Equipment Health Service Helps Protect Pipeline Infrastructure
Transneftenergo has placed about 12,000 cathodic protection devices on trunk oil pipelines under remote monitoring. The innovation is already delivering an economic benefit of 1 billion rubles (about $12 million) a year.
The company now digitally monitors about 67,000 kilometers of pipelines equipped with cathodic protection (CP) devices designed to prevent corrosion. Some are located in swamps and permafrost areas. Field crews previously had to inspect the equipment on site, but 85% of the CP devices are now connected to the unified digital monitoring environment of the Zdorovye oborudovaniya (Equipment Health) system. Its algorithms distinguish among 13 types of incidents, detect deviations from specified parameters and flag devices that stop transmitting data. Conditions are monitored in real time through the Transfera digital platform, which is used by more than 450 company professionals working in the field.
The monitoring system has sharply reduced the cost of field inspections, cutting scheduled inspections by 92%. CP devices used to be inspected twice a month; now they are checked twice a year. When the system detects a malfunction, a crew can go directly to the affected location instead of traveling between multiple sites.
From Monitoring to Predictive Analytics
By 2027, Transneftenergo plans to connect up to 98% of its CP devices to the unified platform. The next step is moving from condition-based maintenance to predictive analytics. The company is actively expanding its in-house IT operation and deploying AI algorithms to manage internal processes. The Zdorovye oborudovaniya monitoring system can already determine the causes of deviations from specified parameters and equipment failures. The accumulated data can support algorithms that predict wear, failures and the need for preventive maintenance.
Transneftenergo operates within the Transneft system, and its platforms are used primarily across the company's pipeline network. Although the system is an internal product, it could also find applications at other companies in the industry and in international markets where similar infrastructure is in operation.
The Evolution of Digital Pipeline Monitoring
In recent years, all of the industry's major companies have been actively deploying digital monitoring systems. In 2020, Transneft-Druzhba began testing an infrasonic system for monitoring pipeline conditions.
In 2022, RN-BashNIPIneft professionals developed software for RN-SMT that collected corrosion-rate data, diagnostic results and other parameters. The product began rolling out across Rosneft subsidiaries in 2023. That same year, Transneft-Siberia connected more than 1,200 CP devices to an automated monitoring system.
Condition-Based Maintenance as the New Industry Standard
The evolution of CP monitoring shows that the industry is deliberately moving away from routine physical inspections along trunk pipelines and toward maintenance based on actual equipment condition. The transition takes several years, but companies are gradually scaling the approach across their networks. For Russia's IT industry, Transneftenergo's experience is significant because this is not a pilot project but a digital platform operating in real-world industrial conditions on critical infrastructure, with an economic benefit of 1 billion rubles (about $12 million) a year.
Predictive analytics tools are likely to see widespread adoption in the coming years. That could bring the industry additional savings while helping companies optimize their repair programs, preventive maintenance and plans for further infrastructure development.
