Corrosion Magazine

8/19/2019 Corrosion Magazine

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N O R T H A M E R I C A N

PIPELINEC O N G R E S S

C H I C A G O

Forging the road aheadSeptember 22 & 23 | The Westin Chicago River North | Chicago, IllinoisBUILD STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS | DO BUSINESS | ACCESS UNGUARDED INSIGHTS | FIRST CLASS ACCESS | NOTABLE NETWORKING

The key to unlocking North America’s potential as a major energy exporter while securing a

stable domestic supply lies within pipelines.

North American Pipeline Congress provides an elite forum for inuential players to engage

in an open dialogue on the regulatory, political, infrastructural and technological demandsimpacting the road ahead.

Join us at the crossroads of a new era. Register at pipelinecongress.com.

pipelinecongress.com

http://pipelinecongress.com/http://pipelinecongress.com/http://pipelinecongress.com/http://pipelinecongress.com/


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| EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK

Preparing for GreaterProfitability

| GLOBAL PERSPECTIVEIndustry Commentary from

Around the World

| TECHNOLOGY FOCUS Changing How We Tink

About Low Flow/Low Pressure

| SAFETY MATTERSSafety Imagination, ChronicUnease, and Storytelling

| FUTURE THINKINGIncreasing Regulation andCost-Effective Compliance

| MARKET REPORT Shale Success in a Low Price

Environment

| TOUCHPOINTSPipeline Events, Papersand Conferences

| BY THE NUMBERSFour Steps to Battling PipelineIntegrity Treats

| Corrosion: The Pervasive Menace As the rest of the world comes to grips with the unrelentingthreat and growing cost of corrosion, the pipeline industry isalready at the frontlines meeting the threat head-on.

| Containing Catastrophe Whether during pipe laying or for platform protection,advances in non-intrusive isolation technology are helpingoffshore operators reduce risk and mitigate incidents.

D E P A R T M E N T S

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jim Myers Morgan

MANAGING EDITOR Waylon Summers

ART DIRECTOR Joe Antonacci

DESIGN PRODUCTION Kat Eaton, Mullerhaus.netDIGITAL PRODUCTION Jim Greenway, Ward Mankin

PHOTOGRAPHY Adam Murphy, CorrView

ILLUSTRATION Invisible Element

T.D. Williamson

North and South America +1 918 447 5000

Europe/Africa/Middle East +32 67 28 3611

Asia Pacific +65 6364 8520Offshore Services +47 5144 3240

www.tdwilliamson.com

Want to share your perspective on anything in our magazine?

Send us an e-mail: [email protected]

V O L . V I I , N O . 3 • 2 0 1 5

Innovations™ Magazine is a quarterly publication produced by T.D. Williamson.

®Registered trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. ™ Trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

© Copyright 2015. All rights reserved by T.D. Williamson, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in par t without permission is prohibited. Printed in the United States of America.

14

10 22

BY THENUMBERS 4 Battling Pipeline Integrity Threats

steps to

PIPELINE INTEGRITY: A COMPREHENSIVE VIEWPipeline operatorsface the continualchallenge ofdelivering energy to the

world in the safestand mosteconomical ways.They battle aging infrastructure,weathereconomic pressures,adjustto increasing regulation,and engage

communitiesto achieve sociallicense.Fortunately,continualadvancesin

pipeline threatdetection,such asmultiple datasetplatforms,are supportingthemevery inch ofthe way. Followsteps 1-4to see how.

DETECT While runningan MDS platform,mechanical(i.e., third-party) damage isdetected

by a numberof onboard technologies.

CHARACTERIZE Each technology on the MDS platformprovidesa unique layerofdamage information,providingfull

characterization ofthe threat.

PRIORITIZE/MITIGATE With the finalintegrity reportdelivered in close proximity to the inspection,the pipeline

operatorisable to:

REPORT Whencriticallyassessedbyspec ializedsoftwareanddataanalysts,theoverlappingMDSdatahelpsdeterminetheexactcharac teristicsandseverityoftheentire

seriesofintera ctingthreats– are-rounded dentwith gougingandcrack-like features.

Metalloss,re-rounding,cycling,dentlengthanddepth,strainandseverityranking.

•Assessthe pipeline’smostcriticalneeds

•Priori tize maintenance/repairbased onseverity

•Minimize costby avoidingunnecessary digs

•Ensure safe operation foritsemployeesand the community

Locates the anomaly relative

to the centerline of the pipe.XYZ MAPPING

DEFORMATION

LOW FIELD MAGNETICFLUX LEAKAGE

Defines the anomaly as a dent.

I dentifies re-rounding

(or rebounding) of the dent.

Recognizes volumetric

metal loss within the dent.

HIGH RESOLUTIONMAGNETIC FLUX LEAKAGE

SpirALL® MAGNETICFLUX LEAKAGE

I dentifies axially oriented metal

loss or gouging within the dent.

SMFL

LFM

MFL

DEF

XYZ

2

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1

http://mullerhaus.net/http://www.corrview.com/http://www.tdwilliamson.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.slideshare.net/TD_Williamsonhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/50507?trk=vsrp_companies_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A487358461427919136911%2CVSRPtargetId%3A50507%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimaryhttps://www.youtube.com/user/MYTDWilliamsonhttps://plus.google.com/u/0/110965546778283750141/postshttps://twitter.com/TD_Williamsonhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/TD-Williamson/187316909182mailto:[email protected]://www.tdwilliamson.com/http://mullerhaus.net/http://www.corrview.com/


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W O P E C (OPEC) moved to preserve market share by maintaining their ownproduction targets amid a worldwide supply glut, the strategy led tocollapsing global oil prices, the idling of shale oil rigs in the UnitedStates, and cutbacks in capital budgets.

But OPEC’s decision isn’t the only reason for the current slump.Structural factors, weak demand, and the strength of the United Statesdollar also played a role. Today, those issues continue to exert downwardpressure on prices, as do geopolitical risks and events.

With the world concerned about China’s economy, Middle Eastinstability, and Russia-Ukraine relationships, it’s no wonder that theEnergy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that price volatilityis likely to persist throughout .

At the same time, however, energy production in the United Statesremains on the rise. In fact, the EIA notes that the quantity of shale or

natural gas produced per rig has increased by more than percentin less than five years. And that’s just one factor helping insulate thepipeline sector from instability.

Because pipeline infrastructure isn’t fully developed in the areas where much of the new energy production is occurring, projects that were planned, approved, and funded before the price decline mustcontinue to progress just to catch up with E&P activity. A considerableamount of this work involves reconfiguring existing pipelines ratherthan new construction.

Pipeline operators are making some business adjustments. But thoseactivities would probably occur regardless of energy prices.

For example, over the past several years, I’ve seen more fine-tuningof activities that lead to operational and capital efficiency. In addition,there’s been more effort to prepare for and respond to increasedregulatory scrutiny, such as Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety

Administration’s (PHMSA) Integrity Verification Process (IVP).By working with service providers who have field-seasoned

expertise and a broad base of technologies, operators can further boostefficiency, better understand the condition of their pipeline systems,and promote even greater safety and supply reliability.

All of which create a framework for greater profitability when

energy prices rise again.

