Part two: Securing US supply infrastructure

Read part one of this special report here

Legislation plays an important, if slow-moving, role

With the potential cost and level of damage that can be incurred from instances of vandalism and sabotage, it’s incredibly important to minimise the number of instances in which they happen. Fortunately, some of the brightest minds in engineering and legislation have been working for the last few decades to devise solutions to these problems.

On the legislative side of things, a few attempts have been made by politicians in recent years to further enhance the safety of pipelines, with mixed results. Out of two proposed pieces of pipeline legislation, only one was passed into law. The bill, which didn’t make it through DC unscathed, was the Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2011, which was passed by the Senate, but rejected by Congress. This act would have, amongst other things, enforced the usage of automatic or remote-controlled shut off valves on pipelines; greatly enhancing the overall safety of America’s pipeline infrastructure.

However, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 was passed into law in the same year, and featured provisions that better clarified, and eased the enforcement of existing pipeline security laws. While definitely a move in the right direction, many in the pipeline industry, as well as the owners of land through which pipelines travel, may have wished for something a bit more comprehensive, to better secure their holdings. Fortunately, while law is making steady progress, technology is making leaps and bounds in the field of securing pipelines.

Technological innovation makes it easier than ever to effectively secure pipelines

From a more immediate, technical standpoint, great strides have been made in creating technology to safeguard pipelines from both accidental and intentional damage. A number of companies have stepped up to the plate with intuitive solutions to this problem, giving those managing the pipelines at risk, as well as landowners and nearby civilians the peace of mind they need.

One of the many examples of this technology, to provide a sense of what is currently available, is the Acoustic Fibre Optic Pipeline Security System (AFOPSS); which is sold by Westminster International. The idea behind this technology is as simple as it is effective. Through the canny use of fibre optic technology, the AFOPSS system monitors the acoustics and vibrations surrounding the area of installation, providing an early warning mechanism for sabotage, illegal tapping, and other unauthorised forays into areas surrounding pipelines.

The accuracy of these sensor measures allows activity to be tracked to within 1 m; making it especially easy for security to track any intrusions, and stand a good chance of being able to investigate, providing the opportunity for problems to be solved before they escalate into something more damaging and expensive. As you would expect from an electronic monitoring solution, vigil is kept 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The AFOPSS is just one of a number of similarly high-tech systems; all of which allow even a small security team to maintain an effective level of protection over large stretches of pipeline, vastly minimising the amount of damage or illegal tapping able to take place; while also increasing the odds of an incident that couldn’t be prevented from causing too much damage. In other words, it’s now entirely possible for pipeline stakeholders to keep a detailed eye on the entirety of their pipeline system from a central location.

Recent improvements continue a longer term upward trend

The continued efforts of lawmakers and companies seem to be having a positive effect on the state of US pipelines, and the pipeline industry as a whole. For example, in 2013 99.999% of the 14 billion barrels of crude oil, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel transported in pipelines across the US successfully reached their destination. A staggeringly positive statistic, it backs up the improvements already made since 1999; in the period in-between 1999 and 2012, liquid petroleum pipeline accidents caused by corrosion fell by 79%, and those caused by third party excavation damage fell by 78%. Engineering mistakes, human error and deliberate damage are all slowly being reduced across the US.

However, considering the grievous environmental impact of a single pipeline breach, not to mention the stratospheric cost to pipeline stakeholders of such an event, technology and regulation cannot stop evolving until all such incidences are a thing of the past. Given the pace of current improvements, we may soon live in a time where landowners have no reservations about allowing the passage of pipelines, and where pipeline owners and operators can rest easy in the knowledge of their investment’s security.

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 and edited by Elizabeth Corner

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/25062015/part-two-securing-us-supply-infrastructure/