IBP1009_19

LESSONS LEARNT IN THE SUREFLEX

JIP HELPING IMPLEMENTING IM TO
MEET THE SGSS
Alexandre Cobo1, Daniel Carneiro2,
Hugues Corrignan3

Copyright 2019, Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute - IBP

This Technical Paper was prepared for presentation at the Rio Pipeline Conference and Exhibition 2019, held
between 03 and 05 of September, in Rio de Janeiro. This Technical Paper was selected for presentation by the
Technical Committee of the event according to the information contained in the final paper submitted by the
author(s). The organizers are not supposed to translate or correct the submitted papers. The material as it is
presented, does not necessarily represent Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute’ opinion, or that of its
Members or Representatives. Authors consent to the publication of this Technical Paper in the Rio Pipeline
Conference and Exhibition 2019.

Abstract

The ANP Technical Rules for Subsea Systems Operational Safety Management Systems,
known as SGSS, has gone through its transition period and is now in effect. Still, many
operators in Brazil are still adjusting their integrity management practices to fully comply with
the rules. ANP has mentioned in a few occasions that audit will focus on flexible pipe integrity
management, as these elements are involved in the majority of the critical accidents
documented.
Meanwhile in UK, a number of major operators (many of them also present in Brazil) and
regulators participated in a JIP to share experiences, lessons learned, failure statistics and
inspection and monitoring insight from the use of unbonded flexible pipes in offshore
applications. The Sureflex JIP run between 2015 and 2017, and its finding are now published
in the public domain.
This paper examines how the findings, remarks and lessons learnt from the JIP relate to the
requirements from SGSS, and how operators can benefit from the experience gathered therein
in detailing their local integrity management practices.

Keywords: Flexible pipeline. Failure Database.

1. Introduction

Established in 2015 by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), the Technical

Regulation of the Subsea System Operational Safety Management System (SGSS) was
implemented with the objective of establishing operational safety and environmental
preservation requirements for deployment and operation of subsea production system. The
areas covered by the regulation include, among others: identification of critical elements, risk
analysis, integrity management and extension of useful life.
The Sureflex Joint Industry Project (JIP) was kicked off in 2015 with the principal
objective of developing and updating industry guidance relating to the integrity management of
unbonded flexible pipes. The JIP has been widely supported by collaborative engagement with
around 40 organizations, including industry operators, manufacturers, inspection & monitoring
vendors, engineering contractors, certification bodies, and regulatory authorities for unbonded
______________________________
1
M.Sc., Mechanical Engineer – Wood
2
D.Sc., Civil Engineer – Wood
3
M.Sc., Marine Engineer – Wood
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flexible pipe systems. The Sureflex JIP focused, and delivered, on improving industry
knowledge and understanding relating to flexible pipe integrity management. The JIP compiled
global damage and failure statistics for flexible pipes across the industry and, in parallel,
gathered comprehensive population statistics. The JIP also presents an extensive review and
assessment of flexible pipe inspection and monitoring technologies. Furthermore, the work has
reported integrity management good practice and guidance, summarized areas of current
technology development focus, and shared operator case studies relating to flexible pipe
integrity management.
The objective of this paper is to show how lessons learnt in the Sureflex JIP can help in
implementing Integrity Management to meet the SGSS requirements. This paper will discuss
in more detail the following selected SGSS’s topics:
• Integrity management
• Identification of the critical elements
• Project
• Life Extension
The paper will introduce the Sureflex JIP in Chapter 2, outlining what the project was
and its goals. Additionally, it will present some flexible pipe population statistics of the study.
In the Chapter 3, the four selected SGSS’s topics will be analyzed in light of information
provided in Sureflex JIP comparing the requirements with the real examples. The authors
believe that it will help readers to understand better the implementation of these selected
SGSS’s topics. Finally, Chapter 4 will present the conclusions.

