Hifi Engineering
A High-Fidelity Flow Monitoring System

Reliability and pipeline safety management are paramount in the oil and gas industry. Recognizing the need for novel solutions that ensure asset performance and safety, Hifi Engineering builds fiber optic sensing and monitoring technology for wellbores, pipelines, and critical infrastructure to detect events such as pinhole leaks in pipelines or conventional oil and gas wells. The company has developed high-fidelity dynamic sensing (HDS) technology to help pipeline operators monitor their assets at all times. Hifi’s goal is to offer 100 percent coverage and instantaneous leak detection in pipelines, irrespective of the size or location. Progressing along the lines, the firm’s technology has been deployed in over 1,000 wells in the U.S. to resolve issues around leaks, which is a herculean task when conventional methods are used.

“It was all these factors, coupled with receptiveness around lab and field tests, that helped us commercialize our technology in terms of building long-term partnerships,” remarks Steven Koles, president and CEO, Hifi Engineering. In addition to using patented technology to detect event anomaly based events in pipelines, the firm’s extended partnership with GE enables Hifi to design intuitive dashboards that give full visibility of pipeline infrastructure to operators. Hifi monitors every centimeter of a pipeline throughout the day and detects even the minutest of flows, within seconds. Hifi makes use of fiber optic cables, designed specifically for high fidelity sensing as well as optical sensing hardware and software, optimized for continuous pipeline monitoring. The firm’s optimized and distributed fiber optic Macro sensor, or the Hifi Micro tool, is installed along the pipeline or inserted into the wellbore.

With the use of Hifi’s HDS platform, high-fidelity data regarding pipelines is obtained using a laser interferometer. Alongside, patented software algorithms are also utilized to obtain acoustic, temperature, and strain data in real time to detect operating conditions such as thermal events, excessive strain, security intrusions, or pipeline leaks. The signals from this sensing line are sent to Hifi’s computing platform where data is processed.

Hifi makes use of fiber optic cables, designed specifically for high fidelity sensing as well as optical sensing hardware and software, optimized for continuous pipeline monitoring

HDS spots pinhole leaks and flow of liquids and alerts pipeline operators within seconds through control room software that is powered by GE’s Predix platform. Leveraging GE’s cloud-based Predix with Hifi’s high fidelity fiber optic sensing ensures enhanced detection of all kinds of leaks and better response times.

In the dynamic oil and gas environment, there is huge noise around pipelines that are placed in high-consequence areas. In a recent, notable example, Hifi assisted a pipeline operator focused on high-flow pipes in a river crossing. The client suspected that the river was washing away the pipes during the seasonal run-off. To this end, Hifi deployed their HDS system technology and fiber optics sensors to quickly spot anomalies using the distributed capability of the fiber with respect to the pipe’s acoustics, temperature, and vibrations. The client identified that the pipe was freely floating along the river’s high flow current.

Driven by a vision to become the global standard for intelligent monitoring of pipelines, the firm is buckled up to embrace what the future has in store for them. Hifi’s HDS technology is going to impact the energy industry’s future and achieve the goal of absolute safety. “With the U.S. becoming a focal point in terms of expansion, we will enhance our partnership with GE on the Predix platform to create hassle-free technology and develop new product capabilities,” concludes Koles on a progressive note.