A key fact of life for operators of petroleum and petrochemical facilities and terminals with tank storage is performing recurring inspections that assess the integrity of those tanks, determine what maintenance or repair is needed, and confirm that the tanks are suitable to stay in service. These inspections are conducted as a matter of professional prudence, but also to meet underwriting requirements, and to comply with regulations; which often follow an industry code such as API 65 or EEMUA 159. 

Diakont announced today that it is part of a team that was awarded $5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). This award will be used to develop new technologies for rehabilitating legacy cast iron and bare steel natural gas distribution pipelines, by building new, robust replacement pipe inside the existing pipelines. Diakont’s team for this program includes the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and LifeLast.

Diakont is proud to collaborate with the San Diego County Water Authority’s asset management team in their long-running efforts to utilize innovative cost-effective methods of ensuring maximum lifespans of critical water pipelines servicing San Diego County. The work was part of a package of rehabilitative efforts on a portion of the First Aqueduct, which includes Pipelines 1 and 2 in North San Diego County. Built in 1947 and 1952, the two pipelines deliver treated water to the region.

This week at the Environmental Leader and Energy Manager Conference (ELEMCON), Diakont’s own Alexandra Golubovic was announced as an ‘Environment and Energy Leader 100 (E+E 100)’ award recipient. The ‘Environment + Energy Leader 100’ award is presented to individuals who are driving their companies, and environmental protection, sustainability, and energy management, forward.

Carlsbad, California – Diakont, a leading high-tech engineering and manufacturing company, recently opened a new engineering center in the San Diego, California suburb of Carlsbad, to support the company’s continued growth and to leverage the high-technology talent pool in the area.

Atlanta, Georgia, May 23, 2018— Diakont received an innovation award for robotic buried pipe inspection during this year’s Nuclear Energy Assembly, hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry’s policy organization.

Diakont received a certificate of achievement from the SPRINT Robotics Organization for ground-breaking collaborative work towards the implementation of inspection and maintenance robotics, and in recognition of activities that support the SPRINT vision.

San Diego, CA – Diakont, a leading provider of high-technology solutions and services to the energy industry, announced that its robotic Stingray system has been selected as a finalist in CONNECT’s Most Innovative New Product Awards. CONNECT, a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, continues its 30-year tradition of celebrating San Diego innovation leaders. 

Diakont’ Innovative Pipeline and Online Tank Floor Inspection Robot Featured on San Diego Union Tribune

It’s a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it.

And when it comes to the expensive, claustrophobic and sometimes dangerous work of inspecting natural gas and oil pipelines, that somebody is a robot.

San Diego, CA – Diakont, a leading provider of high-technology robotic solutions and services for the energy generation and oil and gas industries, was awarded a California Competes Tax Credit by the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development ("GO-Biz"). The income tax credit was granted in consideration of Diakont’s ongoing commitment to grow and invest in its California-based operations.

Edward Petit de Mange, Managing Director of Diakont Advanced Technologies, appeared on CNBC Tech Edition to discuss the latest innovations in pipeline inspection robotics.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management Conference (PPIM), Houston, TX (2017, March)

Jonathan Minder, Integrity Solutions Engineer for Diakont, presented a case study on NDE tooling development to inspect deep well booster pumps without excavation at the 2017 PPIM.   A major north American pipeline operator approached Diakont to develop a robotic solution capable of inspecting deep well booster pumps without removing them from the concrete.  The robotic solution uses electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT) and laser profilometry to provide comprehensive data for both the vertical well barrel and the horizontal flat cap at the bottom of the well.  

API Inspection Summit 2017, Galveston, TX (2017, February)

Jonathan Minder, Integrity Solutions Engineer for Diakont, presented online storage tank floor inspection robotics at the 2017 API Inspection Summit.  Diakont provides comprehensive storage tank floor inspection services using robotic crawlers, which can be safely deployed while the tanks remain filled and operational.  Utilizing a combination of non-destructive examination (NDE) sensors housed within an explosion-proof enclosure, Diakont inspection systems supply complete inspection coverage, actually exceeding API 653 inspection requirements.

Diakont Advanced Technologies successfully used a robotic crawler to inspect the condition of unpiggable natural gas pipelines running underneath the Hudson River for pipeline operator Williams. This robotic crawler uses rugged track systems to traverse difficult pipe geometries and inspect lines that are inaccessible to traditional flow-driven, smart pig tools.

Many storage tank assets, including facility pipelines, were installed decades ago and now require inspection to ensure safe operating conditions.  Proactive storage tank operators are implementing inspection programs to verify integrity, however most tank lines lack pig launchers/traps so the industry is faced with the challenge of finding inspection solutions.  Proactive inspections are often performed to verify integrity and reduce insurance premiums.

Presented by Jonathan Minder at the 2015 Unpiggable Pipeline Solutions Forum in Houston, TX

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., a major North American petroleum pipeline operator, is completing an extensive modernization and inspection project for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) pump stations.  TAPS is a major piece of the Alaskan oil infrastructure that recently reached the milestone of moving 17 billion barrels of North Slope crude oil.

As seen in Alaska Dispatch News In the trans-Alaska pipeline’s early days there was just a pig, a large projectile sliding through pipe with the flow of crude oil, scraping away corrosion-causing water or waxy buildup.

Then along came the “smart pig,” a high-tech twist on the original version that used magnetic and other forces to inspect the pipe as it drifted down the line, providing updates on the pipeline’s condition from the inside.

