ABSTRACT:
Corrosion and erosion over time can cause formation of debris in the walls of pipes, pressure vessels, and other equipment used in the oil and gas industry. Non-Destructive Testing, NDT is a clinical means of routine inspection in wall thickness of metal infrastructure and nature of fault in pipeline. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is a diverse methods of detection and inspection techniques employed to investigate pipelines, storage tanks, pressure vessels and other facilities in terms of their mechanical and structural integrity. It aids the detection of material defects or faults and the possible safety issues without causing any damage to the material. The field of Non-Destructive Testing and Non-Destructive Evaluation of materials is constantly evolving. This paper provides the different methods of NDT and recent advancements of NDT methods for defect inspection and faults/flaws detection. There are quite a number of methods used for NDT which includes Visual Inspection, Radiography Testing, Ultrasonic Current Testing, Eddy Current Testing, Magnetic Flux Testing, Magnetic Particle Inspection, Liquid Penetrant Testing, Thermal/infrared Testing and use of drones and robots to perform reliable testing tasks especially in offshore.
Author: Okpako Ogheneochuko
Supervising Lecturer: Mrs. Ufuoma Unueroh
Keywords: Corrosion, Faults, Materials, Non Destructive Testing, Oil & Gas industry, Pipeline.
Click Link Below For Full Paper, Questions and make your COMMENTS
Application Of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) In Oil And Gas Industries And Recent Technology Advances
Nice one indeed
lovely article
really enlightening
Thank you for reading through the paper.
Thanks for your feedback and taking your time to read the paper.
Really informative
Thank you for reading through the paper. I hope it was worth your time
Excellent article, NDT should be considered thoroughly.
Exceptional write up!
Very educative.
Thank you for your feedback ma.
This is a great thesis. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Terry for reading through. I appreciate the feedback.
Yes o. The field is still very wide for more technologies to make it more easier and safely to inspect vessels and pipelines.
Excellent article. Very important we put this into consideration going by the current situation of our oil and gas industry in Nigeria today.
Yes. Detecting and treating defects immediately will mitigate the hazards pose on the environment by most of the oil and gas firm
Remarkable research.
Best wishes
Thank you sir for your feedback. I appreciate.
Exceptional.
Very authentic . Bravo
Thank you for reading the paper. I appreciate it
Educative
Thank you Seun for reading through. I appreciate your feedback
Insightful
Nice article u indeed hit the nail on its head
Thank you Eric for reading through. I appreciate your feedback.
Thank you for your support. Sir Obi
Wonderful article, a lot of good insights about the topic.
Yes. Thanks for your input. Pls help recommend to students who will learn about NDT method in the future and others. Thanks
It’s insightful!
Thank you David for reading through. I appreciate your time.
Very insightful. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Benjamin for reading through and for your feedback. I appreciate.
Unique write up
Thank you for your support. Mr/Miss Peace.
Nice one bro
Thank you for your support.
Excellent article, it really has useful insights concerning the topic
Yes. I’m very sure you learnt a lot from the paper.
Real educating
Yes. I’m very sure you learnt a lot about it. Ensure to go back to it when you get to 400L and you are taught NDT. I’m sure the paper would provide a lot of information that will improve your learning then about the subject matter.
Very exquisite..
Thank you Oluwayomi for your feedback and support. I’m sure you must have learnt a lot about NDT applications in the Oil and Gas industry.
Really nice..
Remarkable thesis, keep up the good work.
Thank you for your support Edosa.
Thank you sir Elliot for your feedback and support.
An insightful and precise piece that excellently describes the economic advantages of NDT and its usefulness in the management of materials in the oil and gas sector. An exciting read.
Thank you for taking your time to glance through.
I appreciate
Very informative write up
Thank you Jeffery for your support.
Nice work.
I want to ask this question: If there are already little signs of corrosion in an equipment, which type of testing will be better to use between NDT and destructive testing?
If there are already signs of corrosion. NDT could be used to detect the exact location of the corroded areas. However for effectiveness and safely removal of the corrosion.
