SK Energy Completely Replaces Human-Performed Undersea Pipeline Inspections with Smart Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Innovation's petroleum business subsidiary SK Energy announced that it has successfully completed the application of ultrasonic sensor inspection on the No.2 Buoy underwater pipeline located at Ulsan Complex (Ulsan CLX).

A ‘buoy’ is an offshore loading facility where ultra-large crude oil carriers (VLCC) of 170,000 tons or more, which cannot dock at piers, mainly berth. Since crude oil can be transported through the underwater pipeline connected to the buoy to the crude oil storage tanks located within Ulsan CLX, it serves as a crucial facility acting as the gateway and esophagus of Ulsan CLX.

Ulsan CLX currently operates two buoys, No.2 and No.3. This inspection was conducted on the No.2 buoy, established in 2008 to ensure crude oil loading safety, through collaboration among SK Energy’s Crude Oil & Product Operations Office, Reliability Office, and Mechanical, Equipment & Inspection Office. The underwater pipeline of No.2 buoy extends 5.6 km, including 1.1 km on land and 4.5 km offshore.

In the past, inspections were carried out by inspectors entering the buoy’s underwater pipeline to visually check the corrosion status. However, visually inspecting pipelines longer than 4 km posed safety risks and had limitations in detecting external corrosion.

To address these issues and ensure the integrity of the entire underwater pipeline both inside and outside, Ulsan CLX applied the 'Intelligent Pig' system using ultrasound. The ‘Intelligent Pig’ is equipment used for inspecting long-distance pipelines and underground pipelines transporting crude oil, where conventional non-destructive testing is difficult. It offers higher reliability and lower costs compared to inspections previously conducted by inspectors.

The inspection of Ulsan CLX’s No.2 buoy underwater pipeline using the ‘Intelligent Pig’ began on April 12 and involved about 80 days of preliminary and main work. Currently, the post-operation phase is underway, and once the data analysis related to the ultrasonic inspection of the underwater pipeline is completed, the final work will be concluded.

This inspection using the ‘Intelligent Pig’ on the No.2 underwater pipeline provided an opportunity to secure experience and capabilities related to Ulsan CLX’s SHE (Safety, Health, Environment), and based on this, there are plans to apply it to the inspection of the No.3 buoy underwater pipeline in the future.

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