November 2012, Vol. 239 No. 11

Projects

Monitoring The Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok Pipeline

Omnisens supplied fiber optic monitoring for ground movement, pipeline deformation and temperature measurement along the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline, owned and operated by Gazprom.

The gas transmission system that began operations in 2011 transports gas along Russia’s East Coast through challenging and unstable terrain. The pipeline passes through 94-km of high seismic activity and 32 tectonic faults zones along its 1,132.14-mile route.

Continuous real-time monitoring of ground movement and pipeline deformation with 3D positioning allows the operator to take action at the earliest stage, thus enabling timely risk mitigation and ensuring pipeline integrity through the understanding of actual pipeline structural conditions and ground movement events.

In line with Gazprom’s pipeline integrity monitoring program, Laser Solutions of Moscow installed 21 Omnisens DITEST interrogators to monitor designated high risk zones for early signs of pipeline deformation and earth movement. DITEST fiber optic strain sensors are attached to the pipeline in active tectonic fault sections, to continuously monitor early signs of pipeline deformation. In the remaining unstable zones, fiber optic ground movement sensors are used to detect erosion and gullying. Information about the condition of the pipeline and potential threats is sent from the DITEST interrogators along the pipeline route via SCADA to the Central Control in Khabarovsk.