IMPAKT: Oil and Gas Pipeline Integrity Management Program Assessment

Abstract

Pipelines are regarded as the most practical and cost-effective mode of transporting oil and gas (O&G) and also have been the most reliable part of global energy infrastructure. In North America, the O&G pipelines provide basic infrastructure to transport petroleum products both for upstream and downstream sectors. Pipelines’ safe maintenance and operation are necessary to ensure de-minimums risk to the public and the environment. Regulatory authorities require operators to develop and implement pipeline integrity management programs (IMP) in accordance with applicable industry standards. Integrity assessments are common tools to ensure compliance with specific regulatory requirements. The traditional IMP assessment is the most practiced process which ascertains compliance but does not necessarily provide information about program effectiveness. Effective program is proactively responsive to the emergency conditions. In this research, a risk assessment framework for IMP is proposed and developed. The main objective of this research is to assess the effectiveness of the IMP for O&G pipelines. The proposed framework, integrity management program assessment and knowledge tool (IMPAKT), is not only useful for IMP assessment but also lays a foundation for developing a competitive and compliance benchmarking process for regulators.