Pigging is used. Pigging is an operation carried on the pipes and vessels via the use of Pig (Also called Scrapers) to clean the vessels and remove any form of corrosion.
Destructive Testing is not advice in Oil and Gas Industry as it involves a complete shutdown of the facility to carry out such tests.
This article is an eye opener to the oil and gas industry and also a management tool to that economy.
Thank you for your thoughts on this sir. I appreciate
Níce Article
Really informative
Thank you for reading through and for your feedback.
It’s the simplicity of words that really drew me into reading till the end. About anyone can almost have a good idea of NDTs after reading this article. It really is an eye opener into the oil and gas sector.
I appreciate you for taking your time to read the paper. Thank you for your support. I’m sure you learnt a lot about NDT.
It’s the simplicity of words that really drew me into reading till the end. About anyone can almost have a good idea of NDTs after reading this article. It really is an eye opener into the oil and gas sector.
Thank you for your thoughts and comment.
Rayleigh wave I feel should be adopted, seeing it’s high precision
Extremely enlightening piece
Yes. Thank you for your feedback
Yes i definitely agree with you
Thank you peace for your support.
Great work
Thank you Sir Emmanuel for your support.
Intelligent piece. I admire the work for it simplicity
Thank you for your admiration and your support. I appreciate.
Nice one
Thank you for your support.
Nice
Thank you Eseoghene for your support. I appreciate
If there are already signs of corrosion. NDT could be used to detect the exact location of the corroded areas. However for effectiveness and safely removal of the corrosion.
Pigging is used. Pigging is an operation carried on the pipes and vessels via the use of Pig (Also called Scrapers) to clean the vessels and remove any form of corrosion.
Destructive Testing is not advice in Oil and Gas Industry as it involves a complete shutdown of the facility to carry out such tests.
That’s a very nice and educative article.
Thank you sir for taking your time to go through it.
Perfectly written, very informative and simplistic.
The application of NDT in the Oil and gas sector will invariably improve productivity as it leads to Less Waste, Since substances are not altered by NDT, they can continue to be used,
Less Downtime, Accident Prevention,
And it helps to Identify Areas of Concern Before Failure, Comprehensive Testing, Increased Product Reliability.
Well done.
Thank you Sir for taking your time to read the paper. and thanks for your insights.
Really nice write up and informative
Thank you Japari for reading through the paper and taking your time to comment.
Very informative. Was a great read.
This is great. Would be a huge help to the oil industry
Yes very well. Thank you Miss Kira for your feedback.
Thank you for taking your time to read the paper. I appreciate
Amazing research
Thank you sir for reading through the paper and for taking your time to comment.
Interesting.
It will be really nice if this is considered.
Well written.
Thank you Ochuko for your support.
Very good write up
Thank you Omhen for your support.
Oh wow
Nice and Impressive.
What impact will this paper play or solve in Nigeria.
Majorly, it will help curb the hazards released to the environment by the vessels by inspecting and removing the defects. Such hazards could be Liquid Carry-Over, a situation that is extremely dangerous to the environment and vessels.
It will help reduce explosion in most pipelines and oil and gas vessels. Effective Prevention and maintenance of facilities would also ensure the plant keep running for a very long time and ensure continuous production and improve profits.
Are there other industries that this non destructive testing can be used.
NDT is very vital in the Oil and Gas industry but can as well be used in Aerospace, Power Generation especially in detecting faults in heavy machines, manufacturing, automotive and a lot of others.
Wow. this is very nice. I hope to see the use of drones and robots in Nigeria Oil and gas company and more technological advancements in the future.
Yeah. Hopefully we get there. It will be so much faster and effective in using them for inspection. and also as they can be used for inhospitable areas that are dangerous to humans.
Nice article
Thank you sir Kenneth for your support.
Great work
Thank you for your support Chibuzor.
Great write up
Thank you Godswill for your support and engagement.
