ZenaTech Buys Into Alberta Oil and Gas Drone Work

ZenaTech's 25th acquisition adds a Grande Prairie drone firm, extending its reach into oil and gas compliance work.

28 Jul 2026

ZenaTech has completed its acquisition of Velocity Geomatics, a drone surveying company based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, marking the Nasdaq-listed firm's first move into environmental and regulatory compliance services built specifically for the oil and gas industry. The deal, announced July 16, is ZenaTech's 25th acquisition since the company committed in January 2025 to reach that milestone by mid-2026. It establishes a drone-as-a-service presence in a sector ZenaTech says is growing more than 28 percent a year.

Velocity Geomatics, which operates as Velocity Group, brings offices across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, along with an existing customer base that includes several large and multinational oil and gas producers. Its drone-based surveying work covers environmental and regulatory assessments tied to extraction and pipeline operations, an area where operators increasingly favor aerial data over traditional ground crews, citing lower cost and reduced safety exposure.

ZenaTech's chief executive, Shaun Passley, described the deal as both a sector expansion and the fulfillment of a stated corporate target, one the company set following its 2024 public offering. Analysts said the acquisition fits a broader industry pattern, as drone and robotics adoption spreads across Canadian midstream and upstream operations, where thermal imaging, gas detection sensors and LiDAR are increasingly used for pipeline patrols and facility inspection.

Regulatory tailwinds have helped clear the runway. Transport Canada's 2025 amendments to the Canadian Aviation Regulations enabled beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations without case-by-case flight certificates, a change industry observers say is accelerating commercial drone adoption across pipeline corridors and remote sites once too costly or hazardous to inspect using conventional methods.