Reducing Pipeline Spills in the Oil and Gas Drilling Industry

Tag : Oil Pipeline Valves
Spills from oil pipelines are serious business, creatingsignificant problems for both the environment and the companiesthat operate the pipelines. In the past, spills were handled in anemergency fashion, with no coordinated efforts to reduce both theirnumber and their severity. However, all that changed in 1999 withthe introduction of a powerful new tracking and analysis tool.

Just a few short years ago, the petroleum pipeline industryinstituted an environmental performance tracking system to helpmanage the risks involved when running, managing and maintainingthe thousands of miles of pipelines under their control. Thissystem, called PPTS (Petroleum Pipeline Tracking System) hasalready helped reduce both the environmental impact of spills aswell as their frequency.

Oil sourcing companies applaud the results that pipeline trackinghas already created. The Petroleum Pipeline Tracking Systemarchives detailed information about each spill; not only the sizeof the spill, but also its root cause and the environmental impactcreated by it. This carefully managed information can aid inefforts to detect he causes of oil pipeline spills and stop futurespills before they start.

Petroleum Pipeline Data Tracking

The amount of data tracked by the Petroleum Pipeline TrackingSystem is impressive, and the degree to which incoming data isverified only serves to strengthen the system. From report accuracyand completeness checking to incident-level comparison, theextensive efforts to ensure the integrity of the reporting systemare working well.

Further boosting the participation of oil pipeline mangers is theconfidentiality of data stored within the tracking system. Specificincident information is kept protected by the system's data miningteam who publish the aggregate results in their advisories to thevarious members of the pipeline industry. This generalizedinformation is valuable in helping with risk management, animportant concern to oil companies.

Because of aggressive participation efforts, by 2004 overeighty-five percent of total interstate pipeline mileage was beingtracked by PPTS, with impressive results. Spills were down asfailures of fittings and valves decreased, and operator error alsodiminished accordingly. Analysts were able to define recognizablepatterns to assist in preventative measures that would keep spillsfrom occurring as often.

Preventing Pipeline Spills

Easier and more frequent detection of corrosion locations helped toreduce the number of corrosion-related pipeline spills as many riskpoints were identified and repaired before any failure occurred. Bytaking advantage of the learning experience from each spill loggedin the Petroleum Pipeline Tracking System, failures and spillevents continue to decline.

After 2004 there was a slight increase in the number of spillincidents, but this change was due to the effects of hurricanesIvan and Katrina on offshore pipelines and facilities. However,even these spill events will provide valuable data that can makepipeline maintenance efforts more effective in the future.

Because spill reduction benefits everybody, energy companiescontinue to support the improvement in operational effectivenessthat comes with proper tracking and analysis of past events.

Spills from oil pipelines are serious business, creatingsignificant problems for both the environment and the companiesthat operate the pipelines. In the past, spills were handled in anemergency fashion, with no coordinated efforts to reduce both theirnumber and their severity. However, all that changed in 1999 withthe introduction of a powerful new tracking and analysis tool.

Just a few short years ago, the petroleum pipeline industryinstituted an environmental performance tracking system to helpmanage the risks involved when running, managing and maintainingthe thousands of miles of pipelines under their control. Thissystem, called PPTS (Petroleum Pipeline Tracking System) hasalready helped reduce both the environmental impact of spills aswell as their frequency.

Oil sourcing companies applaud the results that pipeline trackinghas already created. The Petroleum Pipeline Tracking Systemarchives detailed information about each spill; not only the sizeof the spill, but also its root cause and the environmental impactcreated by it. This carefully managed information can aid inefforts to detect he causes of oil pipeline spills and stop futurespills before they start.

Petroleum Pipeline Data Tracking

The amount of data tracked by the Petroleum Pipeline TrackingSystem is impressive, and the degree to which incoming data isverified only serves to strengthen the system. From report accuracyand completeness checking to incident-level comparison, theextensive efforts to ensure the integrity of the reporting systemare working well.

Further boosting the participation of oil pipeline mangers is theconfidentiality of data stored within the tracking system. Specificincident information is kept protected by the system's data miningteam who publish the aggregate results in their advisories to thevarious members of the pipeline industry. This generalizedinformation is valuable in helping with risk management, animportant concern to oil companies.

Because of aggressive participation efforts, by 2004 overeighty-five percent of total interstate pipeline mileage was beingtracked by PPTS, with impressive results. Spills were down asfailures of fittings and valves decreased, and operator error alsodiminished accordingly. Analysts were able to define recognizablepatterns to assist in preventative measures that would keep spillsfrom occurring as often.

Preventing Pipeline Spills

Easier and more frequent detection of corrosion locations helped toreduce the number of corrosion-related pipeline spills as many riskpoints were identified and repaired before any failure occurred. Bytaking advantage of the learning experience from each spill loggedin the Petroleum Pipeline Tracking System, failures and spillevents continue to decline.

After 2004 there was a slight increase in the number of spillincidents, but this change was due to the effects of hurricanesIvan and Katrina on offshore pipelines and facilities. However,even these spill events will provide valuable data that can makepipeline maintenance efforts more effective in the future.

Because spill reduction benefits everybody, energy companiescontinue to support the improvement in operational effectivenessthat comes with proper tracking and analysis of past events.