PIN December 2015 Web

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Creating an effectiv

crack management

programme

Page 34

ISSUE 26 | DECEMBER 2

Investigating pipeline

airborne leak

detection

Page 14

Cover story:

Record pipelaying in the

Norwegian Sea

Page 42



www.ndt-global.com

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| Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesi nternational.co m

ONTENTS

ssue 26 | December 2015

Read Pipelines International

on your device!

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Cr eat ing an effec tiv e c rack management programme

Page 34

ISSUE 26 | DECEMBER 2 0 15

Inv esti gat ing pipeline air bor ne leak d etect ion

P a ge 14

C o v e r s t o ry : Re cor d pipe lay ing in the Norwe gi an S eaP age 42

EGULARS

om the editor 4

orld wrap 6

ws in brief 8

ents 58

vertisers’ index 60

NDUSTRY NEWS

peline postcards 10

ung pipeliners lead the way 12

EW TECHNOLOGY

quid pipeline leak detection from airborneatforms 14

al-time demand for a gas pipeline design:aling with modern challenges 18

CADA virtualisation 22

IPELAYERS AND SIDEBOOMS

hoosing the right pipelayer for your needs 26

GEING PIPELINES

eing Pipelines Conference is a hitBelgium 30

INSPECTION

Effective implementation of a crack in-lineinspection programme 34

Unpiggable Forum offers solutions for theindustry 38

INTERVIEW

Interview with Professor Andrew Palmer 40

PROJECTS

Record-breaking Polarled Pipeline opens upnew gas route 42

INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT

Cased pipeline integrity management 46

RISK MANAGEMENT

Certifications: The Leaning Tree Incident 48

UPCOMING EVENTS

How to get the most out of the 2016 PPIMConference and Exhibition 50

PPIM Exhibitors 52

PPIM Conference Programme 54

Pipeline industry experts to meet in Bahrainas region prepares for pipeline development 56

AWARD WINNING INNOVATION.

We invest over 15% of our revenue in Research and Development to deliver

superior, innovative solutions for the challenges you face today and tomorrow.

www.rosen-group.com



From the editor

Remember to email your news,

views and article ideas [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter @Pipelines

Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/PipelinesInternational


ROM THE EDITOR

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Creating an effectivecrack managementprogramme

Page 34

ISSUE 26 | DECEMBER 2015

Investigating pipelineairborne leakdetection

Page 14

story:

pipelaying in theian Sea

Pipe storage at the

recently completed

Polarled Pipeline project,

which set new records

on the Norwegian

continental shelf.

Source: Statoil

ditor-in-Chief John Tiratsoo

anaging Editor Lyndsie Clark

sociate Editor Josie Emanuel

les Director Julie McConachy

les Manager Tim Thompson

nior Account Manager David Marsh

les Representative Megan Lehn

sign Managers Bianca Botter

Katrina Rolfe

ents Manager Luke Rowohlt

ata Manager/Analyst Gareth Weaver

blisher Zelda Tupicoff

In our September issue, Pipelines International

published an important article from the

American Petroleum Institute (API) announcing

the publication of its new Recommended Practice

(RP) 1173 – entitled Pipeline safety management

systems – which is intended to ‘achieve zero pipeline

incidents’. The RP is the result of two years of

collaboration between the industry, the United

States’ National Transportation Safety Board

(NTSB), and the country’s Pipeline Hazardous

Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Public

stakeholders and academia were also a part of the

RP’s development and approval.

The new RP takes important ideas from other

industries in order to address pipelines specically. A

key component is the requirement for operators to

have an ‘evergreen’ system, the core principle of

which is the ‘plan-do-check-act’ cycle, which

necessitates companies to determine the steps

needing to be taken, complete these, periodically

review them, and then enact any necessary changesor improvements. Ultimately, the API intends that

this requirement will drive the industry toward its

zero incident goal by ensuring that the various

components of the safety management system (SMS

– not to be confused with ‘short message service’) are

regularly reviewed and continually evolve.

In its article, the API points out that this RP

differs from its other publications because of the

performance-based nature of its approach. Where

many standards are prescriptive and provide a

detailed checklist that has to be completed, this RP

allows operators to determine what specic tactics

are needed to ensure success in their SMS’s

implementation. Periodic checks of the process will

be required, ensuring the company is constantly

evaluating and improving, leading to an effective

safety culture.

In late October, the NTSB announced that RP

1173 ‘exceeded the Safety Board’s recommendation

to facilitate the development of a safety

management system standard specic to the pipeline

industry.’

The NTSB issued its recommendation that gave

rise to the API’s decision to prepare RP 1173 as a

result of its investigation of the July 2010 rupture ofa 30 inch diameter pipeline owned and operated by

Enbridge Incorporated which released more than

840,000 gallons of crude oil into nearby wetlands

and a creek that owed into the Kalamazoo River in

Marshall, Michigan. Unaware that the pipeline had

ruptured, the operator’s staff continued pumping oil

into the ruptured pipeline for 17 hours until a local

utility worker discovered the oil and contacted the

company.

The rupture was caused by fatigue cracks that

grew and coalesced from crack and corrosion defects

under the disbonded polyethylene tape coating. The

NTSB found that contributing to the accident were

weak regulations for assessing and repairing crack

indications, as well as ineffective oversight of

pipeline integrity management programmes, weak

pipeline control centre procedures, and a low level

of public awareness.

To address this recommendation, the API formed

its multi-stakeholder group which met monthly,

surveyed the public, and created this important new

framework for the pipeline industry’s goal of

continuous safety improvement. As the NTSB points

out, the API RP 1173 establishes a pipeline safety

management system framework for organisations

that operate hazardous liquid and gas pipelines that

fall under the jurisdiction of the US’ Department of

Transportation.

“Improving safety is a collaborative effort,” the

NTSB’s Chairman Christopher Hart said recently.“API’s broad and inclusive approach to addressing our

safety recommendation shows [its] commitment to

increasing safety in the pipeline industry.” He went on

to thank the API and all the participants who assisted

in developing the new document. “We call upon the

industry for a widespread adoption of these

Recommended Practices, from the largest international

pipeline operating companies to the smallest

municipalities, to ensure continuous improvement and

safety in pipeline operations,” he said.

As a result of the accident investigation, the

NTSB issued 19 safety recommendations to seven

entities. Action has been successfully completed on

nine of these recommendations, including the API

recommended practice; work is progressing on the

remaining ten recommendations.

Bearing in mind the increasing signicance of

cracks to the pipeline industry, the forthcoming

edition of the Pipeline Pigging and Integrity

Management (PPIM) conference will have a specic

session in which issues involving locating and

identifying cracks in pipeline walls, and assessing

their severity, will be discussed. Technologies are

rapidly emerging and being evaluated for this

specic task. Full details of this session and theprogramme for the overall event (being held in

Houston on 8-11 February) can be found on page

54 or at www.clarion.org.

John Tiratsoo

Editor-in-Chief



| Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesinternational.com www.pipelinesinternational.com December 2015 | Pipelines Inter

WOORLD WRAP

Read more about

this record-breaking

project on page 42.

AP awards onshore line pipe

ontract

ans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP)s awarded a contract award forproximately 170,000 tonnes of

e pipe to Salzgitter Mannesmannternational GmbH, part of thelzgitter AG Group. The contractmprises supply of approximately0 km of the onshore 48 inch line pipe.

he company will provide 48 inch linepes and bends for the onshore sectionsthe pipeline in Albania, Greece, andly, and 36 inch bends for the offshore

ction across the Adriatic. The award

offshore 36 inch line pipe and themainder of the 48 inch onshore linepe will be announced in the near future.AP will transport natural gas from the

ant Shah Deniz II eld in Azerbaijan to

rope. The 878 km pipeline will connectth the Trans Anatolian Pipeline at theurkish-Greek border at Kipoi, crossreece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea,

fore coming ashore in Southern Italy.

Research commences into potential Iran-Oman

pipeline

Head of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) Alire

has announced that contracts have been signed with two Iranian gato study construction of a pipeline that would export gas to Oman. Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) has beenconducting studies on the offshore section of the pipeline. The contsigned by the managing directors of the NIGEC and IOEC, as well

General of Planning and Projects Evaluation of the Omani Ministrand GasSaif Bin Hamad Al Salmani. The studies on the onshore sethe pipeline have been undertaken by Pars Consulting Engineers. Aa previously signed agreement to nalise the construction of the pipwill export 28 MMm3/d of gas to Oman for 15 years. Earlier this yeTabrizi, a senior ofcial with the IOEC, announced that the compaconstruct a pipeline for exporting gas from Iran to Oman.

Russia, Pakistan sign agreement for p

The governments of Russia and Pakistan have signedto construct a 1,100 km gas pipeline from Karachi to

will be built, owned and operated by Russia’s RT-GloThe project, known as the North – South pipeline, is have a capacity of 12.4 Bm3/a of gas, and will conneterminals in the port of Karachi in the south of Pakiof Lahore in the country’s north. The Pakistani Gove

plans for large-scale development of the country’s eneRegasication terminals for LNG are currently underin the city of Karachi, and power plants are planned the country’s north which would be supplied via the NPipeline. The agreement was signed by Russia’s Ener

Alexander Novak, and Pakistani Petroleum and NatuMinister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

550 km Horn of Africa Pipeline agreements signed

The Ethiopia and Dj ibouti governments have signed framework

agreements for the construction of the US$1.55 billion Horn of AfricaPipeline, which will transport rened oil products between the twocountries. Ethiopia and Djibouti signed framework agreements for thepipeline’s construction with the pipeline joint venture partners BlackRhino Group and Mining, Oil & Gas Services. The 20 inch diameter,

550 km pipeline will transport diesel, gasoline and jet fuel from portaccess in Djibouti to central Ethiopia. T he pipeline will have a capacity

of 240,000 bbl/d of fuel. The project also includes an import facilityand 950,000 bbl/d of storage capacity in Damerjog, Djibouti, linkedto a storage terminal in Awash, Ethiopia, near Addis Ababa. A nal

investment decision on the project is expected in 2016, with constructionto be completed two years later. The pipeline is expected to be fullyoperational by the end of 2018.

C gas pipeline project gets Oil and Gas Commission

o ahead

ansCanada Corporation has received nal permits from the BC Oil and Gasommission (BCOGC), giving regulatory approval for the construction and

eration of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline Project (PRGT) inrthern British Columbia, Canada. The PRGT Project - approximately0 km of land pipeline and 110 km of marine pipeline - will connect the naturals production in the Montney elds of northeastern British Columbia with theoposed Pacic NorthWest (PNW) LNG liquefaction facility on Lelu Island. The

COGC permits cover the entire 900 km route from just north of Hudson’s Hope,itish Columbia, to Lelu Island, off the coast of Port Edward, near Prince Rupert.

he permits also approve construction of three compressor stations and a metertion where the gas is to be delivered to the PNW LNG facility. In order for PRGTproceed with construction, PNW LNG must receive a positive decision from the

deral government under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

Welding begins on 2,050 km GAIL gas

pipeline

Pipeline welding has commenced on the rst phaseof GAIL (India) Limited’s 2,050 km Jagdishpur –

Haldia natural gas pipeline. The rst phase of theproject includes constructing a 341 km trunk pipelinefrom Phulpur (Allahabad) to Dobhi (Gaya), and a228 km spur pipeline to Barauni and Patna fromDobhi. Welding commenced on a 12 inch pipeline

connecting the Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation’sBarauni fertiliser plant to Indian Oil Corporation’sBarauni renery. The entire Rs 10,000 crores (overUS$2 billion) Jagdishpur – Phulpur – Haldia Pipelineproject will be 2,050 km and plans to connect

eastern India to the national gas grid by transportingnatural gas to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, andUttar Pradesh. The pipeline will consist of a 36 inch

diameter, 922 km mainline, and 1,128 km of spurlines and feeder lines of between 12 and 30 inches

diameter. The rst phase of the pi peline will have acapacity of 16 MMm3/d, which would be augmentedto 32 MMm3/d in the second phase of the project’sdevelopment.

Record-breaking Polarled Pipeline comes in under budget

The nal pipe has been laid in the Polarled Pipeline, which will open up a new highway for gasfrom the Norwegian Sea to Europe. The 482.4 km, 36 inch pipeline was laid at a depth of1,260 m and is the rst pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf that crosses the Arctic Circle,as well as the deepest pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf. The pipeline extends from

Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal, western Norway, to the Aasta Hansteen eld in the NorwegianSea, and was laid by the world’s largest pipelaying vessel, ‘Solitaire’ from Allseas. It is the rst timethat a 36 inch pipe has been laid at such a depth. The pipelaying work commenced in Marchthis year and consists of more than 40,000 pipes, each of which is 12 m in length. The pipeline’scapacity will be up to 70 MMm 3/d of gas.

Gazprom to reduce TurkStream capacity in favour of Nord

Gazprom has said it will reduce the planned capacity of i ts proposed TurkStream gproject in favour of expanding the existing Nord Stream gas pipeline. The capacityTurkStream pipeline is now expected to be 32 Bm3/a of gas. Proposed as an alternRussia’s South Stream Pipeline project, which was cancelled due to opposition from

Union, the TurkStream project initially planned to carry 63 Bm3/a of gas from Ruvia Turkey. Turkey is expected to use 16 Bm 3/a to meet domestic needs, while the r

be transported to Europe. The project is estimated to cost approximately €11.4 billi(US$12.5 billion). Gazprom has said that 660 km of the offshore pipeline route willwithin the old corridor of the South Stream pipeline, and 250 km within a new pip

toward the European part of Turkey. The offshore pipeline will run across the Blacthe Russkaya compressor station near Anapa to Kiy ikoy village in the European paThe 180 km onshore section of the pipeline will run to Ipsala on the border b etweeGreece via Luleburgaz. The rst pipeline section is expected to be complete by Dec




NEWEWS IN BRIEF

IN BRIEF

Keystone XL pe

deniedUS President Barack Ob

denied a Presidential Permit t

proposed 1,897 km, 36 inch dKeystone XL Pipeline.

TransCanada Corporatioagged the option of ling aapplication for a cross borde

pipeline from Canada to the

Notice somethin

new? Pipelines International h

new look! Tell us what you thdon’t forget to send your newand article ideas to

query@pipelinesinternati

OMV to divest g

pipeline subsid Austrian oil and gascompGroup plans to sell a stake ofper cent in its wholly-owned s

Gas Connect Austria, which and operates high-pressure npipelines in Austria.

