Articles - Pipeline

Few industries understand the rigorous environmental, safety, legal and regulatory requirements of asset integrity management as intimately as the Midstream Oil & Gas sector. Without proper integrity management of their critical network of assets, catastrophic loss of containment could result in increased environmental hazards, loss of life, devastating lawsuits, and unplanned shutdowns – costing owner operators tens of millions of dollars.

Managing pipeline corrosion can be a time-consuming guessing game – wasting money and resources looking for corrosion where it isn’t and missing corrosion where it is. A lot of it comes down to not knowing what you don’t know. For example: at any given time, how aware are you of what contaminants are in the process stream? When the stream composition changes? Are you always aware and instantly alerted when key corrosion factors in your asset change?

“The Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation has identified material, weld and construction quality as a major source of leaks during commissioning hydrostatic pressure tests, the first years of operations and later in the life of a pipeline. PHMSA’s findings indicate a need for better quality assurance in the pipeline construction industry.”^[1] The best strategy for pipeline owner operators to protect themselves against these quality risks is to implement a thorough quality management system (QMS), as laid out in API Recommended Practice 1177.

In our previous article, we examined the benefits of digitalization for asset integrity management. This month, we are examining the ways that digitalization can be leveraged in pipeline construction projects for improved quality assurance, project efficiency, and overall ROI.

When it comes to asset integrity management (AIM), few sectors are as comprehensive and in need as the pipeline industry. With potentially hundreds of miles of pipeline segments, a multitude of different assets across initial gathering and process facilities, and the exorbitant amount of data captured from the initial pipeline construction through the asset’s lifecycle, it is no wonder that an entire market of products exists with the sole purpose of managing pipeline integrity. In fact, many owner operators of pipelines today utilize such programs, called Pipeline Integrity Management Systems (PIMS), for their mechanical integrity needs.

In a world dependent upon the transportation of fossil fuels, fewer industries have a more pressing need to ensure project success than that of pipeline construction and inspection. With safe, timely, project operations at the forefront of this industry’s needs, why is it still so dependent on dated, inefficient practices?