Pipeline Third-Party Intrusion & Leak Detection

Our pipeline leak detection system combines DAS + DTS dual-parameter monitoring for third-party intrusion and leak detection, with drone and camera verification — 95–96% effective alarm rate.

Definition

What is distributed fiber optic monitoring for pipelines?

Distributed fiber optic pipeline monitoring converts the communication fiber buried alongside a pipeline into a continuous sensor line. Instead of point sensors or scheduled patrols, DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) listens along the full route for the vibration signatures of third-party excavation and machinery, while DTS (Distributed Temperature Sensing) tracks the temperature anomalies that indicate a leak. Landsub Global's pipeline solution localizes events to within ±2 m along the fiber and monitors up to 160 km (dual channel) per DAS channel, so a single fiber base covers tens to hundreds of kilometers of right-of-way — usually with one spare core of existing fiber and no new sensing cable along the line.

Challenges

Four pain points of long-haul pipeline safety

Third-party damage is unpredictable

Pipelines stretch tens to hundreds of kilometers across farmland, mountains and populated areas; mechanical excavation and illegal digging occur randomly and are impossible to cover by human patrol alone.

Leaks are found too late

Small leaks are hard to catch early; once sour gas or CO₂ escapes, the safety and environmental cost is severe. After-the-fact discovery is far too expensive.

Manual patrol is costly

Patrol cycles are long with many blind spots; alarm verification relies on staff arriving on site, and false alarms further drain patrol resources.

Special operating conditions

High-sulfur, pipe-in-pipe and CCUS CO₂ pipelines lack mature monitoring solutions, demanding strong system adaptability.

Solution Architecture

Architecture: Sense → Analyze → Verify

One fiber sensing base with a three-layer closed loop, upgrading alarms from notification to response.

Layer 1 · Sensing

Dual-parameter fiber monitoring

DAS (distributed acoustic sensing) monitors vibration and acoustic signatures along the line, identifying excavation and leak acoustic features with meter-level localization; DTS (distributed temperature sensing) simultaneously monitors temperature anomalies to cross-verify leaks. 160 km (dual channel) per DAS channel minimizes relay points.

Layer 2 · Intelligence

AI pattern recognition cuts false alarms

The in-house AI algorithm distinguishes excavator, farm-machinery and manual activity, with 99.32% objective accuracy in a national AI competition. Legacy DAS/DVS systems can gain the same capability through the AI Sentry™ upgrade.

Layer 3 · Response

Drone & camera verification

Alarms are pushed with precise coordinates, dispatching the nearest drone or camera for on-site verification and remote deterrence — replacing manual visits and lowering patrol labor cost.

Deployment

How a typical deployment works

From fiber survey to closed-loop operations — most projects run on one spare core of existing fiber.

Survey the route and fiber resources. Confirm pipeline length, medium and operating conditions, and whether the co-located communication fiber has a spare core — most long-haul lines already do.
Design the architecture. Select DAS channels (up to 160 km dual channel each), add DTS where leak cross-verification is needed, and plan host placement to minimize relay points.
Install and commission. Connect the sensing hosts to the spare core and calibrate the fiber baseline — no new trenching along the right-of-way in most deployments.
Calibrate AI recognition. The pattern-recognition model learns site-specific signatures and is verified in the field; legacy DAS/DVS systems can reach ≥95% recognition accuracy via the AI Sentry™ upgrade.
Run the closed loop. Verified alarms push precise coordinates to the coordination platform, dispatching the nearest drone or camera. The same fiber base also supports acoustic pig tracking — 3000+ km of cumulative tracking experience.

Proven Results

Measurable results

99.32%

Objective accuracy · national AI competition

95%

Effective alarm rate · China–Myanmar 59.14 km line

≥96%

Effective alarm rate · 32 of 33 verified (PetroChina)

100%

Field recognition accuracy · high-sulfur test

Centralized procurement

PetroChina Southwest

First place in pipeline fiber early-warning centralized procurement; replaced a leading global brand on the high-sulfur pipeline.

View case

First-of-kind

Sinopec Southwest

First high-sulfur pipe-in-pipe third-party intrusion & leak warning system, winning multi-vendor trials.

View case

First-of-kind

PetroChina Jilin

First CCUS CO₂ long-haul pipeline third-party intrusion & leak warning system.

View case

Retrofit: AI Sentry™ for existing systems

Legacy DAS/DVS warning systems with high false-alarm rates? AI Sentry™ injects the AI algorithm without replacing hardware — DAS ≥95%, DVS ≥90% recognition accuracy after upgrade.

Extension: pig / inline-inspection tracking

Reuse the same DAS sensing base to track pigging and inline inspection runs acoustically, with no extra sensing equipment. View pig tracking

Deep dive: UAV pipeline inspection

The drone layer in action — how DAS-triggered automatic dispatch turns verified alarms into airborne eyes within minutes. View UAV pipeline inspection

Comparison

How the sensing approach compares

A factual comparison of common monitoring approaches for long-haul pipelines.

Pipeline monitoring approaches at a glance
Dimension	Traditional point-based sensors	Periodic manual patrol	Distributed fiber monitoring
Coverage	Discrete points with gaps between them; cost scales with sensor count	Only what the schedule reaches; blind spots between patrol cycles	Continuous along the full route, up to 160 km (dual channel) per channel
Event localization	Only the sensor nearest to the event	Depends on when the crew happens to pass	Meter-level, ±2 m along the fiber
Response trigger	When an event reaches a sensor	On the next scheduled visit	Automatic alarm at detection, with drone/camera dispatch
In-service operation	Field power and networking per point; electronics age in harsh terrain	Labor-intensive; exposure to hazardous sections	Passive fiber in the ground, host at one end; no field power along the line
Alarm verification	Alarm only — a crew still drives out to confirm	Verification only at the moment of the visit	AI classification (≥95% on upgraded systems) plus drone/camera visual confirmation

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Usually not. Long-haul pipelines already have co-located communication fiber; the solution uses one spare core. Landsub Global's sensing-communication fusion technology even lets one core carry video-stream communication and acoustic sensing simultaneously.

When DAS/DTS detects third-party damage or a leak anomaly, the system pushes the alarm event with precise coordinates to the coordination platform, dispatching the nearest drone or camera to verify and remotely deter. This closed loop cuts on-site attendance and patrol labor.

Field data: 99.32% objective accuracy in a national AI competition; 95% overall effective alarm rate on the 59.14 km China–Myanmar line; 32 of 33 alarms verified effective (≥96%) in a PetroChina Southwest project.

Yes, with proven track record. Landsub Global delivered the first high-sulfur pipe-in-pipe warning system (Sinopec Southwest) and the first CCUS CO₂ long-haul pipeline warning system (PetroChina Jilin), and completed a field-proven replacement of a leading global brand at PetroChina Northeast Sichuan with 100% on-site DAS recognition.

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