February 2010 Vol. 237 No. 2

Projects

Pipeline Inspection Minimizes Project Risk In Angola Oilfield

UK-based specialist measurement technology company Optical Metrology Services (OMS) Ltd. has completed a pipe inspection study for BP Exploration (Angola) Ltd. in the Plutão, Saturno, Vênus and Marte (PSVM) fields that lie in a water depth of 2,000 m, 400 km northwest of Luanda, Angola.

The contract required OMS to carry out an initial sample survey of pipe ends, followed by the detailed laser dimensional inspection, the sorting and marking of more than 12,000 pipe ends, including critical, fatigue-sensitive, flow line sections.

As well as helping the customer implement the pipe end fit-up process and fatigue HiLo strengths, the study ensured that pipe-welding time and counter-bore crew costs were minimized. Using the OMS PipeChecker Laser technology, more than 2,000 measurements of the inside and outside diameter of the pipe ends in less than 20 seconds were taken, providing the exact shape of the pipes.