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Volume 21 Number 8 - August 2021
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CONTENTS WORLD PIPELINES | VOLUME 21 | NUMBER 8 | AUGUST 2021 03. Comment Nord Stream 2: road to completion
FIELD JOINT COATINGS 45. Enhanced by automation
05. Pipeline news
Lino Civardi, CEO of LK2, and Marc Rausch, Global BD Manager pre-insulated pipes/DE market, Canusa CPS.
Updates on Nord Stream 2, the OPAL gas pipeline dispute and new US cybersecurity requirements.
REGIONAL REPORT 09. Helping the UK subsea sector navigate new waters Subsea UK urges the subsea industry to take stock of new export and trade controls.
LEAK DETECTION 13. Leak detection: tick every box
CORROSION: DEFECT ASSESSMENT 49. Mapping corrosion Graham Marshall, Sonomatic, UK.
INLINE INSPECTION SERVICES 54. Subscribing to a new ILI approach John van Pol, CEO, INGU, Canada.
Carin Meyer, Regulation Compliance Specialist for Atmos International.
contractors’
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he subject of data seems to dominate every business discussion today. Yet, too often, there are few pointed questions about the ultimate value of the information being presented and, most critically, how accumulating data can best be applied in support of operational planning, asset management, and sound business decision-making. From day one at INGU, we have challenged ourselves on the fundamentals of business value – even before we understood the full importance of our work as physicists, data scientists, and machine learning experts. We dedicated ourselves to improving pipeline performance and safety, and in doing so, we have come to a deep understanding of the business needs of those tasked with managing these critical energy assets.
Four qualities that give data its business value There are four critically important qualities that give data its business value: quality, reliability, timeliness, and affordability. If data has these qualities, those using it will not only be able to know things they didn’t know before, but they will be empowered to effectively manage their business operations, making decisions that will deliver a measurable return on investment.
directory - Featuring: DENSO Group Germany; Denys; ILF, NACAP; Precision Pipeline; ROSEN Group; Saipem; Seal for Life Industries; Serimax; STATS Group; T.D. Williamson; Winn & Coales International.
John van Pol, CEO, INGU, Canada, presents inline inspection as a service: an operating systems approach to pipeline integrity.
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SOFTWARE AND DATA MANAGEMENT 59. AIM: the next generation Gaurav Siingh, ROSEN Group, Europe.
65. Adding intelligence to pipeline operations THE ENERGY TRANSITION 33. Deal-making for the energy transition Rosalie Chadwick, Global Head of Oil & Gas, Pinsent Masons.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 37. Flexibly following the route Joachim Seyr, LCS Cable Cranes.
Ross Otto, Engineering Manager of Sensia, a Rockwell Automation company, Canada.
PIPELINE REPLACEMENT 69. Battling bend corrosion Troy Swankie, Senior Principal Specialist with DNV and Paul Hill, Service Line Manager with Team Industrial Services.
HDD 41. The journey from Jack Bore to HDD Joe Pikas and Drew Lafleur, Technical Toolboxes, USA.
ON THIS MONTH'S COVER
®
Volume 21 Number 8 - August 2021
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COMMENT NORD STREAM 2: ROAD TO COMPLETION
SENIOR EDITOR Elizabeth Corner elizabeth.corner@palladianpublications.com
MANAGING EDITOR James Little james.little@palladianpublications.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR Aimee Knight aimee.knight@palladianpublications.com
SALES DIRECTOR Rod Hardy rod.hardy@palladianpublications.com
SALES MANAGER Chris Lethbridge chris.lethbridge@palladianpublications.com
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PRODUCTION Calli Fabian calli.fabian@palladianpublications.com
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n efforts to find some resolution to a long-standing quarrel over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and to patch up US-German relations in general, US President Biden announced on 21 July a deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that allows the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In return, Ukraine will receive US$50 million in green energy technology credits and a guarantee of repayment for the gas transit fees it will lose by being bypassed by the pipeline until 2024, with a possible 10 year extension. Merkel and Biden in effect announced a climate and energy partnership, which Biden said will support energy security and the development of sustainable energy in emerging economies in Central Europe and Ukraine. Commitments have been made by both the US and Germany to ensure increased investment in Ukraine’s energy sector to compensate for any negative fallout from the new pipeline. Germany and the US have both committed to supporting a US$1 billion (€850 million) fund for Ukraine to diversify its energy sources. Germany has guaranteed it will reimburse Ukraine for gas transit fees it will lose and will offer Ukraine support to transition away from coal. Germany has also agreed to sign the ‘Three Seas Initiative’, an EU and US-promoted scheme that aims to boost energy security among countries bordering the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic seas. Biden’s greenlighting of Nord Stream 2 will puzzle many who watched him revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on home soil in January. He dislikes both projects, but one got the go-ahead. The funding for alternative energy and development projects may be slim reward for countries like Ukraine and Poland, on whom Russia will cease depending for transit rights to supply Western Europe with energy,
and who will feel increasingly geopolitcially vulnerable. This seems like a U-turn for Biden and a massive win for the EU. In a press conference with Merkel earlier in July, Biden stated: “While I reiterated my concerns about Nord Stream 2, Chancellor Merkel and I are absolutely united in our conviction that Russia must not be allowed to use energy as a weapon to coerce or threaten its neighbours” but went on to say “My view on Nord Stream 2 has been known for some time. Good friends can disagree, but by the time I became President, it was 90% completed and imposing sanctions did not seem to make any sense.” The President waived sanctions against the Swiss-based pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG in May. Nord Stream 2 AG is owned by the Russian state energy company Gazprom. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed the new logo we are proudly displaying on the contents page this month. As a magazine with print distribution, we know that we need to commit to reducing our impact on the environment. We use carbon balanced paper to reduce carbon impact and protect endangered species. Carbon balancing is delivered by World Land Trust, an international conservation charity, which protects the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats acre by acre. Its Carbon Balanced Programme offsets emissions through the purchase and preservation of ecologically important standing forests under threat of clearance, locking in carbon that would otherwise be released. This is now recognised as one of the swiftest ways to arrest the rise in atmospheric CO2 and global warming effects. Sir David Attenborough, a patron of the trust, says: “The money that is given to the World Land Trust, in my estimation, has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of.” I like to think of it as our own climate and energy partnership.
MERKEL AND BIDEN ANNOUNCED A CLIMATE AND ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
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WORLD NEWS Nord Stream 2 pipeline: USA and Germany reach a deal to rebuild ties The US has reached a deal with Germany to prevent Russia from using its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as political leverage over Europe. Under the terms of the US-German deal, Ukraine will receive US$50 million in green energy technology credits and a guarantee of repayment for gas transit fees it will lose by being bypassed by the pipeline through 2024, according to a report from the Associated Press. The agreement aims to stanch fears about European dependence on Russian energy. Under the terms of the deal, the US and Germany committed to countering any Russian attempt to use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a political weapon, and they agreed to support Ukraine and Poland, both of which are bypassed by the project and fear Russia’s intentions, by funding alternative energy and development projects. “The United States and Germany are united in their determination to hold Russia to account for its aggression and malign activities by imposing costs via sanctions and other tools,” they said in a joint statement that covered Nord
Stream 2 as well as Russia’s support for separatists in Ukraine. “Should Russia attempt to use energy as a weapon or commit further aggressive acts against Ukraine, Germany will take action at the national level and press for effective measures at the European level, including sanctions, to limit Russian export capabilities to Europe in the energy sector,” it said. The Nord Stream 2 project has posed a major foreign policy dilemma for the Biden administration. US officials from both parties have long feared that it would give Russia too much power over European gas supplies. But the pipeline is almost completed and the US has been determined to rebuild ties with Germany that were damaged during the Trump administration. Poland and Ukraine expressed their displeasure over the decision to allow the pipeline’s completion and said the efforts to reduce the Russian security threat were not sufficient. The near-complete 1230 km (764 miles) pipeline under the Baltic Sea will double Russian gas exports to Germany.
DHS announces new cybersecurity requirements for critical pipeline owners and operators On 20 July, in response to the ongoing cybersecurity threat to pipeline systems, Department of Homeland Ssecurity’s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the issuance of a second Security Directive that requires owners and operators of TSA-designated critical pipelines that transport hazardous liquids and natural gas to implement a number of urgently needed protections against cyber intrusions. “The lives and livelihoods of the American people depend on our collective ability to protect our Nation’s critical infrastructure from evolving threats,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Through this Security Directive, DHS can better ensure the pipeline sector takes the steps necessary to safeguard their operations from rising cyber threats, and better protect our national and economic security. Public-private partnerships are critical to the security of every community across our country and DHS will continue working closely with our private sector partners to support their operations and increase their cybersecurity resilience.” The Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advised TSA on cybersecurity threats to the pipeline industry, as well as technical countermeasures to prevent those threats, during the development of this second Security Directive. This Security Directive requires owners and operators of TSA-designated critical pipelines to implement specific mitigation measures to protect against ransomware attacks and other known threats to information technology and operational technology systems, develop and implement a cybersecurity contingency and recovery plan, and conduct a cybersecurity architecture design review. This is the second Security Directive that TSA has issued to the pipeline sector this year, building upon an initial
Security Directive that TSA issued in May 2021 following the ransomware attack on a major petroleum pipeline. The May 2021 Security Directive requires critical pipeline owners and operators to (1) report confirmed and potential cybersecurity incidents to CISA; (2) designate a Cybersecurity Coordinator to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; (3) review current practices; and, (4) identify any gaps and related remediation measures to address cyber-related risks and report the results to TSA and CISA within 30 days. Since 2001, TSA has worked closely with pipeline owners and operators, as well as its partners across the federal government, to enhance the physical security preparedness of US hazardous liquid and natural gas pipeline systems. TSA works closely with CISA, the nation’s lead agency for protecting critical infrastructure against cybersecurity threats, to execute this mission. The announcement is the latest response by the Biden administration to a series of ransomware attacks and intrusions hitting critical US infrastructure, raising fears about American cybersecurity. The guidance comes after another directive issued weeks after the 7 May attack on Georgiabased Colonial Pipeline. Commenting on developments, Michael Fabian, Principal Security Consultant, Synopsys Software Integrity Group, said: “In the case of Colonial Pipeline, the pipeline operations were halted due to the inability for the operator to bill customers. While this particular attack didn’t affect OT systems, Colonial Pipeline reportedly did fear that the attackers gained information allowing them to potentially attack OT areas of their operations ... Security hygiene practices around incident response and disaster response are key when it comes to ransomware attack potential in terms of business continuity and damage control.”
AUGUST 2021 / World Pipelines
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WORLD NEWS EVENTS DIARY NEW DATES AND LOCATION: 21 - 23 September 2021 Gastech Exhibition & Conference 2021 Dubai, UAE https://www.gastechevent.com/
NEW DATES: 21 - 23 September 2021 Global Energy Show 2021 Calgary, Canada https://www.globalenergyshow.com/
18 - 19 October 2021 Transportation Oil and Gas Congress 2021 (TOGC 2021) Zurich, Switzerland https://togc.events/
20 October 2021
ESAI Energy: new pipeline flows support crude prices Analysis of pipeline flows, highlighted in ESAI Energy’s recent North America Watch, found that more Canadian crude oil will be directed to the US Gulf Coast (USGC) over the coming year as new pipeline capacity comes online helping offset some of the downward price pressure of relatively strong oilsands production growth. ESAI Energy reports that additional pipeline egress will accommodate annual production growth of around 350 000 bpd from Alberta in 2021. The 390 000 bpd Line 3 Replacement in 4Q21 will deliver Canadian barrels to the US Midwest and to expanded connections to the USGC. Additionally, the long-awaited reversal of the Capline will likely take Canadian crude from Patoka, Illinois to refining markets in Louisiana once it starts in early 2022.
At Cushing, Oklahoma, ESAI Energy sees continued price support for WTI as changes in pipeline flows and lower production from the Niobrara and Bakken shale basins means further draws on crude stocks into 2022, as shown in the chart below. Additionally, ESAI Energy sees less Permian crude going to Cushing as new pipelines from West Texas are aimed at reaching export markets at the USGC. Elisabeth Murphy, Upstream Analyst at ESAI Energy explains that “as contracts rolloff older pipelines, especially those to Cushing, more Permian crude will be directed to the USGC, enhanced by low tariffs and higher netbacks. Foreign demand for US exports held up remarkably well in 2020, and looks to remain strong in the coming year.”
OpTech 2021 ONLINE CONFERENCE https://www.worldpipelines.com/optech2021/
NEW DATES: 8 - 11 November 2021 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference 2021 (ADIPEC) Abu Dhabi, UAE https://www.adipec.com/exhibition/
NEW DATES: 5 - 9 December 2021 23rd World Petroleum Congress Houston, USA https://www.wpc2020.com/
7 - 9 December 2021 15th annual GPCA Forum Dubai, UAE www.gpcaforum.net
31 January - 2 February 2022 European Gas Conference (EGC) 2022 Vienna, Austria www.energycouncil.com/event-events/europeangas-conference/
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World Pipelines / AUGUST 2021
Poland wins dispute over the OPAL gas pipeline The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the European Commission violated the principle of energy solidarity by issuing a decision on the OPAL gas pipeline. The CJEU agreed with Poland, which challenged the European Commission’s decision exempting the OPAL gas pipeline from EU regulations. According to the ruling, the Commission’s action was contrary to the principle of energy solidarity and did not take into account the interests of all member states concerned. The proceedings before the CJEU concerned the rules of use of the OPAL gas pipeline, which is an onshore extension of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in German territory. In 2016, the European Commission issued a new decision exempting OPAL from the need to apply EU rules prohibiting the monopolisation of transmission infrastructure. In doing so, it allowed all of the pipeline’s capacity to be used by a single user, Gazprom. The CJEU judgment of 15 July 2021, favourable to Poland, is final. This means that OPAL will be subject to regulations limiting the dominant supplier’s ability to use the entire capacity of the pipeline, as provided for in the European Commission’s 2009 decision. Currently, proceedings concerning Nord Stream 2 AG’s application for derogation from the EU law are pending before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf.
THE MIDSTREAM UPDATE •
Subsea 7 awarded contract in the Middle East
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NDT Global announces refreshed corporate brand
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Plains All American and Oryx Midstream announce JV
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Excelerate Energy, Snam, and Albgaz sign MOU to pursue new gas pipeline
Follow us on LinkedIn to read more about the articles linkedin.com/showcase/worldpipelines
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W Subsea UK urges the subsea industry to take stock of new export and trade controls.
hile the supply chain is desperate to return to normal and capitalise on orders following the disruptions caused by COVID-19, there’s a need for companies to exercise caution when processing transactions involving controlled items, particularly in light of new export and trade rules in place following Brexit. Since the United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 December 2020, licensing requirements for the export of certain items to the EU have changed. If you are based in Great Britain, a licence is now required to export all dual usecontrolled items, including certain underwater equipment, which in turn impacts subsea, oil and gas, and renewables firms in Great Britain looking to supply controlled products to clients in the EU. Advice on how subsea companies can navigate export and trade controls, including the changes in place following Brexit, was the focus of a recent webinar organised by Subsea UK and the Department for International Trade (DIT). For full details about which licences are required for trading in dual-use and other controlled items from Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the EU, see the government guidance. The webinar was presented by Claire Harrison who leads the work of the Business Awareness Unit in the Export Control
Figure 1. Blue Ocean Monitoring light class AUV pipeline inspection.
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Joint Unit (ECJU). ECJU is the government administrative body for licensing controlled goods software and technology. ECJU also ensures UK exporters understand export control and trade sanctions regulations and policies, to enable them to remain compliant with export control laws on military and dual use goods software and technology, as well as sanctions regulations on items exporting to sanctioned destinations. The overall aim of the online event was to provide government guidance on the export and trade controls affecting the industry, the strategic export licenses required by the sector and the application process, to ensure transactions are as smooth as possible for both suppliers and customers.
Controlled items Submersible vessels, telecommunications equipment, radio communications equipment and marine navigation radars – just some examples of ‘dual use’ controlled items due to their potential defence capabilities – now require a licence if being exported to countries within the EU. You can check whether your items are controlled using the consolidated list of military and dual use items, including UK national controls. You can also use the Goods Checker Tool to check if your items are included on the lists, or apply for a control list classification on SPIRE. With the subsea industry having a vested interest in these items, the need for the sector to fully understand the controls and how they can impact on trade was highlighted at the event. Claire Harrison said: “Before the end of EU Transition, most dual use controlled items being shipped to the EU didn’t need a licence. Now, if you are in Great Britain and selling items on the dual use control list to the EU, then you need a licence. To facilitate these exports, ECJU published the Open General export license dual-use items to EU Member States, which requires registration on SPIRE, the Export Control Organisation’s online export licensing system. “If you are exporting dual-use items to other countries, you may be able to use the Retained General Export Authorisations for your exports. If you can’t meet the terms
and conditions of these types of open licences and your items are controlled, you need to apply for a Standard Individual Licence. “Typically, with subsea, some of these exports may not be permanent – the underwater equipment in question may be for hire. This is a temporary export, and a different licence is required in that circumstance. “Anything on the strategic control lists being exported anywhere in the world needs a license. If it’s dual use, companies may be able to use an open general export licence to ship to the customer. That generally involves a one-off registration. You will only need to quote the licence name or the unique licence number on your commercial documentation. If you can’t use an open licence, you must use an individual export licence”. There are no charges for strategic export control licences.
