Optimising Efficiency and Safety through Advanced Pipeline Monitoring

June 13, 2024 | in Predictive maintenance | by Manjul Pandey

Piping systems in the oil and gas industry are critical infrastructure, essential for the safe and efficient transport of hydrocarbons. Given the high stakes involved, from environmental risks to economic impacts, ensuring the integrity and safety of these systems is paramount.

Understanding, correcting and preventing vibration-induced pipework failure

Until now, the process of monitoring critical pipes has been costly, labour intensive and could only provide measurements for a particular point in time – making the data unreliable for decision making.

As production parameters change – such as temperature, flow rates, gas composition, basic sediment & water (BSW), pressure – so too do vibration levels, making accuracy almost impossible.

Precise and ongoing vibration monitoring is mandated by standards that apply across on-shore and off-shore production facilities worldwide, including set guidelines for the avoidance of vibration-induced fatigue or failure in pipework.

This case study examines the implementation of advanced piping monitoring systems by a prominent industry leader at an onshore site.

Background

The oil field, producing 10,000 barrels of oil per day and reaching a gas production of 2 million cubic meters per day, faced significant challenges as they sought to increase production rates. Piping vibration, a common issue in oil and gas facilities, posed a potential risk to the integrity of their piping systems, necessitating a reliable monitoring solution. With piping installations designed to last 40-50 years, they were looking for a long-term, sustainable system that could be easily implemented and automated without needing to invest in new hardware. It was also crucial to reduce or eliminate the need for expert technicians on site, lower the level of manual involvement and significantly improve equipment lifecycle.

Challenges

Piping Vibration: Piping vibration is a prevalent issue in oil and gas facilities. This movement away from the static, at-rest position of the pipe can lead to fatigue failures. Small bore connections (SBCs) and branch attachments are particularly vulnerable, often resulting in significant integrity problems even when the main process piping health is within acceptable vibration limits.
Safety Risks: The consequences of vibration-induced failures are severe, including explosions, environmental damage, loss of life, lawsuits, and facility shutdowns. Approximately 21% of hydrocarbon releases are attributed to vibration-induced fatigue failures.(Data published by the UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

Operational Efficiency: High demand and overproduction can strain aging infrastructure, leading to increased risks. Maintaining high productivity while ensuring the safety and integrity of piping systems is a significant challenge.
Detection and Monitoring: Detecting and monitoring vibrations require advanced technology to provide real-time data and analysis. Traditional methods are often reactive, addressing issues with only minimal turn around time.

Transforming Complex Piping Information into Clear & Actionable Data with Acoem Piping Monitoring Solution

To address these challenges, Acoem implemented Advanced Acoem Predictive Maintenance Ecosystem: This system integrates Artificial Intelligence and sensors to deliver piping monitoring data. The result is a powerful predictive tool, which uses specific algorithms developed for pipe integrity (Wachel diagram and Energy Institure) to deliver real-time vibration data along with key safety, efficiency, and operational productivity insights.

MVX Units: Equipped with 24 wired sensors each, these units provide continuous monitoring of complete trains in the facility.
Real-Time Data Access: The system offers real-time status updates on the pipeline, allowing operators to make informed decisions quickly.
Automated Analysis: Utilizing standards such as the Wachel criteria (VDI 3842) and Energy Institute guidelines, the system automatically evaluates vibration data, classifying it into design, marginal, correction, and danger levels.
Integration with Existing Systems: The monitoring system was integrated into the NESTI4.0 predictive maintenance platform, providing a unified interface for monitoring both piping and critical rotating assets.

Outcome

Operational Benefits:

Enhanced Safety: Immediate detection and analysis of piping vibrations prevented potential failures and ensured safe operations.
Increased Productivity: Real-time monitoring allowed for optimized production rates without risking the integrity of the piping system.
Cost-Effective: The automatic and continuous monitoring reduced the need for frequent manual inspections, lowering operational costs.

Technical Achievements:

Real-Time Analysis: The system provided immediate insights into the piping health, using advanced criteria to assess vibration levels.
Remote Monitoring: The ability to take remote measurements, particularly for inaccessible pipes, proved invaluable in maintaining system integrity.

Conclusion

The implementation of Acoem’s piping monitoring system demonstrated the significant benefits of advanced monitoring technologies in the oil and gas industry. By addressing the critical issue of piping vibration, the system not only enhanced safety and reliability but also supported the facility’s goal of increasing production rates. This case study underscores the importance of integrating real-time monitoring and automated analysis in maintaining the integrity of vital infrastructure in high-risk environments.

With ongoing and complete data, these oil and gas facilities now have the remote tools to fully understand the vibration levels at their onshore or offshore sites at any time. The combination of Acoem sensors, the Piping module and NESTi4.0 allows them to easily comply with international industry standards and implement changes to flow rate without risk.

For more information about Acoem latest predictive maintenance module, visit our Piping Monitoring Solution webpage or contact us.

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