Saudi Aramco is implementing a diverse portfolio of innovative and pioneering technologies to transport hydrocarbons, water and other fluids, safely and reliably while at the same time maintaining its leadership in environmental stewardship, says Ahmad O Al Khowaiter, chief technology officer, Saudi Aramco.

 

“As a large-scale pipelines operator and industry leader in pipeline technology innovation, Saudi Aramco has a responsibility to the industry, the kingdom and the world. Our continuous endeavour to meet these responsibilities is carried out in the most efficient and cost effective means possible,” says Khowaiter in his key-note address to the 3rd Pipeline Operations & Management Middle East Conference & Exhibition in Bahrain.

 

Leadership in technology development and the creation of a flourishing knowledge economy in the kingdom is a stated objective of Saudi Aramco’s strategic intent to become the premier energy and chemicals company worldwide, he says. 

 

“Accordingly, we are engaged in research and technology development aligned with our business needs that span upstream domains such as geology, geophysics, computational modelling, drilling, production and petroleum engineering; downstream and upstream surface domains including oil and gas treatment, oil refining and upgrading, chemicals and oil and gas network integrity (particularly technologies related to pipeline integrity and operational excellence) as well as strategic sustainability domains such as carbon management and fuel/engine technologies,” he says. 

 

A strong indicator of Saudi Aramco’s technology programme’s competitiveness is the growth in its patent portfolio. In 2015, Saudi Aramco filed 226 patents at the US patent and trademark office (a 30 per cent growth over its filing the previous year. Additionally, the company was granted a remarkable 123 US patents the same year ranking it fourth among oil and gas companies worldwide. Saudi Aramco has not only achieved key milestones in patent filings and grants but has also been very active in the development and deployment of technologies across all of its business sectors, says Khowaiter. 

 

“Which leads me to the topic of this important conference, namely, pipeline operations and management. I am delighted to inform you that Saudi Aramco has over the past several years developed and deployed a wide range of cutting-edge  technologies, covering various pipeline operations domains, including pipe-wall integrity, in-line inspection tools, cathodic protection monitoring, corrosion prevention, control valves for erosive services and large-diameter valve diagnostics to name a few,” he says. 

 

As an example of Aramco’s innovative technologies has been the development of a novel large capacity control valve capable of working under severe and erosive conditions. This new approach exploits the inherent advantages of the axial flow valve trim configuration to deliver superior durability and higher erosion wear performance. With this, Aramco has achieved superior pressure control reliability while significantly improving its cost-performance ratio in pipelines facilities.

 

Saudi Aramco has also made advances in the in-house development of a GIS-based database that includes all pipeline geographical information in addition to the basic pipelines design and operational data. 

 

“We are using Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRAs) while strictly adhering to the risk reduction as per the “As Low as Reasonably Practicable” concept which exploits Land Use Planning for systematically triggering and identifying encroachment adjacent to our corridors. The entire risk profile of our pipeline network and corridors has now been determined. This allows a systematic deployment of effective mitigation measures while quantifying the hierarchy and effectiveness of each of these measures,” he says.

 

Business decisions that support technologies and tools are being automated using IT solutions with the intent of improving the workflow and communication across the organization, enabling timely and effective actions to take place.

 

In Aramco’s R&D centres, the oil giant is conducting research programmes focused on tackling critical issues that are not only important to the company but also to the industry at large. 

 

“An example of this, which will resonate with many of you here today, is our initiative related to the reduction of corrosion in our pipelines and facilities. Corrosion has long been considered an invisible enemy to us all, but with this programme, we are developing technologies that can directly address this threat, predict its moves and protect us from its harmful influence. We can now detect and identify degradation using our patented technologies such as the Saudi Aramco Inspection Robot (SAIR), Shallow Water Inspection Marine Robot (SWIMR) and online real-time laser based sensors. 

 

“These inspection technologies provide vital information to our Prediction and Modelling tools, such as our recently developed “PREDHICT” software capable of identifying high risk areas for hydrogen induced cracking, as well as our technologies for detecting defects and pinholes in non-metallic pipes. On the subject of non-metallic pipes, not only do we continue to pioneer the use of non-metallics in more critical services, we also are researching new and enhanced materials that can increase the pressure and temperature resistance of such pipes, opening new application areas and services,” says Khowaiter.

 

One success story is the development of a novel inflatable contingency ease scraper device that can remove conventional scrapers that get stuck in pipelines. This device was developed by Aramco’s pipelines’ organisation, patented and licensed to a leading international technology company. 

 

In the drive to localise technologies and create value in the kingdom, the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Centre has created a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with this company and expects to manufacture this device and service it locally. 

 

Another technology conceived through the diligent efforts of Aramco’s researchers, engineers and field partners is the development of a unique Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitor (KHI) to mitigate hydrate formation in the pipelines originating in Karan field.  

 

“We are in the process of scaling up this unique KHI which outperforms existing KHIs where sever conditions of temperature, pressure and sour gas composition are one of our greatest challenges. The scale up of this technology in fact is leveraging the capabilities of the recently established Saudi Arabia Advanced Research Alliance (SAARA) between Saudi Aramco, KACST, KFUPM, Kaust, RTI and Taqnia,” he says. 

 

Today, the continuous innovation process in pipeline technologies extends toward even more ambitious goals that lie within the realm of the pipelines operations core business. These include scraper operation automation, real-time pipeline integrity and dynamic internal corrosion modeling for hydrocarbon pipelines. 

 

Technology development and deployment has been a hallmark of the oil and gas industry. “These are exciting times with many challenges ahead. Judging from our past success record, I am confident that we can contribute further to overcome these challenges,” he adds.