Living With HIC Damaged Pipeline

Abstract

A 41 km. (25.5 mile) long, 508 mm (20″) Fuel Gas pipeline (FG048) was in service to supply Fuel Gas to oil gathering centers (GC) in the West Kuwait area since 1968. It was required to convert the pipeline for reverse flow of HP Gas from a new gas gathering center in West Kuwait. During MFL-ILI survey prior to conversion, several undefined anomalies were detected along with other internal and external corrosion. Repair work was initiated based on ASME B31G criteria. During repair work, sections having unidentified anomalies were cut out and inspected internally. Internal blistering and HIC damage were observed. Further investigation revealed severe HIC damage and internal blistering at different areas throughout the pipeline length. Since the pipeline was crucial in commissioning gas collection and compressor facility operation, and was required to be in service for transporting gas within a short time, a program of failure investigation, inspection, data analysis and repair work was implemented. This paper demonstrates how a severely HIC damaged pipeline, crucial for gas transportation was put back into service using inspection, analysis, hydrotest and repair techniques through the collaborative efforts of different agencies.