Overview of Pipeline Integrity Management
Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) is the cradle-to-grave approach of understanding and operating pipelines in a safe, reliable manner. PIM programs are systems managed by pipeline owner-operators that consider all stages of the pipeline life cycle, from conception, to engineering and design, construction, operation, inspection, and finally to repair/replacement when necessary.
In the United States, pipeline operators are required to abide by regulations put forth by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), at a minimum. Among other things, these regulations require all oil & gas transmission companies to perform regular baseline evaluations of pipelines in areas where pipeline failure would have a significant impact on public safety or the environment.
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May/June 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Dhananjay H. Rawal at Systech Consultancy Services
This article details the experience an oil company had when using FEA to evaluate the implications of a damaged pipeline. Specifically, it presents an efficient method that combines analytical techniques with FEA to determine the pipeline’s...
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November/December 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Elizabeth Allen at DNV GL, and Michelle Havlock at DNV GL
This article explains the Statistically Active Corrosion Assessment, which is a tool for determining appropriate and realistic corrosion growth rates which can assist pipeline operators in optimizing the value of in-line inspection data.
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July/August 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Buddy Powers at Clock Spring Company, and Donald McNichol at Evisive, Inc.
Composite technology developed for pipeline repair can be a cost-effective method of improving safety while keeping maintenance costs down. However, composite materials present significant challenges to conventional NDT methods.
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My Pipes are Corroding! When Should I Repair? Getting the Answers You Need for Maintaining Pipeline IntegrityNovember/December 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Michael Turnquist at Quest Integrity Group
This article exhibits how modern inspection methodologies combined with innovative computational analysis practices demonstrate the value of conducting fitness-for-service (FFS) assessments on sectional piping.
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July/August 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Neil Ferguson at Hydratight
Joint integrity management remains at the top of many operators’ priority list. The discipline considers risk and drives safety to ensure we learn necessary lessons from past catastrophic failures, such as the Piper Alpha explosion in 1988,...
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May/June 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Gary Mulcahy at Astrodyne TDI
This is the second article of a two-part series published in Inspectioneering Journal, which is intended to provide a basis for understanding the differences between traditional tapped-transformer, fixed voltage type rectifiers, and High Frequency...
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March/April 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Craig Alan Swift, P.E. at Bureau Veritas
The objective of this article is to demonstrate the inherent value of an interactive and detailed GIS landscape, emphasize the importance of industry standardization, and encourage regulatory agencies and operators to systematize and incorporate...
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January/February 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Vipin Nair at GE Compliance and Integrity Management
Pipeline management remains fraught with safety risks for operators and the environment. Last year, the Ontario Energy Board determined that a $12 billion oil pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. would pose more risks than rewards for the province.
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Richard B. Eckert at DNV GL
Understanding the common factors that promote corrosion threats in the oil and gas value chain helps operators create effective inspection strategies.
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy David A. Hunter at Neptune Research, Inc.
This study provides valuable information for offshore pipeline operators curious about how composite repair systems could be utilized with their assets.
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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Gary Mulcahy at Astrodyne TDI
This is the first article of a two-part series to be published in Inspectioneering Journal and will provide a basis for understanding the differences between traditional tapped-transformer, fixed voltage type rectifiers, and High Frequency Switched...
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A New Trend for Pipeline Integrity Management: How GIS and Risk-Based Asset Management (RBA) Integration Can Improve Pipeline ManagementMay/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Dylan Schrader at PinnacleART, Tom Pickthall at EnhanceCo Inc., and Carlos A. Palacios at CiMA-TQ
Pipeline integrity is critical to ensure maintenance and operational efficiency; however it is becoming an increasingly challenging task for the energy industry. Maintenance managers and inspectors must make sure their pipeline(s) and its associated...
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May/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Mauricio Palomino at GE Oil & Gas, Measurement & Control Business
Machine-to-Machine connectivity combined with advanced computing capabilities and industry-focused software enable a wide range of new capabilities. From smart homes controlled over the internet, to smart electric grids with smart meters, sensors...
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Gains with Advanced Data Assessment in ILI: Leveraging pipeline data to eliminate risk, prioritize and schedule necessary repairsMay/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ian D. Smith, P.Eng. at Quest Integrity Group, and Michael McGee at Quest Integrity Group
For traditional in-line inspection (ILI) vendors, considering 21.4 miles of a piggable 4” diesel pipeline is typically not a big deal. However, significant threats like 3rd party damage and external corrosion seem to come with the territory in...
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Combining High Resolution In-Line Geometry Tools and Finite Element Analysis to Improve Dent AssessmentsMay/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Rhett Dotson, P.E. at Stress Engineering Services
Historically, regulations regarding dent severity have been governed by one of two metrics: dent depth or strain. In the case of the former, plain dents with a depth up to 6% of the nominal diameter are permitted in both gas and liquid pipelines....
