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AssigneeHydroChem Industrial Services, Inc.
InventorMark S. Keys
Estimating the term…
In accordance with illustrative embodiments of the present invention, the existing valves in a crude oil, gas, or other product pipeline are positively sealed off to allow a pressure test to be made of a section or segment of the pipeline between the valves. The section is packed with a hydrocarbon or aqueous liquid. A mixture of a highly viscous hydrocarbon based gel material and a lost-circulation material are injected into the pipeline segment adjacent each valve to form plugs in the line. The gel plugs are squeezed under pressure against the internal components of each valve to cause all leakage paths therein to be bridged over and sealed off. The pipeline segment then is pressure tested to determine if there are any leaks therein, after which the gel is flushed out of the line and broken down into a linear pumpable state for disposal.
A method of sealing off a valve at one end of a segment of a pipeline which carries a product to thereby enable said segment to be pressure tested comprising the steps of:
A method of sealing off a valve at one end of a segment of a product pipeline to enable said segment to be pressure tested, comprising:
A method of pressure testing a segment of a product pipeline having at least one valve at one end thereof, comprising:
A method of pressure testing a segment of a product pipeline having at least one valve at one end thereof, comprising;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.