PIPELINE INTEGRITY and

EXTENDING the PIPELINE

LIFECYCLE
A presentation for the Business Review Webinar series

Bryan Melan
Senior Pipeline Engineer
Marathon Oil UK Ltd.
TODAY’S AGENDA
10 February 2011

 Defining the Pipeline Lifecycle

 What is the meaning of ‘Design Life’?
 ‘Age’ and ‘Ageing’ as an Essential Performance Indicator of Pipeline Integrity
 Pipeline ‘Ageing’ and its variety of issues
 The ‘nuts and bolts’ of Pipeline Lifecycle extension
 Why Pipeline Lifecycle Extensions?

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Pipeline Lifecycle

After DNV RP-F116, Table 3-2

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What is Design Life?
Pipeline Design Life Definitions
 • ISO 13623:2000: Design life is the period of time selected for the purpose of
verifying that a replaceable or permanent component is suitable for the
anticipated period of service
 • BS PD 8010: time period for which a pipeline is to be used for its intended
purpose with planned integrity management.
 • DNV-OS-F101:2007: Design life is the initially planned time period from initial
installation or use until permanent decommissioning of the equipment or system.
The original design life may be extended after a re-qualification.
 • ASME 31.8:2003: (does not define a design life, but uses design life and service
life as dimensional limits for design with respect to cyclic loading and cathodic
protection systems.)
 • ASME 31.4:2006: Design life is a period of time used in design calculations
selected for the purpose of verifying that a replaceable or permanent component
is suitable for the anticipated period of service. Design life does not pertain to the
life of the pipeline system because a properly maintained and protected pipeline
system can provide liquid transportation indefinitely.

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Essential Performance Indicators of Pipeline
Integrity
 Coating History and CP performance
 Product quality history
 Pipe and girth weld toughness
 History of 3rd party encroachments
 Pipe weld seam performance
 Welding Inspection history
 NDE Testing history

 What about Age ?

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 Age as an Essential Performance Indicator

‘Oil Pipeline Characteristics and Risk Factors:

Illustrations from the Decade of Construction’ by Kiefner and Trench
(2001)
 “Age – the number of years a pipeline has been in service – is an unreliable
indicator of the condition of a pipeline system. A better first indicator is the
technologies that are represented in the manufacture and construction of the
system when it was first placed in service. Even the decade of original
construction, however, is only a first indicator. Also critical to a pipeline's
condition are the renovation, inspection, and maintenance practices that have
been applied since construction.”

 “Pipeline systems constructed in any decade can provide safe and reliable
performance with the application of the newest testing and monitoring
techniques, and with an appropriate program of assessment and mitigation as
required.”

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AGEING
Source: UK HSE RR509

 Ageing is not about how old your equipment is; it is about its condition, and
how that is changing over time.
 The effect whereby a component suffers some form of deterioration and damage (usually, but
not necessarily, associated with time in service) with an increasing likelihood of failure. There
is often insufficient information and knowledge available to know the extent to which this
possibility exists.
 The significance of deterioration and damage relates to the potential effect on the equipment’s
functionality, availability, reliability and safety. Just because an item of equipment is old does
not necessarily mean that it is significantly deteriorating and damaged. All types of equipment
can be susceptible to ageing mechanisms.

 There are many examples of very old plant remaining fully fit for purpose and
newer plant showing evidence of accelerated or early ageing due to corrosion,
fatigue, erosion failures etc.

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AGEING

Source: UK HSE RR509

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing
 Why Pipelines Age – It isn't All Corrosion & It isn't All Physical!
 High cycling rate of extreme temperatures, pressures loads or flexing;
 History of operating at the limit, or beyond, original design envelope;
 Use of aggressive chemicals and fluid properties (corrosive or abrasive)
 Aggressive environmental conditions
 Encroachments
 Critical parts of the pipeline difficult to access or inspect externally
 Limited or no internal inspection undertaken; internal conditions inhibit
data collection
 History of poor recordkeeping, maintenance
and inspection
 Associated control equipment that is obsolescent &
no longer supported by the manufacturer or supplier.
 COMPLACENCY

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing
 Evidence of ageing
 Frequent or recurring defects and failures, or increasing trends of
unplanned maintenance, repair work, and breakdowns;
 Signs of ageing e.g. cracking, corrosion, creep, etc.
 Loss of records – construction, testing, inspection, maintenance
 Reduction in pipeline safe operating limits or temporary isolation or down-
rating due to deterioration or discovery of defects
 Increase in frequency of inspection and testing regimes for pipeline
systems, associated equipment and protective devices
 Reduced reliability and standard in performance

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing
 Situations where ageing is not being identified
 Gaps in management interfaces between operators
 Internal organisation gaps; e.g. pipelines and topsides
 Equipment not in maintenance management system.
 Records and findings from inspections not being kept and reviewed
 Findings from pipeline tests and inspections not used to check/modify
testing protocols
 Inadequate recording and use of operational performance data
 Gaps in maintenance and corrosion management routines
 Historical data lost during operatorship transfers

