Remote Satellite Surveillance Transforms Safety and Compliance Operations
National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (National Energy) successfully transitioned from resource-intensive manual inspections to an efficient, office-based monitoring system through Orbital Eye's COSMIC-EYE Area Monitoring solution.
About National Energy
National Energy plays a key role in supporting Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector by developing and managing critical industrial and port infrastructure while delivering quality service in gas-based and energy-based development projects across the region.
The Challenge
National Energy is responsible for multiple sites where unauthorized activities – such as illegal farming and construction – are strictly prohibited. Traditional monitoring involved resource-intensive, physical inspections, requiring teams to travel regularly to remote and often difficult-to-access locations. As a result, site checks were infrequent and limited by terrain, weather, and resource availability, leaving gaps in coverage and delayed responses to potential threats.
The Solution: COSMIC-EYE Area Monitoring
To overcome these challenges, National Energy implemented a pilot program using Orbital Eye’s COSMIC-EYE Area Monitoring solution to provide continuous surveillance of restricted zones regardless of terrain or weather conditions. The system’s intuitive reporting promptly alerted teams with precise location data and actionable intelligence about unauthorized activities within defined boundaries.
The Area Monitoring solution transformed National Energy’s entire approach to site protection by delivering complete visibility across their critical sites. Unlike traditional methods limited by accessibility or frequency, COSMIC-EYE leveraged advanced satellite technology enhanced by AI to achieve 90-95% verified accuracy in risk identification. The physics-based approach with smart filtering eliminated false alarms such as regular parking, ensuring teams received only relevant information and could respond days earlier than with conventional monitoring methods.
Results and Impact
The year-long pilot with COSMIC-EYE delivered clear, measurable benefits:
- Office-Based Assessment: Teams could now conduct initial evaluations from their offices before deploying field personnel.
- Targeted Inspections: Rather than conducting broad, random site visits, field teams were directed only to specific locations where activities had been detected.
- Improved Efficiency: The shift from routine patrols to intelligence-driven inspections significantly reduced the time, resources, and emissions associated with monitoring operations.
The success of the pilot led National Energy to extend their contract for continued satellite-based surveillance.
Looking Ahead
With COSMIC-EYE Area Monitoring now fully operational, National Energy has strengthened their safety and compliance capabilities, while also advancing their sustainability goals by eliminating carbon-intensive physical patrols and optimizing field inspection resources.
National Energy’s case demonstrates how Area Monitoring can transform traditional inspection approaches, delivering full site coverage, reliable intelligence, and measurable ROI, particularly in regions characterized by challenging terrain or widely distributed critical assets.