New Heat-Sensing Satellites Track Oil Pipeline Damage and Energy Infrastructure in Real-Time

Damage to oil and gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure can now be tracked in near real-time from space using advanced heat-sensing images. Infrared thermal imagery captured at high resolution from low-earth orbit satellites detects heat emitted from damaged or leaking pipelines, such as flares, breaks, or oil seeps. This imagery is currently being distributed by Saudi Arabia's first national Earth observation data platform, Neo Space Group's UP-42.

Scott Herman, chief technical officer for SatVu, the British start-up operating the satellites, explained that analyzing these heat signatures provides a high level of detail, enough to see inside pipes and buildings. “It would show up as a pretty bright flare or difference in temperature than what you would expect in a pipeline,” Mr Herman told The National. “We can watch for seeps as well because they will have a different heat signature than the surrounding terrain. You would normally see a consistent temperature running along the entire pipeline. If you see a break, then that’s going to tell you there is something going wrong at that particular facility.”

Saudi Arabia's Aramco is currently studying an expansion of the East-West pipeline and the establishment of new export routes to bypass a maritime blockade by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The pipeline crosses Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea, serving as a key route to circumvent the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Increased activity on the East-West pipeline, alongside the low rate of oil tankers leaving the Gulf, is visible through infrared images, according to Mr Herman.

Energy and industrial facilities in the Gulf have faced frequent targeting during the US-Iran war, including an April drone attack on an East-West oil pipeline pumping station. High-resolution thermal imagery helps provide transparent insight into difficult-to-assess war impacts, such as temporary shutdowns, reduced operations, and delayed oil tanker departures. “It means you can go into an energy facility and see detail at a subcomponent or subassembly level and really identify the pattern of activity,” Mr Herman noted, highlighting its importance for energy traders monitoring Gulf production capacity.

SatVu’s infrared cameras are 30 times more powerful than those of Nasa’s Landsat and the European Space Agency’s Copernicus programmes, enabling the detection of heat from spaces as small as a car. Following the April launch of its HotSat-3 satellite, SatVu began publishing images that offer an alternative to the restricted thermal imagery shared only within the Five Eyes alliance of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, thereby increasing intelligence-sharing capabilities in the Middle East.

The images, which cover sites like the Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan and the Yasref refinery in Yanbu Industrial City, Madinah province, are resold through Saudi Arabia’s Neo Space Group and UP-42 to customers worldwide with a focus on the Gulf. Furthermore, the technology extends to assessing environmental impacts in urban areas, such as evaluating urban heat islands and road network heat radiation in Riyadh to help planners improve energy efficiency and cooling strategies.