CHAD FLETCHER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,

GLOBAL SALES & SERVICE

T.D. WILLIAMSON

E X E C U T I V E O U T L O O K

Preparing forGreater Profitability


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By working with serviceproviders … operators canfurther boost efficiency,better understand the

condition of theirpipeline systems, andpromote even greatersafety and supplyreliability.


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OVERCOMING TOMORROW’S INDUS TRY CHALLENGES TODAY

In the face of falling oil prices, it is no surprise that confidence in the outlook

for the global oil and gas industry has taken a hit. More surprising though was how

quickly sentiment changed in a shor t space of time; the confidence of over 360

senior industry professionals and executives dropped from 65 percent in October

2014 to just 28 percent in January 2015. The findings come from DNV GL’s report, A

Balancing Act: The Outlook For The Oil And Gas Industry In 2015 .

The pessimistic outlook was also reflected in capital expenditure (CAPEX)

intentions, with those planning to increase CAPEX in the same time period dropping

from 40 percent to 12 percent.

While investment in technology and innovation will remain a priority for many oil

and gas firms in 2015, a significant proportion will s truggle to maintain last year’s spending levels. Almost half (45

percent) expect investment in R&D to stay the same during 2015, while the number of those planning to cut R&D

investment has more than tripled since last year (up from 11 percent to 37 percent).

To adjust to this lower-margin environment, industry players need to develop a long-term sustainable cost

base. This can be done by taking a broader view, reducing complexity and standardising processes, materials and

documentation. We need to work together, and industry standards and guidelines must adapt to industry needs and

the advance of new technologies.As an independent technical partner and adviser, DNV GL - Oil & Gas works with the industry to address these

issues. The company has 5,500 oil and gas specialists and 22 laboratories and R&D centres around the world and

this year we have initiated over 60 new joint industr y projects (JIPs). Several of these address challenges the pipeline

industry faces around the world.

One such example is a JIP run from DNV GL’s laboratories in Singapore and Columbus, Ohio. Eight participants

have so far joined forces with us to develop a method to evaluate fractures and cracks using a Single Edge Notched

Tensile (SENT) test designed for sour ser vice environments. Sour gas puts significant demand on pipeline mater ial,

particularly in deeper water. It is evident in various oil and gas producing regions of the world, in par ticular, the

Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The JIP will enable the development of a guideline which

is likely to develop into a Recommended Practice to

help provide significant technical, logistical and financial

savings to the industry.

Ar ve Joha n Ka lle k le v REGIONAL MANAGER, SOUTH EAST ASIA, DNV GL – OIL & GAS

Industry Commentary from Around the World

Download a complimentary copy of A Balancing Act: The Outlook For

The Oil And Gas Industry In 2015: www.dnvgl.com/balancingact

ROVs at work on a subsea pipeline.

http://www.dnvgl.com/balancingacthttp://www.dnvgl.com/balancingact


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T E C H N O L O G Y F O C U S

E , ’ the impossible possible.

But making the difficult-to-pig easier-to-inspect?Tat’s an entirely new triumph.For natural gas operators, inspecting geometry and wall-loss in

small diameter gathering lines, especially in low flow, low pressureenvironments, has been a challenge. So much so, in fact, that manyoperators have their minds made up: it just can’t be done.

Now, however, there’s a new -inch inspection tool that overcomesproblems of size, flow, and pressure in these difficult pipelines.

Not only does it gather data for integrity assessments, it might justchange how operators view the possibility of pigging.

Avoiding Turbulence An inline tool moves when pressure differentials around it are greaterthan the friction produced by the tool itself. In the case of inspectiontools used to survey geometry and measure metal loss, progress throughpipelines is generally slow and steady. Accurate data is captured atregular points along the line, creating a successful integrity assessment.

But during the inspection of small diameter, low flow, low pressurepipelines, certain magnetic flux leakage (MFL) tool components – suchas urethane cups and brushes – make contact with the pipe’s interior.Tis can create significant drag, which is additional frictional pressure

within the line. And drag can make an inline inspection (ILI) tool’s rideturbulent, impairing its performance in compressible products such asnatural gas.

For one thing, drag can cause speed excursions, where the toolaccelerates abruptly and lurches ahead before returning to its normalpace. Unless it stops completely. A standstill could last seconds or hours – sometimes even longer – and might eventually require anintrusive intervention like having to cut out the MFL tool or launch afoam pig from behind to push it along.

Drag-related speed excursions, which can be greatly exaggerated inlow pressure and low flow natural gas pipelines, prevent the ILI toolfrom capturing data at every point – keeping operators from getting

Turning Impossible into Piggable

New 6-inch, low drag

inspection tool changes

how operators think about

assessing low flow, low

pressure lines


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a full picture of the pipeline’s condition and, inmany cases, convincing them that these lines can’teven be inspected.

An Inspection Breakthrough ForDifficult-To-Pig Lines.D. Williamson (DW) recognized the challengeof controlling drag to improve wall thicknessinspections in a small diameter, low flow, lowpressure environment. And, in response, thecompany developed a -inch low drag deformationand MFL inspection tool that, according to DWintegrity expert Lloyd Pirtle, not only “removes orminimizes” speed excursions, but makes it possible to

inspect lines long thought of as too difficult to pig.“Tis tool and capability creates confidence,”

Pirtle says. “Operators can now collect geometryand metal loss data to know what kind of shapetheir system is in – even with low flow or lowpressure – while these critical pipelines remain inservice.

“For operators with similar obstacles who’vethought their lines weren’t piggable, what we’resaying is, ‘here’s a tool that can make it piggable,’”he adds.

Te new -inch tool not only overcomes thedesign compromises that restricted navigability and

wall thickness inspection in conventional small-diameter MFL tools, it also includes geometryinspection on the same platform for improvedthreat assessment versus stand-alone MFL.

Its advantages include:

• Greater wall thickness capability

• Reduced drag

• Improved navigability

• Improved protection of the magnetizer

Successful Field TestingFollowing extensive internal validation usingmultiple -inch tool configurations, the low dragtool was field-tested* in partnership with AccessMidstream, a natural gas service provider andsubsidiary of energy company Williams. Te tool

was run seven times on pipelines in exas’s Barnett

Shale, at pressures around . bar ( psi). According to Chuck Harris, Manager, Strategic

Commercialization at DW, although some speedexcursions occurred with the low drag tool, they

weren’t on the magnitude of those experienced with traditional inspection tools. Te tool gatheredacceptable inline inspection data at pressures as lowas . bar ( psi).

“Te technology cannot overcome lineconditions completely,” Harris says. “What’simportant is the fact that it can run in pipelines evenat such low pressures.”

In other words, the new low drag tool essentiallyopens previously difficult-to-inspect pipelines toeasier, more accurate assessment.

Which can also open operators’ minds to thepossibility of pigging.

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*Download the white paper from Access

Midstream and TDW to learn more:

www.tdw-lflp.com

DEF2+MFL4 Drag Results

Drag comparison was performed

between multiple 6-inch configurations:

MFL: traditional stand-alone metal loss

inspection

DEF+MFL: traditional geometry

combined with metal loss inspection

DEF2+MFL4: newly designed geometry

combined with metal loss inspection

Drive: drive body only

DRAG TESTING

55%

59%

61%

68%

Drag reduction vs MFL in 0.188-inch

Wall Thickness (WT)

Drag reduction vs DEF+MFL in 0.188-inch WT

Drag reduction vs MFL in 0.388-inch WT

Drag reduction vs DEF+MFL in 0.388-inch WT

http://www.tdw-lflp.com/http://www.tdw-lflp.com/


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It Can Happen HereEveryone has heard some variation of the classic “safety hero” narrative:Someone – a technician or an engineer, or an especially observantpasserby – notices something suspicious. A warning light. An oddsound or strange smell. Data that doesn’t add up. Acting on instinct, afeeling that something just doesn’t feel “right,” they report what they’venoticed – and in doing so, they prevent a catastrophic accident.

