Mexico’s Pipeline Integrity Crisis Can Be Solved: NDT Global

Q: In our last interview five years ago, NDT Global explained that it had focused almost exclusively on liquid pipeline testing, stepping back from the natural gas segment. Since then, the natural gas sector in Mexico has grown significantly. Is this still your approach?

A: At that time, the decision was primarily driven by technology. NDT Global specializes in ultrasonic inspection. We use ultrasonic technology, which fundamentally works best in liquid media. In gas it becomes extremely difficult to measure accurately because the propagation velocity in a gaseous medium is very high, which limits defect detectability.

Historically, most gas pipeline inspections relied on magnetic flux leakage (MFL) technology, which we originally developed. Over time, however, that technology became highly competitive and commoditized. As a result, we chose to focus on complex integrity challenges where operators were seeking advanced, high-resolution solutions, which at that time were primarily found in liquid pipelines.

That situation has changed. In 2020, we acquired a Norwegian company called Halfwave, which specializes in ultrasonic inspection for gas pipelines. This is not conventional direct ultrasonics. Instead, it uses a system known as acoustic resonance technology, which allows us to generate and detect a measurable ultrasonic wave that can travel through gas.

With the integration of Halfwave, we began reentering the gas market. This is a highly specialized technology not suitable for every pipeline. It is particularly effective for pipelines with thick walls and high operating pressures. In Mexico, for example, we inspected the Texas–Tuxpan gas pipeline using this technology. 

We have accelerated our return to the gas market. At the end of last year, we acquired another company, Entegra, which provides MFL technology in an advanced high-resolution and ultra-high-resolution format. This technology is more standardized and applicable to a much broader range of gas pipelines.

One of my objectives this year is to reintroduce NDT Global to the gas pipeline market in the region. Today, we again cover the full gas pipeline segment while maintaining our strong specialization in liquid pipelines.

Q: What are the main developments in the oil and gas sector that have validated the strategic decisions NDT Global has made?

A: At a global level, the pandemic fundamentally changed how companies operate. Field operations, however, did not change in essence. During the early stages of the pandemic, particularly in 2020, we faced significant logistical challenges. At that time, one of our largest markets in Mexico was offshore. Accessing platforms and vessels became more complex due to health protocols, outbreaks on board, and the inability to disembark personnel when cases emerged in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

In the years since, the underlying challenge has remained consistent. Globally, pipeline integrity has become increasingly critical. In developed countries with high energy demand, building new pipelines is extremely difficult due to environmental, social, and regulatory constraints. As a result, maintaining existing infrastructure in optimal condition is essential.

This places greater responsibility on inspection providers and integrity managers. Technology must evolve to deliver higher precision and to detect failure mechanisms that are now more relevant, as traditional threats are largely controlled through established integrity and maintenance programs.

There is also growing demand for more information delivered faster, with greater clarity and usability. Although the industry has made meaningful progress, it still lags behind other sectors in terms of digital transformation. This is why we are working to integrate artificial intelligence, large-scale data systems, and advanced analytics into our processes, enabling pipeline owners to make better, more informed decisions.

Q: You previously mentioned that midstream infrastructure was being neglected, in favor of flagship downstream projects such as Dos Bocas. In the current 2025–2026 budget cycle, do you see a shift toward funding pipelines and terminals, or are integrity backlogs still unresolved?

A: It remains a significant issue. There was a modest uptick in midstream activity around 2022, particularly within PEMEX Logistics. However, the situation has largely reverted to where it was before. There has effectively been no budget for systematic inspection of oil and refined products pipelines for nearly three years. PEMEX is operating almost entirely in reactive mode, addressing emergencies rather than executing proactive maintenance programs. There is ongoing discussion that this year may bring a change, and that resources will finally be allocated to catch up, as the number of incidents has become increasingly visible.

While some recent events have been attributed to illegal fuel tapping, not all incidents can be explained that way. It is no longer credible to attribute every failure to illicit activity. There is a clear lack of maintenance and insufficient budget to properly manage the pipeline network.

Q: From a business perspective, why is continued investment in pipeline testing so critical?

A: Building a new pipeline today is extremely expensive and, in many jurisdictions, nearly impossible. This is true in Mexico, and even more so in countries like Canada and the United States. Environmental opposition, land access issues, and regulatory barriers make new construction extraordinarily difficult.

