Pipeline Operations and Integrity

Management
Colegio de Ingeneiros del Peru
- Capitulo de Ingenieria Quimica
- May 29th - 30th 2017

Dr Alan Murray P Eng FASME

Calgary ,AB
Canada

Alan Murray 2017 1

 Suggestions for a Successful
Learning Experience
• Relax!
• Make notes
• Actively participate and share your thoughts/experiences
• Be respectful of others
• There are no stupid questions , so ask at any time. Write them down if you are
really shy!
• Whatever else works for you.

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Alan Murray 2017
 Introduction and Course Objectives
• Provide an introduction to the current best
practices in operating and maintaining a
modern Pipeline network.
• Provide background to some of the key issues in
developing an approach to managing pipeline
integrity
• Provide a good source of reference material for
future use

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Outline

Pipeline Operations

Where are we? Pipeline Maintenance

Pipeline Integrity management
Inspection and Assessment Methods
Pipeline repairs
Emergency Response Planning.

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Module 1 Pipeline Operations
• In this module we have an overview of:
• The nominations process for gas and liquid
Pipeline systems.
• Scheduling and batching multiproducts
• Metering and custody transfer
• Supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA)

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Transportation Service
• The pipeline is the link between the product supplies
and the market including end customers.
• Pipeline companies provide transportation service for
shippers including suppliers and customers.
• Transportation service involves the receipt of the
products, the transportation through its pipeline
network, and the delivery of the products to the
customers.
• Two types of services are available: firm and
interruptible. A firm service is a guaranteed
transportation service, while an interruptible service is
not guaranteed if there is a capacity constraint.

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 6

 Transportation Service Process
• The pipeline company and shippers negotiate the
contract and tariff.
• The shippers enter and modify monthly nomination,
and the schedulers develop a monthly schedule using
the inventory and facility constraints together with
nomination data, out of which a daily schedule is
created.
• The dispatcher controls the batch lifting and delivery
according to the daily schedule, generating tickets.
• The revenue accounting and invoice for each shipper is
generated from the volume accounting and tariff.

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 7

 Tariff
• Common carriers publish tariffs which are dictated by
the government regulator.
• Tariffs cover the transportation rates and rules
including nominations and minimum batch size
requirements.
• The tariff requires that all shippers submit to the
pipeline company their intended shipping volumes
and other information on a certain date before the
cycle lifting date.

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 8

Business Process
Nomination Revenue
Management accounting

Transportation
Shipper Invoicing
requests

Nomination Contract Inventory

validation management analysis

Nomination Volume
confirmation - Batch allocations
scheduling
- Operation
Nomination planning Volume
Monitoring accounting

SCADA: Operation & Measurements

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 9

 Transportation Request
• The transportation starts with a request for product
movement, usually in the form of nomination, by
shippers to the pipeline company for a quantity of
product for a specified period of time.
• On gas pipelines nominations are made several times
daily.
• For liquid pipelines a nomination can be effective for
the current or future shipping period. The period can
be based on either a month or a batch cycle.
• Nominations are accepted or changed at receipt and
delivery points. The result of the nomination process is
a confirmed nomination.
• Shippers are allowed to change their nominations until
a specified date and time without incurring additional
charges.
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 Scheduling
• After the final changes are made, the pipeline company
develops a transportation schedule to accommodate the
shippers’ nominated volumes.
• Scheduling is an internal process that validates
nominations for contractual levels, determines pipeline
capacity, puts products or batches in a pumping
sequence, etc. with pipeline facility and hydraulic
constraints taken into account.
• When nominations exceed available capacity, the volume
is prorated to meet the capacity according to the pre-
assigned prorating rules defined in the agreements
between shippers and the pipeline company.
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 Confirmation
• The nominations are accepted or changed through a
confirmation process.
• Receipt quantities and market deliveries are
scheduled and confirmed.
• Pipeline control is operationally set up for physical
flow after confirmation.
• Products are measured and necessary data are
transmitted to the pipeline control system such as
SCADA.

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 Allocation
• Allocation is the process by which physical volumes
that actually flowed at a point are allocated to
confirmed nominations.
• Allocated volumes are used for cashout, balancing and
billing purposes.
• Prorata allocation - measured volume is allocated to all
confirmed nominations on a prorated basis.

