When the first of any type of system is designed and installed, it is done to suit the practicality of what is required. Performance is the initial objective and a design is judged by how well it achieves its goals, does it go fast enough? Deliver enough? Is it strong enough?

Very soon, problems are identified. These may be problems with performance or they may be problems with safety. It becomes apparent that if a design is to be repeated and adapted, but without repeating mistakes, then some form of written design or safety standard is required.

With the pipeline industry in the UK these are ‘The Pipeline Safety Regulations 1996’. These were enacted as part of the ‘Health and Safety Act’ of 1974.

These regulations cover the design principles required for any pipeline used for conveying gas or fluids, which is not a drain or part of a heating system, and refers particularly to fluids considered ‘dangerous’, which relates to the petrochemical industry.

Part II item 7 specifically states that the pipeline must be designed so that maintenance and inspection work can be carried out safely.

One way of achieving this is to ensure that joints with bolted flanges are located at suitable locations to allow the critical sections of the pipeline to be dismantled. Also, suitable pipe fittings are provided where required such as isolation valves, to ensure that sections can be isolated and drained for working.

We at Chemipetro supply a wide range of flanges and pipe fittings to ensure that your design will comply with the safety regulations.

When it comes to quality of materials, the petrochemical industry can take no chances. A failure of pipelines or pipe fittings such as a flanges or couplings in service can be catastrophic and very costly in terms of damage and lost production.

It is therefore important that all materials are rigorously tested before they are dispatched, as small irregularities in the crystalline structure of the steel can cause fractures, which in turn cause the material to fail when subjected to high pressure and temperatures. It is important to detect these irregularities and specialist detection techniques have to be used.

One such technique is Magnetic Particle Inspection. At some time almost everyone will have carried out an experiment at school where a sheet of paper is laid over a magnet and then iron filings sprinkled over the paper. The iron filings will then align themselves to display the lines of the magnetic field.

Magnetic Particle Inspection is similar in principle, albeit more sophisticated. The part to be tested is subjected to an electromagnetic field to magnetise it. It is then coated with iron oxide either in powder form or in a liquid suspension. Any irregularities in the steel cause an irregularity in the magnetic field, which can be seen in the patterns in the iron oxide. These irregularities can indicate possible faults in the material which can then be investigated further.

At Chemipetro we supply quality materials such as pipe flanges, and we can carry out several specialist testing techniques on critical parts including Magnetic Particle Inspection to ensure the quality of our products.

Deepwater drilling rigs are fitted with billions of dollars-worth of high tech well equipment. Pipe flanges and other fittings are manufactured from super duplex and other high-grade alloys. The drilling crews receive intensive training in all aspects of well-head management, from checking pipe fittings for leakage, to extensive testing of redundant systems during drilling operations.

Most deep water drilling is done by semi-submersible oil-rigs, mobile vessels whose job it is to drill gas and oil wells, and install subsea production systems. All the materials – pipes, flanges, wellhead equipment etc is shipped out as it is needed, and a cutting-edge remote positioning system ensures exact control over the platform’s movements from one oil field to the next.

Yet for all this, things can go wrong. Deepwater Horizon suffered a catastrophic blowout while production castings were being cemented into place – ironically, to make the well safe prior to the rig being moved. The rig had a number of safety devices, designed to shut off the pipe at one of the flanges if a blowout was detected. This didn’t happen – somehow, the valve shut-down switch was bypassed. In other words, there was a failure of the well control system.

Accidents of this kind are generally down to either human error or systems failure. But let’s not forget that deepwater drilling is in its infancy. When you look at the number of oil platforms, wells, and processing plants there are, the number of accidents is actually very low.

We at Chemipetro continue to provide high quality pipe fittings to the gas, oil and petrochemical industries. We aim to keep things as safe as possible – for both the workers and the environment.