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Albuquerque: PNM, Public Service Co. of New Mexico, on Monday will launch a "smart pig" into one of its natural gas pipelines lines for the first time. The 11-foot-long device, known in the industry as a "smart pig," has sensors and on-board computer chips to collect data that can be used to estimate a pipeline's wall thickness and indicate potential weaknesses. The pig will be run through 11 miles of PNM's 12" Atrisco pipeline. The pig will be launched from PNM's Santa Fe Junction facility, west of Rio Rancho, and end its journey approximately two hours later at a PNM facility at Atrisco and Central SW in Albuquerque. The exact timing of the pigging operation will be determined by tests conducted Monday morning. Use of the pig is part of PNM's Pipeline Integrity Management Plan, a year-old effort to focus added attention and resources on pipelines that run near population centers. Nationwide, most pipelines cannot accommodate the new smart pig technology. In this case, PNM has retrofitted the Atrisco pipeline to accommodate the technology. If this initial effort is successful, PNM hopes to run smart pigs through certain additional pipelines in the next few years.
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