfires will be part of it for 100’s of years to come,” states Dean.

“Broadly speaking, veld fires are a very necessary in rejuvenating the veld, getting rid of bush, parasites, and of course, the ash provides much needed fertilizer to the new growth,” says Mark Jackson, Owner at Leading Edge Aviation. “It is when the veld is not allowed to burn, normally around a 15 year cycle, that disastrous fires take place. Our task is to help extinguish the fires that threaten the urban interface. We protect people’s homes, farms and of course their lives in extreme cases. During an initial attack concept last Cape fire season, we saved property worth an estimated R94m and no one fell into harm’s way,” he articulates.

Researchers have found that wildfires are caused by several factors, including climate change. Climate variability is one cause, although widespread management practices has reduced flammable materials in forests. Nevertheless, wildfires are responsible for 3 to 8 percent of terrestrial net primary productivity each year. These fires release between 1.7 and 4.1 gigatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.

Even so, the fire frequency in tropical Africa is expected to decrease, it will remain high in certain regions. The Sahel and southern Africa are particularly vulnerable to fire. This is because grasslands burn more easily and prevent the forest from regrowing. Additionally, recent El Nino events may have increased the frequency of fires in these areas. However, there are a number of ways to mitigate the risk of wildfires in Africa.

Ways to mitigate the blazes

In his opinion, Toby recommends to rapidly attack wildfires while they are still small to contain their spread. “Aircraft can respond to a fire in the wilderness a lot quicker than teams on the ground. Farmland Aviation Ltd uses purpose built Air tractors to contain the wild fires giving the ground crews time to get on sight and mop up the remaining embers. It’s a proven strategy for preventing greater wildfire damage while substantially reducing firefighting costs,” he affirms.

“The cheapest fire is the one that is extinguished immediately. Every fire starts small, and only time allows it to grow. The bigger the fire, the more dangerous and costly it becomes. Our company hopes to continue with our QRF, bringing a new dimension to aerial fire-fighting in the Cape,” acclaims Mark.

According to Dean, integrated wildfire management is one of the tools to mitigate the risk of devastating wildfires. Dean further elaborates on wildfire management and the components of mitigating the risk. “There are 5 components of integrated wildfire management and to mitigate the risk, land managers, policy makers, politicians and those that control the purse strings need to recognize this and devise strategies for their own context.”

The 5 R’s are: 1. Reduction – community education, awareness and advocacy, fire (fuel) break, alien clearing, risk reduction burns, prescribed burns 2. Readiness – preparedness to respond in the event of a wildfire –

Leading Edge Aviation’s Black Hawk refuelling at a fire

ongoing training and fitness, equipment preparedness, practicing and checking 3. Response – mobilizing, in a safe manner, to suppress the fire within the objectives of the landscape e.g. initial and direct attack or allow for indirect in areas that ecologically require to be burnt and the conditions permit that. 4. Restoration – post the event, replacing/acquiring lost or damaged equipment, fixing of roads, fence, potential erosion sites, etc 5. Research – undertaking applicable research into IWFM, equipment, fire regimes, crew safety, nutrition, etc.

“Education and community wildfire resilience is critical (the first R). Too much time and resources are dedicated to readiness and response. Not enough effort is put into the final two R’s – Restoration and Research,” says Dean.

“The context of the landscape in question needs to be understood and the appropriate application of the 5 R’s then needs to be strategized and implemented. One common theme from around the world is that we (firefighters) have spent so much time stopping fires, which the consequence is now a massive amount of fuel build up, that when these unburnt areas burn, the outcomes can be devastating. Climate changes is exacerbating this,” he adds.

Leading Edge Aviation Huey’s

Nonetheless, as global temperatures continue to rise, wildfires will become more frequent and more destructive. In fact, the UN has issued a report warning that humans are contributing to the problem. While most wildfires are caused by human activities, they are also a major contributor to climate change. The nutrient-rich aerosol from Africa contributes almost half of the phosphorus found in the Amazon Basin. As a result, the African continent plays an important role in the Amazonian ecosystem.

“Finally – we need to ensure that our responders are properly trained, kitted out and competent to perform their tasks when they are called on. Responding to wildfires is dangerous!” recommends Dean.

SBG Systems new Inertial Navigation MORE HEADLINES WWW.HYDRO-INTERNATIONAL.COM System is the perfect tool for UAV GEOxyz Presents surveyingTerraSond to Support

New Hybrid Survey Vessel Vineyard Wind 1 Project

SBG Systems announces the new Quanta Micro product embedding, in an extremely compact form factor, a dual-frequency/quad constellations GNSS receiver for centimetric position with a very high performance IMU.

