Odessa Pipeline – Thorough Testing Since 1987
When our quality management teams get to test pipes that have been in service for several decades, their eyes light up. And they have every right to be proud that the test results are always much better than predicted or required by the applicable standards.
HOBAS has had a plant in the United States since 1987. One of the first projects was a pipeline near Odessa in western Texas. It required DN 450, PN 10, SN 5000 HOBAS GRP Pipes to take brackish water to the nearby oil fields for use in processing. The six-meter-long pipes totaled 44 km in length and were joined with HOBAS FWC Couplings. After installation, the pipeline was successfully tested at 12 bar and went into operation in 1987. It then remained in place with the pressure maintained at 5 to 7 bar.
Years and years went by uneventfully until the pipeline owner contacted the HOBAS Experts in June 2009. The operating company Centurion Pipeline L.P., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, approached HOBAS, as an adjacent third-party pipeline had burst, damaging parts of the HOBAS Pipeline, and they urgently needed replacement pipes. Responding quickly, the HOBAS Plant supplied 24 meters of DN 450 HOBAS Pipes, which were installed within a short space of time.
The pipes damaged by the burst adjacent pipeline were taken to the HOBAS Laboratory where they underwent close scrutiny. ”We took a look at the records we keep for all products we make and found that the pipes used were among the first to be centrifugally cast in the United States in November 1987“, explains Pepe Rodriguez, quality control supervisor at HOBAS Pipe USA. Being able to test pipe segments after use is a very rare occurrence because they usually remain in service over their entire useful lives.
After 21-and-a-half years, the pipes used for the brine pipeline were tested to check their mechanical properties. A range of procedures to ASTM standards revealed that the products performed better in all tests than the original project specifications had required.
”When they were planning the pipeline, they selected HOBAS Products made of glassfiber-reinforced plastic because they are extremely corrosion resistant,“ says Rick Turkopp of HOBAS Pipe USA looking back. ”The brackish water is normally at a temperature of 32 to 35 degrees Celsius and contains hydrogen sulfide. This corrosive mixture limits the service life of other materials to a maximum of 15 years.“ The tests on the HOBAS Pipeline however confirmed that the products designed for 50 years and more actually last that long.
It therefore comes as no surprise that the pipeline operators are exceedingly pleased with the HOBAS Products. In use since installation, there have never been any problems. Since 1987, HOBAS Pipes have been ensuring that the brackish water is reliably conveyed and will continue to do so for many years to come.