Innovations™ Magazine January - March 2014

We are experts.
A trusted provider of pipeline product and service
solutions for nearly a century, TDW sets the highest
standard in pipeline integrity with the tools, support
and expertise our customers need to safely and reliably
increase productivity, eliminate downtime, optimize
performance and extend asset life.
North & South America: +1 918-447-5500
Europe/Africa/Middle East: +32 67-28-36-11
Asia/Pacific: +65 6364-8520
Offshore Services: +1 832-448-7200
www.tdwilliamson.com
SpirALL® MFL Pipeline Inspection Technology

1
INNOVATIONS•JANUARY-MARCH2014
2 | EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK
The family business.
4 | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Pressurized pipeline solutions
from around the world.
6 | TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Innovation leads to safer,
better results.
8 | SAFETY MATTERS
Training makes the difference
in a changing industry.
10 | FUTURE THINKING
Technology for an
aging world.
13 | MARKET REPORT
Repurposing pipelines to meet
growing energy demands.
20 | TOUCHPOINTS
TDW events, papers and
conferences.
28 | BY THE NUMBERS
The four stages of pipeline
integrity.
14 | Cover Story: Cracking the Code on Cracks
A new (ultrasonic) wave in pipeline integrity testing
provides operators with the most comprehensive
assessment available on a single inspection platform.
22 | Winning with NGLs
The oil and gas boom that reversed declining output
and sparked robust production in the United States
is now transforming the market for natural gas
liquids (NGLs).
D E P A R T M E N T S
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jim Myers Morgan
MANAGING EDITOR Waylon Summers
ART DIRECTOR Joe Antonacci
DESIGN PRODUCTION Mullerhaus.net
DIGITAL PRODUCTION Jim Greenway, Ward Mankin
PHOTOGRAPHY Scott Miller, Nathan Harmon, Jeremy Charles
T.D. Williamson
North and South America: 918-447-5500
Europe/Africa/Middle East: 32-67-28-36-11
Asia/Pacific: 65-6364-8520
Offshore Services: 832-448-7200
info@tdwilliamson.com | www.tdwilliamson.com
Want to share your perspective on anything in our magazine?
Send us an e-mail: Innovations@tdwilliamson.com
V O L . V I , N O . 1 | J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 1 4
Innovations™ is a quarterly publication produced by T.D. Williamson.
®Registered trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. ™ Trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
© Copyright 2014. All rights reserved by T.D. Williamson, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Printed in the United States of America. Siri is
a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Kindle and Mayday are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. ONSTAR is a registered
trademark of OnStar, LLC and General Motors, Inc.
®
14
10 22

2
My grandfather – T.D. Williamson, Sr. – knew a thing or two
about the notion of a family business. Back in 1920, he founded
The Petroleum Electric Company. That original modest enterprise –
which later became the TDW we know today – was founded with one
goal in mind: to meet the need for electric power in the oil fields.
Since those earliest days, TDW has innovated and adapted in order
to serve our customers well. During the past 94 years, we have become
the world’s most recognized name in pipeline equipment and services.
From hot tapping and plugging to pigging, from integrity inspection
to offshore isolation, we have grown and evolved to meet the ever-
changing needs of industry.
As part of a private, family-owned business, all of us here at TDW –
the Williamson family, the Board of Directors, our executive leadership
and our personnel worldwide – are excited about our opportunities
going forward. Look at TDW and you will see a depth and continuity
of commitment to all aspects of our enterprise.
And because we are a family business, we don’t have to manage
our results or limit our investments to meet short-term quarterly
expectations of Wall Street. We can focus on doing what is right for the
business over the long-term. That’s precisely what we will continue to
do in 2014, and beyond. We will continue to reinvest in the products
and services that have made us successful, and in our greatest asset –
our dedicated personnel around the globe.
Those personnel are pioneering innovative solutions to age-old
challenges, including the need to detect pipeline cracks. You can read
more about how our new SpirALL®
EMAT technology is addressing
that need in the cover story beginning on page 14 of this issue of
Innovations™ magazine.
At the end of the day, our customers trust TDW to deliver
solutions that serve them well now, and help them ensure the safe and
reliable operation of their pipeline infrastructures for decades to come.
We take that trust very seriously. After all, many of our customers
started out as small businesses long ago, and they’ve grown alongside
us, just like family.
BY DICK WILLIAMSON
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
E X E C U T I V E O U T L O O K
The Family Business

3
“Our customers trust TDW to deliver
solutions that serve them well now,
and help them ensure the safe and
reliable operation of their pipeline
infrastructures for decades to come.”

4
Wye Isolate
NEED: Isolate for Wye Spool Installation
REGION: Gulf of Mexico
SIZE: 30” pipeline
PRESSURE: 900 psi
PIPE PRODUCT: Natural gas
LENGTH: ~300 meters (1000 feet)
SERVICES: Subsea Isolation
PIGGING MEDIUM: Monoethylene
glycol (MEG)
An offshore operator in the Gulf of
Mexico needed to isolate a riser to
allow for installation of a wye spool.The
riser presented unique challenges as it
was constructed with a number of tight
bends.The operator chose to use TDW’s
SmartPlug® isolation tool.TDW first
conducted a piggability and positioning
study by running a specially modified
gauging tool. Results confirmed that the
SmartPlug® tool was suitable for both
the pipe topology and the temporary
receiver.The isolation and installation
were successfully completed.
INDONESIA MEXICO
CANADA
Blackout 9,000,000 In Fall 2013,
Pertamina EP faced a daunting task in the northwest
Java Sea. Since 1997 its Lima Flow Station had been slowly
sinking into the seabed.As part of the Lima Subsidence
Remediation Project, Pertamina EP sought to safely raise
the platform.To accomplish this momentous task, without
cutting the gas flow providing power to millions of Jakarta
citizens, a complex series of bypasses were required.TDW was
engaged to isolate the affected subsea lines so the temporary
bypasses could be installed and flow could continue
throughout the operation.
>>
High-class 30”
Initially owing to regulator-driven class
upgrades, and compounded by the
discovery of stress corrosion cracking,
a major Canadian operator recently
completed the replacement of 900 feet
(274 meters) of a 30” main gas artery in
Quebec.To help facilitate the replacement
and requisite 24” multiple bypasses,TDW
installed four STOPPLE® Train systems
in two tandem setups, ensuring zero gas
leakage and maximum operational safety
for workers throughout the project.
GlobalPerspective

