HOUSTON, TEXAS -- September 1, 2006 :- GE Oil & Gas, through its PII Pipeline Solutions group, today commercially launched its new "ThreatScan™" technology, which will be deployed to monitor pipelines threatened by third-party damage.
"Pipeline safety is a critical concern on a global scale, with operators being placed under increasing scrutiny to demonstrate that the integrity of their pipelines networks is being effectively managed to minimize the risk of failure. With the potential for damage to the environment when failures do occur, this product launch is a further demonstration of GE's commitment to our ecomagination™ initiative to help customers meet environmental challenges," said Claudi Santiago, president of GEOil.
Of the threats to which pipelines are exposed, third-party damage is the world's leading cause of failures in both gas and liquid pipelines. While some damage causes immediate failures, other times damage can go unnoticed, only to develop into costly leaks or failures years later. Technology capable of reliably determining when pipelines are struck, such as during construction activity, farming or other ground excavation, provides a major step forward in ensuring the safety of transmission pipelines and additionally security of supply to customers.
GE's ThreatScan system has been designed to specifically address some shortcomings of alternate monitoring methods to guard against third party damage: firstly, by providing a cost-effective means to reliably monitor the entire pipeline length 24 hours a day; and secondly, by ensuring fewer false calls and rapid notification of the location of any impact.
"The major benefit for ThreatScan is that operators will immediately know when and where their pipeline has been struck," said Santiago. "Armed with this information, operators can investigate what happened, rapidly repair any immediate failures or damage that may cause future failure and importantly, take action to ensure it will not happen again."
In addition to immediately notifying operators of specific impacts in a given pipeline, GE's system offers monthly summaries of dates, times and locations of all impacts, further enhancing the operators' risk analysis and ability to establish long-term, third-party damage mitigation plans.
ThreatScan is extremely sensitive and can filter out incidental noise while still detecting even the most minor pipeline strikes that otherwise might go unnoticed. Onboard processing and subsequent signal analysis provides detection of real events, sparing operators from needlessly deploying their resources. In short, ThreatScan quickly notifies operators of all potentially harmful impacts to their pipelines.
Using ATEX-certified sensors, an on-site processor, satellite communications equipment and, when appropriate, a solar-based autonomous power supply, GE's ThreatScan is easily installed on existing above-ground pipeline structures and fittings. This allows pipelines to be retrofitted without excavation and makes the new product suitable for deployment in "high-potential areas" even on a temporary basis.
Due to its significance to the industry in improving pipeline safety, GE has designated ThreatScan as its latest "Imagination Breakthrough" product.
About GE's Oil & Gas business
For more information, contact:
Tom Murnane
Soteryx Corporation
[email protected]
+1 518 886 1076
Ken Darling
Masto Public Relations
[email protected]
1-518-786-6488