Implementation of a Pipeline Integrity Management System at TIGF (France): The Added Value of the Pipeline Threats and Mitigations Module

On January 4th 2007 TIGF published the following invitation for tenders: “Development and Provision of a Pipeline Integrity Management System”. The project was awarded to Bureau Veritas (BV), who proposed to meet the requirements of TIGF with the Threats and Mitigations module of the PiMSlider® suite extended with some customized components. The key features of the PiMSlider® suite are: • More than only IT: a real integrity philosophy, • A simple intuitive tool to store, display and update pipeline data, • Intelligent search utilities to locate specific information about the pipeline and its surrounding, • A scalable application, with a potentially unlimited number of users, • Supervision (during and after implementation) by experienced people from the oil and gas industry. This paper first introduces TIGF and the consortium BV – ATP. It explains in a few words the PIMS philosophy captured in the PiMSlider® suite and focuses on the added value of the pipeline Threats and Mitigations module. Using this module allows the integrity analyst to: • Prioritize pipeline segments for integrity surveillance purposes, • Determine most effective corrective actions, • Assess the benefits of corrective actions by means of what-if scenarios, • Produce a qualitative threats assessment for further use in the integrity management plan, • Optimize integrity aspects from a design, maintenance and operational point of view, • Investigate the influence of different design criteria for pipeline segments. To conclude, TIGF presents the benefits of the tool for their Integrity Management department and for planning inspection and for better knowledge of their gas transmission grid.

Stress Analysis of a Gas Pipeline Installed Using HDD and Auger Bore Techniques

As part of an important project to reinforce the natural gas transmission network, a new pipeline has been constructed to transport natural gas from a major UK LNG storage facility into the national transmission system. The project involved the installation of several sections by trenchless methods, namely auger boring for a number of road crossings and significant lengths of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) beneath railroads, canals and marshland. The installation of pipelines using trenchless techniques such as HDD continues to increase in popularity. The various methods available offer advantages over traditional open cut techniques, in particular much reduced disruption during the construction of road and rail crossings. Furthermore, increased awareness and responsibility towards the environment leads us to seek installation methods that cause the least disruption at the surface and have the least impact to the environment. It was required to assess the proposed crossing designs against acceptable stress limits set out in company specifications and against the requirements of UK design code IGE/TD/1 Edition 4 [1], which requires that ‘additional loads’ such as soil loadings, thermal loads, settlement and traffic loading are accounted for within the stress calculations. However, it does not stipulate the sources of such equations and the pipeline engineer must rely on other methods and published sources of information. This paper presents the method used to analyse those sections of the new pipeline installed by auger boring and HDD focusing on the methods and formulae used to calculate the stresses in the pipeline from all loading sources.

Integration of Radio Frequency Identification and GIS for Asset Management

The use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has grown substantially in the past few years. Driven mostly by the retail supply chain management industry and by inventory control (loss prevention), RFID technology is finding more acceptance in the security and personal tracking sectors beyond simple pass cards. This growth has of course resulted in greater acceptance of RFID technology and more standardization of process and systems as well as decreased per unit costs. The oil and gas industry is being exposed to the potential use of RFID technology, mostly through the safety and equipment inspection portion of construction management. However, the application of RFID technology is expected to expand to the material tracking and asset management realms in the near future. Integrating the information provided by RFIDs with EPCM project and owner/operator Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a logical next step towards maximizing the value of RFID technology. By linking assets tracked in the field during movement, lay-down and construction to a GIS, projects will have accurate, real-time data on the location of materials as well as be able to query about those assets after commissioning. This same capability is being modified for post-commission use of RFID with facility GISs. This paper outlines how existing GISs used during the EPCM phases and those employed after commissioning can display, utilize and analyze information provided by RFID technology.

Pipeline Integrity Management: Estimating and Prioritizing the Risk Resulting From Pipeline Facility Operations

Recent efforts to develop a consistent approach to understanding the risk associated with operating a cross country pipeline have focused primarily on the pipe itself. Integrity management plans often include a prioritized risk profile that all but ignores the specific risks associated with operating tank farms, terminals, pumps and compression. This paper outlines a detailed logical approach that can be utilized to evaluate the relative safety, environmental and cost risk associated with operating diverse types of equipment within a pipeline station. Topics covered include the basic objectives of a facility risk model while providing the detail (granulation) necessary to continuously improve. A specific methodology is suggested as a systematic tactic to make an “apples to apples” comparison of diverse stations, lines and types of equipment, from a risk standpoint.

Alarm Management for Pipelines

In 2005 the National Transportation Safety Board, concluded that an effective alarm review/audit system will increase the likelihood of controllers appropriately responding to alarms associated with pipeline leaks. This paper looks at the pipeline industry in the broader context of process industry alarm management and how the best practices of the process industry apply to the pipeline industry.

Projective Noise Reduction Algorithm for Negative Pressure Wave Signal Processing

The appearance of a rupture, leak or damage in the long-distance oil & gas pipeline, which could cause a leak, usually generates a non-linear & chaotic negative pressure wave signal. By properly interpreting the negative pressure wave signature, it is possible to detect a leak along the pipeline. Most traditional noise reduction methods are established based on the linear system, which are not in line with the actual non-linear & chaotic situation. Therefore, the weak negative pressure wave signals, generated by small leaks, are often filtered out and cause false alarm and failure alarm. In order to resolve the problem, this paper uses the non-linear projective algorithm for noise reduction. First, the weak negative pressure wave signal series would be reconstructed using delay coordinates, in the high dimensional phase space, the background signal, the negative pressure wave signal and the noise signal are separated into different sub-spaces. Through the reconstruction of sub-spaces, the weak pressure wave signal can be isolated from the background signal as well as the random noise component reduced.

