Targeted In-Line Inspection Strategy Optimisation for TEAM Terminal’s Pipeline System

Project Background

TEAM Terminal is one of the largest oil storage and transshipment companies in the Europoort area of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. With an annual throughput of 35 million cubic metres of crude oil, the terminal handles approximately 25% of the region’s total throughput, which supplies domestic and international markets.

To support the safe and efficient operation of their 325km pipeline system, TEAM Terminal engaged Penspen to independently review and optimise their in-line inspection (ILI) strategy to align inspection activities with the most critical integrity threats.

Project objectives included:

• Conducting a comprehensive integrity assessment of the pipeline network
• Identifying and prioritising actual threats based on historical ILI data, previous assessments, and operational experience
• Selecting inspection tools capable of accurately detecting and sizing the identified priority threats
• Reducing inspection costs by avoiding unnecessary deployment of tools for low-risk threats without compromising safety.

Services

To determine the most suitable in-line inspection (ILI) technologies, Penspen’s Asset Integrity team conducted a comprehensive threat assessment to identify current and potential future pipeline integrity risks.

The process involved reviewing past ILI data, cathodic protection (CP) surveys, and integrity assessments, as well as engaging directly with TEAM Terminal to understand historical integrity challenges. Identified threats were then categorised by pipeline risk level, allowing tool selection to focus on technologies best suited to detecting high-priority defects, while avoiding unnecessary tools for low-risk threats.

The review revealed internal corrosion, particularly microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), as the most significant threat. MIC often presents as small, localised damage such as pinholes and pitting, which are difficult to detect but can lead to leaks. The team therefore prioritised tools capable of accurately detecting and sizing such features.

Other assessed threats included:

• External corrosion – medium risk
• Dents – low risk
• Cracks – low risk
• Pipe bending – low risk

Crack detection tools were deprioritised due to the low frequency and long fatigue life of observed cracks. Similarly, the likelihood of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) was assessed using coating quality, CP data, and historical SCC occurrences. The low risk justified deprioritising ultrasonic tools for SCC detection.

Beyond threat prioritisation, the team conducted detailed market research to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of available ILI technologies, ensuring alignment with TEAM Terminal’s specific operational and pipeline integrity requirements.

Result

The outcome enables TEAM Terminal to successfully focus inspection resources on the most critical integrity threats. By prioritising tool selection based on actual risk and removing unnecessary inspections, Team Terminal is now able to reduce operational costs, enhance the accuracy of threat detection, and further enhance the long-term safety and reliability of their pipeline system.

• Interested in learning more? Contact us