07.12.2010  + + +  TDW Offshore Services AS (TDW) announced that it has carried out a record-breaking 27 pipeline isolation operations with its SmartPlug® pipeline pressure isolation technology this year. By the end of 2010, TDW anticipates that it will have completed at least 30 operations, the highest in company history.

Rise in Isolation Operations Fueled by Concerns for Safety, Reducing Costs

The primary benefit of TDW’s SmartPlug pipeline pressure isolation method is that it makes it possible to safely isolate the area targeted for work from hydrocarbons without bleeding down the entire work zone, which is costly and time-consuming. 

Pictured receiving three SmartPlug trains during a pipeline isolation operation are members of the TDW crew on a platform in 
the North Sea, offshore Ireland. 

The company attributes the increase in operations to a number of factors. “What we’re seeing is an increased dedication to safety and appreciation of reduced cost benefits realized by pipeline operators, as is evidenced by the rise in the number of scheduled maintenance operations carried out in conjunction with isolation operations using SmartPlug technology,” said Rutger Schouten, Director of Operations and Technology for TDW. “Clearly, the industry is embracing the pipeline isolation method in preference to the traditional ‘bleeding down’ approach that oftentimes involves flaring gas, which poses a threat to the environment,” he added.

A Busy 10 Years: 175 SmartPlug Operations

With 175 SmartPlug isolation operations carried out since 2000, the vast majority of operations were carried out for the purpose of replacing topside valves. Most of the operations took place in the North Sea and Asia Pacific, although several were executed in the Irish North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

New Pipeline Pressure Isolation Technologies

As demand for its pipeline isolation services has continued to escalate, TDW has risen to the challenge by developing large customized SmartPlug tools, as well as systems such as the SmartTrack™ technology that complement its SmartPlug tools for use in highly complex isolation operations. The SmartTrack system makes it possible to track pigs, whether they are subsea, topside or inside underground pipelines located onshore. It played a central role in a recent TDW isolation operation in the Mediterranean Sea where an anchor drag caused catastrophic failure when it severed a 26-inch high pressure subsea gas  pipeline, resulting in a l4% reduction in a parallel 20-inch subsea high pressure pipeline. TDW worked in cooperation with the pipeline repair contractor, using a combination of its SmartTrack remote tracking and pressure-monitoring system, pipeline recovery tools (PRTs), and SmartPlug pipeline pressure isolation tools to effectively isolate the affected sections of the pipeline. It was the first time that TDW had been called in to facilitate repair of a pipeline that was completely  severed.

Looking ahead, TDW fully expects the trend in increased isolation operations to continue. In Q1 2011 the company anticipates mobilizing more than 30 SmartPlug isolation operations.

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About TDW Offshore Services

TDW Offshore Services provide customers with the products and services they need to construct and maintain pipelines. The company’s world-class engineering capability has resulted in numerous innovative products and services. TDW Offshore Services has an engineering staff that excels in customized design and fabrication of a wide range of repair clamps installable by remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The SmartPlug® tool from TDW Offshore Services is the world’s leading pipeline pressure isolation technology.

The company is a subsidiary of T.D. Williamson, Inc. The world’s leader in pipeline equipment and services, T.D. Williamson delivers a comprehensive portfolio of safe integrity pipeline system solutions for onshore and offshore applications, including hot tapping and plugging, pipeline cleaning, geometry and MFL inspection, pigging and non-tethered plugging pig 
technology for any pressurized piping system, anywhere in the world. 

For further information, contact:

Rutger Schouten, Director of Operations and Technology, TDW Offshore Services, Stavanger, Norway - Phone: +31 62 63 86 866, Email: rutger.schouten@tdwilliamson.com

Helene Torjusen, Marketing Manager, TDW Offshore Services, Stavanger, Norway 
Phone: +47 51 44 32 52, Email: helene.torjusen@tdwilliamson.com