However, there are times when accidents involving OCTG occur; at these times, it is important to take the correct actions in order to avoid additional damage and injury. The following is a description of the emergency controls built into major linepipe systems, as well as a look at how emergency personnel operate as they respond to an incident involving line pipes.

What Line Pipes Do

Within the nation’s energy network, line pipes are a means of transporting oil and other natural resources to processing plants where they can be refined for our use. Once the fuel is ready for consumption, line pipes carry it to marketing and distribution terminals across the country. Finally, line pipes move gases into our homes and businesses. (The final step of the distribution process is slightly different for liquid products such as oil; tanker trucks are used to move liquid fuel across the country.)

Because the liquids and gases that linepipe carries are highly flammable, there are several emergency controls required by law for OCTG, as outlined below.

Linepipe Emergency Controls

Reserved right of way. To protect OCTG systems from being disturbed, they are always placed in an area called the Right of Way (ROW). Permanent structures may not be built on the ROW.

Linepipe marker signs. Wherever linepipe runs underground, you’ll find above-ground marker signs providing a basic description of where the line pipes lie. Marker signs remind those who would dig to avoid disturbing OCTG systems. Additionally, they help emergency responders assess the situation when they arrive at the scene. Marker signs generally include the product in the linepipe, the linepipe’s operator and a 24-hour emergency phone number.

National linepipe map. The U.S. Department of Transportation maintains a national map of the locations of line pipes across the country. Used regularly, this map can help contractors and others avoid accidentally hitting linepipe and causing fuel to leak into the surrounding environment. Operators and government officials may access this map at http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/. Another alternative is to call the state or national one-call center to learn about line pipes running under proposed excavation sites; the national number for this service is 1-888-258-0808. Call it before you dig.

Incident command system. The Incident Command System (ICS) describes responsibilities, roles and procedures for responding to incidents involving line pipes. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for maintaining and operating the National Incident Management System that oversees the ICS.

Linepipe control centers. Each pipeline operator is required to maintain a control center. Pipe pressure, flow, temperature and other linepipe conditions are monitored at each control center. When an incident occurs, the control center responders can immediately shut off the flow of fuel. The control center also works with local emergency personnel to zone in on the source of a leak.

Linepipe Emergency Operations

In a pamphlet titled “Pipeline Emergencies,” The Pipeline Association for Public Awareness lists four steps to take when assessing and responding to a linepipe incident:

1. Assess the situation. Approach on foot from an upwind location. Avoid rushing in; remember that gases are invisible and largely undetectable without specialized equipment. As you assess the situation, consider the weather conditions, the terrain, what emergency resources are available, who/what is at risk and if there is a vapor cloud.

2. Secure the scene. The area around a linepipe incident should be isolated. Only emergency responders and authorized persons should be able to enter into the accident zone.

3. Employ NIMS and ICS. Follow the guidelines provided by the Department of Homeland Security. The NIMS and ICS guidelines provide instructions on choosing an incident commander and establishing a command post, among other emergency response actions.

4. Identify the hazards. Next, qualified experts on the fuels carried by line pipes should identify potential hazards.

As the hazards and challenges of the incident site become clear, steps may be taken to protect the surrounding environment and communities. Once a stable situation has been created around the site, government officials, linepipe operators and emergency personnel can work together to tackle the underlying problem and get the fuel flowing once more.

[ photo by: fictures ]

Here’s a look at what oil sands are and how they are extracted:

What Oil Sands Are

Oil sands, otherwise known as bituminous sands or tar sands, are naturally occurring deposits of a mixture of sand, clay, other minerals, water, and an extremely dense form of petroleum. Within the OCTG industry, this form of petroleum is known as bitumen. The bitumen is both extremely dense and viscous at room temperature or below, making it more difficult to move through line pipe or other tubular goods.

Many countries all over the world have been found to contain large quantities of oil sands, but the largest deposits are located in Canada and Venezuela; it is believed that each of these nations contains more barrels of recoverable oil within their oil sands than there are barrels of conventional oil in the world – most of which is found in Middle Eastern countries.

