SGS was awarded one of the major shutdown projects by the energy company in Iraq. However due certain circumstances, the client preferred to inspect the integrity of their equipment well before the planned shutdown.
SGS suggested to perform non-intrusive inspections as the client desired to complete the health assessment of assets months before the actual shutdown. However, another challenge was to perform inspection of a large number of equipment along with administrative activities including reporting in very short interval of time.
During the whole lifecycle of plant, pressure vessels undergo periodic, statutory, and other testing to ensure continued safe and reliable operation. These inspections are carried out by means of internal visual inspection (IVI) with shutting down the vessel.
However, there can be very high costs associated with shutting down a vessel (loss of production), isolating it and preparing it for entry. Furthermore, the mechanical disturbances involved in preparing the vessel for internal inspection and reinstating it may adversely affect its future performance.
Therefore, performing inspection from the outside of the vessel without breaking containment i.e., non-invasively is a much-sophisticated approach than internal inspections.
To meet the strict timeline a team of 35 members was established, including 24 multiskilled API/NDT inspectors to complete the whole task within agreed timeline.
During inspection the following techniques were used:
With strong expertise and unwavering determination of the entire team, the job was completed non-instructively using advance NDT techniques, well ahead of the conventional inspection.
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