Nice one
Thank you for your support Jennifer. I’m sure you enjoyed and learnt a lot from the paper.
Excellent Research.
What impact will this research have in Nigeria
Thank you Peter for your feedback.
The research will help students and other professionals identify the various Non-Destructive Testing used in the Oil and Gas Industry. It will serve as a guide introducing why NDT, the various advantages of each type and how to carry out the methods. Also included are some of the principle of operations.
Furthermore, it introduced recent Technology Advances in NDT, and this advances can be keyed into in the Oil and Gas industry and substituted for the traditional means.
This will not only guarantee more safety in the Oil and Gas Industry but also prevent lots of explosiom from going on and improve efficiency of operation of the facility.
This will also go a long way in reducing money spent on unnecessary maintenance of pipeline and as well save lives.
This is a very great write up
Thank you for your support sir.
What’s the most commonly used Testing in the Oil and Gas Industry and which of this would you describe as the most efficient?
Thank you Donald for your question.
Ultrasonic Testing is perhaps the most commonly used Non-Destructive Testing as it can be used for varieties of Metals and Composite. It is also present in different form such as Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing. Ultrasonic Testing can also be used with Drones for carrying out detection of corrosion and other faults.
Also, Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing is one of the most efficient NDT method that’s commonly used in Pipeline as it allows technicians to detect the location, length and type of defect present.
Thanks for this, very informative.
Thank you Jeremiah for your support.
Quite an interesting choice for a topic.
This will go a long way. Kudos.
Thank you for your feedback. I hope you find it quite educative as well. Regards.
Very insightful
Thank you Pete for your feedback.
His method were very insightful and there’s much to learn from them.
Thank you for your support.
What else can lead to defects in Pipelines apart from Corrosion and Erosion.
Corrosion is the highest occurring causes of defects in Pipelines however there are quite other causes such as Weld Defects which occurs due to improper welding during manufacture of materials or due to substandard materials used.
Another major reason is Excavation Damage which is usually an accidental damage occurring in form of digging, grading or boring during maintenance or construction. They are present in form of cuts. Scrapes, dents etc.
Also, failures occurs due to improper operation and equipment failure as well as wrong selection of pipes and others.
Nice one
Nice one
Thank you for your support.
Excellent article on NON destructive testing with relating to the oil & gas industry.
Thank you for taking your time to read through and for your response.
Nice and educative
Thank you Destiny for your support.
Excellent Research on the use of NDT in the oil & gas sector
Out of All the 11 methods mentioned. What would you say is the Best Method use for Carrying out NDT?
And Which is the cheapest for countries who would like to apply it but are currently in a struggling economy?
Excellent Research on the use of NDT in the oil & gas sector
Out of All the 11 methods mentioned. What would you say is the Best Method use for Carrying out NDT?
And Which is the cheapest for countries who would like to apply it but are currently in a struggling economy & would want to cut cost?
Ultrasonic Testing is perhaps the most commonly used Non-Destructive Testing as it can be used for varieties of Metals and Composite. It is also present in different form such as Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing. Ultrasonic Testing can also be used with Drones for carrying out detection of corrosion and other faults.
However, Infrared Testing using infrared cameras is one of the best method that gives results when other method fails. It involves the use of infrared camera to create a recording that corresponds to the intensity of the thermal radiation and with this recording, defects can be detected.
For a struggling economy, I’ll recommend both ultrasonic Material and Infrared Testing, however drones can be used along with the ultrasonic to increase effectiveness.
Great and insightful article
Thank you for your support.
This is very informative
Thank you
Thank you Ruth for your support.
I remember my lecturer briefly talking about NDT. Having a research paper to fall back to to gain extra information is quite nice. Nice work done here!
Yes. I can also recall that during our first semester. Mrs Uneroh really did a great job Introducing the NDT methods we had and she played a very key role in supervision of this paper. Thank you for your insights. I appreciate.
Wow, this is highly informative
Thank you sir for your support.
Well spoken brother. A true scholar, indeed 👏
Thank you Nzoki for reading through the paper and your support.
