Canadian pipelines had 19 incidents in 2018

Canadian oil and gas transmission pipelines sustained 19 incidents last year while total system length grew to about 121,000 km, according to an annual survey by the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA).

Four liquids incidents occurred in 2018, releasing a total of 175.5 bbl of oil, of which 94% was recovered. One release was considered significant by totaling more than 50 bbl. All oil in that release of 113.2 bbl was recovered.

Five of 15 natural gas incidents were deemed significant because they were reported as ruptures. Three of those were caused by third-party damage, one was caused by cracking, and one remains under investigation.

Incident prevention and environmental protection measures reported in the CEPA report include:

• 2,665 proactive integrity digs to examine pipelines for defects and make repairs.

• 51,563 km of in-line inspections completed with smart pigs.

• $2 billion invested in the maintenance and monitoring of pipeline systems.

• $22.6 million invested in technology focused on reducing pipeline corrosion and improving leak detection and damage prevention.

• 452 emergency-response exercises.

Canadian transmission pipelines last year delivered more than 1.6 billion bbl of crude oil and 5.9 tcf of natural gas, CEPA reported.