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• Natural gas is homogenous so mixing of
product from different sources is allowed Gas
can enter and leave the pipe line at any point.
Figure I-1
Producing Wells

Natural Gas Pipeline

System
Transmission Line
Gathering Lines

Processing
Plant

Compressor
Stations
LNG Plant

City
Underground Gate
Storage

Large Volume
Customer

DISTRIBUTION Meter
SYSTEM

Regulator

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 Different Liquids have to be shipped in
Batches Batch interface Buffer

Gasoline
Gasoline Kerosene Diesel LPG Gasoline

Batch cycle

Batch Cycle & Interface

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 Interfacial Mixing
• Interfacial mixing takes place at the interface boundaries
between two adjacent batches.
• The commingled product that does not meet the
shipper’s product specifications is called slop. This off-
spec product is accumulated in a slop tank and then
sent to a refinery for reprocessing or blended with other
tolerable product.
• The interface mixture may be cut into one or the other
product, or divided between the two adjacent products
at the mid-gravity point.

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 Mixing Size
• Mixing size depends on product properties such as
gravity and viscosity, fluid velocity, pipe diameter, and
travelling distance.
• To minimize interfacial mixing length, batches are sized
large and lifted in a pre-determined batching sequence.
For this reason, the tariff specifies the minimum batch
size.
• Normally, the sequencing of batches is such that
products closely related are adjacent in descending or
ascending order of quality or gravity to minimize batch
interfaces.
• A buffer may be used to separate two expensive
products. CPTI-DOPCO 2017 17
 Mixing Profile
99%A-1%B 90%A-10%B 50%A-50%B 10%A-90%B 1%A-99%B
mixing mixing mixing mixing mixing

Product A Product B

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Batch Tracking Display

MAOP
Elevation
LAOP Pressure

Batches Density

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 19

Measurement

Accurate Measurement is critical to the safe

and efficient operation of a pipeline
•Measurement issues
• Measurement errors
• Types of flow meter
• Pressure and temperature measurement
• Meter Stations

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Measurement Issues
• Why measure?
– A change in ownership or responsibility for the transported fluid
– Monitor or control facilities (Safety considerations)
– Fluids are transported across national boundaries (Trade figures)
• What to measure?
– Flow rate or volume
– Pressure
– Temperature
– Density or composition
– Quality
• How to measure?
– Various instrumentation using many different techniques

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Measurement Errors
• Errors are inherent in all measurements. The total error includes
errors from a primary device, auxiliary devices and electronics. The
errors are combined by statistical methods.
• Accuracy is specified over an applicable range of values.
• Errors are random or biased, and change with time and
environmental factors such as humidity and temperature
• Errors are expressed in terms of accuracy, systematic error, bias,
repeatability, resolution, and precision.
• ANSI ASME and ISO definitions include only accuracy, bias error and
precision. Accuracy is the combination of bias and precision errors.

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 Accuracy and Repeatability
• Accuracy is defined as the closeness of agreement between the result of a
measurement and the true value of the measurand. It is the combination of
bias and precision errors.
• The measurement of a variable requires a primary device and auxiliary devices.
To determine measurement accuracy of the variable, the accuracy of the
primary device must be combined with the individual accuracies of additional
measuring devices and then properly weighed in the accuracy calculation.
• Accuracy is specified over an applicable range of values. The errors are
combined by statistical methods.
• Repeatability is essential to ensure quality and credibility of data

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 Bias and Precision
• A bias error is the difference between the average and true
values. A bias error is directional and must be added or
subtracted from the instrument reading. Bias error, if known, can
be eliminated by correction.
• A precision error is random about the bias. Precision can be
improved only by selecting another measuring device.
• Three cases regarding accuracy:
– Bias error is not negligible, but precision is good.
– Bias error is negligible, but precision is poor.
– Bias error is small and precision is good; this is an accurate
device.

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Bias , Precision and Repeatability

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 Total Error
• Primary device errors
• Secondary device errors
• Electronic errors:
– Current/voltage conversion error
– Amplification error
– A/D conversion error
• Influence quantity errors (departures from reference
conditions such as homogeneity and single phase flow)

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 Calibration
• Calibration is a process to ensure that the measuring
instrument is accurate and in good operating condition.
• The frequency of the calibrations depends on the
application and accuracy requirements.
• The frequency of calibrations is a contractual obligation
if the measurement involves a custody transfer (change
of ownership of the fluid)
• Shippers on the pipeline system pay in proportion to
volumes shipped hence the need for accuracy.

