CASE STUDY – PIPELINE INSPECTION IN AN OFFSHORE ENVIRONMENT

IN ASSOCIATION WITH TRINIDAD INSPECTION SERVICES

JME have been supplying Pipeline Crawlers since the mid 1980’s, over that time a loyal customer base has been established. JME were contacted by Trinidad Inspection Services (TIS) in late 2021 to provide information in support of a tender for Offshore Crawler work. The project involved the inspection of approximately 1350 joints of 8” diameter pipework and was scheduled to be undertaken in Quarter 2 of 2022. TIS were being engaged as a sub-contractor to the DeNovo Zandolie Project based in Trinidad and Tobago. The contract duration involved was in the region of 14 days of production, equating to the inspection of around 100 welds per day. This project was scheduled for Quarter 1 of 2022 and the objective was to install a subsea pipeline facilitating the transportation of Hydrocarbons from the Zandolie to the Iguana Platform.

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To initiate this project the team at JME worked in conjunction with the technical team at TIS to provide a review of drawings and documentation to ensure the Pipeline Crawlers suitability for the project. JME worked with the client to ensure suitability of the system for their application, this involved bespoke modelling in CAD to ensure it was able to operate within the client’s specific needs.

The schedule onboard the vessel was challenging as it required continuous operation of the equipment in 2 x 12 hours shift patterns. TIS had operated crawlers historically, however prior projects were land based and this would be their first time operating JME’s new CR2 range of Crawlers. With the offshore nature of this work and the fact that the equipment supplied was JME’s new generation of CR2 Crawlers, the decision was taken that JME and TIS would approach this project from the beginning, with a complete re-training of all personnel. Prior to release, the equipment was configured to operate in an offshore environment. This meant the addition of a magnetic reed switch to prevent the Crawler system from over driving in the pipe. In addition to this, JME also re-orientated the end of pipe sensor in order to allow it to provide protection in conjunction with the stop trolly. JME identified the required equipment and the order was placed. JME was able to get the system onsite 10 days from the confirmation of the order.

Training was provided to the crawler technicians/operators in territory, this involved a 3 day operation and maintenance course. With this training completed, the TIS team were issued with operators training certification for their personnel file and to fulfil site H&S requirements. The team were now fully conversant with all contents of the Crawler package meaning that it could be put into operation quickly once work began on the vessel. During this project any issues encountered were easily overcome using the provided training and the equipment worked flawlessly throughout the inspection process.

This project was a true example of developing a mutually beneficial partnership to provide the end user with an excellent service resulting in exceptional satisfaction. The project was successfully completed on time and all project activities were well planned and effciently executed by the teams involved. All equipment which was used was very well suited to the application and the team were competent in its operation thanks to the onsite training provided to the TIS team in territory. JME’s Pipeline Crawler performed flawlessly throughout the project and was key to ensuring the NDE elements of the project were delivered.

IT WAS NOTED BY ALL OPERATORS THAT THE NEW CR2 RANGE OF PIPELINE CRAWLER SYSTEMS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER AND EASIER TO DEPLOY THAN THE PREVIOUS GENERATIONS.

The smooth operation of the Crawler System throughout the project was testament to the professionalism of the TIS team, the training which was provided and also the exceptional quality of the equipment operating on the job. Due to the successful execution of this job, TIS are in a position where their relationship with this client continues to develop and grow. TIS are currently bidding on additional work of this nature, having proved they are able to consistently deliver onsite, within an aggressive production schedule. With TIS having previous

experience in multiple crawler deployments, it is excellent to see that the set-up and operation of the CR2 range of crawlers is fast and intuitive, which greatly assisted in this project. This ease of use really helped in providing the client with a positive experience in the e†ective completion of this project.

6CR2 PIPELINE CRAWLER TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Source: https://www.jme.co.uk/case-study-pipeline-inspection-in-an-offshore-environment/