Lifetime Extension (LTE) study for an offshore pipeline system in the UAE
INTRODUCTION
Total are the top foreign oil company active in the U.A.E.. Since 1974, the company has been operator of the Abu Al Bukhoosh oil fields off Abu Dhabi, and in 2015 its offshore pipeline system reached the end of their design life. A LTE study was needed to assess the integrity of the pipelines. IRM Systems provided pipeline inspection and assessment services, and were subsequently able to prove the system’s integrity for the next 10 years.
PROJECT CHALLENGES
The system in question consisted of non-piggable pipelines. Internal inspection devices, or pigs, provide the most complete data set on a pipeline. Without such a capability, IRM Systems coordinated a variety of methods to evaluate the general condition of the pipeline. By collecting multiple data sets – including external survey data, design data and assessments of fluids – IRM Systems were able to prove the integrity of the pipeline system for a lifetime extension of another 10 years.
ADDED VALUE
An internal inspection is by far the best way to prove the integrity of a pipeline, but if you can’t get in with a tool then you it’s almost impossible, and you do not really have an alternative. At least not one alternative.
We could prove the integrity of this pipeline, so we accepted the pipeline extension for 10 years.
As a consequence the client could remain in business and produce oil and gas so, happy client.
YEAR
2015