Page 46: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2013)

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Subsea

Offshore pipeline leak detection for Arctic applications

Multiple offshore Arctic felds strudel scour, frost heave,

Dr Premkumar have been developed over the permafrost-thaw settlement, and

Thodi, Mike Paulin, past three decades, and the world wave/current loading if the pipelines

M demand for oil and gas will are unburied. Potential failure

Duane DeGeer, continue to drive development. The mechanisms include fracture, burst, and Glenn Lanan, implementation of reliable Arctic buckling, and fatigue. Trenching

INTECSEA Canada, operational strategies will allow and burial are the principal design additional offshore prospects to be methods for protecting Arctic examine examine the developed. pipelines from environmental potential of external Offshore pipeline technology is loading.

distributed sensors being advanced to accommodate Arctic pipelines may be in remote

Arctic challenges. Although arctic locations and/or under seasonal using fber-optic cable pipelines are designed not to leak, ice cover. Thus, leaks must be systems.

high-bending strains due to ground minimized. An effective external movements could result in leaks. LDS can mitigate leak-risk to human

Large leaks can easily be detected life, the environment, reputation, using computational pipeline and fnancials. monitoring (CPM) systems, but Arctic pipeline leak detection small leaks may go undetected, challenges include: especially when the pipelines are l Buried pipelines conveying located in remote environments multiphase fows.

or under seasonal ice cover. In l Open water and seasonal ice these cases, external leak detection cover.

systems (LDS) can augment CPM l Installation and maintenance. for increased, overall leak detection l Equipment and power. reliability. However, there is limited l Operational management using documentation of successful supervisory control and data external LDS performance offshore. acquisition (SCADA). l Remote performance monitoring

Leak detection challenges and control.

Arctic offshore pipelines are l False alarms.

subjected to many environmental l Uncertain minimum detection loading conditions: ice gouging, thresholds.

OE | March 2013 oedigital.com 48 oe_subseaINTECSEA_rev3.indd 48 27/02/2013 11:54