Risk Based Verification for Subsea Pipeline Repair Connectors and a Case Study

In Oil and Gas industry the Subsea Pipeline Repair Connectors have been developed to provide an effective sealing and installation on damaged or leaking pipelines. This paper presents a verification methodology for Subsea Pipeline Repair to confirm a product design compliance to DNV standards. It also introduces a case study for detailed design and qualification program approach for subsea pipeline repair connector to mitigate installation and operational risks. The purpose is to assist industry to mitigate operational risks and enhance safety. As a case study, recently a type approval certification has been issued to a client for its subsea pipeline repair connector. This paper presents a risk based method towards verification of pipeline repair system, and it is focused on risk based methodology to address potential failure modes. The approach to address structural, sealing and gripping functions of the connector is discussed. DNV standards related to verification of pipeline connectors are also described in the paper. Through this paper, the potential failure modes are discussed and the design verification process is described for the subsea pipeline repair connectors. The type approval process is introduced which consists of independent design review, sample testing and verification of quality controls. The results prove the approach is effective to assist the designer to bridge the gaps, mitigate the risks, provide the integrated solutions and enhance safety. Furthermore, the end user shall be benefit for mitigating the effects of unplanned repairs, improving the field’s uptime and restoring production quickly. The novelty of this paper is the risk based verification of the pipeline repair connectors, which cost effectively helps identifying and mitigating the risks associated with failure modes and optimize the design of the pipeline repair system.