| Abstract | Nowadays, pipeline industry plays important role for energy demand, supply and distribution around the world. A safe continuous pipeline operation is needed for energy distribution and pipelines are installed with the international standards codes to ensure their operation. The pipeline operation needs to meet the followings;
Safe the safe operation must be ensured
Economy the operation must be commercially viable
Environmental friendly the operation must not impact on environment
Regulating compliance the operation must comply with regulation
The pipeline failures are concerned with some negative consequences such as, death, injuries, environmental impacts and financial losses. Therefore, the integrity management of pipeline is vital in the pipeline industry. The integrity management makes the pipeline to ensure the following;
Ensuring the life of the pipeline system
Ensuring the continuous operation
Ensuring the safety, and environmental protection
Preventing the financial losses
In the integrity management, the potentials of pipeline impacts by threats are firstly identified. Then, gathering and reviewing the data concerning with the threats, consequence analysis and inspection will generate risk assessment. A good knowledge on the threats to integrity of pipeline is very important. From which, the methods of inspection, prevention, monitoring and repair can be selected.
The applicable inspection methods are in-line inspection, hydrostatic pressure testing and direct assessment. In in-line inspection, an appropriate tool is used to detect the defects and their sizes such as depth, area and so on. Hydrostatic pressure testing is demonstrating the fitness of pressurized pipeline with test pressure. Direct assessment is the only way that the pipeline cannot inspect with intelligent pig and cannot make hydrostatic pressure testing.
Prevention and monitoring methods should be considered from the design phase and they should be carried out the whole life of the cycle. In the integrity management of pipeline, the injurious defects that endanger the operation of pipeline are detected and mitigation and emergency plans can be made within due time when the pipeline is necessary.
Developing and implementing of pipeline integrity management program will become a regulatory requirement for standards, government, company, contractor and operator in the future. |