Providing real-time visibility of pipeline pigs
In an effort to revolutionise how operators manage pig tracking within pipelines, the team at Pipesense, a US provider of obstruction, leak, and anomaly detection technology, has launched its PipeTrack solution, a new pigging-oriented technology
Utilising pressure monitoring and integrating established leak detection software, PipeTrack is a user-friendly, accessible sensor and signal-processing system that provides real-time visibility of pipeline pigs to operators. Accessed through a bespoke customer dashboard, PipeTrack can store detailed event data for verification and ongoing analysis should anything unexpected occur during a run.
Developed in-house by PipeSense, early results from customer trials and installations have yielded accurate, repeatable results in challenging conditions, including reduced downtime and personal exposure. Supported by AI-enabled data analysis, PipeTrack can analyse the pressure pulses created as the pig moves along the pipeline, determining the pig’s average speed and precise location.
PipeTrack has been developed to help customers minimise or even move away from traditional methodologies such as Above Ground Markers (AGM), acoustic monitoring, and manual spot checks. As these traditional methods have been known to create operational and safety challenges due to the uncertainty of specific pig locations when lost or stuck, PipeTrack has been designed to provide round-the-clock visibility and precise location tracking by maintaining a view of the pig inside the pipeline rather than above it.
PipeTrack can also handle the entire pig run with a simple installation of sensors using above-ground small-bore branch locations, spaced accordingly, mitigating the need to move or repeatedly set up equipment.
Stuart Mitchell, president and chief technology officer at PipeSense, said, “Applying a common-sense approach to pipeline maintenance and integrity is the ethos at PipeSense. Like many other pipeline maintenance processes, pig tracking methodologies have long been outdated and ineffective. Operators have long been overdue a solution that shakes up pig-tracking and meets the modern demands of the industry, and we’re proud to provide it.
“PipeTrack will help empower the industry with a field-proven and reliable solution that transforms time-consuming and resource-heavy manual efforts into an adept platform that offers live feedback. For the last two+ years, we have been laser-focused on developing and introducing solutions that can help take midstream operations into the 21st century and beyond. PipeTrack is the latest worthy addition to that aim.”
