Pipeline Safety

Third-party interference, particularly construction-related damages, is a critical risk for gas pipeline infrastructure. To address these risks, CSE PreFerenceE, a specialized module within the Pipeline Integrity Management System (PIMS), provides high-precision GIS-based threat analysis and recommends mitigation strategies. Using machine learning...

Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRAs) are a vital tool for managing risks on the onshore gas network. They provide objective, data-driven evaluations of potential hazards, allowing operators to prioritise high-risk areas and allocate resources effectively. QRAs support regulatory compliance, inform decision-making, and help assess the impact of...

Subsea pipelines, such as in-field flowlines, trunklines, etc., are an integral part of all offshore field developments. Pipeline damage can occur either during construction phase or during the life of field. Critical pipeline damage such as leak, rupture, or crack requires repair to be performed on an emergency basis. Repair readiness is being...

Repairing a subsea pipeline has its own special challenges. It goes from levelling the pipeline inner pressure with seabed pressure at depth of damage, to cutting the line, installation of smart flanges and spool pieces, and finally going through pre-commissioning steps and miscellaneous pigging operations. During all these steps, it is inevitable...

Defect severity classification holds significant importance within industries that prioritize quality control. This study proposes a novel approach that applies machine learning with Stress Concentration Tomography (SCT) to effectively categorize defects’ severity. Through the utilization of machine learning algorithms, the objective is to enhance...

Pipeline networks traverse modern societies' national territories and can be located in areas difficult to access, such as river crossings, making maintenance logistically challenging and potentially dangerous for field personnel. In order to resolve this problem, Skipper NDT has developed an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for magnetic mapping which...

Pipelines are typically designed using different practices and codes than in-plant piping. While Risk-based Inspection (RBI) quantitative methodologies have evolved and been applied for in-plant piping, e.g. API RP 581, limited methodology framework has been specified and widely used for pipelines, in a similar approach. Alternatively, for...

Hard spots are a type of threat many operators are managing as part of their integrity management plan. Hard spots are areas on the pipeline that are more susceptible to cracking or could pose an integrity concern in combination with other threats. The United States gas transmission regulation, 49 CFR 192.3, defines a hard spot as “an area on steel...

For years, pipeline operators have relied on human observers flying at low altitude to perform visual inspection of their ROW, without any automatic documentation or detection system. This paper presents the first real-life results of a test campaign performed by Flyscan Systems, integrating detection algorithms developed by Enbridge, over ROWs of...

Before the operator of a gas export pipeline offshore Asia could isolate the line and replace leaking pig trap valves on their platform and perform in-line inspection (ILI), they had to remove a serious obstacle: a cleaning pig that had stalled just beyond the pig launcher. Because there is no standard tool for recovering a stalled pig, at least...

Product theft has been a major issue for many pipeline operators around the world. We all have in mind the terrible explosion of a gasoline pipeline in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The blast killed at least 137 people and injured dozens more. This story made its mark, but illegal tappings is not an isolated fact...

Encroachments on buried HP Gas pipelines represent 50% of accidents on pipelines world-wide. The consequences for pipeline owners can be critical, resulting in fatalities and injuries, but also economic cost: shutdown of refineries, damage to the environment, etc… This is a huge issue for both types of pipelines. For older existing pipelines...

Nowadays plastic pipelines form an integral part of modern infrastructure. The most common applications for butt-fused plastic pipelines are water and natural gas distribution networks. Inventions of new materials, production and installation methods for extruded pipes enables new applications and dimensions in a growing range of needs. Climate...

In recent years, the global pipeline community has made a lot of progress in detecting and locating theft activities. Technologies have been developed and applied to several pipelines worldwide. While these technologies are contributing significantly to the early detection and location of illegal tapping points, the key challenges vary from one...

For the past decades, helicopter surveys have been the state-of-the-art solution for right-of-way (ROW) monitoring to protect pipelines from third-party-interferences (TPI’s). When TPI activities damage a pipeline, it can lead to disastrous events. Therefore, aerial inspection early-warning systems are used to mitigate these risks. Recent...