5
We have lift-off
Technology savvy and data driven Indonesian
operators are seeking more comprehensive high
technology solutions for their increasing integrity
needs. Recently a Jakarta-based operator enlisted
TDW to help enhance its pipeline integrity program.
Operating out of its Indonesian Service Center,
specially trained and certified TDW inline inspection
technicians executed a challenging vertical launch
of a 26” platform, containing deformation (DEF),
gas magnetic flux leakage (GMFL) and a speed
control module. Due to the speed control, the
operator achieved total sensor coverage.
SOUTH KOREAProtecting life,
people and property
With no inline inspection regulation, South
Korea’s gas and liquid pipelines run elevated
risk of incidents.The Korea Gas Safety
Corporation (KGS), responsible for performing
nearly every inspection, certification and
investigative function around gas-related
entities – from large petrochemical plants to
home appliances – is the driving force behind
the creation and application of comprehensive
inline inspection regulation. In November 2013,
KGS partnered with TDW, relying on TDW’s inline
inspection expertise, to help develop South
Korea’s integrity regulations for gas lines.
INDONESIA
>>
Testing Offshore A large offshore installation
contractor recently installed a 32-mile (53 km) subsea,
export gas pipeline, running from a platform to a
gas complex, located 149 miles (240 km) offshore
Terengganu. As part of the pre-commissioning project, it
was necessary to test the 16” line. TDW was contracted
to utilize its inline SmartPlug® tool to isolate the pipeline
during the testing, preventing testing pressures from
occurring at the three open ball-valves in the pipeline end
manifold.
EGYPT
MALAYSIA
Developing Denise To help meet the rising
domestic need for Egyptian gas production, Petrobel launched
a new subsea development project to maximize the usage of
existing resources and to increase overall output. The operation
targeted the development of both the Denise and Karawan
fields in Temsah Concession, offshore. TDW provided 10”
subsea hot taps on the 32” Serravallian and a 24” pipeline.
Pressurized Pipeline Solutions From Around the World

6
Tapping into Tomorrow
Innovations in Hot Tap Technology
for Safer, Better Results
David Turner is a futurist, a visionary. Since April 2013, he’s
also been T.D. Williamson’s Director of Hot Tapping and Plugging
Technology. In that role, he’s spent considerable time and energy
on how innovations can make the hot tapping process safer, easier and
more efficient.
Not only is he guided by listening to and understanding customer
needs, he has an eye on what consumer products manufacturers are
doing to improve their customer support capabilities. Which is why,
when you speak with him, he muses about a time when hot tapping
may include the kind of smart-tool interactions that GM’s OnStar®
and
Apple’s Siri®
have brought to the marketplace.
In the meantime, he sees T.D. Williamson’s remote controlled hot
tapping equipment as a logical first step in the journey toward merging
current capabilities with tomorrow’s thinking.
Operators around the globe generally choose hot tapping for planned
or emergency maintenance, modification or repair of pressurized systems.
The process enables them to cut and tie into pipelines and vessels while
they remain in operation. That way, operators can avoid shutting down
Leading the charge for
a future in hot tapping
that is better, faster,
safer, and maybe even
a little revolutionary.
T E C H N O L O G Y F O C U S
“What can I help you with?”
Has there ever been a more soothing sound than
that, the voice of Apple’s Siri®
, asking not IF she
can make your life easier, but how?
Sure, you know that your automated personal
assistant is merely a voice-activated search engine
that’s capable of mimicking human conversation.
But, she – or, rather, he, in British English and
many other dialects – is just so useful.
Ever since Rosie the Robot cleaned the
Jetson’s Orbit City abode and HAL, the sentient
computer of 2001: A Space Odyssey, interacted
with the Discovery One crew, people have yearned
for better, more intelligent help. In an ideal
world, there’d be no need for owner’s manuals,
online chat, instructive YouTube videos, or the
What Do Hot Tapping and Siri®
Have In Common?

7
production, which can be a disruptive, costly and
drawn-out procedure.
While hot tapping does avoid the pitfalls
associated with a shutdown, manual taps carry with
them some inherent risks, as technicians are cutting
into live, pressurized lines containing potentially
volatile material.
In addition, whether the job is being done
onshore or off, manual tapping depends largely on the
experience and hand calculations of the
technician operating the equipment. For example,
the technician primarily relies on sound and touch
to determine what is going on during the tapping
operation. On subsea pipelines, technicians work
with specially trained divers who provide the same
kind of sensory data via two-way radios. In a situation
where a wrong cut could mean anything from product
loss to catastrophic injuries, reducing or removing the
opportunity for human error is a top priority. Turner
is leading the continuing drive to reduce hot tapping
risk and increase overall performance.
A Move in the Right Direction
T.D. Williamson blazed a high-tech trail when, in the
early 1990s, it released its first remote controlled hot
tapping solution, the 2400 Series Tapping Machine
for on-shore applications. Instead of having to perch
on a live pipeline to operate the tapping equipment,
the technician controls the Remote Control (RC)
2400 Series Tapping Machine via a tethered control
console a safe distance away from the hot tap.
Since its introduction, several revisions to the 2400
Series Tapping Machine have been made, resulting in
increased reliability, greater accuracy and more data.
The current iteration of this RC hot tapping machine
also provides remote monitoring and real-time data,
giving technicians instantaneous information that
improves their decision-making. Digital sensors on
the equipment relay readings about pressure, rotation
speed and travel distance. For technicians who’ve
had to use analog gauges, linear measuring rods, and
intuition to make critical decisions about cutting into
flowing pipelines, the guesswork is gone.
“Improving our hot tapping technology
capabilities helps our customers mitigate risk while
also increasing their first-time success rate,” Turner
explains. “In other words, they can cut the pipe right,
the first try. And they stay safe.”
Reaching Greater Depths, Safely
Continuing the innovation of RC machines, in the
late 1990s, TDW developed and tested a concept
for a subsea machine that ultimately led to the
development of the Subsea 1200RC, which was
released in 2012. The Subsea 1200RC is intended
for both shallow and deep-water use.
In the subsea market, manual taps can only be
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
madness that accompanies out-dated, automated
phone systems. Instead, the faster, smarter, more
intuitive assistance we seek would be at our fingertips,
incorporated into the products we buy.
David Turner, Director of Hot Tapping and
Plugging Technology at pipeline services provider
T.D.Williamson, says that we’ve already gotten to the
point where consumers expect on-demand product
support, particularly when something goes awry.
With the likes of Apple’s Siri®
, GM’s OnStar®
and
Amazon Kindle®
’s Mayday®
– which launches befuddled
users directly into a live videoconference with help
desk staff – American businesses are doing a good
job answering the consumer call for immediate
assistance, he feels.
But why is the Director of Hot Tapping concerned
about Siri®
or Mayday®
? What do consumer-facing
companies like Apple or Amazon have in common with
a business-oriented pipeline equipment and services
company like T.D.Williamson?
Turner says that T.D.Williamson strives to elevate
the relationships the company has with its customers,
to be considered a partner rather than a provider.
With that in mind,T.D.Williamson is always looking
for ways to bring greater levels of service to pipeline
operators.That includes thinking about how to
integrate smart tools into existing product lines.
Turner suggests that the remote sensors and
controls that are now standard on valves, controls and
hot tapping equipment represent a significant first
step in the company’s efforts to bring more real-time
information to its customers.And although OnStar®
-like
help is not yet available for T.D.Williamson customers,
Turner notes it might not be as far off as people think.
Perhaps someday soon, your hot tapping
equipment may be asking,“What can I help you with?”

