Automating data collection

Worldwide, there are about 3.5 million km of pipeline across 120 nations – and that’s just the oil and gas sector. There are probably about the same again for the water sector. The majority are in the US (65%), followed by Russia (8%), and then Canada (3%). Inspection, repair, maintenance (IRM) is a hot topic in the industry right now. And, especially for the ageing 3.5 million km, gaining better insights into their condition is essential to manage risk exposure.

Historically, pipeline pigs have been the tool of choice for maintaining pipelines and ensuring their continuous operation. Regular pigging maximises fluid transportation by removing scale build-up, controlling internal corrosion by removing internal debris, and collecting pipeline data such as temperature, elevation, wall thickness, and anomalies. Typically, pigging a pipeline involves a launcher and a receiver, and the insertion of an intelligent pig into the pipeline system. The pig travels some distance with the flow of the pipeline’s contents and is then extracted at the receiver.

As we all know, pipelines basically fall into three categories: gathering lines, transmission lines, and distribution lines. In the case of gathering lines (the focus of this article), it is interesting to note that many were not built for easy inspection. In fact, roughly 40% of all pipelines are difficult to pig, or ‘unpiggable’.

What makes a pipeline unpiggable?

Of course, while it’s travelling along the pipeline, the average pig gathers a lot of data, mostly relating to the shape and the wall thickness of the pipeline, which in turn yields clues about the status of the pipeline and its integrity. However, pipelines that are not optimally designed may prevent effective pigging.

Physical characteristics of the pipeline – such as very tight bends, dead ends, sudden changes in geometry, or the presence of a valve – may prevent passage of the pig. Other pigging challenges relate to operational conditions. For example …

To access the full version of this article and get a free trial subscription to World Pipelines, be sure to sign up here!

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/10042023/automating-data-collection/