Spatial Analysis for Natural Gas Pipeline Routing, Monitoring, and High-Risk Areas Identification

Abstract

The pipeline is the fundamental means of transporting natural gas between the reservoir and the point of consumption. Despite the systems’ low cost and high reliability, potential pipeline failures would cause serious human injury, environmental impact, and financial costs. In order to reduce these damages, it is essential to study risk factors and investigate high-risk locations using existing risk factors. Spatial analysis is an appropriate method for studying environmental phenomena. Considering the extent of various factors influencing pipeline risk and their spatial dependence, we conducted a spatial analysis using ArcGIS to identify vulnerable areas and high-risk points in natural gas pipelines. For this purpose, the local influencing factors and their impact distance were determined by reviewing previous studies and then scored according to the risk level using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The risk of natural gas pipelines was then analyzed using these scores, the relationships developed, and the maps produced from the various factors. The results showed that most gas pipelines are exposed to various risks including dangers and geographical risks. Among these risks, faults play an important role, affecting about 97% of natural gas pipelines. In general, out of 13,875 km of general Iranian natural gas pipelines, 13,411 km are in various risk areas and 1,054 km are in high-risk areas, which are located at more than 4,300 points. The study of planned pipeline routes for future development also showed that these lines are located in relatively suitable areas. However, some changes to the routes could reduce the risks. Identifying the type and amount of risk on each pipeline helps experts choose a method with reasonable cost and sufficient efficiency for monitoring the pipeline according to the need. This paper is recommended for those involved with natural gas pipeline design and risk assessment. The “Introduction” section of this article is suitable for people who have just become familiar with this topic and want to get a general understanding of the topic as a whole and the previous studies done in this field. In this section, various monitoring methods of natural gas pipelines have been introduced, which helps the reader get familiar with these methods, their characteristics, and their operating range. In the “Methodology” section, due to the introduction, and the classification of risk factors, helps the reader to understand high-risk areas for the development of natural gas pipelines. This article presents a method to evaluate the risks identified and categorized by experts, first with the help of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and then with the help of maps and geographic information system (GIS) obtained from different points of the area. The review should be scored according to the level and type of risk and the AHP makes it possible to use experts’ knowledge to rank the importance of different factors in comparison with each other. The maps obtained from this method can be used to improve the developing natural gas lines as well as the appropriate selection of monitoring methods to reduce the risks caused by natural gas pipelines.