The association between Saudi Aramco and Rosen stretches over a period of 15 years.

Starting with the inspection for corrosion detection on the transmission lines to the present day where 100+ lines were inspected in the year 2005 alone.
Saudi Aramco’s transmission pipeline network stretches for more than 17,000 km throughout the Kingdom, and in diameters are ranging from 8” to 56” and distributed between liquid and gas pipelines, both onshore and offshore.
Well-informed partnerships with Saudi Aramco means Rosen engineers stay well ahead of developing trends and changing needs.
Rosen believes that customers’ service expectations are based on four principal features:
•  Reliability – always there, responsive, never fazed by difficult problems, 24/7 service;
•  Cost effectiveness – customised solutions, professional understanding of cost limitations and ongoing restrictions, highly competitive;
•  High quality – tools that do the job, staff that know the tools, ongoing R&D, integrated solutions; and
•  Flexibility – innovative, vast experience, inspection and engineering services, global representation.
The development of Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) technology has been extensively advanced by Rosen over the last 25 years.
As a part of their continuous review of their Integrity Management Systems, Saudi Aramco places increasing emphasis on the data quality and accuracy achieved with the advanced tool technologies developed by Rosen. When considering maintenance and repair programmes, Saudi Aramco uses Risk Based Inspection assessments as part of their Integrity Management programmes.
To meet the challenges presented by the inspection of such a major transmission pipeline network, Saudi Aramco controls and manages the pipeline inspection through a dedicated unit staffed by experienced engineers and inspectors.
These specialists collaborate closely with Rosen in the run planning, field implementation, reporting and verification of reported data.
This close co-operation has lead to the commitment by Rosen to serve and support Saudi Aramco within the Kingdom on an expanding scale.
The partnership began 15 years ago with visiting field engineers and technicians on a “call off” basis.
To serve Saudi Aramco and other customers in the Kingdom, Rosen is today a fully operational company with an experienced and trained staff of 40 residing in the Kingdom and fulfilling complete Field Survey, Maintenance and Evalua-tion support from their facility in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Rosen in Dammam is able to call upon the experience and logistical support from the Middle East regional offices in Jebel Ali, Dubai, which is also fully operational with the field survey, maintenance and evaluation capabilities.
Along with the development and advancement of technologies, Rosen has committed major resources in the training and education of staff.
Using the legal requirements of API 1163 as a guideline document, Rosen has implemented, as a priority, the training, education and certification of its personnel in all disciplines.
This will provide Saudi Aramco with services that are continuously improved to meet the challenges presented by the complexities of the Saudi Aramco pipelines network of today and in the years to come.
The Rosen long-term commitment to Saudi Aramco has been further strengthened by the selective recruitment of Saudi nationals who today make up over 40 per cent of the staff. These Saudis will ultimately perform important roles in the future, based on their education and training structured by Rosen, both locally and overseas.
The continuing development by Saudi Aramco of the comprehensive inte-grity management system, for their extensive pipe-lines network, has been enhanced through the development, by Rosen, of advanced technologies.
Once the Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Trans-ducer (EMAT) technology is proven to be successful, it will allow the detection of both stress corrosion cracking and disbonded coating.
Coating disbondment is understood to be a precursor to SCC by increasing the susceptibility of the pipeline to corrosion. RoCD² is a unique ultrasonic inspection tool, combining EMAT sensors, designed for gas and liquid pipelines. It embodies a high-resolution concept coupled with the rugged mechanical design and operational performance of the Rosen in-line inspection tools.
Rosen was invited by Saudi Aramco to test their technology for detecting the occurrence of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) and external coating disbondment in the Saudi Aramco transmission pipeline network.
In their continuous quest for technical innovation and as part of their Integrity Management System; Saudi Aramco commissioned Rosen to use their EMAT technology in the inspection of two 16” pipelines in liquid and gas service. Currently an extensive validation program is being conducted to verify the tool findings.
A major challenge faced by Saudi Aramco is the presence of “black powder,” particularly in their large diameter pipelines.
Thorough research over an extended period by Rosen and in close consultation with Saudi Aramco, resulted in the development and construction of cleaning tools in 48” and 56” diameters.
Today these tools are in extensive use, having cleaned over 800 km of pipeline in preparation for in-line inspection so far in 2006.
Future
Hand in hand with technological developments go long-term partnerships with Saudi Aramco.
With the importance placed on risk-based inspection within the integrity management of their pipeline networks, Saudi Aramco has been at the forefront in the introduction and piloting of the very latest inspection technologies.
Rosen looks ahead with confidence to providing the technologies and commitment needed to ensure the efficiency and safety demanded by Saudi Aramco in the operation of their transmission pipelines network.