Improving the Safety of Marine Pipelines (1994) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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Yet several dramatic accidents in the late 1980s raised new public concerns about the safety and integrity of marine pipelines. These events, and in particular two separate fatal incidents in which the fishing vessels Sea Chief and Northumberland, in shallow waters, struck pipelines that were no longer properly buried, drew attention to the fact that pipelines must share the waters with some of the nation's busiest ports and most productive fisheries, and must retain their integrity for decades in the face of frequent storms, coastal erosion, and, in California, seismic activity.
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State and local agencies issue permits for coastal activities, under their coastal zone management plans. -r -- - r~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ -—~r~ -- ~~ —Arm SAFETY EXPERIENCE Analysis of past pipeline failures is difficult, because data collection by federal and state agencies has been inconsistent and incomplete.
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From page 3... ...
Operators monitor the corrosivity of pipeline fluids, injecting corrosion inhibitors as needed and scheduling runs with internal cleaning devices called "pigs." Furthermore, operators can usually predict the circumstances in which internal corrosion will occur, so that specific inspection and remediation techniques can be used in situations where they will be most effective. In-line internal inspection devices, or "smart pigs," have been in use, with steady improvement, for more than 20 years.
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From page 4... ...
AVOIDING OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE WITH PIPELINES The most significant pipeline failures, as noted earlier, are those that result from damage by vessels and their gear. Impacts of anchors, nets, trawl boards, and hulls of cargo, fishing, and offshore service vessels and mobile drilling rigs can lead to major pollution incidents, costly repairs and replacements, and even injuries and deaths.
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From page 5... ...
Every pipeline operator must appreciate the unique circumstances affecting each pipeline, and take the necessary steps to control risk. The industry as a whole must recognize that the entire offshore oil and gas industry could be severely weakened bv major pollution incirle.nt.c or fate ~rr~iA`~ntc resulting from pipeline failures.
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Accidental pipeline spills have released more volume than offshore drilling accidents during the past ten years. Tank vessel and tank barge accidents are another source of spills which, like pipeline accidents, result in widely varying annual volumes of oil spilled into the Gulf.
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OPS inspection efforts are conducted primarily through periodic audits of company records. Although, these differences in resources and approaches focused on marine pipeline inspection reflect differences in the physical location of facilities and the safety issues faced by the two agencies, it appears likely that OPS enforcement personnel are too few to cover adequately the 13,000 miles of marine pipelines and more than 160 operating companies in the Gulf of Mexico region of the OCS that are under OPS jurisdiction.
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From page 8... ...
The committee recommends that marine pipelines already constructed be exempted from federal or state requirements for the use of currently available smart pigs for external or internal corrosion detection. New medium- to large-diameter pipelines running from platform to platform or platform to shore should be designed to accommodate smart pigs whenever reasonably practical.
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From page 9... ...
Pipeline installation must take into account detailed knowledge of soils, currents, and shoreline processes, so the pipeline can be buried and weighted to keep it in place, even if its surrounding soils are fluidized by currents and wave action. The committee has no information leading it to believe that the initial burial depths required by regulatory agencies are either adequate or inadequate.
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From page 10... ...
All agencies involved in the permitting of pipelines crossing shorelines should require the use of the directional bore installation method wherever feasible. In waters less than 15 feet deep (where interactions between vessels and pipelines may, albeit rarely, expose vessels and crews to fire and explosions, periodic depth-of-cover surveys in the Gulf of Mexico should be scheduled according to the specific local shoreline and seabed dynamics, and the passage of severe storms, according to the criteria outlined in Chapter 5 ("Periodic Depth of Cover Inspections)
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From page 11... ...
Pipeline operators should take timely corrective action when they are made aware of problems caused by their abandoned pipelines. Remediation should be the responsibility of the owner or successors until or unless the abandoned pipeline is removed.
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