Development and Implementation of the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. Conservation and Reclamation Standard

Currently, under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and regulations, all pipelines transporting natural gas with an index of 2690 or greater require an approval (Conservation and Reclamation Approval) for the conservation and reclamation activities associated with construction and reclamation of a pipeline. Administratively, Alberta Environmental Protection considers a pipeline requiring an Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act approval as a “Class 1” pipeline. The index is a calculation of length of pipe (in kilometers) multiplied by the outside pipe diameter (in millimeters). NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) has developed and implemented a Conservation & Reclamation (C&R) Standard to streamline the provincial C&R Application process. By re-formatting the currently accepted C&R Application into a Standard document, textual information submitted for an individual project has been reduced, without affecting the quality of environmental planning. The Standard document compiles NGTL’s environmental standard practices and mitigative measures undertaken for all pipelines. It also explains NGTL’s decision-making processes during the design phase of a project. The project-specific document presents issue focused site-specific environmental details in a simplified format The C&R Standard in combination with the project-specific submission form the NGTL C&R Application. NGTL’s C&R Standard was developed within a concept which uses key building blocks to achieve industry accountability. This concept requires an organization to have performance measurement tools in place, and to demonstrate commitment to that performance in order to earn public confidence. Once this confidence is established and maintained, an organization can realize industry accountability. Considering this concept, NGTL leveraged past performance and experience by documenting our consistent approach to pipeline design, and our performance measurement criteria into the C&R Standard. Fundamental to the development of the Standard was NGTL’s Platform Design Concept. Initially this design concept was adopted as an integral component of NGTL’s business need to reduce and streamline internal processes. This concept was then applied to external processes in an effort to meet business needs. The Standard includes two primary components, Guiding Principles and Platforms. By combining NGTL Guiding Principles (‘What’ and ‘Why’) and NGTL Platforms (‘How’), the Concept provides a systematic design guide for all projects that allows NGTL to make the right decisions based on the right design criteria. NGTL submitted the C&R Standard document to Alberta Environmental Protection for review in July 1997 and is currently implementing the Standard for all C&R Applications. This paper describes the development of the document as well as the implementation process and experience of the Standard.

Deformation and Fracture Behaviors of Polyethylene Coatings on the Natural Gas Transmission Line With Ultraviolet Exposure

The effect of carbon black, ultraviolet (UV) stabilizer and color pigment on the mechanical property of polyethylene (PE) has been investigated. The transition of fracture mode from ductile to brittle upon UV exposure is identified through microscopic examination of fracture surface. This transition is responsible for the degradation of mechanical properties. The carbon black doped PE shows excellent UV resistance regardless of the presence of UV stabilizer. The mechanical properties of the PE remained unchanged even after 50-days UV exposure. The ductile fracture mode is also maintained in this case. The addition of red color pigment exhibited a very poor UV resistance.

Early Public Notification

In response to public pressure and in a desire to ensure that the public was adequately informed about potential projects, the National Energy Board (NEB) produced a Memorandum of Guidance with respect to its expectations regarding its Early Public Notification (EPN) program in 1990. Over time, issues such as Stress Corrosion Cracking, Risk Assessment, Pipeline Integrity and Landowner Compensation have all significantly impacted the way companies have adjusted their approaches to the delivery of EPN programs. In the future, the pipeline industry can expect that public consultation programs will increasingly become an essential component on both project specific and long range strategic communications planning. The purpose of this paper is to review the development and implementation of the EPN process and to propose future issues which may impact the planning and execution of consultation programs. The focus of this paper will be to: A. Profile the evolution and delivery of EPN programs and review the communications tools typically used with EPN programs; B. Examine the recent emergence of regional landowner interest groups and to review their effect on the regulatory process and issues such as pipeline integrity, pipeline safety and environmental stewardship; C. Review how the pipeline industry has responded to public, Board and government initiatives regarding intervenor funding, and; D. Provide insight into future EPN delivery systems as well as emerging trends with respect to public participation in the pipeline and resource sector.

Application of Material Standards and ISO Quality Management Systems

Since the early 1970’s, the pipeline construction and operation industry has supported the development and implementation of various material standards and specifications. The emphases within the pipeline energy industry was to standardize manufacturing and performance testing processes in the provision of a product which would ensure public safety and reliability of service. The pipeline segment of the energy industry has succeeded in incorporating minimum quality levels by way of industry standards, codes, regulatory requirements and propriety company standards. In addition to these minimum product requirements quality assurance programs have been introduced to enhance the likelihood of conformance to the applicable requirements. In 1975, Canada became the first country to prepare and publish quality system standards for commercial use (Z299 standards). International quality system standards development proliferated in the following years, leading to the establishment of the ISO/TC 176 work team which subsequently led to the issue of the internationally accepted ISO 9000 series of standards. This paper will review both the concept and stages of development of CSA pipe and coating standards. It will also analyze the impact that international standards for Quality Management Systems are having in establishing systematic approaches to assessing levels of quality during material manufacture. Finally, a vision of the possible road to the future will be drawn and the positive impacts for the pipeline industry will be projected from a full life cycle cost perspective.

Three Layer Epoxy/Polyethylene Side Extruded Coatings for Pipe for High Temperature Application

The author will focus on the properties of three layer epoxy/ polyethylene coating for pipe, based on the experience developed in the lab, coating plant and in the field. The demands of the respective Canadian and other international standards will be looked at with the purpose to evaluate respective merits of various specifications. Special attention will be paid to the properties of the coating involving pipelines operating at elevated temperature, especially running through permanently wet areas, such as permafrost. Lab results will be correlated with the real life experience. Three layer Epoxy/ Polyethylene coatings will be compared to other commonly used coatings in the industry with the object to assess respective benefits and projected longevity versus cost.

