Asset Integrity Management has been a hot button topic in the energy industry for several years due to an aging pipeline infrastructure.  Increased regulation and governmental oversight has required all companies to enact pipeline integrity programs. 

Incidents Have Increased

Despite the regulatory requirements, pipeline incidents have increased in 2009 and 2010.  As a result of these incidents, Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary, announced on April 6, 2011 a new pipeline safety initiative.  Mr. LaHood has called upon U.S. pipeline owners and operators to conduct a comprehensive review of their oil and gas pipelines to identify areas of high risk, and accelerate critical repair and replacement work.  

Integrity Management Effectiveness

Regulatory concerns within DOT/PHMSA with respect to Integrity Management plans are threefold. The agency concerns are focused on the possibility that pipeline safety programs are either 1) not adequate; 2) not being followed or 3) not being periodically reviewed and updated
 
Maintaining pipeline safety and reliability is a complex process. There are presently more than 60 different prevention, detection and mitigation practices (not including many of the 134 Common Ground reported best practices) that are applied to the line pipe individually, sequentially or collectively to assure pipeline integrity. Current regulations require companies to have selected aspects of a comprehensive integrity Management plan within their Operations and Maintenance Plan.
 
Asset risk assessment, part of an Integrity Management plan, is a careful examination of potential hazards that may affect the operation of a business; these may be risks associated with the safety and integrity of physical assets, risks to the environment, and financial risks from various decisions and also risks from outdated integrity plans or procedures.  At its simplest, risk assessment is a common sense approach that provides a means of checking what is often good existing practice.

D.I.M.P. is a Game Changer

Last year’s implementation of the Distribution Integrity Management Program, or DIMP, with an August 2011 deadline for implementation, completed the blanket of regulatory coverage over all oil and gas pipelines in the United States.  Regulations requiring integrity management programs now apply to gathering lines, high pressure transmission lines and low pressure distribution lines.  Every U.S. owner or operator of an oil, natural gas or hazardous liquid or gas pipeline is now involved in a complex regulatory scheme that mandates hazard assessment, risk assessment and implementation of measures, processes and procedures to mitigate risk.

Asset Risk Assessment

Asset risk assessment is a careful examination of potential hazards and failure consequences that may affect the operation of a pipeline, process facility or business.  There may be risks associated with the safe operation of physical assets, risks to the environment, and financial risks from various decisions.  There are always risks from asset integrity or inadequate asset integrity risk mitigation procedures.  At its simplest, risk assessment is a common sense approach that provides a means of checking what is often good existing practice.  At its most complex, risk assessment is a complex computerized mathematical model that attempts to convert subjective judgments into quantifiable measures.  The regulations allow either approach, as long as the risk mitigation measures are annually assessed and continually improved.
 

In order to better serve our customers, Troy Construction's integrity management services will include the following:


Integrity Management

• Development of Asset Integrity Management strategies and procedures
• Gap Analysis of existing plans and procedures
• Creation, modification and implementation of Asset Integrity Management plans
• Assistance with IMR programs (inspection plans, direct assessment, anomaly assessment, repair programs)
• Operational interfacing (pigging programs, hydrostatic testing, chemical treatment)
• Remaining life calculations, corrosion growth rates, time-to-failure studies

• Operational safety studies
• Incident investigation and root-cause analysis
• Reliability-centered maintenance programs
• Risk assessment and RBI studies
• Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) studies
• Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality (FMECA) studies
• Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) and consequence studies
• Qualitative Risk Assessment / Indexing

•  Metallurgy and materials selection (metallic, non-metallic)
• Failure investigation
• Corrosion surveys, inspections, control and mitigation
• External and Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment projects
• Cathodic protection (audit, testing, design, specification, construction management)
• Stray current studies - AC (induced from overhead electric transmission), DC (electric transit, motors, foreign pipelines)