Application of Dynamic Programming in Long-Range Pipeline Facility Planning and in Assessing Off-Design and Off-Flow-Forecast Trajectories

Dynamic programming (DP) inherently provides a methodology for evaluating a series of decisions in order to determine an optimal policy or path forward. The methodology basically enumerates and evaluates alternative states over the planning horizon in formulating the optimum strategy. In the present work, the concept of DP has been applied to pipeline long-range facility planning problems, and further extended to allow evaluation of nth optimum pipeline facility deployments based on cost and/or probabilities of constraints. The best four options were further analyzed considering uncertainties in the cost elements and the resulting economic risk associated with each optimum path. This paper presents the theory behind the extension of the DP methodology to pipeline long-range facility-planning problems over a planning horizon that considers inherent uncertainties in gas supply and demand as well as a range of available facility options. Uncertainties in the size and location of the required facilities to handle the forecast volumes, and associated variances in their respective cost to build and operate the various facilities, are all accounted for. The problem is further complicated by the possible changes in the expected flow from that forecast during design and the resulting penalties associated with the under- or over-sizing of facilities. It was demonstrated that it is important that the off-design flow forecast be evaluated to determine the impact of future variability or changes. The value that the organization can derive from being able to quantify the benefit (or penalty) of forecast uncertainty and over- or under-building long-range facilities, is significant.

Justification of a Novel Pipe in Tunnel Approach to a River Crossing

As part of a major pipeline construction project, Laing O’Rourke had a requirement to install a section of pipeline beneath a river estuary. Due to a number of reasons it was not possible to negotiate the crossing using conventional techniques such as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and an alternate method had to be sought. A feasibility study was undertaken and it was decided that a pipe-in-tunnel approach was the most viable. Due to constraints at the points of entry and exit it was necessary to cut two vertical shafts, one on each river bank. Linepipe sections were to be welded together, in the entry shaft, and pulled through the 2.44m diameter tunnel on plastic rollers, which were later to become the permanent supports during operation. On completion of the installation within the tunnel, two vertical sections of pipeline were to be installed in the shafts for connection to the main pipeline system. Due to the length of the crossing it was decided that back filling the void between the pipe and the tunnel wall with a suitable grout was not viable. A particular consideration was the likely occurrence of voids which would reduce the effectiveness of the CP system. For this reason, following installation, the tunnel was to be sealed with a concrete plug and flooded with water, and the shafts are to be backfilled with soil. This unique design arrangement presented a number of challenges and hence a requirement for the use of more complex modelling techniques than would normally be required. Models of the pipeline in various stages of installation were produced using the finite element software ABAQUS, with a variety of element types. Sets of rollers and their contact with the linepipe were also modelled. Soil loading, pressure, weight, buoyancy and temperature were applied to simulate a range of construction, commissioning and operational conditions. These were analysed, and the results were assessed for compliance with appropriate standards. Based on the results of the study it was possible to show that with a number of modifications to the original proposed design configuration, the crossing would be fit-for-purpose.

Effects of Density and Viscosity Measurements Errors at the Pipeline Batch Tracking System

Batch Tracking System (BTS) is commonly found as pipeline operational real time functionality within operator companies’ control room. It tracks batches, offering amongst other information their volumes, positions and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). In order to reliably calculate those system outputs, BTS requires operational information like pressures, temperatures and flow rates, elevation profile, as well as some fluid physical properties, being the most important ones density and viscosity. This work aims to track the actual necessity of measuring those variables and to establish their impact on ETA in a 700km long South African multi-product pipeline network. Thus, the flow dynamic was analysed using a commercial pipeline flow simulator, where the network operational scenario was entirely reproduced and then variations of density and viscosity were introduced to track the effects on batches’ ETA, per pipeline segment. As a result of the study, which employed usual refined products such as petrol and Diesel, it was identified: (i) both variables played a relevant role on the ETA estimation requiring to be accurately determined, even though viscosity is the most relevant; (ii) viscosity showed a more predictable behaviour as flow resistance shall take place independently of the elevation profile; (iii) density was highly dependent of the elevation profile; and (iv) the biggest ETA accumulated variation verified was around 128 minutes (due to a variation of –20% in the viscosity value) and the lowest one around 4 minutes (due to a variation of –2% in the density value).

Integrating GIS and Data Management Within the Project Environment

Today, much of the focus on integrating Geospatial technology and data has been on the operations side of the business. Not much attention has been paid to the workflow within the project environment even though most of the data that is used to populate enterprise datasets is created or prepared as a requirement of a project; that said; it is early on at the project level when geospatial integration needs to be implemented and incorporated into the project workflow. On the other hand, project teams have historically focused on strictly satisfying the needs of the project. This is typically limited to the minimum work required to design, permit & build a given work scope. This approach has left many companies with the task of paying high costs for the project data to be translated, captured or in some cases recreated after the fact. Too many times, Gas Company X hires multiple consultants with different disciplines responsible for different project scope items (i.e. Environmental, Right-of-way, Engineering, etc...). Each company has established methods for preparing and organizing their respective data without ever thinking how Gas Company X intends on using the data for other enterprise needs during the project and after the project has been completed. This presentation outlines methods by which companies can require that their project consultants produce project data with geospatial integration in mind. This includes identification of required resources & workflows to specify and manage the data that is prepared and/or collected in a structured environment that is geospatially & data aware.