Get social Pipelines International is

Facebook! Join your industryconnecting with us at www.f

com/PipelinesInternation

TransCanada to

gas pipeline staTransCanada Corporatio

entered into an agreement t

a 49.9 per cent interest in Po

Natural Gas Limited Partnerits master limited partnershipPipeLines, for a purchase priUS$223 million.

www.pipelinesi nternational. com December 2015 | Pipelines Inter

Signature pipeline

inspection system

hits 1,000 successful

runsPII Pipeline Solutions (PII) recently

celebrated 1,000 successful pipelineinspection runs of its next generationMagneScan inspection tool for assessingmetal loss features, deformation, and

geometry, as well as advanced integrity

assessments in oil and gas pipelines.Using high resolution magnetic

ux leakage technology (MFL), PII’ssignature inspection system has

distilled and enhanced the capabilityof all multiple legacy MFL, caliper,and inertial measurement unit (IMU)

mapping systems into a single system,reducing the number of runs requiredto meet a specication.

Launched in 2009, the inspectiontool has delivered over six years of year on year growth in numbers of

runs. This super-high resolution, multimission tool has provided increasinglyhigh levels of rst run success andreliability to customers across the globeand offers a higher specication of

data than previously available from asingle run.

The tools have completed more than50,000 km of inspections in pipelines from6-36 inches, with a longest run of 560 km

since launch. The tools achieved 95 percent rst run success in 2013, 2014, and in2015, at the time of publication.

Fast-track delivery meets Middle East pipeline

isolation demandSTATS Group were recently retained

by a major oil producer in Qatar to provide

fast-track delivery of a high-pressure isolationtool to facilitate safe and reliable isolation ofa 24 inch pressurised gas line. With a verieddouble block and bleed isolation in place,valve replacement and maintenance work was

successfully carried out.

Conventional repairs of this type wouldtypically require the entire pipeline to be

completely hydrocarbon free and nitrogenpurged to enable a safe intervention. STATSDNV-type approved Tecno Plugs provideleak-tight double block and bleed isolation that

minimise system downtime, reducing costs and

environmental impact.

JIP to improve non-destructive tests of pipeline

propertiesDNV GL is currently conducting a jointindustry project (JIP) that is intended tofurther develop the ability to non-destructivelydetermine the mechanical properties of

operating steel pipelines.A recently completed JIP conducted by

DNV GL successfully demonstrated the validityof the procedure describ ed in ASME reportCRTD Vol. 91 for determining pipeline yield

strength based on the results of hardness testing.The current JIP builds upon those results by

using in-situ, non-destructive determinations

of hardness, chemical composition, andmicrostructure to improve estimates of yield

strength for both the pipe base metal and forERW seams and ash weld seams. The projectwill also determine if the combination of thosethree datasets can be used to estimate likelyranges for base metal and seam toughness.

Good estimates of mechanical propertiesare important for accurate fatigue analysisand aw assessments, and for supporting thehistorical determinations of maximum allowableoperating pressure. Project results have already

demonstrated the ability to detect signicantdifferences in properties between base metal andseams using in-situ analyses.

Rosen Group introduces new in-line inspection

servicesRosen USA has unveiled a new conceptfor in-line inspection services in the oil and gas

industry, its new R³ Service.At the ofcial unveiling in Houston, Texas,

a mobile diagnostic unit was onsite for viewing,as well as inspection tools specically designedand allocated to accomplish R³ services.

Rosen also presented a new approach to

data evaluation that allows for access to reportsonsite, thereby allowing oil and gas pipeline

operators to respond in a more timely mannerto areas of concern regarding pipeline integrity.

Attendees at the unveiling representedpipeline operators around the US andwere able to provide feedback regarding its

utilisation.

PRCI elects new Chair and board members At its recent meeting, the Executive

Assembly of Pipeline Research CouncilInternational (PRCI) elected Phillip H.DePriest as Chair for a two-year term endingin September 2017. Mr DePriest is Managerof Integrity, Damage Prevention & Risk

Management at Marathon Pipe Line LLC, andreplaces Christophe Renier, Industrial AssetsPrograms Vice President at France-based Engie,

who will continue serving on the Executive

Assembly and Executive Board as Past Chair.

The Executive Assembly also elected JeffWhitworth, Manager, Reliability & Integrity- Americas at Shell Pipeline Company, asVice Chair. The Board also seated three

new members on the Executive Board:Gary Buchler, Vice President, Operations

& Engineering with Kinder Morgan; JohnHaldiman, Director - Energy Management &

Technical Services with Plains All AmericanPipeline; and Phu Phan, Regional Director,Western NGL Pipelines & Terminals; withEnterprise Products.

PRCI is a non-prot research organisationthat is comprised of energy pipeline operatingcompanies located in the United States,Canada, Europe, China, South America,Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Augmenting the pipeline membership areassociate members drawn from companies inthe United States, Canada, Europe, China,Mexico, Japan, and Australia that serve theindustry as pipe and equipment manufacturers,

service providers, and vendors.

ABOVE: Rosen’s mobile diagnostic unit was onsite for viewing at the unveiling of the company’s new R³ Service.ABOVE: STATS Group completed isolation of a 24 inch pressurised gas line in Qatar.



NDUSTRY NEWS

Pipelines International ’s readers are a well-

travelled bunch! Our much-loved ‘I ♥

pipelines’ stickers have been all over theworld of late – where will they go next?

Pipelinepostcards

Share your snaps

Take a photo featuring your ‘I ♥ pipelines’ stickerand send it to [email protected] your picture could appear in the next editionof the magazine! Don’t forget to share on oursocial media channels too:

@Pipelines

www.facebook.com/PipelinesInternationalake District, UK.

TDW UK’s Samantha onoliday in Santorini, Greece.

Want some stickers of your own?

Email [email protected]

to join in the fun!

Asakusa district, Tokyo, Japan. Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan.

Pipelines International ’s Associate Editor

at Nara Deer Park, Nara, Japan.

Senso-ji temple, Tokyo, Japan.




Senior Executive of Dynamic Risk

Assessments USA, Patrick Vieth, saw an

opportunity to create an avenue for young

professionals to acquire the skills and knowledge

they needed, and called on his industry colleagues

for support.

THE YPP IS FORMEDIn March 2015, with the support of Vieth and

the other senior advisors, more than 25 pipeline

industry professionals, all under the age of 35,

were brought together to form what is now the

USA Young Pipeline Professionals (YPP)

organisation.

The YPP, led by Chair Tara McMahan of

DNV GL, has the following objectives: edu cating

young professionals about the pipeline industry,

creating leadership opportunities for the next

generation of professionals w ithin the YPP, and

fostering relationships and building a network for

the betterment of the industry.

The founding members have built several

working groups within the organisation, each of

which assist the YPP in achieving its objectives.

These working groups include Chapter

Development, Education, Volunteerism, and

Event Planning, to name a few.

The YPP made its rst public appearance at its

launch at the Southern Gas Association (SGA)

Operating Conference in Houston, Texas, in July.There, the YPP had a booth in the exhibitor area,

and was given the opportunity to host a breakout

session to promote themselves as well as get

feedback on what people would expect from the

organisation if either they or their employees

joined.

The YPP has since hosted several events for its

members, including a site visit to the Pipeline

Research Council International (PRCI) facility in

Houston, happy hour networking events in the

Houston area, and two technical training

webinars. The webinars to date have been hosted

by leading industry professionals Bryon Winget of

Pacic Gas and Electric, and Dr Keith Leewis of

Dynamic Risk Assessments.

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONSTwo types of memberships are offered within

the YPP organisation: Student Membership,

which is free to students interested in the pipeline

industry, and Standard Membership.

The YPP is actively seeking partnerships with

universities across the country to encourage their

students to join the organisation. The YPP has

also partnered with s everal long-standing pipelineassociations such as the American Society for

Mechanical Engineers, SGA, PRCI, and the

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America to

promote leadership and encourage their young

employees to join.

As the YPP membership pool expands, the

YPP has plans to formulate local chapters across

the nation and continue its education and

networking efforts.

With the baby boomer generation heading towards retirement within the next decade, leaders of the pipelinedustry have recognised the need to transfer the wealth of knowledge to the younger generations, so that theyay accept the duty of care for the pipeline industry.

y Eric Alvarado, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Ramon, CA, USA

NDUSTRY NEWS

Young pipeliners lead the way

LOW LEFT: YPP USA meeting in March 2015.

LOW RIGHT: YPP USA networking happy hour inuston, Texas.

For more information on the YPP andits activities, contact Tara McMahan [email protected]



| Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesinternational.com www.pipelinesinternational.com December 2015 | Pipelines Intern

NEW TEC

These methods rely on changes in ow

parameters, such as pressure, volumetric

or mass ow, to identify potential

pipeline leaks. To date, airborne leak detection

systems have generally been used to monitor gas

pipelines. The overarching goal of the currentwork being done by industry is to determine

which of these technologies is best suited to detect

small uid leaks from pipelines carrying liquid

hydrocarbon products.

NATURAL GAS VS LIQUID PIPELINE

LEAKSTraditionally, liquid pipeline leaks are detected

through CPM systems which compare computer

models of the ow parameters to measured ow

characteristics such as pressure, temperature,

density and ow rate to identify irregularities that

might be associated with leaks. These systems are

typically limited to detecting leaks greater than

approximately one per cent of the total pipelineow, due to the sensitivity of the instr umentation

used and the ability of the models to predict the

ow parameters over the full range of operating

conditions in the pipeline.

To complement these systems, operators have

used a variety of pipeline leak detection

technologies, ranging from in situ sensors such as

bre-optic sensing cables, to visual aerial patrols

and aircraft mounted sensors that periodically

he pipeline industry is investigating the implementation of airborne leak detection surveys that utilisearious sensor technologies in an effort to identify pipeline leaks that may be lower than the detection limits ofaditional CPM (computational pipeline monitoring) methods.

y Corey Drake and Tyler Johnson, C-FER Technologies (1999) Inc.,

dmonton, AB, Canada

EW TECHNOLOGY

Liquid pipeline leak detection from airborne platforms

monitor a pipeline right-of-way (ROW). The

primary focus of aircraft mounted leak detection

sensors has been on natural gas pipelines.

Unintended releases from natural gas pipelines

produce methane plumes, which are easier to

detect due to the distinct absorption spectrum

characteristics of methane, the short time for the

gas to reach the surface of the ground, and the

Joule-Thompson cooling effect produced at the

leak location as the gas expands.

Leaks from liquid p ipelines, however, produce

very different signatures, with the leaked liquid

following the path of highest permeability, until it

ultimately reaches surface. The goal is to detect

these pipeline leaks before the liquid reaches

surface. Sensor manufacturers have been adapting

and developing sensors used in other applications

for this purpose.

AIRBORNE LEAK DETECTION

SENSORS

Through a comprehensive market s urvey, it wasdetermined that the majority of airborne leak

detection sensors that are commercially available

fall into the following categories:

Laser Absorption: This technology is based

on the principle that each individual gas species

absorbs electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at

different wavelengths. A laser is tuned to the

wavelength of the gas of interest. When the laser

light passes through a gas plume of interest, the

gas absorbs some of the beam’s energy, thereby

weakening the reected signal. By measuring this

energy change, the sensor can determine the

presence and concentration of gas along the path

of the laser.

Gas Filter Correlation Radiometry: A

band pass lter is used to select the excitation

frequency of the gas of interest from ambient light

(i.e. sunlight). This ltered EMR is passed through

two gas cells. The correlation cell contains the gas

of interest, whereas the reference cell is evacuated.

When sunlight passes through a plume of interest

and then into the cells, the reference signal from

the evacuated cell will decrease from the energy

absorbed in the plume, but the correlation cell

signal will remain unchanged. The difference

between the two cells’ signals allows the sensor to

identify the presence of the gas of interest.

Thermal Imaging: This method uses a

camera to measure the EMR emitted in the

infrared range (i.e. thermal energy) of all objects

in the eld of v iew. The leaking products areusually at different temperatures than the

surrounding air and soil due to the thermal

signature of leaking uids, evaporative processes

that cool the leaked product, or frictional heating

as the product passes through the small hole or

crack in the pipeline. This technology is often

used to detect fugitive gas emissions from oil and

gas facilities. This method’s biggest advantage is

that it can optically locate the leak.

Flame Ionisation: As the sen

through a gas plume, a portion of

is collected and burned in a hydrog

process generates ions, which are p

the number of carbon atoms prese

sample or the hydrocarbon concen

Visual Inspection: High den

equipment, such as still and/or vid

are often used to record the condi

pipeline right-of-way. The images

reviewed by an operator trained in

inspection, but new automated me

developed to identify signs of leak

disturbance of the ground surface

stress on vegetation overlying the p

To increase the accuracy of thei

to avoid false positives, most techn

use a combination of the above te

However, there are currently no st

verify the ability of these technolo

sub-surface liquid hydrocarbon leait is imperative that these sensors b

independently tested to evaluate th

performance on simulated subsurf

pipeline leaks and to determine th

lower detection limits, which will a

operators in selecting appropriate

LEAKAGE INDICATORSTo evaluate these t echnologies e

C-FER Technologies and Alberta

Technology Futures (AITF), with s

Enbridge, TransCanada, Kinder M

(Canada) and government agencie

laboratory testing and numerical m

gain a better understanding of pos

indicators produced from a liquid p

These indicators include temperat

differentials, volatile organic comp

concentrations, and induced groun

displacement. The numerical mod

upon subsurface liquid hydrocarbo

behaviour and provided informati

the dispersion and evolution of VO

from the leakage point through the

ground surface.Once the VOCs breached the su

acquired were used to develop atm

dispersion models to predict the V

characteristics at several elevations

atmosphere in the vicinity of the

location. A variety of wind conditi

altitudes were analysed to fully cha

gas plume. In addition to VOC m

also numerically modelled the uidOverhead view of the ELDER Test Apparatus.

Isolation Flux Chambers installed on ground surface inELDER Apparatus.

A B






T

echnology development has improved

dramatically, and nowadays the gas

pipeline designer must respond very

quickly to management demands whereverthey are is and whenever required. In addition,

CEOs are more deeply involved in envisioning

new business opportunities and want to check

for themselves the feasibility of a prosp ective

project and then lead the process from the start

to the end, promoting interaction between all

departments involved in the decision making

process of a gas pipeline project.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

At Work Rio has designed a resourceful and

innovative mobile application that provides

CEOs, managers, and designers with the means

to face the challenges of the ongoing business

environment in the context of gas pipeline design.

