Following the success of the first two Virtual Pipeline Summits (VPS) in June and October, also for the third VPS on 9 December 2020 more than 600 participants are expected to join online. Focus topic of the 3rd VPS will be “Advances in the Inspection of Challenging Pipelines”.

Until not so long ago the pipeline inspection world was divided into “piggable” and “unpiggable”. In the meantime these boundaries have become blurred. Thanks to advances in inline inspection technologies those pipelines formerly considered unpiggable can be inspected in many cases from the inside, whilst pipelines that can truly only be accessed from the outside can be inspected and assessed using manual or automated external inspection solutions and a variety of direct assessment procedures. Because of the choices available, today it is much more appropriate to refer to traditional pipelines and challenging pipelines when it comes to inspection and integrity assessment.

When inspecting a challenging pipeline rather than a traditional pipeline, there are many challenges regarding accessibility, cleanliness, operating conditions, passage restrictions, tool tracking, defect assessment and risk mitigation. All these factors have to be taken into account regarding the pipeline integrity management process.

Today pipeline operators can choose from a wide range of specialized technology and service providers for their specific inspection projects. The 3rd Virtual Pipeline Summit will address the issues and provide a comparative overview of the various solutions on the market.

Interested pipeline professionals are invited to join the summit free of charge: https://www.pipeline-virtual.com/.