LIN SCAN successfully cleans unpiggable UAE loading lines

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 April 2019:  On 6th February 2019, LIN SCAN successfully completed the cleaning and inspection of three strategic crude oil loading lines in the UAE that had been deemed unpiggable. Within 120 days, thanks to excellent planning and innovation, LIN SCAN carried out the geometric and metal loss inspection survey using its high-resolution Magnetic Flux Leakage tool and submitted digital intelligent inspection reports for the integrity assessment of these lines.  

Other companies had previously attempted to inspect these lines using a Tethered UT tool and failed due to complex onshore routing and lack of proper cleaning. By utilising only one drop-out spool, LIN SCAN successfully installed a single-entry, temporary pigging facility (trap) for bi-directional pigging operations at the onshore side to receive the resulting debris.

The onshore loading pumps moved the pigs to the pipeline end manifold, the moored tanker pumped them back, and a unique tracking system consistently monitored their progress in both directions such that it could be timely stopped.

The closed drain system at the pig trap ensured that oil did not leak into the environment and that sludge handling was minimised; the pigging operation is executed without the interruption of loading or the loss of crude oil.