Pipeline Safety

For years, pipeline operators have relied on human observers flying at low altitude to perform visual inspection of their ROW, without any automatic documentation or detection system. This paper presents the first real-life results of a test campaign performed by Flyscan Systems, integrating detection algorithms developed by Enbridge, over ROWs of...

Before the operator of a gas export pipeline offshore Asia could isolate the line and replace leaking pig trap valves on their platform and perform in-line inspection (ILI), they had to remove a serious obstacle: a cleaning pig that had stalled just beyond the pig launcher. Because there is no standard tool for recovering a stalled pig, at least...

Product theft has been a major issue for many pipeline operators around the world. We all have in mind the terrible explosion of a gasoline pipeline in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The blast killed at least 137 people and injured dozens more. This story made its mark, but illegal tappings is not an isolated fact...

Encroachments on buried HP Gas pipelines represent 50% of accidents on pipelines world-wide. The consequences for pipeline owners can be critical, resulting in fatalities and injuries, but also economic cost: shutdown of refineries, damage to the environment, etc… This is a huge issue for both types of pipelines. For older existing pipelines...

Nowadays plastic pipelines form an integral part of modern infrastructure. The most common applications for butt-fused plastic pipelines are water and natural gas distribution networks. Inventions of new materials, production and installation methods for extruded pipes enables new applications and dimensions in a growing range of needs. Climate...

In recent years, the global pipeline community has made a lot of progress in detecting and locating theft activities. Technologies have been developed and applied to several pipelines worldwide. While these technologies are contributing significantly to the early detection and location of illegal tapping points, the key challenges vary from one...

For the past decades, helicopter surveys have been the state-of-the-art solution for right-of-way (ROW) monitoring to protect pipelines from third-party-interferences (TPI’s). When TPI activities damage a pipeline, it can lead to disastrous events. Therefore, aerial inspection early-warning systems are used to mitigate these risks. Recent...

How the BIL-portal delivers significant value to an infrastructure-network carrier in efficiently processing planning and construction enquiries from third parties. A portal connection and communication process without media discontinuity leads to lower enquiry volume with simultaneously increasing number of relevant enquiries and allows digital...

Steel pipelines are capital-intensive, so their service life is critical. DENSO Group Germany impressively demonstrates the vital role that superior production technology plays in the operating life of a pipeline with the exceptionally long life of its three-ply corrosion protection tapes: even after 40 years in the field, the coating with a...

Leak detection, TPI (Third Party Interference) and asset integrity are crucial topics in pipeline monitoring, although they often require costly procedures and systems. In order to support the pipeline integrity management, Eni S.p.A, in collaboration with Solares JV, developed the e-vpms® (Eni Vibro-acoustic Pipeline Monitoring System). This...

Even the smallest leak can have devastating consequences. The protection and monitoring of pipeline infrastructure is critical to the continued performance of the pipeline. Loss of integrity, through accidents or malicious activity, can have a significant impact on the environment, on reputations and on finances. Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing is...

A highly developed society naturally believes that it has elimi nated its risks. Insurances, traffic information, social systems, legislation, and finally all kinds of regulations weigh us down in a cor set of security of our own actions, which can hardly lead to negative consequences. Infrastructure and pipeline security is a valuable asset, on...

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...

One of subsidiaries of Pertamina is Pertamina Gas which manage special task in operating crude oil transportation 12,000 BOPD. In the operation still occur illegal tapping activities and risk of pipeline product theft is a major concern to industry. In 2012, oil thieves drilled 748 illegal taps or an average 2 times every day. Losses from...