Welcome

Opening and welcome presention

Dennis Fandrich

Keynote Speech: Pushing the limits of what is possible - Challenging Pipelines in the Past, Present and Future

Standard In-Line Inspection (ILI) has become a commodity in the recent years. In many countries regular pipeline inspection using ILI is either prescribed by law or is at least highly recommended. It is thus state of the art in pipeline integrity and several norms describe the use and application of the inspection tools and its related service.

Nevertheless, many pipelines remain “unpiggable”, i.e. a challenge to inspection service companies. This can be for various reasons. While most codes today demand that pipelines are built such that a standard ILI-tool can be applied, many older pipelines (“vintage pipelines”) exist and also require attention. Inspection service provider keep on pushing these limits further and further.

The presentation will first give a description of the nomenclature on this topic and then focus on classifying the origins for challenges in pipeline inspection and the possible solutions. Again the solutions can be categorized into different approaches, like ILI tool modifications, pipeline modifications, umbilical internal inspection solutions, robotic tools or external inspection. Several pipelines that were previously considered impossible or difficult to inspect have thus been successfully inspected and pipeline integrity can now be maintained.

In the end some examples are shown in which pipelines remain difficult to inspect but where technical solution can be developed.

Dr. Konrad Reber

Keynote Speech: PRCI’s Pursuit of Solutions: The Difficult-to-Inspect Pipeline

Many pipeline systems are configured or operated in a manner that prohibits inspection using conventional flow-based smart pigging technology. PRCI and its member companies seek to advance the state of the art for integrity assessment of these “challenging” pipelines through research and knowledge transfer. Detecting potentially injurious features and enabling engineering assessments of structural integrity continue to be one of the research pillars of PRCI. Public safety, workforce safety and system integrity drive our objectives to deliver relevant and collaborative research, peer reviewed by experts in the industry. PRCI’s research projects in the last 20 years delved into new methodologies, innovative technology and novel problem solving in order to meet the challenge of managing difficult-to-inspect pipelines.

Join PRCI’s presentation for an overview of published research and available webinars to learn about the array of solutions ranging from inspection devices to integrity assessment guidelines to non-combustion data-collecting vehicles. Discover what new efforts are underway to expand options for integrity assessment of difficult-to-inspect pipelines and, finally, hear how you can participate with PRCI.

Zoe Shall

Networking Break

• Visit the Virtual Exhibition
• Browse the list of participants
• Exchange virtual business cards with other participants
• Chat with other participants
• Join a video call with the virtual exhibitors

Virtual In-Line Inspection – Condition assessment for the most challenging pipelines

There is an ever increasing need to operate aging pipelines safely and efficiently. Pipelines that are challenging to inspect are a particular problem. The costs of precautionary replacement at the end of the design life, preclude this approach, leaks are not acceptable, and the modifications or special tools needed for the most challenging cases can also be very hard to justify. Machine learning methods trained on large data-sets and honed for specific systems offer a new way to predict condition with a ‘Virtual ILI’ that is not restrained by flow rate, tight bends, valves, tees, or any of the other features that traditionally create obstacles for ILI.

The results of a ‘Virtual ILI’ create clear justification for planning optimized actual inspections of challenging pipelines.

Michael Smith

Overcoming In-Line Inspection Challenges using ART

Piggability challenges in offshore liquid pipelines are not uncommon due to their design and the hostile environment that these pipelines are in. In 2016, Halfwave AS was approached by a pipeline operator to inspect a multi-diameter liquid export pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. The asset combines 24-inch and 30-inch diameter sections in the same inspection. Furthermore, several wye’s in the system need to be navigated at very low flow, and some wye entries are on the 12 o’clock position.

For magnetic based inspection tools (MFL), the combination of high wall thickness (>1 inch) and the large diameter changes is proving a very serious challenge. Moreover, the high risk associated with low flow wye passage of the MFL tool as not acceptable to the pipeline operator. Since the pipeline was internally coated with wax, and difficult to clean, traditional UTWM tools are not an option.

The proposed tool based in Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART), is able to overcome the limitations of UTWM and MFL. Following a piggability review, is was determined that a full new tool build was required to meet the challenges of the pipeline inspection operation. Some of these challenges were tool centralization, maintaining of drive through the wye passage, bend radius passage, and extreme pressure inside the pipeline. The authors will highlight solutions found during the detailed engineering of the tool, and tool build phases. An overview of the final tool design will be shared.

