PETRONAS TECHNICAL STANDARDS

MANUAL

OPERATIONAL PIGGING PHILOSOPHY

PTS 30.40.10.30
OCTOBER 2011

2011 PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (PETRONAS)

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the permission of the copyright owner.

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PREFACE
PETRONAS Technical Standards (PTS) publications reflect the views, at the time of publication, of
PETRONAS OPUs/Divisions.
They are based on the experience acquired during the involvement with the design, construction,
operation and maintenance of processing units and facilities. Where appropriate they are based on, or
reference is made to, national and international standards and codes of practice.
The objective is to set the recommended standard for good technical practice to be applied by
PETRONAS' OPUs in oil and gas production facilities, refineries, gas processing plants, chemical
plants, marketing facilities or any other such facility, and thereby to achieve maximum technical and
economic benefit from standardisation.
The information set forth in these publications is provided to users for their consideration and decision
to implement. This is of particular importance where PTS may not cover every requirement or diversity
of condition at each locality. The system of PTS is expected to be sufficiently flexible to allow individual
operating units to adapt the information set forth in PTS to their own environment and requirements.
When Contractors or Manufacturers/Suppliers use PTS they shall be solely responsible for the quality
of work and the attainment of the required design and engineering standards. In particular, for those
requirements not specifically covered, the Company will expect them to follow those design and
engineering practices which will achieve the same level of integrity as reflected in the PTS. If in doubt,
the Contractor or Manufacturer/Supplier shall, without detracting from his own responsibility, consult the
Company or its technical advisor.
The right to use PTS rests with three categories of users:
1)

PETRONAS and its affiliates.

2)

Other parties who are authorised to use PTS subject to appropriate contractual
arrangements.

3)

Contractors/subcontractors and Manufacturers/Suppliers under a contract with users

referred to under 1) and 2) which requires that tenders for projects, materials supplied
or - generally - work performed on behalf of the said users comply with the relevant
standards.

Subject to any particular terms and conditions as may be set forth in specific agreements with users,
PETRONAS disclaims any liability of whatsoever nature for any damage (including injury or death)
suffered by any company or person whomsoever as a result of or in connection with the
use, application or implementation of any PTS, combination of PTS or any part thereof. The benefit of
this disclaimer shall inure in all respects to PETRONAS and/or any company affiliated
to PETRONAS that may issue PTS or require the use of PTS.
Without prejudice to any specific terms in respect of confidentiality under relevant contractual
arrangements, PTS shall not, without the prior written consent of PETRONAS, be disclosed by users to
any company or person whomsoever and the PTS shall be used exclusively for the purpose they have
been provided to the user. They shall be returned after use, including any copies which shall only be
made by users with the express prior written consent of PETRONAS. The copyright of PTS vests in
PETRONAS. Users shall arrange for PTS to be held in safe custody and PETRONAS may at any time
require information satisfactory to PETRONAS in order
to ascertain how users implement this requirement.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 4

1.1

DISTRIBUTION, INTENDED USE AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS ........... 4

SCOPE ........................................................................................................................ 4

DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................. 5

3.1

GENERAL DEFINITIONS............................................................................................ 5

3.2

SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................ 6

3.3

CROSS-REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 6

PURPOSE OF PIGGING ............................................................................................ 7

4.1

CLEANING AND IMPROVING FLOW EFFICIENCY .................................................. 7

4.2

CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF PIPELINES ................................................................. 7

PHILOSOPHY OF PIGGING ...................................................................................... 8

5.1

NEW PIPELINES......................................................................................................... 8

5.2

PIPELINE NETWORK PIGGING................................................................................. 8

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 9

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

PIPELINE SCOPE BOUNDARIES .............................................................. 16

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INTRODUCTION
This PTS specifies minimum requirements and gives guideline and recommendations
in conducting Operational Pigging as part of managing the integrity of pipelines system
in onshore and offshore installations.
The company pigging philosophy is reviewed from time to time as part of the
continuous development of pipeline integrity management concepts. This revision takes
into account recent experience of operating pipelines within PETRONAS and additional
requirements on inspecting pipelines.

