SCC Integrity Management Case Study: Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Pipeline of America

Author(s):  
J. D. Davis ◽  
J. E. Marr ◽  
D. Venance

Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc., has been monitoring their pipeline system for the presence and severity of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) for more than thirty years. With the identification of near neutral pH SCC (also called low pH SCC) on this system, over the past five years NGPL has implemented a comprehensive SCC integrity management plan (IMP). Through their SCC IMP, NGPL has been finding and eliminating near critical near neutral pH SCC and other defects from their system, while using data from the program to obtain a better understanding of the relationship of SCC to existing pipe and environmental conditions. NGPL transports commercial quality natural gas to the Chicago area through a multi-line system that originates in various North American supply regions. The system right-of-way encompasses most of the American mid-west and crosses many physiographic areas. The pipelines have varying grades, diameters, and wall thicknesses, and were constructed at different times. Overall there are approximately 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of pipeline that fall within the current NGPL SCC IMP. The primary purpose of this paper is to relate some of our experience with SCC on our system and describe the some of the innovative technical aspects of the existing in-house SCC IMP. This paper outlines some historical examples of the NGPL methodology for detecting near neutral pH SCC in pipeline steels using two or more separate pipeline investigation techniques. The basic steps of SCC direct assessment (DA) are described, as well as the process of integrating the predictive SCC model with in-line inspection (ILI) low level analysis signatures to determine the extent and severity of near neutral pH SCC on the NGPL pipeline system.

Author(s):  
G. F. Cataford ◽  
R. P. Lancee

Oil entrainment in the natural gas stream together with maintenance associated with oil systems have been long standing problems in booster compressors on a natural gas pipeline system. The use of dry gas shaft seals and active magnetic bearings will effectively eliminate the use of oil systems in gas compression. The paper will deal with the history of TransCanada PipeLines’ past experiences with oil eliminating devices, the theory of dry gas seals and magnetic bearings, the effects on rotor dynamics of magnetic bearings and the recent installation of a set of seals and bearings in a booster compressor unit, in service on the TransCanada PipeLines system.


Author(s):  
Mo Mohitpour ◽  
J. Kazakoff ◽  
Andrew Jenkins ◽  
David Montemurro

Purging of a gas pipeline is the process of displacing the air/nitrogen by natural gas in an accepted constant practice in the natural gas pipeline industry. It is done when pipelines are put into service. Gas Pipelines are also purged out of service. In this case they are filled with air or other neutral gases. Traditionally, “purging” a newly constructed pipeline system is carried out by introducing high pressure gas into one end of the pipeline section to force air out of the pipeline through the outlet until 100% gas is detected at the outlet end. While this technique will achieve the purpose of purging air out of the pipeline, it gives little or no consideration to minimizing the emission of methane gas into the atmosphere. With the advances of the pipeline simulation technology, it is possible through simulation to develop a process to minimize the gas to air interface and thereby minimize the emission of methane gas. In addition, simulation can also be used to predict the timing of purging and loading of the pipeline. Therefore, scheduling of manpower and other activities can be more accurately interfaced. In this paper a brief background to purging together with a summary of current industry practices are provided. A simplified purging calculation method is described and a simulation technique using commercially available software is provided for planning purging and loading operations of gas pipeline systems. An Example is provided of a recently constructed pipeline (Mayakan Gas Pipeline System) in Mexico to demonstrate how the planning process was developed and carried out through the use of this simulation technique. Simulation results are compared with field data collected during the actual purging and loading of the Mayakan Pipeline.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dharma Wijewickreme ◽  
Douglas Honegger ◽  
Allen Mitchell ◽  
Trevor Fitzell

The performance of pipeline systems during earthquakes is a critical consideration in seismically active areas. Unique approaches to quantitative estimation of regional seismic vulnerability were developed for a seismic vulnerability assessment and upgrading program of a 500-km-long natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia, Canada. Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading was characterized in a probabilistic manner and generic pipeline configurations were modeled using finite elements. These approaches, developed during the early part of this 10-year program, are more robust than typical approaches currently used to assess energy pipeline systems. The methodology deployed within a GIS environment provided rational means of distinguishing between seismically vulnerable sites, and facilitated the prioritization of remedial works. While ground improvement or pipeline retrofit measures were appropriate for upgrading most of the vulnerable sites, replacement of pipeline segments using horizontal directional drilling to avoid liquefiable zones were required for others.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonas Cerniauskas ◽  
Antonio Jose Chavez Junco ◽  
Thomas Grube ◽  
Martin Robinius ◽  
Detlef Stolten

The uncertain role of the natural gas infrastructure in the decarbonized energy system and the limitations of hydrogen blending raise the question of whether natural gas pipelines can be economically utilized for the transport of hydrogen. To investigate this question, this study derives cost functions for the selected pipeline reassignment methods. By applying geospatial hydrogen supply chain modeling, the technical and economic potential of natural gas pipeline reassignment during a hydrogen market introduction is assessed.The results of this study show a technically viable potential of more than 80% of the analyzed representative German pipeline network. By comparing the derived pipeline cost functions it could be derived that pipeline reassignment can reduce the hydrogen transmission costs by more than 60%. Finally, a countrywide analysis of pipeline availability constraints for the year 2030 shows a cost reduction of the transmission system by 30% in comparison to a newly built hydrogen pipeline system.


