A detailed analysis has determined that steel pipe-in-pipe designs have less risk of failure than several alternative designs for the proposed Liberty Pipeline to transport oil ashore from a production site in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. The study also found that risk was affected by the water depth of the hazard, the failure mode (crack, rupture, pinhole), performance of the monitoring system, third-party activities, and operational failures. The analysis defined risk as the volume of oil expected to be released over the planned pipeline's 20-year life. Conducted by BMT Fleet Technology Ltd., Kanata, Ontario (Kanada), it used quantitative risk assessment to compare design alternatives. Where historic performance data were not available, engineering models evaluated the probability and consequence of failure. The risk assessment demonstrated the primary differences of the proposed design alternatives and identified the key factors affecting the oil spill risk. The investigation considered the risks from ice gouging, strudel scour, permafrost thaw subsidence, operational failures, corrosion, third-party activities, and thermal loads leading to upheaval buckling.
Oil spill risks assessed for offshore arctic pipeline
Oil and Gas Journal ; 102 , 40 ; 64-70
2004
7 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 9 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Arctic and Northern Offshore Oil Spill Probabilities
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