A new approach to the results of internal inspection
As part of the revalidation, a targeted combination of in-line inspection and a subsequent integrity test was employed, which made it possible to take a profoundly different approach to the results of the in-line inspection.
Two hundred and fifty kilometres of a closed down DN 700 oil pipeline in Latvia was purged, chemically cleaned and nitrogen inerted. The pipeline owner then considered the option of converting this 45-year-old oil pipeline for transport of some other utility. In 2013, a revalidation of a section of this pipeline was therefore carried out.
The most efficient way to ensure the integrity of aging pipelines is a sequence consisting of internal inspection, elimination of major defects, and subsequent pressure testing.
Read more in the article A new approach to the results of internal inspection (PDF, 1078 kB).