Pipeline Life-Cycle-Extention

In contrast to traditional oil industries, the oil sands sector experiences severe wear-related problems due to the inherently abrasive and corrosive nature of the mined oil sands. This wear affects the mining and extraction processes, causing rapid pipe wall loss in carbon steel slurry pipelines over a relatively short period. To extend service...

Subsea pipelines, such as in-field flowlines, trunklines, etc., are an integral part of all offshore field developments. Pipeline damage can occur either during construction phase or during the life of field. Critical pipeline damage such as leak, rupture, or crack requires repair to be performed on an emergency basis. Repair readiness is being...

Repairing a subsea pipeline has its own special challenges. It goes from levelling the pipeline inner pressure with seabed pressure at depth of damage, to cutting the line, installation of smart flanges and spool pieces, and finally going through pre-commissioning steps and miscellaneous pigging operations. During all these steps, it is inevitable...

Subsea pipelines are externally concrete coated to provide vertical and lateral stability. The loss of concrete can lead to floatation or lateral movement on the seabed. If seabed is hard/rocky, then lateral rubbing may lead to wall thinning at 6 o'clock and can result in a leak or flattening at the bottom affecting ovality. This paper presents...

External factors such as global supply chain challenges, the push for Net Zero and an ongoing introduction of new pipeline regulations have raised concerns about the integrity of aging pipelines. Aging pipelines carry their own risks which can lead to product leakage, ruptures and explosions if left unaddressed. This article takes a look at the...

In the context of carbon capture and storage (CCS) or utilization (CCUS), offshore pipelines are foreseen to play an important role for the transport of large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from sources sinks/consumers. There is currently a strong interest within the industry to explore the possibility for repurposing of existing pipeline...

It is generally accepted that the effect of cathodic protection is based on the activation polarization and the concentration polarization of the steel surface resulting in an increase of the pH at the interface between steel and soil. This increase in pH value may affect the adhesion of the corrosion prevention coating in the immediate vicinity of...

The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) transports and treats wastewater from several coastal communities in San Mateo County, California. In the spring of 2017, one of SAM’s force mains, the Granada Force Main, experienced a series of ruptures that disrupted operations and negat ively impacted local beaches. Due to its p revious history of breaks...

It is well known that natural disasters which are related to climate change (e.g. rising sea levels, heat stress, extreme precipitation, inland and coastal flooding, landslides, water scarcity etc.) are rapidly increasing through last decades. Climate impacts not only show regional and seasonal patterns, but also differ between territorial settings...

As offshore pipelines age, the oil and gas industry must properly maintain equipment to prevent leaks. In subsea flowlines, leaks sometimes originate from aging flanges. These flanges must be replaced. Historically, replacing the flange has required a lot of time. Different costly approaches are available, from subsea reparations to flowline...

Insulating joints are used for the electrical separation of pipeline systems or for dividing pipelines that are affected by high voltages into sections. The electrical isolation of cathodically protected systems is maintained until the dielectric strength/ flashover strength of the insulating joint is reached. Overvoltages which occur as a result...

Glass-fibre Reinforced Plastic pipe (GRP) systems, also known as FRP pipe systems, have been succ essful in the world’s markets for more than 50 years. During this time, they have developed into a modern pipe material that is predominantly convincing thanks to its lightweight, corrosion resistance, a smooth inner surface, and easy installation...

Pipelines are commonly exposed to over-voltage conditions created by AC faults, lightning and induced AC voltage from high voltage power transmission lines. To protect personnel and the pipeline from the hazardous effects of these conditions, it is critical to properly ground the pipeline and provide continuity across isolation joints for AC and...

The relationship between company Dow Deutschland Anlagengesellschaft mbH (DOW) with its underground brine chamber sites around Ohrensen, Germany and Reinhart Hydrocleaning SA (RHC SA) is a success story in itself. Prior to explaining the different ways of mechanical cleaning brine pipelines one has to know that RHC SA has worked with DOW since 2007...

In many technical applications pipelines are used for the transport of potentially flammable or hazardous gases and liquids. Vibration problems at pipelines often depend on the volume flow. Vortex shedding is a typical result of flow induced pulsations and may cause severe piping vibrations and failures. Another excitation source for critical...