The application is designed to work on iPhonesand similar hand-held devices, and comprises:

» GasPipelineDesign:performs cost

estimates, feasibility studies with J-curves,

and thermo-hydraulic simulations, and

produces an executive report, a technical

report, XML les (thermo-hydraulic

model), and a data le for export to

GasPipelineExpansion.

» GasPipelineExpansion:performs cost

estimate for a gas pipeline expansion,

adds compressor stations to an existing

project, does capacity ramp-up and

availability studies, and works with GIS

information and elevation proles.

» CompressorStationDesign:performs

the calculation for a compressor station

design and produces a report with the

technical information necessary to specify

the compressor station units, drivers, and

aftercoolers.

» CompressorPerformance:performs

the detailed and accurate calculation for

an existing compressor unit and supports

operation with a technical and economic

tool to decide if and/or when amaintenance intervention will be required

to re-establish the optimum efciency of

the compressor unit.

These mobile applications have been developed

by Sidney Santos, who retired from Petrobras in

2012 after working for more than 25 years as a

senior consultant and a gas pipeline design

engineer. Using his extensive knowledge of the

technology of pipeline design, as well as

here were the days, decades ago, when a gas pipeline designer would punch some cards and go to anotherom of his company, or even to an outside office, to run a gas pipeline de sign configuration, and then returna scheduled time to get the results. Since then, pipeline design has developed signficantly.

y Sidney Santos, At Work Rio Solutions Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Real-time demand for a gaspipeline design: dealing withmodern challenges

EW TECHNOLOGY

LOW: Laptop computer applications for gas pipelineign.




ogramming on spreadsheets, Visual Basic, and

#, Mr Santos has worked with qualied

ftware developers to perfect his applications.

s most recent projects at Petrobras prior to

iring were the design of the Bolivia-Brazil Gas

peline (GASBOL), and the expansion of the gas

peline network in Brazil. Mr Santos has also

d key participation in many prospective

ojects such as the Venezuela-Brazil gas pipeline

ASVEN) and the Integration gas pipeline

ASIN). He has also provided consulting

istance to KazTransGas and Intergas Central

ia for the Kazakhstan section of the Trans-Asia

as Pipeline.

RIVING PRINCIPLE

At Work Rio’s applications rely on these key

vers:

» Must be practical and speedy

» Must be simple » Does not require any tr aining.

The application has therefore been designed so

at managers, planners, and engineers can start

ng the application immediately and will take

vantage of it. It is practical, in that it supports

e complete design process for a gas pipeline

ile substantially reducing the working time

rmally required for a conceptual design.

peline modelling is done for each c onguration

the case of GasPipelineDesign and

asPipelineExpansion and does not require any

ditional work, saving time and resources.

It is rapid and has been designed and optimised

run hundreds to thousands of simulations in a

ry efcient way to get the results, including the

ports, within seconds, depending only on the

ality of the internet connection.

HALLENGING SCENARIO

Imagine yourself at a meeting, a restaurant, or

en playing golf, and a fellow CEO asks you

out a new gas pipeline or a branch expansion

– but they only know basic information such as

capacity and length. Then what? Do you quickly

call your commercial, planning or engineering

department, or do you take your smart phone or

tablet and run the case? By using

GasPipelineDesign you can get results by yourself

right away, and can then provide your fellow

CEO with reliable information that may start a

promising business case.

INNOVATIVE MOBILE PRODUCTS

With At Work Rio’s GasPipelineDesign mobile

application, you only need your smart phone,

tablet, or notebook, and a couple of minutes.

With a user-friendly interface that allows access to

a solid and well-designed application ru nning on

a certied environment, a feasibility study in an

executive report – containing the ve best

alternatives for the gas pipeline project with cost

breakdowns and a very handy J-curve – can beobtained in just a moment.

GasPipelineDesign also provides a technical

report containing detailed thermo-hydraulic

information including diameter, ows,

temperatures, number of compressor stations

required, compressor-station spacing, power

requirements, and fuel-gas demand that denes

the conguration of each of the best ve

alternatives. It can also export the thermo-

hydraulic models to third-party gas pipeline

simulator software if required.

At Work Rio’s GasPipelineExpansion mobile

application has two functionalities: (i) a

supplement to GasPipelineDesign; and (ii) an

independent application. It works with the

elevation prole and GIS information on the

route and supports capacity expansion studies for

an existing gas pipeline and capacity ramp-up for

new ones. It also precisely locates compressor

stations along the pipeline’s route. The

application undertakes both technical and

economic evaluations, and runs detailed

thermo-hydraulic simulations for steady-state gas

ows. It uses a responsive, user friendly, and

exible interface to run on a variety of mobile

devices and platforms. It evaluates CAPEX and

OPEX for the gas pipeline conguration, and

thereby helps selection of the best economic and

strategic alternative for a capacity expansion.

Compressor stations for the project can be

allocated with accurate spacing and detailed

capacity, power, and fuel requirements. Detailed

information from conceptual, basic, and executive

design – such as diameter changes, class locations

and their impacts on pipeline wall thickness, gas

supplies, and deliveries – can be incorporated

easily in the gas pipeline model to update the

project. Both executive and technical reports are

produced, with exportable XML les for the

detailed thermo-hydraulic model and a KML le

for Google Earth visualisation of the project.

CONCLUSION

This innovative technology is designed to

improve the design process of a gas pipeline. It is

multiplatform (Mac OSX, Windows, Linux, iOS,

Android) based on mobile devices (smart phone,

tablets, and notebooks), as well as being able to be

run through the web by simply using a web

browser. Following the concept s ummarised by

Harvard’s Michael Porter that “Companies

achieve competitive advantage through acts of

innovation” [1], At Work Rio’s focus is to provide

its clients with state-of-the-art, innovative, and

mobile applications that will improve their

productivity in gas pipeline conceptual designs

and feasibility studies through the use of simple,

practical, accurate, and rapid solutions.

Reference1. Michael E. Porter, 1990. The competitive

advantage of nations. Harvard Business Review,

March, https://hbr.org/1990/03/the-

competitive-advantage-of-nations/ar/1

EW TECHNOLOGY




These factors, and more, compound

the IT challenges of modern SCADA

systems used to monitor and control

remote critical infrastructures. Virtualisation

offers an efcient opportunity to overcome those

challenges, as well as additional opportunities forSCADA users.

LIMITED EARLY ADOPTIONAs SCADA systems are relied on extensively for

critical architectures, the command and control

sector has to be very cautious about adopting any

new technologies, including the application of

virtualisation.

Early adopters in the SCADA eld

experimented with partial visualisation,

virtualising the less vital components of the

overall architecture such as test and development

systems, decision support systems, and

engineering systems, leaving the production

(polling servers) on their native physical machines.

After learning about virtu alisation technology,

and seeing how well it worked in practice, more

and more companies have extended the

integration of virtualisation into their SCADA

architectures, to the point where the entire system

platform is virtualised, including the production

servers.

Virtualisation of a company’s SCADA systems

can address:

»

Server consolidation For example, a control room could reduce

its server footprint from 12 to two because

the SCADA physical infrastructure is

virtualised as guest virtual machines and

put on two redundant host servers.

» Test and development optimisation

With virtualisation it is easier to maintain

a more complete test system with all

components of the production system

represented (a complete copy of all the

production servers).

» Disaster recovery

Because of the easy relocation, virtual

machines can be very effective in disaster

recovery scenarios and control roomrelocations.

» Online platform upgrades

Virtualisation can play an important role

during a SCADA upgrade process by

virtualising the current system and

moving it to a newer hardware platform,

increasing performance until the new

system is ready.

SCADA’S OPERATIONAL ROOTS

With a typical SCADA architecture it is not

uncommon to have upwards of twenty servers

associated with its operations, not including the

human machine interfaces and remote clients.

With the advent of virtualisation, it is p ossible

to replace the majority of those physical servers.

You can take each of the servers and virtualise

them using a relatively straightforward process.

Here’s how that’s possible: to create a new

virtual machine you are guided through the

process by a wizard that asks which operating

system you’ll be installing. The wizard will then

choose the appropriate defaults for your operating

system of choice, capture all of the hardware

functions of the existing system, and convert itinto a software le. The le is the quest virtual

machine that is placed on a higher performance

server known as the host.

You place several virtual les on just one server

to create the SCADA architecture. To provide the

redundancy needed for high availability, you

would place the backup servers as virtual les on

a second physical server. In the end you have

achieved a major footprint reduction by cutting

n the past several years, virtualisation has been transforming the information technology world. Organisationse faced with ongoing challenge of IT budget reductions, stricter regulatory requirements and the need topport changing business initiatives and drivers.

y Kelly Doran, Schneider Electric, Calgary, AB, Canada

EW TECHNOLOGY

SCADA virtualisation




e number of servers to two per site, which is a

ajor server consolidation.

HE VIRTUALISATION

EVOLUTIONOn older systems, if a CPU is running close to

capacity, there is some risk it could slow down

mputing to an unacceptable level or lock up

d result in a failover to another server.

In some cases, through virtualisation, a

ADA system could gain as much as a 75 per

nt boost in performance based on increased

mputing power of the newer, more powerful

st servers.

By providing a system where the CPU

lisation is signicantly reduced, it clearly

pacts the computing performance. Lower CPU

mbers result in faster and safer systems and a

tter user experience for all users.

Virtualisation is a business strategy that can

duce costs, strengthen resiliency of the SCADAtem, and enhance capacity for more robust

d advanced IT analysis.

EW TECHNOLOGY

ABOVE: A SCADA control room.




When selecting a pipelayer or sideboom

for a pipeline construction project,

there are many considerations to take

into account. A pipelayer will be selected based

on the size and weight of the pipe to be installed

and topography of the construction site. These

considerations impact on the lifting capacity of

the pipelayer, transportability and ease of service

required for the project.

“Boom length and machine visibility are two

important factors when selecting pipelayer

equipment. The shorter booms are easier to

handle when moving pipe in slope applications,”

PipeLine Machinery International’s (PLM) Dawn

Rivera says.

“Visibility is just as important, because the

operator needs to be able to see what is going on

around them. Visibility is key for all operations

pelayers and sidebooms are a key piece of machinery on any pipeline construction site. With a wide varietyf machines currently available, and issues such as safety and the environment driving further developmentsithin the industry, Pipelines International outlines key considerations for selecting the equipment that best suitsour needs.

Choosing the right pipelayer for your needs

PELAYERS AND SIDEBOOMS

OVE: The 71H pipelayer offers the pipeline industryolution for a utility-capacity machine in the Tier 4erim/EU Stage IIIB class, designed for lifting 27,200 kg000 pounds).

The all-new Cat® PL83 pipelayer is purpose-built to meet your unique demands providing increased lift capacity,

enhanced slope capability, ease of operation, performance and transportability. The Cat C15 ACERT™ engine meets

global emission standards for U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final/EU Stage IV or Tier 3/Stage IIIA equivalent emission standards,

depending on your region. And like every Cat machine, the PL83 pipelayer is designed for long life, serviceability and

rebuild capability to help keep your owning and operating costs low.

PipeLine Machinery International (PLM) is your global Cat dealer for the pipeline construction industry and

delivers maximum performance through quality machinery, solutions and people – we’re ready to go to work for you.

Lift Capacity at Tipping Point (ISO 8813): 77 111 kg 170,000 lbs.

Operating Weight: 50 492 kg 111,316 lbs.

Net Power (ISO 9249, Tier 4 Final/EU Stage IV): 238 kW 319 hp

Net Power (ISO 9249, Tier 3/EU Stage IIIA Equiv.): 245 kW 329 hp

www.plmcat.com

PIPELAYER SPECIFICATIONS

USA: +1-713-939-0007

Canada: +1-780-377-0336

China: +1-86-10-5960-1509

Netherlands: +31-70-353-8279

Australia: +61-423-394-730

© 2015 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress as well ascorporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

Your Global Partner for Pipeline Solutions

PERFORMANCEAT WORK.




d is a feature Caterpillar has worked diligently

increase on its newer model pipelayer machines

safety.”

If limited access to the right-of-way is

countered, transporting the pipelayer to site

n be an issue.

Contractors can consider using machines with

ower lift capacity, but use more of them to lift a

ction of pipe. On remote access pipelines or

ojects with tight completion timelines, ease of

vice can be a crucial consideration.

The contractor could also choose to purchase a

ge pipelayer machine with the ability tof-disassemble.

“The Cat® PL series pipelayers have been

gineered to be user friendly for variations, such

the draw-works now being pinned on, in

r-down for transport,” Ms Rivera says.

TABILITYMachine stability remains a known issue with

pelayer and sideboom machinery.

According to Caterpillar distributor PLM,

“Intense scrutiny of the Cat PL models has

proven that the high drive is every bit as stable, if

not more so, than the low drive of the older

machines. Courtesy of extensive engineering

changes, the new Cat pipelayers maintain their

centre of gravity.”

“In addition, the track roller frame length

remains extended, with rear idler positioned

downward, resulting in more track on the ground

to enhance machine stability, especially in slope

applications.”

SAFETYSafety improvements are continually being

made within the pipelayer/sideboom industr y.

Caterpillar pipelayers have a number of

features that have been adapted with safety in

mind.

Ms Rivera says Caterpillar has engineered the

application Roll Over Protective Structure

(ROPS) for each specic PL model pipelayer, as

well as the introduction of mirrors, see-through

points in the cab and shorter blocks, giving better

visibility to the boom.

“New models promise to have a host of safety

features not commonly seen on pipelayers,” she

says.

In addition to built-in safety features or

mechanisms, adequate training is imperative to

ensure safety on the construction site, and this

includes knowing how to properly operate

pipelayer and sideboom equipment. Well-trained

operators and well-maintained equipment are

both crucial to safe pipe laying operations.

“Proper operator education, daily inspections,

and a good general understanding of the generalcapabilities of t he machine leads to a healthier

tractor,” Ms Rivera says.

THE ENVIRONMENTThe pipeline industry is becoming increasingly

mindful of reducing the carbon footprint of

pipeline construction projects. Companies that

manufacture and distribute pipelayer and

sideboom equipment are responding by

developing pipelayers with engines that have

lower emissions.

Ms Rivera notes that Caterpillar meets or

exceeds in every jurisdiction and region of the

globe for emissions standards in all applications

required.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTSEach pipeline construction spread is different,

requiring contractors to think carefully about the

machinery that would best suit the project.

Pipelayer and sideboom manufacturers offer

many different options for pipeline p rojects, while

taking key issues such as safety and the

environment into consideration.

