Assuring the integrity of natural gas transmission pipelines. Topical report, November 1992

Technical Report · Sun Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6448904

Posakony, G J; Hill, V L

The existing 370,000 miles of U.S. natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines were constructed principally during the past four decades. Since more than 30 percent of the energy produced domestically is natural gas, assuring the long-term integrity of the transmission system is a vital element in meeting the energy needs of the nation. The preventive maintenance programs established by the gas industry are key to extending the service life of this national asset. The report, one of four covering pipeline maintenance and inspection, describes the types of third-party and service-induced conditions that have caused leaks and rare failures in natural gas transmission pipelines. Also overviewed are the preventive maintenance practices currently available to survey, monitor, and test the pipe and to locate conditions which might be adverse to the safety, serviceability and integrity of the system. These include right-of-way surveys and patrols, monitoring of corrosion protection systems, in-line inspection with smart pigs, bellhole excavations and hydrostatic retesting.

• Research Organization: J-TECH Consulting, Richland, WA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6448904
• Report Number(s): PB-93-184364/XAB; CNN: GRI-5088-271-1696
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
032000* -- Natural Gas-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
CORROSION PROTECTION
DATA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FAILURE MODE ANALYSIS
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
INSPECTION
LEAK DETECTORS
LEAKS
LIFETIME
MAINTENANCE
MONITORING
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PIPELINES
QUALITY ASSURANCE
SAFETY
SERVICE LIFE
STATISTICAL DATA
SURVEYS
SYSTEM FAILURE ANALYSIS
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
TRANSMISSION
USA