In the field of energy transportation, the safe operation of oil pipelines is directly related to the lifeblood of the national economy and the safety of the ecological environment. In 2023, there will be a total of 37 pipeline leakage accidents across the country, of which more than 60% of accidents can be avoided with early warning. The online monitoring technology of oil pipelines is an intelligent solution born to solve this problem. Through real-time perception, data analysis and early warning intervention, it has built a 24/7 security protection network for thousands of kilometers of energy arteries.
This system is like installing a ”CT scanner” on a pipeline, using a multi-technology integrated monitoring method: optical fiber sensing technology can accurately locate abnormal temperature changes of 0.5℃ through buried temperature-sensing optical cables along the route, effectively detecting leakage points; acoustic wave monitoring system can capture the fluid in the pipeline.Voiceprint characteristics, accurate identification of abnormal activities such as drilling and oil theft; intelligent Yinbao monitoring terminal collects pipeline potential parameters in real time to give early warning of corrosion risks. After deploying the system, PetroChina Southwest Pipeline Company successfully warned of the danger of pipeline displacement caused by landslides in the Yunnan section and avoided a major leakage accident.
The traditional manual inspection method has obvious limitations: each person can inspect up to 15 kilometers of pipelines per day, and it is difficult to find underground hidden dangers. The online monitoring system has achieved three major breakthroughs: 7×24 hours of uninterrupted monitoring, and the response time is shortened from the hourly level to the second level; the monitoring accuracy reaches the centimeter level positioning, and micro-leaks as small as 0.1mm can be found; and the ability of big data analysis enables predictive maintenance. Statistics from the National Pipe Network Group show that the accident rate of the pipe section where the online monitoring system is deployed has decreased by 76%, the emergency response efficiency has been increased by 3 times, and the annual maintenance cost has been reduced by 42%.
The intelligent monitoring system consists of a three-layer architecture: the perception layer contains optical fiber vibration sensors, acoustic emission sensors, intelligent yin protection probes and other equipment, which are densely distributed on the pipeline like nerve endings; the transport layer adopts optical fiber +5G wireless hybrid networking to ensure signal coverage in harsh environments such as deserts and mountainous areas.The analysis layer deploys an intelligent algorithm platform to establish a model of normal working conditions through learning from massive amounts of data, and abnormal data triggers multi-level early warnings. The latest technology has even introduced a drone patrol system, which automatically completes high-definition shooting and AI image analysis of 300 kilometers of pipelines every week.
The system can identify six types of hidden dangers: leakage monitoring (sensitivity up to 0.5% flow change), third-party damage (excavator vibration recognition rate of 99%), geological disasters (early warning of slope displacement), corrosion defects (early warning of wall thickness reduction), equipment failure (abnormal diagnosis of pumps and valves), illegal operation(Pressure overrun alarm). When an abnormality is found, the system initiates an intelligent early warning process: first, a sound and light alarm is triggered in the dispatch center, and a text message is automatically pushed to the mobile phones of the 5 responsible persons, and an emergency response plan is generated simultaneously. In major emergencies, the valve can be directly linked to shut down. In a pipeline leakage incident in Shandong last year, it took only 78 seconds from the system alarm to the completion of shutdown.
Compared with traditional manual inspections, online monitoring has achieved five major improvements: detection accuracy has been increased from meters to centimeters; response time has been shortened from days to seconds; data records have changed from paper-based ledgers to digital twins; decision-making methods have changed from empirical judgment to data-driven; and the scope of protection has been extended from key segments toFull coverage. Especially in the application of long-distance pipelines, an average of 3 monitoring points are deployed per kilometer, which can save 350,000 yuan/100 kilometers in operation and maintenance costs per year compared to manual inspections. The application of the second line of west-east gas transmission shows that the payback period of the system is only 2.3 years.
The system has verified its value in a number of major projects at home and abroad: the China-Russia Eastern Natural gas pipeline deployed 3,065 monitoring points to realize intelligent monitoring of 3,818 kilometers of pipelines; Saudi Aramco applied acoustic monitoring technology to successfully warn of high-risk corrosion along the Persian Gulf Coast; the North Sea oilfield subsea pipeline adopts distributed optical fiber sensing technology,Monitor the stress changes of subsea pipelines in real time. The most exciting is a coastal petrochemical base, which warned of dangerous situations seven times in the first year of the system's operation, avoiding direct economic losses of more than 300 million yuan.
Depending on the length of the pipeline and the complexity of the terrain, the system investment is usually 80-3 million yuan/100 kilometers. The main cost composition: sensing equipment (45%), communication network (25%), software platform (20%), installation and commissioning (10%). The return on investment is mainly reflected in three aspects: the avoidance of direct losses caused by the reduction of safety accidents (an average of 1.5 million yuan/start); the reduction of maintenance costs (a 60% reduction in labor); and the additional conveying capacity brought about by efficiency improvement (an increase of 3-5%). National pipe network calculations show that the input-output ratio of the intelligent monitoring system is 1:7.8, and the service life is more than 10 years.
Online monitoring of oil pipelines is developing in the direction of intelligence and integration: a new generation of systems will integrate digital twin technology to build virtual pipelines to achieve predictive maintenance; artificial intelligence algorithms are upgraded to a self-learning type, and unknown risk patterns can be discovered without manual labeling; drones and robots patrol to form an integrated network of open spaces; 5G+BeidouThe technology realizes centimeter-level positioning and millisecond-level transmission. What is more worthy of expectation is the application of quantum sensing technology. In the future, it can realize 1,000 kilometers of ultra-long-distance non-relay monitoring, and the detection sensitivity will be increased by two orders of magnitude.
With the scale of China's oil and gas pipeline network exceeding 180,000 kilometers, online monitoring technology has become the core guarantee for the safe operation of pipelines. It is recommended that pipeline companies choose appropriate technical routes based on pipeline characteristics, give priority to the construction of high-risk section monitoring systems, and realize full-coverage intelligent monitoring in stages. Online monitoring of petroleum pipelines is not only a technological upgrade, but also a change in management model, and ultimately a new ecosystem of intelligent pipeline network with full life cycle and full process control is built.
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