This paper presents a case study in adapting report by exception remote monitoring technology to continuously monitor leak detection sensors along a cross-country high volume liquid products pipeline system. The resulting system enables the operating company to have 24/7 visibility to their leak detection devices as well as immediate alarm notification in the event of a detected leak condition. This technology enables sensors to be distributed anywhere in the system regardless of the availability of communication connection to the central operations network, using cellular and satellite communication. The web-based data interface enables viewing of data and receipt of alarms through any authorized web-enabled device. The presentation will discuss the sensor and monitoring technology, the data interface used between the sensors and monitors, the various means of facilitating communication to the operating company, and some lessons learned along the way.
Pipeline leak detection is emerging as a prime focus of PHMSA and other regulatory agencies in the United States as well as jurisdictions all over the world. The immense volume of buried pipelines and the fact that much of this buried infrastructure is over forty years old1 combine to present increasing risk of leaks with potentially catastrophic results. During the twenty-year timespan from 2002 through 2021, in the United States alone, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recorded 42 hazardous liquids incidents resulting in 35 fatalities, 80 injuries, and over 147,000 barrels spilled (Figure 1).2 In many cases the environmental and human health and safety costs could have been reduced if the leaks were detected much earlier.
Monitoring and communication technology has evolved significantly over the past thirty years, particularly through relatively inexpensive low-bandwidth satellite communication and increasingly robust and reliable cellular communication. The expansion of these communication networks has resulted in nearly complete global coverage, greatly facilitating data acquisition from even the most remote pipeline locations. Additionally, monitoring systems, sensors, and field asset control devices have evolved as well, taking advantage of the data communication options currently available. These advances in communication and monitoring technology have enabled the hazardous materials pipeline industry, along with most other industries, to transmit ever-increasing volumes of data from an ever-increasing number of field locations. Many field sites that were typically nearly inaccessible except in case of emergency are now able to both transmit and receive data in near real-time with consistent reliability.