Pipeline Integrity Monitoring: What’s the Present Situation for Offshore Pipelines and the Future?

This paper will discuss both the present situation and future developments in Pipeline Integrity Monitoring. It will also highlight how integrity monitoring is a vital part of any Pipeline Integrity Management System (PIMS). To give the true picture of a pipeline’s condition, the integrity monitoring systems must identify those elements of the pipeline which are at most risk to any potential modes of failure. Pipeline integrity monitoring offshore tends to be the periodic monitoring of specified components above and below the water surface. This being in the form of long and short term monitoring programs, which are derived from threat identification, risk assessment and mitigation processes. These programs normally follow the relevant industry standards that define specific monitoring activities and frequencies, especially for the safety critical components. PIMS documentation review cycles can be long and complex, but should be undertaken on a regular basis. When these reviews are undertaken they don’t always use new data sources that could give us more information about potential failure modes. At present these processes tend to be more reactive or lagging in nature. The future monitoring of pipeline integrity should be more forward-looking and be proactive as well as being reactive. Where are the next major developments? We need to make better use of the data we have by studying trends, changes and impacts wherever possible. Also, have a better understanding of the in-service behaviour and how this can change over the life cycle of a pipeline system.