The Source of Shared Knowledge for Pipeline Professionals
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Terri Larson covers 6 things she learned about Initial Response during her time working in Marshall, Michigan after a Type 1 incident.
The Accidental PIO: 6 Things a Pipeline Crisis Communicator Learned about Initial Response
AGA 7, AGA 9 & AGA 11: refer to the various types of linear meters (turbine, ultrasonic, and Coriolis, respectively) used for custody-transfer measurement applications to calculate oil and gas volumes.
API 1102: gives primary emphasis to provisions for public safety under conditions normally encountered in the pipeline industry. This Recommended Practice covers the design, installation, inspection, and testing required to ensure safe crossings of steel pipelines under railroads and highways.
API 1109: gives primary emphasis to provisions for public safety under conditions normally encountered in the pipeline industry. This Recommended Practice covers the design, installation, inspection, and testing required to ensure safe crossings of steel pipelines under railroads and highways.
API 1111: sets criteria for the design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of offshore steel pipelines utilized in the production, production support, or transportation of hydrocarbons; that is, the movement by pipeline of hydrocarbon liquids, gases, and mixtures of these hydrocarbons with water. This Recommended Practice may also be utilized for water injection pipelines offshore.
API 1113: assists SCADA system designers in identifying issues relevant to the development or redevelopment of a control center.
API 1114: provides basic guidance on the design and development of new solution-mined underground storage facilities. This Recommended Practice is based on the accumulated knowledge and experience of geologists, engineers, and other personnel in the petroleum industry.
API 1115: provides the functional recommendations for salt cavern facilities used for liquid hydrocarbon storage service and covers facility geomechanical assessments, cavern well design and drilling, and solution mining techniques and operations, including monitoring and maintenance practices.
API 1130: a recommended practice published by the American Petroleum Institute and incorporated by reference into the U.S. pipeline regulations in 49 CFR 195.134 and 49 CFR 195.444 for how pipeline operators should design, operate, and maintain their computational pipeline monitoring (CPM) systems. This is a critical document for any pipeline operator with CPM-based pipeline leak detection.
API 1133: applies to new and existing hydrocarbon pipelines that transport gas and hazardous liquids. This Recommended Practice is intended to apply to onshore waterways and coastal zones that may be susceptible to hydrotechnical hazards. An onshore waterway is any man-made or natural channel through which water flows. Coastal zones extend offshore to a water depth of 15 ft and extend inland to include those areas of land influenced by tidal action, storm surge, back water flooding, and other coastal hazards.
API 1149: defines the requirements for using computational models to evaluate uncertainties in a pipeline that affect leak detectability.
API 1160: provides a process within a management system framework for operators to assess potential risks and make day-to-day decisions. Through effective integrity management, pipeline operators can significantly reduce the likelihood of an incident and adverse effects on the public, employees, and the environment.
API 1161: provides guidance for developing and maintaining an Operator Qualification (OQ) program compliant with OQ regulations.
API 1162: provides guidance and recommendations to pipeline operators for the development and implementation of enhanced public awareness programs. This Recommended Practice addresses various elements of such programs, including the intended audiences, the kinds of information to be communicated, frequencies and methodologies for communicating the information, and evaluation of the programs for effectiveness.
API 1163: overs the use of in-line inspection (ILI) systems for onshore and offshore gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. This includes, but is not limited to, tethered, self-propelled, or free-flowing systems for detecting metal loss, cracks, mechanical damage, pipeline geometries, and pipeline location or mapping, The standard applies to both existing and developing technologies.
API 1164: outlines SCADA cybersecurity processes that could take years to implement correctly depending on the complexity of the SCADA system.
API 1165: refers to the Recommended Practice for Pipeline SCADA Displays. This standard outlines the best practices for designing and implementing displays that are used by controllers to evaluate information available in all operating conditions.
API 1166: gives primary emphasis to provisions for public safety under conditions normally encountered in the pipeline industry. This Recommended Practice covers the design, installation, inspection, and testing required to ensure safe crossings of steel pipelines under railroads and highways.
API 1167: a recommendation from PHMSA for rationalizing alarms in the control room. Rationalizing alarms means reviewing each alarm in the SCADA system and capturing the cause of the alarm, bad instrumentation or bad actors, and the operating condition.
API 1168: a Control Room Management guideline that outlines shift handover (SHO) requirements and adequate information in the control room.
API 1169: outlines the Pipeline Construction Inspection Certification requirements. The qualification requirements for API 1169 are based on a combination of the number of years of experience acquired within the last 20 years, plus education, and in some cases, other certifications.
API 1170: provides the functional recommendations for facilities that use natural gas storage service, including monitoring and maintenance practices.
API 1171: recommends that operators manage the integrity of natural gas storage in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. This recommended practice includes monitoring and maintenance.
API 1172: assists all parties to safely manage construction activities of new or modified facilities parallel to existing underground transmission pipelines.
API 1173: established the framework for operators to implement Pipeline Safety Management Systems (SMS). A significant part of this recommended practice is a training and competency aspect.
API 1174: provides to operators of onshore hazardous liquid pipelines a framework that promotes the continual improvement of emergency planning and response processes, including identification and mitigation of associated risks and implementation of changes from lessons learned. This Recommended Practice assists the operator in preparing for a safe, timely, and effective response to a pipeline emergency.
API 1175: a recommended practice published by the American Petroleum Institute addressing how pipeline operators should maintain their leak detection program. The goal of the standard is to have the best leak detection system possible by always looking for continuous improvements to the individual LDS components achieving operational buy-in with the culture, strategies, KPIs, and testing.