Analysis of Thermal Shock on Nuclear Power Station Pump

In this paper, a heat conduction equation and a dynamic thermoelastic equation are briefly deduced and established based on Continuum Mechanics. First, an qualitative discussion is emphatically centered around the couple term and the dynamic term of the equation by means of the dimensional analysis and by considering the combination of the characteristics of the materials and of the thermal load effected on the nuclear power station pump under study. Second, formulations of the FEM for non-coupled heated equations and quasi-static thermoelastic equations are derived in this paper. Third, a half space thermal shock problem is used as a computational example in the highlighted research on the varying behavior of the dynamic thermal stress on the temperature slope. The conclusion of the paper provides reliable justification for applying the numerical method. Finally, the distribution and variety of the temperature field, the thermal stress field and the thermal deformation field at various transient moments on the pump are given.

Minimizing the Impacts of Pipeline Development on Native Prairie Ecosystems: A Public Land Manager’s Perspective

Native prairie is recognized in Alberta for its significant ecological, cultural and economic value. Much of the remaining prairie in Alberta is under public ownership and is managed for multiple uses and values. This paper illustrates how public land managers and industry cooperate to minimize disturbance to this valuable resource. The emphasis at the planning stage is proper inventory and identification of sensitive landscape, plant and animal features on proposed alignments, followed by appropriate realignment or mitigative action. At the pre-construction phase, environmental training of staff has raised awareness about the value of the prairie resource. During construction, the implementation of traffic control plans, shut down criteria and innovative soil handling techniques have reduced the overall impact of activities. Use of special equipment, erosion control techniques and revegetation strategies during reclamation can enhance the recovery of prairie disturbances. Proper monitoring is an important component of successful reclamation, and can lead to modifications of methods and equipment that give better future protection to this valuable landscape.

Response, Remediation and Risk Management of a Crude Oil Pipeline Spill

In December 1995, an oil spill was discovered along a section of pipeline located near the bank of a major river, less than 1 km upstream of the water supply intake of a southern Alberta community. The spill, which involved light crude oil, was observed at ground surface over an area of approximately 3 000 m2 at the top of the river slope and had also migrated downslope through the subgrade soils and along the groundwater table toward the river. The initial emergency response activities consisted of removing and disposing of oil-stained vegetation and snow, and the containment and recovery of free oil pooled on ground surface. Subsequent subsurface assessments involved the drilling of test holes and boreholes, and installation of groundwater monitoring/recovery wells. Based on the results of these assessments, a remedial action plan was developed. As part of this plan, some of the impacted soils were excavated and placed in lined treatment cells for bioremediation. The limits of the excavation were based on field screening measurements and on soil clean-up criteria developed through an assessment of the human health risk and ecological impacts. Investigations conducted at the site also indicated that phase-separated crude oil had migrated further downslope and had accumulated at the water table within the flood plain sediments adjacent to the river. Therefore, remediation systems were installed to recover the oil, recover and treat the impacted groundwater, and prevent further migration of the impacted groundwater and oil toward the river. Impacted groundwater recovered from the flood plain deposits was treated onsite and was then injected back into the flood plain deposits via an infiltration gallery. The performance of the pumping and remediation systems was monitored regularly and water samples were recovered from the treatment system, selected monitoring wells and the river. Based on the results of these analyses, the quality of local groundwater steadily improved and the zone of impacted water was effectively contained.

A Process Using Risk Analysis to Select Construction Methods for Pipeline Crossings of Major Rivers

Pipeline river crossings pose a significant challenge for pipeline owners and environmental regulators to balance the associated costs and risks, particularly where environmental impacts may occur. For years, NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) has managed the regulatory approval process using a well-established process. However, regulatory expectations are increasingly neutral to the cost of crossing installations and are demanding a more thorough assessment of a wider variety of river crossing options, particularly trenchless technologies. As a result, NGTL has recently enhanced the internal process by incorporating a structured decision tool. This tool is able to quantitatively assess technical risks as well as ‘soft’ influences such as “Regulatory Relationship” and “Delay in Approval”. The result is a clear decision with the necessary buy-in, where all risks were identified quantitatively and well understood by decision makers.

Transition Temperature Determination for Thick Wall Line Pipe

The applicability of Drop Weight Tear Test specimen to evaluate the ductile to brittle transition temperature of thick wall pipes (30 mm and 40 mm wall thickness) has been investigated by comparing West Jefferson tests at different temperatures and laboratory data. The traditional API pressed notch specimen has been used with full and reduced thickness, together with chevron notch and weld notch starters. The different crack initiation methods have been examined with the goal of providing an easier test specimen, with reduced fracture energy. The 85% shear area transition temperature indicated by the different test specimen show a reasonable similarity, but the higher costs of preparation of the alternative notch geometries limit their adequacy in substituting the traditional pressed notch specimen. Good agreement has been found between standard DWTT specimen and full-scale test transition temperature. The results of this program together with literature data, confirm the validity of the DWTT specimen to measure the ductile to brittle transition temperature for thermomechanical rolled linepipe steels of thickness up to 40 mm. The reduced thickness specimens conservatively predicted full scale behaviour.