In addition, pipelayer and sideboom machineryis continually developing. The industry continues

to improve the transportability of the equipment,

develop accessories to improve operator comfort

and efciency, and to engineer machinery

required for new trends in the pipeline industry.

“PLM is heavily involved in the r egulatory and

the industry associations as it walks its way into an

ever-changing world of safety and quality,” Ms

Rivera says.

PELAYERS AND SIDEBOOMS

LEFT: The new Cat® PL87 pipelayer is designed to meetthe demands of the pipeline industry for increased liftcapacity, 97,976 kg (216,000 pounds), and meets Tier4-Final/EU Stage IV or Tier 3/Stage IIIA equivalentemissions standards, depending on your region.



www.pipelinesi nternational. com December 2015 | Pipelines Intern| Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesi nternational.co m

collaborative project that has begun in the UK to

develop a robotic system for inspection of

buried pipework.

MAINTAINING FITNESS-FOR-

SERVICEThe next session of the conference started to

focus delegates’ interest on how to deal with the

ageing infrastructure itself, and the decisions that

are required to maintain long-term integrity and

tness-for-service. Both Dr Brian Leis (of his

consultancy BN Leis Consultants, based in

Worthington, Ohio) and Bill Amend of DNV GL

in Dublin, Ohio, gave their views of the

challenges faced by North American pipeline

operators, and suggested some solutions. Chuck

Harris, of T.D. Williamson in Houston, then

looked at the issue of missing data, which is often

discussed when operators gather together, and for

which there are emerging solutions.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

The second day of the conference had a more

scientic focus, with various presentations on

research projects that are both completed or

underway. Among these, Ton van Wingerden and

his co-authors of DNV GL in Netherlands

discussed dealing with ageing gas pipeline assets;

Paul Roovers of Fluxys, Belgium, and his

co-authors introduced European Pipeline

Research Group project 177/2014 on the

assessment of corrosion associated with girth or

long-seam welds in vintage pipelines; and one of

the event’s co-organisers, Prof. Stijn Hertelé of

the Soete Laboratory, University of Gent, and his

co-authors described the development of collapse

equations for corroded girth welds in vintage

pipelines.

Further equations appeared on the screen in the

presentation by Kamel Tahir of MACAW

Engineering in the UK, with his detailed

presentation of pipeline reliability analysis based

on corrosion-rate updating using Bayesian

inference; and in the presentation by Tobias

Fletcher (of Origin Integrity Management in the

UK) and his co-authors on the application of

inverse advanced defect assessment methodologies.

‘DESIGN LIFE’ AND PIPEL

FATIGUEDr Andrew Cosham, of Atkins

reviewed issues concerning ‘fatigu

co-authored with Dr Phil Hopkins

Cosham pointed out, the ‘design li

is often an arbitrary quantity and d

the true life of a pipeline, and such

to design life does not accommoda

AGEING

ntegrity management plans for ageing pipelines will

eed to place an increasing emphasis on monitoring

atigue due to pressure cycling.

D

C

B

Organised by the Soete Laboratory of

the University of Gent, Belgium, and

Tiratsoo Technical, a division of Great

Southern Press, UK, and in association with

Clarion Technical Conferences of Houston, the

event attracted 110 delegates to its programme

of 30 papers and presentations. We hope here to

give a avour of the topics discussed: sadly, thereis not space to cover each of the papers in detail.

‘AGEING’ VS ‘ OLD’Dr Phil Hopkins of his UK-based company

PHL set the scene with a keynote address that

discussed not only issues of ageing, but also of

competence and the importance (in increasing

order) of training, monitoring, and experience in

achieving this.

As far as ageing infrastructure is concerned, he

pointed out that “ageing is about a plant’s

condition, not about how old the equipment is.

This means that ‘old’ does not necessarily mean

that there is signicant deterioration or damage,

and ‘ageing’ is not directly related to

chronological age.”Continuing this argument, Dr Hopkins said

that ageing assets are often described as ‘old’, and

this word infers s ubstandard; however, ‘old’

simply represents a system that has not been

designed and constructed using contemporary

standards. ‘Substandard’, however, refers to a

system that does not comply with its original

fabrication standards. Therefore, ‘old’ does not

mean substandard. The USA’s National

Transportation Safety Board concurs, with the proviso

that “Although age alone does not indicate that a

pipeline is unsafe, it does make determining the

integrity of pipelines increasingly important”.

NEW TECHNOLOGIESPapers that followed from the rst session of the

conference covered various new and emergingtechnologies that can help operators in inspecting

and identifying issues to do with ageing in their

infrastructure. These included a description, by

Michael Tarkanian of Massachusetts Materials

Technology, of an exciting new concept for

in-the-ditch measurement of the mechanical

properties of steel pipelines with a portable NDT

device, and the use of optical emission spectrometry

for analysing low-carbon steel, described by Otto

Jan Huising of Nederlandse Gasunie.

Robotic internal inspection devices were

introduced by Alexandre Reiss of Inspector

Systems of Germany, following which Gary

Senior, of Pipeline Integrity Engineers of the

UK, described ‘Project GRAID’ (Gas Robotic

Agile Inspection Device), an interesting

he first-ever conference to discuss issues concerning ageing high-pressure oil and gas pipelines was held instend, Belgium, on 5-9 October.

y John Tiratsoo, Editor-in-Chief, Pipelines International

Ageing Pipelines Conference s a hit in Belgium

GEING PIPELINES

A

Delegates enjoyed the networking opportunities offered

he conference.Delegates listen intently to Bill Bruce’s presentation atAgeing Pipelines Conference.

Part of the value of attending conferences such as this is the opportunity to network. The conference dinner

s attended by many delegates and speakers, includingorganizers Prof. Rudi Denys (fifth from left) and Prof.n Hertelé (4th from right).

A social function was held at the end of the second day.tured here (facing the camera) are Bill Bruce (left) andliam Mohr (right), both of whom gave presentations atevent.




GEING PIPELINES

me-dependent degradation mechanisms:

rrosion and fatigue. This qualitative approach is

rtly due to relatively few pipeline failures

ving been attributed to fatigue. However, as

pelines age, this might change, and it is worth

ting that two of the most serious pipeline

lures in recent years in North America have

en partly blamed on fatigue.

Dr Cosham went on to show that the fatigue

of a pipeline subjected to in-service pressure

cling can be estimated using S-N curves, or

igue-crack-growth calculations using fracture

chanics. The similarities and differences, and

e advantages and disadvantages, of these t wo

thods were discussed, and the presentation

tlined the common pitfalls in fatigue

culations, including the reliance on software

e ‘black box’ approach), the paucity of

ughness data, and the limited understanding of

e rates of fatigue crack growth in a pipeline.

This paper concludes that integrityanagement plans for ageing pipelines will need

place an increasing emphasis on monitoring

igue due to pressu re cycling. Recording and

retaining pressure cycling data is important and,

particularly in the absence of data, crack

detection tools will play an increasingly important

role.

CASE STUDIESThe nal session of the conference included

two case studies. Dr Bob Andrews of MACAW

Engineering reviewed an onshore pipeline failure

investigation in which a 26 inch gas pipeline

constructed in 1972 failed in 2012: after a

detailed investigation, repeated ductile tearing

from large pressure changes was considered the

most likely cause. Moving offshore, Hugo van

Merrienboer of Netherlands’-based TAQA

Energy then considered the use of a negative

exponential expression to predict the failure

frequency of a exible pipeline from casuistic

failure data, and how this process can dene

preventative maintenance challenges.

EXTREME-VALUE THEORY

The event’s nal paper was a second

presentation by Tobias Fletcher, describing the

application of extreme-value theory to pip eline

integrity analyses. As he says in the paper, few

methods exist for estimating failure probabilities,

partly due to the fact that pipeline corrosion-

related failures are rare events. Extreme-value

theory is a branch of statistics that can be used to

estimate the probabilities of the occurrence of

rare events, and the objective of this paper is to

demonstrate how these techniques may be

applied to pipeline integrity assessments to rene

failure predictions and save operator costs.

LOOKING AHEAD

Despite the problems raised by the increasing

age of the pipeline infrastructure (and, maybe, of

those who operate it), comfort can be taken from

the fact that failures do not occur as a

consequence of age alone. This event, which it is

hoped will develop into a series, showed that there

are processes and solutions available for many of

the issues involved and, with care and diligence,there is no reason why the infrastructure should

not continue operating safely for many decades

to come.

June 7-9, 2016 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada

YOUR INDUSTRY

Exclusive exhibit, sponsorship and advertisingopportunities are available.

@petroleumshow




advancements, crack ILI technology had evolved

considerably since 2007. Following the 2012

release, the pipeline was also re-inspected using a

newer generation tool. This allowed both an

updated condition assessment of the line, and an

opportunity to assess the capabilities of a recently

developed tool.

2012 CRACK ILI RESULTS

Based on the 2012 ILI run, 323 excavations

were conducted on Line 14 to investigate 602

ILI-reported features. These excavations found:

» 113 crack-related true positives (ILI-

reported features that were eld veried),

with corresponding eld measured depths.

» 481 true positives that were not crack-

related. » 8 false positives (ILI-reported features that

did not have a corresponding eld

indication).

» 0 false negatives (features that should have

been detected by ILI but were not).

To support identication of false negatives,

pipe joints targeted for excavation were

completely exposed, with all welds being

inspected. 396 features identied and measured in

the eld were unreported by ILI. However, all of

these were below tool reporting thresholds, and

thus none were classied as false negatives.

The ILI validation process showed that:

» Approximately 95 per cent of ILI-

reported features had eld-measured

depths within +1 tolerance or shallower

(more conservative) than that reported by

the tool. A comparison of ILI and eld

depth measurements is shown in Figure 3.

» Approximately 95 per cent of true

positives with eld-measured depths had

eld predicted failure pressures higher

than that calculated using the tool.

Root cause analysis was conducted on ILI

outliers to understand variances, and the data wascalibrated in accordance with those outliers.

Completion of the 2012 crack management

programme signied that Line 14 was deemed

safe to operate. The ability to make this

assessment was based on having a statistically

relevant quantity of data obtained t hrough

extensive eld correlation with ILI results. This

enabled a thorough understanding of the

detection capabilities of the ILI tool.

Extensive eld validation is crucial to assess

ILI tool performance. In some cases,

re-analysis of raw data is required to

learn from and mitigate ILI miscalls identied in

previous ILI reports. Multiple ILI runs may also be

necessary to establish required levels of certainty.

This article examines a liquids transmission

line that underwent such a programme. Following

a release, previous ILI data was re-analysed, and

the line was re-inspected with a crack ILI tool.

After completion of an extensive excavation

programme, the associated eld non-destructive

examination (NDE)-ILI correlations were used to

validate the ILI. A hydrostatic test was then

completed, and its successful outcome conrmed

the effectiveness of the crack management

programme for the pipeline.

2012 LINE 14 FAILURE

Enbridge’s Line 14 is a 740 km (460 mile)

liquids transmission line located in the USA

(Figure 1). It has a high-frequency electric

resistance welded (ERW) long seam and wall

thicknesses ranging from 0.33 to 0.5 inches.

In 2012, a release occurred under normaloperating conditions (Figure 2), and post-incident

investigations revealed the following:

» The failure was caused by a pre-existing

lack of fusion manufacturing defect

within the ERW seam, which then grew

in-service by fatigue crack growth.

» The pipeline was inspected with an

ultrasonic crack ILI tool in 2007, and an

anomaly had been detected at the failure

location. However, it was not included in

the ILI report.

2007 AND 2012 FEATURE

ASSESSMENT COMPARISON

Following the 2012 release, the 2007 crack ILI

data was reviewed to better understand why the

defect associated with the failure was not

reported. The review found that the ILI tool had

interpreted the anomaly as a benign

manufacturing feature, with the characteristics

identied being below required reporting

thresholds.

These ndings were assessed against current

crack ILI analytical approaches to understand

potential consequences and requirements for

change. From 2007 to 2012, Enbridge’s crack

management programme had evolved considerably:

» The ILI vendor had improved the

precision of its analysis algorithms when

classifying anomalies.

» Enbridge had improved its crack ILI

excavation criteria to better account for

tool uncertainty when assessing feature

failure pressures.The post-incident review found that given the

above changes, the defect attributed to the failure

would have been targeted for excavation under

2012 crack management criteria. This is

summarised in Table 1.

As a result of these ndings, the entire 2007

data set was re-analysed, and subsequent

excavations were carried out.

In addition to the aforementioned analytical

rack in-line inspection (ILI) technology plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of a pipeline.owever, a robust crack management programme requires a safety management system approach, utilising a

omprehensive suite of tools.

y John Munro, Millan Sen and Larry Heise, Enbridge Pipelines Inc.,

dmonton, AB, Canada

IN

Effective implementation of acrack in-line inspectionprogramme

NSPECTION

Crack Assessment

Year

Maximum

Operating Pressure

(MOP) (psi)

Calculated Failure

Pressure (psi)

Met Exc

Criteria

2007 approach 1378 2032 No

2012 approach 1378 1698 Yes

FIGURE 1: Location of Line 14.

TABLE 1: Assessment of Failure Defect (2007 vs. 2012 Crack Management Criteria).

Advancements in analytics need to be retroac

applied to previous data. This may involve

re-calibration of ILI data, or necessitate re-ins

using newer crack ILI technology.




LESSONS LEARNED AND THE

EVOLVING APPROACH TO CRACK

MANAGEMENT

Maintaining the integrity of a pipeline requires

a safety management system approach and

multiple layers of protection. Learnings from the

2012 incident have been applied throughout

Enbridge’s programmes, with three areas being

highlighted as critical to effective crack

management:

Effective management of changeAdvancements in analytics need to be

retroactively applied to previous data. This may

involve re-calibration of ILI data, or necessitate

re-inspection using newer crack ILI technology.

A robust management of change process needs to

be in place to ensure this is successfully achieved.

The post-incident review found that

modernised approaches to crack management

would have identied the feature, but the 2007data was not re-assessed prior to the incident.

Enbridge now updates historical ILI data using

the newest analytics, and also examines the

impact that modern techniques would have had

on past incidents in a retroactive manner.

Extensive eld validation of ILI results

The strong condence in the performance of

the 2012 crack management programme was a

result of extensive eld data correlation with ILI

results. API 1163, which outlines ILI qualication

guidelines, reinforces the need to calibrate ILI

technology with statistically relevant quantities of

eld data. The volume of data understood to be

required to achieve this increased signicantly

from 2007 to 2012. Furthermore, in 2012 greater

emphasis was placed on ILI outliers and analysis

of their root c auses. These developments allowed

a much higher level of certainty regarding the

integrity of the line prior to hydrostatic testing

than would have been possible in 2007.

