How Suncor’s Drone Program Is Transforming Energy Ops

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From Reuters

Suncor Energy, one of Canada’s largest integrated energy companies, has taken drone technology from experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment—delivering big wins in safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship. The company’s drone program, which will be spotlighted at the upcoming Energy Drone & Robotics Summit, shows what’s possible when traditional industries embrace emerging tech.

Tedman Jess, Senior Aviation Advisor – RPAS at Suncor, recently shared the journey behind the program during an interview with Dawn Zoldi on her Dawn of Autonomy podcast. Jess, who grew up around helicopters and built his career in aviation, started flying drones as a hobby. That hobby soon became a career-shaping opportunity.

“We started to get these weird drone requests back in 2017,” Jess said. “Not a lot of people in the company had experience with drones, so I started helping out.” By 2020, drone operations became his full-time role.

Since then, the program has grown from 250 flights in 2019 to nearly 18,000 total missions across North America by 2024. The bulk of these—an estimated 80–90%—are for high-frequency surveying and volumetric mapping of Suncor’s massive open-pit mines where daily terrain shifts demand rapid, precise mapping.

“If the data is more than two days old, it’s useless,” Jess explained. “We need accurate data that we can make decisions on in a timely manner.”

Drones not only provide that timeliness—they remove workers from high-risk areas. Previously, survey crews had to drive between mine walls to manually scan terrain with handheld scanners. Now, drones fly the same routes remotely, minimizing disruptions and maximizing safety.

More Than Just Mapping

Suncor’s drone use has rapidly expanded beyond surveys. The company now flies:

  • Powerline inspections, replacing helicopters and handheld sensors with drones outfitted with multi-sensor payloads.

  • Offshore ship inspections on the Terra Nova FPSO, improving access and safety.

  • Tailings pond bird deterrence, using bird-shaped drones that screech like predators to scare away waterfowl—part of Suncor’s environmental compliance efforts.

  • Haul road mapping, where drones collect data for an AI algorithm (developed with the University of Toronto) to detect road deficiencies. This helps prevent excessive tire wear on 400-ton haul trucks and optimize road maintenance.

“These are engineered roads,” Jess said. “We’re able to get an accurate state of conditions, and then the machine learning algorithm program highlights areas of concern that we need to send crews out to go and repair.”

A Smarter, Safer Model

Suncor uses a hybrid model that blends internal teams with expert contractors. For example, the company works with Osprey Integrity for drone-based preventative maintenance, including infrared inspections and non-destructive testing (NDT). This approach helps identify signs of mechanical issues before they become costly failures.

Rather than purchasing drones outright, Suncor leases its fleet. This lets the company regularly upgrade to the latest hardware while keeping costs manageable.

Training is also a key piece. Suncor runs a six-day program to prepare its drone pilots—many of whom are veteran surveyors with decades of site knowledge—for certification.

“The people haven’t changed, which is very nice,” said Jess. “We’re just giving them a drone in their hands to go out and capture the data.”

Looking Ahead: BVLOS and Autonomy

Suncor’s drone ambitions don’t stop at line-of-sight. The company is keeping an eye on evolving regulations, and has an eye on deploying autonomous docked drone systems in the future.

“Where I see our program going in the next five years is that we’ll actually phase out pilots in the field and start to deploy them from fixed spots around our sites,” Jess said.

Autonomous, docked solutions would enable infrastructure monitoring without needing a pilot on site—an ideal fit for Suncor’s remote and expansive operations.

Catch the Full Story at the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit

Tedman Jess will be sharing more about Suncor’s drone journey at the upcoming Energy Drone & Robotics Summit. If you’re looking to understand how drones are reshaping the energy sector—from mining and power to environmental protection—this is a must-attend session.

As Dawn Zoldi put it at the end of her podcast, “I hope everybody walks away with a greater appreciation for all the different applications that can be utilized in the energy sector—and how Suncor is leveraging emerging technologies to make operations safer, more efficient, and more cost effective.”

Time is running out to register for the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit, which will take place June 16-18, 2025, in Houston, Texas. 

This article is based on the Dawn of Autonomy podcast episode featuring Tedman Jess of Suncor Energy, hosted by Dawn Zoldi of P3 Tech Consulting, as well as Dawn’s recap article on the AUVSI website.