Prior to the commissioning of any pipeline system, it is critical for both the construction company and the asset owner to verify that the pipeline's construction conforms to standard regulations, and that no damages have occurred during the construction phase.The timing of these inspection services is critical to ensure that any repairs that may be required can be executed before the pipeline is placed in operation. These testing practices, which range from pipeline gauging and hydrotesting to inline inspection, are of great benefit to the owner/operator, since they ensure safe operation not only during the actual commission of the pipeline, but throughout the life of the asset. Further, these inspections create a reference baseline for future inspections to allow for the proper assessment of anomalies that may emerge from the operation of the pipeline or be caused by environmental factors. Although inline inspection (ILI) is a well-established technique in the oil and gas pipeline industry, its implementation during the pre-commissioning phase is not prevalent, since the operating conditions required to properly run inspection tools are not available. Though adequate conditions can be produced, this typically requires high volumes of gaseous medium, such as nitrogen, at high pressures, which results in excessive project expenditures.
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