Monitoring

Pipeline Integrity: History of Direct Assessment Process

Direct assessment is a process through which a pipeline operator determines a pipeline’s integrity through integrating knowledge of the physical characteristics and operating history of a pipeline with the results of diagnostic testing.

Benefits of Predictive Maintenance in Oil and Gas with Edge Computing

Predictive maintenance uses data, like temperature, vibration, and throughput, collected by sensors, then analyzed for any red flags or abnormal results. This data is then used to forecast when maintenance should be completed to avoid decreased efficiency or equipment failure.

Appropriate Methods for Repairing Pipelines

Over many decades now, the ever-growing network of on- and offshore pipelines has transported an increasing volume of refined petroleum products, industrial chemicals, crude oil and natural gas to commercial and household customers. North America is a case in point.

Gassco Changes Make Norway Gas Flows Harder to Gauge - Analysts

Norwegian gas pipeline operator Gassco launched a revamped data website this week that switches away from live physical flows, drawing criticism from analysts who say it has reduced transparency in a key energy market.

Managing Complex Pipeline Compliance with Software Solutions

From maintenance and testing to record-keeping and audits, operators often underestimate how complex and time-consuming the path toward compliance will be.

Control Rooms Faced with Navigating the Pandemic

We asked over 300 controllers from 13 U.S. and Canadian control rooms for first-hand accounts of how their companies responded to the pandemic and controller needs.

Dresser NGS Expands Product Line with Acquisition of Flow Safe

Dresser Natural Gas Solutions has acquired Flow Safe in a move that enables the Houston-based measurement and instrumentation provider to offer over-pressure protection for its natural gas customers.

Transforming Pipeline Monitoring with AI, Drone Technology

The oil and gas industry, pipeline monitoring in particular, is deriving great benefit from the implementation of both drone technology and AI.

Evolution of Effective Design for Alarm Management Applications

Specialized applications have become the norm for high-performance data analysis in today’s market, and these applications have continued to evolve as technology trends push big data analytics to the forefront of the automation industry.

Pipeline SMS: A Control Room Focus

In this article, approaches to support cultural change among pipeline operators are addressed, as are approaches that might be implemented in the pipeline control room.

PHMSA Eases Pipeline Regulations, Enforcement in Response to Pandemic

Responding to the impact Covid-19 on midstream staffing and resources, PHMSA has issued two guidance documents to ease some operating requirements, allow discretion in enforcement and provide flexibility to support the critical needs of state and industry partners.

Control Centers at the Heart of Innovation, Advancement

Just as technology advances helped drive U.S. oil and gas producers to new heights, operators of the energy highways – the pipelines and their sophisticated control centers – are increasingly harnessing innovation to gain efficiency.

Embedding Operating Procedures in Pipeline SCADA

The pipeline supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) operator has one of the most critical jobs in the pipeline industry and should be given all the help available to keep pipelines safe and liquid flowing. To this end, more than 25 years ago, a major oil company determined that SCADA-embedded operating procedures and safety features were needed to improve safety.

Russia, Belarus Closer to Resolving Supply, Pipeline Issues: Moscow

Russia and Belarus, who have yet to resolve a dispute over contamination of an oil pipeline, are closer to resolving their differences on oil and gas supplies, Russia's economy minister said Saturday after talks between the two countries.

How to Readily Access Accurate Data in Pipeline Integrity Management

In my experience, there are two common complaints from pipeline operators, and they occur at two different stages of the pipeline – one during construction, and the other during operations – but they are at their core the same: access to readily accurate data.

Our World Is Moving – And So Are The Pipelines

Strain assessments and pipeline movement assessments allow operators to identify and mitigate threats presented by geohazards.

Improving Data Loss During In-Line Inspections

Although there are other inspection methods, such as direct assessment or hydrostatic testing, ILIs are the most popular worldwide due to number of factors, including practicality, cost-effectiveness and accuracy.

Utility Finds Big Assist with Low-Pressure Issue

While psi levels vary depending on the application, real-time pressure monitoring is essential for utilities that supply natural gas to residential and commercial endpoints on their distribution networks.

PHMSA Publishes "Mega" Rule After Nearly A Decade of Work

U.S. transportation officials on Tuesday adopted long-delayed measures that are meant to prevent pipeline spills and deadly gas explosions but don't address recommended steps to lessen accidents once they occur.

Produced Water Spills into Missouri River Tributary

Cleanup is underway after 21,000 gallons of brine oilfield wastewater leaked from an underground pipeline in western North Dakota and into an unnamed tributary of the Missouri River, the state Health Department said Monday.

Emerson

Emerson released the Micro Motion 4200 2-wire loop-powered Coriolis transmitter, a new design that makes it possible to replace existing two-wire flow devices with minimal effort and without incurring additional power or cabling costs. The device can accommodate the largest line size (4-inch) of any..

Sercel-GRC

Sercel-GRC (GRC) recently sold the 1000th Spy Pro gauge for downhole ESP systems. Rated for 5,000 and 10,000 psi at 150 degrees C (302 degrees F), the device can record up to 11 parameters, used to monitor the ESP production system. This includes intake and discharge pressures, intake and motor temp..

WFS Technologies

WFS Technologies offers Seatooth PipeLogger, an integrated pipeline, umbilical, risers and flowlines temperature monitoring and data transfer solution. It can provide real-time monitoring for offshore and subsea assets. It has been used to reduce the risk and operational costs associated with coiled..

SwRI Improves Structural Monitoring of Aging Pipelines with Transducers

Maintenance of aging pipelines, especially ones that are insulated and/or buried, is a major challenge, due to limited access for application of conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. Even when access is available, financial and time constraints mean that conventional NDE is often carried out on a sampling basis, which makes it less reliable than full coverage inspection.

Measuring Crack Defects with Sub-Millimeter Accuracy

Ultrasonic crack technology, using piezoelectric transducers, is a proven and widely used solution for crack and crack-like defect detection in liquids pipelines. Over the past 20 years, only minor developments and improvements in this area were offered to pipeline operators.

Abriox

Software and hardware systems can be costly to install on a broad scale, but Osprey, designed and built by Abriox, is helping utilities supplement surveillance at multiple locations by monitoring, gathering and processing real-time data, economically. Osprey allows users to see daily compilations of..

Technical Toolboxes

Technical Toolboxes released Version 19.0 of its The Pipeline Toolbox. The device features a range of improved calculations and applications, along with an embedded new license manager that strengthens security and enables better visibility. With its more than 230 pipeline-specific oil and gas appli..

Mass. Budgets Statewide Review of Natural Gas Systems

Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a spending bill that funds a statewide examination of Massachusetts’ natural gas distribution system. The review was ordered after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that killed one person, injured 25 others and damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in the Merrimack Valley.

Emerson

Emerson  Emerson’s TopWorx TV-LED Switchbox provides a local, ultra-bright LED position indicator plus an electrical signal/digital input that communicates valve position remotely to the control room or plant management system. With its 360° viewing angle, the device enabl..

Unwanted Night Moves

Whenever the subject of internal corrosion in pipelines comes up, it rekindles some unpleasant memories from my extensive time as a pipeline company spokesperson. Being part of an emergency response team for over 12 years was rewarding in many ways, but there was always an uneasy feeling when the phone would ring in the middle of the night.