Hiber, Dutch satellite Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution startup, has launched HiberHilo, its first end-to-end solution for oil and gas well integrity monitoring on Nov. 2. HiberHilo is also the world’s first subscription service for IoT-enabled remote oil and gas well monitoring and the company will be introducing similar services for other specific use cases in 2021.

There is a growing demand for remote monitoring in industries such as oil and gas to create more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, especially with COVID-19 limiting travel halting routine maintenance checks. However, the IoT SaaS market in this space is nascent and lacks simplicity. Having already been one of the first firms to develop a remote IoT connectivity solution with the launch of its proprietary nano-satellites in 2018, Hiber identified the urgent need for readily available out-the-box end-to-end subscription based offerings. These must be designed bespoke for particular use cases, as well as being simple and efficient for businesses to install and implement.

The HiberHilo solution for Oil & Gas Well Integrity Monitoring is the first offering of this kind that Hiber will launch because this process is currently complex, time-consuming and expensive (costing up to $40,000 per field visit). Additionally, manual monitoring is prone to error and is often not conducted frequently enough.

Monitoring is critical to ensure that anomalies are identified early and addressed—this can include potential leaks which, if left unaddressed, can impact people’s health and safety as well as negatively impact the environment. HiberHilo’s out-of-the-box subscription solution utilizes Hiber’s global satellite network to empower organizations to automate continuous annulus pressure and wellhead monitoring of up to 250 wells in a radius of 10 km, even in the most remote locations on Earth. Pricing starts at $449 per month per well (one sensor and a five-year contract).

The all-in-one product is available as both a starter kit and in the form of an enterprise solution, both of which feature a pressure and optional temperature sensor to ensure accurate and regular measurements—organizations can add more sensors to the network if required; easy connectivity anywhere, sending up to 24 messages a day or one per hour; alarm and alert settings; an intuitive dashboard for desktop and mobile; and support both on-site and via mobile.

“We are excited to launch this first-of-its-kind IoT proposition for remote monitoring at a time when it is needed more than ever,” Coen Janssen, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Hiber, said. “HiberHilo has already been proven by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and Royal Dutch Shell on an abandoned on-shore well. This technology can be installed in less than 2 hours and within 0.25% accuracy levels of a traditional wired system, which is extremely reliable.”

Hiber entered the market in 2018 purely as a connectivity provider, utilizing its own proprietary nano-satellite technology to unlock IoT connectivity in the 90% of the world without it.