A recent landslide in a mountainous part of western Turkey affected a 1 kilometer (km) section of pipeline, requiring that 2 km of the 34-inch pipeline be rerouted, according to a statement from pipeline service provider T.D. Williamson (TDW). The company was contracted to perform a necessary preliminary stage of the reroute by performing a hot tap and plugging isolation intervention.

TDW provided engineering, design and project management for the operations, which also included in-service welding supervision, welding inspection, pre-heating and final non-destructive tests. A total of 20 taps ranging from 2 inches to 34 inches were carried out between Sept. 20 and Nov. 20, 2014.

The company used its standard STOPPLE pipeline pressure intervention method to achieve the isolation, which allowed for cutting, plugging and safe isolation of pressure of the sections without shutting them down. The operation also used TDW’s LOCK-O-RING Plus completion plugs, specially designed for the project.

After the lines were isolated, the contractor and the pipeline operator carried out the relocation without serious disruption or negative impact upon the environment.