Very great and impressive article
Thank you sir for your support.
With this article the menace of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region which has adversely affected our people will be greatly reduced.
Yes. Exactly.
It will help save a lot of Gas leakages and Oil spillage from occurring which most times occurs from Pipelines burst, and defects in Oil and gas equipment.
Impressive.
Question; You mentioned the use of microscope during visual inspection, I find that a bit strange as the pipeline spans a lot of kilometers, how does that work.
First. Thank you for reading the paper. I appreciate your time.
Microscope is one out of the various instruments that are used for carrying out visual inspection on pipelines.
One doesn’t have to inspect the whole pipelines. Basically, when we observe pipelines in some facility, You get to see some cracks on the outside and surface, inorder to be able to tell if there’s a defect in that aspect, we can use a microscope to just find out for that particular area.
There’s also a device known as scanning Electron Microscope. It is used for scanning through the pipelines to detect the common faults.
I hope this answers your questions.
Thanks for reading once again.
Great information…a very good article, learnt a lot about the NDT (Non-destructive Testing) and the methods used in the Oil and Gas sector.
Thank you for reading the paper and for your feedback.
Very nice and educative article.Keep up the good work
Thank you for your support Emmanuel.
A concise yet informative piece.
Thank you for your support and feedback
NDT…… is it use only exceptional to the oil and gas industry? What other areas can the testing be applied to… and also, the use of Drone in NDT testing, aside the sensors, and the camera which sync to give a 3D mapping, will any other software need to be embedded for the testing?
NDT plays a very vital role in the Oil and Gas industry because most of the equipment in this industry requires maintenance without destruction of the material, is usually risky and safety need to be prioritized and lastly one doesn’t need to stop production in order to apply NDT. Nevertheless, there are quite other companies or industries that requires NDT applications such as Power and Generation, Aerospace, Defense, Automotive and even Automobile.
Yes. The application of drones also requires additional softwares depending on the drone provider company.
The drones are equipped with HD video, that captures videos and photos of the equipment and they collect data from the equipment. The data collected are transferred and interpreted using techs such as Machine Learning, AI and softwares depending on the type of drones and company involved.
Keep up the good work
Thank you for your support scott
Informative piece.
Great read!
Thank you Micheal for reading. I appreciate.
lovely work mate
really detailed.
Thank you Barret for your feedback.
Very informative
Thank you for your support. I hope learnt a lot from the paper.
Great insights as outlined in this paper. NDTs if funded properly will thoroughly change the way the Oil and Gas industry operate as regards testing of faulty pipes and equipment.
Yes. I agree with you.
Great insight
Thank you for your support. I hope learnt a lot from the paper.
This is a wonderful and well-detailed article.
Thank you Thelma for your feedback. I’m sure you learnt a lot from the paper.
Brilliant work Ochuko👍
Thank you for your support.
Very unique and superb
Thank you Stephen for reading through.
What a nice and informative article.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you Solomon for your feedback and reading through the paper.
Indeed the contribution of non destructive testing to engineering can’t be over stressed
NDT has increased efficiency while reducing cost.
Exactly. Thanks for reading through.
This was an interesting read, I learnt a lot.
Thank you Emmanuel for taking your time to read through.
Nice…
Please which of the non destructive testing method is more effective?
Thank you for your question. Although I’ve answered similar question before but I’ll just reiterate it.
Infrared Testing using infrared cameras is one of the best method that gives results when other method fails. It involves the use of infrared camera to create a recording that corresponds to the intensity of the thermal radiation and with this recording, defects can be detected.
Although other methods such as Ultrasonic Testing using Drones is also highly effective. It then depends on the contracting company, equipment being tested and the cost.
How cost effective are the NDT methods?
Thank you Nehemiah for your question.
The issue of cost is not a major factor to be considered when talking about using Non-Destructive Testing or Destructive Testing, this is because unlike the latter, NDT doesn’t involve destruction of the equipment being tested and such equipment worth millions in dollars.