Know your customer One of the biggest pieces of advice from Claire to the subsea industry was the importance of suppliers knowing the location of the end user and, most importantly, if they are based in a sanctioned destination. There is a new UK sanctions regime. Helpfully, the processes of ensuring the requirements for licensing haven’t changed. If there’s a trade sanction or arms embargo in place impacting the subsea sector, you will need to apply for a licence. See the government guidance on UK sanctions and where trade sanctions, arms embargoes and other trading restrictions apply. Claire added: “UK suppliers need to be aware of the end users and conduct due diligence. Who are the typical customers of your customer? “Also, if the controlled equipment or item isn’t being shipped from UK, but the UK subsidiary or parent company is instructing another part of the company overseas to ship the item to a third country, then they need to have permission from us to do that – that’s called a trade control. Navigation and subsea items could come into that, and a trade control licence may be required.”
Protect your know-how The export and trade controls don’t just cover equipment and technology, with permissions also required for sending physical and intangible transfers such as valuable technical details, blueprints, and even instructions manuals associated with any controlled items. Claire Harrison explained: “The know-how – the insight and technology needed to build the equipment - is also controlled, as is software. Transfer of that technology or software, physical or digital, requires a licence.”
Best practice
Figure 2. Technip FMC subsea infrastructure.
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World Pipelines / AUGUST 2021
For companies looking to comply with the new export and trade rules and ensure smooth transactions with customers, Claire Harrison emphasised that research and preparation is key.
“Knowing who your end user is and who you are supplying to is crucial”. Companies need to ask a few questions: ) Is the country in sanction? ) Why does the customer need the equipment? ) What’s the intended end use of the equipment – could it
be intended for a military or weapons of mass destruction end use? “Likewise, if you get an enquiry and are not sure who the end user is, you should do due diligence checks – there’s a lot of open-source information available. If you have suspicions about the end user – or have been informed by government that a licence is required – you must apply for a licence.” On processing licences, ECJU publishes targets – e.g. 70% of SIELs will be processed in 20 working days. Regarding ‘lead times’ for applications, these can vary dependant on the license required and other risk factors including the end use. Check first to see if you can use an open general export licence, as some dual use items are covered by these. ECJU also processes trade sanctions licence applications via the SPIRE platform. HMRC is the government department responsible for enforcing breaches of export control laws. Breaches can lead to taking away use of a licence, financial and/or civil penalties.
Subsea UK champions British underwater engineering expertise, skills, and technology, working closely with the industry, government, and academia on initiatives to assist firms increase exports, diversify into new markets, and develop new technological solutions. The industry body has been working closely with DIT to provide members with the most up to date and reliable information to ensure their compliance with export and trade controls. Neil Gordon, Chief Executive of Subsea UK said: “With recent changes on exports to EU countries and a growing global demand for subsea infrastructure for renewables projects, including the emerging floating offshore wind market, it’s now more important than ever that industry is aware of regulations. “Through our collaborative partnerships with government bodies and agencies like DIT, and our knowledge of the industry’s target markets, Subsea UK arms companies with the intelligence required to increase exports and points them in the right direction for getting the best advice, in-country support and cost-effective access to trade missions to expand their global footprint.” Sign up for Notices to Exporters to receive the latest information on changes to policy and licence requirements. It’s a free service and keeps you updated on how to remain compliant.
Carin Meyer, Regulation Compliance Specialist for Atmos International, explores the importance of regulations and how operators can ensure they stay up-to-date and compliant.
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ll pipeline operators must abide by rules and regulations to be able to operate within their regions. In regions where regular leak detection system audits take place, compliance and detailed knowledge of how they operate is essential. Recommended practices and standards are incorporated by reference into regulations in North America (the US and Canada). Regulations in the US are API RP 1130 (Computational Pipeline Monitoring (CPM) for Liquids), API RP 1175 (Recommended Practice for Pipeline Leak Detection) under 49 CFR 195.134 and 49 CFR 195.444 and in Canada, CSA Z662-19 Annex E (Oil and Gas Pipelines; Sales quality liquid hydrocarbon pipeline leak detection) under CSA Z662:19 section 10.3.3.1. Leak detection has always been taken seriously by operators and owners alike. Gas detection was used by coal miners in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries during the
Industrial Revolution, and over the last 50 years it has been enhanced with technology using computers and advanced field devices. Liquid leak detection was primarily by over and short reports, aerial flyovers as well as walking the pipeline. All these traditional leak detection methods remain viable and are still used today, depending on pipeline classification. As computers made their way to the pipeline industry in the 1950s and the term SCADA was coined along with the evolution of microprocessors and PLC concepts, computational pipeline modelling could be applied. Advances in telecommunications have allowed additional data with further reliability and higher scan rates to come into the SCADA control room. Technology is continuing to evolve, allowing for more sensitive and accurate leak detection. The first edition of API RP 1130 was published in 1995, API RP 1175 was established in 2015 incorporating API TR 1149 (Pipeline
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Variable Uncertainties and Their Effects on Leak Detectability) and CSA Z662-19 Annex E was established in 1994. The regulations are reviewed periodically, involving industry leaders and experts, and multiple versions have been released since the first publication.
How can companies ensure compliance? While some pipeline operating companies (POCs) have dedicated teams to manage leak detection and improvement, regulatory compliance still offers some challenges. For smaller operators or those without a significant number of leak detection engineers, an audit can throw up some difficulties which require additional support. Larger operators also face significant challenges as they often have pipelines within or
crossing multiple states that must comply with different local regulations and face audits from different bodies. They may also have many different types of regulated pipelines that must be treated differently from a leak detection standpoint. Using an external partner offers benefits as they bring expert knowledge of engineering and deployment of leak detection systems across many pipelines. It is important to continuously stay up to date with changing regulations and nuances explored during audits, and leak detection specialists can assist POCs large or small with this. A regulation compliance service consists of, but is not limited to, gap analysis on existing programmes or creating programmes to comply with the various regulations. No two pipelines or operating systems are the same, however, so a bespoke approach is required to deliver: ) Compliance
statements. ) Necessary
procedures. ) Testing programmes. ) Training. ) Gap analysis. ) Rescue programmes
to support pending audits.
Figure 1. Historical trend.
Compliance is not just limited to API RP 1130, API RP 1175 and CSA Z662-19 Annex E. Within those best practices/ standards are references to the following regulations, meaning that even more specialist knowledge can be required to demonstrate compliance:
API RP 1168 – Pipeline Control Room Management
Figure 2. Hydraulic profile.
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World Pipelines / AUGUST 2021
The purpose of this recommended practice is to provide pipeline operators, and pipeline controllers, with guidance on industry best practices on control room management to consider when
developing or enhancing processes, procedures, and training. This document was written for operators with continuous and non-continuous operations, as applicable.
API RP 1165 – Recommended Practice for Pipeline SCADA Displays This Recommended Practice (RP) focuses on the design and implementation of displays used for the display, monitoring, and control of information on pipeline Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA). The primary purpose is to document industry practices that guide a pipeline company or operator who wants to select a new SCADA system or update or expand an existing SCADA system.
API RP 1167 – Pipeline SCADA Alarm Management This document is intended to provide pipeline operators with recommended industry practices in the development, implementation, and maintenance of an alarm management programme. It provides guidance on elements that include, but are not limited to: alarm definition, philosophy, documentation, management of change, and auditing.
API 1164 – Pipeline SCADA Security This document is structured so that the main body provides a high-level view of holistic security practices. The annexes provide further details and technical guidance. Reviewing the main body of this document and following the guidance outlined in the annexes assist in creating inherently secure operations. Implementation of this standard, to advance SCADA cybersecurity, is not a simple process or one-time event, but a continuous process. The overall process could take years to implement correctly depending on the complexity of the SCADA system. Additionally, the process would optimally be started as part of a SCADA upgrade project and use this standard to ‘design in’ security as an element of the new system.
API TR 1149 – Pipeline Variable Uncertainties and Their Effects on Leak Detectability This document describes procedures for predicting uncertainties in the detection of leaks in pipelines using computational methods based upon physical hydraulic state measurements. This class of pipeline leak detection methods is commonly called computational pipeline monitoring (CPM). Many factors are known to contribute to the effectiveness of CPM and it is essential to understand the uncertainty in the prediction made by the CPM algorithm in use regarding the existence, or absence of leaks.
For further information Atmos International can not only provide solutions for leak detection, batch tracking, simulation and theft detection but also regulation compliance support. PHMSA published FR 2020-25236 on 11 January, 2021, increasing civil penalty amounts. Atmos International can review and enhance leak detection programmes, create programmes and assist with audit preparation. Current regulations are in place and Atmos International is here to help meet the compliance requirements.
API 1130 This recommended practice focuses on the design, implementation, testing and operation of CPM systems that use an algorithmic approach to detect hydraulic anomalies in pipeline operating parameters. The primary purpose of these systems is to provide tools that assist pipeline controllers in detecting commodity releases that are within the sensitivity of the algorithm. It is intended that the CPM system would provide an alarm and display other related data to the pipeline controllers to aid in decisionmaking. The pipeline controllers would undertake an immediate investigation, confirm the reason for the alarm and initiate an operational response to the hydraulic anomaly when it represents an irregular or abnormal operating condition or a commodity release.
API RP 1175 This RP is specifically designed to provide pipeline operators with a description of industry practices in risk-based pipeline leak detection programme (LDP) management and to provide the framework to develop sound programme management practices within a pipeline operator’s individual companies. It is important that pipeline operators understand system vulnerabilities, risks, and programme management best practices when reviewing a pipeline LDP management process, either for a new programme or for possible system improvements. This RP focuses on using a risk-based approach to each pipeline operator’s LDP, and following the guidance set forth assists in creating an inherently risk-mitigating LDP management system. The overall goal of the LDP is to detect leaks quickly and with certainty, thus facilitating quicker shutdown and minimising negative consequences. This RP focuses on management of LDPs, not the design of leak detection systems.
CSA Z662-19 Annex E This Annex applies to sales quality liquid hydrocarbon pipelines within the scope of this Standard, with the exception of pipelines containing a gas phase. The purpose of this Annex is to provide the requirements for leak detection based upon internal and external leak detection methods. This Annex pertains to methods that provide leak detection capability consistent with industry practice and technology which can be reasonably implemented. Operating companies comply with the design, performance, maintenance, testing, documentation, auditing, training, and record retention provisions of this Annex.
ore pipelines-offshore pipelines-turnkeyconstruction-Horizontal Directional Drilling-COMPRESSOR ing-finance, strategy & analysis-feasibility-terminals-research development-maintenance-rehab-
Featuring: DENSO Group Germany; Denys; ILF, NACAP; Precision Pipeline; ROSEN Group; Saipem; Seal for Life Industries; Serimax; STATS Group; T.D. Williamson; Winn & Coales International.
HDD RIG
TRENCHLESS PIPELINE INSTALLATION
With horizontal directional drilling technology from Herrenknecht, pipelines can be installed rapidly, economically and with little to no impact on the environment underneath rivers and other obstacles. Each year Herrenknecht HDD Rigs install over 200 km of new pipelines. herrenknecht.com/hdd/
DENSO Group Germany
S
2021
F Poland: Baltic Pipe Project, gas transmission pipeline, ince its foundation in 1922, DENSO Group onshore part Poland, 40 in. and 36 in., 280 km. Germany has become one of the leading Product: DEKOTEC-HTS70 Shrink Sleeve. companies for excellent corrosion prevention solutions for pipelines as well as for sealing F Denmark: Baltic Pipe Project, gas transmission technology for roads and construction sites. Only a few pipeline, Zealand (onshore), 40 in. and 36 in., 70 km. years after the foundation, DENSO Group Germany Product: DENSOLEN-N60/S20 PE/Butyl-Tape. revolutionised corrosion prevention across the world with the invention of the DENSO®-Tape (Petrolatum F Peru: SIF Mollendo, Monte Azul, pipes onshore and Tape), which is known as the first reliable passive offshore, 6 in., 14 in. and 20 in., 4.5 km. Product: DENSOLEN-AS39 P/-R20 HT and DENSOLEN-AS50 corrosion protection for pipelines. PE/Butyl-Tape, DEPROTEC-PUR Mechanical For nearly 100 years, the group has stood for highProtection. level manufacturing processes and outstanding product quality. Research, development and production take F Sri Lanka: Project: UTE SETA Ellipse Projects for place exclusively in Germany. The group owns branches Anamaduwa, Protection of couplings and pipes, in six European countries and has experienced sales 25 in. to 450 in. Products: DENSO-Feu Petrolatum partners in more than 100 countries across the world, Tape, DENSOLEN-AS30 PE/Butyl-Tape. distributing the market leading products. The group’s core business consists of the F UK: Project: Exolum (formerly CLH-PS), rehabilitation production of real co-extruded three-ply PE/Butylprojects, 8 in. to 16 in. Product: BUTYLEN-AS39 P/-R20 HT PE/Butyl-Tape. Tapes, Heat Shrinkable Sleeves, Petrolatum-Tapes & Mastics, Jetty Pile Protection Systems, Polyurethane Coatings and Bitumen Profiles. DENSO Group Germany recently introduced new products which can be used at extremely high operating temperatures: DEKOTEC®-HTS100 heat shrinkable sleeve, DENSOLEN®-AS40 HT coextruded PE/Butyl rubber corrosion protection tape and VivaxCoat®-HT corrosion protection system for wet surfaces. Those innovative products have been designed to protect pipelines against corrosion at operating temperatures up to 212˚F (100˚C). DENSOLEN®-AS40 HT and DEKOTEC-HTS100 meet the requirements of ISO 21809-3 and EN 12068 standards. As a single tape system DENSOLEN-AS40 HT is setting a new global standard: with only one single wrap this tape is compatible with high operating temperatures up to 212˚F (100˚C) – so far, double wrap application was required to achieve equivalent performances. VivaxCoat Secure protection with S h DENSOLEN® tapes in Peru. system can be applied at extreme high temperatures or on wet surfaces of pipelines in operation. DENSO Group Germany products are applied worldwide in numerous pipelines rehabilitation and new constructions projects. For the Baltic Pipe Project, the gas transmission pipeline from Norway to the Danish and Polish markets, DEKOTEC heat shrinkable sleeves and DENSOLEN tapes guarantee outstanding corrosion protection for more than 350 km. In the UK and Ireland, BUTYLEN corrosion protection tapes are used in various projects like the rehabilitation of Exolum (formerly CLH) 8 in. pipelines in Grantham, UK. In Peru, onshore pipelines are moved to seawater close to the beach with DENSOLEN PE/Butyl-rubber corrosion protection tapes and DEPROTEC® as additional mechanical protection. In Sri Lanka, for the UTE SETA Ellipse Projects in Anamaduwa, fittings and pipelines are protected with our worldwide well-known DENSO® DENSOLEN and DENSOMAT® at Baltic Pipe, Denmark. Petrolatum tapes.
contractors’
ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
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Denys ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
D
enys was founded in 1923 with the objective of becoming a leading contractor in the laying of water mains, but it has achieved much more – the company has grown into a leading EPC contractor for gas, oil and water pipelines. With its experienced staff and workforce, its know-how and a large fleet of specialised equipment, Denys currently builds pipelines in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. However, Denys is a very diverse company, being active in several other disciplines such as water, energy, mobility, infrastructure, restoration, civil engineering, and specialised building techniques such as tunnelling and jet-grouting. As an independent Belgian construction group employing up to 1800 people worldwide, Denys strives for organic growth. The company’s growth model is based on three pillars: diversification, innovation and internationalisation. In each of its complementary areas of expertise, Denys has confirmed its position as a niche player and has shown itself to be a reference
with high added value. Together all these disciplines form one business: the Denys Group, a preferred partner for the most complex building projects and infrastructure work. The well-considered decision to diversify was without a doubt the primary motor for the company’s success. Today, Denys has a firm foothold in Europe, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, and is busy exploring markets in Asia, Canada, Central America and South America.
Recent projects F Energinet, Funen: an almost 80 km long DN900 pipeline project (Denmark). F Snam Rete Gas, Mestre-Trieste: 32 km of DN400 pipeline project with 8 microtunnels near Venice (Italy). F Open Grid Europe, NETG project: construction of a new natural gas pipeline DN900 of 24 km near Leverkusen (Germany). F Teréga, Sersoum: three pipeline deviations DN400 and one deviation DN80 (France). F GRTgaz, A22 in Brittany: 40 km DN500 pipeline (France).
WELDING
F GRTgaz, Magny: pipe work, extension of a station (France). FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
F Trapil, Couleures: ODC Fos-Langres diversion project (France).
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
F Gasunie, Porthos project: a 33 km DN1050 and 2 km ND400 pipeline project for Carbon Capture and Storage in the port of Rotterdam (the Netherlands).
TERMINALS
F Air Liquide Benelux Industries, Project FeLiMo phase II: connection of the new Air Separation Unit to the existing pipeline network of AL in Moerdijk (the Netherlands).
Open Grid E Europe. rope
F Pipelink nv: framework agreement for urgent interventions on underground transport pipelines and its accessories (Belgium).
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
F Fluxys, Zelzate: rerouting of the pipeline by HDD under the canal Gent-Terneuzen (Belgium). MAINTENANCE
F Saudi Aramco, pipeline rehabilitation project: construction of more than 160 km of DN450 and DN500 pipelines near Jubail and replacement of 14 km of DN1200 oil pipeline near Al Qatif (Saudi Arabia).
