Achieving Circular Economy Through Optimizing Pipeline Repair

Abstract Circular economy (CE) is one of the most important pillars to attain operational excellence. This is specially the case in the oil and gas industry, where implementing circular economy initiatives could play a key role to ensure operations sustainability and resource saving. From this perspective, tangible benefits would be realized by tackling routine operational challenges with innovative and out of the box solutions. In addition, one of the most attractive areas to identify such opportunities for circularity is pipeline repair. This paper illustrates a case where a damaged pipeline repair was optimized to allow for expediting the execution duration, reducing the required repair scope, and availing additional material to be re-utilized for other repair jobs in the same field. This was achieved by opting to reroute the targeted pipeline instead of direct replacement. As a background, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) was carried out on three-hundred and ninety (390) piping spools of an oil transporting pipeline. This inspection revealed a total of seventy-one (71) corroded piping spools at nine (9) different locations distributed along the whole line, with the remaining tested spools in a healthy condition. In addition, the wall thickness of the corroded spools was measured to be below the minimum requirements. Typically, these identified sections will be replaced to return the line back to service. Nevertheless, upon reviewing and verifying the line layout, process parameters, overall pipelines network, and magnitude of the required repair, it was clear that an alternative approach to restore the line would be more beneficial, and will lead to major CE benefits, while ensuring that the system performs its intended function. In this innovative approach, the pipeline will be routed and connected to another nearby pipeline, leading to the same destination. Figures 1 and 2 below shows the existing and modified layouts. As a result, the replacement of seventy-one (71) corroded piping spools was avoided and three-hundred and nineteen (319) healthy spools were dismantled and re-utilized for other repair activities. Furthermore, such optimization has resulted in a major cost avoidance of around 471,296 USD related to cost of material and contractor activities. It is worth noting that this evaluation philosophy will be the baseline for future assessment of similar cases, which will ensure taking full advantage of circular economy principles. Moreover, additional gains include expediting the time to return the line back to service, and reducing the distance required for inspection.