However, in discussing the type of Non-Destructive Testing to use for the operation, Visual Inspection is usually the cheapest but one has to consider Accuracy, Effectiveness, and other qualities before considering cost.
I hope this answers your question.
Thank you.
Well detailed and informative article.
Thank you Josh for your feedback and support.
Great points to note
Thank you for your feedback.
Waw.
Lovely article.
Well informed and educative.
Thank you Miracle for taking your time to read through and for your engagement.
Educative
Thank you for your support.
From my little findings here, Of all the Various forms of NDTs, Visual Testing (VT) which is based on the inspection for flaws that are visible to the naked eye seems to be the most commonly used NDT method across all industries and The Cheapest as well.
Now how do we actually Account for possible Human Errors and misinterpretation while using VT?
Really worth the while.
Nice work.
Thank you Cyril for reading through. I hope you learnt a lot from the paper.
Thank you for your contribution Mr Victor.
Yes, Visual Inspection Testing is the easiest Non-Destructive Testing and it’s commonly used. But as you have said, it’s accountable to several errors and miscalculation / mis interpretation.
To this dismerit, other methods are used instead of the visual inspection.
But nevertheless, Visual Inspection can be improved on by the use of other equipment such as Microscope, Borescope, etc.
Great Paper, very informative. Keep up the good work
Thank you for your support.
An excellent write-up.
Which NDT method is the best and the cheapest?
Thank you for your question. Although similar question have been answered already but I’ll just reiterate it.
Infrared Testing using infrared cameras is one of the best method that gives results when other method fails. It involves the use of infrared camera to create a recording that corresponds to the intensity of the thermal radiation and with this recording, defects can be detected.
Although other methods such as Ultrasonic Testing using Drones is also highly effective. It then depends on the contracting company, equipment being tested and the cost.
In terms of cost, it all depends on the company as stated above, the nature of the faults needed to be detected and also on the efficiency they would want to achieve. Anyways, out of all, Visual Inspection Testing happens to be very cheap because it doesn’t involve much equipment and expertise.
Nice one, very informative.
Thank you Justice for your contributions and support.
Nice one. So educative
Thank you for reading the paper.
Direct and Educative, easy to read
Thank you Praise for your support.
Very Educational
Thank you Mitchell for your support.
Superb write-up. Very educating
Thank you Clement for your support. I appreciate
Exceptional work, educative and interesting to read.
Thank you Courage for reading through and for your feedback.
Wow, this is a great write up. Keep up with the good work
Thank you for reading the paper Phillip. I appreciate your support.
Great work, comrade.
It’s been observed that several countries including Iraq produce crude oil with considerably high levels of salt content. Is it possible to apply NDT to the desalting process? And would it prove efficient in due time?
I earnestly anticipate your feedback. Amazing work on this paper, once again.
Thank you Kristen for reading through and for your questions.
My apologies for taking long to respond to you, been down for a while.
As regards crude oil with high salt content as your have described. The selection of equipment for the processing and storage of such crude oil could depends on the type of crude produced from the well. However, NDT is simply applied to these equipment not directly about the nature of crude produced but the type of equipment as our main purposes is to discover cracks and faults in the equipment.
Feel free to ask me more.
Succinct, really enlightening
Thank you Onyeka for your support and feedback.
What type of drones is mostly used for non Destructive Testing and how does it work?
Considering, Nigeria and her status quo. What method best fits us. And what is the availability.
Nice one bro
Thank you for your feedback Samuel.
A number of NDT processes are interesting to learn about from your paper. Good job..
Fuel stations are part of the downstream of the oil and gas industry. Is NDT performed on the storage of these fuel stations to prevent petroleum products leakages into the ground of the environment where the fuel stations are located?
Also, which of the NDTs is more affordable? So that cooking gas depots and stations nationwide can always help in checking the condition of gas cylinders used in homes and other users of cooking gas cylinders.
Thanks for the feedback and for reading the paper.