Tere’s a reason stories like this are so popular. Everyone loves tocheer when a hero saves the day and prevents a massive and costlydisaster. But according to Dr. Jan Hayes, associate professor at theSchool of Property, Construction & Project Management at RMIUniversity in Melbourne, Australia, these stories aren’t the only ones worth telling.

Not every blinking light means a system failure, after all. Andnot every strange sound or unusual smell means a disaster is on thehorizon.

But what about the people who report those non-disasters? Teystill deserve recognition. Tey’re still heroes.

Cultivating Safety ImaginationIn her recent book, titled “Nightmare Pipeline Failures: FantasyPlanning, Black Swans and Integrity Management,” co-authored with Professor Andrew Hopkins, Hayes examines several well-knownpipeline disasters. While the specifics vary from incident to incident,

there’s one common thread running through each case:Somebody noticed something. And in every case,

that “something” was explained away as minorand unworthy of immediate attention.

Tis tendency to look for alternate – andless dire – explanations isn’t an indicationof laziness or inexperience. And it’s notunusual, either. Hayes says it’s a psychological

S A F E T Y M A T T E R S

Dr. Ja n Haye s on s a fetyimagina tion, chronic

une a s e , and s torytelling

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Because most operators have never

experienced a disaster, they can’t

imagine a disaster actually happening.

S AFE TY IMAGINATION:


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process that happens so far below the surfacethat operators aren’t even conscious of it. Tereal culprit, she explains, is a lack of “safety

imagination”: Because most operators have neverexperienced a disaster, they can’t imagine a disasteractually happening.

Look at almost any major oil spill or gas leak,Hayes says, and you’ll see the same pattern: Tere was evidence, but nobody really believed it. Hayesrecalls experiencing a similar sense of disbeliefduring her early career as a process engineer with amajor oil and gas company: She wasshocked when the North Sea Piper

Alpha oil platform accident claimed

the lives of more than people.“I just didn’t think things like

that could happen,” she says. “It’seasy to have the mindset of, ‘It can’thappen here because I’ve never seenit happen here’ – but there’s alwaysthe potential. Safety imagination isabout knowing in the back of yourmind that things can go wrong.”

But how do you encourage

employees to develop – and use – their safetyimagination when it comes to pipeline integrity?How do you convince them to report anythingthat seems suspicious, even if they’re fairly certainit’s nothing major?

It’s a challenge, Hayes says. But with the rightcultural shifts, it’s not impossible.

The Benefits of “Chronic Unease”Some safety experts and researchers use the term

“chronic unease” to describe the ideal approach

to safety. It’s the opposite of the “it can’t happenhere” mindset; an outlook that remains aware thatsomething could go wrong at any time. Chronicunease means having specific, customized plans inplace for each type of accident; it means thinkingproactively about public safety rather thanfocusing solely on compliance.

It also means encouraging people at alllevels of a company – from junior engineersto maintenance people to C-level executives

– to think critically about safety. Some

organizations are accomplishing this by creatingspecialized safety workshops aimed directlyat groups like executives and board members.Others enact bonus systems that tie financialrewards to process safety. Te most importantthing to do, though, is to create a culture whereeveryone feels empowered to speak up when theynotice something unusual – even if it turns out to

be nothing.“We always hear about the guy who noticed

something and reported it, and if it wasn’t for himthere would have been a huge disaster,” Hayessays. “Tat’s all well and good, but we also needto hear about the guy who thought there was aproblem and reported it, and it turned out thateverything was fine. Tat guy should still becongratulated – because it’s not about whether heprevented a catastrophe. It’s about the fact that we

need those reports to be made.”

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Some of the research on which this article draws was funded by the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre, supported through the AustralianGovernment’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The cash and in-kind support from the Australian Pipeline Industry Association Research and

Standards Committee is gratefully acknowledged.

“We also need to hear

about the guy who

thought there was a

problem and reported

it, and it turned out that

everything was fine.”

Dr. Jan Haye s


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Safe, cost-effective

compliance is

within reach

F U S in more than ever on bolstering natural gas transmission line safety.

And while everyone wants to be safer, achieving and maintaining fullregulatory compliance can be quite a challenge – and a costly one at that.

For more than a year, natural gas transmission operators havebeen deciding how to address the Pipeline and Hazardous MaterialsSafety Administration’s (PHMSA) pending Integrity VerificationProcess (IVP) regulation. Te new regulation would require operatorsto verify the records they use to establish and support the maximumallowable operating pressure (MAOP) of pipelines in high and moderateconsequence areas.

Now, operators are digesting the transmission line safetyrecommendations that the National ransportation Safety Board(NSB) made in late January of this year – including one that wouldrequire all natural gas transmission pipelines to be configured toaccommodate inline inspection (ILI) tools. Te proposed NSBrequirement specifically refers to the use of smart pigs, which are usedto record information about the mechanical condition of pipe material.

For a number of transmission line operators, the proposed ILI

MORE STRINGENTSAFETY REGULATIONS COULD BE ON HORIZON FOR U.S. TRANSMISSION PIPELINES

F U T U R E T H I N K I N G


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requirement would be a tall order: While the useof sophisticated ILI tools is considered a highlyeffective method of detecting corrosion, weld

defects, and other risks to pipeline integrity, theprocess simply isn’t an option for some transmissionpipelines. Acute angles, varying inside diameter andincompatible pipeline pressure make these pipelinesunfriendly territory and significantly raise the riskof lodging or damaging costly ILI tools as they arepropelled by product flow.

Te prospect of making these ILI-unfriendlytransmission lines “piggable” has been a frequenttopic of discussion among American Gas

Association (AGA) members this year, says Andrew

Lu, the AGA’s Managing Director for Operationsand Engineering. Many operators worry that if theNSB’s pipeline safety recommendations result innew regulations, they could be looking at significantcosts during a season of low oil prices.

Exacerbating those concerns is the risk ofrevenue loss that comes with downtime, as operatorscomplete the modifications necessary to make theirpipelines compliant.

“Tere are a lot of conversations going on,” Lu

says. “Operators are asking, ‘What are the smartpractices for doing this? How do we know whereto start?’”

Tat’s not to say there hasn’t been activity in thisarea. Some operators are doing more than talkingabout the changes on the horizon. A handful ofcompanies are already taking steps to get ahead ofthe regulatory curve.

In a March press release, Pacific Gas & ElectricCo. (PG&E) welcomed the NSB’s safetyrecommendations for the gas pipeline industry

– including the call for more inline inspections.Executive Vice President of Gas Operations Nick

Stavropoulos said PG&E would be working to“explore and leverage innovation in developingnew inline inspection technologies to inspect

pipelines previously considered ‘uninspectable’ withcommercially available tools.”