REHAB Energinet Funen.
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CATHODIC PROTECTION FOR THE HARSHEST CONDITIONS.
Start-to-Finish Solutions for Extreme Conditions. Extreme environments require unique corrosion protection solutions to maintain safer, stronger infrastructure. At Corrpro, we begin each project with a complete assessment to determine the optimal design, installation, and commission of industry-leading CP systems to ensure ongoing performance with remote monitoring solutions to prevent costly corrosion damage failures. With best-in-class engineering expertise, real-time data management tools, and high-quality materials, Corrpro delivers solutions to withstand the harshest environments. Count on Corrpro for start-to-finish engineering, installation, and integrity management to protect your assets in any environment.
Visit us today at corrpro.com
ILF Group ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
WELDING
T
he ILF Group is an international engineering and consulting firm that helps its clients successfully execute technically demanding industrial and infrastructure projects. For more than 50 years, ILF Consulting Engineers has continued to establish itself as a trusted consultant and global player for the designing and engineering of demanding and challenging major pipeline projects. For oil, gas, liquids or innovative medium such as hydrogen, ILF provides its clients with individualised solutions, from planning to decommissioning. Whether in extreme mountain terrains, under challenging weather conditions, or over long distances, ILF has designed some of the largest and most challenging pipeline systems in the world. Over the past years, ILF Consulting Engineers constantly ranked among the top international design firms for pipelines by the ENR Global Sourcebook. F Ferngas pipeline grid renewal: Replacement of an existing EGL442 pipeline in Saxony and Thuringia, Germany, to gain operational grid flexibility, increase capacity and reliability. The pipeline will be largely renewed in the existing pipeline route while maintaining the supply. Services: project management, project control, cost and schedule planning.
F Nigeria Morocco Pipeline: New gas pipeline (approx. 6000 km) to transport gas from Nigeria to Morocco and ultimately to Spain and Europe. Services: PMC/owner’s engineering over feasibility study and FEED Phase 1. F Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) planning, construction and capacity expansion: The TAP system ties into the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) system at the Turkish/Greek border and then supplies natural gas via Greece and Albania through the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. It is envisaged to expand its capacity by adding compression stations and increasing the throughput from the connection to TANAP. Services: Feasibility study; cost estimate; project risk assessment; selected FEED services; detail engineering for some lots of the onshore pipeline, engineering support during construction; support of authority engineering; project management, pre-FEED and several specialised studies for the capacity expansion. F Single Point Mooring (SPM) and pipeline Bangladesh: Construction of a SPM, storage facilities and a twin pipeline system for diesel and crude oil for the supply of the ERL Refinery in Chittagong.Services: Conceptual design; FEED and updated FEED; detail design review; construction supervision.
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
TERMINALS
F Baltic Pipe Project: New gas pipeline (approx. 300 km onshore, approx. 300 km offshore) connecting Norway’s Europipe II system through Denmark with Poland. Services: FEED, project management, detailed design, owners engineer, construction supervision for several lots/sections of the pipeline.
Ferngas pipeline grid renewal project.
F Niger-Benin Crude Oil Export Pipeline: New Niger to Benin Onshore (ca. 2.000 km) pipeline, terminal, offshore pipeline (15 km) and SPM. Services: PMC, design review, procurement support and site supervision for the Benin section. F Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP): A new pipeline system which shall connect the Caspian Sea gas fields in Azerbaijan with Europe. Services: Project set-up, development of strategies, project management, development of design basis, preparation of Final Investment Decision Package, owners engineer up to end of FEED, member of TANAP’s Integrated Management Team during execution.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
F Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP): facilitates the export of crude oil from the ADCO onshore production facilities at Habshan via Sweihan to the main oil terminal in Fujairah. Services: PMC; tender and review of FEED; commissioning management; site supervision; operator training; monitoring of initial and commercial operation.
REHAB TANAP project.
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Nacap
N
acap is a leading energy infrastructure constructor, specialising in pipelines and compression, servicing customers in Australia and Papua New Guinea. We engineer, procure, construct and commission high pressure gas and liquid pipelines and associated facilities (including gas compression stations) in remote, regional and urban locations. With over 30 years’ experience in the safe and successful execution of large-scale projects, Nacap has delivered results for Clients through flexible commercial models such as Alliance, construction led EPC, D&C, and Construct only, focusing on Best for Project outcomes. We are proud of our people for their dedication to safety, integrity and ensuring the community is always at the forefront of our mind. Nacap considers local and indigenous participation as central to our project operation to ensure the local community benefits and we enhance the local economy. Nacap has office locations in Melbourne (Head Office), Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Port Moresby. Nacap also has a large fabrication facility and equipment yard in Dubbo. Nacap is owned by Quanta Services Inc. US based with over US$11 billion in revenue in 2020, Quanta is the largest oil and gas infrastructure specialty contractor in North America.
ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS Trenching, Arrow Energy Project – Queensland. WELDING
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
YAMARNA GAS PIPELINE PROJECT (APA GROUP) – 2018 F Construction and testing of a
198km buried gas pipeline in Western Australia, from the Eastern Goldfields Pipeline to the Gruyere gold mine project.
WODGINA 2 GAS PIPELINE (MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED) – 2018 to 2019
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Trenching, Wodgina 2 Gas Pipeline – Western Australia.
F Construction and testing of an 80km buried gas pipeline in Western Australia, with above ground inlet and delivery stations from the Pilbara Energy Pipeline to the Wodgina Mine Site.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
ANGORE HIDES PIPELINE PROJECT, PNG (WOOD/EXXON MOBIL) - 2017 – CURRENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB LCS Cable Crane system to manage logistics for steep terrains safely, Angore Pipeline Project – Hides, Papua New Guinea.
2021
F Construction, testing and precommissioning of an 11.3 km buried gas pipeline and associated facilities from Angore field to ExxonMobil’s Hides Gas Conditioning Plant, in PNG.
TERMINALS
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Precision Pipeline, LLC ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
P
recision Pipeline, LLC, (PPL) was founded in 2004 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, by Steve Rooney and Dan Murphy. In 2009, PPL joined the MasTec, Inc., group of infrastructure companies to be its premier union oil and gas service line. A consistent leader in the infrastructure industry, PPL has built a strong reputation across much of the United States by completing signature projects in difficult terrain. In addition to bringing innovation to every project, PPL is committed to evaluating processes to determine the most efficient and cost-effective construction techniques and offers specialised divisions led by industry experts that help achieve this goal through every stage of the project. This ensures we deliver a quality product while providing
clients with the best construction solutions that also maintain a focus on health, safety and environment. Our commitment to each project extends beyond the jobsite as the PPL Team is empowered to make a positive impact on the local community through volunteerism, sponsorships and donations, and nation-wide social initiatives like our Human Trafficking Awareness Training Programme.
Core services F Large-diameter steel transmission. F Steel gathering. F Auger boring. F Wet boring/guided boring. F Design, plan and construct
resources.
Projects
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
FMountain Valley Pipeline: 233.7 miles of 42 in. pipe (2018 2022). FMariner East II Pipeline: 51.4 miles of 20 in. and 16 in. dual lay pipe (2017 - 2019).
WELDING
FRover Pipeline: 187.3 miles of dual 42 in., 126.3 miles of single 42 in., 54.0 miles of 36 in. and 33.7 miles of 24 in. (2017).
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Rover Pipeline, Ohio, USA.
TERMINALS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB
Lone Star Express II Pipeline, Texas, USA.
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FDakota Access Pipeline: 659.6 miles of 30 in., 49.5 miles of 24 in., 55.4 miles of 20 in. and 22.8 miles of 12 in. (2016).
ROSEN Group
T
he ROSEN Group delivers integrity and performance management solutions for all types of assets in the oil and gas industry, in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, including onshore and offshore. The solutions range from threat management strategies to asset management decision-making support, which includes inline inspection and integrity services.
Recent projects Corrosion Growth Assessment to confirm whether repair and mitigation programme is effective: After completing a metal loss inspection of a pipeline with a number of external corrosion features detected, the operator was able to take immediate action to mitigate against further corrosion growth by reviewing the cathodic protection programme and excavating and repairing features. In order to ensure the safe operation of the asset, the operator wanted to be sure these actions were effective, and ROSEN re-inspected the line. Following these results, ROSEN performed a CGApro-with-AutoSCAN service, which, using pattern recognition technology, provided a signalto-signal comparison of all reported metal loss indications between two axial-field magnetic flux leakage inspections. Historic depth changes were then estimated using the change in signal amplitude and shape. Compared to box matching, corrosion growth rates derived from AutoSCAN are more realistic. This option could confirm (or exclude) the absence of new corrosion anomaly initiation while also reducing the influence of sizing inaccuracies. The accuracy of this service enables the operator to make confident choices, potentially avoiding costly digs.
Utilising a UT tethered inspection approach for the inline inspection of a critical line:
ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
WELDING
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
In this case, two key features of the umbilical was to act as a failsafe mechanism and provide power to the inline inspection tool.
TERMINALS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB Corrosion Growth Assessments allow for ideal decision-making for integrity management.
2021
An offshore operator in West Africa had previously inspected one of the pipelines exporting product to VLCCs and encountered significant corrosion, which meant the integrity of a second 42 in. export line became a concern. When discussing solutions for the inline inspection of the line, it was deemed unpiggable. The need for a one-way entry approach became clear, with access to the pipe from onshore. KTN AS (a company of the ROSEN Group) provided an ultrasound umbilical inspection approach. The umbilical acts as a failsafe mechanism and provides
power to the tool train. The solution also mitigates the need for product flow. A live data feed is transmitted to tool operators onshore who monitor the inspection progress and the tool’s positioning in the pipeline. The umbilical tool was able to pass through all bends along this complex pipeline route. The inspection tool was launched through the onshore flange and crawled into and back out of the pipe. It traveled approximately 7.8 km offshore towards the loading buoy. After the return inspection, the focus turned to the first 500 m after the launch site (the previously determined critical zone), where it crawled back and forth through the pipe repeatedly. The complex routing of the pipeline allowed the tool to rotate, ensuring that the 480 sensors on the sensor ring would inspect the complete inner pipe wall.
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Saipem ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
S
aipem is an advanced technological and engineering platform for the design, construction and operation of complex, safe and sustainable infrastructures and plants. Always oriented towards technological innovation, today Saipem is committed to supporting its clients on the frontier of the energy transition with assets, technologies and processes that are increasingly digital and oriented towards environmental sustainability. Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, it is organised in five business divisions (Offshore E&C, Onshore E&C, Offshore Drilling, Onshore Drilling and XSIGHT, dedicated to consulting and engineering services in the project definition phase). It is present in over 60 countries worldwide and has 32 000 employees of 130 different nationalities. Saipem is an advanced technological and engineering platform for the design, construction and operation of complex, safe and sustainable infrastructures and plants. Always oriented towards technological innovation, today Saipem is committed to supporting its clients on the frontier of the energy transition with assets,
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
WELDING
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
technologies and processes that are increasingly digital and oriented towards environmental sustainability. With onshore pipelines, Saipem implements decades of experience, combined with strategic acquisitions, the use of cutting-edge technology and strategic planning to make sure the projects have the safest, least visible and most reliable pipelines in the world. Saipem has also the know-how, technologies, capabilities and people to construct pipelines under the sea in an efficient and precise way, considering environmental compliance and the safety of operators during operations.
New onshore pipeline South Gas Compression Plant - Saudi Arabia consists of procurement, construction and commissioning of gas gathering network required to increase the production of existing wells in Haradh and Hawiya field. The scope of work includes above ground works concentrated in 16 remote headers (RH), 82 off plot tie-in facilities (OPTF), three main valve station (MLV) and in the modification of existing facilities: two gas gathering manifolds (GGM), two liquid separation stations (LSS), 3 compressor stations (GCP), two gas plants (GP) and 260 wellheads. The 720 km of pipeline network is constituted by carbon steel lines in various diameters (including trunkline, transmission line and flowline), and by plastic line (RTR and RTP) in various diameters for condensate products.
New offshore pipelines F North Field Production Sustainability Project
FEASIBILITY STUDIES Saipem pipelaying operations DE HE vessel.
TERMINALS
(NFPSP) – Qatar contract has been recently awarded to Saipem by Qatargas. Saipem’s scope of work for this contract encompasses the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation of anticorrosion internally cladded pipelines, subsea cables, various offshore facilities structures and other associated activities. In addition, the project encompasses the decommissioning of a pipeline and other significant modifications to existing offshore facilities. F Baltic Pipe project (2020 - ongoing) - Poland
for GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and Energinet.dk, co-financed by the European Union to create a new inter-European gas corridor that will supply gas directly from Norway to Poland, Denmark and neighbouring countries. Comprises the construction of a pipeline between Denmark and Poland in a water depth between 4 and 57 m to be executed by Saipem S-lay vessels.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
F Gas pipeline in Equatorial Guinea (2020 -
REHAB South Gas Compression Plant 1 Pipeline network.
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ongoing) for Noble Energy. Includes the offshore installation of a 70 km gas pipeline linking the Alen Platform to Punta Europa on the coast.
IT IS MY RESOLUTE MISSION to overcome the most difficult obstacles, and learn from my victories and defeats. To push forward tirelessly until I succeed.
It is who I am. I am a pipeliner.
We are pipeliners too. We share this mission and, like you, we are committed to keeping pipelines running safely and reliably. By providing end-to-end integrity solutions — from pre-in-line inspection cleaning to actionable inspection results — TDW helps you maximize the return on investment from your integrity assessments. The world counts on you. You can count on us.
For the life of your pipeline tdwilliamson.com
©2021 T.D. Williamson
Seal For Life Industries ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
S
eal For Life Industries Group boasts a wide range of brands offering coating and sealing solutions to infrastructure markets. With a history of more than 60 years, over 700 employees, more than 250 patents and formulations
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
F Powercrete QC, R&D and Technical Service Teams in India completed a HDD project with Powercrete DD for Mahangar Gas Limited. Protection was provided to 850 m of 8 in. pipe in extremely rocky soil and difficult conditions.
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
F LifeLast DuraShield 210 and DuraShield 21061 were selected as the coating and lining, respectively, for a large diameter canal project in Central Oregon, the third phase of this project in which DuraShield 210 has been used.
LifeLast, Oregon. WELDING
F An extensive gas pipeline project has been completed in Croatia including field joints, bends, flanges and risers throughout. Apart from the basic system, Stopaq Wrappingband and Outerwrap, due to the rocky areas Outerglass Shield was added at the field joints and SFL RockShield for the main pipeline running underground, subsea and above the ground. In addition, the casings were filled with Stopaq Casing Filler.
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
TERMINALS
F China Petroleum & Pipeline Bureau Indonesia awarded Seal For Life the supply contract for a 14 km offshore and 7 km onshore Balikpapan Project using Covalence 2 Layer series to protect the field joint areas on the large 52 in. OD 3LPE coated pipeline transporting crude oil.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB
SFL RockShield, Croatia.
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and customers in over 90 countries Seal For Life is has a wealth of experience to offer its customers. Our coating technologies are approved, specified and deployed globally with a focus on corrosion prevention, fire and temperature protection and cathodic protection for pipeline, oil, gas, water, infrastructure and industrial applications. F Canusa-CPS have been successfully supplying CSC-XPTM Advanced Joint Casing System for pre-insulated pipelines using IntelliFUSE TM Automated Electrofusion Welding System in Jonkoping, Sweden. Part of this project also includes trenchless construction requiring HDD, and Canusa-CPS ScarGuard is being used to protect the field joints.
F After successfully supplying SHWE Phase I in 2015, Seal For Life Industries were awarded the complete supply contract from McDermott Malaysia (EPCIC) for the SHWE Phase II Project. Supply scope consists of Covalence heat shrink sleeves (WPC100M) for field joint coating (FJC) of all subsea flowlines, risers and umbilicals for in total 75 km 6 in., 12 in. and 14 in.
Serimax ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
S
erimax offers welding solutions – integrity management, pipe-end inspection, and field-proven digital services – to improve operational efficiency while meeting the most stringent industry requirements. Its worldwide track record demonstrates Serimax’s expertise and industry-leading technologies for onshore and offshore environments. Operating in the most extreme conditions and challenging environments, we support these market sectors in all welding applications from the rain forest of Papua New Guinea to Russians' tundra or the burning desert of Saudi. From top down we encourage everyone to communicate – whether it’s to identify hazards and risks, or make suggestions to allow us to continually improve our HSE and operational performance. We have a wide demographic base and we invest in local communities through providing trainings and employment, resulting in transferable skills. We are passionate about what we do and will support your project until full-operation success and safe completion.
Our expertise: WELDING
F Welding management:
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
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Welding engineering.
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Welding procedure qualification testing.
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Welder training and qualifications.
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Onsite office-based welding management.
F Project delivery: FEASIBILITY STUDIES
TERMINALS
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Project management on-site and office-based.
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Full-service offer (welding, NDE, FJC).
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Tailored solutions.
F Operational support:
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Internal logistic capabilities with ability to manage, mobilise and send staff and equipment all over the world.
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Long-term technology and service partnership’s philosophy.
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Firing line installation and commissioning support.
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Work environment optimisation.
