Transneft Western Siberia reviews pipeline and tank inspection results

The total length of examined sections of the Omsk-Irkutsk, Anzhero-Sudzhensk-Krasnoyarsk, Tuimazy-Omsk-Novosibirsk-2 (TON-2), Ust-Balyk-Omsk oil trunk pipelines exceeded 1728 km. Till the year’s end, another 343 km of oil trunk pipelines will be examined using inline inspection (ILI) tools. The length of examined sections of the Omsk-Sokur petroleum products trunk pipeline is around 347.6 km.

The condition of the inner surface of trunk pipelines is inspected in accordance with the annual schedule. Various types of pigs are exploited in integrated diagnostics of oil and petroleum products trunk pipelines that use ultrasound, magnetic and integrated magnetic ultrasound scanning methods.

As was noted by Deputy Director General for Operation of Transneft Western Siberia Denis Bakulin, ILI exposes cases of noncompliance of trunk pipelines with standard requirements as well as their corrosion fatigue, abrasive wear, risks and cracks.

“This year we used a revolutionary new generation diagnostics complex of pigs based on an upgraded ultrasound control system, its sensors directing ultrasound waves toward pipe walls at different angles. This increases the precision of detecting a modified pipe condition both in welded joints as well as in longitudinal and cross sections,” he explained.

As part of the technical examination of the tank fleet in the third quarter of this year, 16 tanks were inspected within the responsibility zones of Omsk, Novosibirsk and Ishim regional oil pipeline directorates (RPD), including the all-round inspection of six tanks with the aggregate capacity of 95 00 m³, as well as partial inspection of 10 tanks with the total volume of 115 000 m³. An overall diagnostic examination of the steel vertical tank VST-5000 must be completed in October at Rybinskaya line operation dispatcher station (LODS) of Krasnoyarsk RPD.

Inspecting the technical condition of the linear portion and tank fleet is the most effective way of addressing the problem of maintaining a high level of industrial safety, as well as minimising possible risks in case of emergencies in the process of their operation. The information obtained, as a result of such inspections, is later taken into account by the company’s specialists in shaping the Programme of Technical Upgrading, Overhaul and Revamping of Transneft Western Siberia facilities for 2019.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/25102017/transneft-western-siberia-reviews-pipeline-and-tank-inspection-results/