Time is money – Operator needs urgent ILI

Two 102 onshore flowlines

Author: Johannes Keuter, 3P Services GmbH & Co. KG

Pipeline description

A European pipeline operator had two 10" onshore sour gas flowlines which were out of service. Significant corrosion had been detected in a nearby pipeline which supplies the medium for the two 10” pipelines. Hence, it was decided that the operation of the two 10" pipelines will be stopped to reduce any risk of environmental contamination due to leakages. This inevitably led to a loss of revenues for the pipeline operator.

Why is it challenging

There was limited pipeline information available at the time, it was extremely urgent which complicated the tool preparation and due to the known corrosion in the nearby pipeline the pressure was limited to 30 barg.

Target of the inspection

Perform a high-resolution inspection for internal and external metal loss. Due to the project circumstances and loss of revenue the inspection was to be performed with utmost urgency, this required many operational, tool preparation and data analysis special procedures. Ultimately, 3P Services determined its express data evaluation service was necessary. Concept for a solution 3P Services was asked to perform a metal loss inline inspection of both 10" sour gas pipelines as soon as possible. 3P proposed a 10" MFL tool and a 10" UT tool 24 hours after receiving the request, both with a lead time of five working days. The client decided MFL would solve his inspection problems, also due to time constraints he was keen to avoid the additional effort required for a liquid batch needed for a successful inspection with UT. 3P started the 10" MFL tool preparation immediately, the 10" MFL tool and the 3P Service Technicians were mobilized 5 five working days after the award.

Performance

3P Services performed the inline inspection of the first 10” pipeline five working days after the awards. The pipeline operator connected temporary traps to the pipeline to insert the inline inspection 10” MFL tool into the line. These traps were disabled and connected to the second line after the first successful inspection. The second pipeline was inspected three days later. Both tools recovered complete inspection data that allowed interpretation over the entire length of the pipeline.

Result

The data was analyzed immediately after the tool run and an express report was issued only two days after the inline inspection run. This express report summarized the most severe anomalies, which allowed the operator to bring the lines back into service immediately. The operator’s targets were achieved, budget and time schedule were met.

Timeline of the project