OREANDA-NEWS. Exova, the global testing, calibration and advisory services provider, has been contracted by the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) to provide a material & weld qualification programme for AGDC's Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) project.

AGDC is currently engaged in Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the \$10 billion North Slope natural gas project and in its first contract with the company, Exova's Houston laboratory is qualifying selected pipe mills and welding contractors specified by AGDC to work on the 727-mile, 36-inch main pipeline. Testing will include destructive testing on pipeline specimens, including fracture mechanics testing on base material and welds to ensure materials will withstand the harsh northern conditions.

Exova Houston is one of the few laboratories in the world to provide Direct Current Potential Drop (DCPD) in Single Edge Notch Tension (SENT) testing, which monitors the ductile crack extension during fracture mechanics tests, allowing detailed strain analyses of the pipeline to be performed.

Bobby Archibald, Exova's Vice President of Oil & Gas and Industrials sector in the Americas, comments: "The ASAP  project could bridge the potential gas shortage in Alaska in the next five to 10 years, and is a major development in the oil & gas industry. Exova's expertise in this field, particularly in SENT testing using DCPD, means we are well-placed to offer the most technically demanding services on this vital project."