January 10, 2017
Dr. Kofi Inkabi and Dr. Elizabeth Reilly from the Engineering Management Consulting practice recently published a series of front-page articles in the Oil and Gas Journal. The articles provide a detail summary of changes proposed as part of the federal regulatory strategy to improve the safety and reliability of the natural gas pipeline system.
Recent pipeline failures resulting in loss of life and significant environmental impacts have led to proposals for sweeping reforms to the Code of Federal Regulations (i.e., 49 CFR 191/192). More specifically, changes have been proposed to 47 different code sections and four appendixes. These changes if enacted, have the potential to significantly impact how pipeline assets will be managed in the near future.
This article discusses significant revisions that PHMSA has proposed to integrity management, MAOP reestablishment, material validation, corrosion control and evaluation, management of change, and recordkeeping. It also offers recommendations for owner-operators to consider, depending on the maturity level of their asset and integrity management programs.
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