It should be noted that API 1163 was revised in

2013 to reect industry learnings since the

original 2005 edition, and it contains signicantupdates on areas such as feature characterisation,

quality of eld non-destructive examination, and

ILI vendor engagement regarding missed defects.

A data-driven reliability approachUse of a data-driven integrity management

model enables the application of reliability

science principles, which provides a quantitative

assessment of ILI performance and uncertainty in

a line. It is this modernised reliability engineering

approach that allowed hydrostatic testing to b e

considered as an additional form of validation,

rather than a necessity. Hydrostatic testing is a

tool that may be leveraged in necessary cases

within a crack management programme;

however, a safe and effective integrity programme

can be achieved without expending the signicant

resources required for this measure.

CONCLUSION

Crack ILI tools have been in use in North

America for over 20 years, and throughout that

timeframe there have been considerable

enhancements in crack detection and sizing

capabilities, data analysis techniques, and overall

execution of integrity management programmes.

The 2012 failure on Line 14 revealed that the

2007 crack management programme was

insufcient for establishing the integrity of the line.

It is only through implementing a comprehensive

crack management programme, in which safety

management principles are incorporated, that

crack ILI technology can be truly effective.

This case study highlights the criticality of:

» Retroactively applying advancements in

analytics to previous ILI data to ensure

anomalies are appropriately identied.

» Validating ILI tool perform

extensive eld data correla

outlined in API 1163.

» Embracing a data-driven i

management model, which

application of a reliability

approach (this also position

testing as an additional too

necessity).

It is important that operators cocrack management programme pe

also share experiences and learnin

communication and collaboration

industry, as part of ongoing effort

pipeline safety.

Disclaimer Any information or data pertaining to

Services Canada Inc., or its afliates, cont

was provided to the authors with the expre

Enbridge Employee Services Canada Inc.

Enbridge Employee Services Canada Inc.

and their respective employees, ofcers, dire

shall not be liable for any claims for loss,

any kind whatsoever, arising from any erro

incompleteness of the information and dat

article or for any loss, damage or costs that

the use or interpretation of this article.

VALIDATION OF PROGRAMME

PERFORMANCE THROUGH

HYDROSTATIC TESTING

Following completion of the 2012 crack

management programme, hydrostatic testing was

conducted. Enbridge routinely undertakes these

tests upon completion of new construction

projects to verify readiness for operation.

However, once pipelines are in service, hydrostatic

testing is primarily used for scenarios where ILI

tool passage is not possible or an ILI technology

suited for the threat is either not available or not

deemed sufciently reliable. For the case of Line

14, hydrostatic testing was used as an additional

validation of the crack management programme’s

performance.

Based on an assessment of the portions of Line

14 that were susceptible to fatigue related failure,

approximately 317 km (197 miles) or 43 per cent

of the p ipeline were tested. The hydrostatic test

was successfully completed without any leaks orruptures, conrming the effectiveness of the prior

crack management programme.

INNSPECTION

This article is the second in a series of three to be published in Pipelines Internation

Enbridge’s experience with best-in-class inspection technology and associated anapproaches. Details of the third article in the series, to be published in the Marchedition, are below:

Reliability engineering: a target-driven approach to integrity managIn the past several years, Enbridge has gathered an extensive amount of data frominvestigative excavations, pipe replacements and hydrostatic tests. This collation oand the analytics that have followed, have resulted in a ‘data-driven’ model usingof reliability engineering to advance pipeline safety.

This methodology allows pipeline conditions to be objectively assessed in terms oof remaining uncertainty by usi ng probability statistics, which are benchmarked historical incident data. The effectiveness of additional measures such as hydrostcan be quantied, allowing operators to determine actions within an overall integmanagement programme decision framework in order to meet required threshol

GURE 2: 2012 failed pipe section.

GURE 3: 2012 ILI Tool Depth Trending.

API 1163, which outlines ILI qualication gui

reinforces the need to calibrate ILI technology

statistically relevant quantities of eld data.




» Can we solicit an example to help me

condently pig offshore deep water single

ow-line oil tie back?

» How do I know if the line is clean

enough?

» Are EMATs better than laser for IC

prole development?

» Are there checklists that could help choose

what records to retain?

Since the presentations had already been

prepared, the authors were asked to keep these

questions in mind and, where appropriate, add

comments to help address these needs. This

programme arrangement appeared to be an

improvement over the prior Forum in which three

breakout sessions were organised with the aim of

encouraging smaller groups and lively discussions

before coming back and reporting to all.The presentations during the Forum reported

multiple successful ILIs with different tools and

successful inspections in difcult sections of pipe.

Among topics discussed were:

» Robotic tools for inspection of onshore gas

and oil facilities: one paper showed how a

tool was developed to navigate around

large dents and provide three-dimensional

proles for analysis; another showed how

headers were inspected in a pump station

after cleaning and adding access.

» Multiple case studies of on- and offshore

distribution pipelines provided helpful

practical successful examples.

» Planning, scoping, and execution

experiences were discussed in the context

of a non-traditional ILI programme for

the inspection of pre-WWII pipelines and

other vintage onshore pipeline facilities.

» Tool requirements for navigating telescoping

diameters and tight bends, as well as

addressing unique mechanical blockages

with alternate inspection technologies.

» Planning experiences for small-diameter

(NPS 4 and NPS 8) offshore pipelines

between the subsea manifold and the

platform, including cleaning, tight bends,heavy wall segments, pumps for bi-

directional movement, storage tanks for

solvents, water, and dewatering liquids,

lters, temporary launchers and receivers.

» New promising prototypes, including one

portable unit capable of measuring

mechanical properties across ERW and

other seam welds.

» Alternate guided-wave tool experiences

for external inspection on-

» Eddy-current inspection o

buried offshore pipe.

» ‘Computed tomography’, w

a C-Scan of the p ipe, pipe

their contents, such as scal

blockages.

» Multi-disciplinary approac

offshore inspections.

» Fracture mechanics to det

detection criteria and a rev

volumetric wall loss and cr

technology improvements.

» Alternatives to ILI for insp

risers and pipelines.

The 2017 Unpiggable Pipeline S

Forum (UPSF) is coming and new

solve difcult problems are alwaysinstruction and discussion.

Each UPSF programme offers a

unique solutions and can help dete

problem is, address unique constru

and envision alternate solutions. M

inspection tools travel on the insid

like pigs, but not all are internal. T

the box’ and consider placing the i

on the outside of the pipe.

Operators routinely use in-line inspection

(ILI) to monitor the integrity of their

pipelines. They all track internal

and external corrosion threats plus mechanical

deformation, but it is possible to address other

threats with ILI.

The rst day of the Forum included a Q & A

session which allowed discussion of questions that

had been submitted in the registrationquestionnaire and enabling participants orally to

articulate, or email (or tweet), some of their needs

and expectations to the moderator on stage.

A number of needs and desires were raised.

One question was to change the name from

‘unpiggable’ to ‘challenging to inspect’. Those

present thought unpiggable in the event’s main

title was apt; however, in recognition that all lines

are piggable, the organisers suggested the phrase

‘non-traditional approaches for internal

inspection of any p ipeline’ would be a more

accurate description of the succes s presented over

both days.

The discussion raised considerably more

offshore-related questions than expected:

» Can we provide examples of cost effective

external inspections?

»

Can we pig smaller-diameter NPS6 toNPS18 pipe, for 25 miles (40 km)?

» We used sonar bathymetry but really need

a better way to determine wall thickness.

» Spot checks by divers and ROVs are a

start but we need a full UT survey for

integrity.

» Eddy current works well for clad steels but

how can we nd the pits? Do we have to

X-ray?

he Unpiggable Pipeline Solutions Forum (organised by Clarion Technical Conferences and Tiratsooechnical on 12-13 May) aims to present a range of practical and proven solutions that could provide somespiration when thinking about how to tackle a unique inspection difficulty, whether it is on- or offshore, orund in a pipeline or a related facility.

r Keith Leewis reports on the May 2015 event held in Houston, Texas

IN

Unpiggable Forum offers solutionsfor the industry

NSPECTION

Each UPSF programme offers additional unique solutions and can help

determine what the problem is, address unique construction obstacles, an

envision alternate solutions.

Dr Keith Leewis (right) chaired the session at whichrvey Haines gave his presentation.

Exhibitors found an audience who had an enthusiasticerest in their technologies and services, as seen on

tinum Sponsor Quest’s stand.

Dr Keith Leewis opens the Forum.

A B C




for some reason go on calling Mandarin. It is

certainly a challenge: the grammar is

extraordinarily simple, with no genders, no

singular and plural, no tenses, no conjugations,

but on the other hand I nd the characters hard

to remember and the four tones difcult to get

right, especially for someone like me: completely

nonmusical. I am doing it for fun, not really

because I need it, because almost everyone in

Singapore speaks some English.

As for other languages, I did French and

Spanish at school, German hitch-hiking, in

workcamps, and because of a girl with a beautiful

smile (now a very old lady, I fear), Dutch, because

I didn’t want to live somewhere and not belongand be able to talk to my neighbours and

colleagues, and Russian for my research, so that I

can read theorems in applied mechanics but nd

it difcult to order a glass of beer.

JT: As well as your pipeline engineering

consultancy work, you are also well

known for your Subsea Pipeline

Engineering course that you have

developed with Dr Roger King and

which has been made into an

eponymously titled textbook, now in its

second edition. How did this training

course originate, and how did you get

to know Dr King in this context?

AP: Roger King and I were both working at

UMIST (the University of Manchester Institute

for Science and Technology), and it was

encouraging academic staff to put on short

courses. We tried it, thinking we might run the

course once or twice and then the market would

be used up. Thirty years later we are still doing

it, though the course has changed a great deal

and we are constantly trying new things.

JT: What are your views about the

importance of training and mentoring

in the pipeline industry? Other than

degree or post-degree academic

courses, are ‘conventional’ training

courses such as your own one the best

way of helping those in the industry to

improve their knowledge, or do you see

a better way of doing this in the future?

AP: Education is hugely important, and the

industry needs to take it more seriously. I think it

is best done by a combination of trad itional

courses in core areas such as hydrodynamics and

structures, concentrated short courses on

specialised bits of the subject, and most of all

hands-on experience in design and construction.

Online courses certainly have a role.

JT: Many of your subsea pipeline

engineering designs and solutions have

resulted in developments that were

previously unfeasible, and you have

published many papers featuring

elegant engineering solutions todifficult problems, among which has

been your work on icebergs and their

seabed-scour potential. Which of these

do you see as your greatest

achievement, and why?

AP: It is for other people to judge achievement.

The areas I have most enjoyed are buckle

propagation, Arctic pipeline construction (with

Bob Brown), ploughs (with Allan Reece), and ice

forces on offshore structures.

JT: What challenges does the subsea

pipeline industry have yet to meet, and

will it be able to conquer them?

AP: The challenge is to do things faster and

more cheaply.

In 1944 there was a requirement to construct

small-diameter pipelines across the sea between

England and France, some 100 km wide and up

to 100 m deep, in order to supply the Allied

armies with gasoline. A pipeline had to be

constructed in a single night. The engineers

assigned to the problem came up with two

original and radically different ideas. The rst

trial was a week after the rst meeting. Twentypipelines were built over the following year.

None of that could be done in 2016, more than

70 years later: is it because we know so much

more about it? I think we need to nd ways of

thinking adventurously, and to encourage

innovation rather than discouraging it. But

perhaps that is a subject for another day?

IN

Education is hugely important, and the industry

needs to take it more seriously.

Professor Andrew Pa

Professor Andrew Palmer is knhis contributions to pipelines anoffshore industry, his work as aof engineering, and his successengineering consulting.

Prof. Palmer earned his Bachelin engineering from Cambridgin the UK in 1961 and his doctengineering from Brown UniveUSA in 1965. He spent the nexin research and teaching at the

of Liverpool and Cambridge. Ihe became interested in pipelin

differential settlement induced permafrost as part of design stuthe Alaska Pipeline, and later instructural questions that arose iconstruction of the Forties PipNorth Sea.

In 1975, Prof. Palmer joined Rand Associates, the leading con

in underwater pipelines. He wounderwater ploughs, pipeline cand new techniques for Arctic pHe was the project manager foArctic offshore pipeline, built oof Melville Island in Canada.

In 1985 Prof. Palmer founded APalmer and Associates, a compconsulting engineers specialisinpipelines. It became engaged inprojects on every continent. Afhis company in 1993, he remaitechnical director until he retur

university teaching as Jafar ResProfessor of Petroleum EngineCambridge University in 1996a visiting professor in the DivisEngineering and Applied ScienHarvard University in 2002-20Palmer retired from Cambridgeand became Keppel Chair Pro

the Department of Civil Enginthe National University of Singretired again in 2015.

Prof. Palmer is a Fellow of the Society, a Fellow of the Royal Aof Engineering, a Fellow of theof Civil Engineers, a Charteredand a member of the Society oEngineers. He is the author of and more than 270 papers on poffshore engineering, geotechn

T: Your name is synonymous with the

ell-known pipeline engineering

onsultancy that has now become part

the Penspen group. You formed youronsultancy in 1985: how did this come

bout?

P: It is not complicated! I was pushed out of

J. Brown and Associates. My respect and

miration for Bob Brown did not falter, but

her people were involved. I talked to two or

ee other consultants, but I decided that this

s the right moment to try being a consultant

my own.

T: What sparked your original interest

subsea pipeline engineering? How

d you and Bob Brown, and the other

arly pioneers of subsea pipeline

ngineering, get together?

P: That is a more complicated question, and it

cludes many elements of luck. I had done a

D at Brown University (no relation!) in the

SA. That was on the application of plasticity

eory in geotechnics, nothing to do with

pelines, but as a sideline I did some research

frozen soil, which is a way of getting at the

ermodynamics of soil/water interaction. Five

ars later Brown Univers ity wrote to me. It had

me money to support research onvironmental aspects of geotechnics,

membered that I had worked on frozen soil,

d knew that the Alaska pipeline was much in

e news.

If I could somehow put that together, the

iversity could support me for a summer. I was

en to go, so I networked with contacts in

mbridge and went to see BP’s pipeline

gineers in London. I told them that I was not

oking for money but that I was looking for an

interesting problem. Impressed by my naïve

approach, they told me about differential

settlement on thawing permafrost, and said that

they would be interested if I had any results.After a month I had made a little progress, and

went with the BP group to the project team in

Houston. A year later they called me again, a

phone call that changed my life. “We have some

problems with underwater pipelines”, they said.