How Oil Sands Are Extracted

If the oil sand deposits are found near the ground’s surface, the sediment is mined and hauled away to a processing plant, where the sand is crushed and treated with hot water and caustic soda (a combination of sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen) to separate out the bitumen. Once the bitumen is isolated, it is blended with lighter hydrocarbons or lighter petroleum to make it easier to transport through an OCTG line pipe to the refinery for final processing.

If the oil sands are located farther below ground, a process known as “in-situ recovery” is used to excavate the deposits. A couple of separate OCTG wells are drilled down to the location of the deposits. One tubular goods well is used to pump down steam and chemicals to soften and break up the bitumen. Once the bitumen is less viscous, it gets flushed into an extraction well and pumped to the ground’s surface. The bitumen is cleaned of impurities, then blended with lighter petroleum and transported via OCTG line pipe to the refinery.

[Photo by: Superfem]

Fire Sprinkler Piping

In the past, fire sprinkler pipe systems have most often been found in office buildings and other commercial spaces. However, more and more homeowners are catching on to the massive benefits of having fire sprinkler piping installed in the home.

Fire sprinkler pipe systems are designed to work either in tandem with or in place of smoke detectors. As soon as the sprinkler system detects fire or smoke, the nearest sprinklers with engage and spray down the area with water. Fire sprinkler piping can be installed practically anywhere, including on or behind drywall, and is an excellent way to protect your home, office and all of your property.

Smoke Detectors

If you don’t have fire sprinkler piping installed, then smoke detectors are a must. They should be installed on every level of the building, preferably with an individual alarm outside sleeping areas (in hallways, for example) and inside each bedroom or office area. In an ideal situation, the smoke alarms should be connected either wirelessly or with a wired connection so if one alarm detects smoke or fire, all of the alarm units will sound.

Regular maintenance checks, such as replacing your smoke detector batteries and testing your fire sprinkler pipe system, will help ensure that the safety measures you have in place are functioning properly.

Escape Plan

In addition to maintaining your smoke detectors and fire sprinkler piping, you should also create and practice an escape plan. Ideally, you should know at least two ways to exit every room so if your primary exit path is unavailable, you’ll have an alternative at the ready. Practicing your escape plan at least once a month will allow you to amend your plan if there are any changes in your surrounding area.

One of the most important elements in any escape plan is to designate a meeting place, which allows everyone to escape in the safest manner and then meet up once you are all safely out of the building to make sure no one was left behind.

Visit BlueSteel Services for top quality fire sprinkler pipe and piping.

[Photo by: MarkyWeiss]

Here’s a look at some of the elements that must be included in an IMP for oil country tubular goods:

Identifying High Consequence Areas

High consequence areas (HCAs) are areas along a pipeline where a leak or break has the greatest potential to harm humans or the environment. This includes centers of population, urbanized areas, or areas with large population density; commercially navigable waters; and areas especially sensitive to environmental damages, such as a nearby food or water source.

Line pipe operators are required to pinpoint any HCAs that could be impacted by their portion of oil country tubular goods and assess the potential impact of any incident by examining the area’s topographical and environmental characteristics, the design characteristics of the pipeline itself, and the liquid transported through the line pipe.

Assessing the Oil Country Tubular Goods

Once the HCAs have been identified, the next step in an IMP is to evaluate the current condition of the pipeline and establish procedures for regular inspection and maintenance.

Beginning with a baseline assessment, operators use pressure-testing and inline inspection to detect any corrosion, deformities and other abnormalities, such as cracks or dents, in the oil country tubular goods. All liquid pipelines must be fully re-inspected every five years, and the results are compared to the baseline assessment in an effort to detect any trends or subtle changes over time that may indicate a potential problem.

Careful Documentation

All of these assessments must be meticulously documented, along with schedules for repair and excavation and any actions taken to repair, mitigate or prevent damage to HCAs. The IMP should also include instructions for any staff or contractors responsible for the condition of the line pipe system, detailing the manner in which staff should complete pipeline assessments and execute preventative or reparative alterations to the line pipe.