In the case of Fuel Stations which are required for the downstream Oil and Gas Sector. The first question to ask, is Does Fuel Station or it’s materials undergo corrosion? If yes, then NDT is required. Depending on the type of corrosion, is it an Inner or outside vessel corrosion? Does it involve just the surface of the tank or the interior? Is the welded part affected. Depending on the nature of corrosion, several Non-Destructive Testing could be used for detects.
It could be as simple as Visual Inspection to just observe the corroded areas, or could be Ultrasonic Testing which involves the use of sound waves. UT testing gives instant result of the test and could be used in sub-surface flaws, so yes. This could be used for Fuel Station and NDT could be performed on the storage of this device.
Not to forget, the main purpose of Non-Destructive Testing is not to bring maintenance, the main purpose is to allow for the detection of faults, flaws, cracks and when NDT is carried out and flaws are detected, the right maintenance must be done to prevent the consequences of leakages.
As regards affordability, Visual Inspection Testing is very easy to use and doesn’t involve much cost. Also Gas Cylinders can be detected by using Visual Inspection method, by visually checking for cracks in Cylinders. Ultrasonic Testing though not affordable would be a great method for such testing. However, one must ask the question? Does the cost actually worth it? And is the major cause of gas explosion in gas station as a result of leakages in gas cylinders, or human errors? If the former, then the cost might not be so considered, all efforts should be on how to preserve human life.
And of course, Ultrasonic Testing could be used at least once in two years to detect such plant cylinders, but it would be so expensive to use UT testing everyday for individual and consumers cylinders.
Thanks for the feedback.
In the case of Fuel Stations which are required for the downstream Oil and Gas Sector. The first question to ask, is Does Fuel Station or it’s materials undergo corrosion? If yes, then NDT is required. Depending on the type of corrosion, is it an Inner or outside vessel corrosion? Does it involve just the surface of the tank or the interior? Is the welded part affected. Depending on the nature of corrosion, several Non-Destructive Testing could be used for detects.
It could be as simple as Visual Inspection to just observe the corroded areas, or could be Ultrasonic Testing which involves the use of sound waves. UT testing gives instant result of the test and could be used in sub-surface flaws, so yes. This could be used for Fuel Station and NDT could be performed on the storage of this device.
Not to forget, the main purpose of Non-Destructive Testing is not to bring maintenance, the main purpose is to allow for the detection of faults, flaws, cracks and when NDT is carried out and flaws are detected, the right maintenance must be done to prevent the consequences of leakages.
As regards affordability, Visual Inspection Testing is very easy to use and doesn’t involve much cost. Also Gas Cylinders can be detected by using Visual Inspection method, by visually checking for cracks in Cylinders. Ultrasonic Testing though not affordable would be a great method for such testing. However, one must ask the question? Does the cost actually worth it? And is the major cause of gas explosion in gas station as a result of leakages in gas cylinders, or human errors? If the former, then the cost might not be so considered, all efforts should be on how to preserve human life.
And of course, Ultrasonic Testing could be used at least once in two years to detect such plant cylinders, but it would be so expensive to use UT testing everyday for individual and consumers cylinders.
1. What is the current NDT method used in the Oil and Gas sector of Nigeria?
2. What are the possible causes of the reluctance in adopting new technologies to carry out NDT in the Oil and Gas sector of Nigeria?
Okpako Ogheneochuko
1. How can NDT be used to automatically detect faults and measure internal flaws
2. It can NDT be to reduces the surface penetration of the material.
3. How can NDT can be used to detect flaws in both surface and subsurface.
1. What problem are you trying to solve and how do you intend to solve them using the proposed approach?
2. Neither research problem statement, block nor flowchart is presented to show the technical steps and working of the proposed solution. Again, the NDT approach is described in general terms not specifically how it will be used in the context of oil and gas in Nigeria, how will this approach be used to enhance the oil and gas industry in Nigeria–to prevent avoidable accidents and increase the life span of the various equipment?.
3. To what extent does the proposed approach detect internal faults ?