“That sounds awfully interesting”, I replied, “but

I don’t know anything about underwater lines.”

“We think that’s an advantage, you’ll bring a

fresh mind to it. Come up here tomorrow!”

I knew nothing, so they had to start off by

telling me what a laybarge is. There were two

urgent problems, one the mechanics of laybarge

pipelaying and the other buckle propagation. I

was able to contribute something, and we went

on from there.

Four years after that, I was tired of university

teaching, and I thought that pipelines had given

me an opportunity to move into engineering

practice, and so I wrote to R.J. Brown and

Associates.

JT: After you and Andrew Palmer &

Associates had parted company, you

became the Jafar Research Professor of

Petroleum Engineering, and a Fellow of

Churchill College, at Cambridge

University in the UK. Had you always

been involved in petroleum engineering

as well as in pipelines, and how did

these two interests combine at the

University?

AP: Andrew Palmer & Associates and I had

parted company on good terms. I had built the

company from one person in a back bedroom to

55 people in three ofces, I had sold it to SAIC,

and it was time to move on. One cannot work in

pipelines without becoming interested in other

aspects of the industry. It would be foolish to try

to be an expert in everything, but Cambridgewas trying to expand its engagement with

petroleum, several other departments were

working on it, and Hamid Jafar was keen and

generously supported my professorship.

JT: You subsequently were appointed

Professor in the Center for Offshore

Research and Engineering of the

Department of Civil and Environmental

Engineering at the National University

of Singapore, which appears to be

another change of academic discipline.

In your time at this University, were

you able to pursue all your previous

interests in pipelines and petroleum

engineering, or did one or other of

them have to take a back seat?

AP: NUS let me do what I wanted. Pipelines

were a starting point, and I initiated a course

and got some truly excellent research students.

I picked up research on gas hydrates from

another professor who had left, and broadened

from that to start courses on petroleum, in a

stimulating collaboration with geologists.

JT: While at the University in Singapore,

and also now that you are living there

having retired from the University, you

are learning Cantonese. Is this an

enjoyable challenge for you, or are you

learning this language for other

reasons? Have you similarly challenged

yourself with learning other languages?

AP: Not Cantonese but standard Chinese, what

they call ‘putonghua’ (‘common speech’) and we

pelines International Editor-in-Chief John Tiratsoo hade recent privilege of sitting down with pipeline veteran

rofessor Andrew Palmer. Professor Palmer has beenstrumental in subsea pipeline engineering design andlutions and is the author of an impressive body ofork of pipeline literature.

Interview with ProfessorAndrew Palmer

NTERVIEW




Statoil will be tapping into the rich resources

in the Norwegian continental shelf and

transporting the gas via a subsea gas

pipeline to the shore of Norway, in the world’s

deepest laying operation for the size of pipe.

The 482.4 km, 36 inch pipeline was laid at a

depth of 1,260 m and lays claim to a host of

record achievements.

The Polarled Pipeline extends from Aasta

Hansteen to Nyhamna, north of Bergen in

southern Norway. The pipeline will facilitate the

development of Aasta Hansteen and other elds

in the Norwegian Sea.

The pipeline is the rst on the Norwegian

continental shelf that crosses the Arctic Circle,

and will also be the deepest pipeline on the

Norwegian continental shelf – by the Aasta

Hansteen eld the water depth is 1,260 m.

According to Statoil, it will be the rst time a 36

inch pipe is laid in such deep waters anywhere in

the world.

The project includes expansion of the

Shell-operated gas plant at Nyhamna. A separate

pipeline between Polarled and the Kristinplatform will connect new infrastructure to

existing infrastructure on Haltenbanken (Åsgard

Transportation). In addition, preparations will be

made for the tie-in of existing and futu re

discoveries in the area.

FIELD DEVELOPMENTThe Aasta Hansteen eld will be run from

Harstad, Statoil’s new Operations North organisation.

The supply base will be located in Sa

the helicopter base in Brønnøysund.

Field development includes a SP

the rst such installation on the No

continental shelf. SPAR is a oatin

consisting of a vertical column mo

seabed. The installation features co

topsides with processing facilities.

transporting the gas from the seab

platform and further to Polarled w

which will be rst of its kind on th

continental shelf. The hull will be

storage for condensate, and the co

loaded to shuttle tankers at the el

ACHIEVEMENT IN THE AR

CIRCLEIn August, the gas pipeline cons

reported crossing 66 degrees and 3

north of the equator, becoming th

to take Norwegian gas infrastructu

Arctic Circle, opening a new gas h

the Norwegian Sea to Europe.

“With this pipeline, we open upgas to Europe from a completely n

Polarled development Project Dire

Ivarjord said.

RECORD PIPELAYINGAdding to the impressive scale o

the Polarled Pipeline was laid by th

largest pipelaying vessel, ‘Solitaire

installation contractor Allseas.

Record-breakingPolarled Pipeline opens up new gas rou

ROJECTS

The final pipe was recently laid in the Statoil-operated Polarledwhich will open up a new highway for gas from the Norwegian

Europe.

LEFT: The pipeline was laid by the world’s largestpipelaying vessel, ‘Solitaire’ from Allseas.All images source: Statoil.




The pipelaying work commenced in March this

ar and consists of more than 40,000 pipes, eachwhich is 12 m in length. The pipeline’s

pacity will be up to 70 MMm3/d of gas.

During the start-up in March the pipeline was

lled in to Nyhamna and during September,

ived at the Aasta Hansteen eld.

EVELOPING THE NORWEGIAN

AS INDUSTRY

In late 2012 Statoil, together with the other

partners in Polarled, submitted the plan for the

pipeline’s installation and operation to theMinistry of Petroleum and Energy. The

investment for the Polarled development is

estimated at US$4.38 billion.

Initially, only gas from Aasta Hansteen will be

transported through Polarled, however the

pipeline has space for more.

“We have therefore installed six connection

points or future slip roads to the new gas

highway,” said Mr Ivarjord.

“Polarled will open up for gas export to Europe

from a completely new gas province, and with theinfrastructure in place it will also be more

attractive to explore the surrounding area.”

ROJECTS

A: Welding on the Polarled project.

B AND C: During operations, it took six boats in shuttletraffic to keep the two cranes on Solitaire supplied withpipe around the clock. Each pipe is 12.2 m long and weighs12–15 tonnes and the pipelaying vessel laid around 4 kmof pipes a day. This meant that it needed a supply of morethan 300 pipes a day, filling two to three boats every day.

D: Pipe with this diameter has never before been laid thisdeep. Polarled will also be the deepest pipeline on theNorwegian continental shelf.

DC

A B




The sampling rate for each ISO-Group is then

determined. We chose to use the approach set out

in ISO 2059, which imposes a sampling rate of

between zero per cent for ISO-Groups with very

low potential of failure, to 100 per cent for

ISO-Groups with a very high risk level.

In practice, for the TIGF network, this

produces a zero rate for just under half the

network and inspection rates of between twoand nine per cent for the bulk of the

remainder.

This sampling rate should provide the

condence that the model reects the condition

of the network. If initial samples do not conrm

this then the model can be recalibrated by

adjusting the threshold risk levels or KPIs, which

will feed through to a higher, or lower, targeted

inspection campaign rate.

CAPTURING INSPECTION DATAWe are still working on ways to capture and feed

back the inspection data, and, as the data collection

continues across the system, we expect to modify

the model. This is one benet of the system; that it

is alive and can change as data changes. The heart

of the model is the correct assessment of risk and

the identication of each section of pipe and its

environment so that it is placed in the appropriateISO-Group. The model and system has been

developed for TIGF but its principles are equally

applicable to other networks, other databases, and

other regulatory environments.

The ISO-Group system will deliver condence

for both operator and regulator that the integrity

of cased pipelines is being managed effectively

while delivering an optimum allocation of

inspection resources.

Cased pipelines present operators with

a particular problem for asset integritymanagement. They are safe and

otected by their casings, and so should have

extremely low failure rate. At the same time,

wever, the casing makes inspection and repair

pensive and consumes a lot of resources.

here have been occasional incidents of cased

pe failure, so they cannot be ignored. The

oblem operators and regulators face is to nd

roportional and pragmatic way to allocate

pection resources so that potential failures of

ed sections of pipeline are found before they

come a problem, while not wasting inspection

ources.

The answer lies in a risk-based approach which

nties different types of cased pipeline and

ferent threat environments, categorises them

o corrosion families with the same corrosion

haviour, then uses a Bayesian approach to

velop a smart sampling rate. Enough sections

cased pipe of each type have to be opened up

inspection to give a reasonable certainty that

ey present a statistically valid picture of the

ndition of the whole family, but no more

an that.

SK-BASED APPROACHTIGF, a gas transmission operator with an

tensive pipeline network in France, decided to

ild an integrity system for its network and chose

reau Veritas as its partner to develop its

k-based approach since 2006. Specic work

out cased pipelines began in 2014 and the

seline data gathering for the integrity system

plementation is currently underway.

A cased pipeline is a section of pipe protected

by a casing that acts as a mechanical barrier.These usually appear at crossing points with road

or rail and the sheathing material may be

concrete, steel, or, in exceptional cases, some

other material. Some of these sections of cased

pipe may be inspectable by pigging, but many are

not tted to this type of inspection method due to

shape, size or uid conditions.

ECDA (External Corrosion Direct Assessment)

can give a one shot picture of pipeline condition,

and other methods such as endoscopy and guided

waves can be used to assess some sections or parts

of them. Unfortunately, none of these methods

give a full, reliable and ongoing picture of the

condition of the entirety of the cased pipes. The

only way to do that is to dig them up, open the

casing and physically inspect the pipeline.

Opening casings is expensive and time

consuming, but international best practices based on

risk-based methods are acceptable. These can be

coupled with a sampling regime that means only a

limited number of cased pipes need to be opened to

give condence in the integrity of the network.

A correctly-congured system will include a

self-feedback mechanism which incorporates the

results of sampling and inspection to adjust therisk levels of each c orrosion family, and so in turn

adjust the inspection rates. The model innovates

itself constantly as inspection results reinforce

condence in the model or are used to adjust the

model to what is discovered on the ground.

DATA COLLECTIONBuilding the asset integrity system for cased

pipes begins with collecting the data on all the

different types of cased pipe within the system,

and building risk trees showing the threats to each

type. Age, the presence of water table, and

coating type are some of many determinants of

risk level.

A good database is needed to collate the data

and threat types that can then be analysed to

divide the cased pipelines into families, which we

call ISO-Groups. Each ISO-Group gathers

different systems with similar corrosion behaviour

and characteristics and similar criticality offailure. We set ve different threshold levels of

corrosion behaviour to enable us to divide the full

system into manageable ISO-Groups with

statistically similar potential of failure. Setting the

correct threshold corrosion levels or KPIs is vital,

as these are correlated with other characteristics

such as age and presence of water to determine

into which ISO-Group each section of cased pipe

should fall.

rance’s Bureau Veritas and TIGF have developed a smart samplingpproach which delivers better allocation of inspection resources for thetegrity management of cased pipelines.

y Murielle Bouchardy and Karine Kutrowski, Bureau

eritas, Paris, France; and Anne Chauvancy and

hristophe Drevond, TIGF, Pau, France

Cased pipelineintegritymanagement

INTEGRITY MANNTEGRITY MANAGEMENT

Bureau Veritas is a world leadtesting, inspection, and certiservices. It delivers a wide ranrisk-based asset integrity mansolutions for O&G operators.

For more information go to www.bureauveritas.com

TIGF is a natural gas storagegas transport company operaunderground storage tanks anthan 5,000 km of pipelines in

For more information go to www.tigf.fr

A: Opening a cased pipeline is time consu

B: Excavations may be required.

C: Inspecting a cased pipeline.

A

B

C




risk estimation by assuming perfect information

inputs allows a better evaluation of the

appropriateness and capability of the risk

estimation itself. The role of data accuracy is very

important but confuses the evaluation of other

components.

COMPLETENESS

It is not practical to capture all possible risk

issues in a certication or ‘test’ dataset. Therefore,

a test using a provided dataset will likely not prove

model performance against all possible risk issues.

Think again about our ‘leaning tree incident’.

At rst glance, it is tempting to say that missing a

‘one-in-a-million’ threat like that is not as ser ious

as missing a m ore frequent threat. However, what

is generally a miniscule threat when viewing

thousands of miles of pipe over many years can

be the primary threat for a specic location at a

specic time. The ‘one-in-a-million’ scenario is

only appropriately ignored when it truly is that

low everywhere (and will not become signicant

when aggregated).

OPPORTUNITY FOR

COMPLETENESS

For certication purposes, we make a

distinction between actually recording the threat

versus having the opportunity to record the

threat. If we s ee the dead tree leaning over the

marker post directly over the pipeline, but have

no way to capture this in the risk assessment, therisk assessment is awed. On the other hand, a

risk assessment that is ready to capture and assess

this obscure scenario meets minimum

requirements, even if that threat was not input.

Falling objects should already be a consideration,

and this particular scenario should be additive to

all similar scenarios – e.g. falling buildings, utility

poles, rockslides, etc. All threats are analysed via

independent evaluations of the exposure,

mitigation, and resistance elements

(see previous articles).

ACCURACY

So, a certication-seeker has produced risk

estimates using their risk estimation processes on

the test data. What if their risk estimates differ

signicantly from the benchmark results? Without

agreement on ‘true’ risk estimates, how can

certication be accomplished? The answer is that

‘correct’ risk assessments can produce a wide

range of risk estimates for exactly the same

scenario, depending on factors such as:

» assumptions employed when information

is missing or weak

» target level of conservatism desired.

Furthermore, since our risk estimates must

contain elements of probability, we will usually

not know their true accuracy for decades, soinsistence on matching certain numeric values is

not appropriate. For certication purposes, as for

many other uses, the risk prole is the key. The

prole is often the most useful output of the risk

assessment. This means it is also a central element

of a certication.

A prole shows changes in risk along the

pipeline route and demonstrates aspects central to

acceptability of risk estimation:

» locations of directional chan

» magnitudes of changes

» drivers of changes

» aggregations of multiple is

same location

» comparisons between any

» comparisons between simi

(e.g., perhaps identical rou

different products or opera

characteristics).

