Refineries, terminals and tank farms run some of the longest fences in industry, often around hazardous areas where powered electronics cannot go. RBtec covers the distance with passive fiber sensing and keeps every active component safely outside the zone.
Three things separate an energy site from a normal industrial fence. Distance: a refinery or tank farm perimeter is measured in kilometers, and pipeline corridors in tens of kilometers. Hazardous area classification: large parts of the site restrict what powered electronics can be installed. And consequence: theft, vandalism and activist incursions at an energy facility carry process safety and downtime costs far beyond the loss itself.
API Standard 780 defines the security risk assessment methodology the industry uses to justify and document measures. Waterfront refineries and terminals fall under MTSA, 33 CFR Part 105, with a Coast Guard approved Facility Security Plan. The CFATS program lapsed in July 2023 and remains unauthorized, though CISA encourages voluntary adherence and many operators still run to their existing site security plans. TSA pipeline security guidelines and insurer loss prevention audits round out the picture. All of them expect a documented, risk based detection layer.
The sensing element of RaySense AI DAS is optical fiber: glass, with no electricity in the field. The active electronics sit in the control room, kilometers away from the classified zone, which makes the architecture a natural fit where powered field devices are a problem. One unit monitors long perimeter runs and locates events along the fiber, so the fence beside the flare and the fence at the truck gate are separate zones with separate tuning.
RaySense LGDS buries the fiber along the right of way and detects walking, vehicles and digging near the line, while RaySense TPI is tuned specifically for third party interference: the excavator that shows up next to the pipeline is reported while it digs, not after the strike.
Sector by sector along the fence or right of way, engineered with RBtec design support and installed by the site contractor. The passive field architecture means no hot work permits for powered devices along the line and very little to maintain once commissioned.
RaySense fiber covers long fences with no power in the field.
LGDS buried sensing along pipelines and open ground.
TPI reports digging near the line while it happens.
Zoned alarms give auditors documented detection coverage.
One passive architecture for fence, buried and pipeline.Electronics stay outside the hazardous zone.Kilometers covered from a single monitoring unit.A documented layer for API 780 style assessments.We’re here to help. Whether it’s a quick question or something more complex: no pressure, just answers.
With passive sensing. Fiber optic detection keeps all powered electronics in the control room while the glass sensing cable runs the fence or the trench, which satisfies hazardous area constraints and covers kilometers from one unit.
DAS turns a standard optical fiber into a continuous sensor. The unit sends light pulses down the fiber and reads the reflections, detecting and locating vibration events such as cutting, climbing, digging or vehicles along the entire length.
A buried fiber along the right of way senses the characteristic vibration of excavation and reports it with a location while the digging is in progress, which gives the operator time to intervene before the line is struck.
Waterfront facilities regulated under MTSA maintain a Coast Guard approved Facility Security Plan under 33 CFR Part 105, including restricted areas and measures to detect unauthorized access. Perimeter detection is a standard element of those plans.
No. The CFATS authorization lapsed in July 2023 and has not been renewed. CISA encourages voluntary adherence, and many operators continue to follow their existing site security plans while relying on API 780 based assessments to justify measures.
Real deployments with the problem each site faced,
what was installed and how it performs.
RBtec delivers innovative perimeter security solutions trusted worldwide. With over 5,000 systems installed in 57 countries, our products combine reliability, cost-effectiveness, and user-friendly design for any site size or risk level.
