Patent ID: 7406738

Claim:
A thruster pig for sending through a pipe from an entrance facility to a receiving location by pumping a thrusting fluid into the pipe to force the pig forwards into the pipe, said thruster pig comprising: a body having a front end and a back end, the back end including a reaction surface to which said thrusting fluid applies a motive force, said body having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe; a seal circumferentially arranged on the pig operable to form a seal between the body and the pipe; a connector operable to releasably connect a return flow line to the pig, the connector including a shifting mandrel operable to activate upon the connector by pumping a ball through the return flow line, the ball being retained in the return flow line after opening the connector; a blanking device arranged to blank a bore left in the thruster pig as the return flow line is disconnected; the thruster pig operable to be urged forward through the pipe by the maintenance of a differential pressure over the pig by pumping a fluid into an annulus between the pipe and the return flow line while returning fluid through the return flow line; and the return flow line operable to be disconnected from the pig and retrieved from the pipe, wherein the thruster pig with the blanking device therein is operable to be urged forward to a pig receiving location by directing fluid into the pipe, wherein the blanking device comprises a blanking plug arranged to be set when the shifting mandrel is activated.