Pipeline Fault & Leakage Diagnosis in Smart Oil and Gas Field using Electrical Capacitance Tomography: A Review

Ahmad Muzaffar Abdul Kadir, Elmy Johana Mohamad* and Wan Norhisyam Abd Rashid1

Abstract

Purpose - Smart Oilfield Technology is promising concept in oil and gas fields worldwide. The common goals are reducing capital, improving total recovery, and improving human and environmental safety. Pipeline networks have been providing the most economical and safest method for transporting crude oil. Nonetheless leaks can cause losses in recovery of the transported hydrocarbon fluids and gasses. Pipeline leaks could turn to pipeline failure in serious cases which is a hazard to human and ecological, and substantial financial loss. The current methods used are exterior part pipeline monitoring, visual method that is done periodically and interior method that determine leakage by calculations from sensor readings. Each of the current methods have weaknesses in determining the actual leakage occurrence. Therefore, the need for a study for a smart and reliable pipeline leak detection is essential. In this study the effectiveness of using a twin plane electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) for oil and gas pipeline leak detection is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach - The pipeline fault and leakage diagnosis are complete with the analysis of the comparative data between the twin ECT pair placed at the upstream and downstream on the pipeline. In this research, a twin plane 16 segmented sensor are mounted as one up-stream sensor and the other as down-stream sensor. The presence of different types of material such as oil and gas concentration will produce different permittivity value for the capacitance of the sensors. The permittivity distribution demonstrates on a sensitivity map throughout the sensing cross-sectional area of the pipeline will provide crisp data for image reconstruction.

Expected Outcome – Sensitivity map is utilized for determining difference of the material composition and concentration in the pipeline from the upstream and downstream sections. The pipeline fault and leakage diagnosis are realized by analysing the changes of data classifying the changes of gasses and liquids concentration from upstream and downstream sensors

Keywords: Pipeline Fault Diagnosis, Smart Oil and Gas Field, Electrical Capacitance Tomography.