Guest Column | June 1, 2022

Securing Tons Of Oil With IoT Technology: A Smart Oil Theft Solution

By Sanjeev Verma

Securing Tons of Oil with IoT Technology A Smart Oil Theft Solution

Our lives depend heavily on oil, which plays an important role in the commercial and industrial sectors. Oil is used for many purposes, so it comes with a lot of responsibility for industrial owners to ensure that it retains its high quality. Because of its high energy density, oil is a valuable resource and can be stolen. Therefore, oil safety is a concern for industrialists.

The technological age includes sensor-enabled assets. This provides enhanced security and data to ensure better outcomes. One of the most important industries that supply energy for different industrial purposes is the oil industry. Safe oil transportation to consumers is quite a challenge in the oil industry. It is a major concern for industrial and commercial oil producers to ensure that the oil remains safe.

Tons of oil are transported by trucking companies on an industrial scale. The increasing use of oil transportation to fulfill the demands calls for ways to prevent oil thefts. One such measure widely accepted among professionals is The Internet of Things.

With technology-driven solutions and upgrades, the oil and gas industry will likely maintain its competitiveness among the major businesses. Oil safety is a major concern for the petroleum sector. It thus requires smart implements like IoT-powered solutions to commence with the trending strategies and improve against conventional methods. Also, the sector contains tons of oil inventory, which demands safety against unidentified leakages, thefts, correct transportation, etc.

But, what can you do to secure such highly-valued oil inventories?

Prior to introducing technology, there were no other options that could match the quantity of the delivered and transported products. It has been much easier to steal liquid products during transportation, such as oil. Introducing an IoT-powered oil theft solution can prove a great help to the oil and gas industry. It involves sensor-based concepts that extract real-time information and trigger it on the interconnected smart devices of the managers. It allows them to make appropriate decisions and take necessary measures on the spot rather than waiting for the information to process through conventional means.

Oil theft has always resulted in economic losses. The undetected pipeline leaks are also a threat to the environment. IoT-based solutions involve sensors that help detect all kinds of minor or small damages that can't be detected manually. The sensors are installed on pipelines and monitor abnormalities such as vibrations and noises. This alerts authorities and prompts them to make repairs. The Internet of Things, an emerging technology that provides real-time monitoring systems for oil industry owners, is designed to increase security. These systems could track oil transport locations remotely and provide oil safety and theft-proof processing.

With the introduction of IoT in the oil and gas sector, it is super easy to install a cost-effective smart solution that works according to the requirements. Here are the key features of a smart oil theft solution that help keep the oil inventories secured in both stable and mobile tanks.

  1. Real-time Monitoring

If your tanks are kept stable in the tank farm or oil is being transported through mobile tankers, you can install a smart IoT-based oil/fuel theft solution to gain real-time information. The sensors extract relevant information from the assets and send it through gateway connectivity. Intellia IoT gives drivers instant real-time alerts about oil theft, oil level changes, and driver routes. All parties are notified simultaneously via the notification panel on their dashboard. Real-time monitoring allows for live tracking and sharing information about the trailer's speed and location.

  1. Optimized for Multiple Fluids

Smart oil/fuel theft solution is compatible with fluids of varying chemical properties. It is compatible with petroleum products, including crude oil, petrol, and diesel. Its state-of-the-art features help increase overall productivity and improve industrial processing. Whether petroleum fluids are transported or kept static, the managers can easily optimize the solution according to business requirements. The solution consists of advanced built-in algorithms that extract relevant information from the tanks. Even when different fluids are involved, industrialists can optimize the settings and get accurate results.

  1. Universal Accessibility

Supposedly, the managers are not available on the industry premises; it is very easy to keep a remote check on their tanks. If the tank is stable in a tank farm, the sensors can keep a real-time check on fluid conditions like temperature, quality, levels, and pressure. The oil/fuel theft solution is IoT-powered. It provides advanced techniques to the authorities to identify any leakage in the tank and access the areas where it is manually impossible to get through.

If the tanks move or transport the petroleum products to another place, the sensors get installed on them and fetch the information to send it securely to the manager’s system. The user-friendly dashboard allows them to keep a real-time check remotely and provides universal accessibility. If the tanker takes the wrong route or the level of the liquid decreases, the system triggers alerts for the managers to take instant action.

  1. Easy Compatibility

IoT-powered solutions are easy to operate and simplify managerial tasks to great extents. Oil/fuel theft solution comprises easy compatibility with the existing systems. It enhances the potential of the already established systems by upgrading their functionality through automation, sensor-based processing, data-driven techniques, advanced analytics, and so on. You can easily install the smart oil/fuel theft solution as it comes with a ready-to-use feature. After installation, the IoT architecture involves data extraction from sensors, data transmission through gateways, and an information display in a user-friendly format via user connected dashboard.

Sanjeev Verma is the founder and CEO of Biz4Group, based out of Orlando, FL. He has conceptualized the idea of Biz4 Brand and founded Biz4Group and Biz4Intellia. He has 20+ years of experience in boosting IT-based startups to success. In the past, he has worked on leadership positions with Marriott Vacations, Disney, Mastercard, State Farm, and Oracle. Biz4Group excels in developing, implementing, and monitoring digital solutions ranging from IoT solutions and products, mobile and web development, and digital marketing to full stack development and CMS solutions