There are various designs of subsea launchers and receivers that are currently in service in operating pipelines. However, many of these have never been used due to concern over the ability to safely or securely deploy either cleaning or inspection tools. This can restrict overall subsea pipeline integrity management and maintenance strategies and cause a great deal of uncertainty in risk assessments.
Research project SPDA-1-4 was just funded by PRCI to address this need. Work is expected to get underway in the coming months, and SPDA-1-4 will include a state- of-the art review of subsea launchers and receivers, including identification of the numerous issues that make their design and operation difficult.
A survey will be conducted to identify current issues, possible solutions and best practices currently in use. These will be used to recommend follow-on work to improve the design and/or deployment methods of in-line tools. When completed, the results of the initial phase of the research will provide operators with better clarity on the installation and use of subsea pig launch and receivers. It will also identify any research gaps that may need to be filled by follow-on work to achieve the goal of this research, wider industry acceptance and use of subsea launchers/receivers.