REPLACE - Requirements for replacing the system pressure test with alternative means

Challenge

A system pressure test of pipelines can be challenging and costly and will always be on a critical schedule path.
For some pipelines, the benefit of a system pressure test could also be questioned. There have even been cases where the system pressure test has actually damaged pipelines.
The system pressure test does not improve the quality, it verifies whether the quality regime has been sufficient.

Solution

The idea is to replace the system pressure test with alternative means that are more cost effective, do not affect the schedule and will result in at least the same safety level.

Benefits

The benefits will be cost reduction, reduced construction time and improved quality during the development phase, thus reducing the chance of any failure or mistake happening.

Value

Replacing the system pressure test will have large cost and schedule effects on projects. Typically, the cost of a system pressure test for a large deepwater gas pipeline:

• ~US$ 30-50m

A system pressure test is also normally on critical paths and the potential time saving is in the order of:

• 2-3 months