West Africa
Pipe Details
- 102-mm (4-inch) diameter main drain line on an oil production platform sustained severe corrosion damage and was leaking
- 6.02 mm (0.24 inch) original wall thickness
- Through-wall defects at support locations
Summary
- 102-mm (4-inch) diameter main drain line on an oil production platform sustained severe corrosion damage and was leaking
- A team of 2 local CSNRI trained technicians completed the Contour repair in 2 days
- Repair allowed safe operations until the next planned shutdown
- No hot work was required during the repair application
- No negative impact on operations
A routine inspection on an oil platform offshore West Africa revealed severe external corrosion on the 102-mm (4-inch) platform drain line located on a pipe bridge.
Corrosion was particularly bad at support locations and had created several through-wall defects, and the constant drip had created a large oil sheen on the surface of the water below. The line required an immediate repair that would ensure integrity and reduce environmental impact until the next planned shutdown.
CSNRI engineers designed a Contour repair in accordance with ISO 24817 guidelines, which provide requirements and recommendations for qualifying, designing, installing, testing and inspecting the external application of composite repair systems to corroded or damaged pipework, pipelines, tanks, and vessels used in the petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas industries.
CSNRI trained and certified technician removed the platform drain line supports and cleaned the spool sections using power tools to remove the pipe coating before applying a bristle blaster to achieve a surface profile equivalent to NACE#3/SA.2. With the pipe prepared for the installation, the crew applied a Contour repair.
Following standard installation procedures, 2 technicians executed the complete repair in 2 days, delivering a repair that would allow the platform to continue operations safely until the next planned maintenance shutdown, allowing the operator to resume production without the risk of additional environmental issues.
