Tracerco’s Subsea Technologies include diagnostic technologies designed to optimise the performance and assess the integrity of your subsea assets as well as a range of highly accurate and reliable subsea instrumentation to measure level and density.
Our instrumentation has been designed to deliver in the harshest environments with over 20 years life and has been deployed in many projects globally.
1、Introducing unique technologies from Tracerco
As assets age over time oilfield professionals are continuously faced with the test of ensuring efficient production and pipeline integrity. Inspection of these pipelines subsea has often presented challenges where pigging is not an option or deemed too risky. Until now, inspecting a pipeline from the outside was costly and often an ineffective high risk. Tracerco has broken down this barrier to inspection by allowing online inspection of the pipe from the outside without removing the protective coating, therefore saving on the costs of an inspection campaign. Discovery and Explorer technologies have been created for flow assurance and integrity specialists concerned with subsea pipelines that cannot be inspected by conventional means such as ILI tools. These technologies can be deployed on pipelines, online, without any interruption to production or the need for pipeline modifications.
2、Introducing the world’s first Subsea CT Scanner
Discovery is a diagnostics tool designed to detect wall thinning and build-up such as hydrate, sand, asphaltene or wax. Discovery is deployed using an ROV and clamped onto the pipe. Real time communications allow instant assessment of pipeline conditions. Different versions are available based on pipe diameter and depth of deployment, all are fully marinised. Unlike alternative technologies such as ultrasonic and pulsed eddy current, Discovery eliminates the expense and risk of damaging pipelines on coating removal/re-application. Discovery provides tomographic scans of wall thickness maps and pipe contents (showing any type of deposit build up). Multiphase flow does not affect results which are close to 1mm in accuracy.
3、Coated pipeline screening technology for flow assurance
Tracerco has developed Explorer to provide screening services in order to identify areas of interest for further investigation. Whilst computer modelling can predict flow profiles and deposit build up, it is not as accurate or reliable as real time data. Explorer has unique technology that allows pipelines to be quickly screened for the location of any deposits, with several kilometres of line surveyed per shift without any interruption to production.
4、Integrity and Inspection
Discovery provides integrity specialists with a reliable method of measuring the wall thickness of pipelines.
Accurate sizing of wall thickness can be made in minutes with a high resolution image of pipeline contents being provided from an external scan of the pipeline.
The tomographic image shows flaws within the pipe walls and allows operators to plan for the future life of the pipeline.
Deployment of Discovery brings several benefits to integrity specialists:
1.Removes the concern and risk of internal inspection tools getting stuck and interrupting production
2.Allows unpiggable pipelines that were previously considered impossible to inspect to be assessed
3.It can be deployed quickly by ROV and no modification to the pipeline is required
4.Measurements can be taken online with no interruption to production with immediate results
5.Saves on the cost and risk of coating removal
6.Greater accuracy for non-intrusive techniques allowing confidence in extended life calculations
7.Verification and sizing
5、Pipe-in-Pipe Systems
For the first time Discovery provides integrity specialists with a reliable method of diagnosing wall thinning of both pipes in a pipe-in-pipe system.
Inline inspection only provides data on the condition of the inner pipe. External AUT only provides data on the condition of the outer pipe.
Discovery provides accurate data on both pipes as well as pipeline contents.
Integrity and inspection specialists can now obtain data on anomolies and wall thinning as well as water ingress between pipes, allowing both the inner and outer pipeline in a pipe-in-pipe system to be inspected from the outside.
6、Risers, Caissons and Pipe Bundles
Discovery also provides integrity specialists with an accurate method of obtaining integrity data on all types of coated risers including caissons and any internal flowlines.
7、Flow Assurance
Discovery provides flow assurance specialists with a reliable method of diagnosing flow abnormalities within pipelines without interruption to pipeline operations.
Flow Assurance Specialists can now obtain an accurate measurement of hydrate, wax, asphaltene or scale build up in pipelines, which was previously impossible using any other technology.
Discovery can be deployed on a variety of flowlines including pipe-in-pipe and risers, caissons and pipe bundles.
Discovery can also diagnose the effectiveness of any remedial treaent.
This has several benefits for the operator:
1.Ensure remediation is right first time to save on the costs on ineffectual campaigns
2.Previously unobtainable data can now be obtained on hydrate, wax and other build-up in pipelines to allow the operator to optimise production
3.Measurements can be taken online with no interruption to pipeline operations, ensuring no loss of revenue to the operator
4.There is no risk of a stuck pig
5.There is no risk to production as the measurements are taken from the outside of the pipeline
6.No need to remove coatings (cost saving)
7.Immediate results
8.Can be used for the inspection of unpiggable pipelines
9.Non-intrusive detection
10.Easily deployed and simple operation through an ROV Explorer is also available for fast screening to identify areas of interest scanning several kilometres of line per shift prior to deploying Discovery.
8、Application
Discovery, the world’s first subsea CT scanner for flowlines, has successfully completed the first deep-water deployment on Shell-operated flowlines in the Gulf of Mexico.
Discovery was developed by Tracerco, part of the FTSE100 Johnson Matthey Plc, in response to an industry need for a non-invasive method of scanning subsea flowlines. The technology is used to establish the integrity of subsea pipeline assets.
In total, Discovery scanned ten flowlines including jumpers, steel catenary risers, and pipe in pipe flowlines all of varying diameters. Over 250 CT scan images over a pipeline length of 50,000 feet, at depths down to 4,200 feet, were generated. In the Gulf of Mexico, based on such data, Shell was able to build a complete profile of their pipeline, which helped to confirm the condition of the asset.
Shell undertook a comprehensive technology review to select an inspection solution to support safe, efficient, and competitive operations.
Discovery offers three key advantages over alternative inspection technologies:
1.The device attaches to the outside of the flowline, allowing the inspection campaign to be conducted while production continues;
2.There is no need to remove the insulation coating on the flowline, minimising the risk of flowline damage or of the build-up of hydrates;
3.Scan image data is available in real time, allowing engineers to rapidly evaluate and respond to any integrity and flow assurance problems.
Jim Bramlett, Business Development Manager for Tracerco’s Subsea Technologies division, said: “Using Discovery we were able to quickly deliver data, drip feeding the scans through to Shell engineers then providing an in-depth analysis once we had all the information. We understand that for each day a pipeline is out of action, or not performing at peak, there are significant financial implications: safety, speed and efficiency were key drivers in developing this cutting-edge technology.”
The planning, preparation and execution of the inspection campaign was a joint effort which provided access to the Discovery CT scan images, and Tracerco’s expert interpretation, within the same day.
Discovery scans pipelines from the outside to gain an accurate picture of the condition of the pipe and the flow, with no need to remove the protective coating and no interruption to production. It is a highly accurate, rapid and low risk solution to gaining information on flowlines including pipe-in-pipe and bundle systems.
Discovery provides a 360 degree, high resolution scan of pipeline contents and pipe walls in real time, with defect resolution of 1mm.
石油圈