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 Measurement Devices
• A flowmeter is a device that measures the rate of flow or quantity
of a moving fluid in an open or closed conduit. It usually consists
of a primary and a secondary device.
• A primary device is the device mounted internally or externally to
the fluid conduit which produces a signal with a defined
relationship to the fluid flow in accordance with known physical
laws relating the interaction of the fluid to the presence of the
primary device.
• A secondary device is the device that responds to the signal from
the primary device and converts it to a display or to an output
signal that can be translated relative to flow rate or quantity.
• Meter influence quantities should be properly defined to achieve
accuracy conditions. They include fluid properties, installation
method, interference, and pulsation and vibration.
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 Influence Quantities
• The measurement of flow rate requires additional instruments to
measure temperature, pressure and/or differential pressure,
density, chromatograph, etc.
• The sensitivity of a flow meter depends on each of these
measurements.
• Accuracy for flowmeters are based on the steady flow of a
homogeneous, single-phase newtonian fluid. Departures from
these reference conditions are called influence quantities, which
include velocity profile deviation, non-homogeneous flow,
pulsating flow, non-newtonian flow, and cavitations.

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Flow/Volume Measurement
• The primary flow measuring devices are classified
either as differential producing flow meters or
linear flow meters.
• For differential producing flow meters, flow rate is
expressed as a square-root relationship among
measured differential pressure, density and flow
rate. Orifice and venturi meters are popular.
• All linear flow meters are based on the principle
that the speed of a measured variable increases
linearly with flow velocity. Turbine, positive
displacement and ultrasonic flow meters are
widely used, and the applicable flow range is wide
(10:1 ratio).
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 Differential Flow Meter
• Differential flow meters are based on the Bernoulli equation,
in which the flow rate is proportional to square root of
pressure differential.
• The applicable flow measurement range or turndown ratio is
narrow: 3:1.
• Frequently used differential flow meters include:
– Orifice flow meter
– Venturi Tube flow meter
– Annubar flow meter
– Nozzle flow meter

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Orifice Plate

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Linear Flow Meters
• Turbine meter
• Positive displacement meter
• Vortex meter
• Ultrasonic flow meter

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 Linear Flow Meter
• Linear flow meters are based on different measurement
principles.
• The applicable flow measurement range is wide: Over 10:1
ratio.
• Linear flow meters frequently used in the pipeline industry
are:
– Turbine meter
– Positive Displacement meter
– Ultrasonic flow meter
– Coriolis mass meter
– Vortex flow meter

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 Turbine Meter
• The speed of a turbine flowmeter’s rotor increases linearly with flow
velocity. Blade rotation is a measure of velocity and detected by non-
contacting external magnetic detector.
• AGA-7 Standard is adopted in North American gas industry and ISO 9951 for
other parts of the world.
• A permanent magnet embedded in wheel generates pulses and a small coil
mounted on the housing picks up pulses.
• Pressure drop is negligibly small, but floating debris and back flow can
damage the rotor.
• Accuracy is in the order of 0.25% of flow range, and the applicable flow
range is wide (10:1 ratio).

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 Turbine Meter
Magnetic detector

Rotor support Retaining

assembly Ring
Magnet

Rotating
Flow
axis
Turbine
Wheel

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Turbine Meter

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 Turbine Meter (Cont’d)
• Advantages
– Large flow range (about 10:1)
– Accurate (0.5% error)
– Small pressure drop
– Ease of calibration and maintenance
– Proven and widely accepted in pipeline industry
• Disadvantage
– Highly susceptible to damage from solids or liquids in gas stream
– Susceptible to friction loads which can cause measurement error
– Require an upstream strainer
– Not economical for low flow ranges

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 Turbine Meter Characteristics
• The relationship between line velocity and rotor speed is
linear over a range of 10:1 to 20:1, depending on viscosity.
• Liquid turbine meters can attain an accuracy of +/-0.25
percent and a precision of +/-0.05 percent.
• The meter coefficient is expressed as a K factor in units of
pulse per unit volume.
• Pressure drop is low, but it is applicable to low viscosity clean
fluids.
• Floating debris can damage rotor, and extreme
temperatures, corrosion, abrasion, and pressure transients
can shorten bearing life.

