Origin Energy adopts Pointerra3D for automated gas pipeline monitoring across their 750km network

Written by Matthew James, VP of Business Development - Resources at Pointerra

A new multi-year agreement between Pointerra and Origin Energy will see cloud-based digital twin technology used to monitor approximately 750 kilometres of gas transmission pipeline in Queensland, demonstrating how remote sensing and automated analytics can reshape the management of linear infrastructure.

Pipeline operators have long faced a fundamental challenge: how to efficiently monitor hundreds or thousands of kilometres of geographically dispersed assets while maintaining visibility of changing conditions along the corridor.

Reality capture technologies such as drones and LiDAR are making it possible to capture those environments in increasing detail. But capturing the data is only part of the equation. Turning large, repeated surveys into timely and consistent information that asset managers and engineers can use is where the operational value lies.

That is the challenge Pointerra is addressing with its cloud-native digital twin platform, Pointerra3D.

In July 2026, Pointerra commenced a multi-year program with Origin Energy to deploy Pointerra3D as an enterprise pipeline monitoring and analytics solution across approximately 750km of Origin's gas transmission pipeline network in Queensland.

The agreement followed a paid Proof of Concept that demonstrated how drone-acquired LiDAR and imagery could be processed and analysed through Pointerra3D to automate pipeline inspection workflows traditionally reliant on manual review and field-based processes.

The journey from capture to operational insight

Under the program, Origin's pipeline network will be surveyed quarterly by drone, with Pointerra3D providing the digital environment connecting capture partners with Origin's asset managers and engineers.

Rather than treating each survey as an isolated dataset, the platform enables successive captures to form part of an evolving digital twin of the pipeline corridor. This allows teams to identify and quantify changes between surveys and focus attention on areas requiring further investigation.

Pointerra3D's Pipeline Monitoring Analytics Package provides automated data ingestion and QA/QC alongside analytics including terrain, vegetation and surface change detection; third-party interference detection; erosion volume quantification; depth of cover analysis; vegetation segmentation; encroachment analysis; and automated generation of points of interest.

Analytics are targeted for delivery within 24 hours of receipt and validation of drone survey data, giving teams access to actionable information through a secure browser-based environment.

This approach changes the role of reality capture from simply providing a record of asset condition to supporting repeatable monitoring and decision-making.

For owners of long linear assets, that distinction is significant. A pipeline corridor can extend across hundreds of kilometres of changing terrain, vegetation and land use. Manually reviewing large volumes of imagery and point cloud data is difficult to scale, particularly when surveys are repeated regularly.

Automating that analysis allows asset teams to concentrate on identified changes, threats and exceptions rather than manually searching datasets for them.

These advanced analytics are already being demonstrated in the workflows shown throughout this article. Mesh clash and change detection can compare original design models with terrestrial laser scan data to highlight differences at facilities such as midline stations, while cross-section analysis can help visualise the pipeline’s relationship to terrain and cover using airborne laser scan data. Side-by-side design model and panoramic scan views also give engineering and asset teams a practical way to review field conditions against design context inside the same digital environment.

Managing linear assets across terrain and at scale

The Origin program demonstrates a broader application for digital twins across linear infrastructure.

Pointerra3D is data and sensor agnostic, allowing organisations to bring together LiDAR, photogrammetry, mobile mapping, imagery and other spatial information within a common cloud environment. Large datasets can be streamed and analysed directly through a web browser without requiring users to download the source data or rely on specialist desktop software.

For pipeline owners and operators, this can support workflows extending across right-of-way monitoring, vegetation and encroachment management, erosion assessment, depth of cover, third-party activity, engineering review and condition monitoring.

It also provides a common environment for the different organisations involved in the asset lifecycle. Capture providers can supply data into the platform while asset managers, engineers and other authorised stakeholders access the resulting digital twin and analytics from the same source.

The model is particularly relevant as pipeline operators increase the frequency and resolution of remote sensing programs. More frequent capture can provide better visibility, but it also creates substantially more data to manage and analyse. Cloud-based automation provides a way to scale the analysis alongside the capture program.

Extending the digital twin beyond the pipeline

While the initial Origin deployment centres on the 750km transmission network, the Master Services Agreement has been structured to allow Pointerra3D to expand into other upstream and downstream infrastructure where suitable use cases are identified, including wellheads, gathering networks and process infrastructure.

For Pointerra CEO and Co-Founder Ian Olson, the move from Proof of Concept into business-as-usual operations is an important demonstration of how automated spatial analytics can be applied to critical infrastructure.

“The Origin Energy contract is a significant milestone for the Company. It demonstrates the power of our disciplined PoC-to-BAU engagement model and validates the market demand for automated, cloud-native infrastructure asset monitoring solutions that reduce field exposure, improve compliance outcomes, and deliver actionable insights at scale,”

Ian Olson, Pointerra Global CEO & Co-Founder

Good news for pipeline and other linear asset operators

The project also reflects a wider shift in how reality capture can be used across pipeline operations. Rather than simply collecting more data, the opportunity is to create a repeatable workflow from capture, to analysis, to action.

For operators responsible for geographically dispersed linear assets, that means making the digital representation of the corridor a practical part of ongoing asset management — helping teams identify change sooner, prioritise where attention is required and extract more value from every survey.

Learn more about Pointerra3D’s oil and gas pipeline capabilities, or get in touch to see a demo of what’s possible for your linear asset network.