TerraSond, a product and service line brand in Acteon’s geoservices segment, plans to invest in a new base in Massachusetts as part of its commitment to support the Vineyard Wind 1 project and wider U.S. offshore wind developments.

The company, which already has facilities in Alaska and Texas, has been confirmed as a preferred supplier for the subsea balance of plant inspection and survey services for the Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The wind farm will be situated 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts. It will be the first major commercial-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. waters. The new TerraSond facility is likely to be located in the Bristol County area of Massachusetts and will create local employment opportunities.

TerraSond is already committed to the U.S. East Coast offshore wind industry through its site investigation surveys and operating and maintenance inspections. The Vineyard Wind 1 balance of plant work, which will add to the company’s solid experience and track record, covers turbine foundation remotely operated vehicle inspections and export and array cable seabed surveys, alongside a range of other subsea integrity and operational services from across the Acteon group.

High-end Inertial Navigation Technology in the Smallest Form Factor

The company is proud to present its new RTK capable, miniature inertial sensor called Quanta Micro. With its incredibly reduced size and weight (50 x 37 x 23 mm and 38g) and its high-end performance (centimetric positioning, roll/pitch with less than 0.02° error and heading with less than 0.06° error) Quanta Micro is the perfect tool for all applications that require extreme SWaP-C and has already been selected for the development of LiDAR payloads for UAV and mobile mapping systems. To achieve such performance in even the hardest conditions, Quanta Micro benefits from SBG Systems unique experience in designing and manufacturing inertial sensors, including an individual calibration of each of the manufactured sensor across the full range of working temperature (-40°C to +85°C). SBG SystemsCompact and Powerful but easy to use and integrate Despite its compact form factor, Quanta micro embeds all the features usually present in the other state-of-the art SBG inertial sensors: a built-in datalogger, Ethernet connectivity, a PTP server, multiple serial ports, a CAN port, etc. It is easy to configure with a user-friendly built-in web configuration interface; but can also be configured using SBG systems API or ROS drivers. While the Quanta Micro supports dual GNSS Antenna mode to improve heading accuracy in low dynamic applications, it has been designed maintain exceptional heading performances even in single antenna. This makes it the right tool for UAV payloads that cannot embed two GNSS antennas. Post processing with Qinertia To further enhance its extreme real-time

performances, the data acquired from the Quanta Micro can easily be post-processed using Qinertia: SBG own PPK tool (Post- The Geo Ocean VI offshore survey vessel. Processing Kinematic). This allows to process The acquisition of the offshore survey vessel Geo Ocean VI marks the next step in the expansion of the offshore survey capacities of GEOxyz, the Belgium-based geodata specialist. the data with tight coupling of the GNSS and Inertial data, and a merge of forward and backward solutions allowing to maintain centimetric precision even during multiple With a focus on delivering next-generation geodata acquisition solutions, the seconds of GNSS outages; and improves GEOxyz Group is strategically investing in its offshore survey fleet. With the heading errors to less than 0.035° and roll/ acquisition of the hybrid propulsion vessel Geo Ocean VI, GEOxyz is further pitch to less than 0.015°. specializing in providing greener, more sustainable and smarter solutions for hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical surveys. Qinertia flavors range from the desktop version with a user-friendly Graphical Equipped with a fully integrated launch and recovery system, the vessel is User Interface (GUI), but can also be easily also ready to act as mother vessel for hydrographic survey ASVs. This creates integrated into any processing pipelines with a flexible all-round platform that is cost and operationally efficient and meets the various options available such as the today’s and tomorrow’s offshore survey requirements. The Geo Ocean VI is a Command Line Interface (CLI) to integrate green and versatile multidisciplinary offshore survey vessel, fitted for geophysical within workflows running on a desktop as well as geotechnical survey work. She will be permanently computer or the private or public cloud equipped with specifically selected survey equipment and solutions for workflows running on a server. TerraSond’s new facility and the wider services offered by ready to serve the offshore industry. Acteon are set to deliver a world-class offshore wind farm for Massachusetts.

EMPOWERING

Tesmec launches a high precision 3D Digital Twin integrated system

Tesmec, leading group in the market for infrastructure technologies (overhead, underground and railways) for the transport of electricity, data and materials (oil and derivates, gas and water), as well as surface mining and quarrying technologies, on the occasion of Bauma 2022 launches its brand new Mobile Mapping System (MMS), an integrated radar mapping system of the underground and high-precision digital 3D survey of the environment above.