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Turbine Meter Run

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 Positive Displacement (PD) Meter
• PD flow measurement consists of a class of devices which
measure a specific amount of fluid for each cycle. Meters of
this design divide the fluid stream into unit volumes and
totalize these unit volumes by means of a counter.
• A rotary meter belongs to the PD meter class. The fluid flow
against the rotating impellers results in a volume of fluid
being alternately trapped and discharged in a complete
revolution of these impellers.
• The volume displaced during the revolution is multiplied by
the number of revolutions to give the accumulated volume
passed by the meter.

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 PD Meter Characteristics
• PD meters can attain an accuracy of +/-0.5 percent
• Flow range is 10:1 and pressure drop is low.
• PD meters are subject to mechanical wear due to large
number of moving parts with mechanical contact.
• PD meters are suitable for highly viscous fluid such as heavy
oil.
• Applicable standards are API MPMS 5.2 or ISO 2714.

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 Rotary Meter Diagram

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 Rotary Vane PD Meter
Rotary Vane Meter

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Coriolis Flow Meter

Fluid is being pumped through

the mass flow meter tubes
which are continuously vibrating
at between 80 and1000Hz.
When there is mass flow, each
tube twists slightly and the
angular motion is measured
very accurately.

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 Ultrasonic Flow Meter
• The ultrasonic flow meter operates on the principle that the acoustic
velocity in a fluid in motion is the result of the acoustic velocity in the
fluid at rest plus or minus the acoustic velocity itself.
• The transmitters send acoustic waves to the receivers in the opposite
ends, and acoustic waves propagate upstream and downstream of the
flow direction.
• The basic principle is applied by several different techniques using a
wave that interacts with the flowing fluid. Time difference, Doppler
shift, or frequency difference is used to determine flow velocity.
• The latest ultrasonic meters use multiple acoustic beams that allow the
meter to construct the flow velocity profile which is then used to
determine more accurate flow rate.

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 Velocity Profile

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 Ultrasonic Flow Meter
• The flow range is greater than 10:1.
• The applicable standard in North America is AGA 9.

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Ultrasonic Meter
Station

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 Ultrasonic Meter Characteristics
• Ultrasonic flow meters can attain an accuracy of +/-0.5%
with flow range greater than 10:1 for intrusive type meters
and 2% for clamp-on type.
• Pressure drop is negligible and maintenance cost is low
because there is no moving part.
• In order to increase accuracy and repeatability, multiple
beams are used to determine velocity profile, over which an
average flow is calculated.
• Multi-path ultrasonic meters are suitable for almost any
types of fluid, including high viscous fluids.
• Applicable standards are ASME MFC-5M or ISO 12765.

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Pressure Measurement
• Pressures are used for pipeline system control and flow rate calculation.
• Pressure measurements are most widely available for most of pipeline
systems.
• Piezoelectric pressure transducers are popular for pipeline applications.
- Pressure causes elastic deformation of certain crystals, which is
converted to proportional electric signal.
- Accuracy is in the order of 1 % and rangeability is up to 20,000 psi.

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Piezoelectric Pressure Transducer

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 Temperature Measurement
• Temperatures are seldom used for liquid pipeline system control, but used for
flow calculation.
• Therefore, temperature measurements are not widely available for most of
pipeline systems.
• Resistance temperature detectors (RTD) are popular for pipeline applications.
- The electrical resistance of metals varies directly with temperature and is
reproducible to a high degree of accuracy.
- Good accuracy (0.5 % of range) over wide spans up to 870 oC

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RTD Device

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 Meter Station with Prover

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Volume Accounting
• A volume accounting system should cover the
following major functions:
– Collect measurement data from the host SCADA
– Store the collected data in a historical database
– Manage gas quality data
– Correct volume to a base condition
– Totalize flows
– Validate measurement data with audit trails
– Provide failure recovery capability

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Measurement Collection
• Collect measurement data automatically by providing the capability to
upload to and download from the host SCADA.
• Collect data on hourly and daily basis.
• Establish a procedure for data collection in the event of communication
outage.
• Provide the capability to download manual data to RTU, FC or PLC.
• Provide the capability to manually enter missing data, override the
measurement, and enter gas quality data.
• Provide the capability to edit measured data and parameters and record
history of manual data entry for audit trails.

