Top 5 ways the oil and gas sector can cut time, labor and costs in pipeline maintenance and construction
August 10, 2021
The COVID-19 crisis caused a historic decline in global oil demand—but it didn’t last long. Today, global oil demand is mirroring pre-pandemic levels and experts say the global oil demand is set to increase steadily every year between now and 2028 to help power the world to a cleaner energy future.1
Yet, tightening environmental regulations and a need to lower labor and fuel prices is placing tremendous pressure on oil and gas companies to meet growing demand while simultaneously improving efficiency. In the years ahead, the “winning” oil and gas companies will double down on cost and operational excellence. For many, this means adopting new pipeline equipment and operational strategies that improve productivity, lower overall investments, and give you the edge in project performance.
Here are 5 ways oil and gas companies can cut time, labor, and costs in pipeline maintenance and construction.
1) Increase the durability and reliability of your pipe facing equipment
The oil and gas sector operates in some of the harshest environments in the world. As a result, pipeline facing equipment used by oil and gas companies is more susceptible to damage and failure. In fact, the average oil and gas company experiences about 27 days of unplanned downtime per year due to unexpected equipment failure, which can amount to $38 million in losses.2
To eliminate the risk of unexpected equipment failure and maximize return on assets, oil and gas companies need rugged—yet lightweight—pipe facing equipment constructed with quality components to ensure dependable performance. The selection of a reputable manufacturer is critical to equipment reliability. In a niche market, expertise and experience is a guarantee of quality.
2) Utilize multi-function, versatile pipe facing equipment
Price and demand pressure in the oil and gas sector make the time- and cost-saving value offered by multi-function pipe facing equipment more important than ever. Tool changes mid-job quickly add up and throw a wrench in maximizing efficiency and productivity. Using a versatile tool capable of multiple operations can reduce investment costs up to 30% by eliminating the need for multiple machines and additional training.3
For example, Tri Tool’s TERRAMAX PFM is a highly versatile pipe facing and beveling machine for midstream pipeline operations that cuts time and labor with extended machining capabilities, such as the ability to perform counterbores. Ideal for projects that require special or unique machining capabilities, the improved modularity of the TERRAMAX PFM platform can be hardware configured for the facing range of 24” to 48” pipes and can cut up to 1.124” (31.75mm) wall thicknesses with minimal change-over time.
3) Ensure equipment is user-friendly with simple set-ups
One of the easiest ways to boost productivity and efficiency in the oil and gas sector is to ensure your equipment is user-friendly with a simple machine set-up. Here are three key technical features of pipe facing machines you should verify:- User control: Does your pipe facing machine offer user-friendly operator advantages for improved safety, performance, and productivity?
- The power-to-weight ratio: Having a pipe facing machine with an optimal power-to-weight ratio means lower on-boom weight resulting in rapid, easy positioning.
- Simplified hydraulics: Pipe facing machines with a two hydraulic hose connection, featuring a single pressure line and single return line, means the machine does not need two separate pumps operating simultaneously. This set-up significantly decreases the size and complexity of the system and makes the system much easier to integrate with your fleet of excavators, boom trucks or any stationary hydraulic power supply application.
4) Make your people more productive
Apart from having top-of-the-line equipment, you need personnel who are highly skilled and knowledgeable on how to best use your pipe facing machines. Investing in operator training helps cut down the time and costs involved in machining processes because your team is more efficient and can handle all functions with precision and reduced errors, which in turn helps boost company revenue.
Another way to make your people more productive is to bring additional manpower to your project site through the support of an experienced field services team. If your project is facing timeline constraints or an unscheduled downtime jeopardizes production, hiring a crew of highly trained pipefitters, machinists, and welders can help you stay online, on schedule, and on budget.
“As the oil and gas industry continues to face mounting pressure to increase efficiencies and remain competitive, field services teams can provide supplemental support during planned or unplanned downtime, or even emergency situations, to help oil and gas companies complete projects faster for maximum availability and profitability,” says Sara Henson, Vice President of Field Services at Tri Tool.
5) Customize equipment to meet the unique needs of your project
In the oil and gas industry, no two job sites are the same, but the priorities almost always are: safety and productivity. Not having the right pipe facing equipment to meet the unique needs of your site and project can cause schedule delays, incur more costs, or worse—cause safety and quality issues.If your site or project requires specialized equipment, partner with a company that can develop and manufacture custom engineering solutions perfectly suited to your job.
Tri Tool - A proven partner who goes deep to solve your toughest challenges, whether on land, offshore, or subsea
Around the world, Tri Tool keeps oil and gas projects moving forward every day. For over 49 years, we have worked closely with leading oil, gas, offshore and pipeline contractors to produce the most rugged and dependable pipe facing machines, internal weld alignment clamps and state-of-the-art multi-process, programmable orbital welding systems available. The result is that top petroleum producers, offshore fabrication, and pipeline contractors are selecting our field-proven equipment for the world’s largest projects.As an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Tri Tool specializes in custom engineered solutions and services. Our field-proven experience, ingenuity, and manufacturing resources enable us to develop MissionBuilt™ solutions for our oil and gas partners. We have produced countless variations of our standard equipment, including our popular and patented TERRAMAX PFM, and have built over 5,800 new machines and accessories to meet our customer’s specifications.
To learn more about Tri Tool’s TERRAMAX PFM and other precision machining and custom engineered tools and services for the oil and gas sector, please visit our website here.
References
- Thomson Reuters. (2021, April 21). Factbox: Pandemic brings forward predictions for peak oil demand. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pandemic-brings-forward-predictions-peak-oil-demand-2021-04-21/.
- Make data the new oil: Iiot-enabled predictive maintenance for oil and gas. Connected World. (2020, January 28). https://connectedworld.com/make-data-the-new-oil-iiot-enabled-predictive-maintenance-for-the-oil-and-gas-industry/.
- Yamazaki, T. (2016, March 11). Development of a Hybrid multi-tasking machine Tool: Integration of additive manufacturing technology with CNC Machining. Procedia CIRP. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827116004777.
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