Discover how new technology allows you to predict remaining service life, and accurately evaluate the condition of subsea pipelines - buried, rocked dumped or exposed.

30 December 2016

Cathodic protection (CP) surveys in the past

Through precise measurements, a FiGS® CP survey provides the remaining service life of the cathodic protection (CP) system. This knowledge takes inspection from being periodic to being predictive - increasing inspection intervals and reducing vessel time and cost.

It’s usually necessary to obtain metallic contact at given intervals in order to measure the cathodic potential of a pipeline, which involves stabbing of exposed anodes every kilometre. If the pipeline is partially buried, this can prove difficult – and where completely buried - impossible.

New technology - new possibilities

FiGS® - a field gradient sensor, can be used for all subsea assets with a cathodic protection system. A FiGS® CP Survey is an inspection method that allows you to visualise the exact condition of the pipeline without contact. The non-contact feature allows for quick continuous surveys, without the need to stop, drastically reducing expensive vessel time. The technology provides accurate field gradient readings, opening up a new world in terms of disclosing the actual condition of buried pipelines and structures.

The FiGS® sets a new standard with regards to sensitivity (signal to noise ratio), being about 50 times more sensitive than other sensors on the market. The high sensitivity is key to get viable data on buried structures and allows inspections from a greater distance, making it fit for combination with GVI surveys.

It also provides the direction of the electric currents, enabling us to pinpoint areas of interest, such as coating damages, faulty anodes, stray currents and more. Knowing the strength and direction of the electrical fields tells us which anodes are protecting what, and how they interact with each other. This provides excellent input to CP computer modelling of single structures, or even entire fields.

Significant cost reduction combined with increased safety

FiGS® is the new preferred CP tool for many of the O&G companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and rapidly spreading worldwide, as it provides much more data than any other technique on the market, while eliminating the need for divers and reducing offshore time. A FiGS® CP survey reduces cost, increases safety and predicts risk, providing our clients with the level of confidence they need. Go to www.figs.no for more information.