Threats to domestic US oil supply: a special report, part one

While much attention is justifiably focused on the security and efficacy of pipelines in contested or embattled regions of the world, from supplies currently held in Russia, to those being won and lost in Syria and Iraq, the threats to domestic supplies of oil and other key resources is discussed with far less regularity. After all, with other pipelines being located in categorically more volatile areas, what do the pipelines located in mainland USA have to fear? And more importantly, if there is any threat, what can be done to ease the minds of landowners and citizens located in close proximity to pipelines?

The circulatory system of the USA

While perhaps not a feature that many would associate with the rolling landscapes of the Great Plains or the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, pipelines are very much a part of the American landscape. Indeed, there are 2.3 million miles of pipeline found across the landmass of the US, transporting everything from shale oil to natural gas. These pipelines are being utilised effectively, too, with 7.5 billion barrels of crude oil being transported by interstate pipelines in 2012 alone.

In large part due to the amount and effectiveness of pipelines in the US, the country is set to become the largest natural gas producer in the world by 2015, and the largest oil producer in the world by 2016.

It becomes clear, therefore, that the amount of pipeline around the USA, and the crucial nature of their cargo, necessitates a robust set of security measures.

When systems fail

The unfortunate nature of the beast when dealing with the pipe-borne carriage of volatile materials like natural gas and crude oil, on the scale currently seen in the USA, is that accidents do happen. Even worse, when these accidents happen, the results can be particularly dangerous; to both nearby people, and the environment. A record of ‘significant incidents’ involving the pipeline infrastructure of the USA between 1986 and 2012 revealed that, in Texas alone, there were 1669 such incidences; causing 78 fatalities, 371 injuries and incurring US$668 million in property damage. Nationwide, the number of ‘significant incidents’ recorded over the same time period was 7763; equating to a total of 536 fatalities, and US$6.75 billion in property damage.

The causes of these incidents are diverse. The main culprits, as cited by a number of sources, are corrosion, material failure, and excavation damage. A 2010 gas explosion in a suburb of San Francisco, San Bruno, was found to have been as a result of pipes that had been ineffectively welded together; the pipeline had originally been installed in 1948, and had been unable to cope with the higher level gas pressure being directed through.

Improvements in construction and monitoring, as well as the utilisation of superior quality materials, all work together to reduce the instances of such problems, while better planning and oversight when it comes to building projects ultimately reduces excavation damage. None of the above can be enacted instantly, but are gradually evolving within utility and construction industries.

Intentional damage

While deliberate sabotage and acts of domestic terrorism are rare; such incidents do still occur. For example, the Trans-Alaska pipeline, which travels North to South from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, has seen more than a few such incidences since its completion in 1977. In 1978, parties unknown (currently thought to be Fairbanks resident Philip Martin Olson) used explosives to blast a 1-inch hole in a section of pipeline, causing a spill of between 12 000 and 14 000 barrels of oil before the flow was able to be stymied. Another case in 2001 saw Livengood resident Daniel Carson Lewis drunkenly shoot a hole in a nearby stretch of Trans-Alaska pipeline, resulting in a leak of around 6144 barrels of oil. The clean-up and repair costs incurred by this action totalled around US$17 million; costs that were passed onto Lewis, along with a 16 year jail sentence.

While certainly one of the largest pipelines in the US, responsible for around eight percent of the US’s supply of crude oil, the number of deliberate incidents of sabotage that have occurred on the Trans Alaskan pipeline alone, with the relative infrequency of such sabotage being more than compensated for by the high financial and environmental cost of their perpetration, reinforce why pipeline security should be a high priority to both companies and legislators.

Read part two of this special report here

This analysis was provided on behalf of Westminster International, security specialists with offices, agents, and partner companies in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Edited by Elizabeth Corner 

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/24062015/threats-to-domestic-us-oil-supply-a-special-report-part-one/