Pipeline Pigging and Inspection

13 October, 2011
7:30am	Registration & coffee
8:00am-5:00pm	Course
14 October, 2011
8:00am-4:45pm	Course

The use of in-line tools for inspection and cleaning is accepted as essential for the safe and profitable operation of all pipelines. Now, Regulations require internal inspections using geometry pigs for detecting changes in circumference and MFL or ultrasonic pigs for determining wall anomalies, or wall loss due to corrosion in onshore pipelines in the US. Offshore, pipeline operators wage a constant battle for flow assurance against paraffin, hydrate, and asphaltene formation in deepwater lines, and pigging technology combined with chemical treatment is their primary weapon. The Pigging and In-line Inspection Course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of utility and in-line inspection pigging. Led by four of the most experienced, independent experts in this field today, the course will be conducted as a workshop, and attendees will be actively encouraged to participate. The course content will be fully illustrated, with actual pigs and models being used to aid understanding and help overcome any language difficulties. Comprehensive course notes will be provided, which will form a valuable source of reference afterwards.

Who should attend

The course is especially designed for project managers, engineers, maintenance and technical personnel responsible for pipeline integrity assurance, flow assurance, corrosion control, and safety.

Course Notes

Included with the course fee is a detailed set of lecture notes and the reference handbook Pipeline Pigging Handbook, 3rd Edition, by J. Cordell and H. Vanzant (272pp - a $125 value) providing invaluable reference documents after the course.

Continuing Education Units

Upon completion of the course, participants will be eligible to receive 1.4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Lecturers

Dr. Michael Beller has more than 20 years experience in the pipeline inspection industry. Formerly with Preussag Pipeline Services, Pipetronix and PII, he is today the Global Marketing Manager of NDT Systems & Services AG. Michael holds a Master´s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has obtained his Ph.D. in fracture mechanics. He has been involved with a large number of inspection projects all around the world, including onshore and offshore inspection work. Michael has considerable experience as a presenter, trainer and in lecturing. He has authored more than 40 papers on the subject of pipeline inspection and intelligent pigging and is also co-author of a German reference book on Pigging Technology. Currently Michael serves on a number of Technical Committees and is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Pipeline Integrity. He is the former president of the Pipeline Products and Services Association, where he still serves as a director.

Thomas Beuker has more than 19 years experience in developing pipeline inspection solutions. Currently he is the Marketing Manager at ROSEN responsible for the business segment pipelines, Thomas holds a Master degree in Geophysics from the University of Muenster, Germany. His expertise lies in data analysis, finite element modeling, development of new sensor technologies and management of international research projects. He is the author of several international published papers and presented inspection solutions on various international conferences all over the world. Thomas has been a member of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing since 1992. Since 1997, he has been ROSEN's representative at the Pipeline Research Council International.

Paul Birkinshaw joined Penspen Integrity in 2008 as a Pigging Technical Specialist. Prior to this, Paul spent 15 years working in the oil and gas industry for a major pigging services provider, gaining first hand experience in project managing, selling and delivering a broad range of pipeline inspection and associated pigging and integrity management services to major oil and gas operators globally.

André Gonçalves is a Senior Pipeline Integrity Engineer with extensive experience in the integrity management of onshore and offshore oil and gas pipelines. André has worked on a wide range of pipeline integrity projects for numerous operators around the world. André’s experience includes the detailed assessment of pipeline defects, pipeline risk based inspection, inspection planning, pipeline pigging and pigging technology, pipeline repair, and pipeline fracture control. André is an experienced lecturer and has delivered numerous training courses in pipeline engineering topics including pipeline defect assessment, on-line inspection, and inspection of unpiggable pipelines. He has lectured extensively in the UK and also world wide including Rio de Janeiro, Houston, and Tripoli. As well as in English André is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.

Course Outline

DAY 1

Introduction to Pigging & Pipelines

   Pipeline fundamentals
   Pigging history
   Introduction to pigging in the oil & gas industry

Pigging for Operation and Maintenance

Pigging during construction
Pigging during operation
Utility Pigs
Cleaning pigs
Sealing pigs
Gauging pigs
Dual diameter pigs
Magnetic cleaning pigs
Designing a Pipeline for Pigging
Pig traps and pigging stations
Location and tracking devices

In-line Inspection (ILI) Tools - Theory, Performance, and Detection Limits

Metal loss In-line Inspection
Other In-Line Inspection Tools
Crack detection pigs
Mapping
Geometry and bend-detection pigs
Wax deposition measurement
Spanning pigs
Semi-intelligent pigs

DAY 2

Pig Traps
   Pig trap designs
   Different types of closures
   Pig trap layouts
   Procedures for operations
   How to measure pig traps

Launch & Receive of Pigs
   Equipment required
   How pipework and trap design are set for pigging
   Procedures to launch and receive pigs
   Safety
   Lifting and loading

Pigging Project Feasibility
Piping aspects (and how they affect pig
selection and feasibility)

Presence of pig traps and type of pig traps commonly used.
Temporary or permanent
Pipeline bends (what are the limits?)
Tees, valves, special fittings, multiple diameters
Special pig designs used now and possible in the future

Operational conditions (how they affect pig
selection and feasibility)

Pressure, flow rate, temperature
Dust, debris, wax

Pig Inspection Data Reports
   Understanding what they say
   Defects
   What actions are required?

Planning and carrying out Verification digs
   How to measure location
   Site safety for excavations
   Planning the work
   Cleaning pipe surface
   Measuring defects (equipment to use)

Overview of Unpiggable Pipelines
   What makes them unpiggable
   How could they be inspected
   Pigging Offline
   Tethered Pigs
   Crawlers

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