A technician sits in a brightly lit, screen-filled control room,
using cameras and touch-pad technology to remotely control a complex
underwater robot. With just the touch of a finger, the technician can
instruct the machine to cut a small hole in a live, pressurized pipeline,
with near-perfect precision and, more importantly, without the
potential for personal injury.
It sounds like something straight out of science fiction – but the
truth is, industry researchers have been making strides in “virtual” hot
tapping for years, borrowing technology and ideas from a diverse range
of industries, such as medicine and electronics. It’s an exciting prospect
for the future of hot tapping, a job that – despite major advances in
safety over the past 50 years or so –
remains inherently risky.
In reality, it will
probably be several years
before hot tapping goes
completely “virtual.” In
the meantime, though,
Trained for PRESSUREThe future of hot tapping
may be “virtual” – but until
remote operations are
possible, TDW’s extensive
training helps reduce risks
and eliminate errors.
8
S A F E T Y M AT T E R S

9
T.D. Williamson’s hot tap training programs are
ensuring that hot-tap technicians have the tools and
knowledge to do their jobs safely.
Before TDW’s technicians are permitted to work
in the field, they are required to complete a rigorous
program that combines intensive study and testing
with hands-on training. Technicians are required
to pass a region-specific Operator Qualification
certification test. The certification must be renewed
every three years via continuing education.
Tom Parrett, Director of Quality/Health, Safety
and Environmental for TDW, says the training
is a win-win for employees and customers alike.
The company’s focus on producing competent,
informed hot tap technicians ensures a safer working
environment, with a greatly reduced risk of accident
or injury.
“Our training goes beyond providing basic
instruction on how to safely operate our equipment,”
Parrett says. “Our program is designed to provide
our customers with technicians who possess the
knowledge, skills and know-how to expertly perform
every task in the value stream one-hundred percent
right, one-hundred percent of the time.”
Parrett is quick to point out that TDW’s hot tap
training doesn’t stop with Operator Qualification
certification. TDW’s training coordinators closely
monitor worker safety and industry trends, and they
make a point to stay informed about best practices.
The end result is a well-educated, informed workforce
and a reputation for process safety.
“Our customers are able to conduct their hot
tapping operations with peace of mind, knowing that
the proper planning and preparation was completed
for their specific job,” Parrett says.
Of course, TDW’s training program will
likely evolve as researchers continue to roll out
advancements. One day, perhaps in the not-too-
distant future, new technicians will gather in screen-
filled control rooms and learn to use touch screens
to control highly advanced hot tapping machines
– possibly from across the country or even across the
globe.
Until then, though, people like Tom Parrett
and his team of training coordinators will continue
to provide technicians with the tools and training
necessary to do their jobs accurately and safely.
done at safe diver depths, about 200 meters (656
feet) or less. But with the Subsea 1200RC, taps can
be performed at greater underwater depths than
ever before, down to 3000 meters (9482 feet).
The Subsea 1200RC has all the benefits of the
onshore 2400 series, including improved safety
for the technicians. The machine is operated
from a platform or diving support vessel, and
provides a live video feed of the equipment
gauges, enabling never-before-seen monitoring
capabilities and keeping divers out of treacherous
waters.
Envisioning Interactive
Customer Support
Turner likes to envision new combinations.
He points out how T.D. Williamson borrowed
from its past technology to create the current
technology and how he believes it will access
current technology to make the next generation
of hot tapping solutions.
“Remote sensing and control is used in our
valves and pigging systems. By borrowing the
technology for hot tapping, we’ve created
a smarter product,” Turner says. “Because
communication with users is a key goal for
us, maybe someday we’ll even have a feature
similar to Amazon’s Mayday®
that would allow
hot tap technicians to launch into a real-time
videoconference for help from T.D. Williamson
support staff.”
Does Turner have even more futuristic
notions? He hasn’t ruled anything out.
“Who knows?” he asks. “Maybe someday a
valve will know what tapping machine is on it
and what functions it can allow, and they’ll be
able to talk to one another.”
There’s no question that maintaining the
performance of pressurized systems – pipelines,
vessels and the like – is a high-pressure
proposition. But Turner has taken the challenge
head-on and is leading the charge for a future
in hot tapping that is better, faster, safer, and
maybe even a little revolutionary.
Tapping into Tomorrow
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

F U T U R E T H I N K I N G
Technology
Aging World
10
As our bodies age, they often require a bit more maintenance
and care to keep them in good working condition. Medical
advancements and treatments such as MRIs, bypasses and joint
replacements can often prolong our lifespans by helping to keep us
healthy and active.
As it turns out, similar technologies can also be used to prolong the
lives of aging infrastructure. Pipeline engineers are increasingly turning
to the medical community for inspiration and ideas. In fact, many of
the techniques used to improve and repair aging pipelines are strikingly
similar to the ones used to treat aging human bodies.
And these new innovations couldn’t have come at a better time.
Operators trust
in comprehensive
assessments, holistic
understanding, and advanced
tools and techniques to
prolong their asset life.
BY JEFF WILSON, Ph.D.
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER,
T.D. WILLIAMSON
FOR
AN

11
The world is getting older, and so is our
infrastructure. According to the U.S. Pipeline and
Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA),
in the United States alone, nearly half of all interstate
transmission mileage was installed between 1950 and
1970. That translates into hundreds of thousands of
miles of 60-year-old lines crisscrossing the country.
Like the age of our average citizen, the age of our
average pipeline is increasing. Somewhat surprisingly,
the technology called to task to address both issues is
markedly similar.
For instance, doctors can prescribe better-fitting,
more customized splints and braces because of newer
materials used to create them. Cardiologists can offer
patients less invasive coronary bypass procedures, and
physicians from virtually every medical specialty now
rely on non-invasive imaging tools such as MRIs and
ultrasounds. Many of the same advances are being
used in pipeline engineering: advances in material
science help keep our pipe joints strong, “bypass”
STOPPLE®
operations keep pipelines flowing as key
maintenance is performed, and pipeline integrity
testing is rooted in the same imaging technology
used every day in hospitals.
It’s amazing that seemingly niche techniques are
actually so ubiquitous.
AUTOMATING TREATMENT
Let’s begin with pigging. As we see a projected
increase in new gathering lines in the years ahead, so
too will we see an increase in lines that are piggable.
Reasons vary, including anticipating regulatory
action by PHMSA that calls for gathering line
integrity inspections – integrity inspections can only
be performed on piggable lines.
TDW has developed and is testing the
SmartTrap®
Automated Sphere System, or
AutoSphere, an automated pig launcher that
deploys spheres to clean lines daily so that liquids
and debris can be removed, production optimized
and NGL condensates extracted. It uses the
same Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) –
an automation technology – found in TDW’s
AutoCombo system, used in pigging trunk lines.
Operating much like the pumps that deliver
pre-measured doses of insulin or chemotherapy
drugs, the PLC allows users to program the remote
automated launch of seven to ten spheres sequentially
at designated times and intervals. Benefits to using
automated pigging launchers include improved
routine maintenance of the lines, as well as avoiding
costly operating interruptions caused from the
buildup of impurities.
SEEING IS BELIEVING:
ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNIQUES
As the medical community has increasingly relied on
advanced imaging techniques
for better detection and
treatment, so too,
has the pipeline
industry. One
of the earliest
innovations in
this category was
the inspection
pig. Fairly crude
by today’s
standards, the
early fleet of inspection pigs gave operators their
first real glimpse inside a pipeline. This technique
provided never-before-available information about
the integrity of their lines. Operators received
information about dents, deformations and other
potential problems that were electronically scrolled
on paper rolls.
Because of automation advancements, improved
access and other technology developments evolving
at breakneck speeds, today’s “smart pigs” perform
and deliver results at previously unimaginable levels.
Consider Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL), for
example, which also has a feature in common with
a medical imaging counterpart, the MRI. Both
> STOPPLE®Train Plugging System

