Tracerco Announces Fast Scanning Application for Discovery Pipeline Integrity Inspections
A UK-based technology provider has launched a new product for subsea pipeline integrity management. Tracerco, part of Johnson Matthey Plc, has announced a fast scanning application for its subsea pipeline inspection instrument, Discovery.
Following customer feedback, Tracerco has completed further R&D work on the unique technology to develop a new method, specifically for detecting the presence of localized metal loss defects on subsea pipelines, up to five times faster than before.
The new development for Discovery means that once a potential anomaly has been identified via the fast scanning method, a more detailed and accurate scan to fully characterize it can be undertaken, simply by extending the duration of the fast scan. This eliminates the requirement of a separate scan and the need to deploy a secondary technology to validate the findings from the initial fast scanning inspection.
“By enhancing the capabilities of Discovery, operators now have the ability to quickly and accurately screen subsea pipelines to determine whether the integrity is within the acceptable tolerance specification,” said Kim Thye Lee of Tracerco. “With non-intrusive inspection through any type of protective pipeline coating, defects can be fully characterized faster than ever, without interrupting production. This will enable operators to save on time, resource and ultimately the cost of an inspection campaign”.
The first two inspection campaigns using Discovery as a fast scanning technology have recently been completed on a large diameter export pipeline in the Arabian Gulf and across a range of infield flowlines and jumpers in the Gulf of Mexico. The quality and volume of inspection data obtained, provided Tracerco’s customers with sufficient statistical confidence that the fast scanning results were representative of the condition of their entire system. As such, both customers were extremely satisfied with the results, providing another testament to this impressive technology.
Since the launch in 2013, Discovery has been deployed across a number of geographic locations, completing thousands of scans and providing operators with real time integrity data to allow them to make critical decisions quickly and with confidence.
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