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing

 Internal issues occur mainly due to corrosion and can arise due
to deposits and water lying in the pipeline:
 Current fluids not consistent with the original design
 Changing operation conditions:
– Increasing water cuts
– Sludge, wax and misc. deposits building-up
– Change in Flow rates, decreasing or increasing
– Erosion concerns with increasing flow rates
– Water hold-up in low flow rates
– Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria developing
 Operational maintenance pigging may need to be increased

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing
 External damage can occur due to:
 Third-party interaction, utilities crossings, anchors, dropped objects etc.
 Cathodic protection systems failing
 Coating failures due to faulty application or damage from earth movement
or other forces
 Failures of Attachments – corrosion or material failures of tees and stubs,
dead legs
 Air/soil/water interface - inadequate protection from corrosion and erosion

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Pipeline Life Cycle Ageing

 Topsides or Above ground Equipment & Valves

 Maintenance needs frequently reviewed and remedial works carried out
 Emergency shutdown valve test trending may indicate a change is required
 Valves for isolation purposes which are passing may require changeout
 Pig launchers/door closure mechanisms wear out
 Changes in operating practice e.g. isolation standards require double block
and bleed

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Knowledge is Power !
 There is no substitute for inspection
 GVI, CVI, Intelligent pigging, ROV, Close Interval, DCVG
 Corrosion models may predict indicative corrosion rates but cannot predict exactly
where localised corrosion may be occurring.

 Preservation of records and documentation is essential

 Inspections can fill in gaps of lost data

 Awareness of Changes External to

Organisation
 Changes in legislation have an impact
 Changes in Codes and Standards have an impact

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Pipeline Life Extension Analysis – the ‘nuts &
bolts’
1. Identify past deviations from Original Design Basis

2. Evaluate current integrity

3. Evaluate integrity for extended use - Define future needs

 How much life is left under current conditions?
 How can I get ‘X’ more years of life?

4. Anticipate changes to system

 New tie-ins
 Product conversion
 Reuse within another pipeline system
 Extension of life of producing asset
Pipeline Life Extension Analysis – the ‘nuts &
bolts’
4. Time-dependent flaw analyses
 Corrosion growth assessment and predictions
 Fatigue assessment and predictions
5. NORSOK and ISO standards to provide guidance
6. Business case justification – cost of required upgrades

NORSOK STANDARD Y-002

Edition 1, December 2010

___________________________________________________________________

Life extension for transportation systems

Pipeline Life Extension – the business case

There is always an alternative to pipeline life extension (such as

installing a replacement pipeline) and a business case will be
required to determine the most suitable option. This would
compare the cost of the mitigation necessary to achieve the
desired life extension against the cost of a new pipeline.

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Why Pipeline Life Cycle Extension?
 Regulatory Compliance – obviously
 Regulators will have specific requirements regarding the elements of a Life Extension
Analysis
 Other industries with long term outlooks already address ageing issues as a
matter of normal business – e.g. Nuclear, Aviation, Pharmaceutical
 Commercial Demands and Opportunities:
 Future projections for continued oil and gas exploration & production using existing
infrastructure
 Future consumer energy demand for natural gas and refined petroleum products will
continue well into foreseeable future
 Emerging energy technology developments can deploy existing infrastructure; e.g. CO2
sequestration; potential for hydrogen fuels
 Life Extension projects are likely to be a significant feature to ensure cost-
effective utilisation of existing ageing infrastructure to meet these demands
 Also to evaluate the potential for uprating design pressure and flow rates
 The challenge is to ensure effective management of ageing infrastructure to
ensure that, as a minimum, the original standards are maintained

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Conclusions

 Ageing has little to do with chronological age

 Don’t throw away a valuable cash-generating asset

 Pipeline Life Extension – bottom line - is a business case

 Pipeline Life Extension is a multi-component evaluation: current
integrity & future integrity – and the cost to get from now to
the future
 Pipeline Integrity Management is the common denominator
and needs to be continuous throughout the pipeline lifecycle
 Knowledge is critical to successfully getting the most out of
asset life!
References
 Maximising Pipeline Structural Integrity and Prolonging Pipeline Life Cycle
 Bryan Melan - Oil & Gas Pipeline Integrity Management and Maintenance Forum,
London, 22 – 24 February 2010
Offshore Pipelines: Life Management & Fitness for Purpose
 Offshore Pipelines: Life Management & Fitness for Purpose
 Blaire McKay - Offshore Pipelines: Life Management & Fitness for Purpose; Institute
of Mechanical Engineers Conference, Aberdeen, 25 November 2010
 A Regulatory View on Ageing and Life Extension of UK Pipelines
 Douglas Souden - Offshore Pipelines: Life Management & Fitness for Purpose;
Institute of Mechanical Engineers Conference, Aberdeen, 25 November 2010
 Plant Ageing: Management of equipment containing hazardous fluids or
pressure
 Research Report RR509 - HSE Books 2006
 Oil Pipeline Characteristics and Risk Factors: Illustrations from the Decade of
Construction
 John F Kiefner and Cheryl J Trench – American Petroleum Institute 2001

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!

Bryan P Melan, PE
Marathon Oil UK Ltd.
Aberdeen, Scotland
+44 1224803755
bpmelan@marathonoil.com