Late life management of onshore and offshore pipelines

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 414
Author(s):  
Brian Humphreys ◽  
Wacek Lipski

The Australian oil and gas boom of the 1960s and 1970s lead to production commencing in the Gippsland, Surat, Cooper and Carnarvon basins and so many pipeline assets around Australia are approaching operating lives of 40-50 years and the end of their design lives. With unconventional field development and the Australian gas markets opening up to international customers through LNG, there will be an increasing requirement to extend the life of pipelines while maintaining safety and integrity. The management of pipeline assets late in their design life is a challenge for operators both onshore and offshore, with pipelines requiring higher levels of inspection and maintenance, while revenues can be fixed or regulated for downstream assets or potentially declining for upstream assets. To operate pipelines beyond their specified design life, there are requirements that must be fulfilled—for offshore, a design re-qualification in accordance with DNV-OS-F101 and for onshore, a remaining life review in accordance with AS2885.3. In addition, for onshore pipelines, AS2885.3 requires the remaining life review process to be undertaken every 10 years, rather than just at the end of the design life. This extended abstract discusses the requirements of the DNV-OS-F101 and AS2885.3 and the approaches required to meet these requirements. It also discusses key lessons that have been learned and makes recommendations to pipeline operators preparing for end-of-design-life reviews and executing them as cost effectively as possible.

Author(s):  
Alireda Aljaroudi ◽  
Premkumar Thodi ◽  
Ayhan Akinturk ◽  
Faisal Khan ◽  
Mike Paulin

When offshore pipelines are approaching the end of their design life or have gone beyond their design life, their condition could possibly threaten oil flow continuity (through leak or rupture) as well as become a potential safety or environmental hazard. Some of the pipelines may show signs of deterioration and ageing due to corrosion, cracking or other damage mechanisms. Any assets, such as the pipeline, may be desired to continue transporting hydrocarbons beyond its design life due to increased oil and gas demand, due to unforeseen increased oil and gas reserves, or due to upgrade where additional assets are tied-into the existing pipeline system. Other situations may force operators to maintain the pipeline’s design life in spite of premature ageing of the pipe wall caused by the increased corrosion growth or other anomalies. Hence, there may be a need to assess the remaining life of pipeline in order to determine if it is capable of coping with current and future operational demand. The first task in the assessment process is to identify degradation mechanisms and their rate of growth, then estimate uncertainties in the collected data concerning pipeline flaw geometry, pipeline mechanical properties and operating characteristics. Based on the collected data and the assessment, the probability and consequence of failure can be determined. The remaining life of a pipeline is the time it takes the pipeline to fail or exceed the target failure probability. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the condition of ageing pipelines and determining the remaining life that supports extended operation without compromising safety and reliability. Applying this methodology would facilitate a well-informed decision that enables decision makers to determine the best strategy or adequate course of action for assessing and maintaining the integrity of ageing pipelines.


Author(s):  
Jens P. Tronskar

Cost efficient offshore field development often involves tiebacks to existing field infrastructure. Efficient field development requires life extension of existing production facilities and pipelines to accommodate the new field resources over their life expectation. For fields near the tail end of their production the pipelines may be close to the end of their design life, and it must be shown that they have potential for extended life beyond the original design life until the end of the period of operation of the new field. Offshore pipelines are designed and constructed to recognized standards, such as the widely applied DNV OS-F101 2013 Submarine Pipelines Systems and earlier versions. The latest edition of the code was recently issued as a standard with some major updates and a modified code number i.e. DNVGL ST-F101 [1]. As pipelines age, they will inevitably be exposed to various types of degradation and an Operator must be able to both assess the significance of this damage and the pipeline remaining life to ensure that the pipelines do not fail as they age before the end of their design lives. Currently, many pipelines are operated far beyond the original design life and as mentioned above for cost efficient field development the pipeline operator often needs to demonstrate that the pipeline’s useful life can be extended another 10 or in some cases up to 30 years. For some pipelines, new operating conditions will be introduced by tie-in of new fields and this will impact the future rate of degradation. Hence, it cannot be assumed that the future degradation will be similar or less severe than experienced since commissioning of the pipeline. Extension of the life of the pipeline can be demonstrated by adopting methods of analysis that show the line is safe for an extended life under the future expected operating condition. This paper describes the risk based approach applied for pipeline remaining life and life extension analyses based on DNV GL codes and other relevant recommended practices. For illustration of the methodology a typical case of remaining life assessment of and life extension of a gas export pipeline is presented in the Case Study.


