We deliver across the pipeline life cycle
Our Expertise
- Pipeline alignment sheets
- Routing plans
- Typical crossing drawings
- Major/HDD crossing drawings
- Pipeline stress analysis
- Line lowering analysis
- HDD pullback plan analysis
- Buoyancy control design
- In-service lowering of existing lines
- Global buckling assessment
- Geohazards evaluations
- Class location change
Planning
- Route Selection
Retirement
- System evaluation for abandonment
- CWP for pipeline abandonment
Operations
- Condition monitoring
- Engineering evaluation of design in operating conditions
- Engineering evaluation of change in service fluid
- Engineering evaluation of damage incidents
- Engineering evaluation of failure incidents
- Addition of new facilities / facility types
Construction
- Construction and commission supports
- Line lowering procedure
Application
- Design of pipelines and pipeline assemblies
- Design of typical and major pipeline crossings including HDDs
- Material specifications
- Stress analysis and strain based design
- Testing and examination requirements
- Material requisitions and technical bid evaluations
- Regulatory Application Support
Pipeline Design
Our pipeline engineering team has been involved in some of the challenging pipelines projects over the past decade. Our design capabilities are well supported by our in-house tools. We provide our clients practical and accurate solutions for their pipeline designs. Our experts can also help you with preliminary routing studies to advanced geohazard evaluations as required by the project needs.
We provide solutions tailored to our client’s requirements. For upstream producers, we provide fit-for-purpose pipeline routing plans that meet all Provincial regulatory requirements. For transmission companies, our team provides detailed alignment sheets that cover all aspects of pipeline design and Federal regulatory requirements.
Our team has designed pipelines to CSA Z662, ASME B31.4 and ASME B31.8.
NC Tool in Spotlight
pROUTE automates the generation of pipeline alignment sheets or pipeline routing plans based on the survey data using GIS.
New Pipelines
Construction Support
Our team supports the construction contractors with technical RFIs on a priority basis. Besides, we can support construction contractors with line lowering plan evaluations and validations. Similarly, we can validate HDD pull-back plans. Our in-house tool pBUILD ensures that we can respond to such queries on a priority basis.
Existing Pipelines
Pipeline Retirement
Our experts can help you prepare regulatory packages and the design documents required to safely abandon or retire pipelines and associated aboveground facilities. Our services include notification to regulatory bodies, engineering assessments, consultation with stakeholders, project execution and project closeout.
HDD Design
Our combined geotechnical and stress analysis capabilities enable us to generate optimal HDD designs. We have designed bore crossings of varying complexity and lengths (from mini-HDDs to critical crossings).
Our in-house HDD design tool, pBORE ensures highest quality by providing accurate, consistent and fully automated engineering calculations. Our geotechnical team quantifies the risks associated with each bored crossing to ensure fit-for-purpose field testing program is established to gather all relevant geotechnical data for bore path design.
Our HDD project team is capable of handling your complete HDD Design project including Geotechnical field testing, regulatory permit management, detailed HDD design, construction support, HDD pullback stress analysis etc.
NC Tool in Spotlight
pBORE is a fully automated HDD design tool. By taking pipe properties, design conditions, soil properties, ground profile, and other environmental parameters into account, pBORE offers a complete HDD design package to our valuable Client.
New Pipelines
HDD Project Engineering
Our experts assist in early stages of HDD planning and design by performing
- Site selection
- Constructability reviews
- Feasibility and cost analysis
- Permitting requirements
- Pull back area and workspace analysis
Geotechnical
Geotechnical Survey for HDD
Our integrated project approach covers all aspects of HDD design from field testing to final HDD drawings under one roof. If access permits are required, our regulatory specialists can arrange all necessary permits for geotechnical fieldwork. We have an extensive network of local drilling contractors and geotechnical labs who execute borehole drilling and soil testing following safe work practices.
Stress Analysis
We have designed buried and aboveground pipeline according to CSA Z662, ASME B31.4 or ASME B31.8 depending on the jurisdiction and application. Our team is highly capable with software tools and has in-depth understanding of the industry codes, industry best practices and guidelines.
We are experienced in stress analysis of the following pipelines.
- Buried carbon steel pipelines
- Buried FRP pipelines
- Buried or at-grade HDPE pipelines
- Aboveground pipelines
- SAGD thermal pipelines to CSA Z662 Clause 14 or Annex I
We design new pipelines as well as evaluate existing pipelines.
NC Tool in Spotlight
pStress automates the pre-processing and post-processing of pipeline stress analysis performed in Dassault Systèmes Abaqus.
Existing Pipelines
ILI Data Based Stress Modelling
Our in-house In-line Inspection (ILI) data refining tool, pREFINE uses an advanced and robust algorithm to build your existing pipeline model in Abaqus from your raw ILI data. The tool is capable of handling raw data and post-processed data from ILI vendors. The generated datasets can be readily used in stress analysis software such as AutoPIPE, Caesar and Abaqus.
New/Existing Pipelines
Advanced Stress Analysis
Our Finite Element Analysis experts solve existing pipeline challenges related to stress induced corrosion, dents, and cracks etc. We also perform detailed engineering assessment studies for existing pipelines to meet regulatory requirements. We also perform advanced geohazard assessment (e.g. landslides, global buckling etc) for both new and existing pipelines
Geotechnical
We specialize in geotechnical aspects of the pipeline design, whether it is pipe-soil interaction for challenging soil conditions such as muskeg, mountainous terrain or geotechnical consideration for pipeline crossings.
Our team of experts is involved in full-scale testing and advanced numerical simulations to investigate the existing gaps in current pipe-soil interaction modelling for both new and existing pipelines. This includes but not limited to addressing the gaps in ALA (2005), PRCI (2009) and PRCI (2017), improving the current geohazard assessment practice through studying the various patterns of permanent ground deformation (PGD), including advanced pipe-soil interaction effects into stress and strain based design and integrity assessment of buried pipelines, etc.
Our geotechnical experts participate in constructability reviews for HDD crossings and define the field testing program for geotechnical investigations to support HDD bore path design.
NC Tool in Spotlight
pTERRAIN is a fully automated geotechnical terrain mapping tool. By using the available literature, existing provincial and federal soil datasets, and a robust wetland information, pTERRAIN offers the existing soil information including soil types, and associated strength properties for your complete pipeline..
New Pipelines
Pipeline Geohazard Assessment
We help our clients to identify non-intrusive, baseline, screening level assessment to determine general level of threat, likelihood of failure, and vulnerability for their pipeline assets.
Combined with proprietary GIS geo-processing, we generate susceptibility mapping for preliminary evaluations that feed to valuable risk assessment and pipeline life cycle management.
New/Existing Pipelines
Advanced Pipe-soil Interaction Analysis
We have conducted several advanced pipe-soil interaction analyses through 3D continuum modeling in Abaqus. If your specific pipeline section, e.g. an overstressed bend requires advanced FE assessment, our team of experts can dig deeper into the problem by leveraging the benefits of the 3D continuum FE analysis using advanced soil constitutive models.