Serimax’s welding solutions are clearly well adapted to today’s market requiring a high-quality level, full traceability, and high production rates for the shortest possible construction timeline. In support of these requirements, Serimax engineered and successfully brought to the market the SATURNAX 01. Designed by welders, for welders, the Saturnax 01 is a mechanised welding bug mFCAW for piping, fabrication and tie-in landline clients, looking to increase productivity and enhance manpower productivity, thanks to its numerous key functionalities. As a result, Serimax’s fully mechanided welding bug, the SATURNAX 01 FCAW, was selected by a project contractor and pipeline owner for the natural gas market expansion in Northern Alberta, Canada requiring the construction of a new X70, 20 in. x 20 km/13 miles x 6.5 mm/0.25 in. wt gas pipeline. Serimax teams were able to operate in in harsh windy conditions with temperatures fluctuating from -18˚C/ 0F to -40˚C/F. One of the benefits of using the equipment was that the construction team was able to eliminate the 24 hour time delay between welding and real time radiography NDE, ensuring a high ROW productivity. Following the MIG root pass crew, the mFCAW construction crew relied on a two-welding shack approach to complete the project below the 1% repair threshold despite the stringent inspection criteria’s, and without production welding downtime. The ability to digitally record, in real time, all QA/QC parameters was another game changer.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB The natural gas market expansion in Northern Alberta, Canada, using SATURNAX 01.
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STATS Group Projects
ONSHORE PIPELINES
F Interior Gas Upgrade in interior British Columbia, supplying 42 separate BISEP isolations from 6 in. to 10 in. over a 3 month period as part of customer’s non-piggable to piggable pipeline upgrade, full supply including in-service welding.
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
F Remote Tecno Plug pigged 116 km to isolate a 24 in.
pipeline to facilitate a pipe abandonment and replacement project in Northern Alberta, Canada.
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
F Subsea mechanical clamp and hot tapping services
provided for a global engineering and construction company in the Bass Strait, offshore Australia. The 18 in. clamp incorporated a 12 in. offtake to provide a tie-in point to allow a new gas field to be brought online and fed into the existing 18 in. gas pipeline. The new tie-in has helped curb the potential shortfalls predicted for Australia’s southern and eastern states.
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
F STATS supplied a 20 in. Remote Tecno Plug to provide
pipeline isolation services on a Normally Unattended Installation (NUI) in the Southern North Sea as part of an export pipeline maintenance campaign for a major UK Oil and Gas Operator. Due to limited temporary accommodation, once the plug had been deployed to the set location and seal verification testing was completed, continual monitoring of the isolation was carried out remotely via satellite link from our headquarters in Aberdeenshire.
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
WELDING
F STATS provided isolation and reinstatement leakFINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
testing of a 38 in. sour gas export pipeline in Qatar. Two type approved Remote Tecno Plugs provided a fully monitored leak-tight isolation, which facilitated the safe hot work modification of 2 in. bypass pipework around the 38 in. ESDV.
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
TERMINALS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAINTENANCE
REHAB 18 in. class 900 subsea mechanical clamp with class 1500 12 in. branch, valve and SureTap hot tap machine.
2021
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TATS Group provide a wide range of industry leading pipeline isolation plugs and line stopping equipment, and with their vast experience can assist operators in assessing the optimum solution for their pipeline isolation, hot tapping and line stopping challenges. Temporary pipeline isolation and intervention can be undertaken safely and efficiently on piggable or unpiggable pipelines or pipework systems. Pipeline isolation and line stopping can be undertaken in any pipeline medium with appropriate material selection and testing. STATS has experience of isolating hydrocarbon liquid and gases, steam and high pressure liquid CO2 pipelines. STATS' extensive global track record of temporary pipeline isolation covers onshore, topsides and subsea pipelines, from ¾ in. to 54 in. Non-intrusive inline isolation is provided by the Tecno Plug® which is pigged through the pipeline to the required isolation location from a pig launcher or receiver. Piggable isolation tools require no welding or cutting into live lines, leaving no residual fittings or hardware on the pipeline. Once at the desired location the Tecno Plug is controlled remotely using an extremely low frequency (ELF) inductive system for reliable tracking and accurate positioning of the plug. The Tecno Plug is hydraulically activated engaging taper locks which grip the pipe wall and radially expand dual elastomer leak-tight seals. The dual seal design provides a zero-energy zone to enable breaking of containment activities to be conducted safely and efficiently. STATS BISEP® provides industry-first, leak-tight double block and bleed isolation technology for temporary line plugging, offering a leak-tight seal every time. The BISEP offers significant safety advantages over traditional line stop technologies and can be deployed through a single hot tap intervention while production is maintained through an integrated bypass, avoiding interruption to production and reducing costs, without compromising safety. STATS Tecno Plug and BISEP are fully certified by DNV GL to verify that the design criteria satisfies the requirements for Pipeline Isolation Plugs to provide dual seal and isolation in accordance with Offshore Standards; DNVOS-F101 (Submarine Pipeline Systems) and recommended Practices; DNV-RP-F113 (Subsea Pipeline Repair) and in compliance with the following code; ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 2. The SureTap® range of proprietary hot tapping machines provide performance and reliability for critical, high pressure tapping operations. Designed and built to incorporate industry leading features, the SureTap range incorporates a double block and bleed sealing configuration allowing taps to be performed safely on a wide range of pipeline materials and mediums, including use with sour (H2S) products. STATS operate across the globe, with services that extend over the entire lifecycle of hydrocarbon assets, from construction, maintenance, extending the life of assets, through to decommissioning and on to hydrogen transportation, carbon capture and storage. STATS' aim is to drive higher levels of safety to support the industry in the transition to a low carbon future.
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T.D. Williamson ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
F
a single fitting. In its typical configuration, the nonintrusive SmartPlug® system meets the criteria for a true double block isolation. It can be used onshore or offshore.
Services
We’ve designed and manufactured our extensive selection to meet specific applications and pipeline sizes. Components include pig tracking, pig signaling and closures. Our D2000 quick-actuating closure combines safety and ease of operation for any pigging operation. We also provide consulting, pre-commissioning preparation, pipeline cleaning, project management and stuck pig response.
or more than a century, T.D. Williamson (TDW) has partnered with the oil and gas industry to deliver energy to an ever-changing world. Our innovative solutions maximise uptime, improve throughput, avoid shutdown and minimise risk to pipelines, people and the environment. We serve the gathering, transmission and distribution sectors of the pipeline industry with a global portfolio of products and services for both onshore and offshore applications.
Intervention and isolation HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
TDW provides advanced isolation and hot tapping and plugging equipment that meets the highest performance standards, including hot tapping machines, fittings, valves and plugging heads. The STOPPLE® Train isolation system allows two independent plugging heads to be inserted through
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
Integrated pigging, system components and pigging services
Integrity assessment By providing end-to-end integrity solutions – from assurance-based cleaning to inline inspection runs to actionable inspection results – TDW keeps your system running safely and productively, helps you prioritise repairs and ensures regulatory compliance.
Projects WELDING
F To make a large-diameter pipeline system
piggable for inline inspection, TDW performed a STOPPLE® operation with two pieces of equipment weighing nearly 10 t combined. The job required a 65 t crane to lift and lower the STOPPLE equipment. Coupons cut from the pipeline weighed 75 lb each. For more than 60 years, TDW STOPPLE® plugging machines have represented the safest and most reliable solutions for isolating pressurised sections of pipeline without shutdown or interruption of service.
FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
F TDW performed progressive cleaning to clear a STOPPLE® Train isolation system. TERMINALS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
segment of an 8 in. crude gathering pipeline in Mexico and restore service to stations for delivery. Using increasingly aggressive pigs, TDW removed 1.8 t of sediment that had reduced the interior diameter of a 10.4 km (6.46 mile) section to 4 in. The bore restriction prevented the operator from transporting and delivering oil downstream. The progressive cleaning program included seven pigs plus DEF and other inline inspection technology. F Using the TDW Multiple Dataset (MDS) tool,
which offers comprehensive mechanical damage assessment by leveraging multiple technologies on a single inspection platform, technicians completed a 24 in. ILI run on a crude transmission line in the Canadian Rockies. The tool climbed climb 1243 m above sea level and then made a steep descent. In order to maintain the necessary speed and ensure success, the XYZ run required advance flow and pressure application.
MAINTENANCE
REHAB EMAT 10 in. tool.
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Winn & Coales International Ltd ONSHORE PIPELINES
OFFSHORE PIPELINES
TURNKEY CONSTRUCTION
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
COMPRESSOR STATIONS
F
or more than 90 years, the Winn & Coales International Group of companies have been creating bespoke and off-the-shelf solutions that provide enduring protection against corrosion and chemical attack to buried and exposed pipes, valves, fittings, steelwork, marine structures, tanks and concrete bunded areas. In May 2021, Winn & Coales International expanded their product portfolio with the acquisition of the global ViscotaqTM business including Amcorr Products & Services Inc, manufacturer of viscoelastic protective coatings. The acquisition of Amcorr is aligned with the Company’s focus on investing in and providing the highest quality corrosion prevention solutions for their customers. With seven subsidiaries worldwide, the company can draw upon a wealth of experience in producing its well-known brands; DensoTM, PremierTM, Viscotaq ProtalTM, Premier Shrink SleevesTM, ArchcoTM, SteelcoatTM BoreWrapTM and SeaShieldTM. One of the latest innovations of the Company is Denso Bore-Wrap, a superior, heavy-duty, sacrificial Abrasion Resistant Outerwrap (ARO) for trenchless pipeline installations, severe handling, or installations in difficult terrain.
Projects:
WELDING
DENSO USA LP – DENSO BORE-WRAP FINANCE, STRATEGY & ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
TERMINALS
Denso Protal 7200 and Denso Bore-Wrap were recently used to protect the field joints of a new 18 in. crude oil pipeline in Houston, Texas. The pipeline was installed by means of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD). During the four-day installation process, one of the pipe rollers couldn’t handle the load while lifting and forced the pipe over the edge of the roller. While this does happen occasionally, it typically causes damage to the anti-corrosion coating and it can gouge the steel pipe which requires a cut out or repair. In this instance it happened to occur as the field joint wrapped with Denso’s sacrificial outerwrap was just above the roller. When the pipe dropped, the Denso Bore-Wrap took the initial impact from hitting the bearing, and as the load continued to roll, the bearing housing broke. On
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
DENSO NORTH AMERICA (CANADA) – DENSO PROTAL 7200 SPRAY GRADE The KAPS Pipeline project consists of a 16 in. condensate pipeline and a 12 in. NGL mix pipeline. The KAPS pipeline is currently being constructed from northwest of Grande Prairie Alberta and connect to Keyera's Fort Saskatchewan Fractionation and Storage Facility. Advance Bending in Calgary Alberta was awarded 1400 cold bends to be coated on the current scope of work. The coating for this project will be completed with approximately 18 000 l of Denso Protal 7200 Spray Grade liquid epoxy coating. The project started in May 2021 and has an estimated completion date of Autumn 2022.
WINN & COALES (DENSO) LTD – INDIAN OFFICE – DENSO PETROLATUM TAPE SYSTEM Oil India Limited (OIL) is one of the largest public sector hydrocarbon exploration and production companies in India. OIL is presently operating 1860 km of cross-country oil pipeline and owns a 1157 km long x 18 m/14 m wide right-of-way (ROW) from Duliajan, Assam to Barauni, Bihar. Due to natural degradation of the existing coal tar coating on these pipelines over time, there has been increased demand on the CP system. Moreover, addition of more pipeline in the same ROW has increased the load on the CP system. The Denso Petrolatum Tape System was supplied for the refurbishment of the pipeline and block valves, some of which were in harsh wet, marshy conditions.
PREMIER COATINGS LTD – PREMIER™ BUTYL TAPE SYSTEM
MAINTENANCE
REHAB Field joints protected with Denso Bore-Wrap™ ARO during HDD installation.
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inspection, the contractor found that the point of impact and the gouge from the point of the bearing breakage had failed to penetrate the Denso Bore-Wrap and none of the underlying field joint coating was damaged. The contractor was able to again lift the pipe and proceed with the installation as planned without any further repair or mitigation needed. Upon completion of the installation, the first joint of pipe was pulled out and inspected. Denso Bore-Wrap had protected the coating on the joint and exited the bore hole with very little sign of wear. The circumstances of this HDD pull showcased the products performance in terms of impact, gouge, abrasion, and flexibility, and the results speak for themselves.
The Baltic Pipe project is an approximately 900 km pipeline constructed for the transmission of natural gas between Denmark and Poland and will enable bidirectional transmission, which means it will also be possible to supply gas from Poland to Denmark. The Premier Butyl Tape System was recently supplied to protect sections of pipe and service pipe from corrosion on the pipeline in Denmark.
OUR POWER, YOUR STRENGTH. Security and comfort for operators.
PIPE CARRIERS
Max payload 30t
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ROPS-FOPS CABIN HYDROSTATIC TRANSMISSION ELECTRONIC TRACTION CONTROLS DISASSEMBLABLE TO BE TRANSPORT IN A CONTAINER HYDRAULIC FOLDABLE CRADLE ARMS*
:-;
PAYLOAD: 17 t | POWER: 275 hp | OP WEIGHT: 18,5 t TRAVEL SPEED 7,5 km/h | PIPE RANGE 6” - 48”
:-;
PAYLOAD: 30 t | POWER: 350 hp | OP WEIGHT: 24 t TRAVEL SPEED 6 km/h | PIPE RANGE 6” - 56”
SCAIP is the original manufacturer of our product line designed over the years and owner of the related know-how. Any other machine that may have a similar design but is not produced by us does not have the same technical features as our products. SCAIP does not give any guarantee on machines produced by third parties.
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Corporate oil and gas specialist, Rosalie Chadwick, is a lawyer who thrives on the perennial challenge many of her clients encounter in balancing global oil and gas demand, with the fast-paced drive towards achieving a carbon neutral future. On her appointment as Global Head of Oil & Gas for international law firm Pinsent Masons, she reflects on her career and offers her perspective on the deals being made in the energy sector.
T
he UK-based deal maker has more than 20 years’ experience of poring over the finer details of complex mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and farm-in agreements, while representing many of world’s super major oil and gas producers. Now, as leading operators continue to reduce non-key higher carbon intensity assets in mature basins, she expects a significant uptick in deal activity in the UKCS and other oil and gas hubs – with a new generation of resource-rich independents preparing to step in. It was as a recently qualified lawyer in Glasgow in 2003 that Chadwick unexpectedly found herself thrust into the high-octane oil and gas sector with a posting to the Former Soviet Republic (FSR) of Georgia. Chadwick said: “Nowadays we are all familiar with Georgia, but back then as a junior lawyer, I was excitedly thinking I had landed a posting in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to that I had thought it was quite punchy moving from Edinburgh to Glasgow for university, so Georgia opened up a whole new world.” Her initial assignment in Tbilisi was to negotiate a farm-in to the third most productive oilfield in the FSR but her time coincided with the Rose Revolution in Georgia, and she soon found that corporate life required her being shadowed by an armed bodyguard, and that it was not unusual for guns to be placed on tables at boardroom meetings. This led to a two year secondment as Global General Counsel for one of the FSU’s emerging independent oil and gas companies, where she bought and sold upstream assets in the FSU and Middle East, and shuttled between Tbilisi and New York as the company prepared to float on the NYSE. She recalled: “It was all a bit James Bond-esque with a bodyguard who went virtually everywhere with me, and there were hairy moments, including having a gun pointed at my head as my passport was scrutinised at checkpoints, as we made our way back to the hotel after tense negotiations ran into the small hours.
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“But my stint in Tbilisi really piqued my interest in oil and gas – the personalities involved and the geopolitical aspects of that world were all fascinating – and it made me realise it was a brilliant sector to be involved in.” Later in her career in 2007 - 2008, she was seconded to work in a corporate finance role with entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter’s private equity vehicle West Coast Capital. In that role she was their appointed representative on the board of multiple companies across different sectors during the global financial crisis. On returning to Pinsent Masons she went on to guide one West Coast Capital business, PSN, through its US$1 billion sale to Aberdeen-based Wood, which at that time was one of the three largest services companies in the UKCS. She added: “I’ve been fortunate to build up a career in a sector which is never dull and always challenging, and now it’s a real privilege to take on the role of Global Head of Oil & Gas and to head up a very talented team of lawyers working across international borders on multi-billion dollar deals.”
UKCS With more than 500 lawyers and support staff based in Scotland, not surprisingly Pinsent Masons are to the fore in much of the M&A activity in the North Sea. Currently, Chadwick’s team are engaged on behalf of Hitec-backed NEO Energy, which in March announced the US$625 million acquisition of Zennor Petroleum from Kerogen Capital, in a deal with includes assets in the Central and Northern North Sea. Also Pinsent Masons advised Jersey Oil & Gas on its recent fundraising and acquisition and continues to advise the company on the farm-out of its Greater Buchan Area project, described as “one of the most exciting developments in the North Sea”, and which includes plans for a major new production hub which will be powered by an electrified platform. In 2019 - 2020 Chadwick led Pinsent Masons teams which were at the centre of two of the four largest UKCS deals to complete – Ithaca Energy’s US$2 billion acquisition of Chevron North Sea, and the sale of 10 UK offshore fields owned by TotalEnergies to NEO.
