The Challenge:
With aging infrastructure, evolving regulations, and a retiring workforce, pipeline integrity management is more complex than ever. For one mid-size operator preparing to sell a network of gathering lines, the stakes were high:
- Limited existing integrity program
- Mounting regulatory pressure
- A tight sale-readiness deadline
Without a clear plan, the operator risked compliance issues, reduced throughput, and potential delays in the transaction.
The Solution: A Strategic Partnership
To meet the challenge, Acuren’s Pipeline Integrity and Design Engineering team partnered with Mid-America Pipeline Construction.
- Acuren led the integrity engineering effort, drawing on past experience from over 5,000 miles of ILI assessments and 700+ integrity digs and repairs.
- Mid-America managed overall project execution and field work, leveraging decades of construction expertise.
- Acuren’s lab performed investigations of cutouts and analyzed failures to prove out field NDE and repair determinations.
This combination of deep technical knowledge and field execution capability created a turnkey solution that delivered ~70 inspections and ~40 analyses within the operator’s tight time constraints and with minimal disruption to their operations.
Operator-First Collaboration
The joint team, co-led by Acuren’s Jason Larman, Mid-America’s Kyle Whitfield, and the operator’s representative worked as a single unit with a shared goal: develop a fully compliant integrity program that would rehabilitate the system for sale and stand up to regulatory scrutiny.
Key collaboration strategies included:
- Weekly joint reviews to fast-track tool run and dig plan readiness
- Careful personnel matching to each project phase
- Real-time communication between engineering and field crews
This approach ensured that every challenge was met with a solution — not a delay. As the work progressed, the team utilized a proven six-step process to achieve consistent results for each line segment assessed:
- Pre-run Evaluation – Identified threats, selected the optimal ILI tool, and partnered with the vendor best suited to the operator’s needs.
- Pigging Preparation – Performed pipeline piggability assessments and modified traps to support first-run success.
- In-Line Inspection – Conducted inspections of over ~70 pipeline segments in under two years, meeting the sale-readiness deadline.
- Feature Analysis – Developed a custom threat threshold and fit-for-purpose risk assessment tool to ensure regulatory compliance and effective use of resources for over-and-above digs.
- Digs & in-the-Ditch Inspection – Sequenced digs for maximum efficiency, with Acuren setting priorities and Mid-America executing fieldwork.
- Repair Plan Reconciliation – Validated ILI tool performance, reconciled field measurements, confirmed pipeline integrity, and verified results were documented.
Results at a Glance
- A complete baseline assessment and rehabilitation of a gathering system achieved in under 24 months
- All sale-readiness requirements met ahead of schedule
- Unplanned downtime avoided during inspections and repairs
- Delivered under budget while exceeding safety expectations