Author(s):  
Lihua Gan

A world class project must have a disciplined business risk management. As a good project manager, he should manage project risk successfully. Through business risk management, he can identify risk of the project, find the cause of all business risks, then define the influence of all risks. He can take measures to avoid, transfer, and mitigate the risk. A field development includes production facilities, risers and pipelines and subsea wells, in which the pipelines and risers connect the subsea wells and production facilities to transfer oil and gas. The cost of offshore pipelines and risers is major. In the following we shall take offshore pipeline and riser as a case study to practice the principal of business risk management step by step. It has been demonstrated that the method may be applied to maximize the returning for the stakeholders in an offshore field development. However, it is suggested to accumulate and update the data bases required for an accurate statistical evaluation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-361
Author(s):  
Lindsay Steenberg

This article situates Bruce Lee’s films and star persona in the context of wider patterns in global genre cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. I argue for a connection between the Western reception of Lee’s films and those of the mid-century Italian sword and sandal films, beginning with the Colosseum fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris that concludes Way of the Dragon (1972). From the dojo fights of Fist of Fury (1972), through the tournament structure in Enter the Dragon (1973), to his statistically led re-animation in the EA Sports UFC 3 (2018) videogame, Bruce Lee can be usefully considered as a gladiator. Bruce Lee, as fighter, performer and star persona, contributes to the enduring gladiatorial archetype that is an embedded feature in the Western visual imaginary. Furthermore, I argue that the gladiator archetype itself shifted because of Lee’s onscreen roles and the discourse that surrounds his star persona. In order to map these shifts and patterns of confluence, I chart three main points of impact that Lee has had on the gladiatorial archetype using his Western-facing roles on film and television, namely the television series Longstreet (1971–1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). First, I consider the inclusion of martial arts and, second, the opening up of the field of representation to different models of masculinity, including a leaner body type and a non-White – in this case, ethnically Chinese – gladiator. The third point is the emphasis on a popular, or vernacular, stoicism. Ultimately, I elucidate the relationship between the gladiator, Bruce Lee, and philosophy, arguing that Lee embodies a vernacular stoicism that has become one of the defining features of the post-millennial gladiator and notions of heroic masculinity in popular culture more widely.


Rural History ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-249
Author(s):  
CHANTAL BISSCHOP

AbstractRecently, there has been growing interest in the emergence of rural movements in response to rapid changes in the post war countryside. However, little attention has been paid to the reaction of the old social movements to this transformation in rural society. In this paper, I concentrate on the reaction of the Boerenbond (Farmers’ Union) to the altering Flemish countryside in the 1960s and 1970s. The transformation of the Boerenbond in 1971 into a specialised agricultural organisation and a broader rural movement countered the rapid shrinking of the farm population and the strong specialising of modern farmers. Furthermore, by attracting non-farmers, the Boerenbond maintained its support in the countryside. A farmers’ union opening up to non-farming members in a society with emerging new social movements seems progressive at first glance. But the overall prevalence of agriculture in all stages of discussions and implementation is striking. Nevertheless, the emergence of a rural movement with new socio-cultural goals within an old, corporatist and Catholic farmers’ union suggests that this is a unique case in north-western Europe.


Author(s):  
Robert B. Gordon ◽  
Juan Carlos Ruiz-Rico ◽  
Michiel Peter Hein Brongers ◽  
Julian Gomez

This paper applies state-of-the-art integrity management and life extension methodologies to address degradation and failure modes specific to CALM buoy export terminals. The main objectives are to (1) classify the components of the export terminal according to their criticality, (2) establish risk-based inspection and maintenance plans to reduce or mitigate risk to acceptable levels and (3) assess remaining life. The method is applied to a CALM buoy operating off the coast of Colombia. This buoy serves as the oil export terminal for all crude oil transmitted by the Ocensa pipeline, which has a capacity of 560 kBPD or around 60% of total Colombia oil production. The buoy is nearing the end of its design life, and options for life extension have been investigated based on an integrity assessment of the current condition of the equipment. As part of the assessment, detailed plans for future Risk Based Inspections (RBI) and Mitigation, Intervention, and Repair (MIR) have been developed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireda Aljaroudi ◽  
Premkumar Thodi ◽  
Ayhan Akinturk ◽  
Faisal Khan ◽  
Mike Paulin

When offshore pipelines approach the end of their design life, their condition could threaten oil flow continuity as well as become a potential safety or environmental hazard. Hence, there is a need to assess the remaining life of pipelines to ensure that they can cope with current and future operational demand and integrity challenges. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the condition of aging pipelines and determining the remaining life that can support extended operation without compromising safety and reliability. Applying this methodology would facilitate a well-informed decision that enables decision makers to determine the best strategy for maintaining the integrity of aging pipelines.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Kumar Lal ◽  
Tae Hyung Kim ◽  
Darrin M. Singleton

