The FAA has authorized Austin-based drone developer Skyways to conduct a long-range flight between the Louisiana coast and an offshore Shell platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The agency described the approval in Monday’s announcement as its first authorization for a beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operation originating from the U.S. coastline and extending over the Gulf.
Skyways will use its autonomous V2 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to depart a Shell Pipeline Company LC (SPLC) facility in Gibson, Louisiana. The planned flight includes an inspection of a pipeline right-of-way and a simulated equipment delivery to the offshore platform. The FAA did not specify a flight date or distance.
Skyways previously used the V2 for offshore deliveries to a Baltic Sea wind farm in Germany, completing approximately 50-mile round trips during a 2025 demonstration.
“The FAA is focused on safely unlocking the full potential of American drone technology and ensuring our regulatory framework keeps pace with innovation,” said Acting FAA Deputy Administrator Liam McKenna. “This first-of-its-kind authorization demonstrates how we are working with industry to move beyond traditional operating limitations and enable the next generation of commercial drone operations.”
Previous Offshore Operations
Shell has also been testing autonomous drones at its Gulf facilities. The company completed 44 flights from its Mars floating production platform in April and secured a separate FAA waiver for offshore BVLOS operations, according to a September industry report from the Journal of Petroleum Technology. Those operations involved drones launched from offshore facilities rather than long-range flights originating onshore.
“Operations over water are different from over land in that the sun reflects far more off water than it does over ground,” Shell senior robotics engineer Ross Doak told the Journal of Petroleum Technology. “And so, with vision-based systems, glare is a huge issue.”
Regulatory Approval
The FAA issued the Skyways authorization under Section 927 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. According to the agency’s waiver guidance, the process allows certain drone operations to receive regulatory relief without going through the traditional exemption process. Operators must still demonstrate that their proposed flights will not adversely affect safety or will provide an equivalent level of safety.
The approval comes as the FAA continues developing its proposed Part 108 framework for routine BVLOS operations. That proposal has raised questions about right-of-way rules and electronic detection of crewed aircraft, issues addressed in an earlier regulatory review.
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