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Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay, SF J Laser Optics, 2017, 1:1

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Research Article Open Access

Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil &

Gas Pipelines
*
Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay
*
Independent Consulting Engineer. Kolkata, India

Abstract
Pipelines are one of the best and cheapest modes of transportation of liquid products over long distances
from producing to processing and consuming centers. This mode of transportation is also useful for solid products
in the form of slurries. Once constructed and operated properly, pipelines carry on uninterrupted flow unless their
integrity is disturbed by external actors like leaks, ruptures due to ground settlement or externally applied heavy loads
from surface transports. In earlier days, monitoring the performance of pipelines was a difficult task. The means of
measurement of the key performance indicators was through pressure, temperature, quantity of flow between two
selected locations on the pipeline. The task of identifying and finding the location of damage was time consuming
and expensive, sometimes requiring shut down of the pipeline and associated facilities for prolonged periods , causing
loss in revenue and non-availability of the products. With the invention and use of Fibre Optic cables, the pipeline
transportation technology has drastically improved. Fibre Optic cable was conceptualized in around 1925 where it was
discovered that light waves transmitted through optical fibres made from glass particles, can carry huge amount of data
like temperature, pressure, volume of flow, density of the fluid over long distance without loss of quality . After lot of
research in this field, the first Fibre Optic cable was manufactured in 1950 and with its use, the pipeline transportation
technology received a quantum improvement in performance. New pipelines constructed thereafter, started using Fibre
Optic cables, running along the pipelines as continuous sensors to detect and identify exact locations of damage and
take appropriate actions to rectify the same to prevent prolonged shutdowns of the pipelines.

Keywords when monitoring of a large number of locations is required

Fibre Optic Cable; sensors; Gas Pipelines;
Distributed Temperature Sensors
Introduction
Fibre Optic cable Monitoring through Distributed
Temperature Sensors (DTS)
The DTS system . A distributed Temperature
Sensor is a device with a linear measurement capability
over the entire pipeline length and is sensitive to the
measurement at any of its points. The sensors consist of a
single optical fiber sensitive over its entire length. A single
In the following paragraphs , the principles of pipeline
performance monitoring , will be discussed briefly. The
pipeline integrity is largely damaged through leaks caused
by both external causes explained earlier and also through
various forms of corrosion of the pipeline steel material. It
is now possible to measure the pipeline wall thickness in
situ by the use of Distributed Temperature Sensors (DTS)
*Corresponding author: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay, Independent
Consulting Engineer. Kolkata, India. E-mail: nbandyopadhyay@hotmail.com
Received June 20, 2017; Accepted July 11, 2017; Published July 25,2017

