From Ropes to Drones - A look into Shell and CAN-USA's use of drones offshore

USA, 10 July 2025: Shell shared for the first time Tori's inspiring story and how they embraced drone technology to perform inspections on their offshore platforms, together with CAN-USA, off the coast of Louisiana.

Recently, Shell released an inspiring story on how Tori Gibson transitioned from being a full-time rope access technician for offshore oil platforms to being a specialised drone operator for CAN-USA.

“Due to the size of some of these offshore platforms, there are areas that may be difficult or dangerous to reach with manual rope access. Drones have helped alleviate these issues” says Shell USA.

Most recently, Tori has been working on Olympus, a Shell-operated offshore platform positioned 130 miles south of New Orleans. Shell Robotics and Shell Air Transport Assurance work closely with CAN-USA, an inspection services business, to develop new technologies to spot potential maintenance issues. One of these technologies is the Elios 3 UT, a collision-tolerant drone equipped with a 4K camera, powerful LiDAR, LEL gas sensor, UTM payload, and tether power unit. Thanks to the new tether, she was able to complete a 1-hour and 39-minute confined space inspection in only 2 flights, along with an under-deck piping inspection over water lasting 1 hour and 40 minutes in only 2 flights.  

“Not only are drones safer, but they are also time-efficient. Previous rope access inspections could have taken an entire day, and now inspections can be accomplished in minutes. In some instances, because they allow easier remote access, drone inspections alleviate the need to stop production on the platform.” - Shell USA

Find out more here on this incredible story from Shell and CAN-USA.