The Mobile Mapping System is equipped with a detection system installed on the top and an Explorer 2.0 Georadar. The survey system is designed to perform a georeferenced 3D reconstruction through the union of two types of data: the 3D point cloud obtained through the use of LIDAR technology; the 3D point cloud obtained through stereoscopy algorithms applied to the images acquired by high resolution matrix cameras.

The resulting point cloud with the image superimposed is then subjected to digital re-elaboration processing carried out by sophisticated artificial intelligence networks in order to get a georeferenced and accurate mapping. The MMS detection system has an accuracy of about 2 cm and returns a cloud of points of the surrounding environment that can be consulted on the cloud platform, useful for proper planning of the construction site.

Explorer 2.0, è il modello Tesmec di georadar ad altissima precisione dotato di 32 antenne che scansionano il suolo fino a una profondità di 96 cm, e che è in grado di operare, trainato dal veicolo, ad una velocità massima di 17 km/h. L'output generato da Explorer 2.0, consiste nella mappatura delle infrastrutture interrate esistenti, utile per le attività di indagini preliminari allo scavo. L'uso del geroradar permette infatti di accorciare/ridurre i tempi di esecuzione dei lavori, di garantire la sicurezza dei cantieri e di consentire una maggiore precisione nei lavori di scavo evitando le possibilità di danneggiamento delle utenze sotterranee esistenti.

Explorer 2.0 is the Tesmec very high precision georadar equipped with 32 antennas that scan the ground up to a depth of 96 cm, and which is able to operate, towed by the vehicle, at a maximum speed of 17 km / h. The output generated by Explorer 2.0 consists of the mapping of existing underground infrastructures, useful for preliminary excavation investigations. In fact, the use of the geroradar allows to reduce the execution times of the works, to guarantee the safety of construction sites and to allow greater precision in excavation work, avoiding the possibility of damage to existing underground utilities.

The integration of the two surveys makes it possible to get a 3D digital mapping on a cloud platform, on which the As-Built map generated by "SmartTracker" Tesmec can be superimposed. An integrated dashboard with a GIS engine is available through a web platform for displaying the information from the surveys and processing, which allows the georeferenced and simultaneous display of data. The specially configured interfaces allow navigation within different types of data, such as visible images and high-resolution videos, thermal images, laser point clouds and three-dimensional BIM models.

With the presentation to the market of this high-tech solution, Tesmec's participation in Bauma 2022 is confirmed under the banner of Digital Transformation. "The Mobile Mapping System is a solution that can be combined with excavation technology and is complementary to it. The Digital Transformation has naturally pushed us towards the creation of a new portfolio of technologies and business models." affirms Marco Quarta, New Technology Manager. "This is a further step towards the supply of integrated solutions for the underground laying of high-techcables. The product is part of the Group's growth strategy, under the banner of digitalization, sustainability and energy transition, with the aim to bring the advanced image processing and artificial intelligence skills acquired by the Group in different verticals to markets that are still unexplored."

Tesmec remote control devices support|image Tesmec

Drone technology elevates innovation in water risk applications

© iStock/aerogondo Drone technology can provide high-quality products or services, and offer costeffective and tailor-made high-end solutions especially as a low-cost non-contact alternative to small aircrafts, for acquiring high-precision data over areas that are typically too small for satellites to detect any detail. Moreover, they help to keep manned aircrafts costeffective

By Guy Schumann

While challenges remain in incorporating the wide use of drone technology, RSS-Hydro is leading several innovative projects for the use of drones in water-based risk applications.

Many remote sensing technologies are present in both industry and academia – ranging from ground-based sensors to airborne and space-based platforms – measuring a very large amount of important environmental parameters for sustaining ecosystem services, environmental management, transportation, and weather, just to name some of the major fields of application.

Market opportunities of drones

One of the leading sectors where remote sensing, particularly ground-based and airborne, has seen major advances in the last few decades is agriculture. More recently, it has become one of the leading application sectors in the drone market. Drone technology was introduced into the sector more than two decades ago.1 Nowadays, the second and sixth biggest addressable markets for drone-based solutions are, respectively, agriculture (for crop monitoring), with use or in a commercial setting, requires a range of precautionary measures in order to comply with regulations. Unfortunately, this can turn out to be much more complex than expected in some cases, particularly when looking at risk assessments or the specific category.

