Apollo is working alongside the Net Zero Technology Centre and its operator partners to produce a pipeline internal integrity software.
It is called Pipeline Assurance Simulation Solution (PASS) and allows dynamic and accurate internal integrity of pipelines to be understood. This non-intrusive but robust tool is being used to target inspection campaigns whilst providing significant cost savings over more traditional, invasive approaches.
The Problem
The subsea industry spends millions on pipeline inspection, mainly due to offshore inspection costs rather than upfront work. With over 3000 pipeline systems in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), this presents a significant cost. Presently, subsea inspection campaigns are built on non-dynamic Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) models that are not based on monitored process conditions.
The Solution
Through the development of PASS™, Apollo is providing a tool that allows an accurate picture of the pipeline integrity to be visualised. There is a forward forecast function (FFF) which allows trending around a probabilistic method to ascertain future integrity issues and also allows linkage to an RBI model.
And for all you engineers who want more details:
The background
There is around 50,000km of pipelines in UKCS which require regular maintenance, with the key question for pipeline operators being summarised as:
“What is the internal condition of my pipeline? When and where do I need to do anything?”
The challenge is knowing the condition of the pipeline with a sufficient level of confidence in a cost-effective manner.
The solution
PASS™ provides operators confidence in building an accurate and dynamic integrity model for their pipeline based on service conditions to minimise physical and expensive inspection campaigns. It uses flow assurance to build a picture of the state of the pipeline based on previous flow conditions (rates, temperatures, pressures), this makes it more accurate than traditional hand calculation methods. It is wrapped up in software making it more user friendly and more informed in decision making.
What did the client think?
There has been good feedback from our client base to date. Developments in the pipeline (pun intended) will increase the use further!
If you are interested in reaching out to our digital team to discuss the above get in touch at oilandgas@apollo.engineer