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MARCH 2020
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World Pipelines
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WORLD NEWS
Trans Mountain conducts emergency response exercise
Trans Mountain recently conducted a full-scale emergency
response exercise to practice spill response to a simulated
pipeline rupture under ice and snow conditions. The drill
included a co-ordinated response with over 225 participants
and observers from more than 25 agencies working
collaboratively to ensure an efficient and effective response.
The full-scale exercise provided an opportunity for
response personnel to demonstrate and practice the
implementation of the Kamloops District Response Plan, and it
meets a British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office
(BC EAO) Condition for the pipeline expansion project.
“At Trans Mountain, we test and practice our plans regularly
and involve local first responders, Indigenous groups and
government agencies to ensure we’re prepared in the event of
an incident. While our goal is that our emergency response
plans are never used, we are fully prepared to respond to any
incident in a timely and effective manner,” said Michael Davies,
Vice President of Operations for Trans Mountain Corporation.
“We conduct more than 20 emergency response exercises each
year, which allows us to practice and demonstrate our industry-
leading practices for incident responses.”
The exercise consisted of ice and snow-based response
activities of a full-bore pipeline rupture, including a field
deployment at Inks Lake in Kamloops, BC, Canada. The drill also
included an off-site Incident Command Post where several
agencies, stakeholders, first responders and regulators
participated in an integrated response alongside Trans Mountain
personnel.
“Our top priority is the safety of the communities where we
operate. That is why we practice simulated emergency
responses, in all types of weather especially, to ensure we are
fully prepared in any situation if an emergency were to happen,”
said Kelly Malinoski, Trans Mountain’s Director of Emergency
Management. “To help mitigate concerns of communities and
residents along the pipeline corridor, our teams continually
review, revise, practice and also share our emergency response
capabilities to all parties who could be involved.”
Trans Mountain is required to have an emergency
management programme that anticipates, prevents, manages
and mitigates conditions during the unlikely event of an
emergency. Each year the company conducts more than
20 emergency response exercises, equipment deployment drills,
and training opportunities that are evaluated by regulatory
agencies.
A full-scale exercise is defined as a multi-agency, multi-
jurisdictional activity involving the mobilisation and actual
movement of emergency personnel, equipment, and resources,
as if a real incident had occurred.
Eddyfi/NDT acquires Halfwave
Eddyfi/NDT has announced the acquisition of Halfwave,
headquartered in Bergen, Norway. Halfwave is the owner of the
proprietary Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART), an
ultrasound-based technique which can allow high-precision
measurements in imperfect conditions and without the need
for liquid couplant. The company is currently active worldwide
in the field of subsea inspection and pipeline inline inspection
(ILI).
Martin Theriault, CEO of Eddyfi/NDT, says: “We are first
and foremost an NDT technology company. The uniqueness and
proprietary nature of the ART technique was an opportunity we
could not miss. This acquisition is very synergetic for our group,
impacting all three of our business units. Eddyfi Technologies
will benefit from leveraging a new modality to create a
multitude of new applications. TSC Subsea will add a second,
highly differentiated modality to its offering. NDT Global will
officially enter the in-service gas pipeline segment and present
a competitive alternative to EMAT insofar as SCC crack
detection. All in all, the transaction reinforces Eddyfi/NDT’s
positioning as a high-end, high-performance solutions provider
agnostic to any particular modality.”
The integration process is expected to be finalised during
the course of 2020. This will allow the Halfwave team to remain
focused on continuing to develop the science for onshore
metal thickness applications, as well as crack inspection.
Novacap, its co-investors and CDPQ, along with the
National Bank of Canada and Investissement Québec, have
provided support for the transaction. “The team at Eddyfi/NDT
is highly determined to succeed. What better way to accelerate
their entry into the Advanced Integrated Inspection strategy
than with a play in both ILI and subsea,” said David Lewin,
Senior Partner at Novacap (TMT). This transaction is the team’s
eighth acquisition in less than four years.
“In addition to successfully executing its ambitious growth
plan, Eddyfi/NDT has demonstrated a strong ability to integrate
companies into its portfolio, becoming a world leader in its
industry,” said Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive
Officer of CDPQ.
Halfwave was acquired from its main shareholders – EV
Private Equity, Shell Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures and
DNV GL – in addition to key employee shareholders.
Halfwave’s Chairman and Senior Partner at EV Private Equity,
Einar Gamman, observed: “It was very important for the
shareholders to find a buyer that could continue perfecting the
ART technique and accelerate its global adoption. Following a
competitive process, we found there was no better entity than
Eddyfi/NDT to deliver the most prosperous future for the ART
offering. I want to thank the staff of Halfwave, who have, since
our initial investment in 2012, developed and commercialised a
set of disruptive asset integrity inspection techniques and as
such I am proud that we are positively contributing to the
important global targets of safer operations of, and reduced
emissions from, the upstream and midstream hydrocarbon
industry.”