TPT January 2016

Industry News

OptaSense finalist in global awards OPTASENSE has been recognised for its contribution to pipeline leak and intrusion detection by being shortlisted for a prestigious international award. The company has been recognised in the ASME Pipeline Systems Division Global Pipeline Awards for the innovative use of its award-winning distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system on Colombia’s Bicentennial oil pipeline. the highest level of pipeline integrity and product throughput. Leak and intrusion detection are vital to maintaining pipeline integrity and production maximisation in the oil and gas industry. The pipeline was closed in 2014 due to third party attacks on it, costing the Colombian economy thousands of barrels per day in lost deliveries. OptaSense executive director Magnus McEwen-King said, “This award not only recognises the innovative use of fibre, but also the engineers of Ecopetrol and OptaSense who have jointly worked to deliver real improvements to the integrity management process of the Bicentennial pipeline.

“This nomination is a further acknowledgment of our leading position in South America, and highlights our commitment to continued growth in the region. Our award-winning technology has a proven record of reducing the costs of asset ownership and providing life-long intelligence through highly effective monitoring, thereby reducing incidents and extending asset life.” The annual awards ceremony aims to recognise pipeline technology innovation processes in phases such as research laboratory, field applications, technology incubators, and development of markets for new products, and is open to all companies.

The judging panel recognised OptaSense’s unique use of a single fibre system to provide both leak detection and intrusion detection on the country’s largest pipeline. The 235km first phase of the pipeline was completed in 2012 and has a diameter of 36-42", with a capacity of 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. The integrated DAS solution works across multiple functions via a single fibre optic cable that effectively ‘listens’ to the pipeline in order to provide detailed data about its current status. Any changes to the condition of the pipe are fed back through an interrogator unit in real time, allowing users to identify and address issues early and maintain

OptaSense – UK Website: www.optasense.com

OptaSense executive director Magnus McEwen-King

Upgraded double blade flying shear from Italy

cutting area ensures closure of the tube, which minimises deformation. Blade AC motors with vector control ensure the optimum torque under any condition, and are capable of cutting common to high- resistance steel grades with HSS blades or TCT inserts. The easy-to-use control software allows optimisation of parameters and cutting paths, and is also able to capture all useful working data. Siemens Sinamics drives are mounted on the flying cut-off, and the control logic of the board is managed by Simotion with Profinet cabling. The software is developed on two levels: the first, PLC, is made by the tool Simotion Scout, while the second, the supervisor’s touchscreen, is made with the new development environment Siemens Simatic TIA WinCC Comfort. The operator’s interface graphic pages are designed to allow users a rapid

WHEN Adda Fer designed its first double-bladed flying shear ten years ago the idea was to market a machine that would use the best available technology, meeting the demand of pipe producers for a shear that cut slowly with extreme accuracy, no burr on the cut, high performance, versatility and ease of use. Several upgrades have been applied to the flying shear created by Adda Fer that have allowed the company to optimise the initial design with significant modifications in all its parts, using components that keep up with technological evolution. The current configuration of the double-blade flying shear DB10 has cutting heads mounted on two columns with brushless motors on the X and Y axes, independently controlled. This allows any type of profile (round, square, rectangle and irregular shapes) to be cut. A clamp arrangement very close to the

takeover of the machine after start-up. Interactive diagnostics allow the operator to immediately identify the cause of any operational stop or anomaly of the system. The alarm/failure signals follow a logical sequence, avoiding irregular indications. The alarms are also saved in the database for diagnostics and maintenance. AddaFer will show the latest flying cut-off DB10 at Tube Düsseldorf 2016 – Stand 6D02.

Meccanica Adda Fer Srl – Italy Fax: +39 035 4946564 Email: info@addafer.it Website: www.addafer.it

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J anuary 2016