In oil and gas operations, where unsafe practices can lead to costly failures, flange face erosion and corrosion pose critical threats. These issues compromise refinery infrastructure, turning small flaws into major liabilities. With each flange connection vital to pipeline integrity, failures can cause leaks, unplanned downtimes, and lost revenue. This case study highlights strategies to combat these hidden dangers, ensuring safety, efficiency, and uninterrupted energy flow for global markets.
Our client, a chemical plant located in east Texas was struggling to have a particular rope access scope of work completed by another provider. When it became clear that progress was falling further behind schedule, and the provider requested more money and time to complete, the client decided to terminate that arrangement. Acuren’s competitive bid was selected to finish the remaining work which included installation of insulation/jacketing on head of vessel, 9 rings, transition and 19 pipe support areas on a 230’ tower utilizing rope access.
Acuren partnered with an energy company to support their TA/Maintenance program. Acuren's access planner worked with the client's planning and execution team to review any work scopes that could be executed via rope access instead of scaffolding to reduce the overall time and cost.
Acuren’s experts partnered with Ohio’s American Paleo to find and preserve fossils using computed radiography (CR). Acuren was tasked with radiographing soft shale, calcite and pyrite, to locate fossils. Our team was able to successfully and safely utilize computed radiography’s benefits over traditional methods to complete the project.
Engineers, field technicians and NDT experts collaborated to find a suitable technique based on the engineer's unique idea which saved time, cost and increased reliability.
Acuren’s Raleigh, North Carolina team just safely completed a project in less than four days which consisted of 250,000 conventional UT readings for a power industry client. The project was swiftly executed thanks to our experts strategically planning the major outage inspection as part of a shutdown.
During a turnaround at a gas plant, pressure testing was performed on a sulphur condenser’s (the “vessel”) shell side. The vessel was accidentally overpressured to 5.3 times its MAWP (maximum allowable working pressure). A new vessel would have cost over a million dollars and would have taken over 6 months to be built. Acuren performed Level 3 API 579-ASME FFS-1 Fitness for Service, followed by different NDE techniques, hardness testing and strain gauging during a pressure test. We worked very closely with the regulator and the customer to eventually bring the vessel back to service.
Acuren’s Ammonia System Inspection group helped a food industry giant avoid a possible shutdown. Acuren’s experts were tasked with inspecting the pipes and vessels involved in a 75,000 pound ammonia system in Arkansas. The main concern of every ammonia system is corroded pipe that can risk the safety of employees, surroundings, and efficiency of the plant that could ultimately even cause a shutdown. Acuren’s combined testing solution helps clients avoid these risks while meeting all regulatory compliance.
There are two 30 inch diameter ¼” wall thickness steel water mains, which run along the underside of the bridge over a river way, that provide major water distribution to the community. The leak locations were difficult to access and on pipe which had an old asbestos coating. Acuren’s engineering and rope access crew provided a safe, economical, and timely repair solution to get the lines back into operating condition.
TEI Analytical Services, Acuren’s sister company, inspected an interstate natural gas transmission pipeline of more than 250 miles of 36” diameter pipe to support pipeline transportation infrastructure needs in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Discover how we delivered on time and on budget.