Permasense, a world leader in the field of non-intrusive continuous integrity monitoring systems, has secured a milestone order from Shell’s Pulau Bukom refinery in Singapore. The application will see Permasense deliver its 10,000th permanently installed corrosion and erosion sensor, in the company’s largest single installation in Asia to date.

Following an initial order of 25 sensors last year, which were installed to extract thickness data from inaccessible locations, Shell will expand its monitoring system in August 2015, to include an additional 128 sensors spread across three of the Pulau Bukom refinery’s units.

The energy giant saw considerable value in having real-time pipe wall thickness measurements delivered directly to desk, enabling continuous visibility into corrosion activity. The initial installation enabled an enhanced understanding of the impact of changes in crude slate on asset integrity, prompting Shell to install a wider distribution of sensors that will provide a more complete image of the corrosion status of the refinery.

Xuan-Thang (Victor) Doan, Inspection Engineer at the Pulau Bukom refinery, says: "The enhancement of our integrity monitoring strategy with the Permasense system increases our visualisation of the refinery’s corrosion activities, allowing us to see the impact of crude slate variations almost instantaneously."

"We’re immensely proud to be delivering our 10,000th sensor to Shell’s Pulau Bukom, having proved the value of our technology at this refinery and other Shell business units around the world," adds Peter Collins, CEO, Permasense.

"Our cost-effective corrosion and erosion monitoring systems deliver real-time measurements directly to the desks of decision makers who use the enhanced quality and frequency of data to operate their facilities safely and more profitably. Shell has actively embraced our technology from its commercial introduction as a means to optimise its operations."