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How safe are pipelines? According to the
Transportation Safety Board (TSB) statistics of Canada, the accident rate in western industrial countries on pipelines is minuscule compared with railway, highway and air transportation. Despite
the diligent efforts of pipeline companies, accidents do happen. A major risk is damage to the pipe by agricultural or non-pipeline construction activity along the pipeline route. Detecting such activity is a
principal purpose of the aerial inspections flown regularly over pipeline right-of-ways. Warning markers and information programs have further reduced the frequency of third-party damage.
But accidents do occur – The San Jacinto case in the USA In mid-October 1994, major flooding occurred in the San Jacinto River flood plain near Houston, Texas. Due to the flooding, eight pipelines ruptured and many others wereundermined. Ignition of petroleum and petroleum products released into the river resulted in 547people receiving (mostly minor) burn and inhalation injuries. The Safety Board of the US National Transport Agency listed a series of subjects which focused on the following safety issues: (1) the adequacy of national and industry standards on designing pipelines in flood plains, (2) the preparedness of pipeline operators to respond to threats to their pipelines from flooding and to minimize the potential for product releases, and (3) the preparedness of the local authorities to minimize the consequences of petroleum releases. The final report also addressed the need for effective operational monitoring of pipelines (SCADA systems) and for the use of remote- or automatic-operated valves to allow for prompt detection of product releases and rapid shutdown of failed pipe segments. In the case of the Doba-Kribi pipeline, operations will be remotely conducted using a SCADA operational center in Houston, USA with a duplicate somewhere in Cameroon.
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