FAQFREQUENTASKEDQUESTIONSABOUTPIPELINELEAK DETECTIONSYSTEMS

1. Whatisthedistancebetweensensors? Dependsuponpipelinepressure,fluidanddiameter. Priortoinstallation,AselTech gathersspecificpipelinedataandentersintoanadvancedsimulationprogramto calculatesensitivitywhichdictatesdistancebetweensensors.Asanexample,a24liquid pipeline,operating@700psiwouldrequirethedistancebetweensensorstobearound 20km

2. CantheSLDS/ILDSworkonburiedpipelines? YES!BuriedpipelinesareveryfeasiblecandidatesfortheSLDS/ILDS

3. CantheSLDS/ILDSworkonsubmarinepipelines? YES,thoughtheremustbeanonshoreoraboveseasectionforwhichtoattachthesensor &electronics

4. WhatistherequiredpowersupplyfortheFPUs(FieldProcessingUnits)? TheFPUispoweredby24Vdcor110/220Vac,20Wmax

5. Whatisthetypicaldetectiontime(leakalarm)? Usually20to60seconds,dependingonthedistancesandcommunicationsystem

6. Whatisthetypicalleaklocationaccuracy? Usuallywithinafewmeters,andtypicallybetterthan2%ofthepipelinelengthbetween sensors.

7. IstheacousticleakdetectionsystemabletodetectleaksinNGpipeline? Yes.HoweverNGdoesnotcarryacousticsignalsasfarasliquids.Assuch,thedistance betweensensorsisreduced.

8. Doacousticleakdetectionsystemsquantifytheamountofaspill? TheacousticportionoftheAselTechILDSdoesnot,however,themassbalanceportion ofthesystemwilldothis.

9.Whatsizedoeswillthesystemdetect. ATheACOUSTICSLDScandetectverysmallholes.Theexactcapabilities ofanyparticularsystemwilldependonthecustomersneedandbudget.Inotherwords, wecanincreasesensitivitybyincreasingtheamountofsensorsweinstallonthepipeline. Customershavetheabilitytodecidejusthowsensitivetheywantthesystemtobe.Asel TechhastheabilitytogenerateaSensitivityStudyforeachpipelineproject,givingthe detectableholesize,detectiontimeandlocationaccuracy.

10.Doesitworkswithanytypeoffluid? Yes!TheSLDSistheonlytechnologyavailablewhichiscompatiblewithanypipeline transportinganyfluid,evenmultiphaseflowcanbemonitored.

11.Whatistheminimumdifferentialpressurerequired? 10psi

12.WhatcommunicationprotocolsdoestheSLDS/ILDS/MARCONErequire? Thesystemsrequireatleastserialcommunication,thoughEthernetisthebestoption. PipelinesalreadyequippedwithfiberopticcablecanutilizetheMarcOnesystem.

13.IstheAcousticPipelineLeakDetectionapplicableforwaterpipeline? Yes,aslongastheoperatingpressureisatleast10psi.

14.Isthesystemabletodetectleaksveryclosetothesensors? Yes.AselTechssystemsdonthavemuteorsilentzonesclosetothesensors.

15.Whataboutslowdevelopingleaksresultingfromisolatedcorrosionpit(s)? Itwilldependuponthepressureandthefluid.Ourexperiencehasshownthatinpipelines transportingliquidsathighpressure,i.e.500psiorgreater,asmallcorrosionpitcan initiatealargesuddenleak,whichwillbedetected/alarmedbythesystem.Ifaliquid pipelineoperatingatlowpressuredevelopsasmallcorrosionpit,theleakwillgenerally start&remainverysmall,slowleaks,andwillnotbedetectable.Dependingonthe volumeofthespill,theILDSmassbalanceportionofthesystem,maybeabletodetect thisleakovertime.

16.CantheSLDS/ILDSinterfacebeconnectedtoanexistingSCADAsystem? A Yes,thesystemscanbeconnectedthroughOPC

17.HowdoesapipelinesambientnoiseaffecttheSLDS/ILDSsystem? AThesystemsemploysseveralnoisefilteringtechniques.Therearehowevercertain typesofnoisewhichcaneffectsensitivity.AselTechhastheabilitytodesignspecial filterstoeliminatesuchissues.

18.DoestheSLDS/ILDSsystemrequireanytuningaftercommissioning? Normallynot,onlyifthereisasubstantialchangeinthepipelineconfigurationor operationalconditions.

19.WhattypeandhowoftenaremaintenanceactivitiesrequiredfortheSLDS/ILDS system? Basically the SLDSdoesnot require maintenance. Testinggeneral system parametersis relatively easy to perform. AselTech does however recommend at least one real leak simulationperyeartoguaranteetheleakdetectionsystemisworkingeffectively.

20.Doesthesizeandvolumeofleakageinterferewiththetimetodetect? No,leakdetectiontimeisnotdependentonleaksize,butratherspeedofsoundthrough thefluid.

21.Whatistheprobabilityoffalsealarms? Afterallpipelineoperationsaretotallymappedwithinthesystem,theprobabilityofa falsealarmisveryclosetozero.

22.Willopeningandshuttingvalvescauseafalsealarm? Notifthisoperationismappedintothesystem.

23.Canyoupresentanyestimatesonprobabilityofdetectionfordifferentsizesof leakages?Canthosefiguresbedemonstratedorvalidatedbyanindependent3rd party? Yes,Aseltechhasdatagatheredfromlabscenarios/studies.Wecangeneratesensitivity studiespriortoanyproject.Partofthecommissioningprocessforanyprojectistoinduce anactualleakinthepipeline,andprovidethecustomerwiththeresults.Wewelcome validationbyany3rd party.

24.Isthereanylicenseorsoftwarechargesforusingthesystem? No,AselTechdoesntsellssoftware,thereforetherearenoLicenseefees.

25.Canthissystemsworkunderlossesofthepower? Yes,backupbatterypowercanbeinstalledasanoption.

26.Howdoweknowthesystemwillworkonceinstalled? Aspartofthecommissioningprocess,AselTechperformsanactualleaktest.Weinduce anactualleakinthepipeline(usingspeciallydesignedequipmentandprocedures)and testthesystemsensitivity.Donotknowofanyothercompanywhichoffersthisinsurance ofeffectiveness.

27.Canweviewanactualsystembeforepurchase? Yesispossible.Wemaybeabletosecureaninvitationtoacustomerinstallation,orwe canarrangeavisittoourpipelinelaboratoryinBrazilortovisittheCTDUTPipeline ResearchCenterwherewewillhaveaSLDS/ILDSinstalledonarealcrudeoilpipelineina couplemonths

28.Howmucharethemaintenanceandoperationcost? BasicallythereisnomaintenancerequirementsfortheSLDS,providedthereareno significantchangesinthepipelineoperationalparameters.Ifthisweretooccur,somere configurationofthesoftwarewouldbenecessary.

29.CanwemonitoringPIGswiththeSLDS? Yes.TheSPLSonicPigLocatortechnologycanbeaddedtoaSLDSforPIGlocation.

30.Isthissystemreliableforlongcrosscountypipelines? Yes.TheSLDS/ILDS/MARCONEaretotallysuitedforlongpipelines. ThebestchoicewouldbetheMARCONE,whichdoesnotrequireFPUsFieldprocessing Unitsforeachsensor.Thetotalsystemcostforlongerpipelinesisthusreduced.