Author(s):  
Jill Gilmour

A software package which optimizes natural gas pipeline operation for minimum fuel consumption is in use on a commercial transmission pipeline. This Optimization Program has resulted in pipeline fuel savings in daily pipeline operation. In addition, the effect of a new compressor/turbine unit on the pipeline system as a whole can be accurately and easily quantified through use of the Optimization Program before the unit is even installed. The results from one turbine replacement study showed the total system fuel consumption and operating hours predicted for each unit were not directly related to a high turbine efficiency. This paper describes the simulation techniques used for the gas turbine and compressor modeling. The methodology behind the system-wide optimization is also provided, along with a detailed discussion of the program application to gas turbine and compressor replacement studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yichen Li ◽  
Jing Gong ◽  
Weichao Yu ◽  
Weihe Huang ◽  
Kai Wen

Abstract At present, China has a developing natural gas market, and ensuring the security of gas supply is an issue of high concern. Gas supply reliability, the natural gas pipeline system's ability to satisfy the market demand, is determined by both supply side and demand side and is usually adopted by the researches to measure the security of gas supply. In the previous study, the demand side is usually simplified by using load duration curve (LDC) to describe the demand, which neglects the effect of demand side management. The simplification leads to the inaccurate and unreasonable assessment of the gas supply reliability, especially in high-demand situation. To overcome this deficiency and achieve a more reasonable result of gas supply reliability, this paper extends the previous study on demand side by proposing a novel method of management on natural gas demand side, and the effects of demand side management on gas supply reliability is analyzed. The management includes natural gas prediction models for different types of users, the user classification rule, and the demand adjustment model based on user classification. First, an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and a support vector machine (SVM) model are applied to predict the natural gas demand for different types of users, such as urban gas distributor (including residential customer, commercial customer, small industrial customer), power plant, large industrial customer, and compressed natural gas (CNG) station. Then, the user classification rule is built based on users' attribute and impact of supplied gas's interruption or reduction. Natural gas users are classified into four levels. (1) demand fully satisfied, (2) demand slightly reduced, (3) demand reduced, and (4) demand interrupted. The user classification rule also provides the demand reduction range of different users. Moreover, the optimization model of demand adjustment is built, and the objective of the model is to maximize the amount of gas supplied to each user based on the classification rule. The constraints of the model are determined by the classification rule, including the demand reduction range of different users. Finally, the improved method of gas supply reliability assessment is developed and is applied to the case study of our previous study derived from a realistic natural gas pipeline system operated by PetroChina to analyze the effects of demand side management on natural gas pipeline system's gas supply reliability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 113418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weichao Yu ◽  
Jing Gong ◽  
Shangfei Song ◽  
Weihe Huang ◽  
Yichen Li ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
E. Salinas ◽  
A. Mun˜oz ◽  
A. Wilde ◽  
J. Healy ◽  
M. Bakayeva

Empresa Nacional del Petro´leo (ENAP) is an energy company, wholly owned by the Chilean Government. With regards to overall management, the company comprises of two Business Divisions: Exploration and Production (Up-stream) and Refining and Logistic (Down-stream), complemented by corporate managerial structures. The objective of ENAP’s Exploration and Production (UpStream) business line is the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) in the South of Chile (Magallanes) and abroad, as well as geo-thermal energy, in this case, associated with private entities in areas of Northern Chile. Within the Magallanes region ENAP operates approximately 2,200 km of natural gas, crude oil and refined product pipelines. These pipelines range in diameter from 4 to 20 inch and the majority of pipelines are over 30 years old. Due to operational reliability reasons, since 1998 ENAP has been regularly inspecting its pipelines using intelligent in-line inspection tools. Furthermore, since 2006, as part of an overall pipeline integrity management plan ENAP has been conducting Fitness for Service assessments on selected pipelines including a risk-based assessment considering pipeline condition and the impact on the continuity of operation. The Integrity Management Plan implemented by ENAP in the Magallanes region has been applied to all pipelines transporting gas, crude oil and refined products, including those built after 1990. This plan comprises the construction phase, from which invaluable information is gathered for later use. The primary aims of ENAP’s integrity management plan are: - To protect the public; - To protect the surrounding environment by preventing pipeline failures; - To ensure efficient usage of the budget available to conduct maintenance tasks; - To prevent damage to the pipelines, e.g. due to corrosion activity; - To provide clarity of activities being performed by ENAP in order to ensure an efficient, safe and reliable pipeline system. This paper provides a description of the integrity management strategy adopted by ENAP and includes a review of a number of the challenges encountered during its implementation.


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