International While Pinsent Masons oil and gas specialists are front and centre of many of the major UKCS deals recent and current, the international aspect of their work is significant – at the moment the firm is engaged on projects in Australia, Egypt, Norway, Morocco, Angola, Trinidad, and Syria – to name just a few examples. In Africa in particular, Chadwick can see a similar trend to recent M&A activity in the North Sea: “There is a good deal of movement in both regions, with the major operators selling on non-core assets as they gear up for energy transition towards a lower-carbon future. We are acting for the consortium of Cairn Energy and Cheiron in acquiring a package of Shell’s assets in Egypt, and this is a good example of the ongoing non-core divestment underway in Africa. “While Africa is a few years behind the UKCS, it is a very similar proposition to what is going on in the North Sea and I see a new wave of entrants, supported by different or novel forms of finance, fuelling M&A activity in both these geographies. “Interest in services companies is also ramping up and will continue to be lively with part realisation, part necessity, that
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World Pipelines / AUGUST 2021
companies have to diversify away from pure oil and gas as their core customer base pivots towards energy transition. “An excellent example of this involved a deal we advised on, in which Aberdeen shipping company North Star was successful in securing a £270 million contract to supply vessels in support of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.”
Renewables “North Star has a 40 year track record of working in the North Sea but has demonstrated how oil and gas focused businesses can embrace opportunities in the renewables space, and I think we will see more of this kind of innovative approach to securing a foothold in green energy.” While Chadwick’s career bread-and-butter has been oil and gas, she is enthusiastic about how the firm’s hydrocarbon experience can work in tandem with Pinsent Masons’ formidable renewable energy team, led by colleague Ian McCarlie, who are advising clients on energy transition. “Ian McCarlie and I are cut from the same cloth in that he started his career in oil and gas, but he now leads our highly respected Renewables practice. His team are advising global oil and gas majors on how they make the transition from the space they have occupied for the last 50 years into green energy, including wind, hydrogen, Carbon Capture Storage (CCS), solar and tidal technologies.” For example, the firm’s renewables experts are advising on all aspects of the consenting process for a proposed CCS project in the UK which aims to decarbonise a cluster of carbon-intensive industries by as early as 2030 and proposes to capture up to 6 million t/y of CO2 – making a substantial contribution to achieving the UK Government’s Clean Growth Strategy and net zero. Chadwick added: “Recently we have seen ExxonMobil, bp, Total, Shell and Chevron on a divestment drive, exiting non-core mature assets, which will enable them to redeploy capital in oil and gas assets in geographies which meet their lower carbon intensity investment criteria, or into energy transition assets. “The US majors have probably been slightly slower than the European majors in terms of embracing this change but they are getting on board, as is evidenced by ExxonMobil who have been in discussions to support the Acorn CCS project in the UKCS. This pivot from hydrocarbons to renewables will be a transactional theme for some years to come and it is driven partly by key investors who are, quite frankly, demanding it.” Chadwick believes funding higher carbon intensity deals, particularly around later-life assets, will prove to be more challenging as investors grapple with the environmental impact and resultant shareholder pressure, but conversely new gas prospects which carry less concerns regarding Environmental Social and Governance, will be relatively buoyant. She added: “The energy sector is at a real inflection point as it seeks to meet global demand while reducing its environmental impact and with the objective of reaching a net zero carbon end point. With our Renewables practice at the centre of genuine market leading deals, and working hand-in-hand with our long established Oil and Gas practice, Pinsent Masons are in a very strong position to assist major Operators and services companies as they navigate this next chapter in the evolution of the world’s energy capabilities.”
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Figure 1. Cable crane system operating in Utah for the construction of a penstock.
Joachim Seyr, LCS Cable Cranes, discusses cable crane systems for constructing pipelines in challenging terrain, including a new Dual Cable Crane System which includes personnel transportation.
R
ough terrain, steep mountain ranges and environmentally protected areas often appear impossible to overcome, particularly in the case of pipe installation in this seemingly inaccessible terrain. Innovative solutions can make this terrain manageable, enabling direct routes to be followed, where nobody could have imagined. It is commonplace in the pipeline construction industry that challenging areas must be overcome to complete
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of climatic conditions. This significantly extends the operating time – especially if there is need to work during winter months or rainy seasons. Necessary payloads, lengths, terrain, ground conditions, and inclination are just some of the factors that have a significant influence on the best solution. When heavy loads are transported, accurate project management is vital. This includes analysis, planning, installation, implementation, and the operation of the crane systems. However, since the systems are based on a module structure, which allows the development of a consistent and uniquely customised solution, cable cranes are quickly available thanks to their simple installation. Figure 2. Welding works during a project in Greece. The crane unit keeps the pipe in position.
the pipeline. When the terrain gets steep, and pipelaying becomes complex and precarious, heavy machinery quickly reaches its limit. With LCS Cable Cranes’ high-tech specialised material handling equipment, such challenges can be mastered. LCS Cable Cranes, a company based in Austria, has specialised in the construction of pipelines for over 30 years. Various complex pipeline construction projects around the world have been completed by utilising the company’s high-tech cable crane systems. The usage of such systems in steep, rocky and inaccessible terrain allows for transportation along direct routes, as the system can be assembled directly above the planned course of the pipeline. Cable crane systems provide a simple yet efficient solution. A cable crane system typically consists of one or two fixed track ropes, towers, a hauling rope, a winch and a crane unit. The crane unit moves on the track rope by releasing or alternatively by tightening the hauling rope with the winch installed at the top or valley station. The crane unit can lift the loads and transport them to any position along the pipeline route. It is equipped with its own diesel engine or electric motor and can be easily and safely controlled by the operators by means of remote control. The cable crane system can be configured with various payloads and travel speeds.
Advantages of cable crane systems for pipeline construction Flexibility and versatility Cable crane systems are extremely flexible. Professionally planned and thoughtfully designed, they adapt ideally to the environment. Thus, they not only follow the given terrain, but also horizontal bends in the route of the pipeline. The use of high-tech and high-quality machinery and materials allows the system to work independent
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Heavy loads and long distances
Heavy machinery, construction equipment, pipes, padding material and even manpower can be transported precisely to the designated position. At the loading station, usually at the lowest point in the valley, loads are lifted by a crane unit, then they are pulled by the powerful winch towards their intended position, where they are put down. Loads can be picked up and unloaded at any point along the track with highest accuracy. The cable crane systems of LCS are able to carry loads up to 30 t along distances of more than 3 km and with travel speeds of up to 7 m/s.
Environmentally sound and efficient Constructing pipelines in steep and normally inaccessible terrain using cable cranes has a significant positive effect on the environmental impact of a pipeline construction site. Extensive and cost-intensive road building to gain access to the route can be avoided, as all loads are transported in mid-air with cable cranes. Furthermore, it is possible to work in a very narrow channel of approxiately 8 m, which requires less re-instatement costs. These two facts contribute to cost-savings and environmental compatibility.
Safe operation in steep terrain Heavy machinery in demanding terrain always involves a risk for operators and the construction site, especially in steep and rocky terrain, where large machinery is pushed to its limits. With the usage of cable crane systems, operators are not exposed to these risks since all material is transported mid-air to its final destination with highest precision. High-tech machinery and equipment is indispensable for the transportation and precise positioning of 20 t heavy loads. All crane systems constructed by LCS follow rigorously the guidelines of the International Organisation for Transportation by rope (OITAF). Additional to the engineering and delivery of a cable crane system, LCS can provide personnel to operate its systems as was carried out for example on the pipeline construction project: ‘Zawtika Onshore Pipeline in Myanmar’.
for the full construction of the pipeline. Separately controlled lifting systems of the crane unit make it possible to lay pipes in inclined positions, and to position pipes in the best possible way to allow for welding, sandblasting, coating, and subsequent transport and unloading of sandbags and padding material effortlessly utilising special containers.
New technology
Figure 3. Transport of bulk material for filling of the trenches.
Figure 4. Tower structure of the new Dual Cable Crane System.
The unique Dual Cable Crane System, engineered, manufactured, and erected by LCS combines a material ropeway with a lifting capacity of 16 metric t for line 1 and a personnel transportation system for line 2. Furthermore, the personnel transportation option line 2 has a lifting capacity of 5 metric t. By the use of two cable crane systems suspended from one portal frame at each tower location, the impact on the environment is diminished. With this portal frame construction, no longitudinal guy ropes at each tower location are required. All the advantages of the Dual Cable Crane System decrease installation times due to a reduction of required foundations and anchorage points. The personnel transportation option adds various benefits whereby the construction time can be minimised significantly. While line 1 is occupied with lifting heavy loads and holding the pipe in place for pipe fitting, fixing of welding clamps and welding the first layers of the new pipe section, line 2 can still operate for the transportation of staff and various accessories and tools. Furthermore, with this system less helicopter transports are required for personnel which is always critical due to unexpected changes in the weather pattern. Another feature of the Dual Cable Crane System is the possibility to quickly evacuate workers in emergency situations regardless of any environmental conditions.
Case study: pipeline project in Canada Pipeline construction wherever and whenever needed LCS has proven the capability of its cable crane systems, constructing pipelines in steep areas exceeding 70˚, in rocky sectors, on sandy surfaces, in the middle of the rainforest, in cold and snowy regions as well as during the rainy season in tropical locations. As the loads are transported mid-air the systems allow work to be carried out all year long. With the right analysis, specifications and know-how, previously unimagined solutions are possible. An example is a cable crane system installed for the construction of the Tamazunchale Pipeline in Mexico, where the pipeline needed to cross over a 70˚ incline in rocky terrain which included the need for a horizontal bend.
More than a transport solution The systems is not constrained to the transport of material, rather they are highly versatile and can be utilised
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For a project in Canada the new Dual Cable Crane System is currently under erection for the construction of a pipeline in up to 35˚ steep terrain. The pipeline with a length of 670 km and a pipe diameter of 48 in. is being installed through Western Canada. The installed system comprises a 16 metric t ropeway system for the transportation of pipes and various construction materials and a 5 metric t cable crane system equipped with a gondola to transport personnel along the slope to the desired position. The complete system is driven with a 550 hp diesel-hydraulic winch. Special features are a complete video monitoring system along the whole section via radio transmission. LCS is responsible for the assembly, operation and dismantling of the Dual Cable Crane System. In addition, three spider excavators are on site to execute the ground works, e.g. preparation of the soil, anchorage and the re-instatement of the slope after completion of the work.
Joe Pikas and Drew Lafleur, Technical Toolboxes, USA, reflect on advancements from Jack Bore to Horizontal Directional Drilling construction methods and how to maintain pipeline integrity for the long term.
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echnical Toolboxes is a leading provider of integrated desktop and cloud-based pipeline engineering software, online resources, and specialised training for pipeline engineering professionals around the world. The company’s pipeline engineering subject matter expert, Joe Pikas, has 55 years of experience in pipeline construction, operations, corrosion, risk and integrity in the oil,
gas, water, and nuclear industries. He has been involved with the continued development of Technical Toolboxes’ Pipeline Toolbox, RSTRENG+, HDD and AC Mitigation software programmes and is a true believer in leveraging technologies to improve midstream performance. Drew Lafleur is the company’s President and CEO, and brings expertise in digital transformation and integrated operations to reimagine the marriage of software user experience with knowledge transfer to deliver a safer, greener future for the midstream industry. In 1966, Joe Pikas was starting his first 42 in. natural gas pipeline engineering construction project for a large natural gas company in the engineering survey crew. One of the many tasks was to set alignment and elevation for each Jack Bore (JB) at all road and rail crossings. JB is a method for installing a casing that serves as a conduit for gas and oil
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product pipelines. This is a non-steerable technology, so a pit has to be dug on both sides of the road/railway for the boring machinery to fit in, and bore in a straight line underneath the surface. As with most industrial processes, there are many challenges to overcome, details to pay attention to, and balancing the minimum safe depth of the pipe with the soil, water, and rock content of the pit elevation for the launching pit and receiving pit was an ongoing challenge. Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) was just getting started as a new technology in the early 1960s and was not available for this project. Had HDD been a viable tool in this project, many efficiencies would have been gained and there could have been less disturbance of the environment through avoiding the need for the pits. Nonetheless, the operator and the boring contractor aligned on a project plan and the pipeline ended up exactly as it was originally designed to be located.
A brief history of HDD HDD is a steerable, trenchless method of installing a pipeline. This enables equipment to remain on the surface, eliminating the need for the launching and receiving pits, as well as making it feasible to cross deeper and longer obstacles. Pipeline installation by HDD has progressively gained popularity over the last five decades. In the 1970s, HDD saw its first successful river crossing with a small diameter pipe and progressed to enable the 40 in. pipes to traverse under rivers. In the 1980s, the technology improved to enable tracking the location of the drill bit from the surface, thereby opening the door for significant efficiency and accuracy improvements. Today, it is the preferred method for trenchless installation of pipelines across major natural and manmade obstacles such as water bodies and roadway, ravines, railway, runways and other structures. HDD enables safe and efficient installation of pipelines, including long distances and complex designs with many curves. HDD precision now enables trenchless pipeline
Figure 1. Profile view of a borehole path design.
installation in congested areas with various geohazards and other infrastructure to avoid.
Project methodology A design starts by defining the geometry of the bore path. Bore hole geometry is a very important consideration in a long HDD project (Figure 1). Optimal bore geometry ensures minimum pull force, and reduces the likelihood of coating damage. It also reduces both installation stress and operational stress on the pipeline. In Joe’s 1966 project example, there was a straight bore from entry point to exit point; no curves were in the design, so pull-force strain and coating damage were lesser concerns, whereas curves in two planes, or compound curves, are common today. An HDD operation starts by drilling a pilot hole that is made with API steel drill pipe, with a diameter sufficient for the torque, longitudinal load and fluid pressure required for the work. A mud motor drilling bit is used for making the pilot hole. The drill bit is tracked in 3-dimensional co-ordinates, to ensure that the drill path follows the design. Precautions are taken to avoid hitting the existing buried structures in the same depth. Entry and exit points are located 10 ft from the centreline of the existing pipeline. Once the drill bit reaches the exit point, it must travel back through the pilot hole with a reamer to enlarge the bore hole, and must pull the pipe that is being installed through the bore hole as well. The drilling fluid is prepared onsite and must be designed to lubricate the bit, keep the hole open without fracturing adjacent rock, transport cuttings back to the surface, and develop a filter cake on the bore walls to prevent the drilling fluids from leaching into soils. Good drilling fluid circulation must be maintained with no spills, no waste and no ‘frackout’ of the drilling fluid. Therefore, a borehole stability analysis must be done before any work can begin (Figure 2). With all the constructability benefits of HDD comes some disadvantages, especially from a pipeline maintenance, corrosion control and integrity management point of view. Pipeline segments using HDD can impose additional strain on the pipeline during the pull through process and can significantly increase both installation stress and operational stress of the pipeline. HDD installed pipelines are relatively deep and could easily become low points for liquid hold up causing flow issues. Such low points tend to accumulate corrosive species, thereby causing internal corrosion problems. HDD installation also increases the likelihood of external coating damage during pull through of the carrier pipeline. Significant external coating damage can easily expose the pipeline to corrosive species in the soil, and depending on the depth, conventional methods of detecting coating damage and monitoring possible external corrosion conditions of the pipeline may not be sufficient to detect these defects.
Enhancing pipeline engineering performance
Figure 2. Borehole stability analysis.
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The key to success is proper merging of people, processes, and technology to meet operational challenges. Much like the revolutionary transition from jack bore to HDD for trenchless
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pipe installation enabled great progress in constructability, the current digital transformation that is underway enables strides to be made in efficiency and sustainability. From a design perspective, an engineer must balance the time that is available for a project with how much time is spent perfecting the design. Software can enable a paradigm shift in how these engineers spend their time. For example, by dramatically reducing the tasks of data mining, QC, data entry and model configuration that can consume the majority of the time spent on a project, the engineer is empowered to spend much more time engineering better outcomes during the design phase, including mitigating long term integrity risks. Technical Toolboxes’ pipeline engineering software platform helps reduce risk, lower total cost of operations and accelerate project schedules. As pipeline engineering professionals embrace digital change, Technical Toolboxes’ legacy applications are evolving into sophisticated, integrated holistic analysis tools that enable users to make efficient, accurate decisions. The recently released Pipeline HUBPL platform which includes the HDD Power Tool (HDDPT) automates integration and analyses for insights into infrastructure design and operational fitness. It connects a library of engineering standards and tools to users’ data across a pipeline lifecycle. Integrated maps allow geospatial analysis, visual reconnaissance of existing databases and leveraging of disparate geographical information systems (GIS) data components.
Conclusion Advancements in machinery and instrumentation technologies were key in progressing constructability of pipelines in congested areas in the 20th century. In the 21st century, key advancements are being made for operability and long-term integrity as the industry develops improved knowledge bases and processes to address post-installation stress, coating damage, and other challenges that arise from the complex designs enabled by HDD. Each HDD installation should be uniquely designed and installed to specific site conditions, such that it will
not present a pipeline integrity nightmare down the road and will keep hydrocarbons in the pipe. Sound engineering practices must be followed, and there are many complex engineering decisions to be made in the pre-planning, design, borehole stability analysis and adjusting on-the-fly during installation of the pipeline to make sure the HDD segment does not turn out to be a problem from a maintenance, corrosion control and an integrity (regulatory) point of view. The digital transformation that is underway in the industry can greatly improve safety and environmental stewardship. A key differentiator in successful digital transformations is the combination of people and processes with the technology, and software selection can greatly influence the outcome.
Lino Civardi, CEO of LK2, and Marc Rausch, Global BD Manager pre-insulated pipes/ DE market, Canusa CPS, detail how the company’s fully automated system for applying heat shrinkable sleeve technologies has been utilised on a project in the Czech Republic.
