Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway– TDW Offshore Services (TDW) has completed a pipeline pressure isolation operation for Talisman Malaysia Ltd. The operation was carried out on a 24-in. pipeline extending between two platforms located off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
TDW used the SmartPlug pressure isolation tool to replace a shutdown valve (SDV) on a key section of a gas export pipeline without having to bleed down the line. To execute the double-block pressure isolation, the SmartPlug tool was launched and pigged with nitrogen for about 20 m (66 ft) past the valve and into the riser, and then set the tool vertically in the riser. The SmartTrack system was used to track the tool as it traveled along the pigging route, and to monitor pressure throughout the entire operation.
For 11 days, the SmartPlug tool remained in the line, creating a double-block isolation. Pipeline pressure was maintained at 90 bar (1,305 psi) while Talisman replaced the valve. After the valve was replaced, TDW set the third module of the SmartPlug tool so that a test on the new valve against an operating pressure of 99 bar (1,436 psi) could be performed. The SmartPlug tool was then unset and pigged back using gas pressure from the pipeline.
From mobilization to demobilization, the entire operation was completed in 16 days. The pressure isolation operation was carried out by TDW personnel based in Stavanger, Norway, and Singapore, and an independent engineering agent of TDW in Malaysia.
7/13/2012
