PRODUCTION • PROCESSING • HANDLING
loss. Tis was proven in collaboration with a major Chinese operator in both girth and spiral welds using the latest triax sensor array. Tere are implications associated with gathering multiple data-sets at high resolution, the main one being the size of the data files involved. An inspection can now generate up to a terabyte of data that is an order of magnitude more than what was typical in the past. PII has invested heavily in order to build the IT and infrastructure support required to transport, analyse and store such large quantities of data. Another challenge is the complexity of the new multi-mission tools. With up to 10 times the level of sensing technology seen on previous tools the complexity of the system has increased by an order of magnitude, but there is still the requirement to deliver maximum reliability and first run success. PII currently delivers first run success of around 95%, beating the industry benchmark of 90%. However, a 5% failure rate is still too high and the company has taken on the challenge to reduce it through operational enhancements and reliability improvements at sub-system component level while remaining cost effective. All MFL4 development and
investment is focused on delivering added value to customers. First run success is key: ensuring that the pig completes its run in one piece, within the allocated working window, gathering all the data necessary to provide the report specification that is required contractually. Once the inspection is complete it is incumbent on PII to undertake the analysis and deliver the report to the customer within agreed timescales so they can act on it in a timely fashion. Te ultimate measure of success is when the customer exposes a pipeline in an operational environment and finds the specific feature or area of corrosion at the precise location noted in the analysis report. Tis sort of accuracy in delivery gives customers confidence, reduces abortive or false digs and repair activity and helps deliver a cost-effective asset management programme. Zero pipeline failures is what the client is looking for and achieving this
is the goal that PII is constantly striving towards. Te more accurate and reliable the data is, the more benefit can be derived from both an asset management and a commercial standpoint. High levels of confidence in inspection results mean that clients can afford to put less contingency around PII’s accuracy and undertake remediation only when strictly necessary.
As inspection technology has enabled traditional threats to pipeline integrity to increasingly be taken care of, the focus moves to less prevalent threats and new failure modes as pipelines continue to age. Matching inspection system signal data to unusual features found during dig verification, and performing pull- through tests in client pipeline spools are two methods by which PII works with customers to identify and optimise inspection system capability to address these new challenges. In the future, PII will continue to
invest in technology utilised in pipeline inspection. With the introduction of MFL4, magnetics, calliper and IMU hardware are now at, or close to, entitlement. However, further investment in software, algorithms and data mining offer the potential for additional exciting developments. In the longer term there may be a new approach to measuring the threat to a pipeline using a sensing technology that we don’t recognise today. Whatever that technology might be, PII will continue it advanced industry research, working with its customers to give them peace of mind and helping protect the integrity of their assets. l
Now that inspection technology has helped tackle traditional threats to pipeline integrity, the focus is moving to less prevalent threats
Martin Bluck is Magnetics product manager at PII Pipeline Solutions (PII).
www.geoilandgas.com
www.engineerlive.com 33
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