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eat shrinkable sleeve (HSS) technologies are the dominant field joint coating (FJC) selection in providing anti-corrosion and mechanical protection for oil and gas pipelines globally. Through focused development of innovative, high performance hot-melt adhesives and engineered outer layer backings, advanced field-applied HSS technologies offer equivalent and, in some cases enhanced coating protection compared to their factory-applied mainline coating counterparts. Today’s pipelines require seamless coating solutions along their entire length, with no compromise at the field joints. With
advancements made in FJC materials, focus has more recently shifted to exert enhanced control over the coating process. Initially, this has come in the form of pre-project testing to qualify the proposed coating materials and installation process in advance of pipeline construction and coating activities. Pre-project considerations are focused on the planning and preparation of project-specific coating application procedures, inspection and test plans, quality control programmes, and comprehensive training programmes for coating applicators. Pre-construction coating trials are also completed to confirm
Figure 1. Automating heat shrink sleeve application during pipeline construction using induction pre-heating (right) and IntelliCOATTM (left).
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compliance to project specifications and demonstration of readiness to commence operations. Combined implementation of preproject and pre-construction testing has helped to create optimal conditions for quality and repeatability within the FJC process. However, within a demanding environment that necessitates the pursuit of continuous improvement, efforts to advance FJC materials and processes have not stopped there.
Automating application of HSS The world’s first fully automated system to control the application of HSS was first introduced in early 2011. IntelliCOATTM is a fieldfriendly system that provides a step change enhancement in the
Figure 2. IntelliCOAT with clamshell design preparing to wrap around a large diameter pipeline.
Figure 3. IntelliCOAT Control Panel equipped with PLC and touchscreen interface.
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quality, consistency, and productivity of field-applied coatings by means of automation. Coupled with readily available 3-layer polyolefin heat shrinkable sleeve technologies offering the same level of protection as their factory coating counterparts, the automated system enables the application of a ‘factory-grade’ joint coating solution in a simple-to-operate format that is easily adaptable for an onshore pipeline right-of-way, spoolbase coating line or offshore construction pipelay vessel. The patent protected system consists of a programmable logic controller (PLC) equipped control panel and a clamshell style infrared heating coil connected by rugged ‘plug-and-play’ umbilical cables. One control panel can operate a range of standardised heating coil sizes to suit pipeline diameters from 4 - 56 in. Application cycles can be initiated directly from the control panel or by using the remote control connected to the heating coil. Operators simply monitor cycle progress and remove the coil from the field joint at the end of the coating cycle – the IntelliCOAT® control system does the rest. A major benefit of the IntelliCOAT system is that the requirement of open gas torch flames for installing the FJC is eliminated, therefore increasing operator safety in the FJC station, and even more so in particularly tight working quarters where space can be limited. Best practice installation techniques are automated through the IntelliCOAT system to produce high quality FJC applications that are fully repeatable from joint to joint. Installation programmes can be developed in advance of project deployment to meet specific project needs and can be qualified through comprehensive test programmes well in advance of pipeline construction activities. All installation parameters are tightly controlled and replicated throughout the duration of the project, just as they were during the qualification phase. Precise control of the application process is managed by a PLC based control system with closed-loop feedback. Once the application programme is installed and approved, operators simply lower the IntelliCOAT coil onto the pre-positioned HSS, and the system takes care of the rest. That ensures that the same topquality result achieved during the first application of the day is the same as the result achieved at the end of the day. When called into action, the heating coil’s instantaneous response delivers intense heat to the centre of the joint to begin the FJC application cycle. At the end of the cycle, the heating coil quickly dissipates heat, making the system safe to lift off of the pipe surface to transport to the next joint or to prepare for the next installation sequence. Only standard personal protective equipment is required. IntelliCOAT is designed to have few moving parts and few consumable/wear items to maintain or replace over the course of a project. The system is suitably equipped for operation in the harshest of environments with ambient temperatures ranging from below -30˚C to 55˚C and can withstand the rugged handling associated with onshore and offshore pipeline construction. Individual components are standardised across the IntelliCOAT family of equipment, so any spare parts can be quickly substituted in a plug-and-play fashion in the unlikely event that repairs are needed. The robust design of the IntelliCOAT system ensures maximum uptime and productivity while minimising risk for the construction contractor.
Figure 4. IntelliCOAT system’s infrared heating panels.
Bringing automation to the field – Capacity4gas Located in Plzen, Czech Republic, construction of the Capacity4Gas pipeline project commenced in December 2019 and is an ongoing project for 2021. Recognised for an extensive and proven track record of product performance and project excellence, through the Italian partner LK2, Canusa-CPS was selected as the supplier of the field joint coatings utilising GTS-65 heat shrinkable sleeves with IntelliCOAT equipment on a 56 in. diameter pipe. This system provides superior corrosion
protection and excellent bonding on pipelines operating up to 65˚C. In addition to supply of HSS and lease of IntelliCOAT equipment, installation training and certification for the SICIM coating team was provided by the Canusa-CPS Field Service team to give the client, Net4Gas confidence that all best practices were adhered to while ensuring high productivity rates. The principal challenge detailed by the contractor, SICIM, was maintaining productivity in a safe manner for the duration of this project. Automation and process control were paramount to successfully deliver this project in the assigned time frame. A system which ensured consistency with every FJC installed on the pipeline minimising risks and uncertainty was essential. The IntelliCOAT system enabled SICIM to accurately forecast the daily FJC productivity without reliance on operators to conduct any labour-intensive work steps. Application time per joint was pre-set during the qualification stage to ensure production could proceed on schedule. Utilising this system, SICIM averaged 30 joints per day and a maximum daily rate of 45 joints per day. Further benefits to SICIM were significant manpower savings, as FJC installation on large diameter pipelines can be completed without the addition of extra labourers to install the coating over a larger surface area as would typically be required for manual applications. This project is expected to be completed in 2021 and demonstrates the operational benefits that Canusa-CPS training and certification programmes have on maintaining competency in applying field joint coatings on long duration large diameter onshore projects.
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Graham Marshall, Sonomatic, UK, looks at ways to manage the life and integrity of aged unpiggable pipelines.
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cross the globe in the oil and gas industry, there is a continued importance placed on integrity management of ageing assets and maintaining the longevity of pipelines and structures that are reaching the end of their design life. In most regions, these pipelines may only be operated beyond their intended design life if an extension study has been conducted and approved by stakeholders. In recent years, the idea of continuing use beyond a pipeline’s design life has become increasingly accepted. This could be considered for example, due to a new field development that needs to be tied back to an existing pipeline, or simply that there are still reserves to be recovered after expiration of production asset lifetimes. Corrosion damage is the main concern with ageing pipelines that dominates any plans to extend their life cycle. Corrosion is the breakdown of the parent material due primarily to electrochemical processes where there is an exchange of electrons between two materials. Corrosion has the potential to reduce a product’s design life by premature degradation. The rates of attack and severity of corrosion will vary depending on certain influencing factors. Typical corrosion mechanisms include uniform corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, and pitting corrosion.
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Other scenarios that could cause integrity concerns are: ) Third party: This is more a concern in shallower waters
and can be the result of trawl/anchor damage to a pipeline. ) Mechanical: These can be related to the manufacturing or
installation process of the pipeline. ) Natural hazards: Wave action and currents can cause
scouring and accentuate free span issues. Although pipelines are designed and manufactured in accordance with design codes, unanticipated changes in the environment in which the assets operate can result in unexpected corrosion damage. Moreover, the combined effects of corrosion and mechanical damage, together with environmentally assisted material damage can result in unexpected failures. Given the typical lengths of subsea pipelines, most operators would consider an internal inspection method to use as the basis for the life extension study. These are conducted utilising intelligent inline inspection (ILI) tools that provide comprehensive coverage over the full length of the pipeline. In some cases, it is not possible to carry out an ILI inspection due to reduced product flows and the absence of launch and receive facilities etc. In these cases, tethered or bi-directional tools may be required. These options, however,
Figure 1. A high-resolution ultrasonic corrosion map of a subsea pipeline subject to degradation by microbial induced corrosion (MIC). The corrosion morphology can be compared directly with the predictions of the corrosion risk assessment.
Figure 2. Polar plots and cumulative thickness distributions generated.
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require the pipeline to be taken out of service for the duration of the inspection with associated production losses.
Pipeline targeted inspections online In this situation, an operator will need to consider an alternate means of inspection of the pipeline. Most operators would consider the use of a sampling or targeted inspection of selected locations along the length of the pipeline following a detailed corrosion risk assessment (CRA). The locations are selected on the basis of highest susceptibility to degradation as determined by the CRA. Not all circumstances are predictable, but many are. Examples include low points in the pipeline where water may collect, cooler locations where condensation may occur, or locations where inhibiters may have been ineffective and are no longer protecting the internal surfaces of the pipeline etc. However, when conducting an external sampling or targeted inspection, any access restrictions at the selected locations need to be assessed. Consideration should be given to whether the pipeline is buried, as well as the external coating type, as this can prove challenging to inspect through with certain inspection technologies. Removal of the coating could be carefully considered, however this will impact the life extension study, as removal of insulation/coating will affect the pipeline protection and condition. Sonomatic has developed an exciting new inspection technology that enables inspection to be conducted through certain challenging subsea coatings where conventional ultrasonic is ineffective. Dynamic response spectroscopy (DRS) is an innovative ultrasonic inspection technique for corrosion mapping through attenuative coatings. A custom DRS probe excites the steel with a range of low ultrasonic frequencies, which pass easily through the challenging coatings (such as neoprene, polypropylene/ polyethylene, composite wrap repairs, and Thermotite). The steel responds, vibrating at natural frequencies related to its thickness profile. Using advanced algorithms, these frequencies are extracted from the returning signal at each location and used to determine the steel thickness. Due to the reduced coverage achievable by conducting externally applied technologies, typically at a tiny fraction of the total line, the purpose of inspection is not to locate all the degradation present in each pipeline, or even to confidently locate the worst-case location. The actual
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) Sampling inspection scheme development and evaluation
of results for lines where the conditions are sufficiently homogeneous to allow a sufficient quantification of degradation characteristics based on small coverage. ) Statistical simulation to assess the effectiveness of
sampling options and to evaluate the reliability of the results. This includes consideration of both quantified sampling and screening type approaches. ) Planning and evaluation based on direct assessment
methods, for example, ICDA or ECDA. Figure 3. The Sonomatic MAG-ST crawler conducts 360˚ screening inspections with SH-EMAT or Multiskip.
Figure 4. Subsea ROV-iT conducts quantitative data collection over an area identified by screening techniques.
An advanced integrity services capability incorporating statistical processes adds value to the inspection data. Critical comparisons between repeat inspections with high degrees of precision, circumferential profiling of the external surfaces of pipelines, and extrapolation of collected data over un-inspected areas are examples. Thickness distribution plots are graphical representations of measured thicknesses plotted against proportion of area on a logarithmic scale. These plots can be highly informative in terms of portraying the actual corrosion behaviour. Often, historic corrosion behaviour can be extracted. This is highly informative in terms of correlating observed corrosion behaviour to that predicted through the CRA. (Figure 2) It can be seen that the value is far beyond the concept of conventional ultrasonic corrosion mapping that typically generates minimum, maximum, and average thicknesses. The adage ‘garbage in, garbage out’ applies and an integrated, appropriately controlled inspection generates the quality of source data that is used to maximum effect in the integrity assessment.
Pipeline screening to maximise coverage purpose is to gather sufficient information to underpin with confidence the assumptions of the CRA study. Any inspection technology considered needs to provide data that will offer the accuracies of inspection that will be suitable to use as part of the life extension study. Inspection performance requirements, with respect to accuracy of measurement and probability of detection (POD), would need to be defined to ensure a low coverage inspection will provide a sufficient basis for statistical analysis of data. POD is key when performing a life extension study. A key factor when considering POD is the accuracy of the measurement and scan resolution, particularly for small diameter pits. Trials conducted by Sonomatic, supported by inspection modelling to estimate POD values for a 1 mm x 4 mm resolution identified that POD was greater than 90% for 1 mm deep flaws with an aspect ratio of 5. Sonomatic has supported their clients by providing the following services in support of the evaluation of unpiggable pipelines: ) Bayesian statistical analysis for planning and evaluation of compliance inspections for dry gas lines where the purpose of the inspection is to validate absence of corrosion.
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It is not a realistic option to conduct full length coverage of a pipeline using externally applied inspection technologies such as 0-degree corrosion mapping. This would be very costly and time consuming due not only to the impractical duration of the inspection itself, but also the implications of dredging, weight-coat, and coating removal. From an operator’s perspective, it would be more desirable and cost effective, where possible, to use a less invasive screening inspection technique. Screening techniques such as medium range horizontally polarised guided shear waves introduced by electromagnetic acoustical transducers (EMATs) and/or Multiskip using shear wave pulse echo probes in a pitch/catch mode of operation, make screening of the pipeline possible and can provide a more global perspective of the pipeline, suggesting which area may require additional attention. The optimum approach to inspection will depend on the nature of the potential degradation. In some cases, a screening approach will be appropriate. Screening methods typically provide for higher coverage; however, these techniques provide ‘qualitative’ results and will only offer a general understanding of wall loss in a particular area (typically a coarse percentage of wall loss at each location).
They will alert the operator of the need for further Sonomatic utilises the ROV-iT scanner (Figure 4) for such ‘quantitative’ inspection being required in that location to inspections where quantitative results are required from a obtain accurate wall thickness measurements for further specific location. The ROV-iT has been utilised extensively analysis. The focus of screening is therefore often on since 2012 for subsea inspection of un-piggable pipelines providing assurance that the inspection identifies the most down to water depths of 1750 m to date (pressure tested to severe degradation, or at least regions representative thereof. 3000 m). The inspection planning process for unpiggable pipelines The scanners have the capacity to inspect pipelines has the aim of identifying the most effective approach with outer diameters from 6 in. up to 30 in. The two smaller for each situation and ensuring the inspection meets the units are deployed over the side of the ROVSV or through integrity requirements. the moonpool, attached to the front of most modern work The bespoke Sonomatic MAG-ST crawler (Figure 3) has class ROVs. However, the larger ROV-iT 30 must be deployed been utilised on recent campaigns to deploy screening subsea in a work basket, and the ROV will ‘hot stab’ into the techniques such as EMAT/Multiskip, on multiple pipelines at scanner for power and comms operations. <1000 m water depth. These lines were not designed for inline inspection and had been in service for many years, therefore an assessment of their condition was necessary. The inspection to assess their condition had to be performed using external direct assessment methods. Differing diameters and external coating types can result in the inspection being challenging and may require the need for both screening techniques depending on the pipeline specifics. Typically, in one 24 hr offshore period, approximately 320 m of pipeline can be screened with these techniques, resulting For over 65 years SPY® has been an industry in a total of approximately leader in coating inspection equipment. 10 km of pipeline inspection on a two to three week We offer a full line of portable and in-plant offshore inspection campaign. holiday detectors for pipes, tanks, or any Support technologies coated metal surface in the field or in a are required for follow manufacturing facility. up inspections at areas of degradation of concern as identified by the screening inspection. These follow up techniques have the ability to quantify the depth and characteristics of the degradation in detail, supporting the CRA process and allowing fitness wet sponge i n - p l a n t h o l i day p o rta b l e for service assessment to h o l i day d e t e cto rs h o l i day d e t e cto rs d e t e cto r syst e ms be performed. Ultrasonic • Lightweight and ergonomic • Extremely versatile for • Easy to use, no trigger to design hold while inspecting automatic or manual inspection corrosion maps, or C-scans • Accurate, reliable and easy • Tough, ergonomic and • No batteries required, (Figure 1) can be exported in to use reliable operates on 120 VAC .csv file format directly to • Audible and visual alerts • Infinite voltage settings • Multiple accessories a finite element model for available to meet any plant • Available in basic kit or • 3 different voltage ranges line configuration full inspection kit available stress distribution analysis.
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T
he subject of data seems to dominate every business discussion today. Yet, too often, there are few pointed questions about the ultimate value of the information being presented and, most critically, how accumulating data can best be applied in support of operational planning, asset management, and sound business decision-making. From day one at INGU, we have challenged ourselves on the fundamentals of business value – even before we understood the full importance of our work as physicists, data scientists, and machine learning experts. We dedicated ourselves to improving pipeline performance and safety, and in doing so, we have come to a deep understanding of the business needs of those tasked with managing these critical energy assets.
Four qualities that give data its business value There are four critically important qualities that give data its business value: quality, reliability, timeliness, and affordability. If data has these qualities, those using it will not only be able to know things they didn’t know before, but they will be empowered to effectively manage their business operations, making decisions that will deliver a measurable return on investment.
John van Pol, CEO, INGU, Canada, presents inline inspection as a service: an operating systems approach to pipeline integrity.
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Pipeline operators have relied on smart pigs since they were introduced in 1964 to stay on top of pipeline condition and performance. As these solutions have evolved over
the decades, the accuracy of their data has been second to none. Unfortunately, deploying this technology is infrequent, operationally disruptive, costly, and only applicable to about 60% of the world’s pipeline assets. This means smart pigs serve as an effective point solution but provide limited value as a business decision-making tool. The industry’s stop-start approach to inline inspection has left operators vulnerable and forced to act based on moments in time or calendar dates, rather than on insights gained through timely and complete access to their pipeline assets.
