Session: 03-03-08 Feature Assessment Case Studies - Selective Seam Weld Corrosion II

Paper Number: 134060

134060 - Pull Testing and Statistical Evaluation of ILI Capabilities on SSWC and Other Anomalies 

Abstract: 

TC Energy (TCE) operates and maintains natural gas, refined products and crude oil pipelines in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The Natural Gas Pipeline network includes 92,600 kilometers (57,539 miles) of gas pipeline, transporting more than 25% of North American natural gas demand. In addition, TCE’s Liquids Pipelines division includes 4,900 kilometers (3,045 miles) of crude oil pipelines, shipping 590,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is approximately 20% of the Western Canadian exports.

As part of its Integrity Management Program, TCE identified Selective Seam Weld Corrosion (SSWC) as one of the significant threats for certain seam weld types in their pipeline system. It also identified In-Line Inspection as the preferred methodology to address it. In that regard, multiple ILI vendors have claimed capabilities in detecting, identifying, and sizing SSWC features, which require careful evaluation and assessment.

TCE designed a pull-through testing exercise to statistically evaluate and validate those capabilities. The testing aims to test multiple ILI systems from different ILI vendors for SSWC and other threats that have not been validated before and to confirm the detection capabilities for specific pipe attributes. The final objective is to have an array of ILI vendors and technologies to address each threat cost-effectively.

The 24-inch diameter string constructed for this project included joints with synthetic and natural features, including SSWC, pits at the SW and in the pipe body, axial and circumferential slots in the pipe body, individual cracks, crack colonies, laminations, wrinkle bends, hard spots, dents with gouges and plain dents.

Five ILI systems from five ILI technology providers were tested.

The project included the pipe acquisition, the testing string design, the defect creation, the NDE and Lab evaluation of the reference data, the pull-through testing, the ILI vs Reference feature matching, and the statistical analysis of the results.

This paper presents the results of this study.

Presenting Author: Zain Al-Hasani TC Energy

Presenting Author Biography: Zain has over 15 years of professional experience in the Oil and Gas industry, from the offshore to onshore liquid and gas, focused on Pipeline Integrity, including Pipeline Integrity Management, PHMSA regulatory compliance, Fitness For Service, Engineering Critical Assessment, program development, data strategy optimization, and ILI technology validation and development. Since June 2021, Zain has been working at TC Energy; his current role is Technology Development Lead for the Mega Rule team.

Authors:

Zain Al-Hasani TC Energy
Pablo Cazenave Blade Energy Partners
Katina Jimenez Blade Energy Partners
Ryan Milligan Blade Energy Partners