12
incorporate the use of magnetics and both are used
for detection and diagnosis. MFL is used to locate
metal-loss irregularities inside a pipeline, in a non-
destructive way that’s similar to the way an MRI
tries to locate tumors non-invasively in humans.
However, unlike an MRI where information is
gathered by placing the patient inside the imaging
instrument, an MFL tool gathers data by traveling
inside the pipeline. Powerful magnets inside the tool
produce a magnetic field within the steel pipeline
and magnetically “saturates” the steel. If there is
pitting, corrosion or other anomalies in the pipe,
the magnetism “leaks,” which then can be detected
by sensors. Data can then be collected and analyzed
through additional imaging techniques. Just as an
MRI can pinpoint the scope and location of the
tumor, the MFL tool can determine the size and
severity of specific anomalies, and accurately chart
their locations.
Another notable, recent advancement is TDW’s
Multiple Dataset Platform (MDS) featuring
SpirALL®
MFL and SpirALL®
EMAT crack
detection technology. The MDS platform combines
several technologies on one vehicle that travels
through a pipeline where it conducts varied types
of simultaneous inspections, digitally recording
integrity data. MDS can precisely identify and
locate varied types of threats and provide advanced
characterization giving customers a comprehensive
overview of their asset integrity. For instance,
an anomaly observed in isolation may seem
insignificant, but viewed through the simultaneous
multiple inspection technologies the irregularity
might turn out to be a small dent with corrosion-
driven metal loss, accompanied by a network of
stress corrosion cracking. What once might have
been labeled inconsequential now becomes a major
threat that can be quickly and efficiently treated
before further damaging the pipe.
Due to these techniques and new technologies
becoming an integral aspect of most pipeline
integrity programs, operators are no longer forced
to have to remove portions of pipeline from their
operating environment to assess damage. Instead,
they can conduct non-destructive evaluation (NDE)
on-site, to identify the strength of their pipeline
steel and its chemical composition. Through Positive
Material Identification (PMI), Optical Emission
Spectrometry (OES) and stress-strain measurements
taken at their point of origin, in-depth assessments
can now be provided in the field and on-demand.
Continue reading this article online
to learn about:
• Bracing for Impact: Advances in Custom
Composite Repair
• A Nation’s Arteries: Achieving Minimally Invasive
Isolation, Bypass and Repair
Technology for an
Aging World Continued
Jeff Wilson, Chief Technology Officer for T.D. Williamson, Inc., is responsible for
the development and commercialization of TDW’s products and services.
Jeff has led the development and deployment of various technologies used
in pipeline construction, maintenance and repair for both on-shore and
offshore applications. He received his doctorate in mechanical engineering
from The University of Tulsa (U.S.A.), has been awarded numerous patents
related to pipeline technology, and serves on the international
ASME PCC-2 subgroup on Nonmetallic Repair.
Meet Jeff Wilson, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer, T.D. Williamson
>>

13
Changing Directions:
Repurposed Pipelines Meet
Growing Energy Demands
M A R K E T R E P O R T
The oil and gas industry’s approach to change has often been
compared to the formation of fossil fuels themselves: slow, steady, and
done under pressure.
But these days, energy companies are stepping up the pace.
For one thing, they’re being forced to respond to altered market
conditions arising from new shale and tar sands activity. Take for
example the production growth in the Marcellus Shale, which covers
approximately 95,000 square miles (152,883 km) of the northeastern
United States. When a region this size goes from being a natural
gas importer to a natural gas exporter in just a few short years,
infrastructure changes need to be made… and fast.
Yet building a new pipeline to carry the new flow
is a proposition that can easily run into the billions of
dollars and take years to complete. The Keystone XL
pipeline, announced in 2008, is a prime example, with
an estimated cost of over US$7 billion, and a fate that
remains uncertain. Instead, to accommodate the rapid
change, the industry is taking a less expensive, quicker
route: the repurposing of existing lines.
Reversing Fortunes
Before the Marcellus boom, communities in
Pennsylvania and West Virginia relied largely on natural
gas from the western United States for heat and the
raw materials for manufacturing. But with natural gas
now pouring out of the enormous shale formations, the
region has acquired a home field advantage. Because this
new local production is more than sufficient to meet
current local demand, there’s enough capacity left over
to ship some out to other states and even up to Canada.
It took a pipeline reversal to change the area’s role
from energy importer to exporter: By flipping the flow
of a southbound pipeline to run northward, the pipeline
operator is now ferrying Marcellus gas to power-hungry
markets in southern Ontario and Quebec.
While reversing pipelines may be expedient, there
are additional risks that can occur when a pipeline
is modified to “do something it wasn’t expected to
do in the first place,” says Dr. Mike Kirkwood, T.D.
Williamson (TDW) Director of Business Development,
Transmission. With increasing demand for energy plus
the ardent development of unconventional resources
and new products placing more stress on existing
oil and gas transportation systems than ever before,
Kirkwood believes the number of pipeline reutilizations
will continue to increase in the future. He wants to
make sure operators are taking the appropriate integrity
measures so that reversed and repurposed pipelines don’t
suffer unexpected consequences.
Case in point, the recent pipeline disasters in
Michigan and Arkansas. Both pipelines had been
repurposed to transport diluted bitumen – dilbit – from
Canada’s tar sands into the United States before they
ruptured, each causing millions of dollars of damage.
Although both pipelines had undergone government-
required inspections, the risk assessment criteria used
didn’t appropriately characterize the weaknesses that
ultimately produced their failures.
With the United States recently approving a twin
reversal and expansion project to cross the Canadian
CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

