TRB Special Report 311: Effects of Diluted Bitumen on Crude Oil Transmission Pipelines (2013) / Chapter Skim
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4 Review of Pipeline Incident Data
4 Review of Pipeline Incident Data
Pages 51-66
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From page 51... ...
Incidents involving especially severe consequences, such as deaths, injuries, evacuations, and environmental damage, may also be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
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From page 52... ...
Source: Incident data were provided to the committee by PHMSA during the October 23, 2012, committee meeting. PHMSA Incident Data and Investigations PHMSA regulations require that operators of hazardous liquid pipelines, which include crude oil pipelines, report any incident that involves a release of 5 gallons or more or explosion, fire, serious injury, or significant property damage.3 Incidents that involve any component of the pipeline facility, including line pipe, tanks, valves, manifolds, and pumps, must be reported.
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From page 53... ...
18% Mainline pipe diameter >16 in. 5% Tanks 7% Valves 2% FIGURE 4-2 System components involved in crude oil pipeline incidents reported to PHMSA, 2002 to 2012.
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From page 54... ...
Department of State 2013, Volume IV, Appendix K table 4-1 Crude Oil Pipeline Incident Reports to PHMSA, by Cause of Release and System Component Involved, 2002 to 2012 System Component Involved Unspecified Cause of Release Pipe Tanks Valves Pumps Component Total Weather or natural force 10 10 0 29 20 69 Incorrect operations 5 16 1 80 58 160 Outside force 80 0 2 17 11 110 Equipment malfunction 1 29 17 491 1 539 Manufacture or construction 31 7 1 67 41 147 Unspecified corrosion 1 1 0 0 191 193 Internal corrosion 103 7 3 165 3 281 External corrosion 82 7 0 23 0 112 Unspecified cause 8 16 1 37 22 84 Total 321 93 25 909 347 1,695 Source: U.S.
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From page 55... ...
Since 2005, PHMSA has conducted 63 investigations of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including 14 incidents involving onshore crude oil transmission pipelines.4 The latter incidents are referenced in Table 4-2. In the two cases found to have involved internal corrosion, factors other than the properties of the crude oils transported were cited as causes.
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From page 56... ...
Partners 12/23/09 Enterprise Galveston, Crude oil Meter station Material Cap screws on a stainless steel pressure switch Products Texas from offshore component failure in a failed because of hydrogen-assisted cracking fitting promoted by galvanic corrosion. 3/1/10 Mid-Valley Gregg Crude oil Tank farm mani- Internal Internal corrosion occurred in a dead-leg section of Pipeline County, fold piping corrosion pipe with no flow during normal operations.
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From page 57... ...
main-line Outside force River flooding caused debris to strike and rupture Pipeline Montana pipe section damage the line. Source: PHMSA's pipeline failure investigation reports can be found at http://phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline/library/failure-reports.
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From page 58... ...
From 2004 to 2011,5 NEB received 12 accident reports and 292 incident reports involving crude oil transmission pipelines (TSB 2012, Table 5)
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From page 59... ...
For example, over the past decade NTSB has investigated fewer than a dozen pipeline incidents, most involving pipelines carrying volatile commodities such as natural gas and refined products.6 The investigations are helpful in understanding factors that can interact to cause pipeline damage and failures, but they produce limited information useful in assessing the effect of specific crude oil types or crude oil properties on pipeline release probabilities. In 2012, NTSB completed an investigation of a pipeline failure in which diluted bitumen was reported to have been released.
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From page 60... ...
A review of other NTSB and TSB investigations over the past decade did not indicate any cases in which specific crude oil types or shipment properties were associated with causes of pipeline damage or failure. Assessment of Information from Incident Reports The causes of pipeline incidents reported to PHMSA are proximate and broadly categorized.
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From page 61... ...
Alberta ERCB Incident Data The Alberta ERCB regulates and monitors the safe performance of oil pipelines in the province, with the exception of approximately 700 miles of NEB-regulated transmission pipeline crossing into other provinces and the United States.9 ERCB mandates reporting of all pipeline incidents involving a release or damage from an outside force. In 2007, the agency reviewed the causes of 411 crude oil pipeline incidents reported from 1990 to 2005 (EUB 2007)
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From page 62... ...
Heavier California crude oils are often transported undiluted through heated pipelines. This is not the case for Canadian bitumen, which is diluted for transportation.10 California has nearly 3,300 miles of transmission pipelines subject to federal safety regulation.11 In addition, the state contains 3,000 to 4,000 miles of state-regulated pipeline, most of it in gathering systems.
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From page 63... ...
For example, 62 percent of the releases occurred in pipelines constructed before 1950, even though these lines accounted for only 18 percent of pipeline mileage. CSFM noted that many of the pipelines built in California during the first half of the 20th century lacked cathodic protection for most of their service lives, which suggests that the lack of cathodic protection, coupled with the absence of coatings or use of older coating materials, may have led to the high incidence of external corrosion relative to other failure causes.13 The CSFM analysis revealed that 22 percent of the external corrosion incidents occurred in pipelines that were uncoated, and another 53 percent occurred in pipelines coated or wrapped with certain materials, most often asphalt and tar.
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From page 64... ...
The high operating temperatures of many of these pipelines can be attributed to the thermal recovery methods used for California crude oil production. While the California experience illustrates the problems that can arise when pipelines are not properly protected against external corrosion, it is not indicative of the protections afforded crude oil transmission pipelines today.14 SUMMARY A logical step in addressing the question of whether shipments of diluted bitumen have a greater propensity to cause pipeline releases than shipments of other crude oils is to examine historical release records.
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From page 65... ...
Variation in reporting coverage is problematic because gathering pipelines are fundamentally different from transmission pipelines in design, maintenance, and operations and in the quality and quantity of the liquids they carry. REFERENCES Abbreviations CSFM California State Fire Marshal EUB Energy and Utilities Board NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council NTSB National Transportation Safety Board TSB Transportation Safety Board of Canada CSFM.
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From page 66... ...
2007. Pipeline Investigation Report: Crude Oil Pipeline Rupture, Enbridge Pipelines, Inc., Line 3, Mile Post 506.2217, near Glenavon, Saskatchewan, 15 April 2007.
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