distributed fiber optic sensor could, therefore , perform
the functions of large number of specific point sensors.
The low fiber attenuation enables monitoring over long
distances up to 25 to 40 km lengths which represent
adequate number of measuring points. This makes the
distributed sensing technique a very attractive solution
Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to
upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser Optics1:1.
Copyright: © 2017 Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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 Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser Optics 1:1.
which measure the temperature gradient between ambient
outside medium and the liquid flowing. Since temperature
gradient is a function of material conductivity and in turn
the material thickness that separates the two media, the
data transmitted through fibre optic cables to the nearest
monitoring station , can be analyzed through Analyzer
and accurate information recorded on the pipeline wall
thickness .The temperature of a fluid flowing inside a
pipeline rises due the energy imparted by the prime movers
like pumps and compressors and various obstructions like
valves and appurtenances and pipe friction. So at a leak,
the fluid comes out into the pipeline surrounding material
like soil, rocks, land fills. As a result of the leakage, the
temperature of the fluid falls due to Joule Thomson effect
In a similar way, when a leak develops in the pipeline, the
flowing liquid , at a higher temperature and pressure suffers
a drop in temperature and in effect lowers the temperature
of the surrounding soil medium. A Fibre Optic Cable with
DTS , will detect the change and transmit to the analyzer
which will measure the exact location and the size of the
leak.
Monitoring the Strain in the pipeline
Fibre Optic DTS system can have capabilities
of measurement of strain in the pipeline. The strain can
occur due to local settlement of the soil under the pipeline
resulting from earthquake or deliberate excavation for
pilferage from the pipeline and also from thermal reasons.
To achieve this objective , the optical fibre cable must
be bonded with the pipeline along the entire length and
must have adequate mechanical strength and chemical
resistance properties. For this purpose, normally a a glass
fiber reinforced thermoplastic with polypropylene amide
matrix can be used . Where both temperature and strain
in the pipeline has to be monitored, Combined Strain
and Temperature Sensing: SMARTprofile sensors need
to be used . The SMARTprofile sensor consists of strain
and temperature sensors in a single package. This sensor
consists of two bonded and two free single mode optical
fibers embedded in a polyethylene thermoplastic profile.
The bonded fibers are used for strain monitoring, while
the free fibers are used for temperature measurements
and for compensating temperature effects on the bonded
fibers. Redundancy in the monitoring system must be
provided for any eventuality in strain and temperatures.
This redundancy is provided by two additional fibers for
both strain and temperature monitoring. The profile itself
provides good mechanical, chemical, and temperature
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resistance. The size of the profile makes the sensor easy
to transport and install by fusing, gluing, or clamping. The
SMARTprofile sensor is designed for use in environments
often found in civil, geotechnical, and oil and gas
applications. SMARTprofile sensors have limitation in
use in extreme temperature condition or in environments
with high chemical pollution. It is not recommended for
installation in regions under permanent UV radiation. A
DTS system when combined with strain measurement
capabilities is known as DSTS system or Distributed Strain
and Temperature Sensor system . These sensors have long
range , nearly 100 kms sensing capabilities and suitable for
pipelines and large civil Engineering structures.
These sensors are highly economical in optical
telecommunications to provide high resolution long-
range monitoring at a cost per kilometer that is unmatched
with any other technology. Today’s DSTS offers cost
and technical advantages in applications such as pipeline
monitoring, bridge monitoring, dam monitoring, power line
monitoring, and border security / perimeter monitoring.
These sensors are also excellent for the detection of
corrosion in large structures.
When a laser beam is injected into a Fibre Optic
, it suffers some scattering depending on the temperature,
strain and density of the optic material. These scattering
effects are known as Rayleigh, Raman and Brillouin.
Brillouin sensor identifies and reflects the scattering
effects of strained and unstrained regions of the pipeline
as shown below. To measure the Raman and Brillouin
scattering effects advanced and specialized optical time
domain reflectometers (OTDR) are used. These will not
be discussed here , in order to stay focused on the topic.
Figure. 1 Installation of Fibre Optic Strain and Temperature Sensors on
an In service oil & gas pipeline.
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 Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser Optics 1:1.
Background
An onshore oil & gas exploration and production
company in India operating over 100 years had its main oil
& gas producing fields in north eastern part of the country
, had also constructed a 1200 kms long oil & gas pipeline
to deliver the products to a refinery located in another
location. This 1200 km pipeline has 9 pump stations and
17 Repeater stations to ensure uninterrupted flow of oil &
gas to the refinery. The pump stations are equipped with all
facilities for maintaining flow, pressure, metering, pipeline
pigging collection of all performance data and operate
through SCADA on VHF/UHF telecommunication. The
link between pump stations and field headquarter is by
UHF communications and between Repeater stations by
VHF systems. The pump stations are manned whereas the
Repeater stations unmanned. The pipeline operation and
routine maintenance are carried out by SCADA system but
regular inspection of the pipeline integrity is done by a
leased helicopter which flies low over the Pipeline ROW
to detect if there is any leak or damage to the pipeline from
ground settlement or pilferage. This is not a full proof
method and is very expensive. Therefore it was decided
to carry out pipeline integrity monitoring with latest Fibre
Optic technology by installing single mode Fibre Optic
cables all along the pipeline in phases , between two pump
stations. The cables will be equipped with Distributed
Strain and temperature measurement sensors to monitor
the condition on 24 x 7 basis and prevent any sudden
breakdown and interruption in operation. Therefore, when
the project will be completed, the SCADA system will
look after the pipeline operation and Fibre Optic sensors
will ensure cent percent integrity.
Figure. 2
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Figure. 3
The pipeline was operated on SCADA system
through analog VHF and digital UHF telecommunication
and control . Pump stations in UHF and Repeater stations
in VHF systems. The pump stations were located at 100
+ kms. The repeater stations in between to reduce the hop
between the towers. The UHF towers were 100 to 150 m
height and the VHF towers at varying heights depending on
the hop length. Fibre Optic technology was not available
at that time therefore, as the oil production increased and
more refineries were set up , the need for upgrade of the
pipeline operation became absolutely necessary. Earlier,
the pipeline external condition monitoring in respect of
leaks or major damages were checked through low flying
helicopter services. The pipeline has large number of
road, rail, river and water body crossings and being at
the foot hills of Himalayan Range, the region is prone to
high seismicity causing landslides and ground settlement
, endangering the stability and integrity of the pipeline.
Helicopter survey monitoring was not only expensive but
inadequate to address the frequent requirements to identify
and repair damages of the pipeline. Therefore, it was
decided to upgrade the operation by phase installment of
Fibre Optic Sensors over the entire length of the pipeline.
In the following paragraph, a typical Fibre Optic DSTS
installation between two pump stations will be exhibited.
The estimated time period for complete installation and
commissioning of Fibre Optic Sensors in one pipeline
sector between two consecutive pump stations will be as
per the attached M.S Project Planning software.
Because the upgrade project will be dedicated to
the pipeline integrity in respect of leak detection, rupture
due to ground settlement from seismicity, excavation or
pilferage , corrosion etc, it is decided to install single
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 Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser Optics 1:1.
Figure. 4
Figure. 5
mode Fibre Optic cable with selected measurement
points. The large number of data related to pipeline
operation , pigging, pressure, temperature, viscosity of
the oil etc are being monitored through existing SCADA
system operating on VHF telecommunication system
which will be upgraded to UHF communication in the
second phase of pipeline upgrade project. With this
objective, the current upgrade project has been dedicated
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to ensure only pipeline integrity for which single mode
Optic cable has been selected to reduce cost and avoid
complexity in multipoint measurement gadgets and their
maintenance cost. Because the DTS requires only a single
cable, flexibly installed along the path or outline of the
temperature measurement object, the system configuration
becomes simple. The Fibre Optic cable used in the project,
will be long reach single mode Fibre capable of 70 m span
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 Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser Optics 1:1.