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Measurement Data Storage
• Store meter data including time stamp, corrected volumes and energy,
meters and operating time, gas quality and status.
• Provide a historical database to store all the measurement related data.
The stored data and storage period depend on the regulatory
requirements.
• Record all measurement related changes including configuration and gas
quality.
• Record all download and upload history of gas compositions.
• Provide data modification, alarms and event history for audit trails.

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 Control Centre
• Operation is remotely controlled 24/7 through the use of a
supervisory control and data acquisition system
• API RP 1168 – Pipeline Control Room Management
addresses pipeline control room related issues.
 Control Centre Security

• API Standard 1164 – Pipeline SCADA Security

provides guidance on SCADA security to the
operators of pipeline systems.
• The control center is so critical that its security
has to be fully protected.
• Control consoles are manned 24 hours a day, so
no separate protection is required.
• The access of unauthorized personnel has to be
limited to protect the integrity of the system and
to maintain the confidentiality of the data.
Backup Control Centre

• A backup control center can be set up to recover the SCADA

system and fully function even if a disaster occurs to the primary
control center. Still, the primary control center is primarily
responsible for monitoring and controlling the pipeline system.
• Usually, the backup control center is equipped with the same
SCADA system as the primary control center .
• One option is that the backup system receives the real time
data directly from the field devices each cycle, so that it is the
exact replica of the primary system.
• The other option is that the entire backup system is refreshed
with the required data received from the primary system in a
regular interval.

61 © 2012 Alan Murray

Disaster Recovery

PRIMARY T1 Leased Line BACK-UP

CONTROL CONTROL
CENTRE CENTRE

Frame
Relay
Service

ROUTER

TERMINAL
SERVER
Control Requirements

• Control is required in normal conditions:

– Liquid/Gas receipt and delivery changes
– Pump/Compressor startup and shutdown
– Flow and pressure set point changes
– Valve open/close operation
– Batch changes
– Tank or storage changes
– Coordination with shippers including other pipelines
• Control problems occur due to abnormal conditions:
– Pump/Compressor trips
– Emergencies such as line rupture
– Loss of supply and delivery changes
– Violation of limits such as MAOP

63 © 2012 Alan Murray

 SCADA Overview
• SCADA is an abbreviation of Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition.
• A SCADA system is a computer-based control and data
acquisition system designed to gather and transmit operating
data from geographically remote field locations via
communication links to a control center (s).
• Operators at the control center monitor the data and can issue
control commands to the field devices in the remote locations
in response to the incoming data.
• A basic SCADA system consists of instrumentation, remote
terminal units (RTU) or programmable logic controller (PLC),
communication system, and host SCADA computer system with
operator interface.
 SCADA
A SCADA system has a master – slave relationship between the
control center and field site.

Hardware/Physical

Supervisory Control
Remote
Master and Terminals
(Host)
Data Acquisition

Software/Protocol

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 65

 SCADA Functions
• Data telemetry: gather and transmit analog values
such as flow or volume, gas composition, pressure and
temperature, and digital values such as on-off and
open-close status
• System control: control flow or pressure, start or stop
pump/ compressor, change set points, and open or
close valves
• Alarm annunciation: generate alarms and event
messages, monitor controlling actions, help solve
problem situations before they occur, and dispatch
personnel to deal with specific problems

© 2010 Yoon Consulting 66

 SCADA Network
Main Dispatching and Control
Centre Backup / Regional Dispatching and Control
Centre
User User
Terminals Terminals

OPC

SCADA Master
Pipeline Application Servers Servers
Pipeline Application Servers
SCADA Master Pipeline LAN/WAN network
infrastructure
Servers

Corporate LAN

(1 of X) (X of X)
Pump/Compressor
Station Master/ Pump/Compressor
RTU Station Master/
RTU
OPC

Firewall

OPC Modem

Modem

RTU
Fire & Fire & at Valve
Gas Gas Stns
Station PLC Station ESD RTU Station PLC Station ESD
at Valve
RTU Modbus or
Stns
at Valve OPC
Stns
(Courtesy of ABB)

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Questions? Time for a Break!
Alan Murray 2017 69