Inline Assessment of Transmission Pipelines in the Oil and Gas and Water Sectors

Pipelines are pressure vessels used to transport products from one location to another and as such their operation falls under the US Department of Transportation. In principle, the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) has oversight on all transmission pipelines; however, in practice, regulations only exist for oil and gas pipelines. Spurred on by several spectacular and deadly pipeline failures starting in the 30's, the industry is now fully regulated. Present regulations include both risk management as well as mandatory condition assessment in high-risk areas. There are presently no regulations pertaining to risk management, pipeline assessment or pipeline safety in the water sector. It is not clear whether the fact that water transmission pipelines seldom cross state boundaries or the perception of lower consequence failures for water mains means that the water sector shall remain largely unregulated. It is clear that just as there is a strong desire to operate petrochemical pipelines up to and beyond their design life, there is a similar drive for water pipelines. The replacement value of water pipelines in the US is estimated at over $700,000,000,000. Comparing and contrasting approaches to condition assessment and risk management in these two sectors will certainly strengthen the emerging best practices.