Abstract Data Science is the current gold rush. While many industries have benefitted from applications of data science, including machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the applications in upstream oil and gas are still somewhat limited. Some examples of applications of AI include seismic interpretations, facility optimization, and data driven modeling – forecasting. While still naïve, we will explore cases where data science can be used in the day to day field optimization and development. The Midway Sunset (MWSS) field in San Joaquin Valley, California has over 100 years of history. The field was discovered in 19011 and had limited development through the 1960s. Since the start of thermal stimulation in 1964, the field has seen phased thermal flooding and cyclic stimulation. Recently there has been an increase in heat mining vertical and horizontal wells to tap the remaining hot oil. As with any brownfield, the sweet spots are long gone. Effort is now to optimize the field development and tap by-passed oil, thereby increasing recovery. The current operational focus includes field wide holistic review of remaining resource potential. Resources in the MWSS reservoirs are produced by cyclic steam method. Cyclic thermal stimulation has been effective as an overall depletion process and for stimulating the near wellbore region to increase production. It is imperative to properly identify target wells and sands for cyclic stimulation. Cyclic steaming in depleted zones or cold reservoirs is often uneconomical. The benefit comes when we can identify and stimulate only the warm oil. Identification of warm oil and short listing the wells for cyclic stimulation is a labor-intensive process. The volume of data can get so large that it may not be feasible for a professional to effectively do the analysis. In this paper, we present a case study of data analytics for high grading wells for cyclic stimulation. This method utilizes the machine power to integrate reservoir, and production data to identify and rank wells for cyclic stimulation and potentially increase success rate by minimizing suboptimal cyclic candidates.


Author(s):  
Jens P. Tronskar ◽  
Zhang Li ◽  
John D. Edwards

The acceptability of localized corrosion for pipelines in service is discussed and the methodology for probabilistic assessment of corrosion damage using the 2004 revision of Det Norske Veritas document DNV-RP-F101 is presented with regard to predicting the remaining life of onshore, offshore pipelines and also pressure vessels for the oil and gas industry. Capacity assessment of corrosion defects in pipelines and pressure vessels is a challenge for the industry, and has resulted in several methods and codes in the recent years. The methods include ASME B31G for pipelines and other standards and recommended practices that can be applied for pipelines as well as pressure vessels such as BS7910 Annex G and API 579. In 1999 DNV issued a recommended practice for the assessment of corroded pipelines, DNV-RP-F101, which was developed in co-operation with the pipeline industry. A revision of this document was issued in October 2004. The latest revision provides guidelines for probabilistic assessment of the pipeline reliability and remaining life. Pipeline corrosion is often of localized nature and depends on many factors such as fluid composition and partial pressures, temperature, pH, flow rate and efficiency of corrosion inhibition. These factors may not be easy to quantify with great certainty and a probabilistic approach is particularly justified. An approach is presented in this paper where the actual measured corrosion damage is fitted to an extreme value distribution. The future corrosion rate distribution for internal CO2 corrosion is predicted using the latest de Waard and Milliams model and an inhibitor distribution, to predict the corrosion of each pipeline segment. An Gumbel type extreme value approach is applied to estimate the present condition and the local corrosion flaw distribution that may cause a leak of the pipeline in the future. The future corrosion is estimated using the anticipated future operating conditions of the pipeline to predict the corrosion rate distribution expressed in terms of a Weibull distribution. The paper highlights three cases as examples where the approach has been applied for assessing the probability of failure and reliability during service of two offshore pipelines carrying oil and gas with wet CO2, and one stainless steel pressure vessel in a process plant occasionally exposed to trace amounts seawater originating from leaking heat exchangers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Flanagan

This article traces Ken Russell's explorations of war and wartime experience over the course of his career. In particular, it argues that Russell's scattered attempts at coming to terms with war, the rise of fascism and memorialisation are best understood in terms of a combination of Russell's own tastes and personal style, wider stylistic and thematic trends in Euro-American cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, and discourses of collective national experience. In addition to identifying Russell's recurrent techniques, this article focuses on how the residual impacts of the First and Second World Wars appear in his favoured genres: literary adaptations and composer biopics. Although the article looks for patterns and similarities in Russell's war output, it differentiates between his First and Second World War films by indicating how he engages with, and temporarily inhabits, the stylistic regime of the enemy within the latter group.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document