1.1

DISTRIBUTION, INTENDED USE AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise authorised by PETRONAS, the distribution of this PTS is confined to
companies forming part of PETRONAS or managed by a Group company, and to
Contractors and Manufacturers/Suppliers nominated by them.
This PTS is intended for use in oil refineries, gas plants, chemical plants, oil and gas
production facilities, supply/marketing installations, and pipelines system installations
within PETRONAS Group.
If national and/or local regulations exist in which some of the requirements may be
more stringent than in this PTS, the Contractor shall determine by careful scrutiny
which of the requirements are more stringent and which combination of requirements
will be acceptable as regards safety, environmental, economic, and legal aspects. In all
cases, the Contractor shall inform the Company of any deviation from the requirements
of this PTS which is considered to be necessary in order to comply with national and/or
local regulations. The Company may then negotiate with the Authorities concerned with
the object of obtaining agreement to follow this PTS as closely as possible.

SCOPE
This document presents the philosophy for the frequency at which these tools should
be used in order to maintain the integrity of pipelines.
Specific requirement for ILI and Pre-commissioning pigging is covered by the following:
1. PTS 30.40.60.31 Specifications and Requirements for Pipeline In-Line Inspection.
2. PTS 31.40.50.30 Pre-Commissioning of Pipelines.
The minimum technical requirements for Pigs for Use in Operational Pigging are
provided in PTS 30.40.60.32.
This PTS supersedes PTS 20.165 Pigging Philosophy dated April 1990 which has
been withdrawn.

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DEFINITIONS

3.1

GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Authorities are governing bodies that regulate the operation and maintenance of liquid
hydrocarbon pipeline systems.
Company is the party which owns part or all of the pipeline systems. The Company will
generally specify the technical requirements. The Company may also include an agent
or consultant authorised to act for, and on behalf of, the Company.
Contractor is the party which engaged by the Company to carry out integrity
management and/or maintenance and/or operation activities for the pipeline systems.
The Company may undertake all or part of the duties of the Contractor.
Consultant is the party which provides technical consultancy services and expertise to
perform duties specified by the Company.
Manufacturer is the party which manufactures and/or supplies equipment to perform
duties specified by the Company.
Operator is the party that owns or operate the pipeline system jointly with the
Company or otherwise.
Operational Pigging refers to the practice of using pigs to enable routine pipeline
cleaning, flow assurance, and corrosion mitigation without interrupting the flow of the
product in the pipeline.
Pipeline System is all parts of physical facilities through which hydrocarbon moves in
transportation, including pipe, valves, fittings, flanges (including bolting and gaskets),
regulators, pressure vessels, pulsation dampeners, relief valves, and other
appurtenances attached to pipe, compressor units, metering stations, regulator
stations, and fabricated assemblies. Included within this definition are hydrocarbon
transmission and gathering lines, including appurtenances, that are installed offshore
for transporting hydrocarbon from production facilities to onshore locations and
hydrocarbon storage equipment of the closed pipe type, that is fabricated or forged
from pipe or fabricated from pipe and fittings.

Pipeline Integrity Management System (PIMS) is an integrated management system

consisting of documentation, database and tools established for the purpose of
managing integrity of Liquid & Gas Hydrocarbon pipeline systems throughout its life
cycle.
Vendor is the party which supplies equipment and/or services to perform the duties
specified by the Company.
The word shall indicate a requirement.
The word should indicate a recommendation.

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3.2

SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS
Trunklines

A main transmission pipeline to which spurlines and offtake

lines may be connected

Gathering lines

A segment of pipeline, usually connected to form a network,

that transport hydrocarbon from one or more production
facilities to the inlet of processing plant/ most downstream of:
(1) the point of custody transfer of gas suitable for delivery to a
distribution system, or
(2) the point where accumulation and preparation of gas from
separate geographic production fields in reasonable proximity
has been completed.

3.3

Flowlines

Pipelines running from a satellite platform to a production

platform.

Gas lift lines

Pipelines which carry gas for lifting/ injection from (Also

injection) production or gas lift compression platform to a
satellite platform.

Vent lines

Pipelines used for venting the platform gas inventory.

SPM

Single Point Mooring is a device for mooring a ship and

transferring fluid between a pipeline and that ship

Cleaning

Use of pigs to clean a pipeline.

Inspection

Use of pigs capable conveying information about the physical

condition of the Pipeline.

Pig

A device which can be propelled through a pipeline by fluid

flow and normally used for cleaning, batching, inspection or
other activities.

