Regular inspection of pipelines is necessary to identify potential hazards, defects, or weaknesses in a pipeline. It allows for proactive maintenance and repairs to prevent accidents, leaks, and environmental damage, thereby ensuring safety, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance while minimizing costly failures and protecting the environment.
Pipers® measure the Magnetic Flux Density (MFD) in a pipeline (see our backgrounder) using passive tri-axial magnetic flux sensors. In the analysis process of ferromagnetic pipelines, welds and spools are identified.
Welds are automatically identified using a neural network and the locations of the identified welds are reported in the pipe tally. The main part of the Pipers® MFD analysis is focused on characterizing the spools. Spools with a different magnetic flux density compared to surrounding spools are identified as outlier spools. Depending on the customer focus, these outlier spools can then be labeled with the most probable cause such as metal loss, external features (hot taps, anodes, casings), and mechanical stress.
Proactively monitoring pipelines for metal loss and other features that impact pipeline safety and performance, is key to preventing environmental damage and unnecessary costs.
Steel pipelines are often magnetized due to factors like industrial processes, transport, and the Earth’s magnetic field. This magnetization has two primary components:
Magnetic Flux Density (MFD) measurements can be used to determine the level of magnetization. MFD measures the strength and direction of a magnetic field at a given point, which is equivalent to the density of magnetic field lines passing through a specific area.
The MFD is proportional to the volume of metal, which means it can be used to assess the volume of pipeline metal at a given location. For instance, areas with fittings will typically have higher MFD readings due to the additional metal, whereas areas with wall thinning will show lower MFD readings due to the reduced metal volume.
Although this method has a lower resolution compared to conventional Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) measurements, the benefit of using MFD measurements is that the pipeline doesn’t have to be cleaned ahead of the inspection and that pipelines that can’t be inspected with conventional MFL tools can be inspected with MFD tools.
Further reading:
Beyond Conventional Inline Inspection – Passive Magnetic Field Evaluation for Pipeline Wall Loss presented at the PTC2024 pipeline conference
Pipers® record all sounds while moving with the flow through the pipeline making them sensitive to even the smallest leaks.
Pipers® use an acoustic sensor to identify the unique data signatures of air/gas pockets within the pipeline.
Pipers® inspect the pipeline under operational conditions, making them an ideal tool to confirm containment without disrupting operations.
Pipers® take 100 pressure measurements per second while moving through the pipeline allowing for accurate deposit localization.
Pipers® continuously measure the pressure providing a highly detailed method for determining the hydraulic grade line.
Pipers® serve as an in-between solution between hydrostatic testing and conventional in-line inspection tools (i.e. smart pigs), helping operators keep their pipelines safe.
Pipers® measure the magnetic flux density in a pipeline allowing for the localization of any metallic fittings and casings in a non-metallic pipeline.
Hot taps, particularly illegal ones, pose significant risks to pipeline integrity, safety, and operational efficiency.
When combined with off-the-shelf cleaning pigs, Pipers® provide the bend angle, radius, and direction.
Trust INGU’s Pipers® for pipeline inspection under operational conditions, safeguarding your pipeline’s integrity and optimizing its performance.
INGU’s Pipers® in-line inspection solution offers an efficient and economic way to safeguard your pipeline’s integrity and fostering optimized performance. The Pipers® technology provides operators full insight in all pipeline assets under all conditions allowing them to make well informed decisions to keep their pipelines safe and efficient.
Steven is a Venture Principal with Chevron Technology Ventures on the Core Venture Fund investment team. Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) was launched in 1999 to identify and integrate externally developed technologies and new business solutions with the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy now and into the future. Its Core Venture Fund invests in technologies that have the potential to add efficiencies to Chevron’s core business in the areas of operational enhancement, digitalization, and lower-carbon operations.
Steven has 12 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, 10 with Chevron. He has held various assignments in both upstream and downstream, beginning his career in Liquefied Natural Gas Technology Development before transferring to the El Segundo Refinery as a Process Engineer supporting naphtha and gas oil hydrotreaters and then working as a Process Automation Engineer specializing in Safety Systems. Prior to becoming a Venture Principal, Steven first joined Chevron Technology Ventures in 2019 as a Decision Analysis Advisor, supporting projects across the technology portfolio and ensuring high decision quality around development and deployment of externally developed technologies. Prior to joining Chevron, he worked for Baker Hughes Incorporated and ExxonMobil Chemical Company.
Steven holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Data Science, both from Rice University in Houston, TX.
Steve Bolze recently launched Standish Spring Investments to support founders scaling early and growth stage organizations that support the energy transition.
Prior to launching Standish Spring Investments, Steve was a senior managing director and head of infrastructure portfolio operations and asset management for Blackstone’s dedicated infrastructure business. He was one of the founding partners of Blackstone’s infrastructure investment fund, valued at more than $25 billion currently, and partnered with portfolio company CEOs to drive key value creation initiatives.
Before joining Blackstone, Steve had a nearly 25-year career at General Electric, during which time he successfully led several of the company’s largest businesses. In his last role as President and CEO of GE Power and Water, he oversaw the company’s $28 billion power generation and renewables business, operating in over 140 countries with 52,000 employees; at the time its technology helped provide more than one-quarter of the world’s electricity.
George is co-founder and managing partner of Energy Innovation Capital, a capital provider to energy innovators. George is an experienced venture capital investor, having co-founded three corporate venture capital groups: Chevron Technology Ventures, ConocoPhillips Technology Ventures Investments and Energy Technology Ventures. He previously worked in Exploration & Production leadership roles at Chevron and is an active member of AAPG, SEG, and SPE. George holds an MBA from Tulane University, a M.S. in Geology from the University of Kansas and a B.S. in Earth Sciences from the University of New Orleans.