Pipeline tie-in and repair equipment

A tie-in or a line repair is costed in hours, not weeks. The window is agreed, the line is down, and every item on the list has to be on site before the crew arrives. Gulf Fast Trading Company holds the equipment a tie-in needs in Al Khobar, so a shortfall found on a Tuesday does not become an import order.

The sequence below is the order a tie-in actually runs in, with the equipment each stage needs and a link to what we stock. The same list covers planned line repair and emergency repair work, because the equipment does not change — only the notice does.

1. Isolate and make safe

The line is isolated and the section to be cut is plugged. Plug selection comes from the pipe inside diameter, the residual pressure and whether the plug has to hold against back-pressure.

• Pumps & Plugs 20 products
• Inflatable Plugs
• Mechanical Plugs

2. Cut out the defect

Where a hot work permit is restricted, the cut is made cold. Where flame cutting is permitted, torch cutting and bevelling equipment prepares the weld end to the required angle.

• Cold Cutting Equipment
• Torch Cutting & Beveling
• Pipe Cutting & Beveling 25 products

3. Line up and fit the pup

External chain clamps hold and align the pipe ends for the root pass; internal clamps are used where access allows. Copper backup clamps support the root on larger diameters.

• External Line Up Clamps
• Internal Line-Up Clamps
• Line Up Clamps 19 products

4. Pre-heat and weld

Pre-heat is a hold point on most welding procedures, and the temperature is recorded. Propane torches and pin wheel heaters bring the joint up; surface probes record that it got there.

• Pre-Heating Equipment 6 products
• Welding Applications
• Welding Supplies 15 products
• Weather Protection

5. Recoat the joint

A field joint is the weakest point of any coating system. Tape and mastic systems suit irregular shapes; shrink sleeves suit girth welds; visco-elastic systems suit surfaces that cannot be blast-cleaned.

• Tape, Primer, Paste & Mastic
• Shrink Sleeves
• Coating Products 47 products

6. Prove the coating and the weld

Holiday detection finds pinholes before the trench is backfilled, which is the last moment it is cheap to find them. Thickness and profile readings go into the inspection record.

• Holiday Detectors 14 products
• Coating Applications
• Instruments & Gauges 17 products

7. Protect, lower in and backfill

Rockshield protects the recoated section from the fill. Cradles, belts and slings take the weight on the way down.

• Backfill Protection
• Pipe Cradles & Lowering-In 3 products
• Round Slings 8 products
• Lifting Equipment 13 products

Questions we are asked

Can you supply at short notice for an unplanned repair?

That is what holding stock in Al Khobar is for. Call +966 13 340 0355 with the pipe diameter, the wall thickness and the coating system, and we will tell you honestly what is on the shelf and what is not.

What do you need from us to quote a tie-in package?

Pipe outside diameter and wall thickness, the coating specification, the test pressure, whether hot work is permitted, and the date the window opens. That is enough to quote the whole list.

Do you supply cold cutting equipment?

Yes. We stock Reed rotary and hinged pipe cutters for cold cutting where a hot work permit is restricted, alongside torch cutting and bevelling equipment for where it is not.

Is line repair different from tie-in?

The notice is different; the equipment is not. The same clamps, cutters, plugs, coating materials and detectors cover both, which is why we hold them as one group.

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