Statistical analyses of incidents on onshore gas transmission pipelines based on PHMSA database

Abstract

This article reports statistical analyses of the mileage and pipe-related incidents data corresponding to the onshore gas transmission pipelines in the US between 2002 and 2013 collected by the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration of the US Department of Transportation. The analysis indicates that there are approximately 480,000 km of gas transmission pipelines in the US, approximately 60% of them more than 45 years old as of 2013. Eighty percent of the pipelines are Class 1 pipelines, and about 20% of the pipelines are Classes 2 and 3 pipelines. It is found that the third-party excavation, external corrosion, material failure and internal corrosion are the four leading failure causes, responsible for more than 75% of the total incidents. The 12-year average rate of rupture equals 3.1 × 10−5 per km-year due to all failure causes combined. External corrosion is the leading cause for ruptures: the 12-year average rupture rate due to external corrosion equals 1.0 × 10−5 per km-year and is twice the rupture rate due to the third-party excavation or material failure. The study provides insights into the current state of gas transmission pipelines in the US and baseline failure statistics for the quantitative risk assessments of such pipelines.