Fitness for Purpose (FFP) Assessment for a Pipeline System

Background

The client, a national petroleum company, required technical expertise on the return to service of a major pipeline that runs through the Andes mountains, 17 years after being out of commission. They wanted to ensure its safe operation based on the compliance with applicable national and international regulations.

The integrity assessments needed to be completed within strict timelines due to the pipeline’s operational start date, necessitating the rapid management, correlation, and evaluation of vast amounts of historical pipeline data.

Scope of Work

Integrity assessments were conducted by Penspen’s Asset Integrity team, and paired with THEIA, Penspen’s Digital Pipeline Integrity Management Solution, to effectively meet project requirements. Utilising THEIA, the client benefitted from :

• Accurate management and assessment of a vast volume of pipeline data
• Tracking of the previous pipeline In-Line Inspections performed, and its corresponding reports
• Estimation of the corrosion growth rate (CGR) for the pipeline’s sections using modules such as Welding Correlation, Matching Features & CGR

Result

Deploying a digital pipeline management solution such as THEIA proved to be an invaluable tool, processing all the information records efficiently and easily for the client to refer to. The condition of the pipeline was analysed efficiently due to the statistics on the In-Line Inspection data provided. Mapping visualisations from the THEIA modules supported the client in the decision-making process related to the maintenance actions.

The client was able to store information about the pipeline (such as the ILI records, construction and operating details) in one centralised location – the document repository – providing them with easy access to relevant data and greatly reducing the risk of using incorrect data for future integrity management.

As a result, the client was advised that the pipeline satisfies all applicable national and international requirements and can re-operate safely once again.