COST-SAVING OPTIONS

Whether operators wait to see if the NSB’srecommendations become regulation or they opt totake a more proactive approach, they should knowthat modifying transmission lines is achievable – andit’s far less complicated and costly than many believe.

Te most desirable modification method is one

that is safe and does not require line shutdown orinterruption to flow. Tis can be achieved withproven hot tapping and plugging (H&P)processes, which allows operators to isolate andbypass short lengths of pipe while modifications ortie-ins are made.

oday, operators can employ H&P methodslike a double block and bleed isolation with theSOPPLE® rain isolation system, developed by.D. Williamson (DW). In conjunction with a

bypass, the system allows lines to be modified forinspection safely and cost-effectively without the lossof revenue associated with line shutdowns.

A recent case study calculates the differencebetween an operator’s line-replacement costs fora project that includes a pipeline shutdown andcompleting the same project with a standardH&P process – along with the costs of using theSOPPLE rain isolation system. Te results, whichshow significant savings with the H&P process –and even greater savings with the SOPPLE rain

system – are shown below:

SHUT DOWN

Lost Opportunity Due To No Flow 15%

Internal Costs 51%

Isolation Service Provider Cost –

Job Site Charges 34%

—

38%

16%

32%

—

38%

16%

23%

STANDARD ISOLATION STOPPLE®TRAIN ISOLATIONOPERATOR'S LINEREPLACEMENT COSTS

Operator Savingsover shutdown: 18% 23%

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27


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Play-s pec ific s e rvice smodel s upports

profitability in lowprice environment

Despite the current low price environment, many of the industry’s

major players remain committed to the Eagle Ford long-game,

including Anadarko, BP, Koch, Marathon, and Shell, to name a few.

o ensure stable profitability these operators are learning to increase

efficiencies while lowering their operating costs.

But until recently, this could be a problem, particularly when it cameto completing repairs or maintenance within tight time constraints.Over the last two years, though, operators have adopted a play-specificpipeline services supply model that provides near-instant access tomaintenance, supplies, and repairs. Tis shift is helping keep costs downand product flowing in the massive – but isolated – play.

Waiting Doesn’t Pay When Doug Hurst, a veteran oil and gas manager, joined .D.

Williamson (DW) in the Eagle Ford in , he spent several

months driving back and forth getting to know local operators. Heput , kilometers (, miles) on his brand-new Jeep, but

the mileage was worth it. Hurst learned a lot about the issues facing

operators, and about why it was difficult for them to predict their

service and supply needs.

Some of what Hurst learned was surprising: It wasn’t unusualfor a simple pipeline maintenance or repair issue to slow – or eventemporarily shut down – production. Operators would sometimes

wait days or weeks for help or product to arrive from a major serviceor supply hub outside of the play, or even outside of the region.

“Operators can’t afford that kind of downtime,” says Hurst. “Yourthroughput is your cash register. If oil isn’t flowing because you’re

waiting for a part or a technician, you’re not getting paid.”Hurst, who has helped develop a newly opened San Antonio

service center for DW, has spent the last months working closely with operators to determine which types of equipment and serviceschedules best meet their needs, and creating service agreements thatguarantee availability. Te result has been a collaborative partnershipthat gives operators access to personalized supplies and services –

when they need them.

Local Sourcing in the Eagle Ford

M A R K E T R E P O R T


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Business as Usual As any operator in the Eagle Ford knows, pipelineservice and supply needs are often dictated byplay-specific issues. And one of the area’s mostproblematic issues is paraffin. Paraffin buildup clogslines, reduces throughput, and increases compressioncosts. It can also trap water andencourage buildup of dangeroushydrogen sulfide.

Te battle against paraffinbuildup can be costly and time-consuming – and it can be a sourceof frequent emergency (or “pop-up”) supply needs. Hurst recallsone Eagle Ford operator who was

especially concerned about sourcingan aggressive cleaning tool, thePitBoss™ Cleaning Pig. With plentyof notice, it wasn’t hard to get these-inch mandrel pigs shipped in fromanother location, but for a pop-upsituation, there wasn’t time to waitseveral days for a replacement.

Te operator reached out toHurst. Due to the ongoing dialogueand service agreements betweenthe service center and local operators, Hursthad anticipated the need – and DW had theappropriate safety stock level.

“It’s all part of being partners and problem-solvers,” Hurst says. By listening to operators andmonitoring what products they need – and howoften they need them – local service centers are ableto ease one of the most common pain points forEagle Ford operators: Wait time.

“We operate as a storefront in the Eagle Ford,”

Hurst says. “Rather than waiting days or weeks,operators can stop by the warehouse and pick up

what they need on the way to a jobsite.” As the service landscape in the play is changing,

stories like this are becoming increasingly common:Early in , a gas transmission line running fromthe Eagle Ford to Mexico became obstructed,dramatically affecting the flow to thousands ofcustomers. It was a weekend, and it could have beena challenge getting a crew of qualified technicians

on a plane fast enough to prevent a serious servicedisruption. But under this new local supply model,a team from the region was out to the site within afew hours.

At one time, this would have been fairlyunusual. oday, though, operator access to same-day

service and critical supplies is just business as usual. Whether in the Eagle Ford, Marcellus, or Bakken,local sourcing helps operators ensure long-termprofit and stability.

Shale play operators share this common goal: to guarantee the health and safety of employees

and the communities they work in. To meet this goal, operators rely on the highest quality

products and services to assist them in reducing environmental impact and mitigating the risk of

leaks and ethane emissions. The local pipeline services supply model helps fulfill this goal.

“Your throughput is your cash register. If oil

isn’t flowing because you’re waiting for a partor a technician, you’re not getting paid.”


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C O V E R S T O R Y

U S D D

battle against a ‘pervasive menace.’

But this time, the enemy isn’t terrorism, despots, or nuclear

proliferation.

Instead, it’s corrosion.

Te U.S. Pentagon spends about US. billion peryear defending American military assets and infrastructure

against corrosion. Which makes the label pervasive menace

understandable, if not even

a little mild.

But as hefty as that

multibillion-dollar figure

is, it represents just a

drop in the old, rusty

bucket compared to theglobal price tag: at US.

trillion, the annual cost

of corrosion around the

globe amounts to between and percent of the GDP of the

world’s industrialized countries. Tat’s according to the World

Corrosion Organization, which keeps tabs on such things.

Te financial impact of metal corrosion in Europe alone

exceeds US. trillion a year. And as Dr. Roger King,

Ph.D., reminds pipeline operators, about percent of

pipeline failures result from corrosion, although not allof those failures result in incidents.

In other words, there’s a lot of stuff breaking

down right now, a lot of deterioration that needs

to be identified and fixed before a failure or

catastrophe occurs.

In some cases, of course, it’s already

too late. And the media is increasingly

tuned to such events. Which means

the public is, too.

GLOBAL PRICE TAGFOR CORRODINGINFRASTRUCTURE

US$2.2TRILLION

As the public becomes increasingly aware of the problems associated

with corrosion, they’re demanding more information about the

condition of the world’s pipelines. Operators are acting now, usingdetection and control best practices to help people be – and feel – safe.


