Case Study: 3 Bar Stainless Steel Methanol Pipe Leak Repair at Saudi Arabia Chemical Plant

Case Study Data

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Site
Chemical plant
Location
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Repair Type
No pressure pipe repair
Defect
Leaking 300mm stainless steel methanol pipe

Products Used

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Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape
Self-amalgamating tape forms a solid rubber band which exerts maximum pressure over leaks to contain pipe content

SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage
Composite repair bandage sets rock hard to reinforce and strengthen repairs by creating a rock-hard protective shell

SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case
Products came from a SylWrap Contractor Case, enabling up to six live leak repairs to be made to pipes of different diameters

Case Study PDF

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Case Study Details

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Hamco Arabia are one of the leading names providing engineering, construction and maintenance services for the industrial sector across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

One of their specialisms is pipeline installation, maintenance and repair. With this in mind, Hamco recently joined the Sylmasta network as an approved installer of SylWrap pipe repair products in the region.

Not long after partnering with Sylmasta, Hamco were asked to repair a 300mm stainless steel methanol pipe at a major chemical plant in Dammam – the administrative heart of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia.

The pipe operated at 3 bar pressure and was fixed high up in the roof of a unit, making access to the leak area difficult. Any repair materials had to be lightweight enough to reach the height of the pipe. They also needed to be easy to apply in the confined space.

An urgent response and fast repair were particularly important. Because methanol is both toxic and highly flammable, the pipe had to be taken offline as soon as it started leaking. Shutting down the system caused severe disruption to production and operations at the chemical plant.

Engineers from Hamco headed straight to the plant from their Dammam HQ, equipped with a SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case. The Contractor Kit contains enough products to make up to six live leak repairs on pipe diameters ranging from 15mm to 300mm, all stored in an easy-to-transport red case.

A scaffold tower had already been erected to reach the pipe, which could be easily climbed with the Contractor Case in hand. Once at the top of the tower, one 50mm x 4m Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape was taken from the Case and used to seal the leak.

Wrap & Seal Pipe stretches by three times its length. As it is wrapped around a pipeline, the tape amalgamates to itself to form a solid rubber band bonded to the pipe surface. The band exerts pressure over the leak, containing pipe content.

One 50mm x 4m Wrap & Seal applied to a 300mm pipe offers maximum pressure resistance of 4 bar – more than enough to withstand the 3 bar operating pressure of the system.

Had Hamco wanted to increase the safety factor of the repair, they could have applied another tape on top. A second Wrap & Seal would amalgamate to the first in the same way, building a repair with resistance to 8 bar.

Two of the Hamco team worked together to apply the tape, passing it between themselves underneath the pipe. This allowed them to maintain maximum stretch and tension for the most effective seal possible.

The methanol pipe was then reinforced with SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage. SylWrap is a composite wrap with a water-activated resin. Wrapping and smoothing SylWrap over the repair area created a rock-hard, impact resistant shell to protect Wrap & Seal and strengthen the pipe.

Once SylWrap had fully cured, the system was turned back on. No methanol was leaking from the pipe, indicating the SylWrap repair had been a success.

From when they arrived at the site, it took Hamco under 30 minutes to seal the leak. The chemical plant were so impressed with how the Contractor Case significantly reduced downtime, that they have asked Hamco to supply more Sylmasta pipe repair and refurbishment products for use across the site.