July 2011 Tube Products International
15
news
business & market
Pipeline protection heading
for Edinburgh
There are around 2.5mn km of oil
pipelines and 2.5mn km of water
pipelines currently in use throughout
the world, and both figures are likely to
grow. Demand for oil drives exploration
and production to new, and remoter,
areas of the world. Population growth
and the expectation of good quality
water in developing countries is driving
demand for infrastructure. These and
other pressures will mean more and
more need for pipelines.
Pipelines are popular because in many
applications they are themost sustainable,
efficient and economical way to transport
liquids, slurries and gases, but there are
always potential risks. During the first
few months of 2011 commercial and
political events highlighted the reliance of
the global community on pipelines and
the issues that have to be addressed to
ensure continuity of supply.
In North America, for example, the US
government has called for further studies
on the commercial need and likely
environmental impact of a proposed oil
pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast,
which will lead to delays. The on-going
political unrest in the Middle East and
North Africa has once again highlighted
the subject of energy supply and security
to countries that rely on these sources.
While some of these incidents are
out of the control of pipeline owners
and operators, they do highlight the
dependency of industry and the economy
in general of these most basic of
transportation networks. The investment
required to plan, develop and manage
these pipelines can be significant.
Business pressures mean that owners
and operators must plan from day one to
protect and prolong the lifetime of their
pipelines, maximise return on investment
and ensure continuity of service. Regular
inspection, monitoring, maintenance and
repair, refurbishment or upgrade are all
essential. At the same time, operators
have to take into account environmental
and sustainability concerns that are
rapidly becoming global political and
commercial issues. They must reduce
the risks associated with failure such as
pollution or loss of supply.
BHR Group takes a leading role in the
international pipeline industry through
its contract research undertaken
for major multinational oil and water
businesses and by organising regular
conferences. The latest of these events
is its 19
th
International Conference on
Pipeline Protection, which will be held in
Edinburgh, Scotland in September 2012.
Since the first conference in 1975 the
event has been held at regular intervals
with the aim of bringing together leading
authorities from commercial, academic
and regulatory backgrounds to share and
extend knowledge and understanding.
The organisers have issued a call for
papers for the 2012 conference and are
seeking unpublished papers covering a
range of disciplines. Contributions are
welcomed in the form of technical papers
or case studies on all aspects of pipeline
protection including current techniques
and new developments. Case studies
that present learning experiences gained
from solving real problems and meeting
new challenges are always identified by
delegates as providing some of the most
valuable content to the conference.
The programme will include papers
covering: field joint coatings; internal drag
reduction coatings; monitoring of and
mitigation of mechanisms of deterioration:
external and internal corrosion, SCC;
surface preparation, external and internal
coatings, including high temperature
operation, cathodic protection, showing
effectscomplementary tocoating; offshore
applications, including high temp/high
pressure, corrosion resistance in deep
water insulation; operation of very large
diameter water pipelines; maintenance,
inline and online monitoring; rehabilitation
and remediation; latest developments in
multi layer technology and fusion bonded
experiences.
BHR Group Ltd
– UK
For more than 230 years BUTTING has been supporting the customers with
its skill and innovations. Since the mid-eighties we have been producing
longitudinally welded, metallurgically clad pipes and have delivered more than
6,500 tons of these pipes to customers world-wide. We produce them in OD’s
from 114.3 mm (4”) up to 1,219 mm (48”) in various material combinations.
Progress by Tradition!
Your Specialist in metallurgically clad Pipes
BUTTING
Germany · Belgium ·
Brazil · Canada · China
Brigitte Blechinger
Sales Oil and Gas Upstream
Phone: +49 5834 50-230
E-mail: brigitte.blechinger
@
butting.de
