TracercoÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s Discoveryâ„¢, the worldÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s first subsea CT scanner for flowlines, has successfully completed the first deepwater deployment on Shell-operated flowlines in the Gulf of Mexico. The technology is used to establish the integrity of subsea pipeline assets.
ShellÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s Gulf of Mexico flowlines
In total, Discovery scanned 10 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 ft, at depths down to 4200 ft, 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.
Advantages of subsea CT scanner technology
TracercoÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s subsea CT scanner offers three key advantages over alternative inspection technologies:
Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»¢ The device attaches to the outside of the flowline, allowing the inspection campaign to be conducted while production continues.
Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»¢ 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.
Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»¢ 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 TracercoÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s Subsea Technologies division, said: Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»œUsing 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.Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»
The planning, preparation and execution of the inspection campaign was a joint effort which provided access to the Discovery CT scan images, and TracercoÂé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»™s expert interpretation, within the same day.
Adapted from press release by
Ìý