Technical Brief

Desert Road Crossing Inspection allows the operator to inspect over the full frequency
range of the system with having to change the
Plant Integrity Limited spacing.
inspected with the Teletest
Focus+ Guided Wave
System below grade
pipeline at road crossings in
the Sahara desert, North
Africa.

These crossings were of

particular concern because
they did not have cathodic
protection.

Guided Waves are a suitable method for inspecting

road crossings because 100% volumetric inspection
of the buried road crossing locations can be achieved.
Best practice would be to access and inspect the
crossing from both sides.
In this case study a 12 condensate line was buried at
a depth of between 1m and 2m and areas of metal
loss were identified follow-up inspection.
A-Scan and A-Map showing the region at weld requiring follow
up.
A particular region highlighted in the
scan above was identified for follow
up. It is clear to see in the A-scan
that the circled girth weld signal is
displaying a very irregular signal
when compared to the other 3
remaining welds. A Category 2 and
Category 1 indication was also
noted adjacent to the suspect weld.

The client excavated this region to find extensive

external corrosion around the weld and in the region
adjacent to it. After performing Manual UT the
remaining wall thickness was found to be 5.8mm from
a nominal thickness of 9.6mm. The road crossing was
subsequently decommissioned and production flow
rerouted via an alternative crossing.
Location photo of a typical road crossing

In the buried section the pipeline changed schedule

and was also FBE coated.

Plant Integritys inspection team managed to achieve

full coverage on all the road crossings inspected
utilising the Teletest 5-ring torsional system (pictured)

A close up of one area of corrosion identified adjacent to weld.

which was developed for these types of pipelines with
high attenuation. This system operates in 3-ring
torsional wavemode at 30mm and 45mm spacings.
This configuration not only provides more power and
subsequently better penetration over 2- rings, but also
For information on how we can support your pipeline
integrity management programme, please contact us by
email at info@plantintegrity.com or by telephone at our
Cambridge, UK headquarters on 0044 1223 893994.

Plant Integrity Ltd

Granta Park, Gt Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP
T: +44 (0) 1223 893994 F: +44 (0) 1223 893944
info@plantintegrity.com
www.plantintegrity.com A TWI Group Company