Discovery™, the world’s first subsea CT scanner for pipelines, has won the first ever Underwater Technology Foundation (UTF) Subsea Project Award for world-leading technology company Tracerco, part of the FTSE 100 Johnson Matthey Plc.
This is the fourth industry award Discovery™ has collected in the last 18 months, beating a strong field of competing entrants. Tracerco european headquarters are based in Billingham in the north east of england.
The UTF award programme, which is open to both intra- and inter-company for operational subsea projects, recognises not only proven successful solutions to subsea industry challenges but also excellent project execution, innovation, increased efficiency, HSE and global commercial potential.
Discovery™ scans pipelines from the outside to gain an accurate CT image of the condition of the pipe and the nature of its contents, with no need to remove the protective coating and with no interruption to production. Discovery™ provides data on flow assurance issues and pipeline integrity, including pipe-in-pipe and bundle systems, with defect resolution down to 1mm.
Discovery™ is a game changer to the subsea pipeline industry. It delivers significant cost savings in inspection campaigns for both flow assurance and pipeline integrity. For example, it is extremely valuable to operators needing to validate fitness for continued operation in lifetime extension projects since the need to prepare the pipe for an inline inspection is avoided. Further savings are achieved due to the inspection taking place whilst the pipeline is fully operational meaning the operator does not incur any interruption to production and therefore no deferment of revenue.
With regard to realising low risk and cost effectiveness for flow assurance projects, Discovery™ can provide important information to plan flow remediation campaigns. The information allows operators to distinguish between various restrictions such as wax, asphaltene, scale or hydrate. This data is invaluable in selecting the most effective approach to remediation, saving time and money spent on ineffectual techniques. This approach also eliminates the risk of worsening the blockage or restriction. In both cases, the absence of the need to remove coatings saves costs and minimises risk of damage to the pipeline.
The judging panel included Bob Allwood of SUT, Helge Haldorsen (SPE International/Statoil), Elaine Maslin (Offshore Engineer), Bjørn Søgård (DNV GL) and Vidar Fondevik (UTF/Nui).
The judges recognised Discovery™’s innovative technology, its global industry potential, the fact the technology is field-proven with excellent results and that it creates value for operators, IRM companies and suppliers. The award was presented to Tracerco at UTC, which took place on 17th and 18th June in Bergen, Norway.
Paul Featonby, Technology Manager at Tracerco is particularly delighted with the award as it recognises the contribution Discovery™ makes to their customers’ business, with several highly successful campaigns. He said:
“It’s a real honour to receive this inaugural award from the industry. We are delighted to be able to introduce an innovative new technology, which brings a cost effective solution, eliminates the operational risks of conventional techniques and provides reliable, accurate information to enable operators in their decision making.”