, will have a Temperature measuring range -5 °C to + Therefore, the decision for installing the Fibre Optic cable
60 °C Temperature resolution 0.7 °C linear resolution sensors to improve the pipeline performance was justified
0.8 m Operating temperature range – 10 °C to +65 °C to from both technical and financial angles.
meet all the specifications along the pipeline length Power Figure. 6
consumption 10 W or less .To reduce the scattering effects
like Rayliegh , Brillouin and Raman of light within the
optical fibres, high quality glass 62.5 micron size with
minimum impurity had been specified for the Fibre optic
cables.

Project Work Breakdown

The principal activities in laying and fixing the
Fibre Optic cable and Sensors have been ouitlined in
Project Planning network using MS Project software
shown above. Major work involved excavation of soil of
different types like clayey , alluvium, rocky, sandy, loam
etc to an average depth of 0.8 to 1.0 m and after laying
and fixing the cables on the pipeline, backfilling and
leveling the soil . Splitting, joining, fitting connectors ,
fixing the cable fibres on pipeline body by gluing, taping
and clamping as necessary were other major activities that
required skilled hands.
Economic Justification
Records available from the pipeline history
indicated that it had suffered leaks and ruptures due to
various external factors requiring prolonged shut downs
for repair. The total number of lost days during a particular
year requiring total shut down of the pipe line operation
from detection to repairs and recommissioning was, 56
days. Most of these occurred at various pipeline crossings
under National Highways where very heavy truck
transports run 24 x 7 and also near the Himalayan foothill
region where frequent landslides occurred due to tectonic
movements. Therefore , in addition to installation of
Fibre Optic cable sensors for early detection of damages,
simultaneous action was taken to lower the pipe line by
another 600 mm and install split casing protective pipes by
horizontal jacking under Highway crossings. Schematics
shown below.
The design capacity of the pipeline is 5 MMTPA
(Million Tons per Annum) which is equal to about 100,000
BBL/D. Therefore, approx. revenue loss in that year for 56
day total shutdown at crude oil international price of US$
40 per BBL is equal to US$ 224 Million. The estimated
cost of laying 100 kms Fibre Optic cables with sensors,
splitters, connectors, switches, civil work construction etc
@US$ 80,000 per km works out to about US$ 8.0 million.
Conclusions
The paper serves as a guideline for upgrading
old pipelines that needs to be decommissioned. With
marginal capital investment, their lives can be extended
and thus incurring extra cost for laying new pipelines
in replacement can be avoided or deferred. With vast
technological improvement in telecommunication and
tele control , product movement through pipeline , are
becoming cheaper and competitive . No general rule can be
framed but case-by-case study and appropriate action can
be taken to economize and reduce pipeline transportation
costs.
Acknowledgement
Various sources from internet and product
brochures.
References
1. Long Range Pipeline Monitoring by Distributed Fibre Optic
Sensing by Danide Inaudi & Branco GlisIc.
2. Enhanced Pipeline Monitoring with Fibre Optic Sensors. by
J.Fings. ILF Consulting Engineers Germany.
3. Distributed temperature Sensing   by- Yokogawa.
4. Various printed pamphlets in internet.
Citation: Nirmalendu Bandyopadhyay (2017) Fibre Optic Cable Sensors
to upgrade Performance of In Service Oil & Gas Pipelines. SF J Laser
Optics1:1.

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