Pipeline integrity and ground movement hazards

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Transmission pipelines are critical elements of the natural resource industry for the safe and efficient transportation of liquid hydrocarbon and natural gas products from field development areas to domestic and international markets. These pipeline systems can extend for hundreds of kilometers in length over terrain with varied operational, environmental and geotechnical characteristics. For industry stakeholders that include the producers, pipeline operators, regulatory agencies and public, the significant issue is establishing a safe and reliable transportation system throughout the pipeline life cycle. Long term differential ground movement events impose geotechnical loads on buried pipelines that may initiate pipeline deformation mechanisms and exceed governing design acceptance criteria with respect to serviceability or ultimate limit states. This geohazard represents an engineering challenge for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of pipeline transportation systems. The primary goal of the research program is the development of rational engineering guidelines and assessment tools that can quantify and evaluate the effects of long term differential ground movement events on buried pipeline systems for a range of design conditions. On this basis, effective design procedures and intervention policies can be developed to ensure pipeline integrity and demonstrate regulatory compliance.