GEOG July 2005 Newsletter - North American Edition


The continent’s most advanced Pipeline Inspection & Integrity Services team

Our staff, including project managers, integrity engineers, field technicians, data analysts, sales and support personnel, have helped make GE Energy one of the leading companies in the North American pipeline-solutions sector. With offices in Houston, Kansas City, Mexico City, Calgary and Toronto, we are well-placed to offer superior customer service and product innovations wherever they are needed. The key is that the team is backed by the vast resources of GE, including its dedicated, global network of pipeline specialists as well as many other experienced oil and gas professionals. Our North American sales team is split into three regional teams designed to offer customers more responsive service and particular attention to the specialized needs of their region. N.A. Team Leader Keith Luomala Northern Region Daryl Ronsky Dan Binette Myles Dykun Mike Niosi Western Region Chris Callinan Jim Stimson Richard Fletcher Southern Region Mark Slaughter Michael O'Brien Clay Goudy Terry Noble Dave Cammack Chad Neihaus Lisa Stringer Ian Skinner Our North American facilities provide important support for our global operations. Local workshops accommodate and maintain an expanded fleet of tools for use throughout the world. Our fleet of tools includes MagneScan™, UltraScan™ and caliper inspection tools, plus cleaning pigs for pipelines between 3 and 56 inches in diameter. In addition to expanding our fleet of tools, GE Energy’s pipeline solutions team maintains a high degree of involvement in local industry events and associations, participating in seminars and conferences on pipeline engineering, delivering leading-edge technical presentations, and offering one-to-one advice to pipeline operators. Our Strengths GE Energy's pipeline business has offered high-end pipeline inspection and integrity services for more than 25 years. We provide pipeline operators with easy access to the most comprehensive selection of world-class in-line inspection, integrity-assessment and data-management services. Our people are leaders in the pipeline inspection industry, offering more tool technologies and more enhanced data acquisition and analysis methodologies than any other pipeline integrity company. Our heritage of continual technological advancement has resulted in an array of inspection tools that deliver increasingly precise information and reports tailored to operators’ unique decision-making needs. We offer advanced proprietary analysis software, including LAPA™ and RUNCOM™ which enable our customers to better evaluate defects, develop reliable projections of corrosion growth and minimize the need for validation digs. These advanced assessment techniques form the basis for our broader scope of pipeline integrity services. We offer technological expertise, field experience, and advanced data management capabilities essential to meeting increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and enhancing the safety, productivity and asset life of pipelines.		In-line Inspection We offer reliable metal loss, crack detection, cleaning, geometry and mapping capabilities, using the widest range of tool technologies, industry-leading analysis methods and more inspection experience than any other pipeline integrity company. Not only do we offer these services, but we are continually developing technologies that drive the industry forward to safer and more effective inspection procedures. Some of our latest advancements are discussed in this newsletter, including the new SmartScan™ technology that is pioneering previously unpiggable pipelines with high-resolution metal-loss detection and location capabilities. For pipeline operators facing more stringent regulatory guidelines, SmartScan inspections offer lower costs and higher confidence than DA or hydrostatic testing – giving pipeline operators the potential for multi-million-dollar savings. Pipeline Integrity Services GE Energy’s Integrity Services are designed to optimize the long-term balance between safety and profitability in increasingly competitive and regulated pipeline operations around the world. Our Integrity Management specialists understand the challenges in your particular environment and have the experience, planning expertise and tools necessary to help you achieve better cost management and productivity. Our service areas include: Risk & Integrity Management Planning Field Services Direct Assessment/Unpiggable Post Inspection Evaluation GIS & Data Management Decision Support Advanced Data Management The strengths of our pipeline inspection data and Integrity Services are seamlessly integrated by some of the most powerful and user-friendly software applications available in the industry today. Our PipeView™ Integrity suite of programs, for instance, is designed specifically for pipeline engineers and managers. It creates a single, web-enabled environment from which to warehouse and assess data, and control crucial pipeline integrity management processes. Software features include a simple yet comprehensive GIS reporting tool that allows multiple users access to securely share, query and report information. Another application (used stand-alone program or as an embedded tool in leading GIS systems like Smallworld, ESRI and Intergraph), manages the pipeline centerline, facilities, equipment, fixtures and encroachments in the pipeline right-of-way. Still other software tools let you use data directly from your pipeline database to generate high-quality alignment sheets with user-specified tabular and geographical information. And a combination of GPS-enabled, hand-held and laptop tools let you take current data to and from the field so your decisions can be based on the up-to-date information, no matter where or when you have to make them. Repair & Remediation With all the tools and services in place to provide the best possible inspection data, analysis and integrity planning for your pipeline, you have the power to better manage the lifecycle of your pipeline assets, and minimize or even prevent damage and deterioration. When remediation is necessary, as a proactive preventative measure or in critical situations, our expert pipeline repair services include everything you need – from recommendations and scheduling to project management and in-field execution. GE Energy’s crews have extensive experience applying the least disruptive repair techniques including Epoxy Sleeves and WrapMaster™ composites. Our goal is always to employ the safest, most efficient repair processes to minimize risk, repair expense and production downtime. For more information please contact: info.pii@ge.com MagneScan, LAPA, RUNCOM, UltraScan, PipeView are trademarks of PII Group Ltd. SmartScan is a trademark of General Electric Company. WrapMaster is a trademark of WrapMaster Inc.