LINDSEY OIL REFINERY CASE STUDY

LINDSEY OIL REFINERY WAS CHALLENGED WITH AGING FIRE MAINS AND NUMEROUS BURST INCIDENTS AND THUS NEEDED AN IN-DEPTH ASSESSMENT OF ITS NETWORK WITH AQUAM PIPE DIAGNOSTICS.

Fire Mains 18”Amplus™ SteelLindsey Oil

Refinery - Total Oils, UK

Overview

Internal Condition Assessment

Client Services Technology Pipeline Pipe Diameter Pipe Material

The ChallengeSituated in North Lincolnshire, England, Lindsey Oil Refinery came on stream in May 1968 and is now wholly owned by Total Oils. As the third largest oil refinery in Britain, Lindsey Oil processes approximately 10,000,000 tons of oil per year and produces around 35 types of product. However, due to the numerous burst incidents at Lindsey Oil Refinery as well as some high-profile incidents at other refinery locations, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requested that Total Oils implement a testing regime of the fire network.

xtensive quantities of fossil fuels stored on site, it was imperative that Total Oils had comprehensive data across the network to ensure the safety of the site and employees, not to mention compliance with the HSE. Consequently, Total Oils consulted Aquam Pipe Diagnostics (APD) to assess the condition of their fire suppression lines. Based on the site considerations and the large diameters of the pipes, APD proposed the deployment of its ground-breaking Amplus™. This is an internal condition assessment technology which generates results to determine the health of potable, wastewater and raw water infrastructure.

The SolutionAPD expert diagnostics team mobilized to the Oil Refinery and gained access to the live, fully pressurized mains utilizing the existing 8” valves. With the deployment of the Amplus™, the APD team conducted and completed the inspection without any necessary pipe reconfigurations or disruptions to service.

The Amplus™ is an advanced crawler system that can enter and inspect various types of pipelines 8 inch in diameter and above. The revolutionary crawler can gather thousands of true wall-thickness measurements using ultrasonic technology to inspect a maximum of 3,300 feet in one single insertion, in operating pressures of up to 145psi. This data will give an estimation on the remaining life expectancy of the pipe.

Amplus™’ patented software analyzed and visualized the captured broad-scope of wall-thickness measurements that were recorded at the refinery. APD were able to accurately assess the pipe’s internal condition and estimate life expectancy of the pipeline infrastructure.

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The Results and the Benefits

APD’s software provided a visualization of the sectional scanned data from the Amplus™ for wall thickness. Simultaneously, the software generated graphical representations of the minimum wall thicknesses based on both the water industry calculations and Total Oils’ own structural calculations. The results indicated significant evidence of corrosion attributable to vulnerabilities in the pipe wall and a reduction in overall pipeline integrity. This pipe was therefore deemed to have minimal remaining life and warranted immediate intervention.

After collecting and analyzing the data, the APD data analyst team found that there was significant corrosion throughout the entire network. The extent of the deteriorating infrastructure was brought to the client’s attention, and they were advised to exercise immediate remedial action to ensure the integrity and safety of the fire suppression system. If this assessment had not taken place, the consequences of pipe failure would have been devastating for the oil refinery.