When A Leak Was Suspected, Pipers© Were Already In Place To Immediately Locate The Issue
Introduction
The leakage of oil and gas pipelines may cause significant safety accidents, environmental damage, and economic losses. Especially monitoring for leaks in high consequence areas – defined by PHMSA as populated areas, drinking water sources, and unusually sensitive ecological areas – is of the utmost importance and when a leak is discovered, expedited repair is essential.
Project description
For our client, a refinery in Brazil and a pioneer in the efficient production of fuels, the last mile means successfully transferring oil resources from arriving tankers to its modern port facility. Any delay in offloading the product due to leaks in the transport pipeline would cost nearly $25,000 per day. To ensure the safety, the client keeps the pipeline pressured with sea water in between ship arrival.
In 2020, the refinery ran Pipers® as part of its risk management efforts to assess the condition of this critical pipeline. This initial assessment established a baseline for continued monitoring. To make sure that any leaks that occur in between operations can be located and repaired quickly, the client contracted INGU to have Pipers® in stock.
When the client suspected a leak, they could immediately run Pipers®. Time was of the essence, a tanker was on its way and any necessary repairs to the pipeline would need to be done within days.
The Pipers® solution
INGU’s Pipers® solution pairs a baseball-sized free-floating multi-sensor system with AI powered data analytics and a GIS Pipeline viewer. The Pipers® solution accurately identifies and locates potential issues such as leaks, deposits, and changes in the pipeline wall that threaten pipeline health.
When a pipeline is leaking, the jet of liquid passing through the crack or hole generates a characteristic hissing or rushing sound that significantly deviates from the baseline noise in a localized region around the leak. Conversely, if there is no change (or only long-term gradual change) in the average sound intensity along the length of the pipeline, no leaks were detected.
Results
Immediately after the deployment, the Pipers® data was uploaded to us for analysis, and within 48 hours the location of the leak was identified. The area was excavated and the hole in the pipeline was discovered within 1 meter of the location provided. Repairs were made and our client was safely back in operation in just two days from actioning the problem. Since the first inspection in 2020, we have found 9 leaks.
Pipeline specifications
Pipeline Length | 6,026 meters |
Pipeline Diameter | multi diameter |
Pipeline Material | Carbon steel |
Content | Sea water |
Location | Brazil |