14
On March 29, 2013, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson received
the kind of phone call no oil and gas executive ever wants to get.
The 20-inch Pegasus transmission line that runs from Illinois to
Texas had burst, leaving a residential neighborhood in Mayflower,
Arkansas, literally swimming in black crude. Clean up crews rushed
to the scene, but much damage had already been done. Twenty-two
homes were evacuated, and Exxon started paying the bill: $2 million
and counting has already been spent just on temporary housing for
displaced residents.
Complicating matters, the Pegasus pipeline had been inspected
just months before the incident, yet the report did not point to any
especially elevated risk.
More than 2.5 million miles of oil and gas lines crisscross America’s
heartland. Millions more run across Europe, Africa, Canada and
Asia. These lines are not all created equal. They range from tiny
2-inch gathering lines linking individual wells to their larger, trunk
line cousins, to Herculean transmission lines measuring as large as
60-inches in diameter. These lines form the arteries that transport our
world’s energy-lifeblood from fields, to refineries, to electrical power
stations. As the backbone of our energy infrastructure, they allow us
to live, work and prosper; and they allow most first-world countries
seemingly endless energy.
• Finding the Hidden Danger
• A String of Tools
• EMAT’s Broken Promises
• The Right Angle
• Finally, all the Major
Inspection Tools on a
Single Platform
• The Future of Inline
Inspections
A New (Ultrasonic) Wave
in Pipeline Integrity Testing

INNOVATIONS•JANUARY-MARCH2014COVERSTORY
15
So when that pipeline system is
compromised, we sit up and listen.
Oil and gas ruptures are not cheap – so
far, Exxon has spent more than $44 million
on the Mayflower clean up. And besides
the cost in dollars and cents, the collateral
damage can be immense. Oil and gas
companies spend hundreds of millions
every year on pipeline inspections to
try to prevent the kind of incident that
struck Mayflower.
No one wants a busted pipe.
Unfortunately, pipeline inspections
aren’t perfect, obviously, or the discovery of
threats such as J-shaped hook cracks would
be a simple and routine task. Instead, these
cracks – like a cancer – often grow and merge
and spread, finally exposing themselves as major
integrity failures.
Cracks can quietly exist, undetected, for years.
In fact, they often start during the manufacturing

process as tiny anomalies near the pipe’s seam – an area susceptible
to problems in all pipelines. The micro-cracks, formed during
manufacturing, can eventually grow into larger hook cracks, which
can then grow into a full-blown disaster.
However, as ExxonMobil’s spokesperson Aaron Stryck told the
Toronto Star, the results of the inline inspection showed the pipe’s
defects to “be benign and not in need of repair.”
Clearly, there is a need for better inspection techniques.
FINDING THE HIDDEN DANGER
Hook cracks like the ones that doomed the section of the
Pegasus pipeline aren’t the only types of pipe defects that
cause failures. Gouging, mechanical stress, hard spots,
coating disbondment, toe cracks, fatigue cracks, stress cracks,
incomplete fusion, preferential seam corrosion, hydrogen-
induced cracking and good old-fashioned dents are all cause
for concern.
A standard pipeline inspection may uncover thousands of
anomalies. It’s neither practical nor necessary for a pipeline
operator to dig up each one of these after every inspection.
Many of the anomalies are, indeed, benign. But which ones
are important?
There are several ways to analyze the severity of a pipeline
defect. Obviously volume – depth, length and width of the
anomaly – is important. The type and location of the anomaly
is also critical: For example, anomalies by the weld seams
can be more severe. Finally, interacting threats must be taken
into account. While metal loss by itself may not be a big deal,
metal loss associated with a crack in a seam could be
an emergency.
There is a dire need for pipeline integrity inspections not
only to report each anomaly, but to give operators the data they
need to prioritize anomalies correctly.
A STRING OF TOOLS
Operators traditionally use a variety of technologies for inline
inspections. Each technology is adept at finding certain types
of flaws.
Deformation (DEF), for example, is good at detecting dents.
Axial Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) is good for volumetric
metal loss, like corrosion.
SpirALL®
MFL (SMFL) is good for narrow axial anomalies,
like finding crack-like defects within the weld seam.
Low Field MFL (LFM) is excellent for pinpointing
mechanical stress and hard spots.
And Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) is good
for cracks. (Or not so good, depending on whom you talk to, but
16
Figure 1. Mechanical Damage
from an MDS inspection. Less-
than 1% dent with volumetric
metal loss identified in the Axial
Field (High Field), confirmed in
the SMFL data as having some
volumetric characteristics, but
also narrow axial; re-rounding
clearly identified in the Low-Field
MFL. A <1% depth dent, in
many cases overlooked from a
severity standpoint, identified as
a “priority 1” through use of the
MDS platform, and found to have
associated cracking.
Deformation
Low Field MFL
High Field MFL
SpirALL® MFL

we’ll get to that later.)
Operators choose which technologies to run,
and can run them on different dates, or on the
same date back-to-back. In some of the latest
iterations, operators can run multiple technologies
as part of an integrated platform.
This “stringed” approach to running pipeline
integrity tools provides a better solution for a
few reasons.
First, you get data that is measured at a single
point in time. As T.D. Williamson’s Manager of
New Technology Development Davin Saderholm
puts it, “With single technology tools you don’t
get a complete data set aligned in time and space.
So, you can’t say with certainty that the anomalies
you are seeing are at the exact same spot. When
you run the tools separately, you can say, ‘in this
joint, we have a dent with a crack and a gouge,
and I think it’s in the same place,’ versus, with
technologies run together, you know it’s in the
same place.”
Secondly, when multiple technologies are
run on a single platform, you have the option
to build the system around a single data
processor or CPU, and use a single software to
analyze all of the data simultaneously. When
run separately, each on its own software
platform, analysts have to spend countless
hours combining multiple sets of information
displayed by multiple sets of programs. Having
a single software display the data makes data
analysis infinitely easier, reduces the rate of
human error, and can ultimately be more cost
effective for the operator as fewer man hours are
required to analyze the information.
Thirdly, running the multiple technologies in a
single run means less labor, less risk of injury, and
less time spent on inspections.
Finally, the platform approach to running
tools gives operators the most critical information
they need to prevent tragedies – the data
to prioritize pipeline flaws. When tools are
run separately, you may get a single piece of
information that, in and of itself, doesn’t really
sound any alarms. Let’s say a tool reports a
1 percent dent. Without additional data, the
operator may consider that dent a fairly low-risk
anomaly. But if the operator can see the data from
several technologies side-by-side, he may learn
that the 1 percent dent is actually a longitudinal
gouge, and that because of pressure in the pipeline
that gouge had been re-rounded and bounced
back. All of a sudden that 1 percent dent is
looking a lot worse.
T.D. Williamson (TDW) has one of the most
comprehensive single platform inspection tools
on the market. Their trade name for this tool is
the Multiple Dataset Platform, or MDS for short.
The MDS includes DEF for deformation, Axial
MFL for volumetric metal loss, SpirALL®
MFL for
longitudinal axis metal loss features, low field MFL
for mechanical properties of steel, and XYZ for
geospatial pipeline mapping.
The company recently added SpirALL®
EMAT
to detect longitudinal cracks. That’s a big deal.
Cracks are what caused the Mayflower spill.
Cracks are bad.
EMAT’S BROKEN PROMISES
EMAT by itself has been a somewhat debated
17
Figure 2. 24-inch DEF+SMFL+MFL+LFM+EMAT.
17.3 ft. / 5.25 m.

