PIPEWAY detecting illegal taps in pipelines with innovative DMR Inspection Tool

Pipeline product theft through illegal taps is a growing concern for operators globally, posing a major challenge and resulting in significant financial losses, environmental hazards, and heightened safety risks. In response, PipeWay has developed an innovative inspection solution: the DMR (Direct Magnetic Response) technique. This cutting-edge technology is specifically designed for detecting, sizing and precisely locating illegal taps in pipelines, providing a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional methods.

Historically, pipeline inspection for illegal taps relied on MFL (Magnetic Flux Leakage) tools. Since 2007, PipeWay has successfully conducted over 236 projects, inspecting more than 16,700 km of pipelines using MFL technology aimed for illegal taps. While effective, MFL systems were not tailored for illegal tap detection. These tools are expensive to build and maintain, as they were originally developed for broad corrosion detection. MFL tools also require complex logistics, specialized personnel, and extended preparation times, making them less suitable for the quick, frequent inspections required to address theft.

DMR Technology

To address these challenges, company PipeWay developed the DMR technique as a more precise, cost-efficient alternative. DMR offers enhanced resolution compared to traditional high-resolution MFL systems, delivering superior detection capabilities for illegal taps. Based on PipeWay’s Internal Corrosion Sensor, the DMR system uses small magnets positioned near the pipeline wall and high-density Hall effect sensors to detect both internal corrosion and illegal taps with exceptional accuracy.

Figure 1: 14” DMR in Bi-Directional configuration

DMR tools are lightweight and easy to deploy, eliminating the need for heavy equipment during inspection operations. Their low cost and fast mobilization time make them ideal for frequent inspections, particularly in areas prone to theft incidence. These tools can detect holes as small as 6 mm in diameter and assess internal corrosion up to 8 mm deep, assuring extremely accurate and reliable results.

Additionally, the DMR inspection is supported by an advanced cloud-based processing software. Data collected during an inspection is uploaded to the cloud, where artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms analyze it, identifying potential illegal taps with great precision. For most pipelines, results can be delivered within 48 hours — a significant improvement over typical MFL methods.

The DMR system also allows for precise geolocation of illegal taps, providing clients with accurate DGPS coordinates for each detected tap. This capability facilitates rapid intervention by client teams, optimizing the process of identifying and neutralizing illegal activity. By integrating an inertial navigation module or using existing georeferenced weld data, the DMR system ensures pinpoint accuracy in correlating inspection results with pipeline features.

Another important feature to highlight is the ease of configuring and operating the tool. This user-friendly design allows the DMR to be mobilized and kept inspection-ready directly at the client's facilities. With properly trained teams, the client's own operators can autonomously manage the tool connection, as well as the launching and receiving of the pig, significantly accelerating the process. This not only optimizes operations but also enables a quicker response to emergency situations, offering a direct benefit to the client in terms of efficiency and response time.

Since its deployment in 2020, the DMR technique has proven highly effective in the field. To date, PipeWay has completed more than 130 inspections across different countries for major operators, covering over 11,500 km of pipelines with diameters ranging from 6” to 40” (larger diameters available upon request).

In conclusion, PipeWay’s DMR technology represents a breakthrough in pipeline security, offering a fast, reliable, and cost-effective solution for detecting and preventing illegal taps. By providing operators with the tools needed to swiftly address theft, the DMR system is helping to mitigate the financial and environmental risks associated with pipeline product theft, setting a new standard in pipeline integrity management.

Figure 2: Example of illegal taps detected by DMR tool

Figure 3: Illegal Tap detection by DMR tool (inspection data screen shot)

Figure 4: Internal corrosion detected by DMR tool (0,4mm depth, 2mm width)