Applus+, through its commercial brand JANX, was successfully awarded the complete non-destructive testing (NDT) scope for the Rover project, a 713-mile interstate natural gas pipeline in North America.
The
Rover Pipeline is an interstate natural gas project that will transport 3.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets in the Midwest, Northeast, East Coast, Gulf Coast and Canada. Once complete, the pipeline will have direct deliveries to Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, and into the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada, which has a broader network of distribution points back into the US, the Northeast and the Canadian market. Approximately 70% of the pipeline passes under agricultural land and runs parallel to existing pipelines, power lines and roadways.
The pipeline is owned and operated by Energy Transfer, while the contractor Precision Pipeline awarded the NDE scope. Applus+, through its commercial brand
JANX, won the contract and will act as the sole supplier for the
inspection of the pipeline’s girth welds. While recent years have shown increased willingness on the part of construction contractors and operators to grant large scopes of work to single vendors, there are very few suppliers in North America that have the resources, capabilities, and experience to deliver on these large-scale projects.
Due to its personnel and equipment resources, Applus+ is well positioned to secure large contracts of this nature. In addition to the considerable personnel and equipment demands for a project of this size, the varying terrain and inspection methods makes for an operationally challenging project.
Welds are inspected using our proprietary
automated ultrasonic testing (AUT) system, Rotoscan. This system uses acoustic signals emitted by system probes at various angles to travel through the weld. Any imperfections in the weld are reflected by the acoustic signals, efficiently assessing the integrity of the weld.
Although the Rover pipeline crosses through rugged terrain, making accessibility challenging at times, the highly skilled and qualified team at Applus+ is experienced in overcoming the difficulties of working in such conditions. At the height of the project, Applus+ had 100 employees onsite, working over 200,000 hours. The project combined conventional Gamma X-Ray inspections with an advanced AUT method, demonstrating the company’s expertise in deploying, managing and executing large-scale projects.
Through close collaboration and partnership with the construction contractor, Applus+ was able to complete multiple pre-job visits to assess the terrain and respond accordingly. The team’s knowledge and expertise proved key in advising on inspection techniques to support the welding production while maintaining crew safety and high levels of operational excellence.
The scale of the project - particularly its high resource demand and tricky terrain - presented interesting challenges, which were ably met by Applus+ experience, technology and qualified personnel.