18
technology. It’s one of the only crack detection
technologies you can run in a natural gas
pipeline to detect cracks without removing the
natural gas. The alternative is hydrostatic testing,
in which an operator has to remove the gas from
the line and run a water pressure test to see if
the pipe springs a leak. Although still considered
the gold standard for pipeline operators, this
hydrostatic testing is expensive and disruptive to
the flow of gas.
EMAT has been tentatively looked to as an
acceptable alternative, but the technology has
been somewhat disappointing. TDW’s Director of
Integrity Technology Jeff Foote, says, “Proponents
of EMAT have long promised things that their
technology just couldn’t deliver.”
EMAT is an ultrasonic technology. It works by
introducing an ultrasonic signal into the pipeline
wall, causing it to vibrate. By reading the signals
that bounce back to the receivers, theoretically,
analysts can see where the waves have had a little
hiccup on their pathway around the pipeline. Such
hiccups – or deformities in the wave patterns – can
tell analysts where the cracks may be forming.
In the field, however, the technology has been
plagued with issues. For one, the transmitting
and receiving sensors are notoriously fragile. In
most EMAT systems, the sensor development was
rooted in applications designed to be stationary –
they weren’t built to be dragged along the inside of
the rugged and hostile environment found within
a pipeline. These sensors are so unsuited for this
environment, in fact, that it’s not unheard of for
sensors to fail completely before a run is complete.
Not only does that compromise the data, but it
forces the operator to replace the sensors and run
the tool again – a costly proposition.
EMAT is also sensitive to noise. It’s an ultrasonic
test, after all. It depends on clear, clean wavelengths
to run the circumference of the pipeline. Noise can
interfere with that – like noise from the rest of the
electronics on the tool. So EMAT results have been
traditionally difficult to read.
The tools are also big. Some tools require as
many as 48 sensor sets to image the pipeline. That
means that, in most cases, EMAT can’t even be used
in lines that are less than 12 inches in diameter. That
negates its use in 50 to 60 thousand miles of small
gathering lines in the United States alone.
Bottom line, although EMAT has always
seemed like a good idea, prior EMAT technology
just hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Now, TDW thinks it may have cracked the code.
Although TDW isn’t ready to suggest that its
EMAT is a replacement for hydrostatic testing
for cracks, the new EMAT technology that TDW
added to their MDS system does greatly improve
the system’s ability to detect and prioritize cracks –
much like the hook cracks that caused the
Mayflower spill.
THE RIGHT ANGLE
Smaller, hardier, clearer results– TDW’s SpirALL®
EMAT technology solves many of the current
issues with prior EMAT technology. Perhaps the
most important feature of SpirALL®
EMAT is
its helical arrangement of sensors. This patented
helical, or spiral, sensor alignment allows the
ultrasonic signal to be transmitted at a 51 degree
angle relative to the pipe’s interior.
Having just the “right” angle amplifies the
signal-to-noise ratio, so that the wave patterns
traveling from transmitter to receiver can be heard
loud and clear. Combine that with ultra-sleek,
low-noise electronics, and you’ve got a pretty
impressive image on your crack-detection report.
In addition, because of the arrangement of
the sensors, fewer sensors are needed to provide
more robust information. TDW uses only eight
receivers to image the pipe, as opposed to the
High signal-to-noise ratio

48 that are part of some other systems. Based
on system design, internal R&D suggests the
technology can be incorporated into diameters
as small as 8-inch.
As a bonus, the arrangement allows those
receivers to canvass the entire inner circumference
three or four times on a run – so operators can
get several images of the
same anomaly in one shot.
That’s unusual, because most
other tools would require
duplicate runs to obtain
additional images.
TDW’s sensors offer one
more significant benefit: They
last longer. TDW has chosen
a sensor partner who designs
EMAT sensors specifically for
industrial applications. These
sensors don’t wear nearly as
fast as other sensors. In fact,
TDW recently ran an 89-
mile test run in an extreme
environment and the sensors showed hardly
any wear.
FINALLY, A SINGLE PLATFORM
TDW’s SpirALL®
EMAT may be next-generation
tech, but when run as a single tool, it still has
weak spots.
But Saderholm says, “When you combine
SpirALL®
EMAT with TDW’s MDS system,
that’s when you’ve got a truly powerful tool. It’s
the combination of the datasets that gives us a
really accurate picture of pipe features.”
Analysts consider the data from the entire tool
set to corroborate the data across technologies. For
example, SMFL may pick up some areas that are
likely to be cracks. EMAT can then confirm the
SMFL results.
Chuck Harris, Manager of Strategic
Commercialization for TDW’s Pipeline Integrity
Solutions, says that with the addition of EMAT
to TDW’s MDS, “For the first time, all major
inspection technologies are combined on a
single platform.”
Harris reiterates how very powerful that
combination is, “We had one operator who ran
geometric, ultrasonic crack detection technology,
circumferential MFL, and several more tests on
his line. He told us, ‘we are interested in your
MDS technology, but we don’t believe it will
identify anything we haven’t already found.’
Following an inspection with the MDS platform,
hook cracks were found. That’s
the power of getting all datasets
in a single point of time in the
same software.”
THE FUTURE OF
INLINE INSPECTIONS
TDW is currently in field
tests with its new SpirALL®
EMAT, and so far results
have been promising. But
even after these promising
results, TDW is hardly done
with improvements. TDW is
working on software to take
much of the manual data
analysis out of the inspection process. One day
in the not-so-far-distant future, they envision
a time when the dents, cracks, and corrosion
will all be analyzed by a single program. The
program will be able to prioritize pipe flaws for
the customer and send out an automated report.
Jeff Foote, TDW’s Director of Integrity
Technology says, “Automating the process
will take hundreds of hours out of the
process. We could eventually reduce the time
from inspection to report to weeks, or even
days.” Currently TDW reports are usually
returned within 60 to 90 days of the inspection,
depending on complexity.
That’s the sort of game-changing
technology that pipelines need – better, faster,
and more accurate than current generation.
Technology that can help save small towns,
like Mayflower.
19
That’s the sort of
GAME-CHANGING
technology that
pipelines need –
BETTER, FASTER,
and more ACCURATE
than current generation.
Discover how SpirALL® EMAT utilizes
oblique field to crack the code on cracks.
Download the technical paper.

FFU Seminar
30 January | Sola | Norway
Moscow International Energy Forum
21-23April | Moscow | Russia
Gastech 2014
24-27 March | Seoul | South Korea
OTC Asia
25-28 March | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia
Indicates TDW will present a white paper at this event
21
TDW experts deliver – providing technical presentations and hands-on
demonstrations throughout the world. To learn more:
tdwontour@tdwilliamson.com.
FEBRUARY 2014
10-13 PPIM
Houston,TX
Booth 120/122/124
19-21 IPEIA - International Pressure
Equipment Integrity Association
Banff, Canada
Booth 4
26-27 Offshore Pipeline Technology
Conference (OPT) 2014
Amsterdam
4-6 Subsea Tiebacks
San Antonio,TX
Booth 1933
9-13 NACE Corrosion 2014
San Antonio,TX
Booth 2621
17-19 SGA - Southern Gas
Association
Columbia, SC
24-27 Gastech 2014
Seoul, South Korea
Booth A180
25-28 OTC Asia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
30-1 CGA National Operations Conference
Vancouver, BC
10 ASME Plant Engineering & Maintenance
Pasadena,TX
21-23 Moscow International Energy Forum
Moscow, Russia
22-25 Western Energy Institute Operations
Conference
Indian Wells, CA
MARCH 2014 APRIL 2014

22
The oil and gas boom that reversed
declining output and sparked robust
production in the United States is
now transforming the market for
natural gas liquids (NGLs).