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The Ins idious Enemy WithinIn a recent article cal led “Rust Never Sleeps,”

which appeared in the March issue of Te

Atlantic magazine, writer im Heffernan ticks

off a list of devastating and deadly incidentsresulting directly from “seemingly mundane”

corrosion: the rupture of a high-pressure

natural gas pipeline near the American city of

Charleston, West Virginia, in that melted

feet of interstate highway; the deaths of five

people in Malta when their lifeboat fell f rom theside of a cruise ship during a safety dri ll; a series

of sewer explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico,

in that killed ; and the crash of

British European Airways Flight , which

took lives.

For the uninitiated reader, those are pretty

frightening tales. For those who deal daily with the

risks of corrosion, they’re the stuff of nightmares.

Although Heffernan’s larger point – that the

fight against “the insidious enemy within,” is beinglost – is directed specifically at the United States,

it’s the same story all over the world.

Even in the digital age,

he claims, we still rely on “massive, interwoven,

mechanical” infrastructure. Tat “big stuff,” he

says, is rusting.

Te fact that a piece about corrosion would

make a publication like Te Atlantic, aimed at ageneral, albeit well-educated, audience, suggests

that concerns about it are no longer exclusively

the province of scientists, engineers, and infra-

structure operators. And it’s no accident that the

ravages of corrosion are rippling into mainstream

consciousness.

Out From Underground, And Into The Mains tre a mOne of the groups working to increase awareness

is the New York-based World Corrosion

Organization (WCO), whose mission is to

“facil itate global implementation of best practices

in corrosion protection for public welfare.” Since

, WCO has sponsored Corrosion Awareness

Day. Tis year’s event was April .

According to WCO Director General, George

Hay, Corrosion Awareness Day is a “means to

educate the public, industries and governmentagencies of the deleterious effects of corrosion on

our infrastructures worldwide.”

As Hay noted in a statement, “Te worldwide

cost of corrosion is currently in the same order of

magnitude as the cost to produce and distribute

food worldwide. Te difference is that the public

is somewhat aware of issues related to hunger and

the cost of food, but totally unaware of the cost of

corrosion today and its effect on sustainability of

our infrastructures in the future.”


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‘A Blender Pureeing TheRemains Of A Mardi Gras Float’In the United States, however, more people grasped

those concerns after the V news show “ Minutes”

aired a story, in November , called “FallingApart: America’s Neglected Infrastructure.” It

highlighted the nation’s outdated roads, airports and

rails, its , structurally-deficient bridges –

percent of them “at risk of catastrophic, corrosion-

related failure,” according to NACE International,

the technical society for corrosion professionals –

and the lack of funding to take care of any of it.

But one part of the story was missing, N ACE

International said in a public response issued

shortly after the broadcast. And that was a key

solution to infrastructure woes: corrosion control.

T e organization argued that “what’s forgotten

is that corrosion-control technology and effective

management practices can extend the life of

bridges and other infrastructure well beyond

original design life.”

NACE International is working with local,

state, and federal governments on policies to

“eliminate the devastating effects of corrosion andstrengthen public safety.”

It’s possible that some of that work took place

at the organization’s Corrosion conference in

Dallas, exas, in March. T e five-day gathering,

which drew some , attendees, was covered

with wide-eyed wonder by T e Dallas Morning

News. Reporter Marc Ramirez seemed especially

enthralled by an electrode rotator that mimics fluid

flow to test the effi cacy of offshore coatings. T e

device had been filled with what Ramirez referredto as ‘sparkly items’ to demonstrate its whirlpool

effect. It looked, the reporter said, like “a blender

pureeing the remains of a Mardi G ras float.”

Corrosion, Chapter-By-Chapter,Mile-By-MileExposés and news articles aside, if anything

is likely to boost public attention to corrosion,

it will be Jonathan Waldman’s new book,

Rust: Te Longest War.

Journalist Waldman’s

journey into what the dust

jacket describes as “a thrilling

drama of man versus nature”

takes him from corporatehallways to hardware stores,

from a tropical Florida film set

to the subzero Arctic. T at’s

where he starts to follow, nearly mile-by-mile, the

trek of a smart pig (inline inspection tool) through

the rans-Alaska Pipeline System (APS). T e -

page chapter called Pigging the Pipe recounts initial

failures, subsequent successes, and the retrieval of

data that uncovers nearly , anomalies, some

three-quarters of them corrosion-related.

Waldman’s prose is matched by his humor – he

refers to a conventional pig as a “red urethane

pig of lesser intelligence” and explains how wax

can render “smart pigs senseless, leaving them

blind, dumb, and amnesiac.” He’s also got a keen

way of bringing the concept of pigging down to

human scale and layman terms. While it’s unlikely

that terms like coupons, magnetic flux leakage,

slackl ines, and MAOP wil l roll off the tonguesof casual readers, at least they’ll have a basic

understanding of what all that means.

According to Waldman, APS was at first

called rustproof. Unfortunately, its principal

protection was a painted coating that proved

vulnerable within a number of years. T e anti-

corrosion system was eventually fortified with

buried magnesium anodes (“mag bags”), cathodic

protection, and monitoring coupons. But

Waldman notes that it’s due largely to the work ofinline inspection (ILI) tools finding faults before

they could become failures that APS hasn’t

suffered a corrosion- induced leak since it began

operating in .

As A Best Pract ice,Monitoring Beats InspectionIt’s likely that all of this increased attention around

corrosion issues will lead to greater public scrutiny

of the oil and gas pipeline industry.

C O V E R S T O R Y


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Rust author Waldman is all in favor of it.

As he writes, “Opposing the construction of

new pipelines is silly … Pipelines are the safest

way to deliver oil. D emanding that we know the

condition that pipelines are in, on the other hand,

is not silly.”

Keeping pipelines in top condition is an

industrywide activity, of course. But delineating

best practices from a global perspective means

talking to people like Dr. Liane Smith, FREng,

and Richard Norsworthy. T ey were among a

group of experts asked by global pipeline services

provider .D. Williamson to share their opinions

about what works best when it comes to detectingand protecting against corrosion.

Materials and corrosion expert L iane Smith is

a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers. T at

means she’s achieved the

United Kingdom’s top honor

recognizing engineering

researchers, innovators, and

leaders.

T e managing director

of asset integrity company

WG IN E ECH , Chester,

England, Smith earned a

Ph.D. in laser

welding from

Sheffi eld University

and is the author of

technical papers andone book.

A lthough she wasn’t

referring specifically to APS’s

monitored coupons, Smith says

that in a contest between corrosion

monitoring and inline inspection, she’d

put her money on the latter. Literally.

“Monitoring gets you almost nowhere,” she

says. “It’s not even worth installing. I ’d put all of

my investment into inspection.”

T e problem, Smith explains, is that

monitoring is tied to specific locations. Weight loss

coupons, for example, are effective at providing

real time readings, but just for certain points on

the pipeline. And because the flow regime around

a coupon might differ from the rest of the pipeline,

the information can’t be generalized beyond the

coupon itself.

Even worse is the fact that corrosion coupons

are notorious for producing ‘false positives.’

“T ere’ve been countless times when we’ve

seen negligible corrosion on a coupon, when

actually there’s a lot of corrosion in the pipe,”

she says.

Inline inspection can overcome those

deficiencies, Smith says, providing a highly

accurate picture of the condition of the line along

its whole length. She advocates starting an inline

inspection regimen soon after the pipeline is put inservice to capture baseline data that will be useful

in later comparisons. T rough multiple inspections,

operators can identify trends, improve inspection

scheduling, and know with greater precision the

time to failure.

