Storage facilities are facilities designed and used for storage of oil or natural gas. Storage facilities vary greatly in size and design based on the product stored and the location and need within the pipeline system. Natural gas storage facilities typically operate so that large volumes of natural gas can be readily available for delivery to cus [..]

An initiating event is the first event in a sequence of events that leads to, for example, a pipeline accident.

The Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996 (APSPA) was to reduce risk to public safety and the environment associated with pipeline transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids, and for other purposes. In part, the APSPA required the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a four-year Risk Management Demonstration Progr [..]

Active corrosion is a term that indicates that pipeline corrosion is occurring now and is deteriorating the pipe. Technically speaking: Active corrosion describes an ongoing electro-chemical process in which microscopic metal particles are removed from iron-based materials. Corrosion can occur in moist, aboveground atmospheric conditions but is mor [..]

Class location refers to a regulatory designation for natural gas transmission pipelines that indicates the level of human population within a certain distance on either side of the line. The class location of a pipeline is a factor in determining the maximum allowable operating pressure of the pipeline. Technically speaking: Class location is a cr [..]

Pitting is Metal loss causing the formation of small depressions in a metallic surface. Pitting may be the result of sand blasting, mechanical gouging, acid etching or corrosion. See Also: Corrosion

A service line is a distribution line that transports gas from a common source of supply to (1) a customer meter or the connection to a customer’s piping, whichever is farther downstream, or (2) the connection to a customer’s piping if there is no customer meter. (A customer meter is the meter that measures the transfer of gas from an operator to a [..]

From the web site of the ASTM International: Founded in 1898, ASTM International is a not-for-profit organization that provides a global forum for the development and publication of voluntary consensus standards for materials, products, systems, and services. Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM International provi [..]

(1) Abandonment indicates that a company has received approval from the regulator to cease providing a particular service (e.g., to permanently shut down operation of a particular pipeline or facility) under that regulatory agency’s jurisdiction. (2) Abandonment also refers to the process and actions taken by a Company at the end of the useful life [..]

An accident is an unplanned occurrence that results in a release of oil or natural gas from the pipeline. Accidents can be expensive and can sometimes result in extensive property loss, environmental insult, injury and, sometimes, even death. Accidents can result from a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is from damage to the pipeline resulting [..]