INNOVATIONS•JANUARY-MARCH2014FEATURESTORY
23
• Another volley has
been fired in the shale
revolution.
• Shale Development
Regulation and Piggable
Pipelines
• High Frequency Solution
for Resource-Constrained
Producers
Another volley has been fired
in the shale revolution.
The oil and gas boom that reversed declining output and sparked
robust production in the United States is now transforming the market
for natural gas liquids (NGLs).
With weak American natural gas prices, due to increased availability,
a growing number of US production companies are banking instead
on the profitability of NGLs – non-methane hydrocarbons such as
ethane, butane, and propane that occur in natural gas and are prized
(or priced) as petrochemical feedstock. No longer surrendering to the
notion that NGLs are just problematic by-products to be removed,

24
more producers are recognizing the importance of
NGL sales to their bottom lines.
While the United States is ahead in the
commercial development of natural gas assets – a
June 2012 Energy Information Agency (EIA) report
said the country’s NGL production could more than
double from 2.2 million bbl/d in 2011 to 5 million
in 2040 – it’s not the only nation seeking to achieve
energy security and self-sufficiency through shale.
An EIA report revealed 41 countries outside
of the United States with recoverable shale oil and
shale gas reserves. The list is led by China, which
has 31.6 tcm of shale gas, and has already spent
US$1.3 billion exploring its shale reserves. Russia
has the infrastructure in place to capitalize on one
of the world’s largest accumulations of shale oil,
about 2000 miles (1240 km) east of Moscow, in
Siberia. Indonesia is in the early stages of shale
development, as is Australia. The
government of Algeria is using
incentives to attract foreign
investors; similarly, in the
UK, gas field allowances
are promoting early
investment and tax
breaks have been
designed to appeal to
fracking companies.
Meanwhile, as
natural gas production
in the United States
continues to grow,
current pipeline capacity is
struggling to keep up. In order
to better utlize NGL resources,
more companies are including new
pipelines in their capital investment budgets.
Shale Development Regulation
and Piggable Pipelines
In particular, North American pipeline expansion
projects will include new gathering lines – and lots
of them. In fact, according to Olga Kondratieva,
T.D. Williamson’s Director of Pigging Technology,
it is estimated that 16,500 miles (26,554 km) of
new gathering lines will be constructed annually
in North America through 2035, for a total of
400,000 miles (643,720 km) of new gathering lines
in slightly more than two decades.
Kondratieva says that many current gathering
lines are considered difficult to pig – in other
words, the lines can’t easily be inspected or cleaned
by standard tools because of diameter differences,
acute bends, or other characteristics that prevent
the tools from negotiating the pipe.
The network of new gathering lines will be a
different story, however.
One reason is that operators are
anticipating regulatory action by
the US Pipeline and Hazardous
Material Safety Administration
(PHMSA), which is
expected to begin calling
for gathering line integrity
inspections – inspections
that can only be performed
on piggable lines.
Above the call for
inspections, there are some
very enticing (and profitable)
benefits to piggable lines.
First, pigging enables the
removal of impurities that can cause
corrosion, increase clogging and impede
production. Anything that can help increase the
DAILY CLEANING
with spheres
helps operators fully
leverage pipeline
assets, ensure pipeline
integrity and extract
valuable NGL
condensates.
United States
Natural Gas Liquids
Production and
Projections
2040
2020
2011
0 bbl/d 2,500,000
bbl/d
5,000,000
bbl/d
2.2 MILLION BBL/D
EIA PROJECTS
3–4 MILLION BBL/D
EIA PROJECTS
5 MILLION BBL/D

flow of production has the potential to increase the
flow of profits.
But it’s recovering NGLs that has become an
increasingly attractive advantage of pigging.
“Recovering NGLs is where the money is,” says
Abdel Zellou, who recently joined T.D. Williamson
as Director of Market Development, Gathering and
Midstream. When lines are pigged, NGLs can be
brought to the surface and sold to refiners.
High-Frequency Solution for
Resource-Constrained Producers
Assuming that each new gathering line averages 5
miles (8 km) in length, 400,000 miles (643,720
km) of new lines will translate to 80,000 piggable
sections. Kondratieva says those new, piggable
sections will need to be cleaned with spheres, daily,
to move the liquids, optimize production and
extract valuable NGL condensates.
For producers still relying on manual sphere-
loading and retrieval, that’s a costly and time-
consuming proposition, particularly when a
two-person crew has to travel long distances to
deploy and then retrieve the spheres. For example,
in North Dakota’s Bakken formation a crew would
typically need to drive 50 miles (80 km) each way,
twice a day, to load and recover one sphere. What’s
more, a workforce shortage in the oil and gas
industry, especially in shale plays, has made it more
difficult than ever to find qualified personnel to
operate manual systems.
Additionally, of course, there’s the risk of
environmental contamination in the form of
carbon emissions every time a launcher or receiver
closure is opened to insert or recover a sphere.
Those are some of the reasons that pipeline services
company T.D. Williamson is working in the South
Texas Eagle Ford Shale with one of the world’s largest
oil and natural gas E & P companies to measure the
efficacy of a new automated sphere system for smaller
diameter natural gas gathering lines.
The technology they are testing, the SmartTrap®
Automated Sphere System – or, more succinctly,
“AutoSphere” – deploys only spheres, the one
function absolutely required for small flow and
branch lines. Accompanied by service support, the
AutoSphere uses the same automation technology
found in T.D. Williamson’s successful AutoCombo
system, which was introduced in 2012 for inline
inspection and pigging of trunk lines.
The brains of the
automation is the
RECOVERING
NGLS IS WHERE
THE MONEY IS.
When lines are
pigged, NGLs can
be brought to the
surface and sold
to refiners.
INNOVATIONS•JANUARY-MARCH2014FEATURESTORY
25

