Is a Stuck Pig Creating an Operational Blind Spot?

Without knowing the pig’s exact location, remediation planning is speculative and interventions risk being both costly and ineffective.

Pigs can become stuck due to unexpected pipeline geometry changes, flow assurance deposits ahead of the pig, loss of driving differential pressure, or mechanical failure. Conventional attempts to locate stuck pigs rely on pressure and volume estimations that can be inaccurate over long distances, leaving operators with a wide search range and no clear action plan.

Use Paradigm’s Find-Block® acoustic pressure-wave technology to pinpoint the stuck pig location to an accuracy of up to 0.1% (approximately 1 m/km). Once the exact location is confirmed, Paradigm can advise on the optimum remediation approach  typically Pipe-Pulse® pressure surges or Flexi-Coil® physical intervention  to dislodge and recover the pig.

Paradigm’s Find-Block® is a proven, globally deployable service that can be mobilised within 24 hours to locate stuck pigs and full-bore blockages. In a documented North Sea case, Find-Block® precisely located a stuck pig at 15.6–15.7 km when pressure/volume estimates had placed it somewhere in a 4–9 km range — enabling a targeted bypass solution. This end-to-end capability (locate with Find-Block®, then remediate with Pipe-Pulse® or Flexi-Coil®) is unique to Paradigm.