Pig trap

An ancillary item of pipeline equipment, with associated

pipework and valves, for introducing a pig into a pipeline or
removing a pig from a pipeline.

CROSS-REFERENCES
Where cross-references to other parts of this PTS are made, the referenced section
number is shown in brackets. Other documents referenced in this PTS are listed in
Section 6.

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4

PURPOSE OF PIGGING

4.1

CLEANING AND IMPROVING FLOW EFFICIENCY

Operational pigging is generally used in pipeline integrity management to provide the
following.
a. Clean pipe wall
b. Prevent accumulation of sand, wax and scale build up from oil
pipelines
c. Remove black powder (iron sulphide), condensates, hydrates and/or
water dropout from gas pipelines
The main reason for requirement of pigging is to maintain the pipeline at its optimum
throughput capacity and also minimizing risk of pipeline failure due to internal
corrosion. The cleaning programme for the pipeline should be formulated so as to
minimise the buildup of wax and sand deposits, accumulation of debris and settlement
of liquids. If any of these conditions are expected during the lifetime of the pipeline,
then facilities for launching and receiving cleaning pigs should be installed.
The current PETRONAS philosophy is to assume that any of the above conditions
could occur and therefore to provide facilities for cleaning pigs, except for vent lines.

4.2

CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF PIPELINES

Chemicals used in treating oil and gas pipelines, such as pour-point depressants, flow
improvers, hydrate inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, and biocides should be coupled with
regular operational pigging to enhance their performance and efficiency. By removing
water hold-up, debris and other possible deposits, pigging activities will allow chemical
inhibitors to effectively reach the pipeline wall to coat the whole internal surface of the
pipe at regular intervals.
Pig batching or pig train method ensures that the chemical coats the internal pipe wall
by retaining a slug of inhibitor between two batching pigs.

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PHILOSOPHY OF PIGGING

5.1

NEW PIPELINES
The frequency of cleaning new pipelines shall be decided during FEED corrosion study.
The pigging programme for each pipeline should be risk-based and the risk shall be
evaluated periodically for any changes to the system such as:
1. Changes of operational parameters such as pressure, temperature, the
composition of medium, water content,CO2 content, H2S content etc.
2. Change of pipeline service
3. Deterioration mechanisms having exceeded the original assumption such as
internal corrosion rate
4. Unusual sand/debris/hydrates/wax accumulated at the receiver after operational
pig run

5.2

PIPELINE NETWORK PIGGING

Generally pigging of pipeline shall start at the furthest upstream leg of the network and
progress down towards the downstream section of the pipeline network. This is to
ensure effective removal of debris from the entire system.

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REFERENCES
In this PTS, reference is made to the following publications:
NOTE: Unless specifically designated by date, the latest edition of each publication shall be used, together
with any amendments, supplements or revisions thereto.

PETRONAS STANDARDS
Index to PTS publications and standard
specifications

PTS 00.00.05.05

Pipeline and Riser Engineering

PTS 20.214

Specifications and Requirements

for Pipeline In-Line Inspections

PTS 30.40.60.31

Pigs for Use in Operational Pigging

PTS 30.40.60.32

Design of Pig Trap System

PTS 31.40.10.13

Managing System Integrity of Gas Pipelines

(Amendments/Supplements to ASME B31.8S-2004)

PTS 30.40.60.13

Managing System Integrity for Liquid Hydrocarbon

PTS 30.40.60.14
Pipelines Amendments/Supplements to API 1160-2001)

AMERICAN STANDARD
Managing System Integrity for Hazardous Liquid Pipelines
API Standard 1160
1st Edition, NOV 2001
Issued by:
API Publishing Services,
1220 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005

Managing System Integrity of Gas Pipelines

ASME B31.8S-2004
Issued by:
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Three Park Avenue,
New York,
NY 10016-5990, USA.

NORWEGIAN STANDARD
Offshore Standards
DNV-OS-F101 /RP116
Submarine Pipeline Systems
October 2007
Issued by:
Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
Veritasveien 1,
NO-1322 Hvik,
Norway.

Recommended Practice

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DNV-RP-F116
Integrity Management Of Submarine Pipeline Systems
October 2009
Issued by:
Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
Veritasveien 1,
NO-1322 Hvik,
Norway.

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APPENDIX 1 DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF PIPELINE SCOPE BOUNDARIES