All of these prole-demonstrate

should be fully consistent with the

science and engineering of the pip

potential. That is what makes the

process acceptable and worthy of

Matching exact numerical estimat

not necessary – other objective crit

for numerical differences can be em

GAINING CERTIFICATIONTo conclude this initial discussio

recognise that 1) growing stakehol

can be at least partially addressed

evaluation of pipeline risk manage

and 2) producing a fair and useful

risk management processes require

and planning. As described here, t

underway!

RISK MAN

What is generally a miniscule threat when vie

thousands of miles of pipe over many years c

the primary threat for a specic location at a

time.

CERTIFICATION

With growth in both the number of pipelines

and their neighbouring receptors, there is more at

stake from pipeline failures. Formal pipeline risk

management is now an essential aspect of owning

and operating pipeline facilities. Stakeholders are

requiring increasing levels of assurance t hat the

risk management programme is truly effective.

This article begins a discussion on certication of

risk management processes, i.e., gaining

assurances for stakeholders that currently used

processes are at least appropriate, if not robust

and optimum.

Terms like validation, verication, and

calibration, while not universally dened, logically

seem intertwined. Let’s adopt the term certication

to cover all and say that a certied process is one

that meets or exceeds minimum acceptability

requirements. More on that in a later article.

FOCUS ON RISK ESTIMATIONUntil a long track record demonstrates how

well risk management was done, a programme’s

effectiveness is best evaluated in terms of its

components. First and foremost, good risk

management requires good risk assessment. If the

risk is not well understood, how can management

of risk be effective? So, assurance of good risk

management logically begins with an examination

of the embedded risk assessment process.

Risk assessment involves the general steps of

data collection, data integration, assignment of

values for missing information, and production of

risk estimates. As a rst step in certifying an

overall risk assessment, it makes sense to begin

with the last task – producing risk estimates.

Why focus on risk estimation, i.e., the risk

models, rst? Two compelling reasons include

that 1) it is a current area of US regulator

concern and 2) good risk estimation offers some

assurance of effective ‘downstream’ processes.

The rst general question in the certication

effort is: Can the risk assessment model produce

true risk values? That is our topic now. For future

certication steps, the words ‘does’ and ‘will’

replace ‘can’ in the same question. Answering this

requires subsequent evaluation of the other parts

of the overall risk management process – again, a

future topic.Ideally, subjectivity will be largely removed

from the certication process. In this rst

certication step, objectivity is achieved by having

certication-seekers produce risk estimates from a

set of information for which the risk issues are

well known. That is, perform a risk assessment

with a standardised, assumed-accurate dataset

and compare results with the previously-

determined risks. Isolating the mechanics of the

n operator recently experienced damage to theirpeline when a metal pipeline marker post was drivento the ground by a falling tree – the ‘leaning tree

cident’. This is certainly not a common pipeline failureenario. How much criticism against a risk assessment isarranted if this obscure event is missed?

y W. Kent Muhlbauer, WKM

onsulting, Austin, TX, USA

Certifcations: The Leaning Tree Incident

ISK MANAGEMENT

For more information visitwww.pipelinerisk.net




» Defect Assessment in Pipelines

» Pipeline Integrity Management

» Pigging and In-line Inspection (ILI)

» Advanced Pipeline Risk Management

»

DOT Pipeline Safety Regulations –overview and guidelines for compliance

» Introduction to Excavation Inspection

and Applied NDE for Pipeline Integrity

Assessment

» Defect Assessment Calculations Workshop

» Pipeline Repair Methods, Hot Tapping

and In-service Welding

» Managing Cracks and Seam Weld

Anomalies on Pipelines.

Full details of the courses, including the

syllabuses and information on course presenters,

can be found at www.ppimhouston.com

TIP 2: PLAN YOUR CONFERENCE

SESSIONS AHEAD OF TIMEPPIM’s strong history ensures the conference

attracts the industry’s best speakers to its

programme. Technical papers will cover utility

tools and new applications, ILI interpretation,

cracks and their identication, welds andmaterials, offshore issues, risk assessment, ILI data

assessment, and a number of case studies.

This year, the PPIM conference programme

will again include a two-stream section on Day 2.

Make sure to carefully review the papers in each

so you don’t miss out on your topic of choice.

See the draft conference programme on pages

54 to 55. Updates will also be available on

Clarion’s website leading up to the event.

TIP 3: REVIEW THE EXHIBFLOORPLAN AND HIGHL

COMPANIES OF INTERESThe sold-out exhibition is an ex

to see the latest products rst hand

one-on-one with company represe

can provide tailored advice to spec

In 2015, over 100 of the world’s

of pigging, ILI, and integrity man

services will be represented, so it is

you know where the companies yo

in are located.

See the oorplan on pages 52 an

TIP 4: TAKE ADVANTAGE

NETWORKING OPPORTU

The exhibition is also a great pl

networking opportunities not only

day, but also at evening networking

Don’t miss out on your chance t

with management and eld operat

from transmission companies conc

improved operations and integrity

product and service providers, and

and developers leading the way in

innovations for the industr y.

HOW TO REGISTERRegistrations are available now

website: www.ppimhouston.com

Make sure you start 2015 inform

practices and products shaping the

in-line management industry – reg

4 January 2016 for the PPIM Con

bird discount.

Held annually in Houston, Texas, USA,

the PPIM Conference and Exhibition

is the world’s only forum devoted

exclusively to pigging for maintenance and

inspection, and pipeline integrity evaluation and

repair.

The event is supported widely by the industry,

including major event sponsors ROSEN, RCS

NDE Specialists, Precision Pigging, SGS, NDT

Global, Integrity Solutions NDE, A.Hak,N-SPEC Pipeline Services, T.D. Williamson, and

RSH Energy.

The event draws engineering management and

eld operating personnel from both transmission

and distribution companies concerned with

improved operations and integrity management.

Organised by long-standing pipeline industry

training and conference providers Clarion

Technical Conferences and Tiratsoo Technical,

the event is designed to provide attendees with the

opportunity to tailor a programme to meet their

needs – whether interested in in-depth learning,

industry and technology overviews, or hands-on

discussions about the latest products and services.

TIP 1: UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS TO

INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICEA range of technical training courses will

precede the PPIM conference, allowing delegatesthe opportunity to upgrade their skills to industry

best practice.

In an industry driven by innovation, keeping

your skills up-to-date is crucial. The technical

training courses are an excellent opportunity to

make sure that your industry capabilities are

taken to the next level.

The courses will run from 8-9 February and

will include:

ow in its 28th year, the Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management (PPIM) Conference and Exhibition, beingeld on 8-11 February, attracts over 2,000 attendees active in the pipeline integrity sector from around theorld. As official media partner of the event, Pipelines International provides you with some tips to get the mostut of the four-day event.

UPCOMIN

How to get the most out of the2016 PPIM Conference andExhibition

PCOMING EVENTS

A: Delegates at the 2015 PPIM Conference.

B: The exhibition hall provides a great opportunity tonetwork with other industry professionals.

C: Delegates the latest products with PPIM exhibitors.

D: Technical papers at the conference will cover a variety oftopics. Turn to page 54 for more information.

A B

C

Save the date

8–11 February 2016,Marriott Westchase Hotel,Houston, TX, USA




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UPCOMIN

PPIM ExhibitorsPCOMING EVENTS

heck out the latest technology, products and services at the PPIMxhibition. Over 100 of the world’s top providers of pigging, in-linespection, and integrity management services will be represented. Here,pelines International highlights its key supporters in attendance, and the

vent’s major sponsors.

PLATINUM SPONSORPrecision Pigging is pleased to be a Platinum Sponsor of PPIM 2016. Providing high-resolution geometry/deformation services to the pipeline industry for over 15 years, Precision Pigging continues to experience anextraordinary rate of growth. State-of-the-art technology, ongoing research and development, and commitment toproviding the highest level of customer s ervice distinguish Precision Pigging’s approach to integrity management.

Rapid onsite deployment capabilities with single-contact project management allows Precision Pigging to meet the schedule-dependent needs of their clients with ease. 2016 will mark a new era of further growth for Precision Pigging.Visit Precision Pigging at booths 117, 119, 128 and 129.

Champion Process Inc. (CPI) is a global leader in ltration and process equipment. Whether a projethe removal of pipe scale, or dirt or debris to prevedownstream equipment, CPI has the solution.

Visit CPI at booths 503 and 505.

Power Associates International, Isingle source for a complete line otesting equipment and supplies. M

its equipment is also available for rental and export. The com30 years in the business, serving the needs of the pipeline indis in a unique position to assist in solving your problems quiccost effectively. The company utilises its engineering and techexpertise, as well as practical experience derived on-site, to delsolution that provides all equipment and supplies for pipeline t

Visit Power Associates International at booth 411.

PLATINUM ELITE SPONSORRosen is a leading, privately-owned, company providing innovative product andservice solutions for the inspection, integrity and rehabilitation of complex oil

and gas infrastructures. For over 30 years, the company has provided the industry with advancedinspection solutions to ensure safe and economical operation of a wide range of assets and facilities.The Rosen Group operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 2,000 people.Visit Rosen at booths 201 and 300.

Pigs Unlimited International, Inc. has been a trusted manufacturer of pipeline pigsfor over 20 years, but as its ‘unlimited’ name suggests, the company offers much more.Stop by Pigs Unlimited’s booth to check out its full line of innovative pigging productswhich include several styles of closures, launcher/receivers, pig detectors, revolutionarytransmitters and receivers as well as the company’s new disposable transmitters,

featuring industry leading run-time and a completely sealed body at a reasonable price.Visit Pigs Unlimited at booths 316 and 217.

L I I E LI E E E / EF I E E I CE

Precision Pigging,LLC

Clock Spring will be exhibiting several products at PPIM 2016. As always, the original ClockSpring for pipeline repairs and reinforcement will be the focal point, in addition to severalderivative products. New to the Clock Spring booth this year will be the demonstration of

the Conformable Eddy Current Array. The array is a corrosion mapping tool used t o create a ‘digital rubbing’ of corrosionon a pipeline. The device can quickly scan, map, and calculate maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) in a matterof seconds, and the les can be easily emailed from a laptop computer that is used in the eld. The array is es sential toconrming in-line inspection data and MAOP verication.Visit Clock Spring at booth 218.

Quest Integrity Group provides turnkey pipeline integrity management services, including highly

accurate, technology-enabled inspection and advanced assessment solutions focused on unpiggableand difcult to inspect pipelines, as well as project management and in-line inspection support.InVistaTM is an ultrasonic in-line inspection technology that accommodates 3–24 inch diameters,

is bi-directional and provides 100 per cent overlapping coverage of geometry and metal-loss features in a single pass.LifeQuestTM Pipeline software provides advanced tness-for-service assessment using 100 per cent of the inspectiondata. The advanced inspection and assessment solution provides maximum allowable operating pressure for the entirepipe length and follows API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 local thinning assessment methodology. Quest Integrity Group is aTEAM Industrial Services company.Visit Quest Integrity Group at booths 132 and 133.

SILVERAttending PPIM 2016 next February? If so, you probably know that thinternational exhibition and conference provides attending operators wexceptional technical presentations and hands-on opportunities. H owalso know that this year’s attendees will benet from several new oppo

further their professional development, increase the throughput of their systems, anthe long-term integrity of their assets? Global pipeline service provider T.D. Williamin attendance as an event Silver sponsor to present topics such as acquiring actionabinspection data in low-pressure, low-ow c onditions, as well as to provide one-on-onrevenue-driving technologies, such as automated pig launching and receiving. Schedadvance with a TDW expert: [email protected]

Visit TDW at booths 120, 122 and 124.

GOLDNDT Global provides in-line inspections (ILIs) operating with a grouskilled pipeline specialists. For offshore and onshore ILI, NDT offersresolution magnetic-ux leakage and ultrasonic wall-thickness and cr

tools. NDT also provides sophisticated mapping, data- integration and data-managcapabilities.

Visit NDT Global at booths 114 and 116.

Enduro is a ‘vertically integrated’ manufacturer/supplietypes of pipeline scraper – metal body, uni-body (all ueruni-directional and bi-directional applications – used tomaintain pipe international surfaces, complete line of at

offered to accomplish all pigging applications and uses. Visit Enduro Pipeline Services at booths 211, 213, 215, 310, 312 and 314

STATS Group is a specialist engineering company and service providoperates in the eld of piping and pipeline integrity and maintenancprovides full-service capability for the maintenance, repair and modioil and gas installations and pipelines, on- and offshore. Its range of pservices enables piping and pipeline isolation, intervention, inspection

connection, and testing work scopes. Visit STATS Group at booths 109 and 111.

Girard Industrieshas been a leadingmanufacturer of

pipeline pigs since 1968 and continuesto manufacture a full line of pipeline

cleaning pigs including steel-mandrelpigs, polyurethane spheres, polly-pigs,soli-cast polyurethane Turbo Pigs, as wellas replacement cups and discs for any pigon the market. Girard’s product line alsoincludes spheres cups and discs in bothneoprene and nitrile, pig detectors, pigtracking equipment, and other pigging-related products.

Visit Girard Industries at booth 705.

Halfwave is a global leader in inspection services based on acoustic resonance technoland gas industry. The company’s Pipeline and Subsea Inspection division offers servicthe ART Gas Scanner and other services under development.

Visit Halfwave at booth 410.

