Articles

Quest Integrity Group was approached by a client to inspect two sections of an unpiggable 14” high pressure gas pipeline in Australia. The line is over 40 years old and the client wished to evaluate its integrity so as to ensure safe operation for the remaining life of the affected facility. Quest Integrity utilized its InVista™ intelligent pigging technology to perform the inspection.

Inspection and fitness-for-service (FFS) of critical in-plant piping systems remain an ongoing concern for the chemical industry. Recent failures in the US indicate that there is a present and severe risk in piping systems. Historically unpiggable in-plant piping can now be inspected with advanced smart pigging technology for complete ultrasonic inspection. High-resolution inspection data is analyzed to identify the locations and degree of corrosion and piping deformations. This article discusses current industry experience with the inspection and assessment of in-plant piping systems using advanced smart pigging technology.

As seen in the August 2011 edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal

Advances in in-line inspection (ILI) tools and other inspection technology today allow for detailed assessment of unpiggable or difficult-to-pig pipelines.

Detecting and sizing flaws with advanced ultrasonic ILI tools, coupled with the API 579-2007 Fitness-for-Service approach to crack assessment, is a more efficient, reliable approach to determining pipeline FFS than hydro testing.

While many piping systems have historically been deemed “unpiggable,” advances in smart pigging and other inspection technology now allow for inspection of these lines.

As seen in the May 2011 edition of HydroCarbon Engineering:

Advanced integrity assessments based on inspection results can demonstrate that tanks and their components are fit for continued service. This allows tank operators to postpone tank repairs until the next shutdown, eliminate the need for repairs or be exempt from hydrostatic testing.

Las fallas recientes de tuberías de alto perfil en los Estados Unidos, a focalizado el escrutinio de los entes reguladores en la evaluación y la gestión de la integridad en estos activos envejecidos, a través del mundo.
Muchas tuberías viejas, incluyendo aquellas ubicadas en áreas de alta población, tienen geometrías tales como curvaturas de radio pequeño y cambios de diámetro, las cuales han llevado a clasificarlas como 'no inspeccionables'.
La herramienta de inspección InVista™ de la empresa Quest Integrity Group es capaz de inspeccionar dichas tuberías y entregar información del 100% de la superficie de ellas, las cuales no pueden ser inspeccionadas por otras herramientas ILI.

Many older pipelines, including those in heavily populated areas, have geometries such as small radius bends and diameter changes which have traditionally classified them as unpiggable. The InVista™ tool from Quest Integrity Group inspects such pipelines and provides 100% overlapping data coverage of lines that were not able to be navigated by other pigs.

Saudi Aramco, in cooperation with American technology developer Quest Integrity, has successfully demonstrated a new flexible In-Line Inspection (ILI) tool designed to comprehensively inspect some of the company’s “non-scrapeable” pipelines, those that cannot be inspected by regular ILI tools.

Built upon a foundation of leading edge science and technology, Quest Integrity Group and its predecessor companies have innovated and shaped industries for more than 40 years. 'We are focused on empowering our clients’ operating and maintenance decisions through our provision of highly accurate, technology-enabled inspection and assessment solutions,' said Jeff Ott, Quest Integrity Group president. Through its corporate headquarters in Seattle and other U.S. offices in Denver and Houston and its international field offices located in Abu Dhabi; Brisbane, Australia; Calgary, Alberta; Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Wellington, New Zealand, the company serves clients on a global scale.