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May/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Vibha Zaman, P.E. at Asset Optimization Consultants, and Peter Dsouza at LyondellBasell
Verifying pipeline integrity is particularly challenging due to the difficulty of pipeline access, as well as the limitations in available technology to perform subsea wall thickness inspections. These challenges require action rather than reaction.
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January/February 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Layne Tucker at EchoRFID, Jim Anspach at Cardno, Inc., and Steve Slusarenko at ProStar Geocorp, Inc.
In the Oil & Gas business we have hundreds of event process chains, each of which bears a cost and contains certain elements of risk. So what can we do to reduce our burden and improve our business? Let’s take a look at the current state of...
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Online Article
Jim Svetgoff, Corrosion Advisor at Devon Energy recently interviewed with American Business Conferences for the Crude Pipeline Asset Integrity Congress 2014.
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September/October 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Layne Tucker at EchoRFID, and Peter Forster at ProStar
Recently developed RFID best practices provide an opportunity for pipeline businesses to transform their asset management and pipeline integrity management processes away from traditional paper-based systems to more efficient, highly-integrated...
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September/October 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Tiratsoo at Pipelines International
The pigging industry has developed a tremendous range of techniques and technologies, and it is probably fair to say that there are few pipelines in the world that cannot be cleaned and inspected, although the success of such operations will often...
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May/June 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy Sergio Oliva at Wild Well Control
An adequate characterization of the Keystone XL special conditions from the perspective of pipeline integrity and risk would be advantageous from the system onset for identifying latent flaws in the system spill prevention plans.
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Online Article
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November/December 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Tyler Alvarado at Inspectioneering
Inspectioneering recently had the privilege of speaking with Tom Wanzeck, Vice President of Integrity Services with Willbros Group, Inc. Tom spent more than 20 years managing assets on the owner-operator side before making the leap to the service...
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Joe Pikas at Technical Toolboxes
Even though oil and gas pipelines and their related facilities are generally safer for people and the environment compared to other means of transportation, occasional leaks and failures due to corrosion and other defects have become an issue in...
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September/October 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Rex Schrunk P.E. at Willbros Engineers
Now, more than ever, pipeline owners and operators are under intense scrutiny to ensure safe and dependable pipeline systems.
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September/October 2010 Inspectioneering Journal
As the oil and gas industry matured regulators and the public have become more and more aware of the risks inherent in the business and increasingly require pipeline owners to demonstrate and document the safe and environmentally acceptable...
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November/December 2009 Inspectioneering JournalBy Stefan Papenfuss at Quest Integrity Group
Pipeline integrity management programs are largely driven by regulatory compliance and are typically budgeted years in advance. Operators of all sizes are looking for ways to reduce expenditures related to operational efficiency and safety in order...
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July/August 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy Paul Jackson at Plant Integrity Ltd., and Tat-Hean Gan at TWI Ltd.
The integrity of pipelines is a natural concern for pipeline operators, and so the ability to detect corrosion, erosion and mechanical damage in pipes is therefore of significant interest. Traditional methods of detection, such as pigging and...
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January/February 2007 Inspectioneering Journal
NACE International has approved two highly anticipated standards dedicated to the control of internal pipeline corrosion.
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September/October 2006 Inspectioneering JournalBy F Egan at Zadco, D G Jones at PII Pipeline Solutions business of GE Oil & Gas, and J Healy at Macaw Engineering Ltd
Active corrosion in onshore and offshore pipelines is an increasing problem. Consequently, pipeline operators regularly use intelligent inspection pigs to detect and size corrosion. Inspection data can be combined with probability based...
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Sponsored Video Published on June 14, 2017Effective pipeline integrity management has been problematic for a large number of pipelines that were not designed for in-line inspection. Quest Integrity understands the complexities involved with this challenging segment and offers a...
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Sponsored Video Published on May 15, 2017InVista Subsea, an advanced ultrasonic ILI tool from Quest Integrity, provides a solution for challenging and difficult-to-inspect subsea pipelines.
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NewsReuters, November 1, 2019
TC Energy Corp said on Wednesday that a response team contained an oil spill in Walsh County, North Dakota from its Keystone crude pipeline.
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NewsU.S. Department of Transportation, May 19, 2016
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced today that it has completed its investigation of the May 19, 2015, Plains All-American pipeline release in Santa Barbara County,...
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NewsU.S. Pipeline and Hazardouse Materials Safety Administration, July 6, 2015
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardouse Materials Safety Administration has proposed new requirements to strengthen Federal pipeline safety regulations related to pipeline accident and incident notification. The Operator...
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NewsNational Transportation Safety Board, January 27, 2015
The National Transportation Safety Board today adopted a safety study on integrity management of gas transmission pipelines in high consequence areas. Integrity management is the process by which pipeline operators and inspectors find and address...
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Press ReleaseAmerican Petroleum Institute, January 15, 2014
Pipelines are extremely safe and efficient for transporting energy across the United States, the industry’s continual efforts to improve the safety of the nation’s network of crude and petroleum product pipelines have reduced pipeline...
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