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LINDE CORPORATION EXPANDS HYDROSTATIC TESTING SERVICES
LINDE CORPORATION EXPANDS HYDROSTATIC TESTING SERVICES
8 inch Linde pig launcher (tool for cleaning and dewatering pipeline)
Call it the Marcellus industry “home court advantage.” Linde Corporation, headquartered in Pittston PA, has announced that it is expanding its hydrostatic testing services to make them available to other companies at work in the Marcellus region.
“We’ve been water-testing pipe on our own projects all the decades we’ve been in business,” said Linde Vice President Chris Langel. “This expansion simply makes it easier for Linde to perform an important service for other pipeline companies at work in our area. Many companies have some, but not all of the testing components they need. We provide complete hydrostatic testing services.” Linde has tested literally hundreds of miles of steel and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) natural gas pipelines in the last 4 decades.
Linde 6 inch pig receiver
(the white cloth is a dust receiver bag which captures dust and dirt from the line)
What’s new is the scope and scale of what Linde now provides. The company has a growing team of experts anchored by Mike Trevorah who joined Linde a little over a year ago. “I’ve been doing this since I was 19,” laughs the 37 year-old Trevorah. “I’ve taken my trailer north to Maine and west to Las Vegas to test water lines. We’ve done gas line testing as far south as Florida.”
Hydrostatic testing is the most common method to test pipelines for structural integrity and strength. It usually entails filling the pipe with an essentially non-compressible liquid (usually water, often dyed) which is pressurized to a specified test pressure. Shutting off the supply valve and observing whether there is pressure loss tests pressure tightness.
Hydrostatic testing is used with newly manufactured pieces before installation, then used again after installation at regular intervals in what is often called a proof pressure test or modified hydrostatic test. These tests are performed over literally every inch of every mile of pipeline before any gas is put in service.
Linde testing services include pigging, cleaning, storage and water management. Linde can tailor its services to company needs, whether it is a simple hook up and test to full service packages. Linde operators are OSHA-trained and DOT operator qualified for testing and pigging. Linde also participates in Veriforce, DISA, PEC Premier and ISNetworld.
“It has always been the Linde goal to provide support and service wherever we can in the Marcellus region,” said Langel. “It’s what led us to build water draws and open the transload facilities in Carbondale and Sayre. Hydrostatic testing grows daily with the amount of pipe in the ground. If Linde can help other companies in that regard, we will.”