As a result, the existing pipeline network must be preserved. Pipelines can operate safely for a century or more if properly maintained. Our role is comparable to medical imaging for the human body. We provide X-rays, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance diagnostics for pipelines, allowing operators to see what is happening internally.

There is no alternative technology that can replace in-line inspection. Satellites and external monitoring cannot identify internal defects with sufficient accuracy. This is why inspection should be viewed as an investment rather than a cost. Repeatedly, it has been demonstrated that higher investment in inspection reduces long-term spending on repairs, environmental remediation, and product losses.

Downtime is often the most expensive consequence. Interrupting gas supply to a city affects power generation, heating, and industry. Our core purpose is to preserve infrastructure, but not only to protect an operator’s business. It is also about protecting the environment and minimizing the impact of energy systems on the planet.

I do not see myself opposing environmentalists. The issue, in my view, is that environmental protection is sometimes misunderstood. If society depends on energy sources such as oil, gas, or even coal, the real objective should be to ensure that these energies are managed in a way that minimizes harm. We all benefit from them, even if we do not always want to acknowledge it.

Similarly, it is not productive to demonize oil while, at the same time, oceans are filled with plastic waste that causes enormous environmental damage. Both issues matter. Oil is not inherently the problem; the problem is how it is handled. The same applies to other technologies, including lithium batteries, which also create environmental challenges if not properly managed.

What we do as a company is precisely to prevent these problems from occurring. It is far better to inspect a pipeline and say, this issue must be addressed this year, this one can wait two years, and this one three years, than to deal with a spill, a gas release, or an explosion that harms people and the environment.

Q: What are NDT Global’s main objectives for the short term? What should we be watching ahead of our next interview?

A: We are currently in the final stages of developing a new technology that is also focused on gas pipelines. In addition to acoustic resonance technology and the integration of Entegra’s high-resolution magnetic flux leakage systems, we have spent the last two to three years developing an ultrasonic technology specifically designed for gas pipelines to detect cracks.

Crack detection is one of the most critical and historically unresolved challenges in gas pipeline integrity. In liquid pipelines, we have had reliable angled-beam ultrasonic technology for many years, which detects cracks in the pipe wall with high accuracy. Traditional magnetic flux leakage and conventional ultrasonics are not well suited for this type of defect in gas pipelines.

The most serious cracks are those caused by stress corrosion cracking, which develops over long operating lives or under repeated pressure fluctuations. These cracks can propagate and lead to catastrophic failures. In gas pipelines, existing technologies, including circumferential magnetic flux leakage and certain acoustic methods, have had limited precision and coverage. For years, the only way to reliably detect all cracks in a gas pipeline was to temporarily introduce liquid into the line, which is operationally complex and far from ideal. In response to direct requests from our clients, NDT Global committed to developing a true ultrasonic solution for gas.

That technology is now ready. We conducted pilot inspections in Argentina and several tests in USA, and the prototype phase is complete. This month we will begin the first commercial inspections using this ultrasonic gas technology, which offers significantly higher accuracy and coverage for crack detection than what is currently available.

This represents a major challenge and opportunity for the next three years. For two decades, the industry has said that the day a reliable crack detection technology for gas pipelines exists, everyone will want it. We are now at the point of testing that assumption in the market.

From a business perspective, this also means growth. Between Entegra’s magnetic flux leakage systems and this new ultrasonic gas technology, we are expanding into areas that require additional specialized talent. Not every pipeline will need this technology, but for assets with known cracking risks, it is highly relevant.

In Mexico, the immediate challenge remains PEMEX’s situation and the need to endure a difficult market. However, Mexico has become a global analysis hub for us. Due to limited domestic activity, we focused on providing services worldwide, and our analysis center here has continued to grow.

We started this effort in 2009 as a small experiment with 20 young engineers to demonstrate that advanced ultrasonic analysis could be done in Mexico. Today, that team has grown to 125 people, and we are actively recruiting at least 30 more. With the new gas technologies coming online, we expect to add at least 20 engineers this year alone, not necessarily to serve Mexico, but to support pipeline projects around the world.

NDT Global is an international supplier of advanced pipeline inspection technologies and solutions. The company manages a prominent data center in Mexico.