PHMSA Cased Pipe Workshop – April 28, 2010 - Baltimore, MD

PHMSA is holding a Workshop on the newly developed Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe (PDF, 752k) at the Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD on April 28, 2010. The workshop focus will be for the public, pipeline operators, trade associations, and others to address ideas and concerns with successfully using External Corrosion Direct Assessment integrity evaluation methods and use of other technologies to assess pipelines in casings located within High Consequence Areas. The workshop is intended to discuss the PHMSA guidance "Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe in Gas Transmission Pipelines" and related FAQs. The latest guidelines and FAQs are available online here.

More information on the workshop here. Register for free here.

See previous posts on casings and ECDA here and here.

ECDA For Cased Pipelines

From Pipeline and Gas Journal article "Mears Hosts Workshop On ECDA For Cased Pipelines":

Fifty-six integrity representatives from pipeline and gas utility companies across North America attended the day-long event at Mears headquarters in Rosebush, MI. Speakers included Max Kieba, Central Engineer, Office of Pipeline Safety, who gave directions to attendees on the upcoming PHMSA cased-pipe guidelines. Demonstrations included field indirect and direct inspections of coated and uncoated cased pipe, and a demonstration of wax filling a casing by Royston.

Casings are a common historical practice to prevent overburden stresses and mechanical damage to pipelines, typically at crossings, but they cause some unique problems with cathodic protection and corrosion surveys. Uncased crossings are usually preferable to cased crossings from a corrosion point-of-view. The NACE Standard SP0200 "Steel-Cased Pipeline Practices" (PDF, 833k, free to NACE members $35 for non-members) says:

1.2 Use of cased crossings should be avoided unless required by load considerations, unstable soil conditions, or when their use is dictated by sound engineering practices.

The issue has become critical in the gas transmission industry with the requirements of the Gas IMP rule and the limitations of performing ECDA on cased crossings. There was a PHMSA public meeting in July 2008 to address all the issues of cased crossings. There is more information on the PHMSA meeting website. In particular, this presentation from a liquid operator gives an overall perspective on the issues of casings.

The author also recently participated in an article in the March 2009 Pipeline and Gas Journal titled "Protecting Pipelines At Crossings: Are Casings Obsolete?".

Also, see previous post on the Pipeline Cased Crossings Casing Quality Action Team (CASQAT) here.

Learn the latest on distribution integrity management plans (DIMP)

As part of Pipeline Integrity Month in January 2010, NACE International is bringing the Data and Integrity Management Workshop to Houston.  This half day event will cover topics on external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) and data integration management plans. The Data and Integrity Management Workshop is being held in conjunction with PIMS Houston 2010: Investigating the 80% Rule. The combined events allow you to save on travel costs while learning how to reduce the risk of corrosion and other defects impacting pipeline integrity and safety in one location.   With registration to the Data & Integrity Management Workshop the Pipeline Integrity Web Series in January 2010 is FREE (a $200 value).   Technical Program Highlights: -   Integrated Engineering with Guided Wave and Other        Advanced Assessment Techniques -   Quality Data Collection Recognition -   ECDA: Direct Examination - Data Collection        During Excavations -   ECDA and Data Integration -   Gas Distribution Integrity Management Plan (DIMP) -   Cased Crossing Monitoring and Criteria When: January 25, 2009 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Where: JW Marriott Houston 5150 Westheimer Houston, Texas 77056  Quick Links: Travel Hotel Events Event Sponsor:                               Register Today! Register by January 5th and save $75!