26
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which
enables the user to program the remote automated
launch of 7 to 10 spheres sequentially at designated
times and intervals, optimizing routine maintenance
and helping to avoid costly operating interruptions
caused when impurities build up.
Because the AutoSphere can be controlled from
a distance, workforce requirements decline.
But those aren’t the only savings possible. The
AutoSphere can also significantly lower carbon
emissions, Zellou says.
“Loading seven pigs at a time means the closure is
opened once, not seven times. That reduces carbon
emissions by 85 percent. If 10 spheres are loaded, the
reduction in emissions is 90 percent,” he explains.
T.D. Williamson’s San Antonio, TX, Service
Center is already fully inventoried to equip
customers in the Eagle Ford. A similar ramp-
up is expected to take place in the Burgettstown,
PA, Service Center for Marcellus Shale
customers. Customer support involves a full
slate of operational and maintenance services,
including installation guidance and supervision,
commissioning, training, pigs and spare part
inventory maintenance, development of a pigging
program, even operation.
“As it increases flow efficiency while reducing
manpower requirements and lowering safety risks,
the AutoSphere can save our customers money.
The service we provide together with the product
eliminates the customer’s risk of operating the
automated unit and helps to increase the efficiency
of pigging,” Kondratieva says.
Saving customers money is always a plus –
but the AutoSphere takes things a step further,
Zellou points out.
“By allowing the capture of NGLs, we’re helping
them make money,” he concludes.
That represents an even greater victory on the
front lines of global shale production.
THE SHALE BOOM IS TIPPING THE GLOBAL TRADE
BALANCE IN FAVOR OF THE UNITED STATES.
That’s according to Abdel Zellou, T.D. Williamson’s
Director of Market Development, Gathering and Midstream,
who cites a recent International Energy Agency (IEA) report.
One example is how the shale gas boom is changing
the competitive landscape for participants in the chemicals
industry value chain. The growth of affordable natural
gas liquids (NGL) that are feedstock for the domestic
petrochemical industry has given domestic manufacturers
of downstream products greater access to low cost raw
materials, which is reducing the cost of manufactured goods.
As a result, the United States is becoming less dependent
upon imported products.
The shale boom has also given the United States an
overall energy price advantage over both Europe and Japan,
Zellou added.
“Natural gas in the United States currently trades at
one-third of import prices to Europe and one-fifth of those
to Japan,” he explained. “Average Japanese or European
industrial consumers pay more than twice as much for
electricity as their counterparts in the United States, and
even China’s industry pays almost double the US level.”
Although shale activity hasn’t yet eliminated the US
need for imported oil, within a few decades, it could.
“Because of shale, the United States, which has long been
the world’s leading consumer of oil, could by 2020 surpass
both Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer,”
Zellou explained.“What’s more, by 2030, the IEA thinks North
America, as a whole, could become a net oil exporter.”
Zellou sees worldwide energy demand and development
shifting as India’s population grows. In 10 years or so, India’s
population will surpass that of China, and so will its energy
needs. In addition, new frontiers in shale development are
being explored, from the UK to Indonesia.
“As gathering systems are developed overseas, our
vision is to be involved in supplying energy to the world.
T.D. Williamson isn’t just looking at tomorrow. The question
is, ‘How can we help our customers capture the globe?’”
Zellou said.
Capturing the Globe

27
Changing Directions CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
border to help ease the tar sands bottleneck – a plan
that includes converting an existing pipeline to
carry dilbit – incidents like these are top of mind for
operators, regulators and the concerned public.
A Bit about Dilbit
Canadian tar sands produce a low grade crude oil
known as bitumen that is too thick to transport as is.
However, thinning it with a natural gas condensate
like benzene can get it flowing. The new expansion
pipeline will carry condensates from the United
States to the tar sands, where they will be used to
dilute the bitumen. The existing line, which was
initially built to carry thinner oil at lower
pressure in the opposite direction, will
be reversed and converted to a higher-
volume vehicle to move the dilbit west
across Canada, where it can be readied for
export to new markets.
Dilbit is higher density than crude
oil, so it flows under higher pressure,
and this could stress undetected internal
weaknesses. Corrosion fatigue was blamed
for the Michigan failure; while the jury is
still out on the cause of the Arkansas line
breach, the early evidence points to fatigue
resulting from heavier oil combined with hook cracks
in brittle electric resistance welded pipe. Kirkwood is
concerned that, without adequate inspection, a similar
fate could await the new dilbit-converted pipeline.
“When you change the duty of a pipeline, both
through reversing flow and changing the product, new
threats can present themselves that were not necessarily
considered during its design,” Kirkwood says.
Integrity Innovations
Kirkwood, who has spent much of his career studying
and writing about the integrity of oil and gas
infrastructure, is, not surprisingly, a staunch advocate
of integrity management. He believes more thorough
inline inspection could reduce the risks of pipeline
reversal.
A high level pressure test using water – so-called
hydrotesting – is often considered the gold standard in
testing for pipeline leaks. But hydrotesting alone may
not be enough to completely assure reliability.
“Hydrotesting is useful in determining the pipeline’s
standing for present use,” Kirkwood asserts. “But when
you make a departure from the original design scope
like reversing product flow, there’s so much more you
need to understand in terms of risk. You have to ask
yourself, at the very least, ‘if it were a new pipeline,
what would I do to identify risks, and detect and
mitigate problems.’”
In addition to hydrotesting, a variety of inline
inspection technologies are available. However, most
of these technologies have focused on metal-loss.
Spotting corrosion is beneficial, but this data often
fails to give operators a complete view of pipeline
health. Pipelines can fail due to a variety of defects
such as corrosion, dents, cracks, stresses, or any
combination thereof.
The good news is, the pipeline services industry
is well aware of the shortcomings of current
integrity testing. Next generation inspection tools
are already in field operations – such as TDW’s
Multiple Dataset Platform with SpirALL®
EMAT,
which combines a variety of inline technologies to
search for multiple defect types concurrently. These
new tools offer better crack detection, prioritization
of defects for faster repairs on critical issues, and
more complete analysis of defects through advanced
software. It’s Kirkwood’s belief that such cutting-
edge integrity innovations will help operators make
more informed decisions about pipeline repurposing
in the future, helping to prevent catastrophes such
as the Michigan and Arkansas disasters.
These new tools offer better crack
detection, prioritization of defects
for faster repairs on critical issues,
and more complete analysis of
defects through advanced software.

Need help developing a cleaning program? Learn
about the various pigging products and
services offered by TDW.
Find threats and reduce integrity risk by learning more about
TDW’s comprehensive inline inspection technologies.
28

Validate integrity threats and gain greater
understanding of assets by learning more
about TDW’s NDE services.
Know where to turn and what to do for routine and emergency line
isolations and repair by learning more about TDW’s hot tapping and
plugging products and services. 29

Trusted Partnership
For four generations, companies around the world have trusted
TDW’s unwavering commitment to pipeline performance.
So can you.
North & South America: Europe/
Africa/Middle East:
Asia/Pacific:
Offshore Services:
+1 918-447-5000
+32 67-28-36-11
+65 6364-8520
+1 832-448-7200
TDWilliamson.com
® Registered trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. ™ Trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. © Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. T.D. Williamson, Inc.

Innovations™ Magazine January - March 2014

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Innovations™ Magazine January - March 2014

Similar to Innovations™ Magazine January - March 2014 (20)

More from T.D. Williamson

More from T.D. Williamson (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Innovations™ Magazine January - March 2014