Power Stop 101: Benefits & Why It’s Crucial in Pipeline Maintenance

Oil, gas, water, or chemicals are usually transported through pipelines and are under pressure and continuously flowing. A temporary halt in a pipeline can cause massive delays and loss of business. To avoid it, we offer a service called Power Stop. It is named after a live-line flow-isolation (line-stopping) technique of this name. It enables crews to securely isolate a section of a pipe to enable them to repair or modify it without shutting down the rest of the system. As it explains, line stopping is used when part of an active pipeline needs to be changed or altered. That is, Power Stop isolates a part of a pipe to perform maintenance without having to shut down the whole pipeline. it can perform such line stops on pipes with diameters between 2 inches and 66 inches and up to 80 bar pressure.

Power Stops Are Crucial

To have a power stop is to not need to shut down or drain the entire pipeline. That conserves gigantic time and money. It observes that downtime directly translates to lost revenue. In businesses such as oil and gas, there is damage each hour of downtime. Power Stop prevents this by maintaining the pipeline in service while performing maintenance. It describes that they offer pipeline services without shutdowns, such as line stopping, to keep your pipeline online safely. It points out that line stopping no shutdown time is required when performing maintenance. This allows maintenance to occur in real time: the isolated section is repaired by the crews while the rest of the system continues as usual. Minimizing a complete shut-down also saves money, decreases delays, and reduces safety and environmental hazards (because you don’t have to depressurize or drain the entire line). In short, Power Stop is vital because it allows pipelines to continue operation through upgrades or maintenance.

How Pts Groups Power Stop Service Works

It offers Power Stops as a tool via specialized equipment and orderly procedure. Simply stated, how they do it is as follows:

1. Install a Stop Valve on Pipe: Firstly, it welds or bolts a special fitting (which is called a Line Stop Tee and sandwich valve) to the live pipe. The fitting possesses a valve, which can be later closed.

2. Pressurized Pipe Drill: A hot-tapping machine is fixed to that valve. Under pressure, the drill makes an incision into the pipe. The machine punches a hole and retains the excised area (called a coupon) so that the fluid is not lost.

3. Inserting the Line Stop Plug: Once the drilling is done, it removes the drill is removed, and a hydraulic line stop head (a powerful expanding plug) is inserted through the valve. The plug swells against the walls of the pipes and blocks the flow at that section of the pipe completely.

4. Maintenance: Workers can conduct maintenance on that part when the flow is stopped by the plug. As an example, they might replace a valve or redirect a section of a pipe, all with the liquid or gas blocked by the plug, and a bypass line diverting the flow around the job.

5. Recover the Pipeline: After the work is over, remove the plug and close the valve fitting. The pipeline is re-pressurized and normal flow restored.

It uses its trained personnel and equipment in each of these steps. The beauty of the thing is that the drill and plug is done under live conditions and therefore, the rest of the plant does not have to be brought down, which in its own words is progressing as the line stop head is being withdrawn after work is accomplished and the product flow is resumed.

Benefits of Using Power Stops

The pipeline project has a lot of benefits of using a power stop (line stop). Some of the major advantages are:

 No Production Downtime: This pipeline will be able to continue operating through maintenance. It mentions that no production time is necessary with line stopping. This maintains the production and deliveries on time.

 Faster Repair: You do not depressurize and purge out the complete line, so work is done much quicker. Time is saved, and there are no long downtimes due to a complete shutdown.

 Greater Safety: Power Stop is very safe in the hands of professionals. They achieved zero leaks, zero emissions, and zero safety violations in their projects. In one of the case studies, it did not experience any leakage of any of its products, and no safety incident occurred in the use of tandem line stops. Maintaining the fluid in controlled conditions reduces the possibility of spills or accidents by a large margin.

 Cost Savings: The cost of not going offline leads to cost savings in lost production and the extra work. With the ammonia pipeline, it states that the plant faced a low cost when compared to shutdown. Power Stops can turn a multi-day shutdown task into a day fix.

 Continuous Operations: Service can be used to accomplish even detailed work. In their case study, they had full continuity of operations by the it team. Customers keep their pipelines healthy and in perpetual motion.

These are the benefits that render Power Stop a very irresistible opportunity whenever there is a need to repair, modify, or enhance any section of a live pipeline.

Case Study: Power Stop in Action

The Pts Groups site gives real-life examples of how Power Stop works. As an illustration, it did a challenging venture at an Indian fertilizer plant. The task was to relocate approximately 60 meters of an active ammonia pipeline at a temperature of -20 °C and pressure of 25 bar without having to shut the line down. Here, the ammonia was toxic and very cold, so safety was paramount. It used a double tandem line stop (really two plugs side by side with a bypass line) to isolate the segment. This system saw a majority of the ammonia being passed through the bypass during working hours by the crew.

This proved to be successful. The procedure was done live and it did not claim any downtime or any safety concerns. Leakage and other activities were not affected. Concisely, the plant was operating as usual, and the costly shutdown was avoided. This is an example of its case studies of Power Stop fulfilling its claim that he pipeline was altered under pressure, efficiently and safely through line stops.

Read more: India’s First Double Tandem Line Stop on Liquid Ammonia Line – A PTS Milestone

Why Pts Group for Your Power Stop Requirement

The company has an experience forty years of experience in live-line pipeline activities. It defines itself by characterizing it as a solid trailblazer in live pipeline intervention that offers shutdown-free and high-accuracy services on its website. I.e., they work on projects, like Power Stops. They train their crews to handle the most challenging jobs, high pressure, hot and cold temperatures, and short deadlines-and they bring the latest tools to every job site. It stresses that through their line-stopping and hot-tapping expertise, they help customers keep their oil, gas, chemical, and fertilizer lines online.

In practice, this means that firms will be confident in it on the basis of their record and safety history. The example cited of the ammonia pipeline was driven by it, and it was a first in India as the first-ever double tandem line stop on such a chemical pipeline. These testimonials prove its Power Stop service and also give confidence to the prospects.

The choice of the Group to Power Stops is the choice of a company that has already had success in related high-risk employment. Expertise, specialized rig and equipment, and commitment to zero leak/zero downtime performance make them the ideal choice when it comes to any pipeline maintenance job that cannot afford to shut down.

Conclusion: Power Stop allows businesses to repair or replace pipelines without having to shut down. The Pts Groups’ careful work and experienced personnel ensure that such in-service repairs are successful. Power Stop is a part and parcel of pipeline maintenance because of its benefits, which include no downtime, great safety, and savings. It Groups Power Stop service is a proven option to consider on any project that needs a trusted, online flow-stop solution to keep your pipelines in operation.


Sources: pts Group pipeline services and case studies.

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