2. Sureflex JIP

2.1. Introduction

The concept of flexible pipe technology dates back to 1944 when 3-inch flowlines were
used to transfer fuel from England to France. From the late 1960s a limited number of pipes
were commercialized in low pressure smoothbore flowline applications for drinking water and
chemical transfer, some of which are believed to remain in use today. However, the
commercialization of flexible pipe technology in its current form began in the early 1970s, and
it is this era of flexible pipe technology that is the focus of the JIP and this paper.
Flexible pipes are widely used in both static and dynamic applications, often competing
with conventional rigid pipeline solutions. For more onerous system applications, flexible pipe
remains an enabling technology. However, there is anecdotal feedback within the industry that
flexible pipe has inherently higher risks than rigid pipe due to the multilayer product complexity
and associated range of potential failure mechanisms. A key objective of the Sureflex JIP was
to gather and present global data relating to operational experience of unbonded flexible pipe
in order to allow a more robust assessment of the specific threats relating to any individual pipe
based on actual industry experience.
The Sureflex JIP focused on:
• improving industry knowledge and understanding of flexible pipe integrity,
• compiling flexible pipe statistics relating to global population and damage / failure,
• performing an extensive review of inspection and monitoring technologies,
• recording integrity management good practice and guidance,
• summarizing areas of current technology development focus,
• sharing operator case studies relating to flexible pipe integrity management.
All data reported within the JIP is desensitized, as it is not the intention to single-out an
individual manufacturer, or the operating practices of any specific operators. The aim is to
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identify the key lessons and experience that are of value across the industry, in order to focus
efforts on continued development in the operational excellence of flexible pipe systems.
The JIP builds and develops on the shared experience through a series of industry
initiatives dating back to the late 1990s. The report is not intended to specify a minimum
standard, as most flexible pipe systems have their unique challenges with specific integrity
issues to be addressed, however it does provide integrity engineers and managers with a
comprehensive review of, and technical guidance relating to, flexible pipe integrity
management.
Flexible pipe population statistics were collated in order to better understand the general
trends relating to flexible pipe usage, and to support the quantification of risks relating to
damage and failure of flexible pipe. The global population statistics were derived by combining
desensitized datasets from each of the established manufacturers relating to their global supply
experience. The approach of using manufacturer datasets provides the most comprehensive
historical population database. The JIP applied age-based adjustment factors to the as-supplied
statistics, based on engineering judgement, to establish the timeline for the as-installed
population.
The report of the Sureflex JIP is available on Oil & Gas UK’s website.

2.2. Flexible Pipe Population Statistics

Table 1 summarizes the total supplied inventory of flexible pipes, in terms of the number
of individual pipe sections the total supplied length per application type. The database includes
over 17,500 sections of pipe, which account for a total supplied length in excess of 15,750km.
Table 1. Population Database, Total Supplied Inventory (unadjusted)

Pipe Type Total Flexible Pipes Supplied Average Pipe

Section Length
Sections of Pipe Length
(number) (% of total) (km) (% of total) (m)
Riser – Static 264 1.5% 226 1.4% 855
Riser – Dynamic 4,609 26.3% 3 331 21.1% 723
Riser (unspecified) 73 0.4% 21 0.1% 289
Flowlines 8,747 49.8% 11 419 72.5% 1 305
Jumpers 3,144 17.9% 370 2.4% 118
Unspecified 712 4.1% 385 2.4% 541
Totals (Average) 17,549 100.0% 15 752 100.0% 898

The population database captures over 40 years of flexible pipe manufacturing

experience, dating back to the commercialization of the technology in its current form in the
early 1970s, and the progression of the technology capability is demonstrated over this time.
The product of the design pressure (bar) and the pipe inner diameter (mm) provides a
good indication of a pipes strength capability to resist internal pressure. The JIP demonstrates
an increasing trend of this P x ID parameter through the historical timeline. This shows that
whilst there is a general trend of increasing capacity up to a maximum of ~15MN/m, the vast
majority of flexible pipes supplied to date (~75%) have been designed with more modest
capacities below ~5MN/m. Figure 1 presents a scatter plot of the database experience, showing
Design Pressure and Inner Diameter, with superimposed lines of constant P x ID.

