Assessment of leak frequency of cross-country oil pipelines

This book explains a procedure for assessment of the frequency of accidental leaks in cross-country oil pipelines, taking into account factors such as the geological, seismic, climatic, and physical conditions of the pipeline route; the wide range of pipes used (size, wall thickness and etc.); and anti-corrosion measures employed. The procedure was formulated on the basis of an analysis, processing and adaptation of the incident database managed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the US Department of Transportation (DOT). More than 1,300 accidents that occurred from 1984-2013 were analyzed, showing the cross-country oil pipeline leak distribution from six accident causes: external interference, corrosion, construction/material defect, natural forces (earthquake, flood, lightning, landslide and etc.), incorrect operation, others and unknown, - as well as the distribution depending on the type of leak. This book also includes an example of accidental leak frequency calculation on one section of a modern cross-country oil pipeline.