Detection of Leakage and Illicit Tapping by Means of Vibroacoustic Technology in a Challenging Regional Scenario
Authors: Marino M. , Gomes A. P. , Reynaud J. , Ekpikie O. , Giunta G. 
Published: October 2023

The objective of this paper is to present a vibroacoustic technology capable of detecting pipeline leak events caused by the attempted theft of pipeline products through unauthorized tapping of a buried pipeline section located in a challenging remote rural area in Nigeria. Spillages are extremely harmful as they often cause irreparable damage to the environment, create hazards for populated areas, and result in operational impacts for the Operator such as costly repairs, operational downtime, and remediation expenditures.

Vibroacoustic technology enables the detection excavation activities on the pipeline and illicit tapping and subsequent bunkering. Timely notification of such events would enable the avoidance of a potential spill event or product theft.

Pressure sensors and accelerometers installed along the pipeline record the vibroacoustic waves generated by pipeline events and within the fluid media and transmit the collected data to dedicated processing servers, in which noise removal, detection, and localization algorithms are run to generate alert data. The processing servers are placed in the pipeline operator’s facilities.

The technology presented in this work is operational on several pipelines in Nigeria, and it protects thousands of pipeline kilometers around the globe. The system has also demonstrated rapid detection and localization of spillage and impact events.

This paper presents the outstanding performance achieved by the technology, with real-time detection and localization of the unauthorized tapping of trunklines transporting crude oil in Nigerian swamps.

The application discussed below required several modifications to an existing installation, such as sensor upgrades for underwater and buried installations to overcome issues regarding geography, environment, and security. The installation of and modifications to the system were successful, with several unauthorized tapping events detected since the upgrade, exceeding the performance expectations for the upgraded system.

The timely and precise detection of events supported the pipeline operator in assessing the magnitude of the unauthorized tapping phenomenon and helped to better manage the response to threats, as shown in the cases displayed in this work.

A complete presentation of the challenges and the activities put in place to overcome them is part of the present work. It demonstrates how an integrated approach to a particularly challenging regional scenario helped the operator reach important milestones by leveraging a high level of organization between multiple parties.

The novelty of the vibroacoustic technology installation in Nigeria is the upgrade of the regular sensors: the new shallow water sensors are submersible up to 10m for swampy areas. The full flexibility in deployment options is an achievement that allows the system to be installed on a wide range of challenging environmental scenarios that require the sensors to be buried, concealed or operating in wet environments.