API 1176: enhances pipeline integrity by providing a comprehensive guide on how to predict and prevent pipeline failures due to cracking.
API 1177: provides a framework for a quality management system (QMS) for onshore pipeline construction.
API 1178: provides instruction on data integration that supplements other API pipeline integrity documents, specifically API RP 1160, Managing System Integrity for Hazardous Liquid Pipelines for Integrity Management.
API 1179: provides guidelines related to hydrostatic testing as a tool for integrity management in gas and liquids pipelines. This Technical Report specifically focuses on program design and key parameters for consideration in hydrostatic test programs, as well as potential detrimental effects of hydrostatic testing.
API 14.3 & AGA 3: describe the design and installation parameters for measurement of fluid flow using orifice meters and other devices, and provide a reference for engineering equations, uncertainty estimations, construction and installation requirements, and standardized implementation recommendations for the calculation of flow rate through orifice meters.
API 21.1: describes the minimum specifications for electronic gas measurement systems used in the measurement and recording of flow parameters for custody transfer applications utilizing industry recognized primary measurement devices.
API 2200: discusses guidelines for safe practices while repairing in-service pipelines for hazardous liquids. This Recommended Practice addresses the needs for qualified personnel and advanced planning (including site assessment) to facilitate safe overall repair activities.
API 4.5: covers the use of displacement, turbine, and ultrasonic meters as master meters.
API 4.8: provides information for operating meter provers on single-phase liquid hydrocarbons. It is intended as a reference manual for operating proving systems.
ASME B31Q: is the Pipeline Personnel Qualification standard. Find more information on this qualification standard at ASME.org.
Computational Pipeline Modeling (CPM): a digital method of mapping out a pipeline’s operational conditions and processes to track the flow of a liquid or gas through the pipeline.
FERC Order 636: issued in 1992 to relax service requirements on pipeline firms and gave customers greater purchasing flexibility by separating gas sales from transportation. The order also extended transportation to include storage and allowed end-users with firm transport contracts to sell unused capacity.
GPA 2166: recommends the procedures for obtaining samples from flowing natural gas streams that represent the composition of the vapor phase portion of the system to be analyzed.
High-Consequence Areas (HCAs): defined by PHMSA as a potential impact zone that contains 20 or more structures intended for human occupancy or an identified site. PHMSA identifies how pipeline operators must identify, prioritize, assess, evaluate, repair, and validate the integrity of gas transmission pipelines that could, in the event of a leak or failure, affect HCAs.
Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP): included in a bulletin issued by PHSMA informing owners and operators of gas transmission pipelines that if the pipeline pressure exceeds MAOP plus the build-up allowed for operation of pressure-limiting or control devices, the owner or operator must report the exceedance to PHMSA on or before the fifth day following the date on which the exceedance occurs. If the pipeline is subject to the regulatory authority of one of PHMSA’s State Pipeline Safety Partners, the exceedance must also be reported to the applicable state agency.
Mega Rule: a set of new pipeline safety standards issued by PHMSA in October 2019 that brings 500,000 miles of pipeline under federal jurisdiction to ensure the safe transport of gas product.
OQ Integrity Process: is the industry program (OQIP) that strives for a universal approach to meet the PHMSA Operator Qualification Expectations, as developed and created by the industry’s OQ Integrity Coalition.
PHSMA Rule 49 CFR 192: pertains to the transportation of natural and other gas by pipeline.
PHSMA Rule 49 CFR 195: pertains to the transportation of hazardous liquids by pipeline.
Pipeline Safety Act of 2017: allowed the Department of Transportation (DOT) to amend a federal regulation for how to respond to oil spills, calling for PHMSA to consult with the EPA in the event of an oil spill reaching major bodies of water.
Pipeline Safety Management Systems (PSMS): an industry-wide focus to improve pipeline safety, driving toward zero incidents.
PIPES Act of 2016: a public law that was introduced by the U.S. Congress to protect the infrastructure of pipelines and provide enhanced safety in pipeline transportation. The PIPES Act defines the minimum safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities and imposes a user fee for entities that operate underground storage facilities.
Process Hazard Analysis (PHA): the process of assessing potential hazards associated with the transport of gas, liquids, or other substances through a pipeline. The PHA is designed to help pipeline operators improve their decision-making in the event of a hazardous event.
Process Safety Management (PSM): a regulation from the EPA and OSHA that defines how hazardous material is allowed to be used, stored, manufactured, and handled to protect the environment and personnel who work with the substances.
Ineffective communication between the pipeline control room and field operations is a routine source of safety issues for pipeline operators. Operators need access to a set of robust tools to optimize the connection between the control room and field operations:
“Mr. Corrosion” Bob Franco, a guest on the Pipeliners Podcast, and Timothy Bieri wrote the third edition of “Corrosion Control in Petroleum Production,” as published by NACE International. The expanded third edition is written for non-experts who have the responsibility for corrosion management in oil and gas. It provides an overview of various corrosion threats, the methods for controlling corrosion, and the establishment of a management system based on risk and continuous improvement.
Preventive and Mitigative (P&M) regulations such as 49 CFR 192.935 for Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management have traditionally focused on physical risks and threats to pipeline assets.
Learn how transmission operators can use Pipeline SMS (PSMS / API 1173) as a method to root out organizational failure as part of their P&M program.
Pipelines are a valuable asset and need to be protected. In order to achieve this, a modern pipeline integrity management program should include regular inspections followed by integrity assessment, and if required repair and rehabilitation measures.
Access this resource from ROSEN to learn more about why pipeline operators need a well-proven method for the inspection of pipelines, especially high-pressure transmission pipelines, through the use of automated inspection tools that can survey pipelines from within.