The joint venture will be known as Terra Drone Ventus and will offer inspection and survey solutions to a range of industries in North America
Houston, Texas – August 8, 2019 – Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation, one of the world’s largest providers of industrial drone solutions, is expanding its global footprint in North America. Terra Drone is partnering with US-based Ventus Geospatial, a leading provider of oil and gas inspection solutions and mapping services to form Terra Drone Ventus. Through its three North American branches in Houston, Texas, Calgary, Alberta and Lethbridge, Alberta, Terra Drone Ventus will provide inspection and survey solutions in sectors like oil and gas, power, renewables, mining and many more.
The newly-formed Terra Drone Ventus will offer beyond visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) inspection services using Terra Drone group company, C-Astral’s high-endurance drones. Terra Drone Ventus will leverage the proprietary UT drones of Terra Inspectioneering (formerly RoNik Inspectioneering) for wall-thickness measurements and Ventus’ patented gas detection sensors to provide unparalleled solutions for gas leak detection and inspection of oil and gas assets such as pipelines, flare-stacks, well pads, and storage tanks. There will also be a dedicated focus on the power line industry with innovative solutions for vegetation management and renewables such as wind power generators.
Explaining the motivation behind partnering with Ventus Geospatial, Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige says, “As the world leader in oil production, the United States is a lucrative market for Terra Drone’s international business expansion. The oil production in Texas is topped only by Russia and Saudi Arabia. So, the demand for inspection of oil and gas facilities is also quite high here.”
Earlier this year, eight tanks in a Houston-area oil and gas facility caught fire and continued to burn for multiple days. Accidents such as these prove the value of Terra Drone Ventus services. Terra Drone Ventus provides timely and regular inspections which help with early detection of anomalies to minimize incidents.
Tokushige also recognizes that there are many other opportunities outside the oil and gas markets. “Moreover, the US is the second-largest producer of wind energy in the world. Texas leads the country in wind power capacity as well. This is again a lucrative market for us.”
With eight years of experience in the oil and gas sector, Ventus has flown and operated thousands of airborne missions without incident and worked with more than 200 clients, including Exxon, TC Energy and many more. It was also the first company in North America to obtain permission to fly BVLOS drone missions.
Paul Mitcham, Chairman, Terra Drone Ventus, says, “Implementing new technologies from Terra Drone Group and leveraging their expertise will allow us to increase the capacity of our inspection solutions significantly.”
Steve Myshak, COO, Terra Drone Ventus, adds, “Combining the technology and expertise we have developed with a partner like Terra Drone will give us a distinct advantage. This partnership is a natural progression for Ventus Geospatial and we are looking forward to providing a wider range of solutions to both current and prospective clients.”
With more than 25 companies already in its network, Terra Drone takes pride in collaborating with cutting-edge drone technology providers like Ventus. If you also want to support Terra Drone on its quest to generate aerial innovations that have a lasting impact on communities the world over, please contact info.en@terra-drone.co.jp
■ About Terra Drone Corporation
Established in 2016, Terra Drone Corporation has quickly become one of the world’s largest industrial drone solution companies employing over 500 drone industry professionals. The company’s head office is located in Tokyo, Japan, and more than 25 branches are spread globally throughout Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Oceania. Terra Drone provides innovative enterprise drone services for oil and gas, utilities, renewables, mining, construction, and GIS sectors, among others. Terra Drone also offers end-to-end solutions specializing in each sector by using high-performance hardware, cutting-edge software and customizable drone traffic management systems (UTM). The company actively invests in UAV technology providers to help them promote their products and services in the global market.
To stay updated on the latest news and information about Terra Drone, visit the company’s LinkedIn and Twitter handles.
■ About Ventus Geospatial
Ventus Geospatial Inc. was founded in Alberta, Canada, in 2011 as a spatial data provider. With expertise in map data acquisition, assessment, and analysis of oil and gas assets, Ventus has operated thousands of flights to become a specialist in airborne missions. The company owns a patented gas sensing technology for methane detection. The in-house gas detection software calculates emission rates, geo-locates gas plumes, and helps trace leakage to the point of origination.
Ventus is both Transport Canada and FAA compliant. The company is safety approved by ISNetworld and Avetta. Ventus is also approved by Shell and Exxon Aviation.
For more information, contact:
Terra Drone Co.
Tel: +81(0)3-6319-7193
Email: info.en@terra-drone.co.jp
Terra Drone Website: https://www.terra-drone.net/global/
For more information, contact:
Terra Drone Ventus
Email: info@terradrone-ventus.com
Terra Drone Ventus Website: https://terradrone-ventus.com
