Overview
At Baker Hughes’ Process & Pipeline Services (PPS), we understand how crucial it is for our clients to have efficient, reliable pipeline networks that ensure safety, maintain integrity and maximize throughput. Not only have we pioneered pipeline and pre-commissioning activities, but we have also tackled some of the most challenging projects (Nord Stream 1, 2, Greater Tortue Ahmeyim, Gorgon Jansz-Io, Turkstream and Texas Tuxpan, to name a few). Our success is driven by continuous innovation in both our people and equipment, backed by decades of experience and the trust we’ve built with our clients.
Our specialized expertise makes us the preferred partner when it comes to:
- Designing and performing pipeline maintenance and cleaning campaigns, either mechanical or based on Baker Hughes’ PPS designed chemicals and methodologies
- Providing solutions to reduce methane emissions prior to gas pipeline maintenance
- Engineering and actioning pipeline decommissioning
Discover our services
Pipeline pre-commissioning
At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we are a single source provider of pipeline pre-commissioning services. Our services employ a modern, reliable fleet of equipment backed by knowledgeable, experienced engineering teams. Our service teams are supported by our technology teams to deliver projects on time and reliably.
The pre-commissioning of pipelines involves flooding, cleaning and preserving, testing, dewatering, and drying of new systems. These services are performed to confirm the pipeline’s integrity, but also to make certain quality-controlled conditions are achieved. For the pipeline operator, this ensures an uneventful startup and continued successful operations.
We will support our clients working to re-purpose their pipelines for CO2 or hydrogen applications. Our expertise in deep cleaning and drying will ensure success of such projects.
Upon completion of pipeline laying and all associated construction activities, we can support the pre-commissioning process with providing the following services: pipeline flood, clean and gauge pig from the offshore laydown head towards the onshore pull-in head. This will remove any debris such as sand and silt that may have entered during pipe lay and prove the integrity of the pipeline internal bore confirming that no damage was sustained during pipe lay. We own an extensive and diverse fleet of flooding and triplex pumps allows tailor made and optimal design of spreads, allowing optimized footprint for maximal performance.
At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we hold a large spread of compressors, boosters, and membrane units, allowing extensive reliability and control of the operations, especially in remote areas, all over the world.
Our Baker Hughes’ PPS DENIZEN™ coiled tubing downline system (CTS) was designed to overcome the shortfalls of the traditional downline methods. CTS is typically used for subsea pipeline dewatering and fluid injection. The deployment of the skid and over boarding structure have been specifically developed for pipeline pre-commissioning applications. Key benefits of using CTS compared to classic downline are:
- delivery time of the coils and ease of having contingency
- smaller footprint on deck
- higher reliability
- more efficient mobilization and transport
At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we offer a comprehensive alternative to the large equipment spreads that are typically required for deep water pre-commissioning. Optimize your project budget with our patented DENIZEN™ Subsea System, while minimizing weather-related delays, reducing the project carbon footprint and enhancing personnel safety. The technologies we employ on the subsea systems are mature, reliable, and complemented by an experienced team of technicians and engineers who see each project through, from concept to execution. From flooding to hydrotesting and subsequent dewatering,
Umbilical lines are the lifeblood of subsea developments. Delays, repair, or rework processes can be expensive and time consuming. That’s why verifying the condition of the umbilical through testing and monitoring is critical to mitigating risks and costs. At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we provides complete turnkey services for pre-commissioning and commissioning umbilical systems from load-out at the manufacturing facility, through installation, to product introduction and start up. Our objective expertise and unmatched experience ensure cleanliness and integrity while verifying that the lines conform to your predefined specifications.
At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we have a long history of providing nitrogen services. With our fleet of nitrogen pumps, liquid nitrogen transports, mobile liquid nitrogen storage units and nitrogen membrane units dedicated to the midstream and downstream sectors, we are able to handle any nitrogen service project.
Pipeline maintenance
Pipeline maintenance services enable your pipelines to operate at maximum efficiency by keeping them clean and reducing downtime during offline periods. Our team has knowledge and capabilities to design and perform cleaning and testing protocols but will also be a partner of choice in case of emergency. As an example, we’ll keep your pipeline flowing if a pump breaks or during repairs, or we can provide mobile compression equipment which can help maintaining a gas flow or pressure. Our large inventory of equipment helps to reduce downtime and costs.
When your system needs repairs, our experts in pipeline decommissioning, including de-inventory and nitrogen purging, will collaborate with you to safely prepare for hot work. Before the line goes back into service, hydrotest can be performed to confirm line integrity and dried it to your specified dewpoint, so your product meets specifications.
The typical industry solution for pipeline maintenance services involves engaging multiple suppliers, with the risk of a lack of coordination around mobilization and demobilization windows. The integrated Baker Hughes’ PPS solution brings all these activities together under a single project management team. For mutual goal–safe operations, asset integrity, and enhanced profitability.
Our mechanical, chemical, and gel cleaning methods allow us to match your pipeline conditions and help with cost efficient debris removal. We clean crude oil, refined products, water, natural gas, and specialized petrochemical pipelines, including difficult-to-treat ethylene systems without impacting product quality.
