User Groups Imperative for Successful Technology Advancements

Collaboration in the energy industry is becoming more essential in reaching ever-changing energy transition goals. User groups allow like-minded individuals from companies and industry leaders to come together and utilize technology in solving industry-wide obstacles encountered in operations.

According to Chantz Denowh, Director of Destructive Testing at ADV Integrity, “a user group allows you to bring all those parties together into a collaborative environment to discuss issues that are affecting the industry as a whole.”

According to Atul Ganpatye, Director of the Analysis & Technology at ADV Integrity, the benefits are three-fold. First, there is cost-saving value in shared knowledge and shared learning because no one party has to bear the financial burden of extensive projects. Secondly, the resources are shared, and the outcomes are agreed upon and refined for a broader application. Lastly, it is a way to share problems and concerns, resulting in a better chance of finding a solution.

ADV Integrity has been central in coordinating several user groups and JIPs in the industry, including the Spoolable Pipe User Group (SPUG), its resulting spoolable JIPs, a Hard Spot JIP, and a new composite technology user group called CTAG (Composite Technology Advancement Group).

ADV Integrity’s Role in Energy Industry User Groups and JIPs

Spoolable Pipe User Group (SPUG)

In 2016, ADV Integrity joined other industry leaders in forming the Spoolable Pipe User Group (SPUG). As defined in a SPUG white paper, the purpose is “to increase and accelerate the reliable and safe adoption of spoolable reinforced plastic line pipe.” The results of SPUG have been influential in the world-wide adoption of spoolable pipe technologies, due to its findings on past performance data and future research efforts on the testing of various loading combinations.

CLASPS-01 and CLASPS-02 JIP

Forming user groups like SPUG is beneficial to the whole industry, because it often leads to further testing and research in the form of JIPs. The Combined Loading Assessment of Spoolable Pipe Systems (CLASPS-01) JIP was a successful first step in closing several knowledge gaps in the use, inspection, and numerical modeling of spoolable pipe systems, through testing the effects of combined loading in various scenarios. In October 2021, ADV Integrity formed the second Combined Loading Assessment of Spoolable Pipe Systems (CLASPS-02) JIP. The goal of the CLASPS-02 JIP is to re-create representative damage mechanism threats observed in spoolable pipelines for use as calibration baselines for NDE technologies, and to characterize the effects these threats have on short and long-term pressure integrity.

Hard Spot JIP

In May 2022, ADV Integrity sponsored the formation of the Integrity Management of High Hardness Areas in Pipelines (Hard Spot) JIP with a goal of establishing a framework for the integrity management of high hardness areas in pipelines, including manufactured hard spots. A key outcome will be guidance on the response criteria for in-line inspection results. Outcomes will include 1) identifying gaps in current approaches, 2) releasing recommendations for more accurate ILI and in-field hardness quantification, 3) correlating hardness levels to pipe material integrity to generate hardness versus pipe performance data, and 4) providing an integrated framework for the management of high hardness areas in pipelines.

Partnerships in the Industry Pave the Way for CTAG

As a result of many years of collaborating to validate composite technology with industry partners on various user groups and JIPs, ADV Integrity is facilitating the formation of the Composite Technology Advancement Group (CTAG).

The purpose of CTAG is to bring together people and organizations, such as oil and gas operators, innovators and manufacturers of composite repairs, spoolable pipes, and internal rehabilitation technologies, who are interested in the advancement of composite technologies deployed in the energy industry. ADV Integrity will serve as the coordinator for events and oversee the overall structure of the organization. CTAG is a promising next step for leaders, innovators, and operators in the energy industry to provide viable technologies and solutions for the advancement of composite technologies that make the energy transition possible.

Originally published December 15, 2022