Detailed results of pump trials in Norway and the US will be shared, including data on drive pressure, and flow required to pump the tools, illustrating the operational envelope of the product. Success rates of the pump trials will be included, and an overview of the pipeline features introduced during testing. Furthermore, details will be shared around the defect detection capabilities and sizing accuracy of the tool. Finally, the authors will elaborate on final use of the tool in the field.

Some details will be shared around the ongoing development of and ILI tool for even more extreme diameter changes. The development pushes the boundaries of what is considered ‘inspectable’ in the industry, so the authors will discuss the implications on pipeline design, and capabilities for further expansion in future.

Willem Vos

How to Manage Pipeline Integrity with a Pipeline Risk and Integrity Management Software Solution

We are living in a time where information needs to be accessible anytime and anywhere and data has to be transparent. It has become part of our daily lives. When the right data is available at the right time, important decisions can be made to save costs and mitigate risks before they cause any real problems. Modern technology and software platforms enable these capabilities, but development of a software platform that provides the right information to various stakeholders is not an easy task. Smart presentation and cross-analysis of data are vital for offering a solution to asset owners, instead of ‘just more numbers‘. Transparency and consistency of results are essential characteristics of an effective integrity management tool.

How can a Pipeline Risk and Integrity Management Software platform (PRIMS) enable asset owners to monitor, analyze and predict events, based on incoming data from various sources and field surveys? The software maps pipeline-data in a geographical context, with an enriched database behind it, as well as synchronization with mobile devices for continuous representation of the current situation. Information layers can come from: inline inspection, CIP / DCVG surveys, leak detection, thickness measurements and visual surveys to monitor third party interferences. Based on the various types of data input, fitness-for-purpose assessments can be carried out according to different standards such as ASME B31G and ASME B31G Modified and DNV.

Data from different types of surveys are presented in a single information layer allowing comparison while defects from multiple ILI datasets are automatically matched (Feature Matching), in-depth analyses are performed, with a high level of confidence and accuracy. This allows pipeline asset owners to have access to decisive values, such as the projection of corrosion growth, Estimated Repair Factor (ERF) and PSafe.

Cindy Verhoeven

Pipers® - Inline Inspection as a Service: The Operating System for Pipeline Integrity

Currently, inline inspection in the oil and gas sector is a series of staged engineering events, designed to assess the condition of pipeline assets. It is costly, infrequent, and only addresses those lines that are within reach. In fact, it is estimated that 40% of the world’s pipelines are unpiggable. The vulnerabilities between inspections, which are typically years apart, or the inability to conduct inspections at all, puts the world’s aging pipeline infrastructure at risk. In order to address these issues, INGU has focused on changing the economics, the technology, and the workflow associated with inline inspection. We have introduced the industry’s first self-serve inspection model that eliminates significant engineering and downtime costs. We have developed miniature, multi sensor Pipers® technology that freely flows within any and all active pipelines, regardless of location, condition, material or configuration. This technology is capable of inspecting pipelines as small as 2 inches in diameter, and surveying for leaks, geometric defects, magnetic anomalies, and deposits in a single run. Further, we have reduced the cost of inline inspection by a factor of 10, making it possible for integrity programs to be more present, more often, across all of their assets. Finally, such accessible technology has given us the opportunity to work with a complete range of clients – large and small, private and public – resulting in rich datasets libraries that offer unprecedented contextual analysis and continuous advancement of our data analytics capabilities. Our approach provides clients with uninterrupted access to up-to-date condition-critical data, allowing them to optimize planning, decision-making, and actions.

Michelle Straat

Inspection of a Challenging Offshore Pipeline

Often the main focus of inline inspection (ILI) is the inspection vehicle itself; however, the ultimate goal of any ILI operation is reliable and accurate data. This end goal can be challenged by the operational variables that many inspection companies are faced with, for example: line conditions; geographical complexities; changes in pipeline construction.

This paper explores the main factors that contribute to delivering the reliable and accurate inspection reports which pipeline operators demand whilst overcoming complex challenges and several coexisting, non-standard conditions.

A case study will be used focusing on a unique project, running an inspection vehicle from a subsea pipeline launcher/receiver (PLR) to a remote oil and gas production platform.  This is particularly valuable for operators of remote offshore pipelines with subsea launch and receive traps, where utilising ILI technology may not have previously been considered possible.

Richard Sharvin

Closing

Closing Remarks

Dennis Fandrich