Therefore, national drone federations exist in many European countries and elsewhere, which aim to support companies during these procedures. The newest addition to this international federation network, is the Luxembourg Drone Federation (LDF), of which RSSHydro is a founding member. A major commitment of LDF is to help members develop a simplified flight authorisation procedure for operators. Therefore, LDF also acts as an intermediary between companies and the Luxembourg Department of Civil Aviation (DAC), by authorising flights in order to facilitate exchange and compliance. LDF also collaborates with the administrations of bordering countries.

an estimated potential value of $32.4bn, and the insurance industry (for risk monitoring and assessment), with an addressable market value of $6.8bn.2

Another application sector for drone-based solutions is emergency management, especially in the case of natural disasters such as floods. On the one hand, drones can be useful before a flood occurs by collecting lots of data on important infrastructure, and for supporting flood risk assessment efforts. On the other hand, drones can be useful after a flood occurs, for flood extent and damage assessment.3

Industry challenges

It is clear that drones are extremely useful and have great market growth potential; however, the use of drone technology comes with several challenges. These challenges are mainly faced in Europe, where the new regulations limit the use of drones, especially for drones that remain uncertified. The objective is to create a controlled environment and to increase safety while drones start to be used in a wide range of sectors due to a ‘thriving market’.4 As a consequence, flying drones, be it as an individual for private R&D opportunities

Due to the high flexibility and the easy acquisition of drone technology, they have become an asset in a wide range of innovative R&D projects. RSS-Hydro is

Patrick McKay conducting an advanced drone training in Beira, Mozambique, 2019. Photo: WFP/INGC/Antonio Jose Beleza

leading several innovative R&D projects, combining computer modelling with the latest advances in remote sensing technologies, including satellite and drone images.

In one of its projects, RSS-Hydro is looking at drone technology to survey the condition of plants and crops impacted by droughts. Since the impact of agricultural droughts depends on several local factors, such as soil, crop, and growing stages of crops, information with very high spatial resolution is needed to assess their localised impact. For this, an objective of the project is to develop and set up a drone-based drought monitoring service which can be activated when drought events are forecasted to take place in a certain area.

More generally speaking, it is well known that drones can be used to monitor crop conditions from the very beginning of the growing season, all the way through to planning and harvest. Advanced analytics allow for monitoring soil moisture and deriving fertilising requirements. To meet growing food demand and improve current water usage, new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now being considered in this field of application by many. It has been estimated5 that 80% of all drones will be used in Precision Agriculture Technologies (PAT) in the future, also to detect damages from droughts, floods, hailstorms, or wild animals, and for smarter irrigation management and proper crop protection. The fact that drones can overcome several limitations encountered with satellites in terms of spatial resolution and tasking flexibility makes them a considerable asset in many applications. Therefore, drones can be used to support vulnerable communities that are severely affected by climate change, for example in Africa and Asia. Finally, the insurance sector can also benefit from such technologies for index-based solutions, and develop their insurance products accordingly.

RSS-Hydro is also employing drones to monitor flooding and related processes. That information is used to evaluate their flood risk models, and to validate satellite-derived products in some of their R&D projects supported by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Humanitarian and aid development opportunities

Drones are widely used in emergency management situations, particularly in a humanitarian context. Mapping disaster extents and damage after the event are crucial for a fast humanitarian response. The rapid deployment of drones makes them a major asset, especially in remote areas that cannot be accessed easily.

In the context of flood disaster response, The United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP), and partners, have been collaborating with the National Institute for Disaster Management of Mozambique (INGC) to improve flood alerting and preparedness, using drone technology. By taking thousands of aerial photos from a drone and running them through a big computer, a high-precision flood hazard model has been created to help predict and identify people at risk more rapidly. This was tested for a flood-prone area of interest around Mocuba (Mozambique, Africa). The bigger goal is to scale up this effort to other flood-prone areas where WFP operates, which will help communities be better prepared and become more resilient.

Aid development projects are also looking to introduce drone technology as a complementary tool to acquire important local data. Together with regional and local public and private partners, in Niger and Europe, RSS-Hydro’s development aid project SEMOR addresses the current data challenge in the Niger River Basin, by proposing a low-cost and sustainable space-based ICT solution to develop a flood prediction and alerting model for the region. The system combines flood modelling with industry-proven, affordable, small water-level sensors, open-access satellite Earth observation data, and drone imagery. The project also focuses on capacity building and training workshops around topics of Earth observation, drones, and model use for water risks (floods and droughts) under the impacts of climate change.

