Tracerco announce new fast scanning application for Discovery™ pipeline integrity inspections

Tracerco, part of the FTSE100 company, Johnson Matthey Plc, has announced the launch of a new fast scanning application for their field proven subsea pipeline inspection instrument, Discovery™.

Following customer feedback, Tracerco has completed further R&D work on the unique technology to develop 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. This eliminates the requirement of a separate scan and the need to deploy a secondary technology to validate the findings from the initial fast scanning inspection.

Kim Thye Lee at Tracerco stated “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. The quality and volume of inspection data obtained, provided our customers with sufficient statistical confidence that the fast scanning results were representative of the condition of their entire system. As such, both customers were extremely satisfied with the results, providing another testament to this impressive technology.

Since the launch in 2013, Discovery™ has been deployed across a number of geographic locations, completing thousands of scans and providing operators with real time integrity data to allow them to make critical decisions quickly and with confidence.