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Hot Tapping Innovations Making Great Strides

Of all the technologies embraced by the energy industry over the years, hot tapping has perhaps been one of the most controversial. A perusal of internet discussion boards shows both proponents and critics split on whether or not hot tapping is a procedure with a good risk-to-benefit ratio. Despite the disagreement, the one thing that cannot be argued are some of the phenomenal results hot tapping has produced.

One such example revolves around a risky procedure performed by an international industrial maintenance company in 2008. The company was contracted to replace an external valve on a 100,000 barrel liquid propane tank. The valve was beginning to show signs of corrosion, which would eventually cause catastrophic failure if left alone. Further complicating matters was the fact that the massive tank was part of an oil terminal.

The traditional method of replacing the valve would require the tank to be drained and vented; a costly and time-consuming procedure that would have a significant impact on the terminal's production and processing. The contractor decided after much study, that even though hot tapping had never been tried on a live cryogenic tank before, it was still the best way to go.

The contractor developed specialized equipment for the procedure, testing it on a separate tank before going live. When they were sure their process was ready, the contractor used a hot bolting process and a valve plug to make the change as quickly as possible. Between their specialized equipment and well thought-out procedure, the valve change was a complete success with no service disruption.

In this case, hot tapping technology was advanced by an industry expert who wanted to avoid a months-long shut down for one of their customers. Decommissioning the propane tank would have cost the company a lot of money and lost production time. But the old adage that “necessity is the mother of invention” proved to be true in this case. Now, the same technology developed for this tank job has been expanded for use industry-wide.

It is just that sort of innovation and development which has catapulted hot tapping to the top of the list of options for pressurized line and tank work. It is enabling oil companies to repair and modify deep sea pipelines without shutting down the flow. It enables natural gas companies to modify their existing lines to accommodate new neighbourhoods in a quick and efficient manner. Hot tapping is proving to be useful in areas where it was never before considered.

While it is true that hot tapping can be a dangerous operation, especially when dealing with flammable or extremely high pressure materials, evolving safety procedures and engineering standards reduce the risk. A reputable contractor will assess the risk before ever beginning the design phase of a hot tapping project. If the risk is too great for a benefit too little, more traditional methods will be used. But with the opposite assessment, there's simply no reason to avoid hot tapping.