In West Africa, the operator of a 600-km 20-in line that supplies natural gas for electricity generation and industrial purposes in three West African countries was required by governmental authorities to clean up and inspect the line on a strict two-month schedule.
The pipeline had not been cleaned or inspected for seven years, so very little was known about its internal condition. The operator was expecting the operation to produce large amounts of sludge that might damage its production facility. Considering the timeline and critical nature of the gas supply, the operator had to award contracts and move ahead as quickly as possible.
To support the project, SLB relied on its Production ExPRESS™ rapid production response solutions portfolio. Production ExPRESS solutions help pipeline operators perform more reliable and efficient fluid management tasks associated with pipeline interventions, such as receiving pipeline fluid, diverting fluid as needed, and safely disposing returns.
The Production ExPRESS solutions package was built from well testing equipment that could withstand the high flow rates expected in the pipeline. The package was designed to bypass the processing facility, ensuring that clean gas was continuously delivered to customers while the sludge itself was separated from the gas stream, diverted to special holding tanks, and then trucked away for treatment and disposal. During the cleanup and pigging operation, the sludge removal work proceeded around the clock.
Given that the normal facility was bypassed and the clean gas diverted directly to the facility’s export line, the operator needed the package to include flow rate measurements to document the gas delivered to end users. SLB placed a fiscal meter on the gas line to accurately report reliable data to the government.
After a lead time measured in weeks, the SLB operations control center, logistics, procurement, and HSE were all involved in mobilizing and commissioning the project. This involved more than 40 assets, 200 m of temporary piping, personnel from more than 20 suppliers, and resources from more than 10 countries. The customized solution operated at the designed capacity, delivering up to 65 MMcf/d of gas to customers for more than 30 days. Nearly 11,500 labor-hours were expended with zero safety or service quality incidents.
Proving the agility of Production ExPRESS solutions, the project was successfully completed in half the time required—28 days ahead of schedule. Successful early delivery of the project saved the operator several million dollars and enabled it to successfully restore pipeline integrity and meet government regulations. Given that the operator originally planned to close the facility for two months, the successful bypass operation resulted in more than 4 Bcf of gas delivered to paying customers without interruption over that time period.