The operating system for pipeline integrity
Figure 1. Onsite launch location.
Our work at INGU revolves around the use of free-floating Pipers® and advanced data analytics to deliver optimal operational control and insight, while simultaneously reducing overall costs and downtime. In short, we are the operating system for pipeline integrity and management. As the first in our industry to offer inline inspection as a service, on a subscription basis, we provide complete, timely, accurate and affordable data. In business terms it means operators have greater visibility across all pipeline assets, whenever and wherever they want, regardless of location, material, configuration, or condition at a 10x cost advantage. The result is better planning, decision-making and overall financial control. We can achieve this because of a unique, self-serve solution that uses free-floating, micro sensor technology designed to work under operational conditions. This approach translates into 100% uptime and the ability to act where and when it’s required. There are no third parties required on-site – including INGU – and operators can deploy our solution on a moment’s notice. Pipers data is highly repeatable making it ideal for monitoring for changes in pipeline condition, keeping operators on top of leaks, deposits, wall condition, and damage or tampering to their pipelines. When it comes to troubleshooting, Pipers are always in scope and readily at hand. Equipped with a magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, acoustic sensor, and pressure sensor on board, they can deliver leak, deposit, and wall condition insights in a single run. Even when timing is tight, the INGU team can turn around client data as fast as 24 hours. INGU’s data science team has the unique advantage of access to a growing library containing learnings from small, midand large scale operators across four continents. This provides rich contextual analysis and the ability to continuously improve our work.
A recent case in point Figure 2. Pipers with microsensors onboard.
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successfully transferring oil resources from arriving tankers to its modern port facility. There, resources are processed efficiently with attention paid to every detail. In October 2020, the refinery ran Pipers as part of its risk management efforts to assess the condition of a primary pipeline used to transfer products from ship to port. This initial assessment established a baseline for continued monitoring of this critical asset. In late April 2021, a leak was suspected and Pipers, already in stock with our local agent, were immediately deployed to find the leak location. A tanker was on its way and any necessary repairs to the pipeline would need to be done within days. The Pipers data was uploaded after deployment to INGU for analysis, and within 24 hours the location of the leak was identified. The area was excavated and the hole in the pipeline was discovered within 1 m of the location isolated by the INGU team. Repairs were made that morning and the company was safely back in operation in just two days from actioning the problem. Pipers technology is exceptional at leak detection because these free-floating micro sensor devices travel with the liquid through pipelines with limited to no background noise, making them extremely sensitive to the sounds associated with leaks. The refinery subscribes to Pipers as a service, ensuring they have condition baselines for all assets which allows for fine grain financial and operational planning, as well as the ability to confidently troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
Self-serve system ) Provides maximum control, while eliminating
the need for third parties onsite.
Universal pipeline access ) Easy access to pipeline assets no matter the
material, diameter, or configuration.
Multi sensor capabilities ) Investigate leaks, deposits, and changes in wall
condition in a single run.
100% uptime ) Designed for use under operational conditions.
Cost advantage ) Affordability and ease of use means more
visibility, more often.
Rich datasets ) Leverage historical data for unprecedented
analysis.
Pipers ® 2.8 ) For the largest diameter pipelines (up to 48
inches) and specialized conditions such as offshore.
Data that works It is estimated that conventional inline inspection methods are not suitable for 40% of the world’s pipeline assets. Our goal is to open the doors to all pipelines – independent of diameter, fluid, and pipeline material. Many pipeline assets have a poorly documented or lost history. They may also be in unknown condition and difficult to inspect. These pipelines present a significant risk from an integrity perspective. The advantage of repeatability allows Pipers to establish a baseline through an initial run. Our clients have the ability to use each subsequent run to gain a clear, comparative picture of the state of their pipeline assets and monitor changes over time. This also gives our team the ability to observe trends and perform quantitative assessments using different sensor data sets. Maintaining a regular inline presence across all assets allows users to plan, decide, and act with certainty. As seen with the refinery case study above, INGU was able to provide the location of the leak identified within 48 hours. The accuracy of the data allowed excavators to discover the hole in the pipeline within one meter of the location via Pipers data. Pipers are putting power and control into the hands of pipeline operators and ensuring integrity management programs are running as efficiently as possible, with data that is complete, timely, reliable and affordable.
) Pressures up to 20 000 kPa/2900 psi. ) Temperature range -20˚C to 60˚C/-4 to 140˚F. ) Runtime up to 24 hours. 1
Pipers ® 2.2 ) The standard for piggable and unpiggable lines. ) Pressures up to 10 000 kPa /1450 psi. 1 ) Temperature range -20˚C to 60˚C/-4 to 140˚F. ) Runtime up to 24 hours. 2
Pipers ® 1.5 ) For unpiggable small diameter pipelines down
to 2 in. ) Pressures up to 3000 kPa/435 psi. 1 ) Temperature range -20˚C to 60˚C/-4 to 140˚F. ) Runtime up to 2 hours. 2
A look ‘under the hood’
Notes
What we have developed is not a better inline inspection data tool. Rather, it is a powerful business decision-making and planning solution, offering benefits that this industry has not seen.
1. Maximum pressure rating is at 20˚C. 2. Given runtime is for storage and operation at 20˚C.
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Gaurav Siingh, ROSEN Group, Europe, discusses the benefits of a flexible, cloudbased approach to asset integrity management.
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sset integrity management is like hiking in rough terrain: the fewer the uncertainties, the faster and safer the way to the destination. In the pipeline industry, the desired destinations or goals that unite the entire industry are the pursuit of “zero incidents” and achieving “net zero” emissions by 2050. But there are challenges, such as evolving asset regulations, missing or incorrect data, data discovery and traceability, climate change, and ageing assets (operational as well as human assets). ISO 55000 is one of many internationally recognised asset management standards that highlight the role of a systematic approach towards asset management systems and how they can be adapted by a software platform to address some of these challenges. A holistic approach to asset management and integrity requires the ability to align and visualise many different types of data taken from a reliable “system of record” and adaptable asset integrity management (AIM) processes. In simple terms, we understand that operators need to look at data to understand the situation today, complete calculations to inform decisions and predict what may be needed in the future, and keep records. Therefore, we dedicate our technical and engineering expertise to empowering operators around the world to overcome the aforementioned challenges. We do so by developing NIMA as ROSEN’s digital solution for clients’ AIM needs. NIMA is a flexible platform that delivers a comprehensive set of tools enabling data alignment (overlays), data visualisation and data storage in a way that contributes to better decision-making for both regulatory compliance and wider integrity management processes. The clear visualisations also help to strengthen confidence in the accuracy and completeness of the data. Figure 1 shows that once the inspection data/results are acquired, they can be uploaded to NIMA for checking, alignment, visualisation and executing integrity-specific assessments. One of the great benefits of software-as-a-service (SaaS) is that multiple users can work on the same system from different locations. In these times of distributed teams – and increasing collaboration between customers and service providers – this SaaS approach enhances flexibility. When teams are stretched or resources limited, operators can get expert support on demand to complete integrity processes, allowing them to focus on making the critical decisions. We understand that not all users/operators need the same level of assistance; this will depend on the resources available in the organisation, the level of experience and the particular skillsets. Hence,
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we believe they need a platform like NIMA to provide flexibility in implementing AIM processes that can be scaled up as needed and promote a comprehensive approach as described in the pipeline integrity framework.1
NIMA SaaS solution Advancements in inline inspection technology and aboveground survey technology have led to vast amounts of data being generated (terabytes of data) and delivered to operators’ offices. Thanks to fast internet options, the data can be shared with integrity or in-field engineers with the click of a button. However, the problem is that today the majority of this data resides in silos, meaning in individual or network distributed file folders or systems and in different formats. When one needs this data, it becomes a daunting task for the engineers to trace it back, check it and align it, which raises the question of how to overcome this data impasse? We work with distributed multilingual (Russian, Ukrainian. Spanish, German, Dutch, English etc.) teams who collaborate to support operators worldwide. Our direct experience is that a digital solution that allows all the data for a particular pipeline to be checked, aligned and stored in a robust industry standard data structure where it is available for visualisation and assessment from any location improves efficiency and effectiveness.
Through our SaaS-based integrity platform, NIMA, we provide comprehensive alignment and assessment tools for your assets – available at your fingertips at any time and supported by ROSEN experts if and when needed. The SaaS-based solution also provides the benefits of implementing a “system of record” for the inspection and assessment history by providing easily accessible, structured, consistent and fully aligned datasets as a fundamental prerequisite. Additionally, it fulfills the regulatory requirement that demands all asset records be traceable, verifiable and complete. NIMA offers operators a way to reduce uncertainties in integrity management processes and therefore aids in the decision-making process by providing: ) Quick and easy data alignment. ) Comprehensive visualisations. ) Fitness-for-service assessment. ) Corrosion growth. ) Repair planning. ) Risk assessment. ) High-quality data structures.
There are some inherent benefits of SaaS-based offerings compared to on-premise ones: ) Only operational expenditure (OPEX) of subscription
fees that can be modified based on clients’ needs. Also available in pay-as-use model. So no high investments in IT infrastructure and resources (CAPEX) needed on client side. Figure 1. Simplified NIMA SaaS workflow.
) Multi-vendor ILI data integration and assessment data
following inspection services. ) Simple sharing and outsourcing of both data management
and integrity assessment tasks. ) Access to ROSEN experts for remote integrity assessment
and data management support. ) Immediate access from any device from any location. ) No software installation, third-party licenses or hardware
infrastructure updates. Figure 2. Integrity sheets template showing a holistic view of aligned inspection and other relevant data.
) Platform and process updates as well as bug fixes and/or
enhancements immediately available. ) Data backups organised as per client
wishes. ) Fully encrypted data transactions. Figure 3. Process monitor view.
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section, we will highlight some of the visualisation aspects of templates, how data can be used to provide insights and how operators can be compliance-ready.
Data to insight to compliance-ready
Figure 4. Assessment compliance and metadata.
Figure 5. NIMA SaaS options.
Process library Integrity assessments are processes that are either established by international organisations such as ASME, API, NACE (e.g. ASME B31.G assessment processes for corrosion defects); by local regulation (e.g. DSTU fatigue assessment and GOST assessment code, PHMSA process for selecting anomaly responses); or by individual companies (e.g. risk assessment processes). We have captured the logic of the processes that are widely used in integrity management and represent current best practices in “process templates” (or applications). Using the SaaS platform, operators deploy these process templates as and when needed, providing them not only with great flexibility in the application of integrity-related processes but also with a means of keeping a check on their operational budget when using such digital solutions. Process templates cover the repetitive steps that should be followed to apply relevant integrity algorithms. Implementing the use of process templates with your data ensures repeatability and consistency when viewing and analysing. The process-based design ensures that the integrity engineer follows well-defined steps to generate meaningful results. To complete industry best-practice integrity assessments, operators have the choice of either using the pre-defined process templates, which we also use, or creating ones of their own, depending upon the subscription model selected. Within each process step, the user has to take complete actions, such as selecting the data needed for assessment, then carrying out the calculations and then visualising the results. In the following
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Collecting and storing data is an important part of integrity management, but of course the real value comes in using that data to understand the condition of a pipeline and gain insights into the reasons for any issues or the significance of particular features. The simple act of visualising data in alignment with other datasets and being able to filter the information most relevant to the decision-makers is extraordinarily powerful in helping integrity engineers to understand a situation and communicate with their colleagues in clear and understandable ways. It is very true that a picture is worth a thousand words. The level of information that one needs to visualise differs by everyone’s role, from analysts to integrity and operation engineers to members of the management team. Figure 2 shows a simple example of how multiple types of relevant data can be visualised in alignment with each other. Showing the geolocation of the pipeline and its assets (valves, joints, markers, casings, anomalies), the map view helps to locate assets in a GIS environment. The second chart shows the anomaly depth vs. the log distance from the most recent and previous inspection. The third view shows the cathodic protection readings (Potential ON and OFF) on the left Y-axis; on the right Y-axis is the corrosion growth rate throughout the log distance of the pipeline. And the last view makes it possible to visualise the reference data in a band view. On the right-hand side are the various options that adjust dynamically based on user selection. NIMA’s ability to view pipe tally and integrity data in one dashboard with the power of visualisation on the map and dynamic selection shows the level of ease and flexibility that NIMA can provide. Managing data in this way aids in running operation-critical integrity-related processes, such as corrosion growth assessment, fitness-for-purpose analysis, repair planning and risk assessment (RBI) – all in full compliance with industry best practices. Another important functionality of NIMA is the ability to monitor the processes (Figure 3), which allows superusers to keep track of who has done what, when and how, thus covering the data and assessment traceability aspect. Furthermore, from an internal compliance point of view, having the functionality that allows users to follow the approval workflow of assessment readiness – whether they are in draft mode (meaning to be checked) or released (after having been checked by the expert or decision-maker) – and then lock them so that they are saved for a specific section as a snapshot assessment in time adds the new dimension of confidence that assessments are thoroughly checked based on robust workflows and all metadata is saved in one location. Following this workflow supports the management of change processes or quality management as referred in ISO55001 [2], which directly or indirectly helps asset managers in assuring their operating license.
Once more, combining assessments with the data and its metadata with the possibility to use the results with other assessments allows for maximum utilisation and output with minimal operational costs. In the following section, we will outline what SaaS options are available.
Leveraging NIMA SaaS options NIMA SaaS offers a very flexible approach for operators to exploit to the best of their abilities. NIMA offerings are designed in such a way that the needs of small, medium and large operators can be fulfilled. Operators can choose the option they think is best for them, and they can scale up or down from the chosen option.
Essential View and interact with inspection and integrity assessment results. Use essential NIMA Process Templates to run fully featured applications such as fitness-for-service (FFS) and corrosion growth assessment (CGA).
Professional In addition to the features of the “essential” level, access additional NIMA process templates for your asset integrity management (such as repair planning and more) and have the option of customiwed NIMA process templates provided by ROSEN.
Expert The fully integrated integrity management solution. In addition to the features of the “professional” level, functionality for the user to configure NIMA process templates via the built-in
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NIMA process builder, KPI overview in management operations dashboard, etc. We make available to operators a secure decision-making framework by providing a digital reflection of individual integrity management processes, easy access to all necessary data and the flexibility to develop customised analytical tools. Furthermore, using SaaS for asset integrity management provides a flexible yet secure way of working from anywhere and from any device.
Summary In a nutshell, we can say that the option of a phase-based approach based on the distinct needs of each operator can be easily delivered via a SaaS-based solution that can be scaled up as and when changes are needed. Because we talked about using a platform, it is imperative to mention that, unlike software systems that come with fixed modules and a set of data inputs, the NIMA platform is flexible enough to handle data from any legacy system or from other PIMS solutions available at the operator’s office. A bespoke solution towards each client’s needs can also be delivered. Our global technical expertise with local multilingual support closer to the client helps to provide fast solutions with a shortened turnaround time.
References 1. 2. 3.
Roy van Elteren et al. (Pipeline Technology Conference 2020), “Mind the Gap!” – Pipeline Integrity Framework. ISO 55000 Asset Management – Overview, principles and terminology. ISO 55001 Asset Management – Management Systems – Requirements, Section 7.5 and Section 8.1.
Ross Otto, Engineering Manager of Sensia, a Rockwell Automation company, Canada, discusses how automation can help operators utilise data gathered from smart devices on their pipelines.
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oday, smart devices – elements of the Internet of Things (IoT) embedded in pipelines on compressors and pump stations, and within refineries – are yielding a new wealth of operational information. But making sense of that data is another matter. There are numerous challenges that oil and gas pipeline operators face, and they can be broadly categorised in three groups: improving operational efficiency, managing the skills shortage, and improving environmental stewardship.
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As with most other sectors, the headline target is to improve the bottom-line performance. At its basest level this is all about doing more for less. Any work undertaken by technicians not only increases cost, but also reduces reliability. Any time a worker touches the pipeline there is the potential for problems to arise. Reducing the amount of work involved in maintaining a pipeline enables the operator to become more efficient, drive higher throughput and reduce energy costs. The looming skills shortage caused by the forthcoming retirement of baby boomers, with fewer skilled people available to take their place, is not unique to this sector, but it remains a significant problem. A lot of pipelines have been operated for many years by individuals who learned how to run them on intuition and experience. This is not an easily transferable skill, and, in many cases, operators do not know that they have this knowledge gap until the worker retires. It is true that there is the potential to replace these ageing workers with younger, digitally native staff, but any gain in digital expertise is frequently offset by their lack of enthusiasm for using tools that they deem not to be up-to-date or modern. Pipeline operators have traditionally built control systems with SCADA systems that sit on top of them that are in service for up to 20 years. New employees who are more digitally enabled do not tend to want to work with a 15 year old system. They want something that works the way their smartphone does. Thirdly, environmental stewardship has been looked at for years, but it is gaining in significance now. From consumers to government, emissions are now a major concern. But there is no hiding that oil and gas operators are moving petrochemicals, petroleum, and natural gas products, and despite the industry’s best efforts the environmental community looks on them with derision. Oil and gas companies want to have the best public image they can and so they want to be able to reduce their emissions, greenhouse gases and contribution to global warming.
