Pipe Inspections

• What type of pipe?
• What diameter?
• What lengths?

Am so sorry if the my question was not clear.

A steel pipe of 6 inches in daimeter and having a lengths of 12ft, intended to be used in an oil and gas riser.

Furthermore:

What is the service intended?

According to that, the codes/standards/regulations may request a specific type of inspection: just visual, any NDE, pressure test, and so on.

"Inspection" is a very general word

Please, give us some more specific information.

Intended to be used in oil and gas riser.

Ndt and Visual inspection

Dear Vandi Zira Njelle,

Please follow the next link to API homepage for more information:

http://www.api.org/Publications/upload/2008Catalog_Web.pdf

Best wishes!

Tibor Nagy

• ASME, Section IX

• API 570 Piping Inspection Code Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Rerating of In-service Piping Systems

• API 574 Inspection Practices for Piping System Components

• API 1104 Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities

• API 1107 Pipeline Maintenance Welding Practices

•API 1110 Pressure Testing of Liquid Petroleum Pipelines

Please send your e-mail, there are a set of formats/procedures on DOC formats will help you.

Please can you help me about verification of pipeline fullness (confirm fill condition of pipelines whose connect vessels to shore tank) in oil terminal before loading or discharging tank vessel in shore tank.

To verify that the whole pipeline is completely filled with liquid, the pipeline must be provided with a venting points at any higher portion along the whole length of pipeline. These points can be checked manually by opening them until removing all air inside the pipeline. Or can be furnished with automatic air vent valves which discharge the air automatically and self closed when the pipe completely filled with liquid.

Thank you for your competent respond, but venting points is solution in ideal condition of pipelines. Usually pipelines is billowy and rarely we can't find the higher portion, some times laid undergrounds. Has anybody concrete experience on oil bunker stations or any documentations or procedures about pipelines fill conditions on time of discharging or lading tank barges or pumping from one shore tank to other.

For oil and gas pipelines, we used to use a rubber/or any suitable pig* to:

1. Cleaning the pipeline after completion of construction and after hydrostatic test.

2. Purging any air/gas located inside the pipeline.

3. Separation between two different fluids pumped through the pipeline.

* In this case the pipeline must be designed and furnished with a pig launcher and receiver, and in this case no need to vents along the pipeline.

Thanks you all for reponding to my question. here is my E-mail to further send me any document that is relevent to my question. ganatvzn@yahoo.com

Yours Colleague,

Vandi Zira

The API reference looks like a good reference specific to that industry. The question of piping inspection is of interest to me, does anyone know of a similar reference specific to chemical processing?

Hi, try ASME/ANSI B31.3 "Process piping"

Cheers

Thank you, will check this out.

ASME B31.3 " Process Piping" doesn't means design from process's point of view, it is just mechanical design for the refinery piping (the old name of ASME B31.3).

The initial thread dealt with "piping inspection". After some answers included yours, useful for the application originally asked, another question was made about similar standards for chemical plants.

Sorry, but if you read the code, just in the introduction (9th line) says that it has been issued to apply to "piping typically found in petroleum refineries, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile,paper, semiconductor, and cryogenic plants, and related processing plants and terminals". It's a complete code, not just "mechanical design". It includes of course requirements about mechanical design (loads,allowable stresses, etc) but also includes (like any similar "Code") the requirements on materials, fabrication, erection and assembly as well as inspection, examination and testing.

Thank you, at first glance appeared to be specific. Will certainly read this information.

My dear Kwetz "Sorry, but if you read the code"

Sure my friend, I had read the code a lot of times, and I'd like you to know that we are ASME designers and fabricators for pressure vessels, heat exchangers and piping systems. We are certified U, R stamps and ISO9001 in design and fabrication. Now, we plan to hold PP & S stamps.

The code ASME B31.3 prescribes requirements for materials and components, design, fabrication, assembly, erection, examination, inspection, and testing of piping. That is mean that the ASME code has no relation to process design nor controlling nor name of fluid (except its behaviour related to corrosion) nor instrumentation used which need a process engineer and/or instrument engineer.

I'd like you to differentiate between process piping (piping used to convey process fluids) and process design (basic engineering including P&ID) and mechanical design (detailed engineering including design, fabrication,assembly, erection, inspection, ... etc.). All ASME codes & standards deal with mechanical design for safety for all types of piping: Refinery (Process), Power (steam), Gas and Liquid hydrocarbon transportation, Refrigeration and Slurry.

Also my dear John51 "at first glance appeared to be specific. Will certainly read this information"

I think that is enough to declare the truth towards the misunderstand.

Abdel

That's a very short list. I would expected to see more. In the civil engineering realm there are 100's of inspections/tests for pipes. ANSI AWWA ASTM list most of them and they can fill book shelves.

100's - OK, is there a primer for the pipe inspection challenged person?

Yes, sure there are a lot of standards and codes for piping inspection, a complete list for API is that site derived by znpyro at post #3, try to load and you will find a lot.

My dear Kwetz, I like to hear you.

Dear Abdel,

Sorry for the delay but I try to rest a little bit on weekends. Now it's 8:02 monday morning here.

I'm sure you know a lot about piping codes and standards (just reading your answers to some other threads).

The only thing I tried to point out was that ASME B31.3 is applicable to inspection of chemical plants piping that I think was the question.

Of course the code doesn't deal with the "process design" as well as ASME B31.1 doesn't deal with the "power" of the piping.

I thought that saying B31.3 doesn't deals with the process design and that is for mechanical design could confuse our colleague and made it to believe the code wasn´t applicable to piping inspection.

Some other standards deal with "mechanical design" but do not include inspection requirements by itself (like some B series of AD-Merkblatter)

"The only thing I tried to point out was that ASME B31.3 is applicable to inspection of chemical plants piping that I think was the question"

Yes Kwetz that is true, ASME B31.3 is used for design, construction, inspection and testing of process piping (refinery piping) or what we called chemical plant piping. And the term "refinery" includes refinery, oil and gas field and facilities, petrochemical plants, ... etc.

It is the intent of the Code to set forth engineering requirements deemed necessary for safe design and construction of piping installations.

Dear Vandi,

Pipe inspection procedures does not always vary as standard since there are many different specification to be consider.

I might shared to you some commercial documentation requirements based on the visual inspection and visual verifications of a NEW pipes.

1. Before you accept a certain pipe materials, check the following

1.a Mill Certificate according to pipe specifications.

1.b please make sure that the pipe manufacturer(s) are approved by the end-user

1.c visual check the heat number of each pipe based on the mill certificate documents.

1.d visual inspection of dent's for each pipe, cleanliness inside (as random checks if end-caps are damaged)

1.e visual inspection of any heavy corrosion (old-stocked), can be notice the new pipe from manufacturer with a shining mill lacquer on the outside surface of the pipes.

1.f visually check the pipe end bevel requirements (if it is required as per scope of supply)

In most cases when supplying a steel pipe to oil and gas company in a bulk quantity, there are always a complete materials specification and testing requirements. All the pipe manufacturer has its standard specs and testing that should be approved first by the buyer / end user prior to proceed for any procurement.

What is your position regarding the above issues? are u in the inspection company?

Regards

jojie_oak

Yes, I work with a Rope Access Company in Nigeria. We are into Asset Integrity Management. We inspect FPSO, oil and gas riser, Platform legs,pressure vessels. We also do clockspring iInstallation on risers and lefting jobs.