The future of drone technology

The benefits of drones are numerous. Drone technology can provide highquality products or services, and offer cost-effective and tailor-made highend solutions. Drones are especially attractive as a low-cost non-contact alternative to small aircrafts, for acquiring high-precision data over areas that are typically too small for satellites to detect any detail. Moreover, they help to keep manned aircrafts cost-effective.

Despite operating regulations for drones becoming more stringent, the commercial and R&D opportunities for drones are extremely promising and fast growing. The market projections for the usage of drone technology are looking very promising, with technological innovations in drone manufacturing and sensor development opening up many new opportunities for growth.

Hyprops to use Saab Seaeye robot for inspections offshore Nigeria

Hyprops Nigeria Ltd. has chosen the Saab Seaeye Falcon robotic vehicle to increase its long-term footprint in Nigeria.

Hyprops provides a wide range of services to the Nigerian offshore oil and gas sector, and adding the Falcon as its resource is in keeping with the federal government’s initiative to increase indigenous participation in the sector.

Falcon depth options range from 300 m to 1,000 m. Falcon's iCON intelligent control system allows the option of customization of the vehicle and gives the pilot total control.

The vehicle provides easy access to spares and a choice of tools and accessories, as well as an open frame construction allowing ease of fitting various sensors and tooling to meet client requirements. The vehicle has a five-function manipulator arm, wire cutter and brushes enabling light work intervention. Hyprops said the Falcon will give them the ability to meet the constant and vital need to inspect pipelines, flowlines, risers, vessels and platforms in both shallow and deepwater projects.

400kHz RESON T50 multibeam and did not only reveal individual munitions items, but also numerous, at fi rst glance, piles of unidentifi able objects. Owing to high beam density (600 beams/120° swath) and small footprints (0.5x1°), even sedimentary features, such as scours around possible targets could be observed. Based on this data, a contact list was created and once again the AUVs were deployed for mapping. After the trip, detailed processing and interpretation of the data revealed that the Pelzerhaken area alone contains at least 1691 individual munitions objects and 127 piles of munitions. The different distribution patterns originate from two very different methods of dumping. One way was to throw the munitions overboard, which Hyprops Nigeria Ltd. has chosen the Saab Seaeye Falcon robotic vehicle to increase its longterm footprint in Nigeria|image courtesy led to individual objects sometimes forming lines or other patterns, which now allow the Hyprops will deploy the Falcon on subsea course of a dumping vessel to be retraced. The inspection, survey, light-intervention and other method of dumping was to fi ll barges with maintenance services for current and future munitions and open them once a dedicated site had been reached. This resulted in chaotic piles of both larger objects and boxes containing smaller items. Figure 5 shows both types of projects in the Nigerian market where their clients include international and indigenous oil companies. patterns in the Pelzerhaken area. wreck search in an unMapped UXO remediation, it was essential to gain precise area knowledge about the number, location and types To make best use of the time, multibeam of munitions. mapping was always conducted at night time. Once the areas in Lübeck Bay had been fully During MineMoni-II, there was not enough time to mapped, the researchers spontaneously decided map the entire area of Großklützhöved, so the to visit yet another site that is located 6nm to the researchers decided that they would come back in east. Historic research indicates that the area 2021 to fi nish the job. When ALKOR returned to called Großklützhöved was used to scuttle entire Kiel harbour, the team were able to look back at barges that were loaded with munitions. The two very successful weeks. More than 26km² had prospect of investigating a munitions-fi lled wreck been mapped to acquire high-resolution was exciting to everyone on board and when the multibeam data. Water samples were taken at 77 fi rst wreck was visible in the data, the entire locations, which means that over 200 syringes group quickly gathered around the multibeam with exchanger resin are stored in the freezer, station. During the course of the night, two waiting to be analysed with liquid chromatographyadditional wrecks (one of which appeared to be mass spectrometry. The AUVs ANTON and LUISE a sailing boat) were found. The next day, the two went on 36 missions to acquire tens of thousands sunken barges were explored using towed of photographs and fi nally, 32 TV-CTD profi les TV-CTD with real-time video stream. One of were fi lmed. It will take the researchers a year to them capsized and lost its hazardous cargo evaluate this massive amount of data. By then, during sinking. In the darkness of the Baltic Sea, they will be ready to embark on MineMoni-III, a pile of grenade cartridges came into view of the which is planned for October 2021. TV-CTD LED spots. The photo and video footage combined with high resolution MBES led to a Disclaimer: With the contribution of the European Maritime and more qualifi ed estimate of the amount of Fisheries Fund of the European Union (Grant Agreement No: dumped munitions. For the planning of future 863702 (BASTA); 863693 (ExPloTect)