The state of play There is a wide range of capabilities within the sector and some areas of excellence, but these tend to be proprietary systems that are often independent and discrete. Across the sector there are still many operators who live and breathe on spreadsheets. These are updated every week to keep the information from one system up-to-date in another system, or they have to pull data from three systems together into one spreadsheet to achieve something that could all be done in an automated fashion. There is enormous scope to improve this procedure by adopting a digital system. When it comes to instrumentation perspective, there are a host of maintenance activities that are still carried out on a calendar basis. One operator has about 2500 pressure and temperature transmitters, and for the last 20 years that their pipelines have been running they have been calibrating every one of them every six months. In that time, they have only found two transmitters on one occasion that needed adjustment. So, is that a very efficient use of time? No, but that is where people are at today.
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What is required is intelligence that allows systems to work with each other and automating actions that humans carry out today: things like calibrating transmitters, or completing spreadsheets to do analysis on a routine basis or transfer data between systems. It is common to have different naming conventions in different systems, and there is no way you can combine that data into a spreadsheet or an analytic tool and compare them without adding some intelligence.
Driven by maturing technologies The pace of the digital transformation is increasing, facilitated by the maturation of many data analytics and computational techniques. But there are two significant capabilities that are really driving the ability to apply intelligence to pipeline operations. The first is the development of technology for mass applications. This is completely outside of the normal realm of control systems and automation. It can be seen in applications such as Google Maps, which was the first application in the world to have a billion simultaneous users, or Netflix, which serves up millions of different movies and shows to everybody on the planet at once. The underlying technologies that allow those processes to work can be applied to pipeline automation and management. In the past, there has been a huge amount of data and no effective way to deal with it. These underlying technologies built into our systems basically allow a greater degree of functionality than could be achieved previously. The other thing is the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools. In the pipeline world their strength is identifying patterns in data. There will be many other things to come from them in the future, but for now that is where they are making the biggest inroad. The challenge with machine learning is that you must ask it the right question and that still requires some good engineering expertise. The value of an asset model is once you have applied that expertise to one pump, it can be automatically applied to every other pump in the system. One of the core attributes of creating an asset model is that it can help define the right question. With some tools that use mathematical models to get it started, the asset tool can monitor normal operations, thus building its understanding. At some point, something will go outside of the normal operating parameters and it will need the help of a human to identify the cause, and it will gradually evolve through that process to understand all normal operating modes and most importantly data signatures that indicate incipient problems. The challenge here is that you cannot run a process pipeline in a fashion so that the system can learn about extreme conditions, ones that an operator would not want their pipeline to be in, although they may find themselves someday in that situation. For those purposes, we use physical models, either directly to predict what is going on or to train the machine learning tool.
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Delivering real-time insight We approach this challenge by ensuring that the operator has access to all the data that they collect, and then supplying the functionality to link it all together into a system that allows analytics to be applied to gain valuable business insights. There are two main premises behind our system. The first is an asset model that has the intelligence to collect the data from all the disparate systems that it knows about and correlate it on an asset basis. A particular pump, for example, might have certain transmitters attached to it. Those transmitters have certain tags, those tags might be different in a local HMI, they might be different in a SCADA system, they might be different in SAP, or whatever the customer is using to keep track of their assets. Our system can take all of those and bring them under one umbrella to be associated with a particular pump, and every pump that the customer owns would have those same associations. Once you do something for a certain pump, you can apply it to the other pumps, because the naming is the same across the board. The second piece is where we see huge value. We have products that take this asset model and link it with a variety of different systems, from transmitters through to ERP systems and analytic tools, control systems, SCADA systems and everything in between. What that means is that you can start taking advantage of this asset model without having to replace all your systems. These are the fundamental building blocks. On top of that, we are building solutions to replace or add to the customer’s range of different programmes and products that they currently have. For example, we have tools that will carry out predictive maintenance, and those tools do not need to have the whole environment replaced because they work off the asset model. Then the asset model uses our glue to understand how the huge variety that a customer has in a particular piece of equipment is the same.
The value of automation surveillance To effectively meet all the goals of running a pipeline, access to real-time data is extremely important, and it is not something that has fundamentally changed a lot over the years. Outside of nuclear plants, pipeline surveillance systems have been the state-of-the-art for distance surveillance for many years. However, the thing that has changed is that there is far more data today. Where a meter used to have a propeller speed and a couple of temperatures and pressures, today a modern ultrasonic meter will have 500 different registers telling you exactly how it is working and what is going on in the pipe. The surveillance challenge today is collecting all that disparate data and then extracting some value from it. Of course, technology has changed a lot as well; 20 or 30 years ago people used satellite networks and telephone lines. Now people are using cellular telephone services and the Internet to collect that data and send it to the places it needs to go. This asset model takes the manufacturer or the age of the device out of the equation and makes a more
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homogeneous system for the analytical tools to use. You can still get multiple versions of the truth, but they are extremely valuable at that point because they can help you identify pieces of the system that are not working correctly. An example of that is, if this meter is saying one thing and 10 miles downstream it is saying something different, it tells us that one or the other of those meters is not working. Then you can apply analytics to figure out which one it is. Even with the amount of data that there is available today, the ability to add further data collection points to increase the knowledge is simple and inexpensive. The ability to plug and play is adding value through the ability to collect additional information. For example, high value pieces of equipment such as a large turbine or compressor may have a sophisticated vibration monitoring system built in to help ascertain the state of the piece of equipment. However, in this Internet of Things age you can buy a vibration sensor for a few hundred dollars and attach it to any device, it is plug and play. It can be acquired by the wireless network; the data is ingested by the system and analytics start happening. It can give you warning when that pump is going to fail and allow maintenance efforts to keep the entire system running. Even with more surveillance carried out automatically there will still be a need for physical inspections. You always need to understand what is happening in the physical world. Digital twins and other analytical tools are just not up to predicting that somebody has decided to lay a new waterline, or they are digging with the backhoe. There is also a lot of AI being applied today around video and looking at it to identify if there are hydrocarbon leaks, and if so, what product is leaking? That can provide a lot of value in understanding how best to shut the system down.
Reaping the benefits of automation Part of the role of this added intelligence for pipeline operators is to reduce risk, and that goes hand in hand with increasing reliability and reducing worker interventions. In fact, the biggest risk is simply driving to the site to touch the pipeline. However, there are many ways to reduce risk. Taking tasks that people have always done, such as driving out to a well or a pump station to manually record readings from gauges, that should, and can all be automated. This is much more efficient and saves time travelling to the site. Optimising performance is where AI, physical models and digital twins can play their part to advise on the best way to run the pipeline in its current condition. The industry is on a journey to higher levels of automation that will allow systems to work very efficiently without the need for humans to monitor them. The employees of the pipeline companies will be engaged in unique activities, solving a particular problem rather than watching for something to happen. Automation can achieve that for them, and pipelines will operate more efficiently. They will produce less greenhouse gases and the people that are working for the pipeline companies can be working on how to optimise operations even more. It is not an end game; it is an evolution that will continue.
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o date, the focus of research on the use of composite repair systems has been on the repair of damage on straight pipe sections. As pipeline systems also comprise other components such as bends and tees, there has been very little work to demonstrate whether or not the more complex loading in these components can be accommodated by the repair systems. Composite repairs are now a familiar solution for restoring the integrity of pipelines suffering wall thinning from external corrosion. The mechanical properties of a composite material are dependent on its fibre orientation. This gives the designer the ability to align the mechanical properties of the materials with the loads in the line being reinforced. Early composite repair techniques took advantage of this approach, aligning all fibres with the hoop direction of the pipe, minimising the repair thickness required (and therefore, minimising cost).
Troy Swankie, Senior Principal Specialist with DNV and Paul Hill, Service Line Manager with Team Industrial Services, explain how composite systems can be used to reinforce and repair blunt defects on pipeline bends affected by external corrosion.
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Figure 1. Variation in hoop stress around the circumference of a bend as a function of bend radius.
solution, else remove and replace the damaged section. This involved numerical analysis and full-scale testing. The results from the tests exceeded expectations and National Grid questioned whether the composite system could be used as a permanent repair method for its network of gas distribution and transmission pipelines and piping systems. However, there remained uncertainty regarding long-term performance because data were not available to demonstrate that the fatigue design life of the pipeline at the damaged location was fully restored. DNV, on behalf of the main gas pipeline operators (Cadent, SGN, National Grid, Northern Gas Networks and Wales & West Utilities) carried out an investigation to address this concern and determine how to specify composite repairs for pipeline bends in a safe and controlled manner. Rather than just consider burst pressure, the objective was to demonstrate restoration of the fatigue life of the pipe under cyclic pressurisation to acceptable levels. A successful test was defined as one which exceeded the target number of cycles by a factor of ten, and for which there was no visual sign of repair degradation.
Materials and methods
Figure 2. Replicate corrosion defect machined in intrados.
Figure 3. Overview of test vessel.
While this was ideal for reinforcing the circumferential direction of the line, it gave limited reinforcement in the axial direction. This suited buried pipeline applications where loading is predominantly in the hoop direction and the majority of repairs installed to date have been on straight sections of buried pipe. However, tests on straight sections cannot be directly extrapolated to provide support for these applications because of the directional nature of the reinforcement and the loads that will affect how they perform.
Background In 2013, National Grid initiated a scope of work to identify and test a temporary repair system for corrosion damage affecting bends. The aim was to minimise the time to get the piping system back into normal operation and to provide time to design and install a permanent repair
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The network of pipelines and pipework considered for this study are constructed using bends ranging in diameter (50 - 1200 mm nominal), material grade (up to and including X80), bend angle (up to and including 90˚) and bend radius (greater than 1.5 dia.). Finite element analysis (FEA) was undertaken in order to optimise the test programme. Although each variable was found to influence the predicted failure pressure, it was concluded that any bend diameter, thickness and material grade could be selected for testing, provided the bend geometry was limited to a 90˚ bend angle and 1.5 dia. bend radius. It was agreed that all testing would focus on a 300 mm nominal size, grade X52 forged bend with a 1.5 dia. radius and a 90˚ angle. The FEA was also used to confirm the optimum location around the bend circumference to position the metal loss corrosion defect. Although bend radius was found to influence the magnitude of circumferential stress, the circumferential position of highest stress was always at the bend intrados as shown in Figure 1.
Size of corrosion defect National Grid and the UK Gas Distribution Networks have a consistent approach to dealing with damage to their gas pipelines and pipework. Corrosion damage is categorised according to its depth and the operating stress level of the pipeline. If the depth of corrosion is greater than the allowable limit, then a repair is undertaken. For a pipeline designed to operate at a design factor of 0.72, the allowable depth limit is 20% of the pipe wall thickness. Repair thickness is dependent on the depth of corrosion; the deeper the corrosion, the thicker the repair. A thick repair is stiffer than a thin repair, so it was considered prudent to test both shallow and deep corrosion defects to investigate
the effect of thickness on the performance of the repair system. The length and width of each corrosion defect was approximately half and quarter of the pipe diameter, consistent with the recommendations in ISO 24817, Annex C.1 Figure 2 shows a patch defect of depth 80% thickness machined at the bend intrados.
Test vessel fabrication and method Two identical test vessels were fabricated (Figure 3). Each vessel comprised two bends (one with a defect depth of 20%, the other 80%) with a short, straight section between them. Test ends were welded at either end. This set up enabled each vessel to produce two results, reducing testing time and cost. Should one of the bends fail, then it could be cut out and the end-caps re-welded to facilitate continued cycling of the second bend. The fatigue design life of UK onshore gas pipelines and pipework systems can vary significantly. To ensure the tests provided results applicable for all piping system designs, a target life was set equivalent to that of a high-pressure gas transmission pipeline subjected to a high-level pressure test on commissioning. The S-N curve shown in Figure 4 is from IGEM/TD/12. The curve includes a factor of safety on life of 10 to take account of uncertainties along the entire length of the pipeline. If the maximum daily variation in hoop stress is not greater than 125 N/mm2 the fatigue design life of the pipeline will be not less than 15 000 equivalent cycles. The slope of the S-N curve is dependent on the geometry of the component; in this case, a circular pipe. Although the geometry will not change following installation of a composite repair, there was concern that the structure was no longer homogeneous as it was comprised of different materials such as steel, filler and carbon plies, which have different performance characteristics. Despite the factor of safety on life being applicable to the entire length of a pipeline, a decision was made to target a similar factor of safety on life for the repaired component. Hence, the tests were performed at 125 N/mm2 with a target life of 150 000 cycles in Vessel 1 and at 90 N/mm2 where the target life was extended to 402 000 cycles in Vessel 2. This would demonstrate applicability of the S-N curve to any repaired section of the pipeline. Both the base of the machined patch and the repair immediately above were instrumented using strain gauges to measure both hoop and axial strains (gauges were in 0˚ and 90˚ orientations). Further gauges were applied remote from the defect area to provide baseline data. Repairs were installed with the vessel at ambient pressure. The pressure and associated strains were recorded for a single cycle at various points during the test to identify if any changes could be detected that might indicate progressive degradation or failure of the repair.
and an ambient temperature curing liquid epoxy resin system and contains both hoop and axial reinforcement in a 2:1 proportion (67% of fibres align with the hoop direction of the pipe and 33% with the axial direction), matching the stresses due to internal pressure in a straight section of pipe. Determination of the repair thickness was made using principles in ISO 24817 and ASME PCC 2 Article 401. While these standards provide a number of different calculation methods, they are all primarily driven by ‘design pressure’. This approach does not account for factors relevant to the pipeline industry, such as location class, nor do the methods provided look familiar to those used to working in a pipeline environment. One of the methods (ISO 24817, Equation 5) enables repair thicknesses to be reduced as installation pressure increases. This is technically correct only whilst the defect remains in the elastic region. However, the calculation method allows the defect to strain plastically, leading to derivation of thicknesses that are insufficient to restore full capability as required by the pipeline construction codes. A design approach was therefore developed that was based on the principles in ISO 24817, but which accounted for these known problems, ensuring the repairs will not create weak points within the pipeline network. The repair lengths used were calculated in accordance with ISO 24817, requiring the repairs to extend by approximately
Figure 4. S-N curve defining the fatigue design life of a gas pipeline.
Determination of the repair thickness Team Industrial Services Inc’s FCR-BC/ST(b) repair system was used for testing. This is based on carbon fibre reinforcement
Figure 5. Test vessel with repairs installed.
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135 mm at full thickness either side of the defects. A taper of 5 mm per layer was included at the ends to avoid creating a stress concentration (again in line with guidance in that standard). An example of a test piece is shown in Figure 5.
Results and discussion
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LCS Cable Cranes
8
Vessel 1 was cycled to generate a nominal hoop stress range of 125 N/mm2 104 bar pressure range). The pressure-strain response was measured on the first and then on nine further cycles up to 150 000. For both the shallow and deep wall loss defects, there was negligible change in stiffness recorded in the pipe remote from the bend, although some random variation was noted. The same pattern characterised readings from the defect area and the repair. It is considered that some combination of test duration, temperature, humidity, interference or drift in the electronics are more likely to be the cause rather than any change in performance of the materials. Vessel 2 was cycled to generate a nominal hoop stress range of 90 N/mm- (75 bar pressure range). The pressure-strain response was measured on the first and then on 13 further cycles up to 402 000. Again, no pattern in the strain responses could be identified in the data from either defect depth, indicating no changes in the performance of the repairs or pipe. Once the tests were completed, a detailed visual inspection of the repairs was performed to identify any evidence of debonding. It was concluded that the combination of consistent strain readings and positive visual inspection was sufficient evidence to demonstrate the repair had fully restored the capacity of the bend. The strain recorded on the outside of the repair for the deeper defects was higher than for the shallow ones. While there are a number of possible reasons for this, further investigation would be required to provide a full explanation.
Max Streicher
2
Conclusion
Pigs Unlimited International, LLC
15
Advertiser
Page
BAUMA
57
Corrpro
19
Cyntech
4
Dacon Inspection
47
Darby Equipment Company
Bound insert, 39
DeFelsko
67
DENSO GmbH
61
Electrochemical Devices, Inc.
44
Europipeline Equipment S.p.A.
OBC
Girard Industries
67
Global Energy Show
64
Herrenknecht AG
Pipecare
Bound insert
IBC
Pipeline Inspection Company
53
Propipe
48
Qapqa B.V.
35
ROSEN Group
IFC
Saipem
11
SCAIP S.p.A.
Bound insert
Spiecapag
12
Stark Solutions
15
STATS Group
63
TIAL
31
T.D. Williamson
25
The tests demonstrate that a composite system can be used to repair pipeline bends with blunt defects resulting from wall loss due to external corrosion and restore the pressure cycle fatigue design life of the pipeline at the damaged location. Suitable repair systems will include fibres oriented in the axial direction of the pipeline to ensure axial reinforcement is provided, as well as hoop reinforcement. Repair thicknesses should be based on the original pipeline wall thickness and not simply on the line design pressure. It is essential that qualification testing includes cyclic pressure loading to demonstrate specific composite repair systems are suitable for use on high pressure bends before the systems are applied in real applications.
References 1.
2.
Winn & Coales International Ltd
OFC, 7, 36
3.
ISO 24817 2017 Petroleum, Petrochemical and natural gas industries – Composite repairs for pipework – Qualification and design, installation, testing and inspection. Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers, IGEM/TD/1:2008 (Edition 5, with amendments); Steel pipelines and associated installations for high pressure gas transmission, Communication 1789 (July 2016). Anon, Stress Engineering Services Inc., Load transfer joint industry program – final report, Report 1461125-PL-RP-02 (Rev 0) (18 October 2018).
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