Production • Processing • Handling
pipeline safety would look like in reality and then working backwards to identify the tools that are required allows all parties to play to their strengths without being compromised commercially or technically. For example, if a certain kind of flaw is identified that is out of the ordinary then the leading, sophisticated operators will work to develop practices and solutions that ultimately are for everyone’s benefit. As examples, a key issue that has been identified and addressed over the past five to ten years, and thanks to in line inspection technology jointly developed with operators, is an outlook to the combined effects of threats to pipeline integrity such as mechanical damage, coincidental cracking and pipe movement and excessive ovality. Te combination of different threats can lead to failure for defects that would otherwise individually be well within acceptable limits. A key goal is reducing pipeline failures to as close to zero as reasonably possible. Tis pursuit of perfection, while in principle achievable, opens up a wide range of issues that can only be solved as an industry rather that by disparate organisations. Tere is a fundamental problem that once the regularly occurring, ‘classic’ features are identified and addressed, those features that remain are by definition rare, difficult to identify and difficult to address. Known as ‘outliers’ using a term borrowed from statistical analysis, these uncommon features can only be identified and addressed by market-leading technology. Collaboration with global industry bodies allows co-operation in workshop studies, and even operational activity, working towards building a case that is acceptable to both regulators and in a vaguer sense, the broader public. It is impossible to identify some of these outliers and establish the true nature of the threat without drawing on the experience of primary operators from across the world. Tere is also a need to ensure that the message is factual and it is based on data that is relatable – in the sense that a regulator would understand it as a technical person, as well as how that can translate into a broader reputation and safety factor for the pipeline industry. Tere is an appreciation from within the
industry that pipelines not only need to be safe, but they need to be perceived as safe by every stakeholder, especially the general public. Both regulators and operators are aware that everyone in the industry has a part to play because just one failure pipeline can tarnish everyone’s reputation. Developments in technology have
allowed operators to identify a far larger proportion of the defects in their pipelines and analyse the defects at a far greater level of detail. While advances in technology driven by collaborative working will allow the outliers to be identified and addressed in the future, it is important to remember that the message must also be conveyed to stakeholders including the general public in a way that is easily digestible. Pipelines must be safe, but they must also be seen to be safe. l
www.engineerlive.com 55
Fig. 2. EmatScan in-line inspection technology in the field.
Image: PII Pipeline Solutions.
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