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1100
1000 PxID Experience
Design Pressure (bar) 900
800 P*ID (5MN/m)
700 P*ID (10MN/m)
600
500 P*ID (15MN/m)
400
300
200
100
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550
Inner Diameter (mm)

Figure 1. Industry Experience, Flexible Pipe Design Pressure vs Inner Diameter

Similar progressions over time to deeper water applications are also evident, as detailed
within the JIP report, with all applications prior to mid-1990s being designed for depths of less
than 750m water depth, and deepest applications (post-2010) in the region of 3000m. To date,
the majority of the population has been designed for shallower depths i.e. ~54% depths less
than 500m.
A number of additional database parameters are reviewed in more detail in the JIP report
as summarized below:
• 66% of pipes were designed for sweet service conditions (34% for sour conditions),
• 89% of pipes were of a rough bore design (11% were smooth bore / no carcass),
• Inner diameters range from 1 to 19 inches, although the vast majority of flexible
pipes supplied to date (>90%) have diameters of less than or equal to 10 inches.
Based on the population database, a timeline of the cumulative flexible pipe length
delivered was developed for a range of pipe applications. The operational experience of flexible
pipes in “pipe-years” from 1976 to 2016 was then computed, as shown in Figure 2, with data
presented in 5-year blocks for both Riser and Flowline & Jumper experience. This approach
acknowledges the significantly different applications of flexible pipe i.e. predominantly
dynamic vs static. This data is later utilized in conjunction with damage and failure experience
to calculate incident rates.

40,000 37,995
Flexible Pipe Operational Experience

35,000 Pipe-Years Experience - Risers

31,007
in Period (pipe-years)

30,000 Pipe-Years Experience - Flowlines & Jumpers

25,000 22,810

20,000 17,720

15,000
11,258 15,982
10,000 12,601
6,443
9,350
5,000 2,543 6,605
582
3,801
0 137 2,446
1,019
1976 to 1981 1981 to 1986 1986 to 1991 1991 to 1996 1996 to 2001 2001 to 2006 2006 to 2011 2011 to 2016
Year

Figure 2. Flexible Pipe Operational Experience during 5-year Periods

Sureflex JIP presents the Damage and Failure database which is populated with 584
individual incidents. Table 2 shows the three largest contributors for grouped Damage / Leak /
Rupture. More detailed descriptions, discussion, and mitigations relating to the most critical
Damage and Failure causes are presented in the report.
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Table 2. Population Database, Total Supplied Inventory (unadjusted)

3. Analysis of the selected SGSS’s topics

3.1. Integrity Management

On item 23.1.1, SSGO states that operator shall establish the minimum requirements to
be considered for integrity management throughout the Subsea System life cycle in order to
anticipate, prevent, manage and mitigate potentially hazardous conditions and exposures of the
Workforce to these conditions. SSGO also states that the Integrity Assessment methods should
include the evaluation of Failure Modes and Mechanisms (item 23.4.1.2). Sureflex JIP provides
data of flexible failure and damage mechanisms showing the number of cases by status
(installed, operating, shutdown, etc.) pipe the relating to flexible pipe usage, and to support the
quantification of risks relating to damage and failure of flexible pipe.
Table 3. Flexible Pipe Failure/Damage Mechanisms (extract of the table)

