Improvement to LIMPET Ultrasonic Flow Measurement in IoT Pipeline Monitoring Solution

The Oil and Gas (O&G) industry has a rapidly growing problem with leak detection, security breaches and the prevention of incidents. These incidents affect global prices, oil and gas supply and cause long lasting and highly destructive damage to the environment and the lives of those who live and work near these pipelines.

From 2010-14 in Europe, multiple oil spillages averaged in excess of 397m3 of crude oil per year, with some exceeding 1000 m3 (https://www.concawe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Spillage-descriptions-2005-2016.pdf). The estimated cost of oil clean up alone (exclusive of fines etc) was €14 per gallon, making the average cost per incident in the region of EU €1.23 million. These numbers are increasing annually and represent a significant threat to the public, environment and critical infrastructure security.

Water Utilities are losing over 20% of their water supply through leakages. They are not only losing a precious resource in clean water, but leakages are also affecting consumers with higher prices. This is compounded by reduced profits as a result of lost revenue. Moreover, significant fines imposed by Ofwat for missing leak targets further negatively affect their bottom-line.

This project seeks to thoroughly test the accuracy, stability and reliability of the pipeline monitoring solution. The DASHBOARD system will result in a step change in pipeline leak monitoring by facilitating the identification of leaks on oil and gas pipelines in near real-time. This will enable predictive infrastructure maintenance and enhance asset management. DASHBOARD combines innovative hardware and software, capitalising on the power of transformational data collection, communication, analysis and visualisation.

The DASHBOARD solution is a high value proposition for O&G and water companies and society as a whole with the following benefits:

(1) Continuous pipeline monitoring and visualisation with real time alerts ensuring uninterrupted supply of O&G.

(2) Greatly improved detection rates.

(3) An estimated 20% reduction in operation and maintenance costs due to reduced call outs for leaks.

(4) A retrofittable hardware device with an estimated lifecycle of 10+ years.

(5) Reduced environmental impacts due to reduced hydrocarbon leaks.

(6) Reduced wastage of an important resource in desalinated water.

We expect the project to result in improved operation of the DASHBOARD solution and a wider application scope. In the long-term, the project would result in job creation within the UK.