Updated June 2024
At the AER, we are responsible for ensuring companies develop Alberta’s resources safely and responsibly. This responsibility includes holding companies accountable for their performance and helping companies improve.
We take the following actions to improve pipeline performance:
- Inspect construction to verify proper practices were used.
- Educate operators about our requirements, industry best practices, and emerging issues.
- Review every pipeline incident to verify if a company correctly determined the cause and if they followed our pipeline requirements (i.e., compliance).
- Investigate every incident to understand its causes so that we can work towards improving pipeline performance and preventing future incidents.
- Identify areas for improvement in the company's safety and loss management system and pipeline integrity management programs.
We analyze data on pipeline incidents to identify trends and use what we learn to educate companies during pipeline inspections and by sharing information at conferences and operator awareness sessions and through publications, including the following bulletins:
- Bulletin 2016-22 was issued because of several pipeline incidents where improper leak detection was a significant contributing factor. We provided recommendations around leak detection programs for oil-well effluent and produced water pipelines.
- Bulletin 2019-28 was issued in response to a slight increase in the number of pipeline failures in 2019 from earth movement on unstable slopes. We reminded companies that they must consider natural hazards in their pipeline integrity management programs. The release of Bulletin 2019-28 resulted in several companies proactively identifying potential earth movement problems and taking preventive actions to mitigate the risks.
- Bulletin 2021-36 was issued because of an increase in incidents from stress-corrosion cracking on high-temperature carbon steel aboveground pipelines. We reminded licensees to consider stress-corrosion cracking as part of their integrity management programs. We made several recommendations for licensees: conduct engineering assessments to determine whether their pipelines would be susceptible to failure, inspect pipelines that may be at risk, evaluate and repair potential defects, review leak detection programs, and continue to report leaks and rupture incidents.
- Bulletin 2023-30 was issued because of an increase in incidents from first-party hits (i.e., contact damage by the operator on their pipeline). We reminded licensees to familiarize themselves with Part 5 of the Pipeline Rules and take all reasonable precautions to ascertain whether a pipeline exists at a given location before commencing any work, operation, or activity.
The Pipeline Rules and Directive 077: Pipelines – Requirements and Reference Tools were updated in 2023 following industry and public consultation. These publications strengthened some of the requirements for pipeline design, construction, and operation.
Safety and Loss Management
Companies must have a pipeline safety and loss management system (SLMS) that includes corporate policies and processes to manage pipeline operating risks relating to the public, the environment, the company and its employees, and property (including the licensee’s property and public and landowner property). The SLMS is a mandatory part of the CSA Z662: Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems standard and includes the following elements:
- risk management (hazard identification, assessment, and mitigation; see the glossary) and other risk management processes such as leak detection (i.e., ongoing monitoring)
- integrity management programs (see the glossary), including planning and oversight for preventive maintenance, hydrotechnical and geotechnical programs, leak detection, and inactive pipelines
- operation and maintenance procedures (see the glossary) that are safe, effective, and relevant and implemented in support of the company’s integrity management programs
- corporate policies, including data retention, training, and continuous improvement initiatives
Companies must develop and maintain an effective leak detection program tailored to their specific pipeline system based on assessed risks. Such a program may include aerial or ground surveillance of the pipeline right-of-way using visual detection, gas detection, thermographic surveys, or vegetation surveys that look for signs of leaks or other hazards. Other surveillance methods include volume monitoring and pressure sensing to collect data on pressure and flow. Emergency response plans are also required to manage an emergency.
We will continue to explore opportunities to improve our annual pipeline performance report, such as expanding the range of data that can be compared or broadening the information provided about incidents, including contributing factors.
