A company delivering gas to a remote island required to inspect the transporting pipeline. The project was very sensitive since major parts of the pipeline route as well as the launch location are located in a National Park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Planning and preparation included liaison with relevant local and environmental authorities from the start to ensure that the project would have the minimum possible footprint. Scheduling the field works was governed by both breeding periods of protected bird populations on one hand and requirements of downstream consumers on the other. Specialised filtration equipment to clean the water used to propel the in line tools was included.

3P Services work scope included provision of pumping spread to propel the inline tools. Inspection technologies to be deployed included GEO (geometric), MFL, UT and XYZ mapping in the 4” diameter line.

Field works were scheduled during mid to late summer after preparation of the “low impact” launch and receive positions was complete. All onsite personnel received specialised training from a third party nature conservation consultant. The island being separated from the mainland by tidal mudflats, subsea markers serving as reference positions for the xyz unit were deployed during low tide by a local mudflat hike specialist.

The line was flooded, cleaned by use of a chemical batch and cleaning tools and inspected by means of inline inspection tools. In a last step, the line was dewatered and dried with nitrogen. All propellant used during this operation was run through the filtration skid and then tested before either being drained or disposed of separately.

Operations were completed within a tight schedule. Reports were delivered on time. Using this information and in conjunction with the regulator, the client is performing an extensive campaign of investigating features that were reported.