[Photo by: cogdogblog]

Exterior monitoring. First and foremost, the companies in charge of pipelines recognize that each section of line pipe is custom-built for its location and purpose. Therefore, pipeline operators are specially trained for the sections they must monitor and are able to detect subtle changes in the OCTG pipes’ performance and condition. Additionally, frequent line pipe surveys are conducted by air, foot or road patrol to ensure that the exterior of the pipeline remains in pristine condition.

Interior monitoring. To monitor the interior of the pipeline, operators use a tool called a pipeline pig, which is a cylinder-shaped mechanical device built to fit snugly inside the line pipe. Pigs are used for many different purposes within the pipeline. One of the most common pigs is equipped with a number of sensors and gauges to detect any interior corrosion or irregularities throughout the pipeline. Another device, called a scraper pig, moves through the inside of the pipeline to scrape and clean off any build-up.

Corrosion prevention. Corrosion prevention is a key component of OCTG pipeline maintenance, and there have been advances in the industry that assist in reducing or even eliminating corrosion. For example, certain types of OCTG pipeline use improved pipeline coating materials, which can help reduce the risk of corrosion-related accidents.

What FBE Coating Is

FBE pipe coating consists of at least two elements: the resin (epoxy) and the hardener or curing agent. The curing agent used will determine the final aspects of the coating, such as its density, flexibility and chemical resistance. Additional properties can be added to the coating by using fillers or extenders to affect its hardness, thickness and more. The FBE pipe coating starts as a powder but becomes liquid and bonds to steel surfaces when heated, making it ideal for covering many types of products such as linepipe, fittings and connections.

How FBE Coating Is Applied

Once the steel surface is cleaned of any particulate that might impair the coating’s ability to bond, the steel is heated to the needed temperature to “melt” the coating elements, typically 356-482 degrees Fahrenheit. The melted coating spreads over the surface of the linepipe, and the continuing application of heat causes the coating to harden or “cure” onto the steel, creating a solid, near-impermeable coating on the surface, often with a thickness of little more than a few millimeters.

Even with such a thin coating, FBE pipe can be created to withstand certain elements such as moisture, soil acidity and extreme temperatures. A local pipeline supplier should have the most accurate information about the type of linepipe or FBE pipe to fit your needs and location.

[Photo by: Joe Lodge]

Natural Gas Pipelines

The pipeline system is made up of typically large-diameter ERW pipe, between 24 and 36 inches, constructed especially for OCTG uses according to standards set by the American Petroleum Institute. Linepipe, which is often placed underground, is also treated with a type of epoxy coating to help prevent corrosion over time.

At its origin location, the natural gas is highly pressurized in order to minimize its volume and keep it moving quickly through the pipeline. In certain locations along the pipeline, usually at around 50 to 100 mile intervals, the natural gas will go through a compression station to ensure proper pressurization.

Maintaining the Pipeline

Sometimes in these same locations or in separate locations, metering stations are set up to keep accurate readings on the status of the pipeline system. The metering stations take regular measurements of the gas’s flow rate, pressure and temperature to ensure the safety of the linepipe, valves and everything in between.

Also at varying distances along the entire network of linepipe are valve locations, which allow for the release of pressure or gas from the ERW pipe. Additionally, these valves allow for the stoppage of gas flow within certain sections of linepipe. When a repair is needed, the gas flow will be shut off at two valves at opposing ends of the repair location so the pipe can be safely assessed and mended or replaced. After the repair is complete, the valves are used to resume the flow of gas through the pipeline.

The Final Leg

Once the gas reaches a processing plant, it is refined into the natural gas product used in homes and businesses. From the processing plant, the refined natural gas is transported through another network of linepipe to a local natural gas distributor, where it navigates yet another linepipe network to deliver the gas directly to where you need to use it.

[Photo by: Daniel X. O'Neil]

Transportation of Oil

Using iron and steel to create oil country tubular goods (OCTG) dates back to the 1860s, when gravity was harnessed keep the oil moving through the pipeline from one location to another. Though there is a bit of dispute about the first OCTG pipeline used, one of the original pipelines was a 6-mile stretch of pipe in Titusville, Pa. The pipeline was able to transport crude oil from the oil field directly to a nearby railroad station for further transport.

