Nippon Steel Selects GEIT’s Rightrax Sensor Technology for Platform Installation

Rightrax is oil and gas industry’s first remote sensor technology for continuous thickness monitoring
Huerth, Germany – May 2, 2006.

GE Inspection Technologies (GEIT) today announced that its Rightrax installed sensor technology has been selected by Nippon Steel Corporation to monitor thickness and corrosion at its production platforms in Indonesia.  The initial contract is valued at approximately half a million dollars.

GEIT’s installed sensor technology is fully-automated and designed for the continuous monitoring of thickness and internal corrosion in remote areas.  As part of GEIT’s agreement with Nippon Steel, non-intrusive sensors will be installed on Total Elf Fina’s production platforms in the Sisi Nubi, located in offshore Indonesia.  The technology will monitor the effects of sand corrosion at 27 locations on three platforms, feeding continuous data to a remote computer manned by Nippon operators monitoring the condition of the pipes.    

“Aging infrastructure and the ever-increasing focus on asset optimization creates a strong need for installed sensors in the Oil and Gas industry,” said Jeff Nagel, president of GE Inspection Technologies.  “GEIT is uniquely poised to answer the market’s need with products such as Rightrax, the first technology of its kind in the industry.”

GEIT’s Rightrax technology is significantly more cost-effective and efficient as compared to standard manual thickness measurement.  The remote capability means operators no longer need to visit platforms to manually inspect pipes.  The permanently installed sensors also eliminate conventional human error associated with manual measurement, and they are maintenance-free – lasting the lifetime of the platform.  

Rightrax technology is the first in a series of sensor technologies GEIT plans to offer the oil and gas industry to help customers reduce inspection costs and improve productivity.