Tracerco Enhances Its Subsea Pipelines Scanning Technology

Tracerco has launched a new fast scanning application for its subsea pipeline inspection instrument, Discovery.

The company said that following customer feedback, it developed a new method, specifically for detecting the presence of localised metal loss defects on subsea pipelines, up to 5 times faster than before.

The new development for Discovery means that once a potential anomaly has been identified via the fast scanning method, a more detailed and accurate scan to fully characterise it can be undertaken, simply by extending the duration of the fast scan.

Kim Thye Lee at Tracerco said: “By enhancing the capabilities of Discovery, operators now have the ability to quickly and accurately screen subsea pipelines to determine whether the integrity is within the acceptable tolerance specification. With non-intrusive inspection through any type of protective pipeline coating, defects can be fully characterised faster than ever, without interrupting production. This will enable operators to save on time, resource and ultimately the cost of an inspection campaign.”

The first two inspection campaigns utilising Discovery as a fast scanning technology have recently been completed on a large diameter export pipeline in the Arabian Gulf and across a range of infield flowlines and jumpers in the Gulf of Mexico.