Frontline Integrity Ltd

As pipelines age, failures due to cracking are becoming more and more common. Unfortunately, we are talking double digits, per year.

Whether you have just had a failure, planning an inspection or just evaluating if cracking is credible on your system, Frontline offers a wide range of services to support you.

Failure Investigation Support

Frontline are available to offer independent support during any failure situation. Whether it is on site, in the lab, or behind a desk we have experience in supporting operators to complete a holistic evaluation and define the immediate management strategy.

Crack Threat Studies

Crack in-line inspection runs can be expensive. Therefore it is very important to do some work upfront to justify the expenditure. We can support operators to answer the following questions:

•     Is cracking credible along my network?
  
•     What type of cracking mechanism is most credible? SCC, fatigue cracking or hydrogen embrittlement?
•     Which pipeline is most susceptible to cracking?
•     Is a crack inspection needed?
•     Should I run any other technology to add value to the crack inspection?
•     Are there any alternative options to evaluate the cracking threat?

Re-inspection Interval Review

Planning a repeat crack detection inspection or need to review the inspection interval?  Frontline can perform a technical evaluation to support the operator.

ILI Planning

All pipelines are different and alternative inspection strategies may be required depending on the cracking threat.  When considering an ILI campaign, Frontline can support the operator with:

• Identification of technologies needed to address the threat
• Market technology appraisal considering pipeline design, the credible cracking threat(s) and anticipated critical crack size
• Anticipated critical crack size

ILI Execution and Evaluation

An ILI campaign can be exhausting, especially if you are running multiple technologies along multiple pipelines. To support the operator, Frontline can offer additional support at this key stage (if required):

• Ad-hoc technical advisory role, supporting key stages such as tool deployment, run acceptance and ILI vendor progress meetings.
  
• Client representation / Project management of the entire work scope.

ILI Reporting

To maximise the value of any crack detection inspection, it is important that the correct sites are selected for verification during the preliminary reporting stage. Frontline can support with:

• Feature Prioritisation (considering severity, susceptibility, ILI confidence and overall risk)
• In-field Support
• ILI Data Analysis Review (Technical advisory role or Client representation)
• ILI Performance Validation in line with API 1163

Detailed Analysis

Once the data is available, we can support with:

•  Immediate Integrity Assessments (Fracture)
• Crack growth assessments (Fatigue/Environmental Growth), confirming when you need to dig the reported features
• Risk Assessments
• Strategic Future Planning

Other

We can also provide consultancy around the following tasks if required:

•     Material Testing
  
•     Repair
•     Operational Response Support

In addition to our core crack management offering, we have many years’ experience managing all integrity threats for entire pipeline networks, both onshore and subsea:

• Life Extension Studies
• Statements of Integrity
• FFP Assessment
• In-field Support
• Risk Assessments
• Anomaly Management

Bespoke training sessions or workshops can be created to support operators around any aspect of crack management. Get in touch to find out more.