Seamless Pipe and Other Advancements

From this time forward, it didn’t take long for advancements in pipeline construction, including the creation of seamless pipe and specialized pipe for oil transport. An entire industry cropped up to provide oil country tubular goods and to engineer better methods for keeping the oil moving, including pump stations along the length of the pipeline.

The pump stations allow the oil and gas liquids to move through the pipeline under pressure; for this reason, seamless pipe is preferred for these OCTG uses. Seamless pipe is built to better withstand pressure from both the inside and the outside, as most pipelines these days are buried at least several feet underground.

[Photo by: Malte Sorensen]

OCTG casing is piping that is inserted into the drilling well and cemented into place to line the well and serve as a structural retainer. Typically, casing is made from heavy, seamless tubing, which prevents the drilling well from collapsing in on itself while drilling is being done. OCTG casing is usually available in pipe widths varying from a few inches to sometimes up to a few feet, and it comes in a variety of grade levels.

OCTG tubing refers to the pipe used to transport the oil or gas up through the well to the surface. In an effort to prevent leaks throughout the length of the structure, seamless tubing is most often used for this purpose. OCTG tubing is also available in a variety of sizes and quality grades.

What is Natural Gas?

Natural gas is generally found underground and contains methane and traces of ethane or other hydrocarbons that account for 20 percent or less of the gas. There are two types of natural gas: biogenic and thermogenic. Scientists find biogenic forms of natural gas that methanogenic organisms created in bogs, landfills, shallow sediments and marshes. Thermogenic natural gas refers to the type of gas found deep in the earth, under buried organic material that was exposed to high temperatures and pressure. Geologists sometimes find natural gas with other types of hydrocarbon fuels, like in the form of methane clathrates in coal beds.

Processing Natural Gas

With the help of carbon steel pipe, experts use specialized drills to extract natural gas on- and offshore, below the surface of the earth. Before it is a fuel, the extracted gas undergoes a process so it becomes purely methane. The byproduct of the refining process results in the creation of butane, propane, helium, nitrogen, elemental sulfur, pentanes, hydrocarbons with high molecular weights, water vapor and carbon dioxide. The use of strategically placed carbon steel pipes that resist corrosion and are leak-proof help direct the gas from the wells to processing facilities, then to homes and businesses.

The Importance of Natural Gas

Natural gas is a clean fuel that can help reduce pollution and maintain a clean environment. In the United States, natural gas is a secure and abundant source of fossil fuel energy that can help reduce the dependence on foreign fuel sources. While it is difficult to measure the exact amount of natural gas available, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that as of 2008, there were 2,587 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath U.S. soil.

The Environmental Cost of Natural Gas

When you burn natural gas, the result is a mixture of mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor – similar to what you exhale. One the other hand, when you burn oil and coal, they produce sulfur, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and ash. While the combustion of methane does produce small amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, the amounts are negligible when compared to coal and oil.

The burning of fossil fuels has had a significant impact on global warming. Gases that contribute to greenhouse gases include methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Many of these gases occur naturally, but the increasing dependency on fossil fuels that do not burn cleanly, like coal and oil, are contributing to the greenhouse effect.

Natural gas emissions do contribute to global warming, but not in such a destructive manner. For example, carbon dioxide does not trap heat as well as the emissions produced by coal and oil. Moreover, natural gas produces 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal and 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil.

However, a concern that has grown out of the natural gas and seamless steel pipe debate is the effects of methane gas on the environment. While methane burns cleanly, the gas itself traps heat 21 times better than carbon dioxide. The EIA states that 1.1 percent of U.S. greenhouse emissions and 8.5 percent of the world’s emissions are from methane.

Despite the effects of methane on global warming, a 1997 study by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Gas Research Institute concluded that the benefits provided by an increased use in natural gas and a decreased use in coal and oil greatly outweigh the greenhouse effects caused by an increase in methane emissions.

While a carbon steel pipe and natural gas is not the ultimate solution to the U.S.’s energy needs, it can help bridge the gap between the use of coal and oil and renewable energy sources. In the meantime, installing more seamless steel pipes and using natural gas in place of current detrimental energy sources can help put a dent in carbon emissions and woeful climate change.

[Photo by: Scott Smith]