And what about lines that aren’t considered

piggable – or aren’t “fully inspectable,” as Smith

prefers to call them?

Smith says that bi-directional inline inspection

tools can at least provide information about certain

sections of the pipe. By coupling that data with

corrosion modeling of the whole line, she explains,Dr. Liane Smith

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21/32

the operator will have “some calibration around

areas that can’t be inspected, gaining clarity for

business critical decisions.”

It would be best, Smith feels, if pipelines were

designed with inline inspection in mind.“Te costs of doing things right at the start

are far less than the hassles that could come later,”

she says.

No Such Thing As Unpig ga ble When it comes to unpiggable lines, Norsworthy’s

view might be even more extreme than Smith’s.

“Most lines are piggable, with very few

exceptions,” the NACE International corrosion

and cathodic protection (CP) specialist and

instructor says flatly. “It just takes time, money,

and effort. But it always pays off.”

And right now is the best time for operators

to take the time and effort to inspect their lines,

Norsworthy says.

“In a low-price environment, when there

aren’t as many new projects, operators have the

opportunity to find new issues before they become

more serious,” he explains. “Tey can correctcorrosion issues, do rehabilitation work, apply new

external coatings.”

In Norsworthy’s view, it’s those external coatings

that are “the first line of defense” against corrosion.

But that first line isn’t always impenetrable,

says the -year industry veteran, who is widely

acknowledged as a leader in his field.

“Several pipeline companies now list disbonded

CP shielding coatings as their number one root

cause of external corrosion,” Norsworthy says.

Disbonding is the loss of adhesion between

metal and cathodic coatings that allows water,

bacteria, and other corrosion instigators to creep

in between the disbonded coating and the pipe. In

addition, some disbonded coatings prevent cathodicprotection currents from protecting the pipe.

As Norsworthy explains, electromagnetic

acoustic transducer (EMA) technology can locate

areas where coatings have separated from metal.

Once identified, they can often be remediated with

mesh-backed tapes or other coatings that will allow

cathodic protection to work, should disbondment

occur again.

But although repair is possible, selecting the

proper coating for the environment, followed

by rigorous inspection to ensure the coating has

properly adhered in the first place – especially on

girth welds, “where most corrosion takes place

today” – is a far smarter strategy, Norsworthy says.

Bringing Corros ion Out Of Hiding Is a population that thinks of rust as something

occurring mainly on old cars and paint can

lids ready to learn that their military considerscorrosion a significant threat? Can they cope with

the notion of rotting bridges? What about the idea

that the vast network of pipelines under their feet

could be vulnerable, too?

Te fact is, whether people are ready or not,

corrosion is becoming less of a secret. Which gives

the oil and gas industry an opportunity to get in

on the conversation, letting the public know all

that’s being done to help keep them safe from this

pervasive menace.

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TDW Events , Pape rs & Confe rence s

TouchPoints

Oil Sands15-16 SEPTEMBER | Fort McMurray, AB | Canada

Rio Pipeline

22-24 SEPTEMBER | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil

Aging P ipelines Conference5-9 OCTOBER | Ostend | Belgium

SGA Operating

Conference & Exhibits

20-22 JULY | Nashville, TN | USA

LGA Pipeline Safety Conference

20-24 JULY | New Orleans, LA | USA

MEA Gas Operations Technical

& Leadership Summit

11-13 AUGUST | Rochester, MN | USA

FEPA Summer Symposium

12-13 AUGUST | Palm Coast, FL | USA

The Pipeline & Energy Expo

25-26 AUGUST | Tulsa, OK | USA

NACE Central Area Conference

31 AUGUST - 2 SEPTEMBER | St. Louis, MO | USA

Arkansas Gas Association

20-22 SEPTEMBER | Hot Springs, AR | USA

North American Pipelines Congress

22-23 SEPTEMBER | Chicago, IL | USA

DUG Eagle Ford

25-27 OCTOBER | San Antonio, TX | USA

ASNT Annual Conference

26-29 OCTOBER | Salt Lake City | USA

JULY 2015

20-22 SGA Operating Conference & Exhibits

Nashville, TN, USA

20-24 LGA Pipeline Safety Conference

New Orleans, LA, USA

A U GU ST 2 0 1 5

11-13 MEA Gas Operations Technical &

Leadership Summit

Rochester, MN, USA

12-13 FEPA Summer Symposium

Palm Coast, FL, USA

25-26 The Pipeline & Energy Expo

Tulsa, OK, USA

Indicates TDW will presenta white paper at this event.

Indicates TDW will speakor facilitate at this event.

Offshor

21-22 OCT


23/32

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TDW experts deliver — providing te chnica l pres e ntationsa nd hands -on demons tra tions throughout the world.To le a rn more: tdwontour@ tdwillia ms on.com.

SEP T EMB ER 2 0 1 5 OC TO BE R 2 0 1 5

31 AUG - 2 SEPT NACE Central Area Conference St. Louis, MO, USA

15-16 Oil Sands Fort McMurray, AB, Canada

20-22 Arkansas Gas Association Hot Springs, AR, USA

22-23 North American Pipeline Congress Chicago, IL, USA

22-24 Rio Pipeline Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

5-9 Aging Pipelines Conference Ostend, Belgium

12-15 Road Expo

Moscow, Russia

17-20 Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Convention

Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

21-22 Offshore Technology Days Stavanger, Norway

21-22 OPT Asia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

25-27 DUG Eagle Ford San Antonio, TX, USA

26-29 ASNT Annual Conference Salt Lake City, UT, USA

OPT Asia

21-22 OCTOBER | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia

North America n Piple line Congres s (NAPC)

CHICAGO, IL | Se pt 22-23, 2015

The Road Ahead:North Am erica’s Pipeline Future

Abdel Zellou, Ph.D. – T.D. Williamson

This opening executive panel explores industry advancements and challenges in2015. Panelists will provide a market overview and examine what is impactingthe infrastructure deficit, while providing insights into key questions.

New Infrastructure:Planned Project Developm ents

Mike Kirkwood, Ph.D. – T.D. Williamson

Panelists will explore what is required from the industry to reach the forecastedproject developments. The session will examine upcoming project developments

in the midstream sector, including regional challenges impacting proposed builds.

Road Expo

12-15 OCTOBER | Moscow | Russia

chnology Days

| Stavanger | Norway

Austra lian Pipe lines andGas Association Convention

17-20 OCTOBER | Gold Coast, QLD | Australia

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


24/32

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• Is ola ting High Ris k Cons truction

• Pre ve ntive Me a s ure s

• Evolving Us e for Non-Intrus iveInline Is ola tions

• Pipe -Laying Prote ction

• End of the We t Buckle

• Reducing the Ine vitable


25/32

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F E A T U R E S T O R Y

O S N S,

Brent Alpha platform started a new workweek off on the wrong foot.

T eir Monday morning would begin a few hours early – with an

evacuation. A crane had malfunctioned, and the large container it carried

had been dropped into the North Sea, instead of being safely winched

onto a support vessel.

T e container sliced through the water heading toward a vulnerable

subsea pipeline. If impacted by the container, the pipeline could

rupture. And a rupture would be a complete disaster: Not only would

product spill into the sea, but a flashback of flammable oil or gas into

the platform could cause danger to personnel and equipment, and gas

clouds could form causing vessel-sinking bubbles.