Large scale CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage), Hydrogen or Ammonia projects contribute to Green House Gas emissions reductions around the world. They often require pipeline networks to be adjusted and/or developed, essentially to transport CO2 or H2.
Our pipeline pre-commissioning activities will support any new pipeline, but often, reusing existing pipeline networks can lead to a more cost-efficient deployment. Requalification for these pipelines is needed to comply, similar to the requirements at the initial pipeline design stage, for CO2 or H2 transportation.
Baker Hughes’ PPS is the only company able to provide best in class service and equipment that will ensure first time right in-line inspection and off-line tool propulsion in one turnkey package. Intelligent pipeline inspections provide the most sophisticated data for the integrity of a pipeline system and, in conjunction with hydrostatic testing, are a fundamental part of safe operation. ILI tools are generally propelled with pipeline product; but occasionally, conditions exist where another medium is needed for propulsion. Learn more here.
Our decommissioning services support end of life for topside and subsea assets with a focus on environmental safety and regulatory compliance.
Specialized cleaning ensures the removal of residual hydrocarbons, along with sludge, debris and any other deposits from the internal surfaces of process and pipeline systems.
The provision of a clean and uncontaminated surface finish and the disposal of generated waste products using existing process and disposal routes are critical objectives during any decommissioning project.
Our decommissioning service areas of hydrocarbon freeing, system cleaning, filtration, separation and flaring provide a reduction in hazardous waste and associated disposal costs, while reducing risk to people and the environment.
Baker Hughes’ PPS’s environmental service offering delivers a track record of reducing the impact of carbon emissions associated with decommissioning activities.
Environmental & Gas Transfer Services
Natural gas emission in to the atmosphere can occur during pipeline maintenance operations or LNG terminal shutdowns, this can have an impact on the environment, economy, and, potentially, local regulations. At Baker Hughes’ PPS, we propose a range of technologies and services to help transmission system operator (TSO), storage system operator (SSO) or LNG terminal operators to be in full control and minimize natural gas venting, with solutions that barely generate any natural gas emission themselves, thanks to our ecosystem of technologies - based on mobile gas recompression units, nitrogen services or a combination of both. In our experience, close to half of emissions abatement solutions we propose, are at a low or negative financial cost for the operator, delivering a positive impact on our environment.
Learn more about our advanced emission abatement solutions. As well as our classic applications with mobile gas recompression units, we have also supported our clients with tailor-made services, that can be studied on request. We have a long track record of
At Baker Hughes’ PPS, our mobile recompression units (gas booster) service transfers natural gas from a source
location to a receiving area. The most common applications are emptying one pipeline section into
another or emptying a pipeline section into an underground gas storage reservoir.
Highlights of our gas booster services are:
- use of natural gas as the source of energy to power our mobile gas booster spreads
- existing and new design mobile recompression units adapted to volumes of gas to recompress and time allowed for operations (adjusting technology to the scope, minimizing pipeline down time and optimizing operational efficiency)
- versatility: possibility for very high flow (> 9,500 Nm3/hr average flow), high recompression pressure (> 90 barg) and low suction pressure (down to 0.2 barg), as well as smaller, compact and modular units for lower volumes, hence linking operational efficiency and cost optimization.
- mobile recompression service leaves less than 1.2x free volume of gas in the source location
-Calculation of Operation carbon footprint (CO2 equivalent, CO2e) in a simple and auditable way, providing the operator with the impact of the recompression operation, as well as the data of its scope 1 and 3
Natural gas to be transferred can be handled by a nitrogen displacement: based on the system (pipeline, network, tank) specific characteristics, at Baker Hughes’ PPS, we will engineer optimal flow to displace gas with a minimum of mix between natural gas and nitrogen.
Typical applications: small/medium volume of gas (<60,000 Nm3) to displace, rapid on-site mobilisation requirement or high-pressure discharge. Only the natural gas/Nitrogen mix will have to be managed (vented or flared), which generally represent less than 0.5% of the gas present in the pipeline.
We deliver multiple mobile flaring operations. Equipment will be selected based on scope requirements and individual needs in terms of flow rate, heat radius and flame visibility.
Although our Baker Hughes’ PPS gas recompression equipment is extremely efficient, leaving maximum 0.2 barg of gas in the pipeline after recompression, this amount of gas can still represent a substantial volume in large diameter and/or long sections of pipeline. Combining a Nitrogen operation with a gas booster will:
- limit the amount of natural gas emission to its minimum, i.e. N2/natural gas mix
- maintain the full combined operation in the same time schedule than the initial gas booster operation (the flow of Nitrogen will boost gas recompression capabilities)
- Deliver an inert pipeline when operations are complete
CO2 impact as a Green House Gas is much lower than methane, hence the possibility offered in some cases to combine our mobile gas recompression and nitrogen services with our mobile flare devices, mainly to flare the N2/natural gas mix should it represent large volumes. This could be the case when transferring gas from large diameter and/or long pipelines.
These services will be coordinated by our Baker Hughes’ PPS team as a turnkey solution to maximize operation efficiency and optimize project costs.
