GE’s Pipeline Solutions group has developed SmartScan DS, a new multi-diameter in-line inspection (ILI) tool for deep-sea pipelines, to help operators overcome key obstacles to expanding into previously inaccessible offshore fields.

Located at depths of between 1,500 and 3,000 metres, deep-sea pipelines are built to withstand extremely high pressures. As a result, they typically feature thicker walls than regular pipelines and include multi-diameter segments that are unpiggable – meaning they cannot be inspected with traditional ILI tools.

ILI inspections are a primary method for identifying corrosion defects that could eventually lead to costly and environmentally harmful pipeline releases.

To provide operators with an ILI solution required for the commissioning and inspecting of deep-sea pipelines, GE developed SmartScan DS as part of its high-resolution Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) product portfolio. The tool’s unique collapsible structure enables it to navigate multi-diameter lines, and it also employs a number of novel components and subsystems, including highly sensitive sensors, pressure-proof electronics and magnetic circuitry.

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“SmartScan DS is ideal for those areas in which deep-sea exploration and development will be concentrated over the next five to 10 years,” said Claudi Santiago, President of GE’s oil and gas business. “Because many of these new offshore fields are too deep for traditional ILI tools, SmartScanDS will help operators protect their vital energy supplies as well as delicate marine ecosystems around the world.”

GE tested the SmartScan DS in Houston, Texas, as well as in Cramlington, England, where it operates a facility specialising in MFL technology.

GE’s Pipeline Solutions group is a global leader in pipeline inspection technology and integrity management services for oil and gas operators.