Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and several travel restrictions, there is a growing demand for remote monitoring in industries like Oil & Gas to prevent leakage & build a more sustainable practice. However, the IoT SaaS market in this space is nascent and lacks simplicity. And this is where Amsterdam-based startup Hiber comes into play.
HiberHilo
Back in 2018, the company had already developed a remote IoT connectivity solution with the launch of its proprietary nano-satellites. Identifying the urgency, the Dutch startup announced the launch of HiberHilo, its first end-to-end solution for Oil & Gas Well Integrity Monitoring.
As per the company, it is the world’s first subscription service for IoT-enabled remote Oil/Gas Well monitoring. Hiber launched this service because currently, this process is complex, time-consuming, and expensive (costing up to €34000 per field visit). Additionally, manual monitoring is prone to error and is often not conducted frequently enough.
Can monitor up to 10km in remote areas
The company’s subscription solution utilises Hiber’s global satellite network to automate continuous annulus pressure and wellhead monitoring of up to 250 wells in a radius of 10km.
The 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 – organisations 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
- Support both on-site and via mobile
Pricing starts at $449 (approx €384) per month per well (1 sensor and a 5-year contract).
Coen Janssen, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Hiber says “HiberHilo has already been proven by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and Royal Dutch Shell (better known as just “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.”
Constellation of 48 small satellites by 2022
In 2016, Hiber was founded and led by a team of satellite experts and tech entrepreneurs – Coen Janssen, Erik Wienk, Ernst Peter Hovinga, Laurens Groenendijk, Maarten Engelen. In 2019, the company launched its IoT network Hiberband, a low power global area network.
Earlier this year, the Dutch IoT startup received a part of the European Innovation Council Accelerator’s grant of €278M and direct equity investment. It’s worth mentioning that Hiber launched its first two satellites from sites in Sriharikota, India, and California, USA, in November and December 2018.
By 2022, the company plans to build a constellation of 48 small satellites to power projects across hundreds of industries and driving communications across the globe.
Main image credits: Hiber
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