Fortunately, the workweek didn’t begin with a dangerous pipeline

rupture. But workers were evacuated from the Alpha platform,and both the Alpha and Bravo facilities were depressurized while the


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container was recovered by a support vessel. T e

incident was labeled a “near miss,” so the only real

consequences were financial.

Although cost and reputation are certainly

important to offshore operators, a dropped objectincident could have been much worse, even fatal.

While subsea pipelines face a host of threats –

corrosion, natural disasters, and anchor drag – some

of the biggest risks come from planned operations.

T ese might include laying new pipelines, raising

platforms, or construction efforts like tying in new

wells. For this reason, many operators – including

the one mentioned – now go beyond standard

safety training and regulatory compliance to invest

in advanced risk mitigation technologies, such asnon- intrusive inline isolation systems, to protect

their assets.

Is olating High Ris k Cons truct ionDropped objects in offshore operations rarely make

the news, but low probability impact accidents like

the above-described are actually one of the biggest

risks to offshore pipelines, accounting for the most

severe potential consequences.

During construction and platformmaintenance, construction vessels will often come

alongside the platform, potentially dropping

or dragging anchor onto or near pipelines, and

hoisting equipment that could potentially fall into

the ocean. Although offshore operators already

implement many safety and risk mitigation

procedures to identify and avoid the pipelines in

their operational area, due to the extreme severity

of a dropped object impact, they take extra

precautions during these events.

As with any construction near a pipeline, the

absolute safest approach would be to bleed down

or decommission all pipelines in the dropped

object zone until the work is complete. But as

it can take several months before some offshore

platform interventions are complete, and bleeding

down a pipeline is an extremely costly proposition

for the operator – not to mention a major

disruption for downstream customers – work must

often take place while the lines are active.

For example, in , a gas processing

platform offshore Myanmar required a new

pipeline connection to retrieve gas from a

neighboring field. T e platform would not bein production during the tie- in operation, but

the operator needed to keep its large gas export

line live, in temporary “shut- in” condition, to

avoid full decommission. T is was cri tical to

the operator as the export line, which runs

ki lometers ( miles) to shore and then onshore

to the border of T ailand, delivers up to

percent of T ailand’s energy. Following the new

tie- in, swiftly resuming flow was essential.

Beginning from the existing platform, the

pipe lay vessel proceeded to lay the new line. o

protect and isolate the existing export line during

the pipelaying activity, the operator used a double

block and monitor solution, the DNV- approved

SmartPlug®isolation tool. T is isolation would

ensure that if the export pipeline was damaged

during tie- in, it would be safely isolated to prevent

product loss or gas flashback.

T e SmartPlug tool, developed by .D .Williamson (DW), was pigged from the platform

into positon, set, and remotely monitored to safely

isolate the area surrounding the platform during

the entire operation. O nce complete, the tool was

unset and pigged back to the receiver.

Preventive MeasuresWhile double block and monitor inline isolation

has become the industry’s standard method for

non-intrusive isolation, utilized in all regions of the

globe to protect against the consequences of dropped

objects, it is also relied on for risk reduction during

general offshore maintenance work.

In , Australia experienced one of its

worst oil spill disasters when an incident on an

offshore dri lling rig in the imor Sea resulted in

kilometers ( miles) of polluted ocean and

evacuation of all personnel. T e incident was

caused by the cracking of a sub-surface concrete


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plug during work on a wellhead. During attempts

to stop the leak, the West Atlas offshore platform

caught fire. Australia declared the incident to be a

national disaster.

Although the Australian disaster was not relatedto a dropped object and ruptured subsea pipeline,

this incident provided the impetus for Australia’s

offshore oil and gas regulatory body, NOPSEMA,

to prescribe the use of isolation plugs, like the

SmartPlug isolation system, as a preventive measure

for offshore pipeline interventions. By implementing

such regulation the severity of similar future

incidents would be greatly reduced.

Evolving Use for Non-IntrusiveInline IsolationsDue, in part, to the industry adoption of the doubleblock and monitor isolation method – and theproven technology that makes it work – offshoreoperators sought to apply a similar approach tomitigating the risk of wet buckle during subsea pipelaying (one of the most costly undertakings in theoffshore industry).

Although isolating pipeline while laying it

may seem like a somewhat different endeavor thanisolating a pipeline to safeguard against dropped

objects or during maintenance, the theory behind

the two systems is actually quite similar.

In each instance, the isolation system is set

in place to safely maintain the integrity of the

pipeline. In the case of isolations during pipe

laying, however, the isolation happens much more

quickly and only as needed.

Pipe-Laying ProtectionLaying subsea pipelines requires a long string ofpipeline to be carefully placed on a seabed up to, meters (. miles) below the water’s surface.Te vessel moves along laying pipe, with each meter pipe joint being welded to the next to form asuspended string (or chain) that is then lowered tothe seafloor as the vessel moves along by itsown propulsion.

During the pipe laying process – due to the

occasional propulsion system malfunction, or the

inadvertent effects of waves and currents – the vessel

can pitch or sway outside normal operating limits.

Tis can create a buckle at the point that the string

of pipe has the largest curvature (i.e., where it leaves

the vessel or where it joins the seabed).

wo things can happen when the pipe buckles:

in one instance, the buckle will flatten the pipe

together, but it will not break. Tis is called a “dry

buckle,” and can be fixed by going back and cutting

the joint, moving back and cutting more, until the

buckle is encountered and pulled out. Ten the lay

vessel will start that section over. Although a dry buckle wastes pipeline materials

and time, it’s nowhere near the cost of the second

instance – a wet buckle.

When a wet buckle occurs, the pipeline

is severed and water enters the line, filling the

suspended section that is being laid. Tis causes

several problems: for one, the lay vessel is calculated

to hold the pipeline at a certain weight and let it out

as it moves forward, but when it is filled with water,the pipe becomes much heavier.

“Tere are only two or three lay vessels in the

world that can hold a deepwater pipeline filled with

water,” cautions George Lim, an offshore expert

with DW. “Te vessel has a maximum tension

capacity and if the pipeline becomes too heavy it

will pull the chain out of the lay vessel.”

And if the pipeline comes loose, it can flail

Wet Buckle


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around uncontrollably, risking massive damage to

the lay vessel and people on board before falling

down to the seabed.

Another consequence of a wet buckle is that the

seawater and soil contaminate the newly laid line,meaning that the operator must dewater it before

the vessel can start laying pipeline again. Dewatering

is a lengthy process. First, the damaged area of the

line is cut, then pigs with special inhibitors are

pushed to dry the line so that it can

be picked up again and the laying

process can continue.

Dewatering is also expensive,

requiring a fleet of pumps and

compressors to be on standby. T e

rental fee for this spread, which can

occupy an area the size of a football

field, is significant. In addition, the

lay vessels cost around US,

per day or more and will be delayed

on standby while the line is dewatered.

End of the Wet BuckleUntil recently, there were no viable methods for

preventing flooding as a consequence of a wet buckle.

However, DW has developed the SmartLay™pipe-

laying isolation system – based on some of the key

design aspects of the proven SmartPlug isolation tool.

