Go behind the scenes of a 38-mile smart pig run and see how teamwork and precision protect pipeline integrity and the communities we serve.
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A 38-Mile Mission Begins Before Dawn
It’s a dark, chilly October morning at Ergon Terminaling Inc. in Magnolia, Ohio. An above-ground oil storage tank farm with a direct pipeline connection to the Ergon – West Virginia Inc. (EWV) refinery, the Magnolia terminal is a lynchpin of Ergon’s operations in the area.
With headlamps and a pair of taillights illuminating the worksite, the team is up early to launch a “smart pig” through 38 miles of pipeline running between Magnolia, Ohio, and Newell, West Virginia.
Despite the squealing sound that accompanies the initial launch, this isn’t the kind of pig found on the farmlands surrounding the terminal. It’s a sophisticated device used to inspect pipelines for corrosion, cracks, dents, leaks and any other safety risks.
Just as the first hint of sunrise breaks over the horizon and the project is about to launch, our Magnolia team members and representatives from a local contractor work together to finish their final safety checks. Hundreds of hours of preparation have led to this point, and it’s vital to ensure the ensuing steps — from loading the device onto a truck to positioning it for insertion into the pipeline — are carried out by the book.
With everyone in the field helping however they can regardless of their job title, the smart pig is quite literally in good hands.
Three Little Pigs, One Big Goal
The first step of this critically important inspection is carried out by a scraper pig. As the scraper pig makes its way through the pipeline, it removes debris and rust flakes through a combination of flexible cups, discs, steel-wire brushes and spring-loaded scraper blades.
Next comes the gauge pig with a simple but crucial role: ensuring there are no obstructions along the pipeline that could damage the much more expensive smart pig. Sized to fit snuggly in an eight-inch pipeline, these two tools pave the way for the rest of the project.
Once the pipeline has been confirmed to be clear, the smart pig can be launched. Widely used across the oil industry, a smart pig is a unique device several feet in length that checks for anomalies, reports on the status of previous repairs and maps out the need for future maintenance — all without ever needing the pipeline to be shut down.
“It’s how you determine your mechanical integrity,” says Sam Davis, Director of Projects for Ergon Terminaling. “It takes readings, it finds things like dents and corrosion, even past repairs. Starting at the Magnolia location, it takes 13 hours. We push it with oil, and there are teams that’ll follow it so they can make time-stamped recordings of where it is.”
It takes more than just the team at Magnolia. With 15,000 barrels of oil needed to send the smart pig along, constant communication is essential to ensure everyone involved knows where they fit in the partnership.
“It’s a very involved process,” says Davis. “There’s a lot of planning and coordinating. We typically start about six to eight months out to get ready for it. We’re required to do these projects, and it takes a good bit of planning each time to make it happen smoothly and safely.”
Long before the smart pig comes off the truck, meetings are held with EWV, Ergon Oil Purchasing Inc. (EOP), Ergon’s Engineering Team and the external contractor to coordinate the personnel, equipment and oil movements needed to make the run happen.
“Our team in Magnolia will assist with the launch itself, and then you’ll have the movement coordinator at Newell making sure the refinery is prepped to receive the pig,” says Davis. “Ergon Terminaling, EOP and EWV must make sure we have enough oil at Magnolia to send the pig, and that EWV has enough room in a tank to receive the oil. That’s the part that takes the most coordination, because the pig run has to be done in one shot — it can’t be stopped once started. But our people have shown, time and time again, that they’re equipped to handle it.”
Once the pig is launched, the external contractor follows it on its 13-hour journey from Magnolia to Newell. Whenever the smart pig passes road crossings and other predetermined locations, their team intercepts it with a pinging device that allows them to see if it’s moving and functioning properly.
“Essentially, this is a highly technical, extremely organized 13-hour game of leapfrog,” says Davis.
Keeping Neighbors and Nature Safe
Smart pig readings are federally regulated. Teams are required to complete a project every five years to ensure their pipelines aren’t at risk of causing an environmental safety issue. For the experts at Ergon Terminaling, though, this project is about more than just checking a box.
The Magnolia team is all about running a successful project. But for them, success means more than just a smooth inspection. It’s about ensuring each other’s safety and the safety of those around them, all while embodying Ergon’s mission of meeting needs, supporting families and serving customers.
“We’re the link between EOP, Ergon Trucking and EWV,” explains Justyn Mook, Crew Chief at the Magnolia terminal. “Operating in a safe manner and taking proper care of our equipment is an essential part of serving the needs of those companies. Good mechanical integrity reduces downtime that can be caused by poorly maintained equipment and keeps us all safe. These smart pig runs play a huge role in preserving the quality we pride ourselves on.”
“Our teams are always looking for ways to be more than just ‘good enough’,” says Zach Young, President of Ergon Terminaling. “And you see that at all levels with projects like a smart pig run. Technicians, crew chiefs, regional managers — everyone is out there going beyond their job description, because everyone knows how important something like this is. Our team at Magnolia is a great example of what it means to be ‘United by Service’ and ‘Driven by Solutions’.”
Craig Rohr, Northern Regional Manager of Ergon Terminaling, shines a light on a benefit that might not be as obvious when discussing highly regulated technical maintenance.
“Of course we want the pipeline to run efficiently because that’s what our business relies on,” says Rohr. “But also, a lot of us are very outdoorsy. We enjoy going fishing, hunting and hiking, just like many people in this community. So, we want to do right by people and the environment and be good stewards of the places we love to spend time in.”
As the workday comes to an end 13 hours later, the team at Magnolia is informed that EWV has safely received the smart pig. Following a successful run, Senior Engineer Robert Cooper and Lead Plant Support Engineer Kendall Brown guide the Engineering Team through several rounds of meticulous reviews of the data captured by the device.
“Once we get the report back from the vendor, we review it and look for any kind of anomaly,” says Cooper. “We’re looking for any defects in the pipe that meets the criteria outlined by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [PHMSA] in the CFR 195 document. Once we identify any anomalies, we review the data and help build the plan to execute the repairs.”
Meetings with the Operations Team are then scheduled to go over the scope of repairs needed and how the work will fit into the budget. “We’ll review and confirm with Operations that this is the repair we need to do, and we’ll discuss our options on doing it in-house or with external contractors,” says Brown. “After we all agree on the next steps, our Engineering Team manages the project. We make sure all the repairs are done and we document them. Because every year, there’s an annual report due to PHMSA that shows how many repairs we did, how many miles we inspect, all that kind of data.”
Though it’s a complicated process, the camaraderie between the teams ensures the project operates like a well-oiled machine.
“Working with Operations and Terminaling and getting everything put together, it’s as near effortless of a process as it could be, really,” says Brown. “We all communicate and work really well together.”
From launch to recovery, every step of a smart pig run is a testament to the value of preparation, precision and the teams’ commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety. These inspections preserve more than just the bottom line — they’re about protecting people and the forests, parks, rivers and lakes our communities call home.
