Abstract

A staff exchange was conducted for the mutual benefit of the Department of Energy, the Gas Research Institute (GRI), Vetco Pipeline Services Inc. (VPSI), and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This staff exchange provided direct exposure by a Laboratory staff member knowledgeable in inspection, integrity assessment, and robotic capabilities of the Laboratory to the needs of the natural gas pipeline industry. The project included an assignment to the GRI Pipeline Simulation Facility (PSF) during the period preceding the commissioning of the flow loop. GRI is interested in exploiting advanced technology at the National Laboratories. To provide a sense of the market impact, it is estimated that $3 billion was spent in 1993 for the repair, renovation, and replacement of distribution piping. GRI has goals of saving the distribution industry $500 million in Operations and Maintenance costs and having an additional $250M savings impact on transmission pipelines. The objectives of the project included: (1) For PNNL staff to present technology to GRI and PSF staff on non- destructive evaluation, robotics, ground penetrating radar, and risk based inspection guidelines for application to the operation and maintenance of natural gas pipelines. (2) For GRI and PSF staff to discuss with PNNL staff opportunities for improving the industrial competitiveness of operation and maintenance services. (3) To explore the basis for partnership with GRI and PSF staff on technology transfer topics. In this project, staff exchanges were conducted to GRI`s Pipeline Simulation Facility and to VPSI. PNNL . staff had access to the $10M GRI Pipeline Simulation Facility (PSF) at West Jefferson, Ohio. The facility has a 4,700-ft. long pipe loop, an NDE laboratory, and a data analysis laboratory. PNNL staff had access to the VPSI`s facility in Houston, TX. VPSI has developed some of the most sophisticated inspection tools currently used in the pipeline inspection industry. Document type: Report