GOLD SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR




UPCOMIN

PPIM Conference Programme

PCOMING EVENTS

echnical papers at the PPIM Conference will cover utility tools and new applications, ILI interpretation,acks and their identification, welds and materials, offshore issues, risk assessment, ILI data assessment, and aumber of case studies. See below for the event’s draft programme at the time of print. Visit the PPIM websiter updates closer to the event, www.ppimhouston.com

Register now at www.ppimhouston.com

uesday 9 February

Exhibition opens, 5:00 pm – Reception in Exhibition

Wednesday 10 February

:30 Introduction

:45 [1] ‘Competency’ in engineering by Michelle Unger, Rosen Group, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and Dr Phil H opkins, Phil Hopkins Ltd, Whitley Bay, UK

:15 [2] Benets of automated pigging by Roxy Mounter, WeldFit Energy Group, USA, and David Wint, Audub on Field Solutions, USA

:45 [3] Automated pigging systems: what are the real benets?by Abdel M. Zellou and Dr Mike Kirkwood, T.D. Williamson, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and P.J. Robinson, T.D. Williamson, Tulsa, OK, USA

0:15 Coffee

1:00 [4] Hydrotesting and ILI: now and the futureby Dr Mike Kirkwood, T.D. Williamson, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Jerry Rau, RCP, Houston, TX, USA

1:30 [5] Rational test pressure levels for mitigating the pipe manufacturing defect integrity threat in natural-gas pipelinesby Michael Rosenfeld and Jing Ma, Kiefner/Applus-RTD, Columbus, OH, USA

2:00 [6] A predictive model for optimizing hydrostatic test pressures in seam-welded pipelinesby Dr Ted Anderson, Team Industrial Services, Denver, CO, USA

2:30 Lunch

30 Offshore topics

[7] Preparing for successful ILI runs: a case studyby P.J. Robinson, T.D. Williamson, Tulsa. OK, USA

[13] Caliper ILI experience in deep water: the Brazil pre-salt areaby Vinicius Lima, Jose Augusto da Silva, and Rodrigo Antunes,PipeWay Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

:0 0 [ 8] A ca se s tudy o n i nt el li ge nt p ig gi ng at CB/O S2by Satish Jami, Cairn India Ltd, India

[14] Implementing a pipeline-integrity-management system for lifeextension of the mature offshore NW Java eldby DedyIskandar, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi, Indonesia

:30 [9] Robotic ILI of a Transco pipel ine in an urban areaby Casey Lajaunie, Williams, USA, and Jonny Minder, Diakont,USA

[15] ILI concept studies for challenging offshore systemsby Michael Schorr, Rosen Technology & Research Centre, Lingen,Germany

:00 Coffee

:30 [10] Better data: methodologies and best-practices for achievinghigher-quality inspection resultsby Ron Maurier, Quest Integrity, Denver, CO, USA

Panel SessionIn-Ditch NDE Technologies for Detecting and Sizing Cracks

and Seam-Weld Anomalies

Moderator: Sergio Límon, Stress Engineering ServicesPanelists:

Stephen Cox, SGS Pipeline Integrity Assured SolutionsHarvey Haines, Applus RTD / IWEXShayan Haque, JENTEK SensorsSean Riccardelli, Riccardelli Consulting Services (RCS)Greg Schow, Athena Industrial Services/ECHO 3DMartin Theriault, Eddy

:00 [11] A val idated asses sment methodology for dent fa tigueby Aaron Lockey, Penspen, Newcastle up on Tyne, UK

:30 [12] Risk maturity: moving towards risk as a competit ive advantageby Matthew Hastings and Matt Bayne, Williams, Oklahoma City,OK, USA

:00 End o f d ay : R ec ep ti on i n e xhib it io n

Thursday 11 February

Crack topics Data topics

8 :0 0 [ 16 ] L es so ns le arne d f ro m ILI -to- e ld datacomparisonsby Dr Tom Bubenik, Matt Ellinger, andPamela Moreno, DNV GL, Dublin, OH,USA

[23] Successful management of the pip elinecracking threat using an ultrasonic ILI tool:a case study

by Millan Sen, Enbridge Pipelines,Edmonton, AB, Canada

[30] Big-data analytics appliedmanagement

Mauricio Palomino, GE Oil anMatt Nicholson, Columbia PipUSA, and Elaine Horn, Accen

8 :3 0 [ 17 ] Ut il iz in g spra y- pi g te ch no lo gy to trea ttop-of-the-line corrosionby Stephen Miska, Woody Smith, and EricFreeman, T.D. Williamson, Tulsa, OK, USA

[24] Detection and depth sizing ofstress-corrosion cracking in pipelines usingtangential-eddy-current array

by Joël Crépeau, Eddy NDT Inc, Canada

[31] Utilizing modern data anfor pipeline risk assessmentby David Mangold and Ryan Integrity Plus, USA

9 :0 0 [ 18 ] Sen so rs on everythi ng : a ne w s trat eg yfor pipeline inspectionby Steve Banks, i2i Pipelines Ltd, UK

[25] Deterministic and probabilisticapproaches for scheduling mitigations ofcrack-like anomaliesby Jing Ma and Michael Rosenfeld, Kiefner/Applus-RTD, Columbus, OH, USA

[32] Overcoming missing or inpipeline data in ageing assetsby Chuck Har ris, T.D. WilliamTX, USA

9:30 Coffee

10:15 Materials topics

[19] Effect of calibration of measurementson integrity reliability analysisby Karmun Cheng, Mona Abdolrazaghi,Sherif Hassanien, and Alex Nemeth,

Enbridge Liquids Pipelines, Edmonton, AB,Canada

[26] Detection of crack initiation based onrepeat ILIsby Michael Palmer and Christopher Davies,MACAW Engineering, Newcastle upon

Tyne, UK, and Markus Ginten, RosenTechnolgy & Research Centre, Lingen,Germany

[33] Comparison of in-situ, nprocedures for determining thstation piping and ttingsby Bill Amend, DNV GL, Dub

USA, and Troy Rovella, PaciElectric Co, USA

1 0: 45 [ 20 ] Usi ng he li ca l- e ld EMAT tocharacterize stress-corrosion cracking by Shanker Shrestha, Adrian Belanger, andRobert Meyers, T.D. Williamson, Tulsa,OK, USA

[27] A study of crack-detection ultrasoniccalls relating to the different types ofcracking discovered in pipelines when usingCD ILIby Geoffrey Foreman, Jeff Sutherland, andPetra Senf, PII Pipeline Solutions, Calgary,AB, Canada

[34] Effect of truncating pipe distributions on reliability resuby Charles Watt, Stephen BottHaider, Enbridge Liquids PipeEdmonton, AB, Canada

1 1: 15 [ 21 ] How th e l at es t e nh an ce me nt s i nultrasonic-wall-measurement ILI technology

benet engineering-criticality assessments: acase study

by Stephan Tappert, Albrecht Schmid,Irinya Lachtchouk, and Jane Dawson, PIIPipeline Solutions, Calgary, AB, Canada,and Amanda Kulhawy and Stpehen Bott,Enbridge Liquid Pipelines, Edmonton, AB,Canada

[28] Applications of relative calibration ofcrack and corrosion ILI databy Mona Abdolrazaghi, Sherif Hassanien,and Janine Woo, Enbridge, Edmonton, AB,Canada

[35] A portable NDT device fproperties of pipelines during by Michael Tarkanian, StevenBrendon Willey, Kotaro TanigSimon Bellemare, MassachuseTechnology, Cambridge, MA,

1 1: 45 [ 22 ] Aspec ts a nd deni ti on of IL I a no ma lysizing accuracyby Johannes Palmer, Rosen Technology &Research Centre, Lingen, Germany

[29] Continuous depth sizing of ILIultrasonic crack detectionby Marius Grigat, Abdullahi Atto, and JensVos, Rosen Technology & Research Centre,Lingen, Germany

[36] Exploration of physical aproperties of steel of aging pipestimation of their remaining by Yuriy Lisin, Transneft Resefor Oil and Oil Products TranMoscow, Russia

12:15 Lunch

1:30 [37] Correlating ILI with direct examination: comparing apples to apples

by Richard Desaulnier, Lake Superior Consulting, Bloomington, MN, USA2:00 [38] Predicting the future: applying corrosion-growth rates derived from repeat ILI runs

by Jane Dawson, PII Pipeline Solutions, Cramlington, UK, and Lautaro Ganim, PII Pipeline Solutions, Buenos A ires, Argen

2:30 [39] A new way of meeting the t iming requirements o f the HCA IMP with ILIby Bryce Brown, Rosen USA Inc, Houston, USA

3:00 Coffee

3:15 [40] Retrotting pigging functionality in unpiggable pipelines: using type-approved double-block-and-bleed isolation plugsby Dale Millward, STATS Group, Aberdeen, UK

3:45 [41] Asset integrity management of a high-pressure natural-gas pipelineby Bhanu Dhiman, Manish Tyagi, Pavan Sharma, and Prateek Wate, Shell India, Hazira, India

4:15 End of conference



| Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesi nternational.co m www.pipelinesi nternational. com December 2015 | Pipelines Intern

The third in a series of international

technical events for the pipeline industr y,

the multi-track Pipeline Operations and

anagement Middle East (POMME) Conference

d Exhibition will be held in Bahrain from 11 toApril 2016.

The three-and- a-half-day conference –

ganised by Tiratsoo Technical (a division of

eat Southern Press) and Clarion Technical

nferences, in association with Global Webb

ergy Consultants – will be held at the Gulf

ernational Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Established now as the Gulf region’s denitive,

ential congress on pipeline technology and

anagement, the event has drawn more than

00 industry professionals from 33 countries.

HY THE EVENT IS A MUST-

TTEND FOR THE INDUSTRY

This major conference brings together experts

m within and outside the region to discuss the

est technologies and concepts for maintaining

d operating oil and gas pipelines in the most

cient, cost-effective, and professional manner,

ile taking account of environmental and other

ncerns of the communities through which they

ss.

These issues will be discussed against the

ckground of a new 115 km, 350,000 bbl/d oil

peline project between Saudi Arabia andhrain. The pipeline will replace an ageing

0,000 bbl/d pipeline and enable Bahrain

troleum Company (Bapco) to expand the

ocessing capacity of its 267,000 bbl/d Sitra

nery. The pipeline is to be operational

2018.

Saudi Aramco Pipelines Department’s general

anager Mohammad Sultan Al-Qahtani says the

ent provides “a great opportunity for us

pipeliners to gather and share knowledge. Thereare many challenges we ought to overcome and it

will help a great deal if we can solve them

collaboratively.”

The event will be held under the patronage of

His Excellency Dr Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza,

Bahrain’s Minister of Energy.

The event is also supported by Platinum Elite

Sponsor Saudi Aramco, and Silver Sponsors

Rosen, ClockSpring and Bapco.

KEY I NDUSTRY TOPICS ON THE

AGENDAThe conference will begin on 11 April 2016

with ve topical workshops. Dr Abdul Hussain

bin Ali Mirza will formally open the maintechnical sessions at the Plenary Session on

12 April, and will be accompanied by a major

exhibition reecting the widest interests of the

pipeline industry.

The simultaneous tracks for the technical

programme of the event will include:

» planning, design, construction and

materials

» operations and maintenance best

practices, repair and rehabilitation

» asset integrity management, inspection

and cathodic protection

» automation and control, leak detection.

PREVIEW THE LATEST PIPELINE

OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGYAn associated technical exhibition will be

conveniently situated parallel to where the

technical papers are presented. The exhibition

will feature the leading providers of s olutions for

best practices in pipeline operations and

management.

The exhibition hall will open at 9.00am on

Tuesday 12 April after the plenary session, andclose at 1.30pm on 14 April, and will host the

latest developments in the oil and gas sector with

leading industry professionals.

nternational pipeline industry experts will meet in Bahrain in April to discuss pipeline management,chnologies, and operating developments and issues, as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain prepare for the developmentf a new oil pipeline between the two countries.

UPCOMIN

Pipeline industry expertsto meet in Bahrain as regionprepares for pipeline development

PCOMING EVENTS

To register, or view a full list of exhibitorsand the conference programme, visit www.pipelineconf.com

A: Delegates listen intently at the opening plenary session at the2013 conference.

B: HE Shaikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister inCharge of Oil and Gas Affairs for the Kingdom of Bahrain, cutsthe ribbon at the opening of the exhibition at the 2013 conference,flanked on his right by Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, Senior VicePresident – Downstream for Saudi Aramco, and AbdulhakimAl-Gouhi, General Manager of Saudi Aramco’s PipelinesDepartment.

C: Delegates at one of the conference sessions.

D: HE Shaikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister inCharge of Oil and Gas Affairs for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

E: Shawn Laughlin, of event Silver Sponsor ClockSpring, discusseshis company’s activities with the Minister and other dignitaries atthe 2013 exhibition.

F: Dignitaries and other VIPs at the exhibition opening in2013, including HE Shaikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa(fourth from left), Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib (third from left), andAbdulhakim Al-Gouhi (second from left).

A

C D

E

B

F

This major conference

brings together experts

from within and outside

the region to discuss the

latest technologies and

concepts for maintaining

and operating oil and gas

pipelines in the most

efcient, cost-effective,

and professional

manner, while taking

account of environmental

and other concerns of the

communities through

which they pass.




VENTS

®

®

Don’t forget these events

for 2015/16:

PUMPS, VALVES, PIPES & COMPRESSORS

EXPO MIDDLE EAST 15–17 DECEMBER 2015

Abu Dhabi, Middle Eastwww.pvpcexpo.ae/wp/

28TH PIPELINE PIGGING & INTEGRITY

MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 8–11 FEBRUARY 2016

Houston, TX, USA

www.clarion.org

ONSHORE PIPELINE

ENGINEERING

COURSE 29 FEBRUARY–4 MARCH 2016

Newcastle, UK www.tiratsootechnical.com

PIPELINE DEFECT ASSESSMENT

COURSE 1–3 MARCH 20165

Newcastle, UK www.tiratsootechnical.com

PIPELINE OPERATIONS &

MANAGEMENT MIDDLE EAST 2016 11–14 APRIL 2016

Manama, Bahrainwww.clarion.org

LNG 18 CONFERENCE &

EXHIBITION 11–15 APRIL 2016

Perth, WA, Australia

www.lng18.org

GLOBAL PETROLEUM SHOW 2016 7–9 JUNE 2016

Calgary, AB, Canada

www.globalpetroleumshow.com

INTERNATIONAL PIPELINE

CONFERENCE AND

EXPOSITION 26–30 SEPTEMBER 2016

Calgary, AB, Canadawww.ipcyyc.com

Register today | www.clarion.org

February 8–11, 2016, Houston

28 YEAR

2 0 1 6

th

Exhibition space available

www.pipelineconf.com



60 | Pipelines International | December 2015 www.pipelinesinternational.co

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

American Augers 21

Baker Hughes 19

Enduro Pipeline Services OBC

Girard Pipeline Pigs 32

Global Petroleum Show 33

IPC 2016 29LNG 18 25

Maats B.V. 23

McConnell Dowell 11

Nacap Australia Pty Ltd 1

NDT Global IFC

Pigs Unlimited 24

PipeLine Machinery International 27Power Associates International Inc 20

Quest Integrity Group 13

Romstar Sdn Bhd 17

Rosen Technology And Research

Center Gmbh 3

STATS Group 5

Worldwide Machinery 16

In the next edition of

THE MIDDLE EAST ISSUE

ALSO FEATURED

We gear up for the Gulf region’s denitive congress on pipelinetechnology and management

For editorial enquiries contact Josie Emanuel: [email protected]

For sales enquiries contact Megan Lehn: [email protected]

API 1176

RP for Assessment andManagement of Cracking inPipelines

Pipeline isolation

Isolation of a 24 inch pressurisedgas line in Qatar

ILI

Final instalment of the Enbridgecase study





Documents

PIN December 2015 Web