Individual and Societal Risk Analysis of Pipeline Failures Occasioned by Third Party Using the CPQRA Method: The Case Study of the Gas Pipeline in Utekon Community in Ovia LGA of Edo State

Abstract

Gas transmission pipelines mainly transport flammable fluids across the length and breadth of the country especially in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The associated risk to both the individuals’ encroaching and inhabiting areas along the right-of-way (ROW) and the society at large cannot be underestimated. Thus safety concerns considering the individual and societal risk of pipeline failures has become important. This paper attempts to develop a model for both individual and societal risk assessment for a 12km length natural gas transmission pipeline in Utekon community (commencing from the Benin-Auchi through Uhuwmunode Osina town and terminating in the Benin-Agbor axis) in Edo State using the Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis Method (CPQRA). The CPQRA is used because it examines the hazard zones within a pipeline ROW and the number of persons that would be affected by fire/explosion. Finally, field data was used in this study to validate the model which can be applied to any natural gas pipeline risk assessment scenario.