Pipeline Installation

What this service is

Complete installation of industrial piping systems from isometric drawings through fit-up, welding, pressure testing, and handover to commissioning. Process piping, utility piping, steam, condensate, feedwater, cooling water, instrument air, nitrogen purge, and hydrocarbon lines — whatever the plant runs on.

Our scope covers the span between “approved drawings delivered to site” and “ready for client pressure test witness.” We don’t stop halfway.

Scope

Typical scope of work:

• Drawing review and field verification against as-built conditions
• Material receipt and pre-installation inspection
• Pipe support installation, hanger setting, guide setting
• Cutting, bevelling, fit-up, and tacking
• Welding root → fill → cap per WPS
• Line flushing and cleaning
• Hydrostatic or pneumatic pressure testing
• Handover punch list resolution
• Test pack and weld traceability documentation

Co-ordinated with client or other subcontractors:

• Line-by-line isolation and de-isolation (plant operations)
• NDT witness (client + NDT subcontractor)
• Insulation and painting (follow-on trades)
• Commissioning and start-up (client)

Codes and standards

• EN 13480 — Metallic industrial piping. The baseline standard for industrial piping design, fabrication, inspection, and testing in Europe.
• ISO 3834-2 — Welding quality framework applied to all weld scope
• EN 1090-2 — Where piping integrates with structural steel supports
• ASME B31.1 — Power piping (steam, feedwater, blowdown) where applicable
• ASME B31.3 — Process piping (hydrocarbons, chemicals) where applicable
• PED 2014/68/EU — Module-specific compliance for pressure equipment classified piping
• EN ISO 5817 — Weld quality levels B, C, D applied per spool class

Pressure test execution follows either EN 13480-5 (European) or ASME B31.3 §345 (where process piping falls under ASME scope), depending on client specification.

Materials

Standard coverage:

• Carbon steel — P235GH, P265GH, P295GH, P355GH for pressure service; A106 Gr B equivalents for ASME scope
• Austenitic stainless — 304, 304L, 316, 316L, 321 for corrosion-resistant service, food & beverage, chemical
• Duplex stainless — 2205 for aggressive chloride-rich service

Thickness range: 2 mm through 60 mm. Schedule 10 through XXS.

Typical project structure

A pipeline installation project typically runs in phases. Our crews are built to plug into any of them:

1. Preparation — isometric review, WPS confirmation, welder-to-WPS matching, material receipt, pre-fab planning
2. Support installation — hangers, guides, anchors installed per support drawings
3. Spool installation — prefabricated spools brought to line and fit
4. Field welds — closure welds between spools and equipment tie-ins
5. Testing — pressure test with instrumentation, chart recording, client witness
6. Handover — test pack, weld map, material traceability, NDT report

We can enter at any phase. On shutdown work, we often come in at phase 3 and exit after phase 5 within a 2–4 week outage window.

Diameter and thickness range

• Diameter: DN25 through DN2000
• Wall thickness: 2 mm to 60 mm
• Schedule: SCH 10 through XXS

Small-bore instrument and utility lines use TIG root passes for precision; larger process piping uses a combination of TIG roots and MAG fill/cap for efficiency.

NDT readiness

• VT — 100% visual per EN ISO 17637
• PT — in-house
• RT — coordinated with approved NDT partner, typically 10–20% of butt welds per client spec
• UT / PAUT — coordinated with approved NDT partner

Weld rejection rates are tracked per project. Our target is ≤ 2% rejection on first-pass RT for critical lines, which our welding coordination actively manages through WPS selection, welder assignment, and environmental control.

Where we’ve delivered this service

• St1 Refinery, Sweden — process piping installation across three consecutive furnace and equipment campaigns
• NEURYON, Sweden — installation of new piping lines on existing pipe racks, operating facility modernisation
• INOVYN, Sweden — piping replacement during chemical plant shutdown

→ See all 9 projects

Frequently asked

Do you provide all welding consumables, or is it client-supply? Either model works. On a “direct contract” structure we supply consumables. On a workforce-under-main-contractor structure, consumables are typically client-supplied. Discussed per project.

Can you run multiple crews in parallel on large pipelines? Yes. We’ve run up to three parallel fit-up-and-weld crews on large spool installation campaigns. Crew count is a function of the number of qualified welders you have on site and the number of WPSs in scope.

How do you handle hydrostatic vs. pneumatic test election? Per client specification and plant risk assessment. Hydrostatic is standard for water-compatible systems. Pneumatic test protocols require additional PPE, exclusion zones, and calculated energy release assessments which we execute to client procedure.

What’s your typical crew size for shutdown pipeline installation? 5–15 welders plus 2–4 fitters per outage window, with a site supervisor and welding lead. Scaleable up or down on 2 weeks’ notice.

Do you handle pipe prefabrication separately or as part of pipeline installation? Both. Prefab can be delivered as a standalone service (see Pipe Prefabrication) or bundled into a complete install package where we prefab at our location and install at site.

Can you commission the line after testing? We deliver to “ready for commissioning” state. Commissioning itself — chemical cleaning, nitrogen purge, tightness testing at operating pressure, PSV lift tests — is typically run by the plant’s own operations team or a commissioning specialist. We coordinate and support.

Request a quote

Send us your isometric package, line list, standards, and target dates. We’ll respond within one business day with scope confirmation and mobilization plan.

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