OREANDA-NEWS. Repsol and Indra have received an award from World Oil magazine for their HEADS (Hydrocarbon Early Automatic Detection System) project, a unique early warning oil spill technology that will enable the industry to maximise safety in offshore facilities.

The HEADS project, developed at the Repsol Technology Centre (CTR) uses Repsol's extensive knowledge of offshore oil exploration and production and Indra's experience in the developing real-time data processing and the construction and use of radar and infrared cameras processing as well as the construction and use of radars, infrared cameras and command and control centres.

HEADS has been awarded in the Health, Safety, Environment/Sustainable Development Offshore category, which includes companies specialised in developing and marketing offshore technology, like Halliburton and GE Oil & Gas.

World Oil, a benchmark for almost 100 years in the oil industry, recognises and rewards the most innovative companies and technological developments to solve industry challenges.

HEADS uses a combination of a number of sensors, adding automatic interpretation of infrared images and radar and the activation of alarms without the need for human intervention. The combined use of infrared images and radar can maximise accuracy, and the automation of the process allows for constant monitoring of high reliability significantly improving the existing systems.

This project, which started at the end of 2011, involved a multidisciplinary team of more than twenty experts and researchers combining oil industry, physics, chemistry, radars, algorithms and software integration skills. Both companies have registered the patent through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in more than 147 countries.

Repsol has become a benchmark in deep water exploration thanks to its commitment to innovation and technology. The company has 400 researchers working at its technology centre who have developed technological projects related to the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons. The HEADS project was developed as this research centre, and was first installed at the Tarragona offshore producing platform.

Once the research and de development phase is completed, both companies have jointly commenced the commercialisation phase worldwide, making the HEADS system available to the entire energy industry.

Indra has extensive experience in the development and implementation of technological solutions in the hydrocarbons sector, in which it is present worldwide with 1,500 professionals and projects on all five continents.

Indra, chaired by Javier Monzón, is one of the leading consultancy and technology multinationals in Spain and one of the largest in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the core of its business and sustainability, and it has earmarked over €570 million for R&Di during the last three years, placing it among the leading European companies of its sector in investment. With approximate sales of €3 billion, almost 60% of its earnings come from the international market. It employs 43,000 professionals and has customers in 138 countries.

Repsol is an integrated global energy company which operates in over 30 countries and employs 24,000 people. It specialises in hydrocarbon exploration and has made some of the largest discoveries in the world in recent years. Repsol operates in the most demanding areas with the toughest technological requirements in the world, many inaccessible to the industry until just a few years ago.

Located in Mostoles (Madrid), the Repsol Technology Centre is one of the most advanced in Europe and the largest in Spain, with an area of around 56.000 m2. There are more than 400 scientists and researchers working at the facilities and contributing throughout the company's value chain.

HEADS falls within Repsol's commitment to science, technology and innovation for a smart energy supply, and joins other Repsol successes such as the kaleidoscope project, carried out in collaboration with the BSC and Stanford University, and the Sherlock project, both of which have made the CTR a worldwide benchmark in innovation and technology.