REHABILITATION

The Republic of Congo Pipeline the longest Swagelining project to date.

Realising the potential of lining pipes with polymer

By Steven Barnes, Managing Director, Swagelining Ltd Swagelining technology is a trenchless rehabilitation solution that provides an effective method of overcoming the problem of pipe failures in inaccessible or inconvenient areas. The system is suitable for inserting liners in pipelines up to 60 in diameter for structural and non-structural applications.
riginally developed by British Gas and United Utilities in the 1980s, Swagelining technology was initially designed as a trenchless technology rehabilitation solution, providing an effective method of overcoming the problem of failing pipe in inaccessible or inconvenient areas, such as beneath busy main streets. This technology was further developed in the 1990s for the protection of new pipelines in the subsea industry by the WeldLink, a new connection system for use in high pressure, carbon steel, water injection applications. In November 2009, Glasgow-based Swagelining Ltd acquired the intellectual property rights to the established Swagelining technology. With the belief that the technology was yet to realise its promise despite its acknowledged track record, Swagelining Ltd wanted to push the boundaries of the technology to extend its benefits from niche application to wider use in the pipeline industry on a global scale. Swagelining Ltds team of experienced pipeline professionals has invested more than $US3.1 million to help accomplish its aim of introducing polymer lining technology into the pipeline mainstream.

Providing a highly-effective solution for the prevention and control of internal corrosion and erosion in pipelines while delivering substantial cost, efficiency, and environmental benefits, the companys Integrated Lining System is showing prospects for changing the way pipelines are constructed, operated, and rehabilitated.

How does it work?

The Swagelining system is suitable for inserting liners in pipelines up to 60 inches in diameter for structural and nonstructural applications. It works by installing a tight-fitting polymer liner into new or existing pipelines; the liner is designed and manufactured with an external diameter that is slightly larger than the internal diameter of the pipe to be lined. The aim is to maximise pulling lengths, which in turn leads to reduced numbers of connections and excavations. Single pull lengths of up to 1 km have been achieved. The Swagelining technique uses a naturally reverting recovery system after installation. The liner is installed into a host pipe

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Compression ring insertion.

by pulling it through a reduction die using a winch, which temporarily reduces its diameter and allows easy installation. Once pulled completely through the pipe, the pulling force is removed and the liner returns to its original diameter, pressing tightly against the inner wall of the host pipe. The tight-fitting polymer liner results in a flow capacity close to that of the original pipeline. The small footprint of the component parts of Swagelining equipment also allows the technology to be considered for projects where working space is at a premium such as busy urban locations. After closely examining the way the industry considers the use of polymer lining in various sectors, the team at Swagelining Ltd focused on the development of a complete system for polymer lining. Convinced that the wider use of the technology was being restrained by the inability to address a wide range of technical challenges in a co-ordinated manner, the company has developed the concept of the Integrated Lining System. This concept brings together liner design, material selection, project management, insertion technology, supply of connectors and terminations, and venting technology. The company uses a software prediction package to tailor lining system designs for its clients. The software enables the optimum liner size to be selected to achieve maximum pull length whilst not compromising on the pipeline volume capacity. The Integrated Lining System can now be applied to a number of sectors, including gas, potable water, sewage, water injection, crude oil, mining slurry, cement and chemicals.The company considers local involvement to be as important as its global technology, and the Swagelining Ltd Partnership Plan enables pipeline owners and operators, designers, and contractors to engage the technology in the most appropriate way to realise local benefits of employment and skills development. Swagelining Ltd is also a leader in connector technology. With a variety of connectors available for a range of applications

and industries, the company offers flanged or fully welded connectors, such as the WeldLink for welded steel applications. This proven system was designed to complement Swagelining and has seen service to 340 bar to date with future testing over 400 bar scheduled.

A solution to venting challenges

The venting of permeated annular gas has been recognised for some time as a challenge when the technology is used for hydrocarbon systems. To overcome this, the company has incorporated its LinerVent technology into the Integrated Lining System. This annular venting technology allows safe venting of any build-up of annular gas back into the pipeline. There is no requirement for venting of toxic or environmentally harmful gas outside the pipeline system.

The value of polymer liners

A recent independent report by industry expert Atkins Boreas, one of the UKs largest engineering and design consultancies, has concluded that subsea pipelines lined using Swagelining technology with informed material selection and applied venting solutions could save operators tens of millions of pounds in CAPEX alone. The study found that Swagelining a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) liner results in a 25 per cent saving against operators main alternative, super duplex. This equates to a significant US$7.6 million in a test case based on a 10km, 10 inch diameter stretch of pipeline. Comparisons between a PVDF-lined system and a metallurgically-bonded CRA/carbon steel system estimated even greater savings, approaching 50 per cent. The report also highlighted that in lower temperature pipelines where a polyethylene (PE) liner can be used, a 60 per cent saving can be made over the cost of super duplex, representing a further substantial saving of US$11.1 million for a 10 km pipeline. For water-injection applications, the report also concluded

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Past and present projects

Swagelining Ltd has recently completed what is believed to be the longest Swagelining project undertaken to date. Four Swagelining partner companies co-operated to complete a new 24 inch diameter pipeline designed to transport seawater to oil wells located 55 km inland from the Atlantic coast in the Republic of Congo. Working closely with the main contractor, the Swagelining site operation was closely aligned with the main construction spread operation. The liner system was designed and constructed using Swagelining techniques and connectors that were built to meet a challenging technical specification and production schedule. Swagelining Ltd has received substantial interest from the oil and gas sector. Among recent contract wins is a major contract to apply its polymer lining system and connectors to the water injection riser on the BP block 31 project offshore Angola. The Block 31 contract has been awarded by Pipeline Technique Ltd, which has been commissioned by Heerema Marine Contractors. Through a project specific license provided by Swagelining Ltd, Heerema is delivering the complementary WeldLink connectors to the project to enable the lined sections within the riser to be fully welded and the polymer liner anchored and sealed. Using its own proprietary technology Swagelining Ltd is providing overall project management, including engineering and qualification testing, polymer material specification and procurement, site fabrication and liner insertion for this project. A major pipeline operator has also recently commissioned the company to undertake an in-depth feasibility study to consider the technology for application in systems that are changing operating conditions from sweet service to transporting multiphase product.

Weldlink tie in. that polymer liners present opportunities for increased return on investment. The improved hydraulic performance of lined pipe means more water can be injected, therefore increasing the amount of oil recovered in a given period of time.

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Pipelines International digest | DECEMBER 2010