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The JIP included an extensive review of the range of flexible pipe inspection and
monitoring technologies. This was conducted through a number of workshops and meetings
during the course of the JIP. Feedback on experience of use was also sourced through
questionnaires and interviews with pipe operators.
Figure 3 provides a summary of the technologies reviewed, identifying:
• Whether the method is used for monitoring or inspection / testing,
• Industry take-up scored on a scale from 1 to 5 based on feedback from members of
the JIP and non-member operators. A “1” represents a technology or method that
has limited or specific applications or is not routinely deployed, whilst a “5”
represents a technology or method that represents common practice across the
industry. It should be noted that this score does not reflect the appropriateness of a
given technology only its relative frequency of use.
• JIP feedback, qualitative feedback on the experience of using the technology on a
scale from 1 to 5. For this measure, “1” is representative of a technology where the
operator has either had a negative experience, the results required a lot of
interpretation to be understood, or where the technology required significant
modifications in order to be deployed for use. A “5” is representative of a positive
experience, clear results that require minimal interpretation, or an “off the shelf”
deployment.
• The technology readiness level (TRL), specific to which pipe layer(s) the
technology applies. This is an indication of the readiness for use of a specific
technology for a specific application. The reported TRL level is principally based
on the vendor presentations and qualitative operator feedback / experience shared
during JIP committee meetings, and the API RP 17N definitions are utilized from
Level 0 (Unproven Concept) to Level 7 (Field Proven).

Figure 3. Inspection & Monitoring Methods: TRL / Take-up / Industry Feedback

3.2. Identification of the critical elements

SSGO requires that the operator shall identify the critical elements for the safety
operational. ANP also states that operator shall describe the main function of the critical
elements and their mainly features. (item 15.2). Sureflex JIP provides a data that allows operator
identify the critical elements on the flexible pipe.
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Figure 4 shows Flexible Pipe Failure/Damage Mechanisms which helps to the operator
to identify critical elements in a flexible pipeline. Sureflex JIP also provides failure data
regarding Riser (static and dynamic), flowlines and jumpers.

Figure 4. Flexible Pipe Failure/Damage Mechanisms

3.3. Project

When an operator is defining in the FEED phase the design options for a subsea field,
good data can help in design decisions, especially in the decision of applying flexible or rigid
pipe. When it comes to flexible pipe, it is still apparent among some within the industry that
flexible pipe is regarded as more “risky” than conventional rigid pipelines. This perception is
often due to an understanding that flexible pipe is a complex, multilayer product with a large
range of potential failure mechanisms. Furthermore, relatively high-profile failure modes have
occurred in the past which have cast some doubt on the robustness of this comparatively new
technology.
However, the Damage / Failure statistics presented in Sureflex JIP demonstrate that,
even though new failure modes are being observed as the technology matures, the actual failure
rates for both Risers and Flowlines & Jumpers have been in decline since the mid-1990s.

3.4. Life Extension

On the section 25.1 SGSS states that operator shall establish the minimum requirements
necessary to extend the life of Subsea Systems. In fact, SGSS presents degradation statistics
data presenting the cause and pipe status (installed, operating, shut-down, etc.) for different
flexible pipes:
• All Pipe (an extract of this information is shown in Figure 5)
• For risers only
• Flowlines & Jumpers only

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Figure 5. Flexible Pipe Failure/Damage Mechanisms (all pipe)

4. Conclusions

This paper presents the final conclusions:

• The Sureflex JIP has collated historical population statistics relating to every
flexible pipe manufactured up to the end of 2015. The detailed population database
enables an improved ability to assess risk relating to damage and failure
mechanisms.
• The Sureflex JIP can help in the implementation with the SGSS’s integrity
management by providing flexible pipe failure and damage mechanisms data. The
JIP study also provides industry feedback regarding inspection and monitoring
methods to help operators identify how to mitigate the threats.
• Identification of critical, project and extension of life are SGSS’s topics that can
benefit of the JIP study
• Besides helping the application of SGSS as shown in paper, The Sureflex JIP can
be useful for manufacturers to improve the flexible line design’s reliability.

5. Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Wood for permitting and supporting the publication of
this paper.

6. References

ANP. Regulamento técnico do sistema de gerenciamento da segurança operacional de sistemas

submarinos (SGSS)
Oil & Gas UK’s. Flexible Pipe Integrity Management Guidance & Good Practice
https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/flexible-pipe-integrity-management-guidance-good-practice-
sureflex-jip/
SPE-186158-MS. Sureflex JIP: The Latest Flexible Pipe Operational Experience and Integrity
Management Guidance, I. MacLeod, J. Picksley and K. Cruickshank.