General Electric’s new Oil & Gas Technology Center in Oklahoma City features a drone working inside it alongside humans in an effort to help keep the environment as clean as possible.

The prototype drone, known as Raven, will have the important responsibility of precisely, and cost efficiently, detecting emissions to ensure that customers limit environmental impact, and help the oil and gas industry improve when it comes to operational efficiency. Raven has already proven reliable, as it was successfully tested in detecting emissions from oilfield equipment at well sites in Arkansas.

Raven will play an integral role in the smooth operation of a center that has big expectations and is expected to be a beacon of innovation within the Oil & Gas industry.

“To the greatest extent possible, we are bringing the oilfield and our customers directly into our lab space,” said General Manager of GE’s Global Research Oil and Gas Technology Center Michael Ming. “When you couple that with the world-leading scientists and engineers based here in Oklahoma City and at GE’s other global research centers around the world, you have a winning formula for driving transformational technologies the industry will need.”

GE President and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli added, “The new technology center in Oklahoma City will accelerate innovation; it’s where we can bring the full power of digital solutions and technology from across GE’s industrial businesses to advance the Oil & Gas industry.”

The new center is five stories tall, has two 30-ton overhead cranes for moving large testing equipment, and can hold up to 230 people.

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