Updated Estimates of Frequencies of Pipeline Failures Caused by Geohazards

Abstract

This paper provides an updated compilation of geohazard-related pipeline failure frequencies for onshore hydrocarbon gathering and transmission pipelines, with a particular emphasis on the analysis of data from Western Europe, Western Canada, the US, and South America. The results will be of interest to owners, operators, regulators and insurers who wish to calibrate estimates of geohazard failure frequency and risk on planned and operating pipelines, particularly for pipelines traversing mountainous terrain. It concludes with an estimate of the global annual frequency of failures caused by geohazards on hydrocarbon gathering and transmission pipelines, and postulates that this failure frequency should continue to decline when measured on a per kilometer basis due to ongoing improvements in geohazard recognition, routing and design of new pipelines, and improvements to integrity management practices for operating pipelines.