Now comes a third-generation “crawler pig,” a robot that in the last year has saved Alyeska Pipeline Services Company tens of millions of dollars, while helping prevent spills that could lead to costly shutdowns of the 800-mile artery carrying Alaska’s economic lifeblood.

San Diego, California – Diakont, along with strategic partner Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., was presented the 2015 MP Corrosion Innovation of the Year Award for RODIS Robotic ILI with SIPEC^TM dynamic pulsed eddy current technology. SIPEC inspects the integrity of pipelines through internal liners and heavy corrosion. The industry-leading technology is integrated with a robotic inline inspection (ILI) crawler developed by Diakont, a globally-recognized high-tech solution provider to the nuclear power industry. The Award was presented on March 16, 2015 by Harvey Hack, the President of NACE, at the 2015 NACE Corrosion Conference. Structural Integrity and Diakont were selected to receive the award because it showcases progressive technological developments in the ability to detect and size corrosion defects in difficult to assess environments.

Diakont’s In-line piping solutions executive, Jonathan Minder, presented Tuesday at the American Petroleum Institute Inspection Summit in Galveston, Texas.

As seen in the September 2014 issue of Petroleum News, Vol. 19, No. 37

By Alan Bailey, Petroleum News, Anchorage, Alaska

Alyeska uses a state-of-the art ‘robotic crawler’ to inspect buried pipeline at pump station 3 on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

Houston, TX – Diakont performed live robotic ILI demonstrations at the site of the new PRCI facility.  These demonstrations allowed pipeline and facility operators to see first-hand how Diakont’s robotic ILI crawler navigates and operates in “unpiggable” piping.

As seen in the January/February 2014 issue of Tank Storage Magazine

By Katherine Foster, ILI Solutions Executive, Diakont, San Diego, CA

With a large number of tank lines originally built without pig launchers and receivers, it falls upon current integrity engineers and risk managers to determine how best to address facility piping which may not have been inspected previously.

Diakont's robotic in-line inspection (ILI) girth weld scanner solution was featured on NBC news. Regarded by PG&E as state of the art technology to improve pipeline safety, Diakont’s robotic ILI crawler allows crews to inspect large transmission lines without costly excavations.

San Diego, CA – Diakont, a worldwide provider of pipeline inspection services, has developed an innovative technology for examining girth welds from within the pipe.  Diakont’s robotic in-line inspection (ILI) girth weld scanner performs high-resolution ultrasonic scans using the dry, non-contact electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) method.

San Diego, California – Diakont has developed a Mobile Diagnostic Laboratory Vehicle for use when conducting robotic in-line pipe inspection projects in remote areas. Equipped with 6×6 all-wheel drive, massive off-road tires, and a ruggedized raised chassis, the Mobile Diagnostic Laboratory Vehicle is designed to access pipelines in harsh terrain areas.

San Diego, California – Diakont, along with strategic partner Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., recently completed the group’s first buried piping in-line inspection project at a US nuclear plant. The inspection was performed in October 2012 on an 18” High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) line at Cooper Nuclear Station. Utilizing a crawler tool equipped with Diakont’s patented Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) technology, the team performed a 100%-coverage inspection of the safety-related HPCI pipe section. Inspection preparations by Structural Integrity included code-based, finite element analyses to establish the acceptance criteria in the event that metal loss was discovered, thereby minimizing any potential outage schedule impact. There were no critical defects detected, and the piping system was returned to service following the inspection.

San Diego, California – Diakont, industry leader in robotic technology solutions, has joined the Netherlands-based SPRINT Robotics Collaborative, an international organization that aims to achieve large-scale field use of robotics for inspection and maintenance purposes across the energy industry within the next ten years. Launched in January of 2015, SPRINT was founded by Chevron, Gassco, Shell and Statoil in the efforts of promoting and leveraging advancements in robotics technology to improve safety and reduce environmental impact industry-wide. Among its other planks, the organization’s multilevel mission includes sharing and advancing robotics industry knowledge, fast-tracking innovations, and accelerating the energy industry’s adoption of robotic solutions for existing and new challenges.

Houston, Texas – Diakont, a leading provider of robotic technology solutions and services for oil and gas pipeline and storage tank operators, is proud to announce the opening of its regional office in Houston, Texas. Described as the energy capital of the world, Houston is home to nearly 5,000 industry firms. Specifically, oil and gas companies with a major presence in Houston control 44% of the U.S. oil pipeline capacity and 52% of its natural gas pipeline capacity. With its increased access to this market, Diakont is poised to broaden its reach, deepen existing customer relationships, and continue to introduce pipeline and storage tank operators to its unique and growing fleet of advanced robotic in-line inspection, maintenance, and repair tools and services.

San Diego, California – Industry leader in advanced technology solutions Diakont has joined the U.S.-based Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI), a global collective that fosters and supports collaborative energy pipeline research. Established in 1952 as the Pipeline Research Committee of the American Gas Association, the group’s first order of business was finding a solution to the problem of long-running brittle fractures in natural gas transmission pipelines, which—by leveraging expertise and knowledge from an alliance of industry leaders—it accomplished in just two years. Today, PRCI represents a worldwide coalition of 34 pipeline operators and 30 pipeline technology and service providers, along with other pipeline industry member organizations, all working together to promote and further energy pipeline research “that provides safe, reliable, environmentally conscious and efficient means of delivery.”