Integrity Maintenance for a Gas Pipeline

Background

The UAE client operates various fields with many surface-laid oil flowlines. The flowlines are made of bare steel pipes as per API 5L, and some of the fields have been operating for more than 30 years. 

Challenge

The flowlines are facing integrity challenges of internal and external corrosion due to reservoir changes and environmental conditions. The integrity challenges could not be solved by conventional methods of pigging due to the vast number of oil flowlines paired with conservative requirements of operations and HSE.   

Internal corrosion is becoming a major concern in terms of the integrity of the flowlines. With new challenging reservoirs, artificial drive mechanisms, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the constituents of the transport stream are becoming more corrosive. High levels of CO² & H2S, increased water cuts, decreased flow rates, and the presence of bacteria is causing an increase in flowline leaks. All existing oil flowlines are bare, and the surface is laid in pipeline corridors. The pipelines are buried with a minimum of 1 meter in depth (higher wall thickness, externally coated, and CP protected) at existing intersections such as roads, tracks, pipelines, cables, and other facilities.   

Solution

Penspen will deliver asset integrity solutions for the compromised pipelines. Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes (RTP) have been selected as one of the possible solutions to mitigate internal and external corrosion. The client has identified the various flowlines that need to be replaced with RTP pipe, and the new RTP oil flowline will be installed in parallel to the existing flowline where it will follow the existing flowline route and tie-in.