When laying pipe, one method of deploying the

SmartLay isolation tool is to pull it forward inside

the line via cable running through the suspended

section of pipe. Another method is pulling it forward

by means of a self-contained vehicle (tractor or

crawler) set in front of the SmartLay tool. W hen

a new joint is welded onto the pipeline, the tool is

advanced in the line. In a normal situation, it glides

through the pipe as it’s laid, but if the line buckles

and there is water ingress, the tool immediately

senses the seawater and sets itself in the pipe within

one second – preventing water from flooding the

pipe.

ypically, a minimum of one such device is

present to close off the newly laid pipeline on the

seabed. Additional devices can be placed in the

buckling “zone” (i.e., where the line leaves thevessel and where it joins the seabed). T en, the

flooded section between the buckle and SmartLay

tool can be simply cut out before continuing the

laying process.

According to Lim, the SmartLay isolation tool –

already delivered to a few major offshore operators

who have further developed deployment methods

to suit their particular pipelay operations – preventsflooding of the pipeline, reduces risk to personnel,

and eliminates the need and extreme cost to dewater.

Reducing the InevitableEvery year the offshore industry adopts more

regulations and safety processes, and we are indeed

safer for it. However, regardless of how many

preventive procedures are put in place, accidents

– even low-probability ones – will still occur. So,

although these advancing isolation technologies

can’t reduce the probability of an incident, they can

reduce the consequences.

“T e SmartLay and SmartPlug systems are

risk reduction tools,” explains Lim. “Risk is

equal to the probability of failure multiplied

by the consequence. ools like these reduce the

consequences of an unfortunate incident.”

= PROBABILITY OF FAILURE X CONSEQUENCERISK

If the line buckle s a nd the re is wa te r

ingre s s , the tool imme dia te ly s e ns e s

the s e a wa te r a nd s e ts its e lf in thepipe within one s e cond – pre venting

wa te r from flooding the pipe .


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I N

N

O

V A T I O

N

S

•

V O

L .

V I I ,

N

O

.

3

•

2

0 1

5

Internal costs generallycomprise an operator’s project

management, from engineeringdesigns to environmentalremediation. Direct job site costsencompass third-party vendorsand their work, from welders tothe excavation process.

Te study’s conservative calculations are basedon a completed project where the operator ownedthe pipeline system, but not the product it carries.

“If there’s a shutdown for an operator that owns allof the assets, the shutdown cuts off their supply

of incoming cash flow and becomes even moreexpensive,” says project author Veronyca Kwan, aSenior Business Market Analyst with DW.

Income loss is one of the primary concernsfacing transmission line operators as they try todecide how and when to respond to the NSB’s ILIrecommendations. And the ability to prevent suchlosses – by continuing pipeline operations – is one ofthe key reasons that H&P procedures could provehugely beneficial to operators that move forward

with a multiyear modification project to get theirpipeline system in compliance.In the case of SOPPLE rain

isolation technology, shutdownprevention is one of several featuresthat could make compliance withthe NSB recommendations morecost-effective, says Grant Cooper,Manager of Commercialization,H&P echnology, for DW.

“What we’ve done is expand

standard block and bleedtechnology, so you can weld twofittings on the pipeline, instead offour,” Cooper says. “In one fittingyou have a double block and bleedisolation, which means it’s not onlyless costly, it’s even safer.”

Te two independent seals usedto establish the system’s doubleblock and bleed capability also increase the

likelihood of a successful workable seal on

the first try, another cost-saving feature. In addition,the system reduces the size of the excavationneeded to access the pipe – lowering equipmentcosts – and minimizes the risk of costly third-partydamage.

And in certain circumstances, the system allows

operators to run a bypass directly through thehousing of the plugging system, further reducingthe need for additional fittings and associated costs.

Whether they choose the standard H&Pprocess or more advanced isolation technology, thestrategic investments in line modifications will notonly help operators achieve compliance with theNSB’s recommendations, the work will enhancetheir pipeline integrity management programs,provide operators with more actionable inline

inspection data, and help them safely maximizethroughput.

Future ThinkingCONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

* NTSB Study: www.nts b.gov/news /e vents /Documents /2015 _Ga s _Transmis s ion_SS_BMG_Abstra ct.pdf

TDW e-book on pending IVP regulations:

www.TDW-IVP.com

Operators worry that if the NTSB’s pipeline

safety recommendations result in new

regulations, they could be looking at significant

costs during a season of low oil prices.

Double Double Stopple Train Isolation with Bypass

http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2015_Gas_Transmission_SS_BMG_Abstract.pdfhttp://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2015_Gas_Transmission_SS_BMG_Abstract.pdfhttp://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2015_Gas_Transmission_SS_BMG_Abstract.pdfhttp://www.tdw-ivp.com/http://www.tdw-ivp.com/http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2015_Gas_Transmission_SS_BMG_Abstract.pdf


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BY THE

NUMBERS 4 Battling Pip steps to

PIPELINE INTEGRITY: A COMPREHENSIVE VIEWPipeline operators face the continual challenge of delivering energy to the

world in the safest and most economical ways. They battle aging infrastructure,

weather economic pressures, adjust to increasing regulation, and engage

communities to achieve social license. Fortunately, continual advances in

pipeline threat detection, such as multiple dataset platforms, are supporting

them every inch of the way. Follow steps 1-4 to see how.

REPORT When critically assessed by specialized software and data analysts, theoverlapping MDS data helps determine the exact characteristics and severity of the entire

series of interacting threats – a re-rounded dent with gouging and crack-like features.

Metal loss, re-rounding, cycling, dent length and depth, strain and severity ranking.

SMFL

LFM

MFL

DEF

XYZ

3


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line Integrity ThreatsDETECT While running an MDS platform,

mechanical (i.e., third-party) damage is detected

by a number of onboard technologies.

CHARACTERIZE Each technology on the MDS platformprovides a unique layer of damage information, providing full

characterization of the threat.

PRIORITIZE/MITIGATE With the final integrity reportdelivered in close proximity to the inspection, the pipeline

operator is able to:

• Assess the pipeline’s mostcritical needs

• Prioritize maintenance/repairbased on severity

• Minimize cost by avoidingunnecessary digs

• Ensure safe operation for itsemployees and the community

Locates the anomaly relative

to the centerline of the pipe.XYZ MAPPING

DEFORMATION

LOW FIELD MAGNETIC

FLUX LEAKAGE

Defi nes the anomaly as a dent.

Identifi es re -rounding

(or rebounding) of the dent.

Recognizes volumetric

metal loss within the dent.

HIGH RESOLUTION

MAGNETIC FLUX LEAKAGE

SpirALL® MAGNETIC

FLUX LEAKAGE

Identifi es axially oriented metal

loss or gouging within the dent.

2

4

1


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OPERATIONOFFSHORE.COM#operationoffshore

T.D. WILLIAMSON / MCG PRODUCTIONS PRESENT “OPERATION OFFSHORE” m MARK SIM, TODD BEADLE, GORDON BLAIR, ALEXEY TUGANOV, ANTON KOVALENKO, LAURENT FABRY, TAMMY WISENBAKER,

KEVIN MCNAUGHTON PAOLA CORRALES STEVE APPLETON ALEXANDRE PETRAGLIA ROLF GUNNAR LIE
http://page1.tdwilliamson.com/Operation-Offshore_LeakDetected.htmlhttps://tagboard.com/OperationOffshore/230410https://tagboard.com/OperationOffshore/230410http://page1.tdwilliamson.com/Operation-Offshore_LeakDetected.html

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