Who Performs the Natural Gas Pipeline Inspection?

Natural gas pipeline inspection is performed by specialist in-line inspection (ILI) companies that design, manufacture, and operate intelligent pigging tools. These tools travel through pipelines during normal operation to detect corrosion, cracks, geometry defects, and other integrity threats.

PIPECARE is one of the companies that provides this service globally, using technologies including MFL (Magnetic Flux Leakage), EMAT (Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer), TFI (Transverse Field Inspection), and Caliper geometry tools.

For gas pipelines specifically, EMAT technology is often the method of choice because it generates ultrasonic waves directly in the pipe wall without requiring a liquid couplant — making it suitable for dry gas service where conventional UT tools cannot operate.