Applications of Crack Detectors in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry

Overview

The oil and gas extraction industry involves finding, extracting, refining, and distributing oil and natural gas. It includes exploration, drilling, refining crude oil, and processing raw gas into usable products like gasoline and propane. These resources are transported through pipelines, tankers, or trucks for distribution. Environmental regulations drive efforts to minimize ecological impact, but the industry faces challenges like market fluctuations, environmental concerns, and the shift toward sustainable energy sources.

Depending on specific features and functions, GAO Tek’s crack detectors are sometimes referred to as crack inspection devices, fracture detection tools, structural integrity scanners, crack monitoring equipment, fault identification instruments, flaw detection devices, defect assessment tools, structural break detection systems, crack analysis sensors, and weakness identification devices.

GAO Tek’s crack detectors have the following applications in the oil and gas extraction industry:

Pipeline Integrity Assessment: GAO’s continuous monitoring of pipelines for cracks, corrosion, and defects aims to ensure oil and gas safe transportation.
Storage Tank Inspection: GAO Tek crack detectors can assess the structural integrity of storage tanks and vessels to prevent leaks and maintain safety standards.
Drilling Equipment Monitoring: GAO crack detectors can be used to detect cracks or weaknesses in drilling equipment and rigs to prevent failures during operations.
Refinery Infrastructure Maintenance: GAO Tek crack detectors can inspect refinery components like towers and reactors to identify and address structural issues.
Offshore Platform Integrity: These GAO Tek’s crack detectors monitor offshore platforms for cracks and structural faults caused by harsh marine environments.
Safety Compliance Audits: Using GAO crack detectors to comply with safety regulations by conducting regular inspections.
Emergency Response Readiness: GAO Tek crack detectors can help identify potential structural weaknesses in advance to prepare for emergency maintenance or repairs.
Wellhead and Piping Inspection: GAO crack detectors can check the integrity of wellheads and pipes for cracks that could lead to leaks or failures.
Pressure Vessel Assessment: GAO Tek crack detectors can inspect pressure vessels for cracks or defects to ensure their reliability and safety.
Environmental Risk Mitigation: GAO’s early detection of structural issues helps minimize the risk of environmental contamination due to leaks or failures in equipment or infrastructure.

More information on crack detectors and their applications in other industries can be found on

Structural Crack Detectors

This category page lists related products

Structural Testers

GAO Tek’s targeted markets are North America, particularly the U.S., Canada

Complying with Oil and Gas Extraction Industry Standards

GAO Tek’s crack detectors comply or help our customers comply with the oil and gas extraction industry standards such as:

API RP 571
API RP 574
API RP 579
API RP 580
ASME Section V
ASME B31.4 and B31.8
ISO 12717
NACE SP0204
ASTM E709

Complying with Government Regulations

GAO Tek’s crack detectors comply or help our customers comply with U.S. government regulations such as:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulations
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulations
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards
American Petroleum Institute (API) standards
Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
Chemical Safety Board (CSB) guidelines

GAO Tek’s crack detectors comply or help our clients comply with Canadian regulations such as:

Canada Energy Regulator (CER, formerly the National Energy Board – NEB)
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA)
Provincial and Territorial Regulatory Bodies
Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)
British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC)
Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources
Manitoba Petroleum Branch

Case Studies of Crack Detectors in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry

Crack detectors are sometimes called as crack inspection devices, fracture detection tools, structural integrity scanners, crack monitoring equipment, flaw detection devices, defect assessment tools, crack assessment instruments, structural weakness detectors, fault detection devices, and flaw assessment tools.

Here are some practical examples of using crack detectors in the oil and gas extraction industry:

There might be case studies focusing on using advanced UT techniques for continuous pipeline monitoring in the Northeast U.S., ensuring crack assessment and pipeline integrity maintenance.

Studies may highlight RT or UT applied in periodic inspections for Northeast U.S. oil facility storage tanks, emphasizing crack detection and integrity assessment.

Midwest oil and gas facilities might employ acoustic emission (AE) or other monitoring techniques for crack detection and ongoing structural health assessments.

Midwest refinery could use radiographic testing (RT) periodic inspections for tank integrity, emphasizing crack detection’s importance in preventing leaks.

The application of magnetic particle testing (MPT) techniques could be showcased in South’s shale gas sites for identifying critical equipment surface cracks.

Case studies focus on acoustic emission (AE) testing in monitoring the structural health of Southern onshore oil facilities that detect and assess cracks, contributing to safety and maintenance.

A case study might explore radiographic testing (RT) periodic inspections of storing tanks in Rocky Mountain region refinery tanks demonstrate effectiveness in crack detection for storage facilities safety in rugged terrains.

Studies might explore radiographic testing (RT) regular inspections of storing tanks in coastal California refineries to ensure the coastal facility safety near the coastal environment by detecting and addressing cracks.

Magnetic particle testing (MPT) might be used in British Columbia natural gas fields to ensure operational reliability in these gas-rich areas by identifying surface cracks in critical equipment.

A case study could focus on acoustic emission testing (AE) in monitoring the structural health of offshore platforms in Atlantic Canada to enhance safety by detecting and assessing cracks and extending offshore facility lifespan.

GAO RFID Inc. RFID Hardware, a sister company of GAO Tek Inc., is ranked as a top 10 RFID supplier in the world. Its RFID, BLE, and IoT products have also been widely used in the oil and gas extraction industry.

Mining, Oil Production & Gas Extraction RFID Solutions

Mining RFID Systems

Use of Crack Detectors with Leading Software and Cloud Services in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry

GAO Tek has used or has facilitated its customers to use GAO’s crack detectors with some of the leading software and cloud services in their applications. Examples of such leading software and cloud services include:

MATLAB
ANSYS
COMSOL Multiphysics
Bentley Systems (STAAD. Pro)
Abaqus
LabVIEW (National Instruments)
MIDAS Civil and Structural Engineering Software
ESRI ArcGIS (Environmental Systems Research Institute)
Strand7
LUSAS (Finite Element Analysis Software)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Microsoft Azure
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
IBM Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
Salesforce IoT Cloud
SAP Cloud Platform
Cisco Kinetic for Cities
Hitachi Vantara Lumada
Dell Technologies IoT Solutions

GAO Tek’s crack detectors and their applications in other industries are listed on

Structural Crack Detectors

Other related products can be found at this category page

Structural Testers

Meeting Customers’ Demands

Large Choice of Products

In order to satisfy the diversified needs of their corporate customers, GAO Tek Inc. and its sister company GAO RFID Inc. together offer a wide choice of testing and measurement devices, network products, RFID, BLE, IoT, and drones.

Fast Delivery

To shorten the delivery to our customers, GAO has maintained a large stock of its products and is able to ship overnight within the continental U.S. and Canada from the nearest warehouse.

Local to Our Customers

We are located in both the U.S. and Canada. We travel to customers’ premises if necessary. Hence, we provide a very strong local support to our customers in North America, particularly the U.S., and Canada.

Furthermore, we have built partnerships with some integrators, consulting firms and other service providers in different cities to further strengthen our services. Here are some of the service providers in the oil and gas extraction industry we have worked with to serve our joint customers:

IBM
Accenture
Infosys
HCL Technologies
DXC Technology
Deloitte
KPMG
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
EY (Ernst & Young)
Capgemini
Wipro Canada
Cognizant Canada
TCS Canada
DXC Technology Canada
Emerson Canada

GAO has Many Customers in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry

The products from both GAO Tek Inc. and GAO RFID Inc. have been widely used in the oil and gas extraction industry by many customers, including some leading companies. Here is more information on applications of GAO RFID Inc.’s products in the oil and gas extraction industry.

Mining, Oil Production & Gas Extraction RFID Solutions

Mining RFID Systems

Here are some of GAO’s customers in the oil and gas extraction industry: