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CUSTOMER SITUATION:
A mass transporter of liquid crude oil constructed a 42-inch diameter pipeline running 321
miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Delavan, Wisconsin. Batch pigging was required due to
the initial annual flow rate of approximately 446,000 barrels per day resulting in laminar
flow and to meet quality requirements as requested by the pipeline shippers. With minimum
batch sizes as small as 63,000 barrels, it was conceivable that seven to nine pigs would be
launched and received per day. For a normal pig trap, this scenario would require excessive
cycling of the closure door and trap station valve cycling, as well as overexposure of pigging
personnel to the hazardous environment of a frequently open pig trap. In addition, the
large pipeline diameter required special considerations for equipment design and material
acquisition that had to fit within the overall pipeline construction schedule.
TDW SOLUTION:
TDW Pipeline Services and Pigging Products Division joined forces to provide the innovative
solutions required to meet the customer’s needs. In order to provide the highest possible
level of batch quality and integrity, a batch pig was designed around a standard disc-cup or
DC-DC style that incorporated a steel mandrel body and TDW’s patented multi-lip RealSeal®
cups. This standard pig construction was altered by elongating the mandrel body, facilitating
stacking of multiple pigs within the traps. Based on the design dimensions of the batch
pig, three other components were developed: launching and receiving systems capable
of encapsulating four pigs at a time, unprecedented pig handling equipment, and pump
platforms. TDW’s state-of-the-art PIG-SIG®V pig passage indicators were also integral to this
system. As a further improvement, automation was added to each pigging station to allow
on-site control by local personnel or remote control from either the station control center or
the pipeline control center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
CUSTOMER BENEFIT:
With the requirements presented for batching this new, larger-than-average pipeline, it was
clear that an extraordinary system had to be developed. Needing more than a few pigs and
some oversized traps, the customer also wanted to hire one company to develop, design,
fabricate and deliver this first-of-its-kind system in a turnkey fashion. TDW was the only
company that could provide both an innovative design and project management for the
fabrication and delivery phases in a way that controlled costs and met deadlines. During the
evolution of this project, TDW contracted and managed more than 10 different vendors and
fabricators to deliver the finished product.
TDW automated batch pigging facility minimizes personnel
exposure.
TDW DC – DC style pig incorporates steel mandrel body and
patented RealSeal®cups.