NTSB Says Corrosion Found on Marshall, Michigan Ruptured Pipe

Close-up view of the section of pipe containing rupture

In testimony to a U.S. House of Representatives committee today, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman provided an update on the progress of the NTSB's investigation into an oil spill in Marshall, Michigan in July. Investigators found corrosion on the exterior surface of the accident pipe piece and the second pipe piece, and found surface cracks and indications of corrosion on the ruptured pipe. Government investigators estimate that between 800,000 and 1 million gallons of oil spilled as a result of the Marshall pipeline rupture.

For the full trascript of Ms. Hersman's testimony, see here.

For more information on the pipeline incident, see here.

Plains All American Pipeline to Pay $44.25M for Oil Spills

Cleanup in Homochitto National Forest in Mississippi;
photo courtesy of the US EPA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Justice Department announced that Plains All American Pipeline and several of its operating subsidiaries have agreed to spend approximately $41 million to upgrade 10,420 miles of crude oil pipeline operated in the United States. The settlement resolves Plains’ Clean Water Act violations for 10 crude oil spills in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and requires the company to pay a $3.25 million civil penalty

Approximately 6,510 barrels (273,420 gallons) of crude oil were discharged from various pipelines and one tank owned and operated by Plains into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Most of the spills were caused by corrosion on the pipelines.

The $3,250,000 civil penalty will be paid to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

From the EPA website.

Corrosion Found on Enbridge Pipeline Prior to Leak

Federal regulators say earlier tests found corrosion along the pipeline that sent thousands of gallons of oil rushing into the Kalamazoo River this week and that, as recently as two weeks ago, its owner was talking about replacing pipe sections. No cause for the spill has been released, and it was not immediately known whether problems found in the earlier testing were in the area of the spill, or whether that part of the pipe was targeted for replacement.

Enbridge's Line 6B response website here.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration corrective action order here (PDF, 322k).

National Transportation Safety Board announcement here.

From Detroit Free Press.

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.

Alyeska tests clamp to repair bullet holes

From Energy Pipeline News:

ANCHORAGE - Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. is planning a field exercise this year to test a hydraulically powered clamp designed to stop oil from spewing out of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline through a bullet hole. The bullet-hole exercise is planned for a site at the Chatanika River. A test piece of 48-inch mainline pipe will be placed at the scene and pressurized with water to simulate a high-pressure oil spray through a bullet hole, an exercise description says.

From Wikipedia:

On October 4, 2001, a drunken gunman named Daniel Carson Lewis shot a hole into a weld near Livengood, causing the second-largest mainline oil spill in pipeline history. Approximately 258,000 US gallons (980 m3) leaked from the pipeline; 178,000 US gallons (670 m3) were recovered and reinjected into the pipeline. Nearly 2 acres (8,100 m2) of tundra were soiled and were removed in the cleanup. The pipeline was repaired and was restarted more than 60 hours later. Lewis was found guilty in December 2002 of criminal mischief, assault, drunken driving, oil pollution, and misconduct. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail and ordered to repay the $17 million cleanup costs.

Photo from BBC.

Assessing the need for CO2 pipelines

A recent study commissioned by the INGAA Foundation focused on the pipeline infrastructure requirements for carbon capture and sequestration in connection with compliance with mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The major conclusion of the study was that, while CCS technologies are relatively well defined, there remain technological challenges in the carbon capture and sequestration phases. There are fewer technological challenges in connection with the transportation of captured carbon. The study forecasts that between 15,000 and 66,000 miles will be needed by 2030.

From pipelineandgastechnology.com.

Hoax Email - Dial Before You Dig

There is an email going around, your Corrosion Blog editor has received it three times now, called Dial Before You Dig. The email is now discussed on the extremely useful and entertaining "fact-checking" urban legends website snopes.com here. Public awareness of the dangers of third-party damage to pipelines is beneficial but spreading false tales is not. If you receive this email, I suggest that you do not forward it and reply to the sender letting them know that the email is a hoax, with the link to the snopes site (or this post).

The email contains a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow named Dial_Before_You_Dig.pps.

Dial Before You Dig
This happened in America. It’s a good reason why you should dial before you dig…… The following pictures are a result of a worker on a farm using a post hole digger - he hit an underground, high-pressure gas main. He took out 2 homes, associated sheds and vehicles. They never found the man.

The remainder of the slideshow is pictures showing the devastation of a pipeline explosion. The pictures are from an actual pipeline explosion that happened in "America", but not as the result of a man with a post hole digger. The photographs are actually from a natural gas transmission failure near Appomattox, Virginia in September 2008 caused by external corrosion. There were some minor injuries but fortunately no one was killed.

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!

PHMSA Approves Kinder Morgan's Alternative MAOP

Pipeline transportation and energy storage company Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP said on Oct. 8 that it has received authorization from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to increase the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) on selected segments of three major natural gas pipelines that it operates from 72 to 80 percent of design.

See full story at Energy Pipeline News here.

NACE is conducting a seminar on alternative MAOP in Houston, Texas in January 2010. More information on the event "Pipeline Integrity Management Seminar: Investigating the 80% Rule" can be found on NACE's website here.

The final rule can be found here. PHMSA has a frequently-asked questions page regarding the new rule here.

Pipeline Cased Crossings

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has formed a Pipeline Cased Crossings Casing Quality Action Team (CASQAT) to discuss baseline assessments per 49 CFR Part 192 Subpart O and to develop draft technical guidance for addressing the integrity of cased crossings. The team had hoped to meet in Houston in conjunction with Corrosion Technology Week, but an internal review has raised some additional issues. A workshop is planned for later in the year.

For more information, click here.

Preparing for Close-Interval Survey

Paper 09126 "Preparing for Close-Interval Survey" (download $10 for NACE members, $13 for non-members) was presented at the Corrosion/2009 Close-Interval Survey Symposium. The paper was based on a Feb, 1998 Materials Performance article titled “Close Interval Potential Surveys—Planning, Execution, Results” by Robin Pawson. The paper updates the topic for new technology and direct assessment. More information can be found in NACE SP0207-2007 “Performing Close-Interval Potential Surveys on Buried or Submerged Metallic Pipelines” (free download for NACE members) published in 2007.

Drew Hevle
Chair, 2009 Close-Interval Survey Symposium

New training opportunities to keep your pipeline flowing

To view this post at nace.org, go here.

New courses. New certifications.  An expanded education program.   Visit www.nace.org/trainingguide for more information and make your plans to start 2010 with higher qualifications!     NACE International has expanded its pipeline training program! Two NEW courses and certifications have been added to provide formal training in internal corrosion technology. Internal Corrosion for Pipelines - Basic  (formerly Internal Corrosion for Pipelines) This course provides students with the fundamentals of implementing, monitoring, and maintaining an internal corrosion control program.  Internal Corrosion for Pipelines - Advanced In addition to covering monitoring and mitigation strategies, this course teaches data interpretation, analysis and integration as well as criteria for determining corrective action for high-level internal corrosion problems within a pipeline system. These courses, in addition to the Cathodic Protection program, the Pipeline Corrosion Integrity Management program and a NACE Operator Qualification program, comprise an expanded and comprehensive curriculum to provide education for the pipeline industry. Sign up today for the corrosion training that opens the door to more career opportunities and earnings potential. Click on the course name for more details, or 'Register' to enroll.     CP1 - Cathodic Protection Tester Code Location Date   44510029 Rosebush, MI September 13 - 18, 2009 Register 44510025 Tulsa, OK October 11 - 16, 2009 Register 44510030 Rosebush, MI October 18 - 23, 2009 Register 44510046 Claysville, PA November 8 - 13, 2009 Register 44510009 Houston, TX November 8 - 13, 2009 Register 44510015 Houston, TX December 6 - 11, 2009 Register 44510048 Kilgore, TX December 13 - 18, 2009 Register        CP2 - Cathodic Protection Technician Code Location Date   44810023 Rosebush, MI October 25 - 30, 2009 Register 44810033 Claysville, PA November 15 - 20, 2009 Register    Internal Corrosion for Pipelines - Basic Code Location Date   41410016 Bakersfield, CA October 19 - 23, 2009 Register 41410004 Houston, TX October 26 - 30, 2009 Register 41410009 Malvern, AR October 26 - 30, 2009 Register 41410011 Calgary, AB November 2 - 6, 2009 Register   Internal Corrosion for Pipelines - Advanced Code Location Date   41610001 Houston, TX September 14 - 18, 2009 Register 41610006 Bakersfield, CA October 12 - 16, 2009 Register 41610004 New Orleans, LA November 16 - 20, 2009 Register   Pipeline Corrosion Integrity Management Code Location Date   46510001 Houston, TX October 5 - 9, 2009 Register

Presentation on Pipeline Integrity and Risk Management

At the NACE External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA) Seminar held in Houston January 26-28, 2009, Mark Hereth of Process Performance Improvement Consultants (P-PIC) discussed pipeline integrity and risk management. A copy of his presentation is here (PDF, 395k).

NACE's next pipeline integrity management seminar addresses the Alternate Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) regulation for natural gas transmission pipelines, also known as the 80% Rule. For more information, click here.

NTSB Major Pipeline Accident reports

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has a brief summary and report for major pipeline accidents here.

PRCI Continues SCC Data Mining Program and Seeks Member and Pipeline Operator Support

The Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) recently received additional support and supplemental funding from PHMSA to continue the efforts to collect, compile, and analyze data for determining pipeline susceptibility to Stress Corrosion Cracking, or SCC. The SCC Data Mining Program is a key element of PRCI’s research program on SCC susceptibility (PRCI Program SCC-2) and consists of a consolidated effort to gather an industry database on the operating and environmental conditions that influence the initiation and growth of SCC on pipelines and the conditions where pipelines have not shown any indications of SCC.

See PHMSA's Pipeline Safety Research and Development Website here.

Read more about PRCI's SCC data mining project here.

Congress designates June 10th as ‘